Thief Emperor

Chapter 1118 The First King of the Pass
Deng Yang is of average age in the anti-theft team, but he is five or six years older than Li Yun, and is in his early fifties this year.

Deng Yang's qualifications, his resume over the years, and his work ability are all in no way a problem. It's just that his abilities are not outstanding. He is not quite up to the task of being a general who can lead troops to conquer, but he is more than capable of leading troops to guard a region.

Emperor Li planned to transfer him back to Luoyang in a few years to serve as a general of the Twelve Guards, and later, depending on the circumstances, transfer him to the Privy Council.

Xue Gui knelt on the ground and bowed his head, saying, "Your subject respectfully accepts Your Majesty's command."

Li Yun stood up, helped him up, and then said, "After you arrive in Jinling, be more alert, observe more, listen more, and think more. I will have someone from the Nine Departments accompany you. If there is anything, you can report it to me directly in secret."

The power to submit secret memorials is what is known as reaching the ears of the emperor directly.

This is an exceptionally powerful privilege.

Because the emperor's energy is limited, almost all the memorials submitted by officials were either sent directly to the Six Ministries for processing, or sent to the Secretariat for processing by the prime ministers.

Only documents requiring the emperor's attention would be sent to the Zhongshu (Secretariat). Otherwise, with all the affairs of the nation weighing on the emperor alone, let alone having time to rest, the sheer weight of the memorials would likely crush him.

This privilege of direct access to the emperor allowed a person's memorial to bypass the various levels of government and be delivered directly to the highest decision-maker.

In fact, this is not much different from being an imperial envoy, except that an imperial envoy is overt, while this is covert.

It's not surprising that Li Yun made this arrangement. In fact, most dynasties throughout history, as long as they didn't establish their capital in Jinling, would place some people and spies in or near Jinling to prevent problems from arising in Jiangnan.

Although Emperor Li rose to power in Jiangnan and had a strong base of support among the people there, this was no reason to be complacent. Having such a person around meant that local officials could at least be monitored to prevent them from committing wrongdoings.

The previous salt transport commissioner, Lu Bing, actually served a similar purpose.

As for Xue Gui himself…

Having known each other for over twenty years, Li Yun had come to understand Xue Gui's character very well. Although Xue Gui was not a morally upright person, he was personally raised by Li Yun, and his personality was even somewhat similar to Li Yun's. He would not make mistakes on matters of principle.

Otherwise, Li Yun wouldn't have sent him on a mission abroad; he would have kept him by his side.

Xue Gui bowed his head again and replied, "Yes." Just as he was about to take his leave, Emperor Li looked at him and said with a smile, "Before you leave, you can go and see the Crown Prince. You cousins ​​can also have a chat."

Xue Gui lowered his head and replied, "Yes."

The Xue family, the imperial clan, has been a significant force in the court for the past ten years or so. Regardless of the circumstances, the Crown Prince has a good relationship with the Xue family and gets along well with his cousin, Xue Gui.

We are about to part ways, so we really need to see each other one last time.

Xue Gui first responded with a "yes," then bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I will be leaving in the next few days. I will not come to the palace to say goodbye to you and my aunt before I leave."

"I will go find my aunt now and ask for Your Majesty's permission."

Emperor Li waved his hand: "Go ahead."

………………

End of March.

Xue Gui has already left Luoyang, and Chen Da and some of the generals who led the western expedition have also returned to Luoyang to receive their rewards.

Of course, there were also some "local specialties" that Chen Da brought back for Li Yun from the Western Regions.

His Majesty the Emperor even took the time to look at these local specialties. There were indeed a few golden ones, but not the kind of gold; they were a darker shade, just as Chen Da had said, resembling lions.

The rest are mostly brown.

His Majesty the Emperor did not stand on ceremony and directly selected several beautiful women to be added to the harem as talented women.

Besides these local specialties, His Majesty the Emperor naturally had to bestow generous rewards upon these meritorious officials who had participated in the western expedition.

Chen Da was bestowed the title of the fifth Grand General of the Tang Dynasty by His Majesty the Emperor, and was also granted the title of Duke of Han, a hereditary title.

The other generals who led the western expedition were each rewarded.

At the same time, the imperial court also generously rewarded the entire western expeditionary force, essentially spending a lot of money.

Just as His Majesty the Emperor was rewarding the soldiers, the news that the court would exempt the entire year from taxes was finally announced throughout the country.

At this time, no ruler had ever done such a thing as exempting the entire country from taxes and provisions. In an instant, the more than three hundred states of the country were in an uproar.

In many places, people spontaneously built shrines in honor of the emperor and offered incense to him.

The entire imperial court ushered in a new era.

At the same time as this new atmosphere arrived, His Highness the Crown Prince was also actively involved in politics and handling government affairs in the court.

By this time, His Highness the Crown Prince was quite proficient in these daily government affairs and could be considered a seasoned administrator.

That morning, after His Highness the Crown Prince finished dealing with state affairs in the Hall of State Affairs, he had just stepped out when he saw a young man of about seventeen years old waiting at the entrance. Upon seeing the Crown Prince, the young man immediately stepped forward, bowed, and greeted him: "Elder brother."

The Crown Prince looked at him, patted him on the shoulder, and asked, "When did you arrive, Fourth Prince?"

This young man was none other than the Fourth Prince, Li Tong.

The fourth prince was born to a concubine in Luoyang when Li Yun first entered the Central Plains and settled there. He was not much older than the fifth prince, Li Ling, only a few months older.

Although Li Tong's mother rose in status through her son's birth, entering the palace and being granted the title of concubine, her social standing was far inferior to that of the fifth prince Li Ling's mother, Consort Lu. Therefore, Li Tong had not yet been granted a princely title, lagging behind his fifth brother by more than half a year. This fourth prince, though young, was already a head taller than the crown prince, and while not as imposing as the second prince Li Zheng, their statures were similar.

Moreover, he was handsome and dashing, the most so among Li Yun's adult sons.

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, the fourth prince immediately bowed his head and said, "Replying to my elder brother, I have only been waiting for a short while, not long at all."

The Crown Prince smiled and said, "We're going to see Father Emperor together this afternoon, so let's have a simple lunch. Let's go to the Imperial Dining Hall for lunch."

The fourth prince naturally had no objections. He went to the Zhongshu canteen with the crown prince for a meal, and the two brothers chatted for a while. It was already afternoon when they finally went to the entrance of Ganlu Hall together.

Upon reaching the door, the fourth prince took a deep breath, somewhat nervous: "Elder brother, what does Father want to see me about? Why do you need to come with me?"

He asked cautiously, "I haven't done anything wrong, have I?"

Compared to his three elder brothers, his fifth brother Li Ling, and the fourth prince Li Tong, he was undoubtedly timid in front of Li Yun.

Because of him, he has only just come of age and has no maternal clan to speak of, so his performance with Li Yun over the years has been mediocre.

Suddenly, his father and his elder brother, the crown prince, came to see him together, which naturally made him a little flustered.

"It's out of the way."

The crown prince patted him on the back and said gently, "It's probably about bestowing a title upon you."

At this point, the Crown Prince led Li Tong into the Ganlu Hall. After meeting the Emperor, the Crown Prince bowed and saluted, while Li Tong knelt on the ground and respectfully kowtowed: "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

The emperor raised his hand.

"Rise and speak."

"Yes."

The two brothers stood obediently before His Majesty the Emperor.

Emperor Li glanced at the two men, then looked at the Crown Prince and asked, "You should already know about the Tao family's affairs. This matter will be entirely handled by you from now on—how to arrest, interrogate, and sentence them."

"It's up to you."

Emperor Li instructed, "We must strike a balance. The punishment should not be too severe, lest it discourage people, nor should it be too lenient, otherwise others will not learn their lesson."

The prince bowed his head and said, "Your son obeys."

"Afterwards, I will dedicate myself to this matter and make sure Father is satisfied."

Li Yun nodded, then looked at Li Tong and sighed, "Fourth Brother, you should know why I called you here today, right?"

Li Tong lowered his head: "Your son does not know, please enlighten me, Father."

"It's about bestowing upon you the title of king."

Emperor Li looked at him and said silently, "I will prepare to bestow upon you the title of Prince of Su and enfeoff you with the fief of Suzhou."

At this point, His Majesty the Emperor continued, "Now that the Western Regions have been opened up and the Longyou Circuit has been established, the court needs an army to be stationed there permanently. It is not appropriate to send anyone to do this."

"Only my prince is the most suitable to go to this country."

As he spoke, Li Yun stepped forward, patted Li Tong on the shoulder with his large hand, and said, "I will enfeoff you in Su, and from now on you will be the only prince among all the princes to lead troops as a vassal king."

"Are you willing?"

Li Tong took a deep breath, knelt on the ground again, and bowed his head, saying, "Your subject... Your subject is willing."

He knew in his heart that if he didn't accept the title of Prince Su, his father would most likely change it to Prince of the County.

To become a regional king who leads an army...

Seems pretty good too.

His Majesty the Emperor nodded and said, "Very well, from now on you will follow General Chen and gain experience for a few years."

"You'll be more mature once the Prince Su's Mansion in Suzhou is completed."

"Let's go to Suzhou."

The emperor looked at him and said quietly, "The Duke of Xuan's family has a daughter who is the same age as you, but two years younger. Let me take you to see her."

The Northwest is tough, so let the fourth son find a good wife.

This can be considered compensation for him.

The fourth prince bowed his head respectfully.

"My son, I obey."

(End of this chapter)