Thief Emperor

Chapter 440 Asking for Money
If Li Yun were here, he would definitely fight like this.

Now that we have a certain intelligence advantage, we should rush out and kill the enemy before they arrive in full force. It will be a sure win no matter what!

Of course, this mainly depends on the commander's personal character and his style of leading troops. If Zhou Liang was stationed in Yangzhou, he would definitely defend the city and would not send out any soldiers except scouts.

However, although Zhao Cheng's style is relatively conservative compared to Li Yun, overall, his style of leading troops is also quite unrestrained, and he will never miss such an opportunity.

Now, the Yangzhou garrison has been formed. He has four battalions under his command, each with about two thousand people. After he and Liu Bo determined the approximate location of the Pinglu Army's vanguard outside the city, they opened the city gate at night and led a well-equipped battalion of Yangzhou troops, nearly two thousand two hundred people, out of the Yangzhou city gate in the cover of night.

Zhao Cheng was at the head of the team and said in a deep voice, "There must be enemy spies near Yangzhou! If we don't hurry, by the time we get there, the enemy will have already lined up to meet us!"

"It must be fast!"

Zhao Cheng looked at the night sky, and then said in a deep voice: "Our scouts are active in an area of ​​more than ten miles outside Yangzhou City during the day. Even if there are spies from the Pinglu Army in this area, they can't have horses. If we can get to the battlefield before midnight, we will most likely catch the enemy off guard!"

Although Yangzhou has been closed, the enemy has not arrived yet. During the day, the scouts of the Yangzhou army and the intelligence personnel of the Nine Departments are operating normally.

In this situation, even if there were spies from the Pinglu Army near Yangzhou City, it would be impossible for them to be equipped with horses, because all the horses that could be ridden were large and could not be hidden.

This gave Zhao Cheng an opportunity and gap to attack the camp.

This battalion is the elite among the Yangzhou military garrison, and Zhao Cheng believes that they are the best soldiers he has ever trained.

What they lacked compared to the elite border troops might just be combat experience.

Zhao Chengren was still at the front of the team, shouting, "Pass my order, all the captains and battalions, follow me and defeat the enemy together with me!"

Following Zhao Cheng's words, the soldiers of the first battalion all shouted, "Defeat the enemy, defeat the enemy!"

In the cover of night, two thousand people moved towards the north of Yangzhou City.

At this time, the Pinglu Army also had two captain camps stationed twenty-five or six miles north of Yangzhou City.

This distance was originally quite safe, and they would have enough time to act even if there were any emergencies. However, the Pinglu Army was about to approach, and at this time, no one could have imagined that the defenders in Yangzhou would dare to take the initiative to go out of the city to fight!
Moreover, there were spies watching near Yangzhou City, so the two captain camps had almost no defense.

At night, around midnight, a few spies from the Pinglu Army finally rushed into the Pinglu Army camp and found the two captains who were sleeping soundly.

"Two generals!"

The spy trembled and said, "The Yangzhou defenders have left the city and are heading straight for our camp!"

After all, the Pinglu Army has two generations and has been a vassal for decades. The promotion channels are already quite fixed. Therefore, these two captains are both over 40 years old. One of them, who is smaller in stature, touched his chin and frowned, saying, "We haven't even surrounded Yangzhou City yet, and they came out on their own."

"How many people? How many miles are they from my camp?"

"Do not…"

The spy trembled and said, "Less than ten miles away!"

"When I came to report, they were already ten miles away. Now... I estimate that they will reach my camp in about six or seven miles!"

The two captains looked at each other after hearing this. The big captain showed no mercy and slapped the spy in the face, cursing, "Waste!"

"The general will not forgive you!"

In this era, there was no such thing as emergency assembly training, and those who could follow orders and keep the battle formation in order on the battlefield were considered elite soldiers.

Moreover, if the thousands of soldiers sat together, it would be a huge crowd. It would take a long time for the generals to convey the orders and for the troops to assemble.

This is why raiding a camp in this era often yields miraculous results.

Once the sudden attack comes, we have no time to form a battle line and are dispersed by the enemy, and the fate is that our formation will be cut off and we will be slaughtered.

"Withdraw."

The short captain said in a deep voice: "We don't need tents or camps at all. Let all the soldiers take their weapons and armor and retreat northward. While retreating, they should organize the formation. Otherwise..."

He said solemnly: "It's going to be a big loss!"

This is military common sense. At such a short distance, it is a problem to organize the formation, and it is impossible to organize the army to meet the enemy.

Another captain nodded first, then sighed: "They say that the people of Jiangnan are weak, but how come these Jiangnan soldiers are so fierce? They came out of the city and attacked the camp without saying a word."

"A soldier is in raging state, and a general is in raging group."

The short captain said in a deep voice: "The commanders of these Jiangnan soldiers are very brave." As the military orders of these two people were passed down, all the soldiers of the Pinglu Army were immediately awakened from their tents. Many of them began to retreat with their leader Queen Cang before they had time to put on their armor.

Although they reacted quickly, because the distance was too close, Zhao Cheng had already arrived with his troops before these people had completely evacuated. He looked at the scene in front of him and sneered, "They reacted quite quickly. Chase after them!"

Zhao Cheng waved his hand and shouted, "Even if we can't catch this big fish, we'll have to bite off its tail. Charge!"

A group of people, in a mighty force, chased towards the north.

…………

In the capital, Du Qian finally got to see the emperor.

However, they did not meet in private, but at a court meeting.

Du Qian knelt down respectfully and saluted the emperor, saying, "I am Du Qian, the governor of Yuezhou, and I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

The emperor on the throne looked at Du Qian, frowned and said, "Mr. Du, please stand up."

Du Qian stood up, glanced up at the emperor and several prime ministers, then quickly looked at the three military governors standing in the front row, then lowered his head and watched everyone else.

"Didn't I issue an imperial decree to summon Li Yun to the capital? How come Du Qing is here, but Li Yun hasn't come to the capital yet?"

His Majesty the Emperor looked at the three Jiedushi and said with a gloomy face: "Furthermore, from the first year of Zhaoding until now, I have not seen any money or grain from the prefectures and counties in Jiangdong. What on earth does Li Yun want to do? Is he trying to establish himself?"

The imperial edict issued by His Majesty the Emperor to Li Yun was a clear order that everyone could know. Since it was a clear order, the three military governors naturally knew about it, and it was even their instruction.

Because they also have the motive to take action against Li Yun.

Du Qian thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, Envoy Li is the commander of the three provinces, but he is not responsible for the specific local government affairs. It seems that the money and grain issues of the prefectures and counties should be inquired about by the government offices of the prefectures and counties."

"The money and grain of Yuezhou under my rule have not been lost at all. They have all been handed over to the court. After I return, I will also send Yuezhou's autumn grain to the court as soon as possible."

"As for why Envoy Li was summoned to the capital, I don't know. He should have submitted a letter of explanation to Your Majesty."

The emperor glanced at Du Qian and said calmly, "He wrote to me, saying that he was ill and could not come to the capital. It just so happened that he was ill. If he was really seriously ill, could he still hold such an important position in the southeast?"

"And Mr. Du said that money and grain are the business of the prefectures and counties in Jiangdong. Does that mean I should issue an edict to dismiss the officials of the prefectures and counties in Jiangdong?"

Du Qian knelt on the ground, bowed his head and said: "This is the decision of the emperor, or the judgment of the various departments. I dare not comment on it."

"What a sharp tongue."

The emperor snorted and said, "I was forced to travel west before, and the affairs of state were delayed a lot. I think there are also a lot of unrest in the local areas. This is my fault."

"Li Yun's ability to calm the southeast is also his merit, so I will not punish him. Du Qing went to Beijing this time, and he has to return to the southeast?"

"Yes."

Du Qian bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, my term as governor of Yuezhou will end in about half a year. I came back to Beijing this time mainly because I heard that my family was in trouble and I came back to visit them."

His Majesty the Emperor said in a deep voice: "Leaving one's post without permission is also a crime."

Du Qian knelt down and said, "I know my crime, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

The emperor sighed and said, "Forget it, forget it. I have also heard about the fire at the Du residence. It is a pity to destroy a house that has been in Anrenfang for hundreds of years."

"I won't punish you."

His Majesty the Emperor said slowly, "But the taxes and levies in the southeast cannot be ignored. When you return this time, you will no longer be appointed as the governor of Yuezhou. Instead, you will be appointed as the governor of Jinling and be in charge of the taxes and levies of the prefectures and counties in Jiangdong."

"Take the imperial document and pass it on to Li Yun for me."

His Majesty the Emperor said in a deep voice: "The taxes and grain in Jiangnan are of vital importance to the court. The autumn grain of the second year of Zhaoding must be handed over to the court no matter what. Otherwise, I will not be able to appreciate his merits and indulge him any further."

At this point, the emperor looked at several Jiedushi and continued, "Even the ministers in the court cannot tolerate him."

Du Qian knelt straight, then bowed once more, bowed his head and said, "Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your promotion!"

"After I return to the southeast, I will definitely report your Majesty's teachings verbatim..."

"Report this to Lord Li."

(End of this chapter)