Thief Emperor

Chapter 758 A Big Flag

Li Yun did not ask whether he should ask or not, but asked whether he should ask at this time.

In his opinion, the affairs of the Khitans would sooner or later become his affairs. As long as he kept moving forward, one day he would face the Khitans head-on.

It’s just that fighting now and fighting in the future are different in difficulty, and the price to pay is also very different.

Right now, the territory of the Central Plains is still in the consolidation stage and has not been digested at all. It can even be said that it has not yet entered the digestion stage. If we take action at this time, once too many troops are allocated, it may lead to instability in the Central Plains.

Moreover, given the current situation in Hebei Province, even if Li Yun wanted to send troops, they might not be able to pass through Hebei Province and might not be able to reach the front line.

Yao Zhong was thoughtful, then seemed to understand something and lowered his head slightly.

At this time, sending troops immediately would obviously be disadvantageous to the Jiangdong army, and it would not be in the interests of all parties at the moment. However, if troops were not sent, they would have to bear the pressure on the moral level, and it would be recorded in history books in the future, which would be a big black spot in their lives.

At this time, someone needs to take the initiative to step forward and take up the blame.

After figuring out this key point, Yao Zhong took a deep breath and said firmly: "Master, it is absolutely impossible to support Fan Yang at this time!"

His voice was so loud that it could be heard more than ten steps away, and many people heard just this one sentence.

Li Yun frowned slightly, then understood what Yao Zhong meant, and smiled dumbly: "Mr. Yao, you..."

Yao Zhong looked up at Li Yun and said, "My Lord, I do not agree with this matter, and at this time, I should also express my opinion."

"The Central Plains is not yet secure. Sending troops at this time will not only be useless, but will also hurt the foundation of our Jiangdong country."

Yao Zhong bowed his head slightly and said, "I have been following you for a few years, and I know your temper to some extent. Although you look mighty, you are actually a compassionate person in your heart. You may have some hesitations in your heart about this matter, but I have no hesitations. If you want to send troops, I will take all my subordinates with me tomorrow to jointly write a letter of opposition!"

Li Yun already had people like Zhang Sui around him. By now, he is at least the ruler of Jiangnan. His every word and action may be recorded in history books in the future.

Therefore, at this time, once written materials such as "documents" are passed down, they will definitely be recorded in history books in the future.

Yao Zhong's memorial is a written document and will definitely be recorded in history books in the future. This memorial can completely remove Li Yun from the moral level. With this memorial, no matter who tells this story in the future, he, Li, will be a moral saint and cannot be criticized.

Li Yun looked at Yao Zhong and sighed, "Mr. Yao, I am not talking to you to make you bear this crime, but I really want to hear your opinion."

He looked calm: "Besides, this matter is not a crime for me. Whether I go or not, no one can say anything to me."

Now, the Pinglu Army has gone north to help. Even if Hebei Province is in chaos, the blame will be on the Xiao father and son, or on the Khitans, and will not have much to do with him, Li.

Yao Zhong bowed slightly and said, "I still hold the same opinion as before. I think that the Central Plains will be stable at least after the spring planting next year, and then the upper class will be able to send troops."

"Sowing next spring..."

Li Yun narrowed his eyes and said softly, "That will take more than half a year."

“For more than half a year…”

Li Yun shook his head slightly and didn't continue.

He paused and added, "By the way, there is something I need to tell you in advance. Brother Shouyi is already on his way to Luoyang. I would like to invite him to Luoyang to consult on the overall situation of the world."

Yao Zhong was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "Sir, it would be great if Prime Minister Du could come to Luoyang to take charge of the situation. I have been in Luoyang for a while and have been stretched to the limit."

Having said this, he stopped talking.

Li Yun looked at him with a smile but didn't point it out.

Yao Zhong is a man who is certainly capable, but he is a little too cunning.

However, this is not necessarily a bad thing for Li Yun. At this time, he really needs a few smart people around him to serve him.

"Sir, you have done a good job in Luoyang."

Li Yun patted his shoulder and said softly, "But my ambition is not in the southeast, and I don't plan to establish the capital in Jinling. Brother Shouyi naturally can't guard Jinling forever. He will always have to come out and take a walk and have a look."

"Yes."

Yao Zhong lowered his head and asked, "After Prime Minister Du left, Jinling..."

Li Yun put his hands behind his back and said, "Fei Xuan, Xu Ang, Zhuo Guangrui, and my father-in-law are in Jinling and can support me for a while. If it is an important matter, the Nine Departments will always send a document to me. They have been used to it for so long, so it's nothing more than sending one more copy."

Yao Zhong nodded in agreement.

Li Yun asked him some more questions, then patted him on the shoulder and said, "Okay, sir, go and get busy. If there is anything else, I will ask someone to call you." "Yes."

Yao Zhong bowed his head and said, "My Lord, when will Prime Minister Du arrive? I can also welcome him in advance..."

"No need for you to greet me, no need for you to greet me."

Li Yun patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "When he comes, we will drink together."

Yao Zhong then lowered his head and said, "Yes."

…………

Three days later, Li Yun personally came to the east gate of Luoyang to wait.
After waiting for a while, dozens of riders came galloping in the distance. When they got closer, they saw the first one, a scholar in a gray robe. The scholar saw Li Yun from a distance, dismounted a dozen steps away, and strode towards Li Yun. Before he got close, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, Your Majesty!"

Behind him, a group of people knelt on the ground, calling him "Your Majesty".

Li Yun hurried forward, helped Du Qian up, and said with a smile: "We haven't seen each other for more than a year. Why do you feel so distant, brother Shouyi? Do we really need such a gift between us?"

Du Qian stood up, dusted himself off, and smiled at Li Yun, "Sir, the status of monarch and subject has been determined. Logically speaking, you should not be here to welcome me."

"I haven't had anything particularly important to do recently, so I've been sitting around doing nothing. Yesterday, Jiusi sent me a message saying that Brother Shouyi will arrive today, so I came over to greet him. Let me tell you."

Li Yun looked at Du Qian and said with emotion: "Brother Shouyi has arrived in seven days, a distance of 1,500 miles. This is incredible. An ordinary scholar would need at least half a month to get there."

Du Qian stretched his body, shook his head and smiled: "When I was in the capital, every day did I not go out to ride a horse? At that time, it took me only seven or eight days to ride a horse all the way from the capital to Yuezhou, not to mention Luoyang."

"It's just that sitting for a long time in recent years has really hurt my body."

Du Qian shook his head and sighed, "After riding for a few days, I feel like I'm falling apart."

Li Yun held his sleeve and said with a smile: "I have prepared a banquet to welcome Brother Shouyi. Let's go into the city."

Du Qian nodded first, then looked up at the Luoyang City in front of him, and sighed: "When I was young, I went to Luoyang several times with my father and the elders in my family. At that time, the Eastern Capital was still a prosperous scene. It has been many years since I last saw it."

"I didn't expect to see this scene when I came to Luoyang again."

As they were talking, Li Yun had already led him into the city. He walked in front and said, "Luoyang is pretty good now. Brother Shouyi has not seen Luoyang a month or two ago. At that time, the city was in chaos and there were dead bodies everywhere in the streets and alleys."

He looked back at Du Qian and said softly, "It took the Jiangdong Army's soldiers several days to clean up the mess."

"Until now, although Luoyang is still dwindling in population, it has finally restored some order."

Du Qian put his hands behind his back and looked around Luoyang City. After a while, he looked at Li Yun in front of him and said, "What do you think now, the superior?"

Li Yun smiled and asked, "What idea?"

Du Qian smiled and didn't respond.

Li Yun looked at him and laughed: "Let's talk about it at the table."

In the city, the carriage was ready. The two got on the carriage and soon arrived at Li Yun's camp. After getting off the carriage, a table of wine and food was ready. Li Yun sat opposite Du Qian at the same table and said with a smile: "I didn't inform Yao Juzhong and the others today. Brother Shouyi should take a good rest today. Let them welcome you tomorrow."

Du Qian shook his head, indicating that he didn't care about these. He reached out and poured a glass of wine for Li Yun, and then added another glass for himself. He raised his glass and clinked it with Li Yun's. Then he said directly: "Are you going to take the throne in Luoyang, or will you talk about it after entering Guanzhong?"

Li Yun drank the wine in the glass, shook his head slightly and said: "Originally, it would be fine if we could enter Guanzhong, but now I'm afraid that's not possible. In the past few days, bad news about Fanyang has come one after another..."

"I'm afraid we can't stop the Khitans."

Du Qian frowned slightly when he heard this. After thinking for a while, he said softly, "Perhaps, we can make a fuss about this matter."

"What article?"

"Call upon the whole world to resist foreign aggression together."

Li Yun shook his head: "I'm afraid few people will respond."

“Who doesn’t respond.”

Du Shouyi's voice was calm.

"Who is the traitor?"

(End of this chapter)