Thief Emperor

Chapter 1114 East and West Connectivity

"Dayan?"

His Majesty the Emperor thought for a moment before speaking, "Your father-in-law?"

Liu Bo quickly waved his hand and coughed, "She's not my legal wife, so she can't be considered my father-in-law."

His Majesty the Emperor chuckled but did not reply. Instead, he looked at the two men and asked, "Have either of you sent anyone to Qingyang?"

Li Zheng sighed and said, "We set off the day before yesterday."

Li Yun nodded and said, "My third son also set off yesterday. He went on my behalf, so there are more rules to follow."

"It will probably take a few days longer to arrive than your two families."

Duke Liu Bo of England said quietly, "My eldest and second eldest sons have both gone. If it weren't for the news from Liaodong, I would have liked to go back to Qingyang to take a look."

Li Zheng sat to the side, somewhat annoyed: "That Zhou Bi kid is so insensible. When Uncle San was seriously ill, he didn't even send a message to Luoyang. We didn't even know until after he passed away."

Liu Bo shook his head and said, "It was probably my third uncle who forbade him to tell us these things, and there were too many things to do in the court, so he just reported that he was seriously ill."

He looked around and said, "Of the three of us, only I can leave."

Li Yun didn't reply, but instead called out to Gu Chang.

Eunuch Gu quickly trotted in, bowing his head and saying, "Your Majesty."

"Go, prepare a table of food and wine, and bring some good wine over."

Gu Chang glanced at the other two people present, quickly bowed his head, and respectfully withdrew.

Soon, the food and wine were served. Emperor Li sat imposingly in the main seat, looked at his two brothers below him, and then looked at Liu Bo, asking, "Your father-in-law from the Wugu tribe is gone. What is their attitude?"

Liu Bo looked at Li Yun and said seriously, "I came here to talk to my second brother about this. The Wugu tribe wants my eldest son in the Khitan tribe to go back and inherit the Wugu tribe and become its leader."

Emperor Li took a sip of wine and asked, "Liu Bilie?"

"Correct."

Li Yun thought for a moment and asked, "How old is that kid this year?"

"He came to Luoyang nine years ago during the reign of Emperor Zhangwu."

Liu Bo replied, "I've been in Luoyang for six years, and I'm sixteen years old this year."

His Majesty the Emperor narrowed his eyes and said, "Then let him go. His brother can stay in Luoyang for now, and we'll consider whether to go to Liaodong after he comes of age."

At this point, Emperor Li paused for a moment before saying, "I will honor our previous agreement and appoint your son as the Khan of the Khitan."

"But it will take a few years."

At this point, Emperor Li and Liu Bo clinked glasses.

Liu Bo nodded and said, "That's what I think too."

He took a sip of wine and said, "This child has a personality like his mother's side of the family. He's very tenacious and has a ruthless streak. He's in Luoyang now, and we have a good relationship."

"But it's hard to say what he'll be thinking after he becomes the leader of a department, so I think we should wait two years before making a decision."

Li Yun shook his head and said, "That's not what I meant. The Wugu tribe has been very well-behaved all these years. Whether these Khitan tribes that have submitted to us will have ulterior motives is not about what they think, but about whether we are strong enough."

“I want to see if the Wugu tribe is truly sincere in wanting him to go and become their leader. If they just want the title of Khitan Khan, they might take your son over to be a puppet.”

"That doesn't mean anything."

Liu Bo nodded and continued, "I plan to leave his mother in Luoyang."

Emperor Li looked at him and said, "Well, it depends on what the mother and daughter think. Your wife's father is gone, so it's only right that she go back to visit him. If she wants to go back to Luoyang, she can."

"If she doesn't want to come back, then let her stay in the Wugu tribe. That's fine too."

"If she stays, she can help her son take control of the Wugu tribe as soon as possible."

The emperor remained calm: "This is not a very important matter. What is important is the stability of Liaodong."

Liu Bo lowered his head and replied, "Yes."

Li Yun then looked at Li Zheng and asked, "And you? The last time you came to see me was more than ten days ago. Why are you here together today? What's up?"

Li Zheng said with a smile, "I don't have anything too important to do. Firstly, my eldest son is of age where he can work. When he comes back from Qingyang, he wants to ask my second brother to arrange a job for him."

"Otherwise, if he spends all his time loitering around Luoyang, he'll get into trouble sooner or later."

Emperor Li glanced at him and grumbled, "Your son spends his days wandering around brothels, isn't he having a great time?"

Li Zheng blushed slightly, somewhat embarrassed: "Even you, Second Brother, have heard about it."

"That little brat, I'm going to teach him a lesson when he gets back."

Emperor Li shook his head slightly: "With such a temperament, it needs to be tempered properly. He Jun was stationed in Shuofang last year, and there were occasional battles. If you are willing, you might as well let him go to Shuofang to join the army and train for a year or two."

“Or…” Li Yun glanced at Li Zheng and said calmly, “Let him go to Taiyuan and train for a year or two. General Gongsun He of Taiyuan has a connection with you, so he will probably take good care of your son.”

Li Zheng sighed: "Then let him go to Taiyuan. If he really goes to Shuofang, I'm afraid he'll die there."

Li Yun glanced at him and grumbled, "If you keep protecting him like this, you'll probably just end up as a rich man."

Li Zheng tilted his head back and took a sip of wine, then said with a smile, "If he really has no future, then let him become my second brother's son-in-law. Aren't the third and fourth princesses already of marriageable age?"

Li Yun and Li Zheng are like brothers, but they are not blood brothers, or even cousins. They share the same great-grandfather, and are the fourth generation of their lineage.

Their children are already the fifth generation and are old enough to intermarry.

Emperor Li glared at him.

"A womanizer like that wants to be my son-in-law? Don't even think about it!"

Prince Jin blushed slightly from the scolding, but he wasn't angry. He chuckled and said, "Second brother, don't be angry. I have more than one son. If you don't like this son, I have other sons."

"When Cai Mei is about to get married, I will definitely talk to my sister-in-law about it."

Cai Mei was Li Yun's fourth princess, and also his legitimate daughter with Empress Xue.

Liu Bo, standing nearby, chimed in, "I also have many sons, waiting for the Fourth Princess to get married..."

Emperor Li glared at the two brothers and picked up his wine cup: "Shut the hell up, both of you."

"Let's drink!"

The three brothers clinked glasses and drank it all in one gulp.

After down a glass of wine, the smiles on the faces of the three men froze.

The death of Zhou Liang was undoubtedly a significant blow to these brothers who grew up in the old village, and none of them were in a good mood at the moment.

Liu Bo and Li Zheng came to the palace together to see Li Yun, but it wasn't necessarily to report or discuss anything. In fact, it was more likely that they just wanted to have a drink together.

The three brothers drank and chatted until evening, until it got dark, and all three were completely drunk.

In the end, none of the palace servants dared to step forward. It was the chief eunuch, Gu Chang, who went all the way to the East Palace and invited His Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty the Empress. Under the supervision of the mother and son, the three brothers were finally helped to their respective beds to sleep.

After Emperor Li was placed on the dragon bed to sleep, Empress Xue looked at the sleeping emperor, then looked back at her son, and sighed: "Your father probably has a lot on his mind."

The crown prince stood behind his mother and bowed slightly, saying, "Father Emperor reigns over the world and has countless affairs to attend to every day. It's not surprising that he has things on his mind."

Empress Xue looked at Li Yun with some heartache, sighed, and said, "If you can help, then help him as much as you can. All these years, he doesn't even know who he's been working so hard for."

At this point, Empress Xue shook her head, about to continue speaking to her son.

The chief eunuch, Gu Chang, jogged over and bowed to the Crown Prince, saying, "Your Highness, Minister Guo has entered the palace, saying he has an urgent report to His Majesty."

The Crown Prince nodded and said, "Please ask Minister Guo to wait a moment; I will go see him shortly."

Eunuch Gu acknowledged and cautiously withdrew.

The Crown Prince turned to look at his mother and said, "Mother, you stay here and take care of Father. The Grand Chancellor is coming to the palace at this time, so it must be something important. I'll go and see him."

Empress Xue nodded.

"Go ahead."

She looked at Li Yun and said quietly, "I will stay here to take care of your father."

The Crown Prince nodded in agreement and then left the vicinity of the Emperor's sleeping quarters. Not long after, he met Prime Minister Guo You.

Upon seeing the Crown Prince, Prime Minister Guo immediately bowed and greeted him, saying, "Your subject Guo You greets Your Highness."

The Crown Prince waved his hand and asked, "It's already night, what brings Prime Minister Guo to the palace at this hour?"

Guo Xiangong glanced at the Crown Prince, who understood and sighed, saying, "My father drank with Uncle Jin and Duke Ying today, and all three of them got drunk."

"If Prime Minister Guo can only speak when he sees my father, then he can only come to the palace to meet the Emperor again tomorrow."

Guo You thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Of course I can talk to Your Highness about it."

"Just now, the Central Secretariat received news from the Northwest that General Chen has achieved a great victory in the Northwest, completely pacifying the kingdoms of the Western Regions and opening up the Western Regions!"

"General Chen, please grant the imperial decree whether we should continue to garrison the Western Regions or return to the capital."

The Crown Prince shook his head: "Only Father Emperor can make this decision."

After saying this, he smiled and said, "However, this is a very happy occasion."

"Father will find out tomorrow."

The crown prince smiled happily.

"I guess then I won't have so many worries."

(End of this chapter)