Thief Emperor

Chapter 122 Opportunity and Gift!
On Tianmu Mountain, three hundred Yuezhou soldiers, or the Yuezhou rebels, fought with Li Yun for only one hour before being dispersed.

Their quality is not high to begin with. Even if they have weapons and some simple armor, they are no match for these professional bandits, not to mention the presence of a pervert like Li Yun.

What's more, this is in the mountains, the home ground of these bandits.

In fact, now unless they are a professionally trained army, no matter how many people they have, Li Yun and others can still break out of the encirclement even if they cannot defeat them.

However, Li Yun did not make things difficult for these people. After catching He Gang, he did not chase after the others when he saw them fleeing in all directions. Instead, he carried He Gang back to the Tianmu Mountain stronghold.

Zhang Hu killed several people in a row and was quite excited. After returning to the village, he ran to Li Yun excitedly and grinned, "Second brother, these Yuezhou soldiers are just so-so. Even they can defeat the government troops in a row. What do they want to be the king? I think we can do it too!"

"Let's start a rebellion, and you, the second brother, will be king too!"

Li Yun glared at him and said unhappily, "Don't talk nonsense."

Zhang Hu stared, wanting to speak, but Li Zheng grabbed him and whispered, "Huzi, listen to your second brother!"

Zhang Hu then scratched his head and stopped talking.

Li Zheng returned to the Tianmu Mountain stronghold. He first let everyone rest for a while, and then asked people to count the casualties.

The number of casualties was not large, with only two people dying in the conflict. On the contrary, at least forty or fifty Yuezhou rebels died, and many more were injured.

After Li Zheng reported the casualties, he sat next to Li Yun and said with a smile: "Second brother, these Yuezhou soldiers are really useless. Just now, we didn't all go out, and we were almost one against five, but we still defeated them."

"These are not much of an army."

Li Yun was still very sober. He shook his head slightly and said, "They are just a bunch of civilians who took up arms and put on armor. It has only been a short time since Qiu Dian started the rebellion. How could he have many real troops?"

Li Zheng said, "Brother, I've been reading books these days, and the court's conscription is actually the same. Isn't it just a temporary recruitment of some civilians, giving them weapons and armor, and then sending them to the battlefield?"

"In my opinion, the difference is that these Yuezhou troops are not ruthless enough and do not have a supervisor."

Battle supervisors are a must for regular armies, but their swords do not chop at the enemy, but at their teammates. Anyone who retreats in battle will be directly killed by these battle supervisors.

Hearing this, Li Yun looked up at Li Zheng, thought for a while, and then laughed: "You kid, you have read a lot of books recently."

Li Zheng chuckled and said, "When we were in Qingyang, I picked up all the books you read but didn't have time to return, but I didn't finish most of them."

Chief Li nodded silently and continued, "After these Yuezhou rebels suffered a loss, they will probably come again. If General Zhao who is attacking Qiantang sends people over, we may not be able to resist them. We still need to consider whether we should continue to stay in Tianmu Mountain."

Li Zheng thought about it and was about to speak when someone rushed in and said, "Boss, someone from Xuanzhou has come and said that Envoy Cui wants you to return to Xuanzhou immediately. He has something to discuss with you. This is Envoy Cui's letter!"

The voice was familiar. Li Yun knew it was Chen Da without raising his head. He reached out to take the letter, looked up at Chen Da, and asked, "We are not in Xuanzhou anymore. How did you find us?"

"do not know."

Chen Da scratched his head and said, "But we are not far from Ningguo, and we didn't hide our whereabouts. I guess we found out by asking along the way."

Mr. Li nodded, opened the letter slowly, glanced at it, then put it back and thought for a moment.

In the letter, Cui Shao told him about the imperial court's conscription decree, and what Cui meant was that Li Yun and the anti-theft team under Li Yun's command should be directly recruited into the army, and as soon as the imperial court's marching commander arrived, they would be immediately sent to the battlefield.

Mr. Li frowned.

This matter has both good and bad effects for him.

The advantage is that once they are incorporated into the army, these anti-theft teams will be directly transformed into the imperial army. At that time, Li Yun will no longer have to worry about various military equipment, tents, and even military pay.

But the problem is that once they are incorporated into the army, these people will be used by others, and it is hard to say whether they will still be under Li Yun's control at that time.

Mr. Li narrowed his eyes and tapped the table lightly.

Even if he really joined the army, his anti-theft team must be an independent battalion, still commanded by himself. If the government disagrees, he will directly "disband" the anti-theft team and let them stay in Tianmu Mountain, or go directly back to the Ten Kings Village in Lingyang Mountain!
As for the open truth, just say that all the bandits were killed in the battle, and no one can find fault with you!

While Mr. Li was thinking, Li Zheng beside him became a little anxious and asked, "Second brother, what does Cui want from you?"

Li Yun thought for a moment and said with a smile: "It's not a big deal. It's just that the court is really going to take action against Qiu Dian and others. This..."

“Maybe this is our chance.”

What Mr. Li needs most urgently now is to have a piece of territory of his own, where he can have the final say on all military and political matters.

If there was no such territory, he could only develop his power stealthily, like he did in Qingyang.

Although it would be possible to accumulate power in that way, the speed was too slow, and the speed at which the country of Great Zhou collapsed seemed to far exceed Li Yun's expectations.

He must speed up his progress.

Thinking of this, Li Yun handed the letter to Li Zheng, motioning him to read it himself, and then said, "I will go to Xuanzhou on horseback. It will take at least four days to go there and back. In four days, even if Yuezhou reacts, it will not be enough time for me to come to Tianmu Mountain."

Li Yun stood up, looked at Li Zheng, and said, "I'm not in Tianmu Mountain. You and Uncle San are responsible for everything here."

"If there is any movement, or a large-scale Yuezhou rebel army comes, you will directly withdraw from Tianmu Mountain from the back mountain, return to Xuanzhou, find a place to station, and wait for my news."

At this moment, Li Zheng also read the letter. He looked at Li Yun and murmured, "Second brother, Governor Cui's intention is to incorporate us into the imperial court's rebellion suppression army."

"Then...you are going to be an official?"

Li Yun glanced at him and scolded him with a smile: "Look at you, you are so useless."

Li Zheng chuckled and didn't dare to say anything back.

Li Yun looked at Chen Da and said, "Do you want to go back to Xuanzhou with me?" Chen Da thought for a moment and said, "Just give me your orders, Boss!"

Li Yun nodded and said, "Then you take the brothers from Qingyang County Office back to Qingyang, meet the county magistrate and tell him."

"If the state requires each county to recruit soldiers, we in Qingyang are not in a hurry to recruit soldiers. I can handle this matter."

Chen Da responded and nodded in agreement. He went down the mountain before Li Yun.

After Chen Da left, Li Yun looked at Li Zheng and said, "Shiwang Mountain is our first family business, and Tianmu Mountain is the second. This will be our foundation when we start our business in the future, so we must keep an eye on it."

"Especially the people in the anti-theft team. If I'm not here, they may not be at peace. Don't tell them that I'm back in Xuanzhou. If anyone asks, just say that I went down the mountain to get information."

"If the captains ask you, just say..."

Li Yun said silently: "I should apply for their legal status, maybe it will be done soon."

Seeing that Li Yun was very serious, Li Zheng did not dare to neglect him. He lowered his head and responded, then sighed, "It's just that I'm not as meticulous as Brother Jiu, I don't know if I can take care of it well."

The ninth brother, Liu Bo, is still in Lingyang Mountain, helping Li Yun manage the Ten Kings Village. In comparison, Liu Bo is indeed more careful in his work.

"It's not a difficult task. If Liu Bo can do it, you can do it too."

Li Yun stood up, patted Li Zheng on the shoulder, and said, "We are brothers with the same surname. You must help your second brother!"

"Don't worry, second brother."

Li Zheng became excited and said, "I have followed my second brother since I was a child. I will do whatever he wants me to do!"

Village Chief Li nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "In two years, I will definitely find you a beautiful wife!"

After saying that, Li Yun stood up and walked out alone.

Because the Yuezhou rebels might return at any time, Li Yun did not dare to waste time. After going down Tianmu Mountain, he rode directly to Xuanzhou.

Fortunately, Ningguo is not far from Xuanzhou. Li Yun arrived in Xuanzhou the next afternoon and met Cui Shao in the yamen.

"Envoy Cui."

Li was sweating all over. He clasped his fists and said, "What do you want from me?"

Cui Shao smelled the sweat and subconsciously covered his nose and frowned: "Why don't you take a shower before coming?"

Li Yun also frowned, then relaxed and took a step back.

"Envoy, you said in your letter that the matter was urgent, so I put aside the work of suppressing the bandits and rushed back to Xuanzhou..."

"OK OK."

Cui Shao waved his hand and said, "Let's talk business."

"You already know the truth. I plan to incorporate your anti-theft team into the imperial court's rebellion-suppression army. What do you think?"

Li Dutou raised his eyebrows: "Are you not going to suppress the bandits anymore?"

"Bandits are only minor problems. We can put them aside for the time being in the face of national affairs."

"I have already decided on this matter. Just go back and prepare."

Li Yun raised his eyebrows and said slowly: "In this case, Li has two conditions."

Cui Shao frowned: "You say."

"First, our anti-theft team must be an independent battalion, and I will still be in charge. Otherwise, those people will be hard to change and others will not be able to suppress them, and there may be problems."

"Secondly, we will be incorporated into the army and occupy the quota of Qingyang County. If we join the army, Qingyang will not have to recruit soldiers anymore."

It would be good for Xuanzhou state to recruit two to three thousand soldiers. The so-called "one out of ten men" in Cui Shao's order was purely a threat, meaning that if the counties failed to complete the task, one out of ten men would be recruited.

If you calculate it, Qingyang County will only recruit about 200 people, which is not much of a difference for an anti-theft team.

Cui Shao looked up at Li Yun, thought for a moment, and said, "The second condition is fine, but the first one is not. I am only responsible for recruiting soldiers. As for how to arrange them after recruitment, it is the business of the court officers. I have no control over it."

Li Yun had expected him to say that, so he smiled and said, "Sir, I have a great gift for you."

Cui Shao frowned.

"What great gift? I am not a greedy person."

"The brother-in-law of the traitor Qiu Dian."

Cui Shao stood up suddenly, and the teacup in his hand fell to the ground.

"You...what did you say?"

Li Yun looked calm.

"I said... I caught the brother-in-law of the traitor Qiu Dian."

"His name is He Gang."

(End of this chapter)