They were ordered to mobilize in the morning, and at noon they launched raids on the Wuyou Cave bandit lairs throughout Tokyo, and then defended various sewer entrances until dusk. Finally, they lit fires and filled smoke at the cave entrances in the wind and snow until midnight... It can be said that the more than a thousand people in the Criminal Department, Kaifeng Mansion and Street Department are very busy today.
When all the firewood, hay and cattle and sheep dung prepared on hand were burned up, everyone felt exhausted, and many people were even frozen and stiff. Today was the most tiring and dangerous day for them in recent years. . So when their superiors gave the order to withdraw their troops and disperse on the spot, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and left quickly with their exhausted bodies. They just wanted to have a good night's rest without thinking about anything. .
But what they didn't know was that during this operation to clear out the Wuyou Cave bandits, they were the most relaxed people, because they only had to obey orders and did not need to bear any pressure or responsibility, let alone worry about everything that would happen next. Responsibility, and all of this naturally fell on the three second-in-commands of the yamen who, without telling their superiors, forcibly ordered the eradication of bandits.
The Penal Department Yamen tonight was unusual. Even though it was past three o'clock, the lights were brightly lit inside, but no one was seen walking around inside. Except for a few soldiers guarding the front yard, everyone was in a spacious building in the second hall. In the hall, their faces looked quite gloomy and solemn.
Wei Daozhang, the minister of the Ministry of Justice, Han Xianchu, the official of Kaifeng Prefecture, and Zhao Kangming, the chief of the street department, were sitting silently in the lower office. In front of them were their three bosses and important colleagues from the three yamen. They were completely He looks like he will be held accountable.
Just before dark, their superiors had forcibly brought them here. Wei Sizheng, who was furious and could not control his anger, kept asking questions, asking them why they dared to take matters into their own hands and send his soldiers to randomly attack and arrest people in the capital. people, disrupting the order of the capital, and ordered them to immediately stop their next actions.
But the result was beyond his expectation. The attitude of the three people was extremely tough, and they had no intention of withdrawing their troops as ordered. Especially Zhao Kangming looked directly at his boss and said with a cold face: "Wei Sizheng, There is no turning back when the bow is fired. Since the official has made a decision, there is no reason to give up halfway. Moreover, the soldiers and horses I sent to suppress the thieves only obey my orders, so even if you personally give the order, Sizheng, as long as Without my token warrant, they will not retreat.”
"You... are so bold!" Wei Sizheng was so angry that he slammed the table, but for the moment he couldn't say anything harsh to threaten the other party. When he looked at the other two people, although Wei Daozhang and Han Xianchu didn't say any fierce words, it was clear from their firm expressions that they had the same idea.
"Tang Shangshu, look..." At this moment, he was completely out of ideas. He could only turn to Tang Jing, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice with the highest official position here, because he felt that with Tang Jing's old ways, he could always find some countermeasures. .
"You guys don't have to worry too much. We have already made all preparations and will finish today's errands no matter what. I would also like to ask the three superiors to give us some more time. As long as today is over, you will naturally You will know what this is for." Before Tang Jing, the boss, could speak, Wei Daozhang, the assistant minister, had already spoken: "And I can tell you that this
This case not only involves countless lives, but also involves people with high status in the court. It has long been beyond the control of you and me. "
"Shilang Wei, are you being alarmist?" Zhou Fuyin couldn't bear it anymore and asked with a cold face.
"As long as you wait for a while, you will know that what I said is true." Wei Daozhang still looked as calm as if he had the pearl of wisdom in hand, which actually made others feel more uneasy.
Tang Jing chuckled, but finally said: "In that case, it doesn't matter if I wait all night." As early as when he left the political hall, he had already noticed that what happened today was unusual, and he acted wisely to protect himself. thought. Now that everyone has arrived at his Penal Department Yamen, he no longer dares to make random moves, and can only choose to be safe.
"Tang Shangshu, if they continue to mess around like this, Tokyo may really be in chaos. And..." Wei Sizheng was obviously the most anxious one, but when he brought the topic to another key point, Tang was interrupted. Jing interrupted: "Wei Sizheng, please be patient. Things are already like this, so what can we do if we are anxious? Let's see and talk."
Although Wei Sizheng was anxious, knowing that it would be difficult to explain to someone in this way, but seeing that the two people on his side no longer insisted, he couldn't say much, so he could only hold back his temper and wait slowly.
It was the middle of the night, and during this period, the atmosphere in the hall became more and more solemn, so that the officers who came to serve tea and refill water were so frightened that they did not even dare to take a breath.
Shortly after the shift, a shocking news came to them—the bodies of dozens of children and women were dug up from several bandit lairs that were attacked by officers and soldiers. This time, it was completely confirmed that those places were indeed dens of thieves harboring filth and evil, and the actions of Wei Daozhang, Zhao Kangming and others became natural. They were doing harm to the people.
Then, it was reported that they poured cigarettes into the sewers to get rid of the thieves, which shocked other officials. Even Tang Jing couldn't bear it any longer: "You are so bold and cruel, how dare you go on such a killing spree in the city of Tokyo?"
After Zhou Fuyin's eyes flickered for a while, he asked in a cold voice: "Tell me, why did you take such a desperate risk? What is your purpose and who ordered you?"
But facing his question, the three of them remained silent. But the more they behaved like this, the more uneasy Tang Jing and the others became. They finally figured out that there must be more problems hidden behind this matter. There must be strong backers supporting them, so they dared to be so wanton. They acted recklessly, and even their superiors were ignored by them.
After holding it in for a while, the most impatient Wei Sizheng finally couldn't bear it anymore, stood up from his position, stepped forward, grabbed Zhao Kangming's collar and asked: "What are you hiding? Who is behind the scenes? If you continue to refuse to tell me, I will have no choice but to use some means against you!"
"Do you want to know the answer? Just ask me, why bother them?" A voice suddenly sounded from outside, and a tall figure strode over under the followers of several soldiers.
After seeing clearly the appearance of the person coming, Zhou Fuyin took the lead and said with a look: "Sun... Yuehou, didn't you take people out of the capital early in the morning to kill the bandits outside the city? Why did you suddenly appear here?"
As soon as he said this, others also changed their minds. Sun Tu was now known to everyone in the court, and many people were afraid of him. After all, he is the only person in the world who dares to confront many powerful officials and still ensure his own safety. Thinking back to his previous thunderous methods, several people quickly changed their minds and suddenly realized that everything today was actually carried out under his leadership.
That's not right. How could he be so virtuous and capable? How could Zhao Kangming, Wei Daozhang and Han Xianchu follow his lead and help him clear out the Wuyou Cave bandits in the capital even at the cost of ruining their own futures
Sun Tu entered the hall, glanced at everyone, and immediately understood what they were thinking, and nodded: "Everyone guessed it right, everything today is due to my arrangement. By the way, I only said before that I would suppress the bandits in the capital. There was chaos, but it was never said whether those who were suppressing were those inside Tokyo city or those outside the city.
"As for you, it is reasonable to think that I can't let the three of them help me at all costs. Indeed, although I, Sun Tu, sit upright and behave upright, I can't let others help me regardless of gains and losses, so I will Today's results are only because we are actually acting on the orders of the prince."
As soon as these words came out, there was a gasp in the hall, and everyone showed an expression of disbelief. Zhao Kangming and others did not expect that Sun Tu would be so frank and tell such a key secret in public, which was beyond their expectations. The impact on Tang Jing and others was particularly great. No matter how they thought about it before, they never thought that this matter would be related to the prince who always kept a low profile.
Although all the courtiers were respectful to the prince, in fact, in daily government affairs, almost everyone ignored the prince's existence. After all, the prince has no real power, and it is said that he is not very popular with the officials. At this time, except for the officials related to the East Palace, almost no one would think of getting involved with the prince early. After all, when today's spring and Autumn period is at its peak, why should we sacrifice the near and seek the far away
But now, as Sun Tu uncovered all this, these courtiers suddenly became aware of an extremely important fact that had been ignored by everyone - the adult prince was probably dissatisfied with being just a shadow. , will also start to get involved in the battle between North Korea and China!
Wei Sizheng's expression changed continuously. He knew some of the inside story, and he could clearly sense that the prince was weak in dealing with the thieves this time, but was real in dealing with the people behind him. This time, he really felt panicked. It's hard to say anything else. His situation would inevitably become extremely dangerous. Once he followed the Wuyou Cave bandit case, he would have nothing to hide. .
At the same time, everyone's expressions, including Wei Daozhang's, began to become solemn, because they suddenly discovered that as Sun Tu completely exposed the inside story that should have been hidden under the table, this storm would inevitably turn The situation is getting worse and worse. Today's pacification of the bandits is just the beginning. From tomorrow onwards, the fiercest battlefield will be the battle of words and arguments in the court.
But, why would he want to tell the whole story? What good does this do him
Only Sun Tu himself knew that he did this just to completely muddy the waters in the court. Only in this way could he fish in troubled waters.