Thief Emperor

Chapter 720 Li Dadan and Zhou Yaozi

The fifth day of the new year.

Meng Hai trotted all the way to Li Yun's study. After bowing his head, he spoke without saying a word.

"Sir, General Zhao encountered the enemy in Songzhou. After a brief contact, the enemy quickly retreated. Now the vanguard of General Zhao's troops has entered Songzhou."

"General Su's situation is going more smoothly. He has entered Zhengzhou and Bianzhou from Xuzhou to the north. Both states have Shuofang troops with a total of 10,000 people. However, they did not linger in the battle and quickly retreated after a brief engagement. Now the troops of these three states seem to be shrinking westwards."

"According to the other intelligence from the Ninth Division, the Ninth Division speculates that the Shuofang Army's forces are shrinking towards the capital, and the main force of the Shuofang Army is likely to..."

He did not continue.

Because the duty of Jiusi is to provide intelligence to Li Yun, not to provide inferences. Li himself is the one who makes the judgment.

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea and said, "It is possible that they have already moved westward to Guanzhong."

Meng Hai nodded and said, "The Nine Departments in Guanzhong are too far away from us, so the news is not smooth. However, we can confirm that the Wu Zhou court has given up Guanzhong and started to retreat to Xichuan on its own initiative."

Hearing this, Li Yun frowned subconsciously.

For Wu Zhou, a once unified dynasty, retreating to Xichuan was certainly not a good choice, but for Li Yun, this was not good news either.

He now has at least a 40% chance of conquering the world.

Once Wu Zhou retreated to Xichuan, it would be difficult for her to capture Xichuan easily even if she conquered the world in the future. By then, the problem of the southwest might become a historical issue, lasting for decades or even generations.

But now is not the time to think about these things.

He thought for a while, looked at Meng Hai, and said, "Tell the troops on the front line to continue to explore. If they encounter a large-scale enemy force, they should fight cautiously and steadily. If the Shuofang army keeps retreating, they should keep following and occupy the place where the battle should be fought."

Meng Hai nodded his head.

Li Yun looked at him and said slowly, "Ask Liu Bo to go to the Central Plains as soon as possible and bring over 80% of the Nine Departments' personnel. I need someone to keep an eye on Taiyuan, Qingzhou, and Youzhou in the northeast."

Meng Hai looked serious and said in a deep voice, "I will do it right away."

He clasped his fists and left.

Li Yun sat back in his seat, looked at Chen Da who had been listening in the study, and said, "What do you think?"

Chen Da thought for a moment and said, "Sir, can I take a look at the detailed information from Jiusi before making a judgment?"

Li Yun smiled dumbly: "Just look at it."

Chen Da sat next to Li Yun, opened the documents of the Nine Departments one by one, and read them carefully. After reading them, he said with a serious face: "Sir, judging from the current situation, the Shuofang Army must be going to fight for Guanzhong. His Shuofang is to the north of Guanzhong. If he takes over Guanzhong and occupies Duji Road, his forces and territories will be connected."

"Besides, Guanzhong is where the capital is after all..."

Chen Da frowned and said, "I'm afraid the biggest beneficiary of the sudden change in Guanzhong is the Shuofang Army."

Li Yun looked at Chen Da without saying anything. After a long while, a smile appeared on his face.

"Wei Quanzhong, I probably have the same idea as you, so I gave up part of the Central Plains to fight for Guanzhong. The reason for this idea is not because Guanzhong is actually so important, but because..."

Li Yun shook his head slightly and said, "It's because the past two hundred years of the Great Zhou Dynasty is really too long."

"It's been so long that everyone thinks that entering Guanzhong and occupying the capital is the right path."

Chen Da was a little stunned.

Li Yun did not explain too much to him, but just smiled and said: "Eight Hundred Miles of Qinchuan is indeed important, but in the future, it may not be as important as before, let them fight for it."

Mr. Li stood up, put his hands in his sleeves, looked up at the sky outside, and said softly, "It's snowing."

Chen Da followed Li Yun's gaze and saw that the sky outside the window was gloomy and snowflakes were falling. Chen Da was lost in thought for a while, then looked at Li Yun and seemed to understand something: "In the future... you don't plan to build your capital in Guanzhong?"

Li Yun smiled and said, "There is no need to consider things that have no shadow. We can talk about the future in the future. What I mean is that Guanzhong is not as important as everyone thinks now."

He said calmly: "Wu Da lives in the capital, so his words are useless. What can a guy named Wei do if he occupies the capital? At most, he can learn from Wang Junping and live like an emperor for a few days."

Having said this, Li Yun's tone was still quite calm, but his eyes were already quite hot.

Because he had a bold plan in mind.

The Jiangdong Army now urgently needs a big battle and a big victory!
After this great victory, it is very likely that the next step will be an unstoppable momentum!
Previously, the Pinglu Army had retreated, the Hedong Army was watching, and the Shuofang Army had not chosen to confront Li Yun head-on!
His high morale was like a punch on cotton!
And now, the Shuofang Army is retreating westwards, Jiangdong Army, you might as well be bolder!
"Chen Da."

Li Yun's eyes were dim.

Chen Da immediately stood up, bowed his head and clasped his fists: "I'm here!" "You are a calm person, suitable for defending the city. Now... you will lead the two thousand troops of Chenzhou and station them in Haozhou. Remember to be secretive. Then you will replace Meng Qing of Xuzhou and let him continue to lead the troops under Zhao Cheng as deputy general."

"And you will guard Xuzhou for me."

"Keep an eye on the Pinglu Army."

Li Yun said softly: "Jiu Si, there are always people watching Qingzhou. If there is any change in Qingzhou, you will be informed immediately. Don't hesitate at that time, and directly fight with the Pinglu Army in Xuzhou. At all costs, occupy Xuzhou City!"

"I will send more troops to Fengyang, south of Xuzhou. Once there is a change in Xuzhou, the troops here will be increased immediately and sent to Xuzhou. By then, there should be 10,000 to 20,000 troops."

"All supplies and baggage will be transported from Fengyang to Xuzhou by water. By then... the rear of the Jiangdong Army will be handed over to you."

"Keep an eye on the Pinglu Army at all costs!"

Chen Da took a deep breath and bowed his head in response. He looked at Li Yun and said, "Master, if the Pinglu Army comes out in full force."

"You have to do your best to hold on. If you hold on, I will naturally provide reinforcements to help you."

"besides."

Li Yun looked at him with a gloomy gaze: "After arriving in Xuzhou, if you feel confident that you can take over Xuzhou, you don't have to wait for the information from the Ninth Division, just act immediately."

Chen Da looked at Li Yun, then lowered his head slightly: "I understand!"

Li Yun waved at him: "Then go and get ready."

Chen Da nodded his head and retreated. Li Yun called Zhang Sui and then ordered, "Go and invite Mr. Yao over."

Half an hour later, Yao Zhong also arrived at Li Yun's study. He bowed his head and saluted to Li Yun and said, "Take the position!"

Li Yun looked at him and smiled softly, "Sir, I may have to secretly leave Chenzhou in the next few days, but I will not move. You will be fully responsible for everything here and all the government orders."

"Don't send it to me unless necessary."

Yao Zhong was startled, then looked up at Li Yun. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it."

"I know what Mr. Yao is going to say."

Li Yun shook his head and said, "If you want to say anything, just hand it over to Generals Su and Zhao to handle it."

Yao Zhong lowered his head silently and said, "Your Majesty, given your current status, you really don't need to personally handle military affairs."

Li Yun shook his head slightly and said, "If it was any other army, it would be fine, but now we are facing the Shuofang Army."

"Besides, I haven't been on the battlefield in person for a long time. I just went to command the central army."

Yao Zhong knew that he could not persuade him, so he reminded him: "General Zhou is still in Chenzhou City. If the general moves, he will definitely know about it."

Li Yun slapped his forehead and said with a smile: "If you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten him. This is easy. I often don't see him for ten days or so. I will go to find him for a drink and then leave Chenzhou. By the time he realizes what's going on, it will be of no use."

Yao Zhong looked at Li Yun and whispered, "Master, are you going to..."

"Eastern Capital."

Li Yun did not hide it, but whispered: "It is difficult for me to say whether we can take it down or not. If the Shuofang Army has left 30,000 to 50,000 troops in Duji Road, it may be difficult."

"If it's less than 30,000, then..."

Li Yun did not continue to speak, but said softly: "In any case, it is always worthwhile to go and see Dujidao!"

"Sir, you don't have to persuade me."

Li Yun stood up and said with a smile: "I believe you can take care of the affairs of Shannan East Road and the Central Plains. Please trust me too."

Yao Zhong bowed deeply to Li Yun and said, "I...will wait for your good news, Your Majesty."

Li Yun smiled at him, reminded him of a few important matters, then asked someone to get a pot of wine, and carried the wine all the way to the residence of General Zhou Xu in Chenzhou City.

As soon as I pushed the door open, a scent of powder hit me in the face.

Li Yun smiled silently, his voice bright and clear.

"General, I wish you a happy new year!"

(End of this chapter)