The facts before him made Zheng Guan unable to object to Sun Tu's move to recruit female soldiers. After all, he was only a civil servant and did not understand military affairs at all, so it was naturally impossible for him to come up with a convincing argument. But as a result, the three things that happened when he showed up in Qingzhou were dealt with by Sun Tu one after another, which really made him feel a little uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Sun Tu's attitude towards the imperial envoy was quite respectful, and he followed the rules of the officialdom and entertained him well. Until the honor guard of the imperial envoy arrived and issued the decree, Sun Tu's reaction was different from before. No different, except that the Qingzhou Army suffered heavy casualties and was unable to use troops against Liangshan for the time being.
In the end, Zheng Guan could only accept Sun Tu's statement and planned to pass it back to the court, and then wait for the emperor and ministers in the court to make the final decision. But in this way, it would allow Sun Tu to have two or three more months to continue recruiting and training troops. If the preparations for the army's expedition were also counted, it would not be considered a delay of a year and a half. It's such a difficult thing.
It was not until the imperial envoy team respectfully sent him out of the city that Sun Tu finally felt relieved. He knew that when this man returned, everything that had happened before would be settled. It would be impossible for the court to hold him accountable for killing Gao Xiang and He Mo. Next, he only had to train his Qingzhou soldiers again and put down the Liangshan bandits. , then even if he has completely taken root in Shandong, if the court wants to touch him in the future, he will have to carefully consider the consequences.
And what happened next did continue to develop in the most ideal direction, because the publicity methods were sufficient, so that the people in the city no longer resisted the recruitment of female soldiers. Instead, many husbands and fathers encouraged their daughters to enter the military camp and practice hard. Do your part to protect your home and country.
As time goes by, Qingzhou has regained its former vitality. The people who fled have continued to return, and the soldiers who have fled before have also come back one after another. Seeing that the wounds caused by Gao Xiang's perverse actions are healing, as long as they continue Give Sun Tu some time, and Qingzhou will return to its old outlook.
But sometimes things in the world may not always go as people wish. Although Sun Tu did not intend to use troops against Liangshanbo at this time, the heroes on Liangshanbo may not accept this sentiment. After August, they , is ready to move again.
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The water is in Liangshan, Juyi Hall.
Today, Liangshanbo Village is full of talents and strong people. This hall as wide as a palace was filled with leaders of all sizes today. At a glance, the number reached seventy or eighty people. This was completely unimaginable a few years ago.
However, relying on Song Jiang's strong appeal, coupled with the Liangshan Army's impressive record of attacking from all sides and repeatedly defeating the official army, it naturally attracted heroes from all over the world to join, especially bandits from various mountains in Shandong. Due to the pressure of survival, the villagers surrendered. This made Liangshan Bo Village now have eighty-one leaders and eight thousand soldiers and horses under his command. It was considered a rare green forest force in the world.
Of course, the power of Liangshanbo at this time cannot be compared with the heyday in the Water Margin story. After all, many heroes and masters who should have joined the cottage were either left by Sun Tu or killed by him. How can they be today
It is extremely rare to gather eighty-one people per day.
The only good thing is that when the village was at its peak, the leader Chao Gai, who had attacked Zengtou City in a fit of rage and was eventually killed by a poisonous arrow, was still alive. Because Song Jiang led his army to be defeated in the previous battle at Zhujiazhuang. The loss of troops not only caused many casualties to his close brothers, but also weakened his prestige in the village. This allowed Chao Gai to stabilize his position as the leader. Let him not make a big mistake by being eager to prove himself because of some small things.
In addition, just last year, in order to increase the prestige of the Shanzhai, Song Jiang and the others used a trick to trick Lu Junyi, the Hebei Yuqilin, into the mountain. And then there was still a tortuous story in which Lu Junyi was framed and imprisoned, and everyone in Liangshan went to Daming Mansion to save people. As a result, Lu Junyi, who was originally famous all over the world, could only stay here, and at the same time, Liangshanbo became the emperor of the Song Dynasty. As a thorn in their side, they sent large armies several times to conquer, but they were defeated by them taking advantage of the geographical advantage. They managed to defend the stronghold without losing it, and at the same time they also gained a great reputation.
Up to now, the imperial army generally does not dare to attack Liangshan Bo anymore, and the Jeju Mansion where the village is located is guarding the city tightly. The rest of the troops do not dare to leave the city at will, for fear of being attacked by the Liangshan army. Therefore, the name of Liangshan hero is even more widespread. Spread around the world, it also attracts more people from the green forest to come and invest.
Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, and the village leaders are all gathered together. They are all smiling, drinking heavily, eating large pieces of meat, and constantly distributing gold, silver, money, and silk taken from the storehouses of various states. They are really happy.
But in this environment, Song Jiang, the second-in-command, had a hint of sadness on his face. Even if a brother came up to toast, he smiled and toasted, but his smile still seemed a bit forced. His performance naturally fell into the eyes of the attentive Wu Yong. Taking advantage of a gap, Wu Yong asked in a low voice: "Brother, is there anything to worry about? Why do you always look so uneasy today?"
When Song Jiang heard this, he sighed: "My brothers and I are living happily in the village, but is this really a long-term solution? Military advisor, you are an expert in strategy. You should know what Song Jiang is worried about."
He didn't lower his voice deliberately, and they were immediately heard by Chao Gai beside him. The latter immediately frowned: "Brother Gongming's words have somewhat destroyed my brother's ambition. Why are you here?" Can't a copycat village last long? We Liangshan have been growing stronger and stronger in the past few years, and even the troops sent by the imperial court have been defeated by us time and time again. Can't we still stand in this world?"
"Brother, have you ever heard that several mountain strongholds have been able to last for a long time since ancient times? Take the heroes of Wagang Village as an example. In the end, they were not scattered. Although I, Liang Shanbo, have many brothers, compared to the entire Song Dynasty court, After all, it is just a small area. Although we have won many times in the past few years, that is because the court did not regard us as a major enemy and did not try its best. But now, our momentum is getting bigger and bigger, and there is no guarantee that we will be there soon. The catastrophe has come."
Chao Gai was shocked by what he said. Not only him, but also some of the brothers who were originally very interested also looked thoughtful and worried at this time. The people who could sit next to Chao Gai and Song Jiang in this banquet were all important figures in the village, and they were all wise and knowledgeable. If you think about it carefully, this is really what happened.
Seeing this, Song Jiang's expression became solemn and he said: "Also, even if the imperial court is still unable to take action against us because of the Fang La incident in the south, there are still people in our Shandong territory that we cannot easily deal with. Brother, don't forget, Sun Tu returned to Qingzhou a few months ago and took back the military power there. This person is not easy to deal with."
When Sun Tu was mentioned, many people present showed anger and fear on their faces. Everyone still remembers clearly that just at the beginning of last year, Zhujiazhuang, who should have been captured easily, caused the Liangshan Army to suffer its first major defeat because he led hundreds of people to the rescue. More than a dozen leaders were killed at his hands. It can be said that Liangshanbo's largest army of enemies.
"It's really a disaster that has lasted for thousands of years, and this dog official can actually come back from the Liao Kingdom alive!" When Guo Sheng, who was located a little further away, heard about Sun Tu, his face also showed rare anger.
Song Jiang glanced at everyone, and then said: "Because of this, I have to say that we must not be complacent, let alone any negligence. Maybe at some point, the imperial court will send a large army to conquer our brothers."
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the hall, which was originally quite warm, suddenly became cold, and everyone became more distracted. But after all, they were all heroes. After cooling down for a while, they cheered up again. Some even raised their glasses and said: "But now our Liangshanbo is no longer what it was before. If Sun Tu really dares to come, let's see what we do." Use the means to avenge your previous shame!"
Only Wu Yong glanced at Song Jiang thoughtfully, feeling that his words had a deeper meaning, but he couldn't tell his true purpose at the moment.
At this time, Chai Jin, who had just joined the stronghold, suddenly said: "Several elder brothers are so afraid of Sun Tu, and I think it is more appropriate for me to take advantage of the opportunity when his Qingzhou Army's vitality is severely weakened to take the initiative. I have heard this before. The Qingzhou Army is famous, but in the year since Sun Tu left, they have been defeated by us many times, and the damage is not small. And the people Sun Tu fights are this elite, so Qingzhou at this time must be the most powerful. He is weak, so why not take advantage of the opportunity to attack him and get rid of this serious problem in one fell swoop?"
His proposal immediately won the approval of many brothers present: "It is Chai Daguan who is knowledgeable, but we have ignored this aspect. Brother Gongming, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It happens to take advantage of the new Qingzhou Army." Soon after the defeat, Sun Tu will not be able to train many new soldiers to give him a head-on attack! This can also be used to avenge those dead brothers!"
"This..." Song Jiang suddenly looked embarrassed. He originally said that those words had other intentions, but unexpectedly he was led to another path. Before he could speak, even Chao Gai nodded and said: "That's right. My Liangshan brothers have never suffered such a big loss in so many years. Since his Qingzhou army was defeated this time, we took advantage of it." It’s a good opportunity to join. Brother Gongming, what do you think?”
"Brother, it's settled. As long as you give the order, I'm willing to be the vanguard!" Shi Xiu, who is known as the "Desperate Saburo", urged loudly. Then, other brothers also responded one after another. They were gearing up and seemed to be able to kill at any time. Go down the mountain.
"Brothers, please don't be reckless. Let Song Jiang say a few more words." Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Song Jiang got a little worried and quickly shouted to stop. At the same time, his mind was rapidly spinning with thoughts on how to deal with the current situation.