Thief Emperor

Chapter 200 Shameless Sima Li

"what?"

Li Yun had no idea about these things and felt a little embarrassed. After thinking for a while, he said, "I'll take some time to explain it to her in the next few days."

Miss Xue looked up at Li Yun and didn't say much. She just nodded and asked, "How have you been doing in Yuezhou these past few months?"

"That would be great, of course."

Li Yun smiled and said, "The new governor has not arrived yet, and there is no deputy governor either. I am in charge of the entire Yuezhou government office. It is not an exaggeration to call me the governor of Yuezhou."

Miss Xue rolled her eyes at him.

"If someone hears you say something like that, they might report you!"

Sima Li smiled and said, "Who can you tell to report me?"

Miss Xue was amused by his appearance and said coquettishly, "Find the head of the county government and take you, the thief, to the authorities!"

"All right."

She pinched Li Yun and whispered, "My father is waiting for you to see him. Let's talk later."

At this point, Miss Xue paused and continued, "I've bought you some winter clothes. After you see my father, come see me..."

Li Yun smiled and nodded, and said, "I will come to you after I meet my future father-in-law."

Xue Yun'er blushed and said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

But this time, she didn't run away. Instead, she looked up at Li Yun and said, "Talk nicely to my father when you see him. Don't talk nonsense."

Li Yun smiled and nodded, then walked all the way to the door of Master Xue's study in the backyard of the county government office. After knocking on the door, he said, "County Master, I came back to see you."

The door of the study opened quickly. Mr. Xue looked Li Yun up and down, then he stepped aside and returned to his seat.

"Come in and talk."

Li Yun walked in with a smile and sat directly opposite Master Xue. He looked at Magistrate Xue and said with a smile, "I haven't seen you for a few months. You are still as elegant as ever."

Magistrate Xue looked up at Li Yun and asked, "What's the situation in Yuezhou?"

"is acceptable."

Li Yun replied: "Now, I have basically taken over everything that can be taken over, and it is easier to get things done with soldiers. Yuezhou has been going smoothly during this period, but the population..."

Mr. Li frowned slightly and said, "During this period, I looked at the previous records of Yuezhou. Before the Qiudian Rebellion, the entire Yuezhou had more than 150,000 households. Last month, I barely counted Yuezhou again, including the Yuezhou people who returned to Yuezhou during this period, and counted them together, which means that there are just over 100,000 households."

"There are still some people here who escaped from the Central Plains."

Mr. Li whispered, “Unless these people are relocated in large numbers from other places, they will not be able to recover in a short period of time.”

These words also moved County Magistrate Xue slightly.

The entire Qingyang County has a population of only about 20,000 to 30,000 households, which means that Yuezhou lost the population of two Qingyang Counties in just over half a year!
He was silent for a long time before asking, "So many people died?"

"He may not be dead."

Li Yun tapped the table lightly and said, "Some of them died at the hands of the rebels... and government troops, but most of them escaped. Those who escaped have not yet fully returned."

"Another group followed Qiu Dian. They dared not return to Yuezhou. Even their family members hid in the mountains and dared not show up."

Master Xue pondered for a while and sighed softly: "When war breaks out, there will be a lot of heads rolling."

“No wonder some people say it is better to be a dog in peacetime than a man in troubled times.”

Li Yun snorted and sneered, "If it was really peaceful, how could there be a rebellion like Qiu Dian? To put it bluntly, at least the people can't make a living, so there will be chaos."

"For example, the current Central Plains, I heard that it is in such a mess that it is beyond control."

Hearing Li Yun mention the Central Plains, Magistrate Xue's face became more worried. He was silent for a while, then said, "I received a letter from a good friend a few days ago. The entire Henan Prefecture and Luoyang have fallen, and the court is preparing to send the Imperial Guard to Henan Prefecture to quell the rebellion."

"Because of this matter, the emperor was very angry, the crown prince was questioned, and the prime minister Wang Du was also dismissed from his post and punished."

Hearing this news, Li Yun was also somewhat shocked. After taking a deep breath for a while, he looked up at Xue Song and whispered, "County Master, we all thought that troubled times were approaching, but now it seems that troubled times..."

"I'm afraid it has already arrived."

Master Xue frowned upon hearing this, then looked at Li Yun and said, "Although the rebel army in the Central Plains is large in scale, they are made up of ordinary people after all. At best, they are just a mob. In my opinion, they will not be able to achieve anything big. Sooner or later, they will be quelled by the court."

Li Yun shook his head and said, "County Master, being able to occupy Luoyang means that even if they don't continue to attack the prefectures and counties now, they can at least hold on for one or two years."

"The Central Plains is such a large place that it has been turned upside down because of this rebel army. People all over the world have seen it. If the central government cannot convince the people, there will be big problems."

Li Yun looked at Xue Song and said slowly: "I know that the county magistrate has been an official in the court. I don't want to admit this, but I think that the fact that the Central Plains could be beaten into this state by the rebels in just a few months means that the court... at least the local army of the court, has been completely rotten." This is easy to understand.

When a rebellion broke out in Shidai County of Xuanzhou, the entire Xuanzhou could only mobilize more than 200 troops.

The actual number of troops in Xuanzhou was one thousand.

This is the case in Xuanzhou, and it must be the same in other states as well.

Otherwise, the Central Plains states could not have been reduced to this state in less than a year by a peasant uprising.

In fact, even when Cui Xiang's nephew Cui Shao arrived in Xuanzhou and served as the governor of Xuanzhou, the problem of local military in Xuanzhou was still not solved. Now, thanks to Cui Shao's efforts, the number of soldiers in Xuanzhou has only increased by one or two hundred people.

Although the local army cannot reflect the combat effectiveness of the central imperial guards, it can certainly reflect the situation of the entire court, especially the court's administrative problems.

To put it bluntly, the local situation is rotten, and the imperial guards cannot be too strong.

Because local officials are human beings, the officials in the imperial court are of course also human beings.

Now, the imperial court is going to send the Imperial Guards to quell the rebellion. If the Imperial Guards can successfully quell the rebellion, the Great Zhou Dynasty may be able to hold on for a while longer. If the Imperial Guards are also defeated by these rebels, it will only be a small loss.

The majestic image of the Great Zhou Dynasty that it had maintained for more than 200 years would immediately collapse in the hearts of people all over the world.

The collapse of the country is just a matter of days.

"If the Imperial Army is defeated again, I'm afraid people everywhere will change their minds, and once people change their minds, there will be chaos in the world."

Li Yun gave his own judgment.

Magistrate Xue looked up at Li Yun, lowered his head and took a sip of tea, then slowly said, "After this year, next year will be my third year as magistrate in Qingyang."

"In the second half of next year, my term as county magistrate will be over. At that time, I will take my family back to my hometown to farm, study and teach. I will never serve as an official again."

Li Yun understood what he meant. He was urging him to complete the process as soon as possible.

He stood up, knelt on his knees, and said solemnly: "County Master, I have admired Miss Xue for a long time. This time I specially rushed back to Qingyang just to ask you to marry Miss Xue!"

Master Xue also stood up and looked at Li Yun who was kneeling in front of him. After a moment of silence, he stepped forward to help Li Yun up and sighed slightly: "This should be the fate between you and Yun'er. No one can change it."

"In this case, I will not go against the will of heaven."

He looked at Li Yun and forced a smile on his face: "Tomorrow, you can bring someone over to ask for the bride price."

There is indeed a deep bond between Li Yun and Miss Xue. Miss Xue was about to get married, but was intercepted by the young and naive Li Yun!

Later, the two of them spent a whole month together in the mountains, almost day and night. In fact, from that time on, some feelings had already developed between the two.

However, given their identities at that time, if they wanted to be together, they could only elope first and then take the baby to meet their grandparents. Only then would it be possible. It was absolutely impossible for them to be married in an open ceremony.

Now, although only more than a year has passed, Li Yun, the thief, has transformed himself into the Sima of Yuezhou, and the marriage between the two has become legitimate.

However, the identity of Yuezhou Sima was just icing on the cake.

With that kidnapping incident, it would not be easy for Miss Xue to get engaged again. Even though Li Yun is still the head of Qingyang, their marriage would most likely be settled in the next two years.

Sima Li was overjoyed when he heard this, and saluted again: "Thank you, father-in-law!"

His change of address was so smooth that even Xue Xianzun was stunned for a moment. Then he reacted and scolded with a smile: "You boy, you are really..."

County Master Xue thought about it and gave his own evaluation.

“Extremely thick skin!”

Mr. Li laughed, looked at Magistrate Xue, and said with a smile: "After you finish your post as Magistrate of Qingyang next year, do you want to go to Yuezhou to be an official?"

"Don't go, don't go."

Magistrate Xue snorted, "Go to Yuezhou and obey your orders?"

Li Yun chuckled.

"What my father-in-law said is the same. We are a family, so it doesn't matter who listens to whom, right?"

"Moreover…"

Li Yun coughed and said seriously.

"From now on, Yuezhou..."

"It will be safer."

(End of this chapter)