Thief Emperor

Chapter 1116 The Old Miser

Leaving aside the "underlings" of Cangshan Dazhai, Chen Da can be said to be the first "little brother" that Li Yun recruited after he came down the mountain.

Even among the veterans in the anti-theft squad, Chen Da held an irreplaceable position; no one had more seniority or experience than him.

Even Li Zheng falls short in this regard.

What's even more interesting is that Chen Da is a subordinate who is growing in ability.

At first, he was just a minor clerk in Qingyang County. He followed Li Yun for many years and was only a captain. After the founding of the country, he became a general who guarded a region.

As his position rose, his skills also continued to improve.

By now, Chen Da has become a highly experienced general capable of commanding thousands of troops and maintaining order even when they are thousands of miles away!
Such a person can definitely be called a great general.

Putting aside everything else, his achievement of opening up the Western Regions alone is enough to put him on the same level as Su Sheng, Meng Qing, and others.

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "When the court rewards those who have made meritorious contributions in a few days, Bo Zhong, you will be the fifth Grand General of this dynasty. At that time, I will also think of a prestigious title for you, and you will become a hereditary Duke."

Li Yun has already bestowed many titles of Duke upon the state.

After all, during the founding of the nation, he made so many great contributions that he felt embarrassed if some people didn't grant him the title of Duke.

However, there are differences even among dukes.

Back then, the title of Duke held by Zhuo Guangrui, Gongsun Hao, and others was only for life and not hereditary.

The Duke titles of Zhou Liang, Su Sheng, Zhao Cheng, and later Meng Qing were all hereditary, meaning that the title of Duke would be passed down through generations and would be closely tied to the fate of the nation.

There is also a distinction between close and distant relationships within this group.

Those who were closer to Emperor Li had a relatively easier time obtaining this hereditary title, such as Chen Da.

He was the most trusted of all the loyalists, one of Li Yun's most trusted people.

This can be seen from his courtesy name, Bozhong.

Chen Da did not come from a particularly good family. When he grew up, he took over his father's job as a yamen runner. He didn't even have a proper name, so everyone called him Chen Da, and Chen Da became his name.

After making a name for himself in Jiangdong, he asked someone to give him the courtesy name Bozhong.

Names like "Chen Da" are unlikely to be recorded in history books in the future. The Chen Da in history books will most likely be recorded as Chen Bozhong.

Now, even His Majesty the Emperor has begun to address him by his courtesy name, Bo Zhong.

After all... these guys aren't just sitting on the street anymore.

Everyone lifts the sedan chair; you lift me up, I lift you up, and so our status naturally rises together.

Chen Da lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not claim credit for the achievements in the Western Regions."

He looked up at Li Yun and said solemnly, "In the many years I have been in the Northwest, during military campaigns, the supply of provisions has never been delayed even for a day. I have also read a lot of history books over the years, and throughout history, no one has ever been able to achieve such logistical support in the Northwest."

"It can only be His Majesty."

Chen Da said with a serious expression, "With Your Majesty's support, not only me, but any captain of the Jiangdong Army back then could have opened up the Western Regions."

"Furthermore, I have been stationed in the Northwest for many years, consuming countless amounts of Your Majesty's provisions..."

He lowered his head and said, "His Majesty not only did not replace the generals, but also continued to support the Northwest."

"In my opinion, I have not only done nothing wrong, but I am guilty."

"Your Majesty, please reward the soldiers at the front and severely punish my crimes!"

His Majesty the Emperor patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, enough with the pretense."

"No matter what the process is, as long as we win, isn't that enough?"

His Majesty the Emperor tugged at his sleeve and said with a smile, "Don't leave today. I'll call a few old brothers over later, and invite Qian Zhong and the others over as well. We'll have a drink together."

It must be said that in terms of absolute military capability, Chen Da is still a level below Su Sheng, Zhao Cheng, and Meng Qing.

Sending these three men to fight in the Northwest would probably allow us to finish the war a year or even two years earlier.

But it doesn't matter.

When Emperor Li founded his dynasty, the only regions that truly suffered severe damage were Guanzhong and the Central Plains.

After he took over, the vitality of both places was quickly restored. In addition, Li Yun did not like large-scale construction and had no other hobbies. Therefore, he accumulated a lot of national strength over the past ten years.

They could even go so far as to directly exempt the entire nation from paying taxes and provisions for an entire year.

Providing an additional one or two years of supply to the Northwest is not a major problem.

For leaders, subordinates certainly have abilities, but ability is not necessarily the only indicator, or even the most important indicator.

As long as your abilities are passable and you don't mess things up, that's fine.

What really matters is loyalty, loyalty, and damn loyalty!

Chen Da is a good example. He has a good enough relationship with Li Yun, is close enough, and is loyal enough, so Li Yun is willing to entrust him with important tasks and spend some resources to promote him.

Chen Da bowed his head and responded with a smile, saying, "Your Majesty, I also miss those old brothers." He then coughed and whispered, "Your Majesty..."

Emperor Li looked at Chen Da, who was suddenly acting mysteriously, and said in a daze, "What's wrong? Why are you acting like this?"

Chen Da coughed and said in a low voice, "I brought back some local specialties from the Western Regions for Your Majesty."

"It's already on its way and will be delivered to Luoyang next month."

He glanced at Li Yun and continued, "However, after it is delivered, Your Majesty cannot say that it was delivered by me."

Seeing his appearance, Li Yun was speechless and asked, "What local specialty is it? Why are you acting so suspiciously?"

"cough."

General Chen looked around, then at Li Yun, and lowered his voice: "Beautiful lady."

"A beautiful woman of Central Asian descent."

Chen Da winked at Li Yun: "They are all virgins between sixteen and eighteen years old, with fair skin and big eyes."

At this point, Chen Da frowned and said, "There's just one thing that's not so good."

“They all had golden hair, like lions, and their eye color was different from ours.”

"Also, her butt is a bit too big."

At this point, Chen Da smiled at Li Yun and said, "There's nothing else. Your Majesty has seen them all, and they are all very good-looking."

"After it's sent to Luoyang."

Chen Da said with a serious expression, "Your Majesty, just say that it was presented to Your Majesty by the Western Regions, and don't say that I brought it back for Your Majesty."

Emperor Li clicked his tongue, then looked at Chen Da and said with a smile, "You rascal, are you afraid of ruining your reputation?"

"that is not."

Chen Da lowered his head and said guiltily, "I'm worried that if Her Majesty the Empress finds out, she will cause me trouble."

Empress Xue held an unparalleled position in the eyes of Chen Da and his group, a position far beyond what Consort Liu, Consort Lu, and Li Yun's other concubines could match.

After all, back in Yuezhou, Empress Xue had given names to most of the members of the anti-thief team.

The old bachelors in the anti-theft squad got married one after another. Most of them were married off by Empress Xue, who helped them find wives and children.

Furthermore, since most of the members of the anti-theft team were alone and had no family, Empress Xue often arranged their weddings during their time in Yuezhou and Wuzhou.

Empress Xue arranged Chen Da's marriage.

Even though Chen Bozhong is now a general, if Empress Xue were to scold him, he would still shrink back and listen tremblingly.

Therefore, even if Chen Da didn't want the credit for presenting the beauty, he didn't want to be criticized by Empress Xue.

Li Yun glanced at Chen Da, who looked guilty, and chuckled, "You little rascal, you're quite cunning."

Chen Da chuckled: "When you're on a military campaign, you have to be extra careful, don't you?"

He rolled his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, Da Huang has followed me for many years and has made many contributions. When they return to Luoyang, I would like to ask for a reward for Da Huang as well."

Da Huang was Huang Yong, one of the constables from that group back then.

Huang Yong has no problem with his background or qualifications, but his abilities are too mediocre, so he has not made any significant achievements over the years.

Li Yun thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "No problem. When he returns to Luoyang, we will also grant him a marquisate."

Without the emperor's approval, this marquisate became a lifelong honorary title, disappearing upon the person's death.

Even so, Chen Da was already very satisfied, and he quickly bowed his head: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Li pulled him along, smiling, and said, "I haven't left the palace in a long time. Today I'll go to your house for a drink and see your children."

"Then, let's call up the old brothers."

Chen laughed and responded. The two, one in front of the other, had just left the Ganlu Hall when they ran into a minister dressed in purple official robes.

Upon seeing Li Yun, the minister immediately stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

The emperor looked at him, stepped forward to help him up, and said with a smile, "Brother, what brings you here?"

The visitor was Xue Shou, Li Yun's brother-in-law.

Minister Xue gave a wry smile: "The ministers of the Secretariat summoned me to discuss matters. I just came from the Secretariat and wanted to see Your Majesty to confirm some things with you."

"Confirm my ass."

The emperor tugged at Xue Shou's sleeve and said with a smile, "Don't pay attention to those old misers, come on, come on, Bo Zhong is back."

He pulled Minister Xue along and walked towards the palace gates.

"Let's go have a drink together!"

(End of this chapter)