In the Heavens

In the year 9999 of the big weekly calendar, the collapsed situation finally turned around. Along with the imperial court's wanton decentralization of power, officials and aristocratic families from all over the country became more active in suppressing the rebellion.

The Great Zhou Empire, which had been left on the verge of death by the rebels, unexpectedly released its Nth Spring, and all the anti-kings were beaten to doubt their lives.

If you simply look at the memorials, there will be news of regaining the lost ground almost every day, and the situation is very good.

It's a pity that the reality is just the opposite. A large number of cities were recovered, which should have been a good thing, but Emperor Taichang was not happy at all.

These good news are all used to ask for merit. In summary, they are asking for money, food, officials, and power.

Accompanying it was a further decline in Dazhou's fiscal revenue, and local officials wantonly withheld court taxes under the pretext of raising military expenses to recover lost land.

As the emperor, he couldn't say anything. In name, everyone is working for him, the emperor, and is working hard to suppress the rebellion.

The emperor is not bad for hungry soldiers. Money and food are really needed to suppress the rebellion. At this critical moment, it is shameful to hold back.

If the imperial court couldn't provide enough money and food, it could only let the local officials raise it themselves. The specific details are not important. The key point is that money, food, and the army are all in the hands of local officials, and it is inevitable that the authority of the central government will be hit.

From the previous rebels everywhere, now the warlords are everywhere. Except for the loss of an anti-flag, the essence of Dazhou's decline has not changed.

Everyone was scrambling for land, and Li Mu was not idle. Taking advantage of the chance that Wen Xiangjiao's top executives were taken over by the pot, he also took advantage of the opportunity to occupy the five counties in the southwestern part of Liangzhou.

Of course, it is still in the name of recovering the lost ground for the imperial court. After robbing the territory, he didn't even forget to ask the court to send more officials, which can be regarded as a model of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

It is not without benefits to perform so hard. I don't know if Emperor Taichang was out of his mind, or he was given the title of Liangzhou Jiedu envoy simply for the sake of power checks and balances.

There is a high degree of overlap between power and state shepherd, and such a wonderful appointment is still common in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

In some states, officials such as Jiedu envoys, appease envoys, governors, and state pastors appeared at the same time.

As long as he is disobedient, he will give his subordinates an independent official. It made the state herdsmen all over the country full of complaints.

It can be said that all the officials of the imperial court are geniuses, and it is thanks to them that they can come up with such a wonderful system of power checks and balances.

The effect is very obvious, and the possibility of local officials becoming bigger is eliminated in a short period of time. The aftermath was that the Great Zhou Empire became more and more chaotic, and conflicts often broke out between officials with overlapping powers.

For example, after Li Mu was appointed by the imperial court as a Jiedu envoy, the six counties under his rule began to play on their own, ignoring the orders of the state government.

If it wasn't for the rapid expansion, some of them would be overwhelmed and needed to recuperate. Who is the master of Liangzhou, really talked about it.

Sitting on the land of six counties, with more than 800,000 troops, he is the absolute hegemony of Liangzhou. If he wants to fight for world hegemony, Li Mu really has a chance.

At least from a strategic point of view, he is located at the southernmost tip of the Great Zhou Empire, perfectly avoiding the disputes between China and Earth, and has time to stabilize the rear and establish a foundation.

It's just that Li Mu is not stupid. Ever since he learned of the plan of the mighty, he has given up his thoughts of joining the troubled world and striving for hegemony.

Seizing the land of the five counties is for the purpose of cultivating resources. After the ancestors returned, the family separated tens of thousands of people to open up branches.

Not only ordinary clansmen, but even celestial warriors came here. And most of these guys have a close blood relationship with Li Mu.

For example, Grandpa Taizu whom I met before, Grandpa, Grandpa, Uncle, etc. who have never been masked, all ran over in groups.

It was clearly aimed at Li Mu. Martial arts cultivation is not all smooth sailing, although there are Jindan fighters in the family, it is too difficult to get their advice.

Blood kinship is not omnipotent. There are dozens of generations of ancestors, and the relationship is better than that of strangers.

Unless the talent is particularly good, they may be looked down upon. In the minds of their ancestors, most people are ordinary juniors.

It's useless to be optimistic, Jindan fighters are either retreating or preparing to retreat, and there is no time to instruct them on cultivation.

Compared with the two ancestors, Li Mu, the Jindan who wandered outside, was obviously more likely to get the opportunity to ask for advice.

In fact, as everyone expected. Li Mu's airs are much smaller, and he will set aside one day every month to teach and solve doubts for everyone.

Of course, not everyone can listen to this lesson. Except for a few immediate elders and brothers who can listen to it for free, the rest have to do tasks.

Thanks to the joining of these talents, Li Mu was able to take over the five counties in a short period of time and establish the most basic regime.

It's a pity that this regime is inherently deficient, and it is purely a family. It is impossible to support other forces, because the aristocratic families under the rule are almost wiped out, and there are very few talents among the common people.

This is not only the case under Li Mu's command, the situation faced by the princes from all walks of life in the world is similar, most of them can only rely on the power of the family, and at most use some vassals of the family.

When one side is separated, the loyalty of one's own family is high, which is an advantage. If you want to win the world, this is the biggest disadvantage.

In contrast, those anti-king sects gathered outstanding people from all walks of life. It's a pity that these heroes are difficult to control, good and evil are mixed, and there is no way to twist them into a single rope.

There are not many entertainment methods. Apart from practicing every day, Li Mu's biggest hobby now is practicing calligraphy.

These "calligraphy treasures" can also be used as instruments of magic, so nothing is wasted.

Today, Li Mu also thinks about it. Anyway, they are all copying poems, so just copy them casually.

As for whether writing it out first will affect the protagonist, that's none of his business.

He didn't show off his literary talent as a creator, that's because of his integrity.

...

Early in the morning, as soon as Li Mu came out of the gentle village, he saw the sixth brother Li Liang who hurried over.

"Thirteenth brother, something is wrong! The elder brother sent an urgent message from Beijing that His Majesty passed away last night.

Before the first emperor died, there was no crown prince. Now the situation in central Beijing is in chaos, and I'm afraid it won't be calm for a while.

The DPRK and China are in chaos, and my elder brother is worried that the local situation that has just stabilized will fall into chaos again. Let us prepare early to meet the changing situation. "

Emperor Taichang never died sooner or later, but he died at this juncture. Li Mu didn't know how to complain.

No matter what the outside world thinks, it can't change that Emperor Taichang is a promising master. During his reign, although he failed to reverse the general trend of the decline of the Great Zhou, at least he worked hard. Among the princes and officials, he still has a high prestige.

Now that Taichang Emperor suddenly disappeared, it was as if the mountain above everyone's head was suddenly picked off, and all the princes, warlords, and aristocratic families in the local area were still not "hi" shaking the sky.

Prestige is always easy to lose, but difficult to regain.

When everyone's initial temptation is completed and they find that the imperial court can't do anything to them, it's self-evident what will happen next.

But now that the throne is vacant, the various factions in the capital will inevitably have to fight, and the officials in the court and the central government don't care about the local chaos at all.

Without following the panic, Li Mu gave the order very calmly: "Send down the order and order the garrisons in various places to activate the second-level combat readiness to prepare for the enemy's sudden attack.

Let the intelligence personnel keep an eye on the price changes in Liangzhou's world, and report to the headquarters immediately if there are signs of a large-scale price increase. "

Everything can be faked, except the prices in the world. Although there are many warlords in Liangzhou, none of them have the ability to control prices in the whole state.

To send troops to fight, it is indispensable to raise food, cloth, medicinal materials and other necessities in advance. If someone sweeps up the goods wantonly, the world will definitely react.

"yes!"

Li Liang replied almost instinctively. As the gap in cultivation continued to widen, subtle changes took place in the relationship between the brothers.

Whether it is good or bad, Li Mu can't judge, anyway, he can't stop it. If the window paper is not broken, everyone can get along well. Once the cover is lifted, it is difficult to handle.

Watching Li Liang leave, Li Mu cast his eyes on the beautiful woman beside him. If it weren't for lack of loyalty, this one in front of him would be the best military advisor.

"Yuyan, the late emperor passed away suddenly. If you were Liangzhou shepherd, what would you do at this time?"

When it comes to playing tricks on people's hearts, Li Mu is really ashamed of himself. This kind of reasoning and guessing is still left to professionals.

Without even thinking about it, Bai Yuyan blurted out: "Naturally, we sent troops to wipe out several major warlords in the territory, and took Liangzhou into a cyst.

But I guess Zhao Tianyun will definitely not do that. Instead, choose the seemingly safest, but actually very stupid method, first wait and see the situation in the world, and then test the reactions of all parties.

Husband, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If we operate properly, we can take the entire Liangzhou before the court elects a new emperor to stabilize the situation in the court. "

Agitation, naked agitation. Zhou Mu lacked the momentum to break the boat, which naturally brought ambition and hope to everyone.

With the power in Li Mu's hands now, if he really plans to plot Liangzhou, there is a high probability that he will be able to take it down. It's just that after you win it, you have to think about it carefully.