It seems that God is deliberately trying to make things difficult for the Song Dynasty court. On May 20th, the disaster relief embankment guards from the Ministry of Works and others ignored all opinions and withstood the pressure and dug up the west embankment of Jinmingchi, flooding Qionglin Garden and the surrounding area of more than ten miles. There were dozens of manor houses, but on the morning of the 21st, the weather suddenly turned sharp, the clouds stopped, the rain stopped, and the sun shone brightly! The heavy rain that had been raging for half a month suddenly stopped!
Although this made many people breathe a sigh of relief, it also put great pressure on the Ministry of Industry. After all, as long as they persisted for one more night, the disaster situation would completely improve. Linyuan will not be destroyed in one day.
Of course, as the current leader, it is impossible for Sun Tu to blame the officials of the Ministry of Industry for this, especially Xu Jue who was bedridden due to overwork and guilt. Even when the latter came to plead guilty while holding on to his illness, he still He gave some kind words of comfort: "Xu Shangshu doesn't have to feel guilty. You also said that judging from the water conditions at that time, it may not be able to last until dawn. The Jinming Pool will burst in another direction. By then, Tokyo Bian Liang Ke is in danger. In comparison, flooding Qionglin Garden and those manors is the best result. At least there are no casualties and the people have not suffered."
Xu Jue was moved after hearing Sun Tu's comfort, but the guilt in his heart did not dissipate: "But after all, Xiaguan is the culprit who flooded hundreds of acres of fertile land, countless manors, and Qionglin Villa. I have no face to face my colleagues in the DPRK and China. Many of them have their family fortunes in it. If I can persist a little longer, maybe... "
Before he could finish speaking, Sun Tu said with a straight face: "Xu Shangshu, I don't like to hear what you said. What do you mean by persisting for a while? If you always have such a lucky mentality, I'm afraid it will lead to a big disaster." What a disaster. Since you are in charge of water conservancy, you should know the truth that a slightest difference can make a thousand miles, and you should understand how terrible it is for a thousand-mile embankment to collapse in an ant nest. Your decision is completely correct, and there is no mistake in it. Say." After a pause, he looked at the other party again: "What's more, to be honest, it was me who made the decision to dig up the Jinmingchi Lake embankment. Are you questioning my judgment?"
Only then did Xu Jue remember that he had indeed asked Sun Tu first, and only after getting his approval could he have the confidence to act with his troops. This made it difficult for him to take the blame on himself again: "No, I don't dare, I will lower my official position." I definitely don’t mean to blame Taiwei, Taiwei has put the overall situation first, and the fault is also mine.”
"Since I am not wrong, then you are not wrong either." Sun Tu immediately waved his hand domineeringly and said: "As for the criticisms from the court, you don't need to pay attention to them. I will help you suppress them. You don't have to worry about being punished for it. The imperial court will punish you, but you are the one who made the most contribution in quelling the flood this time, so you can only receive a reward."
Having said all that, Xu Jue could no longer get into trouble, and immediately thanked him again with gratitude, and then left with some staggering. After watching him leave, Sun Tu unconsciously shook his head and smiled at Tong Mu beside him: "This Xu Shangshu is good at everything else, but sometimes he is too rigid and rigid. And I have heard that this What happened this time was because those guys were greedy and refused to nod, otherwise the water conditions in Jinmingchi would not have become so dangerous. When this period is over, this matter will be investigated!"
"What the Lieutenant said is that those people are really hateful. They ignore the overall situation and only focus on their own interests." Tong Mu nodded in response, but soon, he thought for a moment: "Are you saying this is still true?" Is there a deeper reason?”
"Have you thought about it too?" The smile on Sun Tu's face has faded, but there is a cold light in his eyes: "I have checked that the owners of Zhuangzi are officials of the fourth rank or above in the court and a few nobles. They used to He also acts quite upright, and he has never done anything as unreasonable as this time. Moreover, dozens of Zhuangzi have surprisingly consistent attitudes, which is weird in itself."
"Yes, their initial resistance to the relocation was enough to make people laugh, but then they secretly moved all the people and belongings away, leaving only two or three people behind, which is even more obvious. It's clear that he was deliberately delaying it, hoping that something would go wrong in Jin Mingchi and the capital would be flooded." Tong Mu was also good at conspiracy, and was not afraid to infer the worst malice in others, and he immediately grasped the key to the problem.
And Sun Tu's face became more and more ugly: "Now that you have seen it this way, there is indeed too much inside story about this matter. Those people are clearly coming for us to disrupt the imperial court." At this point, he Suddenly he raised his voice and shouted outside: "Come here, ask Tang Si Zheng to come." If you want to dig out all the details about these guys, there is no one more reliable than Huang Cheng Si.
Today's Imperial City Department is located near the Privy Council, so Tang Feng has already rushed over after just a meal: "I wonder what the Lieutenant's orders are?"
"What are your men investigating recently?"
"If it's just in the capital, most of the blame will fall on that person, and we'll be tracking down the hidden mastermind following the clues from two years ago." Tang Feng replied quickly.
"It seems that it is not easy to find out these two things, so let's put them aside for now. Now, I have a more important thing that I need you to check..." With that, Sun Tu told the two of them what they had said before. The doubts were revealed, and Tang Feng was asked to secretly find out all the movements of the masters of Zhuangzi during this period, especially their contacts with officials and nobles in the court and so on.
Upon hearing this, Tang Feng's expression tightened and his spirits were even higher: "Aren't these guys still not honest today? With the letter from the Taiwei, my subordinates will definitely find out their every move and leave them with nothing to do." Escape."
"Well, go ahead. Remember, this matter should not be made public, and the investigation must be done in secret, especially if they don't let them find out the clues."
"I understand." Tang Feng clasped his fists in understanding before retreating. The matter was so important that he didn't want to waste any time.
"The lieutenant is worried that more problems will arise from them?" Tong Mu asked worriedly.
Sun Tu sighed and nodded: "Yes, in the past two years, there are actually many officials in the court who are still unwilling to accept the reality and always want to break up with me. Even if they don't have the guts to openly talk to me, Although I am an enemy, I often cause trouble behind my back. Moreover, each of them has determined that I do not want to mess up the situation between the DPRK and China, and now I am acting more and more recklessly.
"Before, they spread some strange words or argued with me on some trivial matters. But since this year, they have become more and more bold. Today, they even make such remarks that are related to the safety of Tokyo and the lives and deaths of countless people. They have used all major issues against me.”
After a pause, he suddenly looked at Tong Mu: "Do you think I was too kind to them? Except for killing Cai Jing and others at the beginning, I have almost never operated on anyone in the past two years, even if someone secretly always It’s just a small gesture, and I also
At most, there was only a slight beating, but no further punishment. "
Tong Mu was stunned, and after thinking about it carefully, his situation was actually similar to that of Sun Tu. Although on the surface he is in charge of the overall situation and does hold the power, in some details, his subordinates do act in a submissive manner, and this year it has become even more obvious.
After a moment, he gave a wry smile: "This is true. After all, you and I can't compare with them in terms of age and qualifications. Naturally, many veterans cannot be convinced. Also, the policy of removing ancient texts that we have been working hard to implement has obviously infringed on them. It is even less likely that these people would be of the same mind as us. If the military power were not in our hands now, I am afraid the situation would be even worse.
"There is another point that is the most critical, that is, they are sure that we will not really go to war and attack them. Because now we are in power, and what we need is a stable court... "
Sun Tu's eyes flashed and he murmured: "Yes, if you don't sit in this position, you can't understand how important stability is to a country. Only stability is the basis of everything. Whether it is people's livelihood or military affairs, everything must be done." Have a stable environment!" But then, his tone became serious again: "It seems that they have indeed spotted my mentality, so they are so unscrupulous and intensified, taking my tolerance as being easy to bully, thinking that they are Absolutely safe! Since they are so ungrateful and insist on being my enemy, it’s time to let them think back to what happened two years ago.”
It is said that two years ago, these so-called court officials were all like quails. No matter what Sun Tu asked for, they would only accept it. Why is this? Isn't it because the corpses and heads of Cai Jing and others were scattered there, and their blood was still flowing in the city, giving everyone enough deterrence? But now, their scars have healed and they have forgotten the pain, and they are ready to move again!
Starting from this incident, we have to give them a good look. No matter what, we must see blood and kill their majesty. This is not only for his own prestige, but also to open his eyes to the policy of abolishing ancient texts, which is full of resistance. Otherwise, the resistance behind will only become bigger and bigger.
"Lieutenant, aren't you afraid that this will cause turmoil in the court again, and even the civil servants will gather together to force the palace to cause trouble?" Tong Mu asked with some worry.
"What's there to be afraid of? I gave them a chance because I had too many worries before. It's really funny when I think about it now. Two years ago, we came in spite of the whole world's disapproval. What did they say? Today is different. Is it? At worst, we need to replace a group of people to serve in the imperial court. It's hard to find six-legged toads in this world, but there are plenty of two-legged people, and there are even more people who are waiting for the opportunity without talent than the crucian carp crossing the river!" At this moment, Sun Tu, the temperament on his body was completely different from before, no longer gloomy, like a sharp sword finally pulled out of its scabbard, which made Tong Mu even dare not look at him.
At the same time, this also made Tong Muhao angry: "Okay, let's fight these guys again. Two years ago, we were able to suppress them so much that they didn't even dare to fart, and we can do it today!" "
Just as he said this, a person suddenly rushed over from outside and shouted urgently: "Captain, what's wrong, Xu Shangshu, Xu Shangshu was suddenly surrounded and beaten and fainted just after leaving the imperial city..."
"What?" Even though Sun Tu had the demeanor of not changing his expression despite the collapse of a mountain, his expression suddenly changed at that moment, and he suddenly jumped up from his seat: "Who is this person? Is he really eating the heart of a bear and the courage of a leopard?"