Thief Emperor

Chapter 407 Young Master Jiangdong
At the end of a dynasty, the person who gives the final push and pushes the court onto an irreversible downward path is sometimes not necessarily the so-called incompetent tyrant.

An emperor who turns a blind eye to ills, or even deliberately condones them and profits from them, is sometimes guilty of a greater crime, as was the case with the previous emperor.

He was negligent in his administration for the last twenty years of his reign. In the last two years of his reign, seeing that things were getting out of control, he simply retreated to the Chongde Hall and handed over all state affairs to the crown prince and several prime ministers, and he himself did not care about anything, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

In the end, his own death was also unclear.

These are indisputable facts.

Moreover, the imperial guards...were rotten in the hands of this emperor.

The late emperor was not a stupid man. He even had some means. Even if he could wake up in his later years and take some beneficial measures, he could at least allow the Zhou court to maintain its dignity for another ten or twenty years.

After all, his prestige is far greater than that of the new emperor. Even if he could meet Wei Quanzhong in person, General Wei would not be as bold and presumptuous as he later was.

But there are no ifs in everything.

The previous emperor died suddenly and mysteriously. After his death, the national power of the Great Zhou Dynasty took a sharp turn for the worse. Not long after, Guanzhong was lost and the imperial court fled the capital.

Perhaps there really is a big hand called "national destiny" that controls the life and death, rise and fall, success and failure of a country.

When Du Qian heard Li Yun's words, his eyelids twitched, but he didn't say anything.

He is different from Li Yun. Li Yun was born in a wild family and has no respect for the court or the emperor. However, he was born in the Jingzhao Du family and grew up in the capital. When he was born, the emperor in the court was the previous emperor.

Until he grew up, the emperor of the court was still the previous emperor.

Until now, even though the late emperor has passed away, he still has some awe for him and is unwilling to comment on him casually.

"According to the current situation in Guanzhong."

Du Qian changed the subject and said, "After the New Year, the court will most likely set off to return to Guanzhong. By then, there will inevitably be another round of fighting in the capital, but I estimate that by the second half of next year, the various forces in the capital will most likely be able to reach a compromise."

"At that time, they will start dividing up the territory and clearing out those small forces that, in their eyes, are not qualified to come to the table."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Brother Du, do you think I will be qualified to sit at the table in their eyes?"

Du Qian said softly, "It's probably not the case now. Although Jiangnan is not as important as the Central Plains, it is still a piece of fat meat. They can't let Erlang eat it all by himself."

"I'm afraid we'll have to fight to see the result."

The Jiangnan region of this era is far less important than the coastal areas of Li Yun's world, or even as important as the Jiangnan region during the Ming and Qing dynasties. After all, shipping was not well developed in this era, and the truly prosperous areas in Jiangnan were only a few places such as Yangzhou and Jinling.

In this era, the only plains that were more favored by those in power were those suitable for large-scale farming, such as the Central Plains and the Jianghuai Plain, that is, Jiangbei and Huainan where Yangzhou is located.

However, Jiangnan is naturally a more important place and belongs to the second tier among all territories. Therefore, it is unlikely that they will watch this place fall into the hands of Li Yun, a rising star.

The two sides need to fight each other before they can move from the battlefield to the drinking table.

Li Yun lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said softly, "I haven't had time to fight for Jiangbei yet. If Jiangnan doesn't give it to me, then no matter who comes, they have to defeat me first."

Du Qian nodded and said softly: "Now, most of the local nobles in Jiangdong are still waiting and watching, probably waiting for the war next year."

"If Erlang can win, they will completely recognize Erlang as the lord of Jiangdong and will come to surrender with their families."

Li Yun has now formed a base in Jiangdong and has attracted many people to join him, even including the current emperor's brother, His Royal Highness the King of Chu of the court.

But in the final analysis, those who come here for refuge are people who have little capital and need to make this kind of "high-risk investment" to achieve their class transition or realize their ambitions.

However, those local nobles who truly have resources, talents, and strength are still waiting and watching, because they have a lot of capital and need to be careful before taking action to avoid losing everything.

Li Yun smiled and said, "Whether we can win or not, I am the one who makes the decisions in Jiangdong. If they don't come to me, can't I just go find them?"

Du Qian smiled dumbly and said, "Wherever the steel knife goes, everyone will naturally submit."

"But I may not be convinced."

Li Yun took a deep breath and clenched his fists: "Jiangdong's recruitment has come to an end. Half a year..."

"Half a year later, I am going to test the quality of these new recruits, as well as... the quality of the invaders!"

…………

The end of the first year of Zhaoding arrived as promised.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the city of Jinling was already decorated with lights and colorful lanterns.

Under Li Yun's rule, at least in the Jiangdong area, although the country was not peaceful and the people were safe, there was no problem with the basic order.

If the people maintain order, there won't be too much trouble, and the New Year and other festivals will naturally be lively.

To put it simply, it can be summed up in two words: stability.

Although it is still far from the prosperous stage, compared with the Central Plains, which is now full of wasteland and corpses, Jiangnan can be called a paradise. Apart from other things, in the past few months alone, Jinling Prefecture has added at least 20,000 to 30,000 new immigrants.

The population of Yuezhou, Wuzhou, and Qiantang County also increased.

Population is the foundation of prosperity. With the new population, these places will soon see a boom in all industries.

Even at this lively time, Li Yun from Li Garden did not have the leisure to join in the fun.

The whole family, young and old, gathered at the bedroom door.

Because the hostess of Li Garden, Li Yun'er's wife, was about to give birth.

Starting from the afternoon, several midwives entered the delivery room, while Li Yun, Xue Song, and the Xue brothers, stayed guarding the door of the delivery room.

Especially Li Yun.

Normally, he would kill enemies on the battlefield with blood covering his face without changing his expression. But now, as he sat under the pavilion, his face turned slightly pale.

In this era, giving birth to a woman is a great disaster, especially the first child.

It was truly a life-and-death situation.

Not long after he came into this world and opened his eyes, he met Xue Yun'er, and now they are married. It can be said that she is the closest person to Li Yun in this world.

Although this day was inevitable, at this moment, his heart still felt as if it was being pulled together, and even breathing was a little difficult.

Zhou Bishou stood beside Li Yun. Seeing that Li Yun looked a little strange, he poured a cup of hot water from the house, handed it to Li Yun, and whispered, "Brother, drink some water and calm down."

Li Yun took a deep breath, looked up at Zhou Bi, and said slowly: "I'm fine."

Zhou Bi looked at the delivery room and was about to speak when it creaked open and Madam Xue walked out. Li Yun immediately stood up and asked, "Mother-in-law, Yun'er..."

Mrs. Xue's palms were also full of sweat. She pulled Li Yun's sleeve and shook her head slightly: "We can only wait, we can only wait."

In the room, Xue Yuner's cries of pain became louder and louder.

Sweat oozed from Li Yun's forehead. He held onto the pillar with his hands and could not utter a word.

Liu Su stood beside Li Yun and whispered, "Brother-in-law, I'll go in and take a look."

Li Yun just said "hmm" and couldn't say anything.

In this way, starting from the afternoon, everyone waited for three hours, until it was completely dark, and then the sound of a baby crying echoed throughout the Li Garden.

At this moment, Li Yun felt that all the strength in his body was suddenly drained away.

After an unknown amount of time, several midwives came out and came to Li Yun, bowing joyfully and saying, "Congratulations, Your Excellency. Congratulations, Your Excellency."

"Congratulations, sir, on having a baby boy."

Li Yun recovered his breath and asked, "My wife..."

"Mother and child are safe, mother and child are safe."

The midwife smiled and said, "Otherwise, we wouldn't dare to come and tell you the good news."

Li Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief. He held onto the pillar and shouted twice: "Zhou Bi, Zhou Bi!"

Zhou Bi trotted over and said with his head down, "Envoy."

Although Zhou Bi is not very old, his personality is very similar to his father. He is quite calm and steady. When there are outsiders around, he never calls him "Second Brother".

"Go, take them with you."

Li Yun let out a long breath: "Reward money, reward money."

Zhou Bi responded and led a few midwives to get the money, while Li Yun went into the delivery room with everyone else.

In the delivery room, Xue Yun'er was still conscious, looking at the baby in the cradle in front of her. Her face was pale, without a trace of blood.

Li Yun stepped forward and held her hand, feeling distressed: "Madam, are you okay?"

Xue Yun'er shook her head and forced a smile: "It's okay."

"Husband, look, our child."

Li Yun then looked at the baby in the cradle. His mind was overwhelmed with thoughts and he couldn't help but shed tears.

"Because of this child, I am scared to death..."

(End of this chapter)