Thief Emperor

Chapter 391: A new imperial court and a new military governor
After hearing Liu Bo's words, Li Yun shifted his attention from the document in his hand to Liu Bo. He looked up at Liu Bo, touched his chin, and asked, "Who is asking about this?"

Liu Bo sat next to Li Yun and whispered, "There are quite a few people in Yangzhou City. I tracked down some of them. Most of them were taken care of by others. I also caught one who was a spy from Qingzhou."

He looked at Li Yun and said softly, "Second brother, there are many people asking about this matter. I guess..."

"It's not just Qingzhou."

Li Yun nodded gently, and after a long time, he nodded slowly: "I... understand."

When Li Yun took advantage of the situation to break into the city, although he used gunpowder, the gunpowder only played a role in disrupting and shocking the enemy during the battle, and had almost no significant killing power.

Originally, Li Yun did not think that this matter would become a big deal. After all, although this thing was rare, it did not have much lethality, so others would not pay too much attention to it.

But unexpectedly, many people still noticed gunpowder.

According to the intelligence Liu Bo had obtained, it was not just the Pinglu Army that noticed gunpowder.

But if you think about it, it's not surprising.

Li Yun and the Pinglu Army have been entangled in Jiangbei for a month or two. During this period, although no external forces were involved in the fight, this fight was actually very eye-catching.

After all, the Pinglu Jiedushi was already one of the few vassal states in the world.

Li Yun, who was able to "fight" with the Pinglu Army, would naturally become famous. Perhaps the entire battle process would be recorded in detail on the desks of some important figures.

At the very least, it will be sent to the emperor's desk.

Of course, whether he watches it or not is another matter.

After thinking for a while, Li Yun looked at Liu Bo and said slowly: "I will take care of the follow-up of this matter. You don't have to worry about it, Lao Jiu. I will leave for Jiangnan in the next few days."

"You stay in Yangzhou City and keep an eye on Jiangbei's movements for me."

He looked at Liu Bo and suddenly said with a smile: "Then did the Qin family show goodwill to you?"

Liu Bo looked embarrassed and lowered his head and said, "Second brother, this..."

"There's no need to hide it. It's not a bad thing."

Li Yun stood up, stretched and said, "You are also at the age to get married. If you think it is suitable, it doesn't matter if you agree to it."

"But I suggest you get to know me better. You will have to do many things with me in the future. Marrying a wife is no different from anything else."

"Marry a virtuous wife."

Not long after Li Yun occupied Yangzhou, Mr. Qin in Yangzhou City was preparing to send his two granddaughters to serve Li Yun. At that time, Li Yun did not directly refuse. After all, this was not a bad thing.

However, not long after that, the Pinglu Army moved south, and Li Yun had no time to return to his original residence to rest. He often slept on the edge of the city wall, so this matter was never implemented.

During this period, Li Yun needed the Qin family's business routes to expand its intelligence network. Liu Bo was in contact with the Qin family, so naturally there would be some intersections.

"Don't worry, second brother."

Liu Bo lowered his head slightly and said, "Brother, I can control myself."

At this point, everyone was no longer the bandits who had once existed in the village.

Now, even Zhang Hu knows that his second brother has become a great man.

Brothers like Li Zheng and Liu Bo, who grew up with Li Yun, know that their second brother is now a local lord and may do something big in the future!
With this idea in mind, they will naturally have a higher self-positioning.

Even Li Zheng, who is a bit lustful, has never been married.

Li Yun was next to him at the moment and patted his shoulder.

"Keep an eye on Jiangbei for me, brother."

Liu Bo immediately turned around and said, "Don't worry, second brother!"

……

In the next two days, Li Yun spent most of his time discussing some relatively detailed matters with Du Qian, Xu Ang, and Zhao Cheng. In order to facilitate communication, Li Yun also called a few people together for a small meeting.

The main purpose was to define their respective powers and responsibilities, and to establish some basic principles for the Jiangdong Army in Yangzhou.

By the third day, Zhou Liang had gathered all the men and began to evacuate Yangzhou one after another. Li Yun and Du Qian also packed their luggage and left Yangzhou City.

When leaving Yangzhou City, Li Yun looked back at the city and couldn't help but sigh to Du Qian beside him: "I came to Jiangbei just to take a look at the situation and train my troops. I didn't expect that I would be delayed in Yangzhou for several months, and I didn't expect that we could occupy Yangzhou City."

Du Qian smiled and said, "So, in this world, sometimes you need some courage to do things. If you don't give it a try, Erlang will never be able to imagine how rotten the court has become."

The world is just a huge makeshift team.

There is some truth in this.

Judging from this trip to Jiangbei alone, the government and garrison of Yangzhou had become rotten to an unimaginable degree.

The Pinglu Army was not as strong as Li Yun had expected. Except for General Zhou who was quite talented, the overall performance of the Pinglu Army was very... mediocre.

And the reason for this is actually quite normal.

At the end of every dynasty, the kings, princes, generals and ministers on the "stage" were all doing one thing, that is, being paperhangers.

What is a paperhanger?
At least to make outsiders see that the imperial court is still very powerful.

The superiors set the example, and the local government offices, wanting to consolidate their authority, mostly follow this approach. Over time, it will naturally become completely rotten.

Mr. Li nodded and said with a smile: "I wonder what the next time I come to Yangzhou, the scenery will be like." Hearing this, Du Qian looked back at Yangzhou City and smiled softly: "Then I'm afraid it will be completely different from now."

He suddenly looked to the west and said something.

"Just like the imperial court, when the imperial court returns to the capital, it will be the same as before."

"It will probably be completely different."

…………

Xichuan, Chengdu Prefecture.

Chengdu Prefecture was originally called Yizhou or Shu County. The reason why it could become an administrative unit at the "prefecture" level together with Jinling Prefecture and Luoyang Prefecture in this era was largely because the Emperor of Wu Zhou once visited here.

Just like this time, they were driven out of Guanzhong.

In fact, it was not uncommon for the Emperor of the Great Zhou to flee the capital. He had done so at least seven or eight times, if not a dozen times. However, he did not come to Xichuan every time.

In summary, if there is danger in the capital, run away decisively and come back when it is safe.

So this time, all the civil and military officials in the court and the newly enthroned Emperor Wu Yuancheng ran away so cleanly and so "experiencedly".

These are all skills passed down from our ancestors.

After arriving in Chengdu, the Emperor still often stayed at home and rarely met outsiders. Even the prime ministers could only see him occasionally.

In the entire "imperial court", the only person who could see His Majesty the Emperor at any time was the Emperor's brother-in-law and childhood friend, Pei Huang Pei Sanlang.

At this time, Pei Sanlang was in the emperor's palace, sitting face to face with the emperor.

After the two men clinked glasses, His Majesty the Emperor raised his head and drank it all in one gulp. He stood up staggeringly, his eyes blurry with drunkenness.

"Good wine!"

Pei Huang did not dare to neglect it, and quickly put down his wine glass, stepped forward to support his brother-in-law, and whispered: "Your Majesty, you can't be so depressed any longer!"

His Majesty the Emperor was only four or five points drunk at this moment. He was supported by Pei Huang and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked at Pei Huang with half-opened eyes.

"Not depressed, and...what else?"

Pei Huang helped him sit steadily before he heaving a long sigh and whispering, "Your Majesty, good news has been coming from Guanzhong. The rebels will soon be defeated. It won't be long before the rebels are defeated by the various armies. Your Majesty can return to the capital and take control of the country."

He paused and continued, "The loss of the capital last time was due to the accumulated problems of the previous emperor over the past thirty years. Your Majesty has nothing to do with it. Your Majesty is a wise ruler. You should cheer up and carry the whole country again!"

The emperor burped and exhaled a large breath of alcohol. He looked up at Pei Huang and said without any emotion: "Sanlang, I... I just want to take it on."

"Is there anyone else who wants me to carry it?"

He stood up shakily and sighed, "Those Jiedushi are not... not necessarily any different from Wei Quanzhong."

"Whether I return to the capital or stay in Xichuan, the same..."

His Majesty the Emperor was in low spirits: "It may not be any different."

"His Majesty."

Pei Huang whispered: "Even if there are a thousand difficulties, we have to give it a try now."

"If you want to return to the capital, Your Majesty can give some of the royal family..."

"Stay in Xichuan."

The Emperor then looked up at Pei Huang and laughed at himself: "How do you try?"

"The governors of various places all have their own thoughts and are on guard against each other. It is impossible for them to speak with one voice."

"Your Majesty has the Imperial Guards at your disposal. As long as you are smart enough, you can win over some of them and suppress others."

"Besides, besides the Jiedushi..."

"New forces are emerging in various places."

Pei Huang took out a document from his sleeve, placed it in front of the emperor, and said softly: "For example, the imperial court had just appointed the Jiangnan Road and Huainan Road Recruiting Envoys not long ago, and they won a small victory over the Pinglu Army in Jiangbei some time ago."

"Moreover, they also occupied Yangzhou, causing the Pinglu Army to suffer a great loss."

"Your Majesty, drive away the wolf and devour the tiger..."

"It would be best if both sides were to suffer losses, and even if the new wolf becomes a new tiger after eating the old tiger..."

Master Pei lowered his head and said softly, "Every imperial court has its own military governors."

There is actually nothing wrong with what Pei Huang said.

In the early days of the late emperor's reign, hereditary feudal lords were already a big problem, and the late emperor personally promoted several "newcomers", such as the current Shuofang Jiedushi Wei Quanzhong, who replaced the original Shuofang Jiedushi.

The Zhou Dynasty court then settled down.

His Majesty the Emperor shook his head and sobered up a little. He took the document handed to him by Pei Huang, glanced at it briefly, and then murmured to himself.

"Every generation of the imperial court has its own military governors..."

(End of this chapter)