Thief Emperor

Chapter 214: Minnesota Riot
It is not difficult to guess why the unrest started in Mingzhou. Mingzhou is not a big city, but it has many salt fields, which naturally aroused the envy of many people. If one wants to cause trouble in Mingzhou, causing unrest in the salt fields is naturally the best choice.

Anyway, the imperial court has been beaten badly by General Tianbu, and the local troops in the southeast are a bunch of idiots. If they cause trouble and rebel, the worst that can happen is that they can go to the Central Plains to seek refuge with General Wang, and maybe even become a founding hero!
This was probably the cause of the Minnesota unrest.

In fact, it is not just people in Minnesota who think this way. Most people who are causing unrest in other places also have this idea.

Ever since Wang Junping rose to power, there have been many people who are ambitious but have had no way to advance, either going to join the army directly or causing trouble first and then joining the army, all wanting to seize this opportunity to turn their lives around, become the superior person in the new dynasty, and become a duke for generations!

However, up to now, most of those who have gone to join Wang Junping are from the lower classes and have never had any channels for promotion. Those aristocratic families that have already occupied a large amount of social resources are not so easy to bet on and are still waiting and watching.

Because Li Yun was very interested in Mingzhou, after agreeing to this matter, Li Yun quickly gathered 500 men from the Yuezhou Camp outside the city and prepared to go to Mingzhou for assistance.

There are only 1,500 people in the Yuezhou camp. Li Zheng has taken 200 of them to garrison in Shan County. Li Yun can't take too many people with him. He has to leave 800 people. If Zhao Cheng suddenly attacks, they will not be without room to fight back.

Among the 500 people selected by Li Yun, 60% were veterans of Yuezhou Camp, and the other 40% were newly recruited soldiers. The purpose of bringing these new recruits out was, on the one hand, to let them see the world, and on the other hand, to let them integrate into the Yuezhou Camp as soon as possible.

Soon, after all the people were counted, Li Yun held a small meeting with Zhou Liang and Deng Yang in the commander's tent.

"Captain Zhou, I will personally go to Mingzhou this time, and you will be stationed in Yuezhou. Of the remaining 800 people, half will be kept in the Yuezhou camp for training, and the other half will be stationed at the various city gates of Yuezhou for training."

Zhou Liang's face was serious, and he said in a deep voice: "I obey your command."

"Deng Yang Zhang Hu."

Li Yun called out twice, and Zhang Hu grinned, "I'm here!"

Deng Yang was very polite, bowed his head and clasped his fists: "I am here!"

"You two, follow me to Mingzhou."

Li Yun smiled and said, "When I come back from Mingzhou, I will teach you a fun game."

After returning, Li Yun prepared to start promoting the Cuju game in the Yuezhou Camp. As long as some prizes were set up, this game, or this sport, would be easily promoted in the army.

Firstly, it can make the boring military life more interesting, and secondly, this kind of game is actually the best way to exercise physical fitness.

Once food is eaten, training must also be kept up.

Once you are on the battlefield, the stronger your physical fitness, the greater your chance of winning.

Deng Yang nodded again, and Zhang Hu asked curiously, "Second brother, what game is this? Tell me about it."

Li Yun was about to speak when he saw Zhou Liang pulling at the corner of Zhang Hu's clothes. Zhang Hu looked puzzled and turned back to ask, "Uncle San, what are you doing?"

Zhou Liang looked at Li Yun, then took a deep breath and said, "Huzi, this is a military camp, not like before... at home. In the military tent, you have to address people by their positions, otherwise how can you maintain your dignity as a general?"

Li Yun waved his hand and said with a smile: "Hu Zi has always been like this, it's no problem."

He patted Zhang Hu on the shoulder and said, "Let's leave for Mingzhou tomorrow. When we come back from Mingzhou, I will be the first to teach you."

Zhang Hu nodded first, then stood there for a while, thinking, but still couldn't figure it out.

The second brother is still the second brother, so why can’t I call him the second brother?

Seeing him like this, Li Yun shook his shoulders.

"You can yell whatever you want."

Zhang Hu then nodded and hesitantly called out "Second Brother".

Li Yun patted his shoulder and sighed: "Go ahead, but remember not to miss the time tomorrow."

Zhang Hu and Liu Bo were once Li Yun's best brothers in Cangshan Village. At that time, the three of them were actually good buddies who often played together. Li Zheng, because he was one or two years younger than the three of them, played more of a younger brother role.

Among the three, Liu Bo was the most thoughtful. Therefore, from childhood to adulthood, it was basically Liu Bo who came up with the ideas, Li Yun made the final decision, and Zhang Hu was responsible for implementation.

Therefore, when Li Yun inherited his father's position as the leader of the Cangshan Village, the first thing he did was to promote Zhang Hu and Liu Bo to the top of the Cangshan Village, with Zhang Hu ranked eighth and Liu Bo ninth.

But, people will grow up.

Now, Li has started his own business. Among the three, the smartest Liu Bo can barely keep up with Li Yun's pace, while Zhang Hu has obviously been left behind.

Li Yun looked at Zhang Hu's back as he left and could only sigh silently in his heart.

If his power reaches a higher level in the future, then Zhang Hu will probably only be able to play a role like the chief of personal guards in Li Yun Group, and he will obviously not be on the same level as Liu Bo.

This childhood playmate seemed to be the first one to fall behind.

Life is like this, there are always people who move fast, and there are always people who can't keep up. Everyone has different abilities and personalities, and Li Yun has no way to deal with it. Fortunately, Zhang Hu, although his personal abilities are average, has a simple mind and strong fighting ability.

If nothing else, it's just this loyalty.

In the future, it might be of great use.

…………

The next day, Li Yun led his troops to leave Yuezhou. The governor of Yuezhou, Du Qian, personally came with his servants to see him off. All the way to the outside of Yuezhou City, Governor Du took Li Yun's hand and said with a smile: "Yesterday, I asked around and found out that Sima Li had some disputes with Governor Zhu of Mingzhou last year because of the salt theft." "Only then did I know that the old law Sima Li was talking about was this old law."

Li smiled and said, "It was just a misunderstanding at the beginning. The misunderstanding has been resolved and the matter has passed. Now there is unrest in Mingzhou. I am going there only for official business and will not show any favoritism."

Du Qian looked at Li Yun's serious expression and smiled. He took a step back and said with a bow, "Take care, Sima Li."

He paused and added, "If it is difficult to quell the rebellion in Mingzhou, or if it is irreversible, Sima Li should not linger in the battle, but return to Yuezhou as soon as possible to protect himself."

"The safety of Yuezhou depends on Sima Li alone. Sima Li must take care of his own safety and put Yuezhou first."

Li Yun returned the greeting with a fist and said with a smile: "If anything happens in Yuezhou, please send someone to inform me immediately. I will come back as soon as possible."

After saying this, the two men bowed and said goodbye. Li Yun mounted his horse and led five hundred "reinforcements" to Mingzhou in a mighty manner.

Because it was a neighboring state and the distance was not too far, it took only a few days for Li Yun's troops to reach the city of Mingzhou. At this time, the gates of Mingzhou City were closed and there were few pedestrians outside the city. Although it was spring, one could vaguely sense a sense of solemnity.

According to the news, this unrest was caused by a salt householder named Guo Ming. The unrest started in Xiangshan County. Now several salt fields in Xiangshan County, as well as the county seat, have been occupied by the unresting salt households.

Li Yun took a look at the Mingzhou city, then said with a smile: "Deng Yang, go knock on the door and show your identity to them."

Deng Yang responded and strode to the city gate and knocked. Soon someone on the gate looked down and confirmed that it was reinforcements from the neighboring state. They quickly reported to the higher authorities. About half an hour later, the Mingzhou city gate opened and welcomed Li Yun and others in.

Li Yun himself was even invited to the governor's office. Governor Zhu Tong was no longer as calm as he was the last time he met Li Yun. After seeing Li Yun, he hurriedly came forward and before he even got close, he bowed from a distance: "Sima Li, Sima Li."

He looked delighted: "We meet again!"

Li Yun smiled and saluted, saying, "Yes, Envoy Zhu, we meet again."

Zhu Tong pulled Li Yun by the sleeve and led him all the way to the back hall, inviting him to sit in the living room.

On the way from the front yamen to the back yamen, Li Yun had already seen several large carts that were fully loaded. It was obvious that Envoy Zhu was ready to run away.

After sitting down, Zhu Tong reached out to pour tea for Li Yun, looking touched.

"A friend in need is a friend indeed! A friend in need is a friend indeed!"

Zhu Shijun sighed, "There was a rebellion in Mingzhou, and none of the neighboring prefectures and counties lent a hand. Only Sima Li came with his troops. It's really, really..."

He sighed and couldn't say any more.

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea and said with a smile: "Just now I saw that the envoy was already loading the car and packing up his belongings. Is the situation so serious?"

“I heard there are only a few hundred people at the moment.”

Governor Zhu sighed, "But now, unruly people are everywhere. With Qiu Dian's precedent, no one knows how many unruly people there will be in a few days."

At this point, Governor Zhu took a sip of tea and said, "I still recognize your former governor of Yuezhou. He died at the hands of the rebel Qiu Dian. His death was horrible..."

Zhu Tong looked up at Li Yun and exhaled again: "Fortunately, fortunately you are here, Sima Li, otherwise I really don't know what to do."

Li Yun said with a smile: "Where are your people in Mingzhou? Where did they go?"

"There are probably only 200 to 300 soldiers in Mingzhou. We can't rely on them at all!"

Zhu Tong cursed: "Which of those military officers is not drawing a salary without doing anything? They are truly sinners of the country!"

Li Yun glanced at Zhu Tong with a smile but said nothing.

Zhu Tong took a deep breath and said, "It is said that the rioters will soon attack the state capital. Sima Li arrived in time, and I feel relieved."

Li Yun said with a smile: "Your Excellency still owes me one thousand strings of cash. Do you remember?"

"Remember, of course I remember."

Zhu Tong patted his chest and said, "After this is over, I will give Sima Li..."

He stretched out a finger and gritted his teeth and said, "Ten thousand strings of cash!"

Li Yun's face turned serious, and he said, "Don't worry, sir. We will definitely help you defend Mingzhou City!"

"Whether we can defend Mingzhou or not, there is no need to force it, but, but..."

He stammered and was unable to speak.

Li Yun seemed to understand something and said with a smile: "When necessary, protect the envoy's family and evacuate Mingzhou?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Tong breathed a sigh of relief and took the initiative to add tea to Li Yun.

"Sima Li, you are really smart..."

(End of this chapter)