Thief Emperor

Chapter 147 Encirclement!
Walking out of the commander's tent, Li Yun, oh no, it should be Captain Li, is in a good mood.

Although he didn't know what happened at the court, the current outcome was exactly what he wanted.

If the imperial court really gave him some high title and reward, and transferred him to another place to take up a post after the rebellion was quelled, then if he went, his foundation in Xuanzhou would be meaningless.

If I don't go, all the time I've been taking advantage of the court will be in vain.

But this situation is actually the most suitable for Li Yun now.

It’s not that he gained huge benefits after having this captain, but the father and son of the Su family really owed him a huge favor.

This is the commander-in-chief who can control several states and even the entire Jiangnan East and West Road. With such a favor, it will be much easier for Li Yun to do things in the future.

He put forward some conditions to General Su, and the latter was probably too embarrassed to refuse him.

After returning all the way back to their camp, Li Zheng, Zhou Liang and others had already surrounded them, all indignant for Li Yun.

Li Zheng, in particular, had already started cursing in Li Yun's tent. He angrily said, "I originally thought that the Su guy was a good person, but I didn't expect him to claim credit for my second brother's achievements. None of these officials are good people!"

Li Yun glanced at him and said with a smile: "You said it was my business, why are you so excited?"

"Then...then guard Linshui."

"Don't we also have merits?"

Li Yun said slowly: "The court is already like this. What's the point of asking for their contributions? Getting the benefits is the right thing to do."

He glanced at Li Zheng and Zhou Liang, who was silent, and said with a smile: "Brothers, you have made contributions. If the court does not give you any benefits, I will give them to you later."

"Not one less."

Li Zheng was still indignant, gritting his teeth and saying, "Second brother, why don't we take our brothers back to Tianmu Mountain? It's better than being bullied here!"

Li Yun did not respond, but looked at Zhou Liang and asked, "Uncle San, what do you think?"

Zhou Liang sat opposite Li Yun, thought for a moment, and then said, "If the benefits mentioned by the village chief are met, the number of people under our command would have increased by more than three times. This is a real benefit, but the problem is..."

“These new people are coming in.”

Zhou Liang looked at Li Yun and asked, "Can we take them away? After we take them away, can the village chief afford to support them?"

In such a turbulent time, recruiting people is much easier than you think. Even if you don't pay them, as long as they have enough food to eat, people will follow you.

The real difficulty is how to feed these people.

Now, Li Yun is an official, and he uses the money and food from the court to feed his subordinates. Although the food is not very good, at least he does not have to worry about food and drink.

And if he lost the support of the court, let alone more people, even the daily food and drink expenses of the five or six hundred people under his command would be a considerable amount.

If he spent all his money, he would have no choice but to transfer food from the Ten Kings Village.

Although the food in the Ten Kings Village is enough to feed 500 people, it will become a bit difficult if the number of people increases further.

Li touched his chin, thought for a while, and said, "I will consider this matter carefully."

He really needs a piece of land now.

Perhaps we can start with General Su on this matter. After all, these two men owe him a big favor this time.

…………

General Su had a very bad temper in his tent.

It's just that he hasn't been able to explain this matter to anyone else, and even if he really explains it, it's not clear.

The yellow mud got into my pants, it must be shit if it's not.

Major General Su Sheng also had an unpleasant expression on his face.

On the surface, this was a big step forward in his career. However, there were so many people guarding Linshui that day, and everyone knew who was in charge of Linshui, and everyone also knew who had the greatest contribution that day.

But the final result is such that it is impossible for others not to discuss him behind closed doors.

Even the cavalrymen he led might discuss this matter behind his back.

This incident is likely to become a huge stain on his career, the kind that can never be washed away.

"father."

Su Sheng thought for a long time, gritted his teeth and said, "Otherwise, my son should go back to his hometown!"

"After this incident, how can my son continue to stay in the army?"

General Su sat in his seat with a gloomy face. He patted the table and said in a deep voice: "The court just appointed you as a general, and you want to quit? You want face, but do you want the face of the court?"

"If you want face, earn it back yourself!"

Su Jing slammed the table and said, "The rebellion has just begun. There are plenty of battles for you to fight. If you make more achievements for those people to see, no one can say anything to you."

Su Sheng clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, "Son, remember this!" He looked at his old father again and asked, "Dad... that Li Zhao, you are treating him too unfairly. He is so young, if he gets angry, who knows what he might do..."

"That's none of your business."

Su Jing closed his eyes and said, "I will find a way to compensate him for this. As for what you said about him acting on impulse... I don't think so. Although Li Zhao sometimes acts impulsively, this time, he doesn't seem to be resentful."

"Maybe, he wasn't interested in this."

At this point, General Su looked up at Su Sheng and said slowly, "Zheng Wei will be here this afternoon. Take someone to meet him and bring him to my tent."

"Zheng Wei?"

Su Sheng thought about it, and then he understood.

"It's the inspector of Jiangnan East Road."

"Ah."

General Su said slowly, "Regarding the affairs of Jiangnan East Road, your father has many questions to ask him. He is an important official, so when you go to greet him, be polite."

Su Sheng nodded, turned around and went out to greet people.

General Su sat alone in the commander's tent, took out the imperial edict and read it again. Then he narrowed his eyes and his breathing became rapid again.

"Either the emperor or the government office..."

He whispered softly: "The court, the court..."

………………

In the afternoon, Zheng Yu, the governor of Jiangnan East Road, came to General Su's tent under the greeting of Su Sheng. The governor, who was dressed in plain clothes and looked haggard, was very polite. After entering the tent, he immediately bowed and saluted: "I am Zheng Yu, the subordinate, and I greet the general."

General Su stood up, clasped his fists and returned the greeting, saying, "You don't have to be polite, Lord Zheng. Let's sit down and talk."

"Don't dare, don't dare."

Zheng Wei waved his hand and said, "I am not worthy of being addressed as such by the Marshal. I am now a person awaiting punishment. The Marshal can just call me by my name."

Such a big rebellion broke out in the eastern part of Jiangnan, and he, as the inspector and governor, could not escape the blame. If he was a local official with no background, he might have been sent to the capital to be punished by now.

However, Duke Zheng's surname includes the character Zheng, so he has been safe and sound until now and is even still in office.

Of course, this matter, after all, has little to do with Zheng Wei. After all, the rebellion was a rebellion in Yuezhou, and it was not caused by him.

His biggest responsibility was his failure to suppress the bandits and put down the rebellion.

"Then I will call you by your courtesy name."

After asking Zheng Yu to take a seat, General Su slowly asked, "Brother Lingguan, I need to know the detailed situation of the Jiangnan East Road."

"So that I can make arrangements."

It is rumored that the word Kui refers to a giant magical beast in ancient times, and it is also said to be a musician in ancient times. Zheng Wei's courtesy name came from this, and he took the name Lingguan.

Only the noble families can choose such courtesy names. Others seldom give such grand names.

Zheng Wei sighed first, then said, "It's embarrassing to say that a small rebellion was originally the duty of an inspector. I didn't expect the rebels to grow stronger day by day, and eventually alarmed the court. General Laodong came to take care of it."

He paused and continued, "After the rebels occupied Yuezhou, they have been attacking Qiantang. However, last month, they also captured Mingzhou and are now preparing to head south to Ninghai."

"Ninghai has almost no one available, and most of them can't resist these rebels."

General Su frowned and asked, "How many soldiers do you have now, Brother Lingguan?"

"I have gathered troops from various states in the Jiangnan and East Route, and I have also been ordered to recruit some soldiers. Together, there are about five or six thousand people."

"but…"

He smiled bitterly and said, "I am a lowly official with limited knowledge and experience. These people here are no match for the rebels."

Su Jing touched his chin, took a map from his desk, and placed it in front of himself and Zheng Wei. Then he drew a circle on the map with his finger and said, "We need to encircle the rebel forces in this circle, and then shrink them little by little, and finally completely wipe out the rebels."

(Many brothers want to see the map, the map is a reference to this map, but because it is fictional, it may not be exactly the same, for reference only! !)
"Otherwise, if we beat them and they flee, there will be no peace in the entire southeast."

As he spoke, he looked at Zheng Wei and said, "Observer Zheng, I order you to stop the rebels from advancing southwards in Ninghai."

Zheng Yu looked solemn, stood up and bowed, saying, "I obey your orders."

He also looked at the map, then pointed in the direction of Wuzhou and said, "Marshal, there seems to be a gap here."

Su Jing also looked at Wuzhou and spoke slowly.

"This is where I will make arrangements."

(End of this chapter)