Thief Emperor

Chapter 1005 Dealing with the Southeast
The Jiangdong Salt Transport Commissioner was a very important job, otherwise it would not have been given to the Zhuo family in the first place, let alone being worth a look by the current Emperor Li.

Since it is important, after getting rid of the Zhuo family, a new one must naturally be replaced. There is no doubt that Lu Bing is a very suitable candidate.

He is now working in the Nine Departments and is already an official of a high rank. If His Majesty the Emperor asks to transfer him to the Jiangdong Salt Road, there will be no resistance.

Lu Bing immediately bowed his head, saluted to the emperor and said, "Your Highness will obey your command!"

His Majesty the Emperor looked at him and asked, "Do you know what to do?"

Lu Bing shook his head slightly: "I don't know, but I can learn after I take office. I believe I can learn it."

"Salt Road is a very complicated job."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at him, thought for a moment, and then continued, "It's not as simple as drying and selling salt here. We also need to have good relationships with all the salt merchants to get this job done."

"In five or six years, Zhuo Hong earned 200,000 strings of cash from this job. Actually..."

Emperor Li said silently: "He didn't take a lot."

"On the salt road, if he is a bit ruthless, it won't be a problem to double the money. From this, you can imagine how many conflicts of interest this job will involve."

Lu Bing lowered his head and hands without saying anything.

His Majesty the Emperor patted him on the shoulder, thought for a moment, and continued, "When the imperial edict is issued to you, take some time to go to Wu County and meet the Zhuo family. They have been in this business for two or three generations and are very proficient in it."

"If they are willing to teach you, you should learn from them and understand the job of the salt road. After your term, I will send another salt road official down."

"You can teach this job to the next generation."

Lu Bing thought for a moment, then bowed his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, the court has taken away the Zhuo family's salt duties and arrested Zhuo Hong for questioning. If I go to their house again, they will probably think that I am riding on their shoulders."

"Probably not."

The emperor looked at him calmly, "This is me, giving their family one last chance."

"If they can cooperate honestly and help you take over the salt road, the previous grudges will be resolved, and the court will no longer embarrass their family. If they don't know what's good for them."

The emperor looked at Lu Bing and said in a muffled voice, "Even if they don't take you, someone of your status, seriously, they can't blame me for being mean and ungrateful then."

"The Zhuo family is not just the Zhuo family in Wujun."

Although Lu Bing is not from the Xue clan, the royal family, Lu Huan has a good relationship with the Emperor and is one of the imperial concubines in the court. So, there is nothing wrong with Lu Bing being the emperor's uncle.

If at this time, the emperor's uncle came to visit, but the Zhuo family still could not humble themselves, then for Emperor Li, the Zhuo family of Wujun would probably become his enemy.

As for the Zhuo family, there is another Zhuo family in Luoyang City. That Zhuo family is smarter and closer to Li Yun.

Lu Bing bowed his head deeply and said yes. His Majesty the Emperor looked at him and smiled: "I'll give you one year to take over the salt road. When you get used to this job, you can do some other jobs for me."

Lu Bing bowed his head: "Your Majesty ordered."

"Jiangdong is too far from Luoyang, and many reports are not clear. You will leave the Nine Departments and become an external official of the court. I will give you the authority to make secret reports. From now on, you will submit three secret reports to me every month, reporting the weather and grain prices in the area."

"If there are special circumstances, you can also submit a secret report."

Jiangdong is still too far away from Luoyang. Although there are Nine Officials keeping an eye on it, they are not machines and cannot be completely trusted over time. So Emperor Li needs a trusted one among his trusted ones to keep an eye on Jiangdong for him in secret so that nothing will happen to Jiangdong, his base camp, at least during the Zhangwu reign.

Lu Bing also understood the emperor's intention, and immediately bowed his head and said: "I will do my best as the salt commissioner. If your majesty needs..."

He paused, lowered his head and said, "I can stay in Jiangdong permanently and serve as your Majesty's eyes and ears."

The emperor looked at him and said with a smile: "Your sisters are all in Luoyang. If I leave you alone in Jiangdong for a long time, they will come to trouble me. Besides, a salt commissioner is a bit unfair to you."

"You are a down-to-earth person. There will be more important things in the future that I will leave to you."

Lu Bing can be said to be the only brother-in-law of His Majesty the Emperor. His two older brothers-in-law from the Xue family, one who was conferred the title of Marquis and the other a Duke who was to inherit the title, were both given important positions.

In the future, when Lu Bing grows older, His Majesty the Emperor will also make great use of him.

After all, those whose interests are completely dependent on him are the most loyal among the loyal, and are a force that can be almost completely trusted.

The reason why the word "almost" is mentioned is because the profession of emperor... is destined to have some suspicion towards everyone.

An emperor who is too naive and kind-hearted may die without even knowing how he died.

Even if he doesn't die, he will be kept in the dark and become a confused emperor.

After explaining the salt road matters to Lu Bing for a long time, Li Yun let him go. After Lu Bing bowed his head and saluted, he bowed his head to His Majesty the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I will go to Wu County and visit the Zhuo family."

The emperor thought about it, then nodded silently: "Be more polite." "Yes."

Lu Bing lowered his head and said, "I understand."

He bowed his head and left respectfully.

Emperor Li sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. Things in Liaodong and Luoyang City flashed through his mind. Finally, all the news from all sides of Luoyang gathered in his mind. After a long time, he opened his eyes and looked down at the documents piled in front of him.

“It’s really exhausting.”

His Majesty the Emperor muttered to himself, "This time, we must clean up a new court."

…………

After a few days, the weather gradually turned colder.

Time came to the end of the eighth year of Zhangwu.

Because this year, His Majesty the Emperor planned to celebrate the New Year in Jinling, the city of Jinling seemed to be a little more lively than in previous years.

That afternoon, the young master of the Duke's Mansion, Zhou Bi, changed into his official uniform and came all the way to the Imperial City to ask for an audience with the Emperor. After successfully meeting the Emperor, Zhou Bi saluted the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty."

The emperor looked up at him and smiled: "What's the matter that brings you to the palace in such a hurry?"

Zhou Bi looked at Li Yun, then looked down at the floor. After hesitating for a long time, he said, "There is one thing I want to explain to Your Majesty."

The emperor looked at him and said, "Sit down and talk."

Zhou Bi did not sit down. He looked around and saw that there was no one in the study, so he lowered his voice and said, "Second brother, although there is a Duke's Mansion in Jinling City these years, my father spends most of his time in the Jinling Army camp outside the city. He probably only comes back to stay for a few days a month. There is no mistress in the mansion, only the two concubines that my father took in more than ten years ago, and a few children."

"All matters in the mansion are decided by the housekeeper."

"I just found out that this guy is out there, using the name of our Zhou family to do whatever he wants, even amassing a lot of money. His daily food, clothing, housing and transportation are even worse than my father and I."

"I have already seized the thief and am going to hand him over to Jinling Prefecture for questioning. I hope they will chop him off!"

His Majesty the Emperor was writing a document with his head down. He stopped writing and looked up at Zhou Bi. Then he lowered his head and continued writing: "Where did you hear the rumor?"

Zhou Bi knelt down, touching his forehead to the ground and said, "Your Majesty, there were many Yulin soldiers guarding you that day, and my father and I just heard some news. During this period, my father and I discussed it for a long time. My father thinks that if we deal with the steward, the matter will be over, but I think we can't pretend that nothing happened."

"Therefore, I have come to Your Majesty today to apologize to Your Majesty."

The emperor finally finished writing a document, looked down at Zhou Bi who was kneeling on the ground, and after blowing the ink dry, he walked up to him and helped him up: "I will trust the Duke Dingguo Mansion about this matter."

"I didn't say anything to you, so there's no need to reveal this matter."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at Zhou Bi, who was wiping his sweat, and smiled: "It's just that your family's chief steward does have a comfortable life. I'm afraid that in some ways, I am not as good as him."

Zhou Bi wiped his sweat again and bowed his head, saying, "My father doesn't know that I'm here to see Your Majesty today. When I get back, I'll let my father know and we'll come together to apologize to Your Majesty."

Zhou Bi bowed his head and said, "After I leave Jinling with Your Majesty, my father plans to close the Duke's Mansion in Jinling City and live only in the military camp, and then wait for General Deng to take over..."

"My father took his family and moved back to Qingyang and never came back to Jinling again."

The emperor looked at Zhou Bi, shook his head and smiled, "It's not a big deal, there's no need to be so reserved."

"I don't ask how you handle your family affairs."

"There's no need to bother Uncle San about this matter anymore."

His Majesty the Emperor patted Zhou Bi on the shoulder.

"After the New Year and the beginning of spring, we will return to Luoyang. We still have one or two months. In a few days, you can accompany me and we will go south to take a look."

Zhou Bi first nodded his head and then reacted.

"Your Majesty is not bringing the guard of honor?"

"The procession is too slow."

The emperor stretched his muscles.

"Let's travel light."

(End of this chapter)