In the Heavens

In the year 9999 of the Great Weekly Calendar, the collapsed situation finally took a turn for the better. Along with the decentralization of power by the imperial court, the enthusiasm of local officials and aristocratic families to suppress the rebellion has soared.

The Great Zhou Empire, which was originally on the verge of death by the rebels, actually released the Nth Spring, and all the rebel kings were beaten to the point of doubting their lives.

If it is simply to recite, there will be news of regaining lost ground almost every day, and the situation is very good.

Unfortunately, the reality is just the opposite. A large number of cities have been 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, grain, officials, and power.

This was accompanied by a further decline in Dazhou's fiscal revenue, and local officials wanted to withhold court taxes on the pretext of raising military spending to regain lost territory.

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

The emperor is not short of hungry soldiers. Suppressing the rebellion really needs money and food, and it is shameful to be held back at such a critical moment.

If the court could not come up with enough money, the local officials had to raise it by themselves. The specific details are not important, the key is that the money, grain and army are all in the hands of local officials, and it is inevitable that the authority of the central government will be attacked.

From the previous rebels everywhere, it has transformed into the current warlords everywhere. In addition to missing an anti-flag, the essence of Da Zhou's decline has not changed.

Everyone was scrambling for territory, and Li Mu was not idle either. Taking advantage of the chance that Wen Xiangjiao's senior management was caught in a pot, he also took advantage of the situation to occupy the five counties in the southwest of Liangzhou.

Of course, on the bright side, it is still in the name of regaining lost ground for the imperial court. After robbing the land, he did not forget to ask the court to send more officials, which is a model of loyalty to the monarch and patriotism.

Such hard work is not without merit. I don't know if Emperor Taichang's brain is broken, or just for the sake of power check and balance, he even gave him the title of an official of Liangzhou Jiedushi.

Power and state shepherds highly overlap, and such strange appointments are still common in Da Zhou.

Some states even have official positions such as governor, appeasement, governor, and state shepherd at the same time.

As long as they are disobedient, they will give their subordinates an independent official title. To make the state shepherds all over the place is full of complaints.

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

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

Take Li Mu, for example, after he was appointed by the imperial court as Jiedushi, the six counties under his control began to play by themselves, ignoring the orders of the state.

If it weren't for the rapid expansion, some of them would have been overwhelmed and needed to rest and recuperate. Who is the master of Liangzhou, really talk about it.

Sitting on the land of six counties, with more than 800,000 troops, it is a proper leader in Liangzhou. If he wants to dominate the world, Li Mu really has a chance.

At least from a strategic point of view, he is at the southernmost end 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 about the plans of the greats, he has put out his mind to join in the struggle for hegemony in troubled times.

To seize the land of the five counties, that is to cultivate resources. After the ancestors returned, the family branched out tens of thousands of people to open up branches.

Not only ordinary clansmen, but even heaven and human warriors came a lot. And most of these guys are closely related to Li Mu.

For example, the grandfather Taizu I had seen before, the grandfather, grandfather, uncle, etc. who had never been masked, all ran over in a group.

It was obvious that it was aimed at Li Mu. Martial arts practice is not smooth sailing. Although there are Jindan warriors in the family, it is too difficult to get their guidance.

Blood and family relationships are not omnipotent. If there are dozens of generations of ancestors, the relationship is better than that of strangers.

Unless the talent is particularly good, it may be looked at. In the eyes of the ancestors, most people are just ordinary juniors.

It is useless to be optimistic. Jindan warriors are either in retreat or preparing to retreat, and there is no time to instruct them to practice.

Compared with the two ancestors, Li Mu, the golden core who was wandering outside, obviously had an easier opportunity to ask for advice.

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

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

Thanks to the addition of these talents, Li Mu was able to win the five counties in a short period of time and establish the most basic political power.

It is a pity that this regime is inherently inadequate, and it is purely a family. It is not enough to support other forces, because the aristocratic families under the rule are almost wiped out, and the talents among the civilians are pitiful.

Not only under Li Mu's command, the situation faced by all the princes in the world is similar, most of them can only rely on the power of the family, and at most use some people from the vassal family.

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

In contrast, it is those who are anti-king who have gathered from all walks of life. It is a pity that these outstanding people are unmanageable and mixed, and there is no way to twist them into a single rope.

There is not much entertainment. Besides practicing every day, Li Mu's biggest hobby is practicing calligraphy.

These "calligraphy treasures" can also be taken out and used as magical instruments, and they are not wasted at all.

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

As for writing it first, whether it will affect the protagonist or not, it is none of his business.

If he didn't show off his literary talent as a creator, it was because he had integrity.

…

Early in the morning, Li Mu had just walked out of Wenrou Township when he saw Li Liang, the sixth brother, rushing over.

"Thirteenth brother, the big thing is bad! Big brother came from Beijing with urgent news that His Majesty passed away last night.

Before the death of the late emperor, there was no crown prince. Now the situation in Beijing is chaotic, and I am afraid that it will not be calm for a while.

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

Emperor Taichang, who died sooner or later, died at this juncture, and 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 was able to reverse the general trend of Dazhou's decline, at least he worked hard. Among the princes and officials, there is still a lot of prestige.

Now that Emperor Taichang is suddenly gone, it's as if the mountain above everyone's head was suddenly taken down, and the local princes, warlords, and aristocratic families are still not "hi".

Prestige is always easy to lose, but difficult to get back.

When everyone's initial temptation was completed, they found that the court could do nothing for them, and it was self-evident what would happen next.

But now that the throne is vacant, the various factions in Beijing will inevitably have to fight, and the officials in the court will not care about the chaos at all.

Without following the panic, Li Mu calmly ordered: "Go on, order the troops stationed in various places to start the second-level combat readiness to guard against the enemy's sudden attack.

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

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

When sending troops to fight, it is indispensable to raise food, cloth, medicinal materials and other necessities in advance. If someone scavenges the goods, the world will definitely react.

"Yes!"

Li Liang replied almost instinctively. With the continuous widening of the gap in cultivation, the relationship between the brothers has also undergone subtle changes.

Li Mu couldn't judge whether it was good or bad, and he couldn't stop it anyway. If the window paper is not pierced, everyone can get along well. Once you lift the lid, it's not easy to do.

Watching Li Liang leave, Li Mu turned his attention to the beautiful woman. If it weren't for the lack of loyalty, this person in front of him would be the best military advisor.

"Yuyan, the late emperor died suddenly. If you were Liang Zhoumu, what would you do at such a time?"

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

Without thinking about it, Bai Yuyan blurted out: "Of course, they sent troops to destroy several major warlords in the territory, and brought Liangzhou into the cyst.

But I guess Zhao Tianyun will definitely not do this. Instead, he chose the safest, but in fact, 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 done 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 lacks the momentum of breaking the boat, and naturally brings ambition and hope to everyone.

With Li Mu's current strength, if he really tried to conspire against Liangzhou, he would probably still be able to win it. It's just that after you get it, you have to think about it.