In fact, in the Ming Dynasty, if we put aside personnel matters, the job of chief assistant was not difficult from a technical point of view.
Many memorials and drafts can be dismissed with clichés such as "as usual" and "discuss with the Ministry of War" without any effort at all.
For example, after a high-ranking official like Shen Li, the Minister of Rites, is impeached, usually the person concerned is ordered to file a petition to defend himself. This is also considered the privilege of a big shot.
However, Shen Shoufu, who had been tortured by impeachment in the past two years, did not take it too seriously to see the excitement and planned a "sent to the capital procuratorate for verification". The matter spread quickly and became a big source of fun for the officialdom of the capital at the end of the year. .
Officials who heard the news asked one after another about whose general Pan Shizhang was, who was so brave!
The impeachment of Shen Li, the Minister of Rites, is not unusual in itself, but the impeachment of Shen Li for shielding Lin Tailai is particularly unconventional!
Even in a world where hype is increasingly valued, this method is quite explosive.
As the end of the year approaches, even Shen Shangshu, who has been working hard and has always wanted to comprehensively promote the reform of etiquette, can't help but feel a little dawdling.
When he saw that the Metropolitan Procuratorate had sent a censor to verify the issue of "protecting Lin Tailai", he felt confused.
"Who is Pan Shizhang?" Shen Shangshu subconsciously asked a question that many people have asked.
Noble people tend to forget things. Shen Shangshu actually forgot the name of the minor character Pan Yushi.
The left and right officials replied: "This Pan Yushi came to visit two days ago and said that Lin Tailai colluded with the hawkers to bully the market. He also ordered the domestic slaves to beat more than ten people in the street, and asked the Ministry of Rites to deprive Lin Tailai of his title.
And the proprietor, you think it is not necessary, so you invited Pan Yushi out."
Now Shangshu remembered that such a thing was indeed happening. At that time, he felt that it was extremely ridiculous, so he sent the person away.
Isn't it ridiculous that Lin Tailai colluded with a hawker who was short of money? Even if it was true, what could he do to Lin Tailai?
Although he wanted to end Lin Tailai completely, he would not do anything useless, so he did not agree to Yushi Pan's unreasonable request to deprive Lin Tailai of his fame and let Yushi Pan leave.
Shen Shangshu did not feel that this impeachment could shake him, but he felt that he might have encountered an official loser.
The rash visit that day, coupled with the stupid impeachment against me, made me think of Pan Yushi, and I felt that this person was stupid and dumbfounded.
Since the phenomenon of nepotism in official circles has become more and more common, newcomers often have "rich experience" in their family studies, and it is becoming more and more rare to be silly.
So Shen Shangshu frowned and asked: "How did he become the censor? No one told him what to do?"
The chief minister dutifully replied: "I have inquired about it. Pan Shizhang, Pan Yushi's uncle, served as an official in the Jiajing Dynasty and became the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing. There may be some lingering shadow, but that's all at most."
In the mind of an old bureaucrat like Shen Shangshu, Pan Yushi's political spectrum was quickly sketched out - his ancestors were once rich and had some connections left, which sent him to the position of Yushi, but no one in the family could teach him the rules. .
After the weighing was completed, Shen Shangshu told the curtainman: "Go and get in touch with him and give him some advice on how to do things."
Before leaving, the man behind the curtain reminded me: "I don't know if there is someone behind the scenes this time."
Shen Shangshu thought for a while and said: "It should not be so. If a person has the ability to instruct the censor to criticize me, how could he carry out such a stupid impeachment?"
It can be said that this impeachment has no lethal effect on Shen Shangshu at all. What is the point of spending so much effort instructing a censor to do such a thing?
The curtainman asked again: "What should the proprietor do? Should Shangshu defend himself or admit his mistake?"
After a minister is impeached, he must express his position to the public. There are generally two ways to respond.
One is to defend oneself against the court from the perspective that one is not at fault; the other is to admit that one is at fault and request punishment from the court.
Regarding this kind of small impeachment that did not seem to have the support of powerful people, Shen Shangshu did not intend to waste too much time. After thinking about it for a while, he said:
"If the people injured by Lin Tailai are all members of the Zheng family, then I will go to court to defend myself and cannot admit my mistake."
The logic here is that he cannot admit that it was a mistake to let Lin Tailai go before.
Otherwise, others may misunderstand that he suppressed Lin Tailai in order to favor the Zheng family.
After the chief minister understood what Shen Shangshu was thinking, he went out to do some business, and another retainer began to help Shen Shangshu draft the memorial.
Then Shen Shangshu put this matter behind him. A big boss naturally has the style of a big boss. In Shen Shangshu's heart, this trivial matter was only worth wasting half an hour at most.
At the end of the year, officials moved around more and more, so the streets of Xicheng were full of officials and their followers in a hurry.
There was some movement in Lige Old Alley this afternoon, attracting many passers-by to watch.
I saw about twenty burly men standing at the gate of Lin Mansion, staring eagerly at the door.
Opposite these big men was a young censor, accompanied by three or five servants.
The young censor shouted towards the door of the Lin Mansion and the burly men: "Lin Tailai! This court hereby solemnly advises you to return the case to justice honestly and accept the punishment!"
The young censor's words aroused laughter from the big men. The door of Lin Mansion seemed to be filled with happy air. A big man shouted: "Master censor, you might as well come in and arrest someone!"
The young censor reprimanded in a louder voice: "Lin Tailai, don't think that with Shen Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites protecting you, you can get away with it and do whatever you want!
As long as our court is still serving as the censor of Xicheng, we vow to pursue it to the end!"
Hearing this, some well-informed people in the crowd guessed the identity of the young censor. He must be the censor Pan who impeached Shen Shangshu.
At this time, a bigger giant man rushed out from the door and shouted to Pan Yushi aggressively:
"Are you done yet? Just because of a trivial matter, you want to ask the Ministry of Rites to take away my title from Lin Tailai? Or maybe Shen Shangshu understands justice and doesn't care about your unreasonable troubles!"
Pan Yushi said without fear: "Shang Shu is Shen Shangshu, and this court is our court! Shen Shangshu is afraid of you, but this court is not afraid!"
Although this court has no power to deprive you of your honor, it can still punish you within the scope of its duties!
This court once again advises you to behave yourself and accept the punishment of the law!"
"I still have to prepare for the exam, so I don't have time to play house with you!" Lin Daguan waved his hand domineeringly and turned around to return to the house.
Pan Yushi said to Lin Daguan's back: "Lin Tailai! If you refuse to come to justice, then don't blame this court for being rude!"
Official Lin laughed "haha" and said, "Why are you so rude? Break into the Lin Mansion and come get me?"
Pan Yushi said sternly: "If you refuse to be brought to justice now, then when the meeting is called for admission, our court will lead the officers to the gate of Gongyuan to arrest you!"
The onlookers were in an uproar when they heard this. If Pan Yushi really did that, Lin Tailai would really not be able to resist.
In such a sensitive and important place as the examination room, which is also densely populated by officers and soldiers, Lin Tailai did not dare to fight and disrupt the examination, even though he had superior military skills and good eyesight.
However, although Lin Tailai can be choked by doing this, Pan Yushi's fate will definitely not be better. It is a typical death-to-death strategy.
Therefore, Lin Daguan seemed to be shocked, and said in disbelief: "You only get a salary of tens of dan a year, what are you trying to do with your life?"
Pan Yushi said decisively: "Shang Shu Shen may cherish the black gauze hat, but this court dare not cherish itself!"
Onlookers: ""
You two say harsh words to each other, why do you always talk about Shen Shangshu both inside and outside your words?
However, Xiao Pan Yushi's momentum seemed to frighten Lin Daguan, and he said sternly: "What on earth do you want to do!"
Pan Yushi said in a commanding tone: "Bring him to justice immediately and accept the punishment from the Xicheng Procuratorate!"
Lin Daguan said impatiently: "Today is inconvenient! Let's talk tomorrow!"
Anyone with a little bit of intelligence can tell that Lin Daguan is "cowarded", and not being brought to justice in public today is his last act of stubbornness.
Pan Yushi took a deep look at Lin Tailai and said, "I will be waiting for you at the Xicheng Procuratorate tomorrow. I hope you will stop escaping in fear of crime."
Then Pan Yushi took several official servants, and under the gaze of more than 20 big men, he left the front door of Lin Mansion with his head held high.
There was no excitement at all, and the crowd of people watching here dispersed, but the discussion did not stop.
It has to be said that this previously silent Yushi Pan left a very deep impression on everyone today.
Most people in the officialdom of the capital have heard of Lin Tailai, the number one thug under the chief minister's sect.
Three years ago, he defeated the Jin Yiwei, the nobles, and the Imperial Procuratorate. In the end, he won the top prize in martial arts and escaped unscathed. This year, he came back to take the liberal arts exam. How vigorous.
But such a fierce man was actually suppressed by Xiao Pan Yushi today!
The Xicheng official residence area is such a big place, and news spread quickly. That night, Shen Shangshu was at home and heard about the excitement at the door of Lin Mansion today.
Shen Shangshu is having a hard time having children. He still has no biological son. His family is relatively deserted and he likes to invite fellow villagers to get together.
"He said that you cherished the black gauze hat and were afraid of Lin Tailai, so you protected Lin Tailai and refused to deprive Lin Tailai of his fame! Many people present heard it!" A fellow countryman spread the gossip tonight.
Shen Shangshu was stunned for a moment. He was really careless this time and did not dodge! Someone was obviously trying to gain his reputation!
Now there is an obvious contrast! The lonely Pan Yushi dared to pursue and beat Lin Tailai, and even dared to impeach the Minister of Rites for inaction, but the Minister of Rites indulged Lin Tailai and ignored him!
As a leader of Qingliu, Shen Shangshu must not let this trend of public opinion go!
"Wait a minute!" Shen Shangshu complained to his fellow villagers, quickly came to the study, called over the retainer who had drafted the manuscript, and hurriedly ordered: "The previous memorial manuscript is invalid and a new one will be written!"
The doorman replied: "What is the content?"
Shen Shangshu also ordered: "In response to the impeachment of Pan Yushi, stop defending yourself and admit your mistake directly!"
There are two ways of writing self-defense and admitting mistakes. If it is self-defense, the main idea is: there is no problem with my previous handling, Pan Yushi is making trouble unreasonably, and Lin Tailai will not be punished by the Ministry of Rites.
Originally there was no problem in self-defense, but after what happened at the door of Lin Mansion in the afternoon, if he still defended himself in this way, those words were really confirmed.
If he was admitting his mistake, the general idea would be: Pan Yushi was right in impeaching him. I did make a small mistake before, and I beg the court to impose a fine. The Ministry of Rites will actively correct the mistake and petition to deprive Lin Tailai of his honors.
After the retainer understood what Shen Shangshu meant, he couldn't help but sigh: "Even if I petition to deprive Lin Tailai of his honors, it will be useless. The cabinet will definitely not agree."
"Even if it's useless, it must be reported like this!" Shen Shangshu said without doubt: "Now it's not a question of effectiveness, but a question of attitude. I must express such an attitude!"
The next day, Shangshu Shen's memorial was delivered to the palace.
Then it was another sunny afternoon. Lin Tailai arrived at the familiar Xicheng Procuratorate, which he had dealt with three years ago.
At this time, some idle people wanted to watch the excitement and had already waited here in advance.
Yushi Pan did not sit in the courtroom, but met Lin Tailai at the gate of the Procuratorate.
Lin Tailai said lazily: "Pan Shiyu asked me to take the initiative to bring him to justice. I don't know how to punish him?"
Pan Yushi said coldly: "Follow me to see the victim, and then judge him in person!"
Official Lin was shocked and said: "You are a judge! You can just send them to the procuratorate, why would you condescend to come to your door!"
Pan Yushi replied: "The Zheng family is the father's family of the imperial concubine, and they are also the imperial governor. They have their own dignity, so how can they be summoned at will?"
Besides, I am not an official who sits in the government and is close to the people. I am originally a patrol official. When I encounter cases, I will make judgments face to face in most cases!"
Without any explanation, Pan Yushi "escorted" Lin Tailai to Zheng Mansion, the Zheng Mansion of Concubine Zheng's father.
On the way, Pan Yushi whispered to Lin Tai again: "Shang Shu Shen sent someone to look for me."
Lin Tailai said nonchalantly: "Why bother with him? At least I made you famous in one battle, right?"
Pan Yushi felt as if he had taken a lot of wool from Shen Shangshu.
When the patriarch Zheng Chengxian heard the news that Pan Yushi was escorting Lin Tailai to visit, everyone was confused. What were these civil servants doing?
Wasn't it just because of a misunderstanding that more than a dozen servants of the Zheng family were beaten? The Zheng family has settled down, so why haven't the civil servants finished?
Besides, when did these civil servants become so kind-hearted that they came over to help the Zheng family avenge their grievances?
But Uncle Guo Zheng Guotai was eager to give it a try and prepared to receive it in person.
Zheng Guozhang very cautiously told his son: "Go to see Pan Yushi for me and tell him that our Zheng family is magnanimous and we no longer intend to pursue the case!"
"It's not like we deliberately caused trouble, so why are we so weak?" Zheng Guotai said a little dissatisfied, "Father, you weren't like this in the past either."
Zheng Guozhang said sternly: "The past is the past, and the present is the present. Don't make mistakes, just do what your father said!"
Then Zheng Guozhang was very worried and gave him careful instructions on how to deal with it.
Zheng Guotai accepted his father's order and went to the front yard.
Pan Yushi "escorted" Lin Tailai and settled the case in the front yard.
Zheng Guotai casually saluted Pan Yushi and was about to speak when Pan Yushi said first:
"Suzhou Prefecture Examiner Lin Tailai ordered his servants to beat and injure fifteen Zheng family servants in the street. The evidence is conclusive!
This court hereby pronounces the verdict that Lin Tailai apologized to the Zheng family in person and compensated fifteen taels of decoction and medicine! We also asked the Ministry of Rites to deprive Lin Tailai of his honors!"
If a civilian beat someone like this, he would not only have to pay money and apologize, but also suffer physical and physical pain. But after all, Lin Tailai was a master of civil society and had the privilege of exempting himself from corporal punishment.
Before Zheng Guotai could react, Senior Official Lin bowed ninety degrees to Uncle Zheng Guotai and said, "I'm sorry! It's all my fault!"
Then Lin Tailai took out three ingots of official silver, five taels each, and forced his uncle Guo's hand open, and stuffed the official silver into Uncle Guo's hand.
Pan Yushi next to him nodded and said: "That's enough, the punishment from this court has been completed!"
Official Lin immediately changed his face, pointed at Uncle Zheng Guo and shouted:
"I, Lin Tailai, are not afraid of you Zheng family, I just confessed because of the threat of deprivation of my honor by Shen Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites!"
Uncle Zheng Guo, holding fifteen taels of official silver: ""
Who is this horse rider? He didn't even say a word!
