Thief Emperor

Chapter 822 No Difference
Li Yun… originated from Jiangdong.

Moreover, when he first started his business, he was in Yuezhou and Wuzhou, and finally went to Wujun and Jinling.

This place has been good at water battles since ancient times.

When the Jiangdong Army was formed, it had a navy. The original purpose of this navy was to deploy troops on the river to resist the Pinglu Army that might move south.

However, the poor performance of the Pinglu Army was far beyond Li Yun's imagination. After a period of stalemate, the Pinglu Army was overtaken by the Jiangdong Army. Its infantry combat was also far inferior to that of the Jiangdong Army, and it became dust on the road of the Jiangdong Army's advance.

However, the organization of the Jiangdong Navy has never been neglected.

Because this navy is very important to Jiangdong.

After Li Yun took over most of the territory of Huainan Road, people all over the world had already conceived that the world had its first country that was large enough to rule its own territory. From that time on, Li's lowest limit was to be the ruler of Jiangnan.

If he wants to secure his position as the ruler of Jiangnan, he must have a decent navy to resist the attack from the north.

Originally, Jiangdong was going to vigorously develop its navy. In fact, Jiangdong should have been famous for its navy.

However, the appearance of Li changed this situation. The Jiangdong Army marched from east to west, and took over the Shannan East Road by land warfare. Then they took over the entire Central Plains, and fought hard against the Shuofang Army and the Hedong Army, and remained undefeated in the Central Plains.

By this time, the power of the Jiangdong Army's infantry had become the best in the world, completely overshadowing the Jiangdong Navy.

In fact, no one cares about Jiangdong's navy anymore.

Occasionally, there would be more large ships on the water outside Jinling City, but few people paid attention to them.

After all, for five or six years, Li Yun had hardly used any naval capabilities.

Everyone felt that Li Yun himself had already forgotten about the Jiangdong Navy.

In fact, the construction of the navy in Jiangdong has never stopped on a large scale.

It's just a little more hidden.

It has to be admitted that in recent years Li Yun has focused most of his energy on infantry and cavalry, but he did not neglect the navy.

Of course, Li Yun’s goal of building a navy over the years was not initially in Hebei Province, and it even had nothing to do with Hebei Province.

The real reason is that he knew that the future of the world actually lies on the sea, so he wanted to lay the foundation for future "free trade" as soon as possible.

And now, these cornerstones just happened to be useful.

Su Sheng looked at the map and was silent for a long time before he murmured, "Sir, how many soldiers can you transport?"

"If all the warships near Jinling are dispatched, we can definitely transport more than 10,000 people."

He looked at Su Sheng and whispered, "Brother, didn't you notice that Li Zheng, who left Jinling, has never come to Cangzhou?"

Su Sheng took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and said in a hoarse voice: "I roughly understand what the superior means. The question now is whether the place chosen by the superior can allow the navy to enter."

"no problem."

Li Yun's eyes fell on the map, and he chuckled, "Brother, have you forgotten that I once led troops to Youzhou and fought against the Khitans. I passed by this place at that time. There is a ferry here where you can land, called Zhigu."

“The Zhang River runs through here.”

Mr. Li said softly: "When the time comes, our Jiangdong navy can be stationed on the Zhang River. The Khitans are proficient in horsemanship and are not inferior in infantry combat, but..."

"They probably have never been in the water in their lives."

“Here, we can cut off the Khitans who entered Hebei Road from the Khitans in Youzhou.”

Su Sheng looked at Li Yun. He was stunned for a long time. After a long while, he clenched his fists and muttered, "If this is true, if this is true, these Khitan cavalrymen who are already in Hebei Road may not be able to escape."

"We can even take advantage of the situation to separate the Khitans from the Fanyang Army!"

"That's pretty much what it means."

Li Yun looked at Su Sheng and said, "The Jiangdong navy moved before me. They set out from the sea and should be not too far from Zhigu at this time. According to the previous agreement, they will go around and occupy Zhangshui in half a month."

"By the time."

Li Yun spoke calmly, "It's time for Brother to show his skills."

Su Sheng stood in front of Li Yun. He looked at Li Yun with a burning gaze and said, "Don't worry, sir. If the navy can follow your instructions, I will clear out all the Khitans in Hebei within a month!"

Li Yun said, "Remember, send some more troops to Meng Qing. When we fight the Khitans, the Fanyang Army, the filial sons and grandsons of the Khitans, might become desperate and attack Meng Qing fiercely."

"Send more troops to Meng Qing and let him try..."

"And set up an ambush."

Su Sheng was so excited that he stood up and bowed to Li Yun, saying in a hoarse voice, "As you command!"

Li Yun stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Brother, if you fight well in this battle, you will be the first great general of our new dynasty."

He wasn't just empty talk.

The Jiangdong Army had become so large by now that many officials had real power far greater than their positions. The most typical examples were Yu Ye, He Jun, and Qian Zhong, all of whom were captain-level generals.

A year or two ago, Yu Ye had already held the rank of captain and led over 10,000 soldiers.

You know, in his position, logically speaking, he would only have a thousand people under his command.

This situation is quite common within the Jiangdong Army. The actual power of each person basically exceeds his position. Some captains can command one or two thousand soldiers.

At this point, no matter how hard Li Yun tried to suppress it, he could no longer do so. The battle in Hebei Province was a good opportunity.

The merits were great enough, so it wouldn't be strange to give it to this great general.

Su Sheng was also a little excited when he heard this. He clasped his fists towards Li Yun and said in a deep voice: "I will never forget your support!"

Li Yun touched his shoulder and said with a smile: "Brother, the remaining strength of the Jiangdong court is enough for you and me to fight in Hebei Province for half a year, or at most a year."

"If we don't fight well today, we won't be able to take over Hebei Province within a year, and we will still be in this stalemate."

"Then we have to stop and take a break."

Su Sheng immediately understood and sighed softly, "I also know that leading the troops like this will cause too much loss."

"Don't worry, sir. I will fight this battle well no matter what."

"Well."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Brother, you will take care of this matter. I will not get involved for now. When there is a plan, please show it to me. We need to arrange the matters in the north as soon as possible."

"Within half a month, deploy the troops that need to be deployed to the corresponding positions."

At this point, Li Yun stood up and walked outside: "I won't take your tent. You can still stay here."

After that, he walked out with his hands behind his back. As soon as he walked out of the tent, Su Zhan quickly came up to him, bowed to Li Yun, and said excitedly: "Take the position!"

Li Yun gestured his height and said with a smile: "How come you have grown taller at this age?"

Su Zhan shook his head, a little embarrassed: "It's far from being as high as the upper position."

"Haha."

Li Yun touched his head and said with a smile: "Find me a quiet tent. I'm very tired from traveling all the way. I need to take a good rest."

"Yes."

Su Zhan looked at the general's tent behind Li Yun, then immediately bowed his head and said, "Follow me, upper seat."

…………

In the blink of an eye, another three days passed.

During these three days, Su Sheng was extremely busy. He was deploying troops and meeting different people almost every day.

As for Li Yun, apart from resting and meeting with people from the Nine Departments, he would occasionally change into the attire of a captain and patrol the Cangzhou camp under the leadership of Su Zhan.

On this day, Li Yun was eating with Su Zhan in the army, when there was a sudden noise not far from the barracks. Su Zhan looked up, then looked at Li Yun, and whispered, "Master, I'll go take a look?"

Li Yun shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "Eat."

Su Zhan could only nod in agreement. After the two finished their meal, Li returned to his tent, turned to Su Zhan and said with a smile: "Zhou Chang is here, bring him to see me."

Su Zhan was stunned for a moment, then immediately lowered his head and responded, then turned to look for Zhou Chang.

A moment later, he led Zhou Chang to Li Yun's tent. After Zhou Chang ducked into the tent, he was quite surprised to see Li Yun. He immediately bowed his head, clasped his fists, and said with a smile, "Uncle is here!"

"Yesterday I received a message from my father saying that my uncle's royal family is near Qingzhou. I didn't expect that my uncle has already arrived in Cangzhou!"

Mr. Li looked at him and said with a smile, "That parade is too slow. I can't wait for them."

"Major General."

Hearing this title, Zhou Chang waved his hands and said with a smile: "Uncle, I am no longer a major general. According to Jinling's imperial decree, I am now..."

"It should be the Prince of Linzi."

Li Yun smiled dumbly and said, "Yes, the young general is now the prince."

Zhou Chang looked at Li Yun and said with a smile: "Uncle, my father and I, with all our family assets, have come to you for help. I can't remain without a status. You should give me an official position."

"I don't want a high rank either. Just make me the deputy general of the Jiangdong Army."

"Vice general?"

Li Yun pulled Zhou Chang to sit down and said with a smile: "It's the general."

Zhou Chang was surprised and delighted, and asked, "Really?"

Li Yun said seriously: "I never lie."

He pulled Zhou Chang to sit down and talked about his son Zhou Luo. The two reminisced about the past. Li Yun then said softly, "In a while, there will be a big battle in Hebei Province."

"Your tribe will be under my command."

"Finish this battle."

Li Yun's face was calm: "Your and my two families will no longer be differentiated from each other."

Zhou Chang's face became serious. He stood up, knelt in front of Li Yun, and kowtowed.

"Uncle, you are wise. The Pinglu Army has long been indistinguishable from the Jiangdong Army."

He knelt on the ground and said with a wry smile: "The people under my command have been accustomed to eating the food of the Jiangdong Army in the past few months."

"We can't separate each other even if we want to..."

(End of this chapter)