Thief Emperor

Chapter 282 Go it alone!

At this moment, the atmosphere in the room became solemn.

Li Yun had a gloomy face and said nothing.

King Wu Yuanyou of Chu was even more worried.

Previously, his identity as an imperial envoy and prince was of some use in Jiangdong and Jiangnan because the imperial court still had its prestige. Even Li Yun had to rely on his status to get things done smoothly.

But after hearing the news, he became a little panicked.

Given the performance of the Shuofang Army, let’s not talk about whether the rebels in the Central Plains can be dealt with. Even if they can be dealt with, can the court deal with the Shuofang Army that refuses to leave the Central Plains?

I'm afraid it's difficult.

After all, the previous performance of the Imperial Guards had already revealed their own weakness.

If not for this, the Shuofang Army probably wouldn't dare to be as arrogant as it is now.

Now, there was originally a force of the imperial court on the battlefield in the Central Plains, which could to a certain extent check the rebels and the Shuofang Army. Now this army has also been dispersed by the rebels...

Is the imperial court's banner still useful in Jiangnan?
Wu Yuanyou was completely at a loss.

Therefore, he quickly gave up his insistence and did everything according to Li Yun's wishes. Otherwise, if he angered the young man in front of him who was said to be General Su's student, it would be hard to say whether he, Wu Yuanyou, could leave Jiangnan alive!
Li Yun, who had remained silent, was now in complete turmoil.

Part of the reason was, of course, Su Jing's personal safety, but the bigger reason was anger at the court's incompetence.

I thought that since the imperial court was trying every means to force Su Jing to advance, they would naturally have a way to restrain the Shuofang Army and make them advance as well!
But now, Su Jing's troops moved, and General Su himself was even carried into the battlefield, while the Shuofang army, after pretending for a while, did not move!

The imperial court has completely lost control of the Shuofang Army!

Under such circumstances, instead of finding ways to strengthen Su Jing's troops, he used such a stupid operation and destroyed tens of thousands of Jiangnan soldiers under Su Jing's command!

How hateful!

Li Yun's face was extremely ugly. He bowed to Wu Yuanyou, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, this matter is too sudden. I need to go back and think about it. I will come to see Your Highness later."

After that, he turned around and left.

Wu Yuanyou gritted his teeth, called Li Yun, and whispered, "Li Governor, this time, will my inspection tour of Jiangnan stop at Wujun?"

He was a little scared.

Before this great defeat, the local forces in Wujun had almost openly opposed the imperial court and almost kidnapped him, the imperial envoy!

Now that such a thing has happened in the court, and he is still severely punishing so many officials in Mingzhou and Wujun, is there any chance for him to go to other places in Jiangnan?
If he goes, will the remaining states and counties still listen to him and the court?

I'm afraid...it's hard to say.

Li Yun stopped, looked back at Wu Yuanyou, and then said silently: "At this time, Your Highness should cheer up and do more for the court and the Great Zhou."

At this point, Li Yun let out a long breath and continued, "I will discuss this matter with Your Highness slowly when I come back."

After saying this, Li Yun strode away and quickly walked out of Wu Yuanyou's residence in Gusu City. As soon as he reached the door, he shouted: "Immediately, let Deng Yang, Zhao..."

In his impatience, he almost said Zhao Cheng's name, but fortunately there was no one around, so he immediately changed his words and said in a deep voice: "Ask Li Xiao to come see me."

The brothers Meng Qing and Meng Hai, who were standing nearby, quickly turned their heads away, while Li Yun returned to his own residence. The anger in his heart was rising, and he drank several sips of tea, but still couldn't suppress it, so he pounded the table hard.

He had tremendous strength in his hands, and this time he struck out in anger, so the tea table could not bear the force and was smashed to pieces, breaking into pieces of wood.

It happened that Deng Yang and Zhao Cheng had just walked to the door at this moment. When they saw this scene, they both felt a little uneasy.

Especially Zhao Cheng, he had witnessed Li Yun's martial arts skills on the battlefield more than once. When he saw Li Yun getting angry, he couldn't help but feel a little scared.

However, the two of them still walked in one after the other, and both clasped their fists towards Li Yun and said, "General!"

Li Yun was a little calmer at this moment. He closed his eyes for a while before opening them and pointing to the chair next to him.

"Sit down and talk."

Zhao Cheng and Deng Yang looked at each other and shook their heads in tacit agreement: "I will just stand and listen."

Li Yun wanted to drink more tea, but the teacup and the table had already shattered to the ground. He reached out to grab it, but found nothing.

Deng Yang was very perceptive and quickly stepped forward to hand the tea on another tea table to Li Yun. Li Yun took it, took a big gulp, then looked at the two people and told them about General Su and the war situation in the Central Plains.

After he finished speaking, he said in a hoarse voice: "What do you think?"

This question was mainly directed to Zhao Cheng. After all, although Deng Yang's position was similar to Zhao Cheng's, his vision and experience were much worse. On such a big matter, he did not have any unique insights for the time being.

Zhao Cheng lowered his head and thought for a while, then looked up at Li Yun and said in a deep voice: "General, this Great Zhou...is buried up to its neck in the earth."

"Otherwise, he would never do such a stupid thing. General Su... General Su has tens of thousands of people under his command. If he is given a few more years, he will definitely become an elite force. The court is in need of people at this time, but it has destroyed such an army for some inexplicable reasons." "It's simply destroying one's own arm."

"And the Shuofang Army..."

Zhao Cheng looked at Li Yun and whispered, "I am almost certain that this must have been done intentionally by the Shuofang Army. They wanted to use the rebels to destroy General Su's troops or cripple them."

Li Yun closed his eyes and said silently: "Captain Li, you... take your 500 men and go back to Yuezhou. After you arrive in Yuezhou, ask Zhou Liang to give you another 500 men. You take 1,000 men and rush to the Central Plains, especially to Xuanzhou and Luzhou."

Zhao Cheng reacted quickly and lowered his head and said, "General, are you asking me to lead the defeated troops under General Su?"

Li Yun nodded and said, "Those soldiers are almost all from Jiangnan. If they are not from Jiangnan West Road, they are from Jiangnan East Road. If they were to flee, they would probably try to find a way to get to Jiangnan."

"These defeated soldiers are deserters in the eyes of the imperial court. They cannot return home. You should go and lead them to Yuezhou or Wuzhou and temporarily settle them down."

"remember."

Li Yun advised: "Just give them food and drink, don't tell them about joining the army."

Zhao Cheng looked up at Li Yun.

If those defeated soldiers were really defined as deserters by the imperial court, then they would not be able to return to their hometowns. If they could not return to their hometowns, they would have no choice but to join Li Yun's army.

It actually makes no difference whether you say it or not.

Zhao Cheng thought for a moment and said, "General, when I return, I will notify Captain Zhou and ask him to do this. Wouldn't that be more appropriate?"

After all, Zhao Cheng had a criminal record, and he had led nearly 10,000 soldiers. If he was asked to gather the defeated troops, they might become his own soldiers.

Li Yun was speechless and said, "If they are all given to you, can you feed them?"

"Employ people with confidence, and don't employ people you doubt. Just go ahead."

The five hundred men under Zhao Cheng's command were all raised by Li Yun. The treatment they received was beyond the reach of ordinary forces, not even Zhao Cheng himself could afford. Moreover, as soon as Zhao Cheng led them to rebel, they might turn against him right after.

In addition, Zhao Cheng now has no territory of his own, and it is difficult to support his army. More importantly...

Zhao Cheng now has a clear understanding of himself. He believes that he is only suitable to be a general leading troops, but not a leader.

At this point, Li Yun paused and said silently: "General Su is missing, which does not necessarily mean he has died in battle. If you see him on this trip, take good care of him and bring him to Wuzhou."

This is just a little bit of lucky thinking.

Both Li Yun and Zhao Cheng knew very well that under the siege, Su Jing, who could no longer walk, had a low chance of surviving...

Very low. Very low.

Hearing Li Yun's words, Zhao Cheng couldn't help but sigh, thinking of Uncle Su whom he hadn't seen for a long time. He bowed his head slightly and said, "I... obey your command."

"Deng Yang."

Li Yun said directly: "You take over the city defense of Gusu, and don't let any unusual movements in the city."

Deng Yang nodded in agreement.

Li Yun then asked Zhao Cheng, "When will Lieutenant Li leave?"

Zhao Cheng replied, "I will gather my subordinates in a moment and leave immediately after that."

At this point, Zhao Cheng paused, looked at Li Yun, and reminded him: "General, you also need to make preparations early."

The preparation he mentioned naturally refers to making Li Yun ready to "go it alone".

Li Yun understood what he said immediately. He put his hands behind his back, looked at Zhao Cheng, and said slowly: "I have been preparing for two years..."

"Just go ahead, don't worry about me."

Zhao Cheng clasped his fists and said, "I will leave now."

After saying that, he pulled Deng Yang away.

Li Yun thought silently for a long time before he left his residence and returned to Wu Yuanyou. He said straight to the point, "Your Highness, corruption in Jiangnan is getting worse and worse. The people are living in poverty. We must investigate."

"Your Highness, either stay and investigate yourself, or..."

"You can give me an imperial decree, and..."

"I will check it out."

(End of this chapter)