Thief Emperor

Chapter 717 A sudden change in the situation
Plans can never keep up with changes.

This sentence has been true for Li Yun since he started his business.

But it's not just him. Throughout history, many people, regardless of whether they eventually achieved great things or not, were forced to do something before they did something earth-shaking.

And now Li Yun’s conditions are quite good.

At least at this time, he was already one of the few powerful warlords in the world.

If Li were still the Sima of Yuezhou, or even the head of Qingyang County, and the situation was overwhelming at this time, he would either have to find a secluded place to live in seclusion, or find a powerful figure to rely on.

If he chooses the latter, he will have to hope that the war can last for more than ten or twenty years so that he can have a chance to slowly rise. Otherwise, this world of great strife will have nothing to do with him, Li.

Now, no matter how this drama goes on, and no matter whether Li is the red face, the black face, or the white face, Li Yun must have a place on the stage.

Even thousands of years later, when future generations write about this history, no one will be able to avoid him.

Due to the sudden change in the situation, Li Yun had to stop the strategic arrangements for next year.

Temporary adjustments were also made to the arrangements for Zhao Cheng and Su Sheng.

Originally, Li wanted to build relationships with them and keep them in Chenzhou for the New Year. But now, neither of them could stay and he arranged for them to leave.

That afternoon, Su Sheng left Chenzhou.

Li Yun escorted him all the way out of King Wu's headquarters, and at the same time asked Su Zhan to take his place and escort Su Sheng out of the city.

Su Zhan escorted Su Sheng all the way out of Chenzhou City. After they got outside the city, Su Sheng looked at his little brother and said with a smile, "There is something I didn't have time to tell you. In Jinling, your sister-in-law has already arranged a marriage with the Zhou family. Zhou Bi and your third sister will get married in the early spring of next year."

"If you are free at that time, go back. If not, stay with the superior."

Su Zhan felt happy when he heard this.

He and his third sister were both born when General Su returned to his hometown after he was laid off. They were much younger than Su Sheng and grew up together.

And Zhou Bi was his good brother who brought him up in the first place, and this marriage had something to do with him. Now that it could be accomplished, he was of course happy.

"Brother, I will ask for leave from my superiors when the time comes. I will definitely go back if I can."

Su Sheng patted his shoulder and smiled softly, "In the blink of an eye, you have reached the age to get married. Next year, I will find a marriage for you."

Su Zhan thought about it, shook his head slightly and said: "Brother, my business is not urgent, at least..."

"At least wait until the superior has a new follower, then I will consider this matter."

Su Sheng said, "You are right to think this way. It is a rare opportunity to be with the superior. The superior chose you and our family in the first place because of my father and the face of our Su family."

"But you, kid, have done a good job in the past two years and have not brought shame to our Su family."

Su Sheng climbed onto his horse and smiled cheerfully, "You should serve the superior well. After you have served for a few years, I will arrange a marriage for you."

Su Zhan nodded and looked up at Su Sheng. He sighed deeply, feeling quite sad.

"I heard that the young man from the Xue family is almost grown up."

Su Zhan said sadly: "I may not stay with the superior for long."

The young man he was talking about was Li Yun’s nephew Xue Gui, who was almost Su Zhan’s tacit “successor”.

After following Li Yun for several years, Su Zhan has become reluctant to leave Li Yun.

Su Sheng, who had already mounted his horse, jumped off his warhorse, stepped forward and hugged Su Zhan, and said in a deep voice: "Meng Hai, Zhou Bi, who didn't have a future after being by the side of the superiors? They were both in the superiors and are still close. You will be the same in the future. Do your job well."

"The matter of the young man from the Xue family has not been settled yet. Even if it is settled, you still have to take good care of him."

"Just like Zhou Bi took you back then, and..."

Su Sheng got back on his horse and said with a smile, "Besides, the war situation is unpredictable. Once Jiangdong wins a great victory, we may not need the next Su Zhan by our side in the future."

He rode away, shouting, "Take care!"

Su Zhan bowed his head deeply to Su Sheng and said loudly, "Take care, big brother!"

……

After returning to the headquarters, Su Zhan saw Li Yun talking to Meng Hai. Seeing him come back, Li Yun waved at him and said, "You're back just in time. I have written a few letters here. Please leave now and send them back to Nanjing for me."

Su Zhan looked at Li Yun, then at Meng Hai, and was a little stunned. Because there were plenty of people in the Nine Departments who could do things like delivering messages, and normally, there was no need for him to do this.

Li Yun saw his expression and said with a smile: "It's urgent. Please go back for me and take a look at what Jinling looks like now."

He paused for a moment and then sighed, "Go back and check for me how my children are doing now and how tall they have grown."

"Then come back and show me how to do it."

Li Yun gestured on his body with his hands and said, "When I left last time, my eldest son had just arrived. My daughter and youngest son couldn't walk yet."

Su Zhan knew that Li Yun was a little homesick as the year was coming to an end. He thought for a moment and whispered, "Sir, why don't you just come with me? Let's ride back to Jinling. It won't be too late to come back after the New Year."

Hearing this, Li Yun was very interested, and even a little eager to try, but after thinking about it, he shook his head and said, "Forget it, forget it. There are so many things going on at the front line every day. Although I can't help much here, I can ensure that all the military functions run smoothly and cooperate with each other."

"Some decisions can also be issued in a timely manner."

Li Yun shook his head and said, "It will take at least next year before I can go back to Jinling."

"Go quickly, go quickly."

Li Yun smiled at him and said, "After you return to Jinling, spend the New Year at home. After the New Year, come back to find me."

Su Zhan didn't say anything more. He just took a few letters from Li Yun with both hands, bowed deeply to Li Yun, then looked up at Li Yun and Meng Hai, and retreated respectfully.

After he left, Li Yun glanced at Meng Hai and said with a smile, "Boy, do you want to go home and celebrate the New Year?"

Meng Hai looked calm.

"For the Meng family, being able to stay with the superior and do things for the superior is much more important than celebrating the New Year."

Hearing this, Li Yun looked at him and chuckled, "Your Meng family will probably grow bigger and bigger in the future."

Meng Hai quickly looked up at Li Yun, who just shook his head slightly and said with a smile, "We are so familiar with each other, there is no need to nag. I'm afraid we will have to spend the New Year together this year."

……

After Su Zhan got the letter, he returned to his residence, packed his luggage, took four or five followers, rode on fast horses, and set out from Chenzhou that day, heading all the way to Jinling.

At this time, the whole way from Chenzhou to Jinling was the territory of Jiangdong. Except for crossing the Huaihe River by boat, there would be no other obstacles. Su Zhan had a very smooth journey and returned to Jinling in only five or six days.

After arriving in Jinling, he did not even have time to go home, but went all the way to the Zhongshu of Jinling and asked to see Du Qian.

Because among Li Yun's several letters, one was written to Du Qian, informing Du Qian of the changing situation in Guanzhong and asking him to make some corresponding responses in the rear.

As Li Yun's follower, he knew very well to whom the letter was most important, so he did not delay and went straight to see Du Qian.

At this moment, there are a few relatively unfamiliar faces in the book.

Because Yao Zhong and Zhang Sui had already left, Du Qian had to find some more people to come and help him.

Su Zhan had a special identity and a very high status. He arrived at the door of Zhongshu smoothly. When he looked up, he saw a middle-aged man in his thirties walking out of Zhongshu. The middle-aged man had a weather-beaten look on his face. After taking a look at Su Zhan, he put his hands in his sleeves and left silently.

Su Zhan seemed to be thinking about something, but he didn't think much about it. When someone from the Secretariat came out to invite him in, he immediately strode into the Secretariat and bowed to Du Qian, "Sir."

After paying his respects, he took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Du Qian: "An urgent letter from the king."

Du Qian nodded to Su Zhan first, then took the letter and opened it while asking, "What's so important that made Brother Su come back from so far to deliver the letter?"

Su Zhan lowered his head slightly: "Sir, you will know after you have seen it."

Du Qian opened Li Yun's letter and read it. His expression changed slightly. He took a deep breath and said, "I know about this."

He sat down and said silently: "I will handle this matter properly."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Su Zhan and said slowly, "Brother Su, you have worked hard all the way. Go back and rest first."

Su Zhan replied yes, and then asked curiously: "Sir, who just left is..."

Du Qian looked a little strange when he heard this question. After a moment's silence, he smiled bitterly with some helplessness.

"They say they are members of the king's family."

(End of this chapter)