Daming talker

Chapter 535: Is there a serious illness?

It was not until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month that the procrastinating senior official Lin finally began to consider heading north.

Then came the more laborious preparations. The first was the issue of money; I had to bring more silver this time.

We will never allow ourselves to be in a situation where we need money but are short of money and have to borrow money from others.

The next thing to consider is the personnel issue. Secretary Bai must be brought along. Mr. Lin doesn't want to waste his energy on a large number of letters and various posts.

Another person to be brought along is one of last year's new retainers, the "white-bearded Prime Minister", Gu Bingqian. After half a year of running-in and testing, Gu Bingqian's comprehensive abilities were recognized by Mr. Lin.

From now on, in the Lin Mansion in the capital, a lot of ineffective social activities can be thrown to Gu Bingqian.

Or when Mr. Lin goes out to commit a crime, there will be someone at home who can hold the situation together.

But the most important preparation is not money, secretaries, or retainers, but servants, which are the core competitiveness of the Lin family.

The last time he went to Beijing, he only brought fifty servants with him, and later on he felt that they were insufficient, so Lin Tailai would definitely have to increase the number of people this time.

The fifty servants I brought last time have all been tested, and their knowledge and combat effectiveness have been greatly improved.

More than twenty of the fifty people still followed Lin Zuoguan to the north this time, but they were all promoted to team leaders or captains.

Ten people form a small team, five small teams form a large team, and there are four large teams in total, which means 200 people.

Together with the twenty men directly under the Zhang brothers, who served as left and right bodyguards, Lin Tailai led a total of 220 servants to the north this time.

Worried that the team might be too conspicuous, Lin Tailai decided to only let his left and right bodyguards and the first brigade follow him.

The other three teams went to Beijing separately, which could be regarded as an opportunity to exercise their capabilities.

After all the preparations were completed, Mr. Lin left Suzhou City again with his family members reluctant to let him go.

The next time I come back, the Wusong River dredging project may be completed, if I can successfully apply for leave.

After reaching Yangzhou, they dawdled for another ten days before continuing north along the canal.

This waterway is already quite familiar to Lin Tailai, and he has no interest in sightseeing along the way.

There was no conversation along the way. In March, when spring was in full bloom, Lin Tailai saw the east gate of the outer city of the capital.

Naturally, his identity and role changed from a powerful bully to a fairy in the Hanyuan.

At the East Suburb Reception Pavilion, more than a dozen friends who were born in the same year as Lin Tailai and passed the imperial examination in the 17th year of the Wanli reign in Beijing gathered here today to welcome the leading figure Lin Tailai back to Beijing after his vacation.

In fact, there were not so many people of the same age who could be called friends of Lin Tailai.

But after Lin Tailai became the first deputy leader of the literary world last year, the number of his peers inexplicably doubled.

Lin Tailai dismounted and met with more than a dozen of his peers, including Dong Qichang, Zhou Yingqiu, Chen Yunjian, Shen Yan, Wang Yusheng, etc., and then looked around a few times.

Dong Qichang asked curiously, "Who are you looking for?"

Lin Tailai replied: "I'm not looking for anyone, I just want to remember who didn't come."

Everyone: "."

Shouldn't I be thankful that I'm here today?

Lin Tailai was exhausted from the journey, so after entering the city from Chongwenmen today, he did not plan any activities and went straight back to the Lin Mansion in the capital to rest.

Lin Tailai’s appearance was too recognizable to allow him to “sneak into the city”. On the day he returned to the capital, he was discovered by various interested parties.

Everyone wants to know, what will Lin Tailai do tomorrow?
For someone like Lin Tailai who is keen on making an active contribution in politics, how he appears is often an expression of his political attitude.

The next day, just after dawn, fifty or sixty uninvited guests suddenly appeared outside the gate of the Censorate in the western part of the capital.

They were all strong men, each holding a big stick or a wooden club, which instantly made the atmosphere outside the gate of the Censorate tense.

But the government troops guarding the gate of the Censorate just stood and watched, without making any rash moves, because they recognized the leader of the group of big men.

Then, these big men formed combat teams of five outside the gate of the Censorate and began to practice wielding sticks and clubs.

One after another, censors and imperial officials came to work at the Censorate, but they were all kept outside and could not get close to the gate.

Then another twenty or thirty imperial censors stood not far away, silently watching these big men doing morning exercises with instruments in their hands. The scene was very harmonious for a while.

Finally, someone stood up. Zuo Qiandu Yushi Zhao Huan shouted, "Lin Jiuyuan! What are you doing here?"

He brought dozens of big men to the gate of the Censorate for morning exercises early in the morning. Could he be seriously ill?

As a Shandong native and a fellow townsman and friend of Wang Situ, the Minister of Revenue, Zhao Chenxian was still very brave verbally when facing Lin Tailai.

Lin Tailai, who was directing the servants to practice fighting in a group, heard the voice and turned around to answer:
“Although there have been tributes and peace talks in recent years, and the border guards are much less than they were decades ago, we must always be prepared for danger and not slacken our military preparations!

As the first martial arts champion of the Ming Dynasty, I, Lin Tailai, should set an example and be prepared at all times! Once the country needs me, I can immediately go into battle and kill the enemy!"

Zhao Huan asked again: "Can't you change places?"

Lin Tailai patiently explained: "From our courtiers' residence to the east, it is the imperial palace. I can't shake up the palace, right?

So we could only look for a place to the west. After looking around, we found that the only large open space was outside the gate of the Censorate.

Outside the gate is a public street where pedestrians can pass. There is no rule prohibiting morning exercises, right?

We will come here often for morning exercises in the future. Please forgive us if we disturb you."

The Imperial Censors: “.”

Lin Tailai, you are really going too far. You are getting even worse.

After Lin Tailai finished explaining, he suddenly remembered something and asked the censors loudly, "Who are Wan Ce, the censor of Yunnan Province, and Lin Kecheng, the censor of Jiangxi Province? Can you please see them?"

Although the two did not want to reveal their identities at this moment, they could not resist the attention of everyone else.

So Lin Tailai quickly found the target person, walked a few steps closer and said:
"I heard that when I was not in the capital last year, you two were very powerful and impeached my fellow countryman, the Minister of Rites Xu Xianqing, and dismissed him from office."

The two men replied: "Xu Xianqing deserves the punishment, it is his own fault, not because of the impeachment!"

Lin Tailai applauded and said, "Well said! The two attendants are not afraid of the powerful and noble, which is very worthy of my learning!"

These words, which sound good in the literal sense, seem to have their own horror effects when spoken by Lin Tailai.

How to learn without fear of the powerful? Who to learn from?
After finishing his morning exercises outside the gate of the Censorate, Lin Tailai returned home, washed up, and went out again, heading towards the government office area in the southeast of the imperial city.

In the court of the Hanlin Academy, Chen Yubei, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, the Chancellor of the Chancellery and the Director of the Hanlin Academy, was flipping through the draft of "Records of Trainings of Successive Dynasties".

Ever since the emperor issued an edict to compile the "Records of Trainings of Successive Dynasties" the year before last, this has been the most important book-editing task for the Hanlin Academy as long as the emperor is still alive.

According to the work plan, the nearly two thousand volumes of "Liechao Xunlu" will be completed in the second half of this year.

A year's plan begins with spring, so now is a very important node. President Chen must check the progress of the project and make adjustments based on the situation.

However, during the inspection, a very magical phenomenon was discovered: the newcomer Lin Tailai actually completed the work of copying fifty volumes! Although copying fifty volumes is not an outstanding achievement, it is not worth making a fuss under normal circumstances. Who among the Hanlin scholars who participated in the revision of the book did not copy dozens of volumes?

But for most of last year, Lin Tailai was not in the Hanlin Academy at all!
Where did he get the fifty volumes he submitted? Did he copy them remotely in Suzhou, more than 2,000 miles away?
At this time, the executive vice-president and new tutor of the Imperial Academy, Tian Yijun, walked in.

Mr. Chen couldn't help but ask, "How did Lin Tailai copy fifty volumes?"

Tian Xueshi said helplessly: "Lin Tailai should come over today to cancel his leave, you can just ask him directly."

Chen Xueshi asked suspiciously, "How do you know he's back? He only reports to you?"

Tian Xueshi quickly explained: "I overheard Dong Qichang say this during morning class today!"

Scholar Chen then ordered the gatekeeper, "If you see Lin Tai coming to the Hanlin Academy, report immediately!"

Tian Yajun next to him was puzzled and didn't know why Mr. Chen was in such a hurry to see Lin Tailai?
When Lin Tailai asked for leave, didn’t you, Master Chen, celebrate?

The gate officer of the Hanlin Academy was looking around outside the Dengying Gate. After an unknown amount of time, he saw a large number of thugs, no, servants, appearing on the Imperial Street.

The strongest fighting force in Yujie, who had disappeared for eight or nine months, appeared again!

The gate officer was about to go in and report to the president, Chen Xueshi, but he saw that the dozens of thugs did not come towards the Hanlin Academy, but instead entered the main gate of the Ministry of Personnel which was located on the Imperial Street.

"What? Lin Tailai actually went to the Ministry of Personnel first?" Scholar Chen was a little unhappy.

As a Hanlin, after returning to the capital, why didn't you report to the Hanlin Academy first, but instead went to other government offices first?

In the Ministry of Personnel, Lin Tailai cordially met with Zhao Zhigao, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

After returning to Beijing, the first person Lin Tailai formally met was Zhao Zhigao. This was probably a gesture for others to see.

Zhao Zhigao said to Lin Tai: "You gave me a list of names, including Yu Shenxing, Zhao Yongxian, Luo Wanhua, Huang Fengxiang, Zhu Geng, Chen Yubi, Zhang Wei, and Deng Yizhan."

Lin Tailai asked back: "Is there any problem?"

This list is the list of Zhao Zhigao's future competitors, and they are all targets that will be suppressed or eliminated first.

In Lin Tailai's original words, if everyone on the list was killed, Zhao Zhigao would definitely be able to join the cabinet.

Zhao Zhigao continued, "In this list, Zhao Yongxian ranked second, but I didn't agree with it at first.

Last year, when I saw Xu Xianqing suddenly dismissed from office, and Zhao Yongxian joined forces with the Qingliu forces and returned to the capital to replace Xu Xianqing as the Left Vice Minister of Rites, I began to believe in your foresight.

I feel that Zhao Yongxian is now a greater threat than Yu Shenxing."

Lin Tailai understood the meaning of the music: "I know, I know!"

After leaving the Ministry of Personnel, Lin Tailai turned around and went to the Ministry of Revenue next door.

After the gatekeeper of the Hanlin Academy spied on what was happening from a distance, he inquired about the news and then rushed back to the Hanlin Academy to report.

Dean Chen's mood escalated from being unhappy to being a little angry: "He went to the Ministry of Revenue again? He really doesn't take the Hanlin Academy seriously, does he?"

The gatekeeper reported again, "I went to inquire and heard that when Junior Prime Minister Zhao Shilang escorted Lin Xiuzhuan out, Lin Xiuzhuan publicly declared that within ten days, he would depose Zhao Yongxian, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites!"

Bachelor Chen: "."

Even if you really think so in your heart, you can't say it publicly. Do you, Lin Tailai, want to turn the conspiracy into an open one?

At the same time, in the Ministry of Revenue, Lin Tailai cordially met with the Minister of Revenue, Wang Situ.

Wang Situ warned: "At the end of last year, the Qingliu forces exerted their strength and recommended Sun Yu, the former Minister of the Dali Temple, as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Governor of Taicang, in charge of the national treasury.

You borrowed 100,000 taels from the national treasury for the Wusong River dredging project, but it has not yet been allocated. I'm afraid it will encounter some obstacles in his hands.

And the biggest problem is that if the national treasury is in the hands of Sun Yan, if you want to default on your debts in the future, I am afraid that Sun Yan will catch you. "

Lin Tailai sighed and said, "Why is it so difficult to get something done?"

After leaving the Ministry of Revenue, Lin Tailai plunged into the Ministry of War.

After the gatekeeper of the Hanlin Academy discovered the movement, he rushed back to the Hanlin Academy to report.

Mr. Chen was a little suspicious. Did Lin Tailai forget which government office he belonged to?

"This is really outrageous! The third one didn't even get a turn at the Hanlin Academy? He went to the Ministry of War first but refused to come to the Hanlin Academy?"

The gatekeeper reported again: "I heard that when Wang Si Tu sent Lin Xiu Zhuan out, Lin Xiu Zhuan publicly clamored that within ten days, he would definitely depose Sun Yu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Governor of Taicang!"

Bachelor Chen: "."

Whose general is this, so brave? Does the Hanlin Academy have such a brave general?
At the same time in the Ministry of War, Lin Tailai cordially met with Shen Yongmao, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of War's Chariot and Imperial Guard Department.

Uncle Shen, who turned thirty after the Chinese New Year, said very sincerely: "There is a vacancy in the Military Selection Department of our Ministry of War. I want to be transferred to the Military Selection Department."

The Military Selection Department is responsible for the personnel work of military officers. It is the first department of the Ministry of War and has enormous power.

Lin Tailai said subconsciously: "I'm not your father!"

Uncle Shen's face suddenly turned dark. Even if you, Lin Tailai, don't want to help, how can you curse people?

Lin Tailai could only quickly explain: "What I mean is that you should go find your father! How can I compare to your father!"

Shen Yongmao shook his head and said, "My father probably doesn't want me to go to a department that is too sensitive and prone to accidents. I just need to spend my days in a place like the Driving Department where I don't have much responsibility.

The carriage manager is only in charge of post stations, express delivery shops, and coaches. It is nothing more than expanding or reducing them. What could go wrong? "

Lin Tailai: "."

Damn it! Uncle Shen, please stop raising flags! In another time and space, your car driving company has laid off all the Ming Dynasty!
"I'm not in charge of personnel appointments, so what can I do?" Lin Tailai said helplessly.

Uncle Shen said hopefully: "Although you are not in charge of appointments, you can see who is nominated for the Military Selection Department and get rid of him!"

Lin Tailai: “?”

Why do all the people I meet, whether explicitly or implicitly, want me to get rid of their opponents?
Do you have any misunderstanding about the duties of a Hanlin Academy editor and a Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites?

After leaving the Ministry of War, Lin Tailai went to the Ministry of Industry next door to discuss the project.

After hearing this report, Mr. Chen began to doubt his life.

Could it be that the Hanlin Academy is not even as good as the Ministry of Works, which is the last of the six ministries?
But the gatekeeper reported again, "Master, have you noticed? Except for the Ministry of Justice which is far away in the west city, among the five ministries here, Lin Xiuzhuan directly skipped the Ministry of Rites and did not go to the Ministry of Rites at all!"

Only then did Mr. Chen remember that Lin Tailai also held the position of Langzhong in the Ministry of Rites, but he also did not go to the Ministry of Rites.

He went around all the major government offices, but didn't go to the two offices where he worked. Could he be mentally ill?

But somehow, Mr. Chen suddenly felt balanced.

(End of this chapter)