Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 416: Famous Scholars of Wei and Jin Dynasties Still Exist

Chen, Hefei.

The city gate was open and another line of carriages appeared on the road.

The carriages arrived at the city gate, but they did not rush in. Instead, they stopped not far away. Chen Bing at the city gate saw the carriages, but did not care at all. He just turned his head and ignored them.

Then I saw a few people staggering out of the carriage.

They had fair skin and were well-dressed, but they looked extremely haggard. They looked around in fear, and only when they were sure that there was no danger did they hug each other and cry.

After crying for a long time, they began to prepare again.

The servants blocked the way outside and surrounded them with several carriages, while they changed into beautiful clothes inside and began to put on makeup. There were also special servants to trim their hair and beards, and even put medicine on their beards, which was used to maintain the beards and keep them neat and shiny, looking oily. Then they began to spray perfume on themselves.

Make yourself smell sweet.

After all the preparations were made, several people got back on the carriage and marched into the city in a swagger.

The soldiers stationed at the city gate helplessly examined the pass documents from Qi State that they had brought out.

A soldier looked at the junior officer not far away and asked in a strong southern dialect: "What should we do with these people who have captured Qi?"

"Let them go! Let them go! We are all here to escape, we will let you go after you register!"

The officer in the distance was also busy checking other people, so he waved his hand rudely, signaling to let them pass.

The soldier lowered his head and complained a few words, then looked at the servant in front of him.

At this moment he switched back to speaking northern dialect with an accent.

"We need to re-register here."

The servant looked quite helpless. He raised his head slightly and proudly talked about the illustrious reputations of several of his own people.

But obviously, this soldier didn't understand anything about Xia Pi Chen or Guangling Liu. Maybe he knew, but he didn't care.

I recorded these carelessly.

The nobleman on the carriage would stick his head out from time to time to urge them on, as if he did not regard the Southern soldiers as human beings. He spoke to his own servants, as if even looking at the Southern soldiers would defile his eyes.

After a long time of tossing and turning, he finally remembered it. Before the servant got on the car, he did not forget to instruct: "We live in the south of the city. If any masters from the same tribe come, you tell them to come to the south of the city to find us. There will be a reward!"

Looking at this arrogant slave, the Chen soldier smiled, nodded, and said in the southern dialect: "Chu captive."

The servant was stunned, but didn't understand, so he entered the city.

After sending these people away, the soldier looked at his colleagues and said, "These northern barbarians are more arrogant than each other. If you don't know them, you might think they are here to occupy Huaibei!"

"Hahaha, isn't that what Beihu is like?"

"Sooner or later, we'll kill them all."

The group entered the city and headed towards the government office without stopping.

The tallest building in a city is often where government offices are located.

Most government offices in cities are located in the center of the city, with convenient transportation links. Of course, there are exceptions.

When the group arrived at the gate of the government office, the young noblemen got out of the car and hurried forward to negotiate.

After a long time, an official finally came out to greet them.

This official was a typical southerner, and he led a few nobles to the side yard to chat.

A clerk brought tea and several people talked about their situations while drinking tea.

"The Hu people under Liu Taozi's command were extremely brutal. After they entered the city, they began to kill people wantonly. We couldn't bear to watch the people being killed, so we fought back, killing more than ten of his knights, and then escaped."

The young man proudly recounted how he came here.

The official was not surprised at all, and only praised: "You are all very skilled!"

"This is nothing. We are well-versed in the classics. How can we be harmed by the barbarians?"

Another person asked impatiently: "I wonder when we can meet Chun Yu Gong here? I heard that he can take us to the south."

"Don't worry, don't worry. There are many people who need to cross the river now. You will be able to cross sooner or later."

The official said a few words to comfort them and talked to them for a long time before politely sending them away.

After these people went out, their faces became somewhat unfriendly.

"A mere general's official dares to be so rude to us and even neglect us. In the past, it would have been difficult for him to even enter our house!"

They stalked away, muttering and complaining.

The official stood in the distance, watching them leave, with helplessness in his eyes.

He turned around and went back to the office, walked all the way to the door of the hall where important matters were discussed, and stayed there without going in.

Inside the hall, Governor Chunyu Liang sat at the upper seat, facing the people on his left and right, his eyebrows were knitted together and his face was ashen.

A civil servant whispered, "Actually, the governor doesn't need to worry so much. I think this is a good thing, which means that what we are doing is effective."

"We are more popular, so the people are rising up and want to come to us for help."

"Doesn't this mean that the Northern Hu have lost the support of the people?"

Chunyu Liang slowly looked at the civil servant, his eyes as sharp as a sword. The civil servant looked terrified and dared not say anything else.

Chun Yuliang then said coldly: "The Zhou people frequently dispatch troops in Jingzhou, which seems to be a bad intention. We have dispatched too many elite troops to Lianghuai, leaving Jingzhou empty."

"At a time like this, you're proactively provoking Liu Taozi again."

"Liu Taozi and Qi Hu have never been magnanimous and vindictive. Do you want us to be in a situation where we have to fight on two fronts?"

"Can Dachen handle these two enemies at the same time?"

Another person spoke up, "Commander-in-chief, the Zhou people are our allies. They are dispatching troops to Jingzhou. I think they are guarding against Liu Taozi."

"Beware of Liu Taozi? Liu Taozi just fought with them. Will he continue to fight with them?"

"Besides, does the local Liu Taozi need Yuwen Xian to go over and command the army?"

Chun Yuliang angrily slammed the documents on the table and cursed, "A bunch of idiots! God damn idiots!"

"Something big must have happened in Jingzhou!"

No one dared to speak anymore. Chunyu Liang also remained silent and pondered for a long time.

"Liu Taozi will soon send a general to the front line. Liu Taozi is powerless to start a war, but it is hard to say about his generals. Most of them are Hu people, and they are unruly by nature. If there is a rebellion in the city, when the generals appointed by Liu Taozi take office, they will definitely fight with us under the pretext of fighting against the enemy. Once we show weakness, they will attack us without any scruples."

"Another point, if there is no rebellion here, Liu Taozi might send a few generals to set up offices on the front line, let them recruit soldiers locally, gradually increase their strength, and then fight again."

"But now, if there is a rebellion, Liu Taozi will ask them to lead the troops directly."

Chunyu Liang had a lot of things in mind.

There have been strange movements from the Zhou people recently. I heard that even Yuwen Xian has started to flee south.

The State of Chen was also somewhat surprised by this, but Chunyu Liang concluded that the Zhou people must have some bad intentions, or something had happened on their side.

As a result, at this time, there was a rebellion in the Han city and the people fled to the Chen State.

The more Chunyu Liang thought about it, the more headache he got. It was not right to save him, nor was it right not to save him.

"How about this, Captain Zuo, you lead a thousand knights to rescue them."

Chunyu Liang looked at the man and winked at him. The young captain had already talked to him about some things yesterday and understood Chunyu Liang's thoughts, so he quickly agreed.

Chunyu Liang also arranged the rest of the matters, most of which were about the restoration of people's livelihood in Lianghuai.

The State of Chen is very poor now.

At least the treasury was very poor. Although the previous war allowed Chen to regain the coveted Huai River, the national strength accumulated by Emperor Wen for many years was basically destroyed. The situation was not much better than that of the Zhou people.

The food is only enough to maintain the army, but not enough to go out on an expedition. Letting 10,000 people stay in their own base to eat food and letting 10,000 people go out to eat food are two completely different concepts. The difference is huge, because the laborers who transport the food also have to eat. The more food is transported, the more laborers there are, and the greater the consumption on the road.

Taking into account various secret traditions, it would be a huge surprise if half of the 100,000 shi of grain could be transported out and finally reach the hands of the army.

The State of Chen was unable to go out to fight, otherwise, when the State of Han went to war with Zhou and Qi, they could have robbed Qi's hometown.

Chunyu Liang finished these things, and just as these people left, the official just now walked in.

He held many lists in his hands, which were the names of the nobles who had come to seek refuge with him in the past few days.

Chunyu Liang was too lazy to even look at it and just told the official to put it aside.

Looking at Chunyu Liang's expression, the official whispered, "Do not be angry, Governor. There is no lack of talent among these people."

"Maybe one out of ten is good enough, the rest are just parasites waiting to die."

Chunyu Liang had a calm expression on his face. He said, "Your Majesty really values ​​these people, especially the monks."

"I heard that a great monk named Jingsong came from the Zhou people, bringing with him more than 300 monks including Fagui. These people are all very famous monks. They went from the north to the south. Your Majesty once again ordered to build temples for them, let them live in them, and also contracted their expenses."

"I believe in Buddhism, but I don't believe in monks."

"When I was the governor of Guizhou, I personally handled a major case in which a group of monks kidnapped women and sold them to the north. Their conditions were horrible. Since then, I have not trusted these monks who talk about morality and justice."

"Perhaps there are good people among them, but Your Majesty should not spend so much money to support monks."

"The treasury is already empty, and we need to accumulate funds. We are constantly building temples and entertaining monks. Could it be that these temples are more important than the garrisons I want to build? Can these temples stop Liu Taozi? Or can those monks defeat Liu Taozi?"

What Chunyu Liang said was considered absolutely treasonous in the State of Chen, and the officials were sweating when they heard it.

He said quickly: "It is not useless. The people are very happy to know that so many great monks have come. They say that they are blessed by Buddha. Those great monks are also holding meetings in various places."

Chun Yuliang laughed, "Rituals can't be eaten."

"Just wait and see. If the people are left hungry, it will be useless for the great monk to talk nonsense."

"Hey, take my pen, I want to write to your majesty!"

"Oh, Governor, this..."

“Don’t say any more!!”

Jiankang.

Emperor Chen Xu was leading many monks returning from the north to admire the newly built temple.

There are heavy guards inside and outside the temple, and no one is allowed to approach.

Several masters followed behind Chen Xu. Chen Xu was still wearing the clothes of a Buddhist disciple. He looked at this luxuriously built temple with a smile and couldn't help bragging to the eminent monks behind him, "It took four full months to build such a temple. I really kept you waiting for a long time."

These monks were all good at observing the emperor's words and expressions. When they heard the emperor's words, they hurriedly said, "How can you say that? This temple is so luxurious that you can't find it even if you search the entire northern country. It only took three months to build such a large temple. This shows how prosperous the southern country is. The Chen Dynasty will definitely rule the world!"

Chen Xu became even happier after hearing what the masters said.

Chen Xu has been very happy recently.

When he was young, he was often compared with his older brother Chen Qian.

Chen Qian was extremely handsome, not inferior to any of the Gao family in the north. He could read at the age of four or five, and learned to ride a horse at the age of seven or eight. He was proficient in both civil and military since childhood. Chen Baxian could not help but sigh: This child is the most outstanding of our clan! !

When he grew up, Chen Qian became even more outstanding. He was proficient in everything, whether it was military affairs, internal affairs or diplomacy. After Chen Baxian's death, Chen Qian came to power. During his reign, he worked hard to govern the country, rectified the administration of officials, paid attention to agriculture and sericulture, and developed water conservancy. He was particularly caring for the people. Every edict was practical and not pretentious. He advocated simplicity, took the lead himself, banned extravagance, supervised the ministers, issued new coins, and restrained the unscrupulous expansion of clans and Buddhism.

In the military, he defeated the arch-enemy Wang Lin and swept away the separatist regimes of Liu Yi, Chen Baoying, Xiong Tanlang, Zhou Di and others.

Small separatist regimes like Chunyu Liang voluntarily surrendered.

He toiled day and night and never dared to slack off. Although he was in office for only seven years, he left behind the idiom "working day and night".

Even when he was dying, he lamented that the people under his command were living too hard and that he felt it was a pity that he had not been able to do more.

Having a brother like this is really a huge pressure.

Especially when he inherited the throne and already had a legitimate son.

Chen Xu had always felt that tremendous pressure, until he defeated the powerful enemy in the north and took back the Lianghuai area, Chen Xu was finally able to let go of that pressure.

I accomplished what my brother couldn't do.

He felt that he could at least match his brother's achievements.

Chen Xu pointed to the distance proudly and said, "After I pacify the world, I can become a monk here."

Monk Fagui looked at the people around him, his eyes flashing with excitement, and he hurriedly stepped forward, "If Your Majesty wants to become a monk, why wait until later?"

Chen Xu was stunned, "Oh?"

Monk Fagui said seriously: "Emperor Wu of the Great Chen Dynasty also held a no-blocking conference, changed into monk's robes, became a monk and preached the sutras."

"Your achievements today are no less than those of Emperor Wu, and your knowledge of classics is even better than that of Emperor Wu. Why don't you follow his example and become a monk to preach the scriptures?"

Chen Xu hesitated for a moment.

It is an old tradition in the south for the emperor to become a monk. Xiao Yan, the former Liang emperor, became a monk many times. The first time he became a monk, his ministers collected 100 million coins to redeem the emperor. The second time he became a monk, his ministers collected 200 million coins. The third time he became a monk, his ministers collected another 100 million coins. This money was given to the temple. As to where the money came from, different people have different opinions.

Chen Baxian of the State of Chen did the same.

However, Chen Xu did not agree to them directly. He showed some hesitation and said he would think about it again.

The monks didn't urge them, but just smiled and nodded.

After finishing his work here, Chen Xu returned to the palace.

As soon as he came back, he saw the memorials sent from Chunyu Liang, which were about building temples and supporting monks.

Chen Xu was not angry.

Chen Xu's belief in Buddhism, like Yuwen Yong's suppression of Buddhism, seemed to be just a means of doing things.

Chen Xu immediately replied to Chunyu Liang, saying that he would reduce these expenditures and stop building new temples.

Chen Xu then began to check the reports from various places. Most of them were good news, such as auspicious signs appearing in various places, new arable land reclaimed in cities, and so on.

Chen Xu also followed his brother's example and stayed in the study and never went out again. He was reading happily when suddenly, he saw one of the memorials.

In an instant, Chen Xu, who had a smile on his face, became irritable and furious.

The other side of the palace was very lively at this moment.

Crown Prince Chen Shubao sat on the upper seat. At sixteen years old, he looked particularly handsome.

His face was heavily made up, and the fragrance he exuded was even stronger than that of the nobleman in the north.

A musician was playing music, and several so-called celebrities were sitting around him. Each of them was handsome and had a pleasant appearance.

Their clothes were very casual, some were basically half-naked, with clothes casually draped over their bodies, giving off an air of celebrity. This feeling was too much like those romantic celebrities of the Jin Dynasty. No, they were those romantic celebrities! They just moved south!

Judging from their appearance, they all seemed to have taken drugs and were feeling dizzy.

Chen Shubao sat with these people, holding a trembling little palace maid in his left hand. The palace maid was extremely scared at the moment, with horror in her eyes.

But the more scared she was, the happier Chen Shubao was. Several of his friends even touched her frivolously, scaring the palace maid so much that she almost cried.

On his right hand side is a young man.

The young man had a feminine look and just lay in Chen Shubao's arms with a woman's posture.

Chen Shubao kissed the one on the right, then sniffed the one on the left, feeling very proud.

Suddenly, a eunuch pushed open the door and shouted with a horrified look, "Your Highness!! His Majesty is here! His Majesty is here!!"

(End of this chapter)