Thief Emperor

Chapter 442 My name is Shimin?

This trip to the capital indeed had a great impact on Du Qian.

He was a man of mature temperament beyond his years. After arriving in Jiangdong, no matter how big the problem was, he was able to basically remain calm, or at least remain calm on the surface so that others could hardly see his emotions.

But this time, Li Yun could tell at a glance that something was wrong with him and he looked distraught.

Du Qian was deeply moved by what he saw and heard in the capital.

He was born and raised in the capital. He had been accustomed to the prosperity and bustle of the capital, as well as the filth and ugliness of the capital, but he had never seen such a decadent and desolate capital.

In the entire capital city, life and death are in the hands of others.

Moreover, this situation where life and death are controlled by others is different from the previous era when the emperor was the master. At least the emperor also abides by the rules, and the emperor does not necessarily have the final say on matters in the court.

But those three military governors can now do whatever they want.

They can do whatever they want, and if they are a little overbearing, they don't even need a reason or an excuse.

Of course, it’s not that difficult to find a reason or excuse.

Although Du Qian had predicted the decline of the Zhou Dynasty in his mind a long time ago, he was still shocked when it happened.

After all, when he left the capital to take up his post in Yuezhou, the capital was actually quite normal on the surface, for just three years.

It was as if the court and the capital had changed.

Li Yun asked people to prepare wine and food. After Du Qian calmed down, the two sat across the table from each other. Du Qian told Li Yun about his experiences in the capital in detail.

When he had finished speaking, he put down his chopsticks and sighed, "According to the current situation, although the imperial court will not target Jiangdong in the short term, it will definitely take action against Jiangdong and the entire Jiangnan sooner or later. However, the imperial court that takes action may not necessarily be the Wu Zhou imperial court."

Li Yun stroked his chin and thought for a while, then raised his head and took a sip of wine, looked at Du Qian, and said slowly: "This is not surprising. If the local vassal states are not cleared out, they will occupy the capital and the Central Plains, which is not much different from before."

"When troubled times come, it is impossible to divide a great Zhou into more than ten parts. In the future, we will always see who is stronger."

Mr. Li smiled and said, "But what I'm curious about is that the relationship between the three of them doesn't seem to be very good. Can they really cooperate so closely and work together to conquer the other vassal states?"

Du Qian also thought about it seriously, then shook his head slightly: "It's unlikely. There will definitely be conflicts and gaps."

He said softly: "But no matter whether they are separated or united, the capital will definitely encounter turmoil again. By then, not only the capital, but the people of the entire Guanzhong will probably have to face catastrophe again."

At this point, Du Shijun raised his head and drank, "It is said in the book that a single move can affect the entire body. Originally, I just wrote this down, but I didn't necessarily understand it. Now I finally understand it thoroughly."

"An insignificant salt merchant and an insignificant rebellion in the Central Plains caused a huge dynasty to collapse to its current state in just two years."

Li Yun thought for a moment and said, "Brother Du, I don't believe in destiny, nor do I believe in the illusory national destiny or the fate of a country. But in the past two years, I have found that some things are indeed very mysterious."

"Just looking at what happened in the past two years, even if the court made a few mistakes, things wouldn't be as bad as they are now. But unfortunately, every step the court took was wrong, and every choice was the worst choice."

Mr. Li shook his head and said, "It has been like this for the past few years. It's really weird."

In this world, some things are very difficult to explain clearly. Some things that really happened and are recorded in history books are very strange.

For example, during the Chongzhen period in another world, there were natural disasters almost every year for more than ten years. Especially from the fourteenth year to the sixteenth and seventeenth years of Chongzhen, there were major epidemics near the capital for several consecutive years, and they were extremely serious infectious diseases.

These natural disasters, of course, can be understood as causing the country to be destroyed because of natural disasters.

But from a metaphysical point of view, it can also be understood that natural disasters occur frequently because the destiny has run out.

Because everyone has a different perspective, what they see and think will naturally be different.

In Li Yun's opinion, the Wu Zhou Dynasty has now run out of luck. Otherwise, the things that have happened in the past two years would be too coincidental.

Du Qian raised his head and took a sip of wine, finally perking up: "I grew up in the capital, and seeing the current situation in the capital, my mind is shaken."

He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "But now is not the time to think about these things."

Du Qian put down his wine glass and said to Li Yun: "The most urgent task is to do a good job in Jiangdong. Although Erlang looks mighty, he has a kind heart and is a saint. I believe that one day, Erlang will be able to save people from danger!"

"The Holy King is fully prepared."

Li Yun pondered for a moment, shook his head and laughed, "That's too much for me. I can be said to be neither a saint nor a king. At best, I have some compassion for the common people."

Du Qian said seriously: "Compassion is benevolence." The two talked in depth for a long time, and finally turned the topic to practical matters.

"The battle in Jiangbei has already started. Zhao Cheng fought very well. He took his men out to attack the Pinglu army overnight while the Pinglu army had not yet arrived. In one night and half a day, he defeated 500 to 600 Pinglu soldiers and seized a lot of tents, money, food and other supplies."

"Now, the main force of the Pinglu Army has arrived in Yangzhou and surrounded Yangzhou, but Yangzhou is strong. As long as there is no shortage of supplies, Zhao Cheng will not have much problem defending the city."

"Brother Shouyi, take a good rest these days. When you have rested, I will leave the political affairs of Jiangdong to you. I will leave Jinling and go to the front line to lead the Qiantang Army and start preparing for the battle in Jiangbei."

Du Qian drank another glass of wine and said in a deep voice: "I will take a day off today, go back and have a good sleep, and I will be able to handle official business tomorrow."

"No rush, no rush."

Li Yun looked at Du Qian and said with a smile: "Brother Shouyi, go home and spend a few days with your wife and children to relax."

Du Qian drank another glass of wine, exhaled the alcohol, and said "OK".

Seeing that he was still drinking, Li poured him a glass of wine. After thinking for a moment, he slowly said, "Brother Du, if there is anything I can help you with at home, please don't hesitate to tell me directly."

He toasted Du Qian with a glass of wine.

"I am quite capable now."

Du Qian raised his head and looked at Li Yun seriously, then silently said "OK", and raised his glass: "I toast to Erlang."

On this day, the top leader and the second-in-command of Jiangdong were drinking and chatting about everything under the sun, discussing the overall situation in the world.

Du Shiyi, who had learned to pretend to be drunk at the age of thirteen in the capital and had never been really drunk since then, got drunk that day and had to be carried back to his residence.

When he got home, he vomited again and it took him several days to recover.

A few days later, Du Qian, who had fully recovered, returned to the Jinling government office and took over Li Yun's job. After the two of them briefly "handed over" a few important matters, Du Qian smiled and said, "I forgot to tell Erlang that night that I am now the prefect of Jinling, appointed by the imperial court."

Li Yun was very considerate and smiled, "Congratulations."

"But Jiro's position has not changed for the time being."

"Mine doesn't matter."

Li Yun said with a smile: "Now, even if the court demotes me to the position of Qingyang County Magistrate, it will not have any impact on me."

Du Qian nodded and said, "Then there is the issue of taxes. The emperor means that we can occupy the Jiangnan Road, but we must pay the taxes and grain."

Hearing this, Li Yun sneered and said, "You have to wait until I finish the battle in Jiangbei before paying taxes and grain. If I lose, you will have to pay taxes and grain to the court for a few years."

"If I win!"

Mr. Li grinned and said, "Let the court send someone to collect it."

The handover process ended quickly because Li Yun had to go prepare for the military, so he stood up and left: "Brother Du, the political affairs of Jiangdong will be handed over to you. I will leave Jinling tomorrow to prepare for the battle of Jiangbei."

Du Qian stood up and saw Li Yun off all the way to the gate of the government office. When they were about to part, he suddenly remembered something and said with a smile: "I have been at home these few days and suddenly thought of a good courtesy name that is suitable for Erlang."

"This courtesy name doesn't have to be derived from the name, it can also be derived from one's aspirations."

"When we were drinking that day, Erlang's words already showed his intention to save the people and help the country. How about taking this courtesy name from the four characters 'helping the country and helping the people'?"

Hearing this, Li Yun's heart suddenly moved, and he raised his eyebrows excitedly: "Brother Shouyi means that my name is Li Shi..."

"How about just taking the word economy?"

Li Yun's excited expression quickly froze on his face. After a long while, he finally caught his breath and waved his hand: "Forget it, let's talk about this later, later."

"I'm looking for someone to draw a detailed map of Jiangbei. I'll go see how the map is going. When I'm done with Jiangbei, I'll go back to Jinling and have a drink with Brother Shouyi!"

Du Qian bowed his hands in farewell and lowered his head deeply.

"Farewell, envoy."

(End of this chapter)