Thief Emperor

Chapter 1137 Intricate Roots
And so, that very night, the four of them stayed in the village.

As darkness fell, Prince Li Zheng of Jin lit a bonfire and roasted the lamb leg that the Imperial Guards had brought. After they finished eating the meat, the group sat down together to drink.

After several rounds of drinking, Prince Jin, who had drunk too much, jumped and danced around the bonfire. Even the Duke of Yingguo, who had fallen and injured himself, stood up and jumped around a couple of times.

Emperor Li sat imposingly to one side, devouring meat, then gulping down a mouthful of wine. He turned to look at Du Qian, grinning, "That was truly delightful!"

Du Qian, who was rather quiet by nature, also sat next to Li Yun. After drinking for a while, he got up, clapping along to the rhythm, and sang and danced around the campfire with the Prince of Jin.

At this time, about two or three thousand Imperial Guards, led by Yang Xi, guarded all possible routes up Cangshan Mountain, ensuring the safety of His Majesty the Emperor, Prince Jin, and the two Dukes.

The drinking continued until midnight, and all four of them were quite drunk before finally going to bed.

The houses on Cangshan Mountain hadn't been cleaned up and were quite old; some were even dilapidated. The people around the emperor couldn't allow him to live there anymore. So, the group set up the imperial tent and several other tents on the open ground of the Cangshan Mountain stronghold.

As soon as the master was appointed, Li Yun and the others slept in the tents in the village.

Because he slept so soundly, when His Majesty the Emperor woke up the next day, Empress Xue had already taken the Fourth Princess, the Fifteenth Prince, and Zhou Bi and others who were traveling with them to Cangshan Mountain.

When Li Yun opened his eyes, Empress Xue had already entered the imperial tent with her son and daughter. The Fourth Princess walked to Li Yun's bedside, then waved her sleeve to wipe away the smell of alcohol, and said reproachfully, "Father, you've been drinking again."

Emperor Li sat up, smiled, and then asked Empress Xue, "Why did you come so early in the morning?"

"It's still early."

Empress Xue shook her head and said, "It's almost noon."

Yang Xi came to report that her husband had taken Mr. Du and two uncles with him yesterday, and all four of them were drunk to the point of unconsciousness.

Empress Xue looked at Li Yun and sighed, "You're so old, how can you still not know your place?"

"Nothing else."

Empress Xue shook her head and said, "If anything happens to any one of you four, it will be a major event for the country."

"Nothing will happen."

The emperor stood up, patted the fourth princess's head, and said to Empress Xue with a smile, "Yang Xi has surrounded the mountain with his men, so no one can get up here. Besides, even if someone could get up,..."

Emperor Li said calmly, "In these Cangshan Mountains, where life and death are fought, few can rival your husband. Even someone like Pei Zhuang is no match for him."

Over the years, Liu Bo and Li Zheng have both declined in skill, but Li Yun has not declined much. He has indeed lost the vigor and ferocity of his youth, and his strength may also be somewhat lacking, but in a place like Cangshan.

He really isn't afraid of anyone.

It's a real shame that it's so hard to find someone in this world who can fight him, or who dares to fight him.

Seeing Li Yun's expression, Empress Xue was stunned for a moment, and then said helplessly, "You always have so many reasons."

Emperor Li smiled and said to the Fourth Princess, "Come on, Cai Mei, your father will take you to see the place where your father and mother got married."

The fourth princess cheered, tugged at Li Yun's sleeve, and said with a smile, "I heard Mother mention it on the way here, and I've been wanting to see it for a long time."

Standing to the side, the fifteenth prince, who was only three or four years old, looked somewhat bewildered. He was being led by the hand by the fourth princess, Cai Mei, who said with a smile, "Little fifteenth, come on, your elder sister will take you to see it together."

She bent down, picked up the fifteenth prince, and left the royal tent with her parents.

Zhou Bi was waiting outside. Upon seeing Li Yun, he immediately came forward, cupped his fists, and said, "Your Majesty."

Li Yun glanced at him and laughed, scolding, "You're already here, and you're still calling me Your Majesty?"

Zhou Bi lowered his head, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Second Brother."

His Majesty the Emperor patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "You wait here for me. After I've finished showing the children around our old home, I'll take you to see the Ninth Prince."

The emperor laughed and said, "You didn't see it. This fellow went up the mountain yesterday, lost his footing, and fell straight down the slope, almost losing his life."

Zhou Bi was somewhat surprised and said, "Then I will go and see Ninth Brother first."

The emperor, with a stern face, waved his hand and said, "No, no, I'll take you there in a bit. You stay here and don't go anywhere else."

Zhou Bi responded and stood still.

After His Majesty the Emperor and his family had "visited" the old residence, they returned and led Zhou Bi to see Liu Bo. When Zhou Bi saw Liu Bo, he was about to go up and say a few words of concern when the Duke of Yingguo, his face flushed, got up from the bed and limped out.

This caused the emperor and the Prince of Jin to burst into laughter again.

The group stayed on Cangshan Mountain for four or five days until the weather turned cold again. Only then did the emperor lead everyone down the mountain. After resting for a day near Cangshan Mountain, Li Yun and his party officially left Qingyang Prefecture and headed to Jinling.

For Li Yun and the Prince of Jin, Cangshan was their hometown, but for the veterans of the Jiangdong Group, Jinling was the shared memory for many. For example, Crown Prince Li Yuan had virtually no memory of Qingyang County; he grew up in Jinling.

Jinling was naturally one of Li Yun's important destinations on this eastern tour. Whenever he left Luoyang and headed east, he would always come to Jinling to take a look.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that Jinling was such an unsuitable place to be the capital, Jinling should have been the capital of the Tang Dynasty back then, instead of Luoyang as it is today.

For the "new" Li Yun, his memories are mostly of Jinling, where he spent a much longer time than he did in Qingyang County.

After leaving Qingyang Prefecture, the group traveled for another seven or eight days. It wasn't until the twelfth month of the fifteenth year of Zhangwu that they finally entered the territory of Jinling Prefecture. As soon as they entered Jinling Prefecture, a group of officials from Jinling Prefecture knelt on both sides of the official road to welcome the arrival of the emperor.

The one kneeling before everyone was none other than Zhang Sui, the Imperial Censor sent by His Majesty the Emperor to inspect the region in Jiangnan.

Although Zhang Sui held a nominal position in the Censorate, he was actually authorized by the emperor to guide new policies in the provinces. He was a rank higher than other officials and was no different from an imperial envoy.

At this moment, the Imperial Censor Zhang knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said, "Your subject, Imperial Censor Zhang Sui, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"Your subject Fei Lian, Prefect of Jinling, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, His Majesty the Emperor peeked out from his imperial carriage and looked at the two men and the officials behind them.

"Everyone, get up."

After everyone had risen, the emperor looked at the newly appointed Prefect of Jinling and beckoned to him: "Prefect Fei, come forward."

Fei Lian quickly lowered his head and walked to the front of the imperial carriage, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty."

The emperor looked at him and said with a smile, "You've been in Jinling for more than half a year now, how's it going?"

When Zhang Sui stepped down as the Prefect of Jinling and became the Governor, his successor as Prefect of Jinling was named Chen Hao. Now, Chen Hao has been transferred by the court to Huainan Circuit as the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Huainan Circuit to preside over the new policies of Huainan Circuit.

The newly appointed Prefect of Jinling was Fei Lian.

This Fei Lingyin... is related to Li Yun by marriage.

To be precise, his elder brother and Li Yun are related by marriage.

Fei Lian is the son of Fei Xuan, the former Minister of Justice of the Imperial Court. He is also the most promising son of the Fei family in this generation and has the potential to take over Minister Fei's career.

Li Yun's second son, Prince Qin, Li Zheng, married the granddaughter of Minister Fei, who was also the niece of Minister Fei.

Therefore, Fei Lingyin and Li Yun were somewhat related.

Upon hearing Li Yun's question, Fei Lingyin quickly lowered his head and replied, "Your Majesty, I arrived in Jinling in the spring. After more than half a year, I have finally adapted to this job, and so far, I feel that I am barely able to handle it."

The emperor patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "It's good that you can do it. I'll talk to you again after the empress and I have settled in."

Then the emperor summoned Zhang Sui, asked him a few questions, and then ordered the troops to continue their journey toward Jinling City.

After the procession resumed, Zhang Sui found Master Du's carriage in the procession, carefully boarded the carriage, and bowed to Master Du inside, saying, "Master, I didn't expect you to actually come along."

Du Qian looked at him and said with a smile, "Can't this old man come?"

"No, that's not it. I originally thought that my esteemed teacher would continue to oversee the court..."

Du Xiangong shook his head: "You used that word inappropriately."

"Only Your Majesty can sit and rule the court."

Zhang Sui lowered his head and replied, "Yes." He looked at Du Qian and said, "Master, I heard that Junior Brother will also be coming to Jiangnan Circuit to take up his post next year?"

The junior apprentice he mentioned is Du Qian's son, who is in his thirties and will soon be assigned to an official post.

Lord Du said calmly, “He is coming to Jiangnan Circuit, but not Jiangnan East Circuit, but Jiangnan West Circuit.”

"You don't need to worry about Jiangnan West Road, Gongda."

Zhang Sui thought for a moment, then realized: "His Majesty's new policies will be implemented from east to west..."

"maybe."

Lord Du closed his eyes.

"His Majesty's eastern tour is to see the achievements of Jiangdong."

"All subsequent matters will only be settled after His Majesty sees the results in Jiangdong."

(End of this chapter)