The Ming Dynasty's Spokesperson

After hearing Lin Tailai's words, Shen Shixing didn't seem surprised, maybe he was getting used to this tone.

"I can't decide what Zhang Wei plans. Even if I want to help you, I'm powerless." Shen Shixing replied.

Lin Tailai said very strangely: "Didn't you recommend Zhang Wei?"

If Shen Shixing hadn't recommended him twice in a row, Zhang Wei would still be working in his hometown.

Shen Shixing explained: "Although I recommended Zhang Wei, he does not have a party attached to me, and he still acts independently."

"Then why did you recommend Zhang Wei so strongly, senior?" Lin Tailai was even more surprised.

Even though he is an "omniscient" time traveler, Lin Daguan really doesn't understand why Shen Shixing recommends Zhang Wei, and not even the butterfly effect can interfere with it.

Shen Shixing looked at the familiar but unfamiliar Changmen in front of him, and said leisurely: "Because the atmosphere in Cilin has been weak and weak in recent years, I look around and Zhang Wei is the only one who has the courage to do things and take responsibility. It is definitely not for favors."

Lin Daguan was extremely incredulous, "You can't, right? Senior, are you still selfless?"

Shen Shixing: "."

There are other people around, can't you, Lin Tailai, pay attention to your oral ethics?

Zhu Geng on the other side just wanted to bury his head in the tea cup and pretend not to hear anything.

Perhaps because he was unhappy about being told by Lin Tai, Shen Shixing also said in a somewhat fierce tone:

"I believe that the cabinet must have people with strong personalities to support the power of the cabinet. Otherwise, the power of the cabinet will be lost. I don't want to see such a situation.

But Zhao Zhigao and his like are too weak! This is the reason why I chose Zhang, he can firmly maintain cabinet power! "

It was rare to see such an emotional expression from Shen Shixing. Lin Daguan was stunned for a moment, then looked at Mr. Zhu Geng and Zhu Ge on the other side.

Then he said: "Zhao Zhigao and his ilk? Isn't it inappropriate to be so direct in front of others?

It seems that you really want to retire, senior, and you are not pretending. You have started to let yourself go when you speak. "

Shen Shixing: "."

Mr. Zhu Ge: "."

What on earth had I done to join in this conversation that neither party could afford to offend?

Anyway, Lin Tailai finally figured out the reason why Shen Shixing recommended Zhang Wei - he had feelings for the cabinet and did not want to see the cabinet lose power, so he recommended Zhang Wei, who had a strong personality, hoping to maintain the centralization of cabinet power.

In the original history, it is true that after Shen Shixing, the cabinet began to decline in great strides under the impact of party strife.

"What do you think in your heart?" Shen Shixing asked again.

Lin Tailai replied without hesitation: "If I work in the outer court, I will hate the centralization of power in the cabinet! But if I join the cabinet, I will hate the lack of control in the outer court!"

Then Lin Tailai turned to Zhu Geng, "Senior Shen can't help, so we have to rely on ourselves.

You, Zhang Wei, and Li Chun are all the same age, right? Who ranks highest? "

Zhu Geng replied: "Li Chun is the first in the second class."

Lin Tailai asked again: "When the palace selects Shujishi, who ranks highest?"

Zhu Geng replied: "Li Chun ranked fifth in that selection, and he was still the highest ranked among the three of us."

Lin Tailai was a little helpless and asked again: "Who is the oldest?"

Zhu Geng replied: "Zhang Wei is fifty-nine years old, I am one year younger than Zhang Wei, and Li Chun is the youngest."

Official Lin's face suddenly turned bitter, "Your Excellency, you'd better hire someone else, I can't do anything for you."

The three of you are in the same year and entered the Hanlin Academy at the same time. If you want to choose one as a junior assistant, you can only compare other aspects.

Ci ministers compare their qualifications, including qualifications, rank, and age. You, Zhu Geng, don’t take advantage of any of them! Then what reason do you give to compete for the second position?

Zhu Geng glanced at Shen Shixing and simply let himself go, then said to Lin Tai: "You probably don't like having Zhang Wei as your secondary assistant, right?

If Chief Minister Zhao makes a slight mistake, or is criticized by an official, and has to stay home to avoid the spotlight, would you tolerate it if the person in charge of the cabinet was an arbitrary strongman like Zhang Wei? "

So Official Lin fell into deep thought. This situation was quite annoying, so he had to find a way to help Zhu Geng.

Judging from historical experience, Zhu Geng and Zhao Zhigao are really similar in temperament, and they are much easier to handle than Zhang Wei.

Shen Shixing wanted to say a few more words, but thinking about his retired status, he finally sighed and closed his mouth.

The boat entered the city and then turned to go south along Wolong Street.

Shen Shixing looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar street scene and suddenly exclaimed: "It's over!"

The location of Shen Mansion is roughly in the northeastern area of ​​the city, but the boats are almost crossing the Yinma Bridge and are still heading south.

Lin Tailai said generously: "No! Today we will hold a banquet at Canglang Pavilion to welcome Senior Shen!"

Shen Shixing snorted coldly: "I haven't gone home yet!"

The attentive Lin Daguan replied: "It doesn't matter, my family has already received Canglang Pavilion!"

Shen Shixing deeply realized that this Suzhou city was no longer the same Suzhou city before he went to Beijing to take the exam.

The changing of the king's flag at the top of the city is truly a matter of ancient and modern times.

The situation in the capital in February and March this year is generally relatively calm. It may be the most stable spring for the imperial court in recent years.

There are probably three main reasons. The first is that there are many new people in the cabinet and they are busy getting familiar with the situation.

The second is that this year is the year of the Great Competition, with the General Examination in February and the Palace Examination in March. There is a consensus in all aspects of the court that stability is needed.

The third is that the Nine Yuan True Immortal is not in the capital, and the court is missing half of the source of chaos. As for who the other half is, the minister dare not say.

After finalizing the two tasks of Jiangnan money and grain and investigating the Fengxian officials, another urgent problem was placed before the new cabinet team.

The examination will start on February 9th. Which cabinet elder will be the chief examiner?

In previous years, cabinet elders would definitely want to go and take in two or three hundred students.

But in this year's situation, the most important thing for those who have just taken office is to fight for and consolidate power, and no one wants to be the chief examiner.

They are new people. If they stay in the Imperial Academy for another month, they won't even be able to eat hot food when they come out.

Zhang Wei and Li Chun in the cabinet unanimously proposed that the chief examiner should be rotated according to the ranking order of cabinet ministers. Zhao Shoufu happened to have never been the chief examiner, so he deserved it this time.

Zhao Zhigao was not stupid, and said unhappily: "Are you serious? If I am locked in the Imperial Academy, is it appropriate?

Then there will only be two newcomers in the cabinet who have only been in the cabinet for a few days. This is extremely irresponsible to the court! You are not even familiar with how to write a bill, right?"

Zhang Wei and Li Chun looked at each other, and immediately recommended each other to send the other to the Imperial Academy first.

In this way, one of the two opponents competing for the second assistant is still on the way, and the other is locked in the Imperial Academy. Wouldn't he become the de facto second assistant this month?

It will be easier to "rectify the name" after forming a factual habit first.

So Li Chun said, "Zhang Xinjian is old and virtuous, suitable to be a role model for candidates", and Zhang Wei said, "Li Fushun is well-educated and has excellent academic achievements, suitable to be a role model for candidates".

In fact, the first assistant Zhao Zhigao didn't know who to suppress first. Zhang Wei had a strong style and attitude, and he also accepted part of Shen Shixing's legacy, while Li Chun had the support of the Qingliu Party.

Finally, Zhao Zhigao slammed the table and said, "You two draw lots!"

The result was that Li Chun drew the examiner. After reporting to the emperor, Li Chun was sent to the Imperial Examination Hall and locked up the next day.

After all, the examination was about to start on February 9th. If the examiner didn't go to the Imperial Examination Hall, it would be too late. Fortunately, he was given one night to communicate with the outside world.

As we all know, after the Jiajing Dynasty, the imperial examination situation and the political situation are often closely related.

For example, in the last imperial examination, Xu Guo from Nanzhili was the examiner, and the first place in the joint examination was Lin Tailai, who was also from Nanzhili.

A huge butterfly effect has appeared in this time and space. The political situation is completely different from the original history of the 20th year of Wanli, and the imperial examination has been affected accordingly.

The joint examination list was released at the end of February. The first place was Han Yu from Puzhou, Shanxi. His father-in-law was the former Prime Minister Zhang Siwei.

Of course, Han Huiyuan's honor of being the first in the imperial examination had nothing to do with his late father-in-law Zhang Siwei, his brother-in-law Yang Junmin, his fellow villager Wang Jiaping, and even less to Li Chun, the chief examiner who recommended Wang Jiaping to join the cabinet.

In the palace examination in March, in the absence of the emperor, after fierce competition, the final rankings were announced.

The top scholar was Han Yu, the son-in-law of the former Prime Minister Zhang Siwei, the second place was Weng Zhengchun, and the third place was Gu Tianjun, the grandson of the former Prime Minister Gu Dingchen.

In addition, Gu Bingqian, a retainer of the Lin family and the "white-bearded Prime Minister" in history, finally passed the imperial examination this time after failing for more than ten years.

Gu Bingqian also fought hard this time. After accompanying Mr. Lin as a retainer to return home last year, he almost passed by his home without entering. In November, he immediately went north to take the exam in the cold winter weather.

Fortunately, hard work paid off, and this time he finally passed the imperial examination.

When the list of the top scorers of the Renchen exam in the 20th year of the Wanli reign was passed to Suzhou, Mr. Lin was extremely speechless.

His big hands messed up the chessboard randomly, and then he complained to Shen Shixing who was across the chessboard:

"I said that whenever I was not in the capital, there would be some problems in the court. Senior, you are still not convinced.

Look at this imperial examination, this Han Yu actually won the first place and the first place! It's really outrageous!

It is so rare for someone in my Ming Dynasty to win the first place and the first place consecutively. How could it be a coincidence for this Han Yu?"

Shen Shixing: "."

Before you complain that it is too outrageous that others win the first place and the first place at the same time, can you think about why you are called Jiuyuan Zhenxian?

Mr. Lin said loudly: "I won the first place and the first place by my own ability! I have a clear conscience!"

For the word "by ability", Prime Minister Shen was actually unable to refute.

It's all based on ability. The first place winner relies on the ability to play a psychological game with the examiner Xu Guo, and the top place winner relies on the ability to deeply analyze other people's names.

Shen Shixing stared at the messed up chessboard again and said dissatisfiedly: "It's just a top place winner, what can it affect you?

You can't be so disgusted by others getting the top place winner after you've won it? Can't you afford to lose?"

Lin Daguanren sighed: "Senior, you've stepped down and lost your sensitivity.

Don't you realize that the Qingliu forces let Han Yu win the first place and the top place winner in a row, clearly to deliberately create a god?

First create such a half-baked new god, and then you can hype it up and hedge against me, the Nine Yuan True Immortal, in terms of reputation."

Shen Shixing said a little curiously: "You can always tell the position of this person by looking at the name. Do you really have some physiognomy to read the name?"

"The secret of heaven cannot be leaked." Lin Daguanren said.

In history, this Han Yu was a famous member of the Donglin Party and served as the Prime Minister.

He was also quite able to survive, and lived until Li Zicheng captured his hometown Puzhou. Then he was forced to meet with Li Zicheng and died of anger.

Then Mr. Lin said: "Let's not talk about him. Let's talk about him after I return to Beijing."

Shen Shixing followed up the conversation and asked: "When will you return to Beijing?"

Lin Tailai said calmly: "It's almost time, wait another four months or so, unless there are major changes in the court, such as Wang Tianguan's death from illness.

During this period, preparations for sea trade must be properly arranged, and the first batch of sea-going ships will be put on trial in July or August. "

Shen Shixing said with a little envy: "As a courtier, it is so rare to be able to rest in my hometown for half a year without Ding You."

Lin Daguan laughed and said: "Who makes it difficult for me to reward my great achievements? How can I reassure the emperor if I don't take a break?

Since there are no other suitable rewards, let’s reward them with more holidays! "

After playing a draw with Shen Shixing, Lin Tailai felt that the time was right after returning home, so he wrote this memorial in the name of the Communications Department of the Ministry of War.

"The Japanese country has been in turmoil for hundreds of years, but now it is almost unified. It has 300,000 troops and it is difficult to dismantle them. It will definitely use foreign troops.

Therefore, Japanese soldiers may take advantage of the east wind to cross the sea and invade Korea in April and May. Moreover, the wolf's ambition is insatiable and he will try to use Korea as a springboard to invade the Ming Dynasty.

However, Korea, which has not known soldiers for two hundred years, will definitely be unable to resist the Japanese soldiers, and the entire territory will fall in a matter of seconds.

If I, the Ming Dynasty, think about the meaning of protecting the vassal, and the danger of dying lips and cold teeth, Korea must rescue me.

You can prepare early now to avoid being caught off guard by unexpected events. "

After this memorial was sent to the capital, in the eyes of most people, it was inexplicable and a bit sensational.

Predicting a strong enemy invasion in one direction "out of thin air" and then saying that preparations must be made in advance seems like a liar no matter how you look at it.

It's just that the liar is trying to defraud gold and silver, and this memorial is using "preparation for war" to defraud money, food and power?

Is it because Lin Tailai was away from the court for several months and was afraid of being forgotten, so he tried every means to increase his presence?

The cabinet discussed this memorial with the Ministry of War. Ye Mengxiong, Secretary of the Ministry of War, repeated the memorial and said: "First wait and see what happens, and then send businessmen to the Japanese country to inquire about it. At the same time, we will accumulate grain and grass in Liaodong."

However, Shi Xing, the left minister of the Ministry of War, who had been dormant for half a year, made a separate memorial, accusing Lin Tailai of fabricating the enemy's power out of greed for power and wealth.

Lu Guangzu, the censor of Zuodu, who had just come back from "contemplating his mistakes behind closed doors" and was in urgent need of establishing his authority, accused Lin Tailai of "having different ambitions and evil intentions."

And Lu Guangzu also mentioned an allusion. Before Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Qiao mutiny, there was a fake military intelligence about an enemy invasion.

Officials from the Ministry of Revenue, Yang Junmin, Sun Qin and others, complained one after another, saying that it cost hundreds of thousands to pacify Ningxia last year, and preparing for war this year was a waste of people, money and national treasury.

Amidst the turbulent remarks, Emperor Wanli was also a little confused and consulted his chief assistant Zhao Zhigao.

Zhao Shoufu suggested not to make a decision easily, but to leave the relevant memorials unpublished to see the consequences.