There is a palace called Daqing Hall in the Imperial City of the Great Song Dynasty, it is the place where the great ceremony of the country is held, such as the new emperor enthrones the throne and other important ceremonies are held here, the area is very large, the hall alone can accommodate tens of thousands of people, and there is a row of gatehouse palace walls in the south of the Daqing Palace, the imperial city is divided into two areas in the north and south.

The northern area is commonly known as the North Palace, the vertical arch hall where the emperor holds court meetings on weekdays, the Zichen Hall where ceremonies are held, the harem halls where the queen's concubines live, and the most magnificent Daqing Hall are all in this area.

The southern region is also called Nangong, which is the place where the courtiers work, and the offices of the six ministries of the three provinces, the Privy Council, the Yushitai, the Nine Temples, the Five Supervisors, the Academy and other institutions are all in this area, and Cai Jing, who is in charge of the six ministries of the three provinces, also has his own official office, called the political hall.

There are not many things to discuss in today's early dynasty, basically the emperor is asking about the case of Cai Xue's murder, and Zhao Bufan has not announced everything, except to prove Lu Deng's innocence, he has not reported the detailed investigation results for the time being on the grounds that the circumstances of the case are unclear.

The treacherous and cunning Cai Jing is also rarely very low-key, as if he didn't exist in the court meeting, he didn't say a word from beginning to end, and when the court was dispersed, he didn't communicate with anyone, and returned to the political hall, just wanting to rest for a moment and loosen his sore calves.

Before his butt was hot, Zhao Bufan's hearty laughter came from outside the door.

"Eun Xiang can be inside, the student has something to ask!"

Cai Jing's old face changed color instantly, he hurriedly put down the tea bowl he had just picked up, got up and walked to the back hall, and eagerly instructed the many officials in the hall. "You just say I'm not here, go home, don't let him go in......"

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Bufan had already walked into the lobby and looked at him with a smile.

"Is the student a plague god?

Cai Jing paused in an instant, and the wrinkles on his old face were layered: "What you said just now was very insightful, keep talking!"

“......”

Zhao Bufan laughed dumbly, he didn't expect Cai Jing to have such a humorous time.

"Eun Xiang really doesn't give any face to the students!"

"I gave you face, the old man just made himself uncomfortable, what do you think?"

Saying that, Cai Jing walked back to his head and sat down calmly, and said softly: "Cai Xue's case, the saint is angry, and the saint wants to order you to investigate to the end, and it's useless for you to beg me!"

Zhao Bufan didn't care so much, and after bowing, he casually found a chair and sat down.

"Eun Xiang guessed wrong this time, the student didn't come here for this, even if the saint doesn't say anything about this matter, the student will find out to the end!"

Hearing that it wasn't Cai Xue's incident, Cai Jing's eyes narrowed, and after waving his hand to signal many officials to go out first, he smiled and said: "Today, you have made several excuses at the court meeting, and the old man still thinks that you really don't want to investigate!"

"The less active the student, the more anxious His Majesty will be, and the more anxious His Majesty will be, the more concerned he will be, and he will always ask questions, isn't it?"

"You little fox is really more cunning than those old foxes, no wonder the people compare you to a nine-tailed divine fox!"

Cai Jing scolded with a smile, picked up the tea bowl on the table at hand, took a sip lightly, and continued with a light smile: "You just returned to Beijing yesterday morning to take office, why don't you hurry up and go to Yushitai and Kaifeng Mansion to communicate more with the officials under your command, and come to me to sit here?"

"Communication?"

Zhao Bufan smiled and looked at Cai Jing deeply.

"Enxiang, the Imperial History Observatory was nothing before I took office, and the officials under my command were almost the same as the officials, so they could only write some twists and turns, and there was no real power at all, the official office of the Imperial History Observatory was now full of cobwebs and dust, and there were only a few people who could be used in the Imperial History, the Imperial History in the Palace, and the Imperial History, and the others were all idle men placed by all parties, and they all resigned from their assignments yesterday afternoon, who should the students communicate with?"

Cai Jing couldn't help laughing.

"Isn't this a good thing? It means that you are in a high position in the middle of the court, honest and upright, and they are afraid of you!"

"Eun Xiang don't laugh at the students, without Eun Xiang's acquiescence, they dare to resign so collectively?" Zhao Bufan asked with a smile.

Cai Jing glanced at him and put down the tea bowl in his hand without hurrying.

"Don't quit your dispatch and wait to be arrested by you? These people are all from all sides of the force, and they are widely implicated, I don't acquiesce to their departure, if you punish them indiscriminately to establish your authority, won't you make trouble?"

Zhao Bufan slapped his thigh suddenly, and pretended to be happy: "So that's the case, Eun Xiang really thought about it thoroughly, and the students are really difficult to deal with, but since Eun Xiang acquiesced to the fact that all the idlers under the student's command were gone, he must be planning to recommend some real talents for me?"

Cai Jing was stunned!

When he reacted, he laughed out loud on the spot: "You have to make inches, you really attract hatred, the old man is so close to you? Why do you want to help you? Our alliance is to work together to deal with Tong Guan and Cai You, is this a bit too much for you?"

"The students don't think that's what they said, the alliance is obviously said to be a blessing to sit and enjoy the blessings, and the students are not related to each other, if the minister recommends a few capable people to me now, I will also find a royal history tomorrow to impeach Cai You and Zheng Juzhong for misconduct, how about suppressing their arrogance first?"

Cai Jing shook his head amusedly.

"Do you know what your greatest strength is?"

"I hope to teach each other!"

"You're hateful!"

"This ...... Well, Eun Xiang has extraordinary insights, and students admire them!"

"You slippery head!" Cai Jing couldn't stop laughing, looked at Zhao Bufan for a long time, and quickly closed his eyes and pondered.

There was a moment of silence in the hall.

After a while, when he opened his eyes, the old face already looked very serious.

"The old man knows who you need, and the people recommended to you can also match your heart, but you must first promise one thing, that is, these people must be suppressed, and they can't come casually, Da Song has internal and external troubles, and there are many drawbacks, so you have to do things step by step, if it is out of control, don't blame me for breaking the contract and breaking my promise!"

"Students naturally know what is important!"

Cai Jing nodded: "Okay, then the first person is Li Gang, who was personally demoted to Shaxian County, Nanjian Prefecture by the Holy Shang, and was a Jinshi in the second year of Zhenghe, and he also served as a palace servant in the Imperial History Terrace before, but because of the wanton reporting of the mistakes of the government, His Majesty and the ministers were angry, and many people still wanted to put him to death, His Majesty loved his talent and didn't want to kill him, but in the name of his discussion of the government and politics, he was demoted to Shaxian County, Nanjian Prefecture to supervise taxation.

The second person is Zong Ze, a Jinshi during the Yuan Yu period, when he was admitted to the Jinshi, he wrote tens of thousands of words directly on the examination paper of the palace examination to criticize the current politics, criticized many important ministers of the dynasty, and discussed the cause of the disaster of the party dispute.

This person has a great talent, both military and political, but just like the stupid move he made during the scientific examination, his personality is too upright, dare to say anything, dare to do anything, offend too many people, the career is bumpy, has never been reused, last year when he resigned and went into hiding, His Majesty also gave a generous gift, but he returned to Jiangnan and provoked Zhu Mian, almost beheaded, the old man and he had some old friends, saved his life, just let him be assigned to Zhenjiang.

The third person is a young man, named Zhang Jun, the word Deyuan, Zhenghe eight years of Jinshi, I have read his articles, and I have personally summoned him, this person is hidden but not revealed, clear and not spoken, respectful and humble, loyal and patriotic, aware of the overall situation, is a talent that can be created, and can even take over my position if he is well trained, but unfortunately he is not a fellow traveler with me, so he was sent to the local experience. ”

Zhao Bufan was listening attentively, but when he saw that Cai Jing didn't say anything anymore, he almost blurted out: "Why did Enxiang recommend three people? Fourth?"

"Zhao Bufan, don't go too far!"

Cai Jing's face changed, he stood up suddenly, his amiable color faded, and the power and subordination accumulated over the years made him seem to be a different person.

"The old man has already deliberately left a lot of people for you in the Imperial History Terrace, serving the Imperial History Li Guang, Zhao Ding, and He Li in the palace, and supervising the Imperial History Zhang Suo, Lu Yihao, and He Zhu, which one is not of great use? Li Guang and Zhao Ding and others are even more talented generals, and now they are electing Li Gang, Zong Ze and Zhang Jun for you, which can be said to be benevolent and righteous, you don't want to be unscrupulous just by relying on the old man's tolerance for you!"

Zhao Bufan saw that Cai Jing was really angry, he stood up unhurriedly, and regardless of whether he was angry or not, he stepped forward affectionately to help him sit down again, smiled and said with relief: "Grace is angry! The student just now is completely in love, not intentionally persecuted, if there is no suitable one, forget it, why should Grace be angry, the student will make amends to you!"

In an instant, Cai Jing was completely auraized by him, and glared at him angrily.

"You little fox don't have to be so flattering, you wish the old man died early!"

"This is really not!" Zhao Bufan took half a step back, arched his hand and smiled: "Nothing else, the student only knows that the current situation cannot be without grace, if you die, the world will be even more chaotic, with you, at least the imperial court can maintain the existing balance and stability." ”

These words made Cai Jing's mood much better, and he quickly calmed down and glanced at him.

"For the sake of you being so good at talking, the old man will recommend another person to you, he is the official Qin Hui you have also seen, this person is very discerning, with a political strategy, and even sees clearly that the rising Jin State is far more terrible than the Liao State, and has always opposed the alliance with the Jin State to resist Liao, which can be used for a while, but his biggest shortcoming is that he is not strong-willed, his selfish desires are heavier, and he is easy to defect, but the old man likes this person very much, the so-called no one is perfect, it all depends on how to control it, and you can use it if you don't use it!"

"Qin Hui?" Zhao Bufan muttered softly, a little distracted for a while.

Cai Jing's eyes inadvertently flashed a trace of hesitation, but he quickly continued: "If you control this person well, cultivate for a few years, you can be ranked as the ruler, he knows the power and strategy, can see the overall situation, is clever and flexible, if he becomes the climate, no one among the younger generations can fight him, he can be used to control the court, but if he does not control this person well, sooner or later it will become a disaster!"

"Huh?"

Zhao Bufan looked at Cai Jing suddenly, a little unincomprehensible to what he meant.

"Why did Eun Sang tell the students about this?"

Cai Jing shook his head, not intending to answer positively, but said: "I don't have a few years to live, after my death, if you want to revive the dynasty and rejuvenate the Great Song Dynasty, then using Qin Hui well can save you ten years, but unfortunately, with your habits and ways, you can't control this person at all!"

"I hope to teach you!" Zhao Bufan sincerely stood up and bowed.

Although he is not a fellow traveler with Cai Jing, he really admires Cai Jing's methods from the bottom of his heart, which has nothing to do with loyalty and treachery, but purely recognition of ability.

"It's useless!" Cai Jing shook his head, and a smile appeared on his old face: "There are thousands of ways to use people, but for you, many of them are not applicable, and you can't do it, but the old man can teach you a simple and direct way!"

"Kindness, please speak!" Zhao Bufan sincerely made another big salute.

Cai Jing pondered for a moment, and said lightly: "Give him a cage, let him choose to enter or not, if he doesn't enter, he will never be reused, let him go home and continue to be a teacher, if he goes in, then stay in the cage well, stretch out even one hand, then this person can no longer stay!"

"Student understands!" Zhao Bufan replied softly.

Cai Jing didn't take another look, and waved his hand: "Don't send it!"

"Farewell!" Zhao Bufan didn't say anything more, and slowly withdrew from the political affairs hall, but he was still thinking about what Cai Jing had just said in his heart.

It's a pity that he didn't know at all, when he gradually walked away, Cai Jing's old face showed a faint sadness, and he got up lightly and walked to the gate, staring at the direction he was going to mutter.

"Your Royal Highness the Second Prince, don't blame me for using you and the Zhu family to keep your power, and don't blame me for provoking your brothers to fight, I'm already old, I don't want to toss anymore, I just want to spend my old age in peace and keep the Cai family a way back, if you don't fight to the death, how can I be stable?

A cold wind blew, and Cai Jing's unfathomable eyes gradually moistened, and he was shouting silently in his heart.

"The Lord of the Ming Dynasty has come to the world! But I have already committed a great crime, and I have no way back, and I have been stinking for 10,000 years! How thin the sky treats me! How thin it is !!."

............

Zhao Bufan didn't know Cai Jing's inner contradictions and struggles, and he didn't know what Cai Jing was secretly planning, after leaving the political hall, he walked out of the imperial city directly, and joined Yang Yizhong and Lu Deng, who had been waiting outside the palace gate for a long time, and returned to the Kaifeng Mansion, but he didn't want to go to the gate, but he saw a sea of people outside the door, and the passage in and out of the mansion was blocked.

This made him depressed, and he stopped far away.

"Yang Yizhong, you go over first and see what's going on. ”

"Yes!" Yang Yizhong replied loudly, and was about to walk over with the saber on his waist, but he didn't want to break Yuezhi but suddenly burst out from behind obliquely, and lowered his voice in a hurry: "Don't go, don't go, this problem can't be solved now!"

"Why are you here?" Zhao Bufan asked with a frown.

Zhi Yuezhi's beautiful eyes looked left and right, and when he confirmed that no one else around could hear him, he said eagerly: "After you go to the court, I am also idle and bored in the Zhao Mansion, and it just so happens that Gongsun Sheng is going to come to the Kaifeng Mansion, so I will follow over to take a look!"

Zhao Bufan then looked at the piled up people and asked, "What's the matter with so many people piled up at the gate of the mansion?"

"Your Kaifeng Mansion is now in a mess, the judge in charge of government affairs was transferred to the household department half a month ago, the left and right second hall officials in charge of the judgment have also been transferred to the criminal department, and the left and right military patrol envoys and deputy judges in charge of public security and arrest matters are also vacant, there is no one who can take charge at the moment, the backlog of cases and government affairs is already countless, the people are naturally making a lot of trouble, and Gongsun Sheng also suspects that someone is deliberately inciting!"

In an instant, Zhao Bufan understood, and a cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"I've set up a game so early to wait, but I really look up to it!"