Daming talker
Chapter 655 The way of a monarch and his ministers
Chapter 655 The way of a monarch and his ministers
"Who was the person who hung up the notice?" Chen Ju, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, shouted at the Jinyiwei officer in the hope of getting lucky.
The reason why it is said to be a fluke is that there are too many posters with large characters posted on the street outside the right gate of Chang'an, and most of them will not attract attention.
By the time others had read the content of the post, the person who posted it had already disappeared.
Then Eunuch Chen added: "Or has anyone seen what the person who posted the notice looked like?"
The Jinyiwei officer unexpectedly replied: "The man did not leave, but was caught."
Eunuch Chen was overjoyed: "What identity?"
The Jinyiwei officer said distressedly: "That man is just an illiterate laborer. Someone paid him to hang up the notice on the road, so he did it."
Eunuch Chen: “.”
So it is basically impossible to find out who posted the exposé?
This was all the information. Eunuch Chen ignored his image and ran towards the Yude Palace. He wanted to see Emperor Wanli!
Although at this moment, the emperor must have known the news - the factory guards must have reported it to the emperor first, and there was no need for Eunuch Chen to inform him.
But Eunuch Chen wanted to clear himself as quickly as possible to avoid the emperor's anger!
Emperor Wanli's face turned red with anger, and he roared at Eunuch Chen: "Who did it? And how did it become known?"
Emperor Wanli was originally quite proud of himself. He had carefully planned and done a bad thing, but no one knew who did it. This gave him a great sense of accomplishment.
But I didn't expect that it would be posted directly on the street!
It would be so embarrassing to be discovered and exposed after doing something bad!
The motive behind Emperor Wanli's doing this is simple. The first was to force the Prime Minister and the Second Prime Minister to publicly take sides and help him withstand the pressure.
Don't just keep trying to smooth things over like you did in the past. In the end, he, the emperor, had to face the pressure from the censors!
Second, if the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister are unwilling to take sides and resign, then amid the turmoil in the court, the matter of enthroning the Crown Prince on the winter solstice will naturally fall through. Who will care about enthroning the Crown Prince?
At this time, Chen Ju was temporarily relieved. He heard that the emperor did not intend to vent his anger on him.
He replied: "No one outside should know the inside story. Maybe some people made random guesses and hit the wrong target."
"Random guesses?" Emperor Wanli was stunned for a moment, then continued to roar: "How dare someone slander the emperor and father!"
In most people's normal judgment, the leak of the secret memorial was due to the mistake of the cabinet or the secretariat, and the emperor was not the one to be blamed.
After all, this matter is too shameless. It is hard to imagine that the sacred emperor can be so shameless.
But after this poster was posted, it immediately opened up new ideas and led people to think in the direction of the emperor.
Seeing that the emperor was still angry, Eunuch Chen could only reply: "I will do my best to eliminate the impact."
He didn't dare to say that he had found out the truth, so he just said that he had eliminated the influence - he had to express his stance in front of the emperor.
Emperor Wanli waved his hand and said, "Then do it! We can't let the world continue to slander me!"
After ensuring his own safety, Eunuch Chen came out of Yude Palace and began to wonder who wrote the notice.
Although Eunuch Chen said that it was just random speculation in order to appease the emperor, he did not think so in his heart.
When it comes to the leak of secret memorials, the key figures are still those in the cabinet.
Prime Minister Shen? He was smart, but he was not an extreme or crazy person. He would not write a big letter to poke the emperor in the face.
Wang Xijue? Not likely. Given his personality, even if he found out, he would only ask the emperor for an explanation and would not make it public.
Wang Jiaping? This person is quite tough. If his secret memorials were leaked, he might indeed publish a large-character poster to expose the secret, but it is not his secret memorial that has been leaked now.
Zhao Zhigao? Not even close. He's just a timid bastard. How could he have the guts to take the initiative?
Anyway, Eunuch Chen thought about it for a while but still had no clue, so he could only find a way to eliminate the impact.
We can't let the emperor come forward and tell the world "I am not that, I don't have that".
After the content of this large-character poster spread, it once again shocked the officialdom in the capital.
The previous mainstream view was that the Secretariat or the Cabinet Secretary made a mistake in his work and was taken advantage of by someone to cause trouble.
And now when everyone looks at the emperor again, he seems a little suspicious.
Although the original situation was noisy, it was not very chaotic. After all, everyone knew the future direction, which was that the Prime Minister and the Second Prime Minister would step down, and then a new round of big game would begin.
But since the revelation pointed out the emperor, the situation became so chaotic that people were at a loss as to what to do.
Shen Yongmao, a filial son, has been at home these days, accompanying his old father who has reached the end of his career in the officialdom, mainly because he is afraid that his father will do something reckless.
For Mr. Shen, it was not unacceptable for him to see his father step down. After all, even though he had lost his father, he still had the Immortal Jiu Yuan, so it didn't seem to make much difference.
But what worries Uncle Shen is that his old father might act rashly in a fit of rage, which might affect him in the future.
Today, Uncle Shen was a little surprised when he saw that his father actually asked the servants to prepare the carriage as if he was going out.
"What is father going to do?" Shen Yongmao asked quickly.
Shen Shixing replied with a straight face: "I will go to Wenyuan Pavilion to be on duty."
Shen Yongmao was speechless. With the public opinion environment outside being so bad, couldn't his father just stay at home? Was he trying to make a last-ditch effort?
Shen Shixing snorted coldly: "I haven't resigned, and the emperor hasn't dismissed me, so why can't I go?"
Shen Yongmao helplessly advised: "Now the situation is very turbulent and public opinion is not friendly to your father. It is better not to go out."
Could it be that, Dad, you really want to shamelessly become "Yan Song"?
Shen Shixing sighed and said with determination: "I can lose, but I can't admit defeat easily! I can't let people think that I will step down easily!
Even if you leave, you must make arrangements for your relatives, friends, and fellow villagers to avoid being liquidated in the future.
How can you hide at home and ignore the world, and then walk away irresponsibly?
Young people like you lack the sense of responsibility that we old-school people have, and when things happen, you only think about yourself.”
Shen Yongmao replied, "Father, you are worrying too much! As long as you resign, many of your friends and relatives will immediately switch to Lin Jiuyuan. It will be a seamless transition, so you don't have to worry about the future."
Shen Shixing: “.” Even though Mr. Shen had advised him to this extent, Prime Minister Shen still insisted on going to Wenyuan Pavilion to sit for a while.
I don’t know if this is a sense of farewell ritual, the old man’s obsession, or some other idea.
However, Prime Minister Shen's carriage did not display the Prime Minister's banner, and it drove in a low-key manner towards the right gate of Chang'an.
Halfway through the journey, Shen Yongmao saw hundreds of people gathered on the roadside to watch the posters being unveiled. He walked over to take a look, then turned around and told his father in the car.
Prime Minister Shen's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly ordered Shen Yongmao: "Don't go to Wenyuan Pavilion, turn around and go home!
At the same time, you should hurry up and take out the resignation letter from the study and hand it in!"
Shen Yongmao asked, "Why is father so panicked?"
Shen Shixing seemed to have aged ten years, and said dejectedly: "I can't let the emperor suspect that I am taking revenge because my secret memorial was exposed!
Maybe someone is using this as a hint to warn me! I can’t stay in this damn court for another day! "
If I were "uninformed", in the eyes of Emperor Wanli, I would be purely a victim, and perhaps there would be some mercy for him.
If the emperor thought he knew about it in advance, it would be all over.
If Prime Minister Shen had thought of struggling a few more times to see if he could find a way out, now he has completely given up the idea.
Now Shen Shixing only has one question in his mind: who is so cruel?
Could it be that Wang Jiaping aspired to be the Prime Minister? Was he afraid that he would be cruel enough to become "Yan Song"?
At this time, another star figure, Huang Zhengbin, the former Secretary of the Central Secretariat who bravely exposed and criticized the Prime Minister, was reveling in the flowers and applause of the Censors of the Censorate.
After touring and communicating in the Censorate for a few days, Left Censor-in-Chief Lu Guangzu personally met with Huang Zhengbin.
During the meeting, General Lu highly praised Huang Zhengbin's heroic act, commended Huang Zhengbin's behavior of not fearing power and upholding justice, and called Huang Zhengbin a contemporary hero.
Mr. Lu also expressed the hope that Mr. Huang would continue his efforts and make new contributions in upholding justice.
"So, what's the problem with Zhao Zhigao?" Lu Guangzu didn't play any tricks on a small figure like Huang Zhengbin, and asked directly.
Since you, Mr. Huang, were brave enough to expose Shen Shixing, it would be reasonable for you to expose Zhao Zhigao, right?
In Lu Guangzu's mind, Shen Shixing was already a thing of the past, and it was not an exaggeration to call him a "dry bone in a tomb". Zhao Zhigao was his new target of work.
According to the current trend, if Wang Jiaping became the first assistant, Zhao Zhigao would be the second assistant. Moreover, this was a second assistant who had the full support of Lin Tailai, so he had to make plans early.
Huang Zhengbin hesitated for a moment and said, "I have already said that Lord Zhao is at most mediocre and has no guilt."
Zhao Zhigao basically did nothing in the cabinet, and he followed the prime minister when major events occurred, so it was not easy to find fault with him.
Not to mention crimes like forming a faction to attack dissidents and excluding dissidents. To put it bluntly, Zhao Si did not have the qualifications to do so when he was in the cabinet before.
Lu Guangzu casually accused him, "Then it seems that he is just a figurehead and follows Shen Shixing?"
Just then, an imperial censor rushed in and shouted, "A poster appeared on the street outside the right gate of Chang'an! It mentioned the emperor!"
After listening to this, Lu Guangzu was completely confused for a moment. What was the purpose of issuing such a notice?
Suddenly, another Jinyiwei officer walked up to the room and shouted, "I am Luo Sigong, the commander of the Jinyiwei Northern Pacification Division, and I have been ordered to arrest Huang Zhengbin!"
Huang Zhengbin, who was talking to Lu Guangzu, was confused. What was going on? Why did the Jinyiwei come to arrest him?
Is the treatment in the imperial prison something a small person like me can enjoy?
Lu Guangzu stood up suddenly, his heart pounding!
He was not excited about the little guy Huang Zhengbin, but that damn feeling came again!
When everything was clearly under control, the situation suddenly became like a frightened horse, running out of control!
Over the past few years, this kind of situation has happened many times whenever Lin Tailai came across him!
But Lin Tailai is clearly not in the capital now!
In the cabinet which was at the eye of the storm, Wang Jiaping, who should have been feeling proud and triumphant, was quite upset.
Logically speaking, the first and second prime ministers have committed suicide, and now Wang Jiaping, the third prime minister, has become the person who temporarily presides over the cabinet work.
It must be very pleasant to enjoy the treatment of Prime Minister in the cabinet every day.
However, the Fourth Minister Zhao Zhigao didn't know what was wrong with him. He angrily cursed Wang Jiaping in the cabinet every day for framing his colleagues.
Wang Jiaping could no longer bear it and said, "If you have any evidence or clues, you can report it to the emperor! If you don't have any evidence or clues, you are making trouble without reason!"
Zhao Zhigao retorted: "If I had concrete evidence, I would have reported it to the emperor long ago. Why can I only file a complaint in the cabinet?"
"Justice is in the hearts of the people!" If it weren't for the need for stability and the fear of affecting the succession to the Prime Minister, Wang Jiaping really wanted to go up and beat up old man Zhao!
Old man Zhao shouted, "What do you mean by justice is in the heart of the people? It's just that due to the power, others dare not speak out!
First, the Cabinet's Secretary mixed up the imperial edicts and memorials, and then another Secretary reported the crimes of the Prime Minister. This is obviously a combination of punches!
How could such a thing happen without the organization and support of a strong cabinet?
Anyway, I, Zhao Zhigao, am a coward and don’t have the ability to commit a crime! As for whether you, Wang Jiaping, have the ability, you know it best! "
Wang Jiaping was almost going crazy. What if Zhao Zhigao kept talking nonsense like this every day and others really believed it?
As the saying goes, a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth, and there is no shortage of conspiracy theorists in the world!
Wang Jiaping then made up his mind and asked Zhao Zhigao, "The censors have also impeached you in the past two days. Why don't you reflect on the past behind closed doors?"
In fact, according to the old rules, once a minister was impeached by a censor, he would automatically go home and stay indoors, and then submit a letter of resignation to the emperor for a decision.
However, in recent years, as the situation has changed and censors have become more rampant, this old rule can no longer be strictly enforced.
Because there were too many impeachments, if there was one, the court officials would have to stay indoors. Then the court ministers would have nothing to do and the cabinet would be paralyzed every day.
Therefore, he adopted a workaround and only symbolically closed the door and resigned when there were more impeachments, and he also relied on his own judgment.
Wang Jiaping just wanted to cite this old rule and let Zhao Zhigao go home and calm down for a few days.
Generally speaking, after being told this, no one would dare to stay unless they are extremely thick-skinned.
Zhao Zhigao said angrily: "You can drive me away first, but you dare to ask yourself, is it you who caused the fate of the Prime Minister and the Second Assistant Minister?"
Wang Jiaping replied: "I have a clear conscience!"
Zhao Zhigao turned and left, but at this moment, a secretary rushed over.
He also reported: "Today, a notice appeared outside, which actually said nonsense that the secret document was leaked by the emperor. Now there is a lot of discussion outside!"
Wang Jiaping was shocked and said with a veiled meaning, "Is this really true?"
First, he was shocked that someone would post a denunciation, and second, he was shocked by the content of the denunciation. Could the emperor be so shameless?
Zhao Zhigao did not leave again. He stood in the middle hall and shouted, "Wang Shanyin! You still say it was not you who did it?"
Wang Jiaping: “.”
This is totally off the mark! In this situation, if I firmly deny that I committed the crime, wouldn't that be a disguised way of putting the blame on the emperor?
This is not a question of fairness or unfairness at all. Not to mention what the emperor thinks, it also involves the relationship between the ruler and his subjects!
As the saying goes, a son should not criticize his father's faults, and the relationship between the emperor and his subjects is better than that between father and son! The subjects have the obligation to take the blame for the emperor!
(End of this chapter)
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