In today's Great Song Dynasty, if anyone can be invited to a banquet by Cai Jing and Taishi Cai and send an invitation, it will really be enough to blow a great fortune for a year, because this means that he will be on the rise, and he will soon have a bright future in the court, and it is reasonable to be promoted to many levels.

And that person will be at a loss because of excitement, and when the time comes, he will rush there early, but he doesn't dare to let Taishi Cai wait for him. However, when this happened to Sun Tu, it was a completely different story. He came back a little late, and he was not in a hurry to go out to the banquet, but first asked his subordinates to prepare some food, and then filled his stomach in the front hall, and only after he was full of food and drink did Shi Shiran go out.

Although he still led people on horseback, he didn't have the slightest intention of walking fast, so he walked slowly and leisurely until the first shift was almost over, and finally came to Cai Jing's prime minister's mansion. When he handed over his invitation, both the officials who had been waiting outside for a long time and wanted to climb the big tree of Taishi Cai, or the subordinates of the Prime Minister's Mansion were all surprised, and after a while, a steward respectfully welcomed him into the door.

At this time, there was already a lot of discussion outside, and some people were constantly speculating about Sun Tu's origin. But because he was not close to the officialdom, none of these people could see through his identity, but there were different opinions and rumors.

And the steward of the Prime Minister's Mansion took Sun Tu inside, and he muttered in his heart. Of course, he knew that this man was here for the feast, but it was too late. Moreover, this young man is completely different from the officials who have entered the Prime Minister's Mansion in the past, and he does not have a sense of trembling and nervousness, and he can even look around with great interest, observing the environment and scenery in this mansion, this guy is too bold.

In fact, Sun Tu was also secretly stunned at this time, he was really surprised by the layout here when he first came to the Prime Minister's Mansion. Although the area here is not as good as the imperial palace, the ingenuity of the pavilions, pavilions, flowers and gardens is obviously far above the palace he has entered. In it, you can always clearly feel the nobility that comes to your face, every thing here is so extraordinary and reasonable, and the materials are very exquisite, but a strange stone on the side of the road is the best white marble.

Seeing the subtle knowledge, the leopard in the tube, just these details can see how much energy and wealth has been spent on this entering courtyard. And as the owner of this house, Cai Jing is naturally not to mention how luxurious and wealthy he is on weekdays. Moreover, it wasn't until he entered the hall in the middle courtyard that Sun Tu suddenly noticed that he hadn't felt the slightest chill after entering the Prime Minister's Mansion, even if it was obviously outside, it was like a spring day, obviously the entire mansion had been specially arranged, resulting in the cold not being able to invade and maintaining a real constant temperature, as for how this was done, it is unknown.

At this time, Cai Jing was eating a meal slowly and methodically in the hall, a few delicate side dishes were placed on the table, full of color, flavor and flavor, and two beautiful women were carefully beating his back for the cloth, which was really very free. And at the bottom of it, there is another seat, and there is no one else.

When the steward reported to Cai Jing that Sun Tu had arrived, the latter was looking at everything here with some surprise, thinking that there were many guests attending the meeting today, but he didn't want to invite himself alone. This made him only clench his fists and apologize: "I don't know that the Taishi will suddenly invite Ben Hou, so it's too late, please don't be surprised." ”

Seeing that Sun Tuwei claimed to be an official, showing that the two were on an equal footing, this made Cai Jing smile: "Yuehou is serious, but the old man is abrupt, and he actually wants to invite you to come for a light meal and talk about something by the way, but he ignores that you also have something to do." No, when you don't arrive, the old man can only eat first, and when he is old, he can't stand being hungry. ”

"Taishi said that it was a joke, it is natural to be hungry and eat, and no one can say a word." Sun Tu said, and naturally walked to the vacant seat over there and sat down casually.

didn't need Cai Jing's orders, his own subordinates removed the cold wine and food on the top, and served him a new table. But Sun Tu didn't even pick up the chopsticks or touch the cup, but said: "I'm ashamed to say that Ben Hou had already eaten at home before he came, so I have to live up to the good intentions of the Taishi." ”

Cai Jing's gray-white eyebrows were slightly raised, and he had already heard the meaning of Sun Tu's words-if you have something to say, don't take any banquet to go around the bend. Even, Sun Tu was wary of what he would do with the wine and food, which made him smile a little helplessly, but he didn't break it on the spot, only nodded: "In this case, the old man is not welcome." As he spoke, he ate and drank again, but he was very relaxed.

Sun Tu also sat and waited so casually, until Cai Jing finished eating, and the woman next to him helped clean up everything and retreated, then he smiled and said, "Now the Taishi can tell me why he suddenly called Ben Hou here, right?" ”

Cai Jing stared at him for a moment, then suddenly turned pale and asked, "Sun Tu, are you guilty?" ”

After many years in power, Cai Jing has his own supreme majesty, and once he becomes serious at this time, this momentum will be even more overwhelming. changed to an ordinary official, and when he stared at him like this, he was already so frightened that he might have to kneel down and beg for mercy. But Sun Tu was as calm as ever, and he didn't even move when he sat there, but just looked at him: "I don't know what my crime is, I actually want to ask the labor master." ”

"Hmph, don't you know what you're doing? despised the prince, ignored the royal law, and killed people in the street...... Any of these items are enough to put you in prison, and then the criminal department will convict you of a serious crime and punish you to the end! Cai Jing squinted his eyes, full of threats. At this time, he has changed from the appearance of talking just now, and has become murderous.

"It turns out that Taishi is referring to my execution of Gao Duo two days ago, and this Hou Ke is about to talk about it. That Gao Duo did all the evil things, ruined the reputation of many good women, killed many innocents, and supported those thieves and bandits in the Sanssouci Cave, causing the people in Beijing to suffer a lot, and no one has dealt with all these crimes. Ben Hou couldn't figure it out, he was the one who was guilty of countless crimes, so why should I, a person who acted impartially, be blamed? Sun Tu did not shy away from looking at him, and talked eloquently: "If the people kill the officials, it is a serious crime, but the officials kill the people, but it is another matter." And as far as I know, that Gao Duo has no official position, and he has done evil in broad daylight, why should I kill him? If the Master doesn't believe it, he can call the relevant people and others to inquire about the cause and effect, but if you want to blame me for this, I will not be able to accept it. ”

After a pause, he continued: "As for despising the prince, Ben Hou is even more unacceptable. Although my previous words offended the prince, they were true. Since I have eaten the court and been loyal to the king, can I not point out that some people have done many injustices? Although the crown prince is a prince, he is not a prince after all, and this marquis is also doing this for the sake of my Great Song Dynasty court and for the sake of His Majesty's Qingming. ”

Cai Jing listened to his generous statement, and was a little stunned. But soon, he applauded and smiled: "Okay, I didn't expect that you Yuehou still had such a talent for urgent debate, but it made the old man a little admired." But do you know that because of your reckless behavior, Gao Taiwei suddenly became seriously ill and bedridden, and His Majesty was also furious, and the East Palace changed again and again, aren't you afraid of bringing disaster to yourself? ”

"I'm sitting upright, what's there to be afraid of?" Sun Tu squinted his eyes and said, "Isn't what I said the truth?" What's more, isn't this exactly what you want to see, Master? As far as I know, you have long had a prejudice against the current crown prince, and you have been instigating the abolition of the Son of Heaven, and now that you finally have such an opportunity, how can you not seize it? I'm afraid that the ending of Ren Shu and others is also Taishi, and you are working in the middle, right? Now that he blames everything on Ben Hou, it's too inauthentic for Taishi to do this, right? ”

Cai Jing never imagined that there would be someone who dared to speak so-for-tat with him today, without the slightest fear. This made him a little unable to argue for a while, so he could only hum: "Yuehou is really a good mouth, but sometimes the court wins, but it doesn't depend on who has a good mouth." ”

"Of course I know the truth, but these truths always have to be explained first, as the so-called name can be smooth, what does the master think?

"And I believe that Master, you didn't invite me over today just to say such things that don't hurt or itch, so if there is anything, please tell me directly."

In the past, Cai Jing saw that Gao Yu and Liang Shicheng always thought that Sun Tu had no way to use them, but today, when he really confronted this person, he knew that this young man was indeed quite tricky, this is a thoughtful guy who has no worries at the same time, and he doesn't even put himself in the eyes of the prime minister who has the power in the world!

And what made him feel particularly annoyed was that he really didn't have anything to do with Sun Tu, the other party had no worries, but he was so worried that he couldn't deal with Sun Tu with the same way he used to deal with other officials.

In order to fight for a breath, in order to overwhelm the other party in momentum, Cai Jing suddenly slapped the table: "Sun Tu, you really overestimate yourself, can't the old man of the truth treat you well?" Just what you did before, Your Majesty has the intention of taking you down and asking for guilt, and the old man can give an order now, making it difficult for you to fly! ”

"Taishi, are you overestimating yourself a little bit, and underestimating my Sun Tu? You and I are no more than ten steps apart, and if you open your mouth to give the order, I will be able to restrain you in the blink of an eye. Do you think those people out there still dare to attack me? Sun Tu was completely unmoved, and said with a smile: "Even Zhu Mian didn't dare to take such a risk that day, I don't think the Taishi should be more stupid than him." If you have something to say, just say it, and don't say these things to tempt me. ”