Chapter 403 I can’t drag it on any longer (please vote for me!)
The Winter Solstice is a very important festival. For court officials, the Winter Solstice means that the busy time of the year has passed.
In other words, from now to the Chinese New Year, there will be less and less official work, and life will be relatively leisurely.
When people are more leisurely, they have more energy to pay attention to gossip, so not surprisingly, what happened at the official winter solstice banquet became popular.
None of the courtiers expected that a star official like Zhao Nanxing would be a major suspect in "Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng".
Moreover, the person who broke the news did not just talk nonsense, but listed more than ten evidences to demonstrate.
What's even more shocking is that Zhao Nanxing got angry and attacked from behind on the spot, seriously injuring the whistleblower. This was a bit shameless.
For scholars, if it affects writing, it must be a serious injury.
Moreover, the background of the person who broke the news is not simple. He is the number one martial arts champion in the Ming Dynasty, the Nanzhili Wen Jieyuan of this department, and he is the confidant of the chief minister and the brother-in-law of the Minister of Hubu!
The next day, officials saw the huge injured figure on Qinglong Street in the southeast of the imperial city.
Five of the six bureaus are located on Qinglong Street. Next to the Ministry of Personnel is the Ministry of Husbandry, and next to the Ministry of Commerce is the Ministry of Rites.
Lin Tailai waved an empty cuff and stood at the door of the Ministry of Rites like a one-armed hero.
The clerk on duty at the Ministry of Etiquette looked curiously at Lin Tailai, who had a unique appearance. He didn't understand what this person was doing in the Ministry of Etiquette.
Lin Tailai reported: "I am Lin Tailai, a candidate for the National Examination. I was innocently beaten and seriously injured by Zhao Nanxing, a member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. I came here to ask Uncle Shen Dazong of the Ministry of Rites to make the decision."
The clerk on duty answered: "To complain to officials, you should go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The Ministry of Rites is not responsible for accepting these matters."
Lin Tailai said coldly: "First, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and I have an old grudge, and it is not appropriate to go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Secondly, I am an exam candidate who has registered with the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Rites is the yamen responsible for scholarly affairs, so it should come forward for me.
Third, if the Ministry of Rites refuses to accept the case, I will go directly to beat the drum and file a lawsuit before the imperial court."
Although Emperor Wanli rarely went to court, it did not mean that the emperor did not read memorials and occasionally summoned ministers.
Not long after, a messenger came out and said, "Uncle Da Zong is busy with official duties today and has no time to receive guests."
Lin Tailai insisted: "Then I will wait here. Uncle Zong always has time to spare."
The clerk on duty shook his head. Their Minister of Rites, Shen Li, was not that easy to shake.
You know, Shen Shangshu has been blatantly opposing Shen Shoufu for several years, and he is still as stable as a mountain and can gather a large group of supporters around him!
To a large extent, because Shen Shangshu was one of the three teachers who taught Emperor Wanli when he was a boy, the emperor was emotionally close to him.
When Shen Li entered Liubu, it only took him two years to become a minister, but no one was surprised by this.
There are also many people who speculate that the emperor may just want to use Shen Li to contain Shen Shixing, which is a free heart.
Then Lin Tailai waited at the door until the afternoon, and was not received by Shen Li, the Minister of Rites. The effect was just like Shen Shoufu waiting for Lin Tailai to pay his respects at home.
In the end, Lin Tailai, who was slightly less determined, became impatient and got up and left the Ministry of Rites.
For Shen Li, the Minister of Rites, this is the time when the "suffering master" has the greatest resentment and it is also the most difficult time to communicate, so he should try not to meet the "suffering master" directly.
Moreover, in Shen Shangshu's mind, to solve the problem, he should go to the chief minister Shen Shixing or the household minister Wang Situ. How could Lin Tailai be qualified to talk to him directly?
Besides, there are other benefits of drying out the "sufferer". It can consume the energy and anger of the "sufferer" and lower the expectations of the "sufferer".
Then Shen Shangshu revised a few letters and sent them out. At dusk, he went home from get off work.
When I was approaching my home, I suddenly saw dozens of big men blocking the entrance of the alley, making the road impassable.
The leading officer returned to Shangshu Shen's sedan and reported: "It is Lin Tailai's servants who have blocked the alleyway! Lin Tailai is also among them!"
With the road blocked like this, there is no way to go home! Shen Shangshu got off the sedan, walked over in person and angrily shouted: "Lin Tailai, what do you want?"
Lin Tailai, surrounded by dozens of big men, said stubbornly: "I just want an explanation."
Shen Shangshu hated people like Lin Tailai from the bottom of his heart and said coldly:
"This department has always believed that official business should not be conducted in private. And why are you blocking the road near our home?"
Lin Tailai replied: "I, a scholar full of dreams for the future, traveled all the way to the capital to take the exam, but because of a few jokes, I was attacked by the officials and was seriously injured, unable to write.
What a heinous case this is, and I, the poor victim, am standing here, praying for justice.
And uncle Da Zong, who is in charge of scholar and examination affairs, actually think that it is more important to go home to eat and sleep?"
Shen Shangshu: "."
Don't you think that for a majestic man like you and dozens of other men to sell yourself here and pretend to be pitiful, your style of painting is very inconsistent?
Then Lin Tailai complained bitterly and angrily: "Is this what you have learned about the benevolence of a saint, the righteousness of a sub-sage, the principles of Zhu Xi, and the way of being an official?"
Originally, Shen Li's face had a darker complexion, but after hearing Lin Tailai's words, it became even darker.
Lin Tailai observed Shen Shangshu's face and couldn't help but think of a historical passage.
Historically, more than ten years later, Shen Li, who had resigned for many years, was reinstated and entered the cabinet.
Shen Shixing, who had retired at home, heard the news and quickly wrote a letter to Shen Yiguan, the chief assistant at the time, saying in the letter: "The blue-faced thief is coming!"
Shen Shangshu, who was born as an emperor's master and was good at reasoning, was not straight-forward and weak at the moment, and he could not speak out against Lin Tailai.
He estimated the combat power of his subordinates and felt that he could not rush through, so he said to his left and right: "Go to the nearby patrol officers and soldiers!"
Not long after, a small group of patrol soldiers belonging to the Xicheng Military and Horse Division ran over. There were ten people in total.
After looking at the dozens of big men at the entrance of the alley, the soldiers from the Xicheng Army and Horse Division said to Shen Shangshu: "It's useless for us to fight to the death. Sir, please hire someone else."
Then the soldiers from the Xicheng Military and Horse Division fled. They usually only deal with ordinary public security cases, such as catching a few petty thieves and mediating disputes.
A scene like today shouldn't belong to them at first glance. If they dare to block the Minister of Rites, can soldiers like them afford to offend him?
After waiting for a while, Li Rusong, the commander of the Beijing patrol battalion in charge of thousands of soldiers and horses, hurriedly arrived at the scene. This man is responsible for large-scale security incidents in the capital.
Li Rusong also admired him in his heart. Other bullies used their strength to bully the weak when they blocked others, but you, Lin Tailai, actually blocked a minister.
"Shang Shu Shen! The other party doesn't have any excessive demands. He just wants an explanation from you. Why are you being so unkind?" Governor Li stepped forward to ask a few questions and came back to persuade Shen Li.
But Shen Shangshu was dissatisfied and sarcastically said: "The imperial court dispatched the Beijing army to set up patrol camps just to calm down the mud when encountering illegal things rampant on the streets?"
This kind of civil servant who prides himself on being a scholar is also used to being arrogant in front of military attachés.
Li Rusong's face quickly turned cold, "I judge that the other party does not have any malicious intentions. Please help yourself, Lord Shen!"
Then Governor Li took the patrol battalion and left without looking back.
Who can still have a bad temper? What if you are the Minister of Rites? He is Li Rusong, the heir apparent of Ning Yuanbo, and even Shen Shoufu has received gold from the Li family!
Shen Li frowned, not expecting to encounter such a dilemma where it was difficult to return home.
In fact, if Shen Shangshu had three figures of domestic servants, he might be able to open a way back home.
However, Shangshu Shen, who always showed his clear name to others, would never be able to summon three-digit servants.
However, Shangshu Shen is not short of helpers. Most of the court officials live in the west of the imperial city, and it is time to get off work.
Therefore, not long after, many officials who were passing by or came after hearing the news gathered around Shen Shangshu, including dozens of servants.
A young man named Shi Menglin was filled with indignation and raised his arms and shouted: "I am willing to lead the way for the great uncle!"
Immediately, dozens of officials and servants mingled together, headed by Shi Menglin, and walked toward the entrance of the alley in a majestic manner.
When they were about to engage in a hand-to-hand battle with Lin Tailai and his gang, they suddenly heard a whistle, and immediately Lin Tailai's servants dispersed and fled from the other side of the alley.
In the blink of an eye, there was only one poor candidate with an injured right shoulder left at the entrance of the alley, standing alone in the cold wind.
However, the candidate surnamed Lin did not retreat but advanced forward, facing the crowd, and broke into a group of officials and servants.
The candidate surnamed Lin blinked and asked Shi Menglin a little stupidly: "Are you all the accomplices of that despicable evil thief Zhao Nanxing?
Then you don’t seem to be a good person. You gathered here today and you have the guts to continue beating me!”
Under normal circumstances, it is really stupid for one person to provoke a group of people.
"Don't do anything! Move away! Prevent him from falling to the ground!" Shen Shangshu, who was standing behind, suddenly used all his strength and shouted loudly regardless of the image of Qingliu's boss.
He dared to conclude that as long as Lin Tailai was touched even slightly, he would immediately fall to the ground!
A problem that might have been solved with a Jinshi quota would have to be upgraded to a Huiyuan or a Shujishi.
Lin Tailai secretly thought, "What a pity", but his thoughts were revealed by Shen Shangshu.
Nine times out of ten, life is unsatisfactory, so today can only end here, so Lin Tailai decisively waved to Shen Shangshu and said goodbye: "See you tomorrow, Uncle Zong!"
Shen Li thought, so what if we do it again tomorrow? It's just a cycle of today.
The next day, Shen Shangshu got up, washed himself, had breakfast, and then prepared to go to work.
It has to be said that after Emperor Wanli dispensed with most of the early morning court meetings and did not detain ministers in Xiyuan like Emperor Jiajing did, the lives of the ministers became much more comfortable.
As soon as Shangshu Shen's sedan chair was carried to the gate, he saw dozens of big men and an injured candidate named Lin blocking the gate.
"Good morning, Uncle Zong!" Lin Tailai greeted.
At this time, Shen Shangshu finally realized that if this went on endlessly, "physical conflict" would happen again sooner or later, and the probability of Lin Tailai falling to the ground and touching porcelain again would increase infinitely!
Conventional procrastination is no longer appropriate and cannot be delayed any longer. Shen Shangshu finally admitted this reality.
After making up his mind, Shen Li said: "The headquarters is about to visit Prime Minister Shen now, do you want to stop it?"
Lin Tailai replied: "Is there no room for reasoning?"
Shen Shangshu sent another message: "Even if you file a complaint with the Ministry of Etiquette, you still have to go through the process. You first go to the Ceremony Department of the Ministry of Etiquette and find Yu Kong Jian, a member of the Ministry of Etiquette, to complain."
Lin Tailai dismissed his servants and went to the Ministry of Rites. But Shen Shangshu did not lie. He really entered Chengtianmen and went to the inner court to find Shen Shoufu.
Outsiders could not enter the cabinet area at will, but people in the cabinet could go out, so they finally met in the Huiji Porch Room.
Originally this place was called Zuoshunmen, but it was changed to Huijimen in the late Jiajing Dynasty.
To be honest, it is not an exaggeration to say that the political relationship between Shen Li and Shen Shixing at this time was so bad that it was "like fire and water."
Otherwise, why would Shen Shoufu directly refer to Shen Li as "blue-faced thief" in his letter more than ten years later?
But both of them are old bureaucrats, and they can restrain unnecessary personal emotions when facing each other.
There was no one else here, so Shen Li asked directly: "What does Prime Minister Shen want?"
Shen Shixing put forward his own conditions: "If you are a minister from the Ministry of Officials or the Ministry of Rites, please don't come to fight."
"You ask for too much." Shen Li said, "But it's not impossible. You must ensure that Lin Tailai will not use his shoulder injury as an excuse to pester him again."
Shen Shoufu said simply: "I can't guarantee it."
Shen Li asked doubtfully: "What do you mean?"
Shen Shoufu said like a tongue twister: "Because the conditions I proposed are the conditions I want, not the conditions Lin Tailai wants."
Shen Shangshu, a man who had been the emperor's teacher, was also confused by the reading comprehension question of this sentence.
After pondering for a while, he finally understood, "You mean, you have nothing to do with Lin Tailai?"
Shen Shoufu said frankly: "At least in this matter, I have nothing to do with him, and he did not ask me to intervene."
Shen Shangshu found it hard to believe it and questioned: "Isn't he your loyal party member?"
Shen Shixing sighed: "I also hope that he will be my loyal party member."
Shen Shangshu threatened: "If you really have no intention of intervening, then I will do my best. If Lin Tailai can't bear it, don't blame me for bullying the small."
Shen Shoufu seemed to have nothing to do with it and said, "Mianzhi, I also hope to see Lin Tailai learn a lesson."
This casual attitude made Shen Shangshu lose his temper and shouted: "Since you are not involved in it, what conditions do you want to ask for at the beginning?"
At this time, Shen Shoufu seemed like a businessman, "If you agree to my conditions, then I can mediate and help you persuade Lin Tailai to stop."
Shen Shangshu felt that Shen Shoufu was mentally retarded and asked: "Then why don't I negotiate with Lin Tailai personally? Why do I need you to mediate in the middle?"
Shen Shoufu said earnestly: "Believe me, the compensation Lin Tailai wants to extract from you will only be more.
After comprehensive comparison, my charges are more reasonable. You might as well agree to my conditions and let me be responsible for convincing Lin Tailai."
Shen Shangshu stood up and left. Since the first assistant could only earn the price difference by being a second-rate dealer, there was no value in continuing the negotiation.
He doesn't believe in evil, how can he still stand up to Lin Tailai?