Daming talker

Chapter 542 Selling Cleanly
The grand secretaries who retreated back to the outside of Qianqing Gate waited for a long time, but no new decree came out.

But everyone is mentally prepared for this, so there is no need to rush.

With such a ridiculous thing happening in the inner palace, the emperor and the eunuchs will definitely need time to deal with the situation internally and come up with countermeasures. At the very least, they have to decide who should take the blame, right?
Anyway, it's spring now and it's very comfortable outside. If the emperor is willing to offer us a seat and tea first, he would be a truly wise and holy ruler.

As for who was the mastermind behind this, although the university scholars did not have the cheats like Lin Tailai to learn from history, they had already guessed it.

Those who can become Grand Secretary may have different temperaments and personalities. For example, Shen Da is generous on the surface, Xu Er is a hot-tempered old man, Wang San is very smart, and Wang Si is a Taoist scholar, but everyone's IQ is at a certain level.

If by this time they still couldn't guess that the mastermind was Concubine Zheng, they would not be worthy of being Grand Secretaries.

Anyway, based on their understanding of the emperor and Zhang Cheng, Sun Xian, Tian Yi and Chen Ju from the Imperial Household Department, they knew that none of them would do such a tasteless thing.

Moreover, the concubines of the Ming Dynasty were different from those of previous dynasties. They were all selected from the common people or the lower classes and came from small families.

With such a family background, one can imagine the level of knowledge and education they have; it is normal for them to do some inappropriate things.

All I can say is that Lin Tailai is really good at attracting hatred. He actually angered Concubine Zheng to the point that she lost her mind and resorted to such horrific means.

I heard that yesterday at the Ministry of War, Lin Tailai scolded Concubine Zheng's father and then Concubine Zheng's brother.
To be politically correct, Lin Tailai was ambushed and besieged by a group of eunuchs. He really brought it upon himself.

However, when several university scholars recovered from the shock of the palace changes, they all discovered that the incident of eunuchs besieging the "minister" might be a good thing.

It’s not a bad thing turning into a good thing, but a truly good thing. Anyway, the person who was “beaten” was Lin Tailai.

To give the simplest example, after something like this happened, would the emperor still have the nerve to ask several of his university scholars to support Concubine Zheng and the third prince?

The only pity was that apart from the inevitable hits and the fact that his official hat was lost somewhere, Lin Tailai seemed to be fine.

If the only number one scholar in both civil and military affairs in history was killed in the inner palace, the great disaster hanging over everyone's head would disappear.

Is a concubine who beat to death the only number one scholar in both civil and military affairs in history still worthy of being the mother of the country? Is her son still worthy of being the crown prince?

By sacrificing Lin Tailai alone, he could save the situation and bring peace to everyone, but unfortunately, Lin Tailai was unwilling to sacrifice himself.

Lin Tailai had just consumed a lot of energy, so he asked the gatekeeper for some water to drink, and suddenly he shivered.

Because he found that the university scholars around him looked at him with cold eyes. He had never seen such terrible and inhuman eyes in his life.

Lin Tailai was puzzled by this and had no idea what these old bureaucrats were thinking.

After an unknown amount of time, an imperial decree finally came out from the inner palace, but it was not for external officials.

Instead, fifty officers of the Imperial Guard and fifty soldiers from the Warrior Camp were summoned into the inner palace, and they were specifically ordered to "carry weapons."

Then the second decree was given to the foreign officials, ordering the grand secretaries and Lin Tailai to come to the emperor for an audience.

This shows that the inner palace has made preparations for the aftermath, but no one knows what conditions will be "offered".

When Lin Tailai entered the Qianqing Gate for the second time, he looked up and found that a throne had been set up on the platform outside the Qianqing Palace.

The emperor was already in his seat, and around him stood a large group of eunuchs dressed in high-class clothes.

Lin Tailai wondered if all the eunuchs on duty in the inner palace had come over to watch the fun.

On the steps below the emperor, there were three lines of defense consisting of fifty armed Jinyiwei officers, fifty armed imperial guards, and fifty strong eunuchs.

The knowledgeable university scholars sighed, their feelings faded and their hearts became distant.

In the past, even when the emperor was attending court, the security around him was not so strict, even for large meetings with thousands of people.

At that time, the civil official closest to the emperor was the Grand Secretary, and there was no physical separation between the Grand Secretary and the emperor.

And now, their Grand Secretary actually had to report to the Emperor across three lines of defense.

Perhaps Emperor Wanli also felt that it was a bit awkward to accept the ministers' visit through three lines of defense, so he simply announced that the ceremony would be discontinued.

On behalf of the foreign ministers, Prime Minister Shen directly reported: "Dozens of eunuchs ambushed and beat the ministers who were summoned to the palace. This is truly appalling! Please, Your Majesty, make the decision for us!"

Others may not feel it, but Lin Tailai just feels that these words are very familiar.

Then he suddenly remembered, wasn't this what he said to Eunuch Chen Ju after the fight?

Prime Minister Shen came straight to the point and talked about the case. It was obvious that he wanted to implicate the mastermind early, and then he would be invincible.

In other words, gain an advantageous position in the "negotiation".

Emperor Wanli directly passed the buck and said, "I've asked Zhang Cheng to investigate. Let him tell you."

Zhang Cheng, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, stepped forward helplessly and said to Prime Minister Shen:

"We have already found out that this matter was organized by eunuch Pan Zhongyi and others."

No matter what, we must give an explanation to the foreign officials.

Prime Minister Shen pretended to be confused and said, "We, the outsiders, are ignorant of the palace's personnel. I wonder which eunuch in the Imperial Household Department Pan Zhongyi is? Or what position does he hold in the palace?"

Zhang Cheng replied, "The manager of Yikun Palace."

Shen Shixing continued to ask: "How can a eunuch in charge of a side palace be so rampant? I wonder which queen resides in the Yikun Palace?"

After hearing this, everyone knew Prime Minister Shen’s intention, or rather, the collective intention of the four grand secretaries.

Prime Minister Shen always gives people the impression that he likes to make big things small and small things disappear.

But today he was so serious and demanding, it seemed like an honest man was angry.

Emperor Wanli could not help but say: "Those people were not targeting you gentlemen in the first place. It has nothing to do with you gentlemen."

Generally, the emperor addressed the Grand Secretaries as "Sir" in spoken language, and "Gentlemen" referred to the Grand Secretaries.

When Prime Minister Shen heard what the emperor said, he did not respond at all.

Because what the emperor said was useless nonsense, responding to it would be a waste of words, just treat it with silence.

Zhang Cheng, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, had to speak out on behalf of the emperor and say, "In any case, Lin Tailai committed atrocities in the inner palace and severely injured dozens of eunuchs!
Isn't this a serious crime of deceiving the emperor? Why didn't you, Prime Minister Shen, mention it?"

Even if the mastermind in our palace did something wrong, doesn't that mean you, Lin Tailai, have done nothing wrong?
Lin Tailai was watching the fun, and when he heard himself being mentioned, he was ready to step forward to refute. But Prime Minister Shen spoke first and said, "If Lin Tailai had just sat there and waited for death, he would have been beaten to death or seriously injured, and the consequences would have been even more serious, and that would have been a real harm to the palace!
Fortunately, Lin Tailai had the courage to protect himself and prevented the situation from deteriorating to the worst, so that the matter could be controlled this time!

Of course, Lin Tailai committed a serious mistake by committing a crime in the palace and should be punished, but the cause and effect should also be considered. "

Lin Tailai looked at Prime Minister Shen in surprise. It turned out that the senior Prime Minister had such a good eloquence. It was impossible to tell at other times.

Zhang Cheng had always been "arguing" for the emperor. He felt tired and didn't want to pretend anymore, so he asked:
"Don't you know that Lin Tailai's outrageous remarks yesterday were extremely offensive to the royal family, the Zheng family?

Therefore, indignation was aroused in the palace, and then the eunuchs besieged Lin Tailai! This is the cause and effect! "

Prime Minister Shen seemed horrified. "Why is there such indignation in the palace? Could it be related to Imperial Noble Consort Zheng?"

Zhang Cheng was extremely impatient with these trivial matters, and took the initiative to lift the lid and said:

"So what if it involves Empress Zheng of Yikun Palace? Do you still want to punish her?"

Prime Minister Shen immediately recovered his true colors and said to Emperor Wanli very respectfully: "I would never dare to offend the Imperial Concubine even if I die! I will obey your Majesty's holy decision in everything!"

His purpose was not to punish Concubine Zheng, the mastermind, because that was impossible to do.

It would be enough if we could just tear open this layer of window paper and implicate Concubine Zheng!

The fourth assistant Wang Jiaping also stepped forward to assist and said, "As for the Imperial Concubine, we dare not speak rashly. We will only listen to Your Majesty's decision!

I just don't understand what your majesty wants us to hear?"

I won't mention Concubine Zheng anymore, and Your Majesty, you should also not mention Concubine Zheng's son, okay?
I don’t know if it was because he was angry and humiliated by the squeeze, or for some other reason, but Emperor Wanli’s face changed suddenly!

He said angrily, "I will discipline Concubine Zheng! But Lin Tailai committed a crime in the palace and seriously injured dozens of palace maids. What do you think we should do?"

When the emperor gets angry, he is no joke. With just one sentence, he can deprive a person of all his wealth and glory, and even his life!

Faced with the furious emperor, even the unruly Lin Tailai had to bow his head and plead guilty, and could not refute!

Those who dared to challenge the emperor all left their names in history, such as Cao Cao and his son, Sima Zhao and his son, Wei Zheng, and Bao Zheng.

For the first time since traveling through time, Lin Tailai felt a sense of powerlessness and humiliation, but he could only bury this feeling of humiliation in his heart.

At this moment, Lin Tailai finally understood what absolute monarchy was.

In the past two years, Lin Tailai has become accustomed to dictating others. Suddenly, he feels disgusted when he encounters the feeling of being dictated by others.

Faced with the emperor's anger, the grand secretaries did not dare to speak easily and quickly switched to the mode of "a thousand words are not as good as silence".

Anyway, the emperor was angry with Lin Tailai, not them.

But the emperor would call on Wang Jiaping by name and say to him:
"Mr. Wang! You just asked me why I summoned you. I will tell you clearly now!
My original intention was to discuss with you the date for enthroning my eldest brother as the crown prince, tentatively set for next winter.

In addition, there have been many discussions among court officials recently, requesting that the eldest brother go out to study and receive education in Henan early!

I then thought that the best person in the court who is both civil and military is Lin Tailai, so I would like to ask Lin Tailai to teach my eldest brother!"

Several university scholars looked at each other in bewilderment. They dared not believe a single word of what the emperor had just said.

What was the original intention to discuss the date of enthroning the crown prince? What was the original intention to invite Lin Tailai to teach the eldest prince?
The emperor could make up stories about things that did not happen, and no one could refute them anyway.

At the same time, Shen Shixing also had a premonition that the situation was about to get out of control.

As the prime minister, the biggest doubt he felt was why the emperor spoke to Wang Jiaping?
Under normal circumstances, if the emperor wanted to express his opinion, he should say it to the prime minister!

And Wang Jiaping was only the fourth ranked Grand Secretary, there were three more ahead of him!

"You all know my original intention!" The emperor continued to say to Wang Jiaping, "But Lin Tailai has committed such a serious crime, how can I use him?"

Among all the university scholars, Wang Jiaping, who had the deepest ties with the Qingliu forces, was the one who was most enthusiastic about participating in the struggle for the country's foundation.

Because only when there is turmoil will he, the fourth in line, have the opportunity to make progress. If the situation is stable, he will always be at the bottom.

It’s not that Wang Si is obsessed with power, but he really can’t stand the three people in front of him who are just sitting there doing nothing!
Hearing the emperor's questioning, Lord Wang Si felt that his chance had come.

It doesn’t matter whether the emperor’s words are true or false. There is no need to distinguish between truth and falsehood in politics. As long as you can see opportunities, it’s enough!
Wang Jiaping then responded, "Lin Tailai's crime is extremely serious, no matter how Your Majesty punishes him, it will not be excessive!
But we must never give up on our original intentions just because of Lin Tailai’s crimes.

The matter of enthroning the Crown Prince is a national ceremony, how can we give up just because of Lin Tailai's sins?"

Holy shit! Everyone was shocked. Wang Jiaping's words were equivalent to selling out Lin Tailai, and selling him out completely!

What Wang Jiaping meant was that as long as the emperor makes progress on the issue of the country's foundation, it doesn't matter how you kill Lin Tailai.

Lin Tailai, who was good at guessing people's minds, was also very confused at this moment. What on earth did the emperor want to do?
I am just a minor contradiction and am not at the center of the country's fundamental issues. My political status is far lower than that of a grand secretary. Why does the emperor always bring the topic to myself?
It's as if he won't stop until he kills himself. Could it be that his aura of Nine Yuan Auspiciousness will also deteriorate and expire like love?

Or is it that Concubine Zheng is a vixen and the emperor is bewitched by her?
But according to historical records, although Emperor Wanli doted on Concubine Zheng, he was not the kind of tyrant who had no principles or bottom line in front of women.

For example, there was one time when Concubine Zheng attempted to place two trusted eunuchs around Emperor Wanli or in the Imperial Household Department. As a result, the two eunuchs were beaten to death by Emperor Wanli.

Emperor Wanli was very satisfied, as Wang Jiaping's answer was completely within his expectations.

After all, Lin Tailai never shows mercy when killing people from the Qingliu faction. If the opportunity arises in reverse, the Qingliu faction will certainly not show mercy to Lin Tailai!

As expected, Wang Jiaping had no intention of safeguarding the overall interests of the civil service and scholar-official class when it came to the extremely hated Lin Tailai.

What's more, there is a more meaningful interface, after all, it is for the country's foundation!
Emperor Wanli sighed, "My elder brother is young and weak, I want to observe for another year and then enthrone him at the winter solstice next year.

But within the inner palace, Lin Tai must be used to appease Concubine Zheng’s anger, so that I can feel better.

Mr. Xu and Mr. Wang, what do you think? "

This time the emperor asked the second assistant Xu Guo and the third assistant Wang Xijue, and still did not ask Shen Da.

After a brief thought, Xu Er and Wang San also replied, "I think that we should not let Lin Tailai's serious crime affect the great ceremony of the country."

Zhang Cheng, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, curled his lips. These civil servants were not as united as their generation of eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department.

Prime Minister Shen felt powerless to save the situation, after all, Lin Tailai was too popular.
(End of this chapter)