Daming talker

Chapter 544 The surprise came so suddenly!

The meeting between the emperor and his ministers in front of the Qianqing Palace suddenly came to a stalemate.

The two main goals of Emperor Wanli were to seduce civil officials to betray Lin Tailai and appease Concubine Zheng, and it seemed that he had achieved them.

The second was to fool the civil servants on the issue of national foundation so as to have some peace of mind for the time being and delay the issue as much as possible in the future, but he was exposed.

Seeing that the atmosphere was in an awkward stalemate, the eunuch Zhang Cheng, who was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, had to step forward and think of a way to resolve the awkwardness.

So he said to Emperor Wanli: "The emperor said before that none of the court officials had seen the prince, so outsiders were suspicious. Today, we can bring the prince out for you to see."

The Wanli Emperor, who had his secret thoughts exposed, didn't know what to say. Hearing this, he hurriedly said, "Send! Send the eldest and third brothers here quickly!"

Emperor Wanli had four sons. The second and fourth died young, so the eldest and third were the two protagonists in the dispute over the country's foundation.

Not long after, the nine-year-old eldest son Zhu Changluo and the five-year-old third son Zhu Changxun were invited out from the inner palace and stood on the left and right of the emperor.

Emperor Wanli said, "Gentlemen, please see for yourself."

The ministers looked up. This was the first time that foreign officials saw the princes.

The eldest prince was a little thin, while the third prince, although young, was stronger and more solid.

Emperor Wanli held his eldest son's hand intimately and said to his ministers:
"I have no legitimate son. The order of seniority is set, and they are all my sons. How can there be no relationship between father and son? But there are always doubts from the outside world, trying to alienate the natural relationship between my father and son!
You cabinet ministers are my close ministers. Today I have let you witness with your own eyes. How could I treat my eldest brother any differently?
I am just worried about my eldest brother's weakness, so I will wait until he is stronger before letting him go out to rest assured!"

He still stayed at the scene and didn't leave. No, Lin Tailai, who was waiting for the final punishment, almost laughed out loud when he saw this scene.

It felt like the Wanli Emperor was just about to grab the eldest son's neck and ask, "Tell me! Is father good to you?"

The ministers could not refute the emperor to his face, so they could only obey and do whatever the emperor said.

At this time, the third prince born to Concubine Zheng suddenly raised his chubby hand, pointed at the tall and eye-catching Lin Tailai and said, "This is the evil champion!"

Everyone present, whether the emperor, eunuchs, or ministers, were all stunned. How could a five-year-old child understand this?
The surprise came so suddenly! Lin Tailai pointed at himself in disbelief and asked the third prince, "Your Highness, are you talking about me?"

The third prince repeated, "This is the wicked champion!"

After Emperor Wanli came to his senses, he covered his fat face helplessly, and finally realized what it felt like to have a useless teammate.

The top scholar in both civil and military affairs is very influential in the court. You and your son are offending Lin Tailai to death like this. Are you afraid of making too many enemies?

Compared with most ministers, Lin Tailai's attitude towards the issue of the country's foundation is already very moderate. Although he has a personal grudge against your Zheng family, he has never urged you to make the eldest son the crown prince.

If Lin Tailai had not been forced into a corner today, he would not have clearly spoken out in support of the eldest prince.

But Lin Tailai, who was being scolded, was so overwhelmed with joy that he almost lost control of his facial expression.

With these words from the future King Fu, he was able to completely escape from the great disaster that befell the country!

Lin Tailai roughly pushed aside the ministers, rushed to the steps, and said:

"I have seen all the princes today. I have seen that the eldest prince is talented and the third prince is intelligent. This is truly a blessing for the Ming Dynasty!

What is regrettable is that the prince has not yet worn official attire, so the etiquette for the meeting is not appropriate!

Therefore, I once again request that the titles of the princes be decided as soon as possible, with the eldest prince to take the throne of the Crown Prince, and the third prince to be given the title of Prince of Blessing! "

Holy shit! Everyone was shocked again. In just a short moment, Lin Tailai had even thought of a title for the third prince?

Your desire for revenge is too quick, isn't it? The third prince is only a five-year-old child.

Emperor Wanli was also in a daze. Prince of Fu? This title sounds pretty nice.

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Emperor Wanli slapped the throne anxiously and ordered sternly: "Take Lin Tailai out of the Meridian Gate and beat him with forty sticks! Sun Xian will supervise the execution!"

It's over! The university scholars were so disheartened that they even wanted to resign on the spot!

The Jinyiwei officers who were summoned rushed up and dragged Lin Tailai out.

There are more surprises? As Lin Tailai was dragged away, he turned his head and shouted, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Those who are familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty know what being beaten with a stick outside the Meridian Gate means. It is an achievement that many ministers, especially censors, dream of.

Even if you are the most unknown official among tens of thousands of officials in the capital, as long as you have been beaten with a stick in the court, you will become famous in the court overnight, known throughout the world within a month, and then your name will be recorded in history!

Everything will be good after you endure the pain. Although it sounds perverted, this is the perverted trend.

Although Lin Tailai is already very famous, who would complain about having too much fame?

Not long after, Lin Tailai was pressed on the stone slab west of the Meridian Gate.

Factory official Sun Xian stood in front of Lin Tailai, waiting for the preparations before the execution to be completed.

Usually the executioners were officers from the Imperial Guard, but this time Sun Xian did not let the Imperial Guard take action.

He randomly picked two strong-looking eunuchs from among his attendants and ordered, "You two will carry out the execution!"

Lin Tailai looked up and felt that the eunuch holding the wooden stick looked familiar, so he asked casually, "What's your name?"

For such a meaningful moment, of course I want to know as many details as possible so that I can write a short essay to commemorate it later.

The eunuch replied, "I am Li Jinzhong, and I cannot disobey the order today."

Lin Tailai: "."

I remembered! Isn't this the rogue Wei Si whom I had a quick glance at on the streets of the capital last year? That is, the future 9,000-year-old Wei Zhongxian in history.

His own beating in the court was personally carried out by the historical Ninth Thousand Year Old Man, which is so damn memorable!

Compared with sixty and eighty strokes of the cane, forty strokes of the cane are not considered too many and usually will not kill someone.

Li Jinzhong, who had only served the royal family for more than a year, felt something was wrong when he hit someone with his stick, and he couldn't help but look at Chang Gongsun Xian.

Sun Xian said calmly: "Go on."

Li Jinzhong suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the factory manager had chosen two of them to carry out the execution and no wonder that he had not taken off Lin Tailai's coat.

Even though he was wearing leather armor under his outer garment, he could still feel the pain from the blunt weapon hitting his body. However, Lin Tailai was very tough and didn't say a word.

After the fight, Sun Xian ordered the Jinyiwei officers and soldiers: "Go to the Imperial Hospital to call for help! I will report to the emperor!"

The “seriously injured” Lin Tailai raised his head and shouted with full energy: “There’s no need for an imperial physician! Just carry me out!”

Sun Xian gave another order: "Go to the right gate of Chang'an and call a few of his servants in! Give them a wooden board and carry him away as soon as possible!"

While waiting, Sun Xian said to Lin Tai: "Although you have been dismissed from office, you don't have to go down this path to the end.

Changing the path may not be a bad idea, since we are both serving the Emperor."

Lin Tailai finally understood why the emperor was holding on to him and trying to induce him to break up with the elders.
After an unknown amount of time, the Zhang brothers and eight other servants, led by the Jinyiwei officers, hurried over. Mainly because of Lin Tailai's weight, they were afraid that less people would not be able to lift him, so they changed the normal four-man load to eight.

So the Zhang brothers suppressed their "sorrow" and led the way, while the other eight servants carried Lin Tailai.

When leaving Chengtian Gate, Lin Tailai secretly took off his leather armor inside the doorway.

The left and right guardians asked in surprise, "Are you not afraid of being beaten?"

Lin Tailai snorted coldly: "Let's see who dares to hit me now!"

After passing Chengtian Gate, the Zhang brothers who were leading the way headed towards the right gate of Chang'an.

Lin Tailai slapped the wooden board and shouted, "This is not the way! Where are you going?"

Zhang Wen, the left guardian, turned around and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with going home through the right gate of Chang'an?"

Lin Tailai ordered, "Fool! Go to the left gate of Chang'an!" Then he sighed, "If you don't return to the court after being beaten, it's like walking in the night in brocade clothes!"

Outside the left gate of Chang'an is the Imperial Street, where the Five Ministries and the Hanlin Academy are located.

"Let's go to the Hanlin Academy first!" Lin Tailai instructed as he lay on the wooden board. "Also, walk slowly, don't rush!"

The team of eight people carrying wooden planks paraded through the Imperial Street and immediately caused a sensation.

Because everyone who hangs out here knows that the person who is carried out lying on the wooden board must be the lucky one who is beaten with a stick in the court.

The lucky person today is quite special. He is recognized as the auspicious human being who is least likely to be beaten with a stick in the court.

Although Lin Tailai wanted to parade him through the streets for a while longer, the distance from Chang'an Zuomen to the Hanlin Academy was too short.

When Lin Tailai was carried into the Hanlin Academy, he was surrounded by dozens of Hanlin scholars as soon as he reached the courtyard!

Several scholars in charge were also called out and went to the courtyard to watch Lin Tailai in person!

"What happened?" asked Chen Yubei, the dean of the academy, in surprise.

They all knew that Lin Tailai was summoned to the palace for an audience, but how did you, Lin Tailai, trick yourself into being carried out with the imperial cane?

Lin Tailai, who was lying on the wooden board, had his official robe torn to pieces, his official hat knocked off, and his hair disheveled.

Hearing Chen Xueshi's question, Lin Tailai replied weakly: "After entering the palace, I was granted the emperor's grace for my advice on establishing the crown prince."

Dozens of people present showed expressions of admiration. Although Lin Tailai was usually not very decent, he was a man of integrity in major events!
Chen Yubi sighed and said, "Go home and recuperate quickly to avoid making your injuries worse!"

Lin Tailai was heartbroken and said sadly: "I came to the Hanlin Academy this time to say goodbye to you all.

Today in the palace, three cabinet ministers, Xu Ci Fu, Wang Xi Jue and Wang Jia Ping, jointly convicted me and requested the Emperor to punish me.

I, Lin Tailai, had no way to defend myself and had been dismissed from my official position and stripped of my clothes.

From now on, I can no longer discuss the Dao with you gentlemen in Keting!"

There was an immediate uproar in the Hanlin Academy! If what Lin Tailai said was true, it would be a scandal, a huge scandal!
This kind of thing is impossible to fool people, so Lin Tailai shouldn't lie, right?

Only a cabinet minister like Yan Song could do such a thing as selling out civil servants to the emperor!
Although Lin Tailai is a bastard, he is first and foremost a civil official!

After saying everything he needed to say, Lin Tailai waved weakly to the Hanlin scholars as a farewell.

The servants carried the wooden board and walked outside.

Suddenly, Lin Tailai stopped the servant and asked Chen Xueshi, "When was the last time a Hanlin scholar was caned in the imperial court?"

In the Ming Dynasty, most of the people who were beaten with the cane in the court were the censors, while due to the special nature of the Hanlin, it was very rare for them to be beaten with the cane in the court.

After all, Hanlin were nominally close ministers, and many of them had served as lecturers, so the emperor generally would not beat Hanlin.

At the same time, the promotion and honor of Hanlin scholars depended entirely on the emperor's will. Unlike the outer court, there was no institutional guarantee. Therefore, Hanlin scholars generally would not fight to the death with the emperor.

After hearing Lin Tailai's question, Chen Xueshi thought for a moment and then answered:
"It should be the incident in the fifth year of Wanli when Zhang Juzheng seized his lover. At that time, Zhao Yongxian and Wu Zhongxing, both Hanlin scholars, received the imperial caning."

Lin Tailai asked again: "What about going further?"

Scholar Chen looked at Tian Yijun and said with a wry smile, "Mr. Tian is familiar with the classics and knows a lot about the history of the past dynasties. Please come and answer my questions."

Tian Yijun thought for a moment and replied, "If we go back further, it should be the Zuo Shunmen case during the Jiajing reign more than 60 years ago, when several Hanlin scholars were caned on the spot."

Lin Tailai continued to ask: "Is there anything further ahead?"

Tian Xueshi replied, "Seventy years ago, in the 14th year of Zhengde, the Hanlin was among the officials who were caned in the court; one hundred and twenty years ago, in the 2nd year of Chenghua, there were four Hanlin advisers, and they all became famous after being caned in the court!"

There is no need to ask about the past, as in the ancient version of the Ming Dynasty court, it was not popular to take pride in being beaten with a cane in court.

Moreover, in the old versions, when something went wrong, it was not just a matter of beating in court, but often the head would be lost directly.

Lin Tailai sighed loudly, "The past can tell us the future. I hope you will remember that you once served in the same government office as the Hanlin who was beaten with a stick for the fifth time in the past 120 years!"

Everyone: "."

Damn! How obsessed are you, Lin Tailai, with records and data?

The emperor's punishment was too light, and forty strokes of the cane were too few!

And suddenly I began to understand why the ministers would rather be involved in scandals than betray Lin Tailai.

After leaving the Hanlin Academy and entering Yingmen Gate, the left protector Zhang Wenxue became obedient and took the initiative to ask, "Where should we go next?"

Judging from the host's mood, it is obvious that he doesn't want to go home.

After thinking for a while, Lin Tailai waved his hand and said, "I still have a part-time job in the Ministry of Rites. I'm going to say goodbye to the Ministry of Rites now!"

Wherever Lin Tailai went, he was surrounded by onlookers because he was carried by eight people.

At the door of Kong Jiangong's room, Lin Tailai, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, was lying on a wooden board and shouting:
"Doctor Yu! You, the Department of Ceremonial Affairs, are in charge of matters of etiquette! I am taking the caning for you!

Even I, who am in charge of the Ministry of Guests, was beaten because of the national capital, and was even punished by the three cabinet ministers!
Why haven't you, the Ceremonial Department, spoken out bravely for the sake of national justice?"

Yu Kongjian: "."

Their Qingliu forces already had a tacit understanding. In order to preserve their strength in this battle for the national foundation, the officials in the six ministries with actual posts above the fifth rank will remain on hold for the time being!

After all, the actual positions of rank five and above in the six ministries are too important, and there is only one position for every person.

Who could have thought that the most immoral Lin Tailai would come here to commit moral blackmail!

After touring the Ministry of Rites, Lin Tailai waved his hand and said, "The next stop is the Ministry of Personnel!"

(End of this chapter)