As we enter the end of November, the weather is getting colder and colder. And unlike the dry cold in Shandong, the damp cold in the Jiangnan area is obviously more unbearable. Even if you wear thick clothes and coats, as long as you are not indoors with a brazier, you can still clearly feel the bone-chilling chill. .
In order to prevent his soldiers from freezing in this unfamiliar place, Sun Tu decisively took out a large amount of winter supplies from the warehouse and distributed them. Thick battle coats, slightly bulky cotton shoes, plus a considerable amount The charcoal can make the life of the soldiers in the city much easier, but in this way, the consumption of these materials will be great. If Zhu Meng or the court pursues him at that time, he will have to suffer a lot.
However, Sun Tu didn't take such things to heart. Anyway, he already had too many debts, and he was not afraid of the crime of using military funds for private purposes. On top of this, he has already been charged with fatal crimes such as disobeying orders, making arbitrary decisions, and plotting evil intentions. The first one in particular is a taboo in the military.
This crime not only refers to the fact that he divided his troops and came to Danyang when he was supposed to support Changzhou, but also to a series of subsequent performances. During the half month after occupying Danyang, Sun Tu received a military order from Jinling almost every day or two, ordering him to immediately lead his army back and report to Zhu Meng face to face. It can be said that he was under great pressure. It's almost better than the twelve gold medals Yue Fei received for retreating.
But Sun Tu was more arrogant than Yue Fei. He only accepted military orders but did not obey them, pretending that he knew nothing. Because he knew very well that if he really returned to Jinling with only Danyang's troops and horses, he would probably be sending the sheep into the tiger's mouth, and it would be difficult to return once he left. Therefore, he found a lot of excuses such as the soldiers were tired and the place was unstable. , which lasted for more than half a month.
Of course, he also knew that procrastinating like this was not an option. Zhu Meng could still fool him here, but once his complaint was actually brought to the court, his situation would become even more difficult, so he had to have more chips to protect himself, such as Bring back the main force of Shandong.
However, Zhu Meng also understood this and would never allow Sun Tu to regain control of this large army, so he made arrangements early to let Peng Yongzhen lead the Huainan Army to hold back the local Shandong Army. Unless Dong Ping, Song Jiang and others over there Otherwise, it would be impossible to leave Changzhou, and they obviously did not dare to do such a thing.
As a result, a strange situation formed. Jinling, Danyang and Changzhou were all guarded by the Song Dynasty official army. However, these four groups of people checked and balanced each other. As a result, the Song army had a slight upper hand on the opponent's La army but failed. There is no way to take advantage of the victory to expand this advantage.
So in the final analysis, it is not unreasonable for the Song Dynasty to lose half of the south of the Yangtze River in a short period of time, and to be defeated again and again in subsequent battles with foreign enemies such as Liao and Jin. The generals were suspicious and the incompetent took high positions. This made the Song army, which was already weak in combat power, even more unbearable.
After Sun Tu understood these hidden worries, he secretly regretted it. If he had known that it would be like this, he should have directly led the entire Shandong army to Danyang. Such an initiative would still be within his control.
"Hey..." Standing in front of the map of Jiangnan that he was already familiar with, Sun Tu sighed softly, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness again.
Filled his chest. Compared with Shandong, where you can do whatever you want, the situation in Jiangnan is just like the cold and humid weather at the moment, which always makes it difficult for people to use their hands and feet.
At this time, the closed hall door was gently pushed open, bringing in a chill. Sun Tu then turned around and saw Zhu Wuzheng walking into the room holding a document, and smiled: "Why, is it another military order from Jinling urging us to return to the division?"
Unexpectedly, Zhu Wu shook his head this time: "It's a military order from Jinling. Instead of sending us back, it's an order for our army to continue going south and attack Changshu City!" As he said that, he handed the military order to Sun Tu. in front of.
Sun Tu reached out to take it, and after scanning it quickly, he showed doubts: "He actually changed his mind? And he also allowed me to go to Changzhou to join other troops and attack Changshu together?" As he spoke, he His eyes had fallen on the map, and as he moved his fingers, he had settled on the not-too-conspicuous city of Changshu between Wuxi and Suzhou.
"Yes, I also feel that this matter is too strange, and it is quite inconsistent with Zhu Meng's previous methods." Zhu Wu also frowned and said: "Maybe he has some conspiracy, otherwise he would not suddenly change his mind. So I thought , it’s better not to listen…”
"Are you going to use the drag trick again?" Sun Tu's eyes were still focused on the map, and he said: "I'm afraid this won't be easy to handle. After all, he is the commander-in-chief of the Jiangnan armies. If I even disobey the order to send troops, , he would have more reason to convict me of a serious crime and report all this to the court. By then, even if I am innocent, no one would believe it anymore. What’s more, once the matter is spread, even the soldiers below will Everyone will have some opinions."
Sun Tu's concerns were certainly reasonable. Even though he was ambitious, he was still a minister of the Song Dynasty and a general under Zhu Meng. He could still delay the previous orders to bring people back to Aurous Hill with various understandings, but today he was asked to send troops but he could not disobey them, otherwise it would confirm his evil intentions, and the consequences would be serious.
Of course Zhu Wu also understood this, so he frowned deeply: "Yes, this matter is indeed difficult. What's more, what bothers me even more is that he is so kind and allows us to go to Changzhou and Dongdu first. When they meet together, people always feel that there is fraud."
"What is the problem?" Zhu Wu was also a little confused about Zhu Meng's move. He could only guess at random: "Could it be that he has figured it out and plans to use the power of my Shandong Army to defeat Fang La first?" Let’s talk about other things after the thieves are defeated? Or, in order to use the strategy of driving the tiger away from the mountain, he first transferred us from Danyang so that he can regain control of the military rations here? "
"This is quite possible." Sun Tu was reminded by him and thought deeply: "The most important thing for Zhu Meng is to rehabilitate the traitors and get back the lost city. In fact, from this point of view, there is no relationship between us and him. We have common interests, so when he sees that he can't make us give in, he might actually make some concessions for the sake of the overall situation. As for the food here, it's just a side benefit."
The more he thought about it, the more Sun Tu realized there was a lot of truth in it, and then his eyes focused on Changshu, a city not much bigger than Danyang: "This city of Changshu is only a day or two away from Suzhou. If we can capture it, we can win it." Like driving a nail under the nose of a rebel
Now, if we want to use troops against Suzhou again, we will be much more calm. "
"But because of this, Changshu must be a key defensive location for the rebels. It will not be easy to capture it. In addition, even if it is really captured, it will be difficult to hold it unless the reinforcements can keep up in time..." Zhu Wu Yiran was worried and pointed out the problem.
"If we can really capture Changshu, we won't be far away from launching an attack on Suzhou. That's Zhu Meng's home base, and it's also where his heart aches. I don't believe he will still have any reservations then!" But Sun Tu had his own thoughts. His views, just from his words, actually revealed that he had already made a decision, that is, to follow the order and send troops to attack Changshu!
The reason for this decision was that it was not easy to disobey military orders anymore. More importantly, Sun Tu could no longer hold himself back. It is certainly safe to stay in Danyang like this period of time, but the pressure is too great after all, and there are many soldiers below who want to fight. If it continues to be delayed, it will only shake the morale of the military. Moreover, he was even more worried about Changzhou. If the soldiers and horses there also received military orders, they might not have the courage to resist the orders.
And once there is no one to direct them, and the useless Peng Yongzhen is there to cause trouble, the elite team that he has worked so hard to train may really be lost in the city of Changshu. He has no doubts about the ability of Peng Yongzhen and others to succeed more than fail. His own army still has to make the decision on its own.
So after weighing it again, Sun Tu finally turned around and said seriously: "I have made up my mind. I will follow the order and set off for Changshu! Come here!"
The hall door opened again, revealing Yue Fei's somewhat excited face outside: "Qian Ju!" He was at the door but he heard the conversation inside clearly and knew that he was about to go into battle again.
"Send me an order to have Lin Chong, Yang Zhi and other generals come here to see me immediately, and have all the soldiers and horses in the city prepare. Within three days, I will lead my army south to attack Changshu!"
"Here!" Yue Fei hurriedly crossed his hands to answer the order, and then left quickly to deliver the military order.
Danyang, a small town that originally seemed quiet and leisurely, became lively and lively again. Soldiers took to the streets one after another to deliver relevant news. Everyone's faces were filled with excitement and expectation. In fact, they were a little hesitant during this period, fearing that there would be civil strife. It's good now, I can finally let go of my worries and fight those rebels again.
By the time everything was ready, it was already the twelfth lunar month. Taking advantage of the good weather, with no rain or snow, Sun Tu immediately led his army to the expedition. Of course, at the same time, he also honestly and politely took away nearly half of the food baggage in the city, but he didn't know what Zhu Meng's reaction would be when he sent someone to take it over.
But at least Zhu Meng was quite happy when Sun Tu sent his order back to Jinling City. Looking at the letter, he laughed, and immediately there was a killing intent in his eyes: "Okay, Sun Tu, Sun Tu, you have fallen into our plan after all. This time, I will ruin your reputation. , die without a burial place!”
Before Sun Tu led his army to Changzhou to join his tens of thousands of troops, the relevant news had quickly spread to the south and fell into the hands of Pang Wanchun, who had an unpredictable smile on his face: "Sun Tu... It's a pity that I couldn't do it for you. Used by my country Wu..."