Thief Emperor

Chapter 881 The handle
With the lesson learned from the last time, Zhao Cheng suppressed his emotions as much as possible this time. He did not even contact the captives of the Wu Zhou royal family. Instead, he went with Chen Da to receive the Wu Zhou imperial guards.

Outside the city of Chengdu, in an open space in a military camp, Zhao Cheng ordered his men to gather all the officers of the imperial guards to this open space and had them line up and stand in front of it.

After all the imperial guards were standing in line, Zhao Cheng walked to a high platform with his hands behind his back, and then glanced at these obedient imperial guards prisoners.

"Listen up."

Zhao Chengzhong's powerful voice echoed in the venue.

"This general knows that you are all from the imperial guards of Guanzhong."

"Now, Wu Zhou has surrendered to the Xin Dynasty. From now on, the Great Zhou..."

"It ceased to exist."

Zhao Cheng said loudly: "The new dynasty will not make things too difficult for you, the tens of thousands of imperial guards. Now, this general will give you two options."

"The first option is that you stay in Jiannan Road and serve the new dynasty as laborers for three years. During these three years, the new dynasty will provide you with food and accommodation, and you only need to work."

"After three years, the Xin Dynasty will set you free. By then, you can settle down in Jiannan Road and become obedient citizens of the Xin Dynasty."

"Second option."

Zhao Cheng said in a deep voice: "The second option is to be incorporated into the king's army. All sins can be forgiven immediately. In the near future, at the king's command, someone will lead you back to Guanzhong."

“Return to hometown.”

After Zhao Cheng finished speaking, he stopped talking and just stood with his hands behind his back, looking quietly at the imperial guards generals below.

Before they could say anything, Zhao Chengji continued, "There are too many imperial guards, so we can only mobilize you, the original generals. You don't have to answer me now. When you go back, pass on my words. Starting tomorrow, someone will be guarding your door and registering you."

"Divide your places."

After he finished speaking, a captain from the imperial guards stepped forward, looked up at Zhao Cheng, bowed his head deeply, and said, "General, among us, there are those who have already started a family in Jiannandao. If...if we can return to Guanzhong, can we bring our wives and children from Jiannandao back with us?"

The small court has been in the southwest for too long, and many imperial guards know that it is difficult to return, so they choose to settle down here.

At this time, this issue is what this group of people are most concerned about.

Zhao Cheng calmly replied, "As long as you join the army, after the new dynasty takes over Guanzhong, you can return to Xichuan and bring your family back to Guanzhong."

The captain of the imperial guard bowed his head deeply: "I understand!"

Zhao Cheng glanced at him, then strode away with his hands behind his back.

"Everyone go back to your own place!"

After saying that, he walked all the way to where Chen Da was standing, then looked at Chen Da and said a little tiredly: "Bo Zhong, the follow-up matters will be handed over to you. The superiors have given instructions on how to arrange these imperial guards."

"They are all from Guanzhong. Even if they have been neglected for these years, they are at least familiar with the terrain of Guanzhong. If we recruit them, when we advance into Guanzhong in the future, each lieutenant camp will have some Guanzhong people, which will make it easier to conquer Guanzhong."

Chen Da clasped his fists and said yes. Then he looked at Zhao Cheng and said, "What about those who don't want to join the army?"

"The officials sent by the king to govern Chengdu will arrive soon. After such a long period of turmoil, Jiannan Road is probably in need of reconstruction. Those who want to stay and serve as civilians can directly hand them over to the officials who arrive in Chengdu."

Chen Da nodded and said "OK", then looked at Zhao Cheng, lowered his head slightly and said: "General, you have been very hard-working during this period. Now that Chengdu has been taken, you should take a good rest and don't work too hard."

Zhao Cheng shook his head and smiled bitterly, then looked up at Chen Da and said earnestly: "Bo Zhong."

Chen Da clasped his fists and said, "General's orders."

"This is not the first time we have worked together. During the time I have been in Jiannan Dao, I have not treated you unfairly. I made a mistake in Jiannan Dao this time. When you meet someone higher up in the future..."

"Say a few words for me."

At this moment, Zhao Cheng looked at Chen Da with eyes full of hope.

He knew that Chen Da was Li Yun's direct descendant, and the most direct descendant among the direct descendants. A hundred words from outsiders might not be as effective as one word from Chen Da.

Chen Da thought for a moment, clasped his fists and said, "The general has a deep blood feud, so it is normal for him to be a little anxious. If the superior asks me about this, I will answer truthfully and defend the general."

Zhao Cheng felt a little disappointed when he heard the words "if you ask", but he could only force a smile and nodded, "Okay, thank you very much."

Chen Da looked at his appearance, bowed his head slightly and said: "If the general is convicted for this, I will definitely speak up for the general."

Hearing this, Zhao Chengcai breathed a sigh of relief. He clasped his fists and saluted towards Chen Da with a serious expression.

"Thank you very much."

…………

Five days later, Li Zheng had basically taken over most of the government affairs in Chengdu.

Although he was not familiar with these government affairs, he had been the Yin of Luoyang for such a long time after all, so there would be no problem for him to follow their instructions. At least he could maintain stability in Luoyang City.

At this time, the official sent by Li Yun to govern Chengdu finally arrived in Chengdu.

The visitor was a middle-aged man in his forties, who rode all the way here on horseback. After arriving in Chengdu, he almost didn't delay and went straight to see Li Zheng. After meeting Li Zheng, the man saluted Li Zheng and said, "Your subordinate Huang Chao, I have been ordered to take over the Chengdu Prefecture."

Li Zheng looked him up and down, a smile on his face: "So it's you."

Huang Chao was a little surprised, but he still lowered his head and said: "My Lord, your humble servant..."

Li Zheng waved his hand and said with a smile: "Yizhou has been promoted to Chengdu Prefecture. You are in charge of Chengdu Prefecture and will be the governor of Chengdu in the future. We are on the same level, so there is no need to call me your subordinate all the time."

Huang Chao shook his head and said, "This Chengdu Prefecture was established by the old dynasty. The king may not recognize it, and my last position was only a governor..."

Li Zheng patted his shoulder, interrupted him, and said with a smile: "Brother Huang, the situation in Xichuan is complicated now. As the chief official, you have a lot of responsibilities. You need to pay more attention not only to the situation in Chengdu Prefecture, but also to the entire Xichuan."

Huang Chao lowered his head, thought seriously, and then said: "My Lord, how many people can the court leave for me?"

"do not know."

Li Zheng shook his head and said, "But the army is reorganizing the imperial guards. Those who do not want to continue to serve in the old Zhou imperial guards will stay in Chengdu and serve as laborers in your government office. They will be under your command."

Huang Chao's eyes lit up and he asked, "Master, how many people can there be?"

"Even if it's only 10%, there are still thousands of them."

Huang Chao was overjoyed when he heard this. He clasped his fists and bowed to Li Zheng, saying, "In this case, you can rest assured, your humble servant..."

"I must complete the task assigned by my superiors!"

…………

After Li Zheng handed over the matter of Chengdu to Huang Chao, he went to meet Zhao Cheng in the army. After the two of them exchanged greetings, Li Zheng said to Zhao Cheng: "General, I have had people prepare carriages and horses these days. The old Zhou royal family, including Emperor Wu, can be sent to Luoyang. General, you can set off tomorrow and take them back to Luoyang."

Zhao Cheng heard this and said quickly, "Sanlang, there are many prefectures in Jiannan Road that have not been taken. You should force them to go to Luoyang, and I will stay in Jiannan Road and take control of the entire Jiannan Road."

Li Zheng frowned and said, "General, what's left in Xichuan are just some finishing touches. If Chen Da or He Duwei stay, it will be enough to clean up the situation."

"Now is the time to ask for merit for the Jiangdong Army's expedition to the West. General, don't refuse."

After hearing this, Zhao Chengcai took a deep breath, bowed his head and said "OK", he looked at Li Zheng and asked, "What about you, Sanlang?"

"I will follow you back to Luoyang."

Li Zheng smiled and said, "We staggered the time by two or three days."

Zhao Cheng wanted to say something when he heard this, but was interrupted by Li Zheng. Li Zheng drank some water, looked at Zhao Cheng, and suddenly lowered his voice: "General Zhao can't do anything to the Wu family. He is probably still a little angry."

"These past few days, I have been in charge of Chengdu affairs and discovered something."

Zhao Cheng was a little curious and asked, "What's the matter?"

Li Zheng looked around carefully, then lowered his voice and said, "The former emperor of the old Zhou Dynasty... was buried in Xichuan."

“It’s near Chengdu.”

Hearing this, Zhao Cheng immediately clenched his fists.

Li Zheng took a deep breath and said softly, "We can set off the day after tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. General Zhao can go to the mausoleum to take a look during these few days."

"After General Zhao leaves, we can put the blame on the people of Jiannan Road and say that the Emperor Wu Zhou was unjust and perverse, and the local people hated him, so..."

Zhao Cheng clenched his fists and said in a hoarse voice: "Sanlang, this matter, this matter..."

"It's out of the way."

Li Zheng looked calm: "Even if someone finds out, as long as the dirty water is not thrown on Brother Wang, it will be fine."

Zhao Cheng stood up, bowed deeply to Li Zheng, and saluted: "Thank you, Sanlang."

After saying that, he turned around and strode away.

Li Zheng walked to the door of the tent, put his hands behind his back and watched Zhao Cheng go away with a calm expression.

"The evidence is exposed."

(End of this chapter)