Thief Emperor

Chapter 360: Loyal and Righteous Envoy Li

The gate of the governor's mansion was soon opened.

A middle-aged man in a green robe trotted out with a smile on his face. Before he got close, he bowed to Li Yun from a distance.

"Envoy Li, Envoy Li."

The middle-aged man even bowed and said with a smile, "I'm sorry for not welcoming you from afar. I'm sorry for not welcoming you from afar."

Although he was laughing, there was an obvious tremor in his voice.

When you face someone who has complete control over your life and death, or even the life and death of your family, without any scruples, you will naturally feel this fear from the depths of your soul.

Li Yun used the torchlight to look at the middle-aged man in green robe and asked, "Is this Envoy Yu?"

"I am Yu Cong, the governor of Yangzhou."

Li Yun smiled and said, "I am the official of the Recruiting Envoy, an official of the Jiangnan East Road. My real position is the Governor of Wuzhou. You don't have to be so polite, Envoy Yu."

"I have heard of your great name in Yangzhou. You were young, but you first defeated the Qiu bandits, then the Zhao bandits, and made Jiangdong a powerful place. There are no more bandits in Jiangdong, and the country is peaceful and prosperous."

Yu Shijun said with a serious expression: "It is truly admirable."

He then turned aside and said, "Envoy, please come in and serve tea."

After saying this, he couldn't help but glance at the soldiers behind Li Yun, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes again.

Li Yun looked down at his armor and said with a smile, "Envoy Yu, please go in first. I will take off my armor first, otherwise it will be difficult to sit down."

Yu Cong nodded quickly, turned around and walked into the governor's mansion. Li Yun took off his heavy armor, sweat steaming from his body.

Fortunately, his follower Meng Hai carried some of Li Yun's clothes with him. Li asked someone to fetch water to wash his face and the blood on his body, then he changed into a clean black suit and strode into the governor's mansion.

Envoy Yu was waiting in the front yard very sensibly. When he saw Li Yun, he bowed his head and said, "Envoy, please."

Li Yun nodded calmly and followed him into the main hall. After they sat down, Yu Shijun poured tea for Li Yun and said cautiously, "Why are you here, Li Shijun?"

Hearing Yu Cong's question, Li Yun looked at him and said calmly: "A few days ago, my army heard news that after the imperial court moved south, the Pinglu Army had ill intentions and was preparing to take the opportunity to invade Huainan Road."

"Later, I heard the news that the Pinglu Army had occupied Chuzhou."

At this point, Li Yun sighed: "The Pinglu Army has been around for decades, with tens of thousands of soldiers. No one would be willing to fight against such an army."

At this point, Li Yun's face became serious, and he said in a deep voice: "But Li was born in a humble family, and was promoted by the court to be where he is today. Now the Pinglu Army is treasonous and openly defying the court. Even if we are powerless, we should fight them with all our might!"

"Even if Li dies in Jiangbei, it will not be in vain as long as we can deal a heavy blow to these rebels."

"Maybe it was the blessing of the late emperor in heaven that allowed us to defeat the Pinglu army with a smaller force outside Yangzhou City, preventing them from continuing to invade Yangzhou."

Li Yun was full of emotion: "It can be said that Li has repaid the country's kindness."

At this point, he changed the subject, looked at Yu Cong, and said, "Who would have thought that when my troops were fighting fiercely outside the city and were harassed by the enemy cavalry, I wanted to go into the city to take shelter, but Yangzhou City refused to open the gates to us."

"Li can't figure it out."

Li Yun frowned and said, "Could it be that the whole city of Yangzhou has already sided with the Pinglu Army rebels?"

These few words frightened Yu Shijun so much that his heart was broken.

His hand shook violently, and the porcelain cup in his hand fell to the ground and shattered.

Immediately, Yu Shijun's face turned pale. He lowered his head slightly and said in a trembling voice: "Li... Li Shijun, you don't know, since... since the court moved south, the authority of us local officials has been declining day by day. After the news spread to Yangzhou, we can't even leave the city."

"Every city gate is guarded by people sent by Namo Sima."

Governor Yu let out a long sigh.

"If I were in charge of Yangzhou City and knew that Li Shijun had arrived at the city, I would not ask any questions and would immediately let him in."

"Nothing can be done, nothing can be done..."

He sighed and said, "It is also because of my incompetence that I have failed to be the chief officer of Yangzhou."

Li Yun frowned, put down the teacup in his hand, and asked in a deep voice: "How could such a thing happen?"

"Where is Mosima now?"

When Yu Shijun heard this, although he was afraid, he still looked up at Li Yun.

In the past few days, he has read a lot of information about Li Yun, especially Li Yun's resume in recent years, which he has also read one by one.

He knew clearly who had the final say in Yuezhou when Li Yun was the Sima of Yuezhou.

"do not know."

Yu Shijun shook his head and said, "When the city got into chaos, he disappeared. At this time, I don't know where he went."

Li Yun was furious. He slammed the table fiercely and said angrily: "This kind of person who committed treason and colluded with the traitor must be arrested and interrogated carefully!" At this point, Li Yun snorted angrily: "He is a state Sima, but he has such courage. There may be many forces in Yangzhou City who help him. These are the people who help the traitor. If we can't get rid of them, they will definitely cause trouble in the future!"

At this point, Li Yun looked at Yu Cong and asked, "Envoy Yu, are you willing to help?"

Yu Cong's heart moved.

Finally we get to the point!

To put it bluntly, this Envoy Li crossed the river from the south to the north, fought to the death outside the city, expended so much effort, and so many people died. It is impossible that he really came to Yangzhou to quell the rebellion.

In addition to grabbing territory, of course you have to reap the benefits!
And what is the biggest advantage of Yangzhou City?
Of course, it’s those wealthy businessmen!

During the more than 200 years of the Ming Dynasty, some families have been doing business for one hundred or even two hundred years!

He is truly rich.

The Pinglu Army went to great lengths and risked violating the court's rules by sending 5,000 men south to Yangzhou, probably for the sake of these riches.

Whether in prosperous times or troubled times, war is about fighting the economy.

With enough wealth, any war is easy to fight.

After all, Yu Cong had been in the officialdom for a long time. He understood Li Yun's meaning almost immediately. He bowed his head without hesitation and said, "I have long wanted to eliminate these troubles in Yangzhou City, but unfortunately I have never known where to start. I will do my best to help Li Shijun and do this well!"

"Well."

Li Yun smiled and said, "I will have someone bring Mo Daozheng to question him right away."

"In addition to this matter, there is another matter that needs to be discussed with Envoy Yu."

"Your Excellency's orders are what I will obey."

"That's great."

Li Yun said with a serious face: "Although I went north this time to help the court stop the rebellion of Pinglu, I am only the Jiangdong Recruiting Envoy after all. I should not be in charge of the affairs of Huainan Road. It's just that I have to act according to the emergency. I can't take care of many things at this special time."

"But afterwards, we still have to submit a letter to the court to explain the matter, so that the court will not become suspicious of loyal officials like us."

Li Yun smiled and said, "How about we, Envoy Yu and I, jointly write a letter to the court to explain this matter?"

"With the presence of Lord Yu, the imperial court will be more trustworthy."

Yu Cong was stunned and stuttered: "Envoy Li, what do you mean?"

"What else could it be?"

Li Yun said calmly, "It's what we just said, the Pinglu Army went south to cause chaos and commit treason, and after hearing about it, our army crossed the river to rescue them."

At this point, he sighed and said, "To be honest, I don't really want to come here, but Yangzhou and my city of Jinling are just across the river, so we should help each other. After all, if the skin is gone, where will the hair be attached?"

"Master Yu, tell me, isn't this the truth?"

Yu Cong's forehead began to sweat.

Of course he was afraid of Li Yun, but he was also afraid of the Pinglu Army. After all, it was only the vanguard of the Pinglu Army that suffered a defeat outside the city.

The Pinglu Army still has tens of thousands of soldiers in Qingzhou!
You, Mr. Li, got some benefits in Yangzhou and returned to Jiangnan. When the Pinglu Army came back one day, you knew that I, Yu, had written to the court and reported the Pinglu Army...

Is there any way for me to survive?

Thinking of this, Yu Cong looked at Li Yun pitifully and whispered, "Envoy Li, the court has moved south. Do we still need to submit a petition?"

"Why not?"

Li Yun frowned, a little angry: "Could it be that you, Envoy Yu, don't take the court seriously?"

"Don't dare, don't dare."

Yu Cong shook his head, his face pale.

"Then let's write a book together."

Li Yun patted his shoulder and said calmly: "Anyway, the court has already moved south, so what books have we sent to the court..."

Li Yun grinned: "The Pinglu Army may not know either."

Mr. Li stood up and walked out.

"I will go and capture Sima Mo. Envoy Yu should write a memorial first."

"When I come back, we'll sign together."