Fang Qian's arrival is indeed a bit unreasonable, because now that the rewards of the imperial court are still on the way, there is really no need to send someone to notify first, even if this is in order to transfer Fang Qian away so that he can completely control all the power of the Privy Council, he can be sent to another place for business. As for the court's praise for Sun Tu and his soldiers, it can also be explained after the relevant rewards and other things arrive in Qingzhou, so that the effect can be better.

So in Sun Tu's opinion, his appearance is a bit redundant. The only explanation is that he has other responsibilities in Qingzhou.

After only thinking about it for a while, Sun Tu said directly: "Fang Chengzhi should have other things to say when he came to my Qingzhou, there is no need to hide between you and me, just say it directly." ”

Fang Qian smiled slightly embarrassed when he heard this: "Haha, I still can't hide a pair of discerning eyes from thousands of miles." Since you have said so, I am not good to hide it, in addition to telling you the reward of the imperial court, there is also an important matter to tell, not long ago, the Privy Council and other relevant yamen have made a statement to the officials, thinking that the rebellion in the south of the Yangtze River is a great disaster, and now the local officials and troops are not able to calm the chaos, so it is necessary to send powerful soldiers and horses from other places to support, and this army under your command is a rare elite division of my Great Song Dynasty, so everyone's meaning is to hope that you can calm the chaos in Jiangnan as soon as possible. And I'm here to inform Qianli one step earlier, so that you can prepare as soon as possible, and when the rewards are in place, it's time for you to lead the army to the battle. ”

Even if Sun Tu was indeed prepared, he couldn't help frowning after hearing this decision of the imperial court. After a while, he said in a low voice: "Is this the meaning of the imperial court, or is it just the idea of Gao Yu and others?" What is their intention? ”

Fang Qian just smiled meaningfully: "Is there a difference?" Now that the officials and the courtiers have made a decision, and even the will and the Privy Council have been issued, the matter is a foregone conclusion. What you have to do now is to make relevant preparations as soon as possible, so that you can get on the road as soon as possible. ”

Sun Tu exhaled a breath of turbidity, and sure enough, blessings and misfortunes lurked, and finally encountered a series of happy events, and after only a few days, greater trouble came to the door again. The imperial court let him lead troops to quell the chaos in Jiangnan, and what he said was righteous and strict, but in fact, what those people were thinking, he was clear in his heart.

This is obviously because he is afraid of himself, and he is worried that if he continues to stay in Shandong, he will continue to expand his power, and eventually he will not be able to lose it, so he wants to transfer himself from Shandong. Once he leads the army to the land south of the Yangtze River, where he is not familiar with his life, I am afraid that it will be difficult to develop again. Even, as long as there is a mistake on the battlefield over there, those guys in the DPRK and China will use this as an excuse to deal with themselves.

But this matter is not easy to refuse, because Sun Tu is still a court official after all, unless he raises the banner of rebellion at this time, he can only follow orders. And Sun Tu also knows very well that with his current strength, it is far from enough to be an enemy of the entire Great Song Dynasty.

After a while, he looked at Fang Qian with a straight face: "What is that Tong Shuai's opinion?" ”

Although Tong Guan had already gone to the border and seemed to have nothing to do with the affairs of the DPRK and China, in fact, Sun Tu knew very well that this was just an appearance. With Tong Guan's power in the court, the slightest disturbance can be quickly known by him, let alone Gao Yu and others making such a big move.

Fang Qian's gaze drooped slightly, he didn't dare to look at Sun Tu, and said softly: "Tong Shuai also feels that everything should be based on the overall situation. Now that the situation in Jiangnan is rotten, it is indeed time for someone to clean it up. And Chisato is the most suitable person for this role! ”

"Tong Shuai really thinks highly of me, I have less than 20,000 soldiers under my command, but there are more than 100,000 soldiers and horses in the south of Jiangxi, and the court has sent more than 200,000 soldiers and horses before to quell the chaos, and I'm afraid it's just a drop in the bucket."

"Qianli is too humble, there is a way that the soldiers are not many but fine, and the generals will not be brave but strategic, you and the soldiers under your command have both, and you can calm the thieves." Fang Qian said, and comforted him again: "And you don't have to worry too much about people and land when you go to Jiangnan, Tong Shuai has always been friendly with Zhu Jiedu, with him cooperating with you to quell the chaos, you will be able to succeed immediately!" ”

"Zhu Jiedu envoy? Zhu Mian? Sun Tu sneered, and after the other party nodded, he finally didn't say the sentence "Fang La's rebellion was caused by him", but said after silence: "Since the court has made up its mind, of course I, as a courtier, dare not shirk it." However, this time we went to Jiangnan to quell the turmoil, and all logistical baggage in our army must be completely guaranteed, and we can no longer be detained by others as before. ”

Seeing that Sun Tu should respond to this matter, Fang Qian was also greatly relieved, and immediately patted his chest and promised: "That's natural, you can rest assured, when I return to Beijing, I will help you keep an eye on the logistics, and never let people cause you any more trouble." Moreover, Mu Gongzi is now also serving under Zhu Jiedu's envoy, with him, what else are you worried about? ”

Hearing him mention Tong Mu, Sun Tu finally showed a smile in his eyes, this old friend had been separated from him for several years, and he didn't know how he was doing under Zhu Mian. Presumably, with his ability and talent, he always has something to do in Jiangnan.

It can be said that Sun Tu can have such a status today, in addition to his own efforts and some luck, Tong Mu has also helped a lot. If it weren't for him in Bianjing to help Tong Guan speak, Sun Tu would not have become a court official in a short period of time, and then step by step to the present. After drinking water and thinking about the source, Sun Tu still has a good impression of Tong Mu, and he also thinks that one day he can repay him for his help.

Seeing Sun Tu smiling, Fang Qian was also relieved: "Then it's decided, Qianli, you are preparing for a good life in Qingzhou, and when the reward is delivered, you will set out as soon as possible." The chaos in Jiangnan can't drag on any longer, otherwise it will affect my Great Song Dynasty's national policy of recovering the sixteen states of Youyun next. ”

Sun Tu glanced at him, and then he completely understood why he was in a hurry to come and convince himself - being supported by Gao Yu and others was only one aspect, and the more critical thing was probably that Tong Guan pushed behind his back. Because Tong Guan is also anxious to see that the Jiangnan Rebellion is pacified as soon as possible, so that he can join forces to launch the Northern Expedition. Only by making a century-old contribution in that major war can he return to the court and fight with Cai Jing and others!

In a sense, Sun Tu was the key to his goal, so even if he temporarily lost control of the Privy Council, he had to let Fang Qian make this trip. "Now that Tong Shuai has decided, the lower officials should be ordered! If you go to Jiangnan, you will do your best to calm the chaos for the country! This time, Sun Tu's answer was particularly firm and sonorous.

Compared with him, some of the generals under his command were a little worried after learning of the decision of the imperial court, especially the cautious people such as Lin Chong, Qi Desheng and others, who were even more worried, and couldn't help but say: "This decision of the imperial court is too unreasonable!" My Shandong army and horses have been fighting for many years, and now it is not easy to pacify many bandits in the territory, just when they are recuperating, they actually let me wait to cross thousands of miles to Jiangnan to quell the chaos, how can the soldiers have such strength? ”

"Yes, Eunuch, we've only been resting for more than a month, and even our iron bodies can't hold it. And since it is a matter of the single-mindedness of those fellows, it must seem to me that we must not fall for their schemes! ”

Song Jiang, who was newly surrendered, said at this time: "Although there is some truth in what you said, but after the imperial court military order has been issued, can the capital eunuch still be able to disobey the order?" As courtiers, we should put the affairs of the court first, how can we abandon our official affairs for our own selfish thoughts? "Well, he, the former bandit leader, is much more conscious than the court generals.

It's just that these few words caused a burst of dissatisfaction among everyone, and Dong Ping sneered: "The lord of Song Zhai is really loyal to the king, if we didn't know about it, I would have thought that you were a rare loyal minister of the court." ”

"You...... Since I, Song Jiang, have returned to the imperial court, I should be loyal to my duties, so what is wrong to say! Song Jiang immediately defended, but what was greeted by a burst of mocking laughter made his face turn red and blue, which was not a good taste.

Now that those who can enter the hall to discuss major matters, there are only a few people in Liangshan's generals, including Song Jiang, Huang Xin, and Hu Yanzhuo. Because it is the relationship between the generals, they act and speak very cautiously and low-key, even if they are sneered at, they do not dare to attack at this time, they can only bow their heads and endure silently.

Sun Tu saw that the others were talking a little excessively, so he coughed and said, "Okay, don't say such hurtful words." In fact, what Brother Gongming said is also very reasonable, we have eaten the king's fortune, and we should be loyal to the king. What's more, I have already agreed to this matter, so today I asked you to come not to discuss whether to send troops, but to discuss how to send troops, and the next step after arriving in Jiangnan. ”

Sun Tu's prestige in the hearts of everyone is still very strong, and as soon as he expresses his position, the generals will no longer dare to raise objections, but they are still frowning one by one, and they can't come up with a decent statement for the time being. After all, everyone knew about this unprepared, and their minds were still a little confused.

At this time, Zhu Wu opened his mouth: "Eunuch, I think the most important thing is the issue of grain and grass, we can ask the court to need a large supply of grain and grass before we can leave!" ”

This immediately won the approval of many people: "Yes, we can no longer be short of food before the war as before, so we have negotiated the conditions with the imperial court, and we have to send us tens of thousands of grains before we can leave." ”

Song Jiang wanted to say something, but after seeing Sun Tu nodding, he swallowed it back. He could see that these Shandong officials and soldiers were much more complicated than he thought before, and their loyalty to the imperial court was far from comparable to their loyalty to Sun Tu.