Thief Emperor

Chapter 326: Chaos after the Emperor's Collapse

The two conditions Zhou Chang stated made it almost impossible for Li Yun to refuse.

Because they are the things he lacks most.

The horses are fine. Considering the current size of Li Yun's army, there is not a particular shortage of cavalry. But the armor!
This thing is the most needed material for Li Yun at the moment, almost the only one.

When he first served as a captain under Su Jing, the soldiers under his command did not have complete armor, and only one or twelve out of ten soldiers in the entire army could wear armor.

Even now, the ratio remains roughly the same.

Even these one or two out of ten cannot be considered full armor.

Even if all those wearing leather armor in the entire army are counted, the rate of Li Yun's subordinates wearing armor is estimated to be less than 40%.

The reason why Li Yun had rarely been defeated until now was that the intensity of the battles in Jiangnan was not high, and more importantly, the enemy was just like that...

They also had no armor.

As a result, I didn't suffer any loss.

However, this combat situation is only limited to the Jiangnan region. In the future, Li Yun can't always stay in Jiangnan and be a rat. Sooner or later, he will have to go out to deal with external enemies.

Let’s not talk about anything else, just take the Pinglu Army in front of us, their combat units are basically all wearing armor.

Even if the basic qualities of the two armies are similar, if one side does not have armor and the other side does, the final outcome of the war may be a crushing defeat.

This issue is also what Li Yun has been busy with recently. From going to Xuanzhou to explore the copper mine, to contacting craftsmen in Wujun, it is actually all for the purpose of upgrading the equipment.

Li Yun silently raised his head and looked at Mr. Zhou of the Pinglu Army in front of him. After thinking for a while, he slightly turned sideways and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhou, let's talk in detail."

Zhou Chang laughed, clasped his fists towards Li Yun, and said with a smile: "Envoy Li is straightforward."

The two of them returned to the main hall, one after the other. After they sat down and served tea, Li Yun asked, "How do you plan to buy the copper, Mr. Zhou?"

"One thousand pieces of armor."

Zhou Chang raised a finger and said straightforwardly: "For the whole of next year, the output of Yi'an Copper Mine will belong to Qingzhou."

Li Yun frowned.

"One thousand sets of armor. Even if I use the copper produced by the copper mine to forge the armor, it will be enough."

Zhou Chang smiled and said, "Do you have a craftsman?"

The reason why copper was gradually replaced by iron in weapons and equipment was, on the one hand, because of its lack of toughness. Therefore, copper swords could not be made long, and they would easily break if they were too long.

On the other hand, it is too expensive.

The price of copper is several times higher than that of iron, and copper can be used to make coins, which further increases the price difference.

Li Yun narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

Zhou Chang continued, "At most, there are 1,200 pieces of armor. There can't be more."

He looked at Li Yun and said calmly, "I will not hide it from you, Li Shijun. We in Qingzhou need copper to make coins. You are holding the copper in your hands, and it seems that you would not dare to use it to make coins, right?"

He paused, then continued, "You can only sell it for money. In this era, can money buy armor?"

"Jiangnan is not in chaos right now. Once it gets really chaotic, armor will become more and more expensive, and there will be no demand for it."

Li Yun narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and held up three fingers: "Yian Copper Mine produces tens of thousands of kilograms of copper every year, or even more. Since Mr. Zhou wants to do this business, I will give you a fair price."

"Three thousand pieces of armor."

Li Yun paused for a moment and continued, "Also, send me a few sets of armor first so I can see the quality."

"Then there's no need to talk."

Zhou Chang stood up and said with a smile: "Even if your copper mine produces 100,000 catties of copper a year, one catty of copper cannot be minted into one string of coins. Even if you use 100,000 strings of coins to buy them, can you buy 3,000 pieces of armor?"

"This deal is off the table."

Zhou Chang stood up and continued, "Envoy Li, let's see who's the winner."

Li Yun was not afraid of this kind of threat. After all, he had been threatened once before by the man named Fan.

"how?"

Li Yun asked calmly, "Since the deal couldn't be done, the Pinglu Army wants to rob them?"

"With a copper mine like this in hand, the question is not whether the Pinglu Army will rob it or not, but whether you, Li Shijun, can defend it."

Zhou Chang strode out. When he reached the door, he looked back at Li Yun and said calmly, "Envoy Li, it's better to have more friends in this world. You have offended too many people, and the imperial edict may not be able to protect you."

After saying this, Master Zhou put his hands behind his back and left.

He had not really wanted to do business with Li Yun. If he could exchange the copper mine for a thousand pieces of armor, then his father would not have any objection. Moreover, the armor given away now could be taken back in the future.

In the end, it will still end up in your own hands.

But he couldn't offer three thousand pieces of armor, and his father would not agree to the deal.

Looking at Zhou Chang's leaving back, Li Yun sat on the chair in the main hall, without moving, but thinking silently, and then his eyes became somewhat deep.

"If you don't give me armor, I'll make it myself."

"Why should I bow to you if we don't fight?" he muttered.

"The deal may not be done now, but it may be done in the future..."

…………

Capital city, Chongde Hall.

Crown Prince Wu Yuancheng was sitting beside the Emperor's bed. The second prince Wu Yuanyou, the third prince Wu Yuanshuang, the fourth prince Wu Yuanheng who was not yet an adult, the fifth prince Wu Yuanjing, and the Emperor's youngest prince, the sixth prince Wu Yuanying who just turned ten this year, were all kneeling beside the Emperor's bed.

His Majesty the Emperor had sat up at some point, his face pale as a trace. He first looked at his crown prince, then at his other five sons, worry almost visible in his eyes.

He was silent for an unknown amount of time before he looked at the prince and asked, "Rebellion in the Central Plains..."

"Don't worry, Father. Don't worry, Father."

The prince took a deep breath and quickly lowered his head and said, "Several important generals among the rebels are willing to accept the amnesty and surrender to the court."

He whispered, "Next year, the chaos in the Central Plains will definitely be resolved."

The prince didn't finish his words.

Although this rebel general agreed to surrender to the imperial court, he did not agree to reorganization. In other words, although the rebels would disappear, their military strength would not disappear.

The imperial court only had the name but not the reality.

Rulers of all dynasties would never accept such conditions, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince accepted it.

Because at this time, the imperial court was really at its wit's end. Unless it sent all the 100,000 imperial guards near the capital to Guanzhong to quell the rebellion, or mobilized other military governors to join in the suppression of the rebellion, the imperial court had no ability to change the status quo.

If the imperial guards were really dispatched, the capital would be empty and the Great Zhou would be destroyed in the blink of an eye.

If other Jiedushi were transferred to the Central Plains, it might indeed impose some restrictions on the Shuofang Army, but it is hard to say whether this new Jiedushi would leave.

Instead of wasting time like this, it is better to compromise temporarily. At least you can save face on the surface. As for other things.

Protect your skin first, then slowly solve the problem.

His Majesty the Emperor obviously no longer had the energy to ask about these "details". He nodded first, then looked at the Crown Prince and said in a hoarse voice: "This... these years."

"The Imperial Guards...are too lazy."

The emperor closed his eyes and said silently: "After the matter in the Central Plains is resolved, the Imperial Guards must be trained again."

The prince bowed his head deeply: "Your son obeys your command."

His Majesty the Emperor coughed twice and seemed to be having difficulty breathing. The Second Prince Wu Yuanyou quickly stood up, walked to the bedside, and gently patted his old father's back to help him breathe.

"You...you princes."

The emperor coughed twice, looked at the King of Chu Wu Yuanyou, and said slowly: "The Great Zhou has now reached... a critical moment of life and death. You are princes, members of the royal family, and members of the Wu family. You must...remember the merits of your ancestors and the difficulties they went through in starting their business."

"You must... you must assist your brother well and make the Great Zhou..."

"Restore the Great Zhou's empire."

Upon hearing this, all the princes knelt before the Emperor, bowed their heads, and cried.

His Royal Highness the King of Chu burst into tears.

"Father, father..."

"Don't cry, don't cry."

His Majesty the Emperor reached out and wiped away the tears on his second son's face. He took a deep breath and said, "You...you all should go out."

"Let me have a few words with the prince."

All the princes crawled out of Chongde Hall.

His Majesty the Emperor looked at the Crown Prince, his tone filled with sadness and some self-blame.

"Prepare... prepare some backup plans."

"Put the second one..."

His Majesty the Emperor said silently: "Send him out of the capital."

As an adult prince, as long as he left the capital, there was a great chance that he would leave behind offspring even if the country was destroyed.

The prince shed tears silently: "My child... my child obeys your command."

At the beginning of December in the fifth year of Xiande in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the bell rang twelve times in succession in the imperial palace.

This is the death knell.

Outside the Chongde Hall, a group of prime ministers, along with civil and military officials, knelt in an orderly manner and cried.

Prime Minister Cui Yuan was kneeling in the front. He looked up at the big clock hanging at the entrance of Chongde Hall and sighed deeply in his heart.

The world is in chaos...

It might really be coming.

(End of this chapter)