When Wang Shiwu returned home, he met Wang Situ who was returning from get off work in the front hall.
Wang Situ couldn't help but sigh, "Are you too high-profile in Taibai Tower?"
Wang Shiwu said with a smile: "It's just to test Mr. Lin. If he turns his back on the spot, it means he is not mature yet."
Wang Situ didn't believe this kind of rhetoric at all, "Stop talking nonsense, what are you thinking?"
Wang Shiwu said: "It's nothing. Let's see if there is anything we can do to help Mr. Lin."
Wang Situ nodded and asked again: "We have received help from Lin Tailai, and it is appropriate to give some reward. But I still don't understand what you are planning."
Wang Shiwu replied: "It can be seen that Mr. Lin really wants this martial arts champion.
I thought about it and decided that it would be best for our Wang family to come forward and help Mr. Lin win the top prize in martial arts."
Wang Situ said doubtfully: "Even without our help, Lin Tailai can do it by himself, right?"
Wang Shiwu asked rhetorically: "Is there any definite news about the form of the palace examination?"
Regarding this, Wang Situ still knew something about this: "As for how to conduct the imperial examination, the imperial court generally had two opinions.
One way is to present the ink scrolls of the top twenty candidates in the examination to the emperor for personal reading, which is considered to be the imperial examination.
Anyway, it's all just talk on paper, and there's no way to tell the difference in empty talk, so I'll default to trying to be the first and continue to be the top pick, so as not to disappoint the crowd.
Another form is to hold a competition in front of the imperial court at the Xiyuan campus, with the first and second placers in the examination participating, and the winner being the number one scholar."
"Actually, in the final analysis, what the imperial examination will look like depends on the emperor's whims." Wang Fifteen said very clearly, "Especially this time when it comes to the beloved concubine Zheng's family, the emperor is somewhat willing to take action."
Originally, Wang Situ didn't care about martial arts exams at all, but because of Lin Tailai, he has recently begun to pay attention to martial arts, and he also has his own views on the Zheng family.
"After Zheng Guotai caused such a big disturbance in the previous martial arts test, it stands to reason that Zheng Guotai, who has a sensitive identity, should withdraw from martial arts and completely calm down the disturbance.
But so far, Zheng Guotai still has not expressed his intention to withdraw from this martial arts competition, which shows that the Zheng family still does not want to give up the opportunity to obtain the first prize in martial arts."
Wang Shiwu said with disdain: "The Zheng family is really greedy and greedy!"
After Lin Tailai's popular science, several members of the Wang family knew that Zheng Guotai, who had taken the previous martial arts test, was a substitute.
If you hire someone to take the exam for you and still want to win the top prize, what else is this but greed?
Then Wang Fifteen said to Wang Situ: "Since the Zheng family refuses to withdraw, they will not sit still and wait for death, and will definitely exert their efforts.
I dare to conclude that the way the Zheng family exerts its strength must be to make suggestions to the emperor through Concubine Zheng! Other than that, the Zheng family has no other means at their disposal.
Lin Jun said that the emperor has the intention of appointing the third son of the emperor as the East Palace, and it has been revealed recently. Then the emperor will definitely support the Zheng family, but there are many ways to support it.
Combined with this situation, as long as Concubine Zheng makes some suggestions, the emperor will have the idea of giving the Zheng family a top pick in the martial arts examination."
A politician of Wang Situ's level would of course be able to understand everything at once and immediately grasp the core meaning of what Wang Situ wanted to express.
"What do you mean, Lin Tailai's opponent for winning the title of Wu champion was actually not Zheng Guotai, but the emperor?"
Wang Fifteen replied: "In the previous martial arts test, Lin Jun and Zheng Guotai competed for it; and in the next stage, the number one scholar needs to be snatched from the hands of the emperor by Lin Jun."
I don’t need to say more about the difference between the two, right?”
When he said this, Wang Situ hesitated for a while. If he were not a very careful person, he would not be able to tell the difference at all.
To use the simplest analogy, if Lin Tailai and Zheng Guotai were fighting for each other, the emperor might just be watching the fun happily.
But if Lin Tailai directly snatched things from the emperor's hands, the emperor would become impatient.
To use a bad line, it is, "What I give to you is yours. If I don't give it to you, you can't take it away!"
"Lin Tailai should have noticed this situation, right?" Wang Situ asked again.
Wang Shiwu answered very definitely: "Of course Mr. Lin can see it."
Wang Situ was still thinking about something and said casually: "So Lin Tailai has been hiding the evidence that Zheng Guotai hired someone to take the exam for him, and he is planning to use it here."
Wang Fifteen did not want his brother to continue to hesitate, so he analyzed it very clearly:
"Once Mr. Lin uses this leverage, he will definitely be able to snatch the top prize in martial arts from the emperor, but it will definitely make the emperor unhappy and create a rift with the emperor.
And I also believe that Mr. Lin must have some backup plan to mend the rift with the Emperor.
But now that the crack has occurred, even if it is repaired, it will not really be restored to the original state. If there is a slight external force, the crack will reappear.
Such a rift may not be a big deal for a cabinet minister like you, my second brother.
The emperor has a high tolerance for you and cannot easily touch you, so you have enough strength to withstand this kind of rift.
But Mr. Lin has not yet entered the officialdom, and he still has a long way to go in the future. For the weak Mr. Lin, such rifts are a potential fatal hazard at every step.
Although Mr. Lin himself may not care about this rift, our Wang family should show our own attitude."
Wang Shiwu made it so clear that Wang Situ could no longer pretend to be confused and said with a wry smile:
"Is this why you asked our Wang family to come forward and help Lin Tailai snatch the top prize in martial arts?
Do you want Lin Tailai to remain immobile while our Wang family steps in to snatch things from the emperor?"
Wang Shiwu added: "I heard Mr. Lin talk about the subtleties of today's emperor's character.
The Wang family came forward in place of Lin Tailai, which was actually equivalent to a buffer. The same method used by the Wang family had a milder effect than that of Lin Tailai.
If Lin Tailai took action directly, facing the emperor without any room for maneuver, it would be a selfish act of someone directly contradicting the emperor, and the emperor would be even more resentful of this.
But if the Wang family helped Lin Tailai to take action, the emperor might just think that this is human nature, and the Wang family just had to help one of their own, and the emperor would not be so resentful in his heart.
If the Wang family and Mr. Lin are considered as a whole, of course it is most appropriate for the Wang family to come forward."
As long as a person wants to do something, there are always a hundred reasons. Wang Situ sighed helplessly: "As the saying goes, girls are outgoing, believe it!"
Wang Shiwu said very profoundly: "Any relationship is mutual. We, the Wang family, cannot just enjoy the favor without paying anything, unless we are willing to be other people's subordinates."
And let Lin Tailai see the difference between our Wang family and others.
Our Wang family is by no means just a selfish and scattered family, we are really aware of the overall situation and can really make certain sacrifices for the sake of the overall situation."