Thief Emperor

Chapter 144 The Emperor and the Crown Prince

"General, I don't think war can be so rigid."

After thinking for a while, Li Yun said, "If I can defend it, I will do so for as many days as I can. If I find a suitable opportunity, I will take the initiative to attack Qiantang, and there will be no problem."

"If we can't hold it, even for one or two days, we should retreat."

Su Jing looked at Li Yun silently, shook his head and said, "So, your fighting style is wild."

"The entire battlefield should be integrated. You are a captain leading hundreds of people, so you can only focus on Linshui City, but I am the commander-in-chief, so I have to focus on the entire battlefield."

"If necessary, let alone asking you to hold on for seven days, even if you are asked to attack Qiantang, as long as it is beneficial to the situation, you must do it."

Li Yun frowned and was about to retort when he heard General Su continue, "You are born to fight. You may lead a lot of troops in the future. When you have enough troops, you will understand the truth I said today."

Li Yun held back and did not confront the old man. Instead, he said, "General, I think the location of Linshui County is very important."

"This place is very close to Qiantang. We want to attack Qiantang, and we are in need of a foothold."

"Therefore, Linshui can be used to attract the enemy and eliminate some of them, but it must not fall back into the hands of the enemy. If the enemy sends too many troops, I think the general should not take risks with Linshui again, and should move the army to Linshui as soon as possible."

"The army follows the right path."

He looked at Su Jing and said in a deep voice: "My troops have already fought against those rebels. They are nothing serious."

"I know."

General Su looked calm and said, "Their base is only in Yuezhou. After the Zhao bandits broke into Qiantang, their vitality was severely damaged. Now they have less than 10,000 people."

At this point, he sighed and said, "After Qiantang, these rebels have lost the support of the people. If we fight them bit by bit, of course we can wear them out, but no matter whether it is the civilians or the soldiers under his command, more lives will be lost."

At this point, he looked at Li Yun and said, "We have seven days as the deadline. After seven days, no matter how many people the Zhao thieves send to Linshui, or whether they send anyone to Linshui, the army will go to Linshui."

"Li Zhao."

Li Yun was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "I will be here."

"This is a military order. You are already in the army."

Li Yun had no choice but to nod and say, "I obey your command!"

Su Jing patted Li Yun on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Good boy, you will have a bright future. Now, take me for a walk in Linshui."

"I will stay in Linshui for two days, and then return to Ningguo to take charge of the army."

At this point, he looked at Li Yun and said with a smile: "My report has been sent to the capital at an expedited rate of 600 miles. Within ten days, the court should commend you."

Li Yun didn't care much about the court's rewards. After all, he joined the army just to take advantage of the situation, and he had already made up his mind not to go against the court.

If the imperial court appointed him as a local military officer, he would most likely accept it. After all, he could run a place legitimately. But if he were asked to work in a place like the capital, Li would not even bother.

Therefore, he did not pay much attention to Su Jing's words, and took the general to inspect Linshui County.

…………

While Su Jing was inspecting Linshui, his memorial had already been sent to the capital at an express speed of 600 miles.

In the Chongde Hall, the eunuch knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, a great victory at Qiantang, a great victory at Qiantang!"

The emperor waved his hand, signaling the eunuch to hand over the memorial. After taking the memorial and taking a look at it, the emperor first smiled, then put the memorial aside and said lightly, "Call the prince."

"Yes."

The eunuch retreated respectfully and went to summon the prince in small steps, while His Majesty the Emperor picked up the memorial again, read it once, put it aside, and talked to himself.

"The old guy is really capable..."

After muttering this, the emperor looked at the pile of memorials beside him and lost interest. He said, "Send them all to the Political Affairs Hall."

The Council of State is where the prime minister works.

The current emperor has never been very diligent in his work, and most of the government affairs are handled by the prime ministers in the Council of State.

However, since the rebellion in Yuezhou, His Majesty the Emperor has become unusually diligent, and in recent times has frequently reviewed memorials to the emperor's memorials.

Most of the time, it is because of a sense of psychological guilt, thinking that there are rebellions in the local area and that there is something wrong with their governance, so they become more diligent.

Now, after Su Jing arrived at the local area and achieved a great victory, the emperor became a little slack again.

Just when His Majesty the Emperor was feeling a little sleepy, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince hurried over. He knelt on the ground, kowtowed to the Emperor and said, "Your Highness, your son greets you, Father."

"There is no need for formalities since there is no outsider here. Please stand up."

After thanking the emperor, His Royal Highness stood up, hands hanging down, and said, "I wonder why the emperor summoned me here?"

"There is news about the Yuezhou Rebellion. Su Jing sent it to you. Take a look."

The prince was a little surprised, then nodded quickly and said, "Yes, I obey your command."

He stepped forward to take the memorial, read it once, then put it down, bowed to the emperor and said with a smile: "Congratulations, father, on the great victory in Linshui." "Father, your majesty is wise and wise, and he used people properly. Not long after you sent General Su out, the rebellion in Yuezhou was suppressed. I think General Su will return to the court victoriously before the end of this year."

"I asked you to come here, not to listen to your flattery."

The emperor was pleased with himself, and he lowered his head to drink tea to cover it up. He said slowly, "Look again, do you see anything?"

The prince was a little confused. He picked up the memorial and read it again. Then he looked up at his father and said, "Father, apart from the captain that General Su deliberately mentioned, there seems to be nothing unusual?"

"The document reporting the achievements to the court and me did not mention the generals in the army, but mentioned a small lieutenant, who was a captain who caught thieves."

The emperor looked at the prince.

"Guess what Su Jing wants to do?"

The prince thought for a moment and replied, "Of course I want the court to reward this captain."

The emperor nodded: "Go on."

The prince thought about it for a while, and suddenly understood, and said: "I understand, your son, Su Jing saw that his family was employed by the court again. In consideration of Yuezhou's contribution, the emperor will most likely use his son to lead the army in the future, so he wants to train some troops for his son."

The emperor nodded in satisfaction: "The prince has finally made progress over the years."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince quickly bowed his head and said, "I am deeply terrified by your father's teachings."

His Majesty the Emperor said calmly, "Su Jing was a rebellious man in his early years. Now that the Crown Prince understands what he wants to do, his memorial will be handed over to you and the prime ministers of the Political Affairs Hall to work together to handle it."

"Reply to him as soon as possible."

The prince held the memorial in his hands and bowed his head respectfully: "Your son obeys your command."

Just as His Royal Highness was about to leave, he heard His Majesty the Emperor say, "Tian Jing, the former governor of Xuanzhou, died in the prison of the Ministry of Justice a few days ago. Does Your Royal Highness know about this?"

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was startled and quickly shook his head: "I don't know."

His Majesty the Emperor also stood up and looked at his son who bowed his head respectfully. He sighed, "This matter could be a big deal or a small one. The governor of a state is not a small official. How could he die in prison for no reason?"

The prince took a deep breath and lowered his head and said, "Maybe, maybe he committed suicide out of fear of punishment..."

"The former Xuanzhou Sima Cao Rong also died in prison. Did he also commit suicide out of fear of punishment?"

"Their sins."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at the Crown Prince and continued, "It seems that the crime is not punishable by death?"

The prince lowered his head and said nothing.

The emperor continued, "Because of this matter, Gu Yuan from the Imperial Censorate has come to see me several times in the past few days, asking the court to thoroughly investigate this matter. Your Highness, do you think this matter should be thoroughly investigated?"

The prince nodded.

"Father, you have made your own decision, and I dare not interfere..."

"Of course I have my own opinion. I want to hear what the prince thinks."

"My son, my son..."

The prince took a deep breath and bowed his head, saying, "I think we should ask the Ministry of Justice to thoroughly investigate the governor and give an explanation to the people of the world."

If a person died in the prison of the Ministry of Justice, then this is the Ministry of Justice's business.

Let the Ministry of Justice investigate its own affairs. This has already made the prince's position clear.

His Majesty the Emperor looked at the Crown Prince quietly. After a moment of silence, he said, "Okay, then let's do as the Crown Prince wishes."

The prince breathed a sigh of relief and bowed his head, saying, "Father, your majesty is wise."

"I am getting older and older."

His Majesty the Emperor patted the Crown Prince on the shoulder and said, "Your Highness, you should pay more attention to the affairs of the court and visit the Political Affairs Hall more often."

"but…"

His Majesty the Emperor changed the subject and said, "You are the crown prince of the court, the future emperor. You must be upright in what you do and cultivate virtue."

“Don’t do things that you shouldn’t do.”

The prince trembled and said, "I obey your command."

The emperor returned to his seat and said calmly, "The boy from the Pei family has reached the age where he should do something for the court. Let's send him out."

"Let him go to the local area and gain some experience for a few years."

The prince bowed his head again.

"Your son... obeys your command."

(End of this chapter)