After liquidating Zhang Juzheng, today was the first time Emperor Wanli was boycotted by all the courtiers, and his mentality was a bit broken.
Since the founding of the Hua Dynasty, the various systems of the Ming Dynasty have generally stabilized, civilian politics has become the main theme of the court, and the basic framework has not changed significantly.
It's just that the personalities of emperors in the past dynasties were different, and the methods of governance they adopted were also different.
For example, Emperor Hongzhi’s politics were compromise, and he simply slacked off in the civil discourse system;
Emperor Zhengde chose to use martial arts to enter Taoism, break out of the civil discourse system, and play his own game.
As for Emperor Jiajing's routine, it was more fancy. He supported the powerful chief minister to suppress the ministers, and forced the chief minister to act as the emperor's shield. At the same time, he tried to isolate the chief minister as much as possible. This technique is not easy for most people to play.
And the current Emperor Wanli has no mature ideological system at all.
Since the liquidation of Zhang Juzheng, Emperor Wanli has been vigorously encouraging officials to criticize senior ministers, forming a "lower than superior" atmosphere in the court, which was out of control.
Probably in the mind of the young Emperor Wanli, this was called political checks and balances, and it could prevent the reappearance of official officials.
The formation of Qingliu forces was generally at this stage, thanks to the emperor's encouragement of "smooth communication".
But until today, Emperor Wanli realized deeply that these Qingliu forces were not his own, and it was the Qingliu forces who came out to strongly oppose them today.
Emperor Wanli couldn't help but think deeply about this. Why did Grandpa Sejong always have strong support from some ministers at different stages when he held a ceremony?
And I want to support the third emperor's son to ascend to the throne, even if he wants to give the third emperor's uncle Zheng Guotai a top prize, but no minister publicly supports it?
These ministers are nominally "eating the emperor's salary", but why don't they listen to themselves?
Wang Situ, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, stood in the front row of the class of civil servants, quietly watching Shen Li and other Qingliu forces "persuading" the emperor, arguing that Zheng Guotai was sick and had given up the exam and was not worthy of being the top scholar.
The more he watched, the more Wang Situ realized the subtlety of Lin Tailai's moves.
From a human perspective, Lin Tailai is Zheng Guotai's biggest competitor and opponent.
If Lin Tailai snatches the top prize in martial arts, the emperor who prefers Zheng Guotai will inevitably have negative emotions such as disgust and disgust towards Lin Tailai. My younger sister Wang Shiwu also pointed this out at the beginning.
But now the situation has become that the Qingliu forces are desperately opposing Zheng Guotai, and the emperor's anger that should have been borne by Lin Tailai has all been passed on to the Qingliu forces.
So the question is, if the emperor accumulates anger against the Qingliu forces, who will be the biggest beneficiary?
When thinking about this problem, Wang Situ couldn't help but look at the chief assistant Shen Shixing again. Could this be part of Lin Tailai's plan?
At this time, Emperor Wanli, who had been silent for a while, suddenly said to Shen Shixing: "Mr. Cai just said that because Zheng Guotai came second in the previous martial arts test, he could be ennobled to the Zheng family?"
Hearing this question, Shen Shixing was overjoyed. As expected, the emperor was about to compromise!
It’s not in vain that he just proposed a compromise plan that would allow all parties to step down. As long as the emperor has the idea of compromise, he will naturally think of himself!
So Shen Shixing hurriedly said: "If Zheng Guotai is dismissed from the imperial examination and gets nothing, it will still be a bit regretful after all.
Therefore, using the title of Zheng family as compensation for the second place in the martial arts test, for example, adding Zheng Chengxian, the father of Zheng Guotai, as the first-grade governor and co-inspector, is enough to comfort the royal family."
Even if Zheng Guotai's father was added to the first rank, he would still be a salary official without real power. Zheng Guotai himself would not be able to get the top prize and would not be able to get a real job.
In fact, the emperor's speed of compromise surprised most of the ministers, who originally thought it would take a few more rounds.
Only Shen Shixing, Wang Situ and a few others knew very well that as long as Zheng Guotai had passed the military examination before, the emperor would definitely compromise in the end.
The emperor is not a fool. If Zheng Guotai is pushed to the forefront and becomes the center of attention of the court, then the probability of being exposed will be greatly increased.
With the character of Emperor Wanli, he would not take such an extremely risky route.
Needless to say, the emperor's mentality must have been part of Lin Tailai's calculations.
Emperor Wanli held his breath and asked: "Is there any discussion about the martial arts imperial examination?"
When no ministers spoke, Emperor Wanli said to Shen Shixing: "I'll probably congratulate Mr. Xi in advance. It's good news for being a guest!"
Emperor Wanli still remembered the name Lin Tailai and remembered that he was a disciple of the first minister Shen Shixing.
So what this means is, congratulations to you, chief assistant, in advance, you are now the number one scholar.
Shen Shixing was helpless. When will the emperor become more mature? How can he say this casually?
This tone is just like when Emperor Wanli said to Zhang Juzheng during a certain exam: "Sir, you can't be rewarded for your merits, so I have to give your son the top prize."
Although the emperor may have just hit a wall with Qingliu, so he had the intention of wooing himself as the chief assistant.
But is it appropriate to say that kind of thing publicly, especially before an exam?
At this moment, a young censor suddenly jumped out of the class and said:
"I am supervising the censor Wang Xiangmeng to report! Although it has nothing to do with martial arts, it is related to the people in martial arts!"
Wang Xiangmeng then took out the memorial and presented the results of the Xicheng Procuratorate's trial regarding Lin Tailai to the emperor.
Then Wang Yushi continued to remonstrate hoarsely: "Lin Tailai's moral character is lacking and he has a case on his hands. He should not be eligible to continue to participate in the palace examination!
I beg you, Your Majesty, to be enlightened! We cannot let Lin Tailai, like Zheng Guotai, get undeserved fame!"
It sounded like a common line of criticism in court meetings, but it made Emperor Wanli furious.
I wanted to push Zheng Guotai to the top, but a bunch of people jumped out to oppose it. Just when I casually mentioned Lin Tailai, someone else immediately jumped out to oppose him!
There’s really no end to the horse-trading, right? Do you think someone will object to whatever you say?
Originally, Emperor Wanli was in urgent need of venting his pent-up breath. At this time, he seemed to have found an outlet and scolded Wang Xiangmeng under the throne:
"I just asked about Wu Ke, why didn't I see you for advice?
At this time, the discussion has ended, but you are making trouble again, which is obviously with ulterior motives and provocation to cause trouble!"
Wang Xiangmeng tried his best to argue: "Your Majesty! I just upheld the public spirit and spoke frankly without thinking too much about the opportunity!
How can you blame your ministers for not being able to speak just because they heard unfavorable advice?
Since Zheng Guotai gave up the exam, Lin Tailai should be regarded as giving up the exam if he takes on the case. How can he be promised favors in advance?"
Wang Situ looked at his nephew in astonishment, as if he didn't recognize him.
What kind of confusion did Lin Tailai give you to perform so hard?
Looking at this posture, are you prepared to sacrifice yourself, Wang Xiangmeng? If the Wang family loses a censor just for the sake of becoming a martial arts champion, it will be a big loss.
Shen Shixing, on the other hand, concentrated on observing words and expressions. If Wang Xiangmeng messed up, he would be ready to make amends at any time.
The aroused Emperor Wanli became more and more angry when he heard Wang Xiangmeng's great truths and sophistry. He shouted to the imperial guard on his right:
"Push this bastard out of the way and punish him with twenty sticks!"
Wang Xiangmeng immediately stopped shouting and allowed the Jinyi Guard Officer School to drag him out.
Damn it! Wang Situ thought this was a good deal. This was the Wang family’s first court staff, so he was deceived like this?
Everyone in the Ming Dynasty official circles knows that the scar on the imperial staff is the medal of the official.
Also, Lin Tailai's Wu champion is completely stable.
After much deliberation, there is really nothing left to write about the plot of Wu Zhuangyuan, and I am ready to end the new stage.