Daming talker

Chapter 774 I'll Just Rub It (Part )

Lin Tailai did not want to steal the limelight from Wang Xiangqian, so he stayed in Tianjin for two more days, waiting for the ceremony of pacifying Bozhou and presenting captives in the capital to be over.

In the freezing cold weather of early December, the ceremony of surrendering prisoners was successfully held. The emperor ordered that Yang Yinglong's body be shredded and that rebel generals including Yang Chaodong be beheaded in Xishi.

At the same time, an imperial decree was issued to change the native officials in Bozhou into mobile officials and divide the land of Bozhou into two prefectures, Zunyi and Pingyue.

In addition, Pingbo Governor Wang Xiangqian was promoted to Minister of Military Affairs, which means he was the governor of the Beijing camp with the title of Minister of War.

Then Lin Tailai rushed to the capital. This was the first time Lin Tailai had come to Beijing since the 21st year of Wanli.

Compared with his aggressive behavior back then, Lin Tailai's visit to Beijing this time was very low-key, but no one dared to underestimate him.

Lin Tailai now gives the court officials the feeling of a giant beast with most of its body hidden under the water.

Most people can only see a small part that is above the water surface. As for how big the body is under the water, no one can see clearly.

After entering the capital, Lin Tailai first went to the Ministry of War to return the pass, but he did not meet the Minister of War Ye Mengxiong there.

After asking around, I learned that Ye Dasima, who was in his seventies, had been ill at home for more than a month.

Lin Tailai sighed with regret, fearing that another old friend was about to leave.

The reason why Wang Xianggan was asked to leave Xuanfu Town and go to the southwest to gain military merit for pacifying Bozhou was to take over Ye Mengxiong's position.

In case Ye Mengxiong really can't hold on, there is still someone with enough qualifications to take over.

After leaving the Ministry of War, Lin Tailai did not stay in the six ministries for long and went to the Hanlin Academy.

After all, now apart from his title, the only official positions Lin Tailai held were the Communications Department and the Hanlin Academy.

When he saw Wen Zhenmeng and Feng Menglong waiting to greet him outside Dengying Gate, the 33-year-old Lin Tailai felt that he had finally become a senior in the field of poetry.

"Where are Dong Qichang and Zhou Yingqiu?" Lin Tailai asked the two men, "Why didn't they come out to greet us?"

Wen Zhenmeng quickly replied, "The two seniors went to the Wenhua Palace to give lectures to the eldest prince."

Lin Tailai suddenly realized that a few years ago, Emperor Wanli could not stand the harassment of his ministers, so he agreed to let his eldest son go out to study.

So the Hanlin Academy had something to do again, and they had to organize a team of lecturers to give lessons to the emperor's eldest son. Zhou Yingqiu and Dong Qichang were among them.

Lin Tailai asked his two disciples, "The 28th year of the Wanli reign is almost over. What do you think the government will be like next year?"

After Wen Zhenmeng and Feng Menglong looked at each other, Wen Zhenmeng answered, "The eldest prince will be twenty next year, but he has not yet been canonized, crowned, or married. The court officials will definitely ask the emperor for an explanation, so the court cannot be at peace."

Lin Tailai said again: "That's right, what do you think?"

The two replied, "Of course we will follow the teacher's instructions, stay out of the matter, and stay out of the limelight."

Lin Tailai nodded and said, "You are right to think so. There is no need to get involved in the dispute over the country's foundation. The credit of supporting the emperor is not so easy to earn."

Wen Zhenmeng said, "So after the New Year is over and the thaw comes, you will leave the capital again?"

Lin Tailai said, "Next year, it may be time to appoint a crown prince. How can I not be there?"

Wen Zhenmeng and Feng Menglong were stunned. Teacher Lin always avoided Guo Ben when he encountered him making trouble, so why did he come closer this time?

Lin Tailai sighed: "Although the merit of supporting the emperor is useless, as the saying goes, it is better to take advantage of it than not.

But the water is too deep here, you can't control yourself, so you can just take the credit for supporting me."

Wen Zhenmeng: “.”

Teacher Lin is still the same Teacher Lin. He will never be absent when there is an opportunity to take advantage of others.

Having said that, Lin Tailai remembered something, turned around and walked out.

Wen Zhenmeng chased after him and asked, "Where are you going, teacher?"

Lin Tailai replied without even turning his head: "I have not yet paid my respects to the eldest prince. Today I will go to the Wenhua Palace to pay my respects to him, so as to fulfill my duties as a subject and avoid criticism."

Wen Zhenmeng and Feng Menglong always felt that Teacher Lin looked like he was going to see some sight.

Someone angrily said to Zeng Chaojie, the president of the Hanlin Academy: "Lin Tailai came to the Hanlin Academy and left without paying homage to the president. This is extremely rude."

Dean Zeng said self-deprecatingly: "I will be satisfied if Marquis Daifang doesn't blame me for not going to the front yard to greet him."

Coming out of the Hanlin Academy, you can walk a few steps to enter the imperial city from the Chang'an Left Gate, and then pass through four gates to arrive in front of the Wenhua Hall. Opposite the Wenhua Hall is the Wenyuan Pavilion.

The Wenhua Hall was used by the Emperor and the Crown Prince for work, study and lectures. Normally, it was the place where ministers often came and went.

However, when faced with an emperor like Emperor Wanli, who hid in the deep palace and did not appoint a crown prince, the Wenhua Hall was basically idle.

Even a minister like Lin Tailai only entered the Wenhua Hall two or three times, and one of them was when he won the title of martial arts champion.

The Wenhua Hall was reopened a few years ago after the emperor allowed his eldest son to go out to study.

At this time, the eldest prince Zhu Changluo was taking classes in the east wing of Wenhua Palace. The arrival of Dai Fanghou and Lin Tailai, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy, interrupted the eldest prince's classes.

This made the main lecturer Guo Zhengyu very unhappy, but there was nothing he could do.

When Lin Tailai walked into the side hall, he couldn't help but shiver, because there was no fire in the hall and it was as cold as an ice cellar.

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, what a pitiful eldest prince.

There was not even a brazier for class in the middle of winter, which was comparable to the rural schools in Hebei Province that were banned from coal and not given natural gas for environmental protection more than 400 years later.

After a little thought, Lin Tailai roughly understood what was going on. The identity of the eldest prince was very sensitive and embarrassing. All treatment was determined by Emperor Wanli, and no one dared to give more.

Anything that Emperor Wanli neglected would lead to the palace people being "reasonably" negligent.

However, the eldest prince and the lecturer were too cautious to take the initiative to "complain" to the emperor, for fear of arousing the disgust and dissatisfaction of Emperor Wanli.

So a bunch of people are freezing here like grandchildren, which is both ridiculous and deserved.

Lin Tailai took a quick look around and saw Zhou Yingqiu and Dong Qichang among the lecturers. He also saw an unfamiliar Hanlin who was slightly taller and more majestic than ordinary people. He might be the top scorer of the previous exam, Xiong Tingbi.

It just so happened that Xiong Tingbi also opened his eyes wide, carefully and curiously looking at the "uninvited guest" who suddenly broke in - everyone said that this person was a higher-end version of himself.

It seemed that he just looked taller and stronger than me, nothing else.

As for the aura or not, that's just to scare the weak. Xiong Tingbi has never been convinced by anyone in his life!

Lin Tailai bowed to the eldest prince and sighed softly. For some people, being born in an imperial family is a torture.

He then said to the 19-year-old eldest prince, "It is so cold, Your Highness should take care of yourself."

Zhu Changluo smiled bitterly with his almost frozen face, but did not respond verbally.

I dare not say it, I dare not say it. It is already a great favor from heaven that the emperor allows me to come out and meet the ministers. How dare I complain about the bad environment?

Lin Tailai said again: "Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will be back soon."

Then, under the gaze of a dozen lecturers and companions, Lin Tailai turned and walked out of the side hall, leaving everyone puzzled.

Directly south of Wenhua Hall is Wenyuan Pavilion, and to the east there is also a row of houses, which were used by the Secretariat of the Imperial Household Department and some eunuchs in charge of miscellaneous chores.

Lin Tailai strode to the east house, kicked the door open, and rushed in to see a group of eunuchs warming themselves around two braziers.

Lin Tailai shouted at the eunuchs, "You are here to keep warm, why don't you consider His Highness?"

A young eunuch of about sixteen or seventeen stood up and cursed, "Where did this bastard come from?"

Lin Tailai slapped the young eunuch who had spoken and sent him flying. He looked around at the other eunuchs and asked, "Could it be that after seven years of absence from the capital, some people don't recognize me?"

The other eunuchs said in unison: "Your Excellency, you are joking! Who doesn't know this?"

Then the eldest prince, the lecturer, and the companions saw Lin Tailai escorting a group of eunuchs and carrying several braziers into the side hall.

While directing the arrangement of the braziers, Lin Tailai poked the speaker Guo Zhengyu in the face and said, "The court has appointed you as the speaker, so you must take real responsibility!"

Guo Zhengyu was so angry that his face turned red, and he almost said "If you can do it, then do it", but he still restrained himself.

"The consequence of your irresponsibility will only cause outsiders to make wild guesses and misunderstand His Majesty!" Lin Tailai scolded.

Guo Zhengyu dared to be angry but not to speak. With the emperor's character, was there any need for misunderstanding?

One of the eunuchs was probably angry and was not happy with his actions, so he was kicked by Lin Tailai and fell in front of Xiong Tingbi.

Xiong Tingbi: “.”

Damn it, calling myself "Little Lin Tailai" is really flattering myself. How could I dare to use Lin Jiuyuan as a template?

Beating eunuchs in the palace, is this something a minister can do?

After pretending to listen to the lecture for a while, Lin Tailai couldn't bear it anymore.

Anyway, the job of lecturer is definitely not suitable for him, and his purpose today is just to show off his face.

As the show was about to end at noon, Lin Tailai walked out with Zhou Yingqiu and Dong Qichang.

However, Chen Ju, the current number one eunuch, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department and the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot, was standing outside the palace with a stern face.

A few years ago, Zhang Cheng, the seal holder, was exiled to Nanjing because he married into the Wuqing Marquis and attempted to act as the emperor's senior. Another eunuch who ranked before Chen Ju, Tian Yi, also died.

So now Chen Ju has climbed to the top of the eunuch industry, holding the seal of the Silijian and concurrently managing the Dongchang. There may be only a few such people in the entire Ming Dynasty, so you can imagine his status.

It was obvious that Eunuch Chen came to find Lin Tai, so the others took a detour.

Lin Tailai chuckled a few times, "Someone has complained to the prince so soon? Could it be that they are here to call for punishment?"

Chen Ju said calmly: "Those are minor matters, the emperor won't blame you."

You are deliberately testing the emperor's tolerance. Can't he, Chen Dayong, see it?
Chen Ju immediately asked, "I saw in the report that the Ishimi Silver Mine has been seized. Why didn't you give more details?"

What you mean is, you're not going to keep it for yourself, are you?

Lin Tailai explained: "We just got it from Japan. We still need to investigate the specific situation in detail. We will probably have a result next spring."

Chen Ju said doubtfully, "Are you sure? Hasn't Japan been developing this area for decades? Why is there still a need for investigation?"

Lin Tailai argued: "Of course we can't just believe everything the Japanese say! If we don't investigate the situation, wouldn't that be the same as letting the Japanese deceive us?"

Eunuch Chen's suspicion lingered, "Is it really so?"

Lin Tailai patted his pectoralis major and said, "I am doing this for the good of Your Majesty!"

After seeing off Eunuch Chen, Lin Tailai looked at Wenyuan Pavilion opposite and turned to walk over there.

Now that you are here, come in and have a cup of tea.

(End of this chapter)