Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 71 Deploying Troops
"County, county, county lord."

Zhang Li, who had been extremely confident just now, was now trembling and unable to speak clearly as he sat in front of Gao Changgong.

Gao Changgong didn't care. He looked at Zhang Li with a smile and was very concerned about his physical condition.

"As a humble official, I dare not cause the county magistrate to worry. Thanks to your kindness, my health has improved a lot."

"That's good."

Gao Changgong nodded and asked again: "What do you want to teach me?"

Zhang Li's face turned pale, "I dare not."

Liu Taozi spoke up at this moment, "County Lord, Mr. Zhang just came to me and said that there is a way to make you stay."

"Oh? Stay? Where?"

"Of course it's Cheng An."

"But I haven't decided to leave yet?"

Liu Taozi just looked at him without saying anything. Gao Changgong persisted for a while, then shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Lu Jun is a good person, except for his mouth."

He then looked at Zhang Li and said gently, "Don't be afraid, Mr. Zhang. I am not a bad person. If you have a way to deal with it, you might as well tell me the truth."

Zhang Li's lips trembled as he replied, "Sir, I know you are intelligent and have a keen ear. You are a man of great talent and learning. I shouldn't have spoken carelessly in front of you. I just have some insignificant ideas. If they can be of any use to you, I will die without regrets."

Liu Taozi signaled several of his men to go out and guard the gate, while he stayed behind to continue listening.

Zhang Li was okay in front of Liu Taozi, but he was really nervous in front of Gao Changgong.

The main reason is that the gap in status between the two parties is too big.

"County Lord, I heard from someone that the Murong family has submitted a memorial to impeach you. Has it reached the imperial court?"

"It should be here."

"Whose hands will it fall into?"

“It’s hard to say, probably Yang Gong and others.”

"The result will definitely be unfavorable to you?"

"It's definitely disadvantageous. The Murong family has an old relationship with them, and I have just been exiled. I don't have many good friends in the court or in the country. Even the royal family members are not very close to me."

"Mr. Yang and other wise men don't know me well enough. If they knew that there were cruel officials running rampant, they would think that I was eager for quick success, violent and murderous. Cheng'an is the imperial city, so they would definitely transfer me far away and arrange for a steady and reserved person to take over."

"When will the order arrive?"

"It takes less than half a day to get from Yecheng to here. It will be either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

The two of them asked and answered each other very quickly, and Zhang Li gradually stopped trembling.

"The county lord is indeed smart. Although he is young, he has a clear understanding of everything. I want to know how the county lord plans to deal with it."

Gao Changgong opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and shook his head. "I have no way to deal with the imperial edict issued by the court. I have no friends in the court, and my official title is not high enough. I am just a member of the royal family, but I am not close to the royal family in power. If I disobey the imperial edict, I will surely die."

After hearing these words, Zhang Li's eyes softened a lot when he looked at Gao Changgong.

"I guess the county lord hasn't even reached adulthood yet?"

Gao Changgong nodded, "Indeed."

Zhang Li said: "Although the county lord saw through it, he acted too restrainedly, so he felt that he had no way to deal with it. In fact, it is the Murong family who should be restrained."

"If you don't want to leave Cheng'an, no one can force you to leave except Your Majesty."

"Oh?"

Gao Changgong was a little surprised. Zhang Li said, "I have never been to the imperial court, but I have been in the county government for a long time and know some basic principles."

"The court wants to transfer you away because your ideas and the policies you want to implement may offend the local clans. They want to protect the clans and maintain the peace of Cheng'an."

"Second, because I don't know you well enough. I think you're young and hot-tempered, and I'm afraid you'll get into even bigger trouble."

"The first point is actually the easiest to resolve. The county lord can go to the Murong family now, drink with them, write letters to their master and young master, express goodwill, and hope to get their assistance in the future to cure Cheng An."

"If they can deliver a memorial to impeach you to Lord Yang, then they can also deliver a memorial to protect you to Lord Yang."

"Once the first point is resolved, there is no need to worry about the second point. The wise men will find that you are not an irritable person and know how to correct yourself, and they will change their opinion of you."

"You don't have to worry. Even if they are from the family of the Duke of a county, or even the Prime Minister of Great Qi, if they can get along with you in a friendly manner, they will definitely not make an enemy of you. Your surname is enough to make them wary."

"Finally, you only need to kill the cruel officials and make your attitude clear, then you can stay in Cheng'an."

After Zhang Li finished speaking, he glanced at Taozi and explained, "It's not that I want to kill Liu Youjiao." Liu Taozi nodded calmly.

Gao Changgong's expression was complicated. "Doesn't this mean I have to bow down to the Murong family? What kind of solution is this? I would rather be dismissed as a commoner than be in cahoots with such people!"

"These people wantonly seized land, collected slaves, robbed property, and committed murder. Are you trying to persuade me to bow down to such people?"

Zhang Li hurriedly said, "Mr. Gao, this is just a temporary measure. It does not require you to really obey. To save your life, the most effective way is to bow your head."

"Is there any other method?"

Zhang Li paused, then said, "We can make this a bigger deal and drag the Murong family into this."

"What's the big deal?"

"You were assassinated, and you must have been sent by the Murong family. The Murong family will never dare to oppose you again."

Gao Changgong frowned, "If the incident really gets out of hand, I'm afraid His Majesty will be angry, and then the innocent people of Cheng'an will be implicated and suffer together. That's not right."

"Is there any other way?"

Zhang Li said, "If the chancellor wants to harm someone, then we can ask the lieutenant. If we can determine who gave the order, then we can ask his opponent for protection and let the two sides confront each other."

Gao Changgong's handsome face was very solemn. "It is autumn now, and it will be winter in a few days. There are many important matters in the court. If the wise men fight because of me, delaying the important matters in autumn and winter, that is what I don't want to see."

“Is there a better way?”

At this moment, Zhang Li's lips trembled for a long time, and he finally uttered: "Then I can only pretend to be sick and stay in Cheng'an, and then quickly report to the court, explain the whole story, and see if I can impress the court officials."

Gao Changgong fell silent, and the entire inner room was quiet.

Liu Taozi spoke at this moment, "County Lord."

"In the past few days, I sent my subordinates to the Murong family to inquire and found out a few things."

"Their dog may have eaten people. Their servants have to put muzzles on the dog when they lead it. The big dog is extremely crazy and even their servants can't control it."

"They would buy pigs every day, but the pigs would move around in the sacks and disappear when they were taken into the inner room. I never saw them eating pork, and there was no pig farming in the hut."

"I often hear screams and crying from the backyard of their house. That's where Murong Guang lives."

"There have been many cases of women disappearing in the city before. I think it is very likely related to their family. That Murong Guang likes to torture, kill, and rape. What happened in Cao's mansion was done by him."

Gao Changgong's face turned pale, "This cannot be considered as evidence"

"But we have witnesses. Lu Zhanshan is afraid of Murong Guang and dares not tell the truth. Is he afraid of the county magistrate?"

Gao Changgong raised his head and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Sir, Lu Zhanshan killed thirteen people and challenged the authority of the court. His crime is extremely serious. Please issue an order to kill all his clan members without sparing a single one."

"As long as we can pry open Lu Zhanshan's mouth tonight and make him write down his testimony, we can send someone to report the case to the court tomorrow and inform them of the details of the case."

"But will the court care about the truth of the case?"

"They won't care, but as Mr. Zhang said, they will care about your thoughts."

"In fact, there is no need for all this. As long as the county lord tells the court that he is unwilling to leave, the court will consider your transfer order."

Gao Changgong hesitated a little. He stroked his chin and did not make a decision.

At this moment, a soldier walked in and said, "Sir, County Lieutenant Changsun wants to see you."

"Let him in."

Then he saw County Lieutenant Changsun limping in. His face looked very ugly. He walked with difficulty in front of Gao Changgong and bowed to greet him.

"County lord! Please punish me!"

“What happened?”

"Just now I was interrogating Lu Zhanshan, but the clerk in charge of recording suddenly stabbed him in the throat with a dagger and then committed suicide. I was unable to stop him in time."

"what?!"

Gao Changgong stood up suddenly. At this moment, he was really shocked.

How dare you do this in your own county government?
His whole body was shaking with anger, and he slowly looked at Liu Taozi.

"Know it, mobilize the troops!!!"

(End of this chapter)