Thief Emperor

Chapter 430: The Result
Faced with the current situation, His Majesty the Emperor has almost no way out.

Unless he had the courage to turn against the three military governors and fight them with tens of thousands of imperial guards, with a tougher stance, he might be able to negotiate terms.

It is a pity that Wu Yuancheng did not have such courage, otherwise he would not have left the capital, and the imperial guards would not have fought so miserably.

As for maneuvering between several military governors, if the emperor was flexible and adaptable, he could do so, but he has been a prince since he was a child and is used to being high and mighty, so how can he lower his head now?

The only thing that made the emperor feel relieved was that among his sons, only two followed him back to the capital, and the other three remained in Xichuan and were handed over to the Jiannan Jiedushi.

Even if something happened to him in the capital, or he really turned into a clay statue, his bloodline would never be cut off.

Because of the Emperor's mediocrity, most of the imperial guards were actually disbanded after entering Guanzhong.

The reason why they were not completely disbanded was, on the one hand, because His Majesty the Emperor disagreed, and on the other hand, it was also because of the strenuous opposition of Cui Yuan, Pei Huang, and Du Tingdu Shangshu and others that a part of the imperial guards were able to stay, and a small part of the original generals of the imperial guards were also able to be preserved.

However, these remaining imperial guards still had to be handed over to the three military governors for "help" in training, and in a short period of time, the soldiers of the three military governors who had been stationed in the capital did not withdraw from the capital, and the city defenses they took over were not handed over to the court.

At the same time, memorials requesting merit for the three military governors flew onto the emperor's desk like snowflakes.

Therefore, in late June and near July of the second year of Zhaoding, His Majesty the Emperor finally issued an imperial decree to reward the three meritorious officials.

Xiao Xian, the Jiedushi of Fanyang, was appointed the general of the imperial guards and assisted the court in retraining and reorganizing the imperial guards. He was also granted the title of Duke of Ji.

Li Tong, the governor of Hedong, held the same post, serving as the Grand General of the Imperial Guards, reorganizing the Imperial Guards and granting the title of Duke of Dai.

The Shuofang Jiedushi Wei Quanzhong, who made the greatest contribution, was granted the title of Taiwei and Zhongshu Ling, and was awarded the title of Shangzhuguo.

At the same time...he was promoted to Prince of Lingwu.

That is King Lingwu.

And this General Wei was not intimidated. He still led his troops to occupy the northern part of the capital, and took an official position in the capital without hesitation. Gradually, there were signs that he would set up a government office.

There is no better moment.

…………

At this time, in Jiangdong, thousands of miles away, the summer grain from all the states and counties had been delivered to Jinling. Li Yun happened to be in Jinling at this moment, so he stood with his hands behind his back and inspected the prefecture-level granary that had just been built in Jinling City.

A young man who was half a head shorter than him followed behind him, reporting the situation in the south in an orderly manner.

"Brother, the five prefectures and counties of Kuazhou, Jianzhou, Fuzhou in the eastern part of Jiangnan, and Fuzhou and Raozhou in the western part of Jiangnan are basically stable. There are no officials sent to Fuzhou and Fuzhou yet. These two prefectures have been completely subdued by me. Brother, just send some civil servants to take over."

At this point, he smiled and said, "If my second brother wants to go south again, I can continue to fight south."

Li Yun glanced at him and said helplessly: "It's such a long distance. If you go further south, I will have to treat the soldiers under your command as non-existent."

With poor mobility and not strong enough strength, although Li Yun now wants to expand his territory, the territory cannot be too large, otherwise the army conquering the south will be almost useless to the entire Jiangdong army.

Mr. Li said with his hands behind his back: "Let's look at Jiangnan West Road. It would be best if we could occupy all the places that Jiangnan West Road should occupy."

The person who could speak like this in front of Li Yun and was in charge of the south was naturally none other than the skinny Li Zheng.

Since the end of last year, Li Yun asked him to lead his troops to expand southwards. Li Zheng has successively captured several states and counties, and the number of troops under his command has also been completed in accordance with the indicators given to him by Li Yun before.

Now, Li Zheng has just over 10,000 men under his command, no more, no less.

Li Zheng smiled and said, "I'll take note of it, second brother. When I go back in a few days, I will take the army and take a look to the west."

As they talked, the two brothers found a seat and sat down. Li Yun first glanced at the granary, then looked at Li Zheng, and suddenly said: "I haven't seen you for more than half a year. You have improved a lot in your temperament. Your gestures..."

Li Yun pondered the words for a moment, then said with a smile, "It sounds like an official."

Li Zheng was also looking at the granary. He was stunned at first, then smiled and said, "Second brother, I couldn't understand why Second brother is different from us when we grew up together in the village."

"For the past six months, I have been leading troops outside to capture cities and strongholds."

Li Zheng paused and said softly: "This feeling is really hard to describe."

Li Yun looked up at him and asked with a smile, "Isn't it wonderful?"

The beauty of power is a fatal temptation for anyone.

Especially for a young man of Li Zheng's age who has never held power before.

Suddenly, the life and death, rise and fall, honor and disgrace of all people in a city, an entire state, or even several nearby states and counties, all depends on your thoughts!
It's hard to describe the wonderful feeling. Of course, different people will have different attitudes when facing this situation. Some people will really have an extra sense of responsibility, while more people will have a tyrannical heart.

In the past, when Li Yun was just starting to rise, he also went through this stage and deeply realized the beauty of power.

Therefore, he could still understand Li Zheng's thoughts.

Li Zheng nodded deeply and whispered: "If I hadn't followed my second brother, I would have become a villain. With power in my hands, sometimes I really want to become like what is written in the storybook.

"Those who follow me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish."

Humans are extremely complex creatures. Everyone has both good thoughts and dark sides. However, most of the time, bound by reality, most people hide their evil thoughts deep in their hearts, and they may never reveal them in their lifetime.

But when you can do whatever you want, these evil thoughts may pop up from some corner.

“I’ve been through this phase too.”

Mr. Li looked at the granary again, and then at Li Zheng, and said sternly: "It doesn't matter if you have evil thoughts, just get rid of them in time. In life, we should judge by deeds, not by heart."

Mr. Li looked at Li Zheng and said softly, "Remember this: don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you."

Li Zheng scratched his head, but he still understood what Li Yun meant. He thought about it and said with a smile, "I heard this sentence from a soldier. He is from the north. When he said this in the army, he said he knew the meaning."

"The brothers in the army urged him to speak out all the meaning of these words, and this man said."

"Would you be happy with that?"

Li Zhengxue's accent was so similar that Li Yun couldn't help but smile: "The words are rough but the truth is true."

"Now that you're back, stay a few more days. In two days, your second brother will officially promote you to general."

Li Zheng responded with a smile and said, "I am going to stay in Jinling for two more days. I haven't met my eldest nephew at my second brother's house yet. I must go and see him."

Li Zheng just returned to Jinling today. After arriving in Jinling, he has been following Li Yun, but he has never been to Li Garden to see Li Yun's son.

He must go and see that child.

This is not just out of interests or some other considerations. No matter from which angle, Li Zheng is Li Yuan's uncle, and they will be a family in the future, and it will be difficult to really break off.

Li Yun smiled and nodded, then looked at Li Zheng and asked, "When will you get married?"

"I'm not in a hurry, little brother."

Li Zheng smiled and said, "Now, it is more important to do errands for my second brother."

The two brothers, who had not seen each other for a long time, were sitting together drinking and chatting happily. Not far away, Du Qian, dressed in a pink official uniform, strode over, breathing heavily.

"Envoy, Envoy!"

He shouted twice from a distance. Li Yun heard it and immediately stood up and went over with Li Zheng. When he saw Du Qian, Li Zheng thought for a moment and said with a smile, "What could make Brother Shouyi so anxious?"

“It’s a big deal, naturally.”

At this moment Du Qian was approaching. Li Zheng stood up, bowed his head, clasped his fists and called him "Sir".

Du Qian stood up to return the greeting, then waved his hand and said with a smile: "General Xiao Li is too polite, sit down and talk, sit down and talk."

After the three of them sat down again, Du Qian looked at Li Yun and said with a smile: "Sir, I just received news from the capital that the governor of Hedong, Li Tong, and the governor of Fanyang, Xiao Xian, have each been awarded the title of Duke."

"Shuofang Jiedushi Wei Quanzhong was conferred the title of Lingwu King."

"King Lingwu..."

Li Yun thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Prince?"

"A prince is good enough."

Du Qian shook his head and said, "Since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there have been very few people of different surnames who have been crowned kings. It is quite good to be crowned a county king."

Li Yun nodded first, then smiled: "It seems that the capital has basically argued out a result, or reached some kind of compromise."

He lowered his head and drank his tea: "The peaceful days in Jiangdong will become less and less."

(End of this chapter)