As soon as Sun Tu said this, everyone else in the hall was dumbfounded. Even Zhu Meng's first reaction was not anger but stunned. He almost thought he was hallucinating. How could someone dare to threaten him so unscrupulously
Ever since he relied on Hua Shigang to win the favor of the emperor, and spent a lot of money to befriend the powerful officials in the court, so that his status in Jiangnan was as high and stable as Mount Tai, Zhu Meng had never encountered such a bold person. Even Yang Du, who had been ordered to be killed alive by him before, was only in a more intense tone and was far from such a direct threat.
But today Sun Tu actually said that, and he said it in front of everyone. What is the difference between that and slapping him in public
At that moment, the strong murderous intention could not be suppressed and rushed straight to his head. Zhu Meng was about to roar and ask the guards outside to immediately cut Sun Tu into pieces with knives. But just as he was about to say these words, his heart suddenly became cold, because he found that Sun Tu in front of him was extremely close to him, and the pair of eager eyes were staring at him, like a bird waiting for an opportunity. Move, a terrifying beast waiting for its prey to reveal its flaws!
Suddenly, Zhu Meng thought of a saying that he had already known. The reason why Sun Tu was able to pacify all the bandits in Shandong in a short period of time was not only because of his skillful use of troops, but also because of his own martial arts that far exceeded ordinary generals. . If the rumors were true, at this distance, Sun Tu could easily control himself, and his life and death would be at his mercy.
Once his mind cleared up, he thought of the terrifying nature of Sun Tu's threatening words - 20,000 Shandong troops were about to arrive at Jinling! That was a powerful army that could put down the bandit-ridden Shandong in a few years. It was obviously much stronger than any army inside and outside Jinling today.
Just a team of 300 people can break into the military camp, overwhelming thousands of Gaoyou troops without any resistance. Now the force has been increased seventy times. Even if all the troops inside and outside Jinling are united, I'm afraid He's not his opponent... Even if the other troops are not as strong and good at fighting as Sun Tu's personal guards, they are not the ones Zhu Meng dares to provoke easily.
It wasn't until this moment that he truly understood why Sun Tu, with his status as Sun Tu, could be constantly promoted despite having a grudge against Cai Jing, Gao Qiu and Liang Shicheng, and was now safe. In addition to having Tong Guan as his backer, the soldiers and horses under this person are his greatest protection. At this moment, the anger in my heart had long since dissipated, replaced by fear and fear.
The deep fear and fear caused the anger in Zhu Meng's heart to be suppressed in the blink of an eye. His red face changed, and he showed his signature smile: "What Qianli said is too outrageous, you Shandong The army can travel thousands of miles to the south of the Yangtze River to ping the thief. He is my brother Zhu Meng. How can we let you be bullied by such bastards? Wang Kaiwen, right? We must punish him severely. Someone—"
Following his order, several trusted soldiers who were guarding outside the hall quickly ran in, waiting for the order. Zhu Meng glanced at Sun Tu, risking his own life after all, so he could only say with a cold face: "Wang Kaiwen, the granary supervisor, acted recklessly and used power for personal gain. This is an unpardonable crime. Go and capture him now." , If you dare to resist arrest, you will be shot to death!" He deliberately strengthened his tone in the last sentence, and winked at the leader's confidants.
This man understood immediately, crossed his hands and obeyed the order, and immediately led the people away. It was only then that Peng Yongzhen, Fan Feng, and others in the hall calmed down from the panic just now, and then they were a little confused.
They looked at Zhu Men and Sun Tu with confidence. They really didn't expect that Zhu Men, who had always been arbitrary and unscrupulous, would compromise on Sun Tu.
At this time, Zhu Meng also showed his deep side of the city. His expression was completely as usual, and he said seriously: "Qianli, are you satisfied with this treatment?"
"Xiaoguan really admires Commander Zhu for being able to make such a just decision." Sun Tu was also very understanding and did not say anything provocative. He just complimented him and said seriously: "But I really can't believe it. A small Guan Gou official dares to do such a thing. I'm afraid there is an instigator behind it. I ask Commander-in-Chief Zhu to investigate carefully, otherwise it will only chill the hearts of all the soldiers."
"Of course, I will get to the bottom of it and give you a satisfactory answer Qianli." Zhu Meng chuckled and glanced at Fan Feng and Peng Yongzhen, who had long been silent: "Peng Qian, what did your subordinates do? When things like this happen, what do you say as your boss?"
Peng Yongzhen trembled when he heard this and understood immediately. Obviously, Zhu Meng, who had suffered a big loss from Sun Tu, wanted someone to vent his anger, and he and Fan Feng immediately became the best people to vent his anger to. This made him extremely sad and angry, but he did not dare to refute or contradict him. He did not have as much confidence and courage as Sun Tu.
So after a brief silence, he could only say: "Commander Zhu, what Fan Feng did was really inappropriate. It is suspected of disturbing the morale of our military. I will remove him from all official positions and wait until the report is reported to the court before making a decision." !" At this time, the only option was to abandon the soldiers to save the chariot. At least he was kind and wanted to save Fan Feng's life.
But Zhu Meng is obviously dissatisfied with this, because in his opinion, he is so embarrassed and disgraced today. In the end, it is thanks to two losers, Fan Feng and Wang Kaiwen. Wang Kaiwen is dead, and Fan Feng cannot do anything. Keep. So after Peng Yongzhen finished speaking, he snorted: "It is a serious crime to disturb the morale of the army, not to mention that it is still a war, so it is an extra crime. Come on, capture him for me, he will be in the city tomorrow Make the punishments clear and correct to improve the discipline of our army!"
"Shuai Zhu, I have been unjustly accused... My Majesty, I am here to serve. I know I was wrong. Please spare my life..." Upon hearing this, Fan Feng really collapsed and immediately kowtowed hard and begged for mercy, even looking at him with eyes. Sun Tu: "Sun Qianji, you promised the villain that you will protect my life..." The reason why he was so cooperative before was because he had obtained Sun Tu's guarantee before entering the door. At this time, his life was in danger, so he asked for it. Sun Tu here.
Sun Tu didn't want to break his promise at this time, so he hurriedly took another step forward: "Zhu Shuai, now is the time to employ people. It is not good to kill generals well. After all, it is not good for him to be an official. It is better to let him take the blame and perform meritorious service to see the consequences. , otherwise other soldiers and horses will inevitably be resentful in their hearts even if they don't say anything." After saying that, he also looked at Peng Yongzhen who had kept silent, and his meaning was already very clear.
Zhu Meng was a smart man after all, and he immediately understood the meaning of Sun Tu's words. Although he was the nominal commander-in-chief of the various armies in the south of the Yangtze River and had great authority, in fact the more than 100,000 troops and horses may not really obey his orders. Otherwise, Jinling would not be in such chaos today. This is entirely the result of the armies disobeying military orders and Zhu Meng turning a blind eye to it.
And once he really kills Fan Feng because of what happened today, he may be able to scare all the generals, but it will also make people more distrustful of him. If there is an eventuality, other people will disperse in a hurry. ,
I am really blind.
Although he was annoyed in his heart, Zhu Meng still understood what was more serious, so he snorted: "Since it is Sun Qianji who pleads for him, I will take back his life. But if you are guilty of death, you will not be able to escape life. Someone, come and take it." He pulled him down and gave him a heavy blow with eighty army sticks to serve as a warning to others!"
This time Sun Tu couldn't intercede for Fan Feng anymore, and the latter didn't dare to complain again, so he obediently tied his hands and was dragged outside to fight with the soldiers who came in. At this time, Sun Tu also took it easy and flattered Zhu Meng a few words, saying that he was just and decisive and a model official, and then left easily.
As for how Zhu Meng cursed and smashed several valuable antiques after he and Peng Yongzhen left, he couldn't care less. Anyway, Sun Tu won a great victory in today's battle. He and his soldiers truly established their authority in Jinling, and also let everyone know what kind of person he, Sun Tu, was.
Of course, this will all happen after tomorrow. When he walked out of Zhu's Mansion, someone was eager to greet him. It was not other close guards, but Tong Mu. At this time, Tong Mu was still full of anxiety. When he saw Sun Tu come out, he breathed a long sigh of relief: "Sanlang, you have finally come out. When I heard the screams inside, I almost wanted to break in." I'm going to save you." In desperation, even his title changed to the same as before.
Sun Tu smiled at the other party with some emotion: "Second brother, don't be nervous. Unless Zhu Meng completely loses his mind, he won't dare to attack me. What's more, with my martial arts, I won't be afraid if he really wants to fall out." Just like Zhu Meng before. As Meng guessed, if he really dared to order Sun Tu to be taken down, Sun Tu would immediately take action, hold the fat man hostage, and then go out of the city to join his troops. Under the circumstances at that time, he still had this certainty.
"You always like to take risks..." Tong Mu smiled helplessly, and then frowned: "In this way, you have completely offended Zhu Meng, and you are not afraid that he will let you and your troops go to war in the future. Suffering?"
"Even if nothing happened today, he has been thinking about dealing with me." Sun Tu smiled, and he understood this point clearly, and said nonchalantly: "So now, it is not good for me to cause this incident. There is no loss at all, and maybe it will gain the favor of many people. And if the matter is completely messed up this time, they will no longer be able to do anything with the military rations. It can be said that there is no harm at all. "
Seeing that he was speaking firmly, Tong Mu stopped trying to persuade him and just sighed with a wry smile. Only then did he realize that there was indeed a huge deviation between his and Sun Tu's ideas and concepts. This person's methods and courage were much more drastic than what he had imagined before.
"But I have to thank my second brother this time. If you hadn't spoken to Fan Feng before, he might not have been so cooperative." Sun Tu said with a smile.
It turned out that just before Sun Tu came to see Zhu Meng, Tong Mu stopped them halfway. After failing to dissuade Sun Tu from taking the risk, he deliberately "taught" Fan Feng a few words, and then he became so cooperative when he came to Zhu Meng and took the initiative to tell the truth about the matter.
As for what he was talking about, it was nothing more than to expose the matter and tell the other party that he had become an abandoned son. If he wanted to save his life, he could only do what Sun Tu wanted. This was the reason why he later asked Sun Tu for help. It can be said that although Tong Mu did not actually participate in this battle, he still helped Sun Tu a lot. This person's intelligence is definitely not inferior to those of the famous military planners.