Thief Emperor

Chapter 544 When will the uprising begin?

In this era, no matter what you do, you need a reputation.

It has been several months since Li Yun was dismissed by the court. Although the people close to him changed their title to "Shangwei", this "Shangwei" did not have an actual official position.

Some people outside still call him "Mr. Fu" and acknowledge his position as the Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangnan.

Although Li Yun is no longer part of the Wu Zhou court system, he has not raised the flag of rebellion. He has achieved a state of coexistence with the court to a certain extent as a commoner.

This situation is fine in a peaceful state, but once Li Yun and the court become hostile, he will need a status.

This status cannot come from the imperial court, so there are only two options.

The first way is to start an uprising and fight against the tyrant, or to start an uprising in the name of "clearing the court".

The second way is to establish a new central government, with King Wu Yuanyou of Chu as the banner, raise an army to attack the imperial court. Once successful, the King of Chu can be welcomed into the capital and take the throne of the imperial court.

Then Li Yun could become a role similar to Boss Cao, conquering disobedience as a powerful minister, and when the time is right, he could let the then Prince of Chu abdicate to him, and move the Prince of Chu to the position of prince, becoming the second king and three Ke of the new dynasty.

These are things that have been played out countless times throughout the dynasties. Not only Li Yun is familiar with them, but King Wu Yuanyou of Chu is also familiar with them.

He was not very courageous to begin with. After hearing what Li Yun said, he shrank his head and his voice trembled a little: "Mr. Li, how can I do this? I...I can't do it."

Li Yun smiled and said, "I think your highness is much better than the current emperor, but the previous emperor didn't know how to judge people."

His Royal Highness the King of Chu smiled bitterly and said, "Even if I had the guts, what reason would I have to attack the imperial court?"

“There are so many reasons.”

Li Yun smiled and said, "The tyrant was unjust. When he first ascended the throne, there was a disaster from heaven. There was a severe drought in the Central Plains for several years, with little rain or dew, so that refugees were everywhere and starving people were scattered all over the land."

"After that, the Wang Junping Rebellion occurred, and the Xin Dynasty fled westward in a panic. How could such an emperor have the face to sit on the throne?"

There is a connection between heaven and man. All disasters in the world can be attributed to the emperor and become the emperor's sin.

This was intended to add sacredness to the throne of the emperor, but the side effect was that it eventually became an excellent way to attack the emperor.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu looked at Li Yun in astonishment.

Li Yun's speech was very fluent and it was definitely not something he came up with suddenly. Most likely...mostly it was in his mind. I don't know how long he had been thinking about it!
He looked at Li Yun and said hesitantly, "Li... Lord Li, the drought in the Central Plains happened... when my father was in power. It seems... it seems that it should not be blamed on my elder brother."

"It does not matter."

Li Yun waved his hand and said with a smile: "Whatever we say, that's what it is. Besides, although the emperor had not ascended the throne at that time, he was already governing the country in the Political Affairs Hall."

"In fact, he already calls the shots at court."

Li pointed to the sky and said seriously, "There is a god three feet above your head."

Wu Yuanyou sat in his seat, silent for a long time. After a while, he looked at the children playing in the yard and sighed: "Mr. Li, if I don't agree to this, will you kill my whole family?"

Li Yun shook his head slightly: "No, but if Your Highness does not agree, our cooperative relationship will no longer exist."

"In the future, your highness's family can only be commoners."

Wu Yuanyou nodded, took a deep breath, and asked again: "If I agree to this, will the Lord kill me in the future?"

"No."

Li Yun smiled and said, "If we fail in our great cause and eventually fail, then the court or others will kill Your Highness."

"If the great cause is accomplished, your highness and his family will be guests of the new dynasty for generations."

Wu Yuanyou gritted his teeth and said, "I agree!"

"it is good."

Li Yun clapped his hands and smiled, "Your Highness, just do it."

"Then I won't be a nagging person. I promise Your Highness that no matter whether I will raise the banner of Your Highness in the future, as long as I succeed, Your Highness will be a guest of the new dynasty."

"If I fail to accomplish my great mission, I will stop at Jiangdong."

Li Yun said seriously: "I have been supporting your family as well."

"wait wait wait!"

His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu suddenly stood up and stopped Li Yun from speaking. He hurriedly said, "Mr. Li, wait a moment!"

After saying that, the little fat boy ran out. Not long after, he returned to the main hall with his pen, ink, paper and inkstone.

He placed these things in front of Li Yun, and then looked at Li Yun sincerely.

"You...you have to sign a document!"

Li Yun couldn't help laughing: "Your Highness, it's really humorous."

"it is good."

Li Yun smiled and said, "I'll write this document for you."

Wu Yuanyou was overjoyed. He personally added water to grind the ink for Li Yun, spread out the paper, and flattened it with a paperweight.

Li Yun dipped the brush in ink and left him a note, which roughly meant that the lineage of the King of Chu would always be guests of the Li family.

After seeing Li Yun finish writing, Wu Yuanyou looked at Li Yun again. Li Yun understood what he meant, took out his personal seal from his waist, and stamped it on him. Wu Yuanyou picked up the note, carefully dried the ink, and then said to Li Yun: "If the mansion master succeeds in the future, this note will be priceless."

"It will become a family heirloom in my family."

Li Yun clicked his tongue and said, "Your Highness, as a Wu, aren't you afraid of being blamed by your ancestors for saying such things?"

"The ancestors chose my eldest brother, not me."

Wu Yuanyou smiled and said, "Besides, I have no choice. My ancestors will understand."

The two looked at each other and laughed.

These two people, one offered generations of wealth and the other sold out his ancestors, and they cooperated quite happily.

…………

After getting the clue from the Imperial City Bureau, the Ninth Bureau quickly took action.

On the fourth day after the incident, Liu Bo hurried back. After meeting Li Yun, he plunged into the urgent work.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Within a few days, more than two hundred people from the Imperial City Bureau and those related to the Imperial City Bureau were arrested in Jinling City.

Obviously, this is only a part of the Imperial City Bureau’s staff.

However, the city gates could no longer be closed.

This is not something that can be solved by simply closing the city gates for a few days.

If the city gates remain closed any longer, rumors about Jinling might spread outside.

On the day the city gate was opened, Du Qian brought a pot of wine to see Li Yun. The two sat opposite each other in the backyard of Li Garden and clinked glasses. After Du Qian toasted Li Yun with a glass of wine, he asked, "Erlang, about Zhou Chang's assassination..."

"It is basically certain that it was done by the Imperial City Bureau."

Li Yun raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, then said with a smile: "The Imperial City Division in the past one or two hundred years is really not simple. They have arrested so many people in just a few days. People in your family and my family are related to them."

Du Qian nodded first, then asked, "How is Erlang going to deal with them?"

"Ask first, and when you can't get anything out of it, consider disposing of it."

Du Qian frowned and said softly: "If this is the case, I'm afraid it will completely anger the court. At that time, the court will issue a letter of conquest or send troops to quell..."

"I already have a plan."

Li Yun told Du Qian about Wu Yuanyou, and then said with a smile: "He is the emperor's brother, and he is very useful. When the banner is raised, even if we are not united, at least we will not be criticized by thousands of people."

Du Qian thought about it seriously, then looked at Li Yun and asked, "When does Erlang plan to start a rebellion? If he does, I think the time will be ripe at least in the second half of next year."

"We have occupied too many new places, especially Huainan Road. It will take some time to digest them, and then we need to accumulate some more food."

There is nothing wrong with the word "start a rebellion" used by Du Qian here, because once the King of Chu is enthroned, it will be a real rebellion.

Li rubbed his brows and said, "It's too early to decide on a time now. I'll deal with this group of people from the Imperial City Bureau and see how the court reacts."

"If the imperial court sends troops to attack us, or instigates other forces to send troops to attack us, in the short term, we should attack instead of defend and accumulate strength."

"When the time is right."

Mr. Li smiled and said, "When the time is right, we will see if we are strong enough. If we are strong enough, we will not need the King of Chu as our banner."

"If it's not strong enough, then raise this big flag."

Supporting a new monarch will also have some side effects.

Others will say that you are plotting to usurp the throne and that your country is not founded in a just way.

Boss Cao in another world was scolded for one or two thousand years, and it was not until modern times that his reputation improved.

Li Yun was not afraid of being scolded, but was afraid that the new dynasty was not pure enough.

However, if he raised an army in his own name, finally won the world, and forced the emperor of Wu Zhou to abdicate, it would be relatively much more heroic.

These things are full of variables and cannot be decided at this time. They can only be regarded as one of the contingency plans.

The two discussed for a long time before finally deciding on the important matters for the next period of time.

The next day, Li Yun sent people to execute all those who were confirmed to be members of the Imperial City Bureau on the charge of being spies.

He came to the guild hall and met Zhou Chang again.

At this time, the young general looked much better.

Li Yun sat in front of him and smiled at him.

"Major General, let's..."

"We've discussed it again."

(End of this chapter)