Daming talker

Chapter 545: High Profile and Arrogance

Lin Tailai's tour order is very particular and he does not just go around randomly.

Those who understand the political rules of the Ming Dynasty know that among the various government offices in the outer court, there are three with the strongest political attributes: the Censorate, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Rites.

In political struggles, big or small, these three yamen are often the battlefields.

After touring the Ministry of Rites, the next stop was naturally the Ministry of Personnel. As for the Metropolitan Censorate, it was located in the west city, which was a bit far away.

The front yard and lobby of the Ministry of Personnel seemed to always be crowded with people. Most of the officials were handling business and formalities here, and it was as noisy as a vegetable market.

But when Lin Tailai came in lying on a wooden board, the whole place fell silent.

Lin Tailai shouted to the clerk on duty, "I, Lin Tailai, would like to see all the officials of your department and entrust you with state affairs!"

The clerk was a little embarrassed. The tone of your words, Lin Tailai, sounded like a prime minister making his last words.
But the clerk repeated to himself twice that he could not afford to offend the man who had just been beaten with a stick in the court, so he went in to pass on the message.

Then Lin Tailai was carried into the back hall, where the officials such as the Shangshu and the Shilang were already waiting.

Lin Tailai explained, just like he did in the Hanlin Academy, why he became like this.

Then he said to Yang Wei, the official of the Ministry of Personnel: "The inner court assistants have no ministerial manners or prime ministerial behavior. As the head of the outer court, you should correct them and not sit idly by!"

Yang Tianguan: "."

He wanted to say something, but didn't know how to say it. The current situation was confusing and it was difficult to express his attitude.

Besides, most of the time he was watching Prime Minister Shen's actions, and now he didn't know what Prime Minister Shen's attitude was.

There are many people in official circles who either ridicule or belittle him, saying that Yang Wei is cowardly and incompetent, has no opinions of his own, and only follows Prime Minister Shen. That's all bullshit!
Because he trusted Prime Minister Shen's judgment the most on the overall situation, it was safest to agree with Prime Minister Shen.

Now Prime Minister Shen has not come out of the palace yet, and Yang Wei does not want to express anything too clearly.

Lin Tailai didn't care what Yang Wei thought, and said to Zhao Zhigao, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel: "There are many ugly people among the ministers nowadays. You should encourage yourself."

Zhao Zhigao: "."

He also wanted to say something, but didn't know how to say it.

Lin Tailai was tantamount to publicly saying that this group of cabinet ministers was not good enough and asked him to prepare to enter the cabinet - how should Zhao Zhigao respond to this?

Even if others have the idea of ​​vying to join the cabinet in their hearts, they will definitely hide it on the surface and will never show it until the final result is announced. How can they be so open and high-profile?
There are now two procedures for joining the cabinet. The first procedure is to publicly nominate a list, and the second procedure is for the emperor to select from the list.

The characteristic of this procedure is that it is not easy to get things done, but it is very easy to ruin other people's things. If it is too public and high-profile, it may end up being "a big hit and a sure death".

If Lin Tailai had not had countless successful experiences in the past, Zhao Zhigao would have doubted whether Lin Tailai understood the rules of the court.

Lin Tailai didn't care what Zhao Zhigao thought, and continued: "Even if I can't join the cabinet in the next two years, I can retreat and become a minister."

Yang Wei: “.”

Are you polite, Lin Tailai? The current Heavenly Official is still standing here!
Zhao Zhigao was a little panicked. He felt that Lin Tailai came to the Ministry of Personnel today just to attract hatred for him.

He really wanted to explain to Yang Tianguan that those words were said by Lin Tai and did not mean that Zhao Zhigao necessarily thought so.

Before the 13th year of the Wanli reign, Zhao Zhigao was just a fifth-rank Hanlin scholar who was idle and sitting on the bench far away in Nanjing!

It was only five years ago that he was promoted to the fourth-rank Governor of Jiangnan, four years ago he was promoted to the right vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and only a year ago he was transferred to the left vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

How could I have such great ambition and enterprising spirit as to think about joining the cabinet or replacing you, Yang Tianguan?

Lin Tailai's instructions were just unilateral instructions and did not require any response.

After speaking to the officials of the Ministry of Personnel, he ordered his servants, "Carry me to the Ministry of Literature!"

Chen Younian, the doctor of the Ministry of Literature, is a core member of the Qingliu clan. Now that he is here, how can we not kidnap someone?
Lying at the door of Chen Younian's official room in the Ministry of Literature, Lin Tailai shouted, "Today in the palace, three cabinet ministers jointly convicted me. I was dismissed from all official positions and stripped of my clothes. I have to go through the formalities at your place."

Chen Younian said impatiently: "Don't do it yet! I haven't received the imperial edict yet!"

Lin Tailai pointed at the left protector Zhang Wen and said, "Consider this as a greeting in advance. I will have this family member deliver the certificate to you later!

I heard that Doctor Chen has always been a righteous and upright person, and often speaks out against things he thinks are unfair!
But I have brought this upon myself. When the time comes, Doctor Chen should just handle it according to the rules. Don't submit a petition or appeal on my behalf!
Of course, if you insist on doing this, I won't appreciate it. After all, I, Lin Tailai, am not doing this for fame or fortune."

Chen Younian: "."

Previously, two high-ranking generals of their Qingliu forces, Zhao Yongxian and Sun Yu, were dismissed one after another. Although they have not been removed from office, they have essentially lost their value.

Unable to bear it any longer, the Qingliu forces reignited the dispute over the country's foundation, intending to divert attention and draw thunder from the sky to hit Lin Tailai.

No one expected that such a weird, embarrassing and completely unconventional result would occur.

They had already conducted an in-depth analysis and found that this villain Lin Tailai didn't even dare to submit a petition to support the enthronement of the eldest prince!
So it is even more impossible for them to have the courage to directly support the eldest son in front of the emperor!
I can't understand what happened in the palace. How did things turn out like this?
If looks could kill, Chen Younian would have stabbed Lin Tailai seven or eight times.

Fortunately, Lin Tailai had a lot of announcements today and did not spend too much time in the Selection Department. He moved on while Chen Younian was still able to remain rational.

"The next place is the Censorate?" asked the Left Protector Zhang Wen.

I have been to the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. The only government office that can be considered a battlefield for political struggle is the Censorate.

As for the more technical offices such as the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Works, Zhang Wen did not think that Master Lin would be interested today.

But Lin Tailai pointed the way and said, "Go to the Ministry of War!"

The Minister of War Wang Yi'e did not expect Lin Tailai to come, and he hastily met Lin Tailai in the court.

"What can the Ministry of War do for you?" Wang Yi'e asked curiously, "Do you want to call Mr. Shen to have tea with you?"

Lin Tailai sighed and said sadly: "I was convicted by three cabinet ministers, dismissed from all official positions, and stripped of my clothes.

The Grand Marshal knew that stripping someone of their official attire would mean expulsion from the scholar class, which would cut off their chance of being selected as a scholar.

But there is always a way out. I still have the military merits, so I can take part in the military examination.

My Lin family still retains the fifth-rank hereditary officials, and I promoted the official rank to the fourth rank.

The Military Selection Department should still have my certificate sealed, and it's time to reseal it. Grand Marshal, do you think this can be done?"

Wang Yi'e: "."

He just wants to say one thing now: don't come over here!
Lin Tailai, is this a question of selecting officials? It is clearly a major political issue!
Wang Yi'e had worked hard all his life to train his troops and carefully plan border defense, and he had never asked himself about politics. Why was he drawn into this political whirlpool in his old age?
To be honest, Wang Dasima really couldn’t understand what Lin Tailai’s intention was.
After Lin Tailai greeted the Minister of War, he was carried out by the servants. At this time, Shen Yongmao ran out and said, "Jiuyuan is in the Ministry of War, why didn't you come to see me!"

Lin Tailai replied: "Today's game is too advanced, it's not suitable for you to lead."

"Okay, take care of yourself, I'll go back first!" Uncle Shen didn't hesitate and said goodbye in a free and easy manner after hearing this.

He knew very well that it would be useless for him to show up. But he also knew that if he did not show up at this sensitive time when Lin Tailai was "dismissed from office", it would be a bigger problem.

After leaving the Ministry of War, Lin Tailai ignored the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Justice. The last stop of today's tour was the Censorate.

But when Lin Tailai was carried from East City to the Censorate in West City, the sun had already set and the setting sun was as red as blood.

Lin Tailai lay at the gate of the Censorate and said to the censors who were leaving get off work:
"I practice spearmanship here every day, and am inspired by the spirit of the emperor. Now that I have been punished for admonishing the emperor, I have not wasted my ambition to leave my name in history. It's a pity that I can't practice spearmanship here tomorrow!"

As a censor, you may not respect Lin Tailai, but you must respect the imperial caning.

Facing the imperial caning, which symbolized supreme honor, the imperial censors had to maintain a solemn and serious expression.

But they all thought in their hearts, please don’t come here again!

After finishing his speech outside the gate of the Censorate, Lin Tailai finally ended the parade with eight wooden planks carried by the men and headed back home.

Many people breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the news, fearing that Lin Tailai would appear in front of them the next moment and embarrass or make things difficult for them.

The current situation is really confusing. Even the smartest people are confused and have no idea how to express themselves.

After being beaten with the cane in the court, many people felt physically painful but mentally excited, but no one had ever seen someone as crazy as Lin Tailai.

The person who is generally recognized as the most high-profile person after the imperial caning today is Zhao Yongxian, who was just punished by Lin Tailai.

Thirteen years ago, in Zhang Juzheng's love-stealing case, after Zhao Yongxian was beaten with a stick in the court, he openly pickled the broken pieces of meat into bacon to preserve it as a souvenir.

But compared with Lin Tailai's grand tour of various government offices and his powerful speeches, Zhao Yongxian's high-profile approach was just a show-off.

Lin Tailai's completely unreserved high profile and arrogance violated almost all common sense in officialdom and broke everyone's perception of official norms.

There are absolutely no common virtues in officialdom, such as being low-key and tolerant, being friendly on the surface, being sweet-mouthed but having a sharp tongue, saying one thing in front of others and another behind their backs, etc.

Many bureaucrats who claimed to be proficient in official skills fell into confusion and self-doubt after seeing Lin Tailai's behavior.

Maybe it's because I don't have enough information and don't know exactly what happened in the inner palace?

As the sun was about to set, the exhausted ministers came out of the inner palace.

In Prime Minister Shen's mind, ever since Lin Tailai was dragged out to be beaten with a stick in the court, this time the inner palace review had entered garbage time, and delaying it for another afternoon was a sheer waste of energy.

It was nothing more than the other three grand secretaries begging the emperor to issue an imperial decree to announce it to the whole country and to enthronize him next year.

This is the last chance for the three university scholars to save the "situation". As long as the national foundation issues can be resolved, all stains will not be a problem and can be regarded as necessary sacrifices.

But the emperor refused to agree and was only willing to make a verbal promise.

This even made the emperor anxious, and he claimed that if he continued to make noise, he would wait until the eldest son was fifteen years old!
Shen Shixing could only smooth things over and act as a good guy.

Then the other three grand secretaries resigned together and asked the emperor to allow them to return to the mountains and forests.

The emperor still refused and forced the three university secretaries to stay.

Shen Shixing could only smooth things over and continue to do such a boring job as a good guy.
In the end, the emperor and his ministers parted on bad terms. The emperor was probably not in a good mood and did not even give the customary rewards of wine and food, or perhaps he forgot.

After the ministers came out of the inner palace, they were not in a hurry to leave the palace, but went to Wenyuan Pavilion to drink water and use the toilet first.

You can also inquire about the new developments in the outer court to provide some psychological relief.

Those ministers' followers and the secretaries were very politically sensitive. After Lin Tailai was carried out, they had been collecting news from the outer court.

The ministers were sitting in the central hall drinking tea, and Prime Minister Shen's follower Li Sheren served as a representative to summarize and report the news to the ministers.

"Lin Tailai was carried to the Imperial Academy, where he complained about the injustice he suffered in front of dozens of Imperial Academy members! His language repeatedly insulted the three cabinet ministers."

"Lin Tailai went to the Ministry of Rites again and accused it of doing nothing, which led to his current situation! His words repeatedly insulted the three elders."

"Lin Tailai went to the Ministry of Personnel again! He directly told the Left Vice Minister Zhao Zhigao that he could prepare to join the cabinet, and if that didn't work out, he could be a civil servant! His words repeatedly insulted the three cabinet elders."

Bang! Suddenly there was a loud noise, and the grumpy brother Xu Er threw the teacup directly onto the floor tiles in the middle hall of Wenyuan Pavilion!
After hearing what the Ministry of Personnel said, I can no longer tolerate it!

The smart Wang San was in a depressed mood and felt sad, thinking that he was smart all his life but stupid for a moment.

I should have learned from Yang Tianguan and followed Shen Shixing's lead when things happened!
I really have nothing better to do today. What on earth am I thinking about?

The fair man Wang Si was nothing but confused, endlessly confused, the kind of confusion that comes from having his worldview completely overturned and shattered.

He couldn't understand. He was a decent man and did things fairly. What had gone wrong?
Li Sheren's psychological quality was extremely stable and he continued to report without being affected.

"Lin Tailai went to the Ministry of War and requested to participate in the military selection, specifying that he wanted to be an official of the fourth rank or above.

A certain official from the Ministry of War came forward to escort Lin Tailai, but was rejected by Lin Tailai.

"No need to say more!" Prime Minister Shen, the only calm one, stopped Li Sheren from continuing to report the news.

Then, very considerate of the overall situation, he said to his three colleagues: "Let me talk to Lin Tailai."

Without these three weaklings in front, wouldn't he be left alone in the future? Wouldn't he have to face all the challenges?

But Prime Minister Shen was also unsure, because he was completely unsure what Lin Tailai was thinking this time.

Negotiations where the other party's needs are unclear are the most difficult to conduct, especially with someone like Lin Tailai who definitely has the courage to overturn the table.

And there is the uncertain factor of the emperor, making the outcome really hard to predict.

But at this time, the other three grand secretaries did not even respond, and the central hall of Wenyuan Pavilion was still dead silent.

Prime Minister Shen was also very upset. He had never seen three grand secretaries join forces to kill a fifth-rank minor official, but end up being killed in return and getting away with it.

It’s the same old saying, why are you messing with him?
(End of this chapter)