Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"You want to join me in opposing Cai Jing?"

Tong Guan was somewhat surprised.

"Cai Jing, there shouldn't be any conflict between you, right?"

Tong Guan and Cai Jing had conflicts, so their relationship cannot be considered good.

But Gao Kan... let alone Gao Kan, even when Gao Qiu was in power, he never had a direct conflict with Cai Jing.

"Of course there is! I am now a favorite of the Emperor, but Cai Jing is the de facto number one person in the capital. Do you really think the Emperor has no grievances against Cai Jing?"

"Since Cai Jing is the enemy of the Emperor, then he is my enemy!"

Gao Kan spoke with righteous indignation, and with that expression, it would be very easy for someone who didn't know him to believe him.

"I don't believe you! Are you even one of the government's men? You're clearly a member of Liangshan!"

Tong Guan pointed at Gao Kan and said.

"What do you call this? You're betraying your own people!"

“Prime Minister Tong, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want. How have I betrayed my own people?”

Gao Kan said, "Don't label him!"

"My mission was to gain the emperor's trust in the court, so I was just completing the mission and it had nothing to do with betraying my own people."

Gao Kan said that he had no emotions, only skills; he was a ruthless people-pleasing machine!

"Fine, fine, who taught you this kind of logic?"

Tong Guan said, "These fallacies are really something else!"

"You don't need to worry about that. So, Privy Councilor Tong, would you like to join me in opposing Cai?"

"I'm already here. If I say no, after I leave, will you loudly say goodbye to me in front of all the people in the capital, letting everyone know that we met in private?"

Tong Guan thought for a moment, then asked Gao Kan.

"Oh, oh, how could this be? Privy Councilor Tong, I'm not that kind of person! Come, let me toast you with this cup!"

Gao Kan smiled and raised his glass to Tong Guan, then drank it all in one gulp!

"You're the one who's not!"

Tong Guan sneered. Did he not know what kind of person Gao Kan was?

If he doesn't agree, the whole of Bianjing will definitely know that he was drinking with Gao Kan tonight!

"I'll take this cup!"

Tong Guan raised his wine cup and returned the cup to Gao Kan.

The meaning behind this cup is quite clear: Tong Guan has agreed to cooperate.

"Excellent! Privy Councilor Tong is indeed a remarkable talent!"

Are you saying I'm pragmatic?

"I didn't. Come, Grand Councilor Tong, let's drink..."

……

"Tong Guan is back? He didn't go to the palace first, nor did he return to his residence?"

At the Cai residence, Cai Jing was listening to a report from his subordinates.

As the undisputed number one person in Bianjing City, Cai Jing could certainly know whatever was happening in the city if he wanted to.

"Who invited him to the restaurant?"

"I don't know about that."

"Ok?"

Cai Jing raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. There were things his men didn't know about in Bianjing City?

"When did Bianjing City become a place we don't know about? Have we been living in peace for too long?"

"Grand Tutor, please forgive me!"

Upon hearing Cai Jing's displeased tone, Cai Jing's subordinates immediately knelt down.

"Grand Tutor, that person is quite mysterious. The restaurant is surrounded by their men, and the security is tight, so we haven't been able to find out who it is yet. But given some more time, we'll definitely find out!"

"If I cannot find the answer, I am willing to die to atone for my sins!"

"Yes, go investigate. After you've investigated, there's no need to make a big fuss. Just let me know later. I'll have a good talk with Tong Guan at the morning court tomorrow."

After hearing his subordinate's statement, Cai Jing nodded slightly, but didn't say anything more to him. Over the years, everyone in the Cai family knew the rules.

……

The next day, morning.

"My beloved ministers, if you have something to report, please do so; otherwise, the court may adjourn."

Zhao Ji began the morning court session with a bit of boredom. To be honest, he didn't really want to attend the morning court, but there was nothing he could do; after all, he was the emperor.

"Report! Your Majesty! Privy Councilor Tong is waiting outside the palace gate, carrying a bundle of thorns!"

At this moment, a guard suddenly came to report, a piece of news that surprised Zhao Ji.

"Minister Tong? Wasn't he supposed to be at Liangshan suppressing the rebels?"

Zhao Ji asked.

"Could it be that Minister Tong has returned to give me a surprise? But that doesn't make sense. He's offering to apologize with thorns on his back? Apologize for what? Quickly, let him in!"

Emperor Huizong gestured for Tong Guan to enter the palace first.

"Summon Privy Councilor Tong to the palace!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I am guilty! I have failed Your Majesty!"

Shortly after the guards went to deliver the imperial decree, everyone saw Tong Guan, shirtless and carrying a bundle of thorns, enter the palace.

As soon as he entered the palace, Tong Guan immediately knelt down on both knees and kowtowed to Zhao Ji!

He really banged his head on the ground, each bang was done with great force, and by the time Tong Guan arrived at the foot of the imperial steps, his forehead was already red!

"Minister Tong, what are you doing? Weren't you supposed to be fighting the Liangshan bandits? What crime have you committed?"

Zhao Ji was somewhat puzzled; he had never seen anyone kowtow right off the bat before.

"Your Majesty! Your humble servant has suffered a humiliating defeat!"

"Your Majesty! Liangshan is a place with many rivers and lakes, and our soldiers are not used to the local climate. Not long after they arrived, a plague broke out in the army. The Liangshan bandits took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. I was caught off guard and fell into their trap, which is why we suffered a great defeat!"

"In the chaos, I originally intended to die for my country, but thinking of the great kindness Your Majesty has shown me, and that my frail body still needs to serve Your Majesty, I risked my life to escape and rushed back to the capital!"

"But it is a fact that I was defeated and lost my troops. Therefore, I am here today to plead guilty and beg Your Majesty for forgiveness!"

Tong Guan rattled off the whole story in a rapid-fire manner, which Zhao Ji roughly understood.

Simply put, they lost the battle, but the people came back.

"Minister Tong, please get up. You are the Privy Councilor of our Great Song Dynasty, so you should maintain a proper appearance."

But Emperor Huizong of Song was easily swayed, and after Tong Guan said that, he believed most of it.

"You just said that the soldiers were not used to the local water and soil, which caused the sudden outbreak of plague in the army?"

"Indeed, Your Majesty is unaware that Liangshan is a vast expanse of water, with extremely high humidity. Most of our soldiers are from the north and are not good swimmers, which is why they have fallen ill and their fighting capacity has declined."

Tong Guan lowered his head and spoke according to the prepared script.

"The Liangshan bandits were particularly cunning and seized the opportunity to launch an attack, resulting in heavy casualties and a crushing defeat."

"Your Majesty, the responsibility for this battle lies with me. Although there were reasons such as the plague, it was ultimately my poor command that led to the defeat and heavy casualties among the Imperial Guards. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

Tong Guan knelt down and kowtowed again, weeping bitterly, and in his words, he took all the blame upon himself.

This struck many people in the court as odd.

When did you, Tong Guan, become such a responsible person?

Why don't you just go with the flow and blame everything on the Liangshan bandits, the plague, or other reasons?

But what they didn't know was that Emperor Huizong of Song (Zhao Ji) fell for this.

Emperor Huizong was very unhappy about losing the war.

Previously, almost everyone in the imperial court who lost a battle made excuses for themselves; no one took the initiative to take responsibility!

This actually made Zhao Ji very unhappy.

Are all my subjects so irresponsible?

Is no one willing to take responsibility?

This time, Tong Guan took the initiative to take responsibility, which immediately struck a chord with Emperor Huizong!

Excellent, excellent, excellent! You truly deserve to be my Privy Councilor! That's exactly how it should be!

Thinking of this, Zhao Ji raised his hand towards Tong Guan:

"Minister Tong, please get up. You have risked your life for the country and its people; what crime have you committed?"

"what?"

Tong Guan was somewhat incredulous upon hearing this, and then secretly glanced at Gao Kan.

Wow, you little rascal, you actually guessed that?