On the second day of February, the dragon raises its head. Jeju Fucheng, Xiangjun military camp.
After leading his army to defeat the Liangshan bandits, Sun Tu did not return to Qingzhou immediately, but stayed in Jeju City temporarily. As for the reasons, one is that the road is difficult to travel. Even the official road was mostly covered by heavy snow before. Sometimes it was impossible to find the road at all. When you came, you might have taken the risk to save Zhujiazhuang, but there was no need to go back.
The two were Gu Tongzhou's warm invitations and retentions. He kept saying that he hoped that Sun Dujian would teach and train the Xiang soldiers and horses in Jeju City, so that these local soldiers and horses could be stronger and protect the environment and the people.
Originally, Sun Tu wanted to make good friends with soldiers and horses from all walks of life in Shandong. Since the other party invited them so kindly, he naturally would not refuse too much, so he went back to report the victory with others, while he took more than two hundred people with him. The elite stayed in Jeju, watching the drills of the Jeju Army, while allowing the soldiers to rest and recuperate here, at least to heal all the injuries and illnesses caused by the battle.
In order to befriend Sun Tu, Gu Tongzhou really spent a lot of effort this time. Not only did he greet Sun Tu with smiles all day long, he kept inviting Sun Tu to large and small banquets. He also did not dare to show any slights to the more than two hundred Qingzhou soldiers. Every day The food and drink expenses were the best, and famous doctors in the city were invited to diagnose and treat the injured. It was unprecedented for a civil servant to do this to the military attachés and soldiers who had previously looked down upon them.
In this regard, although some people within the Jeju Army are dissatisfied from time to time, there is nothing they can do. After all, Sun Tu had indeed accomplished something they had not been able to do for many years this time. Only two to three hundred Qingzhou elites were worth one or two thousand Xiang troops. And they do admire Sun Tu and the Qingzhou Army, and they all hope that one day they can kill enemies and make meritorious deeds like them, and be respected by the people in the city.
Unfortunately, this wish would not come true at least in the short term, because they even neglected their daily drills, and it was just a joke in the eyes of Sun Tu and the generals of the Qingzhou Army. At this moment, looking at the soldiers who were laxly lined up and lacked energy even to hold weapons, Sun Tu couldn't help but frown: "Zhou Dujian, it's been seven or eight days, and the soldiers are still slack. Very well, what progress can be made by practicing like this?"
Jeju Governor Zhou Fan felt unhappy for a while, but said with a wry smile on his face: "Doctor Sun, please calm down, our Jeju soldiers are indeed slacking off because they don't even have food to eat on weekdays. And these days Everyone here has practiced too much, and the brothers are also tired, so... "
Sun Tu sighed helplessly. The root causes of the weakness of the Song Dynasty Xiang Army were actually on the surface, but no one tried to solve it. This is true for Jeju, and it's the same for Jiangzhou. After all, I'm not the local governor, so it's really hard for me to have too much control. Even if Gu Tongzhou invited him to train the Xiang army this time, the situation didn't seem to have improved much.
These more than a thousand soldiers are deducted from their military pay at all levels on weekdays, and even food and clothing are a problem. How can they devote themselves to training? And if I don’t have enough to eat, I don’t even have the energy to practice well. In fact, they all know these problems well, but those who are officials and generals are unwilling to solve them for their own selfish reasons.
After exhaling a breath of turbidity, Sun Tucai shook his head and said: "In that case, it doesn't matter if this soldier is not trained. I can do it in the Qingzhou Army."
No matter what they are asked to do, they can do it without any compromise, but they can't see any spirit of the army here. No wonder bandits are rampant here, and even the government is helpless. "
After saying these words, Sun Tu turned around and left regardless of Zhou Fan's ugly expression. Lin Chong and Lu Da who left with him also had disdain on their faces. They didn't realize anything when they were in the Qingzhou Army before. It wasn't until they saw the situation of the Jeju Army that they realized how rare what Sun Tu had done was.
It not only fed and clothed the soldiers, but also gave them self-esteem and honor. And every time after the war, Sun Tu was selfless, distributing almost all the captured property and rewards from the court, and he hardly withheld any of it himself. Take this time for example, when Gu Tongzhou led his people to send the rewarded money, silk and food to Zhujiazhuang, except for leaving a part for Zhujiazhuang who wanted to rebuild his home, Sun Tu gave it all to the soldiers below.
It was precisely because of Sun Tu's actions that the thousands of Qingzhou Army officers and soldiers under his command were devoted to him, and they followed his orders and prohibitions. They did not avoid life and death whenever they fought with the enemy, and they displayed strong combat effectiveness in every battle. In Ruda's view, the Qingzhou Army's combat strength is now almost catching up with the Song Dynasty's border army.
However, Sun Tu was obviously dissatisfied that only his own army was strong, so after coming out of the military camp, he went to the government office to see Gu Tongzhou, hoping to make him make some decisions that would benefit the Xiang army. Obviously it's not that simple. Magistrate Gu has already shied away from it several times before, both covertly and overtly.
After all, Jeju is different from Qingzhou, which was massacred by Sun Tu in the past. The relevant interest groups here are too large and intertwined. Not to mention that Gu Tongzhou is one of them. Even an outsider does not dare to bring down the hundreds of people from all over the state. The stakeholders were offended. Moreover, he is only a civil servant, and whether the Xiang army is strong or not actually has little to do with him.
But even so, Sun Tu still wanted to try his best to at least prevent himself from regretting. So before leaving here, he came to see Gu Tongzhou again, hoping to talk things through with him.
Just like the previous times, Magistrate Gu quickly met him in the public room of the second hall, but his attitude was more polite than the previous two days: "Sun Dujian, you are here at the right time, my officer. I really have something to discuss with you."
"Oh? What's the matter?" Seeing what he said, Sun Tu was not in a hurry to mention his own matters first, otherwise once the other party tried to shirk the situation, the two sides would argue again and become unhappy.
"Didn't the Governor mentioned before that we would unite the troops of the various states in Shandong? I and the Governor jointly sent letters to the state governments inviting them to come to Jeju. Today I finally got a response."
"Oh? Then how did the officials from various states respond?" Sun Tu said a little hopelessly. There was a third reason why he stayed in Jeju in the first place, which was to have a good meeting with the military commanders of the various states in Shandong.
If we set the location in Cheongju, it would appear that we are too strong and might arouse the dissatisfaction of others, so we decided to set it in Jeju, which is more acceptable to others. It's just that it's been some time since these official letters were sent out, and he didn't see any response from those people, so he gave up. It seems that those places
The official had absolutely no intention of cooperating with him, so now he has already become cold-hearted and has never thought about it again.
But to his surprise, Gu Tongzhou smiled at this time: "I just got the news that officials from Dengzhou, Laizhou, Yizhou and other places will each lead a troop to Jezhou to respond to what Sun Dujian said before. The strategy proposed is to unite the troops and horses from all areas in Shandong to fight against the bandits in the territory."
"Huh?" Even Sun Tu was a little moved at this time: "Do the officials from these states really have this idea?"
"I don't dare to talk nonsense about such a big thing. This is the document they just sent early this morning. I think someone will arrive within three to five days. This time Sun Dujian orders the soldiers and horses of all states, the days of peace in our Shandong territory should not be It's too far." Gu Tongzhou said excitedly and took out a few official documents.
Sun Tu hurriedly took it and looked at it quickly, his face full of joy: "I really can't believe that they can understand the righteousness so well. It seems that I have a villainous heart."
"Hey, why did Sun Dujian say this? You are a great hero in our Shandong territory. This is not only what I said, but also recognized by the imperial court." Taking this opportunity, Gu Tongzhou flattered him again, and then He smiled and said: "In addition, I would also like to congratulate Sun Dujian. Just a few days ago, the imperial court has decided to reward you greatly. You will be promoted to the rank of Yuhou, the capital of the fifth rank palace, and will be responsible for the dispatch of the soldiers and horses of Jingdong Road. . Sun Dujian, you have killed countless enemies in this battle for the country, so the imperial court will naturally reward you well."
Sun Tu was stunned for a moment when he said this, and then he laughed knowingly. No wonder Magistrate Gu's attitude today is much better than before. No wonder those state officials suddenly made a 180-degree change. It turns out that everything is because of this.
Because they were about to be promoted and become the most powerful soldier in Shandong, they were so obedient. Because as long as he takes office, he can order the military attaches from all over the world to come to see him without consulting them.
Regardless of the official title of Dujian, the power of the Dujian along the way is not a little bit more powerful than that of the Dujian of a state. As long as this matter is true, he has the power to command the troops and horses of more than ten states in the territory, and he can even When it comes to dealing with those governor generals, as long as there is a justifiable reason, killing them is not a big deal.
After thinking about all this, Sun Tu felt proud and said with a smile: "In this way, it is really good news. I used to feel powerless because of the weak troops and horses in various places in Shandong. Then I will You must perform your duties well to live up to the court's kindness."
A solemn aura suddenly rose from Sun Tu's body, which actually made Gu Tongzhou's heart feel cold. At this time, he could only laugh and say: "It is really our luck to Shandong, and even more so to the Song Dynasty, that Sun Dujian has such a heart to serve the country."
"That's easy to say. By the way, the troops of the Jeju Prefecture are too careless in their drills on weekdays. I think they should be rectified. I hope Magistrate Gu can help and support them."
"That's natural." Gu Tongzhou felt annoyed in his heart, but he didn't dare to show it on his face. At the same time, he sneered: "Do you really think this is a good thing? Hard things are easy to break. If you are so arrogant, I'm afraid you won't last long... "