Daming talker

Chapter 582 Still Useful

Since Lin Tailai was mentioned, Emperor Wanli asked casually: "Why don't you see Lin Tailai?"

There are two large groups of civil and military officials under the throne. It may be difficult to find someone, but with just a quick glance, you can tell whether Lin Tailai is there.

Wang Tianguan replied, "Just now, outside the palace gate, Lin Tailai, who had no qualifications to enter the palace, disturbed the court ceremony and was dismissed by the cabinet minister Wang Jiaping and the Minister of Justice Lu Guangzu."

Everyone felt deeply moved. This was what it meant to be a treacherous minister's speech.

In the normal response mode, just say "Lin Tailai is not qualified to enter the palace."

But Wang Tianguan insisted on adding "Wang Jiaping and Lu Guangzu dismissed Lin Tailai", which sounded just like a treacherous minister making slander.

And then it seemed like nothing happened. Emperor Wanli was not Lin Tailai's father, so he would not blame other important ministers for such a small matter as going to the palace.

However, after Wang Tianguan's interruption, Emperor Wanli's mood calmed down a little. At least he no longer cursed like before, or even threatened to kill.

Prime Minister Shen Shixing immediately seized the opportunity and gave earnest advice:
"Your Majesty's instructions are far-reaching, and the border officials may have something to follow. Today's border affairs cannot be taken lightly as a decisive battle, nor can they be treated with excessive kindness.

The best thing is to guard the borders, occupy dangerous places and guard the passes, fortify the walls and clear the fields to prevent the enemy from entering. This is the perfect strategy.

As for accidents, there are big and small ones, and there are differences in the severity of the crimes.

If the incident was minor but the crime was serious, the border officials would wait and see and retreat, and the enemy chiefs would use it as a threat, which would not be conducive to encouraging people’s morale.”

The Wanli Emperor, still furious, shouted: "This is no small matter!"

Shen Shixing responded again, "I hope the emperor will be lenient and allow me to tell the border officials so that they will be grateful and repay the kindness!"

Emperor Wanli snorted coldly, "Let's talk about the incident in Xifan first!"

As a veteran in the cabinet, this question certainly did not stump Prime Minister Shen, who answered:

"The most important things are, first, to recommend ministers with talent and prestige to go to the west to manage the frontiers; second, to select generals who are capable of being used and to prepare for appointment.

As for other matters related to this line, the officials will discuss them one by one and issue an imperial decree to punish them. "

This is the job of the Prime Minister, to mediate between the emperor and the ministers.

When the emperor loses his temper, he should be persuaded to calm down to avoid expanding the scope of the attack.

Now that Shen Shixing is the Prime Minister, his initial tasks have been completed, and now it’s time for everyone to perform.

Those who need to be discussed should be discussed, those who need to be advised should be advised, and those who need to be recommended should be recommended. Anyone who has ideas should speak out boldly.

If I, as the prime minister, take care of everything, then in the end all the blame will be mine.

Emperor Wanli also issued an edict: "Allow all civil and military officials to speak freely!"

With the emperor's permission, some people talked in low voices, some frowned in thought, and some acted as if it had nothing to do with them.

Emperor Wanli was getting a little impatient and asked directly, "Zheng Luo, what good ideas do you have?"

Zheng Luo had previously served as a councilor in Shanxi for several years, and as governor-general in Xuanda for five years and governor-general for ten years, spending nearly twenty years in the border town.

It was not until last year that Zheng Luo was transferred back to the capital to serve as the Minister of Military Affairs. He was considered one of the best experts in the court on the northern barbarians and was highly regarded by Emperor Wanli.

The Minister of Military Affairs was the governor of the Beijing camp with the title of Minister of War, but he did not sit in the Ministry of War.

Therefore, it is sometimes referred to as the Minister of Rongzheng to distinguish it from the Minister of War who sits in the ministry.

Hearing the emperor's question, Zheng Luo stood up and said:

"Now, a hundred thousand of the Tatars are passing through Gansu to escort the Buddha to the West Sea, where they will merge with the sea barbarians.

This situation made the imperial court cautious and also allowed the maritime invaders to take advantage of the situation and act recklessly.

Therefore, the first priority is to inform the captured prisoners and order them to return north as soon as possible and not stay in the West Sea any longer.

This will separate the trapped captives from the sea captives, isolating the sea captives and making it easier to defeat the enemy sooner."

Taolu was the derogatory name used by the imperial court to refer to the right wing of the Northern Tartars, probably because the old Shunyi King Altan came from the Hetao region.

The main force of peace talks and tribute rewards with the Ming Dynasty was the capture of captives.

This time, a group of 100,000 Taolu believers also fled to the West Sea to escort the remains of the Third Holy Buddha of the Yellow Sect, making the situation even more complicated.

So Zheng Luo’s meaning was that if he wanted to quell the rebellion of the sea robbers, he had to get rid of the pirates who had come to the West Sea to join in the fun and isolate the sea robbers first.

Otherwise, it would be inconvenient to take action against the Taolu and Hailu tribes of the same ethnic group if they were mixed together.

This was the first time that Emperor Wanli heard some "useful" and feasible proposal since he attended court today.

He then began to praise it, saying, "This is a very good idea! Please continue to elaborate!"

Zheng Luo continued, "There are two key points in driving the Tatars back north.

One is to threaten with tribute, and if you continue to stay in the West Sea, the tribute will be cut off.

The second is to appoint ministers who are familiar with the Tuolu people to convey messages and negotiate with Zhongshun and the Tulu king. "

The Zhongshun mentioned here refers to Sanniang who was named Madam Zhongshun; the Lu Wang refers to the ten-year-old current Shunyi Wang Bushitu.

Everyone knows who is in power, so loyalty and obedience come first, and the captive king comes last.

Someone immediately spoke up and said, "Zheng Luo has been stationed in Xuanda for more than ten years. He is familiar with the enemy's situation and has also been in contact with Zhongshun for more than ten years."

Zheng Luo himself was not in a position to say these words, but naturally someone helped to say them.

It is obvious that after this sea barbarian rebellion, the governor of the northwest will be replaced, in order to create public opinion for Zheng Luo.

To be honest, there is indeed no one more suitable than Zheng Luo to govern the Northwest.

However, some people still expressed a different opinion: "In terms of communication with Zhongshun, Lin Tailai should be more familiar with him than Zheng Luo."

Although you, Zheng Luo, and Sanniang have known each other for more than ten years, and although you, Zheng Luo, met Sanniang every year for tribute and hospitality, and although you get along very closely, like father and daughter.

But Lin Tailai and Sanniang have a deeper friendship, right?
If you, Zheng Luo, go to persuade, that's like a father; if Lin Tailai goes to persuade, that's like pillow talk.

It is clear at a glance which one has better effect.

The truth is correct, but something strange seems to have sneaked into this serious discussion about military and national affairs.

Zheng Luo also had to admit: "If we want to persuade Zhongshun to urge the Tatars to return north to isolate the sea barbarians, Lin Tailai is the only one who can do it."

Shit! The courtiers in the hall suddenly remembered that Lin Tailai had made a noise in front of the hall before the court session.

I didn't expect that today's incident was actually related to Lin Tailai, and Lin Tailai is very useful.

So just now Lin Tailai deliberately mixed into the group of big guys to attract others to drive them away, but in fact he was setting a trap?
This trap is so insidious, who could have thought of it?
I guess only Wang Tianguan, who has been ill for a long time and has become a doctor, could react in time.

Emperor Wanli asked again, "Where is Lin Tailai?"

Wang Tianguan of the Ministry of Personnel jumped out again and reported: "Lin Tailai was reprimanded by Wang Jiaping and Lu Guangzu just now. He claimed to me that he was taking leave to recuperate and left in anger. I don't know where he went.

Before leaving, he even declared that he would not serve in the same palace with Lu Guangzu and Wang Jiaping! In addition, Wang and Lu knew that Lin Tailai was well-informed about the enemy's situation, but they still did not hesitate to exclude him at the border. Their hearts are worthy of death!

I hereby impeach Wang and Lu for being narrow-minded, disregarding state affairs, and putting personal interests above public ones. They are unworthy of being important ministers of the cabinet!"

Everyone was speechless. Wang Tianguan, you were nowhere to be seen when serious matters were being discussed, but you jumped out when there were open and secret struggles. You are worthy of being a manipulator.

However, this impeachment cannot be said to be completely unreasonable.

Do Wang Jiaping and Lu Guangzu have selfish motives? Yes.

If this selfishness does not affect the overall situation, no one will say anything.

But if this selfishness affects state affairs, especially in public under the watchful eyes of the public, then impeachment is well deserved.

Emperor Wanli did not respond directly to the impeachment of the Three Elders and the Grand Secretary of Justice by the Heavenly Official. He shouted, "Bring Lin Tailai here first!"

Smart people understand the meaning of this. The emperor’s mentality is probably “don’t look at the advertisement, look at the effect.”

If you, Lin Tailai, are useful, everything will be fine; if you are useless and are still trying to attract attention, the emperor doesn't mind taking it out on you.

After receiving the order, the Jinyiwei officer on duty in the palace hurried out to look for someone.

No one knows where Lin Tailai went after he left in anger, so we can only send more people to look for him separately.

Maybe it will take half an hour, maybe an hour, it’s hard to say.

Taking advantage of this period of time, the censors from various regions suddenly became active.

Censor Xiong Yuan stepped forward and said, "I impeach Mei Yousong, the governor of the three borders of Shaanxi! He is an important official of the country, and he spends millions of dollars in military pay every year. He cannot control the barbarians, and his crime is equivalent to harming the country!"

Censor Zhou Kongjiao also bravely reported: "I impeach the former governor of the three borders of Shaanxi, Gao Guangxian! The Xining Incident happened two years ago, but he failed to suppress the bandits and only knew how to flatter the enemy and tolerate them. The continuation of this incident has led to the disaster today!"

Five or six more censors came out one after another, and according to the order, they were expected to impeach the Governor of Gansu and officials from various regions.

Although Emperor Wanli was annoyed, he did not stop the censor from impeaching.

Perhaps in the emperor's mind, all officials in the Shaanxi-Gansu border area should be dismissed, and there is no excuse to deal with them if he does not impeach them.

Just as a large group of imperial censors were preparing to line up to speak, the Jinyiwei officer who had been ordered to find Lin Tailai suddenly came back to the hall.

Then he ran to the side of the throne and said, "Lin Tailai has been brought here and is waiting outside the palace!"

Everyone in the hall was puzzled. It only took a few breaths, and you found Lin Tailai? Did you fly there and back?

Emperor Wanli was also surprised and asked: "Why is it so fast?"

The Jinyiwei officer replied, "When I left the palace and walked to Huiji Gate, I saw Lin Tailai squatting under the eaves of the porch, doing nothing."

Everyone: "."

Where is the pride and ambition that you, Lin Tailai, had when you angrily criticized Lu Dasikou just now?

You pretended to be leaving in anger, but you only walked a hundred steps? Were you afraid that the court would not be able to find you in time?

No matter how everyone complained in their hearts, Emperor Wanli still summoned Lin Tailai.

Then he asked directly: "Zheng Luo just mentioned that the first priority in pacifying the Western Barbarians is to drive the Tatars back north and east, so we need to persuade them to be loyal and obedient. Do you have anything to say about this?"

Lin Tailai replied: "Why not send Wang Jiaping or Lu Guangzu? With these two ministers, everything will be successful."

When everyone heard this, they were really worried for Lin Tailai. The emperor was in a very bad mood today, and you, Lin Tailai, dared to play with fire here.

As expected, the Wanli Emperor was furious and said, "Lin Tailai! How dare you neglect state affairs based on personal grudges!"

Lin Tailai said: "I am only worried that I will have no place to bury my body after death!"

Emperor Wanli shouted, "Asshole! Who told you to die without a burial place?"

Who are you cursing as a tyrant?

Lin Tailai answered loudly: "Wang Jiaping, Lu Guangzu, Song Xun and their accomplices are keeping an eye on my actions!

If I take the slightest action, I will be impeached for colluding with the enemy, colluding with loyalists, using the enemy to gain power, creating trouble, and falsely reporting achievements!
They even spread rumors and slandered that the 100,000 sets of captives sent to the Buddha were all planned by Zhongshun and me! They were waiting to provoke the sea captives to cause trouble, and then fabricate achievements!"

Everyone in the hall was confused for a moment. Who was slandering whom?

It seems that the charges that Lin Tailai invented for himself are indeed easy to pin.

Any censor who hears something can say this.

Emperor Wanli took a deep breath and asked as if it was an ultimatum: "No need to waste time! I just want to ask you, can you persuade the captives to leave the West Sea?"

Lin Tailai replied: "I will do my best and I am 70% to 80% sure."

Emperor Wanli was exhausted and spent a lot of time haggling before he finally finalized this practical matter.

Lin Tailai said, "Your Majesty, don't worry! The sea robbers are located in the bitter cold land of the plateau, and have no solid foundation. Even if they gain power for a while, they are just like a few thousand bandits, which is nothing more than a minor problem!

In my mind, it is not difficult to deal with the threat of sea invaders. There are several strategies, 70% political strategy and 30% military strategy. If you follow them, you can pacify the West Sea!"

"Speak!" The irritable Emperor Wanli suddenly felt a little expectant. Even if it was just bragging, bragging well could relieve mental stress.

Lin Tailai answered clearly and confidently: "First, I have already said that we should persuade the Tatars who went to the West Sea this year to return north or east. But to what extent we can persuade them depends on the specific situation.

Second, martial law was imposed on the Hexi Road in Gansu. From now on, the enemy cavalry were only allowed to return north or east, and were no longer allowed to use the route to move south or west to the West Sea.

Those returning north or east will be allowed to go; those moving south or west will be regarded as invaders and will be beaten directly!

Third, he ordered the Xining Guard to send troops to destroy the Yellow Sect holy site Yanghua Temple on the south bank of the West Sea to prevent the enemy cavalry from roaming back and forth under the pretext of pilgrimage!

Fourth, recruit a large number of foreign people, no matter what kind of people they are, whether they are foreigners or familiar people, everyone is accepted!
In order to drive the foreigners to deal with the sea invaders, they will build strong defenses and clear the fields against the sea invaders, thus completely isolating them!

Fifth, as is often said, select available ministers and generals to guard the city, repair the city’s weapons, increase the number of elite officers and soldiers, and so on!

If we follow these five points, we can pacify the western border in two or three years!"

Hearing this, Emperor Wanli's expression finally relaxed a little.

I couldn't help thinking that if I had known earlier, I wouldn't have gone to court so hard. I could have just summoned Lin Tailai to ask for advice.

Suddenly, Lin Tailai said in a sarcastic tone, "I think Wang Jiaping and Lu Guangzu have a better strategy. I'd like to hear your advice!"

Emperor Wanli said casually: "These two should stop discussing border affairs and Lin Tai's coming!"

Wang Jiaping and Lu Guangzu were helpless and could only kowtow to express their gratitude.

Lin Tailai said again: "I will impeach again. The Military Department missed the opportunity!"

People who are familiar with Lin Tailai were shocked! Could this be Lin Tailai's real purpose?
Positions like Grand Councillor, Minister, Governor-General, etc. are too high and have nothing to do with Lin Tailai himself. No matter how much Lin Tailai brags about them, they are not high enough for him.

But the Zhifang Division was only a fifth-rank department, and could be plundered by Lin Tailai!

(End of this chapter)