Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 56 Northern Qi Style
"Brother?!"

Kou Liu looked up and saw a familiar figure.

Liu Taozi was sitting not far away. He was tall and strong, staring at him straight.

Kou Liu was confused.

He knew that Liu Taozi had entered the county government, but he didn't know where he was working.

Didn't he just pass the exam? How did he become a vagrant?
There was a table in front of Liu Taozi, with a lot of food. Taozi picked up a leg of lamb, bit off a piece of meat, and said while eating, "That's me."

"Brother, how could you?"

"Don't talk about me, let's talk about you first."

"You are so capable that you have just entered the county government office and you have already hooked up with a nobleman?"

Kou Liu's face was full of helplessness. He quickly explained: "Brother, I don't know that person at all."

"It doesn't matter whether you know me or not."

Liu Taozi looked at him again, "I'm still short of a thief catcher, would you like to come?"

Kou Liu's eyes widened, he trembled for a moment, and suddenly bowed to Liu Taozi, "Brother, you have been very kind to me! I have already made a vow to repay you with my death!!"

"Okay, get up."

"Mr. Tian, ​​take him to get his clothes."

When Kou Liu appeared in front of Taozi again, he had already changed into the same clothes as a clerk. Until now, he was still a little dizzy. Since he stepped into the county government office, everything that had happened had gone completely different from what he had expected. It was simply going in an entirely different direction.

The man outside the door also walked in, and the three of them stood in front of Taozi.

Yao Xiong looked at Kou Liu with a smile, "You also graduated from the Law School?"

"That's right, brother, could it be..."

"Yes, I am also from the Law School, but you probably hadn't come when I left."

Yao Xiong spoke to him for a few words, but Tian Zilie said nothing. He did not have a good impression of this Xianbei man.

These are all targets he will eliminate in the future.

Liu Taozi ate all the food, even licking the bottom of the bowl clean. Then he stood up, holding his belt with both hands, looking extremely majestic.

"Leave the county government office! Inspect!"

Yao Xiong hurried over, untied the reins, and led the old horse to Liu Taozi.

Taozi has four old horses, just right for one person.

Riding horses was not allowed in the county government office. Everyone led their horses and walked on the road. Taozi walked in front, Tian Zilie followed behind him, and Yao Xiong and Kou Liu walked at the end.

"Brother, why bother inviting this outsider?"

Tian Zili was a little confused.

Liu Taozi spoke up, "This man has some skills and is good at dealing with bandits. It would be perfect for him to be a thief catcher."

Tian Zili didn’t know what this guy’s abilities were, but since Liu Taozi said so, he could only bear with it.

Kou Liu, who was walking at the end, looked at his clothes and felt very complicated.

Is there anything more bizarre than this?
I am an old thief who has been in the business for seven years, but I have put on the clothes of a thief catcher and become a thief catcher.

Just the moment his peripheral vision caught sight of his clothes, Kou Liu felt somewhat uneasy.

Yao Xiong was showing off to him the knowledge he had just learned from Tian Zili not long ago.

"The three of us have different divisions of labor."

"I am a mounted officer, mainly responsible for the action, you are responsible for arresting and pursuing, and Brother Tian is responsible for handling the case."

“I know some archery skills.”

They walked out of the county government office, Liu Taozi got on his horse, and the other three also got on their horses.

"Walk!!"

Liu Taozi let out a loud roar and galloped away on his horse. The other three followed him, and the four of them and four horses began to gallop wildly on the street.

The oncoming wind kept blowing Taozi's hair, and his clothes became puffy. The whole person was like a charging general, and the sound of fierce horse hooves rang out in the alley.

Liu Taozi rode his horse at full speed, looking around him all the time.

The roads in the city were very quiet. Even if there were pedestrians, they would quickly move away after spotting them to avoid contact with them.

Officials in the county government could easily decide the life and death of minor officials, and these minor officials, even those in the Sanliyuan, could easily decide the life and death of the common people in the city.

Liu Taozi led the three people through one street after another, constantly changing direction. They ran back and forth in the city, raising a cloud of dust all the way.

After circling around a few times, they left the city from the west gate and began to patrol outside the city along the official road.

The word "you" in "youjiao" shows the characteristics of this position.

The main job of the patrol officers on weekdays is to patrol counties and towns.

Taozi's horse hooves stepped on every inch of land inside and outside Cheng'an. He buried his head, facing the oncoming wind. The old horse raised his hooves high, and he almost flew on the ground.

The three men didn't say anything, they just followed Taozi closely. As the speed increased, the faces of the three men became a little excited.

It seemed as if they were not petty officials, but real knights following the general in the charge.

It was not until it was pitch dark that the four returned to the county government office.

They led the horses towards the north yard.

Tian Zili's face didn't look very good.

"Brother, I think it's better for us not to go out for inspection."

Before Taozi could reply, Yao Xiong hurriedly asked, "Why?"

"Riding a huge horse and galloping in and out of the city, no one dares to stop him. How arrogant! How many people dare not even dream of it!"

"This dress, riding a fast horse, is simply majestic!"

Tian Zili frowned and said with a sad face: "When the people see us, they avoid us as if they see evil spirits. Today, we are just constantly scaring the people. Other than that, we have no effect." "I think that staying in this courtyard and not going out can have some effect and let the people have peace."

Yao Xiong also lowered his head and said awkwardly: "If you say so, then we should just close the gate of the county government office and not let the officials go out."

Kou Liu felt the same way, "Mr. Tian is right."

Liu Taozi suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked very solemn.

"This is your job. If you can't do it and want to hide, you might as well go back to the South Courtyard."

Tian Zili quickly lowered his head and said, "I dare not."

Everyone went back to their rooms. Yao Xiong enthusiastically took Kou Liu aside and told him about Taozi's extraordinary "achievements" in the county government.

But the mood of the three of them was somewhat heavy.

Even the atmosphere here is a bit depressing.

The next day, they gathered in the front yard to eat again.

No one spoke. After finishing their meal in a hurry, Liu Taozi stood up and led the three people away with their horses again.

However, these people were not very excited about this outing.

After leaving the county government office, they began patrolling the city as usual.

Taozi was still charging in the front and suddenly turned around a street.

There were three dogs tied to the tree in front of the courtyard gate. At this moment, the dogs were barking non-stop and looked extremely irritable.

A man was standing on the side of the road, beating two people on the ground crazily.

Punch and kick.

The two men, one big and one small, just huddled in front of the door, protecting their heads with their hands, looking miserable.

Peach reined in her horse.

He looked down over here.

The murderer kicked again, then raised his head with a smile and looked at Taozi.

The man was dressed properly, had a short beard, and looked up, meeting Taozi's eyes.

He saluted very casually.

"I'm sorry to make you laugh."

Taozi looked at the two men. They had just climbed up, covered in wounds. They saw several officials on horseback, their faces pale, slumped on the ground. The older one was holding the younger one, and the baby was so scared that he started crying.

He didn't even cry when he was beaten just now.

When the man saw their appearance, he shouted again: "Damn it! You want to buy your dog, but you dare to raise the price and force the sale?!"

"Now that the superiors are here, you should tell me something!!"

The older man, with a dark complexion, was bleeding from his nose. He held the baby tightly in his arms. The baby was no more than ten years old and looked very similar to the man. He curled up in the adult's arms and just cried.

"Please take it, sir. We don't want any money. We don't want any money."

Hearing this, the child cried even louder.

"What happened?"

Peach asked.

The man quickly replied, "Sir, it's like this, the two of them."

"I didn't ask you."

Taozi interrupted him and looked at the father and son, "What's wrong?"

The man shuddered and said tremblingly, "It's nothing, it's nothing. Just as this gentleman said, we were blind and it was wrong for us to ask him for money! Please spare my life! Spare my life!"

Taozi looked at the three dogs, "Is this yours?"

"Yes"

"If you want someone's dog, you have to pay them. That's fair."

Hearing Taozi's words, the rich man's eyes widened and he looked at Taozi in disbelief, "Sir, I don't know how I have offended you."

"I don't know you, and I haven't offended you. I just took someone's things, so I have to pay."

The rich man's expression turned grim, and he looked at the two men again, "I don't want it anymore."

"You have to pay even if you don't want it. If you beat someone, you will be fined a thousand coins."

The man looked at Taozi's expression, stopped talking, turned around and walked into the house, then came out soon and threw some money to the father and son.

The father and son didn't dare to accept it. The rich man said viciously: "I know where you live. Wait for me."

"Hey!"

He heard someone speaking, and when he looked up, he saw something flying towards him, and he subconsciously caught it.

Looking closely, I saw that it was a sword, never unsheathed.

"Pfft."

The next moment, a knife flashed, and he saw his own body standing in front of him. Before he could react, his body fell to the ground, spurting blood.

Yao Xiong looked at his empty scabbard, then looked at Taozi.

The father and son not far away were frightened at this moment, with dull expressions.

Taozi threw the knife in her hand to Yao Xiong.

"If one seizes an official's knife and intends to kill someone, he shall be killed according to the law."

"You two can go back now. If anyone wants revenge, come find me. I patrol the city every day."

(End of this chapter)