Thief Emperor

Chapter 687: "Loyal" Zhou Chen
In the past, when Li Yun led troops into battle, he always led the troops and served as the commander on the front line. But this time, it was his first time to serve as the chief commander, sitting in the rear and coordinating everything.

But even so, he has stayed in Xiangzhou for too long. As the battle line moves forward, the King of Wu's headquarters, as the heart of the front-line army, also needs to follow up.

Simply put, Li Yun needs to move his headquarters to Tangzhou.

This time, in addition to moving to Tangzhou to be closer to the front line, Li Yun also planned to live in Tangzhou for a longer period of time, so that in the future, after careful consideration, he could legitimately establish his ancestral home here.

Rebuild the Tang Dynasty!
Just two days before the King of Wu's headquarters was about to move, Wang Yan, the prime minister of Wu Zhou who had informed Li Yun through the Imperial City Bureau and wanted to meet Li Yun, finally arrived in Xiangzhou.

The prime minister, who was already in his fifties, was in a state of distress and dust as he had traveled so quickly. He only had time to change his clothes before he came to Li Yun's headquarters "accompanied" by the Nine Officials.

After arriving at the headquarters, Su Zhan came to greet him. Su Zhan looked up and down at the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, who had disheveled hair and looked a little embarrassed. He just nodded slightly and said, "Come with me."

While Wang Yan was fixing his hair, he looked at Su Zhan and asked, "Is he the young general from General Su's family?"

Su Zhan glanced back at him and frowned, "Do you recognize me?"

"I was given the task in a time of crisis. Before I came here, I read some documents from the Imperial City Department."

He looked at Su Zhan and said softly, "I roughly know the names of the people around Lord Li. Seeing that the young general has an extraordinary demeanor, I made a guess."

Su Zhan narrowed his eyes and groaned, "What's the point of guessing it? There is an irreconcilable grudge between my family and the Wu family. Can I still reminisce with you?"

Wang Yan smiled bitterly and said, "Young General, please don't be so angry. Regardless of the truth of what happened back then, even if what you said is true, it has nothing to do with me. This century-old shocking event, I..."

"I am also a victim."

He sighed and said, "My elder brother, Wang Du, also died in this incident."

Su Zhan groaned and just led the way, ignoring him. After a while, Su Zhan brought him to the door of Li Yun's study. At this time, there were a dozen people in the study, who were packing up documents and preparing to move under the command of Zhang Sui. After Su Zhan went in, he said something to Li Yun. Not long after, Li Yun, in a gray robe, walked out with his hands behind his back.

He was tall, and the thin Wang Yan looked like a chicken in front of him. However, Wang Yan was the prime minister after all, and his momentum was not much inferior to Li Yun. He just looked up at Li Yun, then smiled and bowed, saying: "It's true that hearing about him is not as good as meeting him in person. Lord Li is more majestic than I imagined."

Li Yun didn't respond, but looked at him with a smile.

Wang Yan frowned at first, then sighed, and bowed again, saying, "Greetings, King Wu."

Li Yun then nodded and said with a smile: "I am packing up here, so it is not convenient to talk. Wang Xiang and I will go to the front hall to talk."

Wang Yan could only nod. He followed Li Yun and soon they arrived at the front hall of the headquarters and sat down. After they were seated, Li Yun looked at him and said calmly, "Prime Minister Wang and Prime Minister Wang Du are brothers?"

Wang Yan sighed: "Cousin."

He looked at Li Yun and continued, "When my brother died for his country, I was only an assistant minister of six ministries. Because of my brother's death and the fact that there is no one available in the court, I have been shamelessly occupying the position of prime minister in the past few years."

Li Yun just nodded slightly and said nothing.

Wang Yan looked at Li Yun and continued, "Just now, the prince asked me to change my name to king. It seems that the prince... still wants the court to recognize him."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Prime Minister Wang may have misunderstood. I don't want the court's approval. It's just that I have just been the King of Wu for a short time, so I like others to call me that."

Wang Yan was about to say something, but he held it back. He looked at Li Yun, thinking, and then he said, "My Lord, no matter what you Jiangdong people say, it is absolutely true that you are a minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty. This fact cannot be erased even after thousands of years."

He looked at Li Yun and said sternly, "You started an uprising from Jiangdong for no reason. You have no title and no reason."

Wang Xiang said in a heavy voice: "Without a legitimate reason, even if we win for a while, we will surely lose in the future."

Li Yun looked at him, put down the teacup in his hand, and said calmly: "To punish the criminals and punish the people, are these four words enough to justify the cause?"

Wang Yan shook his head very seriously and said, "Your Highness, the chaos in the world is caused by natural disasters and man-made disasters. Although the court has made mistakes, they are not serious enough to deserve punishment."

"Not to mention raising an army to attack."

Li Yun was a little unhappy. He said expressionlessly, "What Wang Xiang meant was that the drought in the Central Plains was a natural disaster, and Wang Junping's rebellion was a man-made disaster."

Wang Yan looked at Li Yun and said, "That's right."

Li Yun looked at him and narrowed his eyes: "If the court handles it properly, how can a natural disaster turn into a man-made disaster?"

"In the third year of Xian De, there was a riot in Shidai County, Xuanzhou. Did Prime Minister Wang know about it?"

Wang Yan looked confused and shook his head.

Li Yun asked again: "In the same year, Qiu Dian of Yuezhou broke out in rebellion. Did Prime Minister Wang know about it?"

Wang Yan seemed to be thinking about something, and then he said, "I vaguely remember some of it, but I was not at the center at that time, so I don't know much about it."

Hearing this, Li Yun smiled and said nothing.

He didn't say anything, and Wang Yan became a little anxious.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty means that the court can officially enthrone you as the King of Wu." "Hereditary succession!"

Wang Yan whispered, "Moreover, the territory that Your Majesty has occupied now can all belong to the State of Wu. As long as Your Majesty does not continue to advance, the imperial decree will be issued next month."

Li Yun opened his eyes and looked at Wang Yan, smiling and saying, "I heard that the Shuofang Army has already entered the Central Plains. If I agree to the court's request, how will the court deal with the Shuofang Army?"

Wang Yan answered straightforwardly: "I will be crowned king as one."

"If the prince does not march into the Central Plains, Wei Quanzhong will not have the right to march into the Central Plains."

"Tsk."

Li Yun couldn't help but shake his head and sighed, and then asked: "Over the years, the Imperial City Bureau has not only attempted to assassinate me many times, but also intended to assassinate people close to me. In addition, it also instigated the scholars in Jiangdong to discredit me."

Wang Yan answered without hesitation: "All the people related to the Imperial City Department can be handed over to His Majesty for disposal."

Li Yun smiled: "Are these the conditions the emperor agreed to?"

Wang Yan nodded: "How can I dare to nod without your Majesty's consent?"

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea with a strange smile on his face: "Prince Wang, what do you think of the emperor's actions?"

Wang Yan looked around and sighed, "To be honest, Your Majesty is already a little panicked and at a loss as to what to do. I think this is unwise."

Li Yun glanced at him and said, "Why did Wang Xiang make this trip? He not only wastes his own time, but also mine."

"This is all official business. I have to come."

He lowered his head and took a sip of tea, then looked up at Li Yun and continued, "In addition to official business, there are some private matters that must be discussed after meeting the prince in person."

Li Yun became interested and said, "Tell me about it."

Wang Yan put down his teacup and whispered, "Your Highness, most of the officials in the capital are not from the capital, including our Wang family. The court is weak now, and the court cannot control or inquire about matters outside Guanzhong."

"so…"

He looked at Li Yun, took a deep breath, and said, "Some people want to communicate with the prince and help him."

Li Yun froze in place, then narrowed his eyes and looked at Wang Yan: "What does Prime Minister Wang mean?"

Wang Yan looked at Li Yun and said calmly, "Your Highness, I think you are short of people here, right?"

Li Yun looked at him steadily, then burst into laughter.

He chuckled twice, then burst into laughter.

In the end, he couldn't help it, so he stood up from his chair and laughed several times.

Wang Yan couldn't hold back his expression. He also laughed and coughed, "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

The smile on Li Yun's face faded. He turned around and looked at Wang Yan, smiling brightly again: "No problem, any of you who have served as officials can come to me, but I can't guarantee that you will use it."

Li Yun smiled: "Moreover, regarding the origins of these people, Jiangdong has unanimously stated to the outside world that they were captured and surrendered officials."

Wang Yan breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Li Yun and said, "With your words, I feel relieved."

He took out a document from his sleeve and handed it to Li Yun, saying, "These are the people from the Wang family who are coming to seek refuge with the prince. They have all been officials before and do not ask for anything else but a small official position. The prince will select talents for employment in the future."

Li Yun took it with a smile. Just as he was about to speak, the old man took out another list and said softly, "Your Highness, this is... this is part of the list of the Imperial City Bureau."

"Imperial City Division? The Imperial City Division also wants..."

Li Yun stopped talking abruptly. He looked up at Wang Yan and understood.

This list of names from the Imperial City Bureau was the "greeting gift" that Wang gave to Li Yun. It was also the political "capital" for Wang's descendants to join Jiangdong.

After saying this, the old man took out the third list.

"This is a list of names that other families in the capital asked me to pass on to His Majesty."

"Please take a look at it, Your Majesty."

Li Yun reached out to take it, then looked up at Wang Yan, and the smile on his face became more friendly.

"Prince Wang, you have traveled a long way, and it must have been very hard."

"Come on, come on, I'll treat you to a drink and welcome you back home."

(End of this chapter)