The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 379
A storm is brewing.

Zhu Youtang was in it, so it was impossible for him to be ignorant of this matter, especially since the exchanges between civil servants were on the surface, but Zhu Youtang didn't know how far this turmoil would go.

On the day of Zhang Zhou's return to the court, the early court was peaceful, because Zhang Zhou had not yet returned, and a campaign against Zhang Zhou had not yet started.

After the court meeting ended, Zhu Youtang summoned Lin Han alone in Qianqing Palace. This was the closest relationship with Zhang Zhou in the emperor's mind for the replacement of Shangshu-level officials.

"Lin Qing's family, Xu Shangshu from the Ministry of Rites asked me to resign many times, and I also promised him that before autumn, I can let him spend his life in peace. I intend to let you take the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites that he left behind." Zhu Youtang didn't make any polite gestures, and just made his words clear.

Xiao Jing, Wei Bin and Chen Kuan beside them also had smiles on their faces, as if they were blessing Lin Han.

Lin Han hastily cupped his hands and said, "I'm afraid it will be difficult for the old minister."

Zhu Youtang said: "You have been in court for a long time, you are competent in court affairs and have enough reputation, so you can be said to be the best candidate. It's just that I still have some worries, and I may need you..."

"Please speak, Your Majesty." Lin Han could see that the emperor seemed to be in a dilemma.

"It's about Bingkuan." Zhu Youtang raised his head, looked at the past sincerely and said, "Bingkuan may be under a lot of pressure when he returns to court, no matter what he has done before or what he is about to do, he will I am afraid that he will be alone if he offends a group of dignitaries in the court. Sometimes it is not convenient for me to speak out, nor can I speak out to Bingkuan, but I need you...to speak for me."

Lin Han understood immediately.

There are also conditions for being a minister of the Ministry of Rites.

To put it bluntly, the emperor wants to use him as a spearman. What is the emperor's intention at the critical moment, especially when it involves Zhang Zhou? to propose.

"For you, Lin Qing's family, it may be a bit embarrassing, but this is what I can rely on, you and Bingkuan... Sigh! I also understand that no matter what is promoted in this court, it will suffer a lot. resistance."

Zhu Youtang sighed and said.

Kind of lonely.

Lin Han clasped his hands and said, "The old minister doesn't have much time in the court, so he doesn't care about those gossips. If His Majesty has anything to do, just say it clearly. The old minister will definitely do his best."

"Okay." Zhu Youtang said with a look of trust, "Lin Qing's family really lives up to the name of Confucianists, and there will be changes in the number of halls in the central court this year. If you come to the court in the morning these two days, I will settle your matter. You don't have to go up and refuse, I leave this position to you... As for Bing Kuan, I haven't decided on his position yet, I'll decide when he comes back. From now on, it's all up to you."

……

……

Lin Han originally thought that the emperor would give him a "request" directly, that is, send him an errand and ask him to do something.

Who would have thought that the emperor just said something innocuous, meant to win him over, but he didn't make it very clear... This made Lin Han a little puzzled.

Going out of the palace was accompanied by Xiao Jing himself.

"Old Lin, you should understand your Majesty's words, right?" Xiao Jing asked with a smile.

Lin Han said: "Yes. From now on, I will serve the court with all my heart."

Xiao Jing asked with a smile: "What about Duke Lai?"

Lin Han shook his head and said: "This old man is following the wishes of the Holy Majesty. The Duke of Lai and I are just ministers in the same palace. In the future, he will help and accompany him more. He is no different from any other official in the court. He will not I'm related by in-laws, and it's different."

This is very formal.

Xiao Jing was startled for a moment, his steps slowed down, and he turned his head to think, you, old man Lin, are so serious, you were almost cheated by you.

Xiao Jing sighed: "Your Majesty has been worrying about some things about the Duke of Lai recently. For example, His Majesty wants to rely heavily on the Duke of Lai to handle affairs, but the people criticize him. , and some civil servants and military officials who are close to Lai Guogong have made rapid progress in their positions in the past two years..."

Lin Han raised his hand to interrupt Xiao Jing when he heard the back, and said, "Did Mr. Xiao want to say that I am also one of them?"

"No such intention." Xiao Jing hurriedly said, "The imperial court respects Elder Lin quite a bit. You are highly respected. Your promotion to Minister of Rites this time can be said to be well received by all."

Lin Han didn't think Xiao Jing was telling the truth.

Although Lin Han used to be an official in academia, he is not considered a politician in the orthodox sense, but he also has a lot of experience in dealing with people.

Lin Han said: "Nowadays, the government and the public are criticizing Lai Guogong one after another, and some people even say... um. Eunuch Xiao, an old minister, actually has very little to do, and people in the court speak lightly."

Xiao Jing smiled.

It's a bit like chicken and duck talking.

Xiao Jing wanted to convey the meaning of wooing Lin Han, but Lin Han was very wary of him and Xiao Jing.

"Duke Lai is going to arrive in the capital today. Mr. Lin, you should prepare to meet him earlier." Xiao Jing sent Lin Han to the Meridian Gate, and after bowing his hands, he meant that you should walk the rest of the way by yourself, and I just can be delivered here.

Lin Han was also very respectful when he returned the gift: "Thank you."

……

……

Lin Han came out of the palace, and there was already a sedan chair specially prepared for him, waiting here.

In the past, Lin Han used to travel around in a horse-drawn carriage, but when he was serving as the Imperial Academy, even if he had enough official position, he usually didn’t take a sedan chair because he didn’t have to attend the court, and even the horse-drawn carriage was not always on hand. He only used it when necessary. The carriage of the Imperial College.

Now suddenly the shotgun was changed to the cannon, and even Lin Han was a little uncomfortable when he came up in a sedan chair carried by four people.

When he arrived at the gate of the Ministry of Rites, someone led him in, and he saw Xu Qiong who was packing some things.

"Hengda? Come, let me show you your future seat."

Xu Qiong was very enthusiastic about Lin Han, so Lin Han walked around the office of the Ministry of Rites first.

Lin Han was also a little ashamed and said: "It hasn't been discussed by the court yet, so some things can't be done right."

Xu Qiong said with a smile: "Whether it's the courtier or your majesty, they don't have any opinions on your promotion to the Minister of Rites. The only variable will be your son-in-law, haha. It can be regarded as letting you familiarize yourself with the environment in advance."

"Ashamed." Lin Han couldn't hold back his old face.

Xu Qiongping retreated from the others, asked Lin Han to sit down, and asked, "Today's interview, did His Majesty tell you anything?"

Lin Han shook his head and said, "It's mostly words of entrustment with high hopes."

"Yeah." Xu Qiong nodded and asked, "Has anyone approached you recently? I mean, has someone mentioned to you that someone wants to jointly impeach Bingkuan recently?"

With a gloomy expression on Lin Han's face, he still nodded, indicating that this incident did happen.

"Sure enough, they are aiming at Bingkuan, and they don't even avoid you, or they still want you to kill your relatives righteously." Xu Qiong sighed with a smile.

Lin Han said: "I didn't want to get involved in such disputes between the court and China. Today, His Majesty seems to have high hopes for Duke Lai."

It seemed to be just chatting, but the news that Lin Han revealed to Xu Qiong made Xu Qiong understand that the emperor must do his best to protect Zhang Zhou.

Xu Qiong asked: "Then what do you think, if Bingkuan resigned from his post, or was dismissed, would others point the finger at you again?"

Lin Han was noncommittal.

Xu Qiong said: "I have been an official in the court for so many years. You and I are old guys. I am 75. If I remember correctly, you are also 66. I will retire now. I am afraid that you will not have a few years left in the court. If you insist Before being buried, it is really tiring to involve so many conflicts of interest."

Lin Hanxin said, because you, Xu, are not the core strength of traditional civil servants, and even your superiors are still stepping on nepotism, so you feel that others are targeting you, and you feel tired.

It's as if I... didn't expect much at first, so naturally I wouldn'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 Xu Laobutang mean?"

Xu Qiong leaned forward and said in a low voice: "Bingkuan is young and promising. In just two years, he has made so many contributions to Daming. Even his majesty's personal affairs of accepting concubines, others can't get involved, but he can facilitate it."

"Yes." Lin Han also admired Zhang Zhou's ability.

"If just because of his promotion, the ranking of seniority in the system of civil servants is broken, and others will be called treacherous, then will the Ming court all follow the doctrine of the mean, and will they all emphasize the rule of inaction? Then the Ming Dynasty Chaotang, isn’t it a pool of stagnant water?”

In Xu Qiong's words, it seemed that she was very supportive of Zhang Zhou.

Lin Han was also wondering, could it be that Xu Qiong felt that he had retired and had no political resources left in the court, or that Xu Qiong's party members would have no backers in the future, and they were afraid that they would not last long, so they moved closer to Zhang Zhou?

Lin Han didn't take up the quarrel for a while.

Xu Qiong asked, "What does Bingkuan mean by this?"

Lin Han said: "Is it about other people impeaching him? I don't know, and I haven't had any correspondence with him recently. I haven't paid close attention to him during the six months he's been 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 go out of the city to meet him, but we have to make everything clear. You and I also have to spare no effort to help him maintain the present in the court. A position of power, what do you think?"

Lin Han didn't answer again.

Just as he was talking, there was a report from outside: "Zuo Tongzheng Shen Yintai has asked to see him outside the Yamen."

"Let him in, tell him, we won't go out to meet you." Xu Qiong smiled and said something to outsiders, then turned her head and whispered to Lin Han, "Look at Shen Lu, he has a close relationship with the Zhang family, but this Zhang's relatives have not been able to obtain His Majesty's holy family for two years, and everything depends on Bingkuan, and now he wants to seek the position of servant before he retires, so he has to run around."

Lin Han had known for a long time that Xu Qiong and Shen Lu had a close relationship.

In the past, they often went in and out together, and outsiders didn't think much of it.

But now when Xu Qiong told Lin Han about this, he was clearly saying... Shen Lu will be taken care of by you in the future, or his life goal of being the servant of the Six Departments in this life will be realized by you and Bingkuan.

This is point to point, using a Shen Lu, to clarify a truth, Xu Qiong just wanted to keep the status of the group behind him in the court after retirement, so he moved closer to Zhang Zhou.

This is actually similar to the reason why civil servant Wu Xun opposed Zhang Zhou... They were afraid that Zhang Zhou's rise would take their position.

But when Zhang Zhou came to power, he would need to use many people to grab the positions of those people. This was a big vacancy. Xu Qiong also knew that he himself was not accepted by the orthodox civil officials. After that, his accomplices will still be pushed out one by one, so why not find another way from the beginning and stand by Zhang Zhou's side?

Everyone in the world is benefiting.

……

……

After Shen Lu arrived at the Ministry of Rites, Xu Qiong kept silent about the previous topic.

He didn't need any letter of approval from Lin Han. Perhaps Xu Qiong knew that Lin Han, as a person close to Zhang Zhou, relied on Zhang Zhou's contribution to the compilation of "Da Ming Hui Dian", so that Lin Han Hanneng takes the top position.

Even if the traditional civil servants can accept Lin Han as Minister of Rites, Lin Han's time in Beijing will not be long.

Either Zhishi is waiting for him, or the idlers of the six ministers of Nanjing are waiting for him.

This forced Lin Han, no matter how arrogant and arrogant he was, he had to lean towards his son-in-law Zhang Zhou.

As a "person of appearance", Xu Qiong is the most concerned about gains and losses. He will naturally judge others in his own way of dealing with the world, and Lin Han himself... is quite enthusiastic about being an official, even the one who used to look down on him Zhang Zhou can be a son-in-law, Xu Qiong thinks, what else can't you, Lao Lin, do?

A group of people went out of the city to meet them.

A row of sedan chairs stopped at Dongzhimen.

After Shen Lu got off the sedan chair, he looked around and said with emotion: "There are quite a few people who came to welcome us today, and they probably all came to see the grandeur of Lai Guogong."

Lin Han said: "Today, the Lord of North Korea will also come together, and the people may have the heart to watch the ceremony."

Why do you say that the common people come to see my son-in-law having fun?Couldn't it be to see the King of Korea's excitement?
Xu Qiong smiled and said nothing, and then representatives from the Hanlin Academy, Liu Chun, the editor of the Hanlin Academy, and Lun Wenxu, the doctor of the Ministry of War, and the principal came over, as well as the officials of the Honglu Temple who were in charge of the reception. Xu Qiong went over to give pointers.

When Xu Qiong was about to withdraw from the imperial court, the officials in the ruling and opposition parties still respected him very much.

Don't look at him relying on his in-law relationship with the Zhang family. He was also criticized when he was in court, but after he withdrew from the court, the voices of praise for him increased. His power can be preserved... Historically, it was the protection of the emperor.

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 court, but when I step down and people close to me come to power, won't they help me get my reputation back?

The matter of historical reputation is not to be considered for a moment.

……

……

Zhang Zhou's team, including Li Yi, the king of Jincheng in North Korea, arrived outside Dongzhimen in a mighty welcome team.

The onlookers had already been crowded with people, and when they heard that people were coming, the people even lined up to welcome them. That kind of scene also made Lin Han, a bystander, deeply understand the psychology of the people of Ming Dynasty who love to join in the fun.

"Master Zhang..." There were people shouting loudly not far away.

The people shouted a lot for Zhang Zhou, probably feeling like chasing stars.

There are so many officials in the Ming Dynasty, but there are too few people who have connections with ordinary people. It is difficult for the common people to form a kind of worship mentality, but Zhang Zhou... is the only one who knows the will of heaven and knows ghosts and gods. A victory, so that the people of Ming Dynasty can live and work in peace and contentment... For the people of Ming Dynasty, they are the perfect candidates for idols.

So much so that even without Zhu Houzhao's Yindi newspaper to highlight Zhang Zhou's reputation, Zhang Zhou's reputation has long been spread among the people to the point where everyone knows it.

"The common people's enthusiasm for Bingkuan is not low." Xu Qiong looked at the envoy team from a distance, and couldn't help expressing emotion.

Lin Han didn't say anything after hearing the words.

Shen Lu said with a smile: "Mr. Xu, you don't know that Duke Lai used the method of vaccination to save the princess and spread the vaccination in the market, and the people benefited from it. Now, whether it is Jiangnan or Jiangbei, most people have been vaccinated. , You guessed it? In the past year of Ming Dynasty, there was no record of the spread of acne epidemics, which made the people call it a god."

Lin Han glanced at Shen Lu and frowned.

Do people admire their son-in-law so much because of the vaccination?
Xu Qiong laughed and said: "This is just an insignificant one of 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 moved closer to Zhang Zhou instead of curry favor with Liu Jian and Li Dongyang.

It's not that Xu Qiong feels that those people don't want to see her, but that...Da Ming's bright future must be in Zhang Zhou.

It's not that the so-called traditional civil servants can't see this, but because traditional civil servants are bound by some stereotypes and bad habits, many of them actually have to stand on the standpoint of maintaining official morality.

To put it bluntly, many people who opposed Zhang Zhou were coerced by public opinion and power, so they had no choice but to oppose.

Could it be that Zhang Zhou's meritorious service to Daming can be seen by even the common people, but not by those civil servants and nobles?
Anyone can see it.

I also want to admit that Zhang Zhou is "not my race". Now I have the opportunity to criticize him in the name of alchemy and sycophants. The boss and colleagues have done this. It is an ordinary official who appreciates what Zhang Zhou has. use?Don't you want to participate in the impeachment and opposition together?

But people like Xu Qiong and Shen Lu are already in high positions, and they are also rejected by traditional civil servants. Their affirmation of Zhang Zhou will pay more attention to the surface, and there is no need for so many twists and turns. .

"coming!"

Xu Qiong pointed far away.

Many officials went to greet him.

Zhang Zhou got off his horse and first came to salute Xu Qiong, Lin Han and others. Behind Zhang Zhou stood Tang Yin, Zhu Feng, Xu Jing and others.

"Duke Lai, it's been a long time." Xu Qiong was very enthusiastic, "Is the lord of North Korea here? Let's pay a visit first."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Please."

A group of people walked to Li Yi's carriage.

The driver had already communicated to Li Yi, and then the wooden door of the carriage opened, and Li Yi got out from inside.

Xu Qiong smiled and said: "You don't need to get out of the car, just say hello, just go into the city together. He... can understand what I said?"

Xu Jing came over and said: "Yes, the monarchs and ministers in North Korea can basically speak the language of Ming Dynasty, and communication is very convenient. The characters of Ming Dynasty are the first."

"That's good, leave it to the people of Honglu Temple to meet you. Lai Guogong, His Majesty has mentioned you often recently. Today you are going to enter the palace to face the saint. Let's talk on the way. Let's go!" Xu Qiong stretched out her hand and said He grabbed Zhang Zhou's sleeve, as if he was afraid that others would not know that he was with Zhang Zhou.

Such a direct move also surprised Zhang Zhou.

Sure enough, in the troubled autumn of the court, on the eve of the change of court officials, the matter of standing in line was directly brought to the fore.

(End of this chapter)