Thief Emperor

Chapter 560: Another path!
If it was a military campaign, the five people present at this time, including Li Zheng, probably would not let Li Yun go.

But when it came to the topic of righteousness, several people stopped talking immediately.

After all, this kind of righteousness is extremely important for future uprisings.

For example, Li Yun now, for no reason, directly raised the flag of rebellion. Even though the flag he raised was the big flag of Chu King Wu Yuanyou, in the eyes of most people, he was still a conspirator who was planning a rebellion.

By then, the only people who could understand and support him would probably be the people of Jiangdong who had benefited from him.

If Li Yun personally led his troops north to fight against the Khitans at this time and took the lead in gaining a righteous cause, he would immediately become famous, which would be of great benefit to future uprisings.

To put it simply, it means going out to gain some reputation.

After Zhou Liang thought about it seriously, he said, "It is naturally no problem for you to go north, but I think it is more appropriate to take General Su north."

Zhou Liang’s meaning is very simple.

If Li Zheng is taken with him, the actual commander of the army must be Li Yun himself. After all, although Li Zheng has accumulated a lot of combat experience in the south during this period of time, fighting in the south of Jiangnan East Road is more like "suppressing bandits" rather than leading troops in battle.

If Li Yun could take Su Sheng to the north, it would be different. At that time, Li Yun would only need to show his face in the north and build up his reputation, and then he could quietly return to the south and hand over the military affairs in the north to Su Sheng's command.

This is not because Zhou Liang, who also came from the old village, stabbed Li Zheng in the back. It is because he watched Li Zheng grow up and was not very confident in Li Zheng's abilities.

Deng Yang looked at everyone cautiously, then lowered his head and did not express any opinion.

Among all the people present here, he has the lowest seniority. Usually, unless it involves him or matters concerning the Jinling Army, Deng Yang would remain silent.

Su Sheng thought about it seriously, took the letter from General Xiao and read it again, then said, "Sir, if our army goes north, when will you go north?"

"The beginning of spring."

Li Yun had already thought of the rules in his mind. He said without hesitation, "I will have to wait until I finish the affairs of this year's Jinling Literary Festival before I can go north. However, the army can leave before me, and I will follow on horseback."

He stretched out his fingers, calculated the time, and said, "During this period of time, I will send people to communicate with the Pinglu Army and then communicate with General Xiao."

Su Sheng thought about it seriously and whispered, "I still think that being in a position of power requires thoroughness. A little bit of false reputation is not worth the risk."

"I'm not the emperor yet."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Even if I become the emperor, I will not be an emperor who sits in the court and does not leave. Besides, I am not made of clay, everyone here."

He looked at everyone and asked, "Who can beat me?"

Su Sheng bowed his head and said, "To be in power, marching and fighting is not a matter of personal courage..."

"OK OK."

Seeing that he wanted to say more, Li Yun looked at everyone and said, "I have decided to go for this matter. Even if it means just going to Youzhou for a visit, I will go. However, the person I take with me does not necessarily have to be Li Zheng."

He smiled and said, "After all, this guy just got married, and I'm counting on him to give birth to a nephew for me soon."

"You can discuss who to take with you. I respect the result of your discussion."

After saying that, he stood up directly.

Several generals bowed their heads slightly and saluted him with their fists clasped.

"Subordinates, obey your orders."

...

After the meeting, several generals gathered together again and discussed for a long time. It was not until the evening that they dispersed in Li Garden.

When it was getting dark, Li Yun had someone stop Su Sheng who was about to leave, and asked Li Yuan's people to prepare a small table of wine and food, and the two of them sat across the table from each other.

After they sat down, the two of them toasted each other. After a few drinks, Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile, "When you welcomed me to Jiangdong, you brought a lot of brothers and sisters. I remember two of them have grown up and are now in the army with me."

Su Sheng nodded and said, "Yes, now both of them are my brigade commanders."

He looked at Li Yun and asked with a smile, "Erlang, do you want to see them for something?"

"Nothing else."

Li Yun smiled and said, "I am in need of a follower. I wanted to find a smart one among my brother's brothers to follow me. But since I am already a brigade commander in the army, forget it."

Su Sheng was stunned at first, then looked up at Li Yun.

Li Yun lowered his head to drink and said with a smile: "Zhou Bi has been with me for more than two years. He is an adult now. It is impossible for him to always be by my side as an attendant."

"After the New Year, I plan to consider arranging some serious work for him."

The follower system is one of Li Yun's ways to cultivate his own confidants. The first follower was Meng Hai, one of the young men from Hexi. Later, when Zhou Bi came to take over, Meng Hai led him for a while, and then slowly shifted his focus to Jiusi.

Until now, Meng Hai is still the main connection hub between Li Yun and Jiusi.

As for Zhou Bi, it is almost time for him to "graduate". Li Yun plans to slowly arrange him into the inspection system where Zhou Liang is. In the future, Zhou Bi will also become the hub of communication between Li Yun and the inspection system.

These two people are his trusted confidants, and can be said to be his most trusted confidants.

Take Zhou Bi's current situation for example. Even though he has no errands, when he walks in Jinling City, all the officials and generals are polite to him.

Even including Du Qian.

Su Sheng was not a fool. He was also very aware of the importance of Zhou Bi's mission. With a slight thought in his mind, he stood up, bent down to add more wine to Li Yun, and said with a smile: "Go up, my two adult brothers are indeed not suitable, but I still have two younger brothers, one thirteen and one fifteen."

"The one born in the 15th year is called Su Zhan. He is the fifth child in my family and the smartest one among the brothers in our family."

Su Sheng looked at Li Yun and said with a smile, "It just so happens that he doesn't have anything else to do right now. The boss is in need of an errand boy. I'll ask him to come in a few days."

Li Yun pulled his sleeve, motioned him to sit down, and said with a smile: "We brothers are drinking in private, why do you keep saying you are the best? Sit down and talk, sit down and talk."

Su Sheng laughed: "Isn't this asking for help? Naturally, I have to be humble."

Li Yun clinked glasses with him and said with a smile, "Then it's settled. There's no need to rush over. Let's do this, after the Lantern Festival, let him come to find me."

"In the past few months, I have asked him to work with Zhou Bi to help me with my work. If they are suitable for each other, he will take Zhou Bi's place in the future."

"But this job requires cleverness and hard work, so he might not be suitable for it."

Li Yun looked at Su Sheng and said with a smile: "I can only arrange other tasks for him. Don't blame me when the time comes, brother."

"What kind of words are these?"

Su Sheng offered a glass of wine to Li Yun and said with a smile, "If he is not suitable, then he just doesn't have this fate."

"Come, I'll give a toast to Jiro."

The two brothers clinked their glasses and drank the wine in one gulp.

…………

The seventh day of the lunar month.

Du Qian and Zhuo Guangrui came to Li Garden together with a very detailed drawing and handed the drawing to Li Yun for review.

It snowed these days, and Mr. Li was holding his eldest son and playing in the snow. After seeing Du Zhuo and the others, he handed the child to the servant beside him and said with a smile, "Why are you two here?"

"After working day and night for the past few days, we finally finalized the planning of the new city."

Du Qian looked at Zhuo Guangrui and said with a smile, "Brother Zhuo and I are very happy. Let's take it over to the superior to see if it works."

Li Yun took the blueprint and said in surprise, "Isn't it the New Year's Day? Didn't you two take a break?"

Du and Zhuo looked at each other, then looked at Li Yun and sighed, "This is the busiest time. There is no New Year's Day to speak of. Even Brother Zhuo is busy day and night because of this matter."

"The superiors probably don't know that Brother Zhuo's sister-in-law went to the government office to question him because he often stayed out all night. She made a big fuss."

Zhuo Guangrui looked embarrassed, and quickly bowed to Li Yun and said, "Don't worry, sir. I have already taught that ignorant woman a lesson, and she won't dare to mess around again."

Li Yun looked at him and smiled dumbly: "Things cannot be accomplished in a day or two. You need to rest when you need to."

As he spoke, he looked at the picture, thought for a while, and nodded, "It looks good, but this is a big deal. I need to take a serious look at it for a couple of days before I get back to you."

Li Yun took the two people to the warm room of Li Garden and sat them down. After having someone serve them tea, he smiled and asked, "In two months, it will be the Jinling Literary Festival this year. How are you preparing, Brother Du?"

"After the New Year, I'm afraid I'll have to keep busy with this matter."

Du Qian looked at Li Yun and sighed softly, "I'm afraid the superiors don't know yet, but now, all the inns in Jinling have begun to raise their prices."

Li Yun was stunned: "It's only the first month of the year, and someone has come to Nanjing?"

Du Qian and Zhuo Guangrui looked at each other, and Zhuo Guangrui smiled and said, "The superiors don't know the thoughts of those who seek official positions."

"Since last autumn, a large number of scholars have gathered in Jinling City."

Zhuo Guangrui bowed to Li Yun and said with a smile.

"Congratulations on your promotion. The Southeast Science and Technology Department is probably already established."

(End of this chapter)