Thief Emperor

Chapter 357: Loss of Authority

Chapter 357: Loss of Authority
The presence of cavalry harassing the flanks meant that the Pinglu Army must have been following their troops.

Moreover, there must be someone leading the Pinglu Army.

The fact that he was able to recover from the defeat in half a day and use cavalry to target Li Yun very accurately shows that he is a very shrewd person.

Therefore, Li Yun used a trick. He first ordered his brigades to pretend to leave the military camp. After walking a certain distance, they extinguished the torches, detoured back to the vicinity of the camp, and ambushed everywhere.

In fact, he had no other choice.

He only has two nights at most. If he fails tonight, he can try again tomorrow night. The day after tomorrow, he will have to leave Huainan Road at night and return to Jinling again from Liuhe Ferry.

The Pinglu Army did have an experienced and quite shrewd old captain.

On the first night, he noticed that something was wrong with the Jiangdong army and took decisive action.

This time, Captain Shen led at least three hundred cavalrymen, most of whom had dismounted, and their horses were nearby!

Compared to these three hundred people, these three hundred horses are what Li Yun lacks most, and also what Zhao Cheng lacks most!

Therefore, Zhao Cheng's eyes lit up and he ran straight towards the horses.

Li Yun calmly waved the spear in his hand and looked at the old officer in front of him who was sturdy but obviously over 50 years old.

Captain Shen took out his machete from behind and also looked up at Li Yun.

Now that things have come to this, there is no escape.

He looked at Li Yun and asked his own question: "Are you the commander of this Jiangdong army?"

Li Yun fiddled with the spear in his hand and said with a smile, "I am Li Yun, the commander of Jiangdong."

Captain Shen was stunned.

"Yes, you really have arrived in Jiangbei."

"There is one thing I don't understand."

Captain Shen clenched his fists and said, "How can you be so sure that I will come tonight?"

"I can't be sure."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Just give it a try. Anyway, your infantry is not nearby. At most, you can use cavalry to harass nearby. Even if my people don't sleep for a night, they can make up for it during the day."

"Do you dare to come here during the day?"

At this point, Li Yun paused and continued, "However, after the Pinglu Army suffered a small loss, they were able to wake up immediately and immediately sent cavalry to bite us. I guessed that there are smart people in the Pinglu Army."

"Smart people will look more and think more."

Li Yun raised his gun and said with a smile: "Old man, I see that you are old and I don't want to fight with you. Please put down your weapon."

Captain Shen had a very high prestige within the Pinglu Army. Even Zhou Chang had to follow his advice in many cases. At this moment, many horseless cavalrymen surrounded him and shouted, "Master Shen, we will protect you. Break through!"

Although Captain Shen was old, he was quite strong. He was almost as tall as Li Yun, and even bigger in stature. He snorted angrily, pushed aside the Pinglu soldiers around him, and then looked at Li Yun with a machete in hand.

"When I was in Qingzhou, I heard that a young hero had emerged in Jiangdong, and he was a match for a hundred men on the battlefield."

He held the machete with both hands. With his gray hair, he looked quite heroic.

"When I was young, I followed the old general, and people said that I could defeat a hundred men."

"Envoy Li, come here!"

Li Yun had no expression on his face and didn't waste any words. He just pushed hard with his feet and rushed towards Captain Shen.

Captain Shen swung his machete downwards, but Li Yun dodged sideways and stabbed him in the heart with his spear. Captain Shen had no time to change his tactics after the slash, so he rolled over and then swept his machete horizontally, chopping at Li Yun's ankle.

If the blow is strong enough, Li Yun will immediately become a cripple!
Li Yun sneered, grasped the gun with both hands, and with a low shout, the tip of the gun stabbed into the ground. He pressed down with both hands and blocked the slash!
Li Yun kicked at Captain Shen without hesitation. Captain Shen rolled over to avoid the kick, slashed at Li Yun and forced him away before standing up.

By this time, his hair was disheveled and his clothes were covered with dust. Although he had not yet been defeated, he was already in a very miserable state.

Li Yun held the spear upside down and said with a smile: "I have few rivals in Jiangdong, but the old man is still strong and healthy."

Captain Shen was breathing heavily.

He already felt that his strength was not as good as Li Yun's.

Moreover, he is old and his strength is no match for Li Yun who is in his prime.

Captain Shen gritted his teeth and continued to swing his knife at Li Yun. Li Yun became interested and did not even try to evade. He swung the gun upwards with both hands. The tip of the gun collided with the machete, and Captain Shen was shocked so much that his palms went numb.

Li Yun turned around and spun his gun in a full circle, smashing it directly at the old general. Captain Shen held the back of the knife with one hand and the handle with the other, trying hard to block the downward blow, but Li Yun moved forward and slammed into him!
The impact was so powerful that even though Captain Shen weighed 200 kilograms, he was knocked to the ground and the weapon in his hand fell out of his hand.

Li Yun turned the tip of his spear and had it at his throat. He suddenly stopped, looked at the old captain who had fallen to the ground, and said with a smile: "Sir, you are not bragging. When you were young, your strength should be about the same as mine."

Captain Shen had already fallen to the ground. He closed his eyes and said, "Not as good as you."

Li Yun seemed to be thinking about something, and asked, "Are you willing to give up the dark and join the light?"

Captain Shen did not answer. Suddenly, he grasped the tip of Li Yun's gun with both hands and stabbed it into his neck.

Blood spurted out.

"What a fierce man."

Li Yun praised, then turned his head to look at the battlefield all around.

We were outnumbered and the battle was over quickly.

By the time Li Yun dealt with Captain Shen, the cavalry on the battlefield had either died or fled.
However, now that the battle has begun, it will not end in a short time.

Another hour passed, until the sky in the east turned pale, and the entire battlefield finally came to an end.

The tents of Li Yun's troops were engulfed in fire, and more than ten of them were burned.

The rest of the casualties were not too serious.

Zhao Cheng's face was full of excitement. He strode over and bowed his head to Li Yun and said, "Sir, we have captured more than 40 cavalrymen from the Pinglu Army alive, and more than 200 war horses!"

"It's a pity that dozens of riders broke through on horseback and escaped. It was the middle of the night and the encirclement couldn't hold them back."

"That's enough."

Li Yun stood up and looked around.

He knew in his heart that General Zhou's son, Zhou Chang, was probably still nearby.

"With these 200 horses, after a little training, we will not be completely helpless against the cavalry of the Pinglu Army like before."

Having war horses means that the problem of mobility has been solved.

Apart from anything else, Li Yun could chase these cavalrymen on horseback. However, Li had only been able to shoot on foot, not on horseback, which was also a problem. He needed to practice hard when he had time, and it would be best if he could bring a group of people to practice this skill together.

But that's all in the future.

Zhao Cheng smiled happily.

"After this battle, Zhou Chang probably won't dare to come again!"

After saying that, Zhao Cheng looked back at Yangzhou City, with a smile on his face that grew even wider.

"Just clean up the battlefield."

Li Yun looked at the body of Captain Shen not far away and said slowly: "This is a real man. Bury him in a separate place and make a mound for him."

Zhao Cheng and Yang Xi both responded in the affirmative.

Li Yun stretched and went to bed.

After this battle, unless the Pinglu Army sent more troops in large numbers, he would have established a firm foothold in Huainan Road.

Because Li Yun had not slept all night, it was almost noon when he woke up. Meng Hai was guarding outside his tent. When he saw him wake up, he hurried in and said, "Sir, an official from Yangzhou City came out and said he wanted to see you."

Li Yun yawned, and then a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Let him wait. I'll go see him after I wash up and eat something."

Meng Hai responded with a yes.

Li Yun washed his face, changed into a robe, and tidied himself up simply. He waited until the afternoon before he had the Yangzhou official brought into his tent.

This is a middle-aged man in his mid-thirties, of medium build and ordinary appearance, but with quite a bit of temperament.

If one serves as an official for a long time, he or she will probably develop this kind of temperament.

"Yangzhou's deputy governor, Lü Yan, pays respect to Li Shijun!"

As soon as the man entered the tent, he bowed his head deeply and kowtowed to the ground.

Li Yun was stunned by his name and asked, "Which Yan?"

This Lü Biejia was also stunned, and then replied: "Strict in self-discipline."

"Tsk."

Li Yun smiled silently.

What a strict self-discipline these local officials are! They all have their own excuses.

"Fortunately it's not the rock."

After Li Yun said this, he looked at this Lü Biejia and said calmly, "Envoy Yu of Yangzhou, are you going to send Lü Biejia out to bear the blame alone?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Biejia immediately broke out in a cold sweat and lowered his head and said, "I don't understand what Li Shijun said. I was ordered to leave the city to ask Li Shijun why he led his troops to the gates of Yangzhou."

"Didn't I say yesterday that the Pinglu Army was making unusual movements? As a minister of the Great Zhou, I am here to suppress the rebellion."

"You guys in Yangzhou."

Li Yun paused and asked, "Have they colluded with the Pinglu rebels?"

"Envoy Li..."

Lü Yan smiled bitterly and said, "The Pinglu Army is under the command of the Pinglu Jiedushi appointed by the imperial court. How can they be considered as rebels?"

"If you mobilize troops to enter Huainan Road without asking for permission from the court, aren't you a rebel?"

"I have already submitted a written report to the court on this matter, and the court will make a clear decision."

"The rebels of Pinglu are eyeing Yangzhou covetously. I will lead my troops into Yangzhou now to assist the Yangzhou government and defend the city."

"Lu Beijia, go back and open the city gates immediately. This official..."

"Your fault can be forgiven."

Lu Yan looked up at Li Yun and suddenly sighed, "Envoy Li, the rebels have already occupied the capital. Can the court still receive Envoy Li's letter?"

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea and said calmly: "If the court leaves the capital, it is no longer the court?"

"What Lü Biejia said is quite outrageous."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yan did not refute, but just glanced at Li Yun. Then he did not directly answer Li Yun's words, but just spoke to himself.

"I am here on behalf of Lord Yu to meet Lord Li..."

"To discuss some conditions."

When Lu Beijia said this, it meant that the imperial court... at least in Yangzhou, no longer had any authority.

The second-in-command of Yangzhou looked at Li Yun and whispered, "Your army has come a long way to support Yangzhou. The people of Yangzhou are grateful. Yangzhou is willing to pay 100,000 strings of cash as a tribute to Envoy Li. In addition, there are other valuable gifts as well."

"If you want anything else, we can discuss it."

Li Yun became interested and asked with a smile: "What are the conditions?"

"Envoy, please return to Jiangnan..."

"No, I want to go into the city."

Li Yun's attitude was very firm.

"Your Excellency, we can't get in with such a small number of men."

Li Yun sneered and said, "Then I will guard outside this city."

"We'll wait until you come out, or more Pinglu troops arrive."

"You guys in Yangzhou should think it through."

"If you don't let me enter the city, the Pinglu Army will enter the city."

"After I enter the city, I can not only resist the Pinglu Army, but also..."

Li Yun stretched out his hand and knocked on the table.