The political atmosphere in the capital this spring is a bit strange, and there are signs of it starting from New Year's Day.
In theory, there are several types of court meetings throughout the year, including regular court meetings that should be held every day, major court meetings on the first day of each month, and larger court meetings on important festivals.
Among so many court gatherings, the New Year's Day ceremony at the beginning of the first year is definitely the most important.
But in this New Year's Day dynasty in the fifteenth year of Wanli, the emperor was absent from the New Year's Day dynasty for the first time since the Jiajing Dynasty.
In February or March, the farce from Suzhou disrupted the court.
First, the second son of Shen Shoufu took the land and house by force and caused death. He was investigated and punished by the upright Suzhou Prefecture Magistrate Shi, who was trying to convict him.
The last person who dared to treat the chief minister's own son in this way in the chief minister's hometown is no longer known in which dynasty and generation.
Then Governor Li, who had a close relationship with the chief minister and had always been regarded as a member of the chief minister's party, directly accused Magistrate Shi of embezzling five thousand taels from the Wu County treasury.
In the eyes of "discerning people", Governor Li's behavior was frame-up and persecution.
In fact, framing and persecution are not big problems, but the biggest problem is that it is too naked and ugly, so it triggers public outrage.
Immediately, Shen Shoufu was attacked by the expected group, but Shen Shoufu's reaction was also very abnormal. He simply stayed at home and thanked guests behind closed doors. There was nothing else.
In the past, there were many cases where cabinet academics were impeached, but they would always argue and either go to court to defend themselves, or instruct party members to speak out and engage in public opinion confrontation with the enemy.
But Shen Shoufu said nothing this time, without any excuse. After directly signing the resignation letter, he gave up his job and went home to stay behind closed doors.
Even the Qingliu forces who launched the encirclement and suppression were very surprised when they saw the non-resistance reaction of the chief minister.
So a kind of discussion began to spread inside and outside the imperial court. Is Shen Shoufu really thinking of resigning? Even if it is illogical, from a probability perspective, this possibility is very high.
Counting from the fall of Yan Song, it has been about twenty-five years. During this period, only the most special Zhang Juzheng worked for more than ten years.
In the remaining fifteen years or so, there were five chief assistants: Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Gao Gong, Zhang Siwei, and Shen Shixing, but none of them could rule for a long time.
Now Shen Shixing has been the chief assistant for four years. From a probability perspective, the imperial court may really have to change the chief assistant again.
Shen Shoufu's departure or stay is directly related to the overall structure of the court. Many people want to see Shen Shoufu, but Shen Shoufu is determined not to see the visitor.
The only person in the imperial court who could see Shen Shoufu was probably Shen Yongmao, the head of the Vehicle and Driving Department of the Ministry of War, because his most important identity was the eldest son of Shen Shoufu.
Shen Shoufu can shut everyone out, but he can't let his son go home.
Shen Yongmao also wanted to know his father's thoughts very much. After all, he was still young and wanted to make a difference. His father's fate would determine his future stance in the court.
After three days of observation, he found that his father was indeed closed to outsiders. Shen Yongmao took the opportunity of greetings in the evening and asked directly: "What is father thinking about?"
Shen Shixing sighed: "What I think is that if you win the first prize and become the first assistant, there will be no regrets on the road to fame."
Shen Yongmao, who was scolded by his father Versailles, continued: "My father is in his prime and can still achieve greater achievements."
Shen Shixing was less than fifty when he became the first assistant, and he is only 53 years old this year. He is quite young for the position of first assistant, and Shen Shixing is also in good health.
Shen Shoufu asked rhetorically: "No matter how great your achievements are, can they be greater than Zhang Jiangling?"
This rhetorical question left Shen Yongmao speechless and speechless.
As the son of the chief minister, Shen Yongmao is the most sensitive to external attitudes.
Therefore, Shen Yongmao is very clear. From a purely power perspective, his father has not entered a downward trajectory at this time. It can even be said that he is at his most prosperous period since he entered politics.
Last year, thanks to the blessing of Tuolin Tailai, he killed Xin Zixiu, the censor of Zuodu who belonged to the Qingliu force.
The new censor of Zuodu, Wu Shilai, was the same as Yang Wei, the minister of official affairs, who only followed the leader and assisted in orders.
Now my father is equivalent to mastering the two most special roles among the seven ministers of the foreign dynasty, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the Yushi of Zuodu, one for personnel and one for supervision.
The last person who could control the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Yushi of Zuodu at the same time was Zhang Juzheng.
In this regard, Shen Yongmao dared to say that his father's power had not declined and he was fully capable of resisting the joint siege from several parties.
Not to mention, there is also a peripheral ally like the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue who can cooperate. Who is afraid of whom in a real fight?
But the problem is, if the father doesn’t want to do it anymore and always wants to retreat, what can be done?
What Shen Yongmao could think of, others could naturally think of. At first, many people thought Shen Shoufu was deliberately showing weakness.
Later, when the imperial court selected people as imperial envoys, Shen Shoufu still did not take any action.
As a result, the Qingliu forces easily recommended Li Shida, the censor of Zuodu in Nanjing, to go to Suzhou to investigate the issues of Governor Li and Prefect Shi.
As for the results of the investigation, it is self-evident, and everyone feels that they already know it in advance!
This was like a signal, and the court bureaucrats immediately felt that Shen Shoufu was really messed up.
"Irresponsible, irresponsible!" Wang Zhiyuan, the Minister of Household Affairs, said angrily.
As a very enterprising person, Wang Situ really couldn't stand Shen Shoufu's messy behavior.
"The nature of these southerners is so weak!" Wang Situ was so angry that he even fired the map cannon.
He was angry for no reason. Last year, he and Shen Shoufu got closer because of Lin Tailai.
But if Shen Shoufu is dismissed from office like this, hostile forces will come up again. Then wouldn't his closeness to Shen Shoufu this year be in vain?
Also, if Wang Zhiyuan is qualified to join the cabinet, it is not impossible for Shen Shoufu to put him into the cabinet at the cost of resigning, but he is not from the Imperial Academy, and he is not qualified to join the cabinet!
Of course, Wang Situ only scolded people at home and did not express his stance in public.
Wang Zhiyou, a member of the Ministry of Rites, and Wang Xiang, a censor of Jiangxi Province, looked at each other in confusion. Is the second brother (second uncle) so angry?
The prosperity of the Wang family does not rely on the support of Shen Shoufu. Even if Shen Shoufu dismisses his official position and leaves, it will not lead to the collapse of the Wang family?
Wang Situ said unhappily: "You don't know that tomorrow the officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Industry will discuss the matter of building the imperial mausoleum!"
It suddenly sounded like it was hard to understand why Wang Situ was unhappy. Isn't this kind of meeting normal in the court?
Wang Shiwu, who rushed over to watch the excitement, heard this and said leisurely: "I unexpectedly encountered two people from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works. My second brother will have a hard time tomorrow."
Wang Zhiyou and Wang Xiangmeng got this reminder and suddenly realized.
Shen Li, the Minister of Rites, is a leader of the Qingliu forces. There is no need to introduce the others too much;
Although Yu Shenxing, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, was from Shandong, he was not from the same family as the Wang family and was closer to Qingliu. He was a Hanlin emperor and had a perfect resume, but he was just short of joining the cabinet. He was in urgent need of someone to vacate his position.
Zhao Yongxian, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, is famous all over the world for his bacon with the imperial staff. He is the fifth son of the retro-style school in the literary world for two consecutive generations. He is the leader of the forces that started in opposition to Zhang Juzheng and is currently also opposing the cabinet.
Song Hu, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, received a consolation prize after he failed to compete with Wang Situ for the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs last year. The Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Song Hui, was a fellow countryman of Shen Li, the Minister of Rites.
Zeng Tongheng, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, had a younger brother named Zeng Qianheng, who impeached Shen Shoufu.
When Wang Situ goes to a meeting tomorrow, he will face a group of people like this. Either they are against the cabinet and Shen Shixing, or they are enemies with Wang Situ.
With the current situation in which Chief Executive Shen has failed and all other forces are so excited that they are about to climax, you can imagine how sad tomorrow's meeting will be.
Wang Situ, a minister who had just gotten close to Shen Shoufu, was in the same situation at the meeting as someone who "joined the national army in 1949" in later generations. At the very least, he would be laughed at by a group.
"I even want to be like the first assistant, even though I am sick!" Wang Situ said helplessly.
But Wang Shiwu came up with an idea and said: "Second brother, don't worry about it! At tomorrow's meeting, no matter what others say that you don't like, just mention Lin Jun and fight back. You will definitely not lose in the scene."
Wang Situ: "."
Even Shen Shoufu is unreliable. If you want to earn back your face, you still have to rely on Lin Tailai?
Building the imperial mausoleum is not only an engineering issue, it is also a matter of etiquette and law, and it is also a financial issue. That is why this joint meeting of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Industry was held.
The meeting location was located in the government office of the Ministry of Industry, which has the lowest status. After all, the main business entity of project construction is the Ministry of Industry.
In the joint meeting of various ministries, where quarrels and excuses were the norm, a harmonious and joyful atmosphere was rare today.
Only the Minister of the Ministry of Finance had a long face, which was out of tune with the surrounding environment.
Shen Li, the Minister of Rites, glanced at Wang Situ for a few times and said tentatively: "I heard that Suzhou Wei Qianhu Lin Tailai repeatedly made troubles in salt industry affairs, which made the Salt Patrol Cai Yushi miserable and repeatedly complained to the court?
And Wang Situ is in charge of the household department and is in charge of the salt law in the world. He cannot sit back and ignore such chaos."
As the Minister of Rites and directly involved in the affairs of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Shen Li would never have done such a disgraceful thing if it were not for the current special circumstances.
Probably also wanted to pass the stress test and check Wang Situ's status.
Wang Situ responded without raising his eyebrows: "The last censor who complained like this in Yangzhou seems to be one of your disciples? He has been sent to Guangxi by Lin Tailai to work as a postmaster."
Shen Li chuckled a few times and then said: "Wang Situ's words are too much. He has no ministerial character. Could it be that he has been in a bad mood recently?"
Wang Situ lowered his head and sipped tea: "Your Majesty Shen should be able to understand my recent mood.
It's as if you, Shen Shangshu, felt in the Wenhua Palace last year, watching the former Zuodu censor Xin Zixiu being dismissed by the emperor.
By the way, Xin Zixiu was dismissed from office because Lin Tailai wrote a memorial in defense of his mutiny. Do you think it's a pity or not?"
Shen Li: "."
The most tragic failure of the Qingliu forces was the inexplicable dismissal of their biggest ally, Zuodu Yushi Xin Zixiu, which directly disrupted all plans.
According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty court system, a "Beijing inspection" was conducted every six years to inspect all Beijing officials and eliminate unqualified officials.
Originally this was a supervisory system, but in recent years it has begun to evolve into a tool for party struggle, and the fifteenth year of Wanli was the year of "Beijing Supervision".
The "Beijing Cha" was jointly chaired by the Minister of Civil Affairs and the Censor of Zuodu. Originally, if Xin Zixiu was still the Censor of Zuodu, the Qingliu forces would not be so panicked.
But last year Xin Zixiu was dismissed from office, and the position of censor of Zuodu was replaced by Wu Shilai, who took orders from the chief assistant. So this time the two chief officials of the "Beijing Cha" were all Shen chief assistants!
Therefore, in the early spring of this year, the Qingliu forces rushed to launch an attack on Shen Shoufu. In fact, the direct reason was that Xin Zixiu, the censor of Zuodu, was dismissed from office.
To this day, whenever he thinks of Xin Zixiu's dismissal from office, Shen Shangshu still feels so heartbroken that he doesn't want to speak.
Now he only hopes that Li Shida, the censor of Zuodu in Nanjing, can successfully transfer to the capital as the censor of Zuodu after completing his performance in Suzhou.
Among the people present, the person who is most unhappy with Wang Situ is probably Song Hui, the Minister of Industry. If Wang Situ had not had great luck last year, the position of Minister of Hubu would definitely belong to Song Hui.
Seeing that his fellow countryman Shen Shangshu was being criticized, Song Hu couldn't help but said: "Ever since Wang Situ took charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Yangzhou has been in chaos. It really reminded me of a saying, Qingfu will not die until Lu is in trouble."
Wang Situ said in surprise: "The situation in Yangzhou is great, where is the chaos?
Even if mutinies always occur, even if large-scale rebellions occur frequently, it will not affect the court's money and food.
Although Lin Tailai forced you to work as a foreman at the Ministry of Works last year, you can't make random alarmist remarks just because you hate Lin Tailai."
Song Hui: "."
Foreman? Foreman? Foreman?
Zhao Yongxian, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, also looked at Wang Situ with displeasure, "Shen Shangshu is right, Wang Situ, you have no ministerial character, and it is really unworthy to humiliate your colleagues with your words!"
Wang Situ looked up at Zhao Yongxian and responded: "I heard that the retro style has launched three generations and five sons in the past thirty years, and you, Zhao Shilang, have succeeded two generations in a row and are equally popular."
Speaking of this, it is indeed something that Zhao Yongxian is very proud of.
He had two major achievements in his life. The first was that he was imprisoned in the fifth year of Wanli for opposing Zhang Juzheng and seizing his love. The second was that he was listed among the five sons of the retro school for two consecutive terms.
"Hahahaha!" Wang Situ burst out laughing: "But all you retro-schoolers were almost defeated by Lin Tailai!
I heard that at this Yangzhou Literary Conference, it was Lin Tailai who showed mercy, allowing the retro group to survive and not be wiped out!
You are also from Jiangnan, your hometown is gone, and you are still proudly holding the banner of the retro style in the capital. Thinking about it makes me laugh."
Zhao Yongxian: "."
If you, Wang Situ, were a man, could you stop mentioning Lin Tailai today?
"That's enough!" Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Industry once said to Heng, "Today you are here to discuss the construction of the imperial mausoleum, not to have a verbal dispute!"
"Last year, when His Majesty was indecisive about choosing the site for the imperial mausoleum, it was Lin Tailai and Governor Li Rusong who jointly submitted a letter, which was adopted by His Majesty!
At that time, you, Zeng Shilang, were the official of the Ministry of Industry in charge of the imperial mausoleum affairs. Why didn't you have the awareness and luck of Lin Tailai?
If you had been more alert at that time, would you have allowed Song Hui, who came from Nanjing, to occupy the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry?"
Zeng Tongheng: "."
Don't ask, it's just Kavin's idea. After all, a new plot is about to start... Will be added tomorrow