Flying Clouds in Another World

Chapter 340 The Emperor Orders Returning to His Hometown

Although Emperor Gu Huairen was always hot-tempered, stubborn and self-willed, and rarely listened to other people's advice, he was almost always obedient to the empress.

Since the Queen had spoken, Gu Huairen had no choice but to summon the Eleventh Princess to the Imperial Study to meet her.

As soon as the eleventh princess Gu Qingya entered the imperial study, she got straight to the point and said:

"Brother Emperor! I heard that there is trouble in Liangzhou again! We can't delay the matter of Liu Feiyun any longer!"

"Now you have read his memorial in which he made clear his true intentions! From the beginning of the Northern Expedition to now, the people in the inner factory have also reported to you all his various behaviors! I'm sure you also know his character and loyalty!"

"My brother the Emperor! Brother His Majesty! It's time to put an end to his disobedience! Could it be that you really intend to kill him to establish your authority, or to lock him up for life?"

"Your Majesty! Don't let the people who are truly loyal to you feel disappointed! Even if he was wrong to disobey your order, it was ultimately for the sake of your kingdom!"

Before Gu Huairen expressed his opinion, the Queen asked curiously:

"Eleventh sister, you asked me to meet you in the Imperial Garden and asked me to plead with His Majesty. Could it be that it was just for Liu Feiyun? What kind of person is he that you would ask me to plead for him?"

Gu Qingya sighed and said:

"Alas! Queen! This Liu Feiyun is a disciple of the great scholar Chang Xianzhi, and can be considered your Majesty's junior fellow scholar. He is also the only male of the Fufeng Liu family, one of the representatives of the Shilong nobles!"

"Just because he couldn't bear to execute the hundreds of thousands of captured barefoot soldiers, he openly disobeyed the order, causing some people in the court to call for his death!"

"But His Majesty has been reluctant to express his attitude and deal with this matter, which inevitably gave rise to some people's evil thoughts and they tried to kill Liu Feiyun again and again."

"This Liu Feiyun, this Liu family, is a family of nobles who have been loyal to the emperor for generations! Moreover, he has made great contributions in the Northern Expedition to the Great Wilderness and the suppression of the rebellion in Liangzhou! It is really inappropriate to punish him too harshly!"

The queen nodded, and then she bowed solemnly to Gu Huairen before she said:

"Your Majesty! It is said that the harem should not interfere in government affairs! But rashly executing hundreds of thousands of rioters who have laid down their weapons is inappropriate and really goes against the will of heaven and morality!"

"The late emperor was always benevolent and loved his people, which is what Your Majesty should emulate! Why don't Your Majesty let those rioters go! As for Liu Feiyun, although he is guilty of openly disobeying the emperor's order, his merits and demerits offset each other, so it is not necessary to take his life and cut off his incense.

Gu Huairen saw that both women were pleading for Liu Feiyun, and thought about the past few days, because of Liu Feiyun's disobedience, almost half of the people in the court were arguing over his life and death! He simply made a decision and slowly said to Gu Qingya and the Queen:

"This Liu Feiyun is indeed using his own life and property to advise me! How could I not know this?"

"How could I not know his good intentions, his loyalty, and his great achievements?"

"Because of him, a mutiny almost occurred in Hanchuan City! I really can't delay this matter any longer!"

"Since he has been helping me in every aspect, I will no longer be harsh on him."

"Doesn't he want to retire and return to his hometown? Then I will fulfill his wish and let him return home in glory."

A few days later, Liu Feiyun received an imperial edict that surprised him a little in the prison of the ruined Hanchuan City.

"The crime of disobeying the emperor's order must be severely punished! However, the military merits must also be rewarded generously! Therefore, I have decided to follow the old example of the previous emperor."

"Liu Feiyun is dismissed from all military posts in the Zhenhuang Army, but his military rank is retained! His father, Liu Shihao, is a poor parent and is also dismissed from his post as Anping County Lieutenant! He must also pay a million silver coins as a ransom!"

"At the same time, Liu Feiyun was conferred the title of Siguo Bo, with a real command of 2,000 households. He was conferred the title in Anping County and was appointed as the successor to the position of county lieutenant!"

"I hope that after returning home and taking office, he will always reflect on his mistakes and continue to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country!"

When Liu Feiyun heard these words, he felt relieved and at the same time very happy.

The emperor did not take away his military rank. He still held the rank of major general and was also granted the title of lord of two thousand households.

Since he still has a military rank and is a noble of the territory, he can still take his Cloud Tiger Camp with him and return to his hometown with him!

Of course, to do this, Liu Feiyun would have to pay a large sum of money to the court and relevant officials.

At the same time, the Zhenhuang Army, which was originally planned to be expanded, was also divided into several parts and distributed to several border armies and state armies.

Along with the decree to deal with Liu Feiyun, there was also the emperor's order of pardon and slavery, which required that all the barefoot soldiers, except for the important leaders, be executed and the rest be demoted to slavery.

Because Liu Feiyun refused to massacre the hundreds of thousands of barefoot army prisoners, the Zhenhuang Army conscripted them as coolies to build their own camp.

As for the food and fodder needed for the hundreds of thousands of captives and tens of thousands of Zhenhuang troops, they naturally demanded them by force from the local government in Liangzhou, and these local officials dared not refuse.

Now the Zhenhuang Army was about to be disbanded, hundreds of thousands of barefoot army captives were spared from death and became slaves, Liu Feiyun was dismissed from his post as military commander and was about to return to his hometown, everything seemed to have come to fruition.

Liu Feiyun took off his prison uniform, left Hanchuan Prison, and began to prepare for his journey home:

First of all, all the Liu family members that he brought with him, regardless of their official rank, must be taken back.

Of the more than 100 people who had entered the student camp earlier, only 50 or 60 were still in the Zhenhuang Army. Among them, the highest-ranking military officer, such as Qin Jiu, was already a deputy commander, and the lowest-ranking officer was only a deputy commander of the battalion, and was in charge of the military affairs of the battalion!

These people are the seeds for expanding your private army in the future, and you must hold them firmly in your hands.

There is also the Yunhu Camp. After several adjustments and streamlining, it originally had 500 people, but after three more enemy attacks, there are only more than 300 people left. This group of people is the direct lineage that he has newly created, and he cannot leave them to others!

In addition, these people's weapons, armor, horses, and supporting supplies must also be provided.

Of course, in order to achieve these goals, Liu Feiyun has to spend a lot of money and do a lot of public relations.

What he didn't expect was that after the news that he was going to lay down his arms and return home spread, many people in the Zhenhuang Army came running to him and wanted to follow him back to Anping.

Liu Feiyun felt both relieved and troubled. He had to ask Chen Yisan, who was to deliver the imperial edict, and Hu Yanpingping, who was temporarily the commander of the Zhenhuang Army, as well as He Chaogui, Zhuge Bulong and others to discuss the matter.

"Why! Uncle Siguo! Do you still want to take some people back?"

Chen Yi asked meaningfully.

Liu Feiyun replied somewhat awkwardly: "To be honest, Eunuch Chen! The world is not peaceful right now, and rioters are everywhere! From Hanchuan in Liangzhou to Anping in Yunzhou, it is at least more than 3,000 miles! Naturally, the more people around you, the more at ease you will feel!"

"However, I'm afraid the imperial court won't allow such blatant use of soldiers for personal use!"