Thief Emperor

Chapter 705: Heading East!

Yao Zhong's arrival was indeed of great help to Li Yun. After all, there were too many things to do in these newly acquired states and counties. Li Yun was busy with military affairs alone. Before the military affairs came to an end, he had to deal with political affairs. It was a high-intensity work every day, and he really couldn't bear it.

After Yao Zhong arrived, it was not just a matter of bringing in one person. Soon, a group similar to the Secretariat could be formed with Yao Zhong as the center to help Li Yun handle government affairs.

In this way, administrative efficiency will be greatly improved.

In fact, when a monarch travels, he often takes half or even most of his important ministers with him, leaving only one or two experienced and prudent ministers to handle state affairs in the capital, so that power will not fall into the hands of others.

Now, Li Yun is no different from the king, and he needs a personal secretariat and an administrative agency.

As for Yao Zhong's arrival, Li Yun could understand Du Qian's intention with just a simple thought.

There has always been some tacit understanding between him and Du Qian that does not need to be expressed explicitly. When they see many things, the two of them can see what the other is thinking.

With Yao Zhong's arrival, many things are self-evident. Li Yun knows what Du Qian is thinking.

He was not a person who liked power struggles, nor did he like to use any means, but Li Yun could understand Du Qian's preparations, which were obviously made for the future and to prevent the relationship between the two from becoming tense, deteriorating, or even breaking down.

He also acquiesced to this practice.

After Yao Zhong arrived, Li Yun personally hosted a banquet and invited him to have a meal to welcome him.

After the meal, Yao Zhong stood in the study of Li Yun's headquarters and gave Li Yun a general report on the recent situation in Nanjing and the entire Jiangdong. By the time he finished his report, it was almost 3 p.m.

Li Yun looked at him and asked with a smile: "Mr. Yao, you have been traveling hard all the way. There is no need to rush to talk about this. When you have rested, there will be plenty of time to talk."

"From now on, sir, follow me. When I return to Jinling, I will bring you back with me."

Yao Zhong lowered his head slightly and said with a smile: "If I were to ask you, I'm afraid you may not be able to return to Nanjing?"

"How do you say this?"

Li Yun was a little curious.

Yao Zhong smiled and said, "On the way to the throne, in just a few months, he first took Shannan East Road, and then took several prefectures and counties in Henan Road. If he continues like this, it won't be surprising if he can advance all the way to Dongdu and Guanzhong. When he ascends to the throne, he will directly take the throne in these two places. Not only will he not have to go back to Nanjing, but he will also have to go back to the government offices in Nanjing to seek the throne."

Li Yun shook his head and laughed: "You scholars."

After a few jokes, Li Yun turned serious and said, "Since Mr. Yao is here, you should do something. Officials have been sent to several states in Shannan East Road, but Dengzhou, Junzhou and other five or six newly-established states are not stable enough."

"Yuzhou, Chenzhou, and Xuzhou in Henan Province have not yet been settled. These are all Mr. Yao's business. We must hurry up and fill the official positions in each state and county, and then register the people so that they can settle down and recuperate."

"There is one thing I want to remind you, sir. Whether it is Shannan East Road or Henan Road, we should treat the people kindly and give them rest after we build government offices in these newly conquered prefectures and counties. If anyone takes advantage of the prestige of the Jiangdong Army and does evil, no matter who they are, no matter whose relatives or followers they are, we will not punish them."

Li Yun said softly: "I won't show any mercy."

"I hope Mr. Yao will not show mercy."

Yao Zhong knew Li Yun's temper very well, and he also knew how terrifying this gentle boss would be when he got serious. He did not dare to neglect him at all, and bowed his head deeply and said: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I..."

"I will definitely live up to the king's trust!"

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "Did you pass through Jingzhou on this trip?"

Yao Zhong shook his head slightly: "No, I came straight to your Majesty."

Mr. Li laughed and said, "It's a good thing you didn't go. Xu Kun, the leader of your literary gathering, is now the governor of Jingzhou. He is in Shannan East Road and is working under you. I'm afraid he won't feel good after seeing you."

Yao Zhong also smiled and said, "Before the literary gathering, I met him once, and later I talked to him several times. Governor Xu is a very talented and pragmatic person."

"He knows the difficulties I faced in distributing the land equally with Mr. Fei in the past two years, so he won't say much."

Li Yun said "hmm" and smiled, "Well, sir, you have worked hard all the way. Take a rest first and start your work tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I will have someone arrange some staff for you tomorrow."

"Oh, right."

Li Yun looked at him and asked, "You have also met Liu Zhiyuan, the governor of Chenzhou. He is very smooth, like a loach. What do you think of him?"

"To use or not to use?"

Yao Zhong did not hesitate and immediately bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, no matter what this person's character is, as long as he is not a treacherous or evil person, he must be used, and he must be used with great importance."

"This is the first official of the old Zhou Dynasty to surrender the city to the king."

Yao Zhong reminded: "Your Majesty, you must set an example for other officials of the old Zhou Dynasty."

After hearing what he said, Li Yun finally reacted. He rubbed his temple and laughed at himself: "That's right. I've been too busy recently and I'm a little confused."

"Okay, I'll take note of this person..."

Li said softly, "I will be of great use." Yao Zhong lowered his head and continued, "I would like to ask the king for another person."

"Who do you want?"

Yao Zhong lowered his head and said, "Zhang Sui."

"Zhang Sui has been following the king all the way this year, and he has seen and heard a lot along the way. I will be in charge of the administration of Shannan East Road and Henan Road, and I have many questions to ask him."

Yao Zhong paused and added: "It will only take a while. After I understand the situation of each state and county, I will return him to the king."

Li Yun looked at him thoughtfully, then smiled and said, "Okay, go find him."

"I just need a few days' rest. I've been really exhausted during this period."

Yao Zhong bowed his head deeply and said: "It is my fault that I failed to share the Lord's worries."

Li Yun laughed and said, "Go and have a rest."

Yao Zhong bowed his head: "As you wish."

…………

In a blink of an eye, another two or three days passed.

With Yao Zhong by his side, Li Yun had fewer political affairs to deal with. Only some important matters were sent to him. Even for these important matters, Li Yun did not have to approve them personally. He only needed to give his opinions and Yao Zhong would help him get them done beautifully.

Moreover, Li Yun clearly felt that Yao Zhong was much stronger now than when Li Yun first admitted him.

Although Yao Zhong had some talent and was smart at the time, he was not mature in political affairs. Many things were his first time to him and he could not understand them at all.

In the past few years, he has followed the master and apprentice Du Qian and Fei Xuan, and has obviously learned a lot from these "master and apprentice". Now Yao Zhong's talent has obviously reached a higher level.

This is of course due to his own efforts, but talent is also indispensable.

However, although he had a lot of free time in political affairs, he did not have any free time in military affairs. On the third day after Yao Zhong came to Li Yun, the commander-in-chief Zhao Cheng finally completed the finishing work of the Battle of Yuzhou. He personally rode a fast horse and rushed all the way to Chenzhou.

After entering the camp and arriving in front of Li Yun, Zhao Cheng knelt on one knee on the ground, bowed his head deeply and said, "My Lord, the battle of Yuzhou is over. Nearly half of the more than 5,000 Shuofang troops surrounded by us have surrendered, and the rest have either died in battle or are missing."

"On the battlefield, we found about 2,000 bodies of Shuofang soldiers."

It is normal to be "missing" on the battlefield. In this case, most of them just escaped or died in some corner.

After Zhao Cheng paused, Li Yun said, "My subordinates, including the losses of the previous superiors, have lost more than 1,800 men in total and more than 1,000 men injured."

Hearing this, Li Yun frowned slightly at first, then waved his hand and asked Zhao Cheng to stand up. After Zhao Cheng stood up, he sighed and said, "The Shuofang Army is still powerful."

"General Zhao, what do you think? How does it compare to the Pinglu Army?"

Zhao Cheng lowered his head and said, “Sir, the Shuofang Army is naturally stronger than the Pinglu Army, and it is much stronger.”

"But now, with the same number of troops, I am confident that I can defeat the Shuofang Army and not be at a disadvantage."

Li Yun didn't respond, but waved at him and said, "Come and see."

Zhao Cheng stepped forward, and Li Yun unfolded a map, pointing at it and saying, "The Shuofang Army has occupied the entire Duji Road, as well as Ruzhou, Zhengzhou, Bianzhou and other states."

"This is already most of the Central Plains."

Zhao Cheng looked at the map and saw Li Yun pointing at the location of Duji Province. He said, "Now, the Shuofang Army has stopped moving and has switched from offense to defense. They are staying here."

Li Yun's hand pointed to the area around Xuzhou and Bianzhou on the map.

"General Zhao, what do you think we should do next?"

Zhao Cheng thought about it seriously, then looked at Li Yun and whispered, "Your Majesty, should we... gain a firm foothold first?"

"I think so too."

Li Yun looked at him and chuckled, "So, I have an errand for you."

Zhao Cheng lowered his head: "The king ordered!"

"When everything in Yuzhou is over, you will lead your troops eastward, from Chenzhou to the east, attack Yingzhou, then go to Bozhou, and finally..."

Mr. Li has a gloomy look in his eyes.

"Take Xuzhou!"

(End of this chapter)