Originally, Sun Tu was overjoyed to hear that his wife and children were safe, but what Tong Mu said later made his smile suddenly fade. The thing he was most worried about happened.
As early as when he started his army, Sun Tu had already issued strict orders to his officers to abide by military discipline and not to disturb the people or rob people of their property along the way. This is of course intended to win over the people's hearts and minds for one's own use, but it is also intended to prevent the deterioration of military discipline and pave the way for various measures after the successful capture of Tokyo. Even before sending his troops to attack Bianliang, Sun Tu once again emphasized this point, asking the generals to restrain their subordinates, and rewards will be indispensable for everyone.
But when there were too many people, things were still out of control. Even though Sun Tu had given repeated orders, when hundreds of thousands of troops entered the prosperous Bianliang, Tokyo, some people still couldn't resist the temptation of money and committed crimes. In order to violate military discipline, he broke into private houses, injured and robbed people...
It was precisely because he knew how seriously Sun Tu took this matter that after suddenly hearing about more than a dozen vicious incidents, Tong Mu, who was supposed to be guarding in front of the palace, left urgently to suppress the situation and calm down the situation. Finally, he handled it in a timely and appropriate manner, so that the situation did not expand further and suppressed other soldiers who were ready to make a move.
After calming down for a moment, Sun Tucai exhaled and asked, "Who did this?"
"It turned out that seven or eight generals from the Northern Army and the Western Army openly led people into people's houses, looted them wantonly, and were stabbed by the people there because they tried to stop them. Fortunately, no lives were lost. In addition, before Several officers who had just been recruited by us also broke into the houses of wealthy families because of greed. After entering the inner city, they broke into the houses of wealthy families and looted them..." Speaking of this, the child Mu then hesitated again, and finally added: "There is another person named Qi Huan. , was a general under the command of Song Gongming. Because he had a grudge against an official family in the inner city, he led his troops to break in without any hesitation after entering, and killed all the good and bad people in the family, more than 20 people in total... "
When Sun Tu heard him talk about the previous things, his expression gradually softened, but the last thing still made him take a breath: "Then Qi Huan actually killed a whole family?" At this time, the nature of the matter was shocking. It's completely different.
Tong Mu nodded and helped explain: "But after Qi Huan killed someone, he took the initiative to put down his weapons and went to see Song Gongming. Now all his subordinates are being detained without any resistance. And I also I heard that he did this entirely to avenge his murdered family members.”
Seeing that Sun Tu was silent, Tong Mu added: "This Qi Huan is also from Tokyo. His family was quite wealthy originally and was a businessman's family. As a result, because he offended the Ji family who had Gao Qiu as their backer, the whole family They were all framed and convicted, and finally all of them died in prison. Only he escaped by chance, and later joined our Shandong Army after living in Shandong.
"In the past few years, he has made many meritorious deeds with his martial arts skills. Now he is a prince under Song Gongming, and he has won his trust. Not to mention anything else, he also contributed to the invasion of Tokyo this time. Quite a few, they were the first batch of people to enter the city, so General..."
His words were interrupted by Sun Tu: "I understand what you mean. Do you think Qi Huan has many merits, and this murder was for a reason, so you want to persuade me to be more lenient?"
Tong Mu nodded, but after seeing Sun Tu's expression, he knew that his words might not be useful. Sure enough, I heard Sun Tu solemnly say: "I also have some impressions of Qi Huan. He is indeed a rare talent in the army, but he acted too recklessly. Even if he has a grudge, he should not be hasty. This puts my military law at a disadvantage." Where is it?"
Tong Mu was silent. Of course he understood Sun Tu's painstaking efforts, but at the same time he was worried about the impact of really enforcing the law impartially. Sun Tu saw his worry at a glance, and smiled and said: "Let's go see those who dare to disrupt our military discipline first and deal with the matter. Fortunately, you helped me take action in time this time. Otherwise, I’m afraid more troubles will arise.”
This is true. If Tong Mu hadn't taken action in time and immediately caught those guys who looted people's property, I'm afraid others would have followed suit. And once the door to evil is really opened, even if Sun Tu comes forward, he may not be able to suppress it. By then, the whole of Tokyo and Bianliang may be in chaos. This is not what Sun Tu wants to see.
Tong Mu hurriedly said humbly, then rode his horse to follow Sun Tu, and hurried forward. Soon he came to the former Privy Council Yamen, which had been temporarily set up as a command post for the rebel army. This is the place Song Jiang chose, probably to fulfill his long-cherished wish. At this time, there was quite a lively flow of soldiers and horses coming in and out of the door. Until they saw Sun Tu arriving, everyone stopped to walk and salute. Many people still looked like they were hesitant to speak, obviously wanting to apologize for those who almost ruined the big event. Please have mercy on those reckless and greedy people.
Sun Tu didn't give them a chance to plead, and immediately rode into the majestic and tall portal. He didn't dismount until he reached the hall that looked like a palace and entered it. Then at a glance, he saw hundreds of soldiers tied there. The most eye-catching ones were more than a dozen strong men with bright armor and necks.
Song Jiang was still complaining about everyone's nonsense. When he saw Sun Tu arriving, he quickly turned around and saluted: "General, these brothers..."
Sun Tu didn't wait for him to explain, and said: "I already know the cause and effect, you don't have to excuse them." After saying that, he scanned the crowd again: "You are really promising. As soon as you entered Tokyo, you felt that you He is the master of this place, and he started thinking about getting rich, but he turned a deaf ear to my military orders!"
Although he did not speak harshly, Sun Tu now possessed a power far beyond that of ordinary officials. How could these ordinary soldiers in front of him be able to withstand it? In just a moment, they knelt down one after another and confessed: "General, I will finally be convicted. The general was so greedy that he ignored the prohibition and disturbed the people. This is a heinous crime, so I ask the general to punish him."
"General, although they violated military law, they were just confused for a moment and did not have much impact, so I thought it would be better to be given a lighter sentence. After all, they are all meritorious and have fought bloody battles with the Liao and Jin people. A brother who has made great contributions to our Song Dynasty." Song Jiang quickly advised, and then glanced at Tong Mu, hoping that he could also help speak.
Before Tong Mu could say this, several generals hurried in from outside, but it was Dong Ping, Lin Chong and others who came here specially after learning about this. After hearing Song Jiang's plea for mercy, they quickly followed suit: "General, what General Song said is true. Most of the soldiers are confused for a moment.
If you do such a thing, let's spare them this time because they have made some achievements. "
"Yes, General, it's just a small matter, and not many people were injured. We sent them to the door to apologize and return the stolen property to them. I'm sure the people won't hold on to it."
"General, please show your respect..."
Faced with the pleas from many people, Sun Tu's face became even more ugly. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly asked: "Why do you think we can achieve today's victory with only a few thousand soldiers from a Qingzhou city?" Ma Er can almost control the entire Song Dynasty court today? What makes me, Sun Tu, stand out from all these generals and hold such great power?"
Several people looked at each other, but they didn't know how to answer. Sun Tu did not expect them to give the answer he wanted, so he quickly answered by himself: "Compared to the corrupt Xiang armies everywhere, the army I, Sun Tu, built by myself is the strongest and the most obedient to military orders." Song official army. It can be said that military discipline and law are the foundation for Sun Tu and everyone to achieve this achievement, and what is the military discipline we have always adhered to? It is to kill the enemy first, to integrate the army and the people, and to never disturb the people when they arrive. Don’t harm the people, don’t take away the people’s needles and threads. Do you still remember what the military song I taught you is about? The three major disciplines and eight points of attention say don’t take the people’s money, let alone hurt people and rob their property. !
"And now, you have just entered Tokyo, and you haven't even established your feet yet, and you are thinking about getting rich. This is a serious provocation to our military discipline. If you don't deal with it strictly, how can you convince others? If today I I have spared you so lightly. Tomorrow, more people will hurt and rob people in Tokyo because of greed. It may cause even greater chaos in the future, until both sides become enemies, until we are either here The soldiers and civilians were beaten to escape from Tokyo, or they massacred the city and turned Tokyo into a hell on earth! You think this is just a small thing, but in my opinion, this is clearly the key to our success or failure. People's support is everything. !”
After saying these words, the generals were immediately speechless. They naturally knew that what Sun Tu said was a bit exaggerated, but his meaning was still correct. Such a trend of corrupting military discipline must not be allowed, otherwise the consequences would be extremely serious.
"What does the general mean?" Tong Mu asked softly.
"Originally, I have a military order. Anyone who hurts people and steals people's money will be punished with military sticks as a warning to others. This time, it will be doubled. Each person will be severely punished with a hundred military sticks in public. Three days later, in the most lively place in the city He walked his staff in front of the Zhuque Gate and announced it to the whole city, asking the people to come and watch." Sun Tu said, paused again, looked at the subordinates who were obviously resentful, and said: "In addition, as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, I have not If you can prepare in advance, even if you make a big mistake, you will also be punished..."
"General..." Upon hearing this, everyone was really anxious: "Absolutely not. You are the commander-in-chief of our army and the backbone of our army. How can you, how can you be punished like this?"
"General, if you can't punish the doctor, how can we do this?"
"Those are all fallacies from the past. From now on, all officers and men in the army will be treated equally. Anyone who makes a mistake will be punished, so that those who come later will be punished!" Sun Tu said firmly: "Military law is as great as the sky! As I said Do it, go and send the message.”