The waterway between Suzhou and the capital connects several regions and water systems, with several gates in the middle.
On the one hand, you need to queue up to cross the lock, and on the other hand, many places require the use of manpower on shore.
If you don't have a strong relationship and travel slowly, you can spend forty days on the road, while a normal official ship can take less than thirty days.
In a situation like Lin Tailai's, which has the highest priority, and where the government along the way provides unconditional full support to the fleet traveling day and night, the time required is even shorter.
Lin Tailai received the order in Suzhou in mid-June and arrived at Zhangjiawan, Tongzhou, the last stop on the Grand Canal waterway in early July.
Fortunately, Lin Tailai was in strong health and could withstand such a high-intensity run, but many of the three hundred servants who followed him fell ill from exhaustion.
These servants can only temporarily stay in the post houses along the way to recuperate, and wait until they recover before continuing on their journey.
At the Zhangjiawan Pier in Tongzhou, Lin Tailai abandoned his boat and changed his horse, heading straight for the capital, which was not far away.
It wasn't until he passed Chongwen Gate that Lin Daguan relaxed physically and mentally, and wandered towards the Lin Mansion in Li Ge Old Alley.
Previously, he hurried on his way just to "obey the order" and show it to the emperor.
After all, the emperor must be in a bad mood right now. If he continues to walk slowly and leisurely, wouldn't he be looking for a thunder strike?
Therefore, before entering the capital, one must make a desperate appearance.
As for after entering the capital, it means that the requirements of the imperial edict have been fulfilled, and there is no need to continue to worry.
Anyway, in Lin Daguan's heart, he is really not worried about Korea.
The national situation in North Korea has collapsed like this. It has reached the point of collapse. The situation will not get worse. What is the use of worrying anymore?
Besides, we don’t have an army at hand right now. Even if we want to take action, where can we take action?
Besides, it takes time to mobilize an army. It can't be done in two months, so there's no rush.
So after Lin Tailai came to Beijing, he first wrote a memorial and then rested at home for two days.
The memorial further made it clear that there were at least tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers who crossed the sea and entered Korea, and then repeated the old tune of "a hundred thousand troops and two hundred thousand silver taels".
When Emperor Wanli saw these two numbers, he suddenly felt that his dizziness was getting worse.
Especially the two hundred thousand silver taels are only allocated in advance, and I don’t know how much more will be needed later.
So Emperor Wanli sent Lin Tailai's memorial to the court for discussion. Since Lin Tailai had also returned to Beijing, he should let Lin Tailai talk to other ministers.
Of course, in the eyes of outsiders, during the two days of rest at home, Lin Tailai was not completely idle. Instead, he secretly held an expanded meeting of the Update Society.
At the meeting, Leader Lin listened to the work reports of the members in the past six months and made the latest instructions one by one.
Leader Lin highly praised Comrade Zhao Zhigao for his spirit of actively displaying his subjective initiative without waiting for help; he also praised Comrade Wang Yusheng for not being afraid of powerful enemies and daring to show his sword.
Leader Lin called on all members to learn from Zhao Zhigao and Wang Yusheng to make the future of the Renewal Society more brilliant!
During the free speech period, Zhao Zhigao asked Lin Tailai: "What are your plans for Korean affairs?"
Lin Tailai replied: "The first issue in any job is personnel issues. If you want to do a good job, you must first do a good job in personnel work."
Zhao Zhigao understood that it was to recruit people to seize power first, and then talk about specific things. As for who to target, of course they were those who had previously dominated North Korea's affairs.
Speaking of this, Lin Tailai suddenly said to Yushi Wang Yusheng: "You did a good job in the last court meeting, especially in running against Lu Guangzu's written evidence. Did he finally make it?"
Wang Yusheng replied a little angrily: "Several people jumped out to dissuade me, saying that young people like me should respect the elderly and vouch for Lu Guangzu, so the matter was settled."
Lin Tailai added: "Then Lu Guangzu hasn't resigned yet?"
Wang Yusheng was helpless about this, "He claimed that he was ill and was hiding at home without seeing anyone."
Lin Tailai hated the iron and said: "Then why don't you come to remind him to fulfill the bet? It's okay for him to avoid others, but if he avoids you, wouldn't he become a scoundrel?"
Even if Lu Guangzu wanted to pretend to be dead, he couldn't do it safely!
Wang Yu muttered: "I also want to come, but I don't have any elite soldiers around me. I'm afraid I'll be beaten if I go."
There was some truth to this concern, so Lin Tailai told Zhang Wen again: "Assign one hundred servants to follow our Wang Yushi!"
Lin Tailai asked Ye Mengxiong, Minister of War, "How is Shi Xing doing now?"
Ye Mengxiong replied easily: "You clown, you don't have to worry about nine yuan."
Lin Tailai asked again: "How did you recommend me to the emperor?"
Ye Mengxiong replied: "I ask you to be appointed to manage Liaodong and Korea to prepare for Japanese affairs."
Lin Tailai said thoughtfully: "But although the emperor urgently summoned me back to Beijing, there was no formal appointment.
So the first priority is to convince everyone and get the appointment!"
On the second day of the internal secret meeting of the Xinxin Society, someone suddenly came to the Lin Mansion with a secret message. It turned out that Wang Xiangqian, the governor of the Xuan Mansion, heard that Lin Tailai had returned to the capital and sent a special person to deliver it urgently.
Lin Tailai was quite puzzled. It was always calm in Xuanfu. What could Wang Xiangqian do that was urgent?
I opened it and looked at it. It turned out that there was another person who wrote the letter, but there was no signature.
The content of the secret letter consisted of only one short sentence without beginning or end: "My husband is already twelve years old. I will test him as a girl, so I can save some seeds."
Lin Tailai sighed secretly, it seemed that this girl couldn't wait any longer.
During the "bloody mediation" that year, he persuaded the third lady to marry the nine-year-old Bu Shitu first for the sake of the overall situation.
He also made a promise that when the puppet Shunyi King Bu Shitu came of age, he would use his own seed to give birth to a son from Sanniang, and pretended to be the son of Bu Shitu.
Then the fortune teller will die unfortunately, and he will support his and Sanniangzi's son as King Shunyi.
Now is the time to fulfill the promise. I thought it would take another two years.
Now is the time to prepare for the expedition to Korea, and the third wife suddenly comes to add to the drama, which really adds to the chaos!
The other members of the club looked at Leader Lin's changing expression and asked, "What trouble happened?"
Lin Tailai replied: "It's not difficult. It's just a hardship for me and I have to sacrifice my life for the country."
Two days after arriving in Beijing, Lin Tailai, the Imperial Academy's Attendant, Taichang Temple's Shaoqing, and the Third Division's Doctor, officially held public events.
When he went to work early in the morning, Lin Tailai stood outside the gate of the Hanlin Academy and looked at the three words "Deng Yingmen" on the plaque with deep affection.
After a while, he let out a long sigh and said to his colleagues in the Imperial Academy: "In recent years, I have been busy with secular affairs, and I have not known the joy of concentrating on learning for a long time!
I am so ashamed in my heart that I feel unworthy to step into this place of Hanyuan and Tsinghua University today!"
After finishing speaking, Lin Tailai decisively turned around and left without actually entering the Hanlin Academy.
The Hanlins who had been blocked outside the gate just now looked at each other, a little confused. They were mentally prepared to be pointed out by Lin Tailai, but they didn't expect that Lin Tailai actually wandered outside the gate and left.
.
The new star of Hanyuan and the new double-element Han Xu said with malice: "Should we celebrate that the Hanlin Academy can continue to maintain its purity?"
Editor Zhou Yingqiu glanced at Han Xu and said rudely: "Xiang Qing is a fart! Jiu Yuanjun didn't come in, which means he doesn't want to waste time here!
It further shows that our Hanlin Academy is no longer that important, not even as important as the Examination Department, the Host-Guest Department, and the Communications Department!
Do you, Han Xu, still think this is something worth being happy about? You are really a second-generation ancestor who doesn’t understand current affairs. If you don’t understand, just stop talking!
But it’s still a bit of a wink. When Jiu Yuanjun was here just now, you were very wise not to jump out."
His words were rough but not his reasoning, and all the Hanlin Academy members were silent and speechless. The decline of the Hanlin Academy's status is an indisputable fact.
The biggest advantage of the Hanlin is that it is relatively close to the emperor and has a lot of interactions with the emperor. But now that they can't even get in touch with the emperor, what voice and future do they have?
Could it be that Lin Jiuyuan had noticed this trend a long time ago, so he actively sought fame immediately?
In fact, it's not that Lin Tailai doesn't pay attention to the Hanlin Academy, but there are too many yamen that need to be paid attention to today, and it's really too much to pay attention to.
But the biggest news in the court today was not Lin Tailai's inspection of various yamen, but what happened at the residence of Lu Guangzu, the censor of Zuodu.
In the morning, Censor Wang Yusheng visited the Lu Mansion, claiming that he wanted to urge Lu Zongxian to fulfill his bet, but was forcefully expelled by the Lu family's servants.
Immediately, a hundred strong men jumped out from the street corner to fight against the injustice, and severely damaged the Lu family's servants guarding the courtyard on the spot.
Then this group of big men took Wang Yusheng as the censor, and quickly broke through the gate, front yard, and atrium of the Lu Mansion.
Finally, under the strong persuasion of Wang Yushi, these big men dispersed before the officers and soldiers of the patrol battalion in the capital surrounded them.
The court ministers were extremely shocked by this, because similar incidents in recent years usually only smashed the door, and at most affected the front yard, maintaining a certain bottom line.
This time, we broke through the bottom line and went deep into the atrium! If we work harder, we can rush to the inner courtyard where the female family members are!
But who can be blamed? At the last court meeting, Mr. Lu supported Shi Xing’s plan and publicly made harsh words and made a bet.
No one knows whether Mr. Lu is trying to give up the bet without paying attention to the bottom line this time when he claims that he is ill.
So today, the group of big men who broke into the Lu Mansion's atrium were actually sending a warning about what would happen if they didn't follow the bottom line.
Another day later, according to the emperor's decree, the imperial court held another court meeting on the issue of Korea. Dozens of ministers of science and education gathered in the East Court Room.
After Wang Tianguan, who was nominally presiding over the court meeting, simply announced the start, he ducked to a corner to find a seat and dozed off.
Although the court meeting began, no one spoke for a while because everyone felt strange.
"Lin Jiuyuan didn't come?" Someone finally couldn't bear it anymore and asked a question that hit his soul.
Everyone can understand that Lu Guangzu didn't come, but if Lin Jiuyuan didn't come, wouldn't it be too much?
Although it is said that participation in court meetings is generally "voluntary", why did the emperor urgently recall you, Lin Jiuyuan, to the capital?
Ye Mengxiong, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, said: "Lin Jiuyuan reported to me that he went to Xuan Mansion to handle matters."
Shao Bi, the left minister of the Ministry of Justice, stood up and severely reprimanded: "I didn't attend the court meeting but went to the Xuanfu. This is simply dereliction of duty!"
Shao Shaosikou, who was not very public in the past, suddenly showed such an active performance today, which surprised many people.
After a little thought, he understood that it was probably the shaky Lu Guangzu who gave him hope of "replacement". After all, the Ministry of Punishment and the Metropolitan Procuratorate are both judicial departments, and it is normal for them to transfer to each other.
Ye Mengxiong forced a smile and said: "Lin Jiuyuan went to Xuan Mansion, it is excusable."
Someone asked curiously: "What is the reason? You might as well say it clearly."
Ye Mengxiong seemed to find it difficult to speak, but still replied: "The previous disastrous defeat of five thousand elite soldiers in Liaodong shows that the scale of North Korea's troop deployment this time will not be small.
A large number of troops will definitely be mobilized from other border towns to North Korea, so it is best for our Ming Dynasty to ensure stability in other directions and avoid being under pressure from multiple fronts.
Lin Jiuyuan personally rushed to Xuanfu in order to appease the right wing of the northern barbarians and ensure the stability of the long border from Xuanfu Datong to Ningxia and Gansu for a period of time."
Everyone: "."
To appease the right wing of the Northern Barbarians, to put it so loftily, isn't it just to sacrifice one's life and become a contemporary Han Derang again?
In order to increase his persuasiveness, Ye Dashima tried his best to say seriously:
“Lin Jiuyuan’s idea is not only to appease the Northern Barbarians’ right wing, but also to lobby the Northern Barbaric right wing to harass the Northern Barbaric left wing.
If the right wing of the Northern Barbarians can contain the left wing of the Northern Barbarians in the next one or two years, it can reduce the pressure on Liaodong Town and Ji Town, especially relieve Liaodong's worries and help North Korea use its troops from the side.
As Lin Jiuyuan said, we should not limit our view of war to just one place, we must have a global perspective."
From a theoretical point of view, this statement is very logical, and no one can find fault with it.
It just feels weird. Is it persuasion or sleeping clothes?
Chen Yubi, Minister of Industry, asked: "How long will it take for Lin Jiuyuan to come back?"
Ye Dashima replied: "This time the situation is quite urgent, Lin Jiuyuan will probably have to go and comfort him for about three days.
Before leaving, Lin Jiuyuan also said that there is no need to worry about him and let the princes of the court discuss it first."
But Chen Yubi said: "Lin Jiuyuan is not here, what's the point of us talking here? The emperor probably won't appoint anyone else to manage North Korea, right?"
Although many people are unwilling to admit it, they have to face the fact that as long as Lin Tailai returns to the capital, he will be the first candidate to manage North Korea.
There may be many people who feel that they are also capable of managing North Korean affairs. But no one dares to say that they are more suitable than Lin Tailai.
This is the prestige established and the sense of trust that Lin Tailai established by fighting in the northwest and pacifying Ningxia in seven battles and seven victories.
No matter who becomes the emperor and chooses people, he will tend to choose people who have always won battles.
What the emperor is thinking about now is probably just how much authority he should give, right?
In addition, in the battle to pacify Ningxia last year, seven major generals and tens of thousands of troops were deployed.
Therefore, Lin Tailai, who was the supervisor of the army at the time, was one of the few people in recent times who had the experience of commanding "large corps operations".
In the Ming Dynasty, which was accustomed to security battles involving thousands of people, there were very few people with such experience, not even Li Chengliang, who claimed to have experienced hundreds of battles.
Judging from the current trends, North Korea's military deployment is obviously going to be on a large scale, and people with experience in "large regiment operations" will definitely be given priority.
As for the other two who have recent experience in "large army operations", they are Li Rusong and Ye Mengxiong, but it is obviously impossible for these two to compete with Lin Tailai for the position of minister of economic and strategic affairs.
In the end, the second court meeting on North Korea affairs ended hastily in the absence of Lin Tailai, who waited for another meeting in three days.
Yin Zhuoran, the Korean envoy guarding the palace gate, was extremely anxious when he heard the result.