A storm is brewing.
Zhu Youtang was involved, so it was impossible for him to know nothing about this matter, especially since the exchanges between civil servants were obvious, but Zhu Youtang didn't know yet how far this turmoil would go.
On the day Zhang Zhou returned to the court, everything was calm in the morning. Because Zhang Zhou had not returned yet, a campaign against Zhang Zhou had not been launched.
After the court meeting, Zhu Youtang summoned Lin Han alone in the Palace of Qianqing. This was the one who had the closest relationship with Zhang Zhou in the replacement of minister-level officials in the emperor's mind.
"Lin Qing's family, Xu Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites has asked me to resign many times, and I have promised him that he can live in peace until autumn. I intend for you to take over the position he left as Minister of Rites." Zhu Youtang made his words clear without making any polite remarks.
Xiao Jing, Wei Bin and Chen Kuan next to them also smiled, as if blessing Lin Han.
Lin Han hurriedly raised his hands and said, "I may not be able to take on this responsibility, veteran."
Zhu Youtang said: "You have been in court for a long time, you are competent in many court affairs, and you have enough reputation. You can be said to be the best candidate. But I still have some things that I am worried about, and I may need you..."
"Your Majesty, please speak." Lin Han saw that the emperor seemed to be in a dilemma.
"It's about Bingkuan." Zhu Youtang raised his head and looked towards the past and said, "Bingkuan will probably be under a lot of pressure when he returns to the court this time. Whether it's what he has done before or what he is about to do, he will be If I offend a group of dignitaries in the court, I am afraid that they will be unable to cope with it alone. Sometimes it is not convenient for me to speak out about some things, and I cannot make it clear to Bingkuan, so I need you... to explain it for me."
Lin Han understood it as soon as he heard it.
There are conditions for being the Minister of Rites.
To put it bluntly, the emperor wanted to use him as a spearman. What was the emperor's intention at the critical moment, especially when it involved Zhang Zhou? If it was not convenient for the emperor and Zhang Zhou to propose it, it would be up to Lin Han, a seemingly neutral and impartial person. to propose.
"It may be a bit difficult for you, Lin Qing's family, but this is what I can rely on. You and Bingkuan... Sigh! I also understand that no matter what is implemented in this court, there will be no small consequences. resistance."
Zhu Youtang lamented.
It feels a bit like a loner.
Lin Han cupped his hands and said: "I have only a short time in the court, so I don't care about the rumors. Your Majesty, just tell me what you have to do. I will do my best."
"Okay." Zhu Youtang said with a trusting look, "Lin Qing's family really lives up to its reputation as a Confucian scholar. There will be many changes in the central court this year. I will settle your affairs in the morning in the next two days. You don’t have to submit a petition to refuse. I leave this position to you... As for Bingkuan, I haven’t decided on his position yet and will decide it after he comes back. From now on, it all depends on you."
…
…
Lin Han originally thought that the emperor would directly tell him the "request", that is, send him an errand directly and ask him to do something.
Who would have thought that the emperor just said something innocuous and meant to win over him, but he didn't make his words very clear... This made Lin Han a little confused.
Xiao Jing personally accompanied him when he left the palace.
"Mr. Lin, you should understand what His Majesty said, right?" Xiao Jing asked with a smile.
Lin Han said: "Yes. From now on, I will serve the imperial court wholeheartedly."
Xiao Jing asked with a smile: "What about Mr. Lai Guo?"
Lin Han shook his head and said: "I listened to the wishes of the Holy One. Duke Lai Guo and I are just ministers in the same palace. I will help and accompany him more in the future. He is no different from other officials in the government. It will not be because of being with him. I have an in-law relationship, but it’s different.”
This was said very formally.
Xiao Jing was startled at first, and his pace slowed down. When he looked back, he thought, you, Old Man Lin, are so serious, and you almost got deceived.
Xiao Jing sighed: "Your Majesty has been worried about some things about Duke Lai recently. For example, your Majesty wants to rely on Duke Lai to do things, but the public criticism of him has increased. Your Majesty wants to value Duke Lai, but he is afraid of being accused of nepotism. , and some civil servants and military officials who are close to Duke Lai have made rapid progress in their positions in the past two years..."
When Lin Han heard what happened, he raised his hand to interrupt Xiao Jing and said, "Eunuch Xiao, does he want to say that I am one of them?"
"That's not what I meant." Xiao Jing said hurriedly, "Mr. Lin is still highly regarded in the court. You are highly respected and respected. Your promotion to Minister of Rites can be said to have been well received by everyone."
Lin Han didn't think Xiao Jing was telling the truth.
Even though Lin Han was mostly an official in academia before and was not a politician in the orthodox sense, he still had a lot of experience in dealing with people.
Lin Han said: "Nowadays, both the government and the public are criticizing Duke Lai one after another, and some people even...well. Eunuch Xiao, an old minister, can actually do very little, and he speaks lightly to people in the court."
Xiao Jing smiled.
It's a bit like talking between chicken and duck.
Xiao Jing wanted to convey a message to win over Lin Han, but Lin Han was very defensive about Xiao Jing.
"Mr. Lai Guo will arrive in the capital today. Mr. Lin, you should prepare early to welcome him." Xiao Jing sent Lin Han to the Meridian Gate, bowed his hands and saluted, meaning you can walk the rest of the way by yourself, I will just can be delivered here.
Lin Han was very respectful when he returned the gift: "Thank you."
…
…
Lin Han came out of the palace. There was a sedan specially prepared for him, waiting for him.
In the past, Lin Han mostly traveled around in carriages, but when he was the Imperial Academy, even if his official position was sufficient, he usually did not ride in a sedan, because he did not need to attend court, and even carriages were not always available. He would only use them when necessary. The carriage of the Imperial Palace.
Now, suddenly the gun was replaced by the gun, and he was riding in a sedan carried by four people. Even Lin Han was a little uncomfortable with it.
When he arrived at the door of the Rites Yamen, someone led him in and saw Xu Qiong who was packing some things.
"Hengda? Come, let me show you your future position."
Xu Qiong was very enthusiastic about Lin Han, so she took Lin Han around for a while first.
Lin Han also felt a little ashamed and said: "We haven't discussed it yet, so some things can't be done accurately."
Xu Qiong smiled and said: "Both the civil servants in the court and His Majesty have no objections to your promotion to the Minister of Rites. The only variable will be your son-in-law, haha. This can be used to familiarize you with the environment in advance."
"Ashamed." Lin Han looked a little embarrassed.
Xu Qiongping retreated from the others, asked Lin Han to sit down, and asked: "Today, did your Majesty say anything to you when you meet the Holy Spirit?"
Lin Han shook his head and said, "They are mostly words of entrustment with high hopes."
"Yes." Xu Qiong nodded and asked, "Has anyone been looking for you recently? I mean, has anyone mentioned to you that someone recently wanted to jointly impeach Bingkuan?"
Lin Han looked a little gloomy, but nodded, indicating that this had indeed happened.
"Sure enough, they are trying to target Bingkuan, and they don't even want to avoid you, or they still want you to kill your relatives out of justice." Xu Qiong sighed with a smile.
Lin Han said: "I don't want to be involved in such disputes between the DPRK and China. Your Majesty seems to have high hopes for Laiguo today."
It seemed like just a casual chat, but the information Lin Han revealed to Xu Qiong made Xu Qiong understand that the emperor must try to protect Zhang Zhou.
Xu Qiong asked: "Then do you think that if Bingkuan ends his career or is dismissed from his position, will others turn on you again?"
Lin Han was noncommittal.
Xu Qiong said: "I have been an official in the court for so many years, and you and I are both old guys. I am seventy-five, and if I remember correctly, you are also sixty-six. I will retire now. I'm afraid you won't have much left in the court." Years. It is really tiring to be involved in so many interest disputes before he is buried."
Lin Hanxin said, because you, Mr. Xu, are not the core force in the traditional civil service, and you even rely on nepotism when you are in the position, you feel that others are targeting you, and you feel tired.
It's like I... don't have much expectations in the first place, so naturally I won't feel too tired.
Xu Qiong sighed: "I think we still can't take advantage of some people's wishes."
"Oh?" Lin Han asked, "What does Mr. Xu mean?"
Xu Qiong stepped forward and whispered: "Bingkuan is young and promising. In just two years, he has made so many contributions to the Ming Dynasty. Even His Majesty's personal affairs of taking concubines are difficult for others to deal with, but he can facilitate it."
"Yeah." Lin Han also admired Zhang Zhou's ability.
"If just because of his promotion, the seniority ranking in the civil servant system is broken, others will call him a treacherous evil, then will the Ming Dynasty all follow moderation as the way, and will all the Ming Dynasty focus on inaction? Then the Ming Dynasty Isn’t the court a stagnant pool of water?”
Xu Qiong seemed to be very supportive of Zhang Zhou in her words.
Lin Han was also wondering, could it be that Xu Qiong felt that she had retired and there would be no political resources left in the government, or that Xu Qiong's party members would have no backers in the future and were afraid that they would not last long, so they moved closer to Zhang Zhou?
Lin Han didn't respond for a while.
Xu Qiong asked: "What does Bingkuan mean by this?"
Lin Han said: "Is it about someone else's involvement in impeaching him? I don't know. I haven't had any correspondence with him recently. I haven't paid much attention to him in the six months since he was in Liaodong."
Xu Qiong smiled and said: "Then he is still doing his best and doesn't want to trouble you. Today you and I will go out of the city to welcome him, but we have to make everything clear. You and I will also spare no effort to help him maintain his current position in the court. Powerful position, what do you think?”
Lin Han didn't answer again.
Just as he was talking, a message came from outside: "Zuo Tongzheng Shen Yintai has asked for an audience outside the Yamen."
"Let him come in and tell him not to go out to greet him." Xu Qiong said to the outsider with a smile, then turned back and whispered to Lin Han, "Look at Shen Lu, he has a close relationship with the Zhang family, but this For two years, Zhang's relatives have been unable to win His Majesty's favor, and everything depends on Bingkuan. Now he wants to seek the position of minister before taking up his official position, and has to run around."
Lin Han had long known that Xu Qiong and Shen Lu had a close relationship.
We used to go in and out together often, and outsiders didn't think anything of it.
But now that Xu Qiong is telling him this to Lin Han, he is obviously also saying... From now on, Shen Lu will be handed over to you to take care of. In other words, his life goal of being the Minister of the Sixth Division in this life has been achieved through you and Bingkuan.
This is to use one point to lead the way, to use Shen Lu to illustrate a truth. Xu Qiong wanted to maintain the status of the group of people behind him in the court after retirement, so he moved closer to Zhang Zhou.
This is actually similar to the reason why civil servants Wu Xun opposed Zhang Zhou... They were afraid that Zhang Zhou would rise and steal their position.
But when Zhang Zhou came to power, he would have to use a lot of people to occupy the position of that group of people. This was a big vacancy. Xu Qiong also knew that he himself was not accepted by the orthodox civil servants. Even if he was allied with the orthodox civil servants now, when he retired, After that, his comrades will still be squeezed out one by one, so why not find another way from the beginning and stand by Zhang Zhou's side?
The world is full of hustle and bustle, all for the benefit of others.
…
…
After Shen Lu arrived at the Ministry of Rites, Xu Qiong stopped talking about the previous topic.
He didn't need Lin Han to give any accurate information. Perhaps Xu Qiong knew that Lin Han, as a person close to Zhang Zhou, still relied on Zhang Zhou's transfer of credit for the compilation of "Da Ming Huidian" to make Lin Han Han Neng ascends the throne.
Even if the traditional civil servants can now accept Lin Han as the Minister of Rites, Lin Han will not be in Beijing for long.
Either an official career is waiting for him, or an idle job from the Six Ministers of Nanjing is waiting for him.
This forced Lin Han, no matter how aloof and arrogant he was, to lean towards his son-in-law Zhang Zhou.
Xu Qiong, as a "scenery person", pursues profit and loss the most. He will naturally judge others based on his own way of dealing with the world, and Lin Han himself... is quite enthusiastic about being an official, even those who once looked down upon him. Zhang Zhou can be a son-in-law, Xu Qiong thinks, is there anything you, Lao Lin, can't do?
A group of people went out of the city to greet him.
A row of sedan chairs stopped at Dongzhimen.
After Shen Lu got off the sedan, he looked around and said with emotion: "There are quite a few people here today, probably all here to see the Duke of Lai."
Lin Han said: "The Lord of North Korea will also come together today, and the people may be interested in watching the ceremony."
Why do you say that people are here to see my son-in-law lively? Couldn't he just come to see the North Korean King lively?
Xu Qiong smiled and said nothing. Immediately, representatives of the Hanlin Academy, Hanlin editor Liu Chun and editor of Lun Wenxu, as well as doctors and principals from the Ministry of War came over. At the same time, there were also officials from Honglu Temple who were responsible for the reception. Xu Qiong went over to give some advice.
When Xu Qiong was about to retire from the court, officials from both the government and the public still respected him very much.
Although he came to power through his marriage relationship with the Zhang family, he was also criticized when he was in court. However, after he retired from the court, the number of praises for him increased. This is also because after he retired, he was in the court. The power can be preserved...Historically, it depends on the emperor's protection.
This shows that Xu Qiong is a person who is very good at managing factions and party members.
I have a bad reputation in the government, but when I step down and someone close to me comes to power, won't they help me make up for my reputation?
Historical reputation is not a matter of time.
…
…
Zhang Zhou's team, including North Korea's King Li Yi of Jincheng, arrived outside Dongzhimen amid a huge welcoming team.
There was already a huge crowd of people watching. When they heard that someone was coming, the people even lined up to welcome him. This scene also made Lin Han, a bystander, deeply aware of the Ming people's mentality of joining in the fun.
"Master Zhang..." There were people shouting loudly not far away.
The people shouted a lot for Zhang Zhou, and they probably felt like chasing stars.
There are so many officials in the Ming Dynasty, but there are too few people who have contact with ordinary people. It is difficult for the people to form a kind of worship mentality, but only Zhang Zhou... can control the gods and ghosts from above, and can call the wind and rain to help the court. A victory, allowing the people of the Ming Dynasty to live and work in peace and contentment... For the people of the Ming Dynasty, this is the best choice for their idol.
So even if there was no Zhu Houzhao seal to highlight Zhang Zhou's fame, Zhang Zhou's fame would have spread among the people and become known to everyone.
"The people's enthusiasm for Bingkuan is not low." Xu Qiong looked at the envoy team from a distance and couldn't help but sigh.
Lin Han didn't say anything after hearing this.
Shen Lu said with a smile: "Mr. Xu, you don't know. Duke Lai Guo once saved the princess with vaccination and spread it to the market. The people benefited from it. Now, no matter in Jiangnan or Jiangbei, most people have been vaccinated." , what do you think? In the past year of the Ming Dynasty, there was no record of the spread of acne epidemics, which makes the people praise themselves as gods."
Lin Han glanced at Shen Lu and frowned.
Is it because of the vaccination that the people admire their son-in-law so highly?
Xu Qiong laughed and said, "This is just an insignificant thing among the many things Bingkuan has done in the past two years."
At this moment, Lin Han seemed to suddenly understand why Xu Qiong and Shen Lu would move closer to Zhang Zhou instead of fawning over Liu Jian and Li Dongyang.
It's not that Xu Qiong felt that those people didn't want to see her, but that... the bright future of Ming Dynasty must lie with Zhang Zhou.
The so-called traditional civil servants are not unable to see this, but because traditional civil servants are bound by some stereotypes and bad habits, many of them actually have to stand in the position of maintaining official ethics.
To put it bluntly, many of those who opposed Zhang Zhou were coerced by public opinion and power and had no choice but to oppose him.
Could it be that even the common people could see Zhang Zhou's contribution to the Ming Dynasty, but those civil servants and nobles could not?
Anyone can see it.
They all want to admit that Zhang Zhou is "not of my kind", and now they have the opportunity to criticize him in the name of Fang Shu, Jin Cheng, etc. His superiors and colleagues have done the same. If it were an ordinary official, what would he appreciate about Zhang Zhou? use? Aren’t we going to join in the impeachment and opposition?
But people like Xu Qiong and Shen Lu are already in high positions. In addition, they themselves are also rejected by traditional civil servants. Their affirmation of Zhang Zhou will pay more attention to the surface, without so many twists and turns. .
"coming!"
Xu Qiong pointed from a distance.
Many officials went over to greet him.
Zhang Zhou dismounted and came over to salute Xu Qiong, Lin Han and others first. Behind Zhang Zhou stood Tang Yin, Zhu Feng, Xu Jing and others.
"Mr. Lai Guo, it's been a long time." Xu Qiong was very enthusiastic, "Is the leader of North Korea here? I'll pay my respects first."
Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Please."
A group of people walked towards Li Yi's carriage.
The driver had already informed Li Yi, and then the wooden door of the carriage opened and Li Yi got out.
Xu Qiong smiled and said: "You don't have to get out of the car, just say hello and go into the city together. Can he...understand what I said?"
Xu Jing came over and said: "Yes, the monarchs and ministers in North Korea basically know the language of the Ming Dynasty, and communication is very convenient. The writing is based on the writing of the Ming Dynasty."
"That's good, let's leave it to the people from Honglu Temple to take care of it. Duke Lai Guo, His Majesty has mentioned you a lot recently. Today you have to go to the palace to see the saint. Let's talk on the way. Let's go!" Xu Qiong reached out and said He grabbed Zhang Zhou's sleeve, as if he was afraid that others wouldn't know that he and Zhang Zhou were in the same group.
Such a direct move also surprised Zhang Zhou.
Sure enough, in the troubled times of the imperial court, on the eve of the change of officials, the matter of taking sides was directly put on the table.
(End of chapter)
