When Xu Ling arrived in Yecheng, it was four days later, one day earlier than expected, and he couldn't wait to meet the newly taken emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

In the past, I heard that Gao Zhan abdicated to the crown prince Gao Wei, and everyone didn't take it seriously, because everyone knew that Gao Zhan believed in celestial phenomena, and there was a vision in the sky that year, and some people said that the throne of the king was about to change.

Gao Zhan abdicated and let the nine-year-old crown prince Gao Wei ascend the throne, making himself the emperor, but he was still in charge of the government.

In short, Gao Wei is a puppet, Gao Zhan told him to go east, he didn't dare to go west.

Such a young puppet emperor is obviously unlikely to gain much respect. Nan Chen didn't pay too much attention to him, and later heard about what this emperor did, and he probably understood what kind of person this emperor was.

Very smart, but timid and cowardly, inferior, a child who lives under the shadow of Gao Zhan and is raised alive.

Moreover, in recent years, Northern Qi has become worse day by day.

Xu Ling heard that the Northern Qi Dynasty was facing pressure from both the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the Turks for several years, and there were natural disasters and civil uprisings in the country, and the Northern Qi court was mostly courtiers like He Shikai and Lu Lingxuan. Xu Ling was still sighing in his heart at that time, how could Guozuo last long if it went on like this?

That is to say, Xu Lingcai tried his best to say to Chen Ji that he wanted to join Qi Kezhou, so that it would be a waste to be reused, and it would be good for Northern Qi to drag Northern Zhou for a few more years. The longer the Northern Qi dragged on the Northern Zhou, the more time the Chen Dynasty had.

When he came to Northern Qi, he was also ready to cooperate with Northern Qi in some aspects, and the price offered was very generous, but in general, they were able to get more from the Great Chen Dynasty.

He was confident that the price they offered was enough to make Northern Qi tempted.

But when he arrived in Qi, he found that his prediction might be wrong, didn't he say that Northern Qi suffered disasters year after year? But unlike the depressed appearance he imagined, although the people's livelihood in Northern Qi did decline a little, it did not have the panic and anxiety of natural disasters.

Whether it is daily farming or the work of the state capital, it is operating in an orderly manner.

This is not a sign of a national chaos.

[Maybe it's because it's more prosperous in Yuzhou, so it's normal to not see that kind of scene where the people are not living. 】

At that time, Xu Ling defined the anomaly he saw in this way.

But the farther he got to the north, the more astonished he became, for he did not see the sight of the homeless people gathering on the way.

Judging from what Xu Ling heard, the disaster in the eastern part of Northern Qi and northern Jianghuai should be the most serious, but when his car passed through Jianghuai and passed through Shandong, he did not see the scene of yellow-faced and thin-skinned homeless people gathering.

[This can't be, how could such important information go wrong?] Northern Qi has definitely suffered a major disaster, but where are those hungry people? The Northern Dynasty actually had such a ability to hide millions of victims? 】

The more he looked, the more puzzled Xu Ling became.

Finally, he saw a large number of young and strong displaced people gathered on a river, seemingly repairing water conservancy.

He made an excuse to stop the moving car and went up to take a closer look at what was going on.

He found that these displaced people did not have the sad and numb expressions of being persecuted, nor did they have the characteristic yellow muscles and skinny faces of the victims, but they were all energetic and strong. It's not like a hungry victim.

There were also a few public servants supervising on the side, and a large shed was set up next to it, and smoke curled up.

What's even more strange is still to come, a few people who don't know if they are not physically strong have put down their hoes and retreated to the shed to rest, and a public man walked over.

Without the angry whipping and scolding of the duke, the duke walked over and seemed to say something to them, and then the duke went down to look at the site where they were working, and came back with some white stripes in his hand, which seemed to be stamped with a faint red seal.

Then the people left with a thousand thanks, and when they left, they still had a few hot steamed cakes (steamed buns) in their hands.

Xu Ling followed suspiciously, and walked about three or four miles, outside a small city, there was a group of tents, all of which were sewn with messy rags, shabby, but very neat.

The men went in with their food and shouted, and a few small figures emerged from some of the tents, and plunged happily into their father's arms.

Stretched out his little hand to grab the hot white steamed cake, and laughed and laughed.

Xu Ling was stunned, this was completely different from what he expected, the situation of the people in Northern Qi who were not living well.

Originally, he wanted to use this as a basis to further induce the Qi Lord to back down for greater benefits when he was in the alliance.

But now that the situation in Northern Qi is much better than expected, will the Qi lord still pay attention to Chen Chao's request?

Xu Ling is also a talented person, and after careful consideration, he suddenly found that the way Northern Qi managed the disaster victims was very extraordinary, and it was not a handiwork that ordinary people could come up with.

He knew that there must be more than a few victims, but he didn't know where they had been relocated.

It stands to reason that the disaster in Northern Qi is so serious, and the millions of displaced people are still light, and it is already amazing that there is no large-scale displacement raging, not to mention that the territory of Northern Qi is completely peaceful now, which is not a scene that should be at the end of a dynasty.

[Maybe there was a great capable minister in the Northern Dynasty. 】

Xu Ling secretly pondered, otherwise, how could he handle this matter so beautifully with Heshi Kai?

Zhao Yanshen?

Xu Ling felt that he could only have such an influence, but could his influence on the Qi Lord surpass that of Heshi Kai?

It's no wonder that Xu Ling doesn't know these things, although the Northern Qi and the Southern Dynasties are only separated by a river, but the actual ancient news is very closed, not to mention, the relationship between the Northern Qi and the Southern Chen has always been tense, and the Northern Qi once wanted to annex the Southern Chen, but was defeated by Chen Baxian.

Northern Qi was beaten a little painfully, and now the two sides tore their faces, and both sides guarded each other very closely.

And Gao Wei killed He Shikai, but it was more than a month ago, and it was normal that the matter had not reached Xu Ling's ears.

If you want to inquire directly, the guards who are responsible for escorting the envoys are silent, and those ordinary people, they only care about their own stoves, and they don't know anything about national affairs.

When he approached Yecheng, Xu Ling's subordinates finally sent him useful information.

"What? He Shikai was killed by the Lord of Qi?" Xu Ling couldn't believe it.

The subordinates also said with a complicated face: "Well, the lower officials also inquired that Hu Changren, the uncle of Qi State, and Lu Lingxuan, a female official of the Qi Palace, were involved in the rebellion of King Langya, King Langya was grounded, Hu Changren was sentenced to exile, and Lu Lingxuan was beheaded by Lord Qi......"

"Shangshu, it seems that Lord Qi is not as stupid and incompetent as we used to seem......"

Xu Ling stroked his beard and closed his eyes in contemplation, quickly opened his eyes, and asked, "How far is it from Yedu?"

The subordinate replied respectfully: "There is still half a day to go, we will rest for one night, and we can arrive at Yecheng at noon tomorrow......"

"-No, you don't have to!" Xu Ling interrupted his subordinates and said, "Then let's go all night, I also want to see who the emperor of Qi is as soon as possible!" ”