Thief Emperor

Chapter 571 How Many People in the World Can Be Kings?
As soon as Yao Zhong said this, everyone's eyes fell on him.

But soon, these eyes shifted to Du Qian again.

When Li Yun is not in Jinling, Du Qian, the second-in-command, is the absolute backbone, and Du Qian can be said to be the undoubted leader of the Jiangdong civil servants.

Du Qian looked at Yao Zhong with strange eyes and didn't say anything for a long time. After a long while, he sat back in his seat and said silently: "Brother Juzhong, is this your idea, or do you and Master Fei have the same idea?"

Yao Zhong looked at Du Qian, then at Xu Ang and Zhuo Guangrui, smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Du, Mr. Fei also meant the same thing. You know, Mr. Fei is now the governor of Jiangdong, and he is under a lot of pressure."

Du Qian nodded, then looked at Xu Ang and Zhuo Guangrui and asked, "Brother Zhuo, Brother Ziwang, what about you?"

The two men looked at each other. Xu Ang was more straightforward, so he said directly: "This matter depends on the superior. If the superior has this intention, whether he is crowned as king or emperor directly, I will accept it."

"If the superiors don't say anything, I won't say a word more."

Zhuo Guangrui thought about it seriously, then shook his head and said, "Mr. Du, I and others have only been doing our best to do our work in our own small piece of land. Let alone what's happening outside, even in Jiangdong and Jinling City, except for my hometown Wu County, I don't know much about what's happening in other places."

"It is not my place to comment on this matter."

After a pause, he continued, "But I believe in you, my superior, and I also believe in Lord Du. If Lord Du has any ideas, I am willing to agree with them."

Du Qian smiled, looked at Yao Zhong, and said, "Brother Juzhong, sit down and let's talk slowly."

Only then did Yao Zhong find a chair and sit down, looking at Du Qian honestly.

Seeing that all three people were seated, Du Qian stood up, put his hands behind his back and said, “Last year, the superior said nine words to me.”

"Build high walls, store up food, and..."

He looked at the three people and continued, "Hurry up and claim the throne."

"Now, Jiangdong has been doing the first two things, and Brother Zhuo has also been building the new city of Jinling. Jiangdong can be said to be thriving. If this is the case, then there is nothing wrong with what the superior said before."

"If you have any opinions or suggestions, please wait for the Master to come back from the north and present them to him individually. It shouldn't be difficult for anyone in this room to see the Master today."

"As for private collusion to persuade people to step down."

Du Qian shook his head slightly: "I don't think it's appropriate. I won't participate."

"But since we are talking about this today, I would like to share my opinion. I think that one can be crowned king, but he cannot be crowned king now, and he cannot be the first to be crowned king without the approval of the court."

"This way, you will become the target of public criticism, and it will be much more difficult to do things after you get promoted."

"As for the status."

Du Qian walked several steps with his hands behind his back and didn't speak for a long time.

Yao Zhong and Fei Xuan are now inspecting criminal cases throughout Jiangdong in the name of the Judicial Inspection Office. However, according to the Zhou system, the imperial court does not have such an office.

That's why people say he is nameless and has no status, and even Yao Zhong himself is scolded and criticized.

By the same token, the provincial governors and county magistrates sent by Li Yun from Nanjing to various places were theoretically illegal. They were "fake officials" without a real name and had no legal basis.

This is also one of the biggest hidden problems in Jiangdong at present, that is, there is no legitimacy of rule and no legal basis.

What is more troublesome is that Jiangdong has its own court institutions. However, if Fei Xuan, the Jiangdong Surveillance Commissioner, or the Jinling Prefecture is used to administer the area, then Li Yun's position as the core of Jiangdong will be lost, which will lead to bigger and more problems.

"I will write an urgent letter to the superior, asking him to order a captain battalion to be transferred from the Jinling Army to be with Brother Juzhong and Master Fei."

Du Qian also got angry and said in a deep voice: "Take a battalion of lieutenants down there, and you will have a reputation wherever you go!"

Yao Zhong thought for a moment and whispered, "Mr. Du, I feel that the situation is different now. The previous emperor was still dormant, so the nine words are certainly correct. Now Jiangdong has actually become a country of its own, and no one else can invade..."

Du Qian frowned: "Others can't get in, but they are in a higher position and want to get out!"

"Okay, let's leave it at that. If you have any opinions, you can write directly to the higher-ups. I won't stop you."

Seeing that Du Qian, who was usually good-tempered, also got angry, Yao Zhong was shocked. He quickly stood up, bowed his head, and dared not speak.

Du Qian took a few deep breaths and calmed down a bit. He looked at the hundreds of test papers piled on the table, his expression relaxed again, and he said, "Brother Juzhong is back just in time. We are very annoyed by the ranking of the Jinling Literary Competition this year. Brother Juzhong was the champion of last year's competition. Please stay and help to select the three hundred people."

Yao Zhong was startled, then quickly waved his hands and said, "Mr. Du remembered it wrongly. The champion of last year's literary gathering was Xu Kun, the governor of Hezhou."

"Not a subordinate."

Du Qian looked at him with a half-smile, and said with a smile: "Brother Juzhong is very alert. No matter who is the leader, you should stay and help."

After a pause, he asked, "Should we report our conversation today to the higher-ups?"

Xu Ang, who had been silent, suddenly said, "I will report the truth to my superiors." Du Qian nodded and said calmly, "Okay, then we will write our own and have Jiusi send it to the north."

"Now, let's deal with the literary meeting first."

He was the backbone. As soon as he spoke, everyone sat down and helped organize the test papers for the literary meeting.

Du Qian was busy until the evening. He then stood up and prepared to invite several colleagues to dinner. Xu Ang and Yao Zhong went home to change clothes. Du Qian and Zhuo Guangrui stayed in the study to do the final arrangements.

At this moment, there were only two of them left in the room. Du Qian looked at Zhuo Guangrui and suddenly said with a smile, "Brother Zhuo, did you feel it?"

Zhuo Guangrui put down the test paper in his hand, was silent for a while, and nodded slowly: "The power of the upper position is getting stronger and stronger, so people are restless."

"Ah."

Du Qian walked to the basin in the corner of the room, washed his face, and after drying it, he shook his head slightly and said, "At least, among our civil servants, many people are already impatient."

"Most of those generals are thinking..."

“It’s urgent too.”

When a force develops to a certain size, the leader no longer has the final say, not even the founder.

For example, the matter of "persuading".

Li Yun was previously the Jiangdong Surveillance Commissioner, and all the people under his command were ranked below the position of Jiangdong Surveillance Commissioner.

These people may not necessarily want to make progress, or may not necessarily want to have a contribution to the country's succession and share the country's fortunes in the future.

Maybe he feels embarrassed to take the position, so he is waiting for the people below to persuade him to take the position?
If you can guess the thoughts of your superior, wouldn't wealth and glory come to you in an instant?

It's only a matter of time anyway, so why not give it a push early?

Zhuo Guangrui stopped what he was doing, looked at Du Qian, and asked, "What does Mr. Du think?"

"What I just said is what I thought in my heart."

"but…"

Du Qian looked towards the north and chuckled, "If the emperor can achieve some success in the north, such as defeating the Khitan, even if it is only a small victory, he will become famous. At that time, regardless of whether the court will promote him or not, the emperor can actually do whatever he wants."

Zhuo Guangrui thought for a moment and replied, "If someone else becomes king first..."

"That would be much easier to handle."

Du Qian was startled, then he said softly: "Once the battle of Fanyang is fought, as long as the imperial court does it again, someone will definitely... declare himself king."

He looked towards the west and sighed silently, "When the time comes, Guanzhong will probably be in ruins again."

……

Spring of the fourth year of Zhaoding.

Just as Li Yun was marching northward to jointly resist the Khitan with the Fanyang army, Liang Wen, the imperially appointed Henan Road Recruiting Envoy, holding the emperor's edict and, in the name of the imperial court, started from Ruzhou and recovered seven or eight states along the way. He finally reached the territory of Henan Prefecture and approached the city of Luoyang.

Luoyang was once occupied by Wang Junping. After Wang Junping entered Guanzhong and the capital, this place was occupied by people sent by Lingwu County King Wei Quanzhong for quite a long time.

Later, the Prince of Lingwu also led his people back to Shuofang, and this place actually became an ownerless land.

The imperial court has not yet recovered and can only rule Guanzhong. It has no time to manage Luoyang, which has been occupied by some local forces.

Moreover, they did not pay any money or grain to the imperial court, and the imperial court was unable to resume administrative control over the area.

Now, Liang Wen, the envoy of Liang, led his troops to surround Luoyang City.

The envoy Liang, who was born a rebel, was riding on a tall horse. He looked at the Luoyang City right in front of him in a daze and did not speak for a long time.

Next to him was a general who had always followed him, named Yang Hou, who was about thirty years old and had a long knife wound on his face, looking hideous and terrifying.

He looked at Liang Wen and said with a smile: "Marshal, Wang Junping became king after occupying Luoyang. Now that we have occupied Luoyang, you can also become king!"

Liang Wen looked at him, then looked at Luoyang City and smiled softly.

"No, after occupying Luoyang..."

"I would like to ask the court to send officials to Luoyang."

(End of this chapter)