Tong Guan's sudden visit to the palace and his various methods of excusing Sun Tu were soon known to the Grand Tutor Liang Shicheng, who was also an eunuch. But at this time, it was too late for him to take countermeasures, especially after knowing Zhao Ji's final reaction, he knew that the situation was not good, and he could only contact Gao Qiu, who was on the same front, to find a way to deal with it.
Originally, it was impossible for the two powerful ministers of the two dynasties to surrender their status and go to war for a mere sixth-grade military attache, but now they both couldn't care less about it. The thorn in Sun Tu's side could not be eradicated, which not only made it difficult for them to solve the problem. The hatred in their hearts is a challenge to their prestige. So that afternoon, the court officials related to the two men received an order to impeach Sun Tu at all costs.
By the time of the court meeting the next day, hundreds of courtiers were ready to attack with ammunition and ammunition in their arms. They only waited for the official's permission to attack together. However, all these arrangements were completely shattered shortly after the court meeting began.
Because when Zhao Ji asked his ministers to wait for their words, Tong Guan was the first to stand up and make public the successful report of Qingzhou sent by Sun Tu. Then he congratulated loudly: "I congratulate your majesty and congratulate me, the Song Dynasty! The former served in Qingzhou several times. The prefect and the governor spent more than ten years and countless money and food failed to quell the rebellion of bandits in the three mountains in the territory. The new governor of Qingzhou, Sun Tu, finally quelled them all without spending a single soldier or food from the court. He is indeed a model for local military attachés. Your Majesty To have such outstanding and capable soldiers is a great blessing to our Song Dynasty!"
Zhao Ji also laughed happily at this time: "What Tong Qing said is true. Since I came to the throne, I have known that bandits have been incessant in our Song Dynasty, especially in Shandong Province. The imperial court has repeatedly urged local officials to eliminate The thieves have brought peace to the people, but it has not been effective. This time Sun Tu, the governor of Qingzhou, has done a great job in eliminating thieves for the country and sharing my worries. How do the Privy Council, the Ministry of War, and other bureaus think such meritorious service should be rewarded?"
As soon as the emperor said these words, the actions of the officials who were about to move suddenly froze. They really didn't expect that Sun Tu would level Erlong Mountain again in a short period of time, so that Qingzhou would no longer have bandits. This contribution is indeed not small.
Even Gao Qiu and Liang Shicheng were stunned for a moment, unable to understand what Sun Tu did. He actually fought so hard even though he knew that the court would convict him. Didn't he think that there would be a result where the bird was gone and the bow was hidden? Didn't he ever think of ways to support the bandits in their self-respect
Tong Guan had been paying attention to the changes in the expressions of Liang Shicheng and Liang Shicheng. When he saw this, he raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said: "Your Majesty, I have already discussed this matter with the Ministry of War. Regarding the success of pacifying the thieves, Sun Tu will naturally He will be heavily rewarded. However, because he had acted recklessly before and killed local officials for the sake of stability in Qingzhou, this move was indeed very inappropriate and was criticized by the government and the public. Therefore, I think this can be regarded as a meritorious service for him, and it is neither There will be no reward or punishment, and the military will be clear to the world, so that the people of the world will know that Your Majesty is just and wise."
Zhao Ji glanced at him with a smile, and then glanced at the ministers who were still silent at this time: "My dear friends, do you think this is appropriate?"
It was said that he was seeking the opinions of the ministers, but just by looking at his smiling and satisfied look, everyone knew what the emperor was thinking. At this time, who dares to stand up rashly to discredit the official family? After all, Sun Tu is just a small sixth-grade military attache in the final analysis, and it is absolutely impossible to threaten the imperial court present.
An important minister.
Even Liang Shicheng and Gao Qiu were a little hesitant at this time. One side was their own face, the other side was the emperor's holy will. It was hard for them to choose. If it were an ordinary official, he would really dare to stand up and play against the emperor at this time. However, these two people relied on the Holy Family and did not dare to take such a risk.
At this time, a slightly rickety figure slowly walked out of the court, and said slowly in an old voice: "Official sage, this is indeed the most appropriate approach. From the fact that Sun Tu was able to quickly pacify Erlong Mountain this time, we know that he is not only A rare good general in the imperial court, he was also a loyal minister. From this point of view, he must have had difficulties in acting recklessly before. Perhaps as he wrote in his memorial, it was because Murong Yanchao and others had threatened the stability of Qingzhou, and he He had to make an exception. The right way is to accept the order of the foreign monarch and obey the authority in urgent matters. Although his behavior is questionable, it is also excusable. If you add in the merits achieved this time, the merits If the fault is offset, there is no need to hold him accountable."
Following his statement, all the officials in the palace took back their actions. Grand Master Cai began to speak for Sun Tu, believing that his merits and demerits were equal to each other. Anyone who dared to question him again would be the enemy of Grand Master. This was a big figure that no one in the civil and military dynasties dared to offend. Sometimes he was even more powerful than the emperor.
No matter how unwilling they were, Liang Shicheng and Gao Qiu could only give up bitterly. They lost this time, and the loss was ugly. Not only did they lose Qingzhou and Murong Yanchao, whom they had trained for many years, but they also completely ruined their own face. I am afraid that for a long time in the future, people in the court will think that they are weaker than Tong Guan, and that the sixth-grade Qingzhou Governor Sun Tu is beyond the control of both of their powerful officials.
Contrary to them, Zhao Ji was in a very good mood: "The grand master is indeed worthy of me as a veteran in the court, and he sees things thoroughly. Then according to what you said, Sun Tu's case will not be investigated, and the merits and demerits will be equal. In addition, Qingzhou The officers and soldiers have to be rewarded for their continuous efforts in defeating thieves. The Ministry of Finance has considered rewarding some silks and property and will send them over soon. I hope that the soldiers and horses in other states in the Song Dynasty can be like Qingzhou and pacify it as soon as possible. Only in this way can the local bandits and bandits no longer have any worries during the Northern Expedition, and can the Sixteen Youyun Provinces be recovered as soon as possible!"
"Your Majesty is wise, the Privy Council will go down to the various states in the hope that the bandits can be pacified as soon as possible and the world of Song Dynasty can be restored to peace!" Tong Guan reacted quickly and immediately stepped forward to express his position. Subsequently, other ministers also followed suit, and the emperor and his ministers were united and the atmosphere was harmonious.
After returning to the Privy Council after the end of the day, Tong Guan finally swept away the gloomy atmosphere he had felt for many days. After meeting Fang Qian, he happily patted his shoulder: "Liangyu has indeed experienced extraordinary things. This time, everything is as you expected. In the past. I guess some people are almost unable to hold their heads up in court now. As long as the errands that the saint needs to see are done beautifully next year, my long-cherished wish will be fulfilled in one day!" After saying this, he laughed. stand up.
"I don't dare to be greedy for merit. It's all thanks to Tong Shuai that you have won His Majesty's trust." Fang Qian hurriedly flattered, and then reminded: "Since the imperial court has this intention, Tong Shuai should have done it earlier. That's the plan. The news should be passed to Qingzhou as soon as possible, so that Sun Tu can feel grateful and serve Tong Shuai wholeheartedly from now on. Judging from the repeated victories in Jiangzhou and Qingzhou, Sun Tu is very good at training and using troops. Maybe I will become Tong Shuai by your side in the future.
What a big help. "
"Well, what you said is true. Although the Western Army has a good relationship with me, they are not directly related to me after all. If Sun Tu really has some ability..." After thinking for a moment, Tong Guan nodded and said: "Then you can give me the gift in my name." Let him write a letter. In addition, give him three thousand taels of gold. It is impossible for the court to reward him for his military exploits, so let me reward him. This will also prevent him from reaching out to the army and taking away what should be distributed to Qingzhou. A reward from the officers and soldiers.”
"Tong Shuai is wise. I think Sun Tu will burst into tears once he knows that Tong Shuai has worked so hard." Fang Qian also looked at him with some admiration, and then hurried to get down to business.
￥￥￥￥￥
Eight days later, Qingzhou City.
Naturally, the reward from the imperial court cannot be delivered so quickly. With the current efficiency of the officialdom of the Song Dynasty, I am afraid that this reward will have to wait until the spring of next year. But the messenger sent by Tong Guan delivered his letter and the three thousand taels of gold to Sun Tu at an extremely fast speed.
For such a result, not to mention Huang Wenbing and the others, even Sun Tu was slightly surprised. In fact, he didn't think much about it before. It was just that he couldn't swallow the sigh of being ambushed before, and he didn't want to leave any regrets here, so he sent troops to attack Erlong Mountain desperately.
Originally, he had prepared for the worst and was preparing to deal with the court, but now he was pleasantly surprised. Although this letter contained many intentions of blaming him for his boldness, Sun Tu could also see that his risk of killing all the officials in Qingzhou City was over.
"Huh..." It was not only Sun Tu who breathed a sigh of relief, but also the subordinates in front of him. In fact, after returning from Erlong Mountain, these people appeared to be very happy on the surface, but they were still nervous in their hearts.
"Brother Huang, maybe you feel at ease now?" Sun Tu asked with a smile after taking the letter from Huang Wenbing.
Huang Wenbing could only respond with a wry smile: "Having said that, I still feel that your previous behavior was too reckless. In fact..."
"Okay, there is no need to mention the past things. Next, we have to take a long-term view. Since the court is no longer pursuing this matter, it means that we have recognized our temporary management of Qingzhou's civil and military affairs. I believe that our successor will be in a short time. It will not come..." This is true. With the lessons learned by Murong Yanchao and others, even if the court now appoints new relevant officials below the Qingzhou prefecture, they will not dare to take up the posts at will. After all, Sun Tu is too strong and has many methods. It's a little too cruel.
As he said that, Sun Tu looked at Huang Wenbing and said: "We are all warriors. We can manage the army well, but it is far from enough to manage the people. So from now on, Brother Huang, you will temporarily assume the power of the prefect of Qingzhou. You can't let the people in the territory." The people have messed up the rules.”
As soon as these words came out, Huang Wenbing was startled, and then became a little excited. When he followed Sun Tu before, he just wanted to gain a decent background. Although he went through a lot of hardships and almost lost his life, he never expected that the benefits would come so big and so quickly. Even though he was only a temporary magistrate and had not been recognized by the court, he believed that as long as he could handle his errands well, the court would be able to hand over this position to him smoothly. This was something that many scholars who came from imperial examinations achieved in their lifetime. It's not that high.
This time, Huang Wenbing was truly convinced of Sun Tu and burst into tears of gratitude.