Chapter 623 Who Is the Traitor? (Seeking Guaranteed Monthly Ticket)

In the autumn sunshine, Emperor Wanli, wearing a leather hat and formal dress, stood majestically in the gatehouse of the Meridian Gate, also known as the Five Phoenix Tower.

Listening to the loud singing of hundreds of musicians and dancers below, the emperor's fat face couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile.

Lyrics such as gongs should keep pace with the times. If they are still the same as "punching Chen Youliang and kicking Zhang Shicheng", what does it have to do with him, Zhu Yijun?

He said to the eunuchs on his left and right: "Foreign ministers have finally put their heart into it for once."

As an emperor, he cannot take the initiative to request changes to the rituals and music passed down by his ancestors and praising their achievements. He can only rely on the self-consciousness of his ministers.

Gongsun Xian of the East Factory reported truthfully: "I heard that at the beginning, the Taichang Temple, which was in charge of the musicians and dancers, still insisted on the ancestral system.

Later, Lin Tailai initiated an initiative at the Literary Conference, and the literary figures jointly petitioned the Ministry of Rites, and only then was the gong song changed."

Other eunuchs next to him said nice things: "This is what people want."

Then Emperor Wanli saw that Lin Tailai, the military supervisor of the rebellion, stood at the gate of the city and reported the victory in detail.

Emperor Wanli sighed in his heart again and again. Although people like Lin Tailai behaved abnormally, they were really useful.

When something happened in Xihai, he won two battles and stabilized the situation in more than two months after arriving; after the rebellion in Ningxia Town, he took the lead in counterattacking in one month and put down the rebellion in three months.

I wonder if this is how Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty felt when he looked at Huo Qubing in ancient times?

After Lin Tailai finished reading the victory report, all the civil and military officials congratulated and danced, shouting long live.

Emperor Wanli didn't feel much about this link. As long as he is willing to attend court, he can see such scenes every day.

The climax of the captive offering ceremony came later. Li Rusong, the general commander of the anti-rebellion army, and hundreds of government troops escorted more than 20 prisoners to the small square outside the Meridian Gate.

Among them, more than a dozen were rebel generals who followed Haibai in the rebellion of Ningxia Town, including Haibai's son Haichengen.

As for the remaining ten or so people, they were enemy chieftains captured in the battles of Xining and Ganjun Mountain, those with a little status, including several sponsored by Sanniangzi.

Although this captive offering ceremony was held because of the battle of Ningxia, in order to make the scene more beautiful, Lin Tailai stuffed in the captive chieftains captured in the previous battles of Xining and Gansu.

Each prisoner was covered with red cloth and escorted by ten government troops.

After being tortured for so long, the captive chieftains had no energy and spirit, and could only kneel dejectedly outside the Meridian Gate at this moment.

Emperor Wanli on the city gate looked at the captured enemy prisoners with great interest, and even wanted to go down to observe them closely, but was stopped by his left and right.

"With Lin Tailai guarding below, are you still afraid of danger?" Emperor Wanli asked.

The eunuch Zhang Cheng, who held the seal, tried his best to persuade him: "Your Majesty is worth a lot of money, and it is extremely ominous to approach these dying captives!"

Since it was unlucky, Emperor Wanli had to give up.

At this time, under the city gate, Sun Piyang, the Minister of Justice, came out and listed the crimes of the captives one by one, and announced the punishment.

"Crush the corpse of Hai and worship the corpse. Kill Hai Chengen and other rebels in the market!

The relatives and followers of the other rebels will be beheaded and sent to the frontier!

All the captured bandit chiefs will be beheaded and their heads will be sent to the nine borders together with Hai Chengen and others!"

After the announcement by the Minister of Justice Sun Pi Yang, he asked the emperor for instructions and said, "Go to the market to execute them. Please order!"

The Emperor Wanli issued the order with the golden words of jade: "Take it away!"

The big Han generals standing on the left and right began to pass the message. Two passed it to four, four passed it to eight, and finally hundreds of big Han generals shouted "Take it away!"

The sound echoed between the palace walls, like thunder, and it could be heard even if you were standing on the imperial road outside the palace.

The weak-minded rebels were frightened and collapsed to the ground.

The Minister of Justice Sun Pi Yang led the official army to escort the captured chiefs to the West Market for execution on the spot.

Finally, the Emperor Wanli issued the "Edict to Pacific Ningxia", and today's ceremony of offering captives was over.

"Now, we have brought Hai Cheng'en and others to prison, and offered captives thousands of miles away. Their heads have been sent to the nine frontiers. This is enough to vent the indignation of loyalty and justice, and to warn the rebellion of no generals.

I hereby declare that the soldiers and civilians at home and abroad, the nine frontiers and the four barbarians, those who are content are good citizens, those who protect themselves are the common way, and they abide by the king's law and share peace."

Emperor Wanli was in a good mood, and even felt a little reluctant.

He then issued another decree, asking the gentlemen who had not seen him for a long time to come up and talk. It had been more than a year since they last met.

The "gentlemen" mentioned by the emperor here specifically refer to the cabinet ministers.

All the officials below were ready to leave. When they saw the cabinet ministers being summoned, they had nothing to say except envy.

Perhaps this is the special feature of the ministers. Even if it is usually said that the ministers are not prime ministers, the cabinet and the six ministries are actually parallel.

But in the emperor's habit, the ministers are still the leaders of the ministers, and they should be treated differently from other ministers.

Suddenly, someone saw that Lin Tailai ran to the Zuoye Gate and talked to the eunuch guarding the gate.

Is there a new situation? So everyone didn't want to leave immediately, so as not to miss the opportunity to eat melons on the spot.

After the four cabinet ministers went up, they first congratulated.

Emperor Wanli also replied politely: "This is all the work of the master's planning."

If it were a minister who had little contact with the emperor, when he suddenly met the emperor, it would be easy to have nothing to say, or even dare not speak, because the monarch and the minister were too unfamiliar.

In history, the three paper-made cabinet elders of the Chenghua Dynasty were in this situation, and this situation also occurred in the late Wanli Dynasty.

But except for Zhao Zhigao, this cabinet team had served as lecturers for a long time when Emperor Wanli was a child.

They had a lot of contact with Emperor Wanli in the past, and they were very close, but they had less communication in recent years, so they were not afraid to speak.

Chief Assistant Shen Shixing greeted the ministers on behalf of the group and said: "I have not seen the face of heaven for a year. Today I look up to know that the holy body is safe and sound, and I am very relieved."

Emperor Wanli quickly said sadly: "My head is dizzy and my arms are hurting, and it is difficult for me to step down. Today I am going out to meet you as a gift to the prisoners."

Shen Shixing added: "Your Majesty, Fu Wang, take great care of you."

Emperor Wanli suddenly asked in a cold voice: "I heard that there are many mining thieves gathering in Shanxi, Henan and other places. Why do the local officials hide it and don't report it? No one cares about the mining?"

None of the academicians present responded. Why did the emperor suddenly ask about the "mine thieves"?

There is no warning about this topic, and it is too jumpy.

If he hadn't been a foresighted time traveler, he wouldn't have guessed what the emperor was thinking at this moment.

No matter how smart the politician is, he cannot imagine that at this time Emperor Wanli had begun to think of sending internal eunuchs to mine in various places to make money.

While the bachelors were thinking about how to answer the emperor's question, an internal eunuch suddenly came up and whispered a few words to Zhang Cheng, the eunuch in charge of the ceremonial eunuch.

Zhang Cheng said to the emperor again: "There is Lin Tailai who is sparring below."

This report interrupted the communication between the monarch and his ministers.

Emperor Wanli was stunned for a moment and then ordered: "Your Chief of Ceremonies will take a look at it first."

But Zhang Cheng emphasized: "Lin Tailai wants to resign."

The monarchs and ministers who were about to discuss the issue of "mine thieves" were all shocked. What kind of trouble was Lin Tailai doing?

Just after the prisoner presentation ceremony, you, the greatest hero, resigned from your post. What does that mean?

To put it mildly, isn’t this just a slap in the emperor’s face?

Feeling a little embarrassed, Emperor Wanli shouted: "Call him up!"

The officials waiting outside finally saw that Lin Tailai had been summoned after "negotiations."

Thinking back to Lin Tailai's arrogant face before the prisoner presentation ceremony, not even a fool could predict that something would definitely happen.

In front of the Wufeng Tower above the Meridian Gate, Shen Shoufu had already come to his senses and suddenly felt a little panicked!

How could Lin Tailai resign? If Lin Tailai resigns and leaves, wouldn't he become a living target again?

Also, it is very rare for a great hero to resign and leave after presenting a prisoner gift.

If public opinion believes that he was forced to leave by his first assistant, then wouldn't he be on par with Qin Hui?

This will greatly affect your own historical evaluation! Shen Shoufu never thought that Lin Tailai could resign.

Isn't it your own privilege to blackmail others by resigning? When did Lin Tailai learn?

It is simply a rebellion against Tiangang!

When Lin Tai came to the Meridian Gate, Emperor Wanli scolded him and asked, "Why are you resigning? Do you think the court has treated you badly?"

You must read and understand the emperor's words carefully.

The two sentences "Could it be that the court has treated you badly" and "Could it be that you think the court has treated you badly" may seem similar, but in fact they have completely different meanings.

Lin Tailai replied: "Your Majesty has never treated me badly, and I am grateful to you. It's just that I have been discouraged recently and have long wanted to resign and return home."

I also thought that there would be a prisoner presentation ceremony, and I didn't dare to spoil His Majesty's interest, so I kept waiting.

Now that the prisoner sacrifice has been completed, it is time for me to resign. "

Emperor Wanli didn't listen to these nonsense and shouted: "Tell me more, how can you explain why you are so frustrated!"

Lin Tailai reported: "I went on an expedition last year, but people in the court repeatedly slandered, slandered, and made groundless accusations against me.

At first, I didn't go out in Xining, so I was accused of cowardice; later, I sent troops to achieve two great victories, and I was accused of advancing rashly.

I was on guard against Kuai Bai and was accused of cruelty; I predicted that Kuai Bai would rebel and was accused of plotting against him; when Kuai Bai rebelled, I was accused of being forced to rebel by him.

All kinds of criticisms have been heard all year long! "

Chief Assistant Shen Shixing stood up and said: "Although there are many discussions in the court, the emperor has made a clear decision and is not gullible. Why do you still have dissatisfaction? This is not the reason for your resignation!"

Lin Tailai continued: "I am not dissatisfied, but I am really angry at the behavior of some people in the court.

In my opinion, making irresponsible remarks without knowing the truth, and only criticizing the ministers on the expedition is tantamount to collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country.

When I returned to the capital, I impeached more than ten people in one go, just to punish this person!

At that time, I only thought about giving up the credit for my merits and giving up rewards such as titles, but also to rectify the atmosphere so as to reduce the constraints on doing things in the future! "

Until now, everyone present still didn't understand what Lin Tailai wanted to express?

It seems like he is just repeating what happened in the past year?

But everything has been overturned, so what's the point of repeating it again?

Out of caution, even Shen Shixing stopped talking. Think about it if you don’t understand something, avoid saying too much and making mistakes.

There were either eunuchs or cabinet ministers around him, and there were no officials or other officials present, so Emperor Wanli spoke more straightforwardly.

"Didn't I vent my anger for you? Didn't I remove Song Qi from the Ministry of Industry? Didn't I remove Ai Mu, the Minister of Taipu Temple? Didn't I transfer a few public officials? Didn't I transfer Sun Xueshi to the Nanjing Imperial College?"

Lin Tailai said sadly and angrily: "Your Majesty's caring heart is deeply touched by me!

However, in the end, the effort was in vain! That's why I feel so discouraged and want to give up! "

Still didn't understand, Emperor Wanli couldn't bear it anymore and said impatiently: "What's the point of wasting your efforts? If you still can't explain clearly, I'll drag you out and fight! I'll talk to you when you understand!"

As a result, Lin Tailai became even more sad and angry, and shouted a little rudely: "It's not that I don't want to speak clearly, it's because reality has choked me!

Your Majesty, why not take a look at the recent nominations for vacant positions!

Ask any court official, and they will know that those on the list are either my enemies or have ill will towards me!

Previously, in order to rectify the atmosphere, I gave up a title in exchange for the dismissal of those evil officials!

But what happened after the dismissal? The re-nominated officials are all people who are hostile to me!

It can be said that all the ministers who were dismissed by your majesty before were in vain! Nothing has changed! ”

Fuck! The Grand Secretaries and the eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department were all shocked. Can it be explained this way?

This angle is a bit strange. I hadn’t thought of this before!

Anyway, after hearing this, everyone finally understood Lin Tailai’s core logic today.

At the beginning, Lin Tailai wanted to exchange his merits for “heads”, and the emperor agreed.

But if the person who replaced him is still Lin Tailai’s enemy, wouldn’t it be a waste of time?

From Lin Tailai’s point of view, it is equivalent to paying for merits but getting nothing. This is a great injustice.

Don’t say that being promoted from the fourth-rank Taifu Temple Shaoqing to the fourth-rank Taichang Temple Shaoqing is a reward. It is an insult to the seven victories in seven battles and the first to break the city.

While others were stunned by shock, Lin Tailai took the time to output emotions to the emperor.

“So what I said just now was still a waste of effort in the end!

The rewards that I should have received are all in vain!

I have made great contributions, but in the end I didn’t get any gifts! ”

Emperor Wanli was immediately furious, as he was made to look like an emperor who was stingy with rewards and treated his meritorious officials badly.

Lin Tailai quickly adjusted his direction and passionately accused: "This situation has nothing to do with your majesty! It's because there are too many treacherous officials in the court, which ruined your majesty's good intentions towards me!"

Emperor Wanli asked angrily: "Who are the treacherous officials?"

Lin Tailai answered loudly and firmly: "I don't know if others are treacherous officials, but those who have been nominated for the Minister of Revenue, Minister of Works, Dali Temple, and Taipu Temple recently must be treacherous officials!

They must be treacherous officials who deceive their superiors and subordinates, embezzle rewards from meritorious officials in disguise, and ruin your majesty's reputation!

To rectify the court atmosphere, this kind of people must be rectified first! "

With a thunderclap, the real purpose was revealed!

The university scholars were shocked and angry. The lethality and scope of this list of treacherous ministers were amazing!

The people who were pushed out to compete for the four top positions were all key figures after careful consideration by various forces!

If you, Lin Tailai, labeled them all treacherous ministers, are there any good people left in the court?

How dare you, Lin Tailai? Do you really want to resign? No, do you really want to resign?