Daming talker

Chapter 663: A show of force

The format of the Spring Festival in the capital seems to be almost the same every year. For ordinary people, it is visiting relatives and friends, temple fairs, and lanterns; for officials, it is sweeping the streets and sending letters to people's doors, with all flying around in front of their eyes are famous New Year greetings cards.

Although the form has not changed much, it is the people who have been changing. It can be said that "the flowers are the same year after year, but the people are different year after year."

After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, all government offices resumed work and government affairs began to operate again.

On the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, three former cabinet ministers, Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue and Wang Jiaping, submitted memorials to the emperor at the same time, nominating their respective candidates for new cabinet ministers.

Then the three former cabinet ministers set out to return home, expressing their attitude of not being greedy for power.

The suspense that had kept court officials guessing for a month was finally solved, and the members of the new cabinet were finalized.

Shen Shixing recommended Zhang Wei, the Minister of Rites and President of the Hanlin Academy, a man of strong character, shrewdness and courage.

Although many people guessed that Shen Shixing would recommend Zhang Wei, they still didn’t understand the reason and couldn’t understand why Shen Shixing would recommend Zhang Wei.

The candidate recommended by Wang Xijue was Zhu Geng, the former Minister of Rites and Hanlin Academician. He was in mourning in the 16th year of Wanli and has now ended his mourning period.

This recommendation was beyond everyone's expectations. No one could see any relationship between Zhu Geng, who was still living in his hometown of Shanyin County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and Wang Xijue.

If we really want to talk about relationships, Zhu Geng and the Prime Minister Zhao Zhigao might be closer. The two were born in the same year and were from the same province, living in the same prefecture next door. They entered the Hanlin Academy together and had similar personalities and temperaments.

As for the candidate recommended by Wang Jiaping, it was also surprising. It was Li Chun, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

This person does not have many distinctive characteristics. His stance is centrist and most of the time he follows the crowd or the Prime Minister.

But last fall, Li Chun offended Lin Tailai by missing a literary conference.

At this time, Li Chun was suddenly recommended by Wang Jiaping. Everyone could guess that he was most likely to join the Qingliu forces, but they didn't know how he was convinced.

From this we can also see the weakness of the Qingliu Party in the circle of poets. Apart from Shen Li, Liu Yukui and Zhao Yongxian, who were all not very suitable, there were almost no one available.

After all, the Qingliu Party is a force that has risen in the past decade, and those who are now eligible to be nominated to the cabinet must have been in the court for at least twenty years and have long had their own factions and ideas.

Moreover, the anti-authoritarian and unyielding temperament of the Qingliu Party is completely incompatible with the system of poets who rely on high-level channels.

As for the previous favorite candidate Zhao Yongxian, he fully implemented the law that the favorite must die and was bitten to death by Lin's number one lackey Zhou Yingqiu.

Two days later, Emperor Wanli approved the three recommendations, and the new cabinet team consisted of: Chief Minister Zhao Zhigao, Zhang Wei, Zhu Geng, and Li Chun in no particular order.

Looking at the list, the court officials were shocked to find that all these cabinet ministers were Jinshi in the second year of Longqing's reign. They also remembered that Yu Shenxing of the Ministry of Revenue and Chen Yubei of the Ministry of Works were also Shangshu who passed the imperial examination in the second year of Longqing's reign.

Unconsciously, the stage of the great era seemed to have changed again, and those who passed the imperial examinations during the Jiajing period had begun to completely withdraw from the stage.

These new cabinet ministers are all of the same age as Prime Minister Zhao Zhigao. From seniority and qualifications to prestige and ability, Prime Minister Zhao does not have a clear advantage.

I am afraid that in the future, it will be difficult for Prime Minister Zhao to maintain the same level of strength as the previous prime ministers in the cabinet.

Then another new problem arises, who among the three newcomers will be the secondary support?

It is said that the open and secret struggles in the court are like waves in the sea, one after another, seemingly never stopping.

Generally speaking, who will be the second assistant is not a problem. The cabinet ministers are ranked according to the order of their entry into the cabinet, and whoever enters the cabinet second earliest will be the second assistant.

But the situation this time is special. Three people were replaced in the cabinet at the same time, and three new people entered the cabinet at the same time. So who comes first and who comes later?

In fact, in terms of functions and powers, under the current system, the chief minister is a unique one among the cabinet ministers, and the other cabinet ministers are similar. There is no essential difference in the power of the second minister, the third minister, and the fourth minister.

Therefore, if we only consider it from the perspective of power, there is no cost-effectiveness in spending huge costs to fight for the second assistant.

However, the second assistant has one great advantage, that is, he is the first candidate for the position of the first assistant. If the first assistant dies, is dismissed or retires, the second assistant can naturally take over as the first assistant.

Especially since the current Prime Minister Zhao is already 68 years old, no, he will be 69 years old after the Chinese New Year.

Therefore, everyone feels that this term's deputy assistant is of high quality! The probability of outlasting old man Zhao and easily succeeding the first assistant is very high, so it is still worth fighting for.

Even if the ministers themselves have no intention of competing for the position of Second Prime Minister, their relatives and friends behind them will push them to compete for it.

Of course, there is no need to rush. After all, although the Prime Minister is old, he is currently healthy and does not look like he will die in a few months.

If we act too hastily, we may incur backlash from the Prime Minister.

Zhang Wei, Zhu Geng and Li Chun, three "newcomers" ranked in no particular order, faced this huge test as soon as they entered the cabinet.

But Prime Minister Zhao Zhigao believed that he was the one facing the greatest test!
Let’s take a look at the history of the Ming Dynasty. Who was the one who, as soon as he became the Prime Minister, was faced with a group of people “wishing” him to die?
Lin Jiuyuan has encouraged himself to work for Daming Health for another ten years. You guys are nothing!

It was the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar again, and Zhang Wei, recommended by Shen Shixing, and Li Chun, recommended by Wang Jiaping, entered the Wenyuan Pavilion to work. As for Zhu Geng, he was still on his way from Zhejiang.

They all first "entered the Wenyuan Pavilion and participated in the affairs of the court", but had not yet been given the official title of Grand Secretary.

Because there are differences in the ranks of the Grand Secretaries of the Palaces and Cabinet, for example, Prime Minister Zhao was suddenly promoted to Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Palace at the end of last year, so Grand Secretary of the Wuying Palace is the rank of the second prime minister.

Now that the order of the newcomers hasn't even been decided, it's naturally difficult to award them the title of Grand Secretary.

However, Zhang Wei and Li Chun entered the central hall of Wenyuan Pavilion and found that Prime Minister Zhao Zhigao had not arrived yet.

Logically speaking, today's meeting should be hosted by the Prime Minister and held in the central hall with new and old cabinet ministers.

After communicating with each other and getting to know each other, the new cabinet ministers officially got into their roles and began to handle official business.

But Zhang Wei and Li Chun waited for a whole morning and did not see Zhao Zhigao.

The two newlyweds could neither walk away nor start to take over official duties, so they could only sit and wait in the central hall. In the eyes of the Zhongshu Sheren, it was like a new bride being "regulated by the rules" by her mother-in-law.

It was not until noon that Prime Minister Zhao finally arrived.

However, the Prime Minister's attitude was very friendly. He took the initiative to apologize to the two newcomers and then sat down to talk.

Holding the teacup, Prime Minister Zhao said slowly: "You two brothers are both experienced veterans of the court, so there is no need for me to give you any more advice.

But there are some things that I think still need to be reminded.”

Then Zhao Zhigao looked at Zhang Wei and said, "Let me talk about you first. In the past few months, Shen Wumen recommended you twice, first pushing you to be the president of the Hanlin Academy and then pushing you into the cabinet. But did you know that Lin Jiuyuan had other ideas at the beginning and firmly opposed you to be the president of the Hanlin Academy in front of Shen Wumen."

Zhang Wei had a blank expression on his face. Although he was a little upset, he was not panicked. There would always be opponents to any personnel issue, so there was no need to make a fuss.

Seeing that Zhang Wei had no reaction, Zhao Zhigao continued, "In fact, there is a little episode about how you returned to the court. I wonder if you have heard about it.

I had never told anyone before Shen Wumen recommended you to return to the court to take charge of the Hanlin Academy.

But Lin Jiuyuan had made a bet with Shen Wumen at that time that if Lin Jiuyuan could guess the candidate in Shen Wumen's mind, Shen Wumen would stop recommending.

In the end, Lin Jiuyuan actually guessed you right away, but later Shen Wumen regretted his bet and even went back on his word with Lin Jiuyuan and still recommended you."

Zhang Wei: “.”

A few months ago, I was just a low-key person living in my hometown, and I didn't even expect that Shen Shixing would recommend me.

Moreover, he had never had any contact with Lin Tailai before, and they had never served in the same court, so there was no connection between them.

So how could Lin Tailai guess something that even he himself hadn't thought of, about a stranger like him?
Thinking of this, Zhang Wei suddenly shuddered. Could it be that Lin Tailai had been secretly watching him for the past few years? Like a poisonous snake lying in the bushes?
After all, before Zhao Zhigao, who was strongly supported by Lin Tailai, entered the cabinet, he was also considered a competitor.

Finally, Zhao Zhigao kindly reminded, "Shen Wumen's failure to keep his word made Lin Jiuyuan very angry. No one can say for sure whether he will vent his anger on Lin Jiuyuan.

As for Lin Jiuyuan's personality, I'm sure you've heard a lot about it.

As a fellow student on the same list, I have to remind you not to take it lightly! "

Zhang Wei: “.”

My good classmate, is this a friendly reminder or a well-intentioned threat?

After reminding Zhang Wei, Zhao Zhigao looked at Li Chun again and sighed deeply:

"Your problem is more serious. At the Beijing Literary Conference last fall, you agreed to attend, but then you were absent.

This made Lin Jiuyuan, who was in a low ebb at the time, very angry. You are probably still on Lin Jiuyuan's blacklist.

As a fellow student on the same list, I have to remind you not to take it lightly! "

Li Chun: “.”

Isn't today a meeting between the new and old cabinet ministers? Why do you, Prime Minister Zhao, keep talking about Lin Tailai? What do you mean?
Are you feeling guilty? Are you feeling guilty? If you have the ability, don't use Lin Jiuyuan to show off your power!
Seeing how Zhang Wei and Li Chunshan dared to be angry but not to speak out, Chief Minister Zhao secretly gave himself a thumbs up.

As the sage said, there must be a teacher among three people. The tricks I learned from Zhou Yingqiu are indeed useful.

Zhou Yingqiu, a mere scholar, was able to kill Zhao Yongxian, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Was it because Zhou Yingqiu himself was so powerful?
These new members of the cabinet are all of my peers, and their resumes are richer than mine, who had been displaced in my early years. As long as I bring up the name of Lin Jiuyuan, won't I be able to suppress them firmly?
It seems that being the Prime Minister is much easier than I imagined!

Thinking of this, Prime Minister Zhao struck while the iron was hot and said, "There are two urgent matters at the beginning of the year, and we can discuss them now.

The first thing is that there have been many large-scale riots and tax resistance incidents in Songjiang Prefecture. If they are not dealt with in a timely manner, the transportation of grain in the spring of this year will be affected!
My opinion is that the culprit, Yingtian Governor Zhao Canlu, should be removed and another official should be selected from nearby to pacify the situation! "

Zhang Wei wanted to show off his shrewdness, so he asked, "I heard that Yingtian Governor Zhao Canlu only raised taxes in Suzhou, so why did the people of Songjiang Prefecture riot?"

Zhao Zhigao gave him some face and replied, "Suzhou and Songjiang have always been in a relationship of mutual dependence. It is probably because Governor Zhao has been amassing wealth in Suzhou that the people of Songjiang Prefecture are worried."

Li Chun thought of his own position and camp and had to question: "Isn't this explanation too far-fetched? Removing the governor for this is too much of a joke."

Zhao Zhigao snorted coldly, "What other explanation do you want? Why did Zhao Canlu, as the governor of the ten prefectures in Jiangnan, only impose additional taxes on Suzhou after taking office?
However, we can follow your proposal and let Zhao Canlu stay in office. But according to Lin Tailai, if the tax resistance in Songjiang Prefecture cannot be quelled within this month, whoever protects Zhao Canlu in the court will be responsible!"

Li Chun: “.”

It’s only his first day working at Wenyuan Pavilion. What responsibility can he take?

Zhang Wei wanted to struggle a bit more, and suggested: "We can order Zhao Canlu to make amends for his crime and go to Songjiang Prefecture in person to quell the situation."

Zhao Shoufu slammed the table and said, "What a coincidence! Lin Tailai also suggested the same thing. I didn't agree with it at first, but I didn't expect that you and Lin Tailai would agree on the same thing."

Zhang Wei: “.”

It's really endless. Can you please stop mentioning this name? The Prime Minister of the Cabinet is you, Zhao Zhigao, not Lin Tailai!

Prime Minister Zhao said generously: "Since you and Lin Jiuyuan both think so, I will accept your suggestion with an open mind! Let Zhao Canlu stay in office for a month, and go to Songjiang Prefecture to quell the disturbance in person!"

Li Chun couldn't figure it out for a moment. Was it better to stay in office temporarily or be dismissed directly?
Li Chun, who lacked experience, did not notice that Prime Minister Zhao did not provide any supporting support to Zhao Canlu, such as withdrawing soldiers from the camp.

Prime Minister Zhao then talked about the second more important matter, "Recently, problems have arisen one after another among the provincial censors, and a proposal was sent to the Censorate before the New Year.

Zhan Yangbi, who is currently in charge of the affairs of the Metropolitan Censorate, proposed to conduct a retrospective review and overhaul of the inspection and appointment of provincial censors over the past three years.

Zhang Wei, who was relatively strong-willed, couldn't help but sneer, "Does this have anything to do with Lin Jiuyuan?"

Zhao Zhigao replied seriously, "It is indeed related. Many officials in Henan, Huguang and other places were inspired by Lin Jiuyuan and woke up. They took the initiative to expose the problems of the provincial censors to the court."

Li Chun still had to object, saying, "How can we investigate several years ago and arbitrarily change the conclusion when there is no clear necessity?"

Zhao Zhigao patiently explained a few more words: "In order to encourage them to actively fight against the corrupt officials, Lin Jiuyuan also put in a lot of effort.

If the court remains indifferent to this situation, it will only waste Lin Jiuyuan's efforts and severely undermine the morale of officials in various provinces."

Li Chun insisted: "If we investigate indiscriminately, the officials will panic and find it difficult to work with peace of mind!"

Zhao Zhigao said coldly: "Lin Jiuyuan's fellow countryman has a famous saying, it's better to cry all the way than to cry together!"

Li Chun: “.”

Speaking of ancients, they are ancients, and even more damn important is to emphasize that Lin Jiuyuan is an ancient fellow townsman!

As the Prime Minister, can't you speak without mentioning the three words "Lin Jiuyuan"?

I want to resign on my first day at work at Wenyuan Pavilion. What should I do?
(End of this chapter)