After the joint meeting of the three departments, Wang Situ had a clear idea, and the resentment caused by Shen Shoufu's failure dissipated a lot.
Of course, Wang Situ also had another purpose, which was to show his toughness as much as possible in aspects that did not involve fundamental interests.
In this chaotic and unclear situation, toughness is also a protective color, which can reduce some troubles.
In fact, people like Wang Zhiyuan, the Minister of Hubu, Yang Wei, the Minister of Personnel, and Wu Shilai, the Yushi of Zuodu, have no room for advancement in the officialdom.
For them, even if the worst outcome occurs, they will just be forced to resign. Anyway, their official position has come to an end, and they don't have so many regrets when they go home to retire, so their mentality is relatively detached.
But for people like those who are stuck in official positions and have very ambitious Shen Shoufu party members, the current situation is very uncomfortable.
For example, the officials, Qi Shichen, and the censor, Ke Ting, were die-hard followers of Shen Shoufu, and they were also Shen Shoufu's "two generals" in the Yanguan.
Now that their term in Kedao is coming to an end, they are in a critical period of jumping out of Kedao and moving up.
But at this point, Shen Shoufu failed, and one can imagine how depressed they were.
On this day, Qi and Ke came to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to visit Yang Wei, the Heavenly Official of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, on the grounds of discussing "Beijing inspection" affairs.
Yang Tianguan only said: "Two days later, in the East Chao Fang, we will gather the senior officials of the ministry and the department to jointly discuss the procedures for the inspection of the capital."
The "Beijing Inspection" held every six years is definitely a major political event. Especially in recent years, every time the "Beijing Inspection" will become the focus of political struggle, and then a group of unlucky cannon fodder will always be "eliminated".
If it were replaced by a powerful official, one person would be able to make the final decision on the Beijing inspection process. However, Yang Tianguan was gentle by nature and did not want to provoke too much talk, so he gathered the courtiers for discussion.
Of course, Qi Shichen and Ke Ting came to see Yang Tianguan not just for inspection, but mainly to inquire about Shen Shoufu's movements.
After all, Yang Tianguan is Shen Shoufu's number one henchman and should know more inside information than the average person.
But Yang Tianguan couldn't say anything, so he just said a few words and sent the two of them away.
After leaving the official hall, Qi Shichen sighed: "The chief assistant cannot come out, and the heavenly officials cannot support them. What can we do?"
Ke Ting was also a little dissatisfied and said: "How can Tianguan not be tired and want to leave? It's just suffering for us people, who else can we rely on?"
The two of them were walking and talking when they suddenly saw Zhao Zhigao, the newly appointed right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, walking into the right hall of the Ministry of Civil Affairs with a cheerful face and a brisk pace.
The minister is in the main hall, the left minister is in the left hall, and the right minister is in the right hall. The layout of the six departments is generally like this.
Qi Shichen asked in surprise: "How can he be so comfortable?"
They all understood the situation of Zhao Zhigao. This man was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Affairs as the Right Assistant Minister by Shen Shoufu, and he was not particularly popular.
So Qi Shichen couldn't understand why, under the current situation, Zhao Zhigao didn't have any negative emotions such as worry and anxiety at all?
Ke Ting said thoughtfully: "Since we have come to the Ministry of Civil Affairs today, we might as well pay a visit to Minister Zhao.
I think Minister Zhao has just stepped down as governor of Jiangnan and has a good understanding of the situation in Suzhou, so he may have some unique insights."
Anyway, everyone has the word "Shen" engraved on their foreheads, so they don't need to be seen when walking around each other.
Zhao Zhigao, the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was sitting in the court hall, drinking tea and reading newspaper copies, feeling very happy.
He had been wandering around for half his life and never met his master. He finally managed to get into the rank of Liubu Hall official when he was over sixty. He was in a good mood every day.
After just two sips of tea today, I heard a report from the doorman that Qi Shiyi and Ke Yushi were visiting together.
When he saw these two people coming in, Zhao Shilang thought of something and almost laughed out loud, but luckily he restrained himself.
He heard a story told by Lin Tailai. When Lin Tai came to the capital to take the martial arts test a year ago, the debate over the location of the imperial mausoleum reached a fever pitch.
At that time, the main advisers who charged for Shen Shoufu were Qi Shichen and Yushi Keting who were involved in the incident.
Qi Shichen tried his best to protect Dayu Mountain as a lucky place, so he was nicknamed Qi Baoshan, also called Baoshan Jishi.
But Ke Ting said in front of the emperor: "If there is a stone under the Dayu cave, I dare to take responsibility for it." He was nicknamed Shi Gandang, also called Gandang Censor.
But the two of them tried so hard, but it didn't have much effect.
In the end, it was Lin Tailai who instigated Li Rusong to write a memorial, directly ending the dispute.
Zhao Zhigao invited the two of them to sit down while thinking about the past.
After a few words of greeting, Qi Shichen asked: "Shaozhongzai came from Suzhou. I wonder what the customs are like in Suzhou now?"
Zhao Zhigao laughed dumbly and said: "It is not an exaggeration to say that Suzhou Prefecture is the first county in the world. How could you not have heard of such a famous place?"
Ke Ting was more straightforward, "We and Shaozukazai are of the same mind. Now the situation is unclear, so I dare to ask Shaozukazai for some guidance."
Zhao Zhigao pondered for a moment, and after thinking about it in his mind, he also answered:
"You say the situation is unclear, why don't I think so? Isn't it clear and obvious?"
Baoshan Guishi and Gandang Yushi looked at each other and came up with a common idea - Zhao Shilang must have something!
Then I heard Zhao Zhigao say: "You should know that this storm originated in Suzhou City, and the final outcome will also depend on the situation in Suzhou City."
Qi Shichen said worriedly: "What happened in Suzhou City is irreversible, right?"
The prefect is a member of the opponent's family, the governor is either a pig teammate or an undercover agent, and the imperial envoy is a member of the opponent's family. How can we win?
If the situation is easy, the first assistant will not be so discouraged that he will fail.
Minister Zhao shook his head: "You don't understand Suzhou, or in other words, no one in the court understands Suzhou.
Our opponents have really angered someone by daring to stir up trouble in Suzhou this time."
If there are more details, it would be inconvenient to tell others.
Anyway, Zhao Zhigao dared to conclude from two or three thousand miles away that Lin Tailai would definitely be angered and would take cruel revenge.
Others may think that Lin Tailai was angered because of his instinct as a "Shen Party" member.
But only Zhao Zhigao knew best that Lin Tailai was angered mostly because he felt "offended."
Lin Tailai regarded Suzhou City as his territory and base. A group of outsiders came to Suzhou City to cause trouble. In Lin Tailai's eyes, it was an infringement of his sovereignty.
Moreover, Lin Tailai's revenge was not so much about supporting the Shen family, but more about "declaring sovereignty" and "killing one to serve as an example to others."
Zhao Zhigao thought that he should also recruit some younger brothers, or that Lin Tailai should recruit some younger brothers.
Then he said to the two of them meaningfully: "If you believe me, then I can tell you that as long as Lin Tailai comes, the city of Suzhou will not be overturned!"
It would be the best outcome for those officials who caused trouble in Suzhou City to be able to safely resign and return to their hometowns."
Unlike most high-ranking courtiers, Zhao Zhigao not only saw Lin Tailai doing trouble with his own eyes, but also experienced it personally.
He simply didn't believe that just a few foreign officials could make a big difference in Suzhou City.
Qi Shichen and Ke Ting were no strangers to the name Lin Tailai. After all, Lin Tailai was so shocked that he defeated all the invincible opponents in the capital a year ago, and they also knew that Lin Tailai was married to the Wang family, the Minister of Household Affairs.
After thinking twice, Qi Shichen added: "The imperial court is discussing whether Shen Jizi should be punished for allowing his slaves to seize property and kill people."
What he means is that he wants to express himself, but he needs to find an entry point.
In fact, people like them have no choice. Even if they want to surrender to the enemy, the enemy may not be willing to accept them, so they can only fight to the end.
Zhao Zhigao said disapprovingly: "Lin Tailai will take care of all the matters in Suzhou City. You don't need to do anything."
Then he added: "You might as well focus on Yangzhou. In the past two years, Lin Tailai's focus has actually been on Yangzhou, and he still needs some help.
And Lin Tailai's brother-in-law, Situ, the king of the household department, also lacks a public speaker to help him speak."
The implication is that if you want to stand out, you might as well speak out more on the Yangzhou issue.
On the premise of not betraying Shen Shoufu, you can also get married with another Shantou household minister. Why not?
Qi Shichen and Ke Ting thanked each other: "Thank you very much, sir, for clearing the clouds and seeing the sun!"
Two days later, the Ministry of Civil Affairs convened a meeting of about 40 ministers and officials in the East Palace to discuss the process of "Beijing inspection".
Normally, in such a crowded conference, many lazy ministers would be absent, but this time the attendees were very tidy.
Firstly, because the recent situation is quite delicate, the ministers do not want to be negligent; secondly, the "Beijing Inspection" is really sensitive, and the ministers want to see which direction the situation is heading.
When the emperor rarely went to court, this kind of court discussion where ministers gathered together was actually equivalent to the weathervane of the court.
Although the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty was characterized by the circulation of official documents and the system did not pay attention to face-to-face discussions, written communication obviously cannot completely replace face-to-face communication. This is human nature.
The ministers stood in the East Chamber in twos and threes, and Yang Wei, the Minister of Personnel who presided over the meeting, had not yet spoken.
Suddenly Lu Guangzu, the Minister of Punishment, said to Wang Zhiyuan, the Minister of Hubu, without warning:
"Cai Shiding, the censor of salt inspection in the Huaihe River, wrote in a memorial that Suzhou Wei Qianhu Lin Tailai had committed many crimes in Yangzhou City and requested the Ministry of Punishment to punish him according to law.
He also reported that the Suzhou Guards stationed troops in Shuicicang, Yangzhou, was truly a disaster to the local area and requested the imperial court to abolish it.
What does Wang Situ think of the above two points?"
To be continued...