Thief Emperor

Chapter 901 Pingdong and Pingxi

After ascending the throne, Li Yun worked non-stop until mid-February, when he finally had some free time. At this time, the first imperial decree of the new court granting marriage was also issued.

It was a marriage between Meng Qing, Marquis of Qingyang, and Miss Fei, the daughter of Minister Fei Xuan.

And this Minister Fei was also granted the title of marquis this time, which meant he had found a good son-in-law.

Originally, considering Fei Xuan's qualifications, age, and his contributions over the years, it was barely acceptable to confer him the title of Duke for life. However, with the example of Yao Zhong in mind, it was not appropriate to confer such a high title on civil servants like Fei Xuan.

Otherwise, some people will feel uncomfortable.

The day after the marriage decree was issued, Minister Fei brought his daughter and son-in-law to the palace to thank Li Yun. Li Yun received them in the side hall of Taiji Hall. After everyone was seated, Li Yun looked at them and said with a smile: "Now that the marriage is settled, this good thing is done. For this marriage, I will pay 3,000 strings of money out of my own pocket for you two to hold the wedding."

The imperial edict had already set the wedding date in March, so time was still tight. Fei Xuan bowed to Li Yun and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Meng Qing half-knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"No need to be polite, just keep sitting down, keep sitting down."

After they sat down again, Li Yun looked at Meng Qing, then at Minister Fei, coughed, and said, "Mr. Fei, Meng Qing grew up under my watch, and he is no different from my brother. His marriage is settled today, and I am relieved. In the future, if there is anything he cannot do, Mr. Fei, please bear with him."

By this time, Li Yun had been on the throne for almost a month, and he was still not used to calling himself "I" all the time. However, during this period, in order to learn how to be an emperor, he read through the daily records of some previous emperors when he had free time.

In the daily records, the emperors of previous dynasties did not always use the word "I". Even in relatively private occasions, they mostly referred to themselves as "I".

More often, they are used in combination.

Seeing this, he didn't care so much. After all, he was the founding emperor, and all the rules were essentially decided by him. At this point, he no longer cared about these details.

Fei Xuan bowed to Li Yun and said, "Your Majesty, you are too kind."

"General Xiao Meng has a good personality, and I like him very much."

Li Yun looked at Meng Qing and said with a smile: "Miss Fei is also very good. After getting married, you must not bully her."

Meng Qing's face turned slightly red, and he quickly lowered his head and said yes.

Li Yun said a few more words to Miss Fei, mostly telling her that if Meng Qing bullies you in the future, she should come to find me. After a few words, Fei Xuan and the others were about to leave. Li Yun looked at Meng Qing and said with a smile, "Mr. Fei probably still has a lot of official business to do, so go ahead and do it. Meng Qing, stay and let's talk."

"Yes."

The three stood up, Fei Xuan took his daughter away, and Meng Qing stood below Li Yun, clasped his fists towards Li Yun and said with a somewhat excited tone: "Take the position, but...but do you want to discuss the matter of Youyan?"

“Almost, but not quite.”

Li Yun pressed his hands towards him, motioning him to sit down, and then said, "The battle of Youyan will have to be fought sooner or later, but we need to make some preparations first. Last month, I had already discussed it with Qingzhou."

He looked at Meng Qing and said, "Pinglu Army, agree to reorganize our Jiangdong Army. At that time, leave 10,000 Qingzhou troops in Qingzhou and add another 10,000 Jiangdong troops. These 20,000 troops will serve as the Qingzhou garrison, and Zhou Chang will be the Qingzhou general."

"And the matter of reorganizing the Pinglu Army."

Li Yun looked at him and said, "I plan to let you do it."

Meng Qing's breathing quickened, and he said in a deep voice: "Master, I can leave at any time."

"Don't worry, wait until you get married."

Li Yun smiled and said, "The father and son of the King of Jiangdu are sensible. Nothing will go wrong in a few months. I can wait for you for a few months. My request is that within this year, the reorganization of the Pinglu Army will be completed and the Pinglu Army will disappear. After the reorganization, you can take the Jiangdong Army to Hebei Road and mix it with your old troops. In this way, you will have an army of 100,000 soldiers."

"This army will become the main force in the conquest of Khitan in the future."

Meng Qing lowered his head slightly, his eyes burning: "I understand!"

Li Yun looked at him, stretched out his hand and knocked on the table, and said in a deep voice: "This matter is easy to say, but it is also difficult to say, especially for you, it is a hurdle."

"The Pinglu Army now has 60,000 to 70,000 troops, which is a huge number. How to coordinate all parties, how to complete the reorganization safely and steadily, and how to minimize the conflicts among all parties are all difficult problems."

“Being able to coordinate these.”

Li Yun said seriously: "From now on, you can be called a handsome talent."

Meng Qing suppressed his excitement and bowed his head deeply: "Minister, I will remember the teachings of the superior." "Well, this matter is not urgent, I just want to tell you in advance so that you can be mentally prepared."

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "Wait until you get married, preferably when Miss Fei is pregnant, then it won't be too late to leave for Qingzhou."

Meng Qing lowered his head, feeling a little embarrassed. Li Yun stood up, patted his shoulder, and said slowly: "It will take more than one or two years to conquer the Khitan. Don't be impatient, and don't be discouraged. When you accomplish this and take back Youyan, I will make you the Duke of Yan."

"Never surrender."

Meng Qing said, "My Lord, I do not seek any high position or generous salary. I will be satisfied if I can accomplish some tasks for you."

Li Yun laughed and said, "I'm glad you have this thought. When we take Youyan in the future, I will still count on you to continue the conquest of Liaodong."

Meng Qing bowed his head slightly: "I'll remember this."

…………

Another day passed. In the imperial garden, Li Yun, dressed in a blue robe, was talking and laughing with Su Sheng. Su Sheng followed closely behind him. The two of them were laughing and chatting.

After chatting for a while, Li Yun smiled and said, "Master Su treated me very well back then. Without Master Su, I would hardly be where I am today. Now that the country has been founded, if the junior brothers of the Su family want to join the government, I can arrange jobs for them."

Su Sheng thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, when I was in Jiangdong, you appointed Su Zhan, and I had no say in that. But now that the country has been established, the rules have been set, and we must follow them. I have two unemployed brothers in my family, and I plan to take them to the army, step by step."

“No more shortcuts.”

Li Yun looked at Su Sheng and said, "Brother, have your children all grown up?"

Back then, when Li Yun and Su Sheng first met, Su Sheng was already in his thirties. Ten years passed in the blink of an eye, and now General Su Sheng is over forty years old, and his children have indeed grown up.

Su Sheng said sternly, "Your Majesty, the Su family has already received too much favor and honor, so they should not be promoted out of turn. They should be allowed to do it step by step."

Hearing this, Li Yun shook his head and said with emotion: "Brother is really a role model."

Su Sheng bowed his head: "I am unworthy of this."

As they were talking, the two of them had already arrived under a pavilion. Li Yun pulled him to sit down and said with a smile, "I invited you here today mainly to discuss the affairs of Hedong Road and Guanzhong Road."

"Li Hao from Hedong Road has been in Luoyang for more than a month. He wanted to leave earlier, but I didn't allow him to."

"Now, it's almost time. Brother, can you go out and do your errands now?"

Su Sheng was refreshed upon hearing this, and immediately stood up and clasped his fists, saying, "I have been idle in Luoyang for several months, and I was thinking of asking Your Majesty for a job."

"Well."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Brother, you prepare for a few days and leave Luoyang with Li Hao. I will take him to Hengzhou in Hebei Province and then let him go. After that, if Hedong Province is really willing to surrender, I will take over Hedong Province."

"The court will prepare officials to administer Hedong Road."

"If the Hedong Li family is pretending to surrender, then you can do what's convenient for you and start attacking Hedong Road immediately."

Su Sheng heard this, looked at Li Yun, and whispered: "Your Majesty, now that the Holy Dynasty has just been established, taxes have been reduced by half for another year. It is a time for recuperation. Can we use force at this time?"

"If the Hedong Li family doesn't make trouble, there will be no war. If they really do make trouble."

Mr. Li said calmly, "I am a little poor now. It is a little difficult for me to attack Youyan and Guanzhong, but I can still afford the money to attack Hedong Road."

Su Sheng heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this, and grinned at Li Yun: "Then I understand!"

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "I have met Li Hao several times. He is a man of many thoughts. We can start from this point. Brother, if you find an opportunity, you can promise him a favor."

"Let's say, in the Tang Dynasty, the head of the Hedong Li family may not be Li Zhen."

Su Sheng's eyes lit up, and he lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty...Your Majesty understands."

Li Yun looked up at the sky and smiled, "If Hedong Road goes well, brother can take over Hedong while preparing..."

"We are going to attack Guanzhong."

(End of this chapter)