Thief Emperor

Chapter 816 Luoyang
Manpower is sometimes poor.

The same is true for national strength.

Since the Zhaoding period, Li Yun has never stopped his foreign wars, especially in the last two years, the size of his army has continued to increase.

At the same time, Li Yun was quite kind to the people. He did not levy taxes by force, nor did he impose heavy taxes.

If he hadn't been fleecing the wealthy and powerful families, he would have probably gone out of business last year.

Especially in the current situation, the old territory is not big enough and the new territory has not been fully mastered.

It is a stage where the old strength has been exhausted and the new strength has not yet been generated.

It is not easy for Jiangdong's national strength to sustain until now. On this point, Li Yun did not doubt Du He, the "money bag".

Du He's professionalism in many things is quite professional, and he is a very qualified "financial manager".

At this time, since force cannot completely solve the problem, Li Yun can accept the appropriate use of diplomatic means.

As for the so-called wealth and glory that these people brought with them, compared with the price that the Jiangdong Army would have to pay, it was nothing to mention. If they wanted wealth and glory, Li Yun could give it to them.

If this kind of diplomatic means is to be implemented, words alone are not enough. First of all, there must be an advertisement, and Zhou Xu, the governor of Pinglu, is undoubtedly a good advertisement.

Zhou Xu had not been given any title during the Wu Zhou period, not even a marquis. Later, he did not participate in Wang Junping's rebellion, let alone be granted a title by the court.

Now, the Pinglu Army has already sided with the Jiangdong court, and their attitude is still very firm. Li Yun must of course give some benefits accordingly, not only to set an example for the people of the world to see, but also to stabilize the morale of the Pinglu Army.

Du Qian immediately understood Li Yun's meaning. He bowed and said, "I will take care of this matter as soon as I return."

"However, the relevant rituals of the new dynasty are not yet complete..."

Li Yun looked calm: "Just give him the title according to the etiquette of the Wu Zhou prince."

"As long as the Pinglu Army does not rebel and behaves honestly, this title of king will be valid forever."

Du Qian bowed and said yes, then smiled and said, "This is a major event for our new dynasty, and it should be celebrated with great ceremony so that the world can know about it. I think we can send Minister Tao to confer the title of king on General Zhou."

Li Yun nodded in agreement and said, "Okay, let Mr. Tao go."

Du Qian said a few more words about the matter of being crowned king, and then the topic turned back to money and grain.

Li Yun talked in detail with his two brothers about the issue of money and grain for more than half an hour. Finally, he let Du He leave first, and then he and Du Qian sat in the study and talked about some things other than money and grain.

"Brother Yiyi, do you think the situation will be better in a few years than it is now?"

"certain."

Du Qian answered without hesitation: "I have calculated with my third brother that if there is no war, the soldiers in various places will rest in place and there will be no need to transport food and grass. Even if the existing army is not reduced, there will be a million or even tens of millions of dan of food left every year."

"Of course, the premise is that all the places that have been conquered by the superiors must be incorporated into the administration, such as Zhongyuan, Lingnan, and Shannan East Road."

"These places are more than twice as large as our current main Jiangnan Road and Huainan Road."

"Within two or three years, these places will be completely incorporated into our administration. By then, even if the existing military forces continue to move, we will be able to support them."

“You can even expand your military.”

Hearing this, Li Yun nodded silently and said, "Okay, I will consider this matter carefully. In the first half of this year, let's work together to establish the framework of the new dynasty."

"The second half of the year."

Mr. Li looked at Du Qian and said with a smile, "I'm going to Hebei Road to give it a try."

Du Qian bowed respectfully and said, "Everything will be done according to the king's wishes."

…………

After seeing the two brothers off, Li Yun felt a little tired. He returned to the bedroom in the harem and came to Queen Xue's residence. The couple hugged each other and soon fell asleep.

When he woke up early the next morning, Li Yun did not rush to deal with state affairs. Instead, he walked around his home, or to be more precise, the palace, and visited his children.

At the end, he came to a slightly remote courtyard. After pushing the door open, the people in the courtyard quickly came to the main gate, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to Li Yun.

Li Yun raised his hand, signaling everyone to stand up. Then he looked at the thin woman in light blue clothes in front of him, sighed and said, "Let's talk."

The woman looked up at Li Yun, then lowered her head: "Yes, Your Majesty."

The two of them soon arrived at the main hall. After Li Yun sat down, he motioned for her to sit down as well. After she carefully sat down, Li Yun asked a little embarrassedly, "What's your last name?"

The woman bowed her head and said, "My surname is Qin."

"My humble name is Xian."

Li Yun pondered for a while and said, "Strings, strings."

She lowered her head and said, "It's Xian's skillful Xian."

Li Yun asked again: "Did you...promise someone else before?"

She shook her head slightly: "No."

"I... my family was quite well-off in my early years, but then bandits broke out in the Central Plains and my family fell into poverty. I was sold out and ended up in the residence of Liu... Liu Shijun, where I was taught... taught how to serve the master." Li Yun frowned and asked, "That time..."

"Envoy Liu said that the king... the king doesn't seem to like virgins, so let us lose our virginity ourselves."

"Go and serve the king."

Li Yun was stunned for a while after hearing this, and then he sighed: "These people will do anything to curry favor with others."

Qin lowered her head and did not answer.

Li Yun looked at her, thought for a moment, and said, "Our child has been fed by a wet nurse for a while. The queen said that it is a tragedy for women to be separated from their parents, and she couldn't bear it. You should take care of him in person from now on."

At this point, Li Yun said softly: "Your manpower here will increase later."

"I will grant you the title of Madam for the time being. Later...when you become serious, I will make you a concubine."

Mrs. Qin was in tears. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Li Yun, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Yun reached out and helped her up, smiling and said, "This is fate for us, let's live together from now on. As for your family."

"I'll see if I can find it when I move to Luoyang."

Madam Qin was startled and asked, "Your Majesty is going to Luoyang?"

"Yes."

Li Yun stood up, put his hands behind his back and left: "I will leave in one or two years."

"I have other things to do. I'll come see you later when I have time."

Madam Qin accompanied him all the way to the gate of the courtyard, where she bowed respectfully.

"I respectfully send off Your Majesty."

…………

There were frequent battles in Hebei Province.

However, the most intense battlefield was still in Yingzhou, where Meng Qing and Fanyang Army fought fiercely. At this time, the troops of both sides had reached tens of thousands, and the entire Yingzhou almost became a meat grinder.

In comparison, the war between Cangzhou and the Khitans was more of a guerrilla fight, not very intense, and there were not many casualties.

However, the more peaceful battlefield in Hebei Province was in the southern part of Hebei Province, which was the battlefield between Zhao Cheng's troops and the Hedong Army.

Zhao Cheng’s main task was to hold back part of the enemy’s forces, but his more important task was to guard the Central Plains and ensure its stability.

Therefore, after being blocked, he did not rush north, but fought with the Hedong army in Mingzhou and Xingzhou areas.

It was unlikely that the Hedong Army would fight too hard in Hebei Road. The fighting between the two sides was almost a formality, and no one was trying their best.

Zhao Cheng has no psychological burden about this.

Because the goal Li Yun gave him was to take over the three states of Weizhou, Xiangzhou, and Weizhou.

At this point, all three states were already under his control. He had no reason or need to continue moving north.

After all, to his west there is Guanzhong and the Shuofang Army that needs to be guarded against.

After the war in Hebei Province had been going on for more than a month, Zhao Ben had already left the battlefield in Hebei Province and handed over the entire war in Hebei Province to Yu Ye, who had just been promoted to deputy general, and He Jun, who had also been promoted to deputy general.

He himself led his troops and stationed them near Luoyang.

That day, someone drove straight into Zhao Cheng's tent. After seeing Zhao Cheng, he bowed and saluted: "Greetings, General Zhao."

Zhao Cheng looked up at the person who came, stood up, and said with a smile: "It turns out to be Liu Sizheng, Liu Sizheng, please take a seat."

The person who came was none other than Liu Xuan, the Chief of the Central Plains Division of the Nine Departments.

Now, he is in charge of all matters of the Nine Departments in the entire Central Plains.

This Liu Sizheng was a man in his thirties. He looked ordinary, the kind of person who would be forgotten in a flash if thrown into a crowd.

After he saluted Zhao Cheng with his fists, he took out a document from his bosom and said, "This is the family that General Zhao asked us to investigate. We have found them, and now..."

"It's in Luoyang Prefecture."

Zhao Cheng took a deep breath, reached out to take it, then looked at Liu Xuan and said in a deep voice: "Thank you, Liu Sizheng!"

Liu Xuan shook his head slightly and handed over another document.

"This is what the higher-ups ordered us to check. With this, the general can..."

"Let it be."

Zhao Cheng reached out to take it, and his breathing became a little rapid.

"I see."

(End of this chapter)