Daming talker

Chapter 731 What sin did you commit?
Originally, March and April in the spring of the 21st year of Wanli in history was a very intense season. That year was the year of the Beijing Inspection held every six years, known in history as the Guisi Beijing Inspection.

This is an important node in the history of Wanli's party struggles. It can even be said that the Guisi Imperial Examination completely laid the basic pattern of party struggles in the middle and late Wanli period.

Why are the imperial inspections always so intense and often become a battlefield for factional struggles?
That’s because the main purpose of the Beijing Inspection is to eliminate unqualified Beijing officials, and a group of Beijing officials will really be “dismissed”, so it is easy for a life-and-death fight to break out.

During the Guisi Imperial Examination in history, there was a very fierce fight between the Qingliu forces represented by the Minister of Personnel Sun Yu, the Left Censor-in-Chief Li Shida, the Director of the Ministry of Examination Zhao Nanxing, and the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Literature Gu Xiancheng, and the Cabinet forces represented by the Prime Minister Wang Xijue.

The consequence of the quarrel was that the Prime Minister Wang Xijue was seriously injured, and the members of the Qingliu forces who participated in the fight were demoted one after another, including Zhao Nanxing, Gu Xiancheng, Gao Panlong, Gu Yuncheng, Xue Fujiao and others.

Then most of these people returned to Wuxi County and lay dormant, continuing to gather people to give lectures and raise funds to rebuild the Donglin Academy, and then evolved into the Donglin Party.

Therefore, it can be said that the Guisi Beijing Inspection in the 21st year of Wanli in history was the direct source of the formation of the Donglin Party.

However, in this time and space, due to the huge butterfly effect brought about by Lin Tailai, the court structure has changed beyond recognition compared to the original history.

The Qingliu forces today are no longer facing the Prime Minister Wang Xijue who can only cry, but a Lin Party group with strong comprehensive strength and particularly good at political struggle.

The strength of the Qingliu forces themselves had also dropped by two-thirds compared to their peak period, not to mention that before the imperial examination, the Left Censor-in-Chief Sun Pi Yang was directly dismissed.

Under this situation where Taoism is declining and demons are growing, it is actually difficult for the Guisi Imperial Examination in this time and space to be intense even if we want to, at least it will not be as intense as in the original history.

If they continue to fight with the Qingliu forces, then wouldn’t Lin Tianshuai, who is far away in North Korea, have traveled through time in vain?

The procedure for the imperial examination was roughly as follows: officials of the fourth rank and above submitted petitions to file their own complaints, and officials of the fifth rank and below were jointly examined by the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate, with the Ministry of Personnel finally drafting and submitting a list of officials to be laid off.

It can be said that the Ministry of Personnel holds the initiative in the Beijing Inspection, but now most of the power of the Ministry of Personnel is not in the hands of the Qingliu forces, and the Qingliu party members can't do much for the time being except passive defense.

On this day, the newly appointed Deputy Director of the Ministry of Personnel, Gu Xiancheng, hosted a banquet for Liu Yukui, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

After the mourning period ended, Gu Xiancheng returned to Beijing to resume his post. He had been waiting since last year until this year, and finally got his chance. His forbearance was not in vain.

Wang Xiangmeng, the former Deputy Director of the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Division, was promoted to Langzhong of the division. The Ministry of Personnel finally vacated a position for a Deputy Director of the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Division.

Logically speaking, the Lin Party would definitely not want to allow a dangerous figure like Gu Xiancheng to return to the core department of the Ministry of Personnel.

However, the Ming Dynasty officialdom had a mechanism of "restoring the original or similar position after the mourning period is over". It was almost natural for Gu Xiancheng to be appointed as the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Selections, and the Lin Party could not openly violate this rule.

With the efforts of Liu Yukui, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and the exchange of interests required for the promotion of Wang Xiangmeng, a general of the Lin Party, to the rank of Langzhong, Gu Xiancheng was finally appointed as the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Selections.

No matter what, Gu Xiancheng, the academic star and true Confucian scholar, holds a high status in the Qingliu forces and is definitely the object of protection and support.

In order to resume his post in the Ministry of Personnel, Gu Xiancheng, who refused to settle for a place elsewhere, wandered in the capital for nearly a year. He was also depressed for nearly a year. Now he can finally hold his head up high!
Gu Xiancheng is hosting a banquet tonight to thank the Left Vice Minister Liu Yukui.

During the casual conversation at the table, the two officials from the Ministry of Personnel naturally talked about this year's imperial examination. This was the most anticipated event in the court recently, and they were both ready to take a look at the "layoff list."

Liu Yukui sighed, "Now we can only focus on protecting ourselves, and we also have to see how they play their moves.

It is foreseeable that the Lin Party will take this opportunity to purge us!

Then we can launch a public discussion and accuse them of forming cliques for personal gain and monopolizing power!

Then we will try our best to alarm the emperor and make him feel disgusted with the tyrannical and overbearing Lin Party."

These ideas were the consensus reached by several leaders of the Qingliu forces after an emergency meeting after Sun Pi Yang was dismissed from office.

This idea does make some sense. Since ancient times, there are countless examples of people who held power without restraint and were eventually bitten back.

Gu Xiancheng replied: "My fellow countryman Qian Yiben once said sixteen words, which I think make a lot of sense: keep your footing, observe carefully, deal with it calmly, and maintain your composure."

Liu Yukui praised and said: "Not bad, not bad, these sixteen words make a lot of sense. We should really follow these sixteen words now."

Gu Xiancheng added: "But these sixteen words sound very familiar to me, as if I have heard them somewhere else. Qian Yiben also said that he heard them from someone else."

The sixteen words were ultimately just self-motivation for the weaker party. Liu Yukui was still worried, but he could only continue to find joy in misery and said, "Fortunately, Lin Tailai is not in the capital at the moment, otherwise the situation we face would be ten times more difficult."

Just hearing the name "Lin Tailai", Gu Xiancheng felt as if he was shrouded by a huge shadow.

The experiences over the years flashed through my mind: becoming one of the best in Wuxi County School, cracking down on pornography on Qinhuai River, forcing me to debate scriptures by being pressed on my head three times, promoting the "Gu Family Class" and stigmatizing it, and secretly building a nunnery on the site of the old Donglin Academy.
If he had not returned to his hometown and hid for three years because of mourning after Lin Tailai entered the court, who knows what his current situation would be.

Look at his good friend and former colleague Zhao Nanxing, his official position is getting lower and lower, and his position is getting more and more biased.

Thinking of this, Gu Xiancheng subconsciously said: "I always feel that Lin Tailai has been desperately targeting me for the past eight years."

Hearing Gu Xiancheng's words, Liu Yukui was so surprised that he lost his voice and asked, "Are you overestimating yourself?"

Gu Xiancheng: "."

Zuo Shaozai, what exactly do you mean? Is Gu Xiancheng unworthy?
Liu Yukui quickly explained: "What I mean is, you are not worthy of Lin Tailai's long-term deliberate targeting, right?

No, what I want to say is that Lin Tailai should not have to keep targeting you. "

In Minister Liu's opinion, the only person who was qualified to be targeted by Lin Tailai for a long time should be at least of the level of Lu Guangzu, the former Minister of Justice and Left Censor-in-Chief.

Although you, Gu Xiancheng, have a certain status in the industry, you are still several levels lower than others. How could you have deserved Lin Tailai's attention for eight consecutive years?
"Really, I dare not deceive the young master. I have indeed been maliciously targeted by Lin Tailai." Gu Xiancheng said seriously.

Liu Yukui couldn't help but laugh, "Gu Jingyang, you are drunk."

Gu Xiancheng brought this up intentionally, meaning that although he was in the opposition before, now that he has officially returned to the Ministry of Personnel, he will definitely be maliciously targeted by Lin Tailai, so he asked Liu Shaozai to take good care of him.

As for the business of the imperial examination, it was led by the Minister of Personnel himself and was specifically under the charge of the Ministry of Personnel's Examination and Reward Department.

One of them is the Left Vice Minister and the other is the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Literature, so they cannot get involved in the Beijing inspection business at this stage.

In March, the latest battle reports from Liaodong were sent to the capital.

Governor Lin Tailai first used a strategy to scare the Japanese pirates into retreating, and then the admiral Li Rusong, the general commander of military affairs, commanded the troops and defeated the main force of the Japanese pirates in the southeast of Seoul, beheading more than 5,000, capturing more than 14,000, and drowning more than 10,000, creating a great victory that had not been seen in a century!
At the same time, Governor Lim Tai-lai led the battalion to seize the Donui Gate. Lim Tai-lai personally put on armor and took the lead in climbing the ladder. Then the government troops entered the city in large numbers and recovered Seoul.

This battle report is very well written and the victory was very glorious. The fourth advance and the annihilation of 30,000 enemies were very shocking.

These are all very good topics, but everyone is still more concerned about the Ministry of Personnel. How can a war three thousand miles away be as exciting as the "layoff list" that the Ministry of Personnel is about to draw up?

It is even more exciting since this Beijing inspection is led by the Lin Party.

Everyone knows how good the relationship is between the Lin Party and the Qingliu Party.

It is said that underground gambling houses in the capital have already offered odds for all well-known Qingliu party members to be included in the "elimination list", and the betting is very popular.

If the Qingliu Party members who hold important positions are laid off, won’t others have a chance?
But the biggest move made public recently by Minister of Personnel Wang Shizhen is to organize a literary conference in the capital this spring.

As for the theme of the literary conference, it goes without saying that it must be "Eastern Expedition", otherwise, would it still be spring?

In the past three years, since Lin Shizong's work focus shifted to overseas expeditions, the literary world has been swept by a fierce trend of frontier poetry and military poetry.

It is said that this is called "literature should reflect the characteristics of the times and be realistic."

At the end of March, the literary conference came to a successful conclusion, and the poem ranked first by the old leader of the literary world was a seven-character poem.

"The jade seal flutters in the morning glow, and the general pays homage to the capital.

The purple clay edict was sent down to the Nine Heavens Palace, and the green water river connected to the October raft.

The clouds cover the grass in the west, and the frost releases the flowers in the north mountain.

The sun should be rising in Fusang now, and I look back at Chang'an with a longing for the future. "

Everyone who saw it was amazed. This poem indeed has distinct characteristics of the times and profound practical significance.

Did the young man who bravely resisted the literary hegemony in Suzhou become the person he once hated the most?
After the literary conference, Mr. Wang finally began to focus on his job and convened a meeting of all the officials of the Ministry of Personnel on the last day of March.

Wang Lao Tianguan looked at the left and right assistant ministers, three doctors (Lin Tailai, the doctor of the Ministry of Examination, was absent), four assistant ministers, and eight chief officials, and said calmly:

"Yesterday, the Ministry of Examination handed over the draft list of officials to be laid off in this Beijing inspection to this department. Today, I will make it public for you."

Then the old celestial official said to Chen Yunjian, the official of the Ministry of Examination, "You can recite for me."

Chen Yunjian stood up, holding the list, and read without any emotion:

"After investigation, those who were found to be incompetent and not careful included Qian Yiben, the Chief Censor of the Imperial Court; Gu Yuncheng and Zhang Nabi, the Directors of the Ministry of Rites; Xue Fujiao, the Assistant Professor of the Imperial College; and Gao Panlong, the envoy of the Ministry of Personnel."

Others who were not aware of the names were not very surprised at first when they heard them.

The names that have been read out so far are all from the Qingliu faction, but this is too normal.

After all, this is a layoff list led by Lin's party. It would be strange if the Qingliu Party did not include anyone on it.

But as they listened, everyone felt it was a bit strange, as if something was wrong.

Only Gu Xiancheng, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Literature, felt his head explode when he heard these names.

Immediately, he felt dizzy and swayed in his seat.

At this time, someone finally reacted and shouted, "Gu Family Class?"

The term "Gu Family Class" was first proposed by Lin Tailai four years ago. It mainly refers to the officials of Changzhou Prefecture, especially Wuxi County, who were around Gu Xiancheng and had passed the imperial examinations in the last two or three years.

If compared with the original history, it can be found that the "Gu Family Class" and the Eight Gentlemen of Donglin who are about to appear are highly overlapping.

Officials in the Ministry of Personnel may not have other abilities, but they know the factions of officials in the court very well.

When they heard someone shout out "Gu Family Class", everyone immediately realized why this list seemed strange.

Those "killed" by Lin's party were basically people who had close relations with Gu Xiancheng in Wuxi County and Wujin County of Changzhou. Among them, Gu Yuncheng was Gu Xiancheng's younger brother!
After figuring it out, everyone couldn't help but look at Gu Xiancheng.

What on earth did you do wrong, Lao Gu? You actually provoked the Lin Party to waste an opportunity for the imperial examination and destroy your private team.

To put it bluntly, it is like using a cannon weighing hundreds of kilograms to shoot at a mosquito. What a blessing this is!
The opportunity to lead a Beijing inspection is so precious that without Lin Tailai's approval, the Lin Party would never dare to "waste" it.

You know, according to the rules of the current officialdom, being dismissed from office and leaving the court may not be the end of the world, but sometimes it may be a sign of seniority.

But being dismissed for speaking out, offending the powerful or the emperor, and being dismissed for lack of talent or careless behavior are two different things!

If it is the latter, then he is stigmatized and officially certified as incompetent! With such a reputation, how can he maintain his status in the Shilin community after leaving office?

Liu Yukui, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, looked at Gu Xiancheng with great sympathy, his heart filled with guilt and regret.

Some time ago, Gu Xiancheng claimed that he had been deliberately targeted by Lin Tailai for a long time.

But Liu Yukui did not believe it at the time and even laughed at Gu Xiancheng for being too sentimental. But now, after seeing Lin Tailai's fierce struggle against Gu Xiancheng, he finally believed it.

I really don't know what sins Gu Xiancheng committed in his previous life to be targeted by Lin Tailai like this?

"Unfair! This is unjust!" Gu Xiancheng used all his strength to stand up by pressing on the table.

Chen Yunjian, the examiner and deputy minister who was reading the list, wanted to retort but was stopped by Wang Lao Tianguan.

Then the old official said to Gu Xiancheng kindly: "The list has been made public, which means that people are allowed to comment on it.

The list still needs to be reported, and it is not necessarily the final result. If you have any opinions or views on the list, you can point them out in a memorial.”

Everyone also heard the hidden meaning of the Minister of Personnel's words - you can comment however you want, and submit memorials if you want, but the Ministry of Personnel will not make any changes to the list.

Gu Xiancheng looked anxiously at the Left Vice Minister Liu Yukui, but Liu Yukui shook his head slightly at Gu Xiancheng.

It’s useless to say anything at the Ministry of Personnel meeting. We’ll have to wait and find a solution.

(End of this chapter)