Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 549 Don't Come Up
Li House.

Inner house, main hall.

Li Zisheng saw Zhang Luan was stunned, and smiled and said: "Li Yu has privately asked someone to come and pass the letter. It is estimated that he will retire and return home before the twelfth lunar month. This is a special favor from your majesty. After all, he did not do anything that would anger the heavens and the people when he was the Minister of Personnel.

"Laizhan, don't you know about this?"

Zhang Luan shook his head decisively and said, "I don't know, and I haven't heard anything about it so far."

As he spoke, he pondered in his heart.

Li Yu did not do anything evil, but he condoned you, or rather, he condoned Your Majesty's selling of official positions and titles, and you reciprocated by doing all those evil things and bearing the infamy, and instead saved Li Yu?

"Then who do you think should replace Li Yu?"

Li Zisheng asked seriously.

Zhang Luan frowned and muttered quietly, "Aren't we here to drink today? Who will be the Minister of Personnel? Do I have the right to ask?"

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "I know that Xu Shiyong, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, is your in-law. It was through you that he was successfully transferred from Nanjing to the capital and successfully became a Vice Minister. However, his qualifications are still too shallow to be qualified for the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Even if you recommend him, he will not be able to pass the court discussion."

Zhang Luan nodded and said, "Yes, he has only been the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel for a few days. He might be the Left Vice Minister, but as for the Minister of State... Oh! Let's wait a little longer."

"Oh? Do you think he is qualified for the post of Left Vice Minister?"

Li Zisheng asked.

Zhang Luan got anxious when he heard this and said quickly, "Minister Li, I don't understand what you mean... Why are you suddenly telling me this? I've already said that I don't know anything about this at all. It's useless for you to tell me this."

"Laizhan, you don't know how powerful you are."

Li Zisheng said with emotion, "Your Majesty just hasn't asked you yet. If His Majesty asks you one day in the future and asks you to recommend someone... who would you recommend?"

"Oh, let's talk about it later."

Zhang Luan seemed very impatient and just muddled along.

Of course he has his own reasons.

You want me to make assumptions about something that didn't happen?

I'm sorry, even if the emperor really summoned me to the palace and asked me who would be suitable to be the Minister of Personnel, I would definitely ask my son's opinion first to see what Yanling said.

You, Li Zisheng, have been criticized by the world for interfering in the examination and dismissal matters of the Ministry of Personnel during the time of the previous emperor. So, do you still want to arrange the selection of the next Minister of Personnel and use it to continue to control the employment of people in the Ming Dynasty court?
I, Zhang, am also a principled person, okay?
Sorry, I will never let you succeed in this!
Li Zisheng smiled and said, "Don't shirk your responsibility... It will happen sooner or later, maybe in the next few days. Li Yu, the Minister of Personnel, doesn't even want to do it anymore. If the next candidate is suitable, the Ming Dynasty's administration will gradually return to a clean and honest state, which will be very helpful for the accumulation of your majesty's reputation and the smooth transition of the court in the future.

"If you make the right recommendation, it will leave a deep impression on His Majesty and all the civil and military officials."

Zhang Luan stared at Li Zisheng for a few seconds before slowly saying, "So... do you have a suitable candidate to recommend to me?"

"Yes. I do have a great candidate. He is extremely capable and has served as an official in the Ministry of Personnel. However, he is a poor and self-disciplined person. He is well-known among scholars. You will definitely not lose out by recommending him."

Li Zisheng had a very confident look on his face, but met Zhang Luan's suspicious gaze. He couldn't help but smile bitterly and shook his head, "Laizhan, you don't think I'm going to arrange for my own people to take the position again, and then control the promotion of officials, right? Let me ask you first, do you know the grudge between Geng Yu and me?"

"Geng Yu? The Minister of Rites of Nanjing?"

Zhang Luan asked curiously.

He thought, I am lucky to remember this person, but how can I know what kind of entanglement there is between him and you? Someone has to tell me, right?
Li Zisheng smiled and said, "Your Majesty has already issued an order to transfer him to Nanjing as Minister of War... In Nanjing, the Minister of Personnel is not the highest position. The positions above are the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War... In other words, Geng Yu is already the head of all the civil servants in Nanjing, and there is no more room for him to be promoted in Liudu."

"I do know a little about this. Xu Shiyong once told me a lot about the officialdom in Nanjing. Even the Geng Yu you mentioned, I learned about it from him." Zhang Luan nodded.

"Geng Yu is the son of Nanjing's Minister of Justice Geng Jiuchou. He was once the Minister of Personnel, but was disliked by the late emperor. Later, he had a grudge against Wan An, who came to me and begged me to cooperate with him and transfer Geng Yu out of the capital. In addition, the late emperor also wanted to replace him, so I drove the censors under my control to submit memorials to criticize him... In this way, others said that I excluded loyal and good people, so that Geng Yu could not get the position he deserved."

Li Zisheng explained patiently.

Zhang Luan had a different opinion and shook his head, saying, "Since he was hated by the late emperor, transferring him out of the capital is a relatively good treatment. Besides, he was transferred to the Minister of Rites in Nanjing, so he was not treated unfairly."

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "In your opinion, it may be just a transfer of positions, after all, we are both second-rank officials in the court. But most people think that I want to control the employment of officials in the court and deliberately find an excuse to drive Geng Yu away. You see, what I did was just to follow the wishes of the late emperor, but it all became my fault... Being a powerful official is sometimes difficult."

Zhang Luan agreed, "That's right. You have become the late emperor's scapegoat... But it's been a while since the incident. How is Geng Yu now?"

"Laizhan, everyone thinks that I helped you before, and now you are helping me. If there is a change in the Minister of Personnel, you will definitely recommend someone who is familiar with me."

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "But...if you directly recommend my enemy Geng Yu to take the position, it will definitely surprise people, and the world will look at you with new eyes. In this way, won't you have a good reputation?"

"But... I'm not familiar with Geng Yu. I've never even met him, let alone know what kind of person he is. Is it too hasty to recommend him based on a few words from others?"

Zhang Luan frowned and spoke reluctantly.

Li Zisheng said, "What I want is that you are not familiar with him... If you recommend him to a higher position based on your familiarity with him, others may think that you are doing it in a private way, which will be detrimental to your reputation."

Zhang Luan asked, "Are the people in the court so sinister? If I know someone and recommend him, it means I am appointing him based on personal connections. Is this really outrageous?"

"Don't take it lightly... Laizhan, I've experienced this kind of thing a lot, you have to trust me." Li Zisheng said. "This... is also true."

Zhang Luan changed his mind.

Isn't that right?
You, Li Zisheng, were the one who had the final say in the Ministry of Personnel. You decided who to use and who to transfer to other places. You were criticized many times in this regard, so naturally you have experience.

"But don't expect Geng Yu to repay you in the future."

Li Zisheng continued, "These officials who are Confucian scholars seem to understand the rules and perform their duties conscientiously, but behind the scenes, they seem to be inhumane.

"If you recommend him, he will think it's natural and it's all because of his own excellence. If you oppose him, he will think you are a treacherous villain... So, I really don't like dealing with those civil servants, but I have to be at odds with them every day."

"But……"

Zhang Luan said in surprise: "I am also a civil servant."

Li Zisheng laughed loudly: "If you were a civil servant, why weren't you accepted by those scholars and would you sit with me at the banquet today? Would those civil servants think of you when they entertained their guests?"

"I……"

Zhang Luan suddenly felt pain on his face.

"Of course, I'm just giving you a suggestion. Who you want to recommend is your own business."

Li Zisheng said solemnly, "What I want to tell you is that when you do things in the court in the future, you must not consider my position. Just do what you should do. Even if the people you want to use and the people you will use in the future were once my enemies, it doesn't matter to me."

"No, not so much..."

Zhang Luan shook his head repeatedly and denied it quickly.

joke!

I am a guest in your house and you are saying I want to use your enemies?
Do I still want to go out safely?

Li Zisheng sighed, "You are you, I am me, if we encounter difficulties, we can sit together and discuss it, but we can't say that we are partisans because of this.

"You have people you want to use, and I have people I have used before. Come and see... It's easy to say that you should keep your public and private lives separate, but if you really want to put it into practice, it will take you a lifetime to learn."

"I……"

Zhang Luan thought, you are scaring me again!

My son always likes to exaggerate. Why does he start speaking in this tone when he comes to you?
Are you going to let people live?
"Okay, let's get started."

Li Zisheng said to the servant who was serving beside him, "Go tell the women in the mansion to go to the attic opposite to listen to the opera. Laizhan is not a stranger, so since he is here, there is no need to be shy. Laizhan, you eat first, I'll go to the bathroom."

"Oh, okay, okay."

Zhang Luan was also preoccupied at the moment, so he responded casually.

Li Zisheng left the table and went to the backyard.

Pang Qing was already waiting for him here.

After meeting, Li Zisheng first called Pang Qing over and gave him some instructions.

Pang Qing asked curiously, "Do you really want Geng Yu to return to the court and be appointed as the Minister of Personnel? This person has always had a grudge against you. If he comes back... it will be very disadvantageous to you!"

"Who will be good for me if he comes back to the court?" Li Zisheng chuckled. "Let me ask you, is it better for Geng Yu to be the Minister of Personnel, or for that old bastard Wang Shu to be the Minister of Personnel?"

"That……"

When Pang Qing heard Wang Shu's name, his whole body trembled.

It seems like there are some bad memories.

"Geng Yu is just so-so. Apart from his upright character and integrity, what else can he do? If he returns to the court to serve as the Minister of Personnel, I might be able to live a peaceful life for a few days. But if the court appoints that old bastard Wang Shu, it's hard to say... This guy has served as a governor many times, from the position of vice minister to the minister, all in Nanjing, the capital, and has never worked in Beijing, but he is really hard to deal with."

Li Zisheng seemed extremely fearful.

Pang Qing suggested: "Then you should tell Zhang Guozhang clearly."

"It's best not to let Lai Zhan know about Wang Shu... You don't know, Lai Zhan seems to know everything, but he actually spends most of his time there. It's okay if you don't provoke him, but if you provoke him... If Wang Shu returns to the court, I'm afraid Lai Zhan will have conflicts with him, and the situation will get out of control in the end."

Li Zisheng said worriedly.

Pang Qing laughed: "From what you said, you don't want His Majesty to appoint Wang Shu as the Minister of Personnel, because you are also considering Zhang Guozhang's sake?"

"Who said it wasn't? I'm afraid of Wang Shu, and I'm sure I'll be even more afraid of Lai Zhan. This kind of stone belongs in the pit, it's smelly and hard, it's better to sink to the bottom of the mud forever, and never float up!"

(End of this chapter)