Thief Emperor

Chapter 1012 Return to Beijing
After comforting the Lu sisters, His Majesty the Emperor returned to his study, sat in his seat, and sat quietly for a long time.

Originally, he thought that being emperor was just a status, and there was not much difference between being emperor and being the King of Wu or the Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangdong.

But only after I became an emperor did I understand the huge difference between them.

Apart from anything else, being in Jinling, with beauties by his side, all of them young and pretty girls, each of them was thinking only about how to please him and how to serve him.

How to please him and win his favor.

How can I get onto his bed and sleep with him?

These are a huge test for a normal man.

More importantly, there were far more people who had these thoughts than just the three beauties he had just married into Jinling.

As long as he is willing, thirty or three hundred may not be a big problem.

Moreover, everyone has very low expectations of His Majesty the Emperor in this regard. Even everyone in the court feels that His Majesty the Emperor's harem should be more substantial.

Because the harem "establishment" of one hundred and eight was far from full.

For a normal man, if he is not careful, he will become addicted to it and never want to leave.

After sitting in silence for a long time, His Majesty the Emperor rubbed his brows and sighed softly: "This is really a business that goes against human nature."

Being an emperor not only means facing numerous temptations, but the most terrible thing is that there is no one to rule the country.

Everything depends on self-discipline.

If he is not self-disciplined and indulges in it, it will not just be a matter of sleeping with one or two women. Others will cater to his preferences and send all kinds of beauties to the Emperor continuously.

It's easy to become lazy.

Because there are too many political issues.

Every emperor who worked hard to govern the country was so busy that he had almost no time to do anything in bed.

After sighing, His Majesty the Emperor drank a sip of tea and looked through the documents and information sent from various places. After reading the information from Liaodong, the Emperor picked up his brush and wrote a letter to Meng Qing in Liaodong.

By now in the battle of Liaodong, Li Yun's strategic goal had been achieved. What remained was to build Yumen Pass and manage Liaodong.

Each of these two tasks cannot be accomplished in a year or two. Even the construction of Yuguan will probably take two to three years.

Therefore, this battle in Liaodong has basically come to an end. What remains is to clean out the Khitans in Youyan. After the Khitans in Youyan are cleaned up, His Majesty the Emperor will send people to take over the administration of Youyan.

Meng Qing’s contribution has already been realized.

By then, the Tang Dynasty will have its third great general, who will be the most respected and trusted general by the emperor.

After returning the documents from Liaodong, Li Yun flipped through the letters Liu Bo sent back from Luoyang, as well as the news sent back from other sources. He stroked his chin and pondered for a while, then shook his head slightly: "Eastern Palace, Eastern Palace..."

His Majesty the Emperor shook his head slightly and said, "I don't know when it will be useful. If it is really useful, it will be when Yuan'er can inherit the throne."

He muttered to himself.

At this moment, he even had the idea of ​​abdicating the throne to the Crown Prince when he became a capable person in the future.

However, this thought only flashed through his mind and was thrown behind him.

It's not that Emperor Li is greedy for power, but that power is too cruel. If he really becomes the emperor emeritus and does not give up power, his situation will be no different from now.

Giving up power may not lead to losing one's life, but one may end up in a miserable situation in his later years.

By the time he finished dealing with state affairs, it was already completely dark and the Emperor's energy had been almost exhausted. He went all the way to the harem and found the residence of Concubine Shu.

As Concubine Shu undressed him, she whispered, "Your Majesty, why don't you go to those beauties tonight?"

Emperor Li held Concubine Lu's hand and said with a smile, "It's just a casual affair with them."

"Huan'er, don't be jealous."

"Who's jealous?"

Princess Lu hung up his clothes and massaged his shoulders while saying with a smile, "I wish your Majesty would go and torment them."

His Majesty the Emperor turned around and looked at the Concubine Shu, who had been with him for more than ten years, and his eyes softened: "Okay, there's no need to serve me. It's getting late."

He hugged Concubine Shu, lay down on the bed, and said with a smile: "Let's work hard, Huan'er will give me another prince."

The candlelight went out. Concubine Lu hugged Emperor Li's waist, her eyes like water. After a long time, she whispered something in Li Yun's ear.

"it is good."

…………

In mid-February, His Majesty the Emperor left Nanjing.

The people of Jinling still lined the streets to see him off, and many of them shed tears as they looked at the emperor's carriage.

General Zhou Liang accompanied his son and escorted him for dozens of miles. After walking for thirty or forty miles, Emperor Li stopped the dragon chariot and said to Zhou Liang with a smile, "Uncle, don't send him off anymore. Come back soon." He paused and continued, "In another month or two, Deng Yang will be able to rush to Jinling to take over your job."

Zhou Liang bowed his head deeply, answered yes, then looked up at the emperor with a complicated look.

Li Yun had known him for many years and immediately saw the sadness in Zhou Liang's eyes. His Majesty jumped off the dragon chariot, walked to Zhou Liang, whose hair was already gray, and said with a smile: "After Third Uncle retires, he should recuperate for a few years. When he is in good health, I will have someone take him to Luoyang."

"I will also prepare a Duke's Mansion for you in Luoyang City."

Zhou Liang bowed his head deeply and sighed, "My health is getting worse every year. I don't know if I will have the chance to see Your Majesty again."

"Yes, there must be."

Emperor Li said solemnly: "The Tang Dynasty has just begun, there will be more prosperous times ahead, Uncle San will see."

Zhou Liang did not reply, but bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, it is getting late, please do not delay your journey, please get on the chariot."

Li Yun nodded, looked at Zhou Bi behind Zhou Liang, and said, "You should stay in the southeast for a while and take good care of your uncle. When your uncle has dealt with the matter, you can return to Luoyang to submit the order."

Zhou Bi bowed his head and said, "I obey your command."

His Majesty the Emperor patted Zhou Liang on the shoulder, sighed, turned around and got on the dragon chariot.

The chariot, surrounded by ceremonial guards, went further and further along the official road.

Zhou Liang and his son watched the procession disappear from their sight. They did not move for a long time. After a long while, Zhou Liang looked back at Zhou Bi. After a moment of silence, he said, "Let someone bring the two granddaughters from Luoyang to show me."

Zhou Bi quickly lowered his head and said "OK".

Zhou Liang was silent for a while, then suddenly groaned, "Your wife is too overbearing."

"For all these years, you are not allowed to take a concubine. You have to leave a root for our Zhou family, right?"

Zhou Bicheng has been married for many years, but he has only two daughters and no sons.

His wife is General Su's sister, and she is somewhat henpecked at home.

Zhou Bi heard this, wiped the sweat from his forehead, lowered his head and said: "Dad, next year, next year it won't work."

"My son will definitely take a concubine. He will definitely take a concubine."

Zhou Liang nodded slowly and patted his son's shoulder: "Let's go, let's go."

Zhou Bi responded with a "yes" and followed his old father to mount the horse. The father and son rode on horseback with their backs to the setting sun and slowly disappeared at the end of the official road.

…………

Because he had other important things to do when he returned to Luoyang, he basically did not stay in other places except for a few days in the disaster-stricken Bianzhou.

Even so, because the sedan chair was too slow and the etiquette was complicated, it took from mid-February to nearly April before the Emperor and his entourage finally entered the territory of Jingzhao Prefecture.

On the day after entering Jingzhao Prefecture, someone came to greet him. The leader was a middle-aged man who was still a little thin. He was wearing a purple robe and riding a tall horse.

The middle-aged man stopped the procession, and everyone who saw him, including Yang Xi, bowed their heads, saluted respectfully, and called him "Prince".

When the prince arrived in front of the chariot, he bowed and saluted, smiling and said, "Brother, I am here to greet you."

His Majesty the Emperor lifted the curtain and saw Prince Jin bowing to him outside, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

It has been more than half a year since he left Beijing.

From childhood to adulthood, the two brothers have rarely been separated for such a long time. The last time they were separated for such a long time was when Prince Jin led his troops to attack Lingnan.

"Come on, come on."

His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand and said with a smile, "Come on board, come on board."

Just as the Prince of Jin was about to get on the carriage, the Prince of Yue, who was riding a horse beside the dragon chariot, had already dismounted, bowed his head and saluted him, and greeted him with a smile: "Uncle Prince of Jin!"

When Li Zheng saw Prince Yue, he ignored the Emperor and stepped forward to hold Prince Yue Li Zheng's hand, frowning and saying, "I heard that you went to the battlefield and fought with the Khitans?"

Li Zheng scratched his head, feeling a little guilty.

"Uncle Wang, my father has already punished me, please don't..."

Prince Jin glared at him, sighed, and said nothing more, "I'll talk to you about it when we get back to Luoyang."

After saying this, he turned around and got on the emperor's carriage. He looked at the emperor with a happy smile on his face.

"Second brother, you've been away for more than half a year, and you've been very carefree."

His Majesty the Emperor patted him on the shoulder with a smile on his face.

"If I hadn't been away for a while, how could Luoyang City be as lively as it is now?"

(End of this chapter)