It was nearly three o'clock, and the night sky was as dark as ink, with only a few stars twinkling occasionally, making the sky even more lonely.
In the city of Tokyo, in the back garden of the Taishi Mansion, the powerful Cai Jing did not go to bed early as usual. Instead, he was accompanied by a group of servants, supported by others, and walked slowly among the flower paths. , an old face full of difficult thoughts.
Not long ago, Grand Tutor Liang Shicheng, who had always had a quarrel with him, suddenly came to visit him, and then told a shocking news - Gao Qiu's death was not an accident due to sudden illness, but was killed by Sun Tu, and Almost all of his close associates were killed and silenced. Only a general named Gao De escaped with his life and returned to Tokyo after many twists and turns.
Although Cai Jing had great doubts about Gao Qiu's sudden death from the beginning, he did not investigate further because he could not get any clues and evidence for the time being. But now, with Liang Shicheng's proof, and the general named Gao De recounting the events of that day in a tone full of resentment and pain, he was completely convinced that the matter was true, and that Sun Tu was indeed better than he thought. More bold and ruthless.
At that time, Liang Shicheng bluntly stated that he would immediately report to the emperor, and then send troops to capture Sun Tu and other relevant key criminals. These guys who were daring and ignored the king's law would be cut into pieces with a thousand knives and punished accordingly. But Cai Jing did not nod. He just said that he wanted to verify the authenticity of this statement and sent him away.
Then, Cai Jing returned to the backyard, walked slowly in the garden under the night sky, and began to meditate. He did this not because he had always had a rift with Liang Shicheng and Gao Qiu so he didn't want to help him get revenge, but because he had a bigger concern that Liang Shicheng didn't know about yet - just a few days ago, a secret report came back from the front line. The generals Zhong Shidao and Zhong Shizhong of the Western Army actually teamed up with Sun Tu and other generals to directly place the commander Tong Guan under house arrest, seizing all the military power of the Northern Expedition.
When he received the news, Cai Jing still couldn't believe it was true. He felt that those generals could not be so bold. After all, after so many years, the generals of the Song Dynasty had long been suppressed by civilian officials and had no temper at all. How could they possibly do this? What happened to something so treacherous and treacherous that affected the lives of the whole family
But now, he had to believe it. Because there was an outlier named Sun Tu in the army. If you think about it carefully, this man had really killed many imperial officials over the years, and the status of the officials who died under him had been constantly rising. From the beginning, he was a local magistrate, and later he was a high-ranking imperial official. Now he even kills Taiwei like Gao Qiu at will. If he puts Tong Guan under house arrest and seizes his military power, it will not be a big deal.
But after thinking about all this, Cai Jing's hesitation became even worse. Because at this moment Sun Tu had the most elite army of several hundred thousand in the Song Dynasty in his hands, and he was still at the critical moment of the Northern Expedition at war with the Liao Kingdom. If he were to attack him at this time, what would happen if he resisted? Or, maybe because of him, the entire Northern Expedition went wrong and the army was defeated by the Liao army. Who should be blamed for this crime
At this moment, Cai Jing finally understood why Sun Tu had been able to avoid being held accountable time and time again when he killed court officials. This was because this person could always find opportunities for the court to take advantage of him. This person's methods were ruthless and his thoughts were so cruel. The viciousness is truly unprecedented.
It was precisely because of these many concerns that Cai Jing was unable to respond to Liang Shicheng's request, and was still hesitant until late at night.
I walked around in the courtyard and thought about it, but couldn't come up with a decision for a long time.
"Grand Master, it's past midnight. You are in critical condition, so you should rest quickly." When other slaves did not dare to speak out, Zhang Xu, his trusted advisor who had been with him for a long time, finally plucked up the courage and stepped forward to persuade him in a low voice. One sentence.
These words really made Cai Jing, who was still walking slowly, pause in his steps and said slowly: "What time is it?"
"Back to Grand Master, it's already past the third watch. You still have to go to the political hall tomorrow morning."
"Is it so late?" Cai Jing slightly sighed in surprise. He had been pacing for almost an hour while thinking about it. However, he did not go back, but asked: "Zhang Xu, what do you think I should do with this person?"
Of course, Zhang Xu understood what Cai Jing was worried about that night. When he followed, he made many calculations in his mind, then took another step forward and replied: "Then it depends on whether you plan to plan for a short time or for a long time, Grand Master." ”
"how do I say this?"
"If the plan is temporary, then I think it is really not time to attack the frontline generals at this time. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Maybe soon, our army will be able to capture Youzhou and defeat the Liao people. At least from now on According to the military reports sent in these days, our frontline army has gradually gained the upper hand. Perhaps this is also the reason why they have seized military power. Tong Guan is not actually the most suitable candidate for the head coach."
Cai Jing smiled and did not comment on this argument. Because he knew that what Zhang Xu said was indeed true, and he knew Tong Guan's ability very well. In the army, he was far inferior to Zhong Shidao and other generals of the Western Army, and the imperial court only used him because he was more reassuring.
"What if it's a long-term plan?" After pondering for a while, he asked again.
"If you, Grand Master, are planning for the long term, you cannot allow them to act recklessly. You must capture the relevant people immediately, escort them back to the capital, and kill them as a warning to others. Otherwise, there may be a big change in the army, even if they don't rise up again. I am afraid that other people will follow my example in the future. How the previous dynasty went from prosperity to decline, and why our dynasty keeps suppressing the generals, are all here."
Cai Jing's face changed several times, and his breathing became a little heavier. He was obviously making a final balance. Should he want the present or the future? If Sun Tu and the others can really capture Youzhou, it will be of great benefit to the court and themselves. After all, that has been the wish of countless people in both the government and the public for hundreds of years. Once it comes true, it will surely go down in history. This opportunity was really rare, and he really didn't want to miss it.
After a while, he finally spoke again: "If they really have such ability, when do you think they can accomplish anything?"
"I don't dare to say anything about this. But before winter comes, there will definitely be a result." Zhang Xu already understood the true thoughts of the Grand Master, so he followed the trend and said: "Actually, I think that we can have the best of both worlds in the immediate and long term. As long as Taishi The division can seize its military power in time..." As he said that, he came closer and spoke out his plan in a low voice.
Cai Jing's face immediately showed a hint of joy: "You are right, whether they are Zhong Shidao or Sun Tu, in the final analysis they are just my ministers of the Song Dynasty. Since they have the handle in my hands, they will I’m not afraid that they can pull something out of the sky. At that time, all it takes is a piece of holy will to capture them. Do they really dare to risk the disapproval of the world and commit treason?"
"The master is wise, this approach is perfect." Zhang Xu said in a flattering tone.
Cai Jing just smiled and didn't say much more. As long as the strategy is set, the next thing will be much easier to handle. With Liang Shicheng alone now, it is naturally impossible to match him. It will be easy to suppress the things ahead. Now all he needs to do is to keep an eye on the north. As long as the war is over, no matter what the merits and demerits are, the emperor must quickly issue an order to capture Sun Tu and other criminal generals!
Cai Jing is very familiar with this method of burning bridges across rivers. Wasn't it because he was able to successfully break out of the government and gain so much power by first recruiting new party members and then eradicating them one by one on various charges
Master Cai, who had made up his mind, could go back to his room to rest peacefully, but under the same night sky, there were still too many people who couldn't rest. For example, Sun Tu and his subordinates were excited as they watched the Song army flag flying high at the top of Youzhou City. Another example was that they were running towards Youzhou at full speed, hoping to enter the city before the Song army and defend the city. In an important city of the Liao Kingdom, there was a light cavalry team of the Liao Army led by Yelu Dashi.
On this official road of the Liao Kingdom, which runs from south to north and leads directly to Nanjing City, thousands of horses are galloping forward with their hooves flying. The five hundred cavalry on them have stretched their speed to the limit. They leaned forward and clung to the horse's back, but even so, they still felt it was too slow, and kept whipping the horse under their crotches, completely losing their previous attitude of caring about horsepower.
It is precisely because of this determination that this cavalry team, with one man and two cavalry, was able to cover more than two hundred miles in just half a day. Now it is only fifty or sixty miles away from Nanjing, and it is almost possible to reach Nanjing in Baidu. In the sun, I could vaguely see the overall outline of the huge city.
But such rapid running has also pushed the physical fitness of people and horses to a limit. Especially when they had braved the wind and rain before, and now they were extremely exhausted.
Sure enough, with a sudden exclamation, a cavalryman who was running in front of Yelu's big stone horse suddenly fell down because his horse stepped in a puddle, and then stumbled under the feet of the big stone horse, and he was also taken away. He had to fall straight to the ground.
"Lin Ya..." Upon seeing this, all the subordinates quickly reined in their horses and stepped forward to rescue him.
Fortunately, Yelu Dashi was not that weak scholar with no strength. Even though something unexpected happened, he quickly took off his stirrups and vaulted his horse. He spun around in mid-air and finally landed safely, but his mount broke due to this move. After losing his front legs, it looked like he would have to change horses.
"Lin Ya, a humble position..." The fallen knight had a look of fear on his face. Just when he was about to admit his mistake, Dashi waved his hand: "It's no wonder that you are there. We are really exhausted from running around like this, let alone the horses. Isn't that right now? At this time, we must seize the time and continue on our way.”
Everyone responded in low voices, and just as they were about to speed up again, they saw someone suddenly pointing to the dark sky in front of them and exclaiming: "Is that... fire?"
These words immediately reminded everyone that just now everyone was focused on rushing on their way, but they really didn't see the light that was rising continuously and reflected the large area of darkness red. Yelu Dashi was shocked after looking at it for a few times: "That's the direction of Nanjing, could it be..." An extremely bad thought could not stop popping up in his mind - Could it be that he was still a step too late after all?