Looking eagerly at the emperor above, Gao Qiu's heart grew higher and higher. He was afraid that he would be deceived by Sun Tu, so he nodded easily. He really didn't want to go to the north. Although with his status as Lieutenant Gao, even if he did get there, even if the Song Army was really defeated, he wouldn't be in any life-or-death crisis. But that was the northern border after all. How could life be as comfortable as in Tokyo.
What's more, if he really goes to the north to serve as Nao Shizi's supervisor, I'm afraid he won't be able to come back in a year or two. This is extremely fatal for a powerful official like Gao Qiu who only relied on the emperor's favor to reach a high position. matter. The two-year blank period was enough for the emperor to forget about himself. Even if he came back safely, it would be difficult for him to regain his former glory. The result can be seen from the fact that the Privy Council, which was originally under Tong Guan's control, has become his back garden, Captain Gao.
Another point is that Gao Qiu is really afraid that Sun Tu will be harmful to him. He knew very well that just as he hated Sun Tu to the core, the other party also wanted to find an opportunity to kill him. After all, the death of Zhou Tong and others was inseparable from him. And as long as you get to the front line, there will naturally be many such opportunities, which is more convenient than using some means to cause Sun Tu to die in Tokyo.
But at this moment, Sun Tu's voice sounded again: "Captain Gao, His Majesty has always trusted you and entrusted you with such an important task. How come you don't even have the thought of sharing His Majesty's worries and serving the court?" Really? Could it be that you only care about yourself all the time, but you are endlessly loyal?"
Just like the rhetoric used by Gao Qiu and others to suppress Sun Tu, his words were also heart-breaking and hit the opponent's key point. Once Gao Qiu shirks again at this time, even if Zhao Ji avoids the matter in the end because of the love between the emperor and his subjects, a thorn will inevitably be planted in his heart. This is a huge hidden danger for him, Gao Qiu.
At the same time, these few words also moved Zhao Ji, making him suddenly firm up in his initially loose mind: "What the Marquis of Yue said makes sense. Gao Qiu, you have suggested the Northern Expedition many times before. This time I I will grant you the position of supervising the army and go to the north to assist Tong Guan in defeating the Liao Dynasty and capture the Sixteenth Province of Youyun!"
As soon as these words came out, Gao Qiu felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His face suddenly turned white and his body was shaken violently. After a long while, he knelt down and responded tremblingly: "I have received the order to thank you..." Even his voice was trembling. Because he knew that at this point, he didn't even have the slightest chance.
The Gao Qiu party members next to them all looked nervous. They also knew that once Captain Gao left, another incident would happen in the court, and the situation of themselves and others would be in danger. At the same time, these people slowly thought of something. The reason why Your Majesty made this decision was not only because of the influence of Sun Tu's words, but the more critical point is probably that Gao Taiwei's favor has declined and is no longer what it was before. .
Although the deposing of Prince Zhao Huan the year before last seemed to be over, in fact there was still a thorn in the emperor's heart, that is, Gao Qiu, who had colluded with him before. It was only due to the years of friendship between the emperor and his ministers and the fact that he had many party members in the court that the emperor did not launch any punishment. But just from Zhao Ji's later attitude towards Sun Tu's murder of Gao Duo, without going into too much detail, we can get some clues.
Today, this speculation has come true, and the rift between the emperor and his ministers has become established. Even if Gao Qiu comes back in a year or two, the status in the court may not be what it is today. After thinking about all this, many people have begun to think of their own escape route, and naturally they dare not wade into this muddy water.
Gao Qiu was in agitated mood
I haven't thought about it that deeply yet, I'm still thinking about ways to avoid leaving the court. Looking at it now, the only way is to pretend to be sick. Come to think of it, I am not young anymore. As long as I suddenly "get seriously ill" before Sun Tu sets out, the emperor can't be so careless about the health of his subjects, right? And as long as you give yourself half a month to arrange everything, you can avoid finding any problems in this matter.
Just when Gao Qiu was secretly thinking about this idea, Sun Tu spoke again: "Your Majesty, I think that since the matter has been decided, the military situation in the front is like a fire, and the troops are very fast, we should set off quickly. Even if it is only five thousand people first. Forbidden Army, that is also a great encouragement to the frontline soldiers."
This made Zhao Ji slightly happy and said with a smile: "Then according to the opinion of the Marquis of Yue, when should we set off?"
"It's better to catch the sun than to hit it. Let's make it tomorrow." Sun Tu said what he meant without hesitation.
"I am very pleased that the Marquis of Yue is truly loyal to the country. Since you have this intention, as you said, we will lead the army to leave Beijing early tomorrow morning!" Zhao Ji nodded with satisfaction.
As for Gao Qiu, he was stunned on the spot as he was hit hard again. At this moment, even the last bit of hope was gone. This Sun Tu was really vicious. Did he insist on dragging him into the muddy water? But now, he could no longer refuse, so he could only say yes and think about what preparations he should make.
Sun Tu beside him looked at Gao Qiu thoughtfully at this time: "You found this yourself. Wait until you leave Beijing and see how I manipulate you!"
Killing Gao Duo with his own hands was not enough to relieve his hatred. He had not been able to think of a proper way to deal with Gao Qiu. Now that he had bumped into him, there was no need to be polite. Although some things are risky, you still have to do them!
￥￥￥￥￥
"The general actually wants to go north to the border to fight against the Liao army?" When Sun Tu returned to his mansion and told the story, the people involved all screamed in surprise.
Sun Tu had completely calmed down at this time: "I was completely unprepared before and couldn't refuse, so I could only go there once. Besides, I am also very concerned about the war in the north. If I can go there in person to do my part, I can always It can be regarded as an explanation for myself."
"But it's quite inappropriate to take the soldiers and horses from Jiangnan with them."
"Yes, General, that's where our foundation lies. Once we go to the north, I'm afraid the court will have no worries and will attack you."
"Yes, General, please think twice, you cannot take this risk."
These subordinates have followed Sun Tu for a long time, are loyal to him, and know all the inside information. Therefore, they will naturally feel uneasy once they learn about this arrangement of the imperial court.
Sun Tu seemed very calm: "This is indeed a problem, but we also have countermeasures. Don't forget, Jiangnan today is very different from two years ago."
Everyone was startled for a moment, then understood. Although it only lasted two years, Jiangnan's military strength had grown tremendously. When Sun Tu came, he had only 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers, but now, relying on the prosperous environment in Jiangnan and the unremitting efforts of Tong Mu and others, the number of soldiers and horses that can be mobilized has more than doubled. But the emperor and his ministers in Tokyo were not very clear about all this.
The imperial court had always only counted the numbers of local soldiers and horses based on military rations and wages, so local generals would find opportunities to take advantage of them. But now the Jiangnan side is
It went in the opposite direction. While constantly increasing troops, it never asked the court for an extra penny or a grain of grain. This led many people to misjudge this, thinking that there were only 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers at most. Just soldiers and horses.
In fact, there are now 123,000 elite soldiers in Jiangnan. This is the accurate number that Sun Tu got just a few years ago. The so-called elite soldiers are all trained according to the military training methods Sun Tu left before, and they are an army that follows orders and prohibitions. Although he has never actually been on the battlefield and seen blood, his combat power is much stronger than all the Xiang armies of the Song Dynasty and 80% of the Forbidden Army.
So now as long as someone takes 60,000 people northward and leaves half to station in the south of the Yangtze River, Sun Tu will be able to ensure that nothing goes wrong! After understanding the truth, these subordinates finally calmed down and followed the orders with clasped fists.
Later, Sun Tu called Tang Feng, Cui Lueshang and others to him, and said sternly: "This time you will stay in Tokyo and help me take care of my family. Don't let other Xiaoxiao have any opportunity. In addition, , I will also ask the Tody family to take more care of them, so that we can keep our family safe."
Tang Feng and Cui Lueshang looked at each other, and then they both clasped their fists sternly: "I accept my order!" Originally, the former planned to follow Sun Tu to the north, but now that he has a heavy responsibility, he did not dare to shirk it.
At dusk, Sun Tu came to Di Mansion again and met his two uncles. It is said that Di Huchen was also greatly affected by the prince's incident, but fortunately, his family was a great minister of the Song Dynasty. He kept his official position and was not demoted from the capital. However, he has been cautious in the past year and did not dare to have more children. Something happened.
After learning that Sun Tu was going to the north, the two brothers were also greatly surprised. After some concern, they agreed to Sun Tu's request. Afterwards, Di Huchen wrote another letter and handed it to Sun Tu: "My fifth brother Heming and seventh brother Fengteng are fighting in the north now. If you go there, you can meet them. "This is the key to the Di family having a place in the court. It can also be seen that Di Huchen still attaches great importance to Sun Tu.
In fact, it's better not to pay attention to it. Once the prince falls, Di Huchen will be a thing of the past. If there are no relatives like Sun Tu to help him, then when he gets old, the Di family will really fall.
Sun Tu also took the letter quite solemnly, thanked the other party again, and left in a hurry.
By the time he got home, it was already dark. Two wives and a pair of children had been waiting for him in the backyard early, and they had already learned the sudden news from the servants.
The daughter, Feng'er, was not sensible yet. When she saw her father coming, she just begged for a hug, but her son had a look of reluctance and never let go of his father's hand. As for the second daughter, she was even more worried: "Why are we going to fight again? Is there no other general available in the court?"
Sun Tu hugged his daughters and comforted them: "It's just the Northern Expedition. Your husband, I, have gone on many expeditions in the past, and haven't I come back victorious? This time is of course no exception. Just wait at home with peace of mind. I will I think it won’t take more than a few months before we can return victorious.”
Not to mention Ya'er and the others, even ordinary people on the street may not be able to coax them. But at this time, the two women, who knew that the matter was irreversible, could only choose to believe it, and nodded with tears in their eyes: "Then we will wait for you at home, and wait for you to come back as soon as possible to celebrate Hutou's birthday this year. .”
Hutou's birthday is on the 18th of July, and today is the 17th of the first lunar month, which is exactly half a year.