Thief Emperor

Chapter 830: Undressing
After hearing the news, Li Yun just responded lightly, then got up, turned on the light, looked at the map, then lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

He slept very soundly during this nap, and all the sleep he had missed in the previous few days was made up for by this sleep.

The next morning, after Li woke up, he stretched beautifully and put on his clothes. Xue Gui, who was guarding outside, heard the noise. He opened the tent and walked in carefully. After approaching, he showed his teeth and grinned: "Uncle, great victory, great victory."

Li Yun glanced at him.

"In the barracks, be careful about how you address others."

Xue Gui grinned.

"I know I know."

He took a deep breath and finally laughed out loud: "My voice was very quiet just now..."

Li Yun put on his clothes and walked to the basin to wash his face.

"Say it."

"Yes!"

Xue Gui responded with a grin, "With him, Brother Su led the troops to ambush outside the city. They happened to encounter the Fanyang army in the city leading the Xiao family to break out. He blocked them. By midnight, these Fanyang soldiers were killed and thrown into chaos."

"They surrendered."

Because it was Su Zhan's achievement, Xue Gui was very excited and said with a smile: "The entire Xiao family, young and old, more than a hundred people, were captured by Brother Su!"

"At dawn, Zhending City was also captured. Now Brother Su and General Zhong from the Pinglu Army are both in Zhending City, working to take over Zhending."

Hearing this, Li Yun said with a "tsk", and said with a smile: "This boy Su Zhan is really quite good."

The fall of Zhending was within Li Yun's expectations, otherwise he would not have come all the way here. However, he estimated that it would take three to five days of fierce attack before there would be a chance. Unexpectedly, Zhending was taken in just two nights and one day.

After washing his face, Li Yun looked at Xue Gui and asked, "How many defenders are there in Zhending?"

"Only more than 2,000 people, less than 3,000."

Xue Gui chuckled: "They are also stupid. If they continue to defend, they can at least hold out for a few more days. Why do they have to break out in the middle of the night?"

"Two or three thousand..."

Hearing this, Li Yun narrowed his eyes and snorted, "I was right when I said he was a filial and virtuous grandson of the Khitans. Except for the 50,000 to 60,000 Fanyang troops that were held back by Meng Qing in Yingzhou, he has already sent out all the remaining troops to support the Khitans."

This number was even beyond Li Yun's expectations. He originally thought that Xiao Heng would leave at least 5,000 soldiers to guard Zhending.

Unexpectedly, almost all of them came out.

But if you think about it, it’s not that strange.

Meng Qing has been fighting with Fan Yang Army in Yingzhou for half a year. During this half year, Meng Qing's Jiangdong Army has sent reinforcements several times, and Fan Yang Army has also been forced to send reinforcements several times.

At this time, in Yingzhou alone, the number of Fanyang troops was much greater than that of Jiangdong troops. Only in this way could the two sides maintain a stalemate.

This time, Li Yun surrounded and killed the Khitans on a larger scale. The Fanyang Army had to come out in full force, fearing that they would be "surrounded and attacked" by the Jiangdong Army.

What it boils down to is that there are not enough troops or hard power.

Li Yun had also experienced such a situation in the past. At that time, he was fighting on several fronts and his military strength was stretched to the limit. In the end, he was forced to transfer all the guarding troops near Nanjing and only used temporary militia to guard Nanjing.

However, that was three or four years ago.

The current Jiangdong Army is several times stronger than before. Even in a battle of troop numbers, it can crush the Fanyang Army.

This is also the reason why he can deploy troops so easily.

The main reason why Zhending was so fragile was that there were problems within the Fanyang Army. The Fanyang Army that was led away from Youyan by Xiao Heng was not the entire strength of the Fanyang Army, but only about 60,000 to 70,000 people.

A part of the Fanyang army died in the battle with the Khitans.

Relying on these 60,000 to 70,000 men, Xiao Heng spent more than a year in Hebei Province, using the excuse that his "father" had died for his country to gain sympathy, forcibly recruited troops, and managed to raise a force of more than 100,000 men.

However, even for Li Yun, it was quite difficult to support an army of 100,000 people. Xiao Heng only had half of Hebei Province before, so it was naturally more difficult for him to support it.

Naturally, the army's combat effectiveness cannot be considered strong.

To put it bluntly, it's just puffiness.

With such an army, Meng Qing could defeat the enemy with a larger force. Li Yun's troops came with great momentum and attacked Zhending, and they were in a panic and had no idea what to do.

It's so normal.

After Li Yun washed his face, he walked out of the tent. The guards at the door all saluted him with their fists clasped together: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Li Yun pressed his hands and signaled everyone to disperse.

Xue Gui followed behind him, looking excited: "Your Majesty, the Xiao family, young and old, have all been arrested and are now tied up in Zhending City. Don't you want to go and take a look?"

Li Yun glanced back at him and said in a muffled voice, "Why? You are old enough to think about love, and you want to pick a girl from the Xiao family to be your wife?" Xue Gui was still young after all, so he waved his hands and said with a red face, "I... I don't have one."

Li Yun looked back at him and said with a smile, "Your grandfather told me to find you a wife. How about this, after entering the city today, if there is a girl from the Xiao family that you like, bring her with you. When we return to Jinling, I will make her your concubine."

"Teach you to grow up."

Mr. Li said calmly, "It's you who saved that woman from suffering."

In Li Yun's opinion, the rebellion in Hebei Province was eight out of ten caused by the Xiao family. As early as when he was in Luoyang, Li Yun was very annoyed with the Xiao family.

In fact, he rushed to Zhending mostly for this matter. Otherwise, after Zhending sent someone to inform Xiao Heng that night, his goal would have been achieved and there would be no need to continue attacking Zhending.

Or, just pretend.

Now, the entire Xiao family is in Li Yun's hands. Naturally, Li Yun will not let them off easily. The women of the Xiao family will most likely end up being sent to the Music Bureau.

Although there is no Jiaofangsi in Jinling now, there will be one sooner or later in the future.

Upon hearing this, Xue Gui blushed, lowered his head and said nothing.

Li Yun looked at him and scolded him with a smile: "You are really horny, go prepare food for me, and bring me all the information sent by Jiusi."

Xue Gui then woke up as if from a dream, nodded quickly, and ran to do things for Li Yun.

By the time Li Yun had leisurely finished his meal and read the documents sent by the Ninth Division, he called the person in charge of the Ninth Division and explained things to him. It was already noon.

Li Yun put his hands behind his back, looked at Xue Gui, and said calmly: "Come with me into the city."

"Yes!"

Xue Gui hurriedly lowered his head and followed Li Yun, holding his head high and chest out, into Zhending City.

After entering Zhending City, the scene in the city was quite bleak. In addition to the blood everywhere, there were also some women and children lying on the streets. In the streets and alleys, you could vaguely see people lying on the roadside, unable to move, but clearly still breathing.

Obviously, this city is not doing well under Xiao Heng's control.

It's not surprising. In order to feed so many troops, the people have to be exploited. Otherwise, the Fanyang Army would have collapsed financially in the past six months. How could it have been able to hold out against Meng Qing in Yingzhou until now?
Seeing this scene, Li narrowed his eyes and said in a muffled voice: "For such a person, he still wants to fight for the world. It's wishful thinking."

Xue Gui followed behind Li Yun, with his hands hanging down and not daring to speak.

Not long after entering the city, Su Zhan, who looked exhausted, came up to them, clasped his fists and saluted Li Yun, bowed his head deeply and said, "Take the position!"

Li Yun looked up at him with admiration in his eyes, and said with a smile: "I said I was right. You really have some talent in fighting. You have just joined the army not long ago, and you have made such a great contribution."

"If your elder brother knew about this, he would be very happy."

Su Zhan quickly bowed his head, clasped his fists and said: "I don't know anything, I was trained by my superiors..."

Li Yun looked at him, narrowed his eyes slightly, and then said with a smile: "Where are the Xiao family members?"

"They were all tied up in a house, waiting for the higher-ups to decide their fate."

Li Yun nodded, then looked at Su Zhan and said with a smile: "Have you had lunch?"

Su Zhan was startled and shook his head slightly: "No."

"I do not have either."

Li Yun pulled his sleeve and said with a smile: "Let's go eat first, and then go meet those annoying guys after dinner."

Su Zhan was stunned at first, then turned to look at Xue Gui. Xue Gui blinked and said nothing. Su Zhan had no choice but to follow Li Yun and have lunch together.

After eating, Li, under the guidance of Su Zhan, came to a house. He saw dozens or even hundreds of people in the house, who were tied up and had terrified looks on their faces.

Su Zhan led Li Yun to a group of seven or eight boys and girls, including a child.

"These are Xiao Heng's children."

Li Yun lowered his head and looked at them.

These people looked at Li Yun with fear on their faces.

Li squatted down in front of a girl of about sixteen or seventeen, then looked back at Su Zhan and said calmly, "Take off her clothes."

Su Zhan was stunned and was about to speak when he saw Li Yun gently pulling the girl's waist and a jade token was easily pulled off by him.

He stood up and handed the jade token to Su Zhan with a calm expression.

"Give the clothes and the jade token to Jiusi and have him send someone."

"Give it to Xiao Heng."

(End of this chapter)