Thief Emperor

Chapter 160 Pray for rain!

After hearing Su Jing's words, Li Yun finally understood the current situation.

He had always looked down upon the Great Zhou court, believing it to be decadent and beyond redemption.

However, because of the existence of people like Su Jing, until just now, Li Yun still felt that this dynasty would still have at least another ten or twenty years of national fortune.

But the facts proved that he still overestimated the Great Zhou.

He thought for a while and said, "General, what you mean is that after your men put down the rebellion in Yuezhou, they will go directly to the Central Plains to put down the rebellion?"

"What do you mean by these people of my subordinates?"

Su Jing glanced at Li Yun and scolded him with a smile: "Aren't you one of my subordinates?"

Li Yun smiled and didn't respond.

Su Jing did not delve into it, but looked at Li Yun and continued, "This is probably what the court meant. They want us to finish the battle in Yuezhou before the end of the year and then support the battlefield in the Central Plains."

"It seems that the Central Plains has been in a state of great trouble because of the drought in the past two years."

Su Jing said in a deep voice: "So, in the battle in Yuezhou, I can't fight as calmly as before. I have to fight and win as quickly as possible so that I can prepare in advance for the battlefield in the Central Plains."

Li Yun clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Congratulations, General, for being reused by the court again."

Previously, even though Su Jing was reinstated, the position of the Jiangnan Road Army Commander-in-Chief was only a temporary position after all. Once the Yuezhou Rebellion was quelled, he would most likely return to his hometown.

But his son Su Sheng will be given an important position.

But now, the rebellion in Yuezhou has not yet ended, and the rebellion in the Central Plains has started again. Su Jing's words just now indicate that he, as the temporary commander-in-chief, will most likely be promoted to a permanent position in the same place for a long time.

This is a very high-ranking official. Wherever he goes, he controls all local military and political affairs. His power is limitless!
General Su glared at Li Yun and said unhappily, "Have you grown up yet? There has been a severe drought in the Central Plains for two years. I don't know how many people will die. And you are still here to congratulate me?"

"That's not right, General."

Li Yun looked calm and said, "I didn't cause this natural disaster, and I can't let God rain now. Since I can't stop the disaster, congratulations to Shangguan, what's wrong with that?"

Su Jing shook his head slightly.

"Sharp teeth and sharp mouths."

He paused and continued, "Central Plains has also become chaotic. The battle in Yuezhou will have to be fought more urgently. Starting tomorrow, I will attack Yuezhou City fiercely. If Yuezhou does not have reinforcements, it will probably only last one or two months at most."

"It's impossible to surround the city with this kind of siege. The rebels will definitely escape."

He looked at Li Yun and said, "When you are in Shan County, be careful of scattered rebels passing by."

Li Yun nodded first, then asked: "General, if Yuezhou is in danger, I'm afraid General Zhao from Qiantang will come to rescue Yuezhou."

"We are waiting for him to come and rescue us."

General Su said with a smile: "Zhao's men are the main force of the Yuezhou rebels. The 10,000 men under his command are a scourge wherever they go. If they escape Yuezhou and run to the Central Plains to gather refugees, the consequences will be disastrous."

"They can take the initiative to come and fight with me, which is what I want most."

Su Jing looked at Li Yun, paused, and said, "The world is in chaos. This is a great opportunity for you. If I am not in Yuezhou next year, will you go with me to the Central Plains to quell the rebellion?"

Li Yun thought about it, shook his head and said, "General, I don't want to leave Jiangnan Road for the time being."

Su Jing looked at Li Yun and asked, "Don't you want to give a reason?"

"General, I am a kind person."

"Those in the Central Plains who can't get enough food can't be considered rebels."

Su Jing looked around, then lowered his voice and said in a deep voice: "Just based on your words, it is slandering the court!"

Li Yun smiled and didn't respond.

Seeing that he looked indifferent, Su Jing shook his head slightly and said, "I always thought you were a bit weird before, but now I understand that you don't take the court seriously at all!"

Li Yun rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "General, the Yuezhou rebellion is so powerful. There is only half a year left until the end of the year. How can we completely wipe it out? If the general is not in Yuezhou by then, I will lead some people to stay in Yuezhou for the general to prevent the Yuezhou rebels from reviving."

"What do you think, General?"

"The war hasn't even started yet, and you're already thinking about the future."

Su Jing snorted: "Besides, with your rank, why would you be allowed to guard a place for the imperial court?"

Li was not amused, curled his lips, and did not respond. Instead, he clasped his fists and said, "Then the general has no other instructions. I will go back to Shan County to deploy defenses to prevent any thieves from escaping from Shan County."

Su Jing hummed, and said, "I'll assign you a scout team. Take 20 horses and keep a close eye on the rebels. If they flee, you must catch them all. Don't let any of them slip through the net."

Li Yun was overjoyed when he heard this.

This is good stuff.

It’s not that he is short of a dozen or twenty horses. There are nearly fifty horses in his army now. What he really lacks are scouts of these professions!
Until now, Li Yun didn't know how to train scouts, and intelligence was all done by Li Zheng, who was also a half-baked and unprofessional. Now, with the scouts brought by Su Jing, Li Yun could learn from them after taking them back.

He stood up and clasped his fists respectfully: "Thank you, General!"

"No need to thank me."

Su Jing stood up and stretched his body: "The main reason is that I am afraid that although you can fight, you are a headless fly. If the rebels leave, I will still have to take responsibility."

At this point, he glanced at Li Yun and said calmly, "Weren't you about to leave just now? Why aren't you leaving now?"

Mr. Li's eyes rolled around and he said, "Didn't the general just say that the main force of the army will begin to attack Yuezhou City tomorrow? I want to stay and help the general!"

Su Jing was a little suspicious: "Boy, do you want to learn secretly?"

Li Yun hurriedly shouted: "What are you talking about, General? Isn't it normal for us to learn something from you?"

Su Jing looked him up and down, then said in a muffled voice: "Go find Su Sheng. I will allow you to stay in the army for three more days. After three days, you will immediately set out to return to Shan County."

Li Yun bowed his head and clasped his fists.

"I obey my orders!"

………………

In the capital, in the government hall.

The bewildered Crown Prince was invited to the government hall. After he entered the hall, he looked at the prime ministers and asked, "My Lords, what do you want me to do?"

The prime ministers looked at each other, and none of them dared to speak.

The prince frowned and said, "Just say whatever you want to say. You are all prime ministers of the court. What are you afraid of?"

Finally, Prime Minister Cui Yuan touched Wang Du who was standing beside him. Wang Du gritted his teeth, stood up, bowed his head and said, "Your Highness, today we are summoned to the palace to discuss matters. Your Majesty wants you to choose an auspicious day in the next few days to set up an altar in the eastern suburbs to offer sacrifices to the heavens and pray for rain."

Ever since the existence of the connection between heaven and man, strange celestial phenomena have often been directly linked to the rulers.

The starting point of this matter was not because of any ignorant thoughts, but because a certain emperor wanted to make the throne of his family sacred, cover it with a mysterious veil of theocracy, and officially turn the emperor into the son of God.

It is also a kind of integration of politics and religion.

However, obtaining this kind of divine power is not completely without cost. The cost is that no matter what strange natural disasters occur, those scholars can use them to implicate the emperor.

What's worse, when a natural disaster occurred in a certain place, the ministers would ask the emperor to issue an edict of repentance.

And now, the Central Plains has been suffering from severe drought for the second consecutive year.

There has been no rain near the capital for two months.

In this situation, the government offices had actually started praying for rain two months ago.

It just hasn't been of any use.

The ministers’ prayers for rain were useless, so the task of communicating with heaven naturally had to be handed over to the people in heaven.

Once this matter was reported to the highest level, it actually became the emperor's own business. Even if the emperor was unwilling to do it, when the order came down, the emperor would ask the prince to pray for rain on his behalf.

Instead of asking the prince to pray for rain.

It's very different here.

If the prince was praying for rain on behalf of the emperor, then whether it rained or not was the emperor's own business. If it rained, it was the emperor's merit; if it didn't rain, it was the emperor's fault, and it had nothing to do with the prince.

But now, the emperor wants the prince to pray for rain in his personal name, so this matter can be a big deal or a small one.

It would be good if Yu Qiu came down, at most his father, the emperor, would take away most of the credit.

If this cannot be achieved, does it mean that the prince has lost his moral integrity?
So how should this matter be handled in the end?
We can't ask the crown prince to issue an edict of repentance.

If one thing goes wrong, it may shake the throne!
Anyway, no matter how you look at it, this matter is not good for the prince.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was a smart man. He looked at the prime ministers and frowned, "Everyone, does my father want me to pray for rain?"

He confirmed again that he was ready.

Prime Minister Cui Yuan sighed and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty...is not very willing to go."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was silent for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth.

"Okay, I will share my father's worries. It is my responsibility."

"I will hold a sacrifice in the eastern suburbs in three days!"

(End of this chapter)