Tong Guan was waiting for Zhao Ji's question, and he immediately said: "Your Majesty, just at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, there was a big turmoil in the Xingqing Mansion of the Xia Kingdom, and then it broke out among the crown prince, The overt and covert struggles between several forces headed by the King of Yue and others have made the country even more unstable now... And the root cause of all these turmoils is actually caused by Sun Tu." As he said that, he explained what Sun Tu had detailed in his letter. His various experiences and deeds in Xixia were described in concise terms.
After hearing these words, not only Zhao Ji, but also other ministers were a little startled. If all this was true, then Sun Tu would be too courageous, and his achievements were indeed as Tong Guan said, compared to before. Any one merit is much greater.
You must know that Xixia has long been a worry for the Song Dynasty over the years. Although they may not really pose much of a threat to the Song Dynasty, they have been holding back the most elite Western Army of the Song Dynasty, leading them to want to seize the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun. The plan had to be postponed again and again. In addition, the years of war with Xixia also consumed too much money and national power of the Song Dynasty. The military expenditure of the Western Army alone was more than one million.
If all this was really done by Sun Tu and caused endless chaos in the Xia Dynasty, even if the Song Dynasty did not take this opportunity to send troops to destroy the country, this would be considered a great achievement. Zhao Ji was even more happy at this time and couldn't help but praise: "If this is true, Sun Tu would have taken such a big risk to enter the enemy's country for the Song Dynasty. He is really a rare loyal minister."
"Your Majesty is wise, it is precisely because I know Sun Tu's character and know that he has always been loyal to the court and your Majesty that I dare to say that his actions in Qingzhou must also be for our Song Dynasty!" Tong Guan took the opportunity to think about this! The matter is thoroughly determined.
Gao Qiu became a little anxious when he heard this. He no longer cared about the emperor's attitude and hurriedly spoke again: "Privy Tong, your words may not be accurate. How did you know about this incident in Xia Kingdom? Is it just because of Sun Tu? Is it because he wrote you a letter to express his merit? How dare you believe such words? Let me tell you, he is clearly robbing credit that is not his own."
As soon as Gao Qiu spoke, other members of his party also echoed: "Yes, Privy Tong, how can we be accurate based on Sun Tu's words alone? Maybe he has just been hiding in Tibet in the east of Liao Kingdom in the past few months. I was able to escape without even going to Xia Kingdom."
"That is, it was a great luck that he could return to the Song Dynasty alive from the Liao Kingdom. How could he rush to the Xia Kingdom thousands of miles away and cause such a big incident there!"... Questioners kept asking themselves Zhao Ji's opinion made Zhao Ji hesitate a little. Is what Tong Guan said true? Not to mention that he had also been deceived.
Gao Qiu had already guessed that Gao Qiu would question the authenticity of this matter, so he did not show any panic at this time. He just glanced at everyone and said: "Your Majesty, I don't dare to boldly deceive you. If Sun Tu can't prove it, I don’t dare to raise it here.”
"Oh, but what evidence is it?"
"The first one is the token of the Xia Kingdom's elite Iron Kites. This is the key for him to seize it from the Xia people and use it to escape from the Xia capital." Tong Guan said and took out the token that he had been hiding. A token, which was naturally sent by Sun Tu along with the letter.
Looking at this iron token, which had a very different shape from the Song Dynasty waist token, Zhao Ji believed it a little more.
. But some people still snorted: "What kind of evidence is a token? There must be a large number of seizures from the Western Army, and Privy Tong, you are someone who has had many confrontations with the Xia people on the Western Front..." Although the following words were not finished. , but the implication is already very clear, that is, he thinks this is Tong Guan's fraud.
These words made Tong Guan feel annoyed. After staring at the other party deeply, he snorted coldly, and then continued: "Of course this piece of physical evidence is not enough, but I have witnesses here."
"Witness? Could it be that Privy Tong is planning to ask the kings and ministers of the Xia Kingdom to come to the Song Dynasty to testify?" Gao Qiu joked. He really didn't believe what kind of witness the other party could produce at this time. Even if he takes a step back and he does have some witness, he can still say that what this person said is not credible!
Tong Guan looked confident. After looking at the emperor, he just turned his attention to a person in the ministers' class: "Li Shilang of the Ministry of Rites, you are going to the Xia Kingdom to meet with their Privy Councilor Wu. Guru Ya, and unexpectedly met the Liao envoy there?"
Li Shilang's expression suddenly changed when he called him by name. His actions in Xingqing Mansion were actually controlled by Tong Guan? At this time, all the kings and ministers in the palace looked at him, so he could only take a step forward, nodded and said, "That's exactly what it is..."
"What happens after that?" Tong Guan said, and before the other party could speak, he answered by himself: "You and the Liao envoy had a good argument in front of Na Uguruya, but in the end, he was not allowed to express his position. Someone else showed up and disrupted the situation at that time, is this possible?"
"No, that's right." Li Shilang nodded again, but the uneasiness in his heart became more and more intense. All his actions were actually under Tong Guan's control. This must be terrible.
"Actually, one of the few people who appeared that day was Sun Tu. At that time, he was aliased as Sun Qianli and was under the supervision of the King of Yue. It was precisely because of this layer of protection that he was able to cause that big mess in Xingqing Mansion. . Nowadays, the Xixia Kingdom is still trying to catch the 'traitor' named Sun Qianli. If you don't believe it, you can send someone to the Xia Kingdom to find out. In addition, Qianli is Sun Tu's surname. Many people know about it. Do you still suspect that Sun Tu is taking credit?" Tong Guan said, looking at Gao Qiu and others again.
But this time, they finally stopped speaking out, because the facts were already in front of them, and of course they couldn't forcefully deny it anymore. At the same time, many people were surprised. Sun Tu's courage and ability were really boundless. Not only did he escape safely in Liao Kingdom, he actually went to Xixia and caused such a big mess. No wonder this person could In a short period of time, he was promoted to the rank of governor. No wonder he dared to make such a big fuss in Qingzhou, and even caused two powerful officials, Tong Guan and Gao Qiu, to fall out because of him!
Zhao Ji was very happy and nodded repeatedly: "So, this Sun Tu has indeed made great contributions to the country. I really want to see him with my own eyes and give him a good reward!"
"Your Majesty, I think that even this cannot offset the serious crimes that Sun Tu committed in Qingzhou!" Following Gao Qiu's look, an official immediately stepped forward again and spoke: "Even though he has made great contributions outside, he can't do it in Qingzhou." In the same way, sins are unforgivable. Gong is merit and sin is sin. They cannot be confused!"
"Mr. Xiang's words are wrong. Since Sun Tu is devoted to the country, what he did in Qingzhou
There must be a reason for everything. I have said before that he killed Gao Xiang and others in order to prevent a civil uprising in Qingzhou, so in my opinion, this is not only not a crime, but on the contrary, it is another merit. "
"Otherwise, in the Song Dynasty, no official has ever been lynched and killed in a hundred years. How is this practice any different from treason..."
In an instant, the ministers in the palace quarreled over this issue again. Gao Qiu's party members, Tong Guan's vassals, and some civil servants who already had prejudices against military commanders... The various forces gave their reasons and argued endlessly. For a while, it was No one could convince anyone, and everyone was talking louder and louder, and their emotions seemed to be getting more and more exciting.
Even Zhao Ji didn't expect that the officials would be so red-faced over this, and he was suddenly stunned. After a long while, his face darkened and he shouted: "Shut up!"
Seeing that the emperor was angry, the ministers realized that they were a little too involved. They quickly stopped talking and then all apologized to the emperor. Zhao Ji didn't mean to blame them, but just smiled bitterly and said: "You may not be able to achieve a result even if you argue like this for three days and nights. Moreover, what you all said has certain truths. It really makes me wonder who to listen to. Okay." Having said this, his eyes fell on the veteran minister closest to him who had half-closed eyes and seemed to be dozing off: "Master Cai, what do you think about this matter?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone present waited with bated breath. Although Cai Jing had been silent at the court meeting, he played a decisive role in everything. As long as he spoke, it would be the final word.
Cai Jing, as if he had just been awakened, slowly opened his eyes, glanced at Gao Qiu and Tong Guan, and then coughed and said: "Your Majesty, I thought that Sun Tu was a loyal minister. If he has ulterior motives, we can't argue with him here. If you want to know his true intentions, you should give him a try."
"What does Grand Master mean?" Zhao Ji suddenly became interested and asked quickly.
"Sun Tu has made many contributions to the court before. He has some skills in training and using troops. He also quelled the bandits in Qingzhou. But now, there is a group of bandits running rampant in Shandong. The court has no way to deal with them for the time being, so why not let them go? Sun Tu led his army to quell the rebellion. As long as he can do this, it will prove that he is indeed our great Song Qiancheng. All the previous achievements have been made, and it will not be too late for your majesty to reward him generously. But if he fails To quell the chaos, this is one of his crimes. I wonder what His Majesty's holy will is?" Cai Jing slowly stated what he meant.
Zhao Ji thought about it carefully and nodded with deep approval: "This is indeed a method. The Liangshan bandits have been looting everywhere since last year and have caused chaos in many places. Although the imperial court sent troops to encircle and suppress them several times, they all failed. Since Sun Tu is the governor of Jingdong Road, and he is good at using troops to quell chaos, so let him use his merits to clear his name!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" It was not Cai Jing who said this, but Tong Guan. After seeing him say these words, Gao Qiu's heart skipped a beat. He originally thought it made sense, but he immediately realized that the matter was not simple. I'm afraid Tong Guan had already had an affair with Cai Jing.
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It's the first Monday of 2020. As the saying goes, a year's plan starts at the beginning. If you want votes, you have to ask early. Please recommend me. . . . . . . . . . .