Thief Emperor

Chapter 893 The New Emperor

"Son-in-law of the Khitan tribe?"

Li Yun pulled Liu Bo to sit down, looked him up and down, then said with a smile: "You kid, after going to the border, how come you married a Khitan woman?"

Li joked: "It's quite charming."

"It's not that I'm charming."

Liu Bo looked up at Li Yun and said, "When you contact them, the first thing you need to do is to gain their trust. Otherwise, there will be no way to continue the conversation."

Liu Bo looked at Li Yun and said, "I only brought a few people out of the border at that time. First, I learned Khitan language, then visited each tribe one by one, and finally tried to contact them. After contacting them, nothing could convince them."

“They didn’t believe my promise.”

Liu Bo paused and continued, "At that time, my second brother didn't have the momentum he has now, so he had no choice but to follow their way."

At this point, he shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I had no choice but to obey them."

Liu Bo did not say it directly, but Li Yun had already understood it. That is, the Khitans knew his identity, but could not believe his promise, so they accepted him as their son-in-law.

Li Yun sat opposite him, looked at him, and said with a smile: "How did they confirm your identity?"

"The Ninth Division also has some personnel outside the Great Wall, and they have more or less some understanding of the Khitan tribe. If I give them a brief explanation, they will know that I am not an ordinary person."

As he said this, he looked at Li Yun and sighed, "Now, I have a son who is betting on their side."

Li Yun was stunned when he heard this, then he laughed.

"How is that Khitan woman?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bo sighed and said nothing.

Seeing this, Li Yun laughed even louder. After laughing for a long time, he wiped his tears, patted Liu Bo on the shoulder, and said seriously: "Old Nine has worked hard and sacrificed himself for the sake of public affairs. I will remember this and will definitely reward you in the future."

Liu Bo looked at Li Yun helplessly, shook his head and said, "Second brother, you laughed so loudly just now."

"Nothing."

Li Yun poured him a cup of tea and asked with a smile, "Is there any progress?"

"Of course there has been some progress, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to come back."

He looked at Li Yun and said, "Now, on the surface, all the Khitan tribes have submitted to Yelu Yi, but they suffered heavy losses in the previous years of conquering Bohai and Youyan, so they are naturally unwilling to accept it."

Liu Bo paused and continued, "The Khitan tribe I came into contact with is called the Wugu tribe. It is the largest Khitan tribe after the Yeluyi tribe and the Shiwei tribe. There are more than 10,000 households in the tribe."

"As for other tribes, the Nine Departments are still trying to contact them. The Wugu tribe has already made a clear promise that as long as my second brother takes back Youyan, and the forces of the Xin Dynasty can come into contact with the Wugu tribe in the future, they will be willing to surrender to the Xin Dynasty and no longer obey Yelu Yi's orders."

"The premise is..."

He whispered, "Second brother must defeat Khitan Khan Yelu Yi first."

Hearing this, Li Yun frowned at first, then nodded slowly: "The two sides are in a hostile state. It's already very good that you can talk to them to this point."

As he spoke, he took out a map of Hebei Province from his desk, spread it out on the table, pointed at Youyan, and said, "This Yelu Yi is very difficult to deal with."

"After he occupied Youyan, he also plundered the Han people, but he didn't go too far. This year, he even ordered the Han people in Youyan to cultivate the land. The entire Youyan... was not in chaos."

At this point, Li Yun slowly said: "Originally, I could have waited for two years and then started to attack Youyan, but this year's expedition to the southwest has squandered all my savings for the whole year, and I even owe some."

"If there is no particularly good opportunity, it may take two or three years to conquer Youyan."

He looked at Liu Bo and asked, "This Wugu tribe..."

Liu Bo shook his head slightly: "They are unwilling to join the war."

"but…"

Liu Bo whispered, "They are willing to cooperate with Jiusi."

Cooperating with Jiusi means providing information to Li Yun.

Li Yun nodded slowly and said, "In the future, after we take Youyan, the next step is to conquer Liaodong. At that time, the areas currently occupied by the Khitans can be temporarily controlled."

"Tell the people of the Wugu tribe that I can enthrone them as the new Khitan Khan when the time comes."

Liu Bo was a little surprised. He looked at Li Yun and said, "Second brother, it seems too generous to promise them the title of Khan before they have done anything..."

Li Yun shook his head and smiled at Liu Bo: "If we don't paint a rosy picture at this time, I'm afraid they will be unwilling to contribute, and..."

Mr. Li smiled mysteriously: "Who said there can only be one Khitan Khan?"

Liu Bo understood immediately, gave Li Yun a thumbs up, and praised: "Second brother is really...really wise."

Li Yun laughed and said, "How long do you plan to stay this time? Do you want to go back outside the Great Wall to visit your son in the Khitan tribe?"

"My son is here in Luoyang, too."

Liu Bo was silent for a while, then he said, "I will stay at home for a while. After my second brother ascends the throne, I will start to sort out the Nine Departments."

"The current Jiusi..."

He shook his head and said, "It's a little too scattered."

Then Liu Bo said, "Also, the Nine Departments are not well staffed. Second brother, assign some scholars to me." "Let them work in the Nine Departments."

Hearing this, Li Yun only thought about it for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I know what you think, but the power of civil officials should not be too great, and I don't intend to let them interfere in the Nine Departments."

Liu Bo whispered, "But the Nine Departments do need some scholars to handle daily affairs. Many of those who were promoted from the bottom have never read much."

"Over time, it's easy to get confused."

"then you…"

Li Yun looked at him and said, "Just select some from the failed scholars. It just so happens that the new dynasty will start the first imperial examination this spring. There will definitely be many people who failed. You can select some from them."

Mr. Li smiled and said, "As long as you give them some official positions, they will follow you wholeheartedly."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bo nodded.

"Okay, I'll listen to my second brother."

Li Yun pulled his sleeve and said with a smile: "You have worked really hard these past two years. Let's go, brothers, and have a drink."

"I'll take you to meet your oldest nephew later. He's ten years old this year, and he's probably as tall as your chest."

Liu Bo followed behind Li Yun and said with a smile.

"Okay, I'll accompany my second brother today and have a good drink."

"correct."

Liu Bo asked, "Why don't I see Skinny Monkey in Luoyang?"

"He is heading to Luoyang from Jiannan Road. He will probably arrive in the next few days."

"Hu Zi is also in Luoyang at this time."

Li Yun smiled and said, "When Skinny Monkey comes back, we brothers will get together and have a good drink."

Liu Bo nodded and said yes, then said with emotion: "I don't know if I can go back to Cangshan Dazhai again in this life and have a good drink in Dazhai."

"I'll go back."

Li Yun looked back at him and said with a smile: "Now, we both have sons and daughters. When we are done with work in the next few years, we will take those boys back to Cangshan Village."

"Let's have a good drink with him in the village!"

When Liu Bo heard this, a smile appeared on his face.

"it is good!"

…………

The fourteenth day of the first lunar month, the day before the Lantern Festival.

Li Yun sat in the main hall, rubbing his eyebrows, looking a little haggard.

These days, he has dealt with too many things and met too many people. Even with his abundant energy, he can't hold on any longer.

However, he still has to meet the person he is going to meet today because he is very important.

Not long after, a middle-aged man named Li Hao in a blue robe walked into the main hall. After seeing Li Yun sitting in the main seat, Li Hao took a deep breath and saluted: "Li Hao of Hedong, I pay my respects to the new emperor."

Li Yun was not surprised to hear this title. After all, there were only a few days left for him to take the throne.

At this time, some people who considered themselves to be "sensible" were already calling him "Your Majesty".

It doesn't matter what you call it.

Li Yun didn't even correct him, he just waved his hand and said calmly: "Sit down and talk."

Li Hao lowered his head and said yes. He carefully sat down below Li Yun and said to him with a smile, "Congratulations, Your Majesty."

"A few more days."

Li Yun waved his hand and said, "Your Majesty, no need to address me as such."

He looked at Li Hao and said with a smile: "Although I have never met General Li, I have heard of him for a long time. In the three battles I fought in Zhongyuan, Shuofang, and Hedong Road, the general caused me a lot of trouble."

Upon hearing this, Li Hao's expression froze, and he quickly lowered his head and said, "Before, I, Hedong, was a minister of Zhou, so I naturally did some things that a minister of Zhou should do. After the king accepts the abdication, the king will be the orthodox king."

"When that time comes, it will be another matter."

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "When will the Hedong Army surrender to the new dynasty?"

Li Hao forced a smile on his face: "That depends on how much grace His Majesty has given me."

"Once you have surrendered, my grace will be very great."

"If you don't surrender."

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea: "I will detain you in Luoyang."

"By then, there will be no generals left in Taiyuan."

(End of this chapter)