Thief Emperor

Chapter 556: The King's Cause Gradually Becomes
"Saburo."

The emperor looked at Pei Huang's expression, then said calmly: "I know that you feel that what I am doing is wrong, but I have figured it out now."

He looked at Pei Huang, glanced around, and then said in a deep voice: "I have no one to use now."

"The only person who is actually doing anything in the court is Liang Wen, an old subordinate of Wang Junping who defected to the court."

"Let's not talk about whether he can succeed. Even if he can, after he occupies the Central Plains, can he return the Central Plains to the court intact?"

The emperor shook his head slightly: "I'm afraid it's difficult."

He whispered, "I don't trust anyone now. Everyone in the court, from the prime minister to the petty officials, has their own thoughts. Few people consider the country and the court."

"I, too, must consider the future."

At this time, there were no outsiders in Chongde Hall. The emperor walked down the steps and came to Pei Huang's side. He pulled Pei Huang and the two sat on the steps together. His Majesty looked at Pei Huang and said slowly: "Sanlang, you and I grew up together, and later we became relatives. Over the years, I have always regarded you as a friend."

"Tell me the truth, I..."

"Is he still the emperor?"

Pei Huang said without hesitation: "Your Majesty is of course the emperor, the only emperor in the world."

"It's just a title. Didn't you see that I issued an order to Jiangnan to dismiss Li Yun? What was the result?"

"Not only did Li Yun not get into any trouble, he immediately occupied Huainan Road. According to the report from the Imperial City Department, the southeast has almost become a country of its own."

"Neither you nor I can do anything."

"And don't talk about Li Yun, just talk about your Pei family."

The emperor looked at Pei Huang and asked a rather pointed question: "You, the Pei family, may not still regard me as the emperor."

Pei Huang was startled, then lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, I and my family will always serve Your Majesty, but the Hedong Pei family, I..."

"I can't influence them."

The emperor smiled and said nothing for a long time.

After a long time, he let out a breath of foul air silently, his voice becoming a little hoarse: "In the past two years, I felt very uncomfortable, especially when those three people were in the capital. I worried every day whether they would usurp the throne or kill the king."

"Now that they are gone, I still have no one to use. To put it bluntly, people's hearts have been dispersed."

The emperor narrowed his eyes and continued, "The three Jiedushi of Shuofang, Hedong, and Fanyang are all in the north. Since they have occupied such a large area, it is their business if the Khitans move south."

The emperor said silently: "For me, I have thought it through. The imperial court can hardly be a match for the northern governors. It is also difficult for the north to return to the imperial court."

"If the Great Zhou still has the Mandate of Heaven in the future, we can still occupy the south and become the Southern Dynasty in the future."

"If destiny doesn't work anymore."

The emperor's eyes were filled with sorrow, and his voice lowered: "Retreat to Bashu and guard Jianmen."

"Given the geographical advantage, we should just live in peace for now."

Bashu is a very suitable place for seclusion, because it can close its doors and only needs a small number of troops to maintain its regime.

The emperor's current military force, combined with the military force of the Jiannan Jiedushi, is definitely enough.

Before the Great Zhou Dynasty, there were separatist dynasties in Bashu, and there were more than one, and each of them lasted for two or three generations.

Pei Huang sighed silently after hearing this.

He knew that the emperor no longer had any ambition.

But it's not his fault.

The current Emperor is not a fool; even if one is being harsh in evaluating him, he can definitely be considered an average person.

If it were a peaceful time, he would be a peaceful emperor and there wouldn't be many problems.

But he has a bad luck.

After the experiences of these years, any normal person would probably feel cowardly.

Pei Huang lowered his head and said, "I understand what your majesty means."

"But your majesty, don't be too discouraged."

Pei Huang said in a low voice: "If the people in the north continue to fight like this, they may all be defeated. It is just right that no one has the energy to take care of Guanzhong at this time. We should take advantage of this opportunity to rebuild the imperial army."

"Wait for the right opportunity."

He looked at the emperor and whispered, "There are many retired generals in Guanzhong, as well as many sons of generals. I will go to visit them in the next few days and invite those with lofty ideals to reorganize the imperial guards and support the country."

"it is good."

The emperor nodded first, then smiled at Pei Huang and said, "Sanlang's method is actually just a matter of luck, and it's not much better than mine."

Pei Huang nodded silently, thinking of the young man he met in Xuanzhou.

If he could assist the Great Zhou court wholeheartedly, the court could still be saved. However, Pei Huang changed his mind and thought of the two great generals Zhao Tong and Su Jing, and sighed silently in his heart.

If Li Yun was truly loyal to the court and acted in accordance with its rules, he would never have progressed to this point in a few years.

At his current point, it was impossible for him to go the same way as the court.

Even if they were on the same path, after the deed was accomplished, the first person the emperor would kill would probably be Li Yun.

In a daze, Pei Huang had already left Chongde Hall. After walking a long way, he looked back at the hall behind him and let out a long sigh.

"How can it be less than ten years, with green bricks and blue tiles and splendid mountains and rivers?"

“It became like this…”

………………

In Jinling City, General Zhao Cheng married the daughter of Cao, a wealthy family in Jinling.

This wedding was quite lively.

In addition to almost all the civil and military officials of Jiangdong who were present, the relatives of the Cao family also filled the new Zhao residence.

This new house was bought by Li Yun for Zhao Cheng, and its specifications are only slightly smaller than Li Yuan.

In addition, the Cao family, as a wealthy family, was also very generous and gave an extra dowry of a house, countless gold, silver and jewelry.

General Zhao, who had been poor for half his life, suddenly became rich.

On that day, Li Yun personally officiated at the wedding of the newlyweds. After they entered the bridal chamber, a group of Jiangdong high-level officials sat together and drank and chatted happily.

Li Yun's tablemates include Du Qian, Su Sheng, Zhou Liang, Li Zheng, Liu Bo, Zhuo Guangrui, Xu Ang, Deng Yang and others.

The Jiangdong line is basically on this table.

Of course, there are also Fei Xuan and Yao Zhong, who are now working overtime outside on their duty. Even at the end of the year, they have not had time to rush back to Jinling and were unable to drink this glass of wedding wine.

As they were drinking, Du Qian looked at Zhuo Guangrui and said with a smile, "Brother Zhuo, you are in charge of the construction of the new city of Jinling. When will it be completed? Have you built a more impressive official residence for the higher-ups?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuo Guangrui put down the wine glass in his hand. He first looked at Li Yun, then at Du Qian, and said, "Mr. Du, the new city of Jinling will be almost completed in the second half of next year at the latest. As for the residence of the superior."

"I have reserved a piece of land, but my superiors have not told me what to build and how to build it, so I dare not do it on my own."

"Also, Du Sizheng's money for the second half of the year was not allocated in time, so the progress may slow down."

The Du Si Zheng he mentioned is Du Qian's third brother Du He, who is currently the Si Zheng of Jiangdong Duzhi Si, in charge of money and grain.

Du Qian was about to speak when Li Yun clinked glasses with Li Zheng and said with a smile, "The main thing for the new city is to build the city wall. The vacant plots of land in the new city can be sold to those businessmen, who can then build their own houses on them."

"However, the new city must be planned well. Where the streets and blocks are must be planned in advance. Merchants who buy land must build houses and shops according to government regulations."

At this point, Li Yun looked at Du Qian and said with a smile: "If we continue to sell like this, our new city may not necessarily lose money, and we may even make a small profit."

Du Qian frowned and said, "I'm afraid there won't be many people who will buy it if it's on the top?"

"This is simple."

Li Yun lowered his head to drink and said, "You can tell them clearly that the Jinling government office will still be in its current location in the future, but all government offices in Jiangdong will be moved to the new city."

He paused, then pointed at himself and said with a smile: "Including me, I will move there too."

Du Qian smiled upon hearing this and said, "If the superior moves there, it will immediately become lively. Those merchants are very sharp-eyed, and maybe they can actually sell it."

Right now, the administrative team of Jiangdong and the team of Jinling Prefecture are mixed together, but this is definitely temporary. After they gradually mature in the future, they will be divided into two teams.

Zhuo Guangrui seemed to be thinking about something, and asked, "How do you set the price?"

"Try to sell a block of land first, then wait and see for a while, and those merchants will come up with their own prices."

"besides."

Li Yun thought for a moment and said, "My house is not too big, the rules..."

"Just follow the rules of the duke."

"Also, don't sell all the land in the new city. Leave a few plots of land. I want to use them to house meritorious people in the army."

Zhuo Guangrui lowered his head and said, "Yes, I understand."

Du Qian poured a glass of wine for Li Yun, then looked at Zhuo Guangrui and said with a smile: "The new house for the new boss doesn't need to be very big, but the space that should be left should be left well."

"In the future, there will definitely be a palace to be built."

Zhuo Guangrui looked at Li Yun and saw that the latter did not speak. He raised his glass, clinked it with Du Qian, and said with a smile: "Yes, I will definitely leave a piece..."

"There's a big open space."

(End of this chapter)