Daming talker

Chapter 573: Can it still be kept secret?
Chen Younian was quite dissatisfied with the preliminary list of candidates for the position of Minister of Personnel, as it was far different from what he had expected.

However, due to lack of skills, the pace of the meeting was completely out of control, resulting in this passive situation.

After this result was spread, anyone with a discerning eye in the officialdom knew that it must be Chen, the Selectman, who had been defeated.

The more Chen Younian thought about it, the angrier he got. He walked away almost rudely, not even bothering to follow the most basic etiquette of saying goodbye.

Seeing Chen Younian approach the door, Lin Tailai suddenly smiled and said to the Right Assistant Minister Wang Yongji:
"Old Chen is truly a man of high character. He didn't even mention the candidate for the position of Left Vice Minister and took the initiative to withdraw."

Chen Younian: "."

Shit! I was so angry that I forgot that in addition to nominating the Minister of Personnel, there was also a nomination for the Left Vice Minister of Personnel at today's meeting!
So Chen Younian turned around stiffly again, walked back expressionlessly and sat down again.

"Old Chen, why are you sitting down again?" Lin Tailai wanted to say something heartwarming, but was stopped by the upright Right Vice Minister Wang Yongji.

Then Wang Yongji said, "Let's continue discussing the matter! There is no need to mention me when nominating the Left Vice Minister.

Firstly, I am old and sick and can no longer continue, and I may retire and return home at any time.

Secondly, I have only been promoted to the third rank for two years, less than a full term, so it is not appropriate for me to move again.

Thirdly, the difference between the Left Assistant Minister and the Right Assistant Minister is not that big, so there is no need to make a fuss about it. "

If you go into such detail, it means you are really not interested.

The rank and treatment of the Left and Right Vice Ministers are exactly the same, but the Left Vice Minister is better than the Right Vice Minister in that he has a higher priority for promotion.

That is to say, if there is an opportunity for promotion, it will generally be promotion to the Left Vice Minister.

If there is not much hope for further promotion in the future, there is naturally no need to compete for the position of Left Vice Minister.

After expressing his attitude, the Right Vice Minister Wang Yongji said, "Let each person nominate one."

Regarding the candidate candidates for the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the requirements are not as stringent as those for the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Basically, most of the third-rank official positions, as well as a few high-ranking fourth-rank official positions such as Shao Zhanshi and Qiandu Yushi, can be taken into consideration.

It is no exaggeration to say that any other third-rank official who is promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel can be regarded as a promotion.

Chen Younian, who was feeling frustrated, took the lead and proposed a candidate, "Yang Junmin, the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue!"

Wang Yongji asked Lin Tailai again: "What about you?"

Lin Tailai did not respond to Wang Yongji, but stared at Chen Younian and said earnestly:

"Younian, you are an old comrade too, you should not act on impulse at work.

You can't deliberately nominate an enemy of mine just because you have an opinion about me. This is also irresponsible."

Four years ago, when Yang Junmin was the governor of Fengyang and governor-general of the Grand Canal, he was used by the fledgling Lin Tailai to practice his skills.

The first time in his life that Lin Tailai organized a military mutiny was in front of Yang Junmin.

The second time they organized a mutiny was when they sneaked across the Yangtze River and raided the Yangzhou City Governor's Office, capturing Yang Junmin alive and detaining him. Later, they also detained the Inspector General and the Military Commissioner.

This friendship couldn't be better.

Lin Tailai continued to question, "And why didn't you nominate Sun Yu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Old Chen? He is your most beloved fellow villager!"

Bang! Chen Younian slammed the teacup onto the table and greeted Lin Tailai cordially:

"Diaosang! Damn it! Wooden pillar! Bitch! You, Lin Tailai, are the only one who talks too much!"

The key point is that your analysis, Lin Tailai, is on par with the level of street literature, and the nomination of Yang Junmin was clearly due to the greeting from Wang San in the cabinet!

Wang Yongji frowned slightly and warned Lin Tailai: "In selecting officials, one should judge by deeds, not by heart!
You, Lin Tailai, really talk too much, this is very inappropriate!"

If everyone is like Lin Tailai, criticizing and questioning every nomination and appointment, and conducting a heart-piercing analysis of motivations, how can the personnel administration cadres carry out their work?
Lin Tailai did not contradict Wang Yongji, but just said "Oh" and then said:
"Then I will also nominate a candidate, Zuo Qiandu Yushi Zhao Huan!"

Chen Younian subconsciously questioned, "Why Zhao Huan? He is not outstanding in any aspect."

Lin Tailai casually replied: "Since you nominated a Shanxi native, Yang Junmin, then I will nominate a Shandong native, Zhao Huan, to balance things out."

Chen Younian bluntly exposed Lin Tailai's thoughts, "Nonsense! How can selecting officials be a joke? You are clearly trying to win over your wife's Shandong folks for personal gain!"

Lin Tailai's expression suddenly changed, and he threw the teacup in his hand directly at Chen Younian!

The teacup hit Chen Younian's left shoulder, and the tea inside splashed out and covered half of Chen Younian's body.

Chen Younian became furious and stood up again. The atmosphere suddenly became tense!

The teacup fell to the ground, making a crisp sound!
This sound seemed to be a signal, and several big men rushed in at the first moment. They looked around the hall vigilantly.

These are Lin Tailai’s followers, that is, the servants of the Lin Mansion!

The Right Vice Minister Wang Yongji was stunned. He had never seen such well-trained servants in his life.

Judging from the reaction, did they agree in advance to use smashing the cup as a signal?

This was just an ordinary internal meeting of the Ministry of Personnel, not a confrontation between two armies or a conspiracy for a coup!
So Chen Younian regained his composure in an instant. A meeting is just a meeting, how can one take action?

Lin Tailai waved at the big men, "It's okay! Get out! I didn't mean to throw the cup just now, I just accidentally did it."

Then Lin Tailai pointed at Chen Younian and scolded him, "Young Prime Minister just said that the job of selecting officials is to judge by deeds, not by heart!
The words are still fresh in my mind, and you are openly trampling on the words of Shao Zongzai!
I, Lin Tailai, will not allow you to disrespect Shao Zongzai like this!"

Wang Yongji: "."

I am so tired, I want to be destroyed! It is really terrible to have two nominal subordinates like this.

Attending a meeting would shorten one's lifespan by at least one year. Even Wen Zhengming, who is 90 years old, would not be able to bear it.

"Dismiss the meeting! Get out!" Wang Yongji also shouted at last.

Coming out of the side hall of the right hall of the Ministry of Personnel, Chen Younian was in a depressed mood.

Of course he knew that his term of office would expire this year, so he wanted to find a Minister of Personnel.

In this way, the dominance of the Qingliu forces in the Ministry of Personnel can continue.

Originally, we were 70 to 80 percent sure, after all, we had the three best candidates.

But he didn't expect that Lin Tailai would interfere and now the future is a little unclear.

Is he going to have to witness with his own eyes the power of the Qingliu forces in the Ministry of Personnel being shattered bit by bit?
When he was worrying about the future, Chen Younian suddenly heard Lin Tailai, who was walking in front of him, muttering to himself.

"It's too much! The original plan was to only rob the left assistant minister."

"In the end, I couldn't resist the temptation and intervened in the selection of the Shangshu."

"Why can't I control my hands?"

Lin Tailai remembered that according to the original history, Wang Shizhen should have died around the end of this year.

It is already mid-May, so Wang Shizhen theoretically only has a few months left to live.

From this perspective, Wang Shizhen, who might be killed in a few months, is not a good candidate.

But Lin Tailai had no other choice, as he had no one on hand. Wang Shizhen had already broken with the Qingliu faction, and his character did not meet the Qingliu faction's fundamentalist Puritan standards at all.

Therefore, we can only take things one step at a time, deal with the current situation first, and don't let the Qingliu forces take down the Minister of Personnel easily.

We’ll talk about what happens in a few months. Everything depends on the fate of Old Man Wang!
Lin Tailai got home a little late today because he had to go to the Jiaofangsi to conduct research and provide assistance. This was a task directly assigned by the Minister of Rites and could not be taken lightly.

I have to say that there are still talented people in the academy.

Lin Bulang, who went to the grassroots to conduct research, asked the masses what their ideas and needs were and how the flower list election should be conducted.

A beauty named Cai Jinfeng replied that all literary conferences in recent years were held in the Jiangzuo area, and the officials and literati in the capital could only watch helplessly.

Therefore, a branch of the New Literary League should be established in the capital, and a northern branch of the Literary Conference should be opened.

Only in this way can the young ladies in the capital's brothels be encouraged to make progress together and catch up with the advanced entertainment and cultural regions in the south such as Jinling and Suzhou.

Lin Bulang praised Cai Jinfeng, saying, "She is truly a female chief minister!"

After an in-depth exchange of work skills, fearing that it would have a negative impact, Lin Bulang did not stay overnight and returned home.

In any case, it's safer at home.

The drunk Lin Tailai was in the inner courtyard of his house, happily listening to Secretary Bai's complaints, when suddenly the doorman came in with a message saying that Wang Shiqi and Wang Jiongbo, from the same year, were visiting.

In official etiquette, no matter how close the relationship is, as long as the person visiting is of the same year, one has to give some face.

Moreover, Wang Shiqi's other identity is the eldest son of Wang Laohunzi, the candidate for the Minister of Personnel.

Lin Tailai temporarily left Secretary Bai behind, put on his clothes again, and went to the front to meet the guests.

"Mr. Jiuyuan! I sincerely want to join the Renewal Society!" Wang Shiqi said without hesitation after seeing Lin Tailai.

Just this one sentence reveals countless information.

First of all, this is a gesture of goodwill, and a gesture that is almost a gesture of loyalty.

Secondly, why did Wang Shiqi, who usually had a distant relationship with him, suddenly come over late at night to "show his loyalty"?
"It seems like you already know everything?" Lin Tailai held the sobering tea in his hand and complained, "I just don't understand, can the Ming Dynasty officialdom still keep secrets?

The meeting just ended during the day, and by the evening you already knew what the meeting was about!"

What else could Wang Shiqi say? In front of the position of Minister of Personnel, any courtesy was hypocritical!

"I hope you can give me some advice, Lord Jiuyuan, and guide my father and me!" Wang Shiqi said bluntly.

After Lin Tailai pondered for a while, he said, "First of all, you should write a letter to your father as soon as possible, and don't stay home from work under the pretext of recuperating from illness.

He quickly went to the Nanjing Ministry of Justice to take up his post. He had to show his ability to avoid being criticized.

Secondly, the reason why you failed to be selected as a Shujishi was actually because of Wang Heng, the son of the Second Assistant Wang Xijue. He didn't want to see your good brother become the Prime Minister of Qinghan.

So now you want to spread this matter, saying that Wang Cifu and his son are jealous of talented people and have no regard for their hometown.”

Hearing this, Wang Shiqi was shocked. Is this the truth?
Why was he not selected as a scholar last year? This huge question has been lingering in his mind for more than a year!
He, Wang Shiqi, is the eldest son of the old leader of the literary world, and he is also looked after by the cabinet minister Wang Xijue. His ranking in the examination is not bad either, so it should be a sure thing for him to be selected as a scholar in the academy last year.

But among the twenty or so places for the title of Shujishi, his name was not there!

Why couldn't he be chosen among the 20 candidates? This puzzled Wang Shiqi, and he couldn't find out the inside story after asking around.

But unexpectedly, when I visited Lin Tailai today, I unexpectedly heard the answer!
It turned out that it was Wang Heng, his fellow villager with the same surname and brother, who was behind the plot. Wang Xijue, whom he regarded as his backer and uncle, had deceived him!

"Is this true?" The truth was so cruel that Wang Shiqi couldn't believe it, or rather, he didn't want to believe it.

Lin Tailai replied: "The Prime Minister is also from Suzhou. If Wang Cifu was not unwilling, why would the Prime Minister give up electing a fellow villager like you?"

Wang Shiqi said nothing more and begged again: "Please let me join the Renewal Society!"

Lin Tailai replied: "Our Renewal Society is a strict organization, different from those loose societies outside, and we do not accept new members casually.

If you are really interested, you can first consider it as a development target for the Renewal Society and conduct a period of investigation. "

Wang Shiqi asked again with great concern: "When will the inspection be completed?"

Lin Tailai thought, of course it depends on whether your father can become the Minister of Personnel.
The next day, Lin Tailai went to the Hanlin Academy first before going to work.

During the morning classes for the Shujishi, taking advantage of the fact that the new instructor, Mr. Tian, ​​came out a little late, the activist Lin Tailai jumped onto the platform and gave a brief speech to the new Shujishi.

I don’t know why, but today, apart from Zhou Yingqiu and Dong Qichang, some people actually took the initiative to applaud.

Lin Tailai even had a slight illusion that the applause was louder than before.

After being hurled off the stage by Scholar Tian, ​​Lin Tailai was greeted by Hanlin scholars on his way back to the Zhuangyuan Hall.

"Jiuyuan, are you okay?" an old Hanlin asked with concern.

Lin Tailai was puzzled. "What can happen to me?"

The old Hanlin encouraged him, saying, "Recently, there have been many memorials opposing and criticizing you. You should be more open-minded. The Hanlin Academy is your strong backing!"

Lin Tailai then understood that he was talking about the incident in which he submitted a petition to restore the performance evaluation system and was scolded for several days.

Although he didn't care, he was still unhappy being scolded every day, especially when he had to see his subordinate Zhao Nanxing jumping around.

It's time to end this matter! I will write a new memorial today and submit it to His Majesty the Emperor to show my loyalty!

After inspecting the Hanlin Academy, when I came to the Ministry of Rites, I found that there were more smiling faces here.

As soon as I sat down in the main hall of the Guest and Host Department, the two chiefs, Chen Yunjian and Shen Yan, rushed in and asked, "I heard that you fought against the Selectman in the Ministry of Personnel yesterday, defeated the Right Vice Minister, and nominated the old leader Wang?"

"Damn! Can the Ming Dynasty officialdom still keep secrets? In less than a day, it seems like everyone knows about it!" Lin Tailai said subconsciously.

Only then did he understand why he felt so strange today and why he encountered so many smiling faces.

Among the six ministries, the gossip from the Ministry of Personnel is always the most numerous and the fastest spreading, especially the gossip related to personnel work.

Strength determines status. If you have proved that you have a strong say in personnel nominations, you will gain corresponding respect.

So Lin Tailai responded modestly: "Don't talk nonsense! I just rejected Chen Younian's two nominations."

When Chen Yunjian and Shen Yan were about to ask for further details to get first-hand gossip material, they heard Lin Tai say:

"It's such a waste that both of you are in charge of the Ministry of Rites.

I plan to transfer one of you to the Ministry of Personnel's Examination and Reward Department. Who will go?"

Chen Yunjian and Shen Yan looked at each other. To be honest, who doesn’t want to go to the Ministry of Personnel?
But in front of my long-time friend, I felt too embarrassed to argue about anything.

Lin Tailai sighed, "You two are as dear to me as the palms and backs of my hands. It's really hard for me to decide."

Chen Yunjian and Shen Yan: “.”

Big brother, stop playing with ethics at this time, just give me a quick death!

"So, you guys just draw lots, and whoever draws the lot will go to the Ministry of Personnel," Lin Tailai made the decision.

(End of this chapter)