The Yangtze River flows eastward day and night.
As an important river that divides the north and south sides of the Central Plains, many ships travel on it every day, especially merchant ships carrying various goods. They rush on the river all day long, completely revitalizing the economy of the north and south of the Song Dynasty. .
Since September, there have been more ships traveling north and south on the Yangtze River, with thousands of sails competing against each other. It is a spectacular sight from a distance. However, these ships that are constantly plying back and forth on both sides of the river are no longer carrying a variety of goods from the north and the south, but people, more specifically, officers and soldiers. Ships full of officers and soldiers riding various shapes and sizes Various ships kept coming from the north bank to the south bank, gathering at the pier not far from Jinling, and then set off along the official road to the ancient city.
Fang La's sudden proclaimed emperor had completely touched the bottom line of the Song Dynasty court. In just two months, the court had dispatched hundreds of thousands of troops to the south of the Yangtze River to quell the chaos and suppress the bandits. As a result, the Yangtze River has become the busiest channel, with hundreds of ships carrying people south from morning to night.
After more than a month of long journey, Sun Tu finally led his army here. The army also took separate boats on the north bank, crossed the undulating Yangtze River, and set foot on this completely unfamiliar land of the Song Dynasty.
To be honest, not only the generals under his command, but also Sun Tu, the commander-in-chief of the three armies, was very unfamiliar with the Jiangnan area. Since he traveled to the Song Dynasty, he has been active in the northern places. He has even been out of the country and visited the Liao Kingdom and Xixia, but he has never reached the southern places. So when he got off the boat and looked at the scenery here which was completely different from the scenery in the north, he couldn't help but feel emotional.
But soon, his emotion was interrupted by the actions of the soldiers who came ashore one after another, and then lay down on the riverside and kept vomiting. Although the soldiers and horses under his command are elite enough, after all, they are mostly men from the north and are not used to the bumps on the water. The wind and waves on the river were a little stronger today. The two-hour sailing immediately made many people feel upset. After getting off the boat, he vomited into a mess.
Only the original Liangshanbo brothers could not see anything strange at this time, and they were still in high spirits. This also made many Qingzhou veterans feel a little ashamed, feeling that they were embarrassing Sun Qianha. Sun Tu didn't mean to blame them at all. Instead, he walked around to greet them with concern, and then asked the soldiers who had recovered to assemble the whole team, waiting for batches of robes to arrive.
It was not until dusk that all the more than 20,000 people under his command crossed the Yangtze River. However, it would be difficult to rush to Jinling City at this time. Even if they rushed over slowly, they would probably be locked up outside Jinling City. . The cities of various states in the Song Dynasty did not close at night in the past, especially in the economically developed areas south of the Yangtze River, and for commercial purposes, there was no such thing as closing the city. But things are different now. Fangla's rebel forces are so huge that they have frightened the cities so much that they dare not relax, especially in Jinling where Zhu Meng is located. Closing the city gates at night has become a routine operation.
Just when Sun Tu was thinking about whether to let the army stationed on the riverside for a night, a group of people came slowly from the official road in front. Just by looking at the flag they displayed, it was clear that they were from the government. This made all the soldiers feel happy, and someone quickly came forward to ask about the identity and purpose of the visitor, and quickly reported in.
He came to Sun Tu and said, "Qian Ju, this is Suzhou's official Tong Mu. He came to greet us on orders from the superior."
"Oh?" Sun Tu's face immediately showed a happy smile: "I really met an old friend in a foreign country, how could I forget him?" As he said that, he walked quickly towards those people. , and soon they met a young official with a slightly thin face. Both of them were stunned for a moment, and then they both walked forward quickly, raised their arms and said with a smile: "Qianli (Second Brother), I haven't seen you for many years, are you still here?" Okay?"
The two of them said the same words in unison. As soon as the words came out, they were both stunned, and then they couldn't help laughing. Although they have not seen each other for many years, the relationship between the two is still there.
Tong Mu, Tong Guan's great-nephew, helped Sun Tu a lot when he was in Bianjing City. It can be said that the foundation for Sun Tu's success today was really laid by him, at least if he hadn't He tried his best to help, but Tong Guan really might not pay so much attention to such a rootless young man.
However, since Tong Mu passed the literary examination and became an official and was assigned to serve as an official in Jiangnan, Sun Tu had never seen him again. The two of them live in the south and the other in the north. Although they have exchanged many letters over the past few years, they are still separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. But the friendship between them has not become indifferent because of the barrier of space and time. When they reunited today, they immediately found the feeling they had when they traveled and had fun together in the capital. They didn't need too many greetings to become intimate. .
"Qianli, I heard that you have made many meritorious deeds in Shandong in the past few years, and some people call you the number one general in our Song Dynasty army. Think about it, you had ambitions to join the army when you were in the capital, now you have fulfilled your wish, right?"
"Haha, that's just the flattery of some colleagues and common people. I can't afford such high praise. On the other hand, second brother, you can be promoted to a government official in just a few years. It's really gratifying and congratulatory. "Sun Tu congratulated sincerely.
He spoke from the bottom of his heart. The official of Yifu was already the second-in-command among the local civil servants. With the existence of the fifth rank, even if he was placed in the court, he would be considered a middle-level official. However, Tong Mu, a civil servant who was not a Jinshi, could achieve this step in just five years or so, which is enough to show how outstanding his ability is.
Even though Sun Tu is now a fourth-grade military officer and seems to have a higher status than Tong Mu, in fact, in terms of his status in the court, he, as a military attache, is far from comparable to Tong Mu.
Hearing this, Tong Mu smiled bitterly and shook his head: "You don't know how much of my career as a promotion official relies on my own talents, and how much of it relies on my uncle's guidance, right? What's more, Suzhou is now in the hands of the rebels. But I can only hide in Jinling, which is really shameful."
Sun Tu heard this and patted his shoulder: "I know that your talents are more than enough to serve as a local official. As for the fall of Suzhou, it is not your fault alone. If we really talk about it, the only ones who should be ashamed are Zhu Meng and others. People of the country.”
"Haha, you and I won't mention such depressing things after seeing each other for so many years. Let's go ahead and sit down and talk in Bajiao Town. Knowing that your general will arrive with his army in the near future, I specially asked for orders to come to welcome you. We have prepared a lot of food and drinks for you, enough for your whole army to enjoy." Tong Mu did not pick up Sun Tu's words and quickly changed the subject.
Of course, Sun Tu would not refuse this arrangement. He immediately gave the order and led more than 20,000 people towards Bajiao Town, which was not far away. After learning that the local government had prepared accommodation and food for them and others, the soldiers who were still a little angry were overjoyed. When they looked at Tong Mu and others, they also brought more goodwill and goodwill.
As a town adjacent to the Yangtze River and the large city of Jinling, the Bajiao Town occupies a large area, covering more than ten miles in radius. The town also has hundreds of large and small houses, enough to accommodate all the soldiers and horses. , this way, it will be much more comfortable than having the army stationed in the wild.
After entering the town and seeing this scene, the soldiers cheered again, and then moved into the courtyards under the arrangements of their respective generals. Soon after, another member of the government brought wine, meat and other food into the courtyard like running water, which again won a round of cheers from the soldiers.
Sun Tu was naturally quite satisfied with Tong Mu's arrangement, but after looking at this town where he could hardly see any ordinary people, he still frowned slightly: "Second brother, I appreciate your kindness. Of course I can understand. But, isn’t this too disturbing to the people? Now that we are waiting to live in people’s homes, where should they live?”
Hearing this, Tong Mu forced a smile: "Don't worry, the government has naturally made preparations for it. You just need to live in peace."
"What do you mean by this?" Sun Tu saw that he seemed to have something to say, so he frowned at him again and said, "What can't we say between you and me? Why are you so hesitant?"
Seeing that Sun Tu was still unwilling to give up, Tong Mu could only give a wry smile: "Come on, let's sit down inside first and talk about other things while drinking."
Seeing his eyes constantly darting around as he spoke, Sun Tu realized that he was obviously worried. At that moment, they cooperated and said: "You and I haven't seen each other for many years, so we really need to have a good time to reminisce over wine." After saying that, the two of them turned around and entered a large house next to them. Someone from the local government brought a sumptuous table of wine and food to them. Come inside.
After the two of them sat down and the food and wine were served, they were the only two people left in the room. After toasting each other with a glass of wine, Sun Tucai looked at Tong Mu again: "You can finally say it now, right?"
"Hey, Qianli, you are still as dusty as before..." Tong Mu put down the cup and sighed softly: "To be honest, I really envy you. Although you are a military attache, you live a happy enough life. But I am much more comfortable than I am here in Jiangnan. Whether it was in Suzhou before or in Jinling in the past few months, I always do some things that are unconscionable. Every time I dream about it at midnight, I always feel guilty. "
"Huh?" Sun Tu looked at the other party thoughtfully. Only then did he really see clearly the change in Tong Mu's appearance. He was indeed more mature than before, or had gone through a lot of changes. The twitchiness between his eyebrows had long since disappeared. The air of detachment is a little more depressed.
"To be honest, Bajiao Town was already empty half a month before you arrived. However, it was not our government that drove them away, but the military disaster that forced the people here to flee elsewhere." Tong Mu As soon as he got to the point, Sun Tu's expression darkened. Although he didn't ask further questions, his eyes were full of curiosity.