Thief Emperor

Chapter 660: Rogue
Xiaoguan.

Liang Wen was covered in blood, standing on the city wall of Xiaoguan, his eyes filled with hostility.

He clenched his fists viciously, his voice was hoarse, and he could even be said to be gritting his teeth.

"Damn it, damn it!"

He cursed countless times before finally sitting down on the ground, gasping for breath.

There are only more than 10,000 Shuofang troops stationed in Xiaoguan, or even less than 20,000.

They fought from the inside out and attacked fiercely for five or six days before they finally captured Xiaoguan and drove the more than 10,000 Shuofang troops out of Guanzhong.

In the end, the Shuofang Army suffered only about 5,000 casualties.

As for Liang Wen's troops, because of their reckless attack, over ten thousand casualties have been reported. If the seriously injured are included, the number could even be around fifteen thousand!

This has already caused great damage to the Duke of Liang.

But no matter what, Xiaoguan was successfully captured.

After conquering Xiaoguan, he would be qualified to occupy Guanzhong!
A pass like Xiaoguan is relatively easy to attack from the inside out. However, as long as we defend the pass and attack from the outside in, it would be extremely difficult. Even for the Shuofang Army, it would be difficult to take it down without losing many people.

When Liang Wen was cursing because of his distress, his subordinate Yang Hou came running over and said to Liang Wen, "Marshal, Xiaoguan has been cleaned up."

"Now, we have successfully occupied it."

Liang Wen hummed, took a deep breath, and said in a hoarse voice: "These Shuofang troops are really fucking hard to deal with. Really fucking hard to deal with!"

He was extremely annoyed and shouted angrily: "I will get back all the losses I suffered today from the court!"

Yang Hou hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Marshal, part of our troops are now in Tongguan. We also need to leave some troops to garrison Xiaoguan. There are still tens of thousands of imperial guards in the capital..."

Liang Wen sneered, "I am barefoot and not afraid of those who wear shoes, so why should I be afraid of the damn court? You stay here to guard Xiaoguan for me, and I will go to the capital to ask for the wealth and honor that we brothers deserve!"

After saying this, Liang Wen whispered a few words in Yang Hou's ear. After the latter nodded, he wore the blood-stained battle robe without even changing his clothes, and rode a fast horse with a team of personal soldiers, heading straight for the capital.

Because he traveled all the way on horseback, Liang Wen arrived in the capital in just a few days. After entering the capital, he went all the way to the gate of the imperial city, shouting loudly, demanding to see the emperor.

Lord Liang is now in a high position. His entry into the capital was naturally noticed by the Imperial City Bureau. Soon, Eunuch Gao from the palace came out to greet him. When he saw him, his face changed. He quickly asked, "Lord Liang, how can you be so disrespectful that you don't even change into clean clothes?"

"His Majesty is summoning you!"

"Hurry up, come to our house, take a shower and change clothes."

Liang Wen's lips were cracked. He looked up at Eunuch Gao and grinned, "Eunuch, we are old acquaintances. In the future, we may have more areas for cooperation. Today, I cannot change this dress no matter what."

Eunuch Gao was also a smart man. He immediately understood what he meant. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Well, I will take you to see the emperor."

Led by Eunuch Gao, Liang Wen arrived at the Chongde Hall, knelt before the emperor with a plop, and said in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, I, Liang Wen, kowtow to you."

His body was covered in blood, and he hadn't showered or changed clothes for a few days, so he naturally smelled bad. Fortunately, it was still winter, so the smell wasn't particularly strong. The emperor just frowned slightly, and forced a smile on his face: "I have heard about the battle at Xiaoguan, Liang Qing has worked hard."

"I will greatly reward the soldiers of Xiaoguan and Lord Liang."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Liang Wen knelt on the ground and still did not get up, but he looked up at the emperor, then lowered his head again and said, "Your Majesty, I have a few important matters to report to Your Majesty in private."

The emperor frowned again when he heard this, and looked at the blood on his body again. He felt a little scared, so he said calmly: "There are no outsiders or foreign officials here, only a few palace maids. If you have anything to say, just say it directly."

"Yes."

Liang Wen looked up at the emperor, and this time he did not lower his head. He said slowly: "Your Majesty, my men suffered heavy casualties during the attack on Xiaoguan this time. The morale of the army is already somewhat unstable."

"Your Highness, I need a generous reward from the court."

His Majesty the Emperor said calmly: "I just said that I will reward the meritorious soldiers and Liang Qing generously."

Liang Wen thanked him and continued, "Your Majesty, I do not ask for any other reward. This time, I risked my life and fulfilled your Majesty's request. However, if you want to defend Tongguan and Xiaoguan, as well as the other two passes in Guanzhong, the troops under my command are not enough."

The emperor smiled and said, "Sanguan and Wuguan are guarded by imperial guards, so Liang Qing doesn't need to worry about them."

"I know, but at this time, with foreign enemies surrounding us, Guanzhong needs to be stable, and we also need a backbone to take charge of all parties, so..."

Liang Wen looked up at the emperor with a calm expression: "I ask...to control the imperial guards."

He said this in an extremely calm manner.

His Majesty the Emperor was stunned.

He even suspected that he had heard it wrong. After frowning, he asked in confusion: "What did you say?" Liang Wen raised his head and looked up at Jun.

"Your Majesty, I request that the Imperial Guards be controlled."

"Be bold!"

The emperor glared at him and shouted, "You already have tens of thousands of troops under your command, and you still want to control the imperial guards. What do you want to do?"

"How dare a minister make such a request to me? Liang Wen, you are so brave!"

"If it weren't for your merits, I would have issued an edict right now to have you beheaded!"

Liang Wen was not afraid at all. He even stood up, looked up at the emperor, and said calmly: "Then please issue an edict, Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, the Shuofang Army has been provoked. Wei Quanzhong will certainly deploy his troops outside the pass. If I do not leave the capital for ten days and do not send a letter to Xiaoguan, the commander of Xiaoguan will open the gate and surrender to Wei Quanzhong."

"Wei Quanzhong lost so many troops in the hands of the imperial court. If he goes back again."

Liang Wen did not continue speaking, but said expressionlessly: "Your Majesty, I am a worthless person and I should have died long ago. If Your Majesty wants to kill me, I will wait for your death."

After saying this, the Duke of Liang looked at the emperor quietly, then turned away and said, "I have a house in the capital. I will go back home and wait for your majesty's reward or your majesty's sword."

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

After saying that, he strode away.

The emperor was left with a livid face and trembling hands.

His Majesty, after being shocked, was extremely angry. He clenched his fists and said in a trembling voice: "They are all traitors, all traitors!"

"They are all traitors!"

…………

Half a day later, Cui Yuan, the Prime Minister, dressed in casual clothes, came to Liang Wen's residence in the capital. When he was invited in, Liang Wen had already washed himself and changed into new clothes. After seeing Cui Yuan, Liang Wen bowed his head with a smile and said, "Greetings, Prime Minister Cui."

Cui Yuan returned the greeting with a bow and sighed, "I have come here in compliance with the imperial decree to have a talk with Lord Liang."

Liang Wen's smile widened, and he said with a smile: "I understand, I understand."

"Prime Minister Cui invited me. I have prepared some wine and food."

The two of them walked into the warm room of the mansion one after the other and sat down. Cui Xianggong took the tea poured by Liang Wen and sighed: "Before, Duke Liang was on good terms with the court, and His Majesty also trusted Duke Liang. How could he turn against you so suddenly?"

"no way."

Liang Wen said helplessly: "So many people are eyeing the Central Plains, I can't defend it anyway. The court just ordered me to attack Xiaoguan, so I had to take this opportunity to retreat to Guanzhong."

"Mr. Cui, I'm in Xiaoguan, fighting hard."

Cui Xiang sighed: "I know."

Liang Wen said as a matter of course: "I fought so hard, of course I have to get some reward, otherwise, those brothers under my command would have died in vain."

He continued, "Before the rebellion, I was a businessman. No matter what, I can't lose money in business."

He grinned: "Anyway, I have no life left. If the court wants to kill me and send the imperial guards to the north to fight against the Shuofang Army, I am willing to accept the defeat."

"I died with my whole heart."

Cui Xianggong said silently: "How about giving you a high position and generous salary, and conferring an official title?"

"No."

Liang Wen answered very straightforwardly. He clenched his fists and said in a deep voice: "So many people have died. It's a loss to give me any title!"

He looked up at Cui Yuan and said slowly, "Prime Minister Cui is highly respected. I will tell you the truth. I lost Luoyang and lost so many of my brothers. At this time, only if you give me Guanzhong as compensation, I will not lose out."

"Otherwise, it will be a huge loss."

Lord Liang smiled and said, "We in business cannot afford to suffer losses. If we suffer losses, it is no different from death."

"If the court disagrees, then kill me."

Cui Xianggong looked at him silently and sighed, "I have checked and found that you are not a businessman. You are a scoundrel who smuggled salt."

Liang Wen raised his head slightly, with a hint of pride.

"I am a scoundrel."

(End of this chapter)