Daming talker

Chapter 620: Being Beaten Together

In this era, not many people could live to be over 80 years old. Therefore, it was rare for someone like Wang Situ to suffer mourning in his 60s. Most people suffered mourning in their prime.

Lin Tailai was also caught off guard when he heard the news that Wang Situ's mother, who was over 80 years old, had passed away.

For Lin Tailai, the biggest impact was the resignation of the Wang family.

There are many people in the Wang family who serve as officials. Those with the character "Zhi" in the generation include the Minister of Revenue Wang Zhiyuan, the Suzhou Prefecture Master Wang Zhiyou, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Revenue Wang Zhifu, and there is also Wang Zhidu who has passed the examination and is waiting for selection.

Among them, Wang Situ, Wang Fuzun, and Wang Yuanwailang all needed to observe mourning, but Wang Zhidu did not have the same parents, so he did not need to observe mourning.

The other generations with the character "Xiang" are the grandchildren of the old lady. According to etiquette and law, if they are not the grandchildren of honor, they do not have to observe the mourning period.

Therefore, Wang Xiangqian, the governor of Xuanfu, and Wang Xiangmeng, the deputy director of the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Department, can continue to serve in their posts.

But the resignation of the two most critical figures, Wang Situ and Wang Fuzun, gave Lin Tailai a headache.

Wang Situ was not only one of the six ministries, but also the most important pillar of Lin Tailai's power in the court, a more reliable pillar than Zhao Zhigao and Wang Tianguan.

Without Wang Situ, Lin Tailai's strength at the ministry level instantly became weak. If Wang Tianguan was alone, he would inevitably be alone.

Although Suzhou Prefecture seems to have kept a low profile in recent years, its importance to Lin Tailai is second only to Wang Situ, and he shoulders the important task of protecting Lin Tailai's hometown in Suzhou.

Especially since the Suzhou Lin Group has made frequent moves in recent years, having a true insider like Wang Fuzun in charge can save a lot of trouble.

If an outsider were to become the prefect, there would be a certain level of separation, and Lin Tailai might not be completely at ease.

No matter what he thought in his mind, he had to face reality. Lin Tailai slowly walked to Wang Situ.

Wang Situ had a very good relationship with his mother. After receiving the news of his mother's death, he was so grief-stricken that his legs could not stand steadily, let alone walk. He was supported by servants and sat in the hall.

"My condolences." Lin Tailai said simply.

Wang Situ raised his head and waved his hand at Lin Tailai, saying apologetically, "I don't feel like talking right now. I'm going to leave for Shandong right away. Jiuyuan, please do as you please."

According to current rules, the moment a minister receives news of a death, he must report the death to the court immediately, then stop working immediately and prepare to return home. There must be absolutely no hesitation.

Lin Tailai nodded and said, "Don't worry, brother. I'm here in Beijing."

When he reached the gate, he met Wang Xiangmeng who was directing the servants to start working.

"Uncle, you have to hold on too." Wang Xiangmeng said.

After spending two years in a core department like the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Office, Wang Xiangmeng became increasingly sensitive to the direction of the court.

Now the Prime Minister is furious about Lin Tailai, but the most important figure on Lin’s side suddenly leaves, and the situation becomes extremely worse.

Lin Tailai sighed deeply. The most crucial point was that he was not prepared in advance. It felt like he had suffered a black swan event and suffered heavy losses.

The once impregnable iron triangle of Zhao Zhigao, Wang Tianguan and Wang Situ was suddenly in danger of collapse.

At this time, Lin Tailai finally understood why Prime Minister Shen liked to employ old men so much.

Although the probability of the old man's death is very high, it is relatively predictable. As long as you see that he is seriously ill and cannot recover, you can start planning his funeral.

Unlike the mourning period, the news especially from the hometown is always very sudden, making it impossible to prepare in advance.

What many ministers fear most is that they will suddenly resign to observe mourning at an inappropriate time.

After leaving the Wang family, Lin Tailai went directly to the Ministry of Personnel to go to work.

Outsiders may not know it yet, but close people like the left and right bodyguards around them have already discovered the pattern.

When there is nothing important to do, Mr. Lin would most likely go to the Hanlin Academy to chat after going out in the morning.

Once the situation becomes tense, the first place that Lin Zuoguan would most likely go to would be the Ministry of Personnel.

There was no other way. Lin Tailai had to communicate with Wang Tianguan about personnel issues first, hoping to do his best to make up for the huge losses of the Minister of Revenue and the Prefect of Suzhou.

Wang Tianguan was sitting in the courtroom. When he saw Lin Tailai, he said with a worried look on his face, "The situation is not good."

Lin Tailai was also worried and said with deep sympathy: "The situation is very bad. Who would have thought that the Grand Tutor would suddenly be in mourning?"

Wang Tianguan was very surprised and said, "Is there mourning? Did Wang Situ receive the news of the death?"

"You don't know yet? I just received it this morning." Lin Tailai replied.

Wang Tianguan's face was filled with worry again, "The situation is even worse."

Lin Tailai was very sensitive and noticed the word "more". "Is there any other bad news?"

Wang Tianguan replied, "An imperial decree was issued from the inner court, promoting Dali Temple Minister Zhou Cai to the title of Minister of Works and in charge of the construction of Shou Palace."

People outside the officialdom may not quite understand the meaning of this, and can simply understand it as Prime Minister Shen continuing to flex his muscles.

This title of Minister of Works was not the title of the Minister of Works who was one of the Seven Ministers and was in charge of the ministry, but a nominal title symbolizing rank and status, similar to the title of Minister of War of the Governor-General and the Chief Censor of the Governor-General.

Therefore, this did not need to be recommended by the court, and because the dispatch was the emperor's own birthday palace affairs, it was reasonable for the emperor to issue the order directly.

But in addition to being reasonable, there must be something strange. It is obvious that Zhou Cai's appointment was made by the prime minister.

First, the position of the Minister of Works is still vacant, but the Prime Minister has appointed another person with the title of Minister of Processing. The hint is self-evident.

It doesn't take a blind person to see that the Prime Minister is supporting Zhou Cai to become the real Minister of Works at all costs.

Second, supervising the construction of Shou Palace was originally the job of Zeng Tongheng, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Works, and Zeng Tongheng was nominated as the Minister of Works with the support of the Qingliu forces last time.

This time, Zhou Cai was given the title of Minister of Works and was also appointed as the governor of the construction of Shou Palace, which was equivalent to directly snatching away Zeng Tongheng's most important assignment.

Even through the palace walls, Lin Tailai seemed to be able to hear the sound of Prime Minister Shen slapping the Qingliu Party members in the face.

Institutionally, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet cannot interfere in personnel selection and have no right to participate in court recommendations, but they can use off-field factors to exert influence. It all depends on their respective abilities.

Lin Tailai could not help but feel envious, and said with emotion: "The Prime Minister has control over so many resources, the Qingliu Party members have been slapped in the face this time.

Since Dali Temple Minister Zhou Cai has gone to the Governor-General's Palace, the position of Dali Temple Minister is now vacant, and it is time for our Ministry of Personnel to take charge of it."

The Chief Justice of the Dali Temple is not an ordinary chief justice, but the most important official position under the Six Ministries and the Censorate. Together with the Six Ministries, the Censorate and the Ministry of Public Security, they are collectively known as the Nine Chief Justices.

Wang Tianguan's eyes suddenly flashed with pity, "Right Assistant Minister Wang Yongji just came to me and said that he wanted to nominate Qi Shichen, Junior Minister of the Ministry of Rites and Commander of the Four Barbarians Hall, to be promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Justice. He also wanted to nominate He Yishang, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, to be promoted to Minister of the Ministry of the Imperial Household!"

Lin Tailai was stunned. Was this all directed at him? Was it not just the Qingliu Party members who were being attacked?
Qi Shichen is the one nicknamed Qi Baoshan, an old cronies of Prime Minister Shen. A few days ago, he sent a message through Zhao Zhigao, revealing his intention to defect to him.

He hadn't even taken the test yet, but he was nominated as the Dali Temple Minister? Whose will did Right Vice Minister Wang Yongji represent in making the nomination?
Also, he had previously promised Zhao Qing, the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Household, that after he got the black material to depose Ai Mu, the Senior Secretary of the Imperial Household, he would help promote Zhao Qing to the position of Senior Secretary of the Imperial Household.

Now Wang Yongji nominated the Minister of Honglu Temple to be promoted to the Minister of Taifu Temple. What about Zhao Qing, whom he supported?
In addition, He Yishang had just threatened to commit suicide two days ago over the location of the Communications Department. In the blink of an eye, He Yishang was nominated for a promotion and even snatched away the position of Minister of the Imperial Household Department that he had planned for. Who was he doing this for?
Wang Tianguan said with some admiration: "So the Prime Minister is not fighting against the Qingliu forces, but fighting against the Qingliu forces and you together."

Lin Tailai rarely encountered such a situation that was out of control and faced a headwind. He said angrily:

"Wang Yongji, this traitor, as an official in the Ministry of Personnel, has actually lost his independent spirit and is willing to follow the orders of the cabinet!

I heard that he admires Hai Rui the most, which is really embarrassing for Hai Qingtian!"

Wang Tianguan had been working in Nanjing for many years and had a relatively good understanding of some things in the Nanjing officialdom, so he explained a few words.

"He Yishang and Hai Rui were both imprisoned together, and Wang Yongji also admired Hai Rui when he was in Nanjing. I guess Wang Yongji and He Yishang must have had a relationship.

Therefore, if the Prime Minister made the promotion of He Yishang a condition, it was understandable that Wang Yongji helped the Prime Minister nominate Qi Baoshan to be promoted to the position of Dali Temple Minister.

Promoting He Yishang to the position of Minister of the Imperial Household can both suppress you and motivate Wang Yongji, which is really killing two birds with one stone.

The operation method and the control of people's hearts are extremely delicate. "

Seeing Lin Tailai's face becoming increasingly ugly, Wang Tianguan quickly changed his tone and said, "With the power of the Prime Minister, most of the time you don't need to be so meticulous in doing things.

But you, Lin Jiuyuan, were able to make Prime Minister Shen use the most delicate techniques, which also shows your strength!"

Lin Tailai was no longer in the mood to show off, so he asked again, "Now the position of Minister of Revenue is also vacant, do you have any ideas?"

Wang Tianguan frowned deeply. "Now we are missing three top ministers of the Nine Ministers level, namely the Minister of Revenue, the Minister of Works, and the Minister of Dali Temple. At the same time, we are also missing the Minister of Imperial Household Department. This is very difficult to deal with."

Lin Tailai also agreed with this. If only one position was missing, he might be able to concentrate all his resources and make a full-scale attack.

But at the same time, with so many positions missing, each position has many variables, and the coefficient of chaos in operation is increased exponentially.

This will really test the depth of resources and scheduling capabilities.

Unfortunately, Lin Tailai’s weakest link is his foundation. He does not have sufficiently mature disciples, nor does he have peers who have already entered the middle and senior levels.

He doesn't have many senior officials of the third rank or so available, and he may not even be able to gather reliable candidates.

This is also the big problem that Lin Tailai is facing now. He can’t even nominate a candidate to compete.

You can't be so naive as to think that just because Shi Xing, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, was actively organizing a literary conference, and Zhong Zhenji, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, expressed his intention to make friends through Dong Qichang, that we can believe that these two people are reliable, right?
To be honest, Lin Tailai didn't even dare to guarantee whether Wang Tianguan could be relied upon in a situation where he was at a disadvantage.

After all, Wang Tianguan's poor performance when faced with adverse situations at literary conferences several times left a deep impression on Lin Tailai.

Lin Tailai had just thought of the literary conference when he heard Wang Tianguan also mention the literary conference:

"Shi Xing, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, asked me if this literary conference should be postponed?"

"Why postpone it?" Lin Tailai asked back.

Wang Tianguan felt that Lin Tailai was asking knowingly, so he reminded him, "The current situation is so unclear, and many participants will inevitably have their own plans. If the scene is too ugly, it is better not to hold it."

What Wang Tianguan meant was that many people who wanted to attend the meeting before were here for you, Lin Jiuyuan.

If your strength, Lin Jiuyuan, declines, I am afraid that many people who have scheduled to attend the conference will not be willing to come.

No matter when, there will always be a lack of people who actively curry favor with the powerful, seek benefits and avoid harm.

Lin Tailai said without question: "The Literary Conference will be held as scheduled!

As the saying goes, strong winds reveal strong grass. Under normal circumstances, it is difficult to detect people's hearts.

I want to see who made reservations but didn’t show up!”

Wang Tianguan said with an unnatural expression: "How about Jiuyuan, why don't you go and apologize to Prime Minister Shen?

Prime Minister Shen will definitely not kill you all, as long as you kneel down quickly, everything will be fine. "

Lin Tailai was speechless. He was just thinking in his mind that Wang Tianguan's personality was not suitable for a situation where he was at a disadvantage and he did not have that kind of tenacity.

As a result, after just a few words, Wang Tianguan's weakness was exposed.

"Are you scared?" Lin Tailai asked back.

Wang Tianguan was indeed a little frightened by the Prime Minister. His strong interference in personnel affairs reminded him of the repeated disputes among the cabinet.

Whenever the Cabinet attempted to directly interfere in the affairs of the outer court, the Ministry of Personnel would represent the outer court and counter the Cabinet's intrusion.

But Wang Tianguan felt that he could not defeat Prime Minister Shen at all when he was fighting at full power.

Prime Minister Shen has been in the cabinet for twenty years and has been the prime minister for nearly eight years. I have only been in Beijing for a year. What foundation do I have to fight?

Originally, there was the tall Lin Tailai standing in front, but now Lin Tailai and the Qingliu forces are being beaten by the Prime Minister, and Lin Tailai's relatives and friends who were the Minister of Revenue are also gone.

Having already lost the Minister of Revenue, Lin Tailai could not bear to lose the Minister of Personnel, so he did not dare to scold Wang Tianguan, who was full of petty-bourgeois weakness, and could only coax him and explain:
"Don't worry, I'm not fallen. As long as I'm still here, you can be safe!
Even if we ask for peace, we must first show our strength, otherwise what can we use to ask for peace?"

Wang Tianguan was in a daze, feeling that this was the first time in his life that Lin Tailai respected him so much.

Is this a disguised way of saying that Lin Tailai is really weak?
Lin Tailai tried his best to cheer him up and said, "Besides, this is not just the Prime Minister overstepping his authority, but a dispute among the cabinet members. We all support you, the old Prime Minister!

Besides, the dispute between the cabinet and the ministers is a very sensitive issue, and Prime Minister Shen dare not go too far!"

Wang Tianguan was speechless again. It was obvious that you and the Qingliu Party were beaten together by the furious Prime Minister, so how did it become a dispute among the cabinet?
I can only say that you, Lin Tailai, know how to find entries.

The topic of Wang Situ Dingyou became a hot topic in the officialdom of the capital in just one day.

It's not just because Wang Situ's position as Minister of Revenue is extremely important, but also because Wang Situ and Lin Tailai have a special relationship.

Lin Tailai’s rapid rise was due not only to his own qualities but also to external conditions.

First, he married into the Wang family early on, giving Lin Tailai the most stable foundation in his background, Wang Situ.

No matter how others treat Lin Tailai, they must take the Minister of Revenue into consideration.

Second, because of Prime Minister Shen's complete protection and connivance, Lin Tailai was able to magnify his own strength tenfold.

With this top-level protection umbrella, Lin Tailai is often able to be invincible when encountering problems and can do things with ease.

But now these two reasons have become invalid, and most of Lin Tailai's path to success has disappeared in an instant.

Some people have asserted based on this that without the cornerstone of the Minister of Revenue and the complete protection of the Prime Minister, Lin Tailai of the 19th year of Wanli would have regressed five years and degenerated into the Lin Tailai of the 14th year of Wanli.

As for whether the version of Lin Tailai in the 14th year of Wanli is strong or not, it depends on one's own opinion.

(End of this chapter)