Thief Emperor

Chapter 960: Urgent Report from the Duke

To date, the Li Tang Dynasty has been established for more than seven years.

Although there have been rebellions in various places in recent years, whenever a rebellion occurred, it would be quickly suppressed by the imperial court.

Moreover, under the governance of the new dynasty, the scars of the old weekend were visibly recovering, and all industries were thriving in various places.

These are things that everyone can see with their own eyes.

All signs indicate that the new Tang Dynasty is very stable and will last for a long time.

As the country became more stable, many people who had different ideas in the early years of the dynasty gradually gave up their ideas, especially the warlords who defected to Emperor Li.

Among them, the Zhou family is the most typical.

Previously, they were enemies of Emperor Li, but among the many military governors in the late Zhou Dynasty, they were the first to surrender to the imperial court. After the founding of the country, they received the highest rewards.

By now, the Pinglu Army of that time has long disappeared, and the Qingzhou soldiers under the command of Zhou Chang, the Qingzhou general, are unlikely to obey his command completely.

Even if the 20,000 Qingzhou soldiers obeyed his command, they would become quite insignificant in front of the entire new Li Tang Dynasty.

Under such circumstances, the Zhou family's attitude naturally changed and became cautious.

Moreover, the Zhou family will try their best to show loyalty to Emperor Li and do not want to be found guilty of any faults by His Majesty the Emperor.

After all, at this time, Emperor Li already had the ability to turn against the emperor and was fully capable of settling accounts with the surrendered military governors of the old Zhou Dynasty.

If you don't behave yourself at this time, the Emperor might take revenge on you one day.

Because of these complicated reasons, Zhou Chang knelt down respectfully after hearing just one word from Xue Gui.

You know, at this time in Luoyang City, except for the court meetings, the ministers in the court did not have to kneel when meeting Li Yun most of the time.

They were far from being as respectful as Zhou Chang.

Zhou Chang's attitude even frightened Xue Gui, who quickly reached out and helped Zhou Chang up, then said with a smile: "General Zhou, there is no need to be so polite. His Majesty said that he was just discussing this with General Zhou."

Zhou Chang still lowered his head slightly: "Sir, please speak."

Xue Gui coughed and said, "General Zhou, your majesty means that after the death of King Jiangdu, the title of Zhou family will fall on you. Your majesty said that you can inherit the title of Duke of Yang at any time."

"It's just to inherit the title. I have to go to Luoyang to inherit the title."

Xue Gui thought for a moment and continued, "His Majesty also said that Zhou Luo has reached adulthood. If the general is willing, Zhou Luo can go to the Qingzhou Army and slowly take over the Qingzhou Army."

"At that time, the general can be in Yangzhou, or in Luoyang as the Duke of Yang, and Zhou Luo will succeed him as the general of Qingzhou."

After hearing this, Zhou Chang was silent for a long time.

After a long time, he took a deep breath, looked up at Xue Gui, and lowered his head again: "Master Xue, is this the emperor's decree?"

Xue Gui quickly shook his head: "It is not an order from His Majesty. His Majesty is just discussing it with the general."

"If the general wants to continue to serve as the general of Qingzhou, he can also continue to serve as the general of Qingzhou as the Duke of Yang."

Zhou Chang let out a long breath, took a step or two back, bowed to Xue Gui and said, "Master Xue, please tell your majesty that my father has just passed away. As a son, I want to stay in Yangzhou and guard his tomb for three years."

"During these three years, Luo'er served in the Qingzhou Army and gradually came into contact with the Qingzhou Army."

"Three years later."

Zhou Chang whispered, "Three years later, I will go to Luoyang to inherit the title, and then my son will succeed me as the general of Qingzhou."

If Zhou Chang directly inherited the title at this time, even if Zhou Luo was appointed as the general of Qingzhou, he would most likely not be able to take over the military power of Qingzhou.

With three years of buffer time, Zhou's father and son can hand over the Qingzhou Army smoothly.

Zhou Chang said this, then bowed his head and said, "I will also submit a written report to the emperor on this matter."

Xue Gui had not originally discussed this matter with him, so upon hearing this, he immediately smiled and said, "General Zhou will naturally make the decision on this matter."

Seeing Zhou Chang's serious expression, Xue Gui quickly comforted him, "General, His Majesty is a very easy-going person, you don't have to think too much."

"Your Majesty, I will certainly agree to your request."

Zhou Chang's expression turned a little strange when he heard this.

He looked at Xue Gui and asked, "Master Xue and Your Majesty, are they on good terms?"

Xue Gui smiled and said, "I have been growing up in your Majesty's house since I was twelve or thirteen years old."

"No wonder."

Zhou Chang nodded and said, "Your Majesty is very kind to those close to him."

"It's always been very good."………………

Hebei Road, on the banks of the Zhang River, in the Tang army’s central camp.

In the big tent, Meng Qing, dressed in armor, sat upright on the commander's seat. He looked down at the documents handed over by the Nine Officials. After carefully reading them for a while, he looked up at the general standing in front of him and asked, "How many Khitans did you encounter on this trip?"

The general standing in front of Meng Qing was actually about the same age as him, or even a year or two older. After hearing Meng Qing's question, he quickly clasped his fists and saluted: "General, this time when I went to Youzhou, I only encountered a group of Khitan soldiers with less than 200 people, and they looked like scouts of the Khitan people."

"Otherwise, we never encountered the Khitans again. Our troops had a smooth journey all the way to the city of Youzhou."

Meng Qing nodded slowly and said okay.

He lowered his head and thought for a while, then said, "It seems that the Khitans no longer have any intention of fighting. General Gongsun, you go down immediately and prepare the troops. Tomorrow, a large number of our troops will cross the Zhang River and advance directly to Youzhou City!"

The person called General Gongsun by Meng Qing was Gongsun He, the son of the old General Gongsun.

At this time, Gongsun He had become a young and strong general in the Tang army. In the Tang army in Hebei Road, he had already become a general, only second to a few generals such as Meng Qing.

After hearing Meng Qing's words, he immediately bowed his head, clasped his fists, said yes, and then strode away.

After Gongsun He left, Meng Qing turned around and looked at an old general beside him and asked, "General Luo, what do you think?"

Luo Zhen was also one of the important generals in the Pinglu Army. He had followed Meng Qing to Hebei Province in the first year of Zhangwu. In recent years, he had been helping Meng Qing handle military affairs and had been a great help to Meng Qing.

After all, in the first year of Zhangwu, Meng Qing was only in his twenties, a young man, and many military affairs required someone like Luo Zhen to help him deal with them.

Luo Zhen lowered his head and thought for a while, then replied: "General, the time to attack Youyan was ripe several years ago, but His Majesty has been slow to issue the order. Now that His Majesty's edict has arrived, the logistics in the rear have also been prepared."

"I think we should be more decisive. We can even split our troops into two groups, one to take Youzhou and the other to take Jizhou!"

He said in a deep voice: "Retrieve Youyan for the court and drive the Khitans out of the pass completely!"

Meng Qing touched his chin and was about to speak when a messenger hurried in from outside the door, half-knelt in front of Meng Qing, bowed his head and saluted, "Marshal!"

"Someone outside wants to see you. He says he is... the chief of the Nine Departments."

"General..."

Meng Qing was startled at first, but then he reacted immediately. He quickly stood up, turned his head and said to Luo Zhen, "The Duke of England has arrived."

"Quick, gather the generals in the army and go with me to welcome the Duke of England!"

After saying that, he hurriedly stood up and walked all the way to the outside of the big tent. As expected, he saw the Duke of England, Liu Bo, waiting outside. Meng Qing hurriedly stepped forward, clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "Greetings, Duke of England!"

Liu Bo stepped forward, patted Meng Qing on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "What's the matter with the title of Duke? How come you become so pedantic after becoming the commander-in-chief?"

As he was speaking, all the generals of the central army had gathered together, clasped their fists and saluted Liu Bo, and bowed their heads together and said, "We, the humble generals, greet the Duke of Ying!"

Liu Bo shook his head, pulled Meng Qing's sleeve, and said, "I hate this the most. Let them go."

"I need to discuss something urgent with you."

Meng Qing then turned around and waved his hand, and his generals immediately dispersed. Meng Qing personally took Liu Bo all the way to the central military tent and asked him to sit in the main seat.

Liu Bo quickly shook his head and said, "You are the commander here, how can I take the initiative?"

Seeing Meng Qing still trying to refuse, Liu Bo said with a straight face: "Now that you are the commander-in-chief, you won't listen to advice, right?"

Meng Qing then sat down in the main seat, pulled Liu Bo to sit down, and then asked, "Brother Jiu, what brings you here in person?"

Meng Qing's call of "Ninth Brother" was still a form of relationship building, but he had a very good relationship with the three Li Yun brothers, and Liu Bo also liked him very much. So when he heard him call him "Ninth Brother", he felt very happy, and after smiling, the smile on his face faded away.

"I have some important news to tell you."

He said sternly: "Some of the Khitans stationed in Youyan are no longer inside the pass."

Meng Qing was startled, then looked at Liu Bo and said, "My scouts have no news at all. Where did you get this news, Brother Jiu?"

"Where did it come from..."

The Duke of Ying looked unhappy. He was silent for a long time before he looked at Meng Qing and sighed, "A few days ago, the Khitans divided their forces to attack one of the Khitan tribes outside the Great Wall."

Having said that, Liu Bo clenched his fists.

The Khitans surrounded and killed the tribe he belonged to outside the Great Wall.

That is to say, his Khitan wife and children.

It is a dangerous time.

(End of this chapter)