Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 454: The Han Army Arrives, Don't Move

In the vast desert, a cold wind blew, stirring up a sky full of dust.

There were more than ten guides walking in front of the army, half of whom were Hu people. They were accustomed to the wind and sand, and were talking loudly and having a great time.

Huluxian was not used to this.

He didn't even dare to open his mouth, as he would just swallow sand. There was no official road from Lingzhou to Lianggan, only an uninhabited desert and wilderness.

Over the years, countless regimes have changed here, but none of them has thought of repairing the important trade routes of the past. Wars and other reasons have caused greater damage to the environment here. The ancient official roads have been completely buried. The lush land in the early Han Dynasty has become barren at this moment, and the "treasure land" has become a desert.

The scenery on both sides seemed to be repeating itself over and over again, without any change.

There is no green to be seen in the endless desert, and even the occasional vegetation is gray and covered with soil.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the guide signaled them to stop.

After experiencing the same landscape countless times, they finally saw something new and different.

A dilapidated inn appeared before them.

This inn had been abandoned long ago, with half of its body covered by dust. One could still vaguely see its original appearance, but it was no longer habitable. The area should have been quite large. Just looking at the ruins, it could have easily accommodated nearly a hundred people in the past.

They camped outside this deserted inn tonight.

In such an environment, it is impossible to travel at night.

Just as the soldiers were busy setting up camp and resting, the guides returned to Huoluxian to report the situation and inform him of the next journey.

Huluxian was quite interested in the abandoned post house in front of him and asked about its origins.

"This is a post station during the ancient Han Dynasty. At that time, a Qiang tribe was stationed here. The Han Dynasty set up a post station here to trade with the Qiang people and convey news. If a war broke out, the Qiang people here would be recruited to join the war."

"This area was once bustling for a while, but then the wars continued, the water supply dried up, people left, the post station was broken, and it became what it is today."

The person who spoke was a Hu guide who seemed to be quite familiar with the surrounding situation.

Huluxian stroked his beard gently and asked, "Why hasn't anyone thought of repairing the posthouse here and restoring this road in all these years?"

The guide shook his head. "It's a thankless task. The government is unwilling to do it, and the cost of repairing it is too high. Besides, there is no point in repairing it. We still have to go to Chang'an anyway."

Huluxian shook his head. "If I am stationed at the border in the future, the first thing I will do is to repair the roads so that they extend in all directions. Only then can I develop myself. The Liang-Gan trade route was famous throughout the world in the past. How can I let it be abandoned like this?"

The guide thought the general was just bragging, but he still agreed with him on the surface.

The straight-line distance between Wuwei County in Liangzhou and Lingwu County in Lingzhou is actually not far, but due to the environment, the two sides have to first go south from Wuwei County to Jincheng, and then go to Longxi, pass Anyang, to Pinggao, and go north to Lingwu, which is a long detour.

Liangzhou, Wuwei County.

It was really noisy outside the dilapidated city wall.

Many Hu merchants gathered here and were arguing fiercely with the soldiers stationed here.

After the fall of Chang'an, the local area was in chaos, especially in the border areas.

As orders of alert were passed down one after another, local soldiers and clerks immediately smelled a good opportunity to make a fortune.

When Chang'an fell, the most fearful people were the real officials. As for the clerks, soldiers, farmers, and merchants, they did not care that much about it.

Merchants were in a hurry to get into the city, and their goods could not be left out for too long. Some of them would go bad if left out for too long, so they had to be sold as quickly as possible.

The soldiers grabbed these merchants, they wanted to make more money. The nobles said that they had to be on high alert and they had the final say on how to guard, so they took the opportunity to make more money.

The petty clerks stood in the crowd, searching for partners to cooperate with. Most of these clerks were from the local area and wanted to find a few merchants to become their partners so that they could secretly sell things that were prohibited by the temple.

The farmer stood by the roadside, looking at the blocked road, silently worrying whether the spring planting time would be delayed.

They may know something about what happened in Chang'an, but they don't care that much.

Only in government offices is this a topic that everyone talks about.

Inside the county government office, Governor Guo sat at the upper seat, with county officials and military officers sitting on both sides. Everyone was discussing the affairs of Chang'an intensely.

"We should send troops! Why hesitate?!"

A county magistrate said, "We are paid by the emperor, so we should repay the country. Now is the time! I think we should open the arsenal, gather food and grass, and send a large number of troops to relieve the crisis in Chang'an!"

Someone immediately retorted: "How can you lead troops into the capital without an imperial decree?"

"Chang'an has been captured, how can we wait for the imperial edict? If we can't rescue the emperor now, wouldn't we be ungrateful and treacherous?"

Everyone started arguing.

The officials at that time were divided into four factions. One faction advocated sending troops to Chang'an, one faction advocated holding the city, one faction advocated blocking the roads, and one faction advocated moving the seat of government backward.

The office became extremely chaotic, with everyone arguing with each other and their faces red, and there was no trace of the demeanor of a noble person.

After staying for a short while, Governor Guo felt annoyed and left these people behind to go out and relax.

His chief clerk followed him out.

“What do you think of the officials’ ideas?”

The prefect suddenly asked.

The chief clerk looked indifferent, "He looks righteous, but in fact he has ulterior motives."

"Oh?"

"Those who proposed to send troops either wanted military merit or wanted to use the name of sending troops to privately open the arsenal, steal military equipment and food, and take control of the army. If the government is weak, they can lead the troops to start a rebellion."

"Those who proposed to hold on were either worried that the true situation of the arsenal and granary would be exposed, or they were afraid of death and did not want to fight the enemy."

"They blocked the road. Haha, the merchants outside have already been targeted by them."

"Those who propose to move the capital have even greater ambitions, or they want to flee far away with their army to do great things."

"But what they think is not important. Now the governor is in Longxi, and all major events here are under your jurisdiction. What do you think?"

Governor Guo stopped, his eyes somewhat confused, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.

After a long silence, he finally asked, "What do you think I should do?"

The chief clerk said without hesitation: "Mr. Guo, the current situation cannot be changed by human power. The Great Zhou is going to perish. Since His Majesty came to power, has he ever been kind to us? He took away our farmland today and asked us to release our tenants tomorrow. You were demoted from Hezhou to serve as the governor of this place. Why should we follow him to die together? The Han Kingdom has conquered Chang'an, and its momentum is unstoppable. Why don't you submit to the will of heaven?"

"what?!"

The governor was shocked. He looked at the chief clerk in astonishment, "You want me to surrender to Han?"

"Do you know what kind of person Liu Taozi is? Although His Majesty was harsh to us, he did not kill us. But if we fell into Liu Taozi's hands, how could we escape? In the past, many people came from the east, all of them were wise men like us, but Liu Taozi killed them all."

"Mr. Guo, how can the past and the present be the same?"

The chief clerk said hurriedly, "In the past, Liu Taozi wanted to build his own family business, so he would naturally kill all these outsiders. But now Liu Taozi is aiming for great unification. Why would he kill those who surrender first when the whole country is not yet pacified? If he kills the first people to surrender, who will dare to surrender to him in the future? Even if he defeats the Great Zhou, the governors and prefects of various places will still fight against him. He is in a hurry to unify the country, so why would he do such a foolish thing?"

"I think that now is the best time to submit to the Kingdom of Han. The King of Han will certainly not kill those who surrender first. You have helped Wuwei avoid war and protected more than 100,000 people. This merit is enough to gain a foothold by the King of Han's side. Even if the King of Han does not dare to promote you in the future, he will definitely not kill you. The King of Han is a trustworthy person, and everyone in the world knows that. Why should you be afraid?"

Upon hearing the chief clerk's words, Governor Guo's face changed drastically.

"I treat you as my confidant, how dare you betray me?!"

"You have been colluding with the Han people and want to persuade me to surrender, right?!"

The chief clerk was horrified and immediately knelt down before the prefect.

"Your Majesty has been so kind to me, how dare I do this?"

"I mean all these words sincerely!"

"The enemy has broken through Chang'an, and their army is in Lingzhou and Xiazhou. How far is Lingzhou from us?"

"Since the King of Han started his army, Yang Zhong, Duan Shao, Wu Mingche and others have been defeated by him one after another. No one can stop him. If he leads his army here, can the governor stop him?"

"If not, will it be too late to surrender then?"

The chief clerk spoke very sincerely, his voice trembling. He kept wiping his tears and looked at his own governor with grievance. His loyal look was very real.

Seeing him like this, the prefect couldn't help but hesitate.

"Get up!"

Hearing this, the chief clerk stood up and followed the governor again, bowing his head. Governor Guo stroked his beard gently, "What you said makes sense, but I am new here, and many officials may not respect me. Besides, the army of Liangzhou will not listen to me."

The chief clerk stood up hastily and grinned.

He looked around and said, "I'm willing to do this for you!"

"Oh?"

"I believe the Han people have already sent out their troops, so we need to complete this task before they arrive. What do you think?"

The prefect nodded. He probably guessed in his heart that his chief clerk must be in collusion with the Han people, otherwise he would not dare to say so confidently that the Han army was coming.

However, now that things have come to this point, it no longer matters whether he has colluded with the Han army or not. The most important thing is how to preserve his own life and that of his family.

After discussions among many officials in Wuwei, the governor believed that they should concentrate military forces from all over the country, stockpile food and supplies on the front line, and then wait for the imperial edict from Chang'an.

He asked officials from all regions to come to Wuwei to discuss strategies against the enemy.

At the same time, as the prefect, he issued an order for all counties to begin preparations for the expedition.

Many surrounding counties were once again plunged into dispute.

However, some officials chose to come forward in response to orders.

For a time, more and more officials from Wuwei gathered.

Prefect Guo once again held a banquet in his office to discuss strategies against the enemy with many talented people in the country.

The doors inside and outside the government office were open, and many servants gathered at each door to welcome the distinguished guests.

Both courtyards were extremely lively, and you could smell the aroma of wine and meat when you walked past.

The banquet was held in the back hall to show its importance.

Governor Guo sat at the upper seat, and the other officials, according to their official positions and seniority, sat on both sides, keeping a distance from each other. The hall was quite spacious, with servants coming in and out, preparing all kinds of food for everyone, and there were also musicians and dancers. Although the performance had not yet begun, it had already attracted everyone's attention.

Officials filed in one after another.

The entire back hall gradually became full, and there were no empty seats.

Last time, only officials from Wuwei County gathered together to discuss important matters, but this time, those who participated in the banquet were not only officials from Wuwei, but also officials from surrounding counties, garrisons, military offices, and everywhere else.

The crowd had not yet revealed their fear, and they were still chatting and laughing, acting like noble men.

Just when everyone was almost present, Governor Guo finally cleared his throat and looked at everyone.

"You are all my distinguished guests in Wuwei. Since you are here, I will treat you with good wine and good food. Don't be restrained!"

Governor Guo looked around, raised his wine cup, and was very graceful.

Everyone drank with him.

Afterwards, Prefect Guo expressed his feelings about the current situation in the court and talked about the chaos in various places. Everyone sighed and the atmosphere became much sadder.

Governor Guo kept repeating these words over and over without getting to the point. It seemed like he said a lot, but in fact, none of his words related to the purpose for which he had called them here.

After listening for a long time, everyone began to feel annoyed.

Finally, when Prefect Guo was describing the situation in Chang'an for the fourth time, an official could not help but interrupt him.

"Governor, we are not unaware of the situation in Chang'an. You summoned us here this time, claiming that you have a plan to defeat the enemy and save the country. What is that plan?"

Governor Guo looked towards the door.

The chief clerk had not yet appeared. Governor Guo smiled and said in a low voice: "I summoned you all here to defeat the enemy and save the country, but how can such a major event be decided by me alone? I went to summon my subordinates to discuss this matter. Everyone gave their own suggestions. Someone suggested..."

While the prefect continued to fool people, people inside and outside the office began to take action.

The slaves entered the two courtyards, took out their weapons, put on their armor, and then began to move.

Just as the Magistrate Guo was talking nonsense, he looked up and saw the chief clerk already appeared at the door.

Governor Guo suddenly stopped.

"But in my opinion."

"The Great Zhou cannot be saved. The King of Han is truly virtuous and a great leader of unification. Why don't you all follow me and submit to me?"

When the prefect was speaking earlier, everyone had a calm look on their faces and were almost sleepy listening to him, but when the prefect suddenly said this, everyone woke up instantly.

The official who had interrupted the prefect just now widened his eyes and jumped up suddenly.

"Guo Jin, are you planning a rebellion?!"

"Someone is coming!!"

Before he could shout, the chief clerk rushed into the house first. The private slaves and able-bodied men in Governor Guo's household rushed into the office with weapons, and several powerful crossbows were aimed directly at everyone.

The man was still in shock when the chief clerk stabbed him with a sword. The man was stabbed in the abdomen and fell down wailing.

The incident happened suddenly and everyone was shocked.

The chief clerk shouted loudly: "The Han army is coming! Don't move!!"

There was a sudden silence at the banquet. The officials all stood frozen in place, at a loss as to what to do.

Guo Jin stood up and looked at everyone, "Everyone, His Majesty has passed away!"

"what?!"

Everyone was shocked and looked at him.

Guo Jin said seriously, "My family has connections in the court. Don't be suspicious. I have heard about what happened over there. Prince Yuwen Xian of Qi rebelled. He seized the military power while Your Majesty was seriously ill, imprisoned Your Majesty in Nanxiang, and poisoned him! He returned to Chang'an to establish his own system, and he sent people to various places to ask them to submit to him, Yuwen Xian!!"

"I am not a traitor, nor do I intend to betray the Great Zhou!"

"It's just that I don't want to submit to a traitor like Yuwen Xian!!"

"I called you here not to kill you."

Guo Jin pointed at the fallen man and said, "Kill this man because he has been colluding with Yuwen Xian for a long time!!"

"Everyone, I want to surrender to the King of Han, avenge His Majesty, perform the etiquette of a subject, and repay the grace of heaven. What do you think?!"

As soon as Guo Jin finished asking the question, several officials stood up.

"Yuwen Xian killed the emperor and established himself as emperor. His crime is extremely heinous!!"

"We all want to follow the envoy and surrender to the Heavenly King!!"

Led by these people, other officials also nodded in approval, but there were still some tough ones.

Several officials looked at the ugly faces around them and cursed loudly.

"Guo Jin! Your family has been eating the emperor's food for generations, how can you be so shameless?!"

"Who doesn't know what kind of person the King of Qi is? How could he do such a thing?!"

"It's obvious that you are afraid of death and found such an excuse for yourself so that you can surrender to Dugu Qi and harm Zhen!"

"Everyone, don't fall for this guy's trick! The King of Qi is a kind and virtuous man. This thief."

"Pfft!"

The chief clerk drew his sword and killed the man.

The rest of the people started to fight back, but they were no match for so many slaves and servants, and were killed one after another.

Before they died, they pointed at Guo Jin and cursed: "You deserve retribution!!"

After these people were killed, Guo Jin's expression kept changing.

But there is no other choice.

"Repair the surrender letter with me!"

"Submit to the Han people!!"

(End of this chapter)