I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 235 Lin Shisan, Shameless

Lin Shisan shook his head: "Heh, Old Li is the kind of guy who won't get up early for nothing."

"My man? He's nobody's man. Or rather, he can be anyone's man. As long as the price is right!"

Sun Yue said, "The key to that matter lies in bribing Li Chengliang."

Lin Shisan thought for a moment, then asked Sun Yue with a smile, "Who is the direct superior of the garrison commander of Xianshan?"

Sun Yue replied, "Everyone knows that, naturally it's the General of Liaodong."

Lin Shisan then asked, "And who is the superior of the Liaodong Commander-in-Chief?"

Sun Yue replied, "He is the Governor of Liaodong."

Lin Shisan asked again, "Who is the superior of the Liaodong Governor?"

Sun Yue replied again: "Governor-General of Jiliao".

Lin Shisan said, "Isn't this a coincidence? The current Governor-General of Jiliao is Wang Chonggu—Yang Bo's in-law."

Sun Yue said, "You mean, you want to use Minister Yang's connections to promise Li Chengliang a promotion?"

Lin Shisan said, "Let's go to Yang Bo's residence."

That night, Lin Shisan and Yang Bo had a deep conversation.

Yang Bo was an upright man. When he was in charge of the Ministry of War, he never privately bestowed military positions upon others. When he was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, he never privately bestowed civil positions upon others.

But this time, as a key member of the Kaihai faction, in order to defeat his political enemies, he chose to listen to Lin Shisan's advice.

As long as you, Li Chengliang, listen to Lin Shisan, you will be the next Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong! I, Yang Bo, will talk to Wang Chonggu!
With the Minister of Personnel and the Governor-General of Jiliao endorsing Lin Shisan's promise, the promise is highly credible!
Lin Shisan sent Sun Yue to Liaodong to personally inform Li Chengliang of this matter.

The days that followed were a long wait.

After the hearing concluded that day, officials filed out of Fengtian Gate.

Lin Shisan walked to the Jinshui Bridge, and Xu Fan called out to him, "Lin Shisan, stop!"

Lin Shisan turned his head: "Young Grand Secretary?"

Xu Fan sneered: "Heh, I heard you've been investigating me?"

Lin Shisan remained silent.

He recently mobilized all the intelligence and informants in the Northern Division to investigate Xu Fan. With such a large-scale operation, it's hard to hide it from the public.

Moreover, the vast Xu faction was not without its own intelligence network. The truth will eventually come out.

Lin Shisan simply adopted a "Xu Shu enters Cao Cao's camp" approach, remaining completely silent. He neither denied nor admitted anything.

"Slap!" Xu Fan actually gave Lin Shisan a hard slap!

In terms of arrogance and domineering behavior, the young Grand Secretary of the Longqing era was no less arrogant than the young Grand Secretary of the Jiajing era.

Lin Shisan is, after all, the third-in-command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. How dare you, Xu Fan, a mere Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, directly slap him in the face?

This fierce battle must have left a deep psychological scar on the Thirteenth Master!
Lin Shisan was stunned by Xu Fan's slap. He hadn't expected Xu Fan to disregard political etiquette and directly slap someone.

It's important to understand that the so-called political rule is: smile to your face, stab you in the back. A facade of harmony masks underlying hostility and ruthless conflict.

What kind of logic is it to start a fight by slapping people outside Fengtianmen and near Jinshui Bridge?
You, young Grand Secretary, are really lacking in martial ethics!
Xu Fan pointed at Lin Shisan's nose and cursed, "You're nothing but a dog of the disgraced cabinet member Gao Gong!"

"Your master has been demoted to a commoner and forced to leave the capital in a sorry state. How dare you, a dog, bite me?"

"First, you need to know your own limitations!"

Just then, Xu Jie roared, "You bastard, whose dog are you then?"

Xu Jie then strode over and said to Lin Shisan in a gentle tone, "Shisan, Fan'er is young and impetuous. Don't take it to heart." The father and son were clearly playing the good cop/bad cop game.

Xu Jie then changed the subject: "Speaking of which, did you really send people from the Northern Division to investigate Fan'er? Don't let yourself become a tool for those with ulterior motives."

"Just as Fan'er said, that person has already left the capital in a sorry state. Why should you do things for him?"

When it comes to enduring humiliation and having a thick skin, Lin Shisan is the one!

Having suffered a great humiliation, Lin Shisan decided to go all the way and immediately bowed down, giving the Xu family father and son ten loud kowtows.

Then Lin Shisan said with tears in his eyes, "Oh dear! Grand Secretary, young Grand Secretary, you have wronged me!"

"What a bastard Gao Gong is! How could I possibly associate with him!"

"I have never done such a despicable thing as assigning spies to investigate the Junior Grand Secretary!"

"The heavy responsibilities of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty rest on the shoulders of the Grand Secretaries and Junior Grand Secretaries! How could I dare to cause you any trouble!"

On a side note, Lin Shisan's words, seemingly praising Xu Jie and his son, were actually a curse upon them.

You should know that the grass on the grave of the previous Ming Dynasty weightlifting king is already three feet tall.

Xu Fan said smugly, "Hmph, good that you know. People can't be ungrateful."

Xu Jie snapped, "You unfilial son, shut up!"

Xu Jie then put on a good-natured act: "How can I accept that one of the leaders of the Royal Guards is kowtowing to me? Get up quickly."

Lin Shisan, with snot and tears streaming down his face, said, "I was confused before, and I may have done things that offended the Grand Secretary and the Junior Grand Secretary."

"But after Gao Gong left the capital in such a sorry state, I realized something. The Ming court now has two pillars of the nation, one big and one small. Those are the Grand Secretary and the Junior Grand Secretary!"

"The entire land of China, with its myriad lives, depends on you, Grand Secretary, and Young Grand Secretary!"

"Even if I, Lin Shisan, had ten thousand lives, I would never dare to do anything detrimental to the Grand Secretary or the Junior Grand Secretary."

Xu Jie helped Lin Shisan up: "Shisan, you've been wronged. Fan'er, hurry up and apologize to Shisan."

Xu Fan gave Lin Shisan a perfunctory bow and said, "I apologize for the inconvenience."

Xu Fan's provocative act against Lin Shisan was a classic case of Xiang Zhuang's sword dance aimed at Liu Bang.

All the civil and military officials were gathered by the Jinshui Bridge. Slapping the emperor's servant, Lin Shisan, in front of them was tantamount to telling them: "The Xu family now holds deep roots in the court. Half the civil officials in the empire are Xu family members. Offend the Xu family, and even if it were the Northern Garrison Commander, my Xu family would still slap him without hesitation!"
Lin Shisan cried his eyes out. In fact, he was trying to show weakness to the Xu family father and son.

Did you suffer a major setback and lose face? Whether in the imperial court or in the marketplace, what's face worth? Can it be exchanged for a few steamed buns?
If we can ultimately achieve our goal, what does it matter if we have to lose face?
Throughout history, the victors are kings and the losers are bandits. Before Han Xin became a great general, the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs was a joke. But after he became a great general, that humiliation became a celebrated story!
To put it bluntly, shamelessness is the secret to Lin Shisan's ability to dominate the court for over a decade, rising from a minor official to the third-in-command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The incident at Jinshui Bridge ended with Lin Shisan showing weakness.

A woman stood by Emperor Longqing's side, speaking out for Lin Shisan.

This woman is Consort Li.

Inside the rear hall of the Qianqing Palace, Consort Li cried out, "Your Majesty, Xu Fan didn't just slap Lin Shisan's face; he clearly slapped yours!"

"He is one of your personal guard leaders. He's a member of the Royal Guard!"

"Xu Jie and his son are truly arrogant and domineering to the extreme! I am afraid, very afraid."

The Longqing Emperor asked, "What are you afraid of?"

Consort Li replied, "I'm afraid it won't be long before Xu Jie becomes Cao Cao, and Xu Fan becomes Cao Pi!"

The frail and kind-hearted Emperor Longqing sighed deeply: "Alas. How could I not know? It's just that I've only been on the throne for a short time, and the civil officials are supporting Xu Jie."

"It's easier to move a mountain than to shake a civil official!"

(End of this chapter)