Thief Emperor

Chapter 433 Jiangdong is already a country

Du Qian stood up, paced back and forth, thought for a while, then looked up at Li Yun and suddenly said, "Erlang, maybe I can go to the capital for you."

He said softly, "You are the Lord of Jiangdong. It is not easy for you to leave, and you cannot leave. But we cannot completely ignore the court, and we cannot be completely ignorant of the situation in the capital. I am a person from the capital."

"It would be much more appropriate for me to go back."

Du Qian put his hands behind his back and continued, "After I go back, I will not only be able to see Pei Huang, but also the emperor and my father. After meeting these people, the situation in the capital will become clear in an instant."

"As for the benefits and such."

Du Shijun put his hands behind his back and said, "I will go and get what is needed."

He smiled and said, "However, I cannot ask for it from Jiangdong's perspective. I will then tell them that my family members were held hostage in Jiangdong by you, Erlang, so I have no choice but to do this errand for you."

"I'll go this time."

Du Qian said softly, "As long as I can see Pei Huang and the emperor, I can't say anything else, but I can at least guarantee that Jiangdong will never become the target of public criticism."

Li Yun touched his chin, thought seriously for a moment, then frowned and shook his head, saying, "No, no, it's not possible. Although it's appropriate for Brother Shouyi to go back, but once you leave Jiangdong, who will handle the political affairs of Jiangdong?"

Du Qian looked at Li Yun and said with a smile, "Of course it's you who will come, Erlang."

He paused and continued, "You will have to do these things sooner or later. Military affairs are only temporary, and government affairs are more important."

"If I leave Jiangdong, Erlang will take charge of Jinling Prefecture."

Envoy Du smiled and said, "It's just some complicated things. It takes time and energy, but it's not that difficult."

Li Yun sat down.

"I'll think about it again. I'll think about it again."

"Nothing to think about."

Du Qian smiled and said, "It's the perfect time for me to go back. I also want to go back to see Guanzhong, the capital, and see my parents at home."

At this point, he sighed and said, "I haven't seen them for two or three years."

Having said that, Li Yun had no reason to refuse.

In fact, it’s not that he is unable to handle political affairs.

During the time when he was the governor of Wuzhou, he was the one who handled the affairs of Wuzhou before summoning Zhuo Guangrui to help. As Du Qian said, it was not that difficult.

It's just time-consuming.

If all the important government affairs of Jiangdong were handled by Li Yun personally, although he would be able to handle it, he would basically not be able to leave Jinling as his legs and feet would be held tightly.

We can no longer patrol wherever we want as we did before.

Mr. Li sighed and asked, "When is Brother Du going to leave?"

"Just these two days."

Du Qian put his hands behind his back and looked outside, then turned back to look at Li Yun and said with a smile: "Before I leave, I have two questions for Erlang."

Li Yun nodded: "Just ask Brother Du."

"What does Jilang want from the court?"

Li Yun thought about this question seriously, and then he said seriously: "It is enough for Jiangnan not to become the target of public criticism. However, if Brother Shouyi can do it, I also want to get some skilled craftsmen from the Military Equipment Bureau in the capital."

"Of course, it would be even better if we could get some rewards like gold, silver, and jewelry."

Du Qian smiled dumbly: "Is it that simple? I thought Erlang wanted to be the governor of Jiangdong."

Li Yun shook his head and smiled, "The Jiangdong Jiedushi is not going to come. I will fight with Zhou and he will come naturally after I win."

Du Qian thought for a moment and continued, "Second question."

"How powerful are we in Jiangdong now?"

This question made Li Yun fall into deep thought again, and he thought about it seriously for a long time.

"If Jiangdong fights the Pinglu Army to the death now."

He said confidently: "I don't think I can lose."

Du Qian nodded silently and said, "I'll remember that."

…………

Du Qian was a man of great action, otherwise he would not have taken the imperial seal and brought two servants with him to travel thousands of miles from the capital to Yuezhou.

It was the same this time. On the morning of the third day after talking with Li Yun, he rode on a horse, still with Du Laian, and prepared to set off back to the capital.

What was different from the last time was that because there might be dangers along the way, Li Yun selected twenty people from his own guard team to escort along the way.

These twenty people are already the elite among Li Yun’s guards. Almost all of them have the ability of riding and shooting, and can be called cavalry.

Even in this kind of world, they can protect Du Qian anywhere.

After bidding farewell to his family, Li Yun, and Jinling's subordinates, Du Qian took Du Laian and his guards, mounted their horses, and rushed out of Jinling City.

Jinling is neither too close nor too far from the capital, about one thousand two hundred to one thousand three hundred miles away.

Although Du Qian was a scholar, he came from a noble family and was skilled in horsemanship. As long as he conscientiously used the horse's power, it would not be a big problem for him to run 200 miles a day.

In addition, he was young and strong, and he did not stop much along the way. He entered Guanzhong on the sixth day after his departure, and saw the capital city from afar on the seventh day.

All the way to the outskirts of the capital, before entering the city, Du Qian stood there in a daze, staring at the city silently, without speaking for a long time.

Du Laian followed behind him, also looking at the capital, and sighed: "Young Master, I heard that the capital was in trouble, and there are only four or five out of ten people in the city left. I wonder what the situation is like now." He is also a native of the capital and grew up in the capital. Naturally, he felt a little sad about the great changes in Guanzhong.

"And at home, I don't know if everyone is okay."

The Jingzhao Du family was originally a very prosperous family, especially more than a hundred years ago, when there were many talented people in the family. At that time, there was a saying in the capital that "Wei and Du in the south of the city are five feet away from the sky."

The Du family, who were rooted in Jingzhao, were the ones who suffered the most from the turmoil in the capital this time. Although they had been exchanging letters with their father Du Ting, the letters could only give them a general idea.

At this time, Du Qian was extremely worried about the situation at home.

He closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

"Everything will be known after we enter the city."

Having said this, he looked back at his followers and said in a deep voice: "Brothers, enter the city!"

Because he was an official appointed by the imperial court and had the imperial seal and badge, Du Qian was able to enter the capital smoothly even with twenty guards armed with swords.

At this time in the capital, several months had passed since the unrest, and business in the city had largely recovered. There were many pedestrians in the streets and alleys.

The cries of hawkers also came one after another.

Du Qian got off his horse and walked on the wide street. After a long while, he sighed to Du Laian, "Laian, there are fewer people."

Du Laian also sighed: "Yes, it's not as lively as before."

He looked up at Du Qian and asked, "Sir, shall we go home?"

"Go home, go home."

Having grown up in the capital, the master and servant could feel the streets and paths in the capital with their eyes closed. Leading the horses, they soon arrived at Anrenfang. After entering Anrenfang, they both froze in place.

Anrenfang is still in its original location, but less than half of the houses in the square are left, and traces of fire can be seen everywhere.

Du Qian looked left and right, and finally saw a familiar old man on the side of the road.

"Qin Bo..."

Du Qian shouted, "What happened to Anrenfang?"

This old man named Qin Bo was also an official in the imperial court in his early years. Now he has retired and lives in Anrenfang. He has watched Du Qian grow up since he was a child. When he saw Du Qian, he was surprised and happy: "Shiyilang is back."

Du Qian stepped forward, bowed to him, and asked, "Qin Bo, why is Anrenfang like this?"

Qin Bo sighed: "Bandits entering the city, isn't that just four words?"

"Burning, killing and looting."

"They set a huge fire in Anrenfang, burning down half of the houses. It will take a few years for them to recover."

As he said that, he looked at Du Qian and asked, "Shiyilang, you haven't returned home yet? Your ancestral home was also burned down... a small part of it was burned down."

Upon hearing this, Du Qian bowed to the old man, then took Du Laian and ran back home, stumbling all the way.

The plaque of the Du family's residence is still hanging high, but one can tell at a glance that it is no longer the original plaque inscribed by the ancestor of the Du family.

Du Qian broke into his own house without saying a word. The gatekeeper recognized him and did not dare to stop him, calling him "Young Master" all the time.

Du Qian ran all the way from the front yard to the back yard, and saw that the Du family's ancestral home had indeed been burned down a lot. Now some craftsmen were repairing this severely damaged house in the Du family village.

Du Qian stood there in a daze, looking at the burn marks, without moving for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, a gentle voice sounded behind him: "You're back."

Du Qian turned around and saw an old man in his fifties standing behind him, looking at him quietly.

Du Qian immediately shed tears, stepped forward and kowtowed, saying, "Father!"

It was the Minister of Rites Du Ting.

Minister Du helped his son up and shook his head, saying, "I just received a letter from you saying you wanted to come back, and you've already rushed back. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Before Du Qian left for Nanjing, he wrote a letter to his family, and now he arrived in the capital almost at the same time.

"I miss my family so much."

He stood up and asked, "Dad, my family..."

"Everything is alright?"

"It won't get better."

Du Shangshu sighed: "What good is this world like?"

"Originally, since your grandfather, there have been nearly twenty people living in this ancestral house."

Du Shangshu looked gloomy: "Nowadays, I am not considered to be wandering outside."

"There are only six or seven people still living in this house."

Du Qian clenched his fists and said nothing for a long time.

Du Shangshu took his hand and asked in a low voice: "My son, Jiang Dong...how is it?"

Du Qian came back to his senses, took a deep breath, and looked at his father.

"Jiangdong is already a country."

"Whether it can be accomplished or not depends only on chance and destiny!"

(End of this chapter)