Thief Emperor

Chapter 948: Revenge of annihilation
The beginning of the twelfth month of the first year of Zhangwu.

Chen Da escorted Wei and his son into Chang'an City, paid homage to the emperor, and presented captives to him.

His Majesty the Emperor was very pleased and rewarded Chen Da handsomely, taking him prisoner in the Imperial City of Chang'an. He also ordered rewards for the soldiers of the three armies.

Under the imperial palace wall, Wei Quanzhong, whose broken leg had not yet recovered, suddenly looked up at Li Yun and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have something to say!"

Emperor Li just glanced at him, then said to Yang Xi: "Take him away first."

Yang Xi responded and took his men to take the Wei father and son away.

Li Yun took Chen Da with him and entered the Chang'an Imperial City. They talked a lot about the Guanzhong battlefield and the Jiannan Road. At the end, Li Yun looked at Chen Da and said with a smile: "The Guanzhong Road has gone through wars and chaos, and now it is finally pacified. This is a happy thing. Now I plan to use three years to restore Guanzhong."

"During these three years, you will stay in Guanzhong and serve as the defense envoy of Guanzhong Road."

Chen Da bowed his head deeply and said, "I obey your command!"

Li Yun patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "There are no outsiders here, so there is no need to be so formal."

"Speaking of which, the current governor and censor of Guanzhong Road is my father-in-law. For those of us who came from Qingyang County, it is fate that we are connected."

Chen Da lowered his head and said with a smile: "With Lord Xue in Guanzhong, I feel much more at ease."

Li Yun told him some things about Guanzhong, and then said seriously: "In the past three years, your most important mission in Guanzhong is to quell the rebellion. If there is no unrest in Guanzhong, you should focus on other things."

"The first is Shuofang."

Li Yun said slowly: "I should be able to handle the Shuofang issue. After we take Shuofang, you should start preparing to govern the Western Regions."

Shuofang was the throat leading to the Western Regions from the imperial court. By the end of the last century, the imperial court had completely lost control of the Western Regions.

When Shuofang recovers, Li Yun will of course start to open up the Western Regions.

Chen Da looked serious and bowed his head, saying, "I'll make a note of it."

"You are in Guanzhong, so you have to consider more than just the Western Regions."

Emperor Li stroked his newly grown beard and said, "We also have to consider Tubo."

"It has been a long time since Tubo invaded, but that doesn't mean they are not a threat. You should take all these into consideration, at least you should understand them."

Chen Da thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, Tubo... Guanzhong can communicate, but the key point should be in Jiannan Road."

"I know I know."

Li Yun smiled and said, "We should eat our meals one bite at a time. We are not going to fight with Tubo now."

"It will take at least three to five years or even longer before you have a chance. But you are still young, so I want you to make some preparations in advance."

"When the war breaks out in the future, you have to be knowledgeable about Tibet and the Western Regions."

Emperor Li patted Chen Da on the shoulder and said sternly: "As long as you are willing to learn, you may be able to take charge in the future."

Chen Da thought for a moment and said with a wry smile, "Your Majesty, I am fine guarding a place or following the commander in battle, but I am really unsure about leading the battle myself."

“Whether there is a bottom or not, it will be a matter of a few years.”

Li Yun glared at him unhappily: "Look at you, you are such a loser."

"Even if you don't take charge, being a deputy commander is fine."

Chen Dalian quickly lowered his head and replied yes.

Li Yun looked at him and continued, "In the future, He Man, the director of the Guanzhong Division, will also be stationed in Chang'an. The Nine Divisions will do their best to help you understand the Western Regions and Tubo. In the next three to five years, you must calm down, watch and learn carefully, and think carefully."

"do you understand?"

Chen Da knew that Li Yun was cultivating him, so he immediately bowed his head and said, "Don't worry, sir. Although I am stupid, I will definitely work hard."

“Just be careful.”

Li Yun patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "I have sent a letter to Luoyang, asking them to bring your family to Guanzhong."

"I'll keep the house in Luoyang for you. This is Chang'an."

"Go find my father-in-law later."

Emperor Li smiled and said, "Just say what I said. You can pick any house in the whole Chang'an City. Whichever one you choose will be given to you as a reward."

Upon hearing this, Chen Da quickly stood up and said, "My Lord, as long as the house in Luoyang is still there, I can find a place to live in Chang'an by myself."

"One yard owned by a yard."

Li Yun stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "You have made great contributions this time, so I will give you the house as a reward. If you make more contributions in the future, I will make you a Duke."

Chen Da took a deep breath and bowed his head to express his gratitude.

Li Yun put his hands behind his back and said, "Take a break. I'll go see Wei Quanzhong and see if there's anything else to say."

After that, he stood up and left.

Chen Da followed him and left carefully.

…………

In a side hall of the Chang'an Imperial City, Emperor Li asked someone to invite Du Qian over, and then he sat in the main seat, and asked someone to carry in Wei Quanzhong, who had a broken leg.

Soon, Wei Quanzhong was carried into the side hall. After he was carried in, he looked around the hall. While he was looking around, Emperor Li suddenly asked, "Does it look familiar to you?"

Li Yun looked at him and said with a smile: "You have lived in this imperial city for quite a long time, right?"

Wei Quanzhong looked up at Li Yun, then lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, since ancient times, winners have been kings and losers have been bandits. Now that you are the master of the world, there is nothing to say."

He took a deep breath and said, "I've heard that Your Majesty always keeps his word. I want to discuss a condition with Your Majesty."

Li Yun looked at Du Qian, then looked at him again, and said calmly: "What are you willing to negotiate with me now?"

"Have."

Wei Quanzhong spoke with great force. He said, "Your Majesty, I still have 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers in Lingzhou, and they are all elite. They have been in Lingzhou for many years and are very familiar with the place. If Your Majesty sends troops to attack, it will be difficult to take Shuofang without losing 40,000 to 50,000 people."

"Shuofang is the throat of the northwest."

Wei Quanzhong gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty will definitely take Shuofang."

Li Yun touched his chin and looked at him thoughtfully.

Wei Quanzhong whispered, "As long as Your Majesty knows the promise and spares my father and son's lives, I will write a letter to Shuofang right now and ask them to open the city and surrender and join the new dynasty."

"Your Majesty can take the northwest throat without spending a single soldier!"

Li Yun stood up, walked around twice with his hands behind his back, then looked at Wei Quanzhong and said with a smile: "I was wondering how you were captured alive. So this is your plan."

"Let's not talk about whether what you said is true or not. Suppose what you said is true."

Li Yun looked at him and smiled, "Does Lingzhou still listen to the orders of you, the Prince of Lingwu?"

Wei Quanzhong gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, the one stationed in Lingzhou is my second son..."

Li Yun shook his head and said, "When the time comes, I'm afraid that the king, his subjects, his father and his son will not be of much use, otherwise your subordinates would not betray you."

"and…"

Li Yun looked at him and said, "In the past ten years since the Xian De period, nearly half of the population of Guanzhong Road has disappeared, and the population of Henan Road has also decreased significantly. All of this has something to do with you."

"Especially Guanzhong Road."

Li Yun looked at him and said expressionlessly: "When I entered Guanzhong, 80% of the land was barren, and human bones could be seen everywhere on the roadside."

"These are all your sins."

"Even if I forgive you, the wronged souls in Guanzhong will not forgive you."

Wei Quanzhong looked up at Li Yun and said sternly: "Your Majesty, without the rebellion of Xiande Zhaoding, how could Your Majesty be where you are today!"

Actually, what Wei Quanzhong said is quite right.

Li Yun rose to power by taking advantage of the chaos. If there had not been the chaos of the past ten years, he would probably still be hanging around in the eastern part of Jiangnan. At most, he would have become a "landlord" in the eastern part of Jiangnan and a local tyrant.

In the future, he might become the governor of Jiangdong, and when the world is in chaos, he would take advantage of the situation.

It can be said that these more than ten years of turmoil have made Li Yun what he is today and also made the Li Tang Dynasty what it is today.

Emperor Li remained calm when he heard this. He just looked at Wei Quanzhong and said, "One thing is one thing, and we cannot confuse the cause with the effect."

"I cannot remember your contribution when I suppress the rebellion just because you caused it."

"do not worry."

Li Yun said with a serious face: "Now that the new dynasty has been established, I have become the emperor and must abide by the rules of the new court. Your crime will naturally be determined by the court."

At this point, Li Yun looked at Du Qian and said sternly, "Brother Shouyi, the case of the Wei family father and son will be handed over to you to preside over. You can make the decision."

As for how Wei Quanzhong and his son made their decisions, Li Yun thought that Du Qian played a big role in the decision.

After all, Du Qian and the Wei father and son had a paternal grudge.

It's not just as simple as killing the father.

When Shangshu Du impeached Wei Quanzhong, the Jingzhao Du family was destroyed. At least half of the entire Jingzhao Du family died in that incident.

Therefore, when Li Yun dealt with Wei Quanzhong, he naturally had to consider Du Qian's thoughts.

We must not let these heroes become disheartened.

After saying this, Li Yun no longer asked about what was happening here, but left the side hall with his hands behind his back.

Lord Du stood up silently, came to Wei Quanzhong and squatted down. He looked at the Prince of Lingwu in front of him, whose hair was mostly white. After an unknown amount of time, he slowly spoke.

"General Wei."

Lord Du stared at Wei Quanzhong, his expression somewhat out of control. He squeezed out a sentence, word by word, from between his teeth.

"Do you recognize me?"

(End of this chapter)