Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 495: Self-Destruction of the City Wall
Qin County.

In the darkness of the night, the wind howled.

The General's Mansion of the Northern Expedition.

The government office is located in the northern part of the city.

The wall of the government office was not very high, and outside there were soldiers walking back and forth with torches.

In the cold wind, the torches kept swaying, as if they would go out at any time, but they still burned tenaciously, barely illuminating the surroundings.

The soldiers walked forward holding torches, and suddenly, a group of people appeared in front of them.

The soldiers were so frightened that the torches in their hands almost went out.

"who?!"

The group immediately raised their torches, and the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief when they saw who was coming. "General!"

The person who came was Xu Jingcheng.

Xu Jingcheng had a solemn expression on his face, and behind him were many personal soldiers.

"Is there anything strange?"

"Never!"

"Continue patrolling."

"only."

After giving the order, Xu Jingcheng led everyone into the government office.

Xu Jingcheng was responsible for protecting Huang Fachi's safety. He was free to enter and leave the government offices and no one dared to stop him.

He strode along the small path inside the government office. On the way he met many soldiers, who all bowed to him. Xu Jingcheng did not slow down, but walked faster and faster.

The wind was very strong tonight, the flags were shaking violently, and the sound of the wind was like the howling of ghosts and wolves, sweeping across the entire city.

Xu Jingcheng and others walked very quickly, and before they knew it, they had arrived outside the general's bedroom.

Some light could still be seen in the bedroom.

The people inside didn't seem to be asleep yet.

Xu Jingcheng stood here, looking ahead blankly, and stopped moving forward.

The soldiers guarding here looked at Xu Jingcheng with some curiosity, but did not dare to say much.

After waiting for a while, Xu Jingcheng took the lead and walked towards the dormitory door.

"Boom, boom, boom."

"General."

Xu Jingcheng shouted.

"Come in."

Huang Fachi's voice sounded.

Xu Jingcheng pushed open the door. The other soldiers wanted to go forward, but Xu Jingcheng glared at them and the soldiers stayed at the door. Xu Jingcheng turned around and closed the door, then looked inside the house.

The decoration inside the house is very simple.

This house doesn't look like the house of a high-ranking general at all. The walls are covered with maps, and the sides are piled with documents and various materials sent from various places. There are no decorations in sight.

Sitting near the window, Huang Fateu, wrapped in a fur coat, was looking at the documents on the desk in the dim light.

There were a lot of things piled up on his left and right.

Huang Fachi was originally quite tall, but he had become increasingly thin in recent days, with graying beard. He sat there hunched over, completely lacking the tall and straight figure he used to be.

Looking at the person coming, Huang Fachi laughed.

"Jingcheng is here. The door is drafty and it's cold. Come and sit down."

Xu Jingcheng walked closer and out of the darkness.

His eyes were bloodshot and filled with an indescribable fatigue.

"sit."

Huang Fate spoke again.

Xu Jingcheng sat next to him.

Huang Fate looked down at the documents again. "The enemy has made unusual movements. I have checked carefully. Those people who said they were coming from the south were all old subordinates of Ouyang He. I was almost deceived by them. I think we must explore the islands along the coast. The enemy must have supply points to connect with the bandits in the southernmost part."

"If they agree with the barbarians in the south to invade together, it will be a disaster."

"Ouyang He is very prestigious over there."

Huang Fate said in a low voice, "It is difficult to tell the court about this matter. There are many people in the court who dare not kill Han people, but only dare to capture the barbarians in Guangzhou to vent their anger. Those people also farm, and their language and customs are no different from ours. Although they are not tall, they are very brave and know how to be grateful."

"If we can arrange for capable officials to go there and treat them with benevolence, we can not only increase the population by hundreds of thousands, but also increase the number of tens of thousands of brave men. If the court knew that these people might unite with the Northern Hu, I am afraid that the court would rush to attack them, which would only push them completely to the enemy's side."

Huang Fate has his own considerations on many things.

The book was written for a long time and many words were said, but Xu Jingcheng never responded.

Huang Fateu took the initiative to ask: "Does Jingcheng have something to report?"

"I have a pot of wine specially presented to the general."

Huang Fachi suddenly stopped writing, raised his head and looked in the direction of Xu Jingcheng.

Half of Xu Jingcheng's face was hidden in the darkness.

The half of his face that could be seen was twitching unnaturally at this moment. His eyes were empty and his teeth were chattering with each other, which was very awkward.

The two just stared at each other in silence for a long time.

Huang Fate dropped the pen in his hand and said, "So you came here for this matter."

"good."

"Show it to me. What kind of wine is it?"

Only then did Xu Jingcheng take out the small wine flask, which he seemed to have kept hidden in his arms before.

He slowly pushed the wine jug forward.

Huang Fatic stepped forward, grabbed the wine jug, and then examined it carefully.

“It looks like good wine.”

"It's just too small, and there's no wine cup."

Huang Fate talked to himself for a few words, and then said, "I'll drink this pot of wine later, okay?"

"can."

Huang Fachi put the wine jug aside and picked up the pen again.

This time, he wrote very quickly. His handwriting was illegible, but very fast. As Xu Jingcheng stared at him, Huang Fachi wrote furiously, writing more and more.

As Huang Fachi was writing, he looked up at the map in the distance, then lowered his head to write again.

At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside.

It sounded like someone was shouting, and then there was the sound of fighting.

Xu Jingcheng just stood up, "Bang!!"

Someone violently pushed the door open, threw the two soldiers to the ground, and then looked anxiously in the direction of Huang Fachi.

The person who rushed in was General Ren Zhong.

Ren Zhong was wearing armor and holding a knife. When he saw Huang Fachi sitting at the desk, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly pointed the knife at Xu Jingcheng.

Huang Fate looked at him, "Feng Cheng! What are you doing?!"

Ren Zhong said angrily: "General! Xu Jingcheng is rebelling!"

"His personal soldiers have occupied the backyard and are not allowing anyone to approach. I asked them to report this to me, but they actually wanted to arrest me! Please give the order quickly and kill the rebels!!"

Xu Jingcheng stood there and did not speak to defend himself.

Huang Fate sat there and was silent for a moment.

"Sincerely, don't talk nonsense."

"It was me who let Xu Jingcheng in, and it was me who asked him to impose martial law. Isn't your action treason?"

Ren Zhong was shocked, "General, yes."

"No need to say more."

"How dare you be so rude! Someone, take Ren Zhong away and give him twenty strokes of the cane!!"

"General!!"

Ren Zhong was stunned and didn't have time to say anything before soldiers rushed in and escorted him out.

Only after the soldiers closed the door again did Huang Fatic look at Xu Jingcheng.

"Ren Zhong is a useful talent, and has the potential to become a famous general."

"Um"

Huang Fate wrote the document in front of him again, "If I am gone one day, the Northern Hu will definitely move south. If that day comes, you should read what I wrote. There are contents here on how to defend against enemies from two directions."

"I predict that Yao Xiong and Gao Yanzong will use their elite cavalry to attack important towns and cut off communication between various places. Gao Changgong will probably try to stop us from escaping, but he may also feint an attack on us and directly attack the key towns from Jingbei. We must be on guard."

As he was speaking, Xu Jingcheng suddenly knelt on the ground.

He couldn't hold back any longer, tears welled up in his eyes and he burst into tears.

"General, it's not that I'm disloyal. It's not that I'm disloyal. My family, my people, I...I have no choice but to obey...General!"

"I have failed the general! I have failed the country!!"

Looking at Xu Jingcheng who was crying bitterly, Huang Fachi felt a little dazed.

"Some things are beyond your control. No problem, no problem." "Where are the imperial troops?"

"I've already landed and am waiting for my message, General. How about you..."

Huang Fate interrupted Xu Jingcheng with his hand, "Don't cause you any trouble."

He sorted out the documents on the desk and carefully placed them somewhere far away.

"Zu Ting's reputation is well-deserved. People say he is as cunning as a wolf. I think he is much more cunning than jackals."

"The river defenses I worked so hard to build are no better than a few nursery rhymes."

Huang Fachi raised the wine jug in his hand.

"The King of Han is indeed amazing. He can entrust such a person with such an important task. He has tried to win me over several times in the past, but unfortunately, we share the same aspirations but different paths."

He slammed the drink into his mouth.

Just one sip and the wine jug was empty, with nothing left.

He threw the wine jug to Xu Jingcheng.

Xu Jingcheng had already cried so much that he was unrecognizable. He did not dare to look up at Huang Fachi, and his whole body was shaking constantly.

Huang Fachi looked toward the south from the window in sorrow.

"It's a pity that I didn't have time to follow those two of mine."

Before Huang Fachi could finish his words, blood began to flow from the corner of his mouth. His face was distorted with pain and he covered his abdomen.

As he fell, a gust of wind blew into the house.

The only candle in the room was immediately extinguished by the cold wind.

After the sound of someone falling to the ground, the room became pitch black.

In this darkness, all that can be heard are painful cries and roars.

At the same time, in the parade ground outside the city.

Ren Zhong was supported by several soldiers and limped into the tent.

Several confidants were helpless, "General, this is great, we have offended General Huang again, what are we going to do in the future?"

Ren Zhong lay on the bed in pain, frowning. The more he thought about what happened today, the more it seemed wrong.

General Huang kicked me out without even asking what I wanted to report.

Moreover, Xu Jingcheng's personal soldiers.
Ren Zhong raised his head abruptly, endured the pain in his back, and stood up. He looked around, "Something is wrong!!"

He recalled again the scene of himself breaking into General Huang's house.

For a moment, he turned pale with fright.

"not good!"

"The imperial court is not rebelling, it is the imperial court that wants to kill General Huang!!"

When his confidants heard this, they immediately panicked.

"General, how is this possible? The court just sent an envoy to confer the reward not long ago."

"I can't be wrong!"

Ren Zhong gritted his teeth, his expression becoming more frightening. "Well, take a few more people with you and go to the government office to find out the situation. Say that you have very important intelligence to report!"

"only!!"

The two confidants turned around and walked out.

Ren Zhong looked at the rest of the people and said, "Everyone, if General Huang is really killed by the imperial court, then we can't stay here anymore."

"I was born in a humble family and was looked down upon by them. I have followed General Hua, General Ouyang, and Xu Jingcheng. They are not the same kind of people!"

"General Huang kept us by his side regardless of our backgrounds, but if he were gone, the court would kill us next! Besides, I also attacked Xu Jingcheng today. Yes, yes, General Huang hit me to protect me!!"

Ren Zhong figured out a lot of things.

The confidants looked solemn and looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

Ren Zhong looked at them fiercely, "Go wake up the brothers and tell them to be ready. If General Huang was really murdered, then we will raise an army to kill him. Chen Xu, that bastard, has killed so many generals. If he can't even tolerate General Huang, then we don't have to work for him anymore!"

"It's better to surrender to Han!"

"The Han Kingdom didn't even kill soldiers who surrendered, let alone generals?"

These confidants were a little afraid, "General, we are far away from the Han people. If we raise an army..."

Ren Zhong was not afraid, "What are you afraid of?"

"Who in this Jiangbei area doesn't remember General Huang's kindness? If the imperial court really killed him, we would raise an army in his name and avenge him. It's just that General Huang doesn't want to do this. Those good-for-nothings in the imperial court, huh."

The confidants left and began to prepare.

Ren Zhong put on his armor again and sat in the tent with a cold face, waiting for his confidants to come back.

After a long time, just when Ren Zhong couldn't help but go out to investigate himself, someone finally ran back, but only one person.

"General! This is bad!"

"There is a large army outside the city, martial law is in place everywhere, Li Cheng has been captured by them!"

Ren Zhong was furious.

"Someone is coming!!"

"Follow me and shout along the way: The imperial court murdered General Huang. Kill those people to avenge General Huang!!"

"only!!"

"kill!!!"

A moment later, the army camp exploded, and soldiers were seen running around, shouting that General Huang had been killed and that those who supported General Huang were on the left! !

By the time the generals came out to try to contain the chaos, it was too late.

A large number of soldiers rushed out of their respective areas. Some directly killed the officers who forbade them to go out. The training ground was in chaos and the soldiers killed each other. When the imperial army arrived, these people finally found their target and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.

At this moment, Xu Jingcheng was taking Lu Guangda into the city.

Seeing flames rising into the sky in the distance, Xu Jingcheng thought to himself that something was wrong, and everyone hurriedly led their troops there.

Xu Jingben originally wanted to use his prestige to persuade everyone to go back, but he just let his head slip and was nearly shot to death.

Ren Zhong rode a horse, holding a torch, and commanded his personal soldiers to fight against the oncoming army.

In the chaos, Xu Jingcheng saw Ren Zhong.

"Ren Mannu!! Why betray me?!"

When Ren Zhong saw Xu Jingcheng, he was extremely jealous of his enemies. He immediately asked, "Where is General Huang?!"

Xu Jingcheng fell silent.

The commotion caused by his silence was unimaginable. The generals who were fighting with the rebel soldiers hurriedly ordered them to stop and began to inquire about Huang Fachi's whereabouts.

At first, they just thought it was a rebellion and didn't take their shouting seriously, but now the situation
Seeing the looks of the crowd, Lu Guangda had no choice but to ride his horse forward.

"General Lu Guangda is here! By order of the Emperor! Stop it now!"

Ren Zhong didn't indulge him at all.

"Lu Guangda! I'm your mother! How dare you murder General Huang!!"

"Brothers, the evidence is irrefutable!! I am willing to avenge the general!"

Ren Zhong shouted loudly, and the soldiers became even more confused.

There were constant shouts and cries of killing outside the city, and soldiers were killing each other everywhere. No one could tell who was who, they just killed indiscriminately.

As the sky gradually brightened, the scene outside the city had become a hell.

Corpses were everywhere and blood was flowing like a river.

Lu Guangda was riding a war horse, and there was no intact part of his body. Xu Jingcheng was seriously injured and had been carried away for treatment.

There were not many soldiers left in the city or those brought by Lu Guangda.

Ren Zhong also disappeared, and peace finally returned outside the city.

However, this strong smell of blood was just the beginning.

As the news gradually spread, Jiangbei was in complete chaos.

Ren Zhong led his men to another place, spreading the news along the way to attract soldiers to join him. He raised the banner of revenge for Huang Fachi and continued the military orders from Huang Fachi's time, that civilians must not be harmed wherever they went.

This was supported by the majority of people.

Jiangbei was a new territory for the State of Chen, and the locals might not have much identification with the emperor of Chen, but they had deep feelings for Huang Fachi, who had governed here for several years and done an excellent job.

All of a sudden, various places in Jiangbei rose up in arms and announced their independence from the State of Chen.

It took Huang Fachi three years to build the Jiangbei defense line.

In less than ten days, it was torn to pieces.

At this time, the armies of Yao Xiong and Gao Yanzong had already entered the Lianghuai region. Under the current circumstances, the people in Jiangbei had almost no will to fight and surrendered one after another.

When Lu Guangda reacted, his mission changed from guarding Jiangbei to escaping Jiangbei with his manpower.

Jiankang.

Chen Xu sat in the upper seat, looking at the battle report in his hand.

His hands began to tremble.

"I'm not saying. Secret, secret."

When he saw the subsequent reactions from various places, he felt dizzy and almost fainted.

(End of this chapter)