Thief Emperor

Chapter 715 Jiangdong Royal Family
The tenth day of the twelfth lunar month.

In the headquarters of King Wu of Chenzhou, in a warm room.

Li Yun sat in the main seat, Liu Bo sat on his left, and Zhang Hu, who had been with him all this time, sat on his right.

On the table in front of the three people, there was a table full of food and wine, and a small copper stove for boiling wine. The wine was already boiling in the stove. Liu Bo took the initiative to pick up the wine pot and poured wine for Li Yun and Zhang Hu. While pouring the wine, he smiled and said, "Second brother, Eighth brother, we haven't sat together for a long time."

Li Yun raised his glass, clinked it with the two of them, then said with a smile: "After I finish the work in the Central Plains, I will probably be free for a while. Then we can call Shou Hou, Zhou Bi, and some brothers from the old village to have a drink together."

Liu Bo raised his head and drank it all, then looked at Li Yun and said with a smile: "Second brother, it's okay for us brothers to drink together, we can call Zhou Bi, but don't call others."

"I have something to report to my second brother."

Li Yun put down his wine glass, looked at Liu Bo, and said with a smile: "What's the matter? You are so mysterious."

Zhang Hu, who was standing by, must have been unusually considerate at this moment because he had a child. While Li Yun was speaking, he took the initiative to stand up and pour Li Yun some wine.

Liu Bo looked at Zhang Hu in surprise, then whispered to Li Yun, "Isn't there a Lijia Village at the foot of Cangshan Mountain? The old village chief and the second brother were born in the village."

Li Yun nodded: "Yes, I remember this."

Liu Bo said in a low voice, "In the early years, when the old village chief led our families to live in the mountains, he not only did not rob Lijia Village, but also protected us. In those twenty years, except for the government yamen that robbed Lijia Village, we had no way to stop them. Other villages could not even take a hair from Lijia Village."

"When my second brother left Cangshan Mountain to start a business, he also said hello to the old man in the village. He also wanted to bring some people from the village to Qingyang to work as yamen runners. But they looked down on us and no one came out. But now, second brother, guess what happened?"

Liu Bo looked at Li Yun and whispered, "According to Jiusi, a few days ago, someone from my hometown went to Jinling. I don't know where he got a family tree from, and he insisted that he was a relative of my second brother."

"Someone patted his chest in front of Mr. Du and said that he was a member of the royal family of the King of Wu."

At this point, Liu Bo looked up at Li Yun and whispered, "Some people also said that he was the eldest brother, who had been away for many years and came back to look for his brothers."

When Liu Bo was speaking earlier, Li Yun looked calm, but when he heard the last sentence, he couldn't help but frowning.

The "elder brother" Liu Bo was referring to was his biological brother Li Feng.

This elder brother is two years older than Li Yun, but he did not inherit the violent gene of the Li family. Although he is not short, he has been reading books in the mountains since he was a child, and pestering his fifth uncle to teach him to read and write.

He had no interest in being a bandit, so when he turned fifteen, he left a letter for his father, left the village, and went down the mountain to explore the world.

There was no news after that. Even Li Yun didn’t know where his brother had gone or whether he was dead.

Now hearing this, he looked up and exchanged glances with Liu Bo, then took a sip of wine and remained silent.

Zhang Hu raised his head and took a sip of wine, and said in a deep voice: "Second brother, don't ask about this matter. Damn it, when Second Brother led us through life and death, these people didn't know where they went. Now that Second Brother has become rich, they want to come and take advantage of it!"

"I have nothing to do here anyway, so I'll go and have a fight with them and see if they dare to say such nonsense in front of me!"

Li Yun put down his wine glass, came back to his senses, and said, "A rich man in a remote mountain has distant relatives. Now that we have risen, it is not surprising that people in our hometown have some delusions in their hearts."

He said silently: "In the future, I will make them give up this idea, that's all."

Honestly speaking, purely from the perspective of interests, Li Yun now does need a group of "royal family members" of the Li family to consolidate his existing and future rule.

After all, only one Li Zheng is far from enough.

It may take more than ten or twenty years for their next generation to grow up, which is too long and makes their growth unstable.

It is also for this reason that the two ancestors Liu and Zhu in another world, after achieving great success, began to confer titles on their relatives and clansmen.

Of course, part of the purpose of doing this is to elevate one's own family and bring some sacredness to one's family, and another part of the reason is to consolidate one's own rule and create an interest group that is consistent with one's own surname.

Otherwise, it will be easy for outsiders to sideline the country or even usurp power.

However, Li Yun has not been able to accept this. He cannot share the fruits with those distant relatives who are not related to him at all, allowing them to be superior to everyone in Jiangdong for no reason.

As for the political group that consolidates its own rule, Li Yun can use the "Anti-Theft Team" as a substitute.

Moreover, with people like Li Zheng, Meng Qing and Chen Da, they are enough for the time being.

"As for the one who said he was my brother..."

Li Yun shook his head slightly and said, "Don't ask for now, I'll check it later."

He looked at Liu Bo and asked, "Do you still recognize him?"

Liu Bo shook his head: "When he left, you were only twelve or thirteen years old, and the rest of us were only in our teens. Fifteen or sixteen years have passed, who can still recognize him?"

Li Yun hummed, and said slowly: "Then let's do this, Third Uncle is still in Jinling, let him contact those people, and let Third Uncle go to recognize them." "But..."

Li Yun said slowly: "The people of Lijia Village, and this brother who suddenly appeared, they ran to Jinling like this, there must be someone behind the scenes, and it must be someone from our old village."

“Outsiders don’t know these things.”

"Ah."

Liu Bo nodded and said, "I will go back to Nanjing to investigate this matter and give Second Brother an explanation after the New Year."

He poured wine for Li Yun and asked in a low voice: "Second brother, if it is really that person..."

Li Yun was also thinking about this. After thinking for a while, he said, "I may not recognize him, but if he has a child..."

"If you are of the right age, you can work for us."

Liu Bo nodded and smiled, "Second brother, you really need more people with the surname Li around you now. I have read history books in recent years. There was a general who was ordered to lead troops to war. Not long after leaving the city, he returned to the capital to usurp the throne."

"This is bullying the clan members who have no one."

Li Yun was startled when he heard this, and said with a smile: "You have also learned to read books."

"That is."

Liu Bo laughed: "I am different from Shouhou. The books he reads are not serious, but the books I read are all serious."

Li Yun laughed dumbly and picked up the wine glass: "Come on, drink."

After drinking a glass of wine, Mr. Li took a deep breath and said, "When you return to Jinling around the New Year, work with your uncle to properly handle this matter, the family tree."

"Leave me a copy. It may be useful in the future."

"I know, second brother."

…………

The twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Zhang Hu and Liu Bo have left Chenzhou one after another. Zhang Hu left first and went back to the south to see his wife and children, while Liu Bo also left Chenzhou and went to Nanjing to handle some matters for Li Yun and to communicate with Du Qian, who was in charge.

As the year was coming to an end, Zhao Cheng and Su Sheng, who were busy working outside, came to Chenzhou City at the same time and visited Li Yun at the headquarters.

The three met again.

Su Sheng briefly reported the progress of the conscription. He smiled at Li Yun and said, "Sir, the speed of conscription in Shannan East Road is the fastest. In two months, the five states of Jingxiang alone have sent nearly 10,000 new soldiers. The new soldiers from the other states combined are close to 5,000."

"Counting the conscription from several states in the Central Plains, this time the number of recruits is about 20,000. We have sufficient food and grass, and I will be able to train these new recruits by the beginning of next spring."

Zhao Cheng also bowed his head and said, "Sir, I have taken control of Xuzhou together with the Pinglu Army. At this time, General Xiao Meng is stationed in Xuzhou with 3,000 troops, and the rest of my subordinates are temporarily stationed in Yingzhou."

He looked at Li Yun and said in a deep voice: "Sir, we have won victory after victory, and the morale of the army is high. Everyone in the army, from top to bottom, wants to fight."

"I feel that there is no need to delay any further."

He lowered his voice and said, "As soon as the sky thaws, we can immediately raise an army and fight with the Shuofang Army for the Central Plains!"

Li Yun looked at Su Sheng and smiled softly, "What do you think, Brother Su?"

Su Sheng thought for a moment and chuckled, "I think what General Zhao said is right. After the military merit system was introduced, it has indeed had a miraculous effect. Now everyone in the army is vying for the top spot, and the morale of the army has more than risen to a higher level than before."

Hearing this, Li Yun shook his head slightly: "Of course I know the benefits of this thing, but it also has its disadvantages."

Su Sheng was startled and asked, "What's the harm?"

"It is only suitable for use in wartime."

Li Yun only mentioned this topic briefly and did not continue. He looked at the two generals and said softly, "It just so happens that both of you are here. I have also been setting strategic goals for next year. The three of us should sit down and discuss it together. This year..."

"Let's set the general strategic goals for next year."

Both generals looked excited.

"I will obey your orders!"

(End of this chapter)