As time went on, more and more people gathered in front of the palace. From hundreds of officials to petty officials, and then to the small people who heard the sound around them, the number ranged from tens to hundreds to hundreds, and the situation became more and more chaotic and difficult to control.

Under the gaze of countless pairs of eyes, those officials grabbed the ground with their heads and cried out in a row: "Your Majesty, the ministers have been wronged, please make the decision for us." Even if our children are at fault, they shouldn't be sent by the Imperial City Division, and my Great Song Dynasty has its own law......"

This shouting really won the support of many officials, and some people followed the shouts of support, which also caused a lot of discussion among the surrounding people, telling their own opinions and judgments, and at the same time, some people hurriedly shouted and left, thinking of spreading such rare things as soon as possible.

When Sun Tu rode his horse, he saw such a chaotic scene, and when he heard those officials and nobles shouting injustice in a voice like a cuckoo's blood, his face turned a little bluer, and his hands holding the reins turned a little white.

Seeing this, Tang Feng, who was following him, was even more sinky, and said in a cold voice: "Tai Lieutenant, do you need to lead people to disperse them, or arrest some people to set an example?" ”

"No, if you do, you're playing into their hands. In this way, it will only make them pick out more faults and bring more people together, so you must not show your face at this time, and let me go over and deal with them. Sun Tu's mind was still sober, he knew the temperament of these civil officials, and after ordering Tang Feng to hide aside, he had already stepped forward, and when he got closer, he exclaimed: "Colleagues, why are you shouting so loudly in front of the palace and disturbing Your Majesty's tranquility?" If you have any government affairs, you can go to the government hall or the Privy Council to report it. ”

His appearance immediately attracted the attention of hundreds of officials in front of the palace gate, and everyone's eyes converged on him, and the soldiers who were guarding the palace gate in front of him were slightly relieved. The pressure on them just now was too great, and I was really afraid that these guys would rush over desperately, and it would be difficult for them to hurt others. Now, as soon as the captain arrives, everyone finally has the backbone.

"Sun ...... Mrs. Sun, the lower officials and others did not want to disturb Your Majesty, but they really harbored grievances, and they had no way to complain and had to come to see Your Majesty. At that moment, an official stepped forward and said loudly. Once there is a leader, the others will have no worries, and they will all tell their "grievances" sentence by sentence, and then look at Sun Tu: "Taiwei Sun, I wait for the innocent family business to be destroyed, so those ignorant children will go to Xu Shangshu to theorize." I didn't want to, but I was identified as accidentally injuring Xu Shangshu, and I was taken away by the people of the Imperial City Division, which is inconsistent with the law. Taiwei Sun, you have always advocated that you should follow the law, you can't be partial in this matter, right? ”

"Yes, Taiwei Sun, we heard that Xu Shangshu is an official that you have tried to protect and appreciate, but we can't ignore the law and discipline because of this......

Seeing the performance of these guys who wanted to overwhelm him, Sun Tu laughed instead: "You really dare to say it, aren't your children guilty of hurting important officials of the court, and shouldn't they be punished by the government?" Is it just a sentence of ignorance? Just because they are young, they can do anything wrong and not abide by the laws of the court? These people's statements really have a kind of style like the so-called "he is still a child, so he should make mistakes" by the parents of the bear children in later generations, which really made Sun Tu happy.

"Taiwei Sun's words are wrong, my children just went to Xu Shangshu to theorize, and there was no intention of hurting people. And we also inquired, he just accidentally fell and injured himself, which can't be blamed on them, right? ”

"Exactly, even if he was really accidentally injured, it was a misunderstanding, and it must have been only one or two people who did it - if everyone really moved, how could he Xu Hui only be slightly injured? So even if it really wants to be investigated, everyone should not be convicted, let alone reviewed by the Imperial City Division, it is not a judicial yamen, how can it have the right to investigate the case! ”

Although Sun Tu, a talented debater, is also good, but in the face of these dozens or hundreds of officials, he can't cope with it with his mouth. Often, he just opened his mouth, and someone popped up in front of him to raise his voice against it. If it is against the enemy on the battlefield, it is not difficult to defeat the crowd with a small number, but the tongue battle group is not its forte. Later, he couldn't even say a word, just listening to them say a sentence like a crossbow made his mind dizzy for a while, 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 momentum of the crowd and the unreasonable way to disrupt their own minds, so as to constantly suppress themselves, achieve the purpose of rescuing their own children and weakening their own authority. If they continue to be so presumptuous, the situation will only get worse and worse, and it seems that some strong measures will indeed have to be used!

At this moment, Sun Tu really regretted his slightly conservative strategy in the past two years, he always felt that he had mastered the military and political power, and even the emperor was semi-house arrest in the palace by himself, and he really achieved the monopoly of power, so as long as everything is stable, he can gradually use the most peaceful means to achieve the ultimate goal.

But now it seems that he still thinks things too simply, because these civil officials are not with him all the way after all. Even if he has given them enough respect, even if the Great Song Dynasty is more stable and prosperous under his governance than in previous years, in their eyes, they are still rebels, and they are still thinking about how to oppose themselves all the time. This can be seen from the flood this time, and there is also the policy of de-ancient literature that has been violated and constantly resisted......

Sun Tu's eyes had already narrowed into a line, and the anger in his heart had reached a certain extreme, as if it might explode at any time. Since these guys don't appreciate it and think that they really can't do anything about them, then simply let them try their iron fist!

At this moment, a shout sounded from the side and back: "Fang Shilang, Marquis Zhang, Wang Xianggong...... What are you all doing here? How can you be so noisy in front of the palace gates, but where is the royal dignity? With this shout, an old man with pale hair and a slightly rickety body strode forward.

After hearing this, after seeing the visitor, the officials who were still vigorous immediately died down and gave way out so that the old man could walk smoothly in front of everyone.

And as all the officials saluted one after another, calling him "Li Xiang", the people in the distance finally knew the identity of this old man with extraordinary bearing - he is the current Prime Minister Li Gang!

Don't look at Li Gang, who was always pressed by Cai Jing back then, and now he is overtaken by Sun Tu, he has almost no real power in the court and the political hall, but he has a very high reputation in the court and among the people, especially among the hundred officials, he is even more like a hundred promises, and he is better than Sun Tu I don't know how many times.

And now, with his opening, sure enough, the scene that was still chaotic has been controlled, and it can be regarded as relieving Sun Tu. However, Li Gang did not have the slightest look of arrogance on his face, and when he arrived in front of Sun Tu, he took the first step to give a salute: "I have seen the Duke ......of Yueguo" He did not call Sun Tu's official position, because in terms of official position, he, the prime minister, is still above the captain, but the other party's title is much higher than himself.

Sun Tu's eyes flashed quickly, and the killing intent in his heart also dissipated, and he hurriedly returned the salute: "I have seen Li Xiang, you don't dare to be an official when you see a courtesy." You have come just in time, and I am trying to persuade you not to disturb in front of the palace, but they do not listen, and always say that they want to seek justice......

His words immediately hooked out the words of others, and immediately someone hurriedly said: "Li Xiang, you have to make decisions for us, this matter ......"

Before they could say anything, Li Gang had already waved his hand to interrupt: "The matter here, the old man has already heard it clearly when he is outside just now......" After a pause, his eyes swept over everyone, and the majesty on his body made everyone speechless, so he continued: "Your so-called grievances are completely one-sided, but it is true that Xu Shangshu was injured on the street, which greatly damaged the face of my court officials." What you and other children have done is indeed too much, and it is not in line with the law, so this official thinks that it should be seriously tried, and whoever makes a mistake should be punished, and it must not be tolerated! ”

When Li Gang said these words, he was really upright, and everyone around him was shocked. Don't look at him and have no real power, but when it comes to momentum, as well as the deterrent power in the hearts of hundreds of officials, it is far higher than Sun Tu!

Seeing that everyone was no longer shouting, Li Gang's expression was also relaxed, and he said: "But there is one thing you said well, even if those children are at fault first, they should not be interrogated by the Imperial City Division." Captain Sun, what do you think? ”

Sun Tu suddenly sneered in his heart, this Li Gang still stood with the civil officials in the end, and in the final analysis, he still wanted to get people out of the hands of the Imperial City Division. But his face was silent, and he just said: "Then in Li Xiang's opinion, which yamen should send them?" It can't be handed over to Kaifeng Mansion, right? ”

"Of course, Kaifeng Mansion is not very proper, they beat the court officials is a serious crime, since the real judicial yamen should make the decision, and it will be handed over to the Criminal Department for trial. What does Mrs. Sun think? ”

"Punishment Department?" Sun Tu was a little surprised, he thought that the other party would say that it would be handed over to Dali Temple or Yushitai, because the two yamen were also in charge of the civil official group. However, the Criminal Department is now dominated by Song Jiang, which is regarded as its own territory, almost not much different from the Imperial City Division.

Could it be that Li Gang is really as fair as he suggests? Or is there some other purpose?

Just when Sun Tu was still puzzled, the officials in front of him preemptively responded: "What I want to listen to Li Xiang is that as long as the children are handed over to the Criminal Department for interrogation, we will have no objection......

At this time, Sun Tu couldn't raise any more objections, otherwise it would only make things more and more difficult to control, which was not what he wanted to see.