There is a saying that some families are happy and some are sad. While Sun Tu was proud of his victory and gained both fame and wealth, his opponent, the Liao envoy, said goodbye and left Tokyo with some loneliness.
Of course, many of these people felt indignant because of their final defeat at the hands of the Song people, but Yelujian was not among them. Even before leaving Tokyo, he specially asked someone to give Sun Tu a gift. Gifts and letters, wishing him an early promotion and becoming a pillar of the Song Dynasty. As an important minister of the Liao Kingdom, he would never be depressed because of a minor defeat with military power in his hands.
The only thing that made him feel unwilling was that he could not recruit a talent like Sun Tu to his staff. So when he led his people to leave Tokyo and traveled more than ten miles, he suddenly stopped his horse and turned around. He glanced at the majestic capital of the Song Dynasty from a distance and secretly swore in his heart: "One day, I, Yelu Dashi, will be the leader of the Song Dynasty." Return to Tokyo. Until then, I will make this city full of soldiers and civilians crawl at my feet and become my obedient citizens of Daliao!"
The so-called Yelu Jian is just a false identity to hide his identity from others. His true identity is that he is the most versatile civil and military scholar in the Liao Dynasty. He is the only Khitan who has passed the Jinshi examination and the most trusted military commander of the Liao Xingjun, Yelu. Dashi, known as Dashi Linya in the court!
If Sun Tu had revealed his identity early and known the role he played in the Song-Liao War a few years later, he would probably have killed him without hesitation to avoid future troubles. It's a pity that Sun Tu didn't know this at this time. As he was explaining his experience to his master in front of Zhou Tong, he suddenly turned around as if he had realized something, and looked deeply to the north, meeting Yelu. The eyes of Oishi, his future opponent, collided in the air.
Before Zhou Tong in front of him could say anything, Zhou Xiuwan, who was also listening in fascination, said eagerly: "What's next, senior brother, why did you stop mid-sentence? Did you lead the people to defeat the Liao people? "
"Oh..." Sun Tu then turned around, smiled apologetically at the two of them, and continued to finish what he had to say: "Finally, my disciple did not embarrass you, Master, and won a victory for me, the Song Dynasty."
These words provoked a burst of cheers from Zhou Xiuwan, and then she hugged Ya'er who was next to her with a proud smile on her face: "Ya'er, your third brother is really awesome, if only I had a brother like him. "
Ya'er's face turned red and she quickly said: "Wan'er and I are like sisters, so naturally my third brother is your brother." These words made Zhou Xiuwan very happy, but also made Zhou Tong a little embarrassed. Zhou Xiuwan is his granddaughter, but Sun Tu is his apprentice. With this comparison, everyone's seniority is completely messed up.
Fortunately, the two little girls quickly came up with other ideas and ran to the side to talk in a low voice. Only then did he return his attention to Sun Tu: "You haven't been here to see me for a long time. I don't know. Are you neglecting your martial arts skills?"
"Disciples don't dare to slack off. They always set aside two hours every day to practice martial arts."
"There is no basis for what you say, so let's go through a few moves with my master first." Zhou Tong stood up as he spoke, and when he came to the yard, he put on a posture for Sun Tu to attack. Sun Tu didn't dare to neglect, and immediately got up his nerves, wandering around while looking for possible flaws in the other party.
Zhou Tong moved his steps, and sure enough, there was a flaw on the left side. Sun Tu had already rushed forward with a single lunge, and with his left hand making a fist, he struck directly at the flaw under the master's ribs like lightning. And just when Zhou Tong quickly lowered his arm to parry this move, his right hand had already struck the opponent's face late and first. This was Sun Tu's real killing move.
"Okay!" But this move was still expected by Zhou Tong. He took a step diagonally backward and easily dodged it. At the same time, he gave instructions: "You are fast when you move, but before that, It’s still easy to be seen through the focused gaze, but this habit needs to be changed.”
Sun Tu gave a low response, immediately rolled over and got up again. With the sound of wind blowing from his fists and legs, he greeted his master without showing any mercy. But even though he went all out and moved fiercely, he still couldn't pose the slightest threat to Zhou Tong. In the end, after attacking more than twenty moves in a row, he finally lost strength and the moves were interrupted. Zhou Tong immediately seized this opportunity, and suddenly pressed his palm gently on Sun Tu's chest, pushing him staggering back, and he stopped walking only ten feet away.
"Well, the Liuding Kaishan Fist you used just now is quite good. You can actually master all the moves and use them for your own purposes without being limited by the coherence between the moves. You have indeed worked hard. But you have worked hard. In the end, my fist and kick skills still have a bit of murderous intention, and I can't let go of it, so I ended up falling behind. You have to think about it carefully." At this time, Zhou Tong slowly asked some of Sun Tu's questions just now.
Sun Tu was stunned when he heard this: "Isn't martial arts used to defeat the enemy? Why is it not good for me to have murderous intent?"
"You have the intention to kill, but your heart should be like a bright mirror. Don't let this mess up your mind. It is said that a general should have a thunder in his chest and a face as flat as a lake. But if we want to reach the highest level in martial arts, we must do the opposite, and have a face like thunder. And your heart is like a calm lake. Only in this way can you anticipate the enemy's opportunities and defeat them!"
After listening to Zhou Tong's instructions, Sun Tu suddenly fell into deep thought. After a while, he raised his head and said: "Disciple, I have been taught. I was really too pretentious in the past, and I did violate the taboo of learning martial arts."
Zhou Tong saw that he had indeed understood the true meaning of his words, so he stroked his beard with satisfaction and said with a smile: "Your understanding is indeed very high. Often I can understand it with just a few hints, but it's a pity... you can't fully focus on it." You must learn martial arts, otherwise you can truly inherit my mantle." He sighed and shook his head repeatedly.
Sun Tu did not answer the other party's words at this time, but smiled apologetically at his master. Indeed, he did not devote himself wholeheartedly to practicing martial arts, because he did not consider himself to be a martial artist. Learning martial arts is just to increase his own leverage. For him, seeking a higher power is the most important thing in this life.
After all, reality is not a martial arts novel, and one cannot be free and fearless with martial arts skills. Only by holding great power and becoming an important minister of the court can he truly control his own destiny.
Zhou Tong also understood Sun Tu's ambition, so he didn't impose too much. After sighing for a few words, he asked Sun Tu to get a stick and start sparring with him, and gave him guidance.
Throughout the whole day, Sun Tu stayed with Zhou Tong and practiced hard. It was not until dark that he took Ya'er back to his home after dinner.
But when they came to their alley, they found that there was actually
A carriage stopped, and there were several people dressed as slaves of wealthy families guarding there. As soon as they saw them coming back, several people hurriedly greeted them: "Guan Sun really made it easy for the young people to wait." Although the words were As he said this, there was no hint of complaint in his tone.
Sun Tu glanced at the lantern beside the car and saw the big character "Tong", and asked curiously: "Tong Shuai Wei summoned the officials at night and I don't know why?"
"My master asked me to go to the police station to find an official in the afternoon, but they said you were away for something, so we can only wait here." The leader of the slaves said with a wry smile: "But the master said, I must ask the official to meet you at my house today, so..."
Upon hearing this, Sun Tu quickly apologized and took Ya'er home. After washing up briefly and changing into clean clothes, he got into the carriage they prepared for him and headed towards Tong's house. Speaking of which, the treatment he received today was truly extraordinary. In the past, Tong Guan had not specially sent someone to pick him up in a carriage.
When they arrived at Tong Mansion, Sun Tu was taken to Tong Guan's study without waiting. As soon as the latter saw him, he smiled and said: "Qianli, you really made it easy for me to wait."
"Tong Shuai, please forgive me. I really didn't know that you would come to summon me today, so I went to the north of the city to learn martial arts." Sun Tu quickly handed over his hand and apologized.
"Oh? Qianli, you are already very good at martial arts, why do you still want to become a disciple? It's really admirable." Tong Guan smiled, but did not delve into the matter. After all, in his capacity, he has long been interested in martial arts. Don't worry about it.
After the servants brought the introduction to the tea soup and the two of them exchanged brief greetings, Tong Guan slowly brought the topic to the right track: "Qianli, you have made many contributions to the court in the past few days, whether it is Pofenyanzi or the others. Okay, I still defeated the Liao people in the Cuju field, and I rescued Ambassador Chen in the Liao embassy. Although some people deliberately concealed these things, most people in the DPRK still saw it, and the officials also saw it. I understand. Your contribution is indeed not small."
"Tong Shuai is so complimentary. This is what a lower official should do. Since I am a minister of the Song Dynasty, it is my duty to be loyal to the emperor by eating the emperor's salary." Sun Tu looked calm on the surface, and his answers were quite appropriate, but in fact, his I was already feeling a little excited.
Why did Tong Guanhui suddenly summon him and specially ask people to guard him in front of his house, and now he said these words of praise? Obviously, this is to promote yourself.
Tong Guan was quite satisfied with Sun Tu's answer, so he nodded and said: "Although what you said is reasonable, the imperial court can't let the people of the world feel cold if they don't reward their merits. This time, the officials made a decree to let me The Privy Council is considering promoting you, so I naturally want to listen to your own wishes. I still remember that you proposed to me that you wanted to command and train troops?"
"Exactly, Xianguan had this ambition when he was young. Later, he read several military books and felt that our army in the Song Dynasty was weak, so..." Sun Tu suddenly became nervous. This was exactly what he had been suffering from. The opportunity you have been waiting for.
"Since you were able to defeat the Liao team with eight people this time, I am really looking forward to seeing your performance when you command the troops." At this point, Tong Guan suddenly paused and said with a twinkle in his eye. : "But before that, I have to ask you a few questions. You have to think carefully before answering."