Thief Emperor

Chapter 320 Compromise and Endeavor!
Cui Yuan remained silent.

The other prime ministers also frowned and said nothing.

After an unknown amount of time, Cui Xianggong finally said silently, "Guozhu."

"No one can say a word to you at this time, and you shouldn't ask this question."

General Wei Quanzhong was not called this name in his early years. Because of his military achievements in the border army, he was appreciated by the Emperor and promoted again and again.

Later, he changed his name to Quanzhong.

Later, he won a great victory, and the Emperor personally bestowed on him the name Guozhu.

这是莫大的殊荣。

And because of this favor, Wei Quanzhong ran all the way until the early morning and knelt at the gate of the imperial city. Logically speaking, this was reasonable.

However, what exactly was his intention in doing so? I'm afraid only he himself knows now.

General Wei's eyes were full of tears, but he still knelt on the ground and said, "As a subject, I know I shouldn't ask, but your majesty's kindness to me is as great as the sky..."

Prime Minister Cui said silently: "General, as long as you can quell the chaos in the Central Plains as soon as possible, you will be repaying your majesty's kindness."

"The chaos in the Central Plains has only been going on for the past one or two years."

General Wei was still kneeling on the ground. He looked up at Cui Yuan and said in a deep voice, "The court previously urged me to march to Luoyang and suppress the rebels. However, if my army directly attacks Luoyang and fights a decisive battle with the rebels, the hundreds of thousands of rebels will surely become desperate."

"By that time, even if we can win, the Shuofang Army will certainly suffer heavy casualties."

"It would be fine if only the Shuofang Army suffered heavy casualties, but fighting in the heart of the Central Plains, if the scale is large, I am afraid that there will be a great loss of life, so I have been cautious in using troops."

"The rebels have suffered setbacks everywhere, so they will not last long. It won't be long before they create chaos of their own. When that happens, I will use more troops and quickly restore peace to the Central Plains."

At this point, the Shuofang Jiedushi was still in low spirits, and whispered: "Prime Minister Cui, the only reason I came to the capital was to see His Majesty again. Even if I could only kowtow to him, I would be satisfied."

He bowed his head deeply.

Cui Xianggong sighed: "I can't help you with this matter."

He was about to continue speaking when a slightly shrill voice came from a distance.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, dressed in a yellow robe, strode out of the imperial city. After seeing Wei Quanzhong kneeling on the ground, he frowned slightly, then quickly forced a smile on his face and stepped forward to support General Wei.

"The general arrived so quickly. I thought it would take another two days."

The Crown Prince supported him, and General Wei did not dare to neglect him. He stood up and said with his head down: "Your Highness, I heard some bad rumors outside Tongguan, and I was worried about Your Majesty. So after arranging the war in the Central Plains, I immediately entered the pass to visit Your Majesty."

He looked up at the prince, his eyes full of sadness: "Your Highness, His Majesty..."

The Crown Prince looked around and saw that the people nearby had sensibly moved away a dozen steps. After everyone had gone far away, the Crown Prince pulled Wei Quanzhong's sleeve and sighed silently: "Father is ill."

"At this point, I can no longer take charge."

He looked at Wei Quanzhong and said in a deep voice: "However, Father, I have always been thinking about the war in the Central Plains and the people of the Central Plains. I hope that the general can quell the rebellion in the Central Plains as soon as possible."

"Give the people a peaceful Central Plains."

"Since I was given the task, I have been doing this without a single day of slacking off."

Wei Quanzhong lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, I have been greatly favored by Your Majesty. I beg you to see me..."

"To visit His Majesty's condition."

"The doctor said so."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said calmly, "At this time, my father needs to rest and no one can see him."

"Even for me, it's not easy to see him right now."

At this point, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looked at Wei Quanzhong, suddenly changed the subject, and said with a faint smile: "Before my father fell ill, he mentioned the general's family affairs. The second son of the general's family has not married this year, right?"

"Yes."

Wei Quanzhong's eyes turned red and he almost choked.

"It's rare that Your Majesty still cares about me."

The prince said softly, "Father's intention is to find a good match among the princesses and give it to the general's second son. What do you think, general?"

"this…"

General Wei looked up at the Crown Prince, then lowered his head again: "My family are all crude warriors. I am afraid that if we neglect Her Royal Highness the Princess, or do not know the rules in the capital, and bring shame to the royal family, then I will be punished by death."

Marrying a princess is not a good thing.

Especially for the bigwigs in the court, after all, marrying a princess is called "marrying the princess", and they have to live in the princess's mansion in the capital, they cannot leave the capital easily, and there are many rules.

The prince smiled and said, "Let the princess leave the capital and go to your Wei family."

General Wei still lowered his head, as if thinking, but did not speak. Obviously, he was not very satisfied with the conditions given by the prince.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince took a deep breath and continued, "The general has made great contributions in the Central Plains over the past year. I will host a banquet in the East Palace tonight to entertain the general."

Wei Quanzhong wiped the tears from his eyes and whispered, "Thank you, Your Highness."

That night, the prince hosted a banquet for the Shuofang Jiedushi in the East Palace.

In the following days, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince focused his attention on this great general.

Four days later, General Wei left the capital with satisfaction.

Although he never met the Emperor, he was still quite satisfied.

No one knows what kind of agreement was reached between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the general.

Or rather...agreement.

………………

Qingyang County.

Li Yun, who had been working away from Yian County for more than ten days, finally returned to Qingyang with his guards. Returning with him were two officials from Yian County and the mother and her two children from the Xu family.

Xue Yun'er looked at the Xu siblings who came to greet her. She was stunned at first, then she politely greeted them. After settling the family, she turned to look at Li Yun and whispered, "Husband, what is this?"

“The victim of the Yi’an case.”

Li Yun shook his head and said, "The men in their family have offended too many people in Yi'an. I can't possibly kill hundreds of people in Yi'an. Once this case is handled, their grievances will be redressed, but they will have a harder time living in Yi'an."

"I can only take them to Jiangdong."

As he spoke, Li Yun told Xue Yun'er about the Xu family's affairs. Xue Yun'er nodded first, then sighed and said, "When my father was young, he must have had a similar temperament to County Magistrate Xu. My mother said that when he was young, he almost went to the capital to file a complaint."

"It wasn't until I was born that he finally settled down."

Xue Yuner said with a sigh: "If our Xue family hadn't handled things well, we would have ended up like their family. Fortunately, my father..."

"In the end, I failed to keep my integrity."

Li Yun nodded slowly, and after a "hmm" sound, he said softly: "You can't get justice by filing a complaint. If you want justice, you can only earn it with your own hands."

At this point, Li Yun looked at Xue Yun'er and said with a smile, "The New Year is only a month away. Madam, do you want to stay in Qingyang for the New Year?"

Xue Yuner understood the meaning of Li Yun's words and asked softly, "My husband is leaving?"

"Correct."

Li Yun smiled and said, "I have just been promoted to the commander of Jiangdong. I have to go back to Jiangdong to handle some official business. But Madam, you don't have to rush back. If you don't go back, I will leave two brigades in Qingyang."

"Madam has spent the New Year here, and then let them protect her as she returns to Jiangdong."

"By the way, Madam, you can also persuade my father-in-law and mother-in-law to go back to Jiangdong with us. It will be safer this way."

"If Madam wants to go back with me, we may have to leave early tomorrow morning."

Xue Yun'er thought about it seriously.

"Then I will stay in Qingyang to celebrate the New Year. After the New Year, I will take my parents to Wuzhou. As for staying with others..."

She thought about it and said, "Should we not keep so many people?"

Two brigades, that is, 250 people, which is almost the number of official troops in Xuanzhou state in the past.

Li Yun shook his head slightly: "I want to keep it."

"Now... there are already many people eyeing your husband."

The imperial court, the Pinglu Jiedushi, and local forces in Jiangnan are all keeping an eye on Li Yun. At this time, he must be careful, otherwise big problems may arise.

At this point, Li Yun looked at Xue Yun'er and continued, "Then the three people from the Xu family will also be handed over to Madam. Madam, please take good care of them. After the New Year, take them to Wuzhou and find a job for them and their family in Wuzhou."

Xue Yun'er agreed to all of them.

The next morning, Li Yun bid farewell to Xue Yun'er and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, and left Qingyang with three hundred personal soldiers and Li Zheng.

While walking on the road, Li Yun felt that the infantry's marching speed was too slow, so he handed them all over to Yang Xi and asked Yang Xi to take them back to Wuzhou.

He himself took twenty or thirty people and rode towards Jiangdong on horseback.

While taking a break on the road, Li Zheng was a little curious and asked, "Second brother, why are you in such a hurry to return to Jiangdong?"

"There are too many bandits in Jiangdong. We were unable to collect the autumn taxes last year. As the new Jiangdong Recruiting Envoy..."

Mr. Li laughed.

"Of course, we have to start clearing out the bandits and sorting out the autumn taxes in the states and counties."

(End of this chapter)