Thief Emperor

Chapter 247: Recruitment!

Among the four people present in Yanyu Tower at this time, the youngest is naturally Li Yun, who is only twenty-two years old this year.

But the other three people are not very old either.

The oldest, Cui Shao, was only twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old.

And these young men already hold considerable power in their hands, especially Pei Huang. When he returns to the capital this time, he is likely to rise to a high position as an official at the level of Vice Minister of one of the six ministries. In addition, due to his relationship with the crown prince, he may even be able to participate in important national decisions!

The same is true for Cui Shao. The sons of his uncle who is the prime minister are all useless. Among the Cui family's generation, he is the only one who holds a higher position. After he is transferred to the capital, he will probably hold an important position.

These two people are likely to be the trendsetters active in the court in the future. Therefore, although this seemingly insignificant dinner party cannot determine the situation in the world, as long as the four people can reach some kind of agreement, there will be no problem in at least determining part of the situation in Jiangdong.

Soon, the four people sat down in their respective seats. Cui Shao, the governor of Xuanzhou, was the host. He sat in the main seat, raised his wine glass, and said with a smile: "If it weren't for Sima Li's marriage, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the opportunity to host the banquet. Come on, let's drink this cup to congratulate Sima Li on his marriage."

When Cui Shao first arrived in Xuanzhou, there were some conflicts between him and Li Yun. However, later on, the conflicts between the two eased slightly. Now that Li Yun has become a prominent figure in Jiangdong, Cui Shao's attitude towards him has visibly improved.

This is how life is. When you are a small person, anyone may want to make trouble for you. But once you become powerful, everyone around you will become "good people".

Li Yun smiled and said, "Thank you, superiors."

His words "Shangguan" were somewhat sarcastic, so everyone just smiled and drank up the wine in their glasses.

After a few drinks, Master Pei coughed and said, "I'm sure you all know what's going on in the Central Plains. The situation in the court has now reached a critical moment. As officials of the Great Zhou, we should do our utmost to assist the court, allocate funds, and calm the chaos as soon as possible."

Pei Huang thought for a moment and continued, "Those sitting here today are the young pillars of the court. I am anxious to return to the capital, so I will not hide it."

He looked at the other three people and said in a deep voice: "Now, His Majesty is ill, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in charge of the government. I hope that you can all do your part for the court and the Crown Prince."

This statement was so straightforward that the other three people frowned slightly.

As the host, Cui Shao quickly said with a smile: "Since we are officials in the court, we naturally have to assist the court and assist His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. This is our due responsibility."

Du Qian said silently: "You two will soon return to the capital to show your talents, but I must at least complete my term in Yuezhou, otherwise I will not have the face to go back. I can only do my best to manage Yuezhou's affairs for the court, which will be considered as my loyalty to the court."

Li Yun blinked his eyes and said with a smile: "I heard that General Wei of the imperial court has already marched south to Henan Prefecture and defeated the rebels step by step. It won't be long before the rebels in the Central Plains will be wiped out. By then, the imperial court will naturally return to normal. Why does Master Pei still look as if he is facing a great enemy?"

This question was so stupid that Pei Huang and Cui Shao couldn't help but look at each other.

Cui Shao resisted the urge to mock, coughed, and explained, "Sima Li may not have thought it through. These border troops have become so powerful that they may not be willing to obey the imperial edict. Once the Shuofang troops stay in the Central Plains and are unwilling to leave, or other military governors follow suit, the whole country will immediately be in chaos."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince and Brother Pei are probably a little worried because of this."

Pei Huang didn't say anything, but just looked at Li Yun thoughtfully.

Among those present, only Du Qian knew that Li Yun was playing dumb, but he did not expose him or respond.

Sima Li suddenly realized something and frowned: "This General Wei actually has evil intentions. He is far inferior to the loyal General Su."

After Li Yun spoke for several sentences, he looked at Pei Huang and said, "Master Pei, I have been ordered to serve as the Sima of Yuezhou. Like Envoy Du, I will be inseparable from Yuezhou and even more so from Jiangdong in the next few years. I am afraid there is nothing I can do to help the Crown Prince."

Pei Huang shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "It's not that we need Sima Li to help us now. Sima Li is quite talented in leading troops. Your Highness the Crown Prince will definitely need a lot of people in the future. That will be your chance to rise to prominence."

At this time, Pei was already planning the succession to the throne with the prince.

Once the prince ascends the throne, he will inevitably need a large number of people to fill some of the most important positions so that he can secure the throne as soon as possible.

And Pei Huang is now preparing for this matter.

However, his main target was Du Qian and Du Shangshu behind Du Qian. Winning over Li Yun was just a side job.

After all, given Li Yun’s current rank, it is unrealistic for him to be promoted directly to an important position in the court.

However, Du Qian, the governor, could be promoted to the court at any time and arranged in some confidential position.

Hearing this, Li Yun patted his chest and said with a smile: "So that's what you mean. This is easy to handle. As long as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince needs me, I will definitely do my best!"

"it is good."

Pei Huang clapped his hands and laughed, "With what Sima Li said, today's meal is a done deal."

He looked at Cui Shao and said with a smile: "Brother Cui, I'll treat you to dinner today."

Cui Shao shook his head and smiled: "In this Xuanzhou City, since I am the host, how can I let others treat me?"

"Brother Pei, you should wait a while. It won't be too late to treat us when we return to the capital."

Pei Huang smiled and said, "When will Brother Cui leave for Beijing? Can we stay together?"

Cui Shao shook his head and said, "I have to wait for the new official to take office. Otherwise, there are so many things going on in Xuanzhou that it is really difficult to handle them clearly."

Pei Huang chuckled, knowing that Cui Shao was waiting for Cui Xiang's document, or waiting for Cui Xiang's next instructions and arrangements. He did not expose him, but continued to raise his glass and said with a smile: "Come, let's have another drink." The four of them drank until dark. When it was completely dark, Pei Huang was already drunk, and staggered away with the support of Pei Zhuang.

Cui Shao was also helped back by the people from the Xuanzhou Governor's Office.

Only Li Yun and Du Qian were left at the table.

Both of them were lying on the table, looking drunk.

After Pei and Cui left, Li Yun slowly sat up, drank a sip of tea, looked at Du Qian who was also lying down, and said with a smile: "Envoy, wake up, I know you can drink a lot."

Du Qian rubbed his eyes sleepily. Seeing that Li Yun was the only one there, he heaved a sigh of relief, picked up the tea, took a big gulp, and let out a long breath.

Then he looked at Li Yun, shook his head slightly and said: "See, Pei Huang is now just like the "Second Prince".

Li Yun smiled and said, "With his status, it's appropriate for him to be the second prince."

"Sima Li arrived two days late, so I arrived a few days earlier."

Du Qian stood up and stretched his muscles, then sat back in his seat and said, "The current situation in the court is much worse than they say."

"Even if the rebellion of Wang Junping in the Central Plains is put down, it will take four to five years for the Central Plains to recover. Moreover, rebellions are breaking out everywhere in the world. Not to mention that the Shuofang Army has other intentions, even if the Shuofang Army is loyal, how can the Shuofang Army clean it up?"

Du Qian said this, looked up at Li Yun, and whispered: "Does Sima Li know what the court is going to do?"

Li Yun shook his head.

As for the affairs in the court, his information channels were far less well-informed than those of the children of aristocratic families. He could only rely on some rumors to learn about the latest developments in the court.

Du Qian raised his head and took a sip of wine, lowering his voice: "The court does not want the Shuofang Army to quell the chaos in the Central Plains, at least it does not want the Shuofang Army to quell the chaos in the Central Plains so quickly."

"Otherwise, the situation will be out of control."

Du Qian whispered, "Therefore, the court has come up with a method that can both prevent the Shuofang Army from continuing to make achievements and ease the chaos in the Central Plains."

Li Yun was a little curious: "What method?"

"Recruitment."

Du Qian squeezed out these two words from between his teeth.

"Recruitment?"

Li Yun was stunned and said in astonishment: "Wang Junping has made such a fuss, can he still be recruited?"

"Yes, this is not uncommon."

Du Qian lowered his head to drink, his voice hoarse: "I heard that there is a general named Huang and another general named Zhu in the rebel army, each leading an army in the three armies."

"The two people the imperial court wants to recruit are these two."

Li Yun seemed to understand something and whispered, "The court wants them to kill Wang Junping?"

"That's probably what it means."

“Then the rebel forces are still in the Central Plains, but the rebels are gone, and the Shuofang Army has no reason to go south.”

"The court will also have some breathing room."

Li Yun frowned: "Will they accept the amnesty?"

"The Shuofang Army is heading south, and General Su is attacking from the flank. Once they are under military pressure, they will most likely accept the amnesty."

Du Qian said silently: "After all, no one wants to die. At this time, anything can be discussed."

No matter which world's history it is, recruiting amnesty has always been a magic weapon for the imperial court to deal with rebellion, and it is even a sure-fire way to deal with these rebellious civilians.

Sima Li thought for a while and murmured, "Then what about the hundreds of thousands or even millions of rebels? Should we let them stay in the Central Plains?"

"If we don't let the Shuofang Army deal with them, who can deal with them?"

"Yes."

Du Qian smiled bitterly.

"I don't know how the court is going to end this..."

(End of this chapter)