Thief Emperor

Chapter 708: Incapable of doing anything else
The affairs of Lingnan are insignificant to the current war situation in the Central Plains and can only be regarded as a marginal battlefield.

But no matter what, this is also a marginal battlefield with a scale of tens of thousands of people. Once the war in Lingnan is over, Li Yun will not only gain a large new territory, but also a large source of soldiers.

More importantly, after the war in Lingnan ended, Li Yun was able to withdraw at least 10,000 elite troops and deploy them to the battlefield in the Central Plains.

This base number may seem insignificant on the current battlefield in the Central Plains, but in fact, in this era, once the number of troops exceeds ten thousand, it is already a combat capability at the level of overthrowing the regime.

An army of 10,000 people is a powerful force no matter where it is placed. If deployed on the battlefield in the Central Plains, it will also be a considerable help.

In addition to these obvious benefits, a great victory in Lingnan will be able to bring the reputation of Jiangdong and his King of Wu to a higher level.

With these good news, Li Yun was of course happy. That night, he had a good drink with Zhang Hu. Zhang Hu could not drink as much as Li Yun. After drinking too much, he said a lot of drunken words about Cangshan Dazhai. Li Yun just listened quietly without saying much.

Only after he was truly unconscious did Li Yun let Su Zhan help him down to rest.

On the next morning, Li Yun slept in a little, and did not get up from bed until the sun was high in the sky. It was already autumn and the weather was cooler, so he put on a thicker robe.

He had just gotten up and hadn't walked out of the house when he heard Su Zhan talking to someone outside. After he opened the door, he could hear it a little more clearly.

It's Su Sheng.

The two brothers who were talking, after hearing the movement from Li Yun's side, immediately stepped forward, saluted to Li Yun with fists, and claimed the position of superior.

Li Yun waved at Su Zhan, signaling him to go down first, then pulled Su Sheng into the living room of the headquarters and sat down, smiling and saying, "When did Brother Su come?"

Su Sheng sat below Li Yun and said with a smile, "I just arrived not long ago. I just started talking to Su Zhan when the boss woke up. Could it be that our conversation disturbed the boss's rest?"

Li Yun waved his hand, shook his head and smiled: "No, I would have gotten up at this time on normal days. It was just that I drank a little too much with an old friend yesterday."

Su Sheng nodded, looked at Li Yun, and said softly, "I heard from Su Zhan that it was General Zhang who came from Lingnan."

Mr. Li laughed in silence: "He is now under Li Zheng's command, barely a captain, and barely leading the army. There is no need to praise him as a general."

Su Sheng lowered his head to drink tea and did not respond.

Li Yun looked at him and asked, "Brother Su came here early in the morning..."

Su Sheng then hurriedly said, "Sir, after the battle of Xuzhou, my troops were ordered to rest and recuperate. Even I have lived in Chenzhou for several days. Now that General Zhao is leading his troops eastward, we can't just sit there and do nothing."

He looked at Li Yun and said with a smile: "I'm here to ask for a job from the higher-ups."

Li Yun looked at him and smiled: "Why, are the people under your command also anxious to make merit and get a title?"

“Who wouldn’t miss it?”

Su Sheng put down the teacup and said with a wry smile: "Don't mention them, even I am thinking about getting promoted to a higher rank of military merit. The higher-ups don't know, but this thing is a great honor in the army."

"Some of the veterans who were awarded the rank of sergeant were so polite that even the lieutenant spoke to them politely."

Li Yun laughed in silence: "Brother, you will definitely be a first-class military marquis in the future, why are you in such a hurry?"

"To be honest, if there weren't so many wars in the future, with your current merits, you would be able to get this first-class military marquisate."

Su Sheng waved his hands quickly and said with a smile: "No, no, I've thought about it privately. This thing can't be blocked lightly, let alone blocked indiscriminately, otherwise it will be worthless."

Li Yun nodded, agreeing: "I think so too. Therefore, most of the people in the army now are seventh, eighth, ninth and third class nobles. Those above these third class are either generals like you or deputy generals."

The two chatted for a while and talked about Lingnan. Li Yun told Su Sheng about the military report he received yesterday. Su Sheng was thoughtful and said softly, "It seems that General Gongsun is really capable. After joining General Li's army, he assisted General Li in defeating the Lingnan army in one fell swoop."

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea and said with a smile: "We are among the people, talking in private, there is no need to save face for Li Zheng. Li Zheng has been recovering from his injuries for the past two months. In fact, it was Gongsun Hao who won this battle."

Su Sheng stood up, poured tea for Li Yun, and then said with a smile: "You can't say that about the position. After all, General Li is our chief general in the south. All power is in his hands. If he doesn't give up power, or if he is jealous of General Gongsun, the war in the south will not be won."

"From the military's perspective, no matter how the battle was fought or who fought it, as long as the victory was won, the commander-in-chief certainly had the credit, and the credit was huge."

Li Yun looked at Su Sheng and laughed: "Brother is the commander himself, so of course he would say that."

At this time, although Li said this, he was still very happy in his heart.

Because Li Zheng was his closest relative and the one he forced to be promoted to the rank of general. Li Zheng's contribution was to bring him face.

Moreover, it will be of great help to his future military arrangements.

The two talked about Lingnan for a while, and talked about the organization of the army. Su Sheng finally couldn't bear it anymore and whispered, "If you are in power, you have to assign me some tasks, right?"

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "I do have something I want to ask my brother to do."

Su Sheng stood up, bowed his head and clasped his fists: "My superiors, please give me your orders!"

"Since we sent out our troops this year, we have already occupied more than ten prefectures and counties in Shannan East Road and Henan Road combined. Now, we should digest some of these prefectures and counties first."

He looked at Su Sheng and said seriously, "Now, Wei Quanzhong is doing the same thing. He is recruiting soldiers to expand the army near the capital." "Brother, you should also recruit soldiers in these ten or so states. I roughly calculated these two days and it is about 30,000 to 50,000."

Su Sheng thought about it. Then he said, "Why bother with this? With your prestige in Jiangdong, if you want to recruit 50,000 soldiers, you can do it in Jiangdong in half a month."

Li Yun smiled at Su Sheng and said, "Brother, recruit soldiers from these ten states and counties."

He paused and continued, "We have to consider the future of the army."

"We cannot have all the soldiers in our army come from Jiangdong."

Su Sheng was stunned, then seemed to be thinking about something.

Li Yun continued, "Moreover, recruiting local soldiers has its benefits. When they make contributions in the future, we can distribute land to them in the local area."

"This way, when these new soldiers go to war, even if it's just to protect their homeland, they will do their best."

Su Sheng nodded slowly and said, "What the superior said makes sense."

"Then I will start doing this now."

"it is good."

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "If this matter is done well, it will be considered a merit. It will be recorded in the merit book. When the merit is enough, I will also issue a military merit title."

Su Sheng perked up, stood up and saluted Li Yun: "Then I will get to work right away!"

Li Yun accompanied him all the way to the gate of the headquarters. When they were about to part, Li Yun pulled Su Sheng's sleeve and said, "Brother, thank you for your hard work in the past two or three years."

Su Sheng understood what Li Yun meant. He looked at Li Yun with a questioning look in his eyes.

Li Yun nodded slowly and said with a smile: "During this period, I often deduce the situation in the world. In my opinion."

"I'm afraid the outcome will be decided in the next two or three years."

Li Yun said softly: "If we can't win, we will have to retreat back to Jiangdong and wait for the next opportunity. If we can win, then..."

"The fight will get worse soon!"

Su Sheng took a deep breath, bowed his head and clasped his fists: "I understand!"

"I will definitely do my best!"

…………

Youzhou, the residence of the Jiedushi of Fanyang.

General Xiao Xian was sitting in the main seat, and his son Xiao Heng was sitting beside him. In front of them stood an envoy from Qingzhou. The envoy bowed his head respectfully to General Xiao and said, "Greetings, Master."

"Greetings, Master."

Xiao Heng frowned and said nothing.

He is not a descendant of Xiao Zhou.

General Xiao lowered his head to drink tea and said calmly, "The Zhou family's illegitimate son?"

"Yes Yes."

The messenger bowed his head and said, "It has been in the Zhou family for several generations."

General Xiao lowered his head and played with the document in his hand for a while. After a moment, he asked, "Did Zhou... Zhou Xu send this thing, or did my nephew send it?"

The messenger bowed his head quickly and said: "Qingzhou is currently under the management of the young general."

General Xiao narrowed his eyes and said disdainfully, "That must be because Zhou Yaozi is addicted to sex, so he threw all the miscellaneous matters in Qingzhou to Zhou Chang."

The Qingzhou envoy lowered his head and dared not speak.

General Xiao gave his son Xiao Heng a look, and Xiao Heng immediately understood. He stood up and coughed.

"Go back and tell Zhou Chang that no matter what happens in the Central Plains, we in Fanyang will not move."

He paused, his expression becoming quite serious.

"Because the Khitans outside the Great Wall have recovered their strength and are eyeing Fanyang covetously. Our Fanyang Army..."

"I can't be in two places at once."

(End of this chapter)