Thief Emperor

Chapter 1050 Unkind Invitation
The two had known each other for a very long time.

Back in Yuezhou, if it weren't for Wu Yuanyou, Li Yun's rise to power might have been delayed by another year or two.

In such a competitive world, one wrong step can easily lead to a series of wrong steps. In retrospect, this year and a half of start-up time is actually quite valuable.

More importantly, Wu Yuanyou is a smooth and intelligent person. Over the years, he has never done anything to cross Li Yunhong's line, and the two get along quite well.

After his brother, the former Zhou emperor Wu Yuancheng, died, the Prince of Chenliu also took over from Li Yun and managed Wu Yuancheng's sons very well.

At least, it saved Li Yun a lot of trouble.

At this time, the Crown Prince injured him in order to investigate the case, which Li Yun considered somewhat excessive.

From any perspective, it's highly unlikely that Wu Yuanyou had any connection to that assassination case.

Unless his personality and behavior over the years have all been an act.

Unless he is the mastermind behind the "rebellious" forces.

If not, this matter won't have much to do with him.

Wu Yuanyou followed behind Li Yun, and upon hearing this, he almost knelt down. He bowed his head deeply and said, "Your Majesty, you must not do this."

He sighed deeply and said, "His Majesty's assassination attempt is a momentous event. Since the investigation has led to our Wu family, and His Highness the Crown Prince is in charge, it is only reasonable for the Crown Prince to come and question me."

"As a son and the crown prince, Your Highness's decision not to imprison our family is already quite benevolent."

A smile forced onto the plump face of the Prince of Chenliu: "If His Majesty were to offer any further compensation to our family, it would be to discredit the Crown Prince in front of all the civil and military officials."

"This is absolutely unacceptable."

Wu Yuanyou lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, please be cautious."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the main hall of the Prince's Mansion. Emperor Li sat in the main seat, looked at Wu Yuancheng, and couldn't help but sigh, "What a pity, what a pity that you, Brother Wu, are a member of the imperial family of the previous dynasty and the brother of Emperor Zhaoding."

"Otherwise, with your vision, knowledge, and skills, Brother Wu, you could become a prime minister or one of the six ministries and nine ministers in my court."

"There's absolutely no problem."

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Chenliu forced a smile and said, "As a civil official, I might actually be able to succeed."

Emperor Li looked at him and continued with a sigh, "If the throne of Wu Zhou had been in Brother Wu's hands back then, Wu Zhou might still be around today."

He thought for a moment, then said with certainty, "At least Jiannan Road must still be under the Wu family."

Wu Yuanyou shook his head: "When my father was alive, the court was already in a state of deep-seated problems that were difficult to reverse."

"Even a celestial being couldn't save him."

He sighed, "I can't do it either."

At this point, the Prince of Chenliu looked at Li Yun and said with a smile, "I would like to say something outrageous: even if Your Majesty were in my brother's position, it would be difficult for you to restore order to the world."

Li Yun was speechless for a moment, then nodded and said, "It is difficult."

Two hundred years of conflicting interests had resulted in a complex and intertwined political landscape for the Wu Zhou dynasty, with various factions deeply entrenched in their power, a situation that no single emperor could resolve.

Of course, Emperor Zhaoding's personal incompetence did not alleviate the collapse of the Wu Zhou Dynasty; on the contrary, it accelerated it, causing the dynasty to begin its demise within just a few years.

"I'm here today."

Emperor Li looked at Wu Yuanyou and said quietly, "On the one hand, it's because the child acted too rashly and hurt Brother Wu. I came to see Brother Wu."

"The second thing is that I want to ask about Chen Wang Wuheng in Chenzhou."

"What kind of person is he?"

Wu Yuanyou had obviously anticipated that Li Yun would ask this question. He thought for a moment and then replied, "He is my father's cousin, but because he is from a minor branch of the family, he is not much older than my brother."

“After Prince Chen came of age, he had two hobbies.”

Wu Yuanyou paused for a moment, then continued, "First, he is fond of women; second, he is fond of literature."

"When he was young, I heard that he kept many beautiful maids and many male prostitutes."

"After inheriting the title of prince, he became even more unrestrained, frequently inviting scholars and famous Confucian scholars to his Prince Chen Mansion. Some say it was to exchange poems and essays, while others say that he had different hobbies and often gave away his maids and servants."

"No matter what."

Wu Yuanyou glanced at Li Yun and said cautiously, "Because he has a wide circle of friends and is very generous, often spending lavishly, he has a great reputation among scholars in the Central Plains."

"Many scholars like to go to Chenzhou to make friends with this Prince Chen."

Wu Yuanyou lowered his head and said, "I have heard that in Chenzhou, there are people who specialize in training maids for him. In the end, their skills are superb, but they are still virgins."

"He can then give these virgins away to others, which will make them completely devoted to him."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Li couldn't help but frown. When he was causing trouble in Chenzhou, Liu Zhiyuan had given him a dozen or so beauties, all of whom were highly skilled and virgins.

The Third Prince's mother, Consort Qin, is one of these people.

In other words, he and Prince Chen seem to have a long-standing connection.

At this point, Wu Yuanyou lowered his head and said, "This is all I know about the traitor Chen. After that, the world was in chaos, Your Majesty launched a great undertaking, swept across the world, and established a holy dynasty."

"For nearly ten years, I have not heard any news of Prince Chen. I thought he had died in the chaos of the world long ago."

“When His Highness the Crown Prince came to see me, I reported everything I knew to His Highness in the truth.”

Emperor Li tapped the table with his hand and said with a smile, "It's not surprising that this romantic prince, who spends money like water and also likes to associate with scholars."

"No wonder he lost his status as a vassal king."

Emperor Li said slowly, "We can still do things in the shadows."

There are still many officials from the old Zhou dynasty in the court today, and even a group of them who did not serve as officials in the old Zhou dynasty but were well-known local scholars. After the establishment of the new dynasty, there was a shortage of people, so they were brought in to serve as officials.

Based on this calculation, many of Chen Wang's old acquaintances probably served as officials in Li Yun's court.

In other words, he wielded considerable influence within the imperial court.

Thinking of this, Emperor Li said a few more words to Wu Yuanyou, then got up and left. Before leaving, he patted the Prince of Chenliu on the shoulder and said, "We had agreed before that you are one of the two kings and three guests of the new dynasty. You are a guest of the Li family. My son did not treat his guest well."

"Although I can't directly punish him, I will definitely make sure to provide Brother Wu with what he needs in secret."

Having said that, Emperor Li put his hands behind his back, strode away, and got into his carriage.

The round-faced Prince of Chenliu knelt on the ground, bowing and paying his respects. He remained kneeling until the carriage was far away, his buttocks sticking out high.

After a long while, his son helped him up and couldn't help but say, "Father, weren't you sick yesterday? How come you're full of energy again today?"

"Shut up."

The Prince of Chenliu glared at his son, grunted, and said nothing.

He walked into the palace with his hands behind his back.

"If you continue to be sick tomorrow, we won't see any more guests!"

"I won't see anyone who comes!"

…………

The following afternoon, Su Zhan brought Yelü Hong to the Ganlu Hall once again. Yelü Hong knelt before His Majesty the Emperor and bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty, I, Yelü Hong, pay my respects!"

After reviewing the documents from Youyan that the Nine Departments had just sent, and confirming that Zhao Cheng had not yet succeeded in taking Youzhou, Li Yun looked at Yelü Hong kneeling on the ground and said indifferently, "Wasn't the envoy supposed to rest for a few days? Why did you come today?"

Yelü Hong also knelt on the ground, his buttocks raised high, and kowtowed to the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I thought about it all night yesterday, and now I have made a decision."

His voice was hoarse.

"In order to prevent the people of Youyan from suffering devastation, and to prevent my people and Your Majesty's army from shedding blood, I am willing to agree to Your Majesty's request."

"Your Majesty, please issue an edict. I will carry Your Majesty's edict and return to Youyan immediately to lead the soldiers of Youyan to submit to Your Majesty!"

Emperor Li looked at him, stroked his beard, and seemed to be deep in thought.

He looked at Su Zhan, who shook his head slightly, indicating that he hadn't done anything.

Emperor Li thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Since the envoy has agreed, I will naturally agree as well."

"The day after tomorrow is the day of the Grand Court Assembly. When you attend the Grand Court Assembly, pay homage to me and then tell me about this matter."

"I agreed to your request at the court meeting, and then the Secretariat can draft the edict."

Yelü Hong knelt on the ground and bowed his head deeply.

"Your subject obeys."

He bowed his head and said, "I have another request."

The emperor was not surprised and said calmly, "Go ahead and say it."

Yelü Hong looked up at the emperor and said, "This humble subject is one of the commanders of 20,000 elite troops in Youzhou, and I am willing to stand with these 20,000 people..."

"I submit to Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)