Thief Emperor

Chapter 1143: Concern leads to chaos
Massacre of the city.

Li Yun had seen it many times in historical records.

I've heard it many times.

Back then, Wang Junping, Wei Quanzhong, and others, in their bloodlust during battle, would begin massacring cities after they fell, causing heavy population losses in the Central Plains, partly due to this reason.

However, Li Yun did not personally witness the massacre of the city.

He has, after all, a unique soul, and many of his ideas are quite different from those of people in this world.

Moreover, even those who emulate feudal emperors and achieve great things rarely engage in large-scale massacres of cities.

Back then, when the Jiangdong army went to various places and captured cities, if the casualties were heavy, Li Yun would at most use the local spoils to subsidize the soldiers. If the casualties on his side were not heavy, he would just reward the army.

This is not simply due to Li Yun's personal character. In chaotic times, one naturally needs ruthless methods, but the ultimate winner will most likely be the army of a king.

Now, something that no one in the Jiangdong Army or the Tang Army had ever done before, something that Li Yun himself had never done before, his second son, who was only in his twenties, had actually done.

This naturally left Emperor Li with mixed feelings.

Throughout the banquet, the emperor remained silent. As a high-ranking official, his silence naturally created an unpleasant atmosphere, making everyone present feel extremely uncomfortable. After finally finishing most of the meal, they all stood up, bowed to the emperor, and took their leave.

The emperor did not get up, but simply waved his hand, indicating that they should leave.

In the end, only Duke Liu Bo of Yingguo remained. After everyone else had left, he came to the emperor's side, poured him a cup of wine, and comforted him, saying, "Second brother, the children have all grown up and have their own ideas."

"We should also deal with the Northwest tribes more seriously. They are very united and have a fierce folk culture. If we continue with the old methods, they will become dissatisfied with the government in a few years, and if someone instigates them, they will cause trouble again."

The emperor looked up at Liu Bo, but did not reply. Instead, he asked, "In the past few years, has Erlang (Liu Bo's courtesy name) been in Chang'an? Has he killed anyone indiscriminately?"

After saying this, the emperor's gaze toward Liu Bo sharpened: "Tell me the truth, don't hide anything from me."

Liu Bo gave a wry smile: "Second brother, when have I ever hidden anything from you..."

His voice gradually lowered, and after a pause, he said in a low voice, "In recent years, I haven't inquired about the Nine Departments in detail, but the King of Qin must not have killed anyone in Chang'an, otherwise He Man wouldn't have dared to hide it from me."

The emperor narrowed his eyes: "What do you mean by 'not killing anyone'?"

"Did they only kill a few, or did they only fight without killing anyone?"

Liu Bo said with a wry smile, "Second brother, I really don't know."

"Well."

The emperor took a deep breath and said, "Send a letter to He Man immediately, and tell him that after receiving the letter, he should put aside all affairs in Guanzhong Road and come to see me immediately. I have something to ask him."

Liu Bo lowered his head and replied with a "Yes".

After a while, he mustered up his courage and said, "Your Majesty, the Northwest may not necessarily be a bad thing. The military reports should arrive in the next few days, and His Highness Prince Qin will surely explain things clearly then."

"I didn't mention anything about the Northwest."

The emperor narrowed his eyes: "I appointed him as the commander-in-chief. How the war in the Northwest is fought is up to him. As long as we can win, I will not find fault with him on this matter. But in the news I have seen in recent years..."

"He was honest and law-abiding in Chang'an."

The emperor grunted: "Could it be that he was well-behaved in the provinces, but suddenly became a different person once he arrived at the front lines?"

"I do not believe."

Liu Bo said in a low voice, "His Highness the Prince of Qin is killing foreign tribes in the Northwest."

"All right."

The emperor shook his head: "I said, this matter has nothing to do with the Northwest."

"Since we've taken such drastic measures this time, I will send people to handle the aftermath to prevent a feud that will last for hundreds of years and lead to generations of killing each other."

Liu Bo lowered his head, but he understood in his heart.

The King of Qin has already taken action, so His Majesty the Emperor will not hold back either. A great feud has been formed, and this time the Northwest must be completely pacified, and future threats must be eliminated.

As for ways to eliminate potential risks, there are far too many.

His Majesty the Emperor looked up at Liu Bo and said in a deep voice, "From now on, you must not hide anything from me regarding the princes, do you understand?"

In matters concerning the royal family, those below them often dare not interfere. In this respect, the Nine Departments are even more cautious than the government offices in the imperial court.

The Three Judicial Offices of the imperial court, if they reported a prince for a crime, would generally not punish him, regardless of the emperor's opinion. However, the Nine Offices were not under the jurisdiction of the imperial court but directly under the emperor. If they spoke ill of a prince to the emperor, who knew if the emperor would protect him?

If His Majesty the Emperor wants to protect his own, he can dismiss or punish relevant personnel of the Nine Departments without going through anyone; he can make the decision with just a word.

Moreover, these people from the Nine Offices were all veterans who had followed Li Yun for many years. In their local areas, they would sometimes intentionally or unintentionally protect His Majesty the Emperor's son.

Liu Bo knew that Li Yun was truly angry, so he quickly lowered his head and said, "Your subject understands."

The emperor stood up and said, "Keep a close eye on the situation in the Northwest. Send a letter to He Jun and ask him to speak up at crucial moments."

"Write a letter to Chen Daye, asking him to keep an eye on the Northwest battlefields. If things get out of control, he can go directly to the Northwest and take over the military power from the King of Qin."

"There's no need to ask for instructions again."

Liu Bo quickly lowered his head.

"I'll do it now."

After saying that, he didn't say anything more, but simply lowered his head and left.

Emperor Li sat silently for a while, then tilted his head back and drank a cup of wine, remaining motionless for a long time.

He ultimately did not tell Empress Xue about this matter.

Although the Prince of Qin was not born to the Empress, he was born to Consort Liu, who was a sworn sister of Empress Xue. Empress Xue always treated the Second Prince as her own son.

If she finds out, she'll just be worrying for nothing.

The next day, Minister Du brought a stack of documents to see Li Yun. After handing the documents to Li Yun, he said with a smile, "Your Majesty, the accounts of Jinling Prefecture have been checked and are not significantly different from those submitted by the local government in recent years."

"There are some differences, but it should just be that there were some mistakes in the bookkeeping."

At this point, Du Qian said with a smile, "These mistakes are actually a good thing. We can use them to reprimand Jinling Prefecture. Even if Jinling Prefecture finds out such minor mistakes, His Majesty will be able to investigate."

"From then on, I naturally became more cautious."

The emperor grunted in agreement, glanced at Du Qian, and said quietly, "Let's do it this way. In the next few days, Brother Shouyi Zhang Sui, the Prefect of Jinling, and the Provincial Governor of Jiangdong should get together and discuss their views on the new policies and offer their suggestions."

“In a few days, send it to me, and then a few of us will get together to discuss and decide on the future administrative measures, as well as the way to extend it to other prefectures, counties and cities.”

Du Qian nodded in agreement, then looked up at Li Yun with some concern: "His Majesty seems to be in a bad mood."

Li Yun was about to shake his head in denial, but he quickly came to his senses, pointed to the chair next to him, and said quietly, "Sit down and talk."

Du Xiangong sat down and looked at Li Yun. He looked around and, seeing that there were no palace servants nearby, sighed and said, "It seems that Erlang has encountered some difficulties."

"Ah."

His Majesty the Emperor briefly recounted the events, then said, "I have no major objections to the military campaign in the Northwest. I let him fight because no matter how the war turns out, I will have the resources to clean up the mess."

"But now, I'm worried that there might be something wrong with the child's character."

"It's okay now."

"When I get old, he will grow up and I will be far away from the emperor. I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to take care of him."

"And what about his elder brother? How can he possibly manage him?"

His Majesty the Emperor murmured, "If he truly has the nature to wreak havoc on the region, how should we deal with him?"

"Should we confine him in Luoyang?"

Du Xiangong stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head, saying, "Second Brother is just like a parent, getting flustered because he cares too much. I don't think the King of Qin is at that point."

"Even if he is not necessarily a bad person, he can be reformed with proper guidance."

The emperor nodded silently and closed his eyes: "I have already sent He Man, the director of the Guanzhong Division, over. We will question him properly then."

At this point, he opened his eyes and spoke slowly.

"The war in the Northwest is not a big problem, but if this child really has a problem with his character, he is a real scourge."

Emperor Li looked at Du Qian and said only four words.

"I won't let him get away with this."

(End of this chapter)