Thief Emperor

Chapter 532 Lord
After seeing this letter, Li Yun suddenly remembered that he had captured a deputy general of the Pinglu Army.

Originally, Li Yun was planning to use Gongsun Hao to make some fuss, but after meeting Lu Yunzhang and communicating with several generals about the affairs of the Inspection Office, he forgot about Gongsun Hao. Now after seeing this letter, he remembered this person.

"Zhou Bi."

Li Yun called out, and Zhou Bi, who was guarding outside the general's tent, immediately walked in, leaned forward and said, "Master."

"Where is Gongsun Hao?"

Zhou Bi thought for a moment and said, "He was recovering with Captain Yang. Captain Yang was sent back to Jinling a few days ago. Gongsun Hao should still be in Qizhou."

Li Yun nodded and said, "I understand."

As he said this, he looked at Zhou Bi and said with a smile, "Don't stand outside. Come in this tent and listen."

At this moment, the army is meeting, and it is a meeting of relatively high standards. Zhou Bi is not currently serving in the army, so he has always been staying outside the tent and has no qualifications to participate.

However, no one would object if Li Yun asked him to attend the meeting.

Now, Jiangdong's foundation is gradually established and it has become a small imperial court. Therefore, Zhou Bi will surely have a bright future, even brighter than his predecessor Meng Hai.

Meng Hai has now gradually turned to the Jiusi side, and his future development direction will most likely also be on the Jiusi side. However, Zhou Bi is not only Li Yun's brother, but also the only son of General Zhou Liang.

It will definitely occupy a place in Jiangdong in the future.

After Zhou Bi carefully sat in the corner, Li Yun looked at Zhao Cheng and his subordinates and said, "Let's continue talking about the war in Huainan Road."

"The situation in Huainan is now very clear. It is unlikely that the battles in the following states will be quick, and it is also unlikely that the Pinglu Army will withdraw directly from Jiangbei."

"The rest is just a matter of time and effort."

"I will leave two armies in Jiangbei, here with General Zhao, and there with General Su. In the following states, you will rely on your own abilities."

"But let's make it clear in advance. Even though you are fighting on your own, you are all members of the Jiangdong Army and still need to cooperate with each other. Jiusi will coordinate among you."

Zhao Cheng thought for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "Sir, Commandant Chen's place should be considered as my side, right?"

Li Yun was stunned at first, then he smiled dumbly: "You want to argue about this?"

Zhao Cheng took a deep breath and said, "My Lord, I am not arguing, but we must make it clear."

"Besides, Brother Su has already occupied several states in Jiangnan West Road, as well as Qizhou and Huangzhou in Huainan Road. If Commander Chen does not count these states as his subordinates, then there will be no way to compare them later."

"Well, Chen Da will be yours."

Li Yun said, "In addition to fighting, I have another request."

Zhao Cheng lowered his head quickly: "The Lord of the Mansion ordered."

Li Yun pointed at the map and said in a deep voice: "General Zhao's route from Haozhou to Shouzhou and Guangzhou is actually to fight westward along the Huai River. Not only do we need to occupy various states, but we also need to build a defense line along the Huai River. This Huai River will be the northern border of Jiangdong for quite a long time in the future."

"After this line of defense is built, it will probably be General Zhao who will guard this border."

Li Yun said seriously, "This line of defense must be built between this year and next year. I will try to send as many new soldiers as possible to General Zhao as long as the line of defense is completed."

He looked at Zhao Cheng and said, "I will remember General Zhao's great contribution."

At this time, Li Yunyuan had not occupied the entire south, or even the entire southeast, but as long as he could hold the Huai River and make steady progress, sooner or later he would be able to occupy the entire south and take over half of the country.

At that time, it can directly become the Southern Dynasty.

However, Li Yun did not intend to take this path.

Whether in this era or in another era, he had heard of successful wars from the south to the north, but he had never heard of any Southern Dynasty swallowing up the Northern Dynasty.

Li Yun's plan was that after occupying the Huai River, he would expand his power between the Yangtze River and the Huai River, and then look for opportunities to march into the Central Plains.

Once the Central Plains is controlled, most of the other places can be controlled by issuing an order.

It must also be mentioned that although Li Yun is from Jiangnan and his base was established in the eastern part of Jiangnan, the military resources in Jiangnan are generally not as good as those between Jianghuai.

In other words, the people in Jianghuai are not as simple and honest as those in Jianghuai.

This place can be said to be a holy land for entrepreneurship.

Being able to gain a firm foothold in the territory between the Yangtze River and the Huai River, with Li Yun's current economic situation, the army's combat effectiveness will soon be able to reach a higher level.

Zhao Cheng stood up, bowed his head deeply, and said, "I obey your command!"

Li Yun smiled and pressed his hands, motioning him to sit down, and then continued to talk about the war in Huainan Road.

This military meeting lasted for more than half an hour. Li Yun was invited by Zhao Cheng and others to sit at the head of the table and drink until dark.

Later, accompanied by Zhao Cheng and others, Li Yun spent more than ten days inspecting the Huai River and the frontline battlefields. When the Jiangdong troops occupied Shouzhou, he was ready to return to Jinling. Zhao Cheng tried to persuade Li Yun to leave the next day.

"Sir, the battle is not going well for me. I need your guidance in many areas. You have been with General Su for more than a month. You can't just leave after only half a month here."

Li Yun looked at Zhao Cheng and said with a smile, "I'm going back to Jinling. I have something important to do."

Zhao Cheng blinked his eyes, a little curious: "Sir, in Jiangdong, isn't it only Huainan Road that is fighting? Is there anything else important in Nanjing?"

"It's not just about fighting."

Li Yun shook his head and said, "Let's not talk about the people under our rule now. Just talking about the soldiers in the army, there are more than 80,000 of them now."

"These people will have problems with eating, drinking, defecating, urinating and sleeping every day."

Li Yun looked at Zhao Cheng and said slowly: "I'm going back to Jinling to solve these problems."

This time when he returns, Li Yun will start preparing to distribute the land equally, but he will not know how to divide it specifically, should he do it across the board or try it out in a certain state or county.

All of this needs to be discussed carefully with Du Qian and the others.

Moreover, this matter must be done by Li Yun personally. Du Qian, Yao Zhong and others cannot do it.

Because they can't make up their mind.

Zhao Cheng asked Li Yun to stay for a few words, but when he saw that he couldn't keep him, he didn't continue to try to persuade him to stay. Instead, he lowered his head and said, "Sir, I have something to ask you in private."

Li Yun nodded, put on a coat, and followed him out of the general's tent and walked in the camp. After walking for a while, Zhao Chengcai lowered his head and sighed, "Master, Madam Liu..."

Li Yun shook his head slightly, looked at him and said, "I'll tell you the truth, General. She certainly can't have forgotten all of this, but it's hard to explain the death of County Magistrate Liu, so it's not good to blame it all on General Zhao."

"No matter what, I, Li Yun..."

"The general will not be charged for this matter. You can rest assured."

Zhao Cheng took a deep breath, lowered his head and said, "Thank you, General."

He paused, and continued, "Also, General Xiao Meng is following me to build the Huai River defense line. I want General Xiao Meng to try to do it first."

Li Yun thought about it, nodded and smiled: "He is your subordinate, so naturally you have the final say on this matter."

Zhao Cheng looked at Li Yun and said, "There is one last thing."

He took a deep breath, knelt in front of Li Yun, bowed his head and said: "When the Lord rescued me before, he made a three-year agreement with me. I am willing to follow the Lord forever from now on and end the original agreement."

Li Yun helped him up with both hands and said with a smile: "If you hadn't mentioned this, General Zhao, I would have almost forgotten about it. It's rare that you still remember it."

"We have already shared weal and woe. There is no need to mention this matter again."

The two of them walked and talked in the military camp, and at the same time, they basically decided on the matter of Jiangbei.

The next day, Li Yun and his guards left the Fengyang Army camp in Shouzhou. Zhao Cheng and a group of generals escorted them for more than ten miles.

When they parted, Li Yun waved to Zhao Cheng and said with a smile: "If anyone from the Pinglu Army comes to see Gongsun Hao again, tell them to go to Jinling to talk to me."

Zhao Cheng bowed his head respectfully and answered loudly.

"Yes!"

…………

From Shouzhou to Jinling, it is closer than from Qizhou to Jinling, only four or five hundred miles.

Even though there was no rush on the return journey, it only took three or four days to enter the territory of Jinling Prefecture.

This time, the people from Jiusi informed Du Qian in advance. Before Li Yun arrived in Jinling City, he saw Du Qian and others who were waiting to greet him more than ten miles outside the city.

He was a little surprised at first, but he quickly dismounted and smiled at Du Qian, "Brother Du, why did you come so far out of town to meet me with such fanfare?"

Du Qian was nearsighted and did not see Li Yun at first. It was not until someone nearby reminded him and he heard Li Yun's voice that he hurriedly led the Jinling officials forward to greet him.

This time, Du Fuyin knelt directly on the ground, very politely.

"I am Du Qian, your humble servant, and I pay my respects to you, my lord."

The people behind him followed Du Qian and bowed down in unison.

"Subordinates, greet the lord!"

(End of this chapter)