Thief Emperor

Chapter 219: Setting up the formation and breaking the formation!
Zhu Tong is a very pragmatic person.

In other words, he only cares about what he cares about.

For example, after he arrived in Xiangshan County and agreed with Li Yun on the contents of the letter, he hurriedly left Xiangshan and returned to Mingzhou.

He hardly cared about the casualties caused by the turmoil in Xiangshan County, nor the problem of the non-existence of the county government in Xiangshan County. He just met with Xu Ang before leaving, instructed Xu Ang to restore Xiangshan well, and then turned around and left Xiangshan.

This does not mean that Zhu Tong has problems with his ability, it only means that Envoy Zhu's mind is no longer on Mingzhou at all.

After sorting out the "case", Li Yun also prepared to leave Xiangshan. After all, Yuezhou was not well protected and could face enemy attacks at any time, so he had to go back and take a look.

Before leaving, he met with County Magistrate Xu. Seeing Xu Ang still looking haggard and showing no emotion on his face, Li sighed slightly and whispered, "Brother Xu, you can see that Governor Zhu's mind is no longer in Mingzhou, let alone Xiangshan. Therefore, Xiangshan's affairs can only rely on you. Before I leave in a few days, I will leave you 20 people for your temporary use."

"As for those people who are being held in the prison now, I estimate that the court's response will most likely be to deal with them on the spot. After these people are dealt with, Brother Xu, you can reinstate the yamen runners in Xiangshan County, and my people will return to Yuezhou."

At this point, Li Yun thought for a moment and continued, "I suggest that after this incident, Brother Xu, you should not stay in Xiangshan any longer. You can return to your hometown and rest for a while."

"After a few years, I can remarry, have children, and this matter will slowly pass."

Xu Ang's mental state was extremely abnormal. Li Yun had no doubt that the Xiangshan County Magistrate might die in office at any time.

Li Yun couldn't even predict how he would die.

It could be sudden death, suicide, or a serious illness.

Magistrate Xu's eyes regained some spirit. He looked up at Li Yun, then lowered his head and said, "After I finish handling the Xiangshan case, I am planning to resign and return home."

At this point, he took a deep breath and said, "Sima Li just said that the court will deal with these prisoners on the spot?"

According to the normal procedure, these criminals should be taken to the capital and handed over to the three judicial departments for retrial. After the detailed conviction, the emperor will make the final decision. But right now, the court is probably overwhelmed and can barely take care of itself, so how can it have the energy to care about such trivial matters?
In this case, the imperial court will most likely let the lower levels handle the matter on their own.

Of course, the bandit leader Guo Ming still needs to be taken to the capital and punished according to the law, otherwise it would not be enough to demonstrate the majesty of the court.

Li Yun was stunned, then sighed: "I guess so, but Brother Xu, you..."

"Since it is up to the local authorities to handle it themselves."

Xu Ang lowered his head and said, "Then I will deal with those people in the prison."

"Even if the court investigates, I will just be dismissed and punished. I am not afraid anymore."

Having said this, he stood up, and with a plop, he knelt in front of Li Yun, and kowtowed respectfully: "Sima Li first saved my life, and then allowed me to avenge this great hatred. It is really a grace of rebirth."

He touched his forehead to the ground and said, "I will definitely repay Sima Li's kindness while I am still alive."

At this moment, Xu Zhixian, who had been expressionless, finally burst into tears. He sobbed, "When the case in Xiangshan County is over and the new magistrate arrives, I will go find Sima. Even if I can be a clerk under Sima, it will be enough for me!"

Li Yun quickly helped him up and shook his head, saying, "Brother Xu is the magistrate of a county. No matter what, it is a waste of talent for me. After this matter is over, you might as well go back to your hometown and rest for a year or two. In the future..."

"If I need Brother Xu's help in the future, I will write to him."

Xu Ang bowed his head again and knelt on the ground.

"Thank you, Sima Li. Thank you, Sima Li!"

Li Yun patted his shoulder, sighed, and whispered: "After I leave Xiangshan, Brother Xu will only take care of the affairs of Xiangshan County, and don't ask about the affairs of the salt fields. The officials of the salt road and the beneficiaries will naturally go to reorganize the salt fields."

"If you intervene at this time, your life will be in danger."

"You have to keep yourself useful. Maybe one day in the future, Brother Xu will be able to completely clean up the filth in Jiangdong."

Xu Ang clenched his fist and said, "The local areas are very complicated, and all kinds of forces are connected to the imperial court. If you trace them back, they are either royal nobles, relatives of the emperor, or ministers and generals."

“How can I clean it up?”

Li Yun said softly: "Maybe, there will be such a day."

He clasped his fists and said, "There are still many things to do in Yuezhou. I can't stay in Xiangshan for long. I'll take my leave now."

Xu Ang bowed in return, and when they were about to part, he couldn't help but look at Li Yun and asked, "Sima Li, those stolen goods you collected..."

Li Yun frowned, looked back at him, and said with a smile: "All of them will be submitted to the court. Brother Xu, do you want to inquire about them one by one?"

"Don't dare."

He sighed: "I just can't understand why Sima Li doesn't look like a greedy person."

“Don’t judge a person by appearance.”

Li Yun took a deep breath, tacitly agreed with what Xu Ang said, and then said calmly: "Besides, Jiangdong is about to be in chaos, and I need money at this time..." "It will be of great use."

He looked at Xu Ang and said with a smile, "Brother Xu, you won't report me to the court, will you?"

Xu Ang shook his head and said, "Sima handled this matter too roughly. It will be easy for others to find fault with him. I will stay in Xiangshan..."

"Clean up this matter for Sima."

Hearing this, Li Yun looked at Xu Ang deeply, then with a serious expression, he clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Brother Xu."

Xu Ang shook his head slightly, he looked at Li Yun, his voice a little hoarse.

"I have seen clearly that the court..."

"It's just a bigger Zhutong."

Li Yun was stunned, while Xu Ang's face had returned to its normal state.

This middle-aged county magistrate who lost his wife and son seemed...

It has already turned "dark".

…………

Li Yun left twenty people and the more clever team leader Yang Xi in Xiangshan County to help Xu Ang clean up the mess in Xiangshan County.

He, with his huge harvest, left Xiangshan with the two leaders of the Hu family and his eldest baby Guo Ming and headed straight for Yuezhou.

It has been nearly ten days since he arrived in Mingzhou. During these ten days, although there was no request for help or alarm from Yuezhou Camp, Li Yun was naturally worried because Zhao Cheng was watching outside.

He must get back to Yuezhou as soon as possible.

Yuezhou is his base camp and his foundation.

Because he was anxious, halfway through the journey, Li Yun left the large army that was escorting everyone and rode all the way back to Yuezhou.

Two days later, Li Yun had returned to Yuezhou Camp outside Yuezhou City. He went to the central army tent first and met Zhou Liang who stayed behind in Yuezhou Camp.

Zhou Liang stood in front of Li Yun and reported the situation in Yuezhou during this period with his head down.

"General, Yuezhou has been relatively stable in the past few days since you were away. Only in the counties below, there have been a few incidents of mass riots, but the number of people involved was less than a hundred and they were quickly quelled."

"but…"

Zhou Liang paused and said, "In recent days, there have been frequent disturbances in Yuezhou City. Governor Du couldn't handle it, so he sent people from our Yuezhou Camp to the city to quell several incidents."

Li Yun hummed, lowered his head and drank a sip of water, then said, "The situation is getting more and more intense, and people's hearts are inevitably unsettled. Everyone's hearts are getting restless."

At this point, Sima Li yawned and asked, "I've been very busy in Mingzhou these days. Is there any new news from Tongguan?"

Zhou Liang lowered his head and thought for a while, then said, "There is some news. It is said that after the imperial army was defeated, the court has been entrenched in Tongguan and has not left. The local troops, including General Su's troops, are unable to pose a threat to the rebels. It is said that..."

"It is said that General Su sent Junior General Su Sheng to the capital to explain the situation to the court. The current emperor was very angry about the defeat and imprisoned Junior General Su Sheng in the Ministry of Justice."

Hearing this, Li Yun was stunned for a moment, then he silently exhaled a breath of foul air and sneered, "Has that useless Wu Zhong been imprisoned?"

Zhou Liang shook his head: "The news we heard was scattered. We don't know how the court dealt with Wu Zhong."

"If Wu Zhong can be safe and sound like this, then Wu Zhou really deserves to die."

Li Yun put down his teacup and was about to say something when a messenger rushed in with a letter in his hand. He half-knelt in front of Li Yun and said, "General, Lieutenant Li from Shan County has an urgent report!"

Hearing this, Li Yun was frightened and quickly reached out to take it. After opening the letter and reading it, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Liang, who was standing by, was still nervous and asked, "General, what's going on? Zhao Cheng is attacking Shan County?"

"No."

Li Yun shook his head, then slowly exhaled: "He has begun to attack Wuzhou."

Sima Li murmured.

"He doesn't want to come to Yuezhou to challenge our formation, and wants us to challenge his formation..."

(End of this chapter)