Thief Emperor

Chapter 1055 The Civil Official Who Needs Soldiers

Li Yun originally had no need to do these things that were ahead of their time.

He is forty years old this year. So far, he has accomplished eight or nine tenths of what emperors of the imperial era could do. The rest is just a matter of time.

In his future career, as long as he keeps the country in order, he doesn't even need to work as hard as before. He just needs to find a few reliable prime ministers, and the country will be able to function well.

For the rest of his life, His Majesty the Emperor only needs to concern himself with crucial powers like military command, act as a referee for his ministers in his spare time, and then indulge in eating, drinking, and merrymaking.

To put it bluntly, they can sleep with whomever they want.

It doesn't even discriminate based on gender.

With the current foundation of the new dynasty, as long as it doesn't follow Yang Guang's example, it won't be completely ruined in twenty or thirty years.

Moreover, whether in this era or in later generations, no one would expect an emperor of an imperial era to promote social development or advance productivity. In other words, even if Li Yun did nothing, later historical records would still record him as the divine and martial Emperor Gaozu.

His descendants will also worship him.

But if that were the case, then Li Yun, who transmigrated here, would actually have died in this world and been assimilated by it.

Or perhaps, the experience back then truly became a fleeting dream, an illusory and ethereal illusion, where both souls were ruthlessly crushed by Emperor Gaozu of Tang, who then transformed them into his own body.

For the past two or three years, Li Yun had been thinking about this issue. He focused his attention on his successor, wanting to see if his successor could carry on his business and whether this matter could be continued.

After all, this is a very difficult task, requiring generations of leaders to steer the course steadfastly forward.

In another world, unless one is beaten hard and awakened, it is difficult to have the determination to move forward firmly.

This world did not experience that tragic historical process, so Li Yun was very worried about whether future successors would be able to follow in his footsteps.

However, he has figured it out recently.

Each generation should do its own job well. As long as he does his best to do his job well and teach the next generation well, he can have a clear conscience.

If the future emperor does not listen to him and continues to lead the country back to the old ways, then it can only be said that human effort is no match for destiny.

No one is to blame.

What Emperor Li needs to do now is to live as long as possible and do as much as possible. If he can make the benefits of increased productivity available to the general public during his lifetime, then even if his descendants want to go backwards, they will be swept away by the tide of history.

To accomplish this, one needs helpers and partners, and Du Qian is clearly such a good partner. However, Du Qian has never seen these things before, so he needs to see the results of the trial first.

Even Li Yun himself would need to see the results in Jiangdong Province before considering whether to promote it nationwide.

Governing a country requires extreme caution; what is honey to one may be poison to another. One must proceed step by step, as if walking on thin ice.

After a long private conversation with Du Qian, during which Du received a great deal of information from Li Yun, he left Ganlu Palace with a heavy heart.

His Majesty the Emperor had been dealing with state affairs in the Ganlu Hall all morning. After lunch, he had just taken a nap when the eunuch Gu Chang cautiously entered and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Huang Chao is waiting for an audience outside the hall."

Emperor Li stretched his limbs to wake himself up, got up to wash his face, then glanced at Gu Chang and said indifferently, "Let him in to see the Emperor."

Gu Chang bowed respectfully and hurriedly went to fetch someone.

His Majesty the Emperor glanced at Gu Chang's retreating figure, frowned slightly, and remained silent.

As the Jiangdong Group grew from its former glory to become a ruling force, its internal conflicts of interest became increasingly complex and extensive.

It has even implicated the palace.

For example, the eunuch Gu, whom Emperor Li has been using very much in recent years, was a palace servant from a poor family a few years ago. Now, although he is in the palace, his family members are still outside the palace.

They've already made a fortune.

As for where this "wealth" came from, an investigation would easily uncover a large number of people involved, but at this point, there's no need to delve into that matter.

If you hold grudges against everyone around you, over time you'll have no close confidants left and you'll truly be all alone.

As long as no one crosses the line, whether it's Li Yun or any other ruler, they'll turn a blind eye. They'll simply pretend they don't know anything.

A moment later, Huang Chao, dressed in the robes of a third-rank civil official, entered the Ganlu Hall with utmost respect, knelt before the emperor, and kowtowed: "Your subject Huang Chao, the Defense Commissioner of Jiannan Circuit, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

His Majesty the Emperor raised his hand, gesturing for Huang Chao to rise. After Huang Chao stood up, he smiled and said, "I should have brought up your matter at the Grand Court Assembly earlier, but I was discussing something with Prime Minister Du and forgot about it."

Huang Chao lowered his head slightly and said, "The matters Your Majesty and Prime Minister Du discussed are of great importance to the country. My personal matters are not important."

The emperor waved his hand and asked, "Has the Ministry of Personnel gone there?"

"Your Majesty, I arrived in Luoyang the day before yesterday and reported to the Ministry of Personnel yesterday."

Emperor Li nodded and said, "You should know about that matter. I plan to transfer you to Liaodong Circuit as the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Liaodong Circuit."

Huang Chao stood up, bowed his head, and said, "Your Majesty, I will certainly live up to your trust and do a good job in the Liaodong Circuit!"

Emperor Li looked at him, coughed, and said, "You handled the Jiannan Road matter very well, but when it comes to Liaodong Road, we can't just start fighting again. Liaodong Road has been out of the enemy's sights for ten years, and many of the local people have been deceived by the Khitans."

"After you go, teach them well."

His Majesty the Emperor paused, then added, "Do not incite killing unless absolutely necessary."

Huang Chao knelt on the ground and bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I am always kind and benevolent. I will never kill anyone unless absolutely necessary."

The emperor looked at him silently, then said somewhat speechlessly, "If it weren't for the fact that Xichuan had already abolished the hereditary chieftain system and replaced it with direct imperial administration, I would have almost believed you."

"listen."

His Majesty the Emperor said solemnly, “Yelü Hong has already submitted to the court. You heard this at the grand court meeting this morning. When he returns north, you will go with him. When you arrive in Liaodong, first take over Youyan and other prefectures, and then work with the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner to properly establish the Provincial Administration Commission Office and the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Office in Liaodong. Then register the households and the people, and carry out the administration and education of the court.”

Huang Chao bowed and said, "Your subject obeys."

He paused for a moment, then looked up at Li Yun and asked, "Your Majesty, should the 20,000 surrendered Khitans be settled in Liaodong? If so, I request to borrow 2,000 troops from the Liaodong Royal Army for the daily use of the Provincial Administration Commission."

His Majesty the Emperor rubbed his temples, glanced at the fellow, and said helplessly, "Why is it that no matter where you go or what official position you hold, you always have to have military force?"

"Don't worry, don't worry. Those 20,000 Khitans will be settled in Hebei Province. You don't need to worry about them. When you go to Youzhou, take my order and have Zhao Cheng allocate a commandant battalion to you to suppress the local people."

Huang Chao knelt on the ground, first bowing his head to express his gratitude, then said solemnly, "The places Your Majesty has sent me to are not peaceful. Administrative regions cannot do without military force. If Your Majesty sends me to places like Jiangdong Circuit or Huainan Circuit as Provincial Governor, I will definitely not take a single soldier."

The emperor looked at him and asked with a smile, "I'm sending you to Huainan Circuit. Will you go or not?"

"Of course."

Without hesitation, Huang Chao replied, "I was born a salt merchant and spent my early years in Huainan Circuit, living in Yangzhou. If Your Majesty sends me to Huainan Circuit, I'll practically be going home."

"Moreover, Huainan Road is prosperous."

Huang Chao said solemnly, "I also want to live a good life."

The emperor was speechless: "If I had known last year, I would have sent you to Jiangdong to manage the salt administration."

After saying this, His Majesty the Emperor tapped the table and said quietly, "You are a capable official who has pioneered new frontiers. If you can do a good job in Liaodong and establish local government offices, I will give you a great credit. From now on, I will definitely let you live a good life."

Huang Chao bowed deeply and kowtowed, saying, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty!"

After discussing the construction of Liaodong Circuit, Huang Chao stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Liaodong Circuit is currently only a name. It is not clear which prefectures and counties it includes, nor is it clear which officials will be appointed. I will go to the Ministry of Personnel to discuss this matter with them."

His Majesty the Emperor nodded: "Go ahead."

Huang Chao bowed respectfully and took his leave.

Emperor Li watched his departing figure, pondered for a moment, and then smiled wryly.

"What a weirdo."

(End of this chapter)