After Sun Tu welcomed the guests into the room, screened away the others, and left one of the two attendants to guard behind the closed door, the old man naturally sat on the top seat, and Sun Tu didn't have the slightest objection to this. He stood down and saluted respectfully: "I have met Tong Shuai. I didn't know you were visiting today, otherwise I should have led people out of the city to greet you."
This old man who suddenly came was none other than Sun Tu’s benefactor, now one of the most important ministers in the Song Dynasty, Privy Councilor Tong Guan! Only he could make Sun Tu pay so much attention and be so polite. After all, his achievements today were largely due to Tong Guan's support and protection.
Tong Guan smiled faintly at him and pointed to the seat below: "You don't have to be polite for thousands of miles. If you have anything to say, sit down and say it slowly." When Sun Tu sat down as he was told, he looked at the other person and said, "Old man I heard that you have done something big recently, and even got married. Everything is going well, and you are very proud of yourself. I didn't know you were married until I came here, otherwise I should have prepared a big gift for you. "
"Shuai Tong said something serious, trivial matters are not worth mentioning."
"Hey, getting married is a big event, and even better. Now that I know it, how can I not congratulate you?" Tong Guan chuckled and waved to the person behind him, and the personal guard came out of his arms. He took out a wooden box and held it in front of Sun Tu.
Sun Tu didn't refuse, he quickly took it with both hands, thanked him, opened the lid, and then his expression changed. What is placed in this box is actually a box full of high-grade pearls as thick as a thumb. I am afraid each pearl is worth hundreds or even thousands of pearls. There are only twenty or thirty pearls in this box, which is tens of thousands of pearls. The gift made him dare not accept it. Although he also received a lot of benefits from officials from various parties during this period, together, they are probably not as valuable as this box of pearls.
Tong Guan saw that he wanted to refuse, so he waved his hand and said, "Just accept what I gave you. A mere tens of thousands of guan is nothing."
"Then I would like to thank Tong Shuai for this gift." Sun Tu was also very decisive and closed the lid again. At this time, a servant brought tea, and Sun Tu personally went to the door to receive it and delivered it to Tong Guan. Tong Guan was a little thirsty at this time, so he reached for the tea cup and took a sip. After a while, he looked at the tea soup in the cup with something strange. It was not the dark brown tea soup with strong flavor that he was used to drinking, but a piece of green tea. This made him look at Sun Tu strangely. : "Qianli here only drinks this kind of tea instead of tea soup?"
After Sun asked this question, he remembered that there was a big difference between the popular tea soup in this era and the tea he was used to drinking. In the past, whether in Tokyo or Jiangzhou and other places, the tea soup he drank was mostly mixed with many seasonings and had a weird taste. Only ordinary people would drink clear tea because of their poverty. . But since Sun Tu became the master in Qingzhou, due to his influence, the drinks in various yamen are now replaced by tea, which he has really ignored.
Now that Tong Guan arrived, the people below also served tea as usual. Seeing that the other party seemed to be dissatisfied, Sun Tu quickly apologized and said: "This is the tea that the official is accustomed to drinking, so he established a new tea here." The rules. I will ask someone to bring tea soup..."
"No need. Although this tea tastes bland, it has more aftertaste. It is very thirst-quenching, which is what I like." Tong Guan waved his hand and said, "Maybe when I go back, I will also let the following people People in the house often use simple methods like this to make tea." After a pause, he looked at Sun Tu meaningfully: "It's okay to be unconventional in some small things, but if you just let your temperament go in some big things, That’s ignorance!”
As soon as these words came out, Tong Guan's face darkened, and Sun Tu also felt a chill in his heart, knowing that the other party was finally getting to the point. After all, Tong Guan was the privy envoy of the Song Dynasty, but he was one of the most important ministers in the court. How could he come to a small place like Qingzhou to chat with him for no reason. There must be something important for him to come here!
"Qianli, after I arrived in Shandong, I heard that you wanted to help the Xiang army take back the right to regulate military pay and rations. Is this true?" Tong Guan put down his cup and asked with his eyes fixed on Sun Tu's face.
Sun Tu hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said: "Xiaoguan does have this idea, because otherwise, our Shandong army would not be able to become truly powerful..."
"Confused!" Before Sun Tu could finish what he said, Tong Guan's face darkened and he scolded in a deep voice: "How dare you have such an idea? Do you know how much trouble this will bring to yourself? Once it happens, If you do this, I am afraid that within a few months, you will be the target of public criticism. Not only will your official position be difficult to save, but even your life may not be saved!"
This sudden rebuke made Sun Tu stunned. He really didn't expect that Tong Guan would be so angry because of this. And judging from the other party's performance, it was probably because of this that he came to Qingzhou...
Tong Guan's face was so gloomy that it could drip water, and he continued: "You have been an official in the court for some years. Don't you know how strict the Song Dynasty is to military generals? In order to prevent military generals from various places from assuming power, The imperial court used various means to seize the power in their hands. The most important one was the division of military rations and salaries. Almost all generals did not have the power to control food and salary when they were not at war. You actually want to make special arrangements in Shandong? Do you think that all the officials in the court are blind and deaf and will let you do whatever you want?"
"But Xiaguan didn't do all this for any other reason. He just wanted to strengthen our Shandong Xiang army. Otherwise, how could we guard the place and quell the rebellion? Moreover, in the past six months, Xiaguan has been practicing this method in Qingzhou, and everything went smoothly... "
"Hmph, how can the mere thousands of troops and horses in Qingzhou be compared with the tens of thousands of troops in the whole of Shandong? If you really succeed, I'm afraid you will only be more of a threat to the court than those thieves and bandits. At that time, they should really worry about changes here." Tong Guan stared at him angrily and said: "If this example is set, I am afraid that other military attachés in the world will follow suit. By then, it is hard to say whether There will be scenes like the separatist vassal towns in the previous dynasty. Do you think the imperial court will allow such disasters of national subjugation to reappear in the world?"
As soon as these words came out, Sun Tu was really stunned. He really didn't think about the matter in such detail, he just did it based on his heart, but he didn't think that this would completely violate the taboo of the Song Dynasty.
Why did the Song Dynasty suppress military generals? Not because of lessons learned from the past, the powerful Tang Dynasty fell to the separatist rule of military generals and vassal towns, and in the end the subordinates defeated the superiors. Taizu of the Song Dynasty also captured the sky as a military general.
Next, after witnessing with his own eyes and experiencing the threat of military generals to the imperial power, how could he allow his ministers to continue to grow in power
Therefore, even if he is the emperor, after he has firmly established himself as emperor, he will still find ways to deprive the generals of their power, and support the seemingly more reliable civilian forces to suppress the generals, even if this will weaken the national power of the Song Dynasty. No matter what. Today, this trend has completely overwhelmed everything. As long as there is any sign of it, both monarchs and ministers will decisively take action to stamp it out early.
It was only then that Sun Tu realized how big a mistake he had made and that he almost reached a dead end. This made his back feel cold, and he actually broke out into a large amount of cold sweat in this early spring in March.
Seeing the shocked look on his face, Tong Guan relaxed a little, fearing that this kid would become blindly arrogant because everything went well recently and end up doing even bigger mistakes. Because once this happens, not to mention Sun Tu, even he, the leader, may be implicated, and many people in the court will not let him go.
After a moment of silence, Tong Guancai said again: "And don't think that what you did in Qingzhou has been recognized by the court. I am not afraid to tell you the truth. As early as last year, you actually dared to kill all the officials of the state so unscrupulously. , has been impeached by countless people. If I hadn't been mediating for you in the court, I'm afraid the edict to arrest you would have been sent to Qingzhou long ago."
Sun Tu was stunned again and quickly stood up to thank him again. Tong Guan's expression softened slightly, and after waving him to sit down, he said: "There is one more thing you may not have figured out yet. In fact, this time the imperial court promoted you to the position of Inspector of Soldiers and Horses on Jingdong Road, there are also people who want to get rid of you. It's just a means. Liang Shicheng obtained this official position for you in the court. Do you think he is so kind? "
"Ah? This happened?" Sun Tu looked surprised. He had always thought that Tong Guan was helping him run the government for his smooth promotion. Now when I heard that the enemy Liang Shicheng was behind it, I felt wary and regretted my previous decision even more.
"His purpose is to put you on a high pedestal and become a thorn in the side of the DPRK and Chinese civil servants. As long as you make any mistakes in your position as a prison guard, you can be eradicated without any hesitation. Don't say you committed the crime this time. They are trying to control all the food and pay of the Shandong army. Even if you do nothing, they will still catch you, charge you with dereliction of duty, and finally dismiss you from office. ." Tong Guan said with a serious face: "I am by no means alarmist. Ever since you were appointed as the Military Superintendent of Jingdong Road, you have had no choice but to move forward and retreat. All that is waiting for you is the loss of your official position."
These words were like a wake-up call, directly waking up the smug Sun Tu from his trance. Only then did he realize that everything he thought he had under control was completely false, and how dangerous his current situation was. Unless he really dares to rebel against all odds, what awaits him will definitely be dismissal from office, and he may not even be able to save his life!
After being stunned for a long time, Sun Tu looked at Tong Guan: "I know my mistake... Please save me, Tong Shuai!" He knew that the only one who could help him now was Tong Guan, and it would be impossible for Tong Guan to suddenly come to Qingzhou today. Just to remind or beat him, there must be other purposes!