Chapter 471 A Brother’s Gift

Many times, some events that seem earth-shattering or even world-changing to most people are decided by just a few people sitting together and talking in a few words.

This is the situation in Jiangbei now.

The six states in Jiangbei are very important to Li Yun. Now that he has taken them over, he needs to start building a system to restore order and production in these six states as quickly as possible.

The first is the issue of stationing troops.

In this Battle of Jiangbei, although Zhao Cheng and his troops did not participate in the entire battle, and even did not fight as many battles as Su Sheng, Zhao Cheng did a good job in defending Yangzhou.

To defend Yangzhou is a merit.

In addition, Meng Qing’s surprise attack in the north to capture Chuzhou can actually be counted as Zhao Cheng’s achievement. Therefore, the defense of the six states in northern Jiangnan must fall on Zhao Cheng’s shoulders.

As for who will govern these six states, the civil servants under Li Yun are really not enough.

At this time, if there was another Du Qian, Li Yun could send him to Jiangbei and let him restore Jiangbei’s economy and people’s livelihood, but unfortunately, Li Yun only has one Du Shiyi under his command.

Therefore, after discussion among everyone, it was decided that only Xu Ang would be officially appointed as the governor of Yangzhou. As for the chief officials of the four states of Chuzhou, Chuzhou, Hezhou, and Haozhou, they all needed to be selected after Li Yun returned to Jinling.

Because there were too many things to discuss, several people discussed from morning to afternoon, and finally decided on the general matters. In the afternoon, seeing that everyone was tired, Li Yun knocked on the table and said, “Let’s stop here. Tomorrow morning, General Zhao and I will leave for Fengyang, Haozhou, to meet General Zhou.”

He paused, then continued, “My guards are 200 men, and General Zhao will bring another 300 men.”

Zhao Cheng stood up, bowed his head and clasped his fists, saying: “I obey your command!”

Li Yun stood up, then looked at Meng Qing who was sitting at the end of the seat and had not said much, and suddenly smiled: “I almost forgot to say that this time we were able to take the initiative in Jiangbei and gain the upper hand. It is crucial to seize Chuzhou. In this matter, Meng Qing is the main contributor.”

He paused, then smiled and said, “I will promote you to the rank of captain and give you four battalions of lieutenants. You will be stationed in Chuzhou and be under the command of General Zhao.”

Su Sheng, who was standing by, coughed and said, “Envoy, it was agreed that this little Meng was only lent to General Zhao. He will be returned to me after the battle in Jiangbei is over.”

“Let Meng Qing continue to follow me, and I will give him four lieutenant battalions.”

Zhao Cheng stood up, strode to Su Sheng, pulled Su Sheng’s sleeve, and said with a smile: “Brother, the envoy’s words are golden. The words have been spoken, how can there be any reason to regret it? Besides, we are all one in Jiangdong, so it doesn’t matter where we serve.”

Su Sheng frowned and was about to speak when Meng Qing stood up and bowed his head to Li Yun and said, “Sir, it was your command to seize Chuzhou. The specific tactical arrangements were made by General Zhao. On that day, I led the troops to Chuzhou and occupied it with only a thousand men in one hour.”

He said in a deep voice: “Any captain or colonel under General Zhao’s command could have accomplished this. I dare not take credit for it!”

Li Yun walked up to him, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile: “It seems that you have read a lot of books recently, and your speech is very elegant. I read the battle report of Chuzhou. The command is quite good and very methodical.”

“Besides, I promoted you to captain not only because of Chuzhou’s merits. When you went to Luzhou City, I said I would promote you to captain. Now I will fulfill my promise.”

Seeing Meng Qing was about to speak, Li Yun frowned and said, “Okay, it’s settled. I’m short of people, so just consider it as helping me.”

Meng Qing lowered his head quickly: “I dare not!”

At this point, Li Yun looked at Su Sheng and Zhao Cheng who were still arguing next to him, shook his head and said with a smile: “Okay, okay, don’t argue anymore.”

He stepped forward and pulled Su Sheng’s clothes, smiling and said, “It’s just right for this kid to stay and guard Chuzhou. Let him guard Chuzhou for a while. Anyway, we can’t live in peace forever. How about bringing him under your command when we fight again?”

Su Sheng was overjoyed and asked, “Really?”

Li Yun said with a smile: “When have I ever lied to my brother?”

Su Sheng nodded in satisfaction, but Zhao Cheng was a little anxious and said to Li Yun: “Envoy, this…”

Li Yun laughed: “General Zhao, don’t worry. He will follow you for the next one or two years. If you teach him more, he will be your student, right?”

Zhao Cheng had no other options when he heard this. He just looked at Meng Qing and said softly, “Little Meng is very suitable for leading troops. When he grows up, he can lead an army by himself.”

Li Yun narrowed his eyes and looked at Meng Qing who was talking to Su Sheng not far away.

“I hope he can grow up.”

…………

The next morning, Li Yun brought his guards, and Zhao Cheng also brought three hundred people to meet at the city gate.

These five hundred people all rode horses.

After the reunion, Zhao Cheng followed behind Li Yun and said, “Envoy, your status is different now, and it is not appropriate to have only a brigade-sized guard with you.”

He said, “I picked these three hundred men last night. They are all quite skilled. If you like them, you can let them stay with you and form a guard camp for you.”

Li Yun thought about it seriously while riding on his horse, then shook his head and said, “If you follow me, you will need horses. Two hundred horses are more than enough. Any more would be a waste. I don’t need such a big show, and I don’t need so many people to protect me.”

Zhao Cheng’s expression became a little strange when he heard this. He had also seen the fighting ability of his boss. The two of them had even fought against each other on the battlefield. Zhao Cheng, who had practiced martial arts since he was a child, could not last more than four or five rounds before being knocked to the ground.

Such an envoy does not really need too many people to protect him.

A group of 500 people left Yangzhou in a mighty manner and headed towards Haozhou.

After arriving in Haozhou, because there were still a few days before the agreed date of November 7, Li Yun did not rush to Fengyang. Instead, he took Zhao Cheng with him and rode around Haozhou on horseback.

Especially the Huai River in Haozhou. The two men ran along the river, pointing at the Huai River from time to time and discussing the nodes for stationing troops.

Two days passed in a blink of an eye. Starting from the sixth day of the first lunar month, Zhao Cheng led his troops around Fengyang and its vicinity to confirm that the Pinglu army had not laid any ambushes.

He even led his troops into Fengyang City to prevent any ambushes in the city.

After confirming that there was no danger, Li Yun and his party arrived outside Fengyang City on the morning of the seventh day.

Because the time and place were both proposed by Zhou Xu, he was considered half a landlord. Before Li Yun arrived in Dengyang, he had already arrived early and was even very considerate, personally greeting him outside Fengyang City.

After Li Yun approached and dismounted, General Zhou took the initiative to greet him with a smile on his face.

“My dear brother, you have worked hard all the way.”

He smiled brightly, as if the two of them were good friends who had not seen each other for a long time and there had never been any conflicts between them before.

Li Yun also smiled and clasped his fists, saying, “How dare I trouble you to wait for me outside the city? I am guilty, guilty.”

“It should, it should.”

Although it was not the first time that the two met, General Zhou could not help but admire Li Yun after taking a few glances at him, “My dear brother, you are truly a young talent.”

Li Yun smiled and said, “I’m already 24, and I’ll be 25 in a few days. I can’t be considered a teenager.”

The smile on General Zhou’s face froze. After a moment, he sighed and said, “Brother, your words really make me feel ashamed.”

Li Yun waved his hands, said “Hey”, and said with a smile: “How are my brother and I the same? My brother is a governor of a region, a senior official of the court. He is older, so he can better govern a region for the court.”

“My dear brother, you are also good at speaking.”

General Zhou looked at Li Yun with some resentment in his eyes: “If my son had half of your ability, I would be able to close my eyes and feel at ease now.”

Li Yun smiled and said, “If you are not satisfied with the Major General, you can ask the Major General to come to my army. I will teach him a lesson on your behalf.”

The two exchanged a few pleasantries before finally getting to the point: “I heard that you, my dear brother, wanted to support me with some money and food.”

“This time, I brought 30,000 strings of cash.”

Li Yun smiled and said, “I will give it to you in a while. I will send someone to Qingzhou to deliver the remaining 20,000 strings of cash and 20,000 shi of grain next month.”

“it is good.”

General Zhou looked at Li Yun and clapped his hands, saying, “My dear brother, you are so generous. I have also prepared a gift for you.”

He clapped his hands, and Zhou Gui at the side brought up a long wooden box. Zhou Xu took the box, held it in both hands and handed it to Li Yun, saying, “This is a sword made by a famous craftsman in Qingzhou. It is called Chi Jing and is extremely sharp. It is perfect for a brave man like you.”

Li Yun opened the box with one hand and took a look. He saw a long sword about three feet long lying inside. The hilt and scabbard were both fiery red, which looked very handsome.

Li Yun took it out and played with it for a while, then put it back and said with a smile: “Since it is your kindness, I will accept it. However, in addition to some money and food, I have also prepared a gift for you.”

He also clapped his hands lightly, and Zhou Bi quickly held a box and handed it to General Zhou. General Zhou opened the box and saw a scroll inside.

He took it out and unfolded it. It turned out to be a very detailed map, which was the map of Jiangbei.

The six states of Jiangbei are also depicted on it.

This is a map that Li Yun had someone trace out using his own map, but it is a little rougher than the original.

General Zhou looked at the map, feeling annoyed in his heart, but on the surface he kept the map in his arms with a calm face, then looked up at Li Yun and said lightly: “Brother, you are very courageous. You also give such a thing. Aren’t you afraid that the map will be thrown away? Is there anyone who uses this map to take Jiangbei?”

“Brother, don’t worry, no matter who comes to take Jiangbei.”

Li Yun smiled.

“I told him to come but never come back.”

(End of this chapter)