After everyone dispersed, there were only a few close subordinates left in the hall. Zhu Meng's anger had slowly dissipated, and he spoke much calmer than before: "It seems that Sun Tu can't be considered to have escaped from the battle. If he hadn't I'm afraid the consequences of temporarily changing to Danyang are unpredictable."
But then, he changed the subject: "But it is true that he did not obey my general and took the decision without authorization. Do you think we can punish him for this crime? And in Changzhou, the Shandong Army just stood by and watched, which led to the failure to win. One point, how should we deal with it?"
The generals and staff were silent for a while. After a while, Xue Xian spoke up and said, "Shuai Zhu, I'm afraid this won't be easy to handle. Sun Tu is too courageous. If he really turns against him, there's no guarantee that he won't." If we take more drastic actions, the gains will outweigh the losses."
"What do you mean?" Zhu Meng frowned and asked in a somewhat unhappy tone.
"Now Danyang is in his hands, and the food is also under his control. Once he is determined to be our enemy, those food and grass will..."
"He dares!" Zhu Meng immediately yelled angrily: "If this is true, he will be a sinner of our Song Dynasty, and everyone will kill him! Even if his entire clan is destroyed, it will be light!"
Although these words were serious, several people present remained silent, not because they acquiesced, but because they could not directly deny Zhu Meng's statement. Because from the victory report, they could clearly see that Sun Tu was going to use the food there as a bargaining chip for self-protection, and it would be useless no matter how angry Zhu Meng was.
"Shuai Zhu, as far as I know, Sun Tu killed imperial officials many times when he was in Shandong. In addition, when he attacked the Liangshan bandits not long ago, he disobeyed the order and did not use troops according to the formation plan laid out by His Majesty. In the end, nothing happened because of his great achievements. This man is so courageous that no one among the generals in the world can match him." Xue Xian could only speak more straightforwardly, pointing out what Sun Tu was. what kind of person.
This time, Zhu Meng was indeed unable to get out of his attack, but his expression became more and more gloomy: "Even if his own sins can be overcome by saving Danyang, what about the Shandong Army in Changzhou?"
"The Shandong Army all followed Sun Tu, and Peng Yongzhen was naturally unable to command them based on his popularity. What's more, saying that the Shandong Army missed the opportunity to fight in Changzhou and led to the defeat of this battle is all one-sided words of the Huainan Army, but it may not be accurate. If this is not the case, but Zhu Shuai punishes them for this, I am afraid it will chill the hearts of all the soldiers." Although he felt a little uneasy, Lu Bofei still told the key point that he thought of.
If there had not been the successful report from Danyang later, even if everyone could clearly see some problems in the Changzhou battle report, they would not expose it in front of Zhu Meng. But now, with some concerns, in order to prevent Zhu Meng from making mistakes that would affect the overall situation, they could only tell the truth.
Not only Lu Bofei, but also Xiao Jing, who had always kept a low profile and refused to speak when Zhu Meng asked him by name, took the initiative to speak up: "Zhu Shuai, we really can't draw a conclusion now about how the battle in Changzhou will go, at least until all the soldiers from both sides have returned. Jinling will make a decision after careful questioning. In my opinion, Gu You's report is full of lies and I would like to ask Commander-in-Chief Zhu to make a clear judgment!"
Even the cronies around him didn't agree with him taking the opportunity to attack Sun Tu and the Shandong Army. This made Zhu Meng both angry and a little panicked: "Can't we deal with Sun Tu?"
"Don't worry, Commander Zhu. Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, everything should focus on the army. But
As long as we turn the tide of the battle around, we will still have plenty of opportunities to attack him. At least this time, Sun Tu's embezzlement of our army's grain and grass in Danyang was enough to ruin his reputation! "Xue Xian is indeed Zhu Meng's most trusted first adviser, and one sentence hits the key point.
Sure enough, Zhu Meng asked anxiously: "How do you say this? Do you think Sun Tu will embezzle the food and grass I stationed in Danyang?"
"Zhu Shuai, he clearly stated in his victory report that only half of the food and grass was rescued, and the rest was burned by the thieves when they left. This matter is so strange. As long as we investigate deeply in the future, we can always find out Come up with some roots.”
One sentence immediately reminded Zhu Meng and others. The former narrowed his eyes and sneered: "You are right. I am afraid that Sun Tu deliberately underestimated the food figures in the victory report. What does he want to do? Is he planning to use the food to continue recruiting troops and win people's hearts? It seems that Sun Tu's ambition is not small, and he is indeed a major hidden danger in our Song Dynasty court."
Some other people also quickly understood, but the expressions on their faces were different. Some were greatly relieved, while others felt chilled but couldn't express it. Because they suddenly discovered that Danyang's disaster had actually done Zhu Meng a big favor.
As people close to Zhu Meng, they certainly knew what he was doing behind the scenes. Abusing power for personal gain and reselling large amounts of military rations to various parts of the north in exchange for money was his biggest income in the past few months. But because of this, there was a huge deficit in the military rations sent by the imperial court.
Zhu Meng has been deducting food and grass from various armies. In addition to wanting to control the imperial troops, it is also because the food on hand is indeed much less and he cannot fully allocate it, so he can only use a dragging trick. Originally, this matter might really cause a big problem at some point in the future, but now, with the rebels' invasion of Danyang and the appearance of Sun Tu, he was able to blame all the problems on Sun Tu.
Although this approach made many vested interests relieved, it also made some people feel chilled, but they just did not dare to reveal it in front of Zhu Meng.
After making a decision, Zhu Meng became even more determined: "Then let's follow this arrangement. Xue Xian, Lu Bofei, you are trying to let us know that Sun Tu deliberately concealed and hid military rations after retaking Danyang. Be sure to let us know. Let all the troops in Jinling believe that this is the case, and I will make him the enemy of all soldiers. Then it will be much easier to get rid of him!"
Perhaps Zhu Meng didn't have much ability when it came to using troops to fight, but when it came to deceiving people and scheming, he had plenty of means. In order to pin this crime on Sun Tu, he actually started to make arrangements.
After the two staff looked at each other, they stood up again, clasped their fists and accepted the order.
Therefore, in the next few days, the theory that Sun Tu pretended to be a public servant for personal gain, took the opportunity to embezzle a large amount of military rations, but lied about the battle situation and put the blame on Fang La's army spread widely in Jinling City.
At the same time, another theory began to be spread intentionally, that is, the Shandong Army only wanted to protect itself and had no intention of killing the enemy. This led to the defeat of the Changzhou Battle. As for the identity of the person who spread this news, there is no need to ask. He must be Gu You and other officers and soldiers in the Huainan Army.
The news spread extremely quickly, not only among the military, but also among the people. As the saying goes, everyone's mouth is full of gold and bones are destroyed. After some malicious slander, Sun Tu and the Shandong Army
The reputation plummeted. In addition, he had been accused of "killing Mr. Xie" before. It can be said that in half a month, Sun Tu almost became a villain in the eyes of the entire Jinling area, even more popular than Zhu Meng who brought disaster to the country and the people. cast aside.
When these feedbacks continued to reach Zhu Meng's ears, he was naturally very proud. He just thought that if he continued, he would soon be able to use this public opinion to completely eradicate Sun Tu.
After these claims were spread, they were quickly mastered by some thoughtful people, who then took them to the south, sent them to areas under anti-military control such as Suzhou and Hangzhou, and reported them to the government enemies.
Pang Wanchun knew these sayings in the middle of the winter month. He couldn't help but burst out laughing and said to Fang Shifo, who was always unhappy in front of him: "Brother Shifo, you don't have to worry too much. Maybe it won't be necessary." How long will it take before Sun Tu, whom you and I regard as our formidable enemy, will be eliminated by Song Ting himself?"
Danyang's defeat was a serious blow to the opponent's La army. For this reason, they even stopped their march northward and temporarily defended many cities that had been captured before. They also launched an attack on Wuxi and other cities. The men and horses who had been on a strong offensive were also brought back.
Because Pang Wanchun knew very well that with the failure of his plan to attack the east and the west, the overall strategy he had originally planned could no longer be implemented. In addition, the two losses in Changzhou and Danyang severely dampened the morale of the entire army. He must first stabilize the morale of the army before making another plan. He planned it.
Among the soldiers in the army, the ones who suffered the most serious setbacks were the Ten Buddhas. As a younger brother of the Fang La tribe and a rare famous general with both wisdom and courage, Fang Shifo has always had smooth sailing since he started his army and has never lost a battle. Although this gave him a very high prestige and reputation in the army, it also made him inflated to the extreme. He even threatened that as long as Fang La gave him an army of 100,000, he could attack Bianjing City.
The more arrogant a person is, the greater the blow he will suffer when he encounters setbacks. This defeat in Danyang was a serious blow to the opponent's Ten Buddhas. It had been more than half a month, and he still hadn't been able to adjust his mood. He was in a state of confusion. Sometimes when I talk about Sun Tu and the Shandong Army, I can't help but feel fear.
This is not what Pang Wanchun wants to see. Today, he took advantage of the opportunity to receive the news from there and enlightened Fang Shifo: "Look, this Sun Tu is not really as scary as you described. He is actually just like ordinary people." General Song is no different, he is also a greedy person, and he has put his hands into the army rations."
Looking at the secret report in his hand, Fang Shifo looked thoughtful: "I knew that the Song Dynasty had been completely corrupted, and it was a good opportunity for us to replace it. But based on these statements, could we really kill Sun Tu? Zhu Meng and the others Will he really break his arm because of this?"
"Without Zhu Meng's fueling the flames, how could these statements have become known to everyone in Jinling and other places? If my prediction is correct, this is the harbinger that they are going to attack Sun Tu."
"Ah? Why is this?"
"Zhu Meng has always been jealous of talents and talents. Since Sun Tu has performed meritorious services many times and is not of the same mind as him, Zhu Meng will not let him go with his character." Pang Wanchun obviously knew Zhu Meng well, and he immediately The key point is revealed. After a pause, he smiled again: "What do you think Sun Tu's situation is now? Will he be afraid? Or, he will be dissatisfied because of this, or even..." A bold idea has emerged from his mind. .