Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 85 Stuttering
Outside the city gate, two minor clerks were sitting in front of a desk.

The two of them sat here like scoundrels, yawning, with sleepiness in their eyes.

They have been sitting here for a long time, and they were ordered to receive the dead who came forward to surrender.

Before arriving, the officials gave them many instructions, asking them to be cautious, to take the matter seriously, and even to speak as gently as possible so as not to scare the dead.

They made a lot of preparations, but after taking office they found that it was not necessary at all.

No one would come forward to surrender and return to the government's rule.

These petty officials had actually predicted this a long time ago. After all, this was not the first time they had done such a thing. They had done it before, tricking those people into coming and then killing them as a credit.

Whenever a noble in the county lacks merit, he will use this trick.

How could these people who left the government and lost their identities for various unexplainable reasons come here to surrender just because of a single sentence?
But they cannot say these words to their superiors.

Since they want to do it, just execute it. Why say more?
Just when the two were about to fall asleep, someone stood in front of them.

The clerk looked up quickly and saw a thin young man standing in front of them. His face was covered in mud, his clothes were ragged, and his beard was dirty.

The clerk subconsciously reached for his waist, "What do you want to do?!"

“I am the dead.”

The clerk finally reacted. He stuck his head out and looked into the distance, and found that some people were walking towards this side, in groups of three or two, and there seemed to be more to follow.

The petty officials were all stunned.

Is there really anyone who dares to come?

He quickly picked up the pen, "Okay, name?"

“Wang Chong.”

"County Lord! It's done! It's done!"

Lu Qubing rushed into Gao Changgong's house with a look of ecstasy on his face.

Gao Changgong was writing something. When he saw Lu Qubing, his eyes were full of joy. "What? Did it work?"

"It really worked! We still have to let Brother Taozi do this!"

"Some people from the city gates have just informed us that the dead have started to come forward to surrender. The West City Gate alone has received 84 dead people, and the number is still increasing. We can prepare to grant houses and land to them."

"Okay!"

Gao Changgong couldn't help but applaud.

"You should also pay more attention to the things in the city."

He pointed to the paperwork in front of him.

"I plan to report these matters to the imperial court."

Gao Changgong's face was very solemn. He said, "Cheng'an is also an imperial city. This move is very big and will easily cause panic in the surrounding areas. Although I am not familiar with Mr. Yang, he is a capable minister. If he can help, there is no need to worry about causing other troubles."

Lu Qubing was quite calm at this moment, "I'm afraid not. After seeing your report, he will only be more eager to drive you away."

"Oh? I thought Mr. Lu respected Mr. Yang the most."

"I do respect Prime Minister Yang. He is a man of integrity and morality. Over the years, he has been exercising benevolent governance and remedying the mistakes of the government."

"When His Majesty ordered the construction of the palace and conscripted 300,000 laborers, Lord Yang immediately issued an order to exempt the laborers from land taxes in various places, and ordered soldiers to escort the laborers who had completed their labor back to their hometowns, saving many people."

"He also promoted many talented people, regardless of their background or their likes and dislikes. Most of the people he promoted were honest and upright, capable of governing various places."

"He was also able to manage the government affairs properly, and never delayed the spring ploughing and autumn harvest. If it weren't for him, I'm afraid the world would have been in chaos long ago."

"However, although Prime Minister Yang is a capable minister, he is definitely not a courageous and upright minister. Your Majesty's actions are illegal, and as the prime minister, he does not want to advise and remonstrate, but helps Your Majesty commit murders. I know that he often escorts prisoners to Your Majesty for Your Majesty to torture and kill for fun."

"He definitely doesn't have the guts to help the county lord show off his skills around the Imperial City. He has always been cautious, and now that Cheng'an has had such a big incident, I think he will be even more eager to drive you away."

Gao Changgong nodded and praised Lu Qubing repeatedly, "Mr. Lu has made great progress. In the past, Mr. Lu was just a loyal minister, with courage but lacking insight and talent. Now it is different. Mr. Lu has the talent of an imperial censor."

"However, no matter what Yang Gong thinks, we still have to send the letter and memorial to his house. If we only consider the overall situation and tolerate concessions, we will not be able to govern the world well."

"I hope Mr. Yang can understand my approach."

Yecheng.

In the dark hall, only the torches in the soldiers' hands could illuminate some places.

The hall was damp and smelly.

The hall, which should have been sacred and majestic, now looked gloomy and eerie, exuding a ghostly aura.

The columns were all stained with dark blood and emitted a foul odor.

There seemed to be something crawling on the ground, which was chilling. Gao Yang was sitting in the upper seat, already drunk.

The ministers sat on both sides trembling, staring at the wine and meat in front of them, not daring to swallow.

In the middle of the two groups of ministers, there was a pile of human heads. Those heads were piled up into the shape of a small hill, which was the Jingguan.

Faced with such a bloody scene, Gao Yang's appetite increased greatly. He tore off the flesh of the thigh bone in his hand and poured wine into his mouth.

"what!!!"

"Ah~~~"

In front of the Jingguan, a man was stripped of his clothes and pressed to the ground naked. Two soldiers were beating him with sticks.

As stick after stick fell, wounds appeared on the man's body, and he screamed in pain.

And this person was none other than King Gaoyang Gao Xi.

Seeing Gao Xi being beaten, all the ministers lowered their heads and no one stepped forward to persuade him.

Yang Yin was sitting at the front row. He quietly nudged the young man sitting next to him with his elbow.

The young man sitting next to Yang Yin was dressed differently from the others. He was probably only fourteen or fifteen years old and was thin. At this moment, he just lowered his head and remained silent. After being touched by Yang Yin a few times, he raised his head and looked at Yang Yin.

Yang Yin looked at Gao Xi who was beaten, and then looked at the emperor.

The young man lowered his head and trembled all over.

A trace of worry flashed across Yang Yin's eyes, and he nudged the young man with his elbow again.

The young man trembled, slowly stood up, walked out under the gaze of everyone, and saluted Gao Yang.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please, please forgive Gao, Gao"

Gao Yang threw the wine cup in his hand towards him fiercely. The cup almost hit the young man and fell in front of him, splashing the wine all over him. The young man was frightened and stood still, motionless.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty!! How many Your Majesties do you have?!"

Gao Yang was furious.

At this moment, another person came forward and saluted Gao Yang. This person was only in his twenties, but he was tall, with bright eyes, a dignified appearance, and great dignity. "Your Majesty, King Gao Yang did not investigate for the time being, please forgive his crime. If you continue to punish him with the cane, I am afraid he will die here."

Gao Yang burped and waved his hand drunkenly, "Stop it!"

The soldier finally stopped, and Gao Xi cried out, "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Sixth Brother!"

Gao Yang pointed at the boy kneeling in front of him again, but his eyes were looking at the young man kneeling beside him, "Act, you can do anything from now on, just don't kill this little stutterer!!"

Gao Yan trembled all over and was so scared that he quickly bowed his head without saying a word.

All the ministers were silent. It wasn't just one or two days since His Majesty had been acting crazy and talking nonsense, so they were not surprised by what Gao Yang said.

But Yang Yan's expression was extremely ugly at this moment.

He looked at the dazed boy, then at the young man who bowed his head. His originally kind expression suddenly turned unfriendly, and his eyes were filled with anger.

"Peach branch!! Peach branch!!"

"Help me go back."

Gao Yang was talking drunkenly when a soldier came over and helped him up, staggering out of here.

"Your Majesty, I respectfully send you off!!"

Everyone maintained the gesture of greeting until Gao Yang left.

Gao Yan raised his head and looked at the young man who was kneeling beside him, motionless. He still maintained the same expression as before, not even blinking.

Gao Yan looked at his strange appearance, shook his head and sighed, and called softly: "Your Highness the Crown Prince? Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

Crown Prince Gao Yin did not move a muscle, his whole body was stiff, like a dead person.

As soon as he stretched out his hand towards the prince, a pair of big hands suddenly pulled the prince up, and the prince stood up and woke up.

Gao Yan looked up and found that it was Prime Minister Yang Yin who pulled up the prince.

Yang Yin lowered his head and looked down at him, Gao Yan looked up calmly and looked at him.

"King of Changshan."

"Mr. Yang."

ps: Later, Wenxuan ascended the Golden Phoenix Tower and summoned the prince to kill the prisoner. The prince was sympathetic and reluctant, and repeatedly cut off his head. Wenxuan was angry and hit the prince three times with his horse whip. Since then, he has been trembling with anger and speechless, and his mind has been confused from time to time. ——"Book of Northern Qi·Emperor's Chronicle Chapter 5"

(End of this chapter)