Thief Emperor

Chapter 402 Three Families Divide Guanzhong (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, Brothers!)

When these words came out, not only Li Yun was stunned, but even Du He couldn't help but look at his brother and said in a lost voice: "The rebels were destroyed?"

Du Qian handed the letter to Li Yun, then smiled bitterly at Du He and said, "Third brother, this is the problem. Several Jiedushi have already entered Guanzhong and surrounded the capital without attacking it. Hundreds of thousands of rebels are still stationed in the capital, but Wang Junping..."

"died."

Du He stroked his beard and said slowly: "These rabble will collapse without any attack."

On the other side, Li Yun was reading the letter handed to him by Du Qian.

This is a letter that was urgently sent from Guanzhong. To be more precise, it was a letter that was sent from the capital by someone who tried every means possible.

About ten days ago, at night, nearly a thousand people from the capital broke into the palace. It is said that they pulled Wang Junping off a woman's belly in the bedroom.

No matter what happened that night.

The next day, Wang Junping's head was hung on the palace tower, but it only hung there for half a day before being taken back.

After that, the rebels in the capital were in complete chaos, with several forces fighting fiercely. Some people even opened the city gates, and a large number of people ran out of the capital, fleeing in all directions, hoping to avoid the government troops and save their lives.

The news in this letter was taken out of the capital after the city gates were opened, and later reached the ears of the Du family and then passed on to Du Qian.

Li Yun put down the letter, lowered his head and drank a sip of tea. There was no expression on his face, but his mind was filled with thoughts.

In a sense, he and Wang Junping are in the same industry.

Qiu Dian and Wang Junping can be considered as his colleagues in some sense, and the deaths of these two people can teach him some lessons.

Wang Junping apparently died at the hands of his own people, or rather, at the hands of his subordinates.

This is because he did not build a solid team in the early stages of his "entrepreneurship", so that when the army expanded rapidly in the later period, although he had his own confidants, there were actually many factions within the army.

Coupled with a series of defeats, his position as a leader became weaker and weaker. After being besieged for several months, he finally died in the civil strife.

Seeing that Li Yun had finished reading the letter, Du Qian looked at Li Yun and said softly, "The rebels in the city have caused such chaos that some people even opened the city gates, but the several Jiedushi stationed nearby did not move."

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea again and said softly: "If they wanted to fight, they would have fought long ago."

"They have delayed the battle until now because, firstly, they don't want to waste their own strength, and secondly... I guess the governors of Guanzhong haven't reached an agreement on the benefits they will each get."

Du He stood aside and after listening to the conversation between Li Yun and Du Qian, he frowned and said, "These vassal states have almost all received the grace of the country for generations, but now they are so profit-driven!"

Du Qian pulled Du He aside and said softly, "Third brother, the New Year is coming soon. We are going to give more New Year money to the people below. Go and calculate how much it will cost."

Du He looked at his brother and said helplessly, "You just want to get me out of here. Never mind. I'll go and settle it."

As he spoke, he bowed his head and saluted to Li Yun, saying, "Sir, I will take my leave."

Li Yun stood up and said with a smile, "Goodbye, third brother."

After he left, Li Yun looked at his departing back and said with a smile: "The third brother of the Du family is serious about doing things, but sometimes he thinks things too simply."

"That's why my father asked him to work in the Ministry of Revenue."

Du Qian smiled and said, "The Ministry of Revenue's accounts need to be calculated by serious people, but they can't be calculated by people with too many ideas."

Li Yun sat back in the main seat and motioned Du Qian to sit down. After Du Qian sat down, Li Yun poured him a cup of tea and said slowly, "There is something strange about Wang Junping's death."

"Logically speaking, even if there is chaos within the rebel army, the best way to deal with the siege by government troops is to kidnap Wang Junping and issue orders in his name to control the entire rebel army."

"If we kill them with this sword, the entire rebel army will surely be torn apart."

Li Yun lowered his head and drank his tea: "How stupid."

Du Qian was startled, then smiled and said, "It was originally a group of ignorant people who got together and did something. If they were smart, they would not have done such a stupid thing as declaring themselves emperor after entering the capital."

Li Yun shook his head and said, "If they were really stupid, they would not have gathered hundreds of thousands of people and made such a big noise, and even forced the court to retreat to Xichuan. Among these rebels, as long as they become major generals, none of them are stupid."

Du Qian was not particularly sensitive about military affairs. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Erlang, do you mean that there are external forces involved?"

"At this time, the only people who can interfere with the situation in the capital city seem to be... the few governors outside the city."

Li Yun still shook his head and chuckled, "Those Jiedushi have been in Guanzhong for so long. Their combined forces have already outnumbered the rebels. If they really wanted to recapture the capital, it would have been restored long ago."

"I think."

He did not hide it, but looked at Du Qian and said, "The court sent people to do some work." "The court?"

Du Qian was a little surprised. He looked at Li Yun, then quickly reacted and murmured, "Yes, now those Jiedushi have been dragging their feet. They may have left some backup plans in Guanzhong. If the court still has the idea of ​​returning to Guanzhong, it will be anxious."

The more Du Qian thought about it, the more he felt that it made sense, and he continued, "The rebels have been besieged for so long that they must be in a state of panic. As long as the court offers conditions for recruiting them, it won't be a problem to win over a group of people. Once Wang Junping dies, the rebels will be in chaos, and the Jiedushi will have no reason to continue to wait and see."

Li Yun lowered his head and drank tea, saying, "This letter says something that happened ten days ago. By this time, several Jiedushi may have already entered the capital."

He looked at Du Qian and said with a smile: "Brother Shouyi, guess how long it will take for the court to return to Guanzhong?"

Du Qian thought for a while and said slowly: "Even if the capital has been recovered now and the court leaves Xichuan immediately, with so many people and so many things to do, it will take at least the middle of next year for the court to return to Guanzhong and the capital."

Li Yun took a deep breath, put down his teacup and said, "It is impossible for the court to return to the capital in a short period of time, but once the rebels are destroyed, the court may issue orders. Local recruiting envoys like me who have occupied most of the Jiangnan East Road, part of the Jiangnan West Road, and part of the Huainan Road."

"Maybe I will become a traitor in the eyes of the court."

Du Qian shook his head: "The court has no soldiers available."

He thought for a moment and then said, "The Jiangdong of today is no longer the Jiangdong of half a year ago. If the Jiedushi want to take Jiangnan, they will also worry about being taken advantage of by others."

"I think... the imperial court will continue to be lenient towards Jiangdong and let the local forces compete among themselves."

Li Yun was slightly absent-minded. He thought for a long time before he slowly said, "I can't see clearly what will happen to the court, but the situation changes every day. It's a foregone conclusion."

He paused and suddenly changed the subject.

"I want to send troops to take Luzhou."

"After we take Luzhou, we will at least be in Jiangdong, which will make us much safer."

Du Qian thought about it, then smiled and said, "I know nothing about military affairs. Erlang should make the decisions on these matters himself."

Li Yun hummed, and said softly: "Let General Su take Luzhou."

At this time, General Su's mausoleum had been built. Although Su Sheng was still in mourning, he had returned to Qiantang County to continue leading his troops.

The Jiangdong Army has already grown to a considerable scale, so Li Yun does not need to personally lead every battle.

It’s a good opportunity to try out the quality of the Qiantang garrison.

………………

Guanzhong, the capital.

The two city gates on the west and north sides of the capital have been completely opened, and people are fleeing from the city from time to time.

If you have good eyesight and look at the city from a distance, you can see that the city is full of corpses, which looks quite eerie.

At this time, the Shuofang Jiedushi Wei Quanzhong, Hedong Jiedushi Li Tong, and Fanyang Jiedushi Xiao Xian, who had been in a stalemate for ten days, finally gathered together.

The three military governors, each leading their troops, stood not far outside the capital city, their eyes fixed on the city gates which were wide open.

General Wei put his hands behind his back, looked at the two generals beside him, and said with a smile: "My two brothers, the capital is clearly in chaos now. As long as we lead the troops into the city, we can easily capture the capital, restore the capital, and establish an unprecedented achievement."

"My Shuofang Army has been fighting for too long. You two have traveled a long way here, and I think you must be exhausted. I will give you the credit."

Fanyang Jiedushi Xiao Xian said softly: "The Shuofang Army has been fighting for so long. If I go to take the capital now, wouldn't that be picking peaches from the Shuofang Army?"

Among the three, Hedong Jiedushi Li Tong was the oldest. He looked at his two colleagues and sighed, "The capital is already in our pocket. Let's discuss how to welcome back the emperor first."

"Let's attack the city again."

Wei Quanzhong's face was full of smiles.

"We should discuss this properly, so that other vassal states won't interfere and steal our credit."

Xiao Xian said in a deep voice: "In Guanzhong, there are only three families like us."

Li Tong put his hands behind his back and looked towards the capital city with a hunched back, but he also agreed with this statement and nodded slowly.

"I'm the only one waiting for three."

　Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all readers!!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)