Thief Emperor

Chapter 1131 Old People and Old Things
For ordinary emperors, leaving the capital was not an easy matter. Only those emperors who had made significant contributions, were able to fully control the country, and whose word was law could leave the capital whenever they wanted.

If emperors were ranked, only emperors of at least the seventh rank would have this ability.

Because such an entity has absolute control over the state power, it does not have to worry about the power falling into other hands, nor does it have to worry about any resistance.

For Li Yun, it was even simpler.

With his absolute control over the court, he could leave Luoyang at any time.

The reason he rarely moved from Luoyang over the years was actually because he considered the political situation and felt that he should not leave Luoyang; in fact, he had sealed himself off from there.

Now that His Majesty the Emperor has made up his mind, all difficulties will be easily resolved. His Majesty's ceremonial guard is quickly prepared, and the Imperial Guards, one of the Twelve Guards, are also fully organized within a few days and ready to accompany His Majesty the Emperor at any time.

With only two or three days left before His Majesty the Emperor left the capital, Emperor Li left the Ganlu Hall and went to the Zhongshu to meet with several prime ministers.

As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the Secretariat, His Highness the Crown Prince, accompanied by several prime ministers, came out to greet him and respectfully led the Emperor inside.

Emperor Li walked to the main seat of the Secretariat and sat down, then gestured for the Crown Prince to sit to his left, with the other prime ministers taking their seats on either side.

After everyone was seated, Emperor Li smiled and said, "In a few days, I will go back to my hometown for a visit."

He looked at Yao Zhong and said with a smile, "When the time comes, Prime Minister Du will leave with me. The Crown Prince is still young, so please do your best to help him if anything happens."

Yao Zhong bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will do my best to assist His Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Yun nodded, then said to Xu Ang, "Brother Ziwang, you may not have left Luoyang for many years. Would you like to come out and travel with me?"

Xu Ang coughed violently and shook his head slightly at the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I..."

"I doubt my body can withstand such a long journey."

Upon hearing this, Li Yun frowned and asked, "Are you alright?"

"If it doesn't work out, go home and rest. Xu Kun has also served as the head of the Three Judicial Offices. The Central Secretariat can entrust Xu Kun with matters related to the Three Judicial Offices."

Xu Xiangong stood up, bowed slightly to Li Yun, and indicated that he obeyed.

Xu Ang shook his head slightly: "I'm just getting old."

"It's out of the way."

He looked at Li Yun and said with a smile, "While I can still move, I'll serve His Majesty and the court for a few years."

Li Yun glanced at him and sighed softly.

When Li Yun rescued Xu Ang in Haiyan County, Xu Ang was already over thirty years old, while Li Yun was only in his early twenties, a difference of more than ten years.

Now, more than twenty years have passed, and Mr. Xu is nearly sixty years old.

Moreover, he experienced a great calamity back then and did not recover for many years. Now, he looks much older than Yao Zhong and his peers.

At first glance, Xu Ang was practically the oldest man in the Secretariat.

His Majesty the Emperor sighed inwardly, then gave some instructions, and finally said to the Crown Prince: "One person's wisdom is limited, but two people's wisdom is greater. From Jiangdong to now, when I handle matters, apart from one or two matters of principle, I have always consulted others on all other matters. In the future, when you are in Luoyang, you must also be observant and accept advice."

"Don't make decisions on a whim."

The Crown Prince lowered his head and replied, "Yes." Then he said, "Your subject knows that Father Emperor once said that in all matters, we should listen to and respect the opinions of those on the front lines."

Li Yun has been in this world for over twenty years. He has certainly been changed a lot by this world, and his behavior and speech have changed a lot compared to before.

However, he also brought some changes to the world. For example, the terms the Crown Prince used were basically passed down from Li Yun, and those around him, through subtle influence, have also come to accept these terms.

Li Yun nodded in satisfaction, then chatted with the prime ministers for a while longer. After the Zhongshu (Secretariat) dispersed, he invited Xu Ang to a private room, looked at his old friend, and sighed: "Brother Xu, is your health very bad?"

Xu Ang remained calm. He took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, whether my health is good or bad is not of great importance."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Back in Haiyan County, I should have died there. I've lived more than twenty years longer; I'm already incredibly lucky."

He looked at Li Yun and said, "Your Majesty..."

"The most unfortunate thing in my life was going to Haiyan and losing my wife, and the most fortunate thing was meeting Your Majesty."

Minister Xu lowered his head and said, "Since leaving Jiangdong, I have offended too many people in the past ten or twenty years. My two sons are still young. After I am gone, I hope Your Majesty can take care of them a little."

"Don't let them be the ones who get punished later."

After the founding of the country, several years later, Mr. Xu gradually emerged from the shadow of that year. It was for this reason that his two sons are now only about ten years old.

He truly had a child late in life.

Li Yun looked at Xu Ziwang, whose face was already full of wrinkles, and after a moment of silence, slowly said, "Brother Xu, rest assured, both of your sons have a bright future."

“Whether you are here or not, your two sons can be granted official positions through hereditary privilege. If they are good at literature, they can become civil officials; if they are good at martial arts, they can join the Imperial Guard.” At this point, Li Yun said in a low voice, “If they are not good at literature or martial arts, as long as they are of good character, I will definitely find one of them to be my son-in-law.”

Perhaps due to the auspicious fortune of the founding of the dynasty, Emperor Li has had a total of seventeen sons and more than ten daughters by this year.

Most of them are not very big, and some are still in the "kindergarten" stage.

However, it was easy to find a match for the Xu family's sons among the princesses. Several princesses were about the same age as the Xu family's two sons.

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiangong's eyes reddened. He stood up to kowtow to Li Yun, but Emperor Li stopped him, preventing him from kneeling down.

Li Yun tugged at his sleeve and said with a smile, "Fifteen years have passed since the founding of the dynasty. If it weren't for Brother Xu, the officialdom of the court would probably be even worse. These are all the results of Brother Xu offending people."

"I will not forget."

Xu Ang bowed and choked up, saying, "Throughout history and in every dynasty, only Your Majesty has ever been able to promote a lone minister to the position of prime minister and build bridges for him when he crosses a river."

He bowed deeply in greeting.

Emperor Li was speechless.

"These are all as it should be."

he said with a smile.

"I can only say that I don't have the thick skin of my colleagues."

…………

Three or four days later, His Majesty the Emperor finally set off from Luoyang. Accompanying him were Li Zheng, the Prefect of Jingzhao and Prince of Jin, Du Qian, the Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, and some close ministers.

Among the members of the royal family, Prince Li Dong, the heir apparent of the Prince of Chu, was also present.

This trip was overseen by His Highness Prince Jin, with Prime Minister Du assisting in the arrangements.

Li Zheng had served as the "Prefect of the Capital" for nearly twenty years and had developed some skills in managing affairs. He began organizing the procession at dawn and continued until sunrise, when the procession was finally complete.

As the sun rose high in the sky, His Majesty the Emperor, accompanied by the Empress, finally boarded the imperial carriage and, along with the Fourth Princess and the Fifteenth Prince, left the palace and headed out of the city.

The people of Luoyang knew that the emperor was going on a tour, so they spontaneously knelt on both sides of the road and kowtowed to the emperor's carriage.

Emperor Li glanced at the people kneeling by the roadside, then turned to look at Prince Jin, who appeared on horseback at the window of the imperial carriage as if he had foreseen the future. He smiled at the emperor and said, "These are all spontaneous acts by the people. They have nothing to do with our Jingzhao Prefecture. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can have the Nine Departments investigate."

Li Yun rolled his eyes at the guy, then looked around and sighed, "I haven't done much for them over the years, why bother bowing to me?"

Prince Jin smiled and said, "Your Majesty's pacification of the Central Plains and restoration of stability is already a great achievement for the people of the Central Plains."

As he spoke, Prince Jin peeked into the carriage and then said with a smile, "Is the Fourth Princess getting used to her first long trip?"

The Fourth Princess was also looking around by the window. After hearing what Prince Jin said, she looked at Prince Jin and said with a smile, "Third Uncle, this car is comfortable. I can get used to it."

"You'll get used to it."

Prince Jin laughed and said, "If you get tired of riding in the carriage, just tell your third uncle, and he will have someone prepare a sedan chair for you to take you back to your hometown of Qingyang."

The Fourth Princess chatted with Prince Jin for a few moments, and after the carriage curtain closed, she took Li Yun's arm and asked, "Father, how long will it take us to get to Qingyang?"

"It will probably take more than half a month."

The emperor patted her head: "If it's slow, it will take more than a month."

"I heard from my brother, the Crown Prince, that our hometown is in the mountains."

The fourth princess said with a smile, "I'd like to go and see."

Li Yun looked at her with a smile on his face.

"Okay, I'll take you to the mountain to have a look then."

After talking with his daughter for a while, Li Yun looked at Empress Xue and sighed silently: "The last time I went back to Qingyang and went up Cangshan Mountain, the old village was already different."

After saying this, he shook his head and said, "The Qingyang of today is completely different from the Qingyang of the past."

Empress Xue was also somewhat moved.

"More than 20 years."

How can they be exactly the same?

(End of this chapter)