Fang Qian's arrival is indeed a bit unreasonable, because the rewards from the imperial court are still on the way, and there is really no need to send someone to notify him first. Even if this is someone who wants to transfer Fang Qian so that they can fully control all the powers of the Privy Council, it is not necessary. He can be sent elsewhere for official business. As for the court's praise of Sun Tu and his soldiers, they can wait until the relevant rewards and other items arrive in Qingzhou to explain them. This will have a better effect.
So in Sun Tu's view, his appearance seemed a bit redundant. The only explanation is that he has other responsibilities in Qingzhou.
After just thinking for a moment, Sun Tu said directly: "Fang Chengzhi probably has other things to talk about when he comes to Qingzhou. There is no need for you and me to hide things, just say what you have to say."
Fang Qian smiled slightly awkwardly after hearing this: "Haha, you still can't hide it from a pair of wise eyes thousands of miles away. Since you have said so, I can't hide it anymore. In addition to telling you about the rewards from the imperial court, I , and one more important thing to tell me. Not long ago, the Privy Council Military Department and other relevant yamen have advised the officials that the chaos in La in the south of the Yangtze River is a serious disaster. Now the local officials and soldiers are unable to quell the chaos, so they need to be mobilized from elsewhere. The soldiers and horses went to support you, and the soldiers and horses under your command Qianli are rare elite troops in our Song Dynasty. So everyone’s intention is to hope that you can calm down the chaos in Jiangnan as soon as possible. And I am here just to get rid of the chaos as soon as possible. Notify Qianli in one step so that you can prepare as soon as possible. Once the relevant rewards are in place, it will be time for you to lead the army on the expedition."
Even though Sun Tu was indeed prepared, he couldn't help but frown after hearing the court's decision. After a moment, he whispered: "Is this the intention of the imperial court, or is it just the idea of Gao Qiu and others? What are their intentions?"
Fang Qian just smiled meaningfully: "Is there any difference? Now that the officials and court officials have made a decision, and even the decree and the Privy Council's order have been issued, the matter is a foregone conclusion. Qianli, what you have to do now The key is to make relevant preparations as soon as possible so that we can get on the road as soon as possible.”
Sun Tu let out a breath of turbidity. As expected, there were blessings and misfortunes. He finally encountered a series of happy events. In just a few days, bigger troubles came to his door again. The imperial court asked him to lead troops to quell the chaos in Jiangnan, and he was speaking righteously, but in fact, he knew what those people were planning.
This is obviously because he is afraid of himself. He is worried that if he continues to stay in Shandong, his power will continue to expand and eventually become unstoppable, so he is thinking of transferring himself from Shandong. Once he leads his army to a place south of the Yangtze River where he is unfamiliar, it will be difficult for him to develop. Even if something goes wrong on the battlefield over there, those guys in the DPRK will use it as an excuse to deal with themselves.
But it was difficult to refuse this, because after all, he, Sun Tu, was still a court official. Unless he raised the banner of rebellion at this time, he could only obey orders. And Sun Tu also knew very well that with his current strength, it was not enough to be an enemy of the entire Song Dynasty court.
After a while, he looked at Fang Qian seriously: "What does Tong Shuai think?"
Although Tong Guan had gone to the border a long time ago and seemed to have nothing to do with the affairs of the DPRK, Sun Tu knew very well that this was just an appearance. Reign as a child
As a powerful force, even the slightest hint of trouble would be quickly known to them, let alone the fact that Gao Qiu and others would go to war in such a big way.
Fang Qian lowered his eyes slightly, not daring to look at Sun Tu, and said softly: "Tong Shuai also feels that everything should be based on the overall situation. Now that the situation in Jiangnan is corrupt, it is really time for someone to go and clean it up. And Qianli, you are the one The person who is most suitable for this responsibility!”
"Tong Shuai really thinks highly of me. I have less than 20,000 soldiers, but there are more than 100,000 soldiers and horses gathered in Lake in the south of the Yangtze River. The imperial court has sent no less than 200,000 soldiers and horses before, but it is difficult to quell the rebellion. I'm afraid if I go It’s just a drop in the bucket.”
"Thousands of miles is too modest. There is a saying that soldiers should not be numerous but refined, and generals should be strategic rather than brave. If you and the soldiers under your command have both, you will be able to quell the rebellion." Fang Qian said, and comforted him: " And when you go to Jiangnan, you don’t have to worry too much about unfamiliar people and places. Tong Shuai has always been on good terms with Zhu Jiedu, and with his cooperation, you will be able to succeed immediately!"
"Zhu Jiedushi? Zhu Meng?" Sun Tu sneered. After the other party nodded, he finally did not say the sentence "The Fang La Rebellion started because of him." He just said after silence: "Since The imperial court has made up its mind, and of course I, as a minister, dare not shirk it. However, this time when we go to Jiangnan to quell the chaos, all the logistical supplies in our army must be fully guaranteed, so that they cannot be withheld as before."
Seeing Sun Tu agreeing to this matter, Fang Qian was also relieved, and immediately patted his chest and promised: "That's natural, you can rest assured Qianli, when I return to Beijing, I will help you take care of the logistics, and I will never let others I will cause more trouble for you. Moreover, Mr. Mu is now serving under Zhu Jiedushi. With him here, what else do you have to worry about? "
Hearing him mention Tong Mu, a smile finally appeared in Sun Tu's eyes. He had not seen this old friend for several years, and he didn't know how he was doing under Zhu Meng. Presumably with his abilities and talents, he will always be able to accomplish something in Jiangnan.
It can be said that in addition to his own hard work and some luck, Tong Mu also helped Sun Tu achieve his current status. If he hadn't helped Tong Guan talk to him in Bianjing, Sun Tu would not have been able to go from a commoner to a court official in a short period of time, and then step by step to where he is now. After drinking water and thinking about the source, Sun Tu still had a good impression of Tong Mu and thought that one day he could repay him for his help.
Seeing Sun Tu smiling, Fang Qian breathed a sigh of relief: "Then it's settled. Qianli, you will prepare well in Qingzhou. When the reward is delivered, you will go out as soon as possible. The chaos in Jiangnan cannot be dragged on any longer, otherwise But it will affect our national policy of the Song Dynasty to regain the sixteen states of Youyun."
Sun Tu glanced at him, and then he completely understood why he came to convince him in a hurry - being sent out by Gao Qiu and others was only one aspect, and the more important thing was probably Tong Guan's push from behind. Because Tong Guan was also eager to see the chaos in Jiangnan put down as soon as possible, so that he could unite the whole country to launch the Northern Expedition. Only by making contributions unprecedented in a century in that important war can he return to the court and fight Cai Jing and others to determine the outcome!
In a sense, Sun Tu was the key to achieving his goal, so even if he temporarily lost control of the Privy Council, he had to let Fang Qian make this trip.
"Since Commander Tong has made his decision, I should obey the orders of my subordinates! When I go to Jiangnan, I will do my best to bring peace to the country!" This time Sun Tu's answer was particularly firm and sonorous.
Compared with him, some of his generals seemed a little worried after learning about the court's decision. Especially cautious people such as Lin Chong, Qi Desheng and others frowned deeply and couldn't help saying: "This decision of the court is too great." It makes no sense! Our Shandong army has been fighting for years, and now we have finally quelled many bandits in the territory. Just when we are recuperating, we are actually asked to travel thousands of miles to Jiangnan to quell the chaos. How can the soldiers have such strength? "
"Yes, Superintendent, we have only had a rest for more than a month, and even our iron-clad bodies can't hold on. And since these guys are strongly advocating for it, in my opinion, they must not have good intentions, and we must not fall into their trap." count!"
On the other hand, Song Jiang, who had recently surrendered, said at this time: "Although what you said makes sense, after the imperial military order is issued, can the governor still disobey the order? As ministers, we should take the affairs of the imperial court as our top priority, how can we do it alone? Why do you abandon public affairs for your own selfish reasons?" Well, he, a former bandit leader, is much more enlightened than the generals of the imperial court.
But these few words caused a burst of dissatisfaction from everyone, and Dong Ping even sneered: "Master Song Zhai is really loyal to the king. If we didn't know what happened, we would have thought you were a rare loyal minister of the court."
"You... I, Song Jiang, have surrendered to the imperial court and should fulfill my duties loyally. What's wrong with saying so!" Song Jiang immediately defended, but what he was greeted with was a burst of mocking laughter, which made his face turn red and blue. It doesn't taste great.
Nowadays, Song Jiang, Huang Xin, and Hu Yanzhuo are the only generals from Liangshan who can enter the hall to discuss important matters. Because they were promoted to generals, they were very cautious and low-key in their actions and speech. Even if they were ridiculed, they did not dare to get angry at this time and could only bow their heads and endure it silently.
Sun Tu saw that the others had gone too far, so he coughed and said, "Okay, don't say such hurtful words. In fact, what Brother Gongming said is very reasonable. Since we have deprived you of your salary, It is my duty to be loyal to the emperor. Besides, I have already agreed to this matter, so the reason why I came to you today is not to discuss whether we should send troops, but to discuss how to send troops, and what to do next after arriving in Jiangnan."
Sun Tu's prestige in the hearts of everyone is still very strong. Once he expressed his position, the generals no longer dared to raise objections, but they all still frowned and could not come up with a decent explanation for the time being. After all, everyone knew about this without preparation, and their minds are still a little confused now.
At this time, Zhu Wu spoke up: "Captain, I think the most important thing is the issue of food and grass. We can just ask the court that we need a large supply of food and grass before we can set off!"
These words immediately won the approval of many people: "Yes, we can no longer be short of food before the war like before, and just negotiated the terms with the court, they still have to send us tens of thousands of dendrobium. We need food so we can set off."
Song Jiang wanted to say something, but after seeing Sun Tu nodding, he swallowed his words. He could finally see that these Shandong officers and soldiers were much more complicated than he had thought before, and their loyalty to the court was far from comparable to their loyalty to Sun Tu.