Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 449: This is a word of justice!!
Chang'an City.

Liu Taozi stood inside the Wencheng Hall and looked around.

Prince Yuwen Yun of Zhou was tied up and knelt aside, trembling.

The Queen Mother, the Queen from the Turkic region and others could not help crying.

Huluxian was indescribably excited. At this moment, he was standing next to Liu Taozi, reporting important information to him.

"Yuwen Zhao has also been captured, and the last of his soldiers are gone. The nobles in various parts of the city are still gathering troops in an attempt to fight against us, but it is useless."

"From last night till now, I have been arresting people, hahahaha, just the Duke, I have arrested several of him!!"

Huluxian couldn't hide his joy at all.

Back then, his brother fought hard to achieve the achievement of killing two dukes in a row and became the most powerful general in the country.

But now, there are a lot of dukes in this city, not to mention dukes, there are a lot of princes and kings!!
The Crown Prince, the Empress Dowager and the Queen were all arrested!

What a great achievement this is!
Liu Taozi looked at the trembling kid and said, "I understand. Kill those who should be killed and take the rest back. You will be responsible for it."

"only!!"

Huluxian hurried out.

Liu Taozi then slowly walked in front of the group of people, young and old.

Looking at the people in front of him, Liu Taozi said slowly: "I have never attacked women and children, and I hope you will not force me to do such things. I would like to ask you and my subordinates to return to Yecheng for a while. Do you agree?"

When everyone heard this, they cried even louder.

The queen stepped forward at this moment, and she saluted towards Liu Taozi, "Your Majesty, I have heard that those who have accomplished great things will not humiliate the families of their enemies. If Your Majesty can treat us well and prevent us from being humiliated, we are willing to obey."

Liu Taozi nodded, "I will never humiliate you."

He looked at the soldier beside him again, and the soldier was escorting these people out of the palace.

A moment later, Shi Wansui rushed in again.

"His Majesty!!"

"They didn't even have time to burn all the confidential documents!"

"We got it!"

"Unfortunately, those old bastards in Taichung were unwilling to surrender and continued to curse before they died."

There were so many high-ranking officials and nobles in the city that it would take a day and a night to catch them all.

However, what worries Shi Wansui and others is that it is not easy to capture him alive.

These old men of the Zhou State were all very courageous. Even those over sixty or seventy years old drew their swords and fought bloody battles with the Han soldiers who broke in, refusing to surrender.

Therefore, not many senior officials were captured alive, and even if there were a few, they did not have time to commit suicide.

However, they arrested a lot of middle and lower-level officials.

Liu Taozi asked: "Where are the enemy's reinforcements? Is there any news outside the city?"

"No, I'm afraid they haven't reacted yet. Your Majesty, I don't think we need to attack Nanyang anymore. What we have gained so far is enough to cripple the Zhou Kingdom. As long as we can bring them back, this battle will be worth it!"

This was not just Shi Wansui's idea; all the generals in the army thought so.

Liu Taozi frowned slightly.

Great victory in Chang'an.

The generals each gained sufficient military merit and reaped a great harvest.

In this situation, most people feel that they should be content and take these things back with them. The rewards they receive are enough and they can worry about the rest later.

Shi Wansui may not have realized this himself, but his words had already expressed this meaning.

Liu Taozi just nodded and said, "Okay, go on."

After seeing Shi Wansui off, Liu Taozi quickly walked out of the palace.

The soldiers under his command were all busy.

Chang'an City is a huge treasure house. They can dig for many days and find many good things.

Liu Taozi walked step by step to the gate of the palace. The city was still in a mess, and there were constant cries of grief in the distance.

Liu Taozi had issued a military order that the troops entering the city could not massacre the civilians.

Of course, they didn't have to slaughter and rob the people. There were so many nobles in Chang'an City, and there was more than one warehouse. Why should they rob the people?
At times like this, people basically dare not go out.

Liu Taozi began to think about the next strategy.

At the same time, Gao Changgong brought his men to an ordinary house.

Gao Changgong looked at the disheveled, extremely miserable prisoner, pointed forward, and said nothing.

The prisoner nodded timidly.

Gao Changgong laughed and gestured to the soldiers around him.

Several soldiers came here with baton sticks. They carried the wood and slammed the gate again.

"Bang!!!"

How could the courtyard gate withstand this? With a scream, the wooden door was broken, and the two people behind the wooden door were knocked to the ground. The soldiers quickly stepped forward and subdued the two men.

Gao Changgong stared at them fiercely. The soldiers filed in. Gao Changgong called the man over and asked, "Are they the two of them?"

"Yes, yes. These two are the sons of the Duke of Yun."

Hearing the voice, President Wei raised his head, looked at the man, and immediately cursed, "You bastard! How dare you sell out your relatives?!"

The captured man was the brother-in-law of Wei Xiaokuan's nephew Wei Shikang, and had family ties with the Wei family.

After being insulted, the man didn't dare to look up at the two of them.

Gao Changgong was basically certain in his mind, and with a smile on his face, he led his elite troops and rushed into the mansion. General Wei struggled to resist, but was powerless.

When they rushed in, the soldiers had already surrounded the gathered men of the Wei family.

Gao Changgong's eyes were burning as he shuttled back and forth among the crowd and quickly locked onto his enemy.

Wei Xiaokuan.

Wei Xiaokuan looked at the young man who came in. He had seen Liu Taozi before, but the one in front of him was obviously not Liu Taozi. He was so handsome that he roughly knew the other person's identity.

"Is he a member of the Gao family?"

"Liu Taozi destroyed Qi, so why are the royal family members of Qi still willing to serve him?"

"How should I face my ancestors after death?"

Hearing Wei Xiaokuan's words, Gao Changgong laughed, "I have heard of the great name of the Duke of Yun for a long time. Meeting you today, you are worthy of the name. Are you planning to alienate me just after we met?"

"It is not to sow discord, it is to speak the truth."

Gao Changgong walked over quickly, his face extremely excited, "General Wei, I finally get to see you in person. Do you know how much we former Qi royal family members want to see you, capture you, and kill you?"

"Back in Yubi, you killed quite a few of us."

Wei Xiaokuan was no longer afraid at this moment.

He just shook his head, "Not too many were killed, only some stupid ones died."

Several armored soldiers around him raised their spears and were about to stab Wei Xiaokuan to death.

Gao Changgong hurriedly stopped him.

"How can General Wei die here?"

"At the very least, we have to take him to the Yubi Temple for sacrifice."

"Take it!!"

The soldiers rushed over and captured everyone in the Wei family. Wei Xiaokuan was no longer able to resist and allowed them to capture him.

Gao Changgong ignored everyone else and took Wei Xiaokuan with him, threw him into the car, and quickly left.

Liu Taozi was still at the gate of the imperial palace, sending people to patrol everywhere to prevent soldiers from killing indiscriminately, when he saw Gao Changgong hurrying over.

"His Majesty!!"

"This man has been captured for your majesty!"

Gao Changgong hurriedly ordered Wei Xiaokuan to be brought out and brought in front of Liu Taozi.

Only then did Liu Taozi look at Wei Xiaokuan.

The two looked at each other, and Wei Xiaokuan spoke first, "It's been a long time since we last met. Your majesty remains as great as ever."

"He is old."

"I remember when we first met, you were quite strong, but now you are already grey-haired. Over the years, you have taken care of me, and I am very grateful to you."

Wei Xiaokuan laughed when he heard this. "After that meeting, I have always kept you in my heart and dare not forget you."

Wei Xiaokuan suddenly felt calm. All the unhappiness, dissatisfaction, and even pressure he had experienced over the years seemed to have disappeared.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Dead, whatever."

"That's fine."

For a moment, Wei Xiaokuan seemed to have returned to the Yubi City many years ago, full of high spirits.

"Since I have been captured by the king, I will leave it to the king to deal with. I only ask that the king can forgive my children a little and not kill them."

Gao Changgong asked at this moment:
"Oh? Are you still worried that your clan will be implicated?"

"It's just a request. It's up to the king to decide whether to approve or not."

Gao Changgong walked forward and looked at Liu Taozi.

"Your Majesty, Wei Xiaokuan is a man of great talent, but he is not valued by his king and cannot display his talents. I hope Your Majesty will forgive his crimes and allow him to serve the Han Dynasty."

"Ok?"

Liu Taozi and Wei Xiaokuan both looked shocked at this moment.

Wei Xiaokuan looked at Gao Changgong in disbelief. He thought that Liu Taozi might try to persuade him to surrender, but when he thought about it carefully, he had a blood feud with the people of Qi. Liu Taozi's base was made up of people from Qi. How could he possibly forgive him?
But he never expected that before Liu Taozi even opened his mouth, a member of the Qi royal family came to ask for forgiveness on his behalf.

Wei Xiaokuan was a little confused.

Liu Taozi felt the same way. "I remember that before Chang Gong broke into the city, he vowed to capture Wei Xiaokuan and kill him for sacrifice. Why is he begging for mercy for him?"

Gao Changgong said seriously: "Your Majesty needs talents like Wei Xiaokuan to pacify the world. How can I delay the great cause of the world because of a personal vendetta?"

He looked at Wei Xiaokuan again and continued, "Before, you asked me how I, as a member of the Qi royal family, could meet my ancestors while serving the Han?"

"I will tell you now. The world has been at war for hundreds of years, and the people have suffered. My Gao family has no destiny, but the new master has the ambition to rule the world and practices benevolence and righteousness. I want to follow him, pacify the world, and leave my name in history. This is for the greater good."

"The greater good is on my side, why should I be afraid of meeting my ancestors?!"

"It is Gao Zhan, Gao Wei and others who dare not meet their father and grandfather!"

Gao Changgong's voice was strong and powerful. He looked at Wei Xiaokuan sincerely and said, "General Wei, as a member of the former Qi royal family, I can still follow your majesty, make achievements, and pacify the world together. What are you afraid of?"

"Private vengeance and personal honor and disgrace, what do they matter in the face of the people of the world?"

"When I was in the east, I often heard about the general's reputation for benevolence and righteousness. I heard that the general loved the people, disciplined the army strictly, never harmed anyone under his command, and treated people with kindness."

"General, why don't you follow my lord and accomplish great things!"

"My lord is not comparable to Yuwen Yong. If you are willing to follow me, you will not be suspected. In our Han Dynasty, members of the royal family of the previous dynasty have been in and out of the Three Palaces, or have served as generals in local areas. There are princes in the south who are in charge of the navy and are the rulers of a place. Why don't you abandon the dark and join the light?"

Gao Changgong spoke very quickly and Wei Xiaokuan had no chance to interrupt.

After Gao Changgong finished speaking, he bowed his head to Wei Xiaokuan and waited for his answer.

Liu Taozi also said slowly at this moment: "If General Wei is willing to follow me, I will definitely use him and will not have any doubts."

Wei Xiaokuan was in some kind of inner struggle. He gritted his teeth, fell into deep thought, and was hesitant.

Suddenly, he said, "I know what the king is up to. The king doesn't value me, but the people I have in various places. He wants to get secrets from them. How can I use them to deal with the Zhou people?"

"No!"

Liu Taozi immediately refuted it.

He said loudly: "The restaurants under the general's command are just small fry."

"I govern the country with benevolence and follow the upright path. After the Han State becomes strong and the people become prosperous, the general's restaurant will be useless, right?"

"What I value is the general's ability. If the general does not want to be an enemy of the Zhou people, he can go north. The Turks are eyeing us covetously. The Zhou lord is colluding with them and inviting the wolf into the house. If the general stays in the north, he can expand the territory, win people with his generosity, and defend against the enemy with his city. Wouldn't that be a great achievement?"

"How can I waste my time here?"

Wei Xiaokuan began to tremble, and one could see his hesitation from his eyes.

Liu Taozi did not urge him, "General, you do not need to answer so quickly. Follow us back to the east first. I will wait for your answer."

The soldiers then asked Wei Xiaokuan to leave.

After he left, Liu Taozi looked at Gao Changgong, "No wonder I couldn't find Changgong just now, it turns out he went to catch Wei Xiaokuan."

Gao Changgong looked at Wei Xiaokuan who was walking away with a complicated look in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, these brave generals and ministers in Chang'an are all loyal to the Zhou Dynasty. It may be difficult to capture them and make them surrender."

"But Wei Xiaokuan is different."

"Yuwen Hu didn't trust him. Yuwen Yong seemed to value him, but in fact he was on guard against him everywhere. He never listened to Wei Xiaokuan's suggestions. When I heard your majesty talk about the battle of Nanyang, I knew in my heart that Wei Xiaokuan had already turned away from the Zhou Dynasty. He was unwilling to do so, so he could be won over."

"If you can get his help, Your Majesty, why worry about the unrest in the world?"

"This man is not very good at leading troops to war, but he is the best in the world in terms of strategy and governance."

Liu Taozi deeply agreed with this.

He looked around again, "I originally wanted to lead the army to attack Yuwen Yong and capture him alive after I captured Chang'an."

"But I see that the generals are full of pride. Even the Emperor thinks that he should go back to celebrate his military achievements. If he is forced to go out to fight, he will be taken advantage of by the enemy."

Gao Changgong said solemnly: "This time, Your Majesty has conquered Chang'an. Yuwen Yong's army will either collapse and flee in all directions, or burn their boats and fight to the death."

"And Yuwen Yong has many generals around him, so I think it should be the latter. And we have won a great victory. Since ancient times, arrogant soldiers have often been defeated. I also think we can evacuate with these people."

"The Zhou Kingdom cannot be completely destroyed in one or two battles. Taking Chang'an this time is like cutting off the head of the Zhou Dynasty. How long can a headless corpse hold out?"

"Your Majesty, you can lead the troops back, take these prisoners back to Xiazhou, and then proceed with your plan slowly."

Liu Taozi agreed.

Nanyang.

Yuwen Yong had woken up, but he was extremely weak. He could not speak and could only gesture with his hands.

Under such circumstances, Yuwen Xian became the commander-in-chief of the army.

Yuwen Xian informed many generals of the news, and then decided to return quickly to defeat the enemy in Chang'an.

Sure enough, upon learning that Chang'an had been attacked, the generals were extremely panicked and at a loss.

Yuwen Xian encouraged them, "Now that the enemy has broken through Chang'an, if we don't return soon, our families will be slaughtered. The sooner we return to repel them, the better for our families."

As a result, the generals all asked to go to war.

Yuwen Xian then led the army back with He Ruobi as the vanguard.

He also arranged for Yuwen Yong to be in the army and return with him. He did not dare to leave the emperor too far away.

The abnormality in Zhou Guo’s army quickly attracted Huang Fachi’s attention.

After sending people to inquire many times, he finally heard about Liu Taozi's attack on Chang'an.

Huang Fachi was stunned.

This superstar always gives him a huge surprise when he least expects it.

If Chang'an was captured, Huang Fachi couldn't even imagine what Zhou would become! !

So what are you hesitating about?!

Huang Fachi immediately organized the remaining troops and launched a rapid counterattack.

How could the morale of the Zhou people who stayed behind be at all? Even Huang Fachu could find out about things like the attack on Chang'an, let alone these soldiers?
When faced with Huang Fachi's fierce attack, they were quickly defeated.

Huang Fachi's subordinates, on the contrary, were in high spirits when they learned that the Heavenly King had attacked Chang'an.

The situation suddenly changed, and Huang Fachi began to kill everyone here and advance rapidly.

Just when Chunyu Liang and others had just returned to Jiankang and told the emperor and his ministers about the difficulties of the war and had just been pardoned, battle reports came from the front line.

Huang Fachi won a great victory and advanced into Anzhou again, defeating many enemies.

Now the generals of Chen State were speechless.

What do you mean??

They were beaten when we were here, and they started beating us when we left, right? ?

But later they learned that Huang Fachi sent troops because Liu Taozi captured Chang'an, and they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, some ministers could no longer sit still.

"Your Majesty! We cannot allow General Huang to continue to send troops! We should ask him to withdraw! Ask him to withdraw!"

"The Heavenly King has conquered Zhou State, and Zhou State is in imminent danger. If General Huang attacks from the south again, and Zhou State falls to the Heavenly King, then wouldn't the Heavenly King, who has just gained Zhou land, be the next to plot against us?!"

(End of this chapter)