Thief Emperor

Chapter 869 Little Brothers
Although they were old friends, Li Yun did not treat Pei Huang well.

Originally, he didn't like this so-called "noble person". When he first saw him, Li Yun didn't like him very much.

Besides, over the years, not to mention the aristocratic families, he has killed countless royal family members and princes.

The so-called century-old and thousand-year-old families in his territory were sensible and humble, working under him in an orderly manner. As for those who did not follow the rules, Li Yun had cleared out more than one or two.

Moreover, anyone with a discerning eye would not say a word about Jiannan Dao in front of Li Yun.

Apart from anything else, the more than 10,000 casualties at Jiameng Pass alone meant that this war was unlikely to end at the negotiation table. If Li Yun really listened to Pei Huang's words and ordered the frontline troops to stop the attack...

Apart from anything else, the troops on the front line would blame Li Yun in their hearts.

They had already paid the price for attacking Jiannan Dao at Jiameng Pass. Now even Li Yun had to let them take the credit for conquering Jiannan Dao.

Even if Li Yun could order them to stop forcibly, he would not do such a thing.

Because this kind of thing will ruin the "future" of countless people. Because of a word from you, Li Yun, they risked their lives to rush to the front line. You can't stop them from enjoying the fruits of victory after they have fought the toughest battle.

At this time, any rational leader would not choose to go against the collective will.

Even after Li Yun knew that Pei Huang was coming to see him, he was not prepared to meet him. It was only for Pei Zhuang's sake that he made time to meet him.

After hearing what Li Yun said, Pei Huang's face turned pale, but he had nothing to say.

Because what Li Yun said was very true. If Jiameng Pass, or Jianzhou, had not been broken, the small Xichuan court probably would not have sent him to Luoyang.

Pei Huang was silent for a long time, then he looked up at Li Yun, wanting to say something but stopping himself. After a long while, he finally sorted out his words and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Great Zhou has been the empire for 200 years after all. Even if the throne changes hands in the future, the Emperor should at least be a little respectable."

At this point, he gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty should set an example for future generations."

Li Yun put down the brush in his hand, looked up at Pei Huang, and smiled: "I can't believe that Master Pei can say this."

"Since you can say this, I will also call you loyal and righteous."

Although Pei Huang's words were roundabout, they were not difficult to understand. What he meant was that he wanted Li Yun to be lenient to the Emperor of Zhou, because the Li Dynasty could not last forever, and there would always be a day when the dynasty would change.

Let Li Yun be a role model for future generations.

If you, Li Yun, treat the royal family members of the previous dynasty harshly or kill them indiscriminately now, your descendants of the Li family will also face such a day in the future.

Now that the new Li Dynasty has not yet been established, it actually takes some courage to dare to say such "unlucky words" in front of Li Yun.

Moreover, Li Yun's temper was notoriously bad. If things went wrong, he would suddenly get angry and kill someone.

Pei Huang regretted what he had said. He turned pale, stood up, and said with his head slightly lowered: "Your Majesty, I...I spoke out of turn."

Li Yun narrowed his eyes and looked at Pei Huang with a more scrutinizing look in his eyes.

Humans are really complicated animals. Pei Huang is obviously not a man of integrity, but at this moment, he can say such selfless words for the Wu Zhou royal family.

You know, if Zhu knew about this, Pei Huang's family would definitely be eliminated and there would be no chance of survival.

That is Li Yun. He himself recognized the law of dynasty cycles, so he did not get angry.

Li Yun's gaze made Pei Huang's whole body hairy, and his hands under his robe trembled slightly. After an unknown amount of time, Li Yun retracted his gaze and said lightly: "Mr. Pei, you and I are old friends. For Brother Pei's sake, I will not embarrass you today. However, I will not discuss anything about Jiannan Road with you. I only have one thing to say. If Brother Pei can get back to Chengdu in time, please tell the emperor for me."

Li Yun reached out and knocked on the table, and continued: "My royal division has entered Jiannan Road. At this time, it should have attacked Chengdu. If my royal division arrives at the city of Chengdu, he can take the initiative to open the city gate, offer the city and surrender, and..."

Li Yun smiled. "Besides, he was able to come to Luoyang and surrender to me before the New Year. In the future, as long as he is down-to-earth and behaves himself, he will have a meal in Luoyang."

"If you can't do it."

Mr. Li shook his head slightly and said, "The fate of the emperor in the future has nothing to do with me, Mr. Li."

Pei Huang turned pale when he heard this. He looked up at Li Yun and whispered, "Your Majesty, the second guest and the third guest..."

Li Yun said without hesitation: "I promised it to the King of Chu."

"King Chu has helped me a lot over the years, and..."

Li Yun said expressionlessly: "At least he has never harmed the people. It has only been eight years since the Zhou emperor ascended the throne. In those eight years, the population of Guanzhong, Henan Road, and Hebei Road has at least been reduced by half."

"The whole world is in shock."

Li Yun pointed at his nose and said, "If it weren't for me, the population of Jiangnan Road would have been reduced by at least half. If the world continued to fight for a few more decades, maybe only 30% would be left. This is all the fault of the emperor."

At this point, Li Yun sneered and said, "I raised an army to punish the criminals and bring peace to the people. I should have executed them to atone for my sins."

Pei Huang was silent for a long time, then stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty. I...I will take my leave now."

Li Yun said without even raising his head: "No need to see you off." When Pei Huang walked to the door, Li Yun glanced at him and said calmly: "Mr. Pei, you don't have to go back to Xichuan. The sins of the old Zhou Dynasty in the past ten years have little to do with you. I won't pursue your faults. I will hold an imperial examination next year. If you stay, I will ask them to give you the qualification to take the exam."

"If you pass the exam next year, I might let you serve as an official under me."

Pei Huang stopped at the door, looked back at Li Yun, and said in a hoarse voice: "Your Majesty, does the legitimate son of the Wenxi Pei family also need to take the exam?"

Li Yun looked up at him and smiled dumbly: "There are quite a few of you from the Wenxi Pei family in Luoyang now. Go and ask them, and you will find that everyone has to take the imperial examination."

Pei Huang took a deep breath, but did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he walked back a few steps and said in a hoarse voice: "If Your Majesty treats the nobles like this, I am afraid that after the establishment of the new dynasty, the world will not be peaceful for many years."

The aristocratic families now submit to the Jiangdong Army because it is too powerful. However, these aristocratic families have lived a good life for hundreds and thousands of years. Once their privileges are deprived, they will certainly not be able to endure it.

Or in other words...I can't endure it for many years.

Regardless of how capable these noble families are, they have enormous influence, and in many cases, they can get a lot of responses from everyone.

As long as they want to cause trouble, it's easy for them to do so.

"I know."

Li Yun smiled, then looked up at Pei Huang.

"I'm waiting for them to start a fight."

These smiling words made Pei Huang's hair stand on end.

He heard a strong murderous intent from Li Yun's words!
Pei Huang lowered his head, bowed, and quietly retreated. When he was about ten steps away from Li Yun's study, he turned around and looked behind him. After confirming that there was no one around, he murmured.

"No matter how powerful you are, Li Er, you will die of old age one day."

He turned around, let out a long breath, and talked to himself.

"Beware of the second death!"

…………

Pei Huang only met Li Yun once and never saw him again.

After that, he wanted to meet Du Qian, Yao Zhong, Du He and other high-ranking officials in the Jiangdong court, but without exception, no one was willing to see him.

A few days later, Pei Huang had no choice but to leave Luoyang in disgrace and ran all the way back to Xichuan.

Just when Pei Huang left Luoyang, in the backyard of Li Yun's mansion, several "little brothers" around Li Yun were sitting with Li Yun under the pavilion.

Among these little brothers, Meng Qing is the leader.

Then there was Zhou Bi, who had just arrived in Luoyang not long ago.

After that, it was Su Zhan.

Li Yun sat under the pavilion, looked up at Meng Qing, and shook his head, saying, "You've met a few girls in the past few months, are you overwhelmed by the choices? Why haven't you decided yet?"

He said seriously, "When you get married, there will be important things for you to do."

Meng Qing then looked at Li Yun and bowed his head and said, "If you have anything to say, just give me your orders. Whether you have a family or not, it will not hinder my work."

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "There are two places for you to choose, Guanzhong... or Youyan."

"Where do you choose?"

Hearing Li Yun's words, Zhou Bi and Su Zhan on the side showed envious looks.

This is one of the two top merits. Now it seems that it will most likely fall on Meng Qing in the future.

Meng Qing stood up, lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty...Your Majesty chooses Youyan!"

Li Yun smiled and nodded, then said, "Well, you can get married this year, and start preparing for Youyan next year."

Zhou Bi at the side said with a smile: "It's a pity that our uncles in our hometown didn't give birth to a pretty girl, otherwise it would be perfect for Brother Meng to marry."

Su Zhan hesitated to speak, but then he smiled and said, "Sir, I heard that Minister Fei Xuan has a daughter in her family who is very beautiful..."

Li Yun looked up at Su Zhan, then at Meng Qing. After thinking for a while, he squinted his eyes and smiled.

"Well, I will personally take Meng Qing to the Fei family tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)