Elegance?

What is elegance?

In the words of Lao Guo in later generations, no matter what happens, I will advise you to be generous. You must stay away from such a person, otherwise you will be implicated when lightning strikes him.

This is Lin Yanchao's first reaction when he saw Zou Yuanbiao recommending Li Sancai to the cabinet.

What is elegance? What is generous? I’m apologetic!

Not only does Lin Yanchao not like Li Sancai, but Chen Yiguan must not like it either.

However, he did inherit Zou Yuanbiao's feelings when he entered the cabinet. If Lin Yanchao refused to enter Li Sancai, he would be in danger of breaking up with the Qing Dynasty headed by Donglin Academy.

Lin Yanchao was in a dilemma.

In the evening, a sudden rain only slightly subsided the summer heat in the afternoon.

In the streets and alleys of the capital, there are people who are enjoying the cool air outside the house.

At present, Lin Yanchao's private residence.

All his confidants were there.

The first one is Sun Chengzong.

The second one is Fang Congzhe.

After Zeng Chaojie, the chief of the Hanlin Academy, was promoted to the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he was in charge of the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor of service, and also served as the editor-in-chief of Xinmin Daily.

The third one is Li Tingji, who is also the lecturer of the crown prince.

There is also the Imperial College Priest Ye Xianggao, and the Yixue Minister Xiao Liangyou.

They happened to be Lin Xuesida, and with a "subject growth" Sun Chengzong. With Lin Yanchao becoming the "primary assistant", the five of them also rose.

But in the hot summer, the five people were sweating profusely. At this time, the servants of the Lin Mansion brought them a bowl of iced honey mung bean soup.

After drinking the few people, they felt a little cooler in their stomachs.

Fang Congzhe wiped the sweat from his face with a wet wipe and placed it in a basin next to him.

He said, "Where has it just been said, yes, the first of the three Yangs among the assistants of this dynasty is Li, Liu, and Xie. As the saying goes, Li Gong's plan, Liu Gong's decision, Xie Gong's interest is talked about."

Li, Liu, and Xie Sangong refer to the three ministers of Emperor Xiaozong, Li Dongyang, Liu Jian, and Xie Qian.

This sentence means that Li Dongyang is good at planning, Liu Jian is good at making decisions, while Xie Qian likes to make long comments. In later generations, Xie Qian has the highest comments.

Sun Chengzong waved his fan directly, and did not comment. He understood that Fang Congzhe was better at guessing Lin Yanchao's thoughts than himself. He advocated the previous statement that Guan Zhong became a Confucian Confucian.

Fang Congzhe was very influential in the court and the opposition, so he was further appreciated by Lin Yanchao. Now that he suddenly made this statement, he recalled the addition of cabinet ministers from the court and the country, which must have a profound meaning.

Xiao Liangyou drank another bowl of mung bean porridge and asked, "Everyone has heard of this, how do you say it specifically?"

But seeing Li Tingji take over the conversation, he said, "It is said that Mr. Liu is impatient and wants to interrupt others' words, so others can't say a few words to him. Mr. Li is gentle and does not want to argue with others, so he can't say a few words to others. Only Mr. Xie is good at speaking and eloquent, so he has this statement."

Everyone laughed when they heard this.

Li Tingji smiled and said, "You don't need to take my jokes seriously. The prime ministers of this dynasty led the gentry with their articles, only Li Gong, who was the queen of Yang Shiqi. Li Gong was good at poetry and was afraid of Liu Gong. When he heard people learn poetry, he scolded him and said, "I will be the one who works as Li and Du, and I am just a drunkard."

"But when talking about Duke Li, we have to recommend Xu Cifu. Before Cifu entered the cabinet, his articles were the best in the world. On the contrary, after the prime minister, he rarely wrote articles, and even the classics never talked about them. It's a pity."

But when Fang Congzhe smiled slightly, he said, "I am writing about Spring and Autumn in a big way today. I have a saying just now, why do I agree with it? Among the three Dukes of Li, Liu, and Xie, I also highly recommend Xie Gong."

"At that time, Mr. Liu dared to take responsibility for the matter, so Mr. Xie's plan and decision were all based on him. This was Mr. Liu's decision, while Mr. Li was good at writing, while Mr. Xie had more rules than him. This was Mr. Li's plan. Only Mr. Xie was in this, and he was not provocative or following, and he assisted in the prosperity of the country."

Speaking of this, Xiao Liang nodded a little and said, "It's true that the assistant is not excited or following, and he does have the style of Mr. Xie."

Fang Congzhe said seriously: "After all the time, when Mr. Xie was able to become a virtuous prime minister, he was also Liu and Mr. Li helped him."

Fang Congzhe grasped the process every word. When Sun Chengzong drank the soup, he felt that the entire talk was under his control.

"Now Zhao Lanxi's return home is no different from his position. His mentor is actually the leader. The only assistant minister in the cabinet is Chen Siming. Chen Siming's Pili Yangqiu is deeply in mind. Bo Xiu, Zhou Wang, and Liqing were dismissed from office because of him."

Sun Chengzong's face turned dizzy when he heard this.

When the emperor used Chen Yiguan's hand to clean up the emperor's eldest son, Jiao Hong and other emperor's eldest son lecturers were dismissed, and Yuan Keli, Tao Wangling, Yuan Zongdao and others were implicated.

After suffering this severe defeat, Sun Chengzong knew what the 'holy intention was unpredictable' and returned to Lin Yanchao.

Now that Fang Congzhe mentioned this matter again, Sun Chengzong's face was a little bad.

In fact, it was not only Sun Chengzong, but Ye Xianggao was also very dissatisfied with Chen Yiguan. When the library selection was first selected, Chen Yiguan almost failed to get a Hanlin in order to praise his disciples.

But Sun Chengzong said unhurriedly: "According to Zhonghan's meaning, it means to compare the Ji Sui Gong to Xie Gong, and then select the court officials from the court and the country to assist him?"

Fang Congzhe heard this and refused to comment.

While talking, Lin Yanchao stepped out of the inner hall and everyone hurriedly stood up to greet him.

Lin Yanchao smiled and said, "What are you talking about?"

Fang Congzhe smiled and said, "It's nothing. Recently, the government and the public have added a lot of idle talks about the cabinet ministers. Let's talk about it when we are in the afternoon."

Lin Yanchao smiled, then sat on the chair of the Grand Master and said, "I want to hear this too. I don't know what candidates there are in my heart. I might as well say it. Everyone discusses it, just treat it as a joke."

Everyone smiled in agreement and sat down again.

The Grand Secretary of the Cabinet has the right to recommend the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, which is an unwritten rule.

Zhang Juzheng introduced Pan Sheng, Yu Youding, Shen Shixing introduced Zhao Zhigao, Zhang Wei, and Wang Xijue introduced Chen Yiguan. This time Zhao Zhigao left, he did not recommend the cabinet ministers because he knew that his words had no weight on the emperor's side.

Zhao Zhigao did not recommend it, so Lin Yanchao's attitude is crucial, which is related to the stability of the political foundation.

At this time, Li Tingji stood up and said, "The student first elected one person, Zhu Shanyin, the former Minister of Rites. Although this person has no edges and corners, he has a wide connection in the court. His reputation among Zhejiang officials today is second only to Chen Siming."

Lin Yanchao smiled slightly when he heard this. Li Tingji mentioned that Zhu Geng was not unexpected at all. Zhu Geng had a good relationship with him and had a better relationship with Chen Yiguan. This time, even Shen Shixing wrote to him and Chen Yiguan to recommend Zhu Geng to the cabinet. Moreover, after Zhu Geng entered the cabinet, he could serve as a buffer between himself and Chen Yiguan.

Fang Congzhe spoke out: "Zhu Shanyin has no edges and corners as an official. It is both his advantage and disadvantage. Those in the court and the opposition ministers think that Zhu Shanyin is too smooth and I am afraid it will be difficult to blame Chen Shan."

Li Tingji smiled and said, "What Zhonghan said is very true."

Fang Congzhe asked: "Zhisheng, who do you think of?"

Sun Chengzong said: "I think Chen Guide, the former Minister of Rites, can be competent. Chen Guide was a veteran of the three dynasties and a great scholar in Zhongzhou. His official reputation has always been very good. Whether in the court or under the court, there are many supporters."

Lin Yanchao smiled and said, "Brother Shen, that's what I've known for."

When Lin Yanchao was the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, Chen Li was already the Minister of Rites. If it weren't for being suppressed by Shen Shixing that year, Chen Li would have been in the cabinet and minister.

Xiao Liangyou said: "But although Chen Guide is a good person, he is not in harmony with Wu County. If he enters the pavilion, Chen Siming will probably refuse."

That’s right, in addition to Lin Yanchao, the recommendation of the cabinet ministers also needs to consider Chen Yiguan’s opinions. The different opinions in the cabinet prime ministers are not about killing each other.

"Who is there any candidate to occupy the bottom of your heart?"

Xiao Liangyou heard this and said, "Reported to the minister of the Ministry of Rites, Yu Dong'e, he served as the Minister of Rites twice. He has served as the chief minister for several years and has been the right-hand man of the minister in the court. At the same time, he is famous in the Qingliu. In terms of qualifications, he and Chen Guide served as the lecturer of the emperor."

"And although Chen Siming has no good impression of him, he will not object. If he really lacks it, it is because he has not spread rumors since he became an official, nor has he formed a clique everywhere, and his strength is somewhat insufficient."

Lin Yanchao smiled slightly when he heard this, looked at Ye Xianggao, and said, "Students think Yu Zongbo is competent."

As for Fang Congzhe, he also expressed his support for Yu Shenxing.

Sun Chengzong could understand that he had just taken the seat and promoted this matter. I think Yu Shenxing was already the candidate in his heart.

Facing the opinions of the students, Lin Yanchao smiled and said, "Are you too anxious to push Yu Zongbo into the cabinet at this moment?"

When I heard this, Congzhe's face changed slightly.

"Are the teacher worried that the Tingtui would be difficult? Or the Holy Will?"

Lin Yanchao said: "I know what you mean. Yu Dazongbo is indeed the best candidate, but he is not now."

Yu Shenxing supports Lin Yanchao, which is well known. However, once Yu Shenxing enters the cabinet, Lin Yu and the other two join forces, Chen Yiguan will be marginalized. This move will inevitably cause Chen Yiguan to be dissatisfied, and even the emperor will be alert.

The students understood Lin Yanchao's intention after thinking a little, and at this moment, they could only describe their mentor with the word "steady".

"So what mentor meant?"

Lin Yanchao's eyes swept over everyone, then smiled and said, "These days, Zou Shanchang, the chief of Donglin Academy in Wuxi, and former prime minister Taicang, have written to me and recommended someone at the same time."

Everyone was surprised. One was Donglin Academy represented by Zou Yuanbiao. In recent years, Donglin Academy has a great influence and has been moving towards the direction of manipulating public opinion in the temple. Another was Wang Xijue, the former chief minister who was in the court and still had great influence on the emperor.

"Donglin Zou Shanchang and Wang Taicang are not all the same people. I wonder who can get the recommendation?" Xiao Liang asked curiously.

Lin Yanchao said: "Huai Governor Li Xiuwu."

Is Li San a Hanlin? No.

Is there such a precedent for the reign of Huai as the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet? Never.

But the people behind Li Sancai are quite worthwhile.

Lin Yanchao said: It’s okay if Zou Shanchang only wrote a letter, but Wang Taicang was also testing my attitude intentionally or unintentionally. What do you think?”

Everyone nodded.

Fang Congzhe said: "When Wang Taicang was in the country, he was in conflict with his mentor, so the Ministry of Rites burned the imperial edict."

"But later, Wang Taicang Shino-yeon recommended his mentor to the emperor. The government and the country said that his general meaning was that he had taken the wrong path, and that only his mentor's path could save the world."

Lin Yanchao smiled slightly and said, "Wang Taicang has never mentioned this matter to me once. It must be his gentlemanly style."

Li Tingji smiled and said, "Since a gentleman can always say good things behind his back, and then it will be transmitted to people's ears just right."

Everyone laughed when they heard this.

Sun Chengzong knew that Wang Xijue and Zou Yuanbiao supported Lin Yanchao's entry into the cabinet back then. Now Lin Yanchao is almost the same as the prime minister, so they must repay them both in terms of emotion and reason.

But... Isn't it a problem for himself to let Li Sancai enter the cabinet?

Sun Chengzong asked: "Does his mentor really like Yu Huai to enter the cabinet?"
To be continued...