Thief Emperor

Chapter 762 It’s natural
Li Yun was naturally aware of Du Qian's "reception" of those nobles, but he trusted Du Qian enough, so he let Du Qian do it on his own.

He also believed that with Du Qian's ability, he could handle this matter beautifully.

Besides, the two people in Jiangdong who can be called "prime ministers" are now in Luoyang. Although Jiangdong's civil service team did not follow, the presence of these two people means that at least half of the administrative force has arrived in Luoyang. If Li Yun continues to hold on to government affairs, he will never be able to get away from the paperwork.

Compared with these aristocratic families, Li Yun is now more concerned about the situation in Fan Yang and the movements of the Khitans.

He chatted with Su Sheng in his study for more than half an hour, analyzing the situation in Fan Yang bit by bit.

After the situation was almost clear, Su Sheng looked at Li Yun, pointed his finger at the map, and said, "Master, what exactly are the Xiao father and son thinking, and why are they doing this now? We can't figure it out here, but I think we can't just sit there and do nothing. Although it's unlikely that we can stop the Khitans from leaving Youyan, we can still... "

"It is confined to Hebei Province."

Su Sheng whispered, "Sir, I am willing to lead the troops northwards, in the name of jointly fighting against the Khitan, and march into Hebei Province. When we reach Hebei, we can at least guarantee that the Khitan will not march southwards in large numbers, and your great cause will not be in trouble."

"and."

Su Sheng whispered, "Even if the Khitans occupy Youyan and part of Hebei, they don't have enough power to move south in one go. It may be more difficult for me to defeat them and drive them back outside the Great Wall, but keeping an eye on them is not a problem."

Li Yun nodded, knocked on the table, and said, "The problem is that we can't spare too many troops. The states and counties in the Central Plains have just stabilized. If we want to continue to maintain stability, the most I can give to my brother..."

He held up two fingers and said, "Twenty thousand troops."

"Including Xuzhou, there are more than 10,000 troops near Xuzhou. Added together, there are almost 30,000 troops. These troops are what Jiangdong can currently spare."

"and."

Li Yun frowned and said, "Logistics supply will not be as smooth and timely as it is now. Brother, this battle, in terms of difficulty, may be more difficult than all the previous battles of the Jiangdong Army."

Su Sheng smiled and said, “The previous battles of the Jiangdong Army were not difficult at all.”

"I have been leading troops under the superior for several years. During these years, we have fought tough battles, but our Jiangdong Army has never lacked food, medicine, military pay, or pensions."

"The intelligence was also delivered to each army as soon as possible. There was never any intrigue among the friendly armies. They all relied on and helped each other."

"Your Excellency has not been in the army of the Old Zhou Dynasty for a long time. If you had been in the army of the Old Zhou Dynasty for even a year or two, you would know that the situation of the Jiangdong Army is like a dream compared to the Old Zhou Army."

"If the superior can do these things, he is already the most worthy of the world."

Su Sheng said bluntly: "With these conditions, the superior should have stayed in the rear, waiting for the news of victory to reach the superior's ears. If we generals lose the battle, it is reasonable to execute us for the crime."

"Right now, I am leading my troops northward. At most, the conditions will be a little worse than before, but they are still much better than the old Zhou army."

Su Sheng said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, my subordinates will definitely be able to complete this task."

Li Yun thought about it, nodded and agreed, and said, "Okay, brother, you can lead the troops from Luoyang in the next few days. No matter which captain camp you want, I will try my best to assign it to you. However, I cannot assign Meng Qing, Yu Ye, and Lu Zheng, who need to guard one side, to you."

"Leave all of Chen Daquan's troops to my brother and take them to the north."

At this point, Li Yun paused and continued, "Brother, you can rest for a while in Xuzhou before heading north. You need to pay attention to two things on this trip."

Su Sheng stood up, bowed his head and said, "The superior has given his orders."

Li Yun looked at him and said, "The first thing is to take the lead in fighting against the Khitan. I have already asked the Nine Departments to issue the anti-enemy manifesto to the world. Brother, you must always pay attention to taking this position when you go."

"The second thing."

Li Yun looked at him and said softly, "Brother, you should pay more attention to the Pinglu Army and don't take it lightly. But you don't have to treat them as enemies. If necessary, you can join hands with them to fight the enemy."

"Brother, you can observe Zhou Chang...you can trust him at critical moments."

Su Sheng was stunned.

He originally thought that the second thing Li Yun wanted to explain was about the strategic goal of this trip north, but he did not expect that Li Yun was more concerned about the issue of the Pinglu Army.

He bowed his head slightly and said, "I have established it!"

Li Yun rubbed his brows and said, "Okay, then let's make it a deal. I will give the military order to you tomorrow. This time you go north, the purpose is to restrict the Khitans' range of activities and make their range of activities as small as possible."

"Just remember, don't go head-on with their cavalry. These Khitans are very good at riding and shooting, and they are very difficult to deal with."

Li Yun rubbed his brows and said, "Among the 20,000 people my brother took away, there can be at most four cavalry captain battalions."

Four cavalry battalions, that is, about 4,000 cavalry, which is almost the total number of cavalry in the entire Jiangdong Army.

Li Yun has been trying to build a decent cavalry in the past few years, but it would take at least ten or twenty years to create one. Even though he spent a lot of time and energy, in the past eight or nine years, the number of cavalry that can be used on the battlefield and can be considered good is only about five or six thousand. Su Sheng bowed his head deeply: "I obey your command!"

Li Yun waved his hand and said, "I still have a lot of things to do here, so I won't see you off, brother."

Su Sheng clasped his fists, bowed, and quietly walked out.

As soon as he left Li Yun's study, he saw his brother Su Zhan talking to two young men not far from the study door. The two young men, both fifteen or sixteen years old, stood in front of Su Zhan in an orderly manner, like disciples.

Su Sheng did not interrupt them but stood aside and watched for a long time. Seeing his younger brother teaching the two teenagers like a little adult, he felt complicated and mixed emotions.

I feel relieved and also emotional.

However, Su Zhan soon felt Su Sheng's gaze. He turned around and saw Su Sheng, then turned his head and said something to the two young men, then hurriedly trotted forward and saluted: "Big Brother!"

Su Sheng looked at the two young men who were waiting obediently not far away and said with a smile: "Good boy, you look pretty good. These two young men are..."

Su Zhan smiled and said, "One is Xue Gui, the nephew who has risen to a higher position."

"The other one is Zhou Luo, the eldest grandson of Zhou Xu, the governor of Pinglu."

Hearing these two names, Su Sheng's expression changed, and then he patted Su Zhan on the shoulder and said, "They all have very different backgrounds."

"Teach them well."

Su Zhan nodded his head and agreed, then asked, "Will I follow my elder brother to join the army?"

"I do not know."

Su Sheng shook his head and said, "It depends on the arrangements of the superiors, but my brother hopes you will."

"Stay in the upper guard camp first, follow Yang Xi and be his deputy."

Su Zhan seemed to be thinking about something. Although he didn't quite understand, he still lowered his head and replied "yes".

Su Sheng patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "You are busy, you are busy, I also have a lot of things to do."

"Yes."

Su Zhan clasped his fists and bowed, saying goodbye to his elder brother, then returned to the society Zhou Luo, coughed, and said with a straight face: "Let's continue talking."

…………

At dusk, Du Qian, wearing a dark blue robe, walked into Li Yun's office and entered Li Yun's study room without any hindrance. After bowing to Li Yun, he smiled and said, "Sir, our business is booming, booming."

Li Yun asked him to sit down, poured him tea, and asked with a smile, "What do you mean, brother Shouyi?"

"Today alone, I have met more than a dozen families, including the Zheng family of Xingyang. Most of them..."

"He's generous."

Du Qian looked at Li Yun and continued with a smile: "Moreover, some people don't even ask for any conditions, just say it's a gift to the superior..."

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea and said softly: "It is a pity to be grateful for what you have done to others, and it is a pity to be lenient to others."

"If you take their things, they will inevitably be lenient in the future."

Du Qian looked at Li Yun and said with a smile, "What if you don't want to take the position?"

"Now that we are short of money, we must ask for it."

Li Yun smiled and said, "As long as their requests are not too excessive, I think it's okay to agree to them."

"I don't have too many requests, but I won't treat those who do have requests well."

Du Qian looked at Li Yun and said softly, "It's just that a few families are worried and want to meet with the superior and have a meal with him."

"That's easy. I'll host a banquet at the headquarters tomorrow."

Mr. Li smiled indifferently.

"Since ancient times, it has been natural to eat with the sponsor."

(End of this chapter)