The sun is in the west, and the autumn breeze is blowing, making a few big trees in the courtyard rattle and fall leaves.

In this picture-like courtyard, there is a kind of elegant poetry in the tea game, but the three people who are talking are talking about the scenery, which adds a bit of solemnity to this mid-autumn season.

The two sides of the game are Sun Tu and Tong Mu, the two most powerful Yiwen and Yiwu in the Song Dynasty now, and Tang Feng is watching the chess, playing chess, and now it is the chess to the end, Sun Tu has been killed, and the defeat has been decided.

But at this moment, their minds are no longer on this game of chess, and they are also talking about the incident thousands of miles away. I only heard Tang Feng say softly: "Not only in Hangzhou, but also in Suzhou, Jinling and other places where there are township examination rooms, there have been some things where candidates have made trouble, and many innocent people have been injured or killed because of them. Although the government has moved in time, and even dispatched troops and horses to suppress it, the situation is still not optimistic. ”

"It's because someone is getting in the way, right?" Sun Tu didn't even raise his head, his eyes still fell on the chessboard, and asked casually.

"Exactly. Originally, the Jinling Guard General planned to take people on the spot, but those scholars and candidates were vigorously defended by local officials, making it difficult for the soldiers there to start. As for Suzhou, the local governor really took down a lot of people, but when he sent people to prison again, he was pushed back by the local prefect, and now he is also in a dilemma. Tang Feng said this with some anger in his eyes.

However, Sun Tu smiled lightly: "Without the protection of these local officials, they would not dare to do such a thing." What about the situation in Hangzhou? ”

"The people of the Imperial City Division have sent back the news, although Lin Zhanzhi hesitated, but still arrested all the people according to the secret order and put them in prison, resulting in the overcrowding of Hangzhou cells now, and some people died of traumatic attacks. In addition, although Dai Quan, the prefect of Hangzhou, was willing to cooperate, he was also embarrassed because of it, and he had already written a recital and sent it to Beijing. ”

It wasn't until after listening to this report that Tong Mu was a little worried: "Qianli, is this too radical?" If we really suffer too many casualties because of this, I am afraid that all the scholars in the world will regard us as enemies, and then our reputation will be completely ruined......"

Sun Tu smiled and moved a chess piece in his hand again: "Do you think that if we don't do this, our reputation will be good?" In fact, I had the same idea as you before, so I have been cautious about abolishing ancient texts in the past two years, but what is the result? None of those so-called Confucian disciples regard me as a deep enemy, and the world says that I am a traitor. Now I have also figured it out, if you want to achieve great things, you can't have too many concerns, and how much impact can those comments from the people have on me?

"You also know that Cai Jing and his ilk were called traitors and rated as six thieves, but what was the result? If it weren't for me leading troops to kill from the north, they would still be high-ranking officials and hold authority to this day, how could they be affected in the slightest? As for the so-called notoriety left by Qingshi, it is even more of a big joke, history has always been written by the victors, not by some readers, they are not qualified enough to evaluate my Sun Tu! ”

As soon as these words came out, Sun Tu's eyes flashed faintly, which made the hearts of the two people in front of him feel a pang. Tang Feng, who was most familiar with him, had already felt the powerful killing intent in his heart, which also made him feel excited, and his eyes were blazing: "What does the captain command, he will definitely do his best." ”

Sun Tu didn't pay attention to this henchman's request to fight at this time, but looked at Tong Mu, who had changed color slightly: "What, are you afraid?" ”

"That's not it, I, Tong Mu, have never been a mediocre person who pays attention to fame, not to mention that after I am Tong Guan, my reputation has long been bad, and I don't care about a little more infamy." Tong Mu smiled, shook his head and said, "I just feel sorry for those candidates and scholars, they should have a good future, but they have to be at the mercy of others and become enemies of the imperial court." I'm afraid that after this scene, many people's lives will be completely ruined. ”

"That's what they asked for, but only in this way can the other scholars know the determination of the imperial court." Sun Tu said with a solemn face: "Although I am not from a school background, I fully understand the thoughts of these so-called pillars of the country.

"On the surface, they seem to have a heroic heart, so they are fearless. But in reality, that's just self-deception. In the past, it was only no one who dared to attack them, which caused them to become arrogant and rampant today. But once there are really casualties, when the imperial court really disregards their identities and punishes them severely, the waists of these guys who talk about the teachings of the saints all day long will only be softer than ordinary people, and their knees will only bend more violently. ”

Sun Tu's inference came from his knowledge of history, because as far as he knew, hundreds of years later, those scholars of the Ming Dynasty were the fastest to kneel under the rule of the Manchus. The so-called integrity and loyalty can be completely discarded for the vast majority of scholars, after all, when these ethereal things are compared to real lives, they are not worth mentioning at all.

You must know that after the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, he really dared to raise a butcher's knife and slaughter the Han people unscrupulously. Maybe at the beginning, there were still some people who fought for their lives to regain their sight, but what was the result? The death of the dead, the death of the dead, in the end, can only grovel, become a shunmin with a pig's tail dragged behind his head, become a slave of the Eight Banners, and even be a slave.

Since history has proved that those scholars are not as backbone as they imagined, and they can't subdue them by means of Huairou, then Sun Tu can only use some extraordinary means to suppress them this time. Anyway, he has decided to abandon the ancient texts, and then use this to popularize cultural knowledge to the people of the world, and it is impossible to change it.

What's more, now this has involved a bigger scheme, and in the face of such a major event, the life and death of hundreds and thousands of scholars and candidates are not worth mentioning at all. This is their fate, or rather, they have chosen a dead end. Since they chose to be the enemy of Sun Tu, don't blame him for being a killer.

In fact, Tong Mu had already understood Sun Tu's intentions, so he didn't persuade him more, but he still didn't understand a little: "Qianli, why did you want to light this fire in Jiangnan first?" After all, it is your fiefdom, and it is closely related to you and me, and many soldiers are from Jiangnan. ”

"You have already said one of the reasons, it is precisely because Jiangnan has a deep relationship with us that it is even more important to start there, because even if there is a mess, we have enough ways to deal with it. As for the other point, it is that only Jiangnan can withstand this damage. The local literary affairs are thriving, and even if there are no hundreds of scholars this time, in a few years, more scholars will still emerge. But if you put it elsewhere, it will be difficult to restore it. ”

These words made Tong Mu stunned again, but after thinking about it carefully, it was really like that. If other places give hundreds of this year's candidates a pot of stew, I am afraid that the cultural and educational vitality of ten or twenty years will be greatly damaged, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to produce a top-notch character in 30 years. But Jiangnan has no concerns about this, so it is most appropriate to use it.

"Now that you've made up your mind, I can't say anything more." Tong Mu nodded: "What are you going to do with those candidates who were taken down?" ”

"Take away his fame, beat him on the board, and then flail it to show the public. And stipulated, from now on, he will not be allowed to participate in the imperial examination, and I just want everyone in the world to know what it will be like to be an enemy of me. Sun Tu immediately gave his own decision, just one word, even if the future of those thousands of scholars was completely ruined. It was Tong Mu, and after hearing this, he also slammed out.

He knew too well what this would mean, those candidates who made trouble because of a moment of confusion or other reasons were completely finished in this life, presumably after knowing that this was the result, they would inevitably regret their stupid decision, and others would definitely take this as a warning, and no longer dare to be enemies of the imperial court and oppose Sun Tu.

Tang Feng's focus is not here, for him, those candidates who dare to go against are already lucky to end up like this, if they depend on him, I am afraid that none of those people will survive. What he was most concerned about was the question of several other troublemakers who had not yet been taken down: "Taiwei, what should be done with Jinling, Suzhou and other places?" ”

"Well, I think since the local officials refuse to cooperate, they should go up to someone else who is willing to cooperate." Sun Tu said coldly: "In addition, there will inevitably be waves again during this period, so we have to send a few troops and horses to suppress the scene." Transferring troops from elsewhere may not be effective, and the forbidden army can only be dispatched from Beijing. I have already made arrangements for this matter earlier, and the soldiers and horses will be out of Beijing in the next two days. ”

When Tong Mu heard this, his brows furrowed: "But in this case, the garrison of the Jingshi will have to be reduced a little." Moreover, it is reported that the Western Xia envoys will arrive in Beijing in two days, and various arrangements will inevitably have to draw a large number of soldiers and horses, so won't it make the defense of the capital more and more empty? ”

Sun Tu smiled disappreciatively: "What is this?" Is there anyone in Tokyo who dares to confront me head-on? Not to mention Tokyo, it's the entire Great Song Dynasty, except for some people who make a small move behind their backs, no one dares to have any thoughts. ”

Tang Feng also said in a low voice: "What the Taiwei said is that everything is under our control, and the transfer of tens of thousands of people will not affect the situation in the capital at all. ”

Tong Mu saw that they were all confident, so it was difficult to persuade anything, so he could only nod and say: "Then everything will come according to your wishes, and I will help you watch the affairs of the court." Speaking of which, with a movement of his hand, the horse jumped in a chain, and Sun Tu's old handsome man was checkmated to death.