Thief Emperor

Chapter 760: Rescuing the Big Customer

In the big tent, Luo Zhen also frowned.

He stroked his beard, then looked at Zhou Chang and said, "There are two possibilities. One is that General Xiao really can't defend Youyan anymore, so he just gives it a try. Another possibility is that General Xiao doesn't want to defend Youyan either."

Luo Zhen whispered: "If the Khitans enter the pass, the entire north will be in chaos..."

"No, no."

Zhou Chang shook his head slightly and said, "If there is chaos in the north, his son Xiao Heng will still be the first to bear the brunt, unless the Fanyang Army and the Khitans have reached some kind of alliance. But Xiao Xian's fighting style does not seem to be in any way an alliance with the Khitans."

"Besides, if there really was an alliance, he wouldn't just leave 200,000 or 300,000 men in Youyan. 200,000 or 300,000 men, even Li Yun now would feel distressed for a year or two."

Zhou Chang murmured, "Even if we can't hold it, we can still hold on for a few months by just defending the two state cities. Why..."

Luo Zhen also frowned, unable to figure out what was going on. After a long while, he looked at Zhou Chang and whispered, "Major General, should we... still move north?"

Zhou Chang thought for a while and said slowly: "We should continue to go north. According to King Wu's statement, as long as the Fanyang Army does not stop us, we will continue to go north. If Xiao Heng's Fanyang Army stops us, we will turn around and leave. At that time, the guilt of losing Yanyun will fall on Xiao Heng's head!"

At this point, he looked at Luo Zhen and whispered, "Uncle Luo, write a letter to my father and Luoyang respectively."

Luo Zhen nodded his head and said, "Major General, the Nine Departments of Jiangdong are already quite powerful. Although King Li... Wu is in Luoyang, he probably knows about Fanyang's situation by now, so there is no need for us to report it."

Zhou Chang said silently: "He knows it himself, but it's not the same thing as informing us."

Luo Zhen nodded, thought for a moment, and asked, "Young General, are you determined to follow King Wu?"

"It's not that I'm determined to follow him, but the situation is like this, so I have no choice."

Zhou Chang took a deep breath and said, "He has reached this point now. By next year, I am afraid that the Shuofang Army will only be beaten by him. With such a big situation, I don't know how many people will rush to join him."

"We in Qingzhou have clashed with him more than once, and have offended him more than once. If we don't express our stance as soon as possible at this time."

He looked at Luo Zhen, feeling somewhat helpless: "I'm afraid it will be difficult for Qingzhou to survive, and our families will all be exiled to the ends of the earth."

"Uncle Luo, at this time, you and I must be decisive and stop thinking about it."

Zhou Chang took a deep breath and whispered, "Unless... unless the King of Wu fails, we should all be more at ease."

Luo Zhen nodded and said slowly: "With the current strength of Jiangdong, even if the King of Wu fails in the north, we in Qingzhou will probably have to be more reliable in front of him, Major General..."

He looked at Zhou Chang and asked, "Does the young general know about Gongsun's affairs?"

“I know…I know.”

Zhou Chang looked at Luo Zhen and sighed: "It's just that my father and I pretended not to know."

Luo Zhen said, "Hey," and said, "According to current information, Gongsun is doing quite well in Jiangdong. If the King of Wu succeeds in the future, maybe we can see Gongsun again."

Zhou Chang nodded silently, and said with some emotion: "I wonder what Uncle Hao looks like now."

After saying this, he looked at Luo Zhen and continued, "Uncle Luo, we are going to continue heading north, but at a slower pace."

Luo Zhen smiled and said, "Don't worry, General. I understand."

He stood up, clasped his fists towards Zhou Chang, and said, "Major General has made great progress now compared to previous years."

Zhou Chang did not show any joy when he heard this. He just smiled bitterly and shook his head helplessly, saying, "He was trained by Lord Li from Jiangdong. Ten years ago, who would have thought that there would be such a person who would rise up suddenly in the Jiangnan area?"

Luo Zhen smiled and said, "Anyway, I will follow Major General Ding from now on!"

Zhou Chang stood up and clasped his fists in return.
"I will try my best to preserve Qingzhou in this chaotic world."

At this point, Zhou Chang looked outside the tent, a little absent-minded: "This world is too chaotic, no one can tell what tomorrow will be like."

Luo Zhen did not respond. He clasped his fists silently and left to organize the troops.

Zhou Chang, sitting in the commander's tent, looked at a map of Hebei Province and muttered to himself.

"Xiao Heng...what are you thinking now?"

………………

Luoyang City.

Li Yun, Du Qian and Yao Zhong sat on three sides of a table.

At this time, three days had passed since Du Qian arrived in Luoyang. He had already had the welcoming banquet and other things. Now, Du Qian had officially devoted himself to the work in Luoyang. In front of the three people, a map of the Central Plains was spread out. Li Yun pointed at the map and said, "In the Central Plains, there are only three states left, Caozhou, Huazhou, and Puzhou. The other states and counties are basically under our control. At this time, the Hedong Army has also withdrawn from Henan Province and withdrawn to Hedong Province, stationing troops in Zezhou."

Li Yun looked at the map, thought for a moment, and then said, "From the current perspective, we can be sure that there will not be any major wars in the Central Plains at least this year."

"Therefore, the administration of the various states and counties in the Central Plains can also be expanded downwards."

At this point, Li Yun looked at the expressions of his two right-hand men and continued, "The Central Plains is the center of the world. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. It is also the most important place for us. My idea is that, at least from this year to next year, we will not collect money and grain from the people in the states and counties of the Central Plains, so that they can recuperate."

Hearing Li Yun's words, Yao Zhong opened his mouth to speak but stopped, then looked at Du Qian. Du Qian noticed this detail and smiled, "Brother Juzhong has been in charge of government affairs here for quite a long time. He knows this place better than I do. Brother Juzhong, please speak first."

Yao Zhong nodded, then looked at Li Yun and said with a wry smile: "If you take the position, I'm afraid money and food will be tight."

"During this period, we not only provided money and food for the army, but also for the people in Luoyang. Until recently, the prefectures and counties around Luoyang were all under control, and Luoyang could communicate with the outside world. The pressure on our money and food was reduced a little."

"I understand that the superiors need to win over the hearts of the people in the Central Plains, but in the current situation, the money and food... are still a bit too much of a burden."

Li Yun and Du Qian looked at each other. The latter did not speak. Li Yun knocked on the table lightly and said, "Then transfer Fei Xuan here."

"Not taking action against the people doesn't mean there's no money or food to be taken. The wealthy families in the Central Plains..."

Hearing Li Yun's words, Du Qian on the side shook his head slightly. He looked at Li Yun and said, "Sir, there were still wealthy families in the Central Plains ten years ago, but the past ten years have been turbulent, and several forces have entered this place. They naturally plundered the people at first, and when the people could no longer be plundered, their first reaction was to do the same as you, and set their sights on those wealthy families."

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea and asked, "What does Brother Shouyi mean?"

"The common people have no money, and the wealthy families have no money either, but there is still a group of people who are very rich and have food. They may have been impacted by Wang Junping at first, but their foundation is basically intact. Liang Wen and Wei Quanzhong behind them probably won't dare to touch them."

Hearing this, Li Yun already understood, and he said softly: "Aristocratic family."

"Correct."

Du Qian said softly, "These aristocratic families are not only well-informed, but also cunning and cunning. Not long after Wang Junping's rebellion began, Zheng Hao of the Xingyang Zheng family moved to Jiangdong with a large part of the Xingyang Zheng family's assets."

"Moreover, the ancestral homes of these aristocratic families are dug to great depths. They have extensive local influence and some even have forts. Even if they have experienced wars, they must have retained a considerable portion of their assets, or transferred a considerable portion of their assets."

"As long as these people are willing to shed their blood, the Jiangdong Army can hold out even if we don't collect taxes from the Central Plains for two or three years, not to mention one year."

Yao Zhong was thoughtful when he heard this.

He was born in a poor family, and his knowledge of the aristocratic families was limited to rumors, which was far less than what Du Qian knew.

After all, Du Qian himself is from a noble family.

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea and smiled: "It seems that Brother Shouyi has made up his mind."

Du Qian smiled and said, "If you give me this task, I will stay in Luoyang for a while and help you talk to them about this matter. You are powerful now, and those people..."

"Now, you must be happy to spend money on the upper position."

This is called political investment. The reason why aristocratic families have remained strong for thousands of years is because they have been making political investments.

Li Yun frowned slightly.

Du Qian saw through his thoughts and said with a smile: "Don't worry, we will only take the benefits and be honest."

"I can't say a word."

Only then did Li Yun smile.

"Then I'll trouble Brother Huiyi for this matter."

"Mr. Yao."

He looked at Yao Zhong, who immediately stood up, bowed his head and saluted: "I am here."

"You have also read the manifesto. There is nothing wrong with it. Have someone copy a hundred copies immediately."

"Publish it to the world."

Yao Zhong lowered his head immediately.

"My minister obeys."

(End of this chapter)