Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 52: Execution According to the Law
The road was silent.

Lu Qubing stood at the gate of the county government office, gazing into the distance, and the Hu guards came up to him with a smile.

"Lord Lu, I control the county government and eliminate the bandits for the safety of the county lord. Your Excellency has no idea how difficult it is to protect a noble man."

"In order to protect the county lord, I don't care about my own life or death, and I don't care about others."

Lu Qubing just looked at him without saying anything.

At this moment, a group of cavalry appeared in the distance.

These people were all light cavalrymen, wearing masks, and they were galloping like lightning, causing a gust of wind. The guards stopped talking and looked at these people.

Wang Fu on the roof turned over, still clinging to the roof, stuck his head out, but immediately retracted it.

A group of people quickly rushed to the front of the crowd. The leader did not dismount, but just looked coldly at the people in front of him.

"Who's in charge?"

The man spoke, his voice was cold and chilling.

The guards tactfully stepped back a few steps, allowing Lu Qubing to take the lead.

Lu Qubing bowed to the man and said, "I am Lu Qubing, the county magistrate."

"Yes, mobilize the county soldiers and tie up all the officials in the county immediately and detain them."

The man gave the order coldly.

Lu Qubing was stunned. He raised his head again and asked, "Who are you? What orders have you received to come here?!"

The knight stared at him.

"I am acting on the orders of His Majesty! Do I need to show you the imperial edict?!"

"Really needed."

The knight became furious when he heard this. He took out his whip and whipped Lu Qubing in the face.

"Snapped!"

Liu Taozi stretched out her hand and held the whip tightly.

Before the man could react, Peach pulled the knight and he flew out and fell heavily to the ground.

The other knights drew their swords.

The county soldiers also hurriedly raised their spears.

The knight got up from the ground in a panic, straightened the mask on his face, drew his sword tremblingly, and looked at the thief in front of him who had knocked him down.

"I'll enter you."

The knight said three words and then saw the person in front of him.

The knight's words stopped abruptly.

Because he was wearing a mask, no one could see the knight's face underneath the mask.

Everyone just saw the knight standing there. He didn't say anything and didn't take any action. He just stared at Liu Taozi, motionless.

The atmosphere suddenly fell into silence.

The knight slowly put away his knife and remained silent for a long time.

He finally looked at Lu Qubing who was standing aside. "Just now, there was a pigeon from the Zhou people in the county government office. I was ordered to thoroughly investigate the spies inside and outside Cheng'an. I suspect there are spies from the Zhou people in the county government office."

Lu Qubing scratched his head. He was really confused.

A lot of things have happened to Cheng'an during these days.

"You can report these matters to the county magistrate. The county magistrate will personally take charge of Cheng'an. I cannot make the decision on such a major matter."

"The county lord will be back soon."

The knight said no more. He mounted his horse again, led the knights to the other side, and waited quietly.

Lu Qubing whispered to Taozi: "Brother Taozi, I think this person is very strange. He was so irritable just now, and now he is like this..."

Taozi didn't say anything.

It was quiet here again.

It was not until the second sound of horse hooves was heard that everyone looked towards the other end of the road.

A group of knights are charging towards here.

Finally, it was no longer the luxurious carriage pulled by horses of the same color.

Wang Fu raised his head, holding a powerful crossbow, and aimed at the many knights in the distance.

Gao Changgong was riding a fine horse, with cavalrymen surrounding him in front, behind, and on both sides.

The group of people moved very quickly. Wang Fu's eyes kept turning, his face became more and more solemn, but he did not shoot.

At this moment, the knights stopped and dispersed to both sides. Gao Changgong rode on a horse with an anxious look on his face.

"who?!"

The masked knight looked around and saw Wang Fu on the roof.

Everyone looked up.

Even Gao Changgong was no exception.

Wang Fu trembled all over and immediately started shooting with the crossbow in his hand.

The moment everyone looked up, Taozi grabbed the Hu guard beside him and threw him towards Gao Changgong!

The Hu guard flew out and hit Gao Changgong directly, causing him to fall off his horse.

At the same time, the crossbow arrow hit the guard.

This was a repeating crossbow, and the crossbow arrows were shot out continuously. The warhorse fell down with a bang, and the guards were pierced by several crossbow arrows.

The knights jumped off their horses and surrounded Gao Changgong. The masked knight took out a bow from his back and shot Wang Fu down on the roof with one arrow.

The situation got out of control, everyone was shouting and yelling. The knights gathered here, and some surrounded the house opposite.

"stop!!!"

One person shouted, and the noisy scene suddenly became silent.

Gao Changgong pushed away the knight who was protecting him and walked out of the crowd. He looked up towards the roof.

"Everyone stay at your own position and don't act rashly. You guys, go upstairs and take a look."

He began to give orders, and the anxious crowd calmed down when they saw that he was safe. Several people climbed onto the roof and shouted, "County Lord! He's dead! Shot in the neck!"

"Ah."

“Should we conduct a thorough inspection of the surrounding residential areas?”

"No need."

Gao Changgong lowered his head and looked at the ground.

His favorite warhorse was lying on the ground, motionless. Gao Changgong walked forward but ignored the horse. He put his hand on the neck of the Hu guard.

Couldn't feel a pulse.

Gao Changgong withdrew his hand, looked gloomy, and let out a long sigh.

"Collect his body first."

He led the frightened crowd around him and walked into the county government office.

He walked in front, and the others followed him all the way to the main courtyard. He sat in the seat that he usually took as the county magistrate, and asked everyone to sit on his left and right.

Lu Qubing sat in the seat closest to him, and Taozi stood behind him.

Everyone looked terrified, and they hadn't yet recovered from the shock they had just experienced. With so many things happening, they didn't know what to say first.

Gao Changgong sat in the upper seat, looking at the people on his left and right.

"Let's talk about the county lieutenant first. What happened?"

One person immediately stood up, knelt in front of Gao Changgong, and started crying.

"County Lord! My master died tragically! He was assassinated by a random official!!"

"My master is from the Gao family of Bohai, and is the nephew of Lord Zhongwu. He has always wanted to meet you, but he never saw you."

Listening to his crying, Gao Changgong looked at Lu Qubing.

"County Magistrate Lu? You tell me."

Lu Qubing stood up and said, "After arriving in Cheng'an, County Lieutenant Gao started killing innocent people in the name of killing bandits."

"After returning to the county government, in order to show off his bravery, he asked He Ananda, Cao Boju and others to find some random officials for him to fight against him for his amusement."

"He killed two of the clerks in a row. The third clerk, a sixty-year-old man, also fell victim to his vicious hands and had no choice but to fight back and kill him."

After Lu Qubing finished speaking, the servant started to shout, "Frame-up!!!"

Gao Changgong looked at him with cold eyes, and the servant dared not speak any more.

Gao Changgong slowly opened his mouth:

"If that's the case, then it's good to die. It's what you deserve."

The servant shuddered, but did not dare to retort.

Gao Changgong then called He Ananda and others to confront him, and they all confirmed what Lu Qubing said.

He finally ordered the murderer to be sent over.

Two people carried Zhang Li, who was bandaged all over, here. Zhang Li was unable to get up and could hardly speak.

Lu Qubing quickly said, "Mr. Gao! The murderer was forced to do it. He was just trying to protect himself. The fault lies with Gao Xun. Please forgive him."

Gao Changgong sat in the upper seat, his handsome face full of solemnity.

"The country has laws, and everything must be done according to the law. Even if it is out of helplessness, killing an official is a serious crime and must be punished!"

Lu Qubing's face immediately turned red. "Mr. Gao! When the county lieutenant killed someone, did anyone mention the law?!"

A knight immediately scolded: "Don't be rude!!"

Lu Qubing gritted his teeth and said, "I have always respected the law, and I respect the county magistrate even more. However, the law is quite unfair. When the county lieutenant killed someone, no one talked about the law. But when he was killed in return, they started talking about the law?!"

"I don't understand what bullshit this is!!"

Gao Changgong frowned and said, "Drive Lu Qubing out and let him wait outside."

Lu Qubing was furious and was dragged out by several people, cursing: "Birds of a feather! You are in cahoots with each other! I really misjudged you!"

Liu Taozi stood there thoughtfully and did not leave.

Gao Changgong looked down at Zhang Li, "Although you were forced to fight back, killing an official must be punished severely! I see you have a head full of white hair, how old are you?!"

Zhang Li's lips trembled, "Sixtieth birthday."

"How old??"

Gao Changgong asked again.

Liu Taozi walked a few steps to Zhang Li, lowered his head and listened, then stood up.

"Go back to the county magistrate. He said he was eighty-two."

Gao Changgong groaned and nodded, "Killing an official is a serious crime and should be beheaded in the street, but the criminal is over eighty years old. According to the laws of our Great Qi, children under ten years old and elders over eighty years old cannot be sentenced to death. The sentence can be commuted."

"Let me ask you, can you read?"

Zhang Li's lips trembled again.

Liu Taozi said, "Go back to the county magistrate. He said he can read."

"Okay, since you can read, I'll sentence you to serve labor service in the Sanliyuan! You'll be a clerk for the rest of your life!!"

(End of this chapter)