Thief Emperor

Chapter 1128 The Highest Achievement in One's Profession!

More than 20 years ago, when Li Yun set up the anti-theft team in Xuanzhou, the team members were generally in their thirties, or at most forty years old and strong.

At that time, Li Yun was only in his early twenties, possessing almost limitless energy and a terrifying physique.

However, more than twenty years have passed, and Emperor Li has now become more reserved, quite different from the former chieftain Li who was a reincarnation of a god of war.

And the old comrades from back then are gradually getting gray hair.

At this time, the Li Tang court, or rather the Jiangdong group of that time, began to welcome the second generation.

Li Yun's descendants need no further introduction. The Crown Prince began participating in government affairs in the tenth year of Zhangwu, and five years have passed since then.

Zhuo Guangrui's son has now risen to the position of Vice Minister of Works.

Du Xiangong's sons were not particularly successful, but one of them was already working in the Court of State Ceremonial.

The sons of Su Sheng, Zhao Cheng, Zhou Liang, Qian Zhong, He Jun, and Yu Ye have mostly entered or are about to enter the imperial court.

Now, Meng Qing's sons are also about to take up positions in the imperial court.

This situation is actually an inevitable process of the development of a power, and it is not something that Li Yun, or any single person, can decide.

In a sense, Li Yun even actively guided this process.

Because when a new power emerges, if the ruling class is not strong enough in the beginning, the power will not be resilient enough.

If they encounter any major storms, they might scatter like birds and beasts, or have their nests taken over by others.

When a power advances to a certain extent, the next generation of the core members will gradually enter various important positions. Over time, this will form a stable and powerful ruling class.

This stable and powerful ruling class may become a burden or even a hidden danger to the country in a hundred or two hundred years, or even longer.

However, at this stage, it can help this newly established dynasty to quickly stabilize.

This process... is almost unstoppable.

Moreover, no one will stop them.

These old brothers have risked their lives and worked hard to build this empire over the years. Now that they're all getting old, their sons are naturally going to take over their political assets.

Moreover, the number of sons of Li Yun and his group is far too small, while there are far too many important positions in the court. In other words, these second-generation heirs are far from enough.

Therefore, it was far from reaching the point of "nepotism".

In this era, this is a matter of course.

After all, Emperor Li wanted to appoint his son as crown prince, so he naturally couldn't let the sons of his old brothers become ordinary people.

Of course, Li Yun did contribute to this process; he didn't accept all second-generation heirs, but rather selected the best and most capable.

Those with ability could use this patronage system to become officials and contribute to their families and the imperial court.

Those who lack ability should stay at home and indulge in eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring. As long as they don't do anything outrageous, he won't interfere.

Now, Li Yun has made arrangements for the homes of many of his old comrades. Liu Bo, although he has been working in the shadows for many years, has indeed contributed a lot to the country. At this time, Li Yun naturally wants to make proper arrangements for this old comrade.

Inside the Ganlu Palace, the two brothers who had grown up together clinked glasses once again. After downing a cup of wine, Emperor Li looked up at Liu Bo and was suddenly taken aback: "How old are you, kid? Why is your hair all white?"

Liu Bo is two years younger than Li Yun, the same age as Li Zheng, and only forty-three or forty-four years old this year. The wrinkles around his eyes are already very obvious, and there are more gray hairs at his temples.

Because Liu Bo was not a regular official in the court and did not participate in the grand court assembly, and often went out on trips, Li Yun sometimes only saw him once every few months. It was only this time that he suddenly realized that this old brother was here.

They've already grown gray hair.

"The Nine Departments have too many things to do."

Liu Bo smiled wryly and said, "Although the things I have to deal with every day are not as important as the things my second brother has to deal with, the number of them is probably no less than the number of things my second brother has to deal with."

He looked at Li Yun and said, "Second Brother, after the Liaodong matter is settled, let's just hand over the Nine Departments to Meng Hai."

"I'll take a break too."

Li Yun rolled her eyes at him: "You're only three or four years older than Meng Hai, and you already want to retire?"

He paused, then continued, "In any case, you, Jiu Si, will have to remain in your post until you are at least fifty years old."

"Let's discuss this again after we turn fifty."

The Duke of England gave a wry smile, nodded in agreement, then looked down at the table and said, "Second Brother has too many things to do and shouldn't drink too much. Let's stop here for today."

"I'm going to prepare for my trip to Liaodong."

The emperor grunted in agreement and sighed.

Time flies by too quickly.

"Sometimes two or three years, or even seven or eight years, pass by in the blink of an eye, like flowing water."

The Duke of England stood up and said with a smile, "When Second Brother makes his next eastern tour, I will accompany him, along with Skinny Monkey, and we will go back to our hometown of Qingyang together for a visit."

Emperor Li was speechless and said, "I wonder if Skinny Monkey still remembers his name now."

At this point, Emperor Li suddenly had a thought. He looked up at Liu Bo.

"The last time I went out was six or seven years ago."

Emperor Li stood up, stretched his limbs, then walked up to Liu Bo, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "It's just right. The Crown Prince has become much more enlightened in the past few years and is already showing promise. When you return from Liaodong this time, I will entrust the affairs of state to the Crown Prince and let him try to oversee the country for a period of time."

"Let's go out for a walk, a few of us old brothers."

The emperor said quietly, "I'll also take a look at the new policies that have been in place for so many years." Liu Bo looked at Li Yun and said with a wry smile, "Second brother, you can go out, but if His Highness the Crown Prince or the other ministers ask, you can't say that I let you go out."

He winked at Li Yun.

"This was your own idea, Second Brother."

Looking at his appearance, Li Yun said speechlessly, "What kind of person are you? Do you think I'd let you take the blame for me?"

"Go away, go away."

The Duke of England smiled and bowed his head: "Yes, Your Majesty."

…………

A few days later, Khitan Khan Yelü Yi left Luoyang, and Duke Liu Bo of Yingguo followed him, their directions remarkably aligned.

They are all in the northeast direction.

His Majesty the Emperor, whose mind was already stirred by this idea, had been thinking about going out for the past few days. After thinking about it for several days, he still couldn't resist and had someone invite Prime Minister Du to the Ganlu Palace.

After Prime Minister Du arrived at the Ganlu Hall, Emperor Li pulled him to sit down and said with a smile, "Brother Shouyi, come, come."

"Sit down and talk."

Before Du Qian could even bow, he was pulled to sit down. He looked at the emperor and said with a smile, "What has made Your Majesty so excited?"

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "A couple of days ago, Liu Bo was drinking at my place. We were chatting and the conversation turned to our hometown."

“After a while, I want to go out and travel again. When that time comes, Brother Shouyi, you don’t need to stay in Luoyang. Let’s two old brothers go out and take a break.”

Du Qian was somewhat taken aback as he looked at Li Yun.

"Your Majesty, has the Duke of England ordered you to go on this tour?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Li coughed, waved his hand, and laughed, "No, no, it's my own idea to go out."

"Many years have passed since we last went out. We're almost old men now."

"If we don't go out now, we might not be able to leave later."

Du Qian looked at Li Yun, thought for a moment, and then said, "If Your Majesty goes out together, then the court..."

"Hand it over to the Crown Prince to oversee the state."

Emperor Li smiled and said, "Let the other prime ministers assist me."

He looked at Du Qian and said seriously, "It's time to give it a try."

Du Qian then understood what Li Yun meant.

As prime minister, he wielded immense power in the court; the current civil service system was practically built by him, Du Shouyi.

If he were in the court, it wouldn't make a difference whether the crown prince oversees the country or not; in the end, he would still be consulted on everything.

Your Majesty the Emperor wants the Crown Prince to…

I'll do an internship.

Thinking of this, Du Qian looked at Li Yun and asked with a smile, "Where does Your Majesty wish to go?"

"Going back to my hometown for a visit."

"Then comes Jiangdong."

Li Yun stroked his chin and said, "If we have enough time, let's go to Guanzhong again, visit your hometown, Brother Shouyi, and I'll also visit my second son."

"And the second son's grandchildren."

Hearing this, Du Qian was also somewhat tempted. He looked at Li Yun and suddenly said, "Since Your Majesty still wants to make an eastern tour, why don't we go to Yanzhou in Henan Province first?"

"Yanzhou?"

The emperor stroked his chin and asked, "What are you going to Yanzhou for?"

Du Qian looked at Li Yun and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that Mount Tai is located in Yanzhou?"

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Now, in our Great Tang Dynasty, the people are at peace, the country is prosperous, all industries are thriving, and the barbarians from all directions submit to us."

"I believe that Your Majesty should make a trip to Yanzhou and emulate the ancient sage kings."

"The Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai".

"The Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai?"

Emperor Li stroked his chin.

This achievement would be a huge temptation for any emperor.

However, the temptation wasn't very strong for him. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "This year, the country has just been exempted from taxes and grain. Should I go to Mount Tai to perform the Fengshan ceremony again?"

"Isn't it too expensive?"

Lord Du smiled.

"If the national treasury is insufficient, His Highness Prince Zheng can contribute some; I have heard..."

"His Highness Prince Zheng is very wealthy."

(End of this chapter)