Thief Emperor

Chapter 497 Good official!

Bianzhou.

Bianzhou is a prefecture with a very important geographical location in the Central Plains. The person in charge here at this time is Liang Wen, the governor of Bianzhou.

He was originally a general under Wang Junping. In the late period of Wang Junping's era, he came into contact with people from the Imperial City Bureau of the Great Zhou Dynasty and secretly defected to the court.

On the eve of Wang Junping's downfall, it was this man who broke into the palace and cut off Wang Junping's head.

Of course, this is Liang Wen’s own statement.

The situation was too chaotic that night, and many people broke into the palace, causing chaos. Although the final result was that Wang Junping's head was cut off and hung high above the gate of the imperial city, it was still unclear who killed him and who cut off the head.

No one can explain it clearly.

Later, the armies of the three Jiedushi entered the capital, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers fled in all directions. The three generals ignored the so-called "heroes" who killed Wang Junping, and killed them all. Liang Wen knew that he could not do anything, so he fled the capital with a group of defeated soldiers. He took advantage of the fact that the gates were not closed and fled from Guanzhong to the vicinity of Bianzhou.

After arriving in Bianzhou, he suddenly had an idea and submitted a memorial to the emperor who was still in Xichuan at the time, taking the credit for killing Wang Junping. The emperor at that time discussed with Pei Huang and also wanted to have as many troops as possible, so he issued an edict to appoint him as the Defense Envoy of Bianzhou.

At that time, Liang Wen had less than 10,000 soldiers under his command, and most of them were in rags. They even began to rob the people in order to feed themselves.

However, as soon as this imperial edict came down, they immediately transformed themselves into the "regular army" of Bianzhou.

Now, after more than half a year, Liang Wen's power has expanded again and again, and now Xuzhou and Chenzhou near Bianzhou are in his hands.

He gathered almost half of the remnants of Wang Junping's troops, and with the addition of some newly recruited civilians, the number of troops under Liang Wen's command had exceeded 20,000.

These 20,000 people are not weaklings, they are 20,000 people who can go to the battlefield.

What’s even more amazing is that outside Tongguan, 30,000 imperial guards went out to meet the enemy, but were completely wiped out by Wang Junping, and 30,000 sets of weapons and equipment of the imperial guards were seized, greatly enhancing their combat effectiveness.

Now, although these 30,000 sets of equipment are not all in Liang Wen’s hands, at least 7,000 to 8,000 sets are in his hands, which is also a considerable combat force.

Now Liang Wen was appointed as the governor of Bianzhou by the imperial court. He really turned from a rebel into a legitimate official of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Moreover,...

Strong soldiers and strong horses!

At this time in the Bianzhou Governor's Mansion, Governor Liang was sitting at the lower seat, and an eunuch in blue clothes was sitting on the main seat. The eunuch was talking, and Liang Wen was very respectful and listened attentively.

"Liang Shijun, your Bianzhou is very close to Dujidao. His Majesty has ordered that if there is any change in Dujidao, you must immediately send troops to defend Dujidao for the court."

The Great Zhou had two capitals. The main capital was naturally the capital, and the prefectures and counties near the capital were called Gyeonggi Province.

However, there was also an eastern capital, Luoyang. Near Luoyang was Duji Road, which consisted of four prefectures and one prefecture, namely Ruzhou, Zhengzhou, Huaizhou, Shanzhou, and Henan Prefecture.

Bianzhou is right next to Zhengzhou, and can be said to be bordering Dujidao.

Although Liang Wen could be considered a small warlord now, he was extremely respectful to the eunuch from the imperial court. Hearing this, he said, "In reply to the envoy's question, may I ask what will happen?"

The eunuch frowned and said, "General Li is going back to Hedong. From Hedong to the south is Duji Road. No matter what, the Central Plains must not be lost."

Liang Wen nodded and whispered, "Your Excellency, the Hedong vassal garrison is strong and powerful. Although I am willing to serve the court, I may not be able to resist them."

The eunuch stood up, took out a secret letter and a token from his arms, and said in a deep voice: "This is your Majesty's secret letter and the Emperor's token."

Upon hearing this, Liang Wen did not dare to neglect it. He knelt down without hesitation, his forehead almost touching the ground, his hands raised above his head, and said respectfully in an almost pious tone: "Your servant Liang Wen respectfully accepts the holy object."

The eunuch was also a little surprised when he saw this. After handing over the secret letter and the token, he said with emotion: "I have been running around outside the Great Wall for a while and met many officials. It is rare to see a local official as respectful as Envoy Liang."

Liang Wen stood up, still with his head bowed, and said, "I was originally a commoner, but Your Majesty has made an exception and promoted me. This is a great favor. I will always remember it in my heart. As long as Your Majesty says a word, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."

At this point, he clenched his fist and said, "Your Majesty is in trouble now. Those local officials are all snobbish and therefore disrespectful to you, but I am different. No matter when or where, I am loyal to you."

“Heaven and earth can be used as lessons!”

Liang Wen clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, saying, "Those traitors, I will kill them all one day!"

The eunuch nodded and said, "I will find a way to convey Envoy Liang's words to His Majesty."

"Thank you, father-in-law."

Liang Wen took out a gift list from his bosom and handed it to the eunuch, forcing a smile on his face: "Your Excellency has come to Bianzhou. I am sorry for not entertaining you well. Here are some gifts I prepared. Please have a look."

The eunuch was stunned at first, then he took it and took a look, and immediately froze in place.

The gift list was filled with gold, silver, jewelry, and other items, and there were also many treasures and curios. Although this eunuch had been running around outside for the past year or two, doing the work of the Imperial City Department, he was born in the palace and had a lot of experience. He could estimate the value of the gift list with just a glance.

"Envoy Liang, this is probably worth more than a million taels of silver, right?"

"It's just a small amount of money, not worth mentioning."

Liang Wen lowered his head, and said in a rather flattering tone: "This is a small token of my filial piety to the envoy."

The eunuch's surname was Gao. Hearing this, he looked at Liang Wen deeply, feeling quite moved. He put the gift list into his sleeve and sighed, "Since the court suffered a disaster, we have never seen a local official as filial as Envoy Liang."

“Adversity reveals a man’s loyalty.”

Eunuch Gao was so moved that he almost cried. He wiped his tears and said, "Don't worry, Envoy Liang. I will report your affairs to His Majesty in detail. It's a pity..."

He sighed and said, "Your Majesty is now being held hostage by treacherous officials and villains, so there is not much that can be rewarded to you."

"Eunuch, I am loyal to Your Majesty and filial to you with all my heart, without asking for anything in return."

Liang Wen bowed deeply to the eunuch and said, "Go back and report to His Majesty and tell him that I will repay His Majesty's kindness even if I die!"

"Good, good."

Eunuch Gao wiped his tears and said in a deep voice: "The court is in such a critical moment, and it needs loyal ministers like Lord Liang!"

Liang Wen forced a smile on his face: "Father-in-law, please stay in Bianzhou for a few more days. I bought a pair of twin girls a few days ago. They are very beautiful. I will let them serve you from now on."

Eunuch Gao frowned and said, "We are disabled people. What's the point of having a girl?"

"It's also good to warm your father-in-law's feet and bed, and take care of his food, clothing, and daily life."

Eunuch Gao's face lightened, and he nodded slightly, saying, "Envoy Liang is thoughtful."

Liang Wen turned sideways and said with a smile: "The banquet is ready, please come, sir."

Eunuch Gao stood up and walked in front of Liang Wen, still sighing with emotion.

"Liang Shijun, what a good official, what a good official."

…………

Jiangdong, Jinling Workshop.

Li Yun and Zhou Liang stood in an open space in the workshop, looking at two jars in the distance.

A clay pot and an iron pot.

Both jars were filled with gunpowder, and when the craftsman lit them, the gunpowder exploded instantly.

Both jars exploded.

Pottery fragments flew everywhere, but the tin did not explode.

Li Yun and Zhou Liang went forward and looked carefully at the explosion site. Li picked up the debris on the ground and shook his head: "The clay pot seems to be OK, but the power is not strong enough. The iron pot is not good enough and cannot be blown open."

Zhou Liang, who was standing by, seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "If the iron can could be thinner, it should be possible."

Li Yun still shook his head.

"It's too inefficient. I wonder how much work it takes for a blacksmith to make that thin sheet of iron."

"Even if it works."

Li touched his chin and continued, "Not many can be made."

"But...if it is used in some critical places."

Mr. Li narrowed his eyes.

“Maybe it will work wonders.”

(End of this chapter)