Chapter 516 Brothers' Night Talk
Because he ran back and forth between the government office and the Northern Pacification Office twice, and discussed the case with Lu Hui, the moon was already high in the sky when Sun Shaozong returned home.
He got off the carriage at the corner gate and was about to call a maid to take his straw raincoat and hat back to the backyard - although this was not even a piece of cake for Sun Shaozong, but who has ever seen the master of a wealthy family walking around the house carrying a straw raincoat and hat?
But when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he suddenly remembered the young man Li Xian in the guest room of the west wing, and quickly changed his words and called the doorman to ask if Li Xian had left.
"I left in the morning."
The new doorman Wang Jin was already waiting nearby. When he heard Sun Shaozong calling him, he hurried forward and said, "Mr. Li said that his father was ill in bed and he dared not stay outside for too long. He also said that he would come to our house to thank you when you are resting."
Sun Shaozong was a little disappointed when he heard this. He had originally planned to strike while the iron was hot and accept this child prodigy who was suspected to be a historical celebrity as his disciple. Although it was not a good match for a military scholar to accept a literary student as his disciple, Sun Shaozong already had several literary scholars under his tutelage, as well as the scholar Xiong Guang, so accepting another student was naturally not a big deal at the moment.
Speaking of Xiong Guang, Xue Pan was drunk as a dregs yesterday, I wonder if he still remembers what I entrusted to him...
Forget it. Liu Xianglian’s wedding is just a few days away. If that idiot really forgets about it, the worst that can happen is that he can just bring it up again when the time comes.
"Ji Lang!"
Just as he was thinking about helping Xiong Guang get a job, he heard someone in the corridor in front of him calling out in a full-throated voice: "The food and wine you've been waiting for are getting cold. Come on, come on, I have something to discuss with you!"
Having said that, he turned and walked towards the front hall.
Could something strange have happened again?
Sun Shaozong hurriedly caught up from behind and was about to ask what was going on, but the cheap elder brother raised his hand and said, "Wait until you go in and sit down."
Sun Shaozong had no choice but to shut up and followed his elder brother into the living room. Before he sat down, he saw a booklet spread out on the dining table. He didn't need to read the words carefully, just looking at the unique layout, he knew it must be a court report.
Judging from the situation, the matter that my elder brother wants to discuss with me should be related to the latest issue of the official newspaper.
but……
There doesn't seem to be anything closely related to the Sun family here, right?
He sat down at the banquet with full of doubts, and saw Sun Shaozu raised his chin, pointed at the official report with his beard, and asked, "You should have read the official report yesterday, right? I heard someone spread the news today that His Majesty might dispatch the Shenji Battalion to the south to quell the rebellion and test the power of this new musket."
As he spoke, he leaned forward and asked with great interest: "What do you think, brother, if I take the initiative to take on this task and make some contributions? At least I can remove the word 'power' in front of the commander, so that I don't always look down on others in the Shenji Camp!"
Upon hearing this, Sun Shaozong was nervous, but he immediately let go of more than 80% of his tension. He lazily leaned back on the chair and said with a smile: "Brother, don't believe everything you hear. Don't say that this is probably a rumor - even if it is true, you must not get involved."
Seeing his cheap brother's eyes wide open, he seemed a little dissatisfied, so Sun Shaozong hurriedly explained: "When I came back from Qianxiang Country, I went to Huguang. Although it is still some distance away from the Wuxi Barbarians, I know that there are deep mountains and . Not to mention that firearms are difficult to use in the forest, even if they can be used, the ammunition supply is also a problem."
After listening to Sun Shaozong's brief description of the mountainous terrain of Huguang, the cheap eldest brother was immediately deflated - he had been in the Shenji Camp for several months and had a preliminary assessment of the pros and cons of the new firearms. He knew as soon as he heard it that the Shenji Camp would be of no use in this matter.
"Damn it!"
He poured himself a drink, slammed the cup down on the table, and cursed: "If they are barbarians from the mountains, why call them Wuxi barbarians? I heard that this place is not far from Dongting Lake, so I thought they were a group of pirates!"
"Damn it, these thieves don't know how to pick a good time. They caught me when I was still in the patrol camp. Who cares if they are mountain bandits or water bandits? They will be wiped out in one go!"
"That's great. The credit is simply going to someone else!"
Sun Shaozong couldn't help but smile when he heard this. No wonder his elder brother was so excited just now. Firearms were not convenient to use in the mountains, but they were a powerful weapon in water battles.
But then again, even though the Shenji Camp will not be used to quell the rebellion this time, it may be necessary to transfer some troops from the patrol camp or the city defense camp.
After all, most of the troops in the southwest are now deployed in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Shu. If they are transferred to Huguang to quell the rebellion at this time, it is very likely to give the six countries in southern Xinjiang an opportunity to take advantage.
And the troops in the southeast...
We are currently not able to defend against the Japanese pirates, so where can we draw troops to Huguang to quell the rebellion?
Not to mention the north. The imperial court would never transfer border troops to the south unless it was absolutely necessary.
Therefore, the only people who had the spare capacity to be sent to Huguang to quell the rebellion were...
wrong!
The capital city is currently surrounded by crises, and the troops of the patrol camp and the city defense camp cannot be easily mobilized.
Mobilizing the troops close to the retired emperor might cause him to misjudge the situation; mobilizing the emperor's confidants, the royalists are already at a disadvantage in the patrol camp and the city defense camp, and if they want to transfer a group of backbone members to the south, wouldn't that be handing over the military power of the capital?
Tsk~
With this in mind, the imperial court might have no choice but to take the route of appeasement.
However, in Sun Shaozong's view, this offer of amnesty was probably a temporary solution. If the conditions were too bad, the Wuxi barbarians might not agree; if the conditions were too good, it might give other ethnic minorities the illusion that "killing people and setting fires will earn you a golden belt".
You have to know that the ethnic minorities in the Zhou Dynasty have been suppressed for more than half a century. Once they develop the illusion that "rebellion is justified and looting is meritorious", it will be no joke.
This situation is really a dilemma!
If I were responsible for suppressing the rebellion, what choice would I make?
I definitely won't offer them amnesty, surrender is more like...
"Jiro."
Sun Shaozong was making great plans in his mind when he suddenly heard his elder brother say, "I'll accompany you to Prince Zhongshun's mansion tomorrow. Although the prince is a petty person, as long as the money is in place, I'm not afraid that he will bear a grudge."
"Don't worry yet."
Sun Shaozong shook his head and said, "I'm afraid that Prince Zhongshun is angry right now. Besides, if he forces us to fight to the death with the Niu family, there will be no room for maneuver."
After saying that, seeing that his elder brother's eyes were still full of concern, he smiled again and said, "Don't worry, I have the Crown Prince's protection. Even if Prince Zhongshun wants to touch me, it won't be that easy. Besides, you and I are both registered in front of His Majesty. With the current situation in the capital, how can His Majesty allow him to mess around?"
When the cheap brother thought about it, he realized that this was the truth and felt relieved. He then raised his wine cup and drank with Sun Shaozong.
