Chapter 110: The King of Yue!

"Li Zhao of Qingyang pays his respects to the Imperial Envoy."

In the main hall of the Xuanzhou yamen, Li Yun cupped his hands and bowed to the middle-aged man before him. The official first looked at Li Yun, then glanced at Cui Shao, who was accompanying him, and smiled. "We share the same name; what a coincidence."

Li Yun smiled but did not respond.

Prefect Cui cleared his throat, attempting to smooth things over. "He comes from a background in the pugilistic world and is rather blunt. Please do not take offense, Brother Fan."

"None taken, none taken."

Fan Zhao smiled and looked at Li Yun. "Commander Li, I hear from my younger brother Cui that he assigned you to suppress bandits in Shidai County these past two months, and the results have been excellent—you have nearly wiped out the bandits in the entire county."

Li Yun pondered for a moment, then looked at the Prefect and said with a smile, "I already reported the details of the suppression to Prefect Cui this morning."

Cui Shao’s face darkened as he looked at Li Yun. The Commander remained calm and continued, "Prefect Cui, I was just about to report to you: we are short on funds and grain for our suppression efforts in Shidai, and we will soon be unable to continue."

Cui Shao took a deep breath, forced a smile, and said, "In a few days, I will gather the funds and grain and send them to the Anti-Bandit Team."

Only then did Li Yun look at the Imperial Commissioner. "Envoy, for the past few months, we have followed Prefect Cui’s orders to suppress bandits in Shidai. We have broken seven bandit strongholds and killed or captured over 1,270 bandits."

Hearing this, Fan Zhao could not help but clap his hands. "Impressive, impressive! Commander Li is truly valiant."

After this praise, he turned to Cui Shao and said with a smile, "He doesn't seem as blunt as you described, brother."

Cui Shao rubbed his nose, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"It is true that we have not provided them with funds or grain."

Fan Zhao stroked his beard and laughed. "That is not right of you, Brother Cui."

He lowered his head to take a sip of tea, then looked at Li Zhao and said slowly, "Commander Li, I am here on imperial decree to oversee the suppression of bandits in various prefectures. Since the work in Xuanzhou is already going so well, I will not interfere too much. You may continue your efforts."

"Once the business in Xuanzhou is concluded and I submit my report to the throne, I will also request a reward for you. Securing you an official rank or title will not be difficult."

Li Yun remained calm and bowed his head in thanks.

Had he been a loyal subject of the Great Zhou, he might have argued with these two corrupt officials who cared only for their own interests. But Li Yun had no interest in the welfare of the Great Zhou.

This world was already rotting; the faster it collapsed, the better. Thus, he simply played along with their intentions.

He didn't care what benefits they were gaining at court, nor did he want to know, as long as they didn't interfere with his own bandit-suppression business.

After offering a few more words of encouragement, Fan Zhao paused and asked, "I have heard that the largest stronghold in Xuanzhou is called the Ten Kings Stronghold, and that even Commander Li suffered a great loss at their hands. What is the situation there now?"

"There are too many bandits on the Ten Kings Stronghold; their numbers likely exceed two hundred now," Li Yun said in a deep voice. "Moreover, they are ferocious, and on top of that... they seem to have a knack for foresight, knowing in advance when the government troops are coming."

"There is little that can be done about them in the short term."

Fan Zhao frowned slightly. "So, they are difficult to suppress?"

"Suppression is certainly possible," Li Yun said with a smile. "As long as the imperial court provides the money, men, and effort, no matter how formidable the Ten Kings Stronghold is, it can be wiped out."

Fan Zhao stroked his beard and laughed. "If the imperial court had that many resources, it wouldn't be me, an Imperial Commissioner, coming down to handle local banditry—it would be the imperial army itself."

"The matter of the Ten Kings Stronghold will be set aside for now. Once there are further results in the Xuanzhou suppression efforts, we can consider offering them amnesty."

With Li Yun, an "official," present, Fan Zhao spoke without reservation. He made a sound of dismissal and continued, "If the Ten Kings Stronghold refuses amnesty, I will mobilize troops to destroy that large stronghold. If they agree..."

He squinted his eyes, looked back at Cui Shao, then at Li Yun, and smiled. "The imperial court has ordered that bandits who accept amnesty in Xuanzhou and other prefectures can be sent directly to the Yuezhou battlefield. When the time comes, we will have these thieves from the Ten Kings Stronghold attack Yuezhou."

A smile appeared on the face of the Great Chieftain Li.

These officials always spoke in riddles; it had been a long time since he had seen someone as straightforward as Commissioner Fan.

He only wondered what expression would be on Fan Zhao's face if he knew that the valiant Commander Li Zhao, who had suppressed so many bandits, was none other than the leader of the Ten Kings Stronghold.

Li Yun cupped his hands, bowed slightly, and said with a faint smile, "The Envoy is wise."

Fan Zhao stood up and patted Li Yun on the shoulder.

"Young man, do your job well. The times are not peaceful; this is precisely the moment for warriors like you to make your mark. With your abilities, Xuanzhou will surely not be able to contain you."

As he spoke, he looked at Cui Shao and smiled. "Follow Brother Cui, and there will come a time for you to truly shine."

Li Yun smiled and replied, "At present, I only wish to do my job well in Xuanzhou and think of nothing else."

"Good, good, good."

Fan Zhao walked away with his hands behind his back. "Come, let us go drink."

Cui Shao also stood up, watching Li Yun with his hands behind his back. After a moment, he let out a dry laugh.

"I never imagined Commander Li was not only a skilled fighter but also so cunning."

With that, he walked away.

Li Yun watched their retreating figures in silence, a cold smile forming on his face.

Such a court.

Such a Great Zhou!

...

Yuezhou City.

The tall and imposing Qiu Dian sat in the seat of honor, tilting his head back to take a large gulp of wine.

Below him, a man in armor knelt on both knees, lowered his head, and kowtowed. "My Lord, General Zhao has captured the final county seat of Yuezhou. We have now occupied all the counties in the province!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present stood up, cupped their hands, and bowed to Qiu Dian. "Congratulations, My Lord! We wish you success!"

Qiu Dian’s face lit up, and he grinned. "Good!"

"Reward General Zhao heavily!"

He slapped the table and shouted, "Pass on my order: slaughter the cattle and sheep, and reward the three armies!"

The messenger nodded quickly, acknowledged the order, and withdrew.

After he left, a middle-aged man who looked like a scholar stood up, bowed to Qiu Dian, and said in a flattering tone, "My Lord, now that Yuezhou is secured, taking the Southeast is only a matter of time. Once the Southeast is yours, you can set your sights on the entire world, topple the Wu family from their throne, and start a new dynasty!"

Qiu Dian, flushed from drinking, reached out and pulled a beautiful maid into his arms. He laughed and said, "That fellow Zheng is a complete fool, unable to withstand a single blow. But the reinforcements from the Wu Zhou court could arrive at any time; this is not the time to be careless."

"Once the Southeast is settled and Jiangnan is taken, then we can talk about the world."

The scholar looked serious. "My Lord, I am skilled in the art of qi. The royal aura above you is already overflowing; there is no need to be so modest."

"Your taking the Southeast is already a certainty. The Wu Zhou court is rotting; your taking the world is also only a matter of time."

Qiu Dian laughed heartily. "You scholars certainly know how to speak! Bring wine, bring more wine!"

The scholar shook his head slightly and said with a smile, "My Lord, there is no rush for wine. I have a piece of advice I wish to present to you."

Qiu Dian, known among the common people as "Heavenly King Qiu," his face glowing with wine, grinned. "Speak, speak."

"Now that you have occupied all of Yuezhou, your people are prosperous and your soldiers strong, but you still lack a proper title. Without a title, you cannot reward your subordinates."

"The soldiers below will not fight with their lives."

"I humbly suggest that you..."

"Proclaim yourself the Prince of Yue!"

The scholar knelt directly and kowtowed. "To settle the hearts of your soldiers and to declare your intent to pacify the world!"

"Prince of Yue... Prince of Yue..."

Heavenly King Qiu sat in his seat, furrowed his brow, and said, "Master Zhu, is it not a bit too early?"

"It is not early," Master Zhu said with a smile. "Now is the perfect time. Once you take the title of Prince of Yue, the people of the Southeast will have a backbone."

"When the officials of Wu Zhou hear your title, they will tremble."

Qiu Dian sat in his place, pondering for a long time. Unable to make up his mind, he shook his hand. "Let me think about it... let me think about it some more..."

And so, the matter was shelved.

The next day, Master Zhu again requested that Heavenly King Qiu take the title of Prince of Yue, and Qiu Dian refused again.

On the third day, in response to the pleas of his ministers and subjects, Heavenly King Qiu formally assumed the title of Prince of Yue in Yuezhou.

I had to catch an early train this morning and was so exhausted in the afternoon that I accidentally fell asleep. My apologies!