Thief Emperor

Chapter 86: Righteousness of the Great Zhou
In a blink of an eye, several months have passed since the incident in Shidai Hexi Village.

Of course Li Yun did not forget this matter. After all, he could even be considered one of the parties involved.

However, the speed at which things progressed was beyond his expectations.

The villagers of Hexi Village who escaped from his hands that day, namely Meng Chong and others, had officially embarked on the path of rebellion in just a few months.

Li Yun originally thought that this group of people would hide in the mountains, become bandits, and eventually become an organization similar to Cangshan Dazhai, and then survive slowly. However, these people did not do so. They chose to confront the government head-on.

It’s not difficult to understand either.

A fire broke out in Hexi Village, and most of the older people died in the fire and turned into charcoal. Most of the young people who escaped followed Li Yun and lived in Cangshan Dazhai.

The only ones who actually escaped from Meng Chong's side were young and strong.

These young and middle-aged people encountered sudden changes, and although their circumstances were miserable, in fact, the actions of the government allowed them to break free from the constraints of their families. Now, there is nothing else left for those people in Hexi except these two words.

Hatred!

After hearing the news, Liu Bo was stunned. He frowned and said slowly: "Hexi thief..."

"Take this name..."

Li Yun, who was standing by, lowered his head and drank a sip of tea, then said calmly, "The reason for choosing this name is naturally to bring up the old incident in Hexi Village. This incident has been covered up by the state, and even the imperial envoy didn't find anything. Now they want to make a big fuss and let the court hear about it again. This is the only way."

At this point, Li Dutou put down his teacup, looked at the two brothers, and said calmly: "To put it bluntly, they still want someone to make the decision for them."

Liu Bo also figured this out and nodded, "It seems that this rebellion is not a clean one."

"They have no other recourse."

Li Yun said sternly, "We can only fight to the death like this. If we can make a bigger splash, we can create something. If we fail, we can also use this to alarm the imperial court."

"If the imperial court is really alarmed and they find out that it was Xuanzhou officials who caused the Hexi uprising, such a thing will shake the foundation of the country. Even if the emperor is incompetent..."

Li Dutou stretched out his fingers and gestured, "Governor Tian, ​​Sima Cao, and that high and mighty Master Pei, none of them can escape the accountability."

Liu Bo was curious and asked, "Second brother, what is considered a big fuss?"

"For example, taking over the state capital and raising the flag of rebellion."

Li Yun thought about it, and suddenly an idea came to his mind. He looked outside and smiled.

"Or maybe someone wants to expose this matter."

At this point, Li Yun was in a trance, thinking of what Magistrate Xue had told him about the identity of Mr. Pei. He suddenly changed the subject and said with certainty: "This matter will definitely be reported to the authorities!"

Li Zheng and Liu Bo didn't understand. Li Zheng added a piece of charcoal to the stove and asked, "Why are you so sure, second brother?"

Li Yun smiled and said softly, "Because that Mr. Pei is a member of the prince's party."

…………

The twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.

As it was near the end of the year, the anti-theft team had nothing to do, and naturally there wouldn't be much going on in the government office. Li Dutou rarely went to the county government office and just stayed at home reading and drinking.

After all, as a captain, he was only responsible for suppressing bandits, and he had no business taking care of the daily affairs of the county yamen runners.

That night, Li Dutou was drinking with Li Zheng and Zhang Hu at home. They had just finished half of the food and wine when there was a knock on the door.

Li Yun stood up, clasped his hands, and said, "You guys stay in the room, I'll go out and take a look."

He walked out, and when he reached the yard, he turned back and picked up a sword on the wall. When he reached the door, he slowly asked, "Who is it?"

"Captain Li, it's me."

A familiar voice came from the door: "Xue Fu."

Li Yun recognized this voice. It was a servant beside County Magistrate Xue, who was about the same age as County Magistrate Xue. He had been going in and out of the county government office frequently in the past six months and had seen him often.

Li Yun heaved a sigh of relief, then opened the courtyard door and said with a smile: "It's so cold in the middle of the night, why did Uncle Xue come to my place instead of sleeping in bed?"

Xue Fu at the door sighed and said, "Of course the master asked me to invite you."

He looked up at Li Yun and said, "The master asked you to go over immediately. There is something important."

Li Yun looked back at the room and said with a wry smile: "Uncle Xue, I'm eating. What's the matter so late? Can't we talk about it tomorrow?"

"If only we could talk about it tomorrow."

Xue Fu sighed: "At my age, how can I still come to the head of the city in the middle of the night?"

Li Yun nodded and said with a smile: "Okay, I'll change my clothes and go over. Is it in the back hall of the county government?" "Yes."

Xue Fu nodded and said, "Then I'll go back first."

Li Yun watched him turn around and leave, then turned back to the house, changed into thicker clothes, looked at his two brothers, and said helplessly: "You guys eat first, I'll go see what's going on."

Li Zheng frowned: "It's so late, there won't be any danger, right?"

"will not."

Li Yun shook his head: "Xue the Magistrate is trustworthy, and the county yamen runners all listen to me now, so nothing will happen."

After he changed his clothes, he glanced at the food and wine on the table and said with a smile, "You guys got a bargain."

Li Zheng and Zhang Hu both rolled their eyes at Li Yun. Li Dutou laughed, left his small courtyard and went all the way to the county government office.

After entering the back court, someone was already waiting for him and took him all the way to a side hall of the county government.

In the side hall, a stove had been lit and it was warm as spring. At a wine table, Magistrate Xue and a middle-aged scholar sat across from each other.

Li Yun took off his smock and pretended not to see the middle-aged man. He clasped his fists and saluted County Magistrate Xue: "I am Li Zhao, the humble servant, and I pay my respects to the County Magistrate."

Master Xue looked up at Li Yun, then looked at the middle-aged scholar opposite him, and said with a smile: "This is my classmate, Mr. Gu Wenchuan."

Li Yun then turned around and saluted the middle-aged man: "Hello, Mr. Gu."

Gu Wenchuan put down his chopsticks, looked up at Li Yun, and smiled cordially: "Brother Yue Ji has praised Li Dutou to me for a long time, saying that Li Dutou was a chivalrous young man with great heroic spirit. After seeing him today, I find that he is indeed extraordinary."

Li Yun shook his head and said, "I don't deserve it. I don't deserve it."

Magistrate Xue pointed to an empty seat nearby and said, "Sit down and talk."

Li Yun then sat down. After he sat down, Master Xue gave him another set of bowls and chopsticks, and then he said, "Mr. Gu came from the capital. He is an imperial censor of the court. He came to investigate the rebellion in Shidai."

Hearing this, Li Dutou's heart immediately brightened up.

The purpose of asking him to come here tonight is very clear.

However, he also sneered slightly in his heart.

The imperial court has been saying for several months that the envoy will not be sent until next spring.

How many days have passed since the Hexi rebels attacked and killed the new county magistrate of Shidai?

Less than half a month later, the imperial court had secretly sent people down! According to the distance between the imperial court and Qingyang, this civil servant must have ridden all the way here!

No one pays attention to matters that are truly of vital importance to the country, but once it involves conflict, everyone starts to flock to it!

Thinking of this, he looked at the two middle-aged men in front of him, thought for a moment, and then said, "County Master and Mr. Gu, what do you want me to say?"

Mr. Gu poured him a glass of wine and said with a smile, "It's not that we want Li Dutou to say anything, but we want to know what happened in Shidai in the first place."

At this point, he became serious again and said, "If there is really any unjust grievance, the court will uphold justice no matter what."

"To calm people's hearts and to stop rumors!"

Li Yun lowered his head and took a sip of wine without responding.

Xue Xianzun, who was standing by, saw him like this, coughed, and said, "Mr. Wenchuan is a great scholar in the world of officials, and a righteous man of the Great Zhou. He will not harm you."

"Just keep talking. When we report to the court later, your name won't be mentioned."

Li Yun shook his head slightly in his heart.

Why did Magistrate Xue, who had always been quite shrewd, become confused at this moment?
The fact that a so-called great scholar in the officialdom came here on horseback instead of taking a sedan chair shows that this matter was very important to him.

In order to explain the truth of the matter to the court, he had to mention Li Yun in the end!
If he really had some righteousness, why didn't he come before Master Pei came?

Thinking of this, Li Yun put down his wine glass and said, "That day, I followed the instructions of the Shidai County Government. We don't know what happened in Shidai."

Gu Wenchuan frowned and asked, "Is it true that the tax revenue for Shidai was 800 coins?"

"I am from Qingyang."

Li Yun looked calm.

"Sir, go ask the people of Shidai about this matter, and they will naturally know."

(End of this chapter)