Thief Emperor

Chapter 115 Rebellious Expansion!

It is not surprising that local officials are corrupt. Even Magistrate Xue is not innocent, otherwise Xue Yun'er might not even be able to afford to support a maid.

But other officials who are greedy for money will try to cover it up to some extent.

At the very least, you will only start working on a "project" after you have targeted it and are sure there are no problems with the project.

Even if they accept bribes, at least they will do it behind people's backs.

Magistrate Luo was the first official Li Yun had ever met who started talking about how to divide the money right after they met, even without saying a few words.
It's very direct, so direct to the point of being weird.

Obviously, after he learned about Shidai's donation, he was certain that Li Yun and County Magistrate Zhang took the money and made a small fortune.

Li Dutou was silent for a while, then smiled.

He was laughed out of anger.

I'm a bandit, working hard every day to rob my fellow bandits, and you just sit here and take over our business? !

Seeing Li Yun smile, County Magistrate Luo stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Li Dutou, I am not a greedy person. I will take as much as Magistrate Zhang of Shidai took, and I will not take a single cent more."

"As for fundraising, our county will start doing that in a few days."

He sighed and said, "To be honest, the number of bandits in Ningguo has indeed increased in recent years. This county has always wanted to start a crackdown, but it is really powerless."

"Now that Captain Li is here, this county can breathe a sigh of relief. Captain Li, just tell us how much money is needed to suppress the bandits, and this county will definitely give it to you."

What Magistrate Luo meant was that if Li Yun needed 1,000 strings of cash to suppress bandits in Ningguo, and he took 30% of the money, then the fundraising would amount to 1,428 strings of cash. If he took 50%, then the fundraising would amount to 2,000 strings of cash.

In short, Li Yun’s need to suppress bandits must be met.

The entire fundraising process was under the charge of County Magistrate Luo.

It has to be said that County Magistrate Luo's work style is quite efficient. With just a few words, he can arrange things clearly.

Li Yun raised his head, looked at the county magistrate named Luo, narrowed his eyes slightly, and then lowered his head again.

Now, he really wanted the rebels from Yuezhou to invade Ningguo, and then County Magistrate Luo would "accidentally" die in the war, and he, Li, would temporarily take over the burden of Ningguo and take charge of the affairs.

After a long silence, Li Yun finally spoke: "Your Excellency, County Magistrate Zhang of Shidai...had his concubine killed by rebels, so he wanted to suppress the bandits and avenge them, and did not take the money raised."

Li Yun said this, then changed the subject and said, "I just arrived in Ningguo, and I don't know the rules here. According to the county lord, how should the money be divided?"

"Oh?"

County Magistrate Luo frowned and asked, "Did Magistrate Zhang of Shidai not take it?"

Li Yun shook his head: "I didn't take it."

"Then let's do this."

County Magistrate Luo stroked his chin, thought for a while, and said, "Captain Li, just tell me how much money you need, and we will raise funds for you. As for the rest, you don't have to worry about it. How do you do that?"

What he meant was that there would no longer be a proportional split.

How much money Li Yun wants and how much money he gives Li Yun. As for the total amount of money, how much is left in the end, and how to divide the remaining money, it has nothing to do with Li Yun.

Li Yun smiled. He looked at County Magistrate Luo and asked with a smile, "How long have you been in Ningguo?"

County Magistrate Luo had already noticed something was wrong. He looked at Li Yun and frowned slightly: "Why are you asking this, Li Dutou? This county has been in Ningguo for four years."

"Nothing, just asking."

Li Dutou thought for a while and said with a smile: "This time, Envoy Cui allocated 500 strings of money, which can be used by the anti-theft team for a while. Regarding the Ningguo fundraising, why don't you just collect donations from those wealthy families? No matter how much is collected, the county magistrate should keep half of it."

"It's probably not easy to get money just from big donors..."

County Magistrate Luo frowned, then relaxed. He looked at Li Yun's appearance and understood something.

This Li Dutou is too young. Young people often cannot bear to see these things.

Overestimating him.

County Magistrate Luo thought so in his heart.

Soon, he forced a smile on his face and said, "Since Captain Li said so, the county cannot force it. Let's put the fundraising on hold for the time being."

"The county has other matters to attend to. As for the bandit situation in Ningguo, the county will ask the registrar of the county government to come over and discuss the matter with Li Dutou later." After saying that, he stood up, put his hands behind his back and walked away without looking back.

Li Yun did not stand up either. He watched his back and drank his tea with his head down. After putting down the teacup, a kind smile appeared on his face.

After waiting for a while, the Dianshi of Ningguo arrived slowly. Because Li Yun had the document of suppressing bandits from Governor Cui in his hand, this time, the low-ranking official of Ningguo did not put on airs with Li Yun.

However, he probably had no contact with the bandits at all and didn't know much. Li Yun asked him a few questions but didn't get any particularly useful information. So he didn't waste time and just got up, said goodbye and left the Ningguo County Government Office.

He took Li Zheng and others and stayed in the city for a day. The next day, they went out of the city and returned to the village on the outskirts of the city. They spent money to buy a pig and two sheep, and slaughtered them directly at the entrance of the village. They were busy for a whole day. At dusk, the group of ferocious bandits in the anti-theft team finally had some meat.

Li Yun sat on a tree stump, took a big bite of lamb leg, wiped the oil off his mouth, and said, "The people in the Ningguo government are unreliable."

"Don't count on them, let's do it ourselves."

Zhou Liang was much more polite. He took a bowl in his hand, ate a large piece of meat, and asked, "What are you going to do, village chief?"

"Rest for two days first, and wait for Skinny Monkey to come back with accurate information."

At this point, Li Yun looked at his subordinates, chewing meat and mumbling, "Uncle San, where did you get the tents from? I want to get some tents, so that when I go out in the future, I don't have to find a village to stay in. It will be much more convenient."

Zhou Liang smiled bitterly: "Captain, do you really want to raise an army?"

Li Yun said "Hey", and then said: "What does it matter if it really happens?"

Zhou Liang shook his head and said, "It's not easy to make a tent for a march, so we can't use ordinary materials."

"If it's a small tent, it's easy to make, but it can't accommodate many people."

Li nodded, threw the sheep bones and meat in his hand aside, then leaned against a big tree, looked up at the night sky, and muttered softly: "We are short of too many things."

Zhou Liang sat next to him and said with a smile: "Whatever the village chief wants, he can get it by robbing an army."

Li Yun was stunned and looked back at Zhou Liang.

Zhou Liang's expression changed slightly, and he looked at Li Yun: "Village leader, I was just saying that..."

"You...don't take it seriously!"

Li Yun grinned.

"Maybe I'll find an opportunity in the future."

…………

The next night, Li Zheng, who had been away for a few days, hurried back. He quickly found Li Yun's location according to the special marks of the anti-theft team. After getting off the horse, Li Zheng ran directly to Li Yun who was practicing shooting.

Seeing Li Zheng running over breathlessly, Li Yun threw the gun into the ground, looked at Li Zheng, and asked with a smile: "I thought you would be back in two or three days, why are you back so early?"

"Didn't you get to Yuezhou?"

Li Zheng took a few breaths, then looked at Li Yun and said, "Second brother, I really haven't been to Yuezhou. As soon as I left Ningguo, I found some scattered Yuezhou troops."

Li Yun was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said, "After leaving Ningguo, we haven't reached Yuezhou yet, right? It should be Qiantang County?"

"Yes, it is Qiantang County."

Li Zheng took a deep breath, his face serious, and whispered: "Second brother, the rebels in Yuezhou have already left Yuezhou and started to attack Qiantang. By now, they should have surrounded Qiantang County!"

Li Yun was stunned for a moment, then murmured, "That's pretty fast."

"What about the imperial army? No reaction at all?"

Li Zheng shook his head and said, "I didn't see them. They must have retreated to defend Qiantang City."

Li Yun lowered his head and thought about it.

Qiantang County is adjacent to Ningguo.

In other words, as long as the rebels take over Qiantang, they may invade Ningguo or even the entire Xuanzhou at any time!
Li Yun only thought for a while and thought of Tianmu Mountain, which is located between Ningguo and Qiantang County.

He stood up and said slowly, "Pass on my order. We will set out early tomorrow morning."

"Attack Tianmu Mountain!"

(End of this chapter)