Chapter 623 Who is the traitor? (Please give me a guaranteed monthly ticket)
Under the autumn sunshine, Emperor Wanli stood majestically at the gate tower of the Meridian Gate, also known as the Wufeng Tower, wearing a Pi Bian gown.
Listening to the loud singing of hundreds of dancers below, the emperor's fat face couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile.
Songs like this should keep pace with the times. If it is still the same as "punch Chen Youliang and kick Zhang Shicheng", what does it have to do with Zhu Yijun?
He then said to the eunuchs on his left and right: "The foreign minister finally paid attention."
As an emperor, he cannot take the initiative to ask for changes to the rituals and music passed down by his ancestors and praise the achievements of his ancestors. He can only rely on the ministers to consciously do so.
Gongsun Siam of Dongchangchang told the truth: "I heard that in the beginning, Taichang Temple, which was in charge of music and dance students, still adhered to the ancestral system.
Later, Lin Tailai initiated an initiative at a literary conference, and people from the literary world jointly petitioned the Ministry of Rites, and the song was changed."
The other eunuchs nearby said obediently: "This is what people want."
Then Emperor Wanli saw Lin Tailai, the rebellious supervisor, standing under the city gate, reporting victory in a positive manner.
Emperor Wanli sighed again and again in his heart, although people like Lin Tailai behaved outrageously, they were really useful.
When something happened in Xihai, he stabilized the situation by winning two battles in more than two months after arriving on the scene. After the rebellion in Ningxia Town, he took the lead in counterattacking in one month and put down the rebellion in three months.
I wonder if Emperor Wu of the ancient Han Dynasty felt this way when he saw Huo Qubing?
After Lin Tailai finished reading the good news, all the civil and military officials congratulated him, danced and worshiped, and shouted long live the mountains.
Emperor Wanli didn't feel much about this link. As long as he was willing to go to court, he could see such scenes every day.
What follows is the climax of the prisoner offering ceremony. Li Rusong, the rebel commander-in-chief, and hundreds of officers and soldiers escorted more than 20 prisoners and appeared in the small square outside the Meridian Gate.
More than a dozen of them were rebel generals from Ningxia Town who followed Kuai Bai in rebellion, including Kuai Bai's son Kuai Cheng'en.
As for the remaining ten or so people, they were enemy chiefs captured in the battles at Xining and Ganjunshan, with some status, including several who were sponsored by Sanniang Zi.
Although this prisoner presentation ceremony was held because of the Battle of Ningxia, in order to make the scene more beautiful, Lin Tailai packed in the captive chiefs captured in the previous two battles of Xining and Gansu.
Each prisoner was covered with red cloth and was escorted by ten officers and soldiers.
After being tortured for so long, the captive chieftains had lost all energy. At this moment, they could only kneel down outside the Meridian Gate in dejection.
Emperor Wanli at the city gate looked at the captured enemy prisoners with great interest, and even wanted to go down to observe them up close, but was blocked by the left and right.
"With Lin Tailai guarding below, are you still worried about danger?" Emperor Wanli asked.
Zhang Cheng, the eunuch who held the seal, tried his best to persuade: "Your Majesty has a body of ten thousand gold. It is extremely unlucky to approach these captive chieftains who are about to die!"
Since it was unlucky, Emperor Wanli had no choice but to give up.
At this time, under the city gate, Sun Piyang, the Minister of Punishment, came out and listed the crimes of the captured chiefs one by one, and announced the punishments.
"Zhou Kuai worships the corpse, kills Kuai Chengen and other rebels in the city!
The rest of the rebel generals, relatives and members will be beheaded and sent to the garrison!
All the captured bandits and chieftains will be killed, and together with Kuai Chengen and others, their heads will be passed down to Jiubian!"
After Sun Piyang, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, made the announcement, he asked the emperor for instructions: "Let's go to Shicao to execute the execution together and ask for the order!"
Emperor Wanli Jinkou Yuyan decreed: "Take it!"
The Han generals standing on the left and right began to pass the call, two to four, four to eight, and finally hundreds of Han generals shouted "Take it!"
The sound echoed between the palace walls, like thunder, and could be heard even when standing on the royal road outside the palace.
A weak-minded rebel general was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground.
Sun Piyang, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, led the army and escorted the captured chieftain to the Western Market for execution on the spot.
Finally, Emperor Wanli issued the "Edict for the Peace of Ningxia", and today's prisoner presentation ceremony is over.
"Today, I sent you to Chicheng'en and others to present prisoners thousands of miles away. They were sent to nine sides. They were close enough to show off my loyalty and injustice. I traveled a long distance to serve as a warning to rebels without generals.
I hereby declare that, within and outside the Bohai Sea, as well as the soldiers and civilians of the nine sides and four barbarians, those who stay in peace are good citizens, those who protect themselves are the ordinary people, abide by the king's law, and share peace."
Emperor Wanli was in a good mood, and even had some unfinished thoughts.
Then he sent a message to the gentlemen whom he had not seen for a long time to come up and talk. It seemed that they had not seen each other for more than a year.
The "sir" in the emperor's mouth here refers specifically to the cabinet bachelor.
All the officials below were preparing to leave. Seeing that the cabinet bachelors were summoned, everyone had nothing to say except envy.
Perhaps this is the special thing about the Grand Scholar. Even though it is usually said that the Grand Scholar is not the prime minister, the cabinet and the six ministries are actually parallel.
However, according to the emperor's custom, the academician is still the head of the ministers after all, and must be treated differently from other ministers.
Suddenly, someone saw Lin Tailai running to Zuoyemen and talking to the eunuch guarding the door.
Is this a new situation? So everyone immediately didn’t want to leave, so as not to miss the opportunity to eat melon on the spot.
After the four cabinet ministers came up, the first thing they did was to congratulate him.
Emperor Wanli also politely replied: "This is all the result of Mr. Wang's careful planning."
If a minister who has little contact with the emperor suddenly meets the emperor, he will easily have nothing to say or even dare not speak because the emperor and his ministers are too unfamiliar.
Historically, this was the case with the paper-paste three pavilions of the Chenghua Dynasty. This situation also occurred in the late Wanli Dynasty.
But except for Zhao Zhigao, all members of this cabinet team had been officials for a long time when Emperor Wanli was a child.
They had a lot of contact with Emperor Wanli in the early days and were very close to him, but in recent years they had less contact with each other, so they were not afraid to talk.
Chief Assistant Shen Shixing said in greetings on behalf of the ministers: "I have not seen the face of heaven for a year, but today I look up to know that the holy body is safe and sound, and I am very relieved."
Emperor Wanli quickly said sadly: "My head is dizzy and my arms are hurting, and it is inconvenient to step down. Today I am going out to meet you as a gift to the prisoners."
Shen Shixing added: "Your Majesty, Fu Wang, take great care of you."
Emperor Wanli suddenly asked in a cold voice: "I heard that there are many mining thieves gathering in Shanxi, Henan and other places. Why do the local officials hide it and don't report it? No one cares about the mining?"
None of the academicians present responded. Why did the emperor suddenly ask about the "mine thieves"?
There is no warning about this topic, and it is too jumpy.
If he hadn't been a foresighted time traveler, he wouldn't have guessed what the emperor was thinking at this moment.
No matter how smart the politician is, he cannot imagine that at this time Emperor Wanli had already begun to think of sending internal eunuchs to mine in various places to make money.
While the academicians were thinking about how to answer the emperor's question, an internal eunuch suddenly came up and whispered a few words to Zhang Cheng, the eunuch in charge of the ceremonial eunuch.
Zhang Cheng said to the emperor again: "There is Lin Tailai who is sparring below."
This report interrupted the communication between the monarch and his ministers.
Emperor Wanli was stunned for a moment, and then ordered: "Your Chief of Ceremonies, please take a look at it first."
But Zhang Cheng emphasized: "Lin Tailai wants to resign."
The emperor and his ministers who were about to discuss the issue of "mine thieves" were all shocked. What kind of trouble was Lin Tailai doing?
Just after the prisoner presentation ceremony, you, the greatest hero, resigned from your post. What does that mean?
To put it mildly, isn’t this just a slap in the emperor’s face?
Feeling a little embarrassed, Emperor Wanli shouted: "Call him up!"
The ministers waiting outside finally saw that Lin Tailai had also been summoned after "negotiations."
Thinking back to Lin Tailai's arrogant face before the prisoner presentation ceremony, not even a fool could predict that something would definitely happen.
In front of the Wufeng Tower above the Meridian Gate, Shen Shoufu had already come to his senses and suddenly felt a little panicked!
How could Lin Tailai resign? If Lin Tailai resigned and left, wouldn't he become a living target again?
Also, it is very rare for a great hero to resign and leave after presenting a prisoner gift.
If public opinion believes that he was forced to leave by his assistant, then wouldn't he be on par with Qin Hui?
This will greatly affect your own historical evaluation! Shen Shoufu never thought before that Lin Tailai could resign.
Isn't it your own privilege to use resignation to blackmail others? When did Lin Tailai learn how to do it?
It is simply a rebellion against Tiangang!
When Lin Tai came to the Meridian Gate, Emperor Wanli scolded him and asked, "Why are you resigning? Do you think the court has treated you badly?"
You must read and understand the emperor's words carefully.
The two sentences "Is it because the imperial court has treated you badly" and "Is it because you think the imperial court has treated you badly" may seem similar, but in fact they have completely different meanings.
Lin Tailai replied: "Your Majesty has never treated me badly, and I am grateful to you. It's just that I have been discouraged recently and have long wanted to resign and return home.
Also thinking that there was still a prisoner presentation ceremony, I did not dare to spoil His Majesty's interest, so I kept waiting.
Now that the sacrifice of prisoners has been completed, it is time for me to resign."
Emperor Wanli did not listen to these nonsense and shouted: "Tell me more, how can you explain why you are so frustrated!"
Lin Tailai reported: "I went on an expedition last year, but people in the court repeatedly slandered, slandered, and made groundless accusations against me.
At first, I didn't go out in Xining, so I was accused of cowardice; later, I sent troops to achieve two great victories, and I was accused of advancing rashly.
I was on guard against Kuai Bai and was accused of cruelty; I predicted that Kuai Bai would rebel and was accused of setting up a trap; when Kuai Bai rebelled, I was accused of being forced to rebel by him.
All kinds of criticisms have been heard all year round!”
Chief Assistant Shen Shixing stood up and said: "Although there are many discussions in the court, the emperor has made a clear decision and is not gullible. Why do you still have dissatisfaction? This is not the reason for your resignation!"
Lin Tailai continued: "I am not dissatisfied, but I am really angry at the behavior of some people in the court.
In my opinion, speaking out loud and irresponsibly without knowing the truth, and only aiming to criticize the ministers who went on the expedition, is tantamount to collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country.
When I returned to the capital earlier, I impeached more than ten people in one go, just to punish this person!
At that time, I only thought about giving up the credit for my merits and giving up rewards such as titles, but also to rectify the atmosphere so as to reduce the constraints on doing things in the future!"
Until now, everyone present still didn't understand what Lin Tailai wanted to express?
It seems like he is just repeating what happened in the past year?
But everything has been overturned, so what’s the point of repeating it again?
Out of caution, even Shen Shixing stopped talking. He thought that if he didn't understand the situation, he would avoid making mistakes if he spoke too much.
There were either eunuchs or cabinet ministers around him, and there were no officials or other officials present, so Emperor Wanli spoke more straightforwardly.
"Didn't I vent my anger for you? Didn't I remove Song Qi from the Ministry of Industry? Didn't I remove Ai Mu, the Minister of Taipu Temple? Didn't I transfer a few public officials? Didn't I transfer Sun Xueshi to the Nanjing Imperial College?"
Lin Tailai said sadly and angrily: "Your Majesty's caring heart is deeply touched by me!
However, in the end, all my efforts were in vain! That’s why I became disheartened and gave up my life!”
Still didn't understand, Emperor Wanli couldn't bear it anymore and said impatiently: "What's the point of wasting your efforts? If you don't understand clearly, I'll drag you out and fight! I'll talk to you when you understand!"
As a result, Lin Tailai became even more sad and angry, and shouted a little rudely: "It's not that I don't want to explain it clearly, it's because reality has choked me!
Your Majesty may wish to take another look at the recent nominations for vacant official positions!
If you ask any courtier at random, you will know that those people on the list are either my enemies or have ill intentions towards me!
In order to rectify the situation, I sacrificed a title in exchange for removing those evil officials!
But what happens after the removal? The re-nominated officials are all people who are hostile to the minister!
It can be said that all those ministers dismissed by His Majesty were in vain! Nothing has changed!"
Damn it! The great bachelors, the ceremonial supervisors, and the eunuchs were all shocked. Can this be explained?
This angle is a bit strange, I never thought of this before!
Anyway, after hearing this, everyone finally understood Lin Tailai's core logic today.
At first, Lin Tailai wanted to trade his merits for a "head", and the emperor agreed.
But if the person who replaces him is still Lin Tailai's enemy, wouldn't it be in vain?
From Lin Tailai's point of view, it is equivalent to receiving nothing after giving the credit, which is a huge injustice.
Don't say that being promoted from the fourth rank Taipu Temple Shaoqing to the fourth rank Taichang Temple Shaoqing is a reward. It is an insult to seven battles and seven victories, and to conquer the city first.
While others were stunned by shock, Lin Tailai took the opportunity to express his emotions to the emperor.
"So what I said just now is that in the end, all your efforts are in vain!
The rewards I should have received are all in vain!
I have made great achievements, but in the end I didn’t get the gift!”
Emperor Wanli was immediately furious. This made him sound like an emperor who was stingy with rewards and mistreated his meritorious officials.
Lin Tailai quickly adjusted his direction and complained passionately: "Of course it has nothing to do with Your Majesty when this happens! It's because there are too many treacherous ministers in the court, which ruins His Majesty's goodwill toward ministers!"
Emperor Wanli asked angrily: "Who is the traitor?"
Lin Tailai answered loudly and firmly: "I don't know if others are traitors, but those who have recently been nominated as Minister of Household Affairs, Minister of Industry, Minister of Dali Temple, and Minister of Taipu Temple must be traitors!"
He must be a treacherous official who deceived his superiors and deceived his subordinates, greedy for rewards from meritorious officials in disguise, and ruined His Majesty's reputation!
To rectify the atmosphere of the imperial court, the first thing to rectify is this kind of people!"
There was a sound of thunder, and the picture was clear!
The bachelors were shocked and angry. The lethality and scope of this list of traitors were astonishing!
The people who were pushed out to compete for the four official positions were all key figures after careful consideration by all the forces!
If you, Lin Tailai, beat them all into traitors with a stick, are there any good people in the court?
How dare you, Lin Tailai? Do you want to resign? No, do you really want to resign?