Daming talker

Chapter 669: The Peace Will Eventually Be Broken

After the relevant memorials of Prime Minister Zhao were sent to the inner palace, Emperor Wanli was a little confused, so he asked the eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department:
"Zhao Zhigao said that there is no suitable minister to serve as the Minister of Rites at present, and proposed that cabinet minister Li Chun take charge of the Ministry of Rites. What does this mean?"

Most of the eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department didn't understand it at first, but Chen Ju finally figured it out and said:

"Li Chun was recommended by Wang Jiaping. If Li Chun is in charge of the Ministry of Rites, it may temporarily stop those petty officials who are trying to gain the credit for supporting the emperor."

Emperor Wanli suddenly realized and praised, "Zhao Zhigao is thoughtful."

If court officials make trouble for the country, the Minister of Rites is the one who must speak up and express his views, and he will often become a victim of the conflict. The previous Minister of Rites, Luo Wanhua, is an example.

Li Chun himself was a person promoted to the cabinet by the Qingliu forces. If Li Chun were allowed to serve as the Minister of Rites concurrently, the Qingliu forces would be "cautious in doing anything".

In order to save Li Chun, they had to temporarily stop their efforts on the issue of Guoben.

Moreover, the duties of the Minister of Rites are relatively theoretical, and his real power is slightly less than that of other ministries. Even if a cabinet minister is allowed to take on the responsibility of serving as the Minister of Rites, he will not be able to exercise absolute power.

"Very good, approved!" said Emperor Wanli, pointing at the memorial.

As for the issue of the order of cabinet ministers mentioned in the memorial, it was even less important in the eyes of the emperor and was approved.

Then an imperial edict was issued, appointing cabinet minister Zhu Geng as Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace, Li Chun as Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion and concurrently in charge of the Ministry of Rites, and Zhang Wei as Grand Secretary of Dongke.

Without saying it explicitly, as soon as the ministers outside saw the titles of these palaces and cabinets, they knew that Zhu Geng was the second assistant, Li Chun was the third assistant, and Zhang Wei was the fourth assistant.

So after Li Chun was forced to become the chief examiner while cursing, he was forced to take on the concurrent position of Minister of Rites while cursing.

Who wants to work part-time as this damn Minister of Rites? Before the national foundation issue is resolved, this is the most shady position in the court!

It will be easy for anyone who wants to target me in the future. Just find a few cannon fodder characters to make trouble for the country, and then I may be forced to fall into the trap!
He didn't think that he had a low IQ, after all, he was the first in the second class of his grade, but he was too young and didn't have as many smarts as those old guys.

I have to recruit people! I have to recruit a few retainers who are cunning enough to serve as my advisors!

It was already April of the 20th year of the Wanli reign. When Lin Tailai's latest ideas were conveyed to the capital, the order of cabinet ministers was determined, and the candidate for the Minister of Rites was decided, the court seemed to have entered a stable and uneventful stage.

It happened that at this time, a Korean delegation came to Beijing to pay homage.

In fact, it cannot be called "coincidentally" because there are diplomatic missions every year, and sometimes two or three times.

Mr. Lin, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites' Chief Guest Department, is still on vacation, and the work of the Chief Guest Department is temporarily presided over by Mr. Zhong Huamin, the Deputy Lang.

After the Korean delegation arrived in Beijing, Zhong Huamin sent the person in charge, Zhao Nanxing, to the Nanhuitongguan to negotiate first and discuss the procedures for this tribute.

Now these ceremonial affairs are very simple. Since the emperor doesn’t come out anyway, everyone is much less worried.

For example, in the past, the important project of Mianjun required special coordination of time, location, and specific procedures.

Now, all that is needed is to lead the envoy to the outside of the Huangji Gate, have him kowtow towards the inner palace, and then take him to the Guanglu Temple to have the imperial banquet and get watermelon, and that's it - if there is any.

Zhao Nanxing was about to go out to do his work when he suddenly saw someone sent by the Ministry of War coming over and asking the Ministry of Rites to ask the Korean envoys about "preparing for the Japanese."

Some time ago, the Communications Department of the Ministry of War submitted a "Memorial on Preparing for the Japanese Aggression", but the Emperor kept it in his pocket and had not yet made a decision. So the Emperor took this opportunity to consult the Korean envoys.

Zhao Nanxing, who had been promoted from a deputy director of the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Department to the director of the Ministry of Rites' Department of Guests and Guests, was disheartened and had been like a heartless walking corpse for the past two years.

Anyway, we have to go to the Korean envoy to do business, so it’s okay to ask a few more questions on behalf of the Ministry of War.

The chief envoy of the North Korean delegation this time is Yin Zhuoran. He came once three years ago and was personally received by Lin Tailai, who had just taken office.

After three years, Yoon Jung-shih can serve as a North Korean angel again, which shows that he is doing well in North Korea, so he can always get such a lucrative job.

After discussing the itinerary in general, Zhao Nanxing remembered his mission and asked Envoy Yin Zheng: "When you were in the East, did you hear any warnings about the invasion of Japan?"

Yin Zhengshi was very confused and replied, "I have never heard of it."

Zhao Nanxing asked again: "But some people in my Ming Dynasty said that in April or May this spring, Japanese soldiers will cross the sea to invade Korea."

Envoy Yin Zheng seemed to have remembered something, and after a brief recollection, he replied, "Last year, Toyotomi of Japan sent a letter to our king, requesting that we allow him to pass through our country to enter Tang this spring."

The so-called "passing through Korea to enter Tang" literally means going to Ming Dynasty through Korea.

Then Envoy Yin continued with a smile: "The people of our country regarded this as a joke and ignored the ignorant Toyotomi clan.

The rumor that the Japanese soldiers invaded our country, which Zhao Zhushi mentioned, probably originated from this incident. Separated by mountains and seas, rumors are inevitably exaggerated and untrue. "

Zhao Nanxing thought for a moment and then asked, "And then there was no follow-up?"

Envoy Yin Zheng responded: "Although our country is small, we are also a powerful country in the East. We rely on the sea, so we don't have to be afraid of the Japanese.

Toyotomi's words are so untrue that you don't need to pay any attention to them. What else can they do?"

Then Zhao Nanxing understood what was going on and why Lin Tailai inexplicably submitted a book called "Preparation for the Japanese Attack".

It was probably that Lin Tailai heard the contents of the letter from Toyotomi clan of Japan to Korea from people like maritime merchants, and then exaggerated it and fabricated a warning to submit to the court.

After all, the Communications Department of the Ministry of War is a new one, so there must be some movement to prove the role of the Communications Department.

As for how likely it is that the Japanese soldiers would cross the sea, just look at the attitude of the Korean envoys. They simply treated it as a joke.

Could it be that Lin Tailai understands the situation in North Korea better than the North Koreans?

Thinking of this, Zhao Nanxing felt that he had uncovered the truth, and then he told his colleagues the truth.

Then, following the Vice Minister of War, Vice Minister of Revenue, Left Censor-in-Chief and other ministers, the censors launched a second wave of accusations against Lin Tailai.

Compared with the first wave of fact-based discussions, the second wave is more well-reasoned and fully demonstrates that Lin Tailai is sensationalizing and bluffing for his own selfish interests.

In addition, he accused Lin Tailai of being arrogant because of the emperor's favor, relying on the emperor's grace without fear of punishment and wantonly fabricating information about the enemy.

It can be said that this was a severe and most profound revelation from the depths of Lin Tailai's soul!
Under the persuasion of Prime Minister Zhao Zhigao, Emperor Wanli still kept it in his pocket and did not send it out. After all, Lin Jiuyuan had said April or May, so there was not much time left.

In this April, the most important event for the imperial court was the selection of a new batch of Shujishi.

Originally, based on the principle that "too many Hanlin scholars are useless", the Hanlin Academy only wanted to select a dozen Shujishi this time, which was much less than the 20 or 30 people in previous years. However, due to various social relationships, the list of Shujishi was finally increased to 18 people.

Wang Heng, the eldest son of former Grand Secretary Wang Xijue, and Gu Bingqian, a disciple of Jiuyuan Zhenxian, were both selected.

Although during the February examination, the new cabinet minister Zhu Geng recommended by Zhao Zhigao through Wang Xijue was far away in Zhejiang and did not have time to return to the capital to serve as the chief examiner.

However, through some exchange of interests, Zhao Shoufu still chose Wang Heng. During the Wanli Dynasty, this operation mode was already very mature.

Then in April, Prime Minister Zhao instructed the Hanlin Academy to select Wang Heng as a Shujishi.

So far, Prime Minister Zhao has fulfilled his promise to Wang Xijue and helped Wang Heng get on the horse and send him on his way.

As for Gu Bingqian, he was a Hanlin in history and eventually became the chief minister.

If in this time and space, with his help, Gu Bingqian couldn't even enter the Hanlin Academy, Lin Tailai would feel like a waste.

It was still in front of the main platform of the Hanlin Academy, but there was a new group of people under the stage.

Today was the first time for the new Shujishi to attend morning classes. Many idle old people stood by to watch the fun, including Zhou Yingqiu and Dong Qichang.

Zhou Yingqiu didn't move, just staring in one direction. Dong Qichang followed Zhou Yingqiu's line of sight and saw the newcomer Gu Bingqian standing there.

"Why are you always staring at him?" Dong Qichang couldn't help asking.

Zhou Yingqiu frowned and said, "Ever since the spring of the eighteenth year of Wanli, when he rushed to take charge of the miscellaneous affairs of the Lin Mansion in the capital, I have had a premonition that he is my lifelong enemy!
As expected, he also came to the Imperial Academy this year and started to keep pace with me. "

Dong Qichang didn't know what to say. Is this the principle of like repelling like?

Among the people around Lin Tailai, Zhou Yingqiu occupied a unique track, which was different from the category of others.

But Gu Bingqian seems to be of the same type as Zhou Yingqiu, no wonder Zhou Yingqiu reacted so strongly.

At this time, the brilliant new star in officialdom, the newly crowned number one scholar and the top scorer in the imperial examination, Han Yu, appeared for some reason and strolled over. He stood aside, gentle as jade and calmly watching the fun.

Someone in the group of scholars said to Han Shineng, the instructor on the platform, "The number one scholar is the leader of his peers. I heard that there is a tradition in the Hanlin Academy that the number one scholar goes on stage to give a speech and set an example for his peers."

Han Shineng said solemnly, "I have been in the Imperial Academy for more than 20 years, and I have never heard of such a rule."

The man still insisted, "But I heard that this has been the rule for the past three years."

Han Shineng replied: "This is Lin Jiuyuan's rule, not the rule of the Hanlin Academy."

The man seemed to have transformed into a newcomer who was trying to "rectify the workplace" and continued to question with his neck stiff, "Why can Lin Jiuyuan have such a rule?"

After he finished speaking, he deliberately glanced at Han Yu who was standing at the edge of the crowd. His meaning was probably, since they were all top scorers, why couldn't they go up and speak?
With a loud slap, the argumentative newcomer was suddenly slapped in the face, and when he was dizzy, he was kicked hard.

It was not until he stumbled and sat on the ground that he saw clearly that the person who attacked him was actually his classmate Gu Bingqian.

Gu Bingqian was just a middle-aged man who was neither tall nor strong, and the new guy wanted to jump up and fight.

But he also saw that several other seniors from the Hanlin Academy quickly stood behind Gu Bingqian, also eyeing him covetously.

So the argumentative newcomer immediately changed his fighting strategy and asked, "Brother Gu Nian, why did you beat me in front of Mr. Han? This is simply a disgrace to the Hanyuan Academy. Please, Mr. Han, help me!"

Gu Bingqian said contemptuously: "Don't you want to know the reason? This is the reason, this is Lin Jiuyuan's rule, do you understand now?"

After hearing what Gu Bingqian said, the old man from the Hanlin Academy who was watching could not find any reason to refute.

If Lin Jiuyuan had not always carried a spear, or if there was always a group of strong servants standing around him, how could you have let Lin Jiuyuan develop the habit of lecturing?

Gu Bingqian looked around and said, "I am not talented, but I have set an example. If any of you really want to go on stage and give a speech, you can learn from me."

Because of the faction relationship, Zhou Yingqiu had to stand behind Gu Bingqian to show his strength, but he was still a little unhappy seeing Gu Bingqian stealing the show.

So he also took a step forward, raised his hand and pointed at the newly crowned No. 1 and No. 1 scholar Han Yu not far away, and shouted:

"Mr. Zhuangyuan! If you want to imitate Lin Jiuyuan and perform on stage to improve your reputation, just go up there. There's no need to send a small pawn to test it!

However, Lin Jiuyuan was a great poet of his time, and he was also a great warrior who won seven battles and was the first to capture a city. There are many things he can talk about, but what can you talk about?
After much thought, I suggest that you talk more about how your several major families in Puzhou colluded with the northern barbarians to engage in smuggling, how your good father-in-law Zhang Siwei was fickle in officialdom, and how you controlled the private salt production of Yuncheng Salt Industry.

Let us, the poor people from poor backgrounds, open our eyes and broaden our horizons!"

Hearing this, there was a low laugh in the crowd, and many people couldn't help laughing.

Han Zhuangyuan's face turned pale. He could no longer maintain his gentle, calm and composed image. He turned around and left without hesitation.

There is no point in arguing at this point, it will only make the situation worse.

I just can't understand why in such a prestigious place as Tsinghua University, the atmosphere is so simple and crude?
Either they beat people up or they make direct personal attacks. There is no technical content at all. It's really disappointing!
The Hanlin Academy that my father, father-in-law, and uncles talked about was not like this.

Zhou Yingqiu seemed to be unsatisfied, and shouted to Han Yu's back: "It is fate that I am fortunate enough to be in the Hanyuan with you. Let's get closer to each other in the future!

As for Lord Jiuyuan, he has to work hard on military and national affairs, so don't bother him or mess with him!"

What I mean is, you are not worthy to be compared with Lin Jiuyuan, so let me, Zhou Yingqiu, be your opponent!
I don’t know whether he wants to belittle the new top scholar or to raise his own status.

Gu Bingqian said very dissatisfiedly: "Han Zhuangyuan is my classmate, it is not your turn to get close to him."

"You are just a Shujishi now, not a formal Hanlin. Just study hard first!" Zhou Yingqiu said disdainfully.

Dong Qichang looked at Zhou Yingqiu and then at Gu Bingqian. Now he was certain that these two might really be lifelong enemies.

I never thought that even the shameless lackey track would be so crowded! Fortunately, I am on the literary and artistic track, and there are not many such people around Lin Tailai.

In this dull month of April, even a minor conflict in the Hanlin Academy could be a topic of conversation for days.

This peaceful tranquility was not broken until an urgent report from Liaodong Governor Hao Jie, which traveled 600 miles, arrived in the capital.

This month, an unknown number of Japanese soldiers crossed the sea and landed at the southern tip of Korea, and the Korean army was defeated at the first touch!
It doesn’t sound like a big deal for the time being, but everyone thought of Lin Jiuyuan’s “Preparation for the Japanese War”.

(End of this chapter)