bookbashuk Chapter 2148: Loyalty to His Majesty, Not the Court
Chapter 2148: Loyalty to His Majesty, Not the Court
Li Shen brought Qu Zhiping to the central military tent and arranged for someone to serve them tea.
But Li Shen himself still likes to drink cold drinks.
"Sir, how is my concubine?"
Li Shen took the lead in asking about Wu Meiniang and the others.
Because of the battle, Li Shen did not take them with him, but left Wu Meiniang and Chunxiang in the tribe, and left some guards to protect them.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, Madam Wu is doing well. I have sent some maids to serve her, and also assigned more people to guard the periphery day and night."
Qu Zhiping hurriedly reported. If the woman of King Ji was harmed by them, King Ji would slaughter them all with his overbearing character.
Although they have more than 200,000 people, they are all civilians. King Ji's more than 2,000 elite soldiers can kill them several times.
"Haha, that's good, you're thoughtful."
Li Shen smiled slightly after hearing this. He was very satisfied with Qu Zhiping's behavior. He liked people who knew how to adapt to the times the most.
"This is what I should do. Your Highness personally led the troops and led the way in exterminating the rebels for my people. I have no way to repay you. From now on, I will serve His Highness Prince Ji with all my heart and obey his orders."
When Qu Zhiping saw that Li Shen was happy, he immediately began to show his loyalty and clung to King Ji's thigh. Then, they, the remnants, would have a good life.
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Shen's expression suddenly changed:
"Supreme Governor Qu, I personally led the troops to suppress the rebels. This was in accordance with the order of Your Majesty. I should thank Your Majesty if I have to.
You must remember that you must be loyal to His Majesty the Khan, not to me.
This world belongs to your Majesty, and you are your Majesty's subjects. Your Majesty loves his subjects like his own children. As long as you are loyal to your Majesty, good days will not be far away."
Damn it, there are always villains who want to harm me, Li Shen cursed in his heart.
If your words of loyalty were heard by outsiders, they would fabricate something and bring it to the court to accuse you.
They colluded with foreign races and attempted rebellion, or they colluded with local forces and gathered an army of 200,000 to attempt rebellion.
These are all possible.
"Yes, yes, your Majesty is correct. I just made a slip of the tongue. We, the people of the clan, thank you for your grace and are willing to be loyal to the court for generations to come."
Seeing Prince Ji's unfriendly expression, Qu Zhiping quickly changed his words.
"Qu Zhiping! You are not doing your job as a prefect very well. Is it because you are old and have become deaf and blind?
If this is the case, you might as well give up your position and let someone more capable take over."
Li Shen's expression was still as cold as ever, and his tone was very stiff, which made Qu Zhiping somewhat at a loss.
He didn't understand where he had gone wrong.
"This... Your Highness Prince Ji, please calm down. If there is anything I have done inappropriately, I hope Your Highness Prince Ji will correct me.
By the way, I have a bigger jade stone, which is more than one person tall. I am willing to present it to His Royal Highness Prince Ji to thank him for helping us eliminate the rebels."
Qu Zhiping stood up and bowed to Li Shen, feeling a little frightened inside.
He had just seen the Jingguan. He could feel its height even from a distance. There must be at least thousands of people buried inside.
This inevitably left him with lingering fears, and he secretly sighed in his heart that he was indeed a prince, and his methods were indeed ruthless.
It would be fine if he was a veteran general, but the one in front of him was only twenty years old and lived a life of luxury in the palace.
How could someone have such a cruel heart?
No wonder there are rumors that some royal families are cruel and murderous by nature, and their methods are vicious. The rumors are true.
Li Shen's brows relaxed when he heard this, and his tone softened a lot. He said to Qu Zhiping:
"Sir Qu, I just said that I hope you can be loyal to His Majesty, not the court.
You have to keep this in mind.”
Qu Zhiping suddenly understood:
"Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness Prince Ji. We, the people of this clan, will serve His Majesty the Emperor with all our hearts and souls until our death."
Only now did he understand what Li Shen had just meant.
In the imperial court, the forces are intertwined and mixed, and all parties are fighting for power, and the royal family is just the one with the biggest say.
"Well, it's good that you understand. As long as you are loyal to His Majesty, I can guarantee that your people will be well-fed and well-clothed like the people of the Tang Dynasty, and will no longer suffer from war."
Li Shen nodded with satisfaction. He had to give some advice to the natives of Anxi.
So that they are not taken advantage of by some people.
"Sir Qu, I wonder how the team you intercepted is doing?"
Li Shen asked again. He was asking about the situation of the 5,000 troops led by Qu Baochang intercepting the rebels halfway.
“Your Highness Prince Ji, we followed your orders and did not fight to the death with the rebels, so a large number of the rebels fled to the north.
We killed more than a hundred rebels and captured more than two hundred."
Qu Zhiping also reported.
"Well, are there heavy casualties?" Li Shen asked after taking a sip of tea.
"Not big, only more than a hundred casualties." Qu Zhiping was somewhat relieved. Fortunately, King Ji did not let them fight to the death, otherwise the number of casualties would not be this high.
Even though the rebels were fleeing, their fighting capacity was still better than that of ordinary people.
"It's still acceptable. After this battle, the news will spread quickly, and by then, those small groups of rebels will surely flee upon hearing the news.
Then no one will come to harass you again in a short period of time.
When I return to Xizhou, I will send a thousand soldiers to protect you.
As long as the imperial army is here, the rebels will not dare to act rashly.
However, you have to provide the food and fodder for these 1,000 soldiers. The treasury of Xizhou is empty now. Otherwise, I would not care about this little money."
Li Shen looked at Qu Zhiping. The protection fee still had to be paid, as the imperial court was not that wealthy.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. This is what we should do." Qu Zhiping had no objection.
It was already good enough that the imperial court could come to protect them, and they could still afford the food and fodder for a thousand soldiers.
"Okay, if you have nothing else to do, go down and rest. We will set off back tomorrow.
I have to go back to Xizhou to take charge of the overall situation. I have been delayed here for too long."
Li Shen put down the teacup and waved at Qu Zhiping, a look of fatigue on his face. After hunting for half a day, he was a little tired.
"Yes, I'll take my leave then." Qu Zhiping bowed and left the tent.
"Rengui, notify them that we will prepare to move camp and return to the tribe tomorrow, and arrange for someone to load our spoils.
Remember that no one is allowed to open the box, lest the news leak out."
After Qu Zhiping went out, Li Shen gave orders to Xue Rengui who was standing beside him.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Xue Rengui immediately stood up and accepted the order.
"You should go too, bring Qu Zhiping to the rescued people and let him see his own people.
By the way, tell him that our casualties this time are very heavy.
Be more subtle, don't be too obvious, or people will think that I am asking for something. I never accept food given out of pity."