Thief Emperor

Chapter 853 Death of Zhang Qiong
Jiannan Road, Yizhou.

At this time, Yizhou had been upgraded to Chengdu Prefecture and became the residence of the emperor. As time entered April, the weather in Chengdu Prefecture gradually became a little hot and humid.

It rained a little that day, making the already hot and humid weather even more uncomfortable.

A sedan chair moved slowly forward in the rain. After a long time, it stopped at the gate of Jiannan Jiedushi's residence. The sedan chair moved down, and a middle-aged man in a lavender robe walked out with his body lowered.

After he stepped out of the sedan chair, he first looked up at the Jiedushi Mansion. After a moment of silence, he waved his hand and said, "Go and report."

The servant beside him nodded immediately. He looked up at the governor's mansion and hesitated for a moment. Then he went forward and knocked on the door, saying, "Please inform that Prime Minister Pei is here to visit the general."

The gateman inside took a look at Pei Huang's servant, then mumbled something in the Shu dialect. It was not clear, but the words "husband" and "to ask for help" could be vaguely heard.

His tone wasn't very good, and he obviously didn't mutter anything nice.

Pei Huang's servant had been in Shu for some time and could understand some of the local dialect. He probably heard what the doorman was saying and anger immediately appeared on his face.

But soon, he took a deep breath and endured it.

The doorman was not afraid. After taking a look at the person outside the door, he emphasized with a strong local accent: "Our general is ill and will not see guests."

"It is precisely because the general is ill that my husband came to visit him."

Pei Huang's attendant outside the door was also a little anxious. He said angrily: "Our husband has already arrived in person, and you didn't even inform us?"

"Can you be the master of the general?"

Hearing this, the doorman shrank his head and turned to report, still mumbling something. However, he did not dare to delay and quickly reported to Zhang Qiong. Zhang Qiong, who had been bedridden for more than a month, immediately asked his youngest son to come out to greet Pei Huang.

Zhang Qiong has four sons in total, three of whom are now serving in the Jiannan Army, and the eldest son is stationed in Jianzhou, guarding Jianmen Pass and Jiameng Pass.

The one at home at this time was the youngest son who was only about twenty years old. The youngest son did not say much, but just bowed to Pei Huang, and then took Pei Huang all the way to General Zhang's bedside.

Zhang Qiong forced himself to sit up and tried to salute Pei Huang. Pei Huang waved his hands repeatedly and said with a wry smile, "Old General, don't move, don't move."

Zhang Qiong looked at Pei Huang and asked, "Mr. Pei has come to visit in person. What's the important matter?"

Although his voice was not interrupted, he was obviously lacking in strength, but his tone remained firm.

"Although I am ill in bed, my sons are all filial. As long as the husband says so, I will immediately tell them to do it."

Pei Huang shook his head slightly, moved a chair, and sat beside Zhang Qiong's bed. He sighed and said, "Lord Ling, His Majesty knows that you are bedridden and is very worried, but it is not convenient for His Majesty to leave the palace, so he sent me to visit you."

"Is your health better now, Lord?"

In the middle and late period of Wu Zhou, local warlords became increasingly uncontrollable. Therefore, in order to win over these governors, the imperial court granted some of them the title of general, while more of them were granted the title of minister of the central secretariat in name only.

Because of this, these Jiedushi were sometimes respectfully addressed as "Ling Gong".

Zhang Qiong, the governor of Jiannan, had not received these rewards before because of his loyalty to the court. He was neither a general nor a minister of the Central Secretariat.

It was just that after the emperor fled westward, he sought shelter under him, and therefore, he was promoted twice. Now Zhang Qiong is not only a general, but also the minister of the Central Secretariat.

After hearing Pei Huang's words, Zhang Qiong, although already extremely weak, opened his eyes wide and looked at Pei Huang, and soon heaved a long sigh: "How can I be worthy of your majesty's concern for me?"

He looked at Pei Huang and continued, "Prince Pei, please tell His Majesty that as long as the Zhang family father and son are in Jiannan Road, no foreign enemy will come in. Your Majesty can rest assured."

"One day, Your Majesty will be able to recover the old land and return to the old capital!"

Zhang Qiong coughed violently at this point, and then said, "Everyone in the Jiannan Army is willing to die for your majesty."

Pei Huang nodded first, then asked: "Linggong's illness..."

"I should...I should not die."

Zhang Qiong forced a smile and said, "I want to protect your majesty for a few more years."

Pei Huang nodded slowly and sighed: "Even though Lord Ling is in such a bad condition, several of his sons are stationed in various places, serving the country loyally..."

Zhang Qiong frowned when he heard this. He looked at Pei Huang and asked tentatively, "Prince Pei, does His Majesty want all of my sons to return to Chengdu?"

"No, no." Pei Huang shook his head slightly and smiled bitterly: "It's not just Li the thief who is eyeing Jiannan Road, even Wei Quanzhong in the north is also coveting Jiannan Road. The defense of various places cannot be slackened."

"I can only ask Ling Gong and the other young masters to bear with it."

Pei Huang thought for a moment and said, "Lord Ling, are the troops stationed in various places sufficient? His Majesty said that if they are not enough, the imperial guards near Chengdu Prefecture can be assigned to Lord Ling."

Zhang Qiong shook his head slightly and said sternly, "Sir, the Imperial Guards are the emperor's personal troops. They are also the troops that protect Chengdu Prefecture and the emperor. They are also the foundation for returning to the old capital in the future. Moreover, they are not familiar with Shuzhong and are of no benefit to the various checkpoints."

"What I mean is that it is better for the imperial guards to remain stationed near Chengdu."

Pei Huang nodded slowly, as if thinking about something. He then said a few more words to the old general. Then he stood up and said goodbye with a bow: "You are ill, so I will not disturb you any more. I will come to visit you again when you are better."

Zhang Qiong nodded, and was about to stand up to see him off, but Pei Huang waved his hands to stop him. Zhang Qiong could only call his youngest son to see Pei Huang off.

After Pei Huang left the Jiedushi Mansion, he was delayed only a little on the road before he entered the Emperor's Palace and met His Majesty the Emperor.

After bowing his head to the emperor, Pei Huang cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, General Zhang does look ill, and he is still worried about state affairs while lying on his sickbed."

"It seems that he has no objection to transferring his sons back."

At this time, there was no one else in the palace. His Majesty the Emperor lowered his head and thought for a long time, then looked up at Pei Huang and said in a hoarse voice: "But he didn't get sick earlier or later, but he got sick at this time."

Pei Huang was startled, then fell silent.

After a long while, he sighed and said, "Your Majesty, General Zhang is too old. It is not uncommon for him to get sick at his age."

"Moreover, General Zhang was appointed by the late emperor himself as the governor of Jiannan. This position has always been held by the emperor's confidants."

"The late emperor's vision was always good..."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor became furious. He slammed the table hard and gritted his teeth.

Fortunately, he still had some rationality. He lowered his voice and said in a hoarse voice: "The late emperor's vision? That Wei Quanzhong was promoted by the late emperor himself!"

"In the early years of the previous emperor's reign, Wei Quanzhong was just a risk-taking soldier in the army. What's wrong with him now?"

"He doesn't remember the kindness my family has shown me at all!"

When the emperor said this, he was still angry and slapped the table again. He gritted his teeth in pain and stopped.

"No, the Imperial City Department reported that the Jiannan Army is becoming increasingly chaotic. No matter what, the military power of Jiannan Road must be in our hands."

"Since Zhang Qiong is loyal."

The emperor said silently: "Then Sanlang will go and tell him to cooperate with us as much as possible. There must be no problems in Shuzhong."

Pei Huang responded and was about to speak when a young eunuch hurried into the palace from outside the door. He knelt on the ground with a plop and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Pei!"

The emperor was furious: "I was discussing matters with Sanlang, who let you in?"

"This is so unruly!"

The young eunuch was so frightened by these words that he fell to the ground. However, he still said tremblingly: "In the city, there is an assassin in the city. Someone came to report that..."

"It is said that Zhang Linggong was assassinated."

The eunuch's voice trembled: "I don't know whether he is alive or dead now..."

Hearing this, the emperor was stunned for a moment, then he collapsed on the table and looked up at Pei Huang.

Pei Huang's expression also changed suddenly, and then his voice became hoarse.

"Your Majesty, immediately seal off the Jiannan Jiedushi Mansion, and..."

"Seal off the city of Chengdu."

(End of this chapter)