Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 482 Qing Tiao Hou

In July, the weather is clear and cool.

The knights carried the Zhou Lord's edicts and traveled back and forth between various places, pacifying many areas.

The three armies all slowed down their advance and only sent troops to accept surrenders. There was no resistance anywhere, and the Han-Zhou War was coming to an end.

Shu County.

Outside the steps of the government office, fully armed soldiers were stationed on both sides.

They are tall and upright, looking straight ahead, motionless.

Emperor Zhou's last emperor, Yuwen Yun, put on his own crown and robes and held the seal in his hand. Dozens of people who looked like officials stood not far away.

Yuwen Yun looked at the clothes he was wearing and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He had worn this set of clothes only twice in total, the first time was when he ascended the throne, and the second time was now when he was about to surrender.

And the ministers around him, this was the first time he met them since he ascended the throne.

The old ministers shed tears.

Perhaps they were reminiscing about their homeland, as they looked at the emperor holding the seal and touching the crown, they all burst into tears.

Yuwen Yun searched among the crowd for a long time and finally found an acquaintance.

That’s right, it was Yuwen Shan who was captured again.

Yuwen Shan was injured in the battle and could not move forward, so he was captured by the Han army. Just when he recovered, he saw Yuwen Yun being captured.

Yuwen Shan's heart seemed to be dead, his face was numb and his expression was dull.

Yuwen Yun sneaked up to him and said, "You are here too!!"

Yuwen Yun's face was filled with smiles.

Yuwen Shan slowly raised his head and opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Why should you be sad? This is the will of heaven. Even if you are the emperor, how can you resist the will of heaven?"

"Let me tell you, the Han army can use magic. The horses have grown wings and can fly. This is absolutely beyond human power. I saw it with my own eyes!"

Yuwen Yun said with a solemn oath.

As Yuwen Shan listened to his words, his expression became more and more sad.

Yuwen Yun ignored this and lowered his voice and asked, "When I see Your Majesty later, what should I say to save my life?"

Yuwen Shan finally showed some reaction.

"Liu Taozi will not kill your Majesty. Your Majesty just needs to keep quiet."

Yuwen Yun asked: "But I heard that he killed nobles who surrendered in the past."

Yuwen Shan stopped talking.

Yuwen Yun was a little displeased. After waiting for a long time, a guard finally came out and allowed them to go in and pay their respects.

Yuwen Yun led the ministers and marched towards the government office in a mighty procession.

Yuwen Yun always felt that surrendering in such a place was really a loss of status. Considering the status of both parties, they should at least surrender in a big place like Chang'an or Yecheng, right?

He was lost in thought, and under the gaze of the soldiers, he kept walking forward, all the way to the meeting hall.

This is certainly not comparable to the imperial palace. It still looks shabby and not up to standard.

However, Yuwen Yun had no say in this matter.

Liu Taozi rarely put on the crown and robes. Yuwen Yun took a look and felt that the robes looked inappropriate on Liu Taozi, as if he had put cloth on a bear. It looked strange no matter how he looked at it.

The many commanders and generals of the Han State who participated in the war stood on both sides.

They stood according to their status. Zu Ting, Gao Changgong and others stood at the front, leading the civil and military officials of the Han Dynasty respectively.

Yuwen Yun walked in front, came to the designated place, and then knelt down and kowtowed to Liu Taozi.

"Your Majesty led the royal army to bring peace to the four directions. At first, I did not know the will of heaven, so I dared to obstruct it. Now I know that I am not virtuous enough, and I have assumed the will of heaven, made laws and issued edicts, which is actually against the will of Your Majesty. Now I am willing to surrender to Your Majesty, give up the title of emperor, and pay homage to you."

Yuwen Yun had been taught these words by someone, and his language was extremely humble. It was fine at the beginning, but in the end, he was almost pointing at himself and calling himself a thief.

The ministers were naturally even more sad, but they were powerless to stop it.

After Yuwen Yun formally surrendered to Liu Taozi, Zu Ting sent someone to take away Yuwen Yun's seal and imperial seal, and also changed his clothes.

Liu Taozi conferred him the title of Qingtiao Hou. This did not meet the conditions for ennobling a place, but it also showed that the emperor had no intention of giving him any place as a fief.

If Yuwen Yun had surrendered at the beginning, he might have been able to get a good title of marquis, regardless of whether he had a fief or not, at least he would have saved his face.

But now, he surrendered after being captured, so being conferred the title of marquis was a naked humiliation.

The word "light and graceful" comes from the line "The Chu army is light and graceful, and easily shaken" in Zuo Zhuan.

Yuwen Yun was not touched by this. He was lucky to be able to save his life. Why would he care whether it was a humiliation or not? ?
Zu Ting was standing not far away and chuckled when he heard the enthronement.

It is indeed the legacy of the Han Dynasty.

Then came the question of how to deal with the other surrendered officials and ministers.

Liu Taozi pardoned the soldiers who led the troops to fight against the Han army, and at the same time rewarded some people who made contributions after surrendering.

Finally, he announced the official demise of the Zhou Dynasty, and that the territory of the Zhou Dynasty would from then on belong to the Han Dynasty. He ordered Yuwen Yun to be taken on a carriage and sent to live in Yecheng.

There is one more very important thing.

"Although Yuwen Yong led his troops to resist the Heavenly Master, he made great mistakes, but considering his meritorious service in government and his son's surrender, his sacrifice was not cut off, and he was renamed Marquis of Zhou, given a posthumous title, and his sons and nephews were sent to preside over the sacrifice."

"Although Yuwen Xian was stubborn and did not know the will of heaven, his loyalty and righteousness should be remembered and his sacrifices should be continued, allowing him to be worshipped in the Zhouhou Temple."

Liu Taozi did not directly prohibit the sacrificial activities for Yuwen Yong, Yuwen Xian and others. He allowed their descendants to hold sacrificial activities to commemorate them. He would not directly label them as treacherous ministers and evil villains in an official manner and carry out crusades against them.

The person is already dead and the Zhou Dynasty has perished, so there is no need for this.

This can be regarded as the Han Dynasty clarifying some past rumors, such as the rumor that Yuwen Xian killed the king. If Yuwen Xian really killed the king, Liu Taozi would not allow sacrifices to be offered to him, let alone allow him to be sacrificed together with Yuwen Yong.

Zu Ting actually didn’t quite understand why the king wanted to do this. Perhaps it was out of respect for the two brothers?
After being busy for a long time, Yuwen Yun and others left in a hurry.

Although Zhou had been destroyed, the final finishing work was still going on, so Liu Taozi was not in a hurry to give out rewards.

After the court meeting ended, everyone left, but two people followed Liu Taozi and walked towards the backyard together.

One is Gao Changgong and the other is Zheng Daoqian.

Zu Ting naturally followed along.

The group returned to the backyard and Liu Taozi asked them all to sit down.

He first looked at Zheng Daoqian with respect in his eyes.

"Mr. Zheng has made great contributions, which is truly admirable."

Liu Taozi's words were quite sincere, but Zheng Daoqian hurriedly said, "We were able to win this battle because of your majesty's benevolence and the soldiers' dedication. What I did was just a small thing and is really not worth mentioning."

Zu Ting laughed loudly, "No, no, since Duke Zheng came to Zhou, we have been able to foresee everything and make the right judgment every time. Just this time, if Duke Zheng hadn't told us, I'm afraid Yuwen Yun would have run away, causing a lot of trouble."

"Besides, it's really not easy for Duke Zheng. It's been so many years."

Even Gao Changgong said, "If it weren't for Duke Zheng, I wouldn't have been able to capture Yuwen Yun alive."

Zheng Daoqian didn't know what to say for a moment.

His experiences over the years were not easy at all. Yang Jian was a smart man, and Zheng Daoqian always acted like an anti-Liu Han. He even had to do things that betrayed Liu Han's interests many times. He submitted correct memorials to the emperor, but all of these were to play a role at the most critical moment.

Now, these hard days are finally over.

Zheng Daoqian was still a little worried.

"Your Majesty, I had to do some things to gain the thief's trust."

"It's okay. I know everything. Lord Zheng, I will allow you to take a three-day vacation. Go back and have a good rest. Don't worry about those things."

After Liu Taozi comforted him with a few words, Zheng Daoqian finally relaxed, bowed, and then said goodbye and left.

Looking at Zheng Daoqian walking away, Zu Ting stroked his beard and said, "I think he can have a good rest for three days."

Gao Changgong looked at him and asked, "Does Grandpa want to rest for a few days?"

"Hahaha, it's not time yet." Zu Ting quickly looked at Liu Taozi, "Your Majesty, the armies can withdraw one by one."

“Reduce food consumption first.”

"Guanzhong and Bashu have been reduced to ruins. I think we should exempt them for three years to calm people's hearts."

“The division of this state and county.”

Zu Ting skillfully took out a map from his arms. Zu Ting had prepared this map a long time ago. He started preparing it after he captured Chang'an and got the accurate map.

Zu Ting not only prepared for the regional division of Bashu and other places in advance, he also prepared for that of the State of Chen. When he decided to assist Liu Taozi in raising an army, he began to try to divide the world into prefectures and counties.

The map was placed in front of the three people. Gao Changgong took a few glances at it and felt a little surprised.

"My ancestors used to divide the land roughly and didn't like to divide it into more states and counties. Why is it so difficult today?"

Zu Ting's map was different from the previous style. The division of prefectures and counties was more detailed. In the Guanzhong area alone, he divided it into four prefectures, and in Bashu, he divided it into six prefectures. Together with Gan and Liang, there were twelve prefectures in total.

The Han Dynasty used to have twenty-one states, and with these twelve, the number of states has reached thirty-three.

Zu Ting narrowed his eyes. "Hebei and Henan are both our hinterland, close to Yecheng. However, Guanzhong and Bashu have been separated from us for a long time, so this area should be subdivided."

"Besides, the roads between Guanzhong and Bashu are difficult to travel and the government orders are difficult to implement. If they are not divided, it will lead to low efficiency and be detrimental to future governance."

Although the war was won, the dawn of a unified world had already appeared.

But they inherited a mess.

Conquering is important, but governing is even more important. If the people's livelihood cannot be stabilized and the local people cannot be appeased, the newly recovered land will continue to deplete the national strength of the Han State itself. Instead of strengthening it, it may even bring huge damage.

Zu Ting pondered for a long time, and then looked at Liu Taozi. For the first time, he was a little hesitant.

Liu Taozi and Gao Changgong could both see that Zu Ting was thinking, but neither of them spoke to disturb him.

Zu Ting pondered for a long time, and suddenly said: "Your Majesty, the selection of the governor is easy. We can promote prefects or officials with outstanding political achievements and reputations to take the position. We can also promote some wise men from the past Zhou Kingdom. But, should we still set up two Xingtai?"

"Taiwan?"

"Based on the situation in the two places, we will set up a Guanzhong Road Office and a Bashu Road Office respectively, and then send two highly respected and virtuous people to serve as the Shangshu Ling of the Office, who will be in charge of all matters under their jurisdiction and can make their own decisions. This will increase efficiency and adapt to local conditions."

Zu Ting slowly expressed his thoughts.

Gao Changgong didn't understand much about this, so he chose to remain silent.

Liu Taozi asked: "Is it useful?"

“It’s useful in the short term, but then it has to be removed.”

"If it's useful, then come as you said."

As for how to clean up the current mess, Zu Ting actually couldn't come up with any new and unique ideas. He could come up with surprising strategies in wars, but when it came to governance, he could only do it honestly, step by step.

Even if some places are special, they are treated in a similar way, namely, registering households, granting arable land, reducing taxes, clearing out thieves, and allowing the place to recover slowly.

This war has caused great trouble to the North. It is not possible to pacify these places with the whole country's strength.

In this first year, we can only arrange the officials first, and then wait for the North to recover, and then slowly support this side, and then improve the overall national strength.

In this situation, the selection of local officials becomes the most important thing.

The one-time expansion was too large, and there were not enough reserve officials.

According to Zu Ting's proposal, the Han State began to adjust its strategy, switching from offense to defense, hoping to develop peacefully and avoid wars breaking out in the short term.

Although the Han-Zhou War ended and the Chen State withdrew its troops, the Han State was actually still in a state of war.

It’s not just because the troops from all over the country are still outside, the most important thing is that the fighting is still going on in the north.

That's right, when Liu Taozi led the army to Chang'an, Yuwen Yong's father-in-law began harassment and attacks from the north, and Liu Taozi's father-in-law went out to resist.

The fourth Father-in-law War broke out, and the two sides have been fighting intermittently until now.

Hulugu never let the other party gain any advantage.

Although they were at a disadvantage in terms of troop strength, they relied on their advantages in weaponry and troop quality to successfully repel several enemy attacks. However, they were unable to launch offensive operations due to logistical constraints, which was a bit frustrating.

In addition, although Yuwen Yun surrendered, the Han State had not yet completely made all the Zhou people submit to it.

White Sands County.

This is an important passage from Shu to the south.

The flag of the Zhou Kingdom was still hanging above the city.

Among the residents in the city, there are many people dressed in barbarian costumes. The city is barely orderly and not in complete chaos.

In the government office in the center of the city, the last few ministers of the Zhou Kingdom sat side by side, looking at the imperial edicts in their hands.

Yuchi Jiong is here.

After being defeated, Yuchi Jiong fled all the way back to the rear, and was then ordered to meet up with Yuwen Xiaobo, pretending to lead the emperor's carriage south to attract the enemy's attack.

When they ran all the way to Baisha and were about to continue advancing southward, the Han army chased them again. However, this time they did not attack, but only brought an imperial edict from the Zhou emperor.

Demanded that all places surrender to the Han.

The seal and wording on the edict can prove that it was written by the emperor himself.

The Zhou Dynasty was destroyed.

This news completely destroyed the last bit of morale of the Zhou Kingdom.

The soldiers had completely collapsed and were unwilling to fight anymore.

Even these leading officials had different opinions.

Yuchi Jiong was unwilling to surrender.

However, the Zhou Dynasty had already perished and the emperor had surrendered. What could he do?
Yuchi Jiong slowly looked at Yuwen Xiaobo who was standing beside him.

He obviously wanted to say something, but Yuwen Xiaobo looked at him for a long time, and neither of them spoke.

But several ministers on the side could no longer sit still.

"Your Majesty has surrendered to the Han Dynasty, so why should we continue on our journey? This road is becoming increasingly difficult to travel. Moreover, if we continue to resist, who knows if the Han lord will blame your Majesty for the mistakes? Wouldn't we then become the evildoers who endanger your Majesty?"

They were talking about great righteousness, but Han Qinhu, who was standing not far away, also had a look of confusion on his face at this moment.

The young man also didn't know what to do next.

Yuchi Jiong's lips trembled for a long time, and then suddenly relaxed.

He nodded, "Okay, let's surrender."

"Everyone, please get ready, change your clothes, and leave the city to surrender."

Many of the people present had happy expressions on their faces, and everyone left one after another.

Yuchi Jiong and Yuwen Xiaobo, however, sat there motionless.

After everyone had left, the two of them stood up.

"Duke Shu, I was a little prejudiced against you in the past, and I even told His Majesty that you can't win over people like you when doing great things. I hope Duke Shu won't blame me."

Yuwen Xiaobo was the first to salute.

Yuchi Jiong smiled and said, "No problem, no problem. Speaking of which, when my useless nephew Ayun came to me and said that you were so loved that he couldn't stand it anymore, I also scolded you, saying that you were a traitor who had no ability and only knew how to please His Majesty."

The two chatted for a few words, and then Yuchi Jiong bowed in greeting.

"That's all."

"Lord Anhua, goodbye!"

Yuwen Xiaobo took a step back and saluted him, "Duke Shu, goodbye!"

The two of them smiled and turned away.

In August, Baisha surrendered.

Only Yuchi Jiong and Yuwen Xiaobo refused to surrender. They put on Zhou robes and hanged themselves in their palaces.

(End of this chapter)