Thief Emperor

Chapter 422 The Birth of a Powerful Official

The atmosphere of this meal was not a very pleasant one, mainly because the conditions were not negotiated.

After a while, when Pei Huang came back, the four people at the table continued to toast each other with smiles on their faces, but they no longer talked about business.

After all, this young man Pei Huang failed to catch the eyes of these people.

If it was his father, Minister Pei Qi, who came, they might have been able to talk to him and discuss serious matters. However, Pei Huang was young and had no capital, so these military governors naturally did not take him seriously.

After the banquet, Prime Minister Cui got up and left. General Wei ordered his men to arrange accommodation for him and Pei Huang, and took them downstairs to rest.

When General Li and General Xiao were about to leave, Wei Quanzhong gave them a look. The two generals understood and stayed tacitly.

Soon, the three generals sat down again. Wei Quanzhong offered a glass of wine to the other two governors and said slowly, "You two, after this turmoil, the local territories are taken by those who are capable. There is no need for the court to give them."

General Li Tong narrowed his eyes, put down the wine glass in his hand, and said, "Prime Minister Cui has just said it very bluntly. The court has nothing to give."

Wei Quanzhong smiled and said, "The most important thing for the court is status."

Xiao Xian drank a glass of wine and said calmly: "According to Prime Minister Cui, he has already given the proper status."

The Recruiting and Observing Envoys of Hedong and Hebei Provinces were actually the titles given to the commanders of these two provinces.

Therefore, the two generals nodded in agreement. For them, this was enough.

With their current abilities, they can take over the paths they are in and dominate a region and establish their own foundation.

Wei Quanzhong shook his head and said, "General Xiao, you must have read more books than me. You should know that since ancient times, those who have achieved great success and frightened their masters will never have a good end."

"Once the three of us withdraw from Guanzhong, the imperial court will still be the imperial court. The imperial court can give us territory and status today, and tomorrow when the imperial court becomes strong again, we can take it all back."

"When the men of Guanzhong truly become soldiers, few can rival them."

Wei Quanzhong lowered his head to drink and said slowly: "By that time, will the three of us still be heroes?"

"It can only be a powerful official with ulterior motives. Once the imperial army arrives, my whole family will have a hard time surviving."

General Wei put down his wine glass and continued, "The three of us are all over fifty years old. It is basically a foregone conclusion that we will be rich and prosperous in this life, but we must always think about future generations. We can't let our future generations fall into an irretrievable situation because of our short-sightedness."

Wei Quanzhong's words were extremely inflammatory.

Human nature cannot withstand scrutiny. Although the current imperial court is weak and unable to control areas outside Guanzhong, it will certainly reward them generously. In the future, it may not be a big problem to confer the title of duke or even prince on them.

But what about the future?
It will be difficult for their generation to rise up, but will they be able to make a comeback in the future?
It is foreseeable that as long as the imperial court can regain its strength, the three families will most likely face revenge from the imperial court, and by then, they will have no chance to lose their own foundation.

I’m afraid…the lives of the entire family are in danger of being saved.

Even General Li Tong, who was loyal to the imperial court, was now frowning and drinking without saying a word.

Xiao Xian looked at Wei Quanzhong and said slowly, "Brother Wei, what do you want to do?"

"It's very simple."

General Wei narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "First, disperse the imperial guards."

"Within one or two years, our people will serve as the imperial guards, and in the future we will also reorganize the imperial guards."

Li Tong frowned: "What's the reason?"

"Isn't the reason simple?"

Wei Quanzhong said with a smile: "The imperial guards are now so weak and have been driven out of Guanzhong by those peasant rebels. This is a fact that everyone has seen. As military officers of the imperial court, shouldn't we help the court and retrain the imperial guards?"

Xiao Xian clapped his hands and looked at Wei Quanzhong: "General Wei, I'm afraid you have already thought of this excuse, right?"

"Then?"

Wei Quanzhong reached out and poured wine for the other two, then said with a smile: "If we withdraw from Guanzhong, our status will return to the hands of the court. The court can give the two generals the eastern and northern parts of Hedong and Hebei. If we want to take them back in the future, it will only take a piece of paper and will not be a big deal."

"The status must be in our hands. This way, whether we are competing with others for territory or seeking legitimacy in the future, it will be much easier. That's my idea."

"The three of us will serve in the court for a period of time."

Wei Quanzhong said slowly, "We will each station troops in the imperial guards, and at the same time station some troops in the city, and then control the patrol and garrison of the capital and the imperial city, and even the public security in the city."

"We can each serve as officials in the court for one or two years. When the situation stabilizes, we can continue to stay in the capital, or let our sons and nephews come to replace us, and we can return to our respective vassal states."

"In this way, the status of the court will be in the hands of the three of us."

Upon hearing this, General Xiao lowered his head and took a sip of wine, his eyes eager.

General Li was the oldest and saw the most clearly. He looked at the wine glass in front of him, shook his head slightly and said, "If we really do this, even if we succeed, I'm afraid that in the end, it will be our three families that will be the ones fighting each other to the point of bloodshed and becoming irreconcilable."

"Not really."

Wei Quanzhong smiled and said, "There are more than just three vassal states in the world. There are many military governors outside. We should unite as one and wait until we can destroy other forces in the world..."

"It's not too late to decide who's better."

General Wei paused and continued, "When that day comes, if we can no longer cooperate, the worst that can happen is that the world will be divided into three parts."

"Anyway, you two."

He looked at the other two and whispered.

"We have not withdrawn from Guanzhong so far. In the eyes of the court and your majesty, we are already disloyal and unfilial ministers. You two can see this clearly. The greater the reward now, the deeper the hatred in the future." "We must never let the court escape from our control again, if such a day really comes."

General Wei lowered his eyebrows and said, "Unless Wu Zhou no longer exists."

After hearing the last sentence, the other two generals were shocked.

Especially Li Tong, he couldn't help but look up at Wei Quanzhong.

"Why is this so?"

“It has come to this.”

General Wei looked at Li Tong and said with a smile: "If you can't bear it, you can lead your troops to withdraw from Guanzhong now. Then the Wu family will not hold it against you. As for the future, it depends on your own methods."

Li Tong closed his eyes, frowned and remained silent.

Wei Quanzhong raised his head and drank the wine in the cup, his voice hoarse: "Brother Li, the situation has changed after more than 200 years, and it is time!"

"It's not that we are disloyal, but Wu Zhou is too weak!"

Hearing this, Xiao Xian also looked at Wei Quanzhong, shook his head and smiled bitterly, "If those scholars heard what you said, they would definitely scold you to death."

"I'm not afraid."

General Wei laughed and said, "How well can those scholars withstand my sword strikes?"

General Xiao stood up, put his hands behind his back, and remained silent.

Li Tong also stopped talking.

Obviously, these two generals have tacitly agreed with Wei Quanzhong's statement.

Li Tong whispered, "If we cannot reach an agreement with Prime Minister Cui at this time, I am afraid the emperor will not be willing to come back."

General Wei didn't care at all.

"Either we go to Xichuan to bring the emperor back, or...we can just find another royal family member. There is not much in this world."

“People with the surname Wu are everywhere.”

Xiao Xian and Li Tong were both frightened when they heard this.

Even though they were military governors, due to two hundred years of inertia in thinking, it would be difficult for them to accept such "treasonous" words.

However, the two still did not object.

Then, General Wei raised his cup and said with a smile: "Come, come, drink this cup to the full."

The three generals clinked their glasses.

It seemed that in just one sip, the entire Great Zhou had fallen into their pockets.

…………

In a blink of an eye, it was March of the second year of Zhaoding.

Li Yun led 500 men and rode along Luzhou, making a big circle around the nearby prefectures and counties. Along the way, he was intercepted by the Pinglu Army and almost fought with them.

But in the end, the fight didn't break out.

Li Yun's trip was almost equivalent to a border patrol. The journey lasted for more than half a month and attracted at least nearly a thousand Pinglu troops who followed and stalked along the way.

Although the war did not break out, the Pinglu Army still mobilized a large number of troops for this.

In this way, Li Yun’s goal has actually been achieved.

He couldn't let General Zhou gain too much control over the territory in the north.

After returning to Luzhou City, Li Yun and Su Sheng went all the way back to the governor's mansion.

"Brother Su, take a few days' rest and then go back to Qiantang County. I will stay in Luzhou for a while."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Chen Da, it will be here in the next few days."

Su Sheng said yes, then looked at Li Yun and said with a smile: "If Erlang draws a map of the area around Luzhou, remember to have someone draw a copy for me."

During this half month, in addition to disrupting the Pinglu Army, Li Yun also brought some people who could draw maps and followed them all the way, hoping to draw a detailed map.

Li Yun smiled and nodded: "Sure."

Just as he was about to continue speaking, Zhou Bi walked in from outside and said with his head lowered, "Envoy, someone is in Luzhou and has been waiting for you for two or three days."

"wait for me?"

Zhou Bi nodded and said, "He said he was an old friend of yours."

Li Yun was a little surprised. He stood up and turned to look at Su Sheng.

"Brother Su, please sit down for a moment. I'm going to go out..."

"Look who's waiting for me."

(End of this chapter)