Thief Emperor

Chapter 741 Persuasion and Heavenly Power

Before Li Yun left Chenzhou, he had a drink with General Zhou Xu to paralyze him.

However, Zhou Xu was a shrewd man and he came to his senses in just three or four days. In addition, the Pinglu Army also had its own spies, so General Zhou soon knew Li Yun's general movements.

In addition, after Li Yun had been involved in several major battles near Luoyang, if he no longer knew where Li Yun was, then he would have served as the Jiedushi for so many years in vain.

The Pinglu Jiedushi did not act rashly, but stayed in Chenzhou for another ten days before leaving Chenzhou on an excuse. No one knew where he went, but after wandering around for a long time, he finally came to Xuzhou, where the two families stationed their troops.

Everything was quite normal at first, but about three days ago, he brought some gifts and came to the Jiangdong Army camp to "express condolences". When he and Chen Da were inspecting the camp, a Jiangdong Army soldier suddenly jumped up and stabbed Zhou Xu in the shoulder with a dagger, causing blood to flow and almost soaking his clothes.

General Zhou fainted on the spot and was carried back to his own camp by his men. And then there was no further news.

Although Chen Da had made some achievements in military affairs, he was far inferior to Zhou Xu in terms of wisdom. The incident happened suddenly and he was unable to stop the assassin from committing suicide. He could only ask Jiusi to report the news to Li Yun urgently.

After Su Zhan finished reading, he frowned and said, "Sir, he is in our military camp. If we want to take action, we don't need any assassins. This is weird..."

Li Yun glanced at him and said with a smile: "Tell me what you think."

Su Zhan thought about it seriously and whispered, "The biggest possibility is, of course, that Zhou Xu is manipulating this himself, wanting to have an excuse to mobilize our troops. But after thinking about it, I think there is another possibility."

"It is also possible that the Shuofang Army has planted assassins in our army, and when General Zhou approached, the assassins took the opportunity to attack..."

"The fact that you can think of the latter shows that you have made progress in the past few years."

Li Yun frowned and said, "Chen Da's document was vague, so I can't tell for sure."

"And he handled the scene very poorly."

Li Yun took a deep breath and said slowly: "Now, we can only wait and see."

Su Zhan nodded and said, "I will arrange the retreat right away."

Li Yun nodded and rubbed his brows: "Go, go, I'm tired too, I need to rest."

Su Zhan lowered his head, bowed and left.

Two days later, Li Yun's guards led the way, and the remaining 3,000 people of Yu Ye followed Li Yun's guards and slowly left Xin'an.

Because this trip was not urgent and there was no threat from the Shuofang Army nearby, Li Yun got in a carriage and left Xin'an.

The person riding with him in the carriage was none other than Yu Ye, whose injuries had improved a little. Because he was an old member of the anti-theft team, although Yu Ye respected Li Yun like a god in his heart, the relationship between the two was still close. In the carriage, Yu Ye leaned against the carriage and told Li Yun about Sun Youtian's affairs over the years.

Li Yun was not impatient. He listened to him quietly and asked a few questions from time to time.

Finally, Yu Ye talked about the defense of Xin'an. He sighed and said, "He had several lieutenants under him, all of whom were brought up by him. When the Shuofang army attacked him fiercely that day, he didn't need to die. I don't know why he went crazy..."

At this point, Yu Ye laughed at himself and said, "Now, his son and daughter have become old... and a burden to me."

Li Yun looked at Yu Ye, was silent for a while, and sighed: "Of the brothers in the anti-theft team back then, there are probably less than 80 of them left who are still following me and serving in the army."

Upon hearing this, Yu Ye also remained silent.

Li Yun looked at him and continued, "I will personally distribute the compensation for Sun Youtian after I return to Jinling. Didn't you brag to others that you own one of the fifty houses in Jinling New City?"

Li Yun looked at him and smiled softly, "You have performed a great service in the battle of Xin'an. After I return to Jinling, I will ask them to give you one, but we have to make a deal in advance."

"This house is not for you alone. It is for you and Sun Youtian. You must raise his two children well."

Upon hearing this, Yu Ye's eyes were red. He wiped his tears and said tearfully, "Don't worry, my lord. His children are my children. From now on, they will all have my surname, Yu!"

Fostering and adoption are completely different. If the child lives in the Yu family and still has the surname Sun, he might be bullied by people around him as he grows up. However, after being adopted and changing his surname, the situation will be much better.

Li Yun nodded and warned: "When his son grows up, if you have another son, don't forget to choose one and change his surname back to Sun. Don't let the family name disappear."

"Okay." Yu Ye nodded heavily: "I've taken note of it."

Li Yun looked at him and asked about the age of his son and Sun Youtian's son. After thinking for a while, he said, "They are about the same age as my youngest son. When they grow up, maybe they can play together."

As he spoke, he gently patted Yu Ye's shoulder and said, "When we get back to Jinling, bring your child and the Sun family's child to visit me so that I can recognize them."

Yu Ye nodded quickly and said yes.

…………

Two days later, Li Yun returned to the camp south of Luoyang, and he arranged for Yu Ye's troops to be stationed in a county town further east to allow them to rest.

In the future, some of the new recruits from the five states of Jingxiang will be added to Yu Ye, allowing him to restore the organization and return to the battlefield.

However, Yu Ye's troops have made considerable contributions in defending Xin'an this time, and these will be recorded in Li Yun's little notebook. Even if he restores the system in the future, he probably won't be allowed to fight particularly tough battles.

People have feelings. Li Yun can make the decision on these things, and of course he will have to take better care of Yu Ye in the future. He can't let Yu Ye die on the battlefield.

After arriving at the military camp, Li Yun did not delay and immediately had someone invite Yao Zhong to the general's tent. After Yao Zhong saw Li Yun, he bowed respectfully and politely: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Li Yun raised his hand, indicating that he didn't need to be polite, and then said lightly: "Sir, you have probably read the recent news of the Nine Departments. Tell me what you think."

Yao Zhong nodded first, and after thinking for a while, he said, "The superior's strategy is quite successful. Until now, Luoyang is still surrounded by our army. They may be able to break out, but the outsiders can't get in. If they continue to consume like this, the war in the Central Plains will soon come to an end."

At this point, he looked up at Li Yun, his eyes burning, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I think that once my army occupies Luoyang, Your Majesty can immediately ascend the throne in Luoyang, that is, the throne of the emperor. When the time comes, Your Majesty will occupy the Central Plains, and you can use the emperor's flag to conquer the four directions and quell the rebellion in the four directions!"

Li Yun was startled when he heard this, then waved his hand and said, "It's too early to talk about these things now. Don't rush, don't rush."

Any man would inevitably have his heartbeat quickened upon hearing words of persuasion, and Li Yun was no exception. However, Li Yun was still quite rational now, and would not be blinded by the empty title of the throne.

Yao Zhong opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Li Yun. Li Yun looked at him and said, "Have you read about Zhou Xu's matter, sir?"

Yao Zhong immediately bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have already seen it, but I think that this is General Zhou's own decision..."

"Don't worry about him."

"But we can't just ignore the Pinglu Army. If they use this as an excuse to attack from the east, we will be attacked from the east, west and north."

"By then, let alone occupying Luoyang, even the Central Plains will not be able to hold its ground, and we may have to retreat back to the south."

Upon hearing this, Yao Zhong nodded silently, then asked, "What does the king mean..."

"The war in Luoyang is getting more and more urgent. Wei Yao in the city may come out of the city at any time to fight with my army. I also have to dispatch military supplies and assign new soldiers, so I can't leave."

Li Yun said this, looked up at Yao Zhong, and said: "So, I would like to ask you, sir, to take my order and go to Xuzhou to take a look and find out the truth."

"Would you like to go, sir?"

Yao Zhong did not hesitate, bowed his head and said: "I will not refuse even if I die."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Sir, you are very brave."

"It's not that I'm bold."

Yao Zhong looked up at Li Yun and smiled at him.

"It is because of the majesty of the king."

"I am sure that the Pinglu Army will not dare to move against me."

(End of this chapter)