"General, why do we have to sacrifice the near for the far and enter the imperial city from here?" As he was heading towards Donghua Gate, Wu Song beside Sun Tu asked in confusion. This was also the question in the minds of many soldiers in the rear. Because logically speaking, they were marching all the way into Tokyo City from the north. The most convenient way at this time was of course to go straight to the north gate of the imperial city, instead of going all the way around to the Donghua Gate.
The corner of Sun Tu's mouth curled up slightly, and he glanced at Tong Mu, who was also following closely beside him, indicating that he would be the one to explain. The latter really understood his intention, smiled and said: "Brothers obviously don't know much about my past affairs, but this is a story.
"But it is said that during the Renzong Dynasty, the deputy privy envoy was Di Qing and Di Wuxiang, who were famous generals at that time and had made great military exploits for the court. But even though he had made many contributions to the court, he was still jealous of the emperor and suppressed by the civil servants. As for the confidants who followed him in his conquests, they were falsely accused of crimes by some people with ulterior motives, and their lives were not saved.
"Seeing this, even a low-key and steady person like Di Wuxiang could only rescue people, go to see the emperor, and plead with these old subordinates. But in the end, he was openly opposed by the courtiers. I still remember what Di Wuxiang said at that time, Those convicted soldiers were all good men and meritorious officials, how could they be killed so unjustly? Then the then Prime Minister Han Qi spoke, what do you think he said?"
"What is it?" The soldiers who heard Tong Mu's words felt the same and suddenly became angry. In fact, the situation at that time was very similar to the previous situation in Youzhou, when one's own generals were accused of seven felonies by the court. They both made great contributions to the court, but in the end they were convicted by the civil servants with an understatement!
Tong Mu said coldly: "What Han Qi said at that time was that in our Song Dynasty, only those who could enter the palace through Donghua Gate were good men, and those soldiers who had been fighting for many years were not good men at all!" Everyone was a little puzzled, and he thoughtfully gave a further explanation: "The so-called people who enter the palace from Donghua Gate refer to those Jinshi who passed the imperial examination, because after every imperial examination, the Jinshi They all enter through Donghua Gate."
This time, all the soldiers finally understood Han Qi's disdain and belittling of generals. It turned out that in his opinion, those loyal soldiers who fought for the country and did everything they could were not even good men, so even though Being unjustly killed is not worth mentioning.
Just a moment later, bursts of shouts and curses sounded from everywhere: "General Sun, what nonsense civil servants are you? From now on, we will no longer be bound by them! Today we will enter through Donghua Gate!"
"Let's go to Donghuamen, so that everyone in the world knows who is the real good man!"
Accompanied by roars, this team of tens of thousands of people arrived in front of the magnificent palace gate, which was about five feet high and magnificent before dark. However, it was not the palace gate that came into view first, but the hundreds of officials standing in front of it blocking the way. Among them were mainly high-ranking officials in red and purple official robes, mixed with lower-ranking officials in green robes. Officials, all of them stood upright, showing no fear of the approaching army. When they saw Sun Tu and the others arriving, some of them took a step forward and shouted loudly: "Who dares to be so presumptuous in this important place of the palace!"
The fearless spirit they exuded really frightened the soldiers at the front, stopping them in their tracks.
It also made Sun Tu in the middle of the team frown. But it's not too surprising. In such a large court, there will always be some people who think they are loyal ministers who will stand up and do things they think are to protect the country during this turbulent time.
He immediately jerked his reins, led several personal soldiers and generals to meet him. When he came to the front, he shouted: "You dare to block our army's path. What do you want to do?"
"Bold Sun Tu, you raised your troops to rebel, and you dared to send your troops into the palace and frighten the emperor? Why don't you get off your horse quickly!" A red-robed official with gray beard and hair stepped forward and shouted loudly, It was completely righteous and did not take the soldiers with tens of thousands of swords and guns in their eyes.
As this man shouted, the courage of other officials was also aroused, and they immediately shouted: "The traitor Sun Tu dared to rush into the emperor's residence. You really deserve death. You still have the slightest sense of shame." , just get off your horse and be bound, waiting for His Majesty’s punishment!”
"Sun Tu, if you want to enter the palace and harass His Majesty, just step over the corpses of our loyal ministers and see how the world will judge you in the future and see how you will be written about in the history books!"
"We are deeply favored by the imperial court and His Majesty, and today we are about to die for our country. How can you, a traitor, understand and stop us!"
Seeing these people speaking so righteously and fearlessly, although the soldiers were angry, they really didn't dare to mess around. After all, Sun Tu had already set strict military orders when he sent out troops to prevent this bandit army from killing innocent people. Moreover, these officials really had an awe-inspiring aura that frightened ordinary soldiers, and they really suppressed the momentum of the army.
Within the palace wall at the rear, Cai Jing, who had instigated all this, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the army of ten thousand people was actually blocked by hundreds of officials. Just then he saw all the officials running away like lost dogs, and learned that even the gates of the inner city had been lost, and that Sun Tu was coming with his troops. He was extremely panicked, because he knew very well that he was Sun Tu's target for death. Once the emperor fell, In the hands of Sun Tu, there is no way to recover.
But then, Cai Jing discovered that in addition to those corrupt officials who were in the same category as himself, those who retreated to the vicinity of the imperial city were also many upright officials who had always prided themselves on being clean and unwilling to take refuge in him. This made him feel like he had grasped a life-saving straw when the flood was about to topple, so he no longer hesitated and found them immediately. With great righteousness, Xiao only said that Sun Tu had rebelled and would definitely harm the emperor once he entered the palace. Now he is It is the time for these loyal ministers to protect King Qin, and it is also a good opportunity for them to make their famous history.
These people are the most upright people. Even if they have always had quarrels with Cai Jing, this time they stood up for their loyalty and the overall situation, and were willing to be used by Cai Jing to block the path forward of Sun Tu's troops. After seeing that Sun Tu and the others were really stopped like this, Cai Jing didn't waste any more time and immediately rushed towards the palace. He felt that relying on these officials alone should not be able to really stop the rebels. They could really save himself. , there is still only one emperor.
After hurriedly taking a few steps, he saw Liang Shicheng in front of him who was also walking in a hurry. This made Cai Jing feel annoyed and immediately shouted: "Taifu Liang, where are you going?"
The cry was so frightening that Liang Shicheng almost stumbled on the mirror-smooth ground, and then he was supported by the people around him. He turned around in fear: "Grand Master..."
Cai Jing is also here
With the support of his trusted aide, he took two steps and came to the other party. He stared at him and said, "Why did you end up doing what I told you to do? You actually allowed Sun Tu to easily break into the city? Don't you have something in your hands?" What about Sun Tu’s family?”
"Master... I forgive you." Liang Shicheng immediately lowered his head with a guilty conscience: "Actually, on New Year's Eve, when the officials went to arrest Sun Tu's wife when they were young, they found that they had already disappeared... "
"What? Haven't you always sent people to keep an eye on that side? How could you let them run away?" Cai Jing suddenly changed his face and asked even more angrily.
Liang Shicheng shook his head blankly: "Xiaguan, I really don't know how they escaped from the layers of guards..."
"You trash, if it weren't for you, why would you be like this!" Cai Jing was so angry that he almost pointed at the other person's nose and cursed. But this also aroused Liang Shicheng's anger. At this time, he ignored the difference in status between the two parties and loudly replied: "Don't you, Grand Master Cai, have no responsibility for this matter? I said at the beginning that I would deal with it earlier. It's not because of your repeated attempts to block his family's victory. You said you didn't want to force Sun Tu to rebel, and you said you had concerns. As a result, now you have put all the responsibility on our family. Also, isn't it because Sun Tu You have been soft-hearted time and time again, and have tolerated and fostered adultery for the elders time and time again? If you are really guilty, I'm afraid your Cai Jing's responsibility will only be greater than mine!"
The long-term depression and anger completely broke out at this moment. This moment of spraying really stunned Cai Jing. The older man even choked on his breath due to nervousness and anger, and started coughing violently. This frightened the others around them, and they quickly stepped forward to persuade them: "My two gentlemen, please stop arguing about these trivial details. At this moment, we should first think about how to protect ourselves, and don't let Sun Tu enter the palace to harm me. It’s better to wait.”
This advice really stopped the two of them, but before Cai Jing could say anything, a burst of howling like ghosts and wolves suddenly came from outside, which made people's scalp numb, and Cai Jing's face turned pale. Yibai: "Sun Tu really dares to attack these officials? Is this person really determined to rebel this time?" His legs went weak, but he didn't dare to cause trouble anymore, and said anxiously: "Go and see him quickly Your Majesty, now I can only rely on Your Majesty to save me."
At the same time, the scene outside Donghua Gate was really miserable. Seeing those officials obstructing the road and refusing to let go, Sun Tu finally became angry. He waved his hand and gave a decisive order: "Beat me and break their feet and hands. I'll see what these guys who are just trying to gain fame can do to stop them." Our army is on its way. Aren’t they seeking death for their name? I won’t let them take it easy!”
Upon hearing this order, the soldiers around Sun Tu immediately agreed loudly and pounced on him. Originally, they didn't have a good impression of these court officials. In addition, they had just listened to Tong Mu's introduction to the old incident decades ago and were even more angry towards the civil servants. At this time, Sun Tu issued an order, and they naturally would not do it again. Our hands are tied.
Although the attack this time did not involve real killing blows, using the back of a knife and the barrel of a gun, these military elites who had experienced bloody battles were so helpless that they could only talk and talk. The civil servants could resist it. All of a sudden, like a pack of wolves attacking a sheep, people were beaten and fell, screaming incessantly. The few officials standing in the front were covered in blood and fell down...