Thief Emperor

Chapter 515: Slap the imperial court in the face!
Chen Da responded quickly.

He looked at Xue Song and said slowly, "Mr. Xue, don't worry. I will immediately send a battalion of commanders to station in Shucheng County to prevent any unusual movements by the Pinglu Army. At the same time, I will ask the people of the Nine Departments to report to the governor."

Xue Song nodded, and suddenly said, "Captain Chen, should our army enter Shucheng or Tongan?"

This question stumped Chen Da again.

He scratched his head and was a little confused.

Logically speaking, their original intention at this moment was to guard against any unusual movements by the Pinglu Army, but they had already fought their way to the Pinglu Army's territory and had already occupied Tongan. Would they take the initiative to withdraw?
Wouldn't that be taking advantage for nothing?

Chen Da thought about it seriously, then gritted his teeth and said, "Then we will move into Tongan! If I spit out the meat that I have already eaten, and the Lord knows about it, he will definitely scold me!"

Upon hearing this, Master Xue smiled dumbly: "You do understand Li Er."

Nowadays, in the entire Jiangnan East Road, the only person who can address Li Yun like this in front of Chen Da and others is probably Master Xue. Upon hearing this, Chen Da smiled and said, "After all, I have followed the mansion master for several years."

"Mr. Xue, please go back to your work and do your duty. You don't need to worry about this matter."

Mr. Xue nodded, and he stood up and said, "Next month, my wife will come over. She recognizes you. If she asks you anything then..."

Chen Da smiled dumbly: "Don't worry, I don't know anything, let alone that you have four maids at home."

Master Xue coughed and whispered, "Just say that she is the orphan girl that Erlang rescued and is being raised in the governor's office."

Chen Da had a smile on his face as he escorted Master Xue out. After seeing Master Xue off, he immediately called Huang Yong who had been following him.

"brother."

Chen Da looked at him and said, "You lead a thousand men to station in Tongan County. If you encounter the Pinglu Army, report to me immediately. If you can fight, then fight. If not, retreat back to Luzhou!"

Huang Yong was also one of the yamen runners who followed Li Yun at the beginning. With his qualifications, he should have been assigned to be a captain in various places like Chen Da, but his personal ability was not as good as Chen Da's, and he had always been inseparable from Chen Da, so until now, he could only follow Chen Da as a deputy.

Huang Yong bowed his head and clasped his fists, saying, "Yes, Captain."

Chen Da kicked him without hesitation and scolded him with a smile: "Don't try that on me, go away quickly."

Huang Yong grinned, turned around and strode away.

Chen Da looked at his back for a while before turning around to write a letter to Li Yun.

He learned to read when he was a yamen runner in Qingyang, and his handwriting was quite good now. He quickly wrote a letter and asked someone to call the Nine Departments, instructing them, "Send it to the governor as quickly as possible."

"Yes."

…………

Two days later, the letter from Luzhou was delivered to Li Yun in Yuezhou.

At this time, Su Sheng had just returned to Yuezhou from Lizhou and was discussing the next steps with Li Yun.

While Su Sheng was talking, the people from Jiusi handed Chen Da's letter to Li Yun, then bowed and retreated. Li Yun looked at Su Sheng, who immediately stopped. Li Yun then opened the letter, and after reading it, he frowned, then a strange look appeared on his face.

Su Sheng was somewhat curious and asked with a smile, "What happened that made the mansion master so surprised?"

"A county magistrate in Luzhou."

Li Yun handed the letter to Su Sheng and said with a smile, "He led several hundred people and captured a county town in Shuzhou."

Su Sheng was also stunned when he heard this. He took the letter and read it, then asked, "It's not surprising that the soldiers in Shucheng County have swords and guns, but they should not have armor. Without armor, how can they attack the city?"

"I don't know, but this County Magistrate Huang."

When he mentioned the three words "Huang Zhixian", Li Yun deliberately emphasized the tone, and then said softly: "He should have some skills."

Su Sheng nodded and said with a smile: "It's a pity for such a brave man to be a county magistrate. He should be allowed to join the army and lead troops to fight."

Li Yun shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "I need to take another look at this person. Let him continue to be a civil servant. During this period, he has managed Shucheng County quite well."

"but…"

Li Yun looked up at Su Sheng and said softly, "Just now, we were discussing whether to stop at taking Jiangnan West Road or continue to forge ahead and fight to Jiangbei."

"Now it seems that it is God's will and we can no longer retreat."

Li pointed at Luzhou, and then from Luzhou, he went up along the river and said slowly: "Shuzhou, Qizhou, Huangzhou, Anzhou, Mianzhou."

"First, take over these states and control the Yangtze River. Then, we can drive the Pinglu Army out of Huainan Road. From now on, everything south of the Huai River will be our territory!"

Su Sheng's eyes were also on the states and counties that Li Yun pointed out. He thought for a moment and said, "If there was only one Wuchang Army in Jiangbei, it would not be difficult to take over these states. However, most of these states are currently occupied by the Pinglu Army. If we rush in, General Zhou will definitely come to Erlang to ask for an explanation, and the Pinglu Army may end up in trouble."

"Not afraid."

Li Yun smiled softly and said, "He can't find me now. I am no longer in charge of Jiangnan Province and I can't manage the affairs of Jiangnan Province. The new officials of the court have not arrived yet, and the soldiers of Jiangnan Province are doing their own thing." "It has nothing to do with me."

At this point, Li Yun paused and continued, "As for whether the Pinglu Army will end up like this, I don't think so."

Li Yun pointed his finger at the north of Qingzhou and whispered, "Xiao Xian, the governor of Fanyang, had already set out to return to Fanyang some time ago. He might be near Qingzhou right now. He is now the Duke of Dingguo in the imperial court."

"Zhou Xu will have to spend a lot of energy to guard against him, so it's unlikely that he will fight on both sides. Besides, even if they come, it will only be another battle."

Li Yun made up his mind and said in a deep voice, "It's a good opportunity to let the people in the southeast and the emperor in the capital see that I was appointed as the Jiangnan Observer by the imperial court and I fought for it myself."

Su Sheng lowered his head and thought for a while, then said softly, "In this case, my troops will not be enough."

"I will send someone to inform Zhao Cheng right away. He has added so many soldiers during this period. It's time to move them around."

"The soldiers from General Zhou in Jinling can also be called upon when necessary."

Li Yun looked at Su Sheng and said slowly: "In the whole Jiangnan, except for Li Zheng's place, everything else can be moved. I am no longer the Jiangnan Observer, I can go wherever I want!"

Su Sheng couldn't help laughing when he heard this, and said, "Now that Erlang has lost his official position, he can really do whatever he wants."

"Isn't it?"

Li Yun also laughed: "If we can win, we can go to Guanzhong now."

…………

Li Yun's order, under the operation of the Nine Departments, was quickly sent to various places, including Jinling and Zhao Cheng, who had recently settled in Fengyang, Haozhou.

Zhao Cheng was also very excited after receiving Li Yun's order.

After this period of troop reinforcement, the strength under his command has approximately doubled. It is precisely because of this rapid expansion that he is now a little bloated.

Zhao Cheng's philosophy of leading troops is completely different from Li Yun's. Li Yun's philosophy is to sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in battle.

However, Zhao Cheng was a relatively traditional general of this era, and he preferred to train his army in the flames of war.

As long as he goes through a few major battles, he will no longer be "fat but will be able to truly grow stronger.

As soon as he received the order, he began to mobilize troops and dispatched part of the Fengyang garrison to the border between Haozhou and Shouzhou.

At the same time, he also issued an order to Meng Qing, who was stationed in Chuzhou, and asked Meng Qing to rush to Fengyang for discussions.

Meng Qing was an extremely serious person. After receiving the order from his superior, he did not hesitate at all. After arranging the defense of Chuzhou, he immediately rode his horse and rushed to Fengyang day and night.

After arriving in Fengyang, he was led to the Fengyang military camp outside the city, and soon saw Zhao Cheng, who was dressed in cloth, in the big tent.

Meng Qing stepped forward, clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "I am Meng Qing, your subordinate, and I pay my respects to the general!"

Zhao Cheng looked up at him, a smile appeared on his face, and he said, "General Xiao Meng came so quickly."

Meng Qing bowed his head and said, "Military orders are as heavy as a mountain. I dare not disobey them."

"Sit down and talk, sit down and talk."

Meng Qing sat down quickly. Zhao Cheng showed him Li Yun's military order, and then he said, "The order from the Lord of the Mansion is for us to send troops to assist General Su in capturing Qizhou, Huangzhou and other states."

"But I think we can march directly into Shouzhou, Guangzhou, and Shenzhou."

"Cut off the access of the Pinglu Army to the southern states and counties."

"This way, General Su won't have to fight on two fronts."

Zhao Cheng pointed at the map and whispered, "In this way, the Duke can directly take over the entire Huainan Road and give the imperial court a big slap in the face."

Hearing about giving the imperial court a slap, Meng Qing's eyes lit up, and he immediately bowed his head and said, "Please give your orders, General!"

Zhao Cheng looked at him and smiled: "General Xiao Meng, you keep an eye on Fengyang for me."

"I...will personally capture Shouzhou."

Hearing this, Meng Qing looked up at Zhao Cheng.

The two mortal enemies of the imperial court looked at each other, and there was some excitement in each other's eyes.

But Meng Qing quickly lowered his head.

"I obey your command."

(End of this chapter)