Chapter 286: Jiangnan War
Under the current situation, Li Yun will probably have to focus on military affairs for a long time to come.

Therefore, although he had some ability to do the job of the governor of Wuzhou, he did not have much time to do it. Many things required officials like Xu Ang who originally worked in the court and had sufficient experience in handling paperwork.

However, Xu Ang’s current mental state is still a little too depressed. Although this state does not affect his work, he is probably the only one who can do it.

It would probably be difficult to expect him to be like Du Qian, who can not only do things but also think about things and even make some decisions.

Therefore, whether from a work perspective or a personal emotional perspective, Li Yun still wanted him to be more open-minded.

In this way, after two years, I can find him a good marriage and have children, and the depression in his heart should gradually fade away.

“Come with me to Wuzhou.”

Li Yun looked at Xu Ang who was crying, and said silently: “I put aside the affairs of Wuzhou. It will be a month soon. I borrowed a friend from Yuezhou to take over the post of governor of Wuzhou. Brother Xu, come with me to Wuzhou, you can help me a lot.”

Magistrate Xu wiped his tears and bowed his head, saying, “I obey your command.”

Li Yun looked around the inn and said silently, “Don’t stay here. Stay at my place for a few days. If you have any luggage, I’ll have someone take it for you.”

Li Yun has a big house in Yuezhou, and he has the “property rights”, which is also one of his few fixed assets now.

Xu Ang looked back at the bed and said silently, “There are only a few clothes, some books, and a few pens.”

“Nothing left.”

These words sounded sad, and Li Yun also sighed, walked into the room, picked up the book box on the ground for him, and said, “Let’s go.”

Xu Ang looked at Li Yun’s tall back, turned around to put away some of his clothes, followed Li Yun and left the inn.

It’s not that he had no assets at all. As a county magistrate, he had to take some money. He had also saved up thousands of taels of wealth in Xiangshan County. However, after he resigned from his post, he was no longer concerned about money. He left his belongings in Xiangshan and came alone to look for Li Yun.

The two of them walked one after the other and soon arrived at Li Yun’s house in Yuezhou. Li Yun asked Meng Qing to arrange accommodation for him, and that night, he had dinner with him again.

The next day, Li Yun took him to meet Du Qian again. Both of them were from scholarly backgrounds and had quite a lot to talk about. They chatted for half an hour before Xu Ang said goodbye and left.

After Xu Ang left, Du Qian looked at Li Yun and said, “This County Magistrate Xu is quite knowledgeable, but it’s a pity that he has such a bad fate.”

He sighed and was about to speak when Du Laian’s voice came from the door: “Sir, His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu is here and he insists on seeing you. We can’t stop him.”

Li Yun looked at Du Qian and said with a smile: “How about I avoid him?”

Du Qian shook his head and said to Du Laian outside the door: “Please come in.”

Du Laian responded with a “yes”, and soon the voice of His Royal Highness the King of Chu came from you: “Du Shiyi, Li Zhao has no objection to my return to the capital, why are you stopping me!”

He shouted as he pushed the door open and walked in. He first saw Du Qian and then Li Yun who was drinking tea in the room. His Royal Highness the King of Chu immediately fell silent and gave Li Yun an awkward smile: “Governor Li is also here…”

Li Yun stood up, clasped his fists and said, “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Du Qian also stood up, bowed, and said with a smile: “Greetings, Your Highness.”

His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu looked up at the two men, then heaved a long sigh, found a seat and sat down, saying with a bitter face: “You two, I miss home so much now, please let me go.”

“No one stopped your highness.”

Du Qian smiled and said, “If Your Highness is in a hurry to go back, you can leave now.”

Wu Yuanyou drooped his face and said, “How can I get away if you don’t send someone to escort me?”

His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu is very cunning.

Originally, the ceremonial entourage and guards that accompanied him totaled about 200 people, which was enough for the journey. However, he was a little worried that as soon as he left Yuezhou, Li Yun would send masked men to attack him outside the city, so he had to have the Yuezhou army escort him all the way.

Li Yun put down the teacup and advised: “Your Highness has been in Wujun for so long and is tired. Just rest in Yuezhou for a while. After a few days, I will personally escort Your Highness to leave Jiangnan.”

Wu Yuanyou opened his eyes wide and asked, “Really?”

“real.”

Li Yun smiled and said, “I’m just on my way to do something.”

To get from Yuezhou to the capital, one has to go all the way west, entering the Central Plains from Xuanzhou, and then entering the pass from the Central Plains.

Zhao Cheng was heading in this direction to gather the defeated troops. This was a big matter and if it was not handled properly, there would be endless trouble. Li Yun wanted to go and take a look.

His Royal Highness the King of Chu then stood up and nodded, saying, “Okay, I’ll wait in Xuanzhou for a few more days.”

After saying that, he stood up and left, shaking his head. Watching his departing figure, Li Yun and Du Qian couldn’t help but smile. Du Qian lowered his head to drink tea and said, “I didn’t realize that when I was in the capital, this Second Prince is actually very smart.”

Li Yun also nodded and said, “He is so smart, but he may not be able to achieve anything.”

“But he must have lived a long life.”

…………

In the blink of an eye, another five or six days passed.

That day, when Li Yun was still looking through the documents that had just been sent by the Zhuo family in Gusu, Meng Qing’s voice came from outside the door: “General, there is an urgent letter from the army.”

Li Yun stood up, opened the door, took the letter from Meng Qing, and asked, “Is it from Lieutenant Li?”

Meng Qing nodded and said, “Someone was sent to deliver it urgently.”

Li Yun did not speak again. After opening the letter and reading it, his brows immediately furrowed. He rubbed his brows and said silently, “Meng Qing, go on horseback to inform Captain Li and tell him that I will bring people to him as soon as possible. Tell him that if he cannot avoid it, then fight. If he can avoid it, then don’t engage in large-scale fighting for the time being.”

“Wait until I get there.”

Meng Qing immediately bowed his head and clasped his fists: “Yes!”

Li Yun looked at Meng Qing and said in a deep voice, “When you arrive, stay with Captain Li. If there is anything, send someone back to report to me immediately.”

Meng Qing bowed his head, clasped his fists, said yes, then turned and left.

Li Yun, on the other hand, took the letter and went all the way to the governor’s office. He quickly handed the letter to Du Qian, then frowned and said, “Captain Li has gathered more than a thousand remnants of the army in the west. When he was about to continue west, he discovered…”

“A large group of Central Plains rebels.”

Du Qian was known as a genius since he was young. He could read ten lines at a glance. He finished reading the letter very quickly, then put it on the table and frowned, saying, “Captain Li should have only reached Luzhou, west of Xuanzhou, and is very far away from Henan Prefecture. Logically, the rebels should be on guard against the attack of the Shuofang Army. Why would they divide their troops so far and chase them all the way to Xuanzhou?”

Li Yun put his hands behind his back, rubbed his brows, and said slowly: “I guess it’s… an internal conflict.”

“A part of the rebels separated from Wang Junping’s troops.”

Hearing Li Yun’s words, Du Qian pondered for a moment and nodded, “General Su, you must have severely damaged some of the rebels. These rebels gathered together within a year or even half a year. They had won battle after battle and fought their way into Luoyang City. Naturally, they all gathered around Wang Junping. Now they are suffering from the Shuofang Army in the north and General Su in the south.”

“I think it’s time to start splitting up.”

Li Yun narrowed his eyes and whispered, “They are chasing General Su’s remnants all the way to Jiangnan. I think these rebels have no intention of going back.”

Du Qian frowned, looked up at Li Yun, and said slowly: “This was originally a good opportunity for Erlang to become famous, but…”

“It’s too early. I’m afraid we can’t catch it.”

Du Qian had discussed this matter with Li Yun before. Now if Li Yun wants to further expand the territory he actually controls, in addition to strengthening his military power, he also needs a major war to spread his reputation.

But Li Yun is not particularly strong now, so this battle cannot come too early.

The strength of the Central Plains rebels is now known to everyone in the world. It is absolutely impossible to stop them with only the 3,000 men under Li Yun’s command.

What’s more, there were more than a thousand people who were not in Yuezhou, but stationed in Wuzhou.

“anyway…”

Li Yun looked at Du Qian and said slowly: “I want to go and see what the situation is. If this part of the rebels really want to follow Jiangnan, at least…”

“I want to bring out at least some people from Qingyang.”

The focus of Li Yun’s career has already been fully transferred to Jiangdong, but he still has many old friends in Xuanzhou, such as those in the old village, as well as his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

If a large number of rebels advance, even if Li Yun cannot resist them now, he can at least bring some people from Qingyang from Xuanzhou to Jiangdong.

“Just go ahead.”

Du Qian knew that he couldn’t stop Li Yun, so he nodded and said, “I will handle the follow-up matters here, King Chu.”

Li Yun stood up and said in a deep voice, “I will leave early tomorrow morning. If the King of Chu asks, Brother Du will tell him.”

“I left first to clear the way for him.”

(End of this chapter)