Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 96: Incident (Two chapters in one)
A dazzling light pierced through the dark clouds and spread towards Cheng'an County.

The sun is shining on the road.

The shadow and light of the city wall tore each other apart, and the man took a few steps forward sluggishly.

"Name."

The clerk asked.

The man recalled a moment, his lips trembling slightly, "Podoroan."

"But is Cheng'an your hometown?"

"Yes."

"Whose son?"

"Son of the blacksmith Potuo Luohun in the south of the city"

The clerk called out to the side, and someone immediately dug out a pile of household registration information. The clerk quickly found the family from the information.

"Poduoluohun, his wife is Wang."

"The eldest son, Potaraxi, has passed away.

"The second son, Potala, has passed away.

"The third son, Po Duoluo Ping, has passed away and disappeared."

"The fourth son defeated Duoluo'an, and fled at night during the ninth year of Tianbao, and was destroyed."

The clerk looked up and sized up the guy in front of him. He then picked up a pen, wrote a few words, and handed him an ID card. "You can go home now."

The man looked at the cards in his hand and stood there for a long time. "Thank you."

The man walked into the city.

The city was bustling with people. As soon as he walked in, someone blocked his way and said, "Want a place to stay? We can provide a place for you. It's only five cents a night. If you don't have money for the time being, you can buy on credit."

"We are hiring bricklayers here. We provide two meals a day, accommodation, and daily wages!"

"We need three grooms!"

The man pretended not to hear and continued to move forward. After passing the shadow of the city wall, he stood under the dazzling white light. The man could not help but stretch out his hand to cover his eyes.

This familiar road has not changed at all. A group of people gathered at the city gate, shouting loudly.

From time to time, there was a noise coming from both sides of the road. A big dog lay at the door, sticking out its tongue, and started barking wildly when a man approached.

A man walked out of the yard, pulling a big dog inside, and nodded to the man awkwardly.

A few children rushed out from the alley, riding bamboo horses, shouting:

"The thief is committing a crime, Lord Mandrill!"

"Eat evil thieves and suppress evil and violence!"

The child rushed all the way and almost hit the donkey cart coming along the road.

The owner of the car yelled, "Whose child is this? Why is he not watching the road?"

The donkey cart was filled to the brim with all kinds of fruits. The children stared at the fruits with their eyes wide open, unable to move.

The man groped in his arms for a long time.

He took out a few dirty coins from his pocket, bent down and gestured to the children.

The children didn't dare to approach him, but just looked at him warily.

"Buy some fruits and vegetables."

He said, placing the money on the ground.

Most of these refugees were rich, but after losing their identities, money became useless.

The owner of the donkey cart watched him walk away, quickly picked up the money on the ground, looked up at the children, and smiled as he took a few pears from the cart, "Come, come, take one each!!"

The man walked all the way to the alley he was most familiar with.

Several dilapidated old houses were next to each other, forming a small crossroad. The man stood at the door, looking at the dilapidated mansion in front of him. His legs were trembling and he felt indescribably depressed.

He stretched out his hand, but did not dare to knock on the door in front of him.

Although in his dreams, he had returned here countless times.

The door was slowly pushed open.

A little old woman shivered as she walked out of the yard, holding a basin in her hand. When she saw the tall figure outside, she shuddered all over and said, "I have no money, no money."

The man stood still.

The old woman slowly raised her head.

Tears streamed down the man's face.

"mom"

A group of people rode on horses and walked on the streets of Cheng'an.

Wherever he passed, the people would come to pay their respects to him.

Yao Xiong looked at Taozi and said, "Brother Taozi, Cheng'an Taiping is here now. Let me handle small matters like inspections in the future."

"You stay in the county government office and be on guard against that Qian."

Liu Taozi didn't say anything. He was like a tiger, patrolling his territory. His cold eyes reflected many enthusiastic faces filled with smiles.

Kou Liu also looked around blankly, muttering: "This Cheng'an has completely changed its appearance. I haven't seen such a lively Cheng'an in many years."

Yao Xiong grinned, "The biggest villain in this city was killed, and the four smaller villains were killed by this biggest villain. The rest of the smaller villains were either killed by their brothers or were too scared to go out, so they naturally changed!"

"All the evildoers, big and small, will be punished, and peace will be restored!"

"The chief clerk is still worried about the refugees doing evil! When the real evildoers do evil, they don't dare to step forward to stop them, so they just bully the refugees."

Kou Liu said, "Actually, the new county magistrate is not bad. Yesterday he invited a dozen doctors from Yecheng to the county government to prevent epidemics. It's rare for an official to care so much about civil affairs."

Yao Xiong's eyes widened, "Which side are you from?!"

"The chief clerk has been keeping an eye on us these past few days. Today he even stayed in the patrol house, saying that he was going to thoroughly investigate the past files. He was targeting my brother. Are you still speaking for them?"

“I just said he wasn’t too bad.”

"They're not going to actually find out anything, are they?"

Hearing Kou Liu's words, Yao Xiong couldn't help but burst into laughter, "I'm not afraid of him investigating, I'm just afraid that he will be too scared to sleep at night!!"

At this moment, Chief Secretary Qian was sitting in Youjiao Mansion, flipping through the files in front of him, and Tian Zili was sitting calmly in front of him.

Qian Zhubu looked through the files for a long time, then frowned, "There are some problems with the files. Many cases only have testimony from you guys, and these are serious murder cases. Logically speaking, when it comes to killing a criminal, there must be at least three unrelated people to testify. You have killed more than 60 people in the past half month. This is simply ridiculous!!"

Tian Zili was not panicked.

"My patrol officer has made great contributions and is brave and can be said to be the most capable official in the county government. I wonder why the county magistrate wants to deal with him?"

Secretary Qian was stunned for a moment, then put down the file in his hand.

"I know the talents of the patrol officer, and I have seen his bravery, but this is the only way. Is your patrol officer willing to bow his head and obey the county magistrate's orders and submit completely?"

Tian Zili said calmly: "If the county magistrate can serve the people wholeheartedly and implement benevolent policies and good policies, why not?"

Qian Zhubu smiled and said, "That's the truth. The ruler is the ruler, the minister is the minister, the father is the father, the son is the son. As a minister, do you still have to consider whether the ruler's orders can be carried out?"

"If you want to govern a place, but you can't even fully control your subordinates, then what's the point of talking about governance?"

"The county magistrate is kind and benevolent, while the patrol officers are brave and fierce. I have no intention of disrespecting the patrol officers, but they are my lords!"

Tian Zili nodded and said nothing more.

Only then did Secretary Qian stand up and leave.

County government lobby.

Qian Zhubu was holding a document and reading aloud.

"Liu Taozi, a roving guard in Cheng'an County, was in charge of the imperial prison. He was cruel and inhumane. He would investigate the murderer without asking whether the crime was serious or not. He tortured and tortured hundreds of people without any evidence.

The county magistrate Lu Yao sat in the upper seat, and Liu Taozi sat among the officials. As Qian Zhubu spoke, the officials were shocked and the hall suddenly became noisy.

They looked at each other, and Yao Xiong and other close confidants were now filled with anger.

Liu Taozi was unmoved and just watched the other person talk.

Qian Zhubu spoke for a long time in a long and rambling manner, but to sum it up, it can be summed up in one sentence: Liu Taozi is a cruel official.

In the end, he gave Lu Yao's order.

"Dismiss him from his position as an official, and all officials in the roving prefectures shall be dismissed."

The crowd was in an uproar.

Immediately, a clerk stood up and asked, "Master Qian, what fault did You Jiaogong commit? Why should he be dismissed?"

Qian Zhubu pursed his lips and said, "What I just said are all his crimes."

"I only heard you talking nonsense, but I didn't hear any crime." "You, you are also dismissed!"

Qian Zhubu was ruthless. The county officials had no official position in the imperial court and received salaries from the county government. The county magistrate was their monarch and he could promote or dismiss them at will without asking anyone for permission.

"Master, why not dismiss me as well?"

Lu Qubing stood up slowly. His eyes were cold as he stared at Qian Zhubu. Qian Zhubu looked at the county magistrate.

Lu Yao said, "If County Magistrate Lu does not want to continue serving as an official, he can submit his resignation to me, and I can submit it to the imperial court for approval."

"It's ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous, the meritorious people are being driven out, while the incompetent people are talking nonsense!"

Chang Sun Wei stood up at some point, no longer hiding the ferocity on his face, and spoke viciously.

All the officials stood up one after another, and a moment later, in front of Lu Yao there was a large group of people, all glaring at him with their swords drawn.

"Are you planning a rebellion?"

Qian Zhubu loyally stood in front of the county magistrate and looked at everyone vigilantly.

"let's go!"

Lu Qubing pulled Liu Taozi aside, turned around and walked out. The others followed him. Soon, the hall was empty. No one stayed. Even the soldiers at the door deliberately turned their heads away and didn't look at the county magistrate.

Lu Yao watched everyone leave and looked at Qian Zhubu dimly.

"Ziyi, is this the solution you came up with?"

"I dismissed You Jiao without any reason in front of everyone, causing everyone to openly turn against me?"

Qian Zhubu's face was solemn. "Don't be impatient, sir. He is in charge of all matters in the county government. We can't find any solid evidence of his crimes. Now all you can rely on is your status. You can only suppress him with your power."

"Now everyone is openly turning against each other, but not all of them are loyal. There will always be people willing to surrender. As long as we appease the first person who surrenders and divide his crowd, we can make him lose power."

"You are the Lord of Cheng'an, can you be held hostage by these petty officials and subordinates?"

"Among all the people, the only one we need to worry about is our eldest grandson, Jiaye."

"This is a complete Xianbei barbarian. Xianbei people are unruly and often beat up Han officials. They will not be punished. The court is very partial to them. As long as we keep an eye on him, we don't have to worry about the others."

When Lu Yao heard Qian Zhubu cursing the Xianbei Hu, he hesitated to speak.

Qian Zhubu continued:

"If I'm pushed too hard, I can go find King Gaoyang and have Liu Taozi kill his subordinates."

"No!"

Lu Yao frowned, "Liu Taozi must be driven away, but he must not collude with the royal family. The struggle between the royal family is not something that local officials can participate in. Moreover, King Gaoyang is definitely not a good person. Letting him come to Cheng'an is like inviting a tiger into the house. I don't know how many people will be harmed! Don't talk about looking for King Gaoyang again! Don't even think about it!"

"My subordinates will remember it."

Lu Yao suddenly remembered something and asked, "The bodies of those people were sent there? What did Prince Gaoyang's Mansion say?"

"Prince Gaoyang is not in Yecheng. I heard that he followed His Majesty to Jinyang."

"Jinyang?"

"It is said that His Majesty is not feeling well, and he has taken many members of the royal family to Jinyang for recuperation."

"I see."

Changsun Jiaye's mansion was particularly lively at this moment. Many people gathered here. Changsun County Lieutenant ordered people to bring out the best wine to entertain everyone.

After everyone came out of the lobby, Lord Changsun invited everyone to his house for a drink.

He personally poured wine for everyone, not caring at all about the difference in status between them, which made those petty officials feel very nervous.

Lu Qubing sat beside him with a worried look on his face, but Changsun smiled and said, "What are you afraid of? Just drink your wine, and I will just treat his words as bullshit!"

He drank wine with Liu Taozi in person, held Taozi's hand, and said affectionately: "You, you were born in the wrong place. If you were in Jinyang, these cowards would never have the chance to speak. That's the world of warriors. The county magistrate is nonsense. If you anger us, we will just beat you up on the road and then flee back to the training ground. No one can do anything to us. If I were thirty years younger, I would smash his head!"

Yao Xiong hurriedly asked, "Isn't beating an official a serious crime?"

"Heh, under the command of the Six States Grand Commander, the military households are the masters, officials? What kind of official is he without soldiers?"

Lu Qubing took a sip of the bitter wine and felt a little confused.

Not long ago, he was a staunch Yang official.

He hated Xianbei people like Changsun very much, believing that they were the root of chaos in the world. He also disagreed with their humiliation and abuse of officials, and always felt that the unrest in Da Qi was caused by these Xianbei military households.

But during these days, he saw a lot of things.

He saw celebrities who were hypocritical and duplicitous.

I saw the royal family members who were said to not care about etiquette, but were actually narrow-minded and vicious at heart.

I saw the naked emperor who looked like a madman.

If it were earlier, Lu Qubing would have respected and loved the current county magistrate immensely, but now, he always felt that something was wrong, even like Yang Gong in the temple.

He himself couldn't explain why, but he just felt that these people were not as good as he thought.

Even if people like Changsun Jiaye died, and the whole Qi Dynasty was filled with people like Yang and Lu, would the country become better? Would the people be able to live better?
Cheng An's expression changed immediately, but it was not because of the appearance of people like Yang and Lu, but because Taozi killed almost all the evil people in the city.

Lu Qubing fell into deep thought and began to reflect and analyze his past thoughts and ideas.

County Lieutenant Changsun seemed to be drunk at the moment. Strictly speaking, he and the county magistrate were not in the same system.

The county lieutenants of Da Qi were different from those in the past. The Changsun County Lieutenant should be more appropriately called the Changsun Seven-Department Lieutenant. There were only seven county lieutenants in the entire Da Qi, who were responsible for the seven counties around the capital and guarding Yecheng.

He was one of the seven captains in charge of the capital's security in the Great Qi Dynasty, rather than the head of a local military force. His rank was two levels higher than Lu Qubing.

Lu Qubing was from the ninth rank, he was from the ninth rank.

Of course, an ordinary county town would not arrange a Xianbei to garrison, and would usually employ ordinary foreign troops.

At this moment, Changsun held Liu Taozi's hand and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I am relieved to have a patrol like you. If there is an imperial decree, then you are the county magistrate. You can only be the county magistrate if someone obeys."

"Let's just ignore him from now on and see if he can still sit still!"

"If someone secretly surrenders and accepts his kindness, I will find a way to arrange some life-threatening tasks for him. Lu Yao is a kind person, but I am not..."

The eldest grandson raised his voice, as if he was speaking intentionally for everyone to hear.

In the next few days, Liu Taozi was still touring various places, and Lu Qubing was still busy settling the refugees.

There were not many refugees left outside the city, and this general amnesty effectively changed the atmosphere in the county. The people began to trust the government a little.

After all the evil spirits were killed, Cheng'an naturally turned back into a normal county.

On the streets that were once filled with ghosts, children running and laughing have driven away the dead air. In the bustling two markets, merchants are shouting their wares loudly, and hawkers can often be seen walking on the streets with their loads on their shoulders. The ghost town is once again occupied by people.

Even those petty officials who lived a life of idleness and waiting to die felt inexplicable feelings after seeing the changes in the county.

On this day, the city gates were wide open and people entering and leaving formed queues.

All that could be heard was the sound of horse hooves, and an irritable knight swung the whip in his hand to drive away the people in front of him. At the knight's angry shout, everyone gave way, their eyes full of fear.

Several knights rushed to the city gate, a nobleman looked up, and the clerk hurried forward to greet him.

The man lowered his head and threw out the pass from his hand, "Has anyone with the same pass entered the city?"

The clerk picked it up and looked at it, and found that it was written "Linzhang, Heshi".

The clerk pursed his lips and looked at the nobleman in front of him with an expression that seemed a little strange.

The nobleman noticed the clerk's strange expression and almost hit him in the face with the whip in his hand, "Answer the truth! Where are they now?!"

The clerk slowly raised his head.

The nobleman was startled, then raised his head following his gaze.

On the city gate, there was a long row of heads hanging, their eyes closed, swaying gently in the cold wind.

The nobleman opened his mouth wide, his eyes finally fixed on the two heads, and the next moment, he burst into tears.

"Second brother!! Third brother!!"

“My little brother!!”

"Who did this?!"

“Take it down for me!!”

The nobleman roared, and the knights he brought with him quickly dismounted and took ladders from the county soldiers, who then took down the two heads.

The two heads were now shrunk, and it looked like they had been treated. The nobleman stretched out his hand and wanted to touch them. His whole body was trembling. He suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction of the county government, "Ah!!!"

He rode on the horse like mad, and the others mounted their horses as well, and they galloped towards the direction of the county government office.

They just rushed along the road, and the people on the road screamed, hurriedly grabbed the children, and fled back to the house in a panic.

The vendors lay on the side of the road, close to the wall, not forgetting to protect their goods, and shivering.

The group rushed to the gate of the county government office.

"Lu Yao!! Come out here!!"

(End of this chapter)