Thief Emperor

Chapter 786 I'm not kidding
Li Yun was ready to leave Hongnong at this moment. After hearing the news, he turned his head and looked at Yang Xian, the head of the Hongnong Yang family, who was standing beside him. He smiled and said, "Head of the Yang family, it seems that the Shuofang Army is coming to discuss something with me. Would you like to go with me to meet the Shuofang envoy?"

Yang Xian was extremely respectful. He took a deep breath and bowed his head and said, "No need, no need. I dare not cause trouble for the king."

After three days, the head of the Hongnong Yang family had unknowingly changed his name.

Calling him "Great King" is somewhat formal, but calling him Your Majesty means he is one of us.

In fact, within three days, Li Yun basically conquered the Hongnong Yang family. Although he was embarrassed to swallow up the Hongnong Yang family directly, Li Yun did not hesitate to squeeze out some benefits from these aristocratic families.

The main reason why he didn't just rob them was that it would not sound good to say it out loud. If he really took over the Yang family, Li's identity as a mountain king would be immediately confirmed, and it would be much more difficult to expand his territory in the future.

At this time, Li Yun was generally quite kind. He wanted to unite all the forces that could be united. One day, when the world was settled, he might turn around and settle old scores with those aristocratic families who had been riding on the heads of the people for thousands of years.

After listening to Yang Xian's words, Li Yun didn't say much. He could still see what the head of the Yang family was thinking. At this time, he only wanted to preserve the Hongnong Yang family. Since he had already surrendered to Li Yun, he certainly didn't want to meet or contact with the people of the Shuofang Army again.

If the Shuofang Army holds a grudge against them, Li Yun is not afraid of them, but they, the Hongnong Yang family, are still afraid of them.

Li Yun did not embarrass him. He just looked at him with his hands behind his back and said with a smile: "Master Yang, don't forget the agreement between you and me. Our officials from Jiangdong will arrive in Hongnong in ten days at most."

Yang Xian bowed his head and saluted Li Yun, saying, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. The Hongnong Yang family will definitely do their best to assist Jiangdong and govern Guozhou."

Li Yun smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, then I will go back and write the document to appoint the head of the Yang family as the first governor of Guozhou in Jiangdong."

After hearing this, Yang Xian did not nod in agreement, nor did he show any intention of thanking the king. He just bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I was pushed by my elders to be the head of this family because of my bloodline. I really do not have the ability to govern a region. Many of my Hongnong Yang family have served as officials in the court of the old Zhou Dynasty. If Your Majesty needs someone from the Yang family to serve as the governor of Guozhou, I will go back and immediately select a few people and have them meet Your Majesty."

"For the king to choose."

Li Yun looked at him quietly, then said calmly: "No one else can do it, it must be Patriarch Yang."

"It doesn't matter if you can't govern a region. Jiangdong will send you a special chariot to assist you in governing Guozhou."

Seeing that Yang Xian still didn't agree, Li Yun frowned and asked, "Could it be that Master Yang feels that this position is too low?"

"Don't dare, don't dare."

Yang Xian took a deep breath, bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Li Yun then smiled and nodded. He sat back in the main seat and said calmly, "Xue Gui, send Patriarch Yang off."

"Then invite the guests outside in."

Xue Gui responded, walked in front of Yang Xian, and said in a deep voice: "Master, please come in."

Yang Xian looked back at Li Yun, then followed Xue Gui obediently and left Li Yun's residence.

Mr. Li glanced at his departing back and hummed softly.

After a while, Xue Gui led a middle-aged scholar to Li Yun. He bowed his head and clasped his fists to Li Yun, then retreated.

The middle-aged man first looked up at Li Yun, then bowed and saluted, saying, "He Zhao, the Shuofang staff member, greets the King of Wu."

Li Yun did not stand up or return the greeting. He just looked at the middle-aged man, then put down the teacup in his hand and said with a smile: "In the past few years, the Shuofang Army has been conquering everywhere. Wherever they go, they rob and kill. I heard that General Wei made a lot of money and lived a fat life."

"Why is the chief strategist of the Shuofang Army so thin?"

Hearing the word "strategist", Mr. He was startled at first, then he looked up at Li Yun and said with emotion: "I have raised my opinion of King Wu more than once, but now I know that I still underestimated King Wu."

He sighed softly, "Even within the Shuofang Army, few people know my true identity, but the King of Wu can see through it."

Li Yun said, "To be honest, sir, if we were alone in Jiangdong, we might not know about this matter. However, in the past two years, Jiangdong has recruited some people from the old Imperial City Division."

"The master is in the Imperial City Department and has kept a record."

He Zhao was stunned. After a moment, he smiled bitterly and said, "It seems that I have underestimated the court."

Li Yun then pointed to the seat next to him and said, "Sit down and talk."

"Yes."

Mr. He was not stage-shy and sat down generously.

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "When the various forces coexist for a long time, it is natural that you are in me and I am in you. In fact, not many people know that I am in Hongnong. Didn't Mr. He find me anyway?"

"I guessed it."

He Zhao looked at Li Yun silently, and after a pause, he asked, "Is the King of Wu ready to complete the battle of Guanzhong?"

Li Yun smiled and said, "That's not the case. Hasn't your general Wei fled to Tongguan? With him, at least 60% to 70% of the Shuofang army can be saved, right?" "At most, only 30,000 to 40,000 casualties."

Mr. Li drank his tea again and said calmly, "During this period of time, you have been recruiting soldiers in Guanzhong like this, causing the people in Guanzhong to flee when they see the officials. I think you have recruited a lot of soldiers. What are only 30,000 or 40,000 people?"

Mr. He shook his head slightly and said, "These 30,000 to 40,000 people outside the pass are mostly our Shuofang elite. If the King of Wu is unwilling to stop fighting and let them return to Guanzhong, our general will not be able to swallow this anger. At that time, all the Shuofang troops in Guanzhong will be killed."

He looked at Li Yun and emphasized: "All the Shuofang troops will come out from Tongguan. Outside Tongguan will immediately become a bloody battlefield."

"The decisive battle will be outside Tongguan."

He Zhao looked up at Li Yun and said slowly, "Is the King of Wu ready for a decisive battle with Shuofang?"

Li Yun remained calm and drank his tea.

The Shuofang Army is one of the strongest armies in the world today. Although it suffered some losses at the hands of Li Yun before, they were only superficial injuries at most.

Now, after occupying Guanzhong for a period of time, their strength is even greater than before.

As for the Jiangdong Army, so far, it can only be said that it has surpassed the Shuofang Army in terms of overall strength and absolute combat power.

No one can tell.

Mr. Li put down the tea, looked at He Zhao, and said calmly: "Why not make your words clearer?"

Mr. He said calmly, "It is impossible for our general to abandon these troops outside Guanzhong. If the King of Wu forces Shuofang into a desperate situation, then the two sides will have no choice but to fight a decisive battle in Tongguan."

"The King of Wu is probably unable to guarantee victory over Shuofang, right?"

"Moreover, if this battle really goes to the end, it's hard to say who will win or lose between you and me, but I can be sure that by the end of this battle, the Central Plains will definitely change its master."

Li Yun put down the teacup in his hand and snorted, "Sir, are you threatening me?"

"Don't dare."

He Zhao lowered his head and said, "I am just explaining the pros and cons to the king."

There was still no expression on Li Yun's face, but there was some change in his gaze.

In the Battle of Tongguan, although Shuofang had to come out of Guanzhong and had no geographical advantages, the Jiangdong army also had no geographical advantages.

If at this time, Li Yun and Wei Quanzhong were the only two forces left in the world, Li Yun might grit his teeth and fight them in Tongguan, but now, the Hedong Army has almost maintained its complete combat effectiveness.

Moreover, he was secretly making advances with the Fanyang Army.

Li Yun did not think that his side would lose once the battle of Tongguan reached a desperate point. However, after destroying Shuofang, his Jiangdong Army in the Central Plains would probably be half-crippled.

The cost will even be greater.

At that time, Li Yun still had confidence that he could still fight with the Hedong Army, but this second battle...

It’s hard to say whether we can win.

After all, at that time, no matter how stupid the Li brothers of the Hedong Army were, they would no longer be timid and would definitely fight hard to march south.

Fight with the Jiangdong army to the end.

Thinking of this, Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea again, and then said: "Mr. He, this matter was asked by Shuofang, not by me. Otherwise, I should send someone to see General Wei at this time, instead of you coming to see me."

He Zhao nodded: "Your Majesty is right. This matter was requested by Shuofang. If Your Majesty has any request, please speak up."

"I can agree to it immediately."

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "I think you are very eloquent and your words hit the nail on the head. You are a rare talent."

"How about you give up Shuofang and come to me?"

He Zhao stood up and said with a wry smile: "Don't joke, my king, don't joke."

"I'm not kidding."

Li Yun restrained his smile and said, "My first condition is that you abandon Shuofang and go to Jiangdong."

"Only if General Wei agrees to the first condition can we continue the discussion."

(End of this chapter)