Daming talker

Chapter 623 Who is the traitor? (Seeking guaranteed monthly ticket)
In the autumn sunshine, Emperor Wanli, wearing a leather hat and formal dress, stood majestically on the gatehouse of the Meridian Gate, also known as the Five Phoenix Tower.

Listening to the loud singing of hundreds of musicians and dancers below, the emperor couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile on his fat face.

The lyrics of the gong song should keep pace with the times. If it is still about "punching Chen Youliang and kicking Zhang Shicheng", what does it have to do with Zhu Yijun?
He then said to the eunuchs on his left and right: "I, your minister, have finally put my heart into it for once."

As an emperor, he could not take the initiative to request changes to the rituals and music passed down by his ancestors that praised their achievements. He could only rely on the self-awareness of his ministers.

Gongsun Xian of the East Factory reported truthfully: "I heard that at the beginning, the Taichang Temple, which is in charge of the musicians and dancers, still insisted on the ancestral system.

Later, Lin Tailai initiated an initiative at a literary conference, and literary figures jointly petitioned the Ministry of Rites, and only then was the gong song changed. "

The other eunuchs nearby said nice things: "This is what people want."

Afterwards, Emperor Wanli saw that Lin Tailai, the military supervisor of the rebellion, was standing at the gate of the city, reporting the victory in detail.

Emperor Wanli sighed in his heart again and again, saying that although people like Lin Tailai behaved abnormally, they were really useful.

When something happened in Xihai, we stabilized the situation by winning two battles in just over two months after arriving on the scene; after the rebellion in Ningxia Town, we took the lead in counterattacking within a month and put down the rebellion within three months.

I wonder if this is how Emperor Wu of Han felt when he looked at Huo Qubing?

After Lin Tailai finished reading the victory report, all the civil and military officials congratulated him and shouted "Long live the emperor".

Emperor Wanli didn't feel much about this part. As long as he was willing to attend court, he could see such scenes every day.

What followed was the climax of the prisoner presentation ceremony, when Li Rusong, the general commander in chief of the anti-rebellion forces, and hundreds of government troops appeared in the small square outside the Meridian Gate, escorting more than twenty prisoners.

Among them, more than a dozen were rebel generals from Ningxia Town who followed Haibai in rebellion, including Haibai's son Hai Chengen.

As for the remaining ten or so people, they were enemy chiefs captured in the battles of Xining and Ganjunshan. They were of a somewhat respectable status, including several sponsored by Sanniangzi.

Although this prisoner presentation ceremony was held because of the Battle of Ningxia, in order to make the scene look better, Lin Tailai also included the captured chieftains from the previous battles of Xining and Gansu.

Each prisoner was covered with red cloth and escorted by ten government soldiers.

After being tortured for so long, the captured chiefs were completely exhausted and could only kneel dejectedly outside the Meridian Gate.

Emperor Wanli on the city gate looked at the captured enemy prisoners with great interest, and even wanted to go down to observe them closely, but was stopped by his left and right.

"With Lin Tailai guarding down there, are you still afraid of danger?" asked Emperor Wanli.

The eunuch Zhang Cheng tried his best to persuade him: "Your Majesty is worth a fortune. It is extremely ominous to approach these dying captives!"

Since it was unlucky, Emperor Wanli had no choice but to give up.

At this time, at the gate of the city, the Minister of Justice Sun Pi Yang stepped out, listed the crimes of the captured chiefs one by one, and announced their punishments.

"Crush the corpse of Hao Bai, and kill Hao Cheng'en and other rebellious generals in the market!
The rest of the rebel generals' relatives and followers will be beheaded and sent to exile!
All the captured bandit chieftains will be beheaded, and their heads will be sent to the nine borders along with Hai Chengen and others!"

After the Minister of Justice Sun Piyang announced the end, he asked the emperor for instructions: "Let's go to the city to execute the sentence. Please give me your permission!"

Emperor Wanli issued an edict with the final word: "Take it!"

The big men on the left and right began to spread the word, two to four, four to eight, and finally hundreds of them shouted together, "Take it!"

The sound echoed between the palace walls like thunder, and could be heard even if one was standing on the imperial road outside the palace.

Some weak-minded rebel generals were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground.

The Minister of Justice Sun Pi Yang led the government troops and escorted the captured chieftain to Xishi for execution.

Finally, Emperor Wanli issued the "Edict to Pacific Ningxia", and today's ceremony of surrendering prisoners came to an end.

"Now we have brought Hai Cheng'en and others to prison, and presented them as captives a thousand miles away, with their heads sent to the nine frontiers. This is enough to express our loyalty and discontent, and to warn the rebels not to have a general.

I hereby declare that all soldiers and civilians, both at home and abroad, in the nine borders and four barbarians, whoever abides by the rules is a good citizen, whoever protects himself is a normal person, whoever strictly abides by the king's laws, and whoever shares the peace will be a good citizen."

Emperor Wanli was in a good mood, and even seemed a little reluctant to leave.

He then issued an order, asking the gentlemen who had not been seen for a long time to come up and talk. It had been more than a year since they last met.

The "Sir" mentioned by the emperor here refers specifically to the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

All the officials below were preparing to leave, but when they saw the cabinet ministers being summoned up, they were speechless except for envy.

Perhaps this is the special feature of the Grand Secretary. Even though it is usually said that the Grand Secretary is not the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the Six Ministries are actually parallel.

But according to the emperor's custom, the Grand Secretary is still the head of all ministers and should be treated differently from other ministers.

Suddenly someone saw that Lin Tailai had run to the Zuoye Gate and was talking to the eunuch guarding the gate.

Is there something new? So everyone immediately didn’t want to leave, so as not to miss the opportunity to watch the show live.

After the four cabinet ministers went up, the first thing they did was to congratulate.

Emperor Wanli also politely replied: "This is all due to your careful planning."

If it were a minister who had little contact with the emperor, when he suddenly met the emperor, he would easily be speechless or even afraid to speak because the relationship between the emperor and the minister was too unfamiliar.

In history, the three paper-made ministers of the Chenghua Dynasty were such a case, and this situation also occurred in the late Wanli Dynasty.

But except for Zhao Zhigao, all the members of this cabinet had served as lecturers for a long time when Emperor Wanli was a child.

They had a lot of close contact with Emperor Wanli in the past, but their interactions have decreased in recent years, so they are not afraid to speak.

On behalf of all the ministers, the Prime Minister Shen Shixing expressed his greetings, saying, "We have not seen the emperor's face for a year. Today, we are very pleased to learn that the emperor is in good health."

Emperor Wanli said quickly and worriedly: "I still have dizziness and arm pain, and it is inconvenient for me to move. Today I come out to meet you for the ceremony of presenting captives."

Shen Shixing added: "I hope the emperor will take good care of himself."

Emperor Wanli suddenly asked, "I heard that there are many mining thieves in Shanxi, Henan and other places. Why did the local officials conceal it and not report it? No one cares about the mining business?"

The ministers present were all confused as to why the emperor suddenly asked about the "mine thieves"?
This topic came out of nowhere and was a bit too jumpy.

If it weren't for the prophetic time traveler, he would have no idea what the emperor was thinking at this moment.

No matter how smart the politicians were, they could not have imagined that Emperor Wanli had already begun to consider sending eunuchs to various places to open mines and make money.

Just as the grand secretaries were pondering how to answer the emperor's question, a eunuch suddenly came up and whispered something to Zhang Cheng, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

Zhang Cheng then reported to the emperor: "Lin Tailai is down there submitting a memorial."

This report interrupted the communication between the emperor and his subjects. Emperor Wanli was slightly stunned and ordered: "You should take a look at the Imperial Household Department first."

But Zhang Cheng emphasized: "Lin Tailai wants to resign."

The emperor and his ministers, who were about to discuss the "mine thieves" issue, were all stunned. What was Lin Tailai doing?

The ceremony of surrendering prisoners has just ended, and you, the greatest contributor, are already wanting to resign. What does that mean?
To put it bluntly, isn't this a slap in the emperor's face?
Feeling a little embarrassed, Emperor Wanli shouted, "Call him up!"

The ministers waiting outside finally saw that Lin Tailai was also summoned after "negotiation".

Thinking back to Lin Tailai's arrogant expression before the prisoner surrender ceremony, anyone could have predicted that something bad was bound to happen.

In front of the Five Phoenix Tower above the Meridian Gate, Prime Minister Shen had already reacted and suddenly felt a little panicked!

How could Lin Tailai resign? If Lin Tailai resigned, wouldn't he become a living target again?
In addition, it is very rare for a great hero to resign after the ceremony of presenting prisoners.

If public opinion believes that he was forced to leave by himself as the Prime Minister, then wouldn't I be on par with Qin Hui?
This would greatly affect his own historical evaluation! Prime Minister Shen had never thought that Lin Tailai could actually resign.

Isn't it his privilege to threaten others with resignation? When did Lin Tailai learn this?

It is simply a rebellion against Tiangang!

When Lin Tailai arrived at the Meridian Gate, Emperor Wanli asked him bluntly, "Why did you resign? Do you think the court has treated you unfairly?"

You must read and understand the emperor's words carefully.

The two sentences "Could it be that the court has treated you unfairly" and "Could it be that you think the court has treated you unfairly" seem similar, but they actually have two completely different meanings.

Lin Tailai replied, "Your Majesty has never treated me unfairly, and I am grateful. But I have been feeling discouraged recently and have long wanted to resign and return home.

Also, thinking of the ceremony of presenting captives, I did not dare to spoil Your Majesty's interest, so I kept waiting.

Now that the captives have been surrendered, it is time for me to resign."

Emperor Wanli did not want to hear such nonsense and shouted, "Tell me in detail how you can explain your discouragement!"

Lin Tailai said: "Last year, I was ordered to go to war, and I was repeatedly slandered and vilified by people in the court.

At first, I stayed in Xining and did not go out, so I was accused of being cowardly; then I led two troops in succession and won two great victories, so I was accused of being reckless.

I was on guard against Haobai and was accused of being cruel and ruthless; I predicted that Haobai would rebel and was accused of framing him; after Haobai rebelled, it was said that I had forced him to rebel.

All kinds of criticisms have been heard all year long!"

Prime Minister Shen Shixing stepped forward and said, "Although there are many discussions in the court, the emperor is wise and has not believed them easily. What else are you dissatisfied with? This is not a reason for you to resign!"

Lin Tailai continued, "I have no complaints, but I am really angry at the behavior of some people in the court.

In my opinion, speaking irresponsibly without knowing the truth and attacking the ministers who are going on the expedition is tantamount to collaborating with the enemy and selling out the country.

When I returned to the capital earlier, I impeached more than a dozen people in one breath, just to punish this kind of people!

At that time, I only thought that even if I had to sacrifice my merits and give up the reward of the title, I would rectify the atmosphere to reduce the constraints on future work! "

Until now, everyone present still didn’t understand what Lin Tailai wanted to express.
It seems like it's just repeating what happened in the past year?
But the matter has already passed, what's the point in retelling it?
Out of caution, Shen Shixing even stopped talking, thinking that if he didn't understand something, he would make mistakes if he spoke too much.

Surrounded by either eunuchs or cabinet ministers, and with no censors present, Emperor Wanli spoke more directly.

"Didn't I vent my anger for you? Didn't I dismiss Song Xun from the Ministry of Works? Didn't I dismiss Ai Mu, the Minister of the Imperial Household? Didn't I transfer a few censors to other places? Didn't I transfer Sun Xueshi to the Imperial College in Nanjing?"

Lin Tailai said in grief and indignation: "Your Majesty's caring heart is deeply touched!
But, in the end, it was all in vain! That’s why I became discouraged and wanted to leave!”

Still not understanding, Emperor Wanli could no longer bear it and said impatiently: "What a waste of energy! If you still can't explain it clearly, I will drag you out and beat you up! Come back and give me an answer after you understand it clearly!"

As a result, Lin Tailai became even more angry and shouted in a somewhat inappropriate tone: "It's not that I don't want to explain it clearly, but I am really being strangled by reality!
Your Majesty, please take a look at the recent nominations for vacant positions!

Ask any court official, and they will know that those on the list are either my enemies or have ill will towards me!
Previously, in order to rectify the atmosphere, I gave up a title in exchange for the removal of those evil officials!
But what happens after the dismissal? The re-nominated officials are all people who are hostile to me!

It can be said that all the ministers who were dismissed by His Majesty were in vain! Nothing has changed!"

Holy shit! The Grand Secretaries and the eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department were all shocked. Could this be an explanation?

This angle is quite unique, I hadn’t thought of this before!

Anyway, after hearing this, everyone finally understood Lin Tailai’s core logic today.

At the beginning, Lin Tailai wanted to exchange his merits for "life", and the emperor agreed.

But if the person who replaces him is still Lin Tailai’s enemy, wouldn’t it be a waste of time?
From Lin Tailai's perspective, it was like making contributions but getting nothing in return. This was a huge injustice.

Don’t even think that being promoted from the fourth-rank Shaoqing of Taifu Temple to the fourth-rank Shaoqing of Taichang Temple was a reward. It was an insult to his seven victories in seven battles and his being the first to capture the city.

While others were stunned by shock, Lin Tailai seized the opportunity to express his emotions to the emperor.

“That’s why I just said that it was all in vain in the end!
All the rewards that I should have received have gone down the drain!

I have made great contributions, but in the end I received no reward!"

Emperor Wanli was immediately furious, as this made him seem like an emperor who was stingy with rewards and treated his meritorious officials badly.

Lin Tailai quickly adjusted his direction and complained passionately: "This situation has nothing to do with your majesty! It's because there are too many treacherous officials in the court, which ruined your majesty's good intentions towards me!"

Emperor Wanli asked angrily, "Who is the traitor?"

Lin Tailai answered loudly and firmly: "I don't know if others are treacherous ministers, but the people who have been nominated for the positions of Minister of Revenue, Minister of Works, Minister of the Supreme Court, and Minister of the Imperial Household must be treacherous ministers!

He must be a treacherous minister who deceives his superiors and subordinates, embezzles rewards from meritorious officials in disguise, and destroys the reputation of Your Majesty!

To rectify the atmosphere in the imperial court, the first people to be rectified are people like this!"

With a loud thunder, the real purpose is revealed!

The grand secretaries were both shocked and angry; the lethality and scope of this list of treacherous ministers were astonishing!

Those who were pushed forward to compete for the four main positions were all key figures after careful consideration by all parties!

If you, Lin Tailai, label them all traitors, are there any good people left in the court?

How dare you, Lin Tailai? Do you really want to resign? No, do you really want to resign?

(End of this chapter)