As time went by, more and more people gathered in front of the palace. From hundreds of officials to petty officials, and then to the common people who came around after hearing the news, the number ranged from dozens to hundreds to hundreds to thousands, and the situation became increasingly chaotic and difficult to control.
Under the gaze of countless pairs of eyes, those officials even grabbed the ground with their heads and wailed continuously: "Your Majesty, I have been wronged, please make the decision for us. Even if I and my descendants are at fault, it should not be left to the emperor." When the city officials are defeated, we, the Song Dynasty, have our own laws..."
This shouting really won the support of many officials, and some people also shouted in support, which also aroused discussions among the people around them, stating their own opinions and judgments. At the same time, some people left in a hurry, thinking of putting these things aside. Rare things spread quickly.
When Sun Tu came on horseback, he saw such a chaotic scene. When he listened to the officials and nobles shouting injustice in a voice like a cuckoo's cry of blood, his face turned a little blue again, and his hands holding the reins were all wet. Some are white.
Seeing this, Tang Feng, who was following him, became even more serious, and said in a cold voice: "Lieutenant, do you need to humble yourself and lead people to disperse them, or arrest some people to serve as a warning?"
"No, if you really do this, you will play into their hands. This will only make them find more mistakes and bring more people together, so you must not show up at this time and let me deal with it. They." Sun Tu still kept his head clear and knew the nature of these civil servants. After telling Tang Feng to hide aside, he immediately stepped forward. When he got close, he exclaimed: "Comrades, why are you in front of the palace? Are you yelling like this and disturbing His Majesty's peace? If you have any government affairs, you can report it to the Political Hall or the Privy Council."
His appearance immediately attracted the attention of hundreds of officials in front of the palace gate. Everyone's eyes were focused on him, while the soldiers guarding the palace gate further ahead, who looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy, were slightly relaxed. Take a breath. The pressure put on them by hundreds of officials and others just now was too great. I was really afraid that these guys would rush over desperately, but I couldn't really hurt anyone while I waited. It's fine now. Once the Taiwei arrives, everyone finally has a backbone.
"Sun... Lieutenant Sun, I don't mean to disturb His Majesty. I really have grievances and have no way to complain, so I have to come to see Your Majesty." At that moment, an official came forward and said loudly. Once there is a leader, the others will have no worries. You and I will tell each other their "grievances" one by one, and then look at Sun Tu: "Sun Taiwei, our family business has been destroyed innocently, so those who Only ignorant children would go to Xu Shangshu to argue. I didn’t want to, but I was accused of accidentally injuring Xu Shangshu, and was taken away by people from the Imperial City Department. This is against the law. Sun Taiwei, you have always advocated following the law. When doing things, you can’t be biased in this matter, right?”
"Yes, Taiwei Sun, we heard that Shangshu Xu is an official you strongly recommended and admired very much, but we can't ignore the law just because of that..."
Seeing the aggressive performance of these guys trying to overwhelm him, Sun Tu actually laughed: "You guys really dare to say that your children are guilty of hurting important officials of the imperial court, and shouldn't they be punished by the government? Isn't it just a sentence? Is it okay to forget about being ignorant? Just because they are young, they can act recklessly and do not abide by the laws of the court?" What these people say is really like what later generations of parents of naughty children will say, "He is still a child, so he should make mistakes." general
His style really made Sun Tu happy.
"What Taiwei Sun said is wrong. My disciples and I just went to Xu Shangshu to argue, and we definitely didn't mean to hurt anyone. Moreover, we also inquired and found out that he just accidentally fell down and was injured. We can't blame them for this." ?”
"Exactly, even if he was accidentally injured, it was a misunderstanding, and it must have been only one or two people who did it - if everyone really used force, how could he, Xu Jue, be only slightly injured? So even if If we really want to pursue the case, we shouldn’t have everyone convicted, let alone the Imperial City Department, which is not a judicial office and has no right to investigate the case!”
Although he was good at debating Cai Suntu, when facing dozens or hundreds of officials, he couldn't handle it even if he was full of talk. Often when he opens his mouth, someone else pops up in front of him and loudly objects. If you are facing an enemy on the battlefield, it is not difficult to defeat a large number of people with a small number, but fighting with a group of scholars with words is not his strength. Later, he couldn't even say a word. Just listening to them say every sentence like a crossbow made him dizzy, and at the same time, the anger in his heart became more and more intense!
At this time, Sun Tu finally understood the methods of these guys. They just wanted to use the overwhelming momentum of people and unreasonable ways to disturb their own mood, so as to continuously suppress themselves, achieve the goal of saving their children, and at the same time weaken them. the purpose of one's own authority. If they are allowed to continue to be so unbridled, the situation will only get worse and worse. It seems that some tough measures must be used!
At this moment, Sun Tu really regretted his slightly conservative strategy in the past two years. He always felt that he had taken control of the military and political power. Even the emperor was semi-under house arrest in the palace, and he had truly monopolized power, so as long as everything was stable, , slowly figure it out, and you can gradually use the most peaceful means to achieve the ultimate goal.
But now it seems that I have oversimplified things, because after all, these civil servants are not with me. Even if he has given them enough respect, even if the Song Dynasty is more stable and prosperous under his governance than in previous years, in their eyes, he is still a rebellious minister, and they are still thinking about how to go against them all the time. This can be seen from the floods this time, as well as the policy of removing ancient texts that has been violated and resisted...
Sun Tu's eyes had narrowed into a thin line, and the anger in his heart had reached a certain extreme, as if it might burst out at any time. Since these guys are ungrateful and think that there is really nothing they can do to them, then simply let them try their iron-fisted methods!
At this moment, a loud shout sounded from the side and behind: "Fang Shilang, Zhang Houye, Wang Xianggong... What are you gathering here for? How can you be so noisy in front of the palace gate, but where do you put the royal dignity?" Is it dead?" Following this shout, an old man with gray hair and a slightly stooped body strode over.
After hearing this and seeing the visitor, the officials who were still aggressive immediately stopped and made way for the old man to come to everyone smoothly. This reaction alone showed that the old man was in the eyes of all the officials in the court. What a high status it has.
As the officials greeted each other and addressed themselves as "Prime Minister Li", the people in the distance finally knew the identity of this extraordinary old man - he was none other than the current Prime Minister Li Gang!
Don't look at Li Gang who was always suppressed by Cai Jing back then.
Now, he has been sidelined by Sun Tu. He has little real power in the court and political affairs hall, but he has a very high reputation in the court and among the people, especially among the officials, and he is even more popular. Existence is countless times better than Sun Tu.
But now, with his words, the originally chaotic scene has been brought under control, and it can be regarded as resolving the situation for Sun Tu. However, there was no look of pride on Li Gang's face. When he came to Sun Tu, he bowed his hands first and saluted: "I have seen the Duke of Yue..." He did not address Sun Tu's official position, because in terms of official position, he, the prime minister, was still above the Taiwei. , but the other party’s title is much higher than his own.
Sun Tu's eyes flashed quickly, and the murderous intention in his heart dissipated. He bowed his hands and bowed in return: "I have seen Prime Minister Li, and I don't dare to accept your courtesy as a subordinate. You came at the right time. I was trying to persuade all my colleagues not to go to the palace. They were causing trouble in front of me, but they didn’t listen and always said they wanted to seek some kind of justice... "
His words immediately raised the eyebrows of others, and someone immediately said anxiously: "Prime Minister Li, you have to make the decision for us, this matter..."
Before they could say anything, Li Gang waved his hand to interrupt: "I have already understood what is going on here just now outside..." After saying this, he glanced at everyone, and the majesty on his body made everyone speechless. Come on, then continue: "What you call grievances is completely one-sided, but it is true that Xu Shangshu was hurt in the street and greatly damaged the face of our court officials. What you and other disciples did is indeed too much. It is inconsistent with both reason and law, so I believe that it should be seriously investigated, and whoever makes a mistake should be punished without mercy!"
These words spoken by Li Gang were so upright that they shocked everyone around him. Although he has no real power, in terms of momentum and intimidation in the hearts of officials, he is far higher than Sun Tu!
Seeing that everyone stopped shouting, Li Gang's expression softened, and he said: "But you are right about one thing. Even if those disciples made mistakes first, they should not be interrogated by the Imperial City Division. Taiwei Sun, What do you think?"
Sun Tu suddenly sneered in his heart. Li Gang still stood with the civil servants in the end. In the final analysis, he still wanted to get people out of the hands of the Imperial City Division. But there was no expression on his face, and he just said: "Then according to Prime Minister Li, which yamen should send them down? They can't be handed over to Kaifeng Mansion, right?"
"Of course the Kaifeng Mansion is not inappropriate. It is a serious crime for them to injure a court official. The decision should be made by the real judicial office and handed over to the Ministry of Punishment for trial. What do you think, Taiwei Sun?"
"Ministry of Punishment?" Sun Tulu was a little surprised. He thought the other party would say to hand it over to Dali Temple or Yushitai, because the people in charge of those two yamen were also people from the civil service group. On the other hand, the Criminal Department is now led by Song Jiang. It is regarded as its own territory, almost the same as the Imperial City Department.
Could it be said that Li Gang is really as fair as he said? Or is there another purpose
Just when Sun Tu was still doubtful, the officials in front of him rushed to bow and responded: "We are waiting for Prime Minister Li to hear that as long as the disciples are handed over to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation, we have no objection..."
At this time, Sun Tu could no longer object, otherwise it would only make things more difficult to control, which was not what he wanted to see.