Thief Emperor

Chapter 899: Shared Wealth and Wealth with the Country
Li Yun's accession edict was issued throughout the country.

Just like washing a cloth, the whole world was changed to the surname Li.

On the second day after he ascended the throne, Li Yun received homage from civil and military officials in the Taiji Hall in the morning. In the afternoon, he met with three generations of a family from Qingzhou in a side hall of the Taiji Hall.

In the side hall, Linzi Prince Zhou Xu, with his son Zhou Chang, and grandson Zhou Luo, came to Li Yun respectfully, and then bowed down in a proper manner.

Li Yun looked at the three of them quietly until they knelt down. Then he stood up, walked forward to help Zhou Xu up, and said with a smile: "Brother, you are too polite."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhou Chang and Zhou Luo with a smile on his face: "Everyone, get up and find a chair to sit down."

All three generations stood up to express their gratitude. Zhou Xu bowed his head deeply and said, "Your Majesty is now the Supreme Lord. The play agreement between me and Your Majesty in the past no longer counts and should not be mentioned again."

"Otherwise, I, my three generations of ancestors, will not know how to cope with the situation."

Li Yun pulled Zhou Xu to sit down and said with a smile: "I just changed my identity, not a different person. I accepted the Fengyang Alliance back then, and I will continue to accept it in the future."

Zhou Xu raised his head and looked at Li Yun. Li Yun looked at his expression, understood what he meant, and said in silence, "Okay, okay, just call me 'Zhen'."

At this point, he smiled and added: "After all, I have only been emperor for a day and a half, and I am not used to it yet."

He looked at Zhou Xu and smiled, "Since I have promised, it will still count from now on. If the Fengyang Alliance is no longer valid, it would be unreasonable for my elder brother to be the Prince of Linzi."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xu immediately stood up, bowed and clasped his fists towards Li Yun and said, "I came to see Your Majesty for this very reason. Throughout history, people of different surnames cannot be crowned kings. I am of a different surname, and it was just a joke when I was crowned king. Now I dare not accept it."

He lowered his head and said sincerely: "I only hope to pass down the title of Marquis to my family, and I will be satisfied."

Li Yun looked at him, then at Zhou Chang, who also stood up at this time and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, please understand that Zhou will never dare to accept the title of king."

Zhou Luo also stood up and bowed to Li Yun.

Mr. Li shook his head slightly and said, "Why do you think I would turn my back on you?"

"The new dynasty's rewards will be announced tomorrow. By then, my eldest brother and his family will know that I am a man of my words."

"Back then, the Pinglu Army gave up their dark side and joined the light side, which helped me a lot. They also made great contributions to the establishment of the new dynasty. I have always kept this in mind."

Li Yun's words were sincere.

In the early days of the Jiangdong Army, the Pinglu Army did cause it considerable trouble, but it is undeniable that the Pinglu Army played a significant role in the rapid formation and development of the Jiangdong Army's combat effectiveness in its early years.

More importantly, the Pinglu Army surrendered... at least, they did not continue to make things difficult for the Jiangdong Army, and they also helped Li Yun to take over Hebei Province.

Putting aside the contributions of Hebei Province, the surrender alone is extremely rare.

At that time, the Pinglu Army still had at least 60,000 to 70,000 combatants! If they really fought to the death, the Jiangdong Army would lose at least 20,000 people.

Moreover, Li Yun's plan to conquer the Central Plains would probably be delayed by more than two years. One wrong step would lead to all the wrong steps. If this were the case, it would be hard to say whether the new dynasty could be successfully established by now.

Zhou Xu took a deep breath and looked up at Li Yun.

Li Yun was also looking at him and said with a smile: "As long as your family behaves well, this princehood will be yours. I can promise your family a hereditary inheritance."

Zhou Xu lowered his head and his eyes became hot when he heard this, but he soon regained his composure and said, "Your Majesty is so kind to me, I can't help but feel trembling in my heart."

"I really... I really don't dare to accept it."

Li Yun looked at him, then looked at Zhou Chang, and asked with a smile: "Zhou Chang, what do you say?"

Zhou Chang also lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, if there is no king of a different surname in the new dynasty, and the Zhou family is the only king of a different surname, then the Zhou family would never dare to accept it."

"I, your three grandchildren, believe that your Majesty is sincere at this time, but the officials in the court will inevitably criticize you for this. Over time, the Zhou family will have no place to stand in the new dynasty."

Li Yun touched his chin, thought seriously, then looked at Zhou Luo and said with a smile: "Then let's compromise."

"My elder brother will still be your prince. As long as I am alive, your title of prince will remain unshakable. When my elder brother is dead a hundred years later, Zhou Chang will inherit the title and become the Duke of the country."

"In the future, all generations will be dukes."

Zhou Xu was stunned when he heard this. He turned his head to look at his son Zhou Chang. Zhou Chang's expression also looked a little strange.

They came to see Li Yun today because they really wanted to resign the title of king to avoid becoming the target of public criticism in the future.

Because although the specific rewards have not been announced, the whole Luoyang City is spreading the news that this time, there are only two royal titles, one is King of Jin Li Zheng, and the other is King of Linzi Zhou Xu.

"But I also have a few conditions."

Li Yun looked at the father and son and said with a smile, "The dozen prefectures near Qingzhou have always been under my eldest brother's control. I kept my promise and did not ask for my eldest brother's. Now that the new dynasty is established, the court will take back the prefectures near Qingzhou and re-administer them."

Zhou Xu did not hesitate and bowed his head and said: "I was just about to say this. I really don't have the ability to govern a place. Please ask the court to send officials to govern Qingzhou immediately."

Li Yun looked at his expression and said with a smile: "The second thing is the Pinglu Army. Over the years, the Pinglu Army has been under the management of my elder brother. I do not want your military power."

"But in the future, the Pinglu Army needs to be reorganized. I mean, it should be reorganized into the Qingzhou Army."

"Leave 10,000 soldiers from the Yuanping Lu Army, and I will add another 10,000 soldiers from the Jiangdong Army to station in Qingzhou and guard the eastern border." He looked at Zhou Chang and said, "Appoint Zhou Chang as the first general of Qingzhou. When Zhou Luo grows up in a few years, he will be appointed as the general of Qingzhou."

Zhou Xu was thoughtful after hearing this, then he looked at Li Yun and continued: "Your Majesty, the number of Pinglu troops is far more than 10,000..."

"I will assign the rest of the troops to Hebei Province as appropriate to deal with the Khitans in the future, but not all of them."

"If anyone doesn't want to serve in the army anymore, they can be sent back home."

Li Yun looked at Zhou Xu and continued, "There is a third request, which is that my brother's fiefdom needs to be moved south."

When Zhou Xu heard this, he was not worried but happy.

Because he knew Li Yun very well, and also had some understanding of the position of emperor.

If the new dynasty was too indulgent towards the Zhou family, he would become suspicious and wonder whether Emperor Li Yun was planning to be lenient towards their family for a few years and then punish them after a few years.

"His Majesty…"

Zhou Xu smiled and asked, "Where should I be granted fiefdom?"

"Brother, you seemed to like Yangzhou very much before."

Li Yun looked at him and smiled, "Please ask your family to move to Yangzhou and become the King of Jiangdu."

"Of course, if my eldest brother and his family don't like living in Yangzhou, they can move to Luoyang. I will still make you the King of Jiangdu."

Yangzhou is located in Huainan Road.

Jiangnan East Road, Jiangnan West Road and Huainan Road were the three roads that Li Yun conquered first. They were also his most core territories and were initially called the Three Roads of Jiangnan.

There, Mr. Li's power was deeply rooted. When the Zhou family moved to Yangzhou, Li Yun could feel a little more at ease about them. Moreover, Yangzhou was prosperous, so it was not a bad thing for them.

Zhou Xu and Zhou Chang looked at each other, then knelt in front of Li Yun and kowtowed to him: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace."

Li Yun raised his hand again, motioning the three to stand up, then looked at Zhou Luo and said with a smile: "Little guy, you have grown up by my side these years. Will you follow your father and grandfather back to Qingzhou, or continue to stay in Luoyang?"

Zhou Luo knelt on the ground and bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, I have just been appointed as the captain of the Yulin Army by General Yang. I will do my best in this position and I will not return to Qingzhou."

Having said this, he paused, lowered his head and said: "In the future, I want to follow General Meng and fight on the battlefield!"

Li Yun was startled, then looked at Zhou Chang and said with a smile: "General Zhou, your son is very generous. Do you have other sons?"

Zhou Chang bowed his head, clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, it is a good thing that he has this ambition. I will not stop him."

"Well."

Li Yun stood up, walked to Zhou Luo, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Little guy, do your job well, you don't have to go back to inherit the family business of the Qingzhou general. If you make great contributions in the future, I will make you a general."

"Far better than your Qingzhou general."

Zhou Luo's eyes were burning and he lowered his head in response.

Li Yun looked at Zhou Xu and Zhou Chang, father and son, thought for a moment, and then said, "You two, we are in the new dynasty now, so you should stop your old habits. If you break the law, you will be arrested by the court."

"Don't blame me for turning my back on you."

Hearing this, the father and son were shocked and bowed their heads together, saying, "Thank you for your reminder, Your Majesty. I will remember this."

"Well."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Brother, you can take a rest in Luoyang and then go to Yangzhou to enjoy your life. When the Pinglu Army is reorganized, Zhou Chang will go to Qingzhou and serve as your general of Qingzhou."

The three generations of grandparents and grandchildren all nodded their heads in agreement.

Zhou Chang thought for a moment, took a step forward, and whispered, "Your Majesty, I heard that Your Majesty has granted a mansion in Luoyang to all the meritorious officials of the Tang Dynasty."

"In the past few years, three generations of my family have contributed to the court. In the future, the Zhou family will definitely come to Luoyang more often. Your Majesty, what do you think..."

“Can you also give Zhou a mansion?”

Li Yun was startled when he heard this, then he touched his chin, glanced at Zhou Luo, and finally said with a smile: "You go to the Ministry of Industry and look for Zhuo Guangrui. If he says he has it, he will give you a copy."

"Just let him give one to your family."

Zhou Chang was overjoyed, bowed his head and clasped his fists, saying: "I obey your command!"

After saying this, he rushed to the Ministry of Works with his father and son.

After all, everyone knows at this time the value of the houses of fifty heroes in Luoyang!

That might be...

It is really necessary to share the weal and woe with the country!
(End of this chapter)