The manifestations of political struggle include the magnificent changes of dynasties, bloody battles with heads rolling, and the flashes of swords and swords between the lines.
Lin Tailai encountered the third type out of the blue. Although the main purpose of "Drunk, Sex, and Wealth" was not him, he still ignored him by the way and added the words "blackmailing the minister".
Although "Drunk, Sex, Wealth and Luck" did not directly name him, public opinion and rumors pointed to him privately.
Or it could be a verbal cross-examination on a specific occasion, making Lin Tailai unable to avoid it.
If Lin Tailai denies that he was blackmailed by the emperor, he is renounced as a scholar-bureaucrat; if Lin Tailai admits that he was blackmailed by the emperor, he is renounced by the emperor.
If Lin Tailai did not express his position, it would be easier for rumors to spread.
After calculating the cause and effect in his mind, Lin Tailai said to Shen Shoufu: "To be honest, the wording in this article "Drunk, Sex, Wealth and Luck" is more than extreme?
It is simply a direct personal attack, almost pointing at the nose and swearing.
In fact, most of the content on the four aspects of wine, sex, wealth, and energy is just strong words, fabricated, and unreasonable."
Shen Shoufu just looked at Lin Tailai in surprise, but said nothing.
Lin Tailai just felt confused, "Did I say something wrong? Isn't my position correct?"
Shen Shoufu was surprised and said doubtfully: "I just told you that Luo Yuren wrote a fierce memorial.
I only said that there is content in it that accuses His Majesty of being greedy for money, which may involve you.
In addition, I have not said the complete content of this memorial. Moreover, this memorial is still in the palace and has not been issued. You cannot see it outside the palace.
So, how do you know the contents of this memorial, and even know in great detail that this memorial is "Drunk, Sex, Wealth and Qi"?"
Lin Tailai: ""
Damn it! I got ahead of myself if I wasn’t careful!
It's like during an exam, before the questions are distributed, I have already written out the answers.
If this were in a spy novel, I would definitely be suspected of being an undercover agent of the Qingliu forces ambushing the chief assistant, and then be pulled out to be tortured and screened!
After thinking for a while, Lin Tailai made up a reason: "Actually, the Qingliu forces have my detailed work, so I already knew about it before Luo Yuren came to Shu."
"Haha." Shen Shoufu sneered a few times, "Isn't it right? Who is the so-called detailed work? I have been suspicious of you for a long time!"
This time it was Lin Tailai who was shocked. Did Shen Shixing really doubt himself?
Can't? This is not a spy war plane. The Township Party is the foundation of power. How can there be so many undercover agents?
Just what he did, how many people in Qingliu were crippled, how could he be an undercover agent?
Thinking of this, Lin Tailai couldn't bear it and shouted: "Old senior, please wake up! Don't taint people's innocence!"
"I'm very sober!" Shen Shoufu yelled, shouting, "Tell me! Who is the spy you placed in the Ceremony Supervisor without telling me?"
Lin Tailai: "???"
What kind of brain circuit does the old chief assistant have? Why is the Supervisor of Ceremonies involved again?
Shen Shoufu's old eyes shone with wisdom, and he analyzed carefully:
"As the saying goes, if you do too much injustice, you will be punished! No, there is no impermeable wall in the world! I became suspicious of you a long time ago!
Because you always know some secrets of the inner court in the old years, and even know the secrets of the Jiajing Dynasty.
For example, last time, fourteen or fifteen years ago, the emperor wrote the words "Criticize Chen Shan" in handwriting to Yu Shenxing, who was still an official. How could you understand it clearly?
And this time, a memorial was sent directly to the palace and has not yet been circulated. How did you know the content?
After thinking about it, I can only find one truth! That is, there is your detailed work in the Supervisor of Ceremonies!
This detailed work was probably made when he entered the palace during the Jiajing period, and his status is certainly not low to this day. He can read memorials, and he is at least a eunuch in charge of the clerk's office of the Supervisor of Ceremonies!"
Lin Tailai was speechless for a moment. Even as a time traveler, he was surprised by Shen Shoufu's imagination at this moment.
Are you so free when you are the chief minister? If you spend all your time thinking about him, Lin Tailai, can you still handle the government affairs well?
Seeing Lin Tailai who was no longer able to quibble, Shen Shixing enjoyed the long-lost joy of manipulation and said calmly:
"Now, do you want to continue to hide it from me? Or can you make up a more reasonable excuse to convince me?"
Lin Tailai felt a deep pain in his balls. He was a time traveler, how could he be squeezed into this position?
Shen Shixing is indeed a top-notch person. His ability to understand people is really hard to describe. Ranking among the top three chief assistants in the Ming Dynasty is not a big problem.
After the long exam, Lin Tailai had to reveal a name with difficulty: "Chen Ju."
Sometimes, white lies are necessary
Shen Shixing immediately became enlightened and suddenly realized that if it was eunuch Chen Juchen, it would not be surprising.
Chen Ju is now the fourth-ranked eunuch Bingbi in the ceremonial department. He has a very high status, similar to a bachelor among civil servants.
He entered the palace in the middle of the Jiajing period and was very senior. At that time, even Zhang Juzheng was still a newcomer.
This eunuch believed in Buddhism very much and was very Buddhist in character. He was nicknamed Chen Fo.
However, Shen Shoufu still couldn't understand why Chen Fo, the fourth eunuch Bingbi, became Lin Tailai's "special work"?
But as long as things happen to Lin Tailai, everything is possible and there is no need to make a fuss.
In order to reassure Lin Tailai, Shen Shoufu added: "Don't worry, I will pretend not to know and everything will remain as usual."
Lin Tailai still believed in Shen Shoufu's political literacy, but he did not want to continue this boring topic.
So Lin Tailai started a new topic and said: "With the appearance of this "Drinking, Sex, Wealth and Luck" letter, your cabinet is going to be in trouble."
Shen Shixing did not deny this and sighed: "Obviously, the emperor will definitely be angered.
The cabinet was caught in the middle, having to appease the emperor and find ways to protect his people.
Although Luo Yuren is not one of ours, in terms of moral ethics as a scholar, we must still try our best to protect him, otherwise we will be scolded as Yan Song."
This is the dilemma of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet. Normally, it would be scolded by the Qingliu forces, but when the Qingliu forces "speak out and speak out" against the emperor, the cabinet had to try its best to protect them.
But Yan Song didn't protect people, and he didn't care about the life or death of the ministers who came to remonstrate. What happened to his reputation in the end?
Then Shen Shixing said: "But it's not a big deal. This kind of thing has happened many times in recent years. Although it is very tiring, it can always be dealt with."
Lin Tailai was noncommittal and asked: "How does the chief minister want to deal with it this time?"
There really was nothing to hide from Lin Tailai. Shen Shixing replied confidently:
"First of all, let me tell your Majesty that this is Luo Yuren's attempt to gain fame by selling himself straight. Please calm down and don't be fooled.
Then again, if a decree was issued to punish Luo Yuren because of the memorial, it would be accompanied by the disclosure of the contents of the memorial, so that everyone in the world could see the content that slanders His Majesty, which would have a bad impact.
Therefore, the best way to deal with it is to first keep the memorial unpublished, and then find a way in private to persuade or coerce Luo Yuren to resign on his own initiative to vent his anger on His Majesty."
It has to be said that Shen Shixing's ability to reconcile left and right is also very good, but he cannot change the general trend.
Lin Tailai sighed, "The cabinet crisis I'm talking about is not the current moment, but the future, not the immediate future, but the long-term crisis.
If such a memorial comes out, I am afraid that it will completely irritate the emperor, and he will become more and more confrontational with the ministers in the future, and may even anger the cabinet.
And you, the ministers, are caught between the emperor and the foreign court, and the space for maneuvering will become smaller and smaller, and you are destined to fall into crisis."
Historically, before the publication of "Drunk, Sex and Wealth", Emperor Wanli did not go to court, go to the suburbs, do not go to temples, and did not teach. On the surface, he did so by "asking for leave" and still had to find excuses.
For example, a minister may be told that he has "lumbar pain, soft feet, difficulty walking," or "pain in the soles of the feet, difficulty walking," or "dizziness, dark eyes, and weak body," etc.
After "Drunk, Sex and Wealth", Emperor Wanli went on strike directly, not even asking for leave.
Moreover, before this memorial was issued, Emperor Wanli rarely left memorials unpublished, and the memorials could be processed according to normal procedures.
It was from "Drinking, Sex, Wealth and Qi" that Emperor Wanli began to write a large number of antiphonal memorials without publishing them.
Many memorials, especially those that were outspoken and admonishing, were like a mud cow drowning in the sea, disappearing in the hands of the emperor, without even a response.
Of course, Emperor Wanli did not completely abandon government affairs. He still had imperial approval to issue memorials that he deemed necessary to respond to.
Before this, the cabinet could still act as a peacemaker; after that, Emperor Wanli even disliked the cabinet, and forced out a cabinet minister at the slightest displeasure.
If the antagonism between Emperor Wanli and his ministers had a gradual accumulation and deepening process, then "Drinking, Sex, Wealth and Qi" is a factor that caused quantitative changes to lead to qualitative changes.
Lin Tailai is standing in the dimension of the time traveler and can see these vistas, but Shen Shixing is in the middle of the situation and certainly does not have the vision of Lin Tailai's dimension. No matter how smart he is, it is useless.
However, after Lin Tailai's strong guidance, Shen Shixing was still vaguely aware of the "secret" of the future.
Shen Shixing was still very free and easy about this, and said without caring much: "If the situation in the future is really like what you said, and I feel offended by both sides, I will simply resign.
Since I have no ability to save the situation, I will leave and enjoy the woods and springs, and the future troubles will have nothing to do with me."
To be continued...