Thief Emperor

Chapter 52 People’s Mind Changes
In the imperial era, there was a curse that almost all dynasties could not avoid: they would perish within three hundred years.

Some people call this the dynastic cycle.

What causes this cycle is essentially the process of correcting the balance of social resources, or to put it more bluntly, the process of land redistribution.

Land annexation is serious and social resources are occupied by a small number of people. Once there is a natural disaster or man-made disaster, a foolish ruler or foreign invasion.

A huge structure that has existed for hundreds of years may suddenly collapse.

And now, in Li Yun's opinion, the Great Zhou has almost all the elements.

County Magistrate Tian had said before that the court increased taxes in order to fight wars, and that the court had been fighting wars for years, which meant that the court was at least facing external threats.

The reason why Li Yun's parents chose to go to the mountains and become bandits was because most people had lost their land. This also shows that there was a serious problem of land annexation in this era.

What happened in the neighboring county of Shidai further illustrates that the corruption of the government at that time had reached a point where it was almost impossible to reverse the situation.

All signs indicate that this country has reached its twilight years.

Magistrate Xue sighed for a while, then looked at Li Yun and said, "This year, there will probably be unrest everywhere."

"It's even hard to say whether the imperial court will pay attention to the Shidai incident."

If the country were in a peaceful time, if something like Shidai happened, the imperial court would definitely send an imperial envoy to investigate the matter in detail. But now, chaos may be happening everywhere, and the imperial court may not have the energy to take care of the small matter of this county.

This is also the reason why Governor Tian is so unscrupulous.

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea and said calmly: "Looking at the current state of the court, in my opinion, even if an imperial envoy is sent, he will just make a fortune in Xuanzhou, take all the money and leave."

“No one cares about the truth about Shidaihexi Village.”

Xue Xianzun was speechless again.

After a long silence, he finally spoke: "This is generally the case with our dynasty, but I heard that the crown prince is brave and heroic, and when he succeeds to the throne, he may be able to turn the tide."

Mr. Li lowered his head to drink tea, but he couldn't help sneering in his heart.

The incompetent emperors in every dynasty performed quite well when they were crown princes, otherwise they would not have been able to sit on the throne.

However, it is difficult to say whether he will still be wise after ascending the throne.

Besides, when a country develops to, or should I say, becomes bad to a certain extent, it is impossible for one person alone to reverse the trend. If one wants to rebuild the country, they can only start over from scratch!
Seeing that Li Yun did not answer, County Magistrate Xue also understood some of Li Yun's meaning. He sighed again and said, "Anyway, the matter of Shidai has finally come to an end, and it has not implicated our Qingyang. You must have been very tired these days, and you are also injured. Go and recuperate for a while, and then come to work in the government office."

Li Dutou stood up, looked at Magistrate Xue, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, County Magistrate, what I said before still counts. Even if it takes one or two years, I will wipe out all the bandits in Qingyang."

"In this way, even if there is chaos outside, our Qingyang can still be a pure land for a few years."

Xue Xianzun slowly exhaled a breath of foul air and said, "Okay, as long as I am in Qingyang, I will always support you in suppressing the bandits."

Mr. Li was injured and unable to clasp his hands. After bowing slightly, he left Mr. Xue's study. Not long after he walked out, he ran into Miss Xue head-on.

Xue Yun'er came to bring soup to her father. When she looked up and saw Li Yun with his arm hanging around his neck, she exclaimed.

"Ah, what's the matter with you?"

Only then did Li Yun look down at his left arm.

He almost forgot that he was still wearing a piece of cloth.

"it's okay no problem."

Mr. Li smiled and said, "I was cut by the rebels. It's just a superficial wound. It will heal in a few days."

Xue Yun'er nodded slightly. She looked up at Li Yun and didn't say anything for a long time.

The atmosphere at this moment is a bit strange.

Li Yunge did not speak for a long time. After a while, he said, "Ms. Xue, I have to go back to recuperate. Can we talk next time?"

Xue Yuner nodded gently: "You...be careful."

Her feelings towards Li Yun are very complicated.

There is still some hatred in it, but it is also mixed with some curiosity.

After all, if the bandit leader had used force on her, her belly would probably be big by now.

After watching Li Yun leave, Xue Yuner carried the soup into her father's study, forced a smile on her face, and said, "Dad, I made this soup for you, drink it while it's hot."

Magistrate Xue said "hmm", looked up at his daughter, and asked, "Did you run into Li Zhao outside?"

Hearing this name, Xue Yun'er was startled, then nodded gently: "I met you."

"What does my son think of him?"

This question made Xue Yuner blush and she was at a loss: "Dad, what do you mean?" Xue Xianzun looked at his daughter and shook his head slightly: "Dad can see that you still have some feelings for him."

Hearing this, Xue Yun'er took a deep breath and asked, "Don't you despise his background?"

"dislike."

County Magistrate Xue said honestly.

He lowered his head and drank a mouthful of soup, then narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly: "With his background, if it were in the past, even if you, Yun'er, liked him, Dad would never agree."

"After all, he came from a humble background. It is impossible for him to become an official, let alone become rich."

"but…"

Magistrate Xue was silent for a while, then heaved a long sigh: "But now, your father can consider him."

Xue Yun'er was a little curious and asked, "Why?"

County Master Xue said silently: "At least with his ability, he won't be bullied. He can protect you for the next few decades."

Xue Yun'er added a bowl of soup to her old father without saying anything, but she was thinking secretly in her heart.

"If you knew his true identity, you probably wouldn't think so!"

But even so, Xue Yun'er had some fantasies in her mind. She thought about the one month they spent together in the mountains, and the muscular Li Yun punching through the sandbag under the moonlight...

Before she knew it, she was standing there in a daze.

…………

After leaving the county government office, Li Yun first went back to his residence and had a good sleep. The next day, he invited his fellow yamen runners who were going to Shidai to have a meal and drink in a tavern in the county town.

They drank until they were dizzy. Even Li Yun, who had a very good alcohol tolerance, felt a little drunk. In order to prevent himself from talking nonsense, he and Zhang Hu supported each other and returned to their residence and took another nap.

When Zhang Hu woke up in the afternoon, Village Chief Li used two big bags to wake him up, as he was sleeping like a dead pig.

Zhang Hu woke up dazedly and scratched his head: "Second brother, what's wrong?"

Li Yun glared at him and scolded, "I won't take you out for drinks in the future. You were too talkative just now and almost said the wrong thing!"

Zhang Hu was still a little confused, and he had no memory of almost saying the wrong thing in the tavern, but he was not angry. He looked at Li Yun and asked, "Second brother, why did you wake me up?"

"Pack up your things and let's go back to Cangshan."

Zhang Hu finally came to life. After rubbing his eyes, he said happily, "Finally, I'm going back. I miss the village so much!"

By this time, Li had already packed his two sets of clothes, and Zhang Hu didn't have anything to pack either, so the two of them quickly mounted their horses, left Qingyang, and headed back to the Cangshan stronghold.

Not long after the two people left, Miss Xue, wearing a light blue dress, came to the outside of the courtyard with her maid Dong'er.

Xue Yuner asked: "Dong'er, are you sure it's here?"

"I asked the yamen runners, and it's definitely here."

Xue Yun'er pinched the corner of her clothes and whispered, "Then go and give him the medicine, and we'll leave after that."

Dong'er said with a smile: "Miss, why don't you go and send it yourself?"

Xue Yun'er glared at her. Dong'er shrank her neck and hurried to knock on the door.

After a while, Dong'er came back jogging with a piece of paper in her hand: "Miss, Li Dutou is not at home."

“This is posted on the door.”

Xue Yun'er took it and looked at it, only seeing four words written on it.

"Return home to recuperate."

Dong'er said, "I guess he posted it on the door because he was afraid that someone from the government would come looking for him, but..."

She looked at the word and said with a smile, "Li Dutou has good skills and his handwriting is also very beautiful."

Xue Yuner looked at the four pretty good words in front of her and snorted coldly: "He's going home, his home..."

She didn't continue speaking, but looked at these four words and frowned slightly.

That bandit leader...

The characters are actually pretty good.

(End of this chapter)