When He Zhuo and Qian Yiyi came to Huijimen to deliver the joint bullets with their joint names, they shocked Eunuch Sun, the young supervisor in the clerk's room of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
In the eyes of technocrats, offensive bullets are not fired casually with one's eyes closed. Timing is also important.
For example, Hai Rui's "Public Security Shu", which was directed at the emperor, unintentionally chose a very good time. Jiajing died after Hai Rui was imprisoned, so he was able to escape unscathed in the end.
A few months earlier, or before Yan Song fell, Hai Rui might have lost his head or died of illness in prison.
Impeaching Lin Tailai at this time is going against the wind and is a very poor choice from a technical perspective.
Anyway, if Eunuch Sun were asked to do the multiple-choice question, he would definitely not impeach Lin Tailai at this time.
However, Eunuch Sun is just a tool for sending and receiving memorials. How others choose has nothing to do with Eunuch Sun.
As soon as I accepted this memorial to impeach Lin Tailai, I saw Lin Tailai strolling over in the blink of an eye.
"Are you going to the throne again?" Eunuch Sun said in astonishment, are you, Lin Tailai, really afraid that the world will not be in chaos?
Lin Tailai replied: "It's not me who sent the memorial. I helped Uncle Zheng Guo bring the memorial here! You can keep it!"
Eunuch Sun had nothing to say. No matter how magical things happened to Lin Tailai, they seemed normal.
On the same day, Emperor Wanli received Zheng Guotai in Yikun Palace, with Concubine Zheng accompanying him.
Zheng Guotai knelt on the ground and angrily said: "Yesterday I went to Chaotian Palace to offer incense, but I was intercepted by Lin Tailai. Dozens of my attendants were beaten and injured.
Lin Tailai was extremely violent and rude, but no one dared to take care of this matter! He didn't even take the emperor's relatives seriously, which was also disrespectful to the emperor!
I have no way to appeal to you outside, so I can only go into the palace and ask Your Majesty to make the decision!"
Emperor Wanli was uncertain, and he kept thinking about yesterday's memorial signed by several people to invite him to the East Palace.
As an emperor, his professional sensitivity told him that this was a very bad sign, and the ministers were about to start making trouble with the country again.
How to fool this wave is really a headache.
As for what Zheng Guotai said specifically, most of it went in one ear and out the other.
Seeing that the emperor was distracted, Concubine Zheng made a gesture of wiping her tears and said in a tearful tone: "Your Majesty! I only have this one brother, but I have been humiliated many times. How can I not feel sad in the palace?"
Emperor Wanli withdrew his thoughts, looked at Uncle Zheng and said, "Lin Tailai is here for your own good!"
Zheng Guotai: "."
Is this still my dearest brother-in-law? Is this still the emperor who dotes on his sister the most?
Emperor Wanli said again: "Lin Tailai asked you to go to the official list and appoint the eldest brother, which can reduce the criticism of your Zheng family from foreign ministers!"
Zheng Guotai said to him: "Lin Tailai was obviously being squeezed out, so he used our Zheng family as a shield."
Emperor Wanli asked in return: "Then what do you want Lin Tailai to do? After Lin Tailai was squeezed out, like other ministers, he publicly submitted a petition to appoint the eldest brother and scolded your Zheng family?
Why doesn't Lin Tailai dare to support the third brother for the East Palace? It's not all your fault, the Zheng family!"
Zheng Guotai was trembling, brother-in-law, why are you so sympathetic to Lin Tailai? It's obviously Lin Tailai who has been stepping on the Zheng family's face!
Emperor Wanli just felt tired. The Zheng family really couldn't help at all!
What's wrong with Lin Tailai who keeps stepping on your Zheng family? This shows that he didn't want to publicly support the eldest son of the emperor!
Hearing this, Concubine Zheng wiped her tears tenderly beside her again.
Emperor Wanli sighed, this woman has a lot of cleverness and is an interesting and good companion, but she doesn't have much wisdom.
First he instigated the eunuchs to beat Lin Tailai in the palace, and then instigated the third prince to openly say that Lin Tailai was the "evil number one scholar".
Well, Lin Tailai is different from other ministers. He should have been a neutral faction, and he should have been indifferent to who would be the prince. But in the end, he was forced to "rebel" by you, a stupid woman.
The experience of these five years can't explain the problem? Looking at the entire court, how difficult is it to find a true neutral?
The biggest problem now is that no minister dares to support the third son of the emperor, and the emperor himself can only deal with it passively.
It is necessary to consider using some small means to induce or force some ministers to support the third son of the emperor.
Thinking of this, Emperor Wanli ordered to his left and right again: "I have a secret letter to ask, and ask the clerk's office to send someone to pass it on to Lin Tailai!
No, let’s see which Bingbi or eunuch is on duty in Yangxin Hall, let him go!”
What kind of minister matches what kind of eunuch?
Lin Tailai was one of the loudest people in the court, so Emperor Wanli decided to improve Lin Tailai's treatment.
The final result was that eunuch No. 4 Bingbi Chen Ju accepted the order, held the secret letter, and left the palace.
When he walked to the Meridian Gate, Chen Ju happened to meet the chief assistant Shen Shixing.
Chen Ju looked at the sun and saw that it was not yet time to get off work. If Shen Shoufu got off work now, it would be too early. If he went to work, it would be too late.
This doesn't quite resemble your style of work, Shen Shixing, or are you also prepared to follow the example and follow the emperor's example?
Shen Shoufu explained: "Today I received a memorial regarding the arrangements for the prisoner dedication ceremony. This is a grand ceremony that has not been seen in the country for decades. It should not be ignored and hasty. I went to the Meridian Gate to conduct on-site inspection."
Chen Ju suddenly understood, nodded and said: "I am determined to govern."
Shen Shoufu also asked casually: "Is Da Ju going out of the palace to run an errand?"
Chen Ju thought for a while and said with a bit of humor: "The Emperor seems to have a problem. We are ordered to leave the palace and ask Lin Tai for questioning."
Shen Shoufu was startled and speechless.
I sent Eunuch Bingbi, the Chief of Ceremonies, to ask questions. Isn't this the treatment given to me by the pavilion elders? Why did I arrange it for Lin Tailai?
Or is it that Lin Tailai is on the same level as the cabinet in the emperor's heart?
In the past, most of the emperor's secret inquiries came to him for consultation, but this time he actually consulted Lin Tailai.
After chatting with Shen Shixing, Chen Ju continued to walk out.
After leaving the left gate of Chang'an, Eunuch Chen swaggered to the Hanlin Academy first, but Lin Tailai was not here.
Then Eunuch Chen swaggered to the Ministry of Personnel, and Lin Tailai was not here either.
Then Eunuch Chen went to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites in a swaggering manner, but Lin Tailai was still not there.
After walking around the Qinglong neighborhood, which is densely populated with government offices, Eunuch Chen suddenly felt that he had become a conspicuous person.
"Where is Lin Tailai? Is it possible that he is blatantly lazy and derelict in his duties?" Eunuch Chen stood in the courtyard of the Host and Guest Department of the Ministry of Etiquette and asked Shen Jue, the head of the Host and Guest Department.
Eunuch Chen, who had always been in a calm mood, became angry when he found out that he had become a conspicuous person.
Chief Shen replied weakly: "He always wanders back and forth between various yamen. He just left a quarter of an hour before Dajuan arrived.
I heard him say that the next stop is Taipu Temple."
Eunuch Chen: "."
The Taipu Temple Government Office is different from other offices in that it is not located in the Qinglong Street area in the southeast corner outside the Imperial City, but is located alone in the West City.
If I had known earlier, I might as well have left through Xi'an Gate! There has never been such a disturbing announcement!
But the matter had to be done, and Eunuch Chen had to bypass the imperial city and come to the west city from the east city.
Fortunately, this time at the gate of Taipu Temple, Lin Tailai was finally blocked, otherwise Eunuch Chen would have really lost his temper.
So he found a court in Taipu Temple and expelled all the other idle people.
Immediately, Eunuch Chen said to Lin Tailai: "This is the emperor's secret letter. There are questions in it. You can answer them in a secret letter."
Lin Tailai did not open it to read, but first said to Eunuch Chen: "I will give the answer orally, and I will ask Da Jue to explain it."
Eunuch Chen asked curiously: "Why?"
Lin Tailai replied: "I'm afraid the written document will be leaked."
Eunuch Chen thought he was talking about himself and couldn't help but said angrily: "Who do you think I am?"
Lin Tailai added: "What I'm worried about is not Dajue!"
Historical experience shows that in the Wanli Dynasty, one could never trust the confidentiality of the secrets and could not write down words on paper that were not suitable for disclosure!
Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue both suffered huge losses and even stepped down because of it!
Eunuch Chen took a deep look at Lin Tailai. He had never seen anyone so cautious.
Lin Tailai made another excuse: "Besides, I am not a cabinet minister, I don't have a silver medal, and I have no right to write secrets!"
So Eunuch Chen took the secret letter and asked Lin Tailai: "Your Majesty is asking you. It seems that you are not ignorant. Are you really unable to support the third prince?"
Lin Tailai responded: "I have a deep hatred for the Zheng family. If I support the third son of the emperor, I will incur the hostility of all the ministers. If I am among tigers and wolves, I will definitely die without a burial place!"
Chen Ju asked again: "What if the emperor's third son becomes the Eastern Palace in the future? How will you deal with yourself?"
Lin Tailai replied without hesitation: "No matter what the emperor decides, I will only obey the emperor's will!"
This is called implementation of understanding, and implementation even if you don’t understand.
Chen Ju continued to ask: "Now there are people talking about the foundation of the country and clamoring for the establishment of the East Palace. How should we deal with it?"
Lin Tailai thought for a while, and the emperor asked what the meaning of this was.
The emperor knew clearly that he could not support the third son of the emperor and should support the eldest son of the emperor, but he still asked himself how to stop the call for the appointment of the eldest son of the emperor. This was definitely intentional.
Thinking back to the fact that he is at a critical moment when "great achievements are hard to reward" and "he is humble and powerful", which emperor wouldn't murmur in his heart?
So the emperor probably wanted to test his attitude? To put it more bluntly, test his loyalty?
If he, Lin Tailai, is willing to help the emperor with advice even though he knows that the third prince will die if he comes to power, then he is truly loyal to the emperor.
So after Lin Tailai thought about it, he could only help the emperor imitate his words, and replied helplessly: "Emperor Taizu Gao has a teaching, not to establish a concubine but a direct descendant.
If the emperor's eldest son is enthroned as the Eastern Palace now, and the queen is still young and may have a career in the future, how should she be enthroned?
This is the reason why Your Majesty has been so undecided, but none of the ministers understand His Majesty's painstaking efforts."
Eunuch Chen had no emotions. He was just a machine that asked questions on behalf of the emperor. He continued to ask: "If the response is not enough, how can we take the initiative to fight back."
Lin Tailai gritted his teeth and said: "Now that the emperor's eldest son and the emperor's third son have grown up, although the emperor's fifth son is still weak, he can be crowned king temporarily, until there is a direct descendant in the future, or there is no direct descendant, order the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites
Be polite!"
There was no precedent in the Ming Dynasty for the eldest son of the emperor to be crowned king. Once the eldest son and the third son were crowned king together, they would be on the same level as the third son and lose their unique status.
Even the "rebellious and unethical" Three Kings have moved out. Do you, Emperor Wanli, still doubt Lin Tailai's loyalty?
If the civil servants really caught on to this, Lin Tailai would be the target of thousands of people immediately.
Historically, when Wang Xijue was the first assistant, he failed to deal with the issue of the three kings' confederation, which led to his sudden collapse.
Damn it! Chen Ju's eyes flashed inexplicably. Lin Tailai, you are really brave. No wonder you don't want to leave written words!
After asking this, Chen Ju retreated and could no longer ask any more questions.
It was already dark by this time, the palace door was locked, and Eunuch Chen could not return to the palace to reply to the order, so he had to stay outside.
Early in the morning the next day, Eunuch Chen hurriedly entered the palace, and then waited in the courtyard of Yikun Palace until noon before he could meet the saint.
Emperor Wanli reproached with a bit of dissatisfaction: "I issued the decree yesterday afternoon, but you didn't reply until now. You are really slacking off."
Chen Ju almost spit out a mouthful of old blood. He really didn't want to take the blame for this meaningless thing, so he defended himself a little rashly:
"I left the palace quickly yesterday to run errands. However, Lin Tailai had too many concurrent jobs. I spent a lot of time looking for Lin Tailai in various government offices. I was really helpless."
Emperor Wanli asked: "Is there any response to Lin Tailai?"
Chen Ju replied: "Lin Tailai answered orally, and asked his ministers to translate it."
Then he paraphrased Lin Tailai's words exactly as they were.
Emperor Wanli asked again: "Why did he only ask you to relay it and not give any details?"
Eunuch Chen replied: "He said that secret reporting is the privilege of ministers, and foreign ministers dare not use it without permission."
Emperor Wanli burst out laughing after hearing this, "This man is not fooled!"
Looking at the secret letters and writing secrets, this is the "honor" belonging to the cabinet ministers. Lin Tailai was able to restrain this vanity.
Otherwise, Lin Tailai will have one more clue in his hand.
Recently, many memorials have been delayed by the emperor and have not been issued with instructions. However, for the memorials of He Zhuo and Qian Yiben impeaching Lin Tailai, the emperor's feedback was extremely rapid.
Two days later, there was an imperial review, saying, "Ningxia rebel leader Lin Tailai behaved arrogantly. He violated many laws and regulations, disturbed various government offices, and caused the officials and the people to be furious. Now, he will use his merits to compensate for his crimes and cut off the rewards of the title."
In addition, the Shaoqing of Xingtaipu Temple in Shaanxi Province was promoted to the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple in order to reward those who came first to suppress the rebellion, and the other official positions remained unchanged."
After seeing this imperial approval, many people's tense nerves finally relaxed.
To use a common saying hundreds of years later, the boots finally hit the ground.
In fact, for some people, the landing of boots may not necessarily bring good news. But at least the situation will become clearer, and people will not run blindfolded, which feels too suffocating.
You must know that in the current court, Lin Tailai's reward issue is regarded as the most important weathervane. It is not an exaggeration to say that it affects the whole body, and has a chain effect on many other matters.
It can be seen from the imperial approval that Lin Tailai's core position, that is, "Hanlin plus three doctors" has not changed, and all real powers are still in his hands.
This shows that the emperor has no intention of hanging up Lin Tailai and wants to continue to use Lin Tailai, which disappointed many people.
As for the promotion from Shaoqing of Xingtaipu Temple to Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, it is only a symbolic upgrade in rank, which means that he has been promoted from the fourth rank to the fourth rank.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Taichang Temple Shaoqing is just a false title in name only, indicating that he enjoys the treatment of the fourth rank.
If the first meritorious official doesn't get any reward at all, it really doesn't make sense.
People with a discerning eye have already seen that Lin Tailai was "punished" by losing his title, so those who are impeached by Lin Tailai will probably be unlucky too, otherwise there will be no balance.
