Sun Tu is really in the government today, and he is in a good mood.

This is not only because the drama propaganda in the past few days has had a remarkable effect, and many women have taken the initiative to go to the barracks to join the army, but also because just a little earlier, Zhu Biao and Shi Qian, two brothers who had been missing for many days, also returned to Qingzhou.

At this time, he was listening to the two of them tell about what happened before in the signing room, but after several defeats with Liangshan, they had no intention of working for Hommer and them, so they took advantage of the chaos to flee back to Zhujiazhuang, and then the two lived in the village and lived in a simple place, hiding for several months.

It wasn't until a few days ago that they learned that Sun Tu was not dead, and that he had returned to Qingzhou to regain military and political power, and the two returned to Qingzhou. mentioned the previous changes, and everyone sighed again. After scolding Gao Xiang and He Mo for their various practices, Huang Wenbing said with some concern: "Eunuch, it's been a month or two since you sent those things to Bianjing, why hasn't the imperial court heard from you yet?" This time, we have killed so many officials, it is difficult to guarantee that the imperial court will not issue an order to ask people for their crimes......"

"As long as Tong Guan is willing to speak for me, coupled with all the merits I have made before and the crime of presenting it to the capital, the court should not really condemn me." Sun Tu didn't have too much to worry about, and said with a smile: "Of course, the most important thing is that our Qingzhou's own strength must be strong enough, so that the imperial court will not dare to act rashly." Therefore, not only the male soldiers should be trained well, but even the female soldiers who are newly recruited into the camp should not be too relaxed. ”

Several people smiled bitterly and nodded, and the matter had already begun to be handled, so it was naturally impossible for them to raise any more questions. At this moment, an errand officer came to the door with a nervous look and reported: "Metropolitan eunuchs, generals, there is a young secretary of Dali Temple who claims to be from the capital called Zheng Guan and says that he wants to see the metropolitan eunuch." ”

This really means that Cao Cao and Cao Cao have arrived, and they have just mentioned the court's views on Gao Xiang's matter, and the officials of Dali Temple actually came directly to the door. This also made several generals feel a little nervous, and they all looked at Sun Tu: "Eunuch, how should we deal with it?" ”

"You don't have to be like this, isn't it just a Shaoqing of Dali Temple, we haven't done anything wrong, just see him. Go, come with me and welcome him in and talk. Sun Tu looked calm and calm, and after laughing, he took the lead in getting up and walking out. The rest of his men, after a moment's hesitation, followed.

By the time seven or eight of them arrived at the gate, there were friendly smiles on their faces. Sun Tu took the lead, and when he walked to the door, he asked, "Where is Zheng Shaoqing?" ”

"The official is here." Zheng Guan took a step forward, raised his eyes and looked at Sun Tu a few times before saying: "It is said that Sun Dujian is young and promising, and the official didn't believe it before, but it is not an exaggeration to see the true face today." As an old bureaucrat who has been in the officialdom for many years, even if he is in a hurry, he still behaves calmly and warmly at this time, as if he has a good relationship with Sun Tu.

Sun Tu also smiled and saluted: "I have seen Zheng Shaoqing at the humble level, you are really too famous." Xia Guan was just lucky, and he won a few victories by chance and leveled a few thieves, which is really not worth mentioning. After saying a few words that were humble on the surface, but actually pointed out his merits, Sun Tucai bowed down and welcomed the other party into the yamen.

After they entered the side hall of the second hall and sat down, Sun Tu asked each other about their intentions. Zheng Guan didn't mean to hide it, and immediately turned his face grim: "This official is here for two things, one is to issue an order on behalf of the official's family, and you will send troops as soon as possible to pacify the Liangshan bandits who have been in trouble for a long time in the local area. However, because the official came first, the holy decree is still on the way. ”

When Sun Tu and the others heard this, they all got up and saluted respectfully. Even if there is no official decree now, the attitude that a courtier should have is still to be shown.

However, after sitting down again, Sun Tu looked embarrassed again: "Zheng Shaoqing, although there are a few words of truth that should not be said in a humble position, I still have to say it." As he spoke, without waiting for the other party to react, he continued: "Presumably, the imperial court already knew what happened to my Qingzhou before, and the officers and soldiers under him can be called a great injury. A year ago, there were nearly 5,000 elites, but now there are less than 3,000. And because of the previous successive defeats, the morale of the Qingzhou army has been greatly damaged, and even if he has the intention to send troops at this time, I am afraid that it will be difficult to complete His Majesty's entrustment. Therefore, I also ask Zheng Shaoqing to explain more to His Majesty after I go back, spare me to wait for some time, and when I am fully prepared, it is not too late to put down the thief. ”

"Oh, how long will it take for the eunuch to send troops to quell the thieves?" Zheng Guan asked noncommittally.

"This ...... More than a year, less than half a year. ”

"Hmph, Sun Dujian, are you deceiving your own officer for not understanding military affairs?" Zheng Guan's face suddenly sank, and he said with some dissatisfaction: "The will has long been clear, it is for you to lead the soldiers and horses of the state capitals on Jingdong Road to level the thieves, but you are talking about the changes in Qingzhou?" Are you prevaricating and procrastinating, do you plan to raise your own respect, or do you have other plans? ”

This made several generals present unhappy, Yang Zhigang wanted to speak out for Sun Tu to argue a few words, but was stopped by a look from him. Then, he smiled bitterly and said: "Zheng Shaoqing's words are serious, how dare the lower officials have such thoughts, it is really true." You are in the capital and you have limited knowledge of the inside affairs of the military horses on my Jingdong Road, and now there are really few people in the state capitals and townships who can fight in a battle, take Jeju Mansion as an example, although there are 3,000 soldiers and horses, but you really want to fight with the thieves outside the city, I am afraid that it will collapse before you fight. ”

"Is there such a thing?" Zheng Guan asked with some suspicion, and after seeing Sun Tu nodding, his face sank again: "Then in the final analysis, it is still the responsibility of your Sun Dujian, since you are the Jingdong Road Governor, why would you watch the soldiers and horses under your command be ruined to this point?" ”

Zheng Shaoqing didn't know anything again, and Xia Guan was only promoted to the capital supervisor of the road by the imperial court at the beginning of last year, and he also saw the problem at that time, and he also thought about training and strengthening the army. But after that, before I could carry out this matter, I was ordered to accompany Tong Shumi to Liao. After that, Zheng Shaoqing should know everything, right? Therefore, the lower officials have no time to train the soldiers and horses from all over the country, and it is even more impossible for them to go to Ping Thief at this time, otherwise there will be no difference from the likes of Hermer who misled the country and the army before. ”

These words were sincere and reasonable, so that Zheng Guan couldn't insist on his intentions anymore. In fact, this is also because Zheng Guan is not a stubborn official after all, he is also quite upright, since what Sun Tu said is reasonable, he is not easy to force the other party.

After being silent for a while, he said: "In this case, this official will play truthfully to the official family after returning to Beijing." But I can only give you a year at most, so this problem must be eradicated as soon as possible! ”

In Sun Tu's repeated thanks, he squinted his eyes again and said, "This official still has something to investigate here, that is, about the so-called crimes of Gao Xiang and Hormer. Sun Dujian, although those charges are all signed and detained, but they are all dead, and there is no evidence for death, but people have to be suspicious. ”

Sun Tu knew very well that this was the real purpose of Zheng Guan, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, who came to Qingzhou, so he also said: "I don't dare to deceive the court about such a thing, not to mention that even if I really have the courage to lie and coax it, there are tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Qingzhou City, and the lower officials can't shut everyone's mouths, right?" If Zheng Shaoqing or anyone in the court still has doubts about this matter, they can inquire carefully in the city, in the military camp and other places, to see if Gao Xiang, He Mo and others have really done such evil things. As for the collusion of their Liangshan bandits, although there is no conclusive evidence, it is enough to explain the problem just because they let our Qingzhou army defeat the Liangshan bandits several times. ”

Seeing that he said this with a clear conscience, Zheng Guan, who is good at distinguishing people and judging cases, really can't see that he is lying and deceiving himself. And Sun Tu's response was calm enough, he could let Zheng Guan go to the city to find the people and sergeants to ask about relevant matters, either this is true, or Sun Tu has completely controlled the Qingzhou army and people in his own hands, so he will have this confidence.

Seeing that he was silent, Zhu Biao, who was already a little impatient, suddenly opened his mouth: "Zheng Shaoqing, please forgive the last general for daring to tell a few words of truth." ”

"You ......"

"The last general, Zhu Biao, is a general in the Qingzhou Army, and he is also the person who was almost killed by He Mo. Just half a year ago, we were ordered to go to the Liangshan bandits, and when we approached their water village, it was clear that our scout team had found a flaw in the enemy's ambush in front, and we were about to retreat first, but the rear supervisor He Mo issued several urgent orders, so that the last general led the army to continue to advance, until the front of Liangshan Cottage called for battle.

Although the last general delayed in every possible way, he couldn't resist the order of the official after all, and finally led more than 500 people from his headquarters to advance. As a result, he was really surrounded by thieves, and the result was that battle, that battle...... Hundreds of soldiers under my command fought to the end, but only about 30 people fought with me to fight their way out of the siege, and I was seriously injured as a result. As he spoke, he suddenly unbuttoned his armor, revealing several fresh scars on his chest, only to see that his heart and back had traces left by serious injuries, which made people feel frightened.

With his revelation, several other generals also showed their wounds, and also said their hardships and grievances during the war, which made Zheng Guan a little unsure of what to say for a while, and only after a while did he smile bitterly: "It seems that you are indeed loyal to the court, and you have suffered a lot because of the traitors." ”

"In fact, when I joined the army, I was ready to sacrifice my life for the country at any time, but we also have to die worthwhile. It is really difficult for us to accept that we were killed because of the collusion between our boss and the thieves like that. If it weren't for Sun Dujian returning in time, I'm afraid that I would have been unbearable and would have raised troops! ”

These soldiers used the most direct words to prove that what Sun Tu said was true, and Zheng Guan had to believe that what Sun Tu said was true. In this way, the two things he came here were all resolved in just over half an hour......