As the chief minister of the cabinet and the head of the civil service, Qian Qianyi could not watch Shi Kefa be completely suppressed by Wei Guogong.
Although his relationship with Shi Kefa could not be said to be very harmonious, they were both members of the civil service and were natural opposites to the nobles.
Moreover, with the existence of people like Shi Kefa, he, the chief minister of the cabinet, could compete for more say among several auxiliary ministers.
"Shi Yushi, I will fine you half a year's salary, are you convinced?" Wei Guogong said to Shi Kefa.
After all, Shi Kefa was a flag among civil servants, and he also knew that it was impossible to completely suppress him.
Moreover, if Shi Kefa fell, the civil servants would inevitably turn to Qian Qianyi, the chief minister, which would be detrimental to their continued control of power in the DPRK.
Just as Qian Qianyi did not want to see Wei Guogong and other nobles without targets, Wei Guogong was also wary of the civil servants who had suppressed their nobles for hundreds of years.
"I am convinced." Shi Kefa bowed his head and admitted his mistake.
This matter seemed to be just something he said wrongly, but he knew that if Wei Guogong really wanted to hold on to this matter, he could be kicked out of the court and relegated to become a prefect elsewhere.
Duke Wei turned to look at the other auxiliary ministers and asked, "What do you think of my handling of the censor?"
"That's fine, I have no objection."
The first to speak were Duke Dingguo and Duke Chengguo.
As members of the noble family, the two of them naturally sided with Duke Wei in this matter.
"Let's handle it this way!" Yang Guorui, the eunuch, agreed.
As a chamberlain and a powerful chamberlain, he didn't like Shi Kefa, a tough talker like him, but he also didn't want to be a nobleman's sword against the talker.
Now it was a conflict between Xungui and Yanguan. He was happy to watch the excitement. No matter which side suffered a loss, it had nothing to do with him, not to mention that Wei Guogong had already punished Shi Kefa in front of all the courtiers.
If he had objections at this time, wouldn't it mean that he was deliberately trying to hurt Wei Guogong's face? He would not do such a useless thing.
"Since everyone has no objection, let's punish him like this!" Wei Guogong said.
As for Qian Qianyi, he didn't ask at all.
Giving Shi Kefa such a light punishment was already giving Qian Qianyi face. If Qian Qianyi had any objections, he would not give him face as the Duke of Wei.
Duke Wei looked at the courtiers and said, "Whether it is peace talks with the Tiger Flag or alliance with the Qing Dynasty, we have put them all on hold for the time being. No one should mention it again in the future."
Seeing the situation, many courtiers returned to the ranks of officials.
Wei Guogong had already spared Shi Kefa lightly. At this time, no one stepped forward to confront Wei Guogong head-on.
Anyway, the alliance with the Qing Dynasty has been delayed for so long, and it doesn't matter if it is delayed for a while longer.
Even for some officials, they supported the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition to bring back the Emperor because it was politically correct behavior. It did not mean that they really cared about who they formed an alliance with.
After saying a few more innocuous things in the court, he went down to the court.
The peace talks between the Ming Dynasty and the Tiger Banner, as well as the alliance between the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, ended without any resolution.
What happened in the court hall also spread as the officials went to court.
Fan Wencheng in the post house once again expressed disappointment after hearing that the alliance had been shelved in the Ming Dynasty.
After coming to Nanjing for so long, the tasks assigned to him by Huang Taiji were never completed. He didn't even know if he should return to Liaodong to resume his duties.
After all, he had been away from Liaodong for too long and had stayed in the Ming Dynasty. He was afraid that when he went back, he would no longer have his place in the Qing court.
"Mr. Fan, the manager of the post house is here."
"Bring him in!"
Fan Wencheng gathered his emotions, took a sip of tea, then stood up from his seat and walked towards the door.
When he was about to reach the door of the house, the manager of the post house happened to appear in front of him.
"Ambassador Fan." The host of the posthouse raised his hand to greet Fan Wencheng.
.
Fan Wencheng welcomed the host of the post house into the house with a smile on his face and asked, "The host is here this time? But what's the matter?"
"I also heard about what happened in the court. I was worried that Ambassador Fan was in a bad mood, so I came here to have a drink with Ambassador Fan." As he said that, the host of the posthouse took out a jug of wine from behind.
Fan Wencheng, who heard this, said with a moved face: "Thank you, sir. I'm fine. After all, it's been a while since I came to Ming Dynasty, and the alliance has never come to an end. To be honest, I'm disappointed, but I'm used to it. Already."
The two people sat next to each other on the seats.
Fan Wencheng specially sent someone to bring a plate of peanuts and several cold dishes.
The owner of the post house picked up the jug and poured a glass of wine, and said, "Mr. Fan, don't worry. Nowadays, the public's call for an alliance between the Ming and the Qing Dynasty is getting louder and louder. I believe it won't be long before the court agrees to form an alliance with you."
He pushed the poured wine glass in front of Fan Wencheng.
"Thank you for your kind words, sir." Fan Wencheng thanked him, picked up the wine glass and took a sip.
When he had nothing to do, he would have a few drinks with the owner of the post house in front of him.
Although the postmaster was not of high rank, he was well-informed. He got a lot of information from the postmaster while drinking.
"Come, come, come, have a drink." The host of the posthouse picked up the wine glass and clinked it with Fan Wencheng.
He raised his head and drank a glass of wine.
Then, he picked up a peanut with chopsticks and ate it into his mouth.
When peanuts are eaten into your mouth, the more you chew them, the more fragrant they become. They are a good dish to go with wine.
Fan Wencheng took a sip of wine and said, "The Tiger-Character Banner has people in the court, that's why they are so confident. It's a pity that if this continues to be delayed, when the Tiger-Character Banner completely controls the northern provinces, I'm afraid they will send troops south. It’s time.”
"Who says it's not the case!" the host of the post house said with a look of resentment. "Even a five or six-year-old child can see things, but the princes in the court pretend to be confused. It's really annoying."
As he spoke, he punched his leg heavily with his fist in displeasure.
Fan Wencheng said: "Forget it, the big shots have to worry about the matters in the court. I don't want to think about it anymore. Maybe I will return to Liaodong sometime."
After speaking, he sighed sadly.
After hearing this, the host of the post house looked at Fan Wencheng with wide eyes and asked, "Ambassador Fan is ready to return to Liaodong?"
"I have this idea." Fan Wencheng said dejectedly, "There has been no progress in the alliance. I can't stay in the Ming Dynasty forever. I have to go back and resume my life."
"You can't leave!" said the host of the post house. "If you leave, wouldn't you be taking advantage of the tiger thief? No, you must stay."
As he spoke, he actually reached out to pull Fan Wencheng's arm, as if doing so would prevent Fan Wencheng from leaving.
