Chapter 661 A loving father and a filial son at the end of the year
In fact, a lot of things happened at the end of the year, but in the context of the main theme of "the disintegration of the old party and the reorganization of the new party", they were not so eye-catching.
For example, Li Chengliang, the commander-in-chief who guarded Liaodong for twenty-two years and boasted dozens of great victories and great martial arts skills, was relieved of all military duties in the last month of his sixty-sixth year and returned to the capital only as Ning Yuanbo.
Of course, for Li Chengliang, who was born in Liaodong, made his fortune in Liaodong, and had all his foundations in Liaodong, this was a forced departure from his homeland and a trip to the capital in a foreign land, which could not be considered a "return".
Li Chengliang was very well-known in Ming Dynasty official circles. He had been the target of fierce criticism from officials for many years, and there were endless discussions about false claims and false claims.
But Li Chengliang was wealthy, willing to spend money, and good at making friends with the chief ministers, so he was always safe and sound under the protection of the chief ministers of the past dynasties.
After the sudden resignation of former Prime Minister Shen Shixing, Li Chengliang immediately couldn't withstand the impeachment and was dismissed for "deceiving others and taking credit."
In a sense, it can be regarded as being implicated in the political changes in the imperial court and suffered a "disaster like a fish in a pond".
Of course, it may also have something to do with the gradual rise of the eldest son Li Rusong.
If you are a civilian official, it is not a big problem to hang around for a few more days after being dismissed. But this is not the case for general officers. You must leave immediately, otherwise you will be accused of being evil.
Therefore, Li Chengliang arrived in the capital very quickly, but also very low-key, especially in the context of severe turmoil at the top, it was even more inconspicuous.
In view of Emperor Wanli's virtue, even the process of making a pilgrimage to the emperor was omitted.
General Li has left his comfort zone and cannot integrate into the new circle for the time being. After all, whether he is a civil servant in the capital or a member of the ancestral family, he is not from the same group as the Li family, who have made their fortune through martial arts in recent years.
Therefore, General Li had no choice but to live in the very strange Uncle Ningyuan's mansion, and he could not help but fall into mental internal friction.
Today, General Li was sitting in the hall doing nothing, and no good boy came to take stock of the morning and dusk.
After questioning, the servant said that the uncle was still sleeping, and General Li became angry.
Li Rusong, the eldest son of the Li family, is currently the Left Governor of the Rear Army Governor's Mansion, which is considered to be the top military position.
Originally, the job of the senior military attache in the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army in the capital was easy, and it became even easier after he was granted the title of Yamen at the end of the year.
So Li Rusong didn't know where he went to hang out last night, and he didn't tell me if he asked. In the end, he got drunk and returned home. As of this morning, he was still bedridden.
General Li forcibly called the good boy out of the hot bed into the hall and severely reprimanded him:
"We are a family of generals who serve the country with military merit, which is completely different from those who rely on their ancestors for their honor!
Therefore, you must be diligent at all times, but how dare you be so lazy! In the past, when I was not in the capital, did you always live like this?"
Due to his filial piety, Li Rusong did not dare to talk back, so he could only listen to the instructions honestly.
The next day, Li Rusong got up early in the morning and practiced eighteen kinds of martial arts in front of the hall from sunrise to noon.
Li Chengliang walked over with his hands behind his back, stood on the porch and scolded: "Our Li family has been safe and sound for many years, and everyone has always maintained a steady and rising trend!
Look at the Ma family in Datong and the Dong family in Xuanfu. They all have ups and downs. How can we, the Li family, be as safe as we are?
What's the reason? It's because your father and I are more politically savvy than them!
A person like you who only knows how to practice martial arts behind closed doors and doesn't know how to look up at the road is really stupid!"
Li Rusong: "."
This doesn’t work, that doesn’t work either, it’s an indirect statement that my father is dissatisfied with himself!
My father probably believed that it was because he performed so well that he had to leave Liaodong.
Then Li Rusong couldn't help but said: "Father, you are the dismissed Ning Yuanbo, and my son, I am the Zuo Governor of the Rear Army Governor's Mansion. We are already rich and idle, and we no longer lead troops. How can we cause any worries?"
Li Chengliang scolded again: "Your brother is still in Jizhen! As the backbone of the family, how can you only think about yourself? You can't be too selfish!"
Li Rusong said angrily: "Father, what do you mean by political acumen?"
Old General Li said proudly: "Although I am far away in Liaodong all year round, I can make Zhang Jiangling and Shen Wumen, the two chief ministers, speak for me. This is my political acumen!
Now that the imperial court has a new chief assistant, as the current pillar of the Li family, you don’t think about how to get in touch with the chief assistant, you just know that practicing martial arts at home is useless!"
Hearing his father talk about being "the pillar of support", Li Rusong always felt that his father, who was dismissed, was being arrogant.
So Li Rusong decided to flex his muscles, speak with strength, and compete for his family status.
"There is a secret society in the imperial court now. What is the name of the society and who is in the society? These all need to be kept secret. I can't say.
But all my father needs to know is that today's Zhao Shoufu is the number two figure in this society! And I, Li Rusong, am the honorary member of this society!
Who wouldn’t be able to establish a relationship with the chief assistant? Father wouldn’t have to worry about it!"
Li Chengliang was stunned for a moment, then shouted: "Do you think that just because you and the chief minister are in the same club, it can be considered a relationship?
I didn’t expect you, a person in your forties, to be so naive! You actually regard the strength of the club as your own ability!
The fact that the chief assistant is in this club, at best, can only show how powerful the club is, not how great you are, nor does it mean that you and the chief assistant have established a real personal relationship!"
"What is a real personal relationship?" Li Rusong asked still unconvinced.
Li Chengliang asked: "I heard that the first assistant is older than me. Do you dare to call the first assistant Shibo?"
Li Rusong contradicted him and said, "I dare to call him Shi Bo, but Zhao Shoufu doesn't dare to agree and insists that I call him brother!"
Li Chengliang: "."
Am I being too harsh on my son? He actually started talking nonsense. If word of this spreads, I'm afraid it will cause trouble!
Seeing that his father didn't believe it, Li Rusong said, "I drank too much the night before and went to the club's year-end party! I shouldn't have told anyone about this party!"
At that time, I was sitting next to Zhao Shoufu, and when we were toasting, he said that Lin Jiuyuan had always called me brother, so he didn't dare to call himself brother, and asked me to call him brother too!"
General Li doubts life and is it so easy to curry favor with his chief minister? Then what is the significance of the boxes of gold and silver ginseng he has given away over the past twenty years?
Ever since his father arrived in the capital, Li Rusong, who had been scolded all the time, couldn't help but provoke him: "When you made friends with Zhang Jiangling or Shen Wumen, did you dare to call them brothers?"
Li Chengliang picked up the Ruyi at hand and hit him. While hitting him, he shouted:
"The chief assistant asked you to shout like this, do you really dare to shout like this? If others see it, they will just think that my Li family has no rules! Everyone has their own opinions, do you understand this principle?"
Governor Zuo, who was in his forties, fled out of the gate with his head in his hands.
He finally saw that his father was angry and even if he walked in with his left foot first when he got home, he would still be scolded.
This family really couldn't stay any longer. Thinking of this, Li Rusong once again had the idea of going out to serve as a general soldier.
Originally, Li Rusong didn't like being a grandson in the capital, and preferred to go out of town and become a local emperor.
Due to various reasons, it was difficult to fulfill his wish. After working as the general soldier of the Xuanfu for half a year, he was driven back again.
From this perspective, Li Rusong quite understands his father.
Now that his father has been dismissed, and he no longer needs to stay in the capital as a "hostage", will the opportunity to become the commander-in-chief come again?
So Li Rusong turned around and went to the residence of Ye Mengxiong, the Minister of War. The Minister of War was the person in charge of this kind of matter, so it was best to use it.
After all, he and Ye Mengxiong had a friendship in Ningxia's counterinsurgency, and they were both honorary members of the Update Society, so they could speak well.
It's the end of the year, and there are a lot of visitors to the houses of big bosses, and they all bring New Year gifts.
Li Rusong jumped in and went straight to Ye Da Sima's study, requesting: "Now that my father has received the emperor's grace, he can return home to recuperate, but my Li family's desire to serve the country has not rested.
I am willing to continue to go out to the border areas of the town on behalf of my father, no matter how big or small, no matter how far or near!"
Ye Mengxiong smiled and said: "Captain Li, please be patient and wait a moment."
Li Rusong said doubtfully: "What are you waiting for?"
Ye Mengxiong replied: "I don't know either. But when Lin Jiuyuan talked with me before leaving Beijing, he specifically mentioned the arrangements for you.
He just said four words - wait for the right time, so I asked you to be patient and wait."
"Waiting for the right time?" Li Rusong pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned pale with shock, "Are you planning to rebel? This is absolutely impossible!"
Ye Mengxiong: "."
You, Li Rusong, have quite a rich imagination.
After leaving Da Sima Ye, Li Rusong went to visit Zhao Shoufu again. He planned to ask his elder brother to compose a few words and take them home to suppress his father.
At the end of the year, there are many social events and gatherings, and the three cabinet ministers who have stepped down are also full of people.
Although they have stepped down and should return to their hometowns, they can't rush on the New Year's Day, so they plan to wait until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month before setting off.
It's quite strange to be able to "see the crowds". According to general rules, it is only right to have tea to cool down when people leave.
But behind anything that seems to violate the rules, there must be stronger rules at work.
The first assistant king Xijue was in a depressed mood, but he still cheered up to receive the guests, although there was little smile on his face.
The fortune teller said that he had the appearance of being the first assistant. Seeing that he was already the second assistant, why did he go home with Shen Shixing?
After sending away several groups of guests, Wang Heng, who was assisting his father in reception, said very harshly:
"I don't know how active these people are. It's not their turn to be ministers, and it's impossible for my father to recommend them!"
Although the three cabinet ministers have resigned, with the emperor's permission, they can each recommend one person to join the cabinet to fill the vacancies in the cabinet. This is a great power after all.
Wang Xijue said calmly: "You are wrong, they are not here to ask for recommendations, but to find out who I would recommend.
Knowing who I will recommend, they can start burning the cold stoves of future cabinet ministers in advance."
Wang Heng said unconvinced: "Of course I can think of it, and I also know that my father is not too old and there is still the possibility of recovery in the future, so they want to continue to maintain a good relationship.
After all, the old man in the cabinet is already sixty-eight years old, and he may die from office one day!"
This is something that many people can think of. After all, Shen Shixing is fifty-seven, Wang Xijue is fifty-six, and Wang Jiaping is fifty-five. Their ages are here.
Wang Xijue sighed. He originally thought that his son was smart and had a distinctive personality, and was much more outstanding than the mediocre and incompetent brothers of the Shen family.
But now, Wang Cijue really feels like "I wish my children would be foolish and reckless."
You see, the same cabinet minister's father has stepped down, but the boss of the Shen family seems completely unaffected, and even seems to have loosened the shackles that restricted his rise.
Just because the sons of the Shen family are simple-minded, they dare to let go of the prime minister's body and hug him when they see his thigh, and they won't let go when they hug him.
As for my son, when he was studying in the government, he had a chance to become a classmate with the Nine-Yuan True Immortal, but he was killed by the arrogance of Master Zaifu.
Wang Heng had not yet realized his father's sorrow, so he asked with great concern: "Who does my father want to recommend to the cabinet?"
Wang Xijue replied: "I don't know who to recommend. I'm going to ask the chief assistant Zhao Lanxi to see what suggestions he has."
Wang Heng was puzzled, father, you took the wrong medicine? How could you give up the power to nominate new cabinet ministers?
He questioned: "You don't want to leave some team behind to wait for a comeback?"
Wang Xijue scolded a little rudely: "If you come back like a mother, I will give up the right to recommend you, and it's not just for you!"
Besides, given the current situation in the court, there are still a few teams left!
Is there room for others to stay in the team? Didn’t you see that even the so-called Shen Party has been absorbed?
Then Wang Xijue told his servants: "I won't see any guests today! I'm going out!"
Wang Heng looked confused. What happened to his father? He rarely had such emotional outbursts.
After Wang Xijue left the door, he went directly to the Chief Assistant Zhao's Mansion!
Anyway, he has stepped down, so there is no need to avoid any suspicion, as long as he doesn't lose face, it doesn't matter!
Zhao Zhigao was talking to Li Rusong. When he heard Wang Xijue's visit, he quickly invited Wang Xijue in.
For the big boss who has stepped down, it is even more difficult to treat him politely.
"What? Are you asking for my opinion?" Zhao Shoufu and the eldest son of the Wang family looked confused, and they also suspected that Wang Xijue had taken the wrong medicine.
Wang Xijue said firmly to Zhao Zhigao: "I will recommend whoever you ask me to recommend!"
But I also have a condition: I want this person to be the examiner for next year’s exam.
I think you won’t be the examiner, right? It’s better to assign the examiner to someone else.”
Nowadays, the chief examiner of the general examination has to arrange for a bachelor to serve as the chief examiner. Usually, bachelors who have never been the chief examiner take turns taking turns, but now there is only one person in the cabinet, Zhao Zhigao.
However, Zhao Zhigao had just become the first minister and was just building up his prestige. He was definitely not willing to leave the cabinet temporarily and spend a month in isolation in Gongyuan.
Therefore, the examiner for the general examination next spring must be selected from three new cabinet ministers.
Zhao Zhigao immediately understood what Wang Xijue was thinking. Wang Heng, the eldest son of the Wang family, is still in the Imperial College and is expected to take part in the imperial examination next year with a quota for the Imperial College.
Wang Xijue wanted to exchange his son's future at the expense of the right to elect a bachelor, and at least arrange for a concubine.
If Wang Xijue is no longer around, how can it be possible to make progress based on the relationship between Wang Heng and Lin Jiuyuan?
What a crime. Although Lin Jiuyuan is not in the capital, his influence still permeates every corner.
Even though he was more than two thousand miles away, he could send the right to recommend a bachelor to him through the air, Lao Zhao.
"How pitiful the hearts of parents in the world are." Zhao Zhigao couldn't help but sigh.
Then he pointed at Li Rusong and said to Wang Xijue: "Captain Li asked for words for his father to comfort his depression;
And Wang Taicang, you are willing to give up your power for the sake of your son. Your family is truly a loving father and a filial son, with a righteous family tradition!"