The city is covered with red clouds and the sky is full of wind and snow.
As in previous years, Bianliang City was hit by wind and snow early this year after entering the winter months. The high places in the city were already covered in snow, and there were many snow accumulations on the long streets. Because of the severe cold weather, even the Bianliang River was covered with snow. There was a thin layer of ice on top.
In such a cold season, most of the people in the city stayed at home, and the once prosperous and lively Bianjing City became much deserted. But what is completely different from the desolation among the people is that there was a lively quarrel in the court because of someone at a certain time. Many civil servants, military generals, and dignitaries were involved in it. Even the current officials have a headache because of it. Until now, there has been no Can set a tone.
The howling north wind made the weather outside become colder and colder, but in the Privy Council Hall, it was as warm as spring. The several copper braziers burned smokeless animal charcoal that was as valuable as gold, making people feel like they were there. There is no way to tell what season it is now, just a single coat is enough.
But precisely because he was in such a warm environment, Tong Guan, who was full of firepower, became more and more irritable. After casually flipping through a few documents, he slapped the official document in his hand on the desk and loudly ordered: "Come here, take out the two braziers. Are you going to kill me from the heat?"
Everyone in the Privy Council knew that Privy Tong had been in a bad mood recently, so they had been serving him carefully. Upon hearing this order, several servants carefully opened the door and entered, and without any hesitation, they carried out three of the braziers. , after this series of actions, not a single sound was made.
Tong Guan didn't take this seriously. He picked up the tea cup and drank a few sips, still a little irritated, and then exhaled: "Now the crows in Yushitai are becoming more and more courageous. The eighth-grade junior officials dare to go to court for impeachment at will, and even want to involve their own officials, who gave them the courage!"
"And that Sun Tu, his courage is really incredible. Even I don't dare to slaughter local officials so unscrupulously. But he is good. He actually killed hundreds of Qingzhou officials in one go. He really thought he had established a With some credit, he can conquer two strongholds without any worries! He is also fighting against the Jurchens. Doesn’t he know that I have long wanted to join forces with the Jurchens? Once word of this spreads, there will be endless troubles!"
The more Tong Guanzhen thought about it, the more angry he became. Feeling that his mouth was dry, he slammed the empty cup in front of the door and shouted: "Where are the people? Where are they all dead? I can't see at all." No, are you going to die of thirst?"
In recent months, Tong Guan has been under considerable pressure in the court. Since Sun Tu ordered his people to kill the invading Jurchen bandits at Pingbaihu and Taohua mountain strongholds, and to eradicate all Qingzhou officials such as Murong Yanchao who "colluded with the bandits and plotted evil", the report was sent to Bianjing City. The calm court was like pouring a ladle of water into a boiling oil pan, and it completely exploded.
No one should take credit for the previous achievements, but the latter incident completely stirred up the hornet's nest of all civil servants. For a time, many people believed that Sun Tu had a rebellious heart, and if he did not kill him, he would be a disaster for the Song Dynasty. It has become so popular that memorials asking the emperor to kill Sun Tu are flying into the palace like snow flakes. The number is more than the total number of impeachments of Tong Guan in the past few years. It can be said that Sun Tu's behavior this time has completely created a new record. There has never been anyone below the fourth grade.
Officials have suffered so many impeachments. Even Wang Anshi and his ilk, who were publicly targeted by countless people because of his political reforms, are no more hated than him, a small sixth-grade governor of a state capital.
Liang Shicheng also took the opportunity to add fuel to the flames, mobilizing more forces from the DPRK and China to completely amplify the attack area, but he wanted to drag Tong Guan also into it, hoping to eliminate this enemy in the court.
Originally, Tong Guan no longer planned to protect Sun Tu when he caused such a big trouble. No matter how powerful he was, no matter how favored by the emperor, no matter how arrogant he was, he would not dare to antagonize the civil servants in the world. However, when he realized that retreating would put him in an even worse situation, Tong Guan had no choice but to stand up and defend Sun Tu.
But he was ultimately alone. Even though Cai Jing never expressed his stance, the verbal and written criticism from the civil servants of the entire dynasty was enough for him to deal with. If Tong Guan hadn't won the emperor's trust, I'm afraid that Sun Tu would have been captured by the imperial envoy and sent to Bianjing City for questioning and execution, or...
But even though Tong Guan tried his best and kept using Murong Yanchao's collusion with the bandits as a defense, he was almost unable to withstand the pressure today. Even the emperor, under the pressure of public opinion, became more and more suspicious of Sun Tu's true intentions, feeling that this person did have treacherous intentions.
In the past two days, Tong Guan had even thought about cutting off the strong man's arm. He even thought of impeaching Sun Tu for his evil intentions, which might also ensure his own safety. Only because he was worried that this would give Liang Shicheng an opportunity to take advantage of him, he delayed making the final decision.
It was precisely because there were so many troubles running through his mind that Privy Tong, who was used to seeing big storms, lost his calmness and sense of proportion, and appeared so irritable and even irritable in the Privy Council.
At this time, the door opened again. Someone has carefully stepped into the room and gently placed a refreshing drink on the desk: "Tong Shuai, please calm down, things can still turn around."
"Oh, it's Liangyu." Only then did Tong Guan realize that the person who brought the tea was not an ordinary servant but his close confidant Fang Qian. This made his face look a little better and his tone softened a lot: "You came just in time. I have something difficult to decide, and I would like to hear your opinion."
After saying that, without waiting for his staff to respond, he continued: "Now the whole court is attacking in groups, but those military attaches are too timid and afraid to say too much. Seeing that Sun Tu can't be saved. In your opinion, , should I leave, or should I follow everyone and impeach Sun Tu too?"
Fang Qian sighed softly. He knew that his boss no longer wanted to protect Sun Tu at this point, and was only thinking about how to ensure that his losses were minimized. Of course, this is understandable. No matter how talented Sun Tu is, no matter how successful he is, it will do more harm than good to Tong Guan now, so he should give up.
"Tong Shuai, if it were before today, your subordinates would definitely suggest that you use the unrest as an excuse to leave the Bianjing court. At least in this way, the official family can protect you. As for impeaching Sun Tu in turn, that's fine. No need, that will only make the world look down on Tong Shuai, which is extremely unwise."
Because he was so upset, Tong Guan didn't pay attention to the precondition in the other party's words. Hearing this, he nodded and said: "This is easy, just let people provoke the Xixia people on the northwest border, and then I will go If you ask for a fight, you can leave the court within half a month..."
Fang Qian smiled bitterly and could only speak more clearly: "Tong Shuai, I think things will change after today, so I don't have to wrong myself so much. At least it shouldn't be difficult to save Sun Tu."
"Huh? How do you say this?" Tong Guan was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that Fang Qian seemed to be relaxed at this time: "Did something happen again?"
"Tong Shuai, please look at this. This is the good news that was sent six hundred miles from Qingzhou half an hour ago. Sun Tu won another victory ten days ago and leveled Erlong Mountain. In this way, there will be no more danger in Qingzhou. There is no banditry, he has truly protected the country and the people, and his contribution is to the country." Fang Qian said, and handed over the battle report with both hands.
The reason why Fang Qian brought tea in was not because he wanted to help the servants below, but because he happened to have to report this critical situation, so he took the tea and entered the public house alone.
Tong Guan frowned in confusion, and after taking the victory report, he flipped through it without taking it seriously: "What's the use of this? Didn't he already defeat two fortresses in a row before? ? But how can this credit be offset by his serious crime of killing imperial officials? Even if Erlong Mountain is said to be large in scale and one of the best among the many bandit villages in Shandong, it can’t be considered a big credit, right? "
Tong Guan did have the confidence to voice such doubts. For a man who had led his army to fight against the Xixia people many times in the northwest and had made many great achievements, a few battles to annihilate the bandits in a certain place really didn't count. What.
Fang Qian also understood what he was thinking, and nodded: "What Tong Shuai said is true. Of course, annihilating one cottage is not a big achievement, but this is the last cottage in Qingzhou, so it is another matter. Moreover, the previous ones All these strongholds were defeated by Sun Tu after he took office, which is particularly commendable. It can be said that Sun Tu was dedicated to serving the public good and had no selfish motives, let alone any ulterior motives."
"Well..." Tong Guan was also one of the people who got into many fights in the court. Just now, he was just too irritated to understand the deeper meaning. But now after listening to Fang Qian's guidance, he slowly began to wake up. Coming: "Since the whole territory of Qingzhou is at peace, it proves that Sun Tu has never had any other selfish motives. He just wants to fulfill his duties as the governor of Qingzhou."
"Yes, otherwise if he is selfish, the most important thing he should do at this time is to keep Erlong Mountain to support the bandits' self-respect. In that case, the court may have concerns and need to keep him to guard Qingzhou." Fang Qian said in agreement.
Then, he smiled again: "Since it can be concluded that Sun Tu has no selfish motives at all, and is only dedicated to serving the public, he is a loyal minister of our Great Song Dynasty. In contrast, Murong Yanchao and others are treacherous and selfish, and even He has rebellious intentions."
"Yes, it seems that Sun Tu's killing of them this time was not only useless, but also effective!" Tong Guan suddenly felt happy, and then he understood why Fang Qian came so eagerly to report the victory after getting it. . At that moment, he could no longer sit still and stood up: "Without further delay, I will go to the palace to meet with the officials. I must not let the loyal ministers be wronged and let the conspiracy of some evil villains succeed!"
While he was talking, he no longer cared about the constant wind and snow outside. He strode to the door, opened the door and walked out...