Thief Emperor

Chapter 746 King of the World (Happy New Year's Eve!)

At dusk, Li Yun's 5,000 men had occupied all the gates of Luoyang's four city walls.

At this time, Li Yun could actually be said to have taken over Luoyang, because five thousand elite soldiers could guard Luoyang for a long time.

In fact, if Wei Yao had not taken all the troops away, even if he only left 5,000 troops, he would still be able to defend Luoyang for quite a long time. After all...

This is Dongdu!
It can be said to be another capital of Wu Zhou.

Luoyang has suffered from wars and disasters over the past few years. First there was Wang Junping, then Liang Wen, and then the Shuofang Army entered Luoyang. These three forces were all disasters and misfortunes for the people.
In just a few years, it has suffered three major disasters.

Luoyang at this time is no longer as prosperous as it used to be. The population is dwindling, and the streets and alleys have a rather desolate feel.

Even so, the skeleton of the city is still there and it doesn't even need to be rebuilt. It just needs to be cleaned up and maintained and it can be used as a capital.

And now, after the Jiangdong Army spared no expense and spent several months, it finally took over this big city! From now on, the Jiangdong Army has a truly solid foothold in the Central Plains, and this foothold is the very center of the Central Plains.

After dark, Li Yun stood on the west city wall of Luoyang, looking up into the distance. Behind him stood Yao Zhong, Zhang Sui, and Su Zhan.

Li Yun stared into the distance for a long time, then turned back to look at Yao Zhong and said silently: "For this big city, almost 20,000 of our brothers lost their lives."

Yao Zhong had been following Li Yun for a long time, and he had a better understanding of Li Yun's temper. Upon hearing this, the Jiangdong deputy prime minister lowered his head and thought for a while, then said, "Your Majesty, if I say the word 'worth it' to you, you will definitely feel uncomfortable."

"But, in my opinion, it is worth it."

Yao Zhong took a deep breath and said slowly, "Since the decline of the Wu Zhou Dynasty, wars have broken out all over the world. The remote areas in the southeast have not been affected yet, but the Central Plains has experienced countless wars. The city of Luoyang alone has been through wars several times."

"The people are suffering, Your Majesty."

Yao Zhong looked at Li Yun's back and continued, "I know that the king has always been a sentimental person. In his heart, the people of the Central Plains and his fellow brothers in the Jiangdong Army may not have the same weight, but I want to say..."

"As a king, you must love the world and treat everyone equally."

"Now that we have defeated the rebels in Shuofang and taken control of Luoyang, we will be able to take control of the Central Plains in the future. In the future, we will definitely be able to save the people from disasters. This is the greatest benevolence in the world."

Li Yun looked back at him and laughed: "Scholars are good at talking. I feel a little better now."

Yao Zhong said sternly: "I am just telling the truth. I am a citizen of Jiangdong. I know very well what Jiangdong has been like under the superiors in recent years. Otherwise, I would not have come to Jinling to serve as an official."

"Your Majesty, you are the king born for this destiny. You were born to put an end to the chaos of the weekend."

Upon hearing this, Li Yun was stunned at first, then felt dazed.

From a metaphysical perspective, what Yao Zhong said might not be unreasonable. Not long after he came to this world, the Shidai County Rebellion broke out in Xuanzhou, followed by the Yuezhou Rebellion. Soon after that, Wang Junping started a rebellion.

The world is in chaos.

And he seemed to have really been born into this world...

These thoughts flashed through his mind, but were quickly forgotten. Li Yun shook his head and said, "I almost believed you when you said that. Well, the Central Plains War is not only not over, but is still fierce. This is not the time to dwell on our achievements, Mr. Yao."

Yao Zhong bowed his head and said, "I am here."

"Post the notices to reassure the people in Luoyang City as soon as possible, and then you will take the lead in restoring the order in Luoyang City and make Luoyang peaceful as soon as possible. As for the war outside the city, you don't have to worry about it. You will just take care of the administration of Luoyang."

"Yes."

Yao Zhong bowed his head first, he hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Your Majesty, when I entered the city this afternoon, I had already led people to check the warehouses in Luoyang City. Luoyang City is already short of food..."

Li Yun frowned, looked back at him, and said, "So fast? It's only been three or four months since the Shuofang Army entered Luoyang, and they..."

Yao Zhong whispered, "Your Majesty, if it were a peaceful time, the granaries in Luoyang would be full, and the troops from outside would be able to be fed for a long time. However, Luoyang has been plundered several times, and the Shuofang Army also entered Luoyang in a hurry..."

"There are tens of thousands of them, and their daily food and drink is a lot of expenses. I suspect that not only have they run out of military rations, but they have even started to rob the people in the city."

"If it weren't for this reason, they wouldn't have withdrawn from Luoyang so easily."

Li Yun touched his chin with his hand and asked, "Can our food be transported to Luoyang as soon as possible?"

"can."

Yao Zhong whispered: "It's no problem to support our own army, but there should be 300,000 people in Luoyang City..."

"Try your best to transfer the food."

Li Yun exhaled and said slowly: "Mr. Yao, after we arrive in Luoyang, we should not leave again. As you said, the people in this city, and even the people in the Central Plains, will be our people in the future." "Try your best to transfer food here to support us during this period. If it doesn't work, you can sell it to them at a price."

"Zhou Qian, we also recognize him."

Yao Zhong bowed his head deeply and said, "Your Majesty, I will do my best to transfer the grain, but there is no need to sell it. Luoyang has been looted several times, and the people in the city probably have little money left even if they have money. And now is a good time to win people's hearts."

"You can concentrate on military affairs. No matter how difficult this matter is, I will do my best to handle it."

At this point, Yao Zhong whispered, "Sir, even if there are people starving to death in the city, as long as we provide the food and save some people, they will remember your kindness."

"No need to say more."

Li Yun waved his hand and said, "I have never objected to such things, provided that it does not affect the supply of military rations. As for the rest, Sir, do your best and I will do my best to help."

"Then I will get busy now."

Yao Zhong bowed deeply and was about to leave the tower. Li Yun turned around and called Zhang Sui. Zhang Sui immediately lowered his head and stepped forward, calling His Majesty. Li Yun ordered, "There are many things going on in Luoyang these days. Follow Prime Minister Yao and give him a hand."

At this point, Li Yun paused and continued, "I said that after I go back, I will arrange for you to be the county magistrate to gain some experience. There is also a county magistrate under Luoyang. Who knows, you can gain some experience here."

Zhang Sui understood that Li Yun was helping him. He knelt on the ground, bowed his head deeply and said, "I obey your command. I thank you, Your Majesty."

After he stood up, he bowed to Yao Zhong and said, "Greetings, Mr. Yao."

Yao Zhong looked at him, nodded slightly, and said, "I'm afraid there are a lot of things going on these days, and I need a trustworthy person to help me. Let's go, let's go."

After saying that, he led Yao Zhong back down from the city wall.

Su Zhan then stepped forward silently and said to Li Yun: "Master, you have been very tired these past few days, you should rest early."

Li Yun looked at him and looked towards the west: "There's a war going on over there."

He took a deep breath, clenched his fist and said, "To be honest, I really want to ride to the battlefield to take a look, fight a few rounds and relax my muscles."

"But."

Li Yun looked back at Luoyang who was hidden in the night and laughed at himself: "Now, it seems that it is time for me to stay at the rear and wait for news."

"Su Zhan, right now on the battlefield west of Luoyang, the two sides have more than 100,000 troops on the battlefield, and your eldest brother is the commander. What do you think..."

Mr. Li looked deep in his eyes: "Can he win?"

"can."

Su Zhan answered without hesitation. He lowered his head and said, "Your Excellency, please have a good rest in Luoyang and wait for good news from the front. I will leave the city overnight and rush to the front to replace you..."

"Looking at the front line battlefield."

Li Yun thought about it and nodded in agreement. He patted Su Zhan on the shoulder and said, "Go find Yang Xi and ask him to give you twenty riders to escort you to the battlefield. If you have any news, send it back to me immediately using the Nine Divisions."

"I'm in Luoyang, waiting for good news from the front."

"Yes!"

Su Sheng lowered his head and clasped his fists in response. After he retreated from the city wall, he quickly found Yang Xi.

In the past few years, he followed Li Yun and inevitably had to deal with Yang Xi. The two of them had become very familiar with each other. After explaining his purpose, Yang Xi was also very polite and dispatched twenty elite cavalrymen from the guard camp to escort Su Zhan out of Luoyang overnight.

After leaving Luoyang, the group headed west and quickly found out the location of Su Sheng's tent through the channels of the Nine Departments. The group of twenty people went straight into the central army. After Su Zhan got off his horse, he went straight to the tent and saw Su Sheng, who was sitting in the tent and discussing matters with the generals below.

Su Zhan waited for a long time, and only when all the generals and officers left did he step forward and respectfully clasp his fists: "Big Brother!"

Su Sheng motioned for him to sit down, then asked, "How is the situation in Luoyang?"

"Your Majesty has already occupied Luoyang."

Su Sheng heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this, and he spoke slowly.

"It's worth it no matter how much it costs to take over Luoyang."

(End of this chapter)