The imperial edict was delivered to Qingzhou on the fourth day of February. After reading this official document, which was stamped with the seals of the Privy Council, the Ministry of War and many other yamen, urging Sun Tu to lead his army to quell the banditry in Liangshan as soon as possible, Sun Tu's His face suddenly darkened.
In fact, Sun Tu had already expected such an unforgettable ending when he wrote the book of tens of thousands of people, but he still retained hope for the eventuality, hoping that the public opinion of tens of thousands of people would awaken the court. Thereby cutting out the traitors and allowing the Song Dynasty to break out of the abyss of doom.
But the final result still disappointed him. Neither the emperor nor the court officials took his memorial seriously. Cai Jing was still aloof. On the contrary, his actions attracted a counterattack from Cai Taishi's party. From then on A lot of things can be seen in the document instructing him to wipe out the Liangshan bandits as soon as possible.
For example, the wording above is extremely sharp, and a deadline has been given - the chaos must be quelled within six months, otherwise severe punishment will be imposed. Although they did not elaborate on how to severely punish them, by that time, Sun Tu and his subordinates would be in an extremely dangerous situation. After the fall, some of the things they had done at the time might be revealed again and become an excuse to finally deal with Sun Tu.
Although the Song Dynasty had long had an ancestral precept not to kill scholar-bureaucrats, military attachés like Sun Tu were obviously not among them. As long as some people got the handle, they would surely die. And this time they can create an excuse. When Sun Tuzhen uses troops against Liangshan, I am afraid that some people in the court will do some hindering things behind the scenes. At least in terms of money, food and equipment, it will be difficult for the Shandong officers and soldiers to be satisfied. .
Sun Tu already knew these things in his mind after reading the document. Obviously, this was also at Cai Jing's instruction, in order to find a justifiable reason to take revenge on him. This can not only relieve his bad temper, but also avoid triggering public discussion. Even if it is included in the history books, it will be difficult to feel unfair to Sun Tu. He is really shrewd.
Although other subordinates were not able to see as carefully as Sun Tu, they also saw many clues, and they were all indignant for a while: "Captain, the imperial court does not care about the actual situation of our Shandong army at all. ! We have just fought against the elites of the Jin Kingdom in Lingzhou, and the soldiers are still tired. We have to rest for a few months before using weapons again, but they actually force us to send troops to Liangshan Po immediately. This is really unreasonable. !”
"Yes, Governor, there were many casualties among the soldiers in the Lingzhou war. Now instead of rewarding the three armies, the imperial court is urging them again. It really makes it hard for me to wait to speak to my brothers."
All of these generals were outspoken and angry, so they had no worries about what they said. With just a few words from you and me, the imperial court was criticized for their personal incompetence. Sun Tu, on the other hand, just listened quietly to this and didn't say much. It wasn't until everyone had finished talking that he said: "Of course I know the hard work of the soldiers. However, the imperial court has always treated me and other warriors." With prejudice, the more meritorious we do, the more uneasy they will feel, which is why we are so chaotic today. But since we are living on the salary of the imperial court, we should obey the orders and act, so this Liangshanbo should still be beaten. This is not only for the court, for ourselves, but also for the millions of innocent people in Shandong, who really should not be harassed by bandits anymore!"
"The Governor is a wise man, no one can compare with us." All the subordinates
Seeing that he had made up his mind, he stopped complaining. They were quite obedient to Sun Dujian and believed that under his leadership, the Shandong army would be able to move from one victory to the next, even against the bandits in Liangshanbo. Of course, when they said these words, their resentment towards the court was a little deeper, which could be seen in their expressions.
Naturally, these reactions all fell into Sun Tu's eyes. This was exactly the result he wanted to see, so he comforted everyone with a few words and let everyone disperse. It was time to practice and rest. In the end, there were only a few people left in the lobby. In addition to Luda and others who were closely related to Sun Tu, there was also one person who stayed - Zhu Wu!
Although he is the military counselor, Zhu Wu is not Sun Tu's confidant because he has just arrived. Originally, he would not participate in discussions like this with only a few people, but today he deliberately stayed and watched. After a few glances, Sun Tu whispered: "Captain, can I have a few words with you alone?"
"No need." Sun Tu shook his head, "Here are my trustworthy brothers. There is nothing that cannot be said openly. If you have any ideas, it doesn't matter."
"This..." Zhu Wu's eyes quickly passed over Lu Da, Lin Chong, Wu Song and others, and he hesitated a little. After a moment, he mustered up the courage to say: "Prisoner, you should have expected to be in such a situation, right? ? In fact, the day you impeached Grand Master Cai at Shangshu meant that you were going to face difficulties from the imperial court."
Sun Tu replied with a half-smile, "Really?"
"Everyone knows that Cai Jing is a traitor, but the current emperor has always protected him and believed in him. Many ministers impeached him and were eventually convicted and dismissed from office. In fact, with the wisdom of the governor, how could he not guess it? What is the ending like this? At that time, I was deeply confused after knowing this, but today, I seem to have understood a little bit."
"What do you want to understand?"
"The ambition of the governor is not small. Qingzhou and Shandong simply cannot carry your ambitions. What you need is a broader world! And our tens of thousands of troops in Shandong are the key to realizing your ambitions. You must let Only by working together can they not be afraid of dangers. And to do this, not only by leading them to victory after victory, but also by making everyone feel disheartened by the imperial court, and only have the prison in their hearts and not the imperial court... "Because Afraid that the courage he had worked so hard to muster would dissipate, Zhu Wu spoke very quickly this time, almost saying everything he thought of in one breath.
It wasn't until he said the last sentence that almost everyone was looking at him strangely. Zhu Wu suddenly stopped and looked at Sun Tu with a slightly pale face: "I wonder if the governor thinks that what he said in his humble position is reasonable?"
"You, you still take things too seriously. I have always been loyal to the imperial court, so how can I be so disloyal?" Sun Tu still smiled and said, "But for those officials in the imperial court who are misbehaving, , I really look down upon them. If they really dare to harm the soldiers under my command, I will take action. As for what the soldiers think of the imperial court, I cannot control them."
On the surface, he was still saying that he was a loyal minister, but his meaning was already very clear, which shocked Lin Chong and Yang Zhi. Although they were also vague before
I noticed something, but after all, I didn't see it as clearly as Zhu Wu. When I realized it, I was a little scared.
Lu Da, Wu Song and others behaved very calmly and calmly. They had no loyalty to the Song Dynasty court, so they were serving in the army because of Sun Tu. Now if he really dares to shout If they rebel, these people will not hesitate to follow them.
After Zhu Wu swallowed his saliva for a while, he stepped forward and bowed down: "Du Jian, although I have just joined the Qingzhou Army not long ago and don't have much ability in my humble position, I admire the Du Jian very much. What I want to say today is, No matter what choice you make, Commander-in-Chief, Zhu Wu will follow you and you will not dare to deviate. Otherwise, both humans and gods will be abandoned and five thunders will strike!" This was the real purpose of his prominent words today.
Sun Tu then stood up from his seat, walked to him and helped him: "Brother Zhu, you don't have to be like this. Since you are a member of our Qingzhou Army, I can naturally trust you. I can also make peace with you, no matter what. Whatever happens in the future, as long as you don’t betray me, we brothers can share joys and sorrows, honor and disgrace!"
"Share joys and sorrows together, honor and disgrace together!" Several other people also subconsciously stood up and looked at Sun Tu solemnly and said.
Everyone is already aware of his thoughts, and there might be a conflict with the court at some point. But what everyone knows better is that they have already been branded as Sun Tu's party. Even if they suddenly betray him, the end may not be good, so it is better to go to the dark side and follow him to create a great cause. What about career
After all, after working together for these years, Sun Tu's character and abilities are obvious to all. Even if they only live in a corner of Shandong, they are still confident that they can make a mark under his leadership.
The Song Dynasty court seemed to still be the master of the world, but in fact it had become leaky and dilapidated. The kings and high-ranking officials in these Eastern and Western dynasties may not be able to see it, but in the eyes of these people from the bottom, the world is full of ills. Maybe just a fire can completely burn the Song Dynasty to ashes!
At present, it seems that Liangshanbo in Shandong and Ladu in the south of the Yangtze River may be the fire that ignites everything, but can't their Sun Dujian and the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command be able to do it
After clarifying everything, it became easier for everyone to talk. Luda couldn't help but said: "In that case, Governor, do we still need to use troops against Liangshanbo? How about we contact them and join forces to start a trouble?"
"Liangshanbo still has to fight, and it's far from that time yet." Sun Tu shook his head gently: "Do you think those people in Liangshanbo really have the intention to rebel? In fact, their ultimate goal is to obtain high-ranking officials from the imperial court. It’s just a generous salary, but if we cooperate with them, we will be even more passive. I want their power, but I am taking their power instead of cooperating!”
"This... do they really have such thoughts?" Zhu Wu felt a little vague. His status in the village was not high, and he only had a partial understanding of many things.
"Of course, there is a saying that goes well, if you want to be an official, you will be punished by killing people and setting fires. Song Jiang's little eyelids can only go so far." Sun Tu curled his lips disdainfully and said: "So Liangshan must be attacked. Those who came down just have some ideas on how to attack!"