Towards the end of November, the weather is getting colder and colder. And unlike the dry cold in Shandong, the damp cold in the Jiangnan area is obviously more difficult, even if you wear thick clothes, as long as you are not in the room with a brazier, you can still clearly feel the cold to the bone.

In order to prevent the soldiers under his command from freezing in this strange place, Sun Tu decisively took out a large number of winter materials in the warehouse and distributed them, thick battle jackets, slightly bulky cotton shoes, and a considerable amount of charcoal, which can make the life of the soldiers in the city much better, but in this way, the consumption of these materials can be large, if Zhu Mian or the court are investigated at that time, he will have to eat some hanging.

However, Sun Tu didn't take such things to heart, anyway, he was already in debt, and he was not afraid of the crime of using more military funds for private purposes. On top of this, he has already been accused of not obeying orders, making arbitrary claims, plotting misdeeds, and other fatal charges, especially the first one, which is a taboo in the army.

This charge not only refers to the fact that he rushed to Danyang when he was supposed to support Changzhou, but also because of a series of performances later. In the past half a month after occupying Danyang, Sun Tu could receive a military order from Jinling almost every day or two, ordering him to immediately lead the army back to report to Zhu Mian in person, and it can be said that his pressure is almost higher than the twelve gold medals for retreating soldiers received by Yue Fei.

But Sun Tu is even more bullish than Yue Fei, he only accepts and does not obey such military orders, and he has the right to know nothing. Because he knew very well that if he really only brought Danyang back to Jinling, he would probably send sheep into the tiger's mouth, and it would be difficult to return, so he found a lot of excuses such as fatigue of soldiers and instability of the place, and it was delayed for more than half a month.

Of course, he also knew that it was not a way to drag on like this, Zhu Mian could still fool here, but once he really sued the imperial court, his situation would become more and more difficult, so he had to have more bargaining chips for self-protection, such as transferring the main force of Shandong back to his side.

However, Zhu Mian also understood this, and Sun Tu must not be allowed to regain control of this army, so he made arrangements early, so that Peng Yongzhen led the Huainan army to drag down the local Shandong army, unless Dong Ping, Song Jiang and others turned their faces and rebelled, it was impossible to leave from Changzhou, and they obviously did not dare to do such a thing.

As a result, a strange situation was formed, Jinling, Danyang and Changzhou were all guarded by the Great Song Dynasty official army, but these four people were checked and balanced with each other, resulting in the Song army even if it had a slight upper hand on the battlefield of the opposing army, but it could not take advantage of the victory to attack and expand this advantage.

So in the final analysis, it is not unreasonable for the Great Song Dynasty to lose half of the south of the Yangtze River in a short period of time, and then defeat again and again when fighting with foreign enemies such as Liaojin.

And Sun Tu also secretly regretted it after seeing these hidden worries, he knew that it would become such a situation, and he should have directly led the whole army of Shandong to Danyang at that time, so the initiative could still be in his own hands.

"Hey......" Standing in front of the map of Jiangnan that had long been familiar to his chest, Sun Tu sighed softly, and a deep sense of powerlessness filled his chest again. Compared with Shandong, which can be left to its own devices, the situation in the south of the Yangtze River is like the current cold and damp weather, which is always difficult for people to show their hands and feet.

At this moment, the closed hall door was gently pushed open, bringing in a chill. Sun Tu then turned around, and saw Zhu Wuzheng walking into the room with a document, and smiled: "What, it's the military order from Jinling urging us to return to the division again?" ”

I didn't want to this time, but Zhu Wu shook his head: "It's a military order from Jinling, but instead of transferring us back, it is an order for our army to continue to go south and attack Changshu City!" As he spoke, he had already handed the military order to Sun Tu.

Sun Tu stretched out his hand to take it, and quickly swept it with ten lines, and he didn't feel puzzled: "He actually changed his mind?" And allow me to go to Changzhou to join up with other soldiers and horses and attack Changshu together? As he spoke, his eyes fell on the map, and when his fingers moved, he settled on the not-so-inconspicuous Changshu city between Wuxi and Suzhou.

"Yes, I also feel that this matter is too strange, and it is quite contradictory to Zhu Mian's previous practice." Zhu Wu also frowned and said, "It's not that he has some conspiracy, otherwise he wouldn't have suddenly changed his mind." So I thought, it's better not to listen......"

"Do you want to use procrastination again?" Sun Tu's eyes were still focused on the map, and he said: "I'm afraid this is not easy to do, after all, he is the commander of the Jiangnan army, if I don't even disobey the order to send troops, he will have even more reason to convict me of a serious crime and report all this to the court." At that time, even if I am innocent, I am afraid that no one will believe me anymore. What's more, as long as the matter is reported, even the soldiers below will have certain opinions. ”

Sun Tu's concerns are naturally very reasonable, even if he is ambitious, he is still a courtier of the Great Song Dynasty at this time, and he is still a general under Zhu Mian. He could still drag on with various understandings of the orders that ordered him to take people back to Jinling before, but he couldn't disobey letting him send troops today, otherwise it would confirm his ill intentions, and the consequences would be serious.

Of course, Zhu Wu also understood this, so he also frowned deeply: "Yes, this matter is really embarrassing. And what makes the humble post even more mindful is that he is so kind, let us go to Changzhou to meet Dong Dujian first, which always makes people feel that there is fraud in it. ”

"What's the problem?" Zhu Wu was also a little unpredictable about Zhu Mian's hand, so he could only guess at random: "Could it be that he has figured it out, and plans to use the power of my Shandong army to pacify Fang La's rebels first and then talk about others?" Or, in order to use the strategy of diverting the tiger from the mountain, he first transferred us from Danyang, so that he could regain control of the military rations here? ”

"It's quite possible." Sun Tu was reminded by him and thought it was true: "The most important thing for Zhu Mian is to rehabilitate the thief and get back the lost city." In fact, from this point of view, we have common interests with him, so when he sees that he can't make us comply, he may really make a slight concession for the sake of the overall situation. As for the food here, it's just a passing benefit. ”

The more he thought about it, the more Sun Tu felt that it made a lot of sense, and then his eyes converged on Changshu, a city that was not much bigger than Danyang: "This Changshu city is only a day or two away from Suzhou, if you can take him, it will be like wedge a nail under the nose of the thief, and then you will be much more calm to use troops against Suzhou." ”

"But because of this, this Changshu must be the key place for the anti-army to guard, and it is not easy to capture it. In addition, even if it is really taken, it will be difficult to hold it, unless the reinforcements can keep up in time......" Zhu Wu was still worried, and pointed out the problem.

"If we can really take Changshu, we will not be far from launching an attack on Suzhou. It's his Zhu Mian's lair, and it's also where his heart disease is, so I don't believe he will have reservations at that time! Sun Tu has his own opinion, only from his words, in fact, it has been revealed that he has already made a decision, that is, to follow the order and send troops to attack Changshu!

The reason for this decision is that it is difficult to disobey military orders on the one hand, and more importantly, Sun Tu is indeed a little uncontrollable. It is safe to stay in Danyang like this time, but the pressure is too great, and the soldiers below also have many people to fight, and continuing to drag on will only shake the morale of the army. Moreover, he was even more worried about Changzhou, if the subordinates there also received military orders, they might not have the courage to resist military orders.

And once he doesn't command from it, and adds that waste-like Peng Yongzhen to make trouble, maybe the elite he has worked so hard to train will really die under Changshu City. He didn't doubt Peng Yongzhen and the others' ability to succeed and defeat at all, and his army still had to be in charge of itself.

So after another weighing, Sun Tu finally turned around and said: "I have made up my mind, obey the order, and go to Changshu!" Come! ”

The door of the hall opened again, revealing Yue Fei's somewhat excited face outside the door: "Jurisdiction! He was in the doorway, but he could hear the conversation clearly, and knew that he was about to fight again.

"Pass my order, let Lin Chong, Yang Zhi and other generals come here to see me immediately, and let all the soldiers and horses in the city prepare, within three days, I will lead the army south to attack Changshu!"

"Whoa!" Yue Fei hurriedly answered the order, and then quickly left to deliver the military order.

The small town of Danyang, which originally seemed very quiet and leisurely, became lively and lively again, and the soldiers took to the streets one after another to deliver relevant news, and everyone was full of excitement and anticipation. In fact, during this period of time, they were also a little hesitant in their hearts, for fear that there would be civil strife. It's good now, I can finally let go of my worries and fight those rebels again.

When everything is ready, it is already the beginning of the wax moon. Taking advantage of the good weather, no rain and no snow, Sun Tu immediately led the army to the battle. Of course, at the same time, he honestly and unceremoniously took nearly half of the grain baggage in the city, but he didn't know what his reaction would be when Zhu Mian sent someone to receive it.

However, at least when Sun Tu sent his obedience back to Jinling City, Zhu Mian was still quite happy. Looking at this book, he laughed, and immediately a trace of murderous intent appeared in his eyes: "Okay, Sun Tu, Sun Tu, you still fell into our calculations after all." This time, I will let you be ruined and die without a place to be buried! ”

When Sun Tu had not yet led the army to Changzhou to join the tens of thousands of troops under his command, the relevant news had quickly spread to the south and fell into the hands of Pang Wanchun, who had an unpredictable smile on his face: "Sun Tu...... It's a pity that it can't be used by my Wu country......"