Tong Guan's sudden entry into the palace to see the driver, as well as the various practices of Jinyan to exonerate Sun Tu, were soon known to the Taifu Liang Shicheng, who was also born as an eunuch. But at this time, he was too late to take countermeasures, especially after knowing Zhao Ji's final reaction, he knew that the situation was not good, and he had to contact Gao Ji on the same front to deal with it.

Originally, it was impossible for these two powerful ministers to surrender their identities for the sake of a mere six-rank military attaché, but now that the two of them can't take care of it, Sun Tu's thorn in the side cannot be eradicated, which not only makes it difficult for them to understand the hatred in their hearts, but also provokes their prestige. So in the afternoon of this day, the courtiers under the two received an order to impeach Sun Tu at all costs.

When the next day of the court meeting, hundreds of courtiers were ready to go with bullet badges, and they only waited for the permission of the officials to attack together. However, all these arrangements were completely shattered shortly after the start of the meeting.

Because when Zhao Ji opened his mouth to ask the courtiers to wait for the speech, Tong Guan was the first to stand up and make the Qingzhou good news sent by Sun Tu public, and then congratulated loudly: "The minister congratulates His Majesty, and congratulates me for the Great Song!" The former served as the prefect and the governor of Qingzhou for several years, and it took more than ten years to pacify the rebellion of the three mountain thieves in the territory that could not be pacified by countless money and food, and was finally quelled by the new Qingzhou governor Sun Tu, and it did not cost the court a soldier or a grain, which was actually a model for local military attachés. Your Majesty can get such an outstanding and capable soldier, which is the blessing of my Great Song Dynasty! ”

Zhao Ji also smiled happily at this time: "What Tong Qing said is very true. Since I ascended the throne, I have known that there are constant bandits in the Great Song Dynasty, especially in Shandong, where thieves are everywhere, and the imperial court has repeatedly urged the local government to exterminate the thieves and pacify the people, but to no avail. This time, Sun Tu, the governor of Qingzhou, was able to eliminate thieves for the country and share my worries. The Privy Council, the Ministry of War, and the Yamen think that such a meritorious service should be rewarded? ”

As soon as the emperor's words came out, the movements of those officials who were about to move suddenly froze. They really didn't expect that Sun Tu would level Erlong Mountain again in a short period of time, so that there would be no more bandits in Qingzhou, and this credit is indeed not small.

It was Gao Yu and Liang Shicheng, who were also stunned for a while, and some couldn't understand Sun Tu's approach. He actually fought so hard knowing that the imperial court would condemn him, didn't he think that there would be a result of hiding the bow? Didn't he think that he could use the means of raising his own self-respect?

Tong Guan has been paying attention to the changes in the expressions of Liang Shicheng and the others, and when he saw this, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, and then he said: "Your Majesty Mingjian, this matter has been discussed with the Ministry of War. However, because he had acted arbitrarily and wantonly killed local officials for the sake of Qingzhou's stability, this move was indeed very inappropriate, and was mostly criticized by the government and the opposition. Therefore, the minister thought that this could be regarded as his meritorious service, neither rewarded nor punished, and the soldiers made the world clear, so that the subjects of the world could know His Majesty's fairness and sage. ”

Zhao Ji glanced at him with a smile, and then glanced at the ministers who were still silent at this time: "Ladies and gentlemen, do you think this is appropriate?" ”

said that he was asking for the opinions of the ministers, but just looking at his satisfied appearance with a smile and a groan, everyone knew what the emperor was thinking. At this time, who dares to rashly stand up and sweep the prosperity of the official family? After all, Sun Tu was just a small six-rank military attaché in the end, and it was absolutely impossible for him to threaten these important ministers of the imperial court present.

Even Liang Shicheng and Gao Yu were also a little hesitant at this time, with their own face on the one hand, and the emperor's holy will on the other, they couldn't make a choice. If it were an ordinary official, he would really dare to stand up and sing against the emperor at this time, but these two people both relied on the holy family, so they didn't dare to take such a risk.

At this moment, a slightly rickety figure slowly walked out of the minister's class, and said slowly in an old voice: "The official Shengming, this is indeed the most appropriate. From this time, Sun Tu was able to quickly pacify Erlong Mountain, and it can be seen that he is not only a rare good general in the court, but also a loyal courtier. From this point of view, he must have had a hard time acting recklessly before, perhaps as he wrote in the recital, because Murong Yanchao and others had threatened the stability of Qingzhou, and he had to make an exception. There is a way to be under the authority of the foreign monarch, and his behavior is debatable, but it is also excusable. If the merits and demerits of this time are added and the merits are offset, there is no need to investigate his guilt again. ”

With his statement, the actions of the ministers in the palace were completely retracted - Taishi Cai had already opened his mouth to speak for Sun Tu, thinking that he could offset his merits and demerits, and whoever dared to question it again would be an enemy of Taishi. This is a big man who no one in the Manchu Dynasty dares to offend, and sometimes even more powerful than the emperor.

Even if they are unwilling in their hearts, Liang Shicheng and Gao Yu can only hate and give up. They lost this time, and the loss was ugly, not only losing Qingzhou and Murong Yanchao, who had been cultivated for many years, but also completely losing their face. I am afraid that for a long time in the future, the people of the DPRK and China will think that they are weaker than Tong Guan, and they will think that Sun Tu, the six-grade Qingzhou Metropolitan Eunuch, cannot be disposed of by their two powerful ministers.

On the contrary to them, Zhao Ji's mood was quite good: "Taishi is really worthy of me as a veteran of the court, and he sees things thoroughly." Then according to what you play, Sun Tu's case will not be investigated, and the merits will be offset. In addition, the merits of the Qingzhou soldiers who have repeatedly broken the thieves still have to be rewarded, and the household department has considered rewarding some silk goods, and Keri will send it over. I hope that the soldiers and horses of the other state capitals of the Great Song Dynasty can also pacify the local thieves as soon as possible, just like Qingzhou, so that the imperial court will have no worries during the Northern Expedition, and can recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun as soon as possible! ”

"Your Majesty, the Privy Council will go down to Zhuzhou Road, in the hope that all localities can pacify the thieves as soon as possible and return the peace of the world to my Great Song Dynasty!" Tong Guan reacted quickly, and immediately stepped forward to express his position. Subsequently, other courtiers also followed up, and the court meeting suddenly became united and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Tong Guan, who had returned to the Privy Council in the Scattered Dynasty, finally swept away the gloomy atmosphere that had been in place for many days, and after seeing Fang Qian, he patted him happily on the shoulder: "Liangyu is really extraordinary, this time it is really as you expected, everything has passed." Presumably, some people in the court are about to lose their heads now, as long as I do the errand that the saint desperately needs to see next year, I will be able to fulfill my long-cherished wish for many years! He laughed as he spoke.

"Xiaguan doesn't dare to be greedy for merit, everything is Tong Shuai, you have won the trust of Your Majesty." Fang Qian hurriedly flattered, and then reminded: "Since the imperial court has this intention, Tong Shuai should also make plans early." When the news is transmitted to Qingzhou as soon as possible, so that Sun Tu can be grateful in his heart and serve Tong Shuai with all his heart in the future. Judging from the repeated victories in Jiangzhou and Qingzhou, Sun Tu is very good at training and using soldiers, and maybe he will become a big help to Tong Shuai in the future. ”

"Well, that's a good thing to say. Although the Western Army has a good relationship with me, it is not my direct relationship after all. If Sun Tu really has some ability......" After thinking for a moment, Tong Guan nodded and said, "Then you can send him a letter in my name." In addition, give him another three thousand taels of gold. It is impossible for the court to reward him for his military exploits, so let the old man reward him. lest he stretch out his hand to the army and take away the rewards that should have been shared among the Qingzhou officials and soldiers. ”

"Tong Shuai is wise, presumably once Sun Tu knows Tong Shuai's hard work, he will definitely be grateful." Fang Qian also glanced at the other party with some admiration, and then hurriedly went to do business.

￥￥￥￥￥

Eight days later, Qingzhou City.

Naturally, the reward of the imperial court cannot be delivered so quickly, and with the current effectiveness of the officialdom of the Great Song Dynasty, I am afraid that this reward will not be able to meet until the beginning of spring next year. However, the messenger sent by Tong Guan delivered his letter and the three thousand taels of gold to Sun Tu at a very fast speed.

For such a result, not to mention Huang Wenbing, even Sun Tu was a little surprised. In fact, he didn't think too much about it before, but he couldn't swallow the breath of being ambushed before, and he didn't want to leave regrets here, so he would send troops to attack Erlong Mountain desperately.

Originally, he had prepared for the worst and was ready to have a good deal with the court, but now it was a surprise. Although there were many reproaches in this letter for his audacity, Sun Tu could also see that his risk of killing all the officials in Qingzhou City had come to an end.

"Hu ......" felt that it was not only Sun Tu who breathed a sigh of relief, but also a group of subordinates in front of him, in fact, after returning from Erlong Mountain, these people were very happy on the surface, but they were still inevitably nervous in their hearts.

"Brother Huang, you may be relieved now, right?" Sun Tu asked with a smile after taking the letter from Huang Wenbing's hand.

Huang Wenbing could only smile bitterly: "Having said that, the lower officials still feel that your previous behavior was too reckless. Actually......"

"Okay, there is no need to mention the past, then we have to look at the long-term, since the imperial court is no longer pursuing this matter, it is recognized that we are temporarily in charge of Qingzhou's civil and military affairs, and presumably the successor will not come in a short time......" This is the truth, under the experience of Murong Yanchao and others, even if the imperial court now appoints new relevant officials below the Qingzhou prefect, they do not dare to go to the post at will, after all, Sun Tu is too strong, and the means are too ruthless.

Saying that, Sun Tu looked at Huang Wenbing and said: "We are all martial artists, and we can govern the army, but it is far from enough to govern the people, so then Brother Huang, you will temporarily take over the power of the Qingzhou prefect, and you can't let the people in the territory mess up the rules." ”

As soon as these words came out, Huang Wenbing was stunned, and then became a little excited. When he followed Sun Tu before, he just wanted to get a serious background, although he went through a lot of hardships and dangers later, and almost lost his life, but he didn't expect the benefits to come so big and so quickly. Don't look at it as a temporary prefect, it has not been recognized by the imperial court, but he believes that as long as he does his errand well, the imperial court will really be able to hand over this position to him smoothly at that time, which is a height that many scholars from the imperial examination cannot reach in their lifetime.

This time, Huang Wenbing was really convinced by Sun Tu, and he was grateful.