Thief Emperor

Chapter 409 Repaying kindness
The recovery of Guanzhong should have been a happy occasion, but now, His Majesty the Emperor is not very happy.

If he was a dumber emperor, he might have happily gone back to take over the capital at this moment, but this emperor was not that dumb.

At this time, the middle-class person's position seemed extremely painful. He knew very well what kind of situation he would face after returning to Guanzhong.

He could even imagine what the capital city looked like now.

Wu Yuancheng, the Emperor of the Great Zhou, grew up in the capital city. When he grew up, he walked the streets and alleys. He had been to every district in the capital city, and even visited all the brothels, big and small.

But will those neighborhoods, those red-roofed mansions, those tall buildings still look the same as before?
Everyone knows that it's impossible.

The story of the traitor Wang Junping, who used royal women to sleep with him and raped and murdered two people, had already spread from the capital to the rest of the world. Could it be that Emperor Wu Yuancheng knew nothing about it?
He must know it, but he just has to pretend not to know.

As a Jingzhao native who grew up in the current capital, and as the emperor of the Great Zhou, he fled and abandoned the capital at the beginning of his accession to the throne, causing the capital to fall into the hands of rebels. Now, there may be ruins everywhere, and the casualties among the people are countless.

Wu Yuancheng now doesn't want to return to the capital at all.

Apart from the fact that he would have to face three military governors if he returned, more importantly, he no longer had the face to go back.

How would he face the people of the capital after he returned? Would he really have the nerve to tell them that he, the emperor, was on a "Western Tour"?
He, Wu Yuancheng, is not so shameless as to be like this.

If Pei Huang hadn't kept persuading him, he would have wanted to just give up and stay in Xichuan, drinking and listening to music every day, and spend the rest of his life there.

Hearing Pei Huang's words, Wu Yuancheng gave a bitter smile, raised his head and took a sip of wine, then lay on the couch, staring blankly at the beams, and murmured, "You still know how to talk, you still know how to talk."

"Now, as soon as I close my eyes at night, I will have a nightmare. Sanlang, guess what my nightmare is?"

"I dreamed that I was back in the capital, but it was empty."

His Majesty the Emperor silently shed tears: "The city is full of wandering ghosts..."

"They all walked straight towards me."

Hearing this, Pei Huang couldn't help but feel touched. He knelt on the ground and whispered, "Your Majesty, you must not think like this. Wang Junping's rebellion was... it was something that happened during the reign of the previous emperor."

"Really?"

Wu Yuancheng was very depressed. He was still lying there, but he moved his head and looked at Pei Huang who was kneeling on the ground.

"A year or two before my father passed away, he had already handed over the government affairs to me."

Pei Huang bowed his head and said, "The big mistake had already been made and it is irreversible. Your Majesty must now be more courageous, otherwise, the Great Zhou will really be doomed."

The emperor did not answer, but sighed and said, "Sanlang, what do you think will be said about me in the history books for thousands of years to come?"

He closed his eyes and said, "I will probably become a laughing stock in history books, right?"

Pei Huang shed tears and said: "If your majesty says so, all the civil and military officials in the court should be killed..."

The emperor supported himself and stood up. He looked at Pei Huang and sighed, "Get up, get up."

"I know in my heart that even if there are ghosts and spirits wandering around in the capital, or mountains of swords and seas of fire, I... have to go back."

He clenched his fists and said, "This time when I go back, I will never come out again, and I will die in the capital."

Pei Huang was still kneeling on the ground, whispering: "Your Majesty, there are more than three vassal states in the world, and Li Tong, the governor of Hedong, is a loyal minister with a good reputation. At this time, Your Majesty must cheer up and take control of the government again."

"Revitalize the country!"

Wu Yuancheng was still somewhat depressed, but he just said silently: "I will do my best to do what I should do, but even if we drive the three of them out of Guanzhong, I'm afraid that the nine provinces and four directions will be full of princes."

He murmured, "Now, I can only talk to you, Sanlang, about this."

Pei Huang walked up to the emperor, knelt down, and whispered, "Your Majesty, you must try your best to win the battle. When Your Majesty lives a long time in the future, you will have something to say to the late emperor and our ancestors."

The emperor still did not respond, but said silently: "I am really envious of Yuanyou now."

He sighed.

"I'm so envious."

…………

Outside Luzhou City.

Su Sheng, dressed in armor, looked at Luzhou City from afar.

This time he entered Luzhou with a total of 5,000 soldiers, but most of them were new recruits.

After the army arrived outside Luzhou City, Su Sheng waved his hand, and Meng Qing, dressed in armor, gritted his teeth and strode towards Luzhou City with twenty or thirty guards. As soon as he arrived at the foot of Luzhou City, he held Li Yun's order and spoke loudly to the defenders on the city.

"I heard it for real!"

"We are under the command of Li Shijun, the Recruiting Envoy of Jiangnan and Huainan. We are here to garrison Luzhou City under the order of the Recruiting Envoy Office!"

Because Su Sheng's army was approaching the city, the governor, deputy driver, and Sima of Luzhou were all on the city wall. After hearing Meng Qing's call, the three chief officers discussed for a while, and then Sima of Luzhou walked up to the city wall and shouted to Meng Qing under the city: "If there are bandits in each prefecture, the Recruiting Envoy can only fight against them. Now that Luzhou is peaceful and the people are not fighting against the bandits, why does Envoy Li want to station troops in Luzhou!"

Meng Qing was not afraid and said loudly: "Because Luzhou is located between Jiangnan and the Central Plains, in order to prevent the Central Plains bandits from entering Guanzhong, we stationed troops in Luzhou!"

He looked up at the tower and shouted, "Back then, the Central Plains bandits occupied Luzhou City and burned, killed and looted at will. If it weren't for our Li Shijun, Luzhou would still be in the hands of the rebels!"

"How long have you arrived in Luzhou? How dare you refuse the order from Li Shijun!"

The Sima of Luzhou on the city wall was speechless after hearing what Meng Qing said.

But the city gate still did not open. Su Sheng rode forward and stopped Meng Qing from continuing to speak. Instead, he looked up at the Luzhou City and said lightly: "It seems that someone is behind them and supporting them."

"No need to say more."

Su Sheng said slowly: "Let's prepare to attack the city."

Luzhou belongs to Huainan Road.

Now, the entire Huainan Road, except for Yangzhou, all other prefectures and counties have been plowed by the Pinglu Army. It is self-evident who supports Luzhou.

This is also what Li Yun wrote in advance in the letter to Su Sheng.

Su Sheng was now very clear that there was most likely a Pinglu Army garrison in Luzhou City, so he brought half of the people out from Qiantang County.

However, the main force of the Pinglu Army should now be in Yingzhou, Sizhou and other places in the north, further expanding their territory. Even if there are defenders in Luzhou City, their number may not be large.

Su Sheng didn't know exactly how many there were. He would have to fight to find out.

Even if he suffered a small loss or was in a stalemate, it didn't matter. After all, among the 5,000 people he led this time, at least 3,000 were newly recruited soldiers who needed a battlefield for training.

As a son of a general, Su Sheng is more ruthless than Li Yun in leading troops in battle.

"A kind army cannot be commanded" was the first course they came into contact with.

As a result, the Qiantang Army under Su Sheng quickly stationed outside Luzhou City and began to prepare for the siege.

This is how siege warfare was done in this era. After arriving at the designated location, it would take at least one or two days, or even longer, to prepare the siege equipment.

Fortunately, in this era, mobility is poor and communication capabilities are extremely poor, so there is no need to worry about reinforcements arriving in two or three days.

Su Sheng settled down outside Luzhou City with peace of mind and began to cut down trees near the city to make siege equipment such as ladders, battering rams and catapults.

These things may sound complicated, but with thousands of people working together, they can actually be made quite quickly.

In just two days, all kinds of siege equipment had been prepared.

On the second night, Meng Qing trotted to Su Sheng's tent and whispered, "General Su, the siege equipment has been prepared according to your request."

His eyes were eager: "Tomorrow, can we attack the city?"

Su Sheng looked at him and his expression became a little strange.

"You kid, you really are..."

He shook his head, smiled and said, "Impatient."

"Attacking a city will result in casualties. We are bringing new soldiers with us. If we are not careful, the army may be dispersed."

"First, find out how many defenders there are in Luzhou City. Are they local Luzhou government troops or Pinglu Army stationed here?"

"Then, figure out how to fight."

As soon as Su Sheng finished speaking, a messenger came running over, half-knelt in front of Su Sheng, and said with his head lowered: "General, two people have arrived at the gate of our camp and said they want to see you."

"see me?"

Su Sheng frowned and asked, "Who are they?"

"There was an old man in cloth and a middle-aged man in blue, both with Luzhou accents."

Su Sheng thought about it and nodded, "Let them in."

He looked at Meng Qing again and said, "Just listen over there."

Soon, the two were led into Su Sheng's tent. After seeing Su Sheng, they bowed their heads and saluted: "Greetings, General."

Su Sheng waved his hand: "No need to be polite, what are your names, and why do you want to see me?"

The middle-aged man bowed his head and said, "My surname is Lu, and I am from the Lu family in Luzhou."

The old man also bowed his head and said, "My surname is Chen, and I am a farmer in Luzhou."

Su Sheng looked at the two of them and asked, "Why did you two come to me?"

The middle-aged man surnamed Lu looked at Su Sheng and asked, "Excuse me, is the general a subordinate of Li Yun, the Li Envoy?"

Su Sheng nodded slowly: "I am."

The two looked at each other, then looked at Su Sheng and whispered, "We are here to help the general break through Luzhou City!"

Su Sheng thought for a moment and asked, "Why?"

The middle-aged man surnamed Lu said in a deep voice: "Envoy Li has done favors for the Lu family and Luzhou."

The old man gritted his teeth.

"Pinglu Army, in Luzhou..."

"Exploit the people!"

(End of this chapter)