Thief Emperor

Chapter 921 The Old General and the New General

In Ganlu Palace, Gongsun Hao, with his right arm empty, took a step forward, knelt down, put his left hand on the ground, and kowtowed to Li Yun: "Your Highness, Gongsun Hao."

"Kowtow to Your Majesty."

Before he finished speaking, Li Yun had already stood up, took two or three steps forward, and helped him up. When he saw Gongsun Hao's empty right arm, even Emperor Li couldn't help but be moved. He pulled Gongsun Hao's sleeve and sighed, "General Gongsun's leg injury was caused by me back then. Now, for the sake of the new dynasty, he has lost another arm."

"what a pity."

Gongsun Hao bowed his head slightly and said, "When the Holy Emperor advanced to Huainan Road, I should have been respectful and greeted him, but I did not recognize the real dragon and offended Your Majesty. I was captured by Your Majesty, but Your Majesty did not kill me. Instead, I was kept in your tent to serve you."

"This is already a favor of not killing me."

Gongsun Hao lowered his head even lower and said, "This time in Jiannan Road, I was ordered to assist General Zhao in attacking Jiannan Road. I was careless for a moment, and the enemy took advantage of my camp. This is my great sin."

"I am able to survive thanks to your Majesty's great blessing. I dare not take any more credit for it."

After hearing this, Li Yun was speechless and said, "General Gongsun's speech is very different from those rough men in the army. Even ordinary civil servants can't speak as beautifully as you."

Gongsun Hao took a step back and bowed his head to Li Yun and said, "Your Majesty, I am not saying this to be modest, but I have a request that I would like to ask for Your Majesty's approval."

Li Yun looked at him and said, "You say."

"I will do my best to help you with whatever I can do."

Gongsun Hao took a deep breath and said with his head down: "Since I joined the wise master, I was first ordered to assist the Prince of Jin. Under the leadership of the Prince of Jin, I made some modest contributions. Later, I moved to many places and served under the command of General Zhao in the southwest. Although I have been in the Jiangdong Army for some years, most of the time, I wasted my time."

He lowered his head and said, "I know. Because I broke my arm, Your Majesty felt sorry for me and gave me a generous reward, but the title of Duke..."

He knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said: "I really cannot accept this. Your Majesty, please revoke your order and take back this dukedom."

His words were so sincere that Li Yun couldn't help but frown: "General Gongsun, what's wrong? Did someone gossip in your ear?"

"It's not idle talk."

Gongsun Hao lowered his head and said, "I am a surrendered general. Now that the country has just been established, some of the generals who first followed Your Majesty have not even been granted a title of nobility. No matter what, I should not be a duke."

"Otherwise, I will have no place to stand."

Li Yun frowned when he heard this.

"Did someone gossip with you?"

Gongsun Hao's meaning was very simple. Among the former veterans of the Jiangdong Army, and even those from the anti-theft team, the number of people who were granted the title of marquis this time was no more than ten.

As for those who were granted the title of Duke, there were only two of them in the entire Jiangdong Army, Su Sheng and Zhao Cheng. Some of the veterans would naturally dislike Gongsun Hao, a Duke who "became a latecomer" and some might even speak ill of him.

Gongsun Hao lowered his head and smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty, even General Deng and General Meng were only given the title of Marquis this time. If I accept this title of Duke, how can I have the face to meet my old brothers in the army in the future..."

At this point, he whispered, "Also, I heard that the former Hedong Jiedushi Li Zhen was also granted a title of nobility."

"No matter how thick-skinned I am, the most I can get is a marquisate."

He looked down at his right arm, then looked up at Li Yun with a serious face: "I know your majesty is kind, but this arm of mine is not worthy of a duke."

Li Yun's face also turned serious, and he said, "I have read the merit books submitted by various armies. If nothing else, Lingnan Road is almost the same, and it's all your credit."

"I have discussed this Duke position with the prime ministers, Zhao Cheng and Su Sheng, and they all have no objections."

"Since this matter has been decided, let's do it this way. General, you are not allowed to refuse anymore in the future."

He looked at Gongsun Hao and said solemnly, "At most a hundred years after the general, Gongsun He will inherit the title, and the title of Marquis."

Gongsun Hao took a deep breath and said nothing more.

Li Yun looked at him, and suddenly thought of something, and said, "Don't try to commit suicide, or I will find out and vent my anger on your descendants."

Gongsun Hao's thoughts were seen through, and he immediately lowered his head and stopped talking.

This matter was naturally not a big deal for Emperor Li. After all, the Duke of Lai was not a hereditary duke like the other dukes.

But for Gongsun Hao, it was indeed a big deal.

Because ever since he followed Li Yun, he has been trying to integrate into the Jiangdong Army, and he had done a good job in the past few years.

In fact, he has basically taken over all of Li Zheng's old subordinates. It can be said that he can be regarded as a general from the orthodox Jiangdong Army.

But now, it is very likely that because of this title, the old members of the Jiangdong Army will deliberately isolate and alienate him.

Gongsun Hao obviously wanted to integrate into these new nobles of the new dynasty.

Seeing that he remained silent, Li Yun patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "General, don't think too much. After returning to Luoyang, take a good rest for a while. After a while, I will not be busy here anymore, so I will arrange marriages for your sons."

"You can then live in peace and enjoy a few years of peace and happiness." Gongsun Hao nodded in response.

Li Yun looked at him and continued to ask: "By the way, there is one more thing I want to ask the general."

"General, do you plan to take a rest in the future, or do you plan to work in the court?"

Gongsun Hao looked gloomy when he heard this. He looked down at his right arm and sighed, "Your Majesty, I can no longer fight. My right arm is broken, and even writing has become a problem."

"I want to help your majesty, but I'm afraid..."

Li Yun looked at him, thought for a while, and said, "General, please take a rest for a while. Meng Qing will leave Luoyang for Qingzhou in a few days. He should visit you before he leaves."

"Qingzhou..."

Gongsun Hao's expression changed slightly, and he looked up at Li Yun. Li Yun smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm not falling out with the Pinglu Army. I'm just taking over the reorganization of the Pinglu Army according to the previous agreement."

Gongsun Hao thought about it seriously, and then said: "Your Majesty, I am from the Pinglu Army. I can help with this matter."

"That's what I meant."

Li Yun looked at him, coughed, and said, "After Meng Qing organized the Pinglu Army, he will go north to Hebei Road. I want to select some helpers for him from the Pinglu Army, so I asked him to visit you, General."

Gongsun Hao thought for a moment and suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I have been in the southwest for more than half a year, and the injury on my arm has completely healed."

"Although I am disabled now, it does not hinder my movements."

He whispered, "I can follow General Meng and go to Qingzhou together."

"I am familiar with many generals in Qingzhou. If I go to assist General Meng, things will be much easier."

Li Yun had this idea, but Gongsun Hao was already disabled, and even he was embarrassed to force him to go back to work. Hearing Gongsun Hao's words, Emperor Li coughed and said, "All this will be discussed after you meet Meng Qing."

He smiled and said, "Also, I have to listen to the opinions of the general's family. Otherwise, if I force the general to do this job, it would seem that I have no humanity."

Gongsun Hao bowed his head and said yes, then he said, "Your Majesty is kind and benevolent, and the world can see it."

"My family, now..."

He said in a deep voice: "It is still my minister who has the final say."

…………

The next day, Meng Qing brought gifts and personally visited Gongsun Hao. After the two met, Meng Qing took the initiative to bow his head and saluted Gongsun Hao with his fists: "Old General."

When Gongsun Hao followed Li Yun, he was already in his forties, and now he is fifty years old.

Gongsun Hao supported Meng Qing and smiled: "I only have one arm left, so I can't return the greeting to General Meng."

"Where is it."

Meng Qing waved his hand quickly and was pulled into the main hall by Gongsun Hao. After sitting down, Gongsun Hao looked at Meng Qing and sighed: "General Meng is the same age as my son, but his achievements are far superior to his. It's really enviable."

Meng Qing said seriously, "I have also heard about the young general. He was the first to reach Jiameng Pass and was famous among the three armies. I don't know how much stronger he is than me."

"All right."

Gongsun Hao shook his head and said, "The general and I are both soldiers. We should not flatter each other and talk about serious matters like those scholars."

"General Meng, if you think there are any difficulties in going to Qingzhou this time, please tell us now so that we can discuss it."

“The biggest difficulty is…”

He looked at Gongsun Hao and said, "Our troops are all in Hebei Province and cannot be transferred to Qingzhou. We cannot lead troops to take over Hedong Province directly like General Su did."

"If we really bring a large army, the Pinglu Army might be frightened and mutiny."

“The difficulty is.”

Meng Qing looked at Gongsun Hao and said, "There is no problem with the father and son of King Jiangdu. I am just afraid that the generals of the Pinglu Army who were disbanded will be dissatisfied."

"Finally something happened."

Gongsun Hao nodded and looked at Meng Qing: "I will go with the general."

"Just think of it as serving the court."

He looked serious.

"Put in a little more strength."

(End of this chapter)