Thief Emperor

Chapter 819: Jinling Alliance
Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye it was May of the seventh year of Zhaoding.

The weather is gradually becoming hotter.

On this day, Li Yun held his son Li Yuan's hand and got on his own carriage. The royal carriage left the palace and came to the west gate of Jinling City. At this time, there were also several carriages at the west gate, making preparations for the gate. After the royal carriage arrived, a group of people at the gate knelt on the ground in unison and kowtowed to Li Yun.

Li Yun jumped off the carriage, turned around to pick up his son, then looked around at everyone and said with a smile: "Everyone get up, everyone get up."

Among the people kneeling, the one leading the group was Prime Minister Du Qian. After Du Qian stood up, the people around him also stood up with him.

However, farther away, those people who were kneeling on the ground remained kneeling on the ground and did not stand up.

Li Yun looked around and said in a louder voice, "Everyone, please stand up."

At this moment, the field was silent.

Again no one stood up.

Li Yun was a little curious. He looked at Du Qian, who shook his head slightly.

After seeing Du Qian's statement, Li Yun approached the people, then looked at the group of elders kneeling in the front, and said with a smile: "Fellow villagers, why are you kneeling on the ground in such a hot day? Stand up."

He personally helped an old man up.

The old man looked up at Li Yun, then lowered his head again. He opened his mouth to say something, but he stammered and couldn't speak.

Perhaps due to the oppression of the ruling class, most people in this era are like this...

Not good at speaking in front of important people.

This poor speaking ability does not mean that they have this character as individuals, but is the natural character of the entire class.

When facing some important figures, the common people seem to be born with some fear, as well as an indescribable sense of inferiority in their subconscious.

He lowered his head for a long time and did not dare to speak. When Li Yun was about to ask, a man in his forties or fifties looked at Li Yun bravely, lowered his head again, and said, "Your Majesty, the villagers want to ask you for help."

"Don't leave Jinling!"

He once again bowed his head to the ground and said, "Don't leave Jinling!"

At this point, there was finally a leader, and everyone followed suit and shouted, "Please, Your Majesty, don't leave Jinling!"

The sound gradually became uniform and gradually became like a tide.

Li Yun stood there, looking at the people, and didn't speak for a long time.

At some point, Du Qian stood behind him and said with a smile, "Your high prestige among the people of Jiangnan Road is already unparalleled."

Li Yun was silent for a while, then turned to look at Du Qian and sighed softly, "Who leaked the news?"

"This matter cannot be concealed."

Du Qian smiled bitterly and said, "Last month, officials from the Ministry of Works went to Luoyang first. Now Lord Zhuo and I are leaving Jinling to go to Luoyang as a prelude. In this situation, even if no one tells the people, the people can guess it."

"What's more, in the past few years, Jinling has gathered a large number of scholars. They can understand the situation after reading books, and there are too many big mouths among these people."

At this point, Du Qian looked at the people and whispered, "It's just that, logically speaking, even if the people knew about this, they usually wouldn't gather together. In today's situation, there must be someone behind the scenes... organizing it."

Li Yun looked down at his palm and sighed softly, "We started our business here. We employed many officials from Jiangnan Road, especially from Jinling Prefecture. Many people here don't want to leave their hometown."

Du Qian's eyes flickered: "Your Majesty, otherwise, I will stay for a few more days to deal with this matter."

Li Yun thought about it, shook his head slightly and said, "No need, let's act according to our plan."

Li Yun and Du Qian planned to make Luoyang the capital nearly two months ago. During these two months, they have been pushing forward this matter step by step and have sent many officials to Luoyang.

And now, the critical moment has come, Du Qian and Zhuo Guangrui both have to rush to Luoyang.

Because Zhuo Guangrui was appointed by Li Yun as the Yin of Luoyang.

Or rather...Jingzhao Yin.

At the same time, he also served as the Minister of Revenue. At this time, the most needed role in the new capital was the Ministry of Works, so he had to go.

Du Qian thought about it, nodded and said yes, then turned around and looked at Zhuo Guangrui not far away, and the two of them went to discuss the matter.

Li Yun, on the other hand, looked at the people. He pressed his hands down and said in a deep voice, "Fellow villagers, be quiet. I have something to say."

In Jiangdong, no one dared to disrespect Li Yun, and soon, the scene became silent.

However, there was still an old man with white hair and beard who stood up. He looked at Li Yun, bowed deeply to him and said, "Your Majesty, the people of Jiangdong also have something to say to you."

Li Yun looked at the old man calmly, "Father-in-law, you say."

The old man looked around, then looked at Li Yun and said, "Your Majesty arrived in Jinling in the early years of the Zhaoding period. At that time, Jiangdong had just experienced a great chaos, and bandits were everywhere. The Great Zhou court basically did not care. The officials sent down were either levying heavy taxes or sitting idle."

"After the king arrived in Jinling, within a few months, the atmosphere in Jinling changed. After that, it got better and better every year. It has been seven years now." "In these seven years, the taxes we paid to the government, added together, are not even as much as the taxes paid in one year by the old Zhou Dynasty."

"Not only that, the king never forced conscription when recruiting soldiers in Jiangnan, and paid them in full. I don't know about other prefectures and counties, but if a man in Jinling died in battle, the officials of Jinling Prefecture would personally deliver the pension to his family, and some superiors would even bow to apologize."

"This was unheard of in the more than 100 years of the Wu Zhou Dynasty."

He looked up at Li Yun, knelt down again, and said with tears in his eyes: "Your Majesty, we ordinary people are the most grateful. For seven years, you have seen everything you have done in Jinling Prefecture and in the whole of Jiangdong."

"During these seven years, there was chaos in the Central Plains, in Guanzhong, in Hebei, Hedong and even in Huainan. Even Lingnan experienced several years of war. But since the king arrived in Nanjing, Nanjing and the entire Jiangdong have been peaceful."

"Not only has there been no war, but there has also been no natural disasters. The people of Jinling Prefecture are all grateful for the king's kindness."

The old man knelt on the ground, shedding tears, and said, "We, the common people of Jiangdong, heard that the king is going to move out of Jinling, and we are all very sad."

He kowtowed and said, "If Your Majesty has any difficulties, we, the people of Jinling, will donate money, strength and people. I have three sons at home, and they can all join the army to serve Your Majesty. I don't want any food or salary from Your Majesty. I only ask Your Majesty not to leave Jinling."

He knelt down and shed tears, saying: "If Your Majesty goes too far, the local officials will bully us, and Your Majesty will no longer see it."

After saying this, he knelt down and cried bitterly.

The people nearby also knelt on the ground and cried bitterly.

For a while, there was crying outside Jinling City.

Li Yun also stood there in a daze, not saying anything for a long time.

It has indeed been six or seven years since he came to Jinling, and during these six or seven years, he has indeed done a lot of things.

But from his perspective, this was what should be done, nothing special, but he didn't expect that in the eyes of the people of Jinling...

I have actually become such a character.

Mr. Li stood there, feeling deeply moved. After a long while, he looked at the old man who was kneeling in front of him, helped him up, and then asked, "The old man speaks clearly and logically, is it..."

The old man said quickly: "I am the patriarch of Chenjia Village in the west of Jinling City."

He looked at Li Yun and said honestly: "A month ago, someone said that the king was going to leave Jinling, and I have always wanted to talk to the king about this..."

He clenched his fist and said, "If the king is short of soldiers, the young and strong men in Chenjia Village can be..."

Li Yun waved his hand and smiled, signaling him not to continue. Then he stepped back a few steps, looked at the people gathered nearby, took a deep breath, and said, "Everyone, I am Li Yun, from Xuanzhou."

"Xuanzhou is a prefecture in the Jiangnan West Road, but it is not far from Jinling and not far from the Jiangnan East Road. I can be considered a Jiangnan Road person."

"Thanks to all the elders for their kindness, over the years, outsiders now call me the King of Wu. I shamelessly accept this title."

Mr. Li was tall and had a loud voice. No one dared to speak at this time, so his voice was naturally even louder.

"But no matter what position I hold, if the elders of Jiangnan see me one day and call me Erlang, there is absolutely no reason for me, Li Yun, to refuse."

He looked at everyone and continued, "I was born in Jiangnan Road, and started from Jiangnan Road. To be more precise, I started from Jiangdong."

"Now, the reputation of our Jiangdong Army has spread throughout the world."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Now that we have made a name for ourselves, we should do what we should do. If we stay in Jiangdong for the rest of our lives, we will inevitably be laughed at in the future."

"But there is one thing that you, my fellow countrymen, can rest assured about."

Mr. Li said in a loud voice: "No matter what time it is, I, Li Yun, will always be a Jiangnan person, and Jinling Prefecture will always be the capital!"

"You all will always be my fellow countrymen."

At this point, Li Yun looked back at Li Yuan, who was standing in the distance and still a little scared, and laughed loudly: "Boy, come here."

After all, Li Yuan was too young and a little scared. Du Qian pushed him gently, and he bravely stepped forward and walked to Li Yun's side.

Li Yun took his son's hand, raised his hand, and said with a smile: "Dear fellow villagers, this is my eldest son and my eldest son."

"In the future, he will most likely inherit my business."

"We, father and son, make a promise to the elders of Jiangdong here."

Li Yun looked down at Li Yuan. Li Yuan took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

"Jinling Mansion."

Li Yuan mustered up his courage and spoke in a crisp voice.

"It must be the capital of the Li family!"

(End of this chapter)