This afternoon, officials from various ministries and agencies were not in the mood for work. They were all discussing and digesting the shocking gossip exposed by two secret letters from the first and second assistants.
Just the secret content is very exciting, not to mention the fact that the secret is exposed is full of suspense.
But when the discussions among the officials got heated, a new big melon came from the inner court.
Zhao Si, the cabinet minister, angrily accused Wang San of "having no bottom line" and "bad rules". Wang San took advantage of his youth and strength to attack Zhao Si.
A full martial arts performance was almost about to take place in Wenyuan Pavilion, but fortunately, people from Zhongshushe who were present stopped him.
The great fun of the cabinet made the officials of the foreign dynasty so miserable that they could not imagine that two dignified and honorable bachelors would actually fight face to face.
Both King Shen and King Shen were exposed, and Wang Three and Zhao Four also started fighting. Can the cabinet still function?
You know, if Shen Da and Wang Er step down, Wang San and Zhao Si will be the first and second assistants in the future.
As a result, the future first and second assistants are already fighting each other before they even take the stage.
As for whether Wang San was so angry that he was so angry and angry, many people were half-convinced. Everything was very strange now, and no one dared to confirm the truth casually.
The weather was cold towards the end of the year, so Emperor Wanli moved from the Qianqing Palace where heating was difficult to live in the Yude Palace.
Sun Siam, the eunuch and superintendent of Dongchang, the Chief of Ceremonies, kowtowed repeatedly and begged the emperor: "Sun Yong has made a huge mistake and his crime is unpardonable. I can only ask the emperor to spare his life!"
Emperor Wanli's face was expressionless, but he comforted Sun Siam: "You are all my relatives, how can I not care about you?"
This leakage of information mainly involves foreign ministers, and it is difficult to settle the matter.
Therefore, you detained Sun Yong first and took good care of him, and then you can see how to forgive him when the situation becomes clear."
Sun Xian can only thank him first. This is the best situation for now.
Emperor Wanli looked at the other eunuchs and asked: "Who is willing to find out about this matter?"
The investigation usually involves Dongchang, but this time it involves Sun Yong, the godson of Factory Gong Sun Xian, so Sun Yong, the godson of Factory Gong Sun Xian, needs to avoid suspicion and is not suitable to come forward.
But none of the other eunuchs said anything, and they didn't have the usual demeanor of striving for merit.
So Emperor Wanli personally ordered the generals and said to Chen Ju, the fourth eunuch of the Supervisor of Ceremonies: "Go and sit in the clerk's room and investigate!"
Chen Ju stepped forward to receive the order and smiled bitterly in his heart.
Nothing in the world is more ridiculous than this. It was here last night that the emperor ordered himself to do something small.
Today the emperor asked himself to investigate this matter again. What is this? A thief shouts to catch a thief?
The saddest thing about being a eunuch is that there is absolutely no possibility of rejecting or opposing the emperor's will.
If the civil servant doesn't want to do it, he can leave his son and run away, but if the eunuch doesn't want to do it, he can only die.
In the Shen Mansion, Shen Yongmao looked at his father Shen Shixing and did not dare to express his anger.
From the time he reported the news to now, his father had been sitting still for half an hour. Shen Yongmao had never seen his father behave like this before.
Afraid that his father would not be able to catch his breath and it would be over, Shen Yongmao had no choice but to call out a few times.
"Hehehehe." Shen Shoufu suddenly laughed, "Books always talk about wise kings and wise ministers. What a joke."
Shen Yongmao answered cautiously: "Is it really as Lin Tailai guessed?"
Shen Shixing said sadly: "Someone wants to force me to be Yan Song."
How did Yan Song become the chief minister? It can be said that he was completely obedient to the emperor and flattered him without any bottom line.
If the emperor wants to do something, he should do it for him without being blamed; if the emperor does something bad, he should stand in the way and take the blame first.
Thinking of this, Shen Yongmao couldn't help but said: "Father, no!"
So what is the reputation of Yan Song and his son? To say that they will be infamy for eternity is an overstatement!
Shen Shoufu patted the case and said, "Why not?"
Despite the fact that the Shen Mansion was deserted today, no outsiders came to visit, and even Shen Shixing's party members did not dare to visit the house at this time.
But elsewhere, there were countless gatherings of officials in Xicheng tonight, even to the point of not avoiding suspicion. Probably there is no point in avoiding suspicion anymore.
Lu Guangzu, the imperial censor of the Zuodu, Liu Yukui, the left minister of the Ministry of official affairs, Sun Qin, the left minister of the household affairs department, Yang Junmin, the right minister of the household affairs department, and other Qingliu party members, together with the core figures of the Shanxi gang, visited Wangjiaping's mansion.
This unexpected accident disrupted all plans, and everyone talked about it for a long time.
Generally speaking, everyone tends to be optimistic about the situation. After all, it is the political opponents who are embarrassed and unlucky.
Wang Jiaping looked at the others and reminded: "The first assistant and second assistant are no longer of concern, but Zhao Zhigao is very worrying."
Lu Guangzu hesitated for a while and then said: "There are no outsiders here. Can the Prime Minister tell us whether the leak of secrets has anything to do with you?"
Wang Jiaping: "."
This horse-riding man is so unreasonable. How come he even doubts himself?
But the explanation still needs to be explained. Mr. Wang Sange said very firmly: "It has nothing to do with me!"
Then he expressed his analysis, "The secret leak should be due to a transmission error by the eunuch in the clerk's room."
Everyone believed Mr. Wang Sange's judgment. If there was no problem with the cabinet, then the problem could only lie with the eunuch in the clerk's room.
Hundreds of edicts and memorials were sent back and forth every day, so it was normal for a mistake to occur, but this time it happened that the first and second assistants were unlucky.
Lu Guangzu couldn't help but sigh: "We have been fighting with the Shen Wumen for many years, but we have never been able to do anything about him.
But I didn’t expect that Shen Wumen would eventually step down because of such an accident, which can be said to be a twist of fate.”
Then he said to Wang Jiaping: "Zhao Zhigao obviously deliberately stirred up trouble. If Wang Xiang ignored Zhao Zhigao, he would be in trouble.
There is no basis for sewage. The more you talk about it, the more unclear it becomes. The more you talk about it, the hotter it becomes. It is better to treat it coldly.
In addition, let several censors impeach Zhao Zhigao and his chief assistant, tie Zhao Zhigao to the notorious Shen Shixing, and criticize him as the same kind, so as to counter Zhao Zhigao!"
Liu Yukui, the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, asked Lu Guangzu again: "The General Xian is the most experienced advisor. What should we do now?"
After careful consideration, Lu Guangzu gave instructions: "At this time, we must be more calm, we cannot be too showy.
What we should do is sixteen words - observe calmly, hold our ground, deal with it calmly, and make a difference."
Everyone said: "This is a great thing to say!"
After all, the "enemy" has "self-destructed", so they can just go with the flow and don't need to do anything more.
While many officials were working together, Zhao Zhigao, the fourth assistant who was supposed to be a central figure, was sitting alone in his hall.
This lucky old man, who is considered to be about to become the second assistant, has a deserted family like the self-destructed Shen Shoufu.
It's not that no one came to visit Zhao Mansion, but that they were all rejected by Zhao Zhigao.
Old Man Zhao felt that he did not need these ignorant soldiers and crabs to join in the fun in the future.
Nowadays, few people in the capital know the truth.
What's even better is that no one knows that they have seen through the truth, which is their greatest advantage.
Old man Zhao also felt that his mind was unprecedentedly calm, and he had a mysterious feeling that everyone was drunk and I was alone.
Could it be that Lin Jiuyuan was in this state when something happened? Did he inadvertently learn to ask Lin Jiuyuan's spirit to possess him?
When I looked up, I saw Hu Yinglin, a famous literary critic and fellow from Lanxi County, rushing back from outside excitedly.
Next year there will be a competition in the capital. Hu Yinglin came to Beijing to take the exam and stayed in the Zhao Mansion.
"Everyone else is running around outside, why are the seniors so calm?" Hu Yinglin asked in surprise.
Old Man Zhao smiled and replied: "Just prepare for the exam and don't worry about other things outside."
In fact, Zhao Zhigao is not just sitting around in a daze. He is waiting for a Zhongshusheren, a cabinet Zhongshusheren who is insignificant in politics, a humble person who became a Zhongshusheren by donating money.
After sending Hu Yinglin away, Huang Zhengbin, a scholar in the cabinet, was invited to the Zhao Mansion until nearly midnight, but he came in quietly through the side door.
Huang Sheren felt very honored. It was the first time that he was taken seriously by a big shot, and it was the first time that a big shot valued him like this.
Even in the low-level political ecosystem of Shusheren in the cabinet, he is the one at the bottom.
Most of the others came in through kindness, most of their fathers, ancestors, uncles were elders, ministers, ministers, princes and the like, but he came in through donations, so he was absolutely despised.
Now, at such a critical moment, I was really flattered to be invited to my home by my future assistant.
Although Zhao Zhigao was an old bastard in the eyes of upper-level officials, he was still a big shot in the eyes of lower-level people.
At this time, Mr. Zhao Sige acted like a courteous corporal, invited Huang Zhengbin to take a seat, and said:
"I remember that a few years ago, you were cited by Xu Guo, the second assistant, and added as a scholar in the cabinet? I was still in the Ministry of Personnel at that time."
Huang Zhengbin replied cautiously: "That's true."
He and Xu Guonai were from the same hometown in Huizhou. After making some money from business, they began to think about becoming an official.
Then he went through the back door of Xu State and became a scholar in the cabinet through donations.
I just didn't expect that I would still be looked down upon by all kinds of people. The chain of contempt within the officialdom was even worse than among the people.
Especially after his backer Xu Guo was dismissed from office, his life became even more difficult.
Zhao Zhigao asked again: "I heard that you have a lot of complaints about the world. You are often ashamed of being an official because you rely on wealth, and you are often worried about not being able to make a name for yourself in the world?"
Huang Zhengbin felt that he had been seen through, and he didn't know what to say, so he saluted and said: "Please give me some advice!"
Zhao Zhigao took advantage of the situation and said: "Now that a scandal has broken out about Shen Shoufu, you are the first to impeach and expose him. Isn't it the right time?
You work in the cabinet, and you must have more information than those censors, so your power and reputation must be greater than those censors.
When the time comes, everyone will praise you for upholding justice and having integrity. At the same time, you can also vent your anger on Xu Ge, your ostracized fellow countryman, so why not?"
After Huang Zhengbin received the guidance, he suddenly became enlightened and said goodbye gratefully.
On the other hand, maybe this is because the future deputy minister is preparing to cultivate cronies in the cabinet, but he has been selected since he has no backing.
Zhao Zhigao watched Huang Sheren leave, but it was like looking at a dead person.
No one can guess what else the cabinet mascot who hypnotized himself into the body of the Nine-Yuan True Immortal wants to do.