Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 452: Wouldn’t that make me a villain?
"Please come in!"

Several soldiers surrounded him. Huang Wan's face turned red. He turned around and looked at the soldiers, "How dare you be so rude?!"

"We are following your orders, please don't make things difficult for us!"

Huang Wan was shaking with anger.

He just walked into the mansion and the soldiers immediately closed the door.

Walking into the mansion, he could see many soldiers everywhere. They were all strangers, and Huang Wan didn't know any of them. He gritted his teeth and walked forward.

When we were almost at the backyard, a familiar face came forward. It was the old housekeeper of the family.

He also looked worried at the moment.

"The young master is back. The master is in the house."

The old steward brought Huang Wan into the house. There was only one Huang Fachu in the huge house. He had taken off his armor and changed into ordinary clothes. Two half-grown children were nestled beside him, chatting with him with a smile.

Huang Fachi held the two little ones in his arms, his face full of joy.

Huang Wan walked forward with a stern face. When the two little kids saw him, they were frightened and stood up quickly.

"Father!"

Under normal circumstances, Huang Wan would definitely scold these two good-for-nothings and ask about their studies, but at this moment, he had more important things to do.

"Go find your mother!"

The two little kids reluctantly said goodbye to Huang Fatichou and left.

Huang Wan asked the old steward to close the door.

"Father, what happened?"

"Why did your majesty detain us?"

Huang Fate waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, it's just that someone in the country suspects that I'm colluding with the King of Han and trying to sell out the country. Your Majesty will see clearly."

Huang Wan was silent for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "Father, what are you talking about?"

"Asshole!!"

"Do you think I'm a traitor?!"

Huang Fate was furious. Huang Wan knelt down hurriedly. "I dare not. However, before my father came back, many people in the country discussed this matter. They all said that my father disobeyed the emperor's edict and followed Liu Taozi's arrangement, which led to the defeat. It was not just one or two people who said so."

"Oh, I know. Those people were originally planning to take over Jiangling and gain merit in founding a country. How can they not hate me for ruining such a great opportunity?"

"Until now, they still think that taking Jiangling is an easy task."

"If I'm not mistaken, the people who are going to attack Jiangling this time must be another group of meritorious young men?"

"They are in a hurry to drag me down, just to take credit for the founding of the country. I really don't understand, if the country is destroyed, what's the point of them getting more credit?"

Huang Fachi shook his head, his eyes full of confusion. He really couldn't figure it out.

The two were silent for a long time, and Huang Wan asked again: "Will His Majesty take action against us?"

"I don't think so."

"If you wanted to kill him, you would have done it long ago. Why wait until now?"

Huang Fachu was not afraid either. He asked, "You are in Taichung. Do you know who will take my place?"

"what?"

Huang Wan looked helpless, "Our whole family has been detained, why do you still care about these things?"

"I'm worried."

"If Zhang Zhaoda is the commander, the war can still be saved."

"But if Chun Yuliang is the commander."

Huang Wan was shocked, "Father, do you think General Chunyu is not as good as General Zhang?"

"No, Zhang Zhaoda may seem unruly, but he is actually loyal and has always put state affairs first. Chun Yuliang, though talented, is more concerned with personal gain and self-preservation than state affairs."

At this moment, a group of naval forces were quickly heading towards Jingbei from Jiankang.

On the giant ship, Chunyu Cen stood behind his father, staring at the calm water in the distance.

"Father, even someone like Huang Fachu has been arrested. I'm afraid the State of Chen won't last long."

Chunyu Liang's face remained expressionless when faced with such outrageous words from his son.

Chunyu Liang was not originally a backbone of the State of Chen. His brother had been a separatist and a boss in the past. When Wang Lin and Chen Baxian were fighting, both sides sent envoys to win him over, hoping that he would stand on their side. Chunyu Liang analyzed the situation of the two and decided to deal with Wang Lin in name, but secretly send people to surrender to Chen Baxian.

After Chen Baxian came to power, he still stayed in his old place, giving people the feeling that he was submitting in name but actually maintaining his own rule.

It was not until Emperor Wen of Chen came to power and began to deal with these potential and overt separatist forces that Chunyu Liang expressed his willingness to enter the court. The emperor allowed him to do so, but his troops fled and he was unable to enter. Finally, Emperor Wen sent Hua Jiao to lead a large army to "escort" Chunyu Liang to the court.

When Chunyu Liang was about to reach the capital, he was impeached again. The officials accused him of delaying on the road and being unwilling to return to the court, and they dismissed him from his position as Yitong.

It was not until Chen Xu came to power that he was promoted again.

Therefore, neither he, his son, or his old subordinates had such a strong sense of belonging to the State of Chen.

Maybe he still had some anger towards Emperor Wen.

After all, he was the one who "dealt with" her.

Chun Yuliang pondered for a long time at this moment, "Then what do you think we should do?"

"It's better to surrender to Han."

"Even Wang Lin can be reused under the Heavenly King, why can't we?"

"Besides, the Han Kingdom is now strong and is about to destroy the Zhou Kingdom. The Zhou Kingdom is not their enemy, let alone the Chen Kingdom. If we wait until they destroy the Chen Kingdom before surrendering, it will be too late."

Chun Yuliang smiled and said, "The emperor has entrusted us with important matters. If we defect at this time, wouldn't we be considered villains?"

Chun Yu Cen was stunned for a moment.

"This"

"There is a way to submit to the will of heaven. You can't be impatient, and you can't act rashly. You need to choose the right time, the right opportunity."

"The emperor has given us the trust and sent us an army to fight, and even sent us father and son to fight together. If we defect at this time, no matter how great our achievements are in the future, we will still be considered as a villain. Don't worry, and prepare for the war with peace of mind. I will make arrangements for other matters."

"only!!"

Changan.

Yuwen Xian stood at the gate of the imperial palace, listening to the crying sounds coming from all around him and looking at the capital city in front of him that was filled with black smoke.

Liu Taozi destroyed the city walls of Chang'an and a series of military buildings.

And it was only after Liu Taozi left that Chang'an's suffering really began.

The disorderly mob quickly swallowed up the rest of Chang'an City. Nothing was left in the mansions of the rich and powerful. Even the imperial palace became one of the important targets of looting. The bricks and tiles of the imperial palace were all valuable treasures!

The collapse of order is much more terrifying than Liu Taozi's cavalry.

Yuwen Xian just stood there, his mind blank.

There were so many things to do at the moment that Yuwen Xian didn't know where to start.

"Your Majesty."

Gao Ying came up to him at some point and stood beside him.

"Why didn't the king go in?"

"Your Majesty has not returned yet. If I were to do anything in the palace, it would be inappropriate."

Gao Jiong shook his head. "It is urgent right now. Please do not bother with all the etiquette. His Majesty has issued an imperial edict to you in the hope that you can appease all places with the order of the Son of Heaven."

“I don’t know how to comfort you.”

"It's Chang'an that I don't know how to appease. All the secrets in the palace have been taken away. The governor Zhou Nan left the county to defend the king. I want to give an order directly to Wen Tang County to prepare supplies to rescue Chang'an."

"But I don't even know who the county magistrate of Wentang County is!!"

"Don't be depressed, my king."

Gao Jiong could actually understand Yuwen Xian's feelings at the moment.

The emperor was seriously ill, his home was robbed, all important secrets were stolen, and the officials in the court were missing. Yuwen Xian suddenly lost control of the country and couldn't even find the list of officials under his command. Everything was covered with the fog of war. The worst thing was that the decision-making and executive bodies collapsed, and he was left with only a group of soldiers.
Gao Jiong raised his head and said seriously: "Your Majesty, the situation has become so bad now, what is there to be afraid of?"

"Instead of standing here and sighing, we should start construction immediately. These things are not irreparable. The sooner we act, the sooner everything will be settled."

"The first step is to pacify the troops at hand."

"Then, we can use the royal family in our hands to go to various places, appease the local officials and generals, conduct a thorough investigation, and then record the secrets."

"We can rebuild the offices of spring, summer, autumn and winter and restore their functions." Gao Jiong began to talk about his reconstruction strategy, but Yuwen Xian interrupted him.

"The enemy is still outside! How can I do this with peace of mind?"

"Liu Taozi won't come again in a short time. We only have two things to worry about."

"First, they are from Chen, and second, they are traitors."

"The Chen army has occupied Nanyang and is ready to take Jiangling. However, Jiangling is strong, but the morale is low at the moment. Please send a famous duke to lead a few brave warriors to reinforce Jiangling, reward the army, boost morale, and hold on."

"At the same time, you can send envoys to the State of Chen."

"At present, Han is strong and Zhou is turbulent. Although there are many brave men among the Chen people, many of them are content with the status quo and only seek to protect themselves. We can let the envoys tell the Lord of Chen that Zhou is in danger. If Chen forces too much, I am afraid that all places will return to Han. Once Han gets Zhou land, it will definitely go south and attack Chen!"

"Even if we can't convince them to join forces with us, we must make them stop attacking."

"As for the local rebels, Your Majesty has implemented many reforms since he ascended the throne, and many people are dissatisfied. I'm afraid there are many people with ulterior motives in various places. When Your Majesty sends royal family members to pacify various places, as long as you inform the palaces of vacancies and intend to promote local nobles to take up positions, many things can be settled. At present, important officials have been slaughtered, and the court is short of officials. This can be used by Your Majesty."

Gao Ying spoke slowly, dissecting the many problems he faced bit by bit, and then gave solutions one by one.

Yuwen Xian's sad eyes gradually calmed down and became bright again.

He suddenly grabbed Gao Ying's hand, his face excited.

"Zhao Xuan! I want you to lead the junior minister to the position of senior official to help me rebuild the government. What do you think?"

Gao Ying was stunned.

This small chancellor is an official of six ranks, equivalent to the right-hand man of the big chancellor. If we take the State of Qi as an example, one is equivalent to the Shizhong Lu Shangshu Shi, and the other is equivalent to the Sanqi and Shangshu Ling.

Initially, the Grand Chancellor was only responsible for taxes, money, official transfers, palace guards and the like. During Yuwen Hu's reign, the power of this official position became infinite. He could have a hand in everything and had his own decision-making power, more than the emperor. That's why Yuwen Yong hurriedly weakened the authority of the Grand Chancellor after he came to power. As a result, the power of the Grand Chancellor's deputies and subordinates was also astonishingly great.

During the reign of Yuwen Hu, Xiao Zongzai could even show disrespect to Da Situ.
Gao Jiong lowered his head hastily and said, "Your Majesty, I am still young, and my qualifications and achievements are shallow, how can I do it?"

"Didn't you just say that?"

"Now is not the time to talk about these etiquettes!"

"I value your talents. You are probably the only one who can help me restore this mess!"

"Just follow my orders!"

"only!!"

It was not until Gao Jiong received the order that Yuwen Xian's mood improved a lot. It seemed that many of the problems he faced now were not without solutions.

He suddenly asked, "Can we still stay in Chang'an?"

"You can stay now, but after you have pacified the situation in various places, you will have to leave."

"Chang'an can no longer be defended. When Liu Taozi comes next time, he will not have several thousand cavalry. I think we can retreat to Hanzhong first and wait and see the situation."

"Hanzhong. Alas."

"Just do as you say. I just hope my brother can get better soon."

There was cheering in Tongwan City at this moment.

The soldiers on the city wall raised their weapons and let out strange shouts.

The people crowded on both sides of the road and shouted together.

A long team was heading towards the city. The king was riding a war horse in front, followed by several brave generals and wise ministers. Behind them came the huge group of captives.

The captives were still crying. The nobles had never suffered such hardship and injustice.

Except for some old and weak people who were able to get on the vehicles, the rest of the prisoners had walked all the way here, and many were killed or injured along the way.

At this time, they were no longer nobles or important officials, but just a group of captives. Their role was only to highlight the gains of this expedition and the bravery of the generals.

The news that their army had captured Chang'an made the people in the city cheer.

Normally speaking, the people would not care much about the war between the two sides, but Da Xi Zhen from the Zhou State always brought his cavalry to Xiazhou to plunder, which made the people hostile to their homeland.

Wei Xiaokuan was sitting in the car, one of the prisoners. He looked at the cheering people around him with a dazed expression.

How long has it been?

The people here used to be Zhou people. How could they be so happy to hear that Chang'an was conquered? ?

Wei Xiaokuan closed his eyes and sighed weakly.

After the long team entered the city, the captives could finally rest for some time. Liu Taozi ordered them to be taken away and guarded. Even the crown prince and others were not given much care.

Now that the army has returned to Tongwan City, everyone can finally relax completely.

Even if the enemy continues to chase us, they dare not come here to chase us.

In contrast to the dead silence on Yuwen Xian's side, the atmosphere in Tongwan City was very lively.

Liu Taozi was sitting in the government office, with the generals standing on both sides. When they talked about the war, they all laughed so hard that they couldn't stop.

Zu Ting had already drafted a memorial for the reward.

At the banquet, Liu Taozi directly gave them specific rewards.

None of the soldiers who followed Liu Taozi into the battle this time were left behind. Everyone stood up to express their gratitude, making the scene even more lively.

The banquet lasted for a long time and the sky began to darken.

At this time, Zu Ting suddenly proposed: "Your Majesty, we have captured a lot of fine wine from the Zhou Kingdom. In the past, the country banned alcohol because it did not want to waste food. Now the wine is ready, and it would be a pity to throw it away. It happened that we won a great victory and everyone was awarded a title. Why not reward the fine wine to the generals and lift the ban for only one day?"

After hearing this, everyone fell silent and looked at Liu Taozi.

Liu Taozi spoke.

"it is good."

"Long live!!!"

Everyone cheered, Zu Ting stroked his beard and smiled as he asked for wine.

Because of the strict prohibition on alcohol, these generals haven't smelled alcohol for a long time.

How could they miss such an opportunity to drink openly? They were all very excited. Zu Ting really didn't lie. This guy brought back a batch of royal wine from Chang'an. The generals were overjoyed and drank together.

Liu Taozi didn't stay here for too long. He gave Zu Ting a look, and Zu Ting followed him out of here.

The banquet for the rest of the people continued as usual.

The two walked on the road one after the other.

"I want to set up a temporary palace in Tongwan City and stay here for the time being."

"As for the affairs of the country, there is a way. With Gao and the two of them, I have nothing to worry about. Now is the time to destroy Zhou. What do you think, Grandfather?"

Zu Ting hesitated for a moment, and then said firmly: "I am willing to stay with Your Majesty!"

"it is good."

Liu Taozi looked up and gazed at the stars that were vaguely appearing in the sky.

"Grandfather, on our way back, some of the enemy officials in Liang, Gan and other places sent envoys to Ling, Xia and other places to request surrender."

Zu Ting frowned immediately.

How could I not know about this?

Zu Ting asked hurriedly, "Who played this?"

"it's me!"

Then I heard a voice behind me, and a man came out from behind, leaning on a cane and coughing.

Zu Ting was displeased, "How dare you! Who is eavesdropping on secrets?!"

"Just now, His Majesty asked me to go out with him. My grandfather is arrogant and can't tolerate others. I guess he has never seen it."

As the man spoke, he slowly walked in front of Zu Ting. When he looked at Zu Ting, there was no fear in his eyes.

The person who came was the governor of Xiazhou, Xu Yuan.

Zu Ting looked at him with a somewhat unfriendly look, "If His Majesty had given the order, why didn't you go out with him, but just followed behind him in silence?"

"Zugong only listens to others' flattery everyday, how can he hear me speak?"

"you!!"

Zu Ting had never suffered such an injustice before, and just as he was about to retort, Liu Taozi grabbed his hand.

"Grandfather, please don't be rude."

Zu Ting had no choice but to swallow his anger.

(End of this chapter)