Thief Emperor

Chapter 1052 Stabilizing Jinchuan

Xichuan, Chengdu Prefecture.

His Highness the King of Yue, dressed in a mink cloak, rode along the official road with his entourage.

After reaching the border of Chengdu Prefecture, after traveling about ten miles, someone finally came to greet them. As His Highness the Prince of Yue approached, a burly man led a group of elite soldiers, kneeling on both sides of the official road and bowing his head: "This humble general, Yu Ye, General of Chengdu, pays his respects to Your Highness!"

His Highness the Prince of Yue dismounted and strode over to General Yu. He reached out and pulled him up, saying with a smile, "I've heard my father mention you, General. He said you were a former member of the bandit-hunting team and were very fierce in battle. In terms of our friendship within the bandit-hunting team, I should call you Uncle."

Yu Ye is one of the younger members of the anti-theft team, but even so, he is actually about the same age as His Majesty the Emperor, and is almost forty years old this year.

After all, when His Majesty the Emperor swept through the bandits of Xuanzhou, he was only in his early twenties. Most of the bandit-hunting teams he subdued and integrated were actually older than him. The oldest member of the bandit-hunting team is now in his early sixties.

Yu Ye, still in his prime, is one of the more successful members of the anti-theft team. Now stationed in Xichuan, he holds one of the most powerful official positions among military officers.

Even a general like him, who was in charge of a region, couldn't help but feel excited after hearing the King of Yue's words. He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "It's rare that Your Majesty still remembers this humble general."

After saying that, he looked up at Li Zheng and froze in place again.

Yu Ye has been stationed in the provinces for far too long. Over the years, he has visited Luoyang only a handful of times, and he has met the princes very few times.

I vaguely remember that the last time I saw this Second Prince was six years ago. At that time, the Second Prince was still a child, and I couldn't tell anything about him.

But now, the seventeen or eighteen-year-old Prince Yue has grown tall and strong, even taller than Yu Ye by half a head.

Yu Ye was momentarily stunned and remained silent for a long time.

They look...really too similar!
Needless to say, this Second Prince, just in terms of physique, appearance, personality, and voice, is at least... at least 60% similar to the Emperor, or even more.

Fortunately, Yu Ye was a seasoned general who had seen much of the world. He was only stunned for a moment before he came to his senses and bowed slightly, saying, "Your Highness, is His Majesty in good health?"

His Highness the King of Yue smiled and said, "Peace and health are very good."

"Before I left Beijing, my father called me over and we sparred. With his current health, he could probably take on five of me without any problem."

Upon hearing this, General Yu was taken aback at first, then laughed heartily and said, "Your Highness is truly witty."

He paused, then added with emotion, "However, it is already quite remarkable that Your Highness can fight against His Majesty."

His Highness the King of Yue looked at Yu Ye and asked with a smile, "What do you mean by that, Uncle Yu?"

Yu Ye recalled the past years, and after a moment of reverie, he smiled and said, "Your Highness should know that I was originally from the Green Forest. At that time, I was a bandit in Black Tiger Village in Xuanzhou."

He seemed to recall those days, and murmured, "His Majesty led twenty or thirty men, charging into our village, and killed our chieftain in a single exchange."

"At that time, there were forty or fifty men in Black Tiger Stronghold. Few of them could stand a chance against His Majesty. I was only nineteen years old at the time. I rushed in front of His Majesty and didn't know what was happening. Suddenly everything went black and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was already tied up."

At this point, Yu Ye smiled and said, "His Majesty recruited seven people from Black Tiger Stronghold to join the bandit-hunting team, and I was one of them. I have followed His Majesty all the way to this day."

As they spoke, Yu Ye helped Prince Yue mount his horse and said, "Your Highness, I have prepared a banquet in the city to welcome you. Officials from Jiannan Circuit and Chengdu Prefecture are all waiting for you outside Chengdu. It is getting late."

"Let's mount our horses and head into the city."

Li Zheng agreed and then said with a smile, "I'm young and don't know what happened to my father back then. When we get to the city, Uncle Yu will tell me all about it."

Yu Ye said with a smile, "Your Highness can just call me by my name. I am not worthy of being called 'Uncle'."

The Prince of Yue waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing, and then spurred his horse and galloped towards Chengdu.

In fact, Yu Ye was qualified to be called "uncle" by the princes.

Although Yu Ye was a rising star in the anti-theft team, he made great contributions to pacifying the country back then. After the founding of the country, he was granted the title of marquis and is now one of the few generals who are stationed in the region. Even in the entire military, he is a well-known figure.

The group arrived at the gates of Chengdu and met with officials from the Jiannan Circuit and Chengdu Prefecture. They knelt before His Highness the Prince and then welcomed the Prince of Yue to a banquet.

After the banquet finally ended, Yu Ye personally led the King of Yue to his residence in Chengdu. When the two arrived at the entrance of the residence, the King of Yue looked up at the "residence" and froze on the spot.

A gust of night wind sobered him up almost instantly. He turned to look at Yu Ye and said with a wry smile, "Uncle Yu, please don't harm me. How can I possibly stay here?"

Yu Ye also looked at this "residence" and saw that it was not a residence at all, but clearly a royal palace.

The regulations and rules are exactly the same as those of the emperor, and the imperial palace in Luoyang is only slightly smaller in scale, but surpasses it in terms of etiquette. Yu Ye said with a smile: "Your Highness, there is no need to panic. This is the temporary residence built by the former Zhou emperor after he fled to Chengdu. Therefore, the regulations and rules are the same as those of the imperial palace."

"His Majesty's decree to me stated that Your Highness may stay here after arriving in Chengdu, and if Your Highness is later enfeoffed in Jiannan Circuit."

Yu Ye paused for a moment, then continued, "If this is modified further, it can serve as His Highness's residence."

Prince Yue glanced at Yu Ye, then looked back at the imperial temporary residence. After thinking for a moment, he waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I can't stay in a place like this. If I stay here, I'm afraid I'll be in a lot of trouble."

He looked at Yu Ye and said, "Uncle Yu, please arrange another place for me to stay."

He knew his father's personality very well. He knew that living here was fine with his father, but if it got back to his elder brother, it would probably cause some trouble.

Yu Ye smiled wryly and said, "This was all prepared in advance. This place has been cleared out for more than a month, just waiting for Your Highness to come and stay. Where can I find another place for Your Highness to stay for a while?"

"Then I'll stay at Uncle Yu's house."

His Highness the Prince of Yue took Yu Ye's arm and said with a smile, "Perfect timing. I still have many questions to ask Uncle Yu about the Tibetans. We didn't enjoy the wine tonight. Let's have another drink when we get to Uncle Yu's house!"

Yu Ye wanted to say something more, but the Second Prince held him back. He had no choice but to take Li Zheng to his general's mansion and have his family arrange accommodations for him.

After arranging accommodations, it was already late at night. General Yu was pulled into drinking by Li Zheng again. After a few drinks, His Highness the Prince of Yue finally asked about serious matters.

He looked at Yu Ye and asked, "Uncle Yu, how much do you know about the Tibetans?"

Yu Ye thought for a moment and replied, "Last month, the head of the Jiannan Division of the Nine Divisions came to me and told me about the situation of the Tibetans, according to the Nine Divisions."

"Around the end of the year, the Tibetans would send people to Chengdu to meet His Highness. Then they would paint a portrait of His Highness and take it back to ask the Tibetan princess for her opinion."

Upon hearing this, His Highness the Prince of Yue tilted his head back and took a sip of wine, saying irritably, "These Tibetans are so inconsiderate. Why did they only give me a portrait but not let me see a portrait of the Tibetan princess?"

Yu Ye smiled and said, "This is nothing to worry about."

This is indeed insignificant, because this marriage is most likely not going to happen.

Throughout history, it was not unusual for princesses to be married off to foreign countries, since princesses did not have the right to inherit family property in that era.

But the princes have them.

If a prince marries a Tibetan princess and becomes the son-in-law of the Tibetan kingdom, then if something happens to the "son-in-law," wouldn't Tibet be able to justifiably launch an attack on the Tang dynasty?

If the King of Yue had been enfeoffed in Jiannan Circuit, bordering Tibet, the father-in-law and son-in-law would probably have had to interact even more, oblivious to the world around them.

Therefore, from the very beginning, neither Li Yun, nor Li Zheng, nor the entire imperial court intended for this marriage to go through.

Yu Ye was well aware of this, which is why he said the matter was insignificant.

He glanced at His Highness the Prince of Yue and continued, "The most important thing is Jinchuan Prefecture."

The King of Yue nodded slowly and said quietly, "The important thing is Jinchuan Prefecture. If we can take Jinchuan Prefecture..."

He looked at Yu Ye with burning eyes: "In the future, the initiative in the war will be in our hands. Perhaps Father will let me guard Jiannan in the future."

"Going west is not impossible!"

Yu Ye lowered his head, took a sip of wine, and continued, "But this is difficult. The terrain of Jinchuan Prefecture is too treacherous, and our troops cannot advance there."

His Highness the Prince of Yue poured him a cup of wine and asked with a smile, "Uncle Yu, has Father Emperor given you the power to make decisions?"

At this point, the power to make decisions is the power to initiate war.

Yu Ye was stunned for a moment, then took the wine cup handed to him by the King of Yue with both hands, hesitated for a moment, and slowly nodded.

"Give it."

Upon hearing this, His Highness the King of Yue clinked his wine cup with Yu Ye's, his face full of smiles.

"That's fine, that's fine."

(End of this chapter)