Chapter 26 In the fourth quarter, the emperor's sharp claws have been stretched out

Wen Tiren knew Chongzhen's grief right away. This is not a good thing. An emperor who is extremely sad can do anything, not to mention this emperor is known for being suspicious. Wen Tiren knew very well that Chongzhen began to suspect the conspiracy between him and Zhou Yanru, and because of this, Chongzhen was extremely sad.In the past, how much he trusted the two of them. For the sake of them, Chongzhen did not hesitate to break with the officials of the Manchu Dynasty. The purpose was to entrust them with important tasks and clarify the Ming Dynasty.The naive emperor might have thought that since then, the Ming Dynasty has been in harmony with the government, and there will be no more party disputes.

This is an idealistic emperor.Black and white, white and black. But, Your Majesty, why did you appoint Zhou Yanru as the chief assistant?Does he deserve it?He is a traitor!If I come to be the chief assistant, I should be able to realize your ideal of smooth government and harmonious people, and no party disputes.Maybe Zhou Yanru still wants to be the chief assistant, but who is Zhou, and who am I?If Zhou Yanru wants to think this way, then Ji Fengshang is wishful thinking, and he has more energy than energy.I, Wen Tiren, can completely control the situation, so party disputes will not appear in the officialdom of Ming Dynasty.

Party struggles are based on strength, and only by being evenly matched can a party struggle be formed. But now, how to dispel the emperor's suspicion? Wen Tiren let out a long sigh, feeling that this was really a difficult task. Who is the emperor, the Son of Heaven.If the Son of Heaven is suspicious, it's like a suspicious cloud in the sky. You don't know where it comes from and where it's going.The so-called white clouds and gray dogs are impermanent, and there may be dark clouds at any time. Therefore, it is basically impossible to dispel the emperor's suspicion.

But how about thinking about it from another angle? The emperor suspects that I am engaged in party disputes, and Zhou Yanru is also suspected of engaging in party disputes. So in the final analysis, I am not playing games with the emperor, but Zhou Yanru. The emperor is a tiger, and Zhou Yanru and I are rabbits. The running rabbit, the running rabbit. The emperor chased after him, and Zhou Yanru and I ran ahead. In fact, the emperor's appetite is not very big, he can only eat one rabbit - after all, the court still needs someone to do things. So, as long as I can run a little faster than Zhou Yanru.

Thinking of this, Wen Tiren laughed silently. Wen Tiren considered it again and again, and finally resorted to the trick of "escape the shell of the golden cicada". The emperor's sharp claws have already stretched out, and if he doesn't give him something to eat, he will be doomed. Min Hongxue must be sacrificed. As Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Min Hong has enough knowledge.The emperor should feel heavy in his hand. The emperor must be full after eating Min Hongxue. Even if not full, it should be half full. Next, will he eat me again?Or turn around and eat Zhou Yanru?

Wen Tiren thinks it should be the latter. He is willing to take the bet. He can only make this bet. Wen Tiren told Min Hongxue that there was thunder in the sky, the good times were coming to an end, and it was time for smart people to run away.You pack up, get sick and retire, and apply to the emperor to go home for the elderly.Don't ask why, because - our matter has been exposed, the most important thing now is to gain the initiative.Remember, attitude is everything in our lives.The same thing, different attitudes determine different results.You should sincerely write a self-criticism and a letter of resignation.Remember again, make people cry, and the more you make people cry, the better things will be.Maybe there is no danger, and you can still be your official minister.

Wen Tiren told Min Hongxue that if you run away today, it may be me running away tomorrow. All in all, life is nothing more than "running away".If you run away, I can still be your umbrella; if I run away, that would be a miserable journey.So, don't have any grievances in your heart.I don't believe in grievances in life, everyone has their own destiny... Min Hongxue said to Wen Tiren, I admire your outlook on life, sincerely. Chongzhen was not surprised at all when he received Min Hongxue's letter of returning home. This is Wen Tiren making a move, he is a strong man with a broken arm, step down for me.

Whether to accept the offer or not to return the offer are two issues, but they are actually the same issue. The question is, what depth and breadth should be achieved when dealing with party disputes, and whether there is a bottom line for dealing with party disputes. The bottom line issue is related to the life and death of a dynasty and cannot be ambiguous. But when grasping the bottom line, we must also pay attention to the organic combination of principle and flexibility, and have a certain degree of flexibility. Chongzhen decided to proceed in two steps: first, cut off the heavy weapons in the hands of Wen Tiren and Zhou Yanru respectively: approve Min Hongxue's letter of resignation and return home, deduct half a year's wages from Hua Yuncheng, and refuse to reuse them; second, verbally warn Wen Tirenhe Zhou Yanru once each warned them not to engage in infighting in the cabinet. Anyone who engages in infighting will never end well.Both of them will work sincerely for the court in the future.

Chongzhen believed that the so-called political masters were actually masters of balance.Balance is stability, and stability overwhelms everything else. To be stable, the two ends of the seesaw must be evenly matched. Chongzhen each played 50 big boards, the original intention was to make both parties feel wronged, not to stand out, and not to engage in party disputes. He is impartial, neither left nor right, and maintains an equidistant psychological relationship with Wen Tiren and Zhou Yanru. But he did not expect that Wen Tiren and Zhou Yanru regarded the equidistant psychological relationship as the starting point rather than the end point.

They want to shorten the psychological distance between themselves and Chongzhen desperately, and lengthen the psychological distance between each other and Chongzhen desperately. So, action must be taken—repressive action. A new round of party struggles has begun again, irresistibly, and intensified. Zhou Yanru asked his relative Chen Yutai, the editor of the Imperial Academy, to come forward and write an excerpt of "Four Events in Chen Shizheng".Of course, Chen Shizheng's four incidents are false, and Chen Shizheng's attack on Wen Tiren is true.Wen Tiren was also unequivocal, calling the Xuanfu eunuch Wang Kun to impeach Chen Yutai's name is a big problem. At present, the most important issue in current affairs is Zhou Yanru's fraud in the court.Zhou Yanru saw that he was getting angry, so he hurriedly ordered Fu Chaoyou to attack the eunuch Wang Kun and his ministers to interfere in the government and discuss the government affairs indiscriminately.Moreover, an eunuch who wrote the memorial so aggressively did not seem to be the work of a castrated person, but included someone else.Who is this "his person"?It should be a person with strong desire, insidious and treacherous!

Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren exchanged swords and swords, and the war of words was very intense.The officials in the imperial court knew in their hearts that they were divided into two camps to join the battle, and the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom was full of gunpowder and blood.Chongzhen watched with cold eyes, thinking hard about a way to break the situation.At this moment, an upright but ignorant official gave a memorial, which inadvertently made Chongzhen Longyan furious—the balance was finally broken. This official is Wang Zhidao, the left deputy capital censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.Wang Zhidao didn't want to get involved in the dispute between Zhou and Wen, but criticized the minister's overreach.He went on to say that the recent actions of the ministers almost held the emperor's keynote, but the assistant ministers finally dared not ask a word. . There are endless misfortunes, and it is a mouth for all ages.Chongzhen became angry: My good fellow, you are scolding me around the corner.I set up the internal ministers' discussion of government affairs against all opinions. What is the purpose? Isn't it to supervise you officials who are engaged in party disputes?You speech officials, who regard the ministers as your own amulets, are tearing down my walls... Saying that there are endless disasters and a proof for the world, it is better to say that I, Chongzhen, will be stinking for thousands of years!This Wang Zhidao is really hateful, he is fighting with the party, but you are fighting with me, isn't this diverting attention and accusing me of the crime?Chongzhen couldn't help but patted the table. However, for an upright but ignorant person, it doesn't make much difference whether to slap the table or not.Wang Zhidao argued with reason, saying that the assistant minister Zhou Yanru was joined by a eunuch, and the people in the court were uneasy, and they were all worried about the Ming Dynasty's rules and regulations... The emperor didn't ask the eunuch to blame, but Wang Kun blamed me, as if I had something wrong like a purpose... Chongzhen's eyes were dark enough to frighten people to death. He stared at Zhou Yanru first, and then fixed his eyes on Wang Zhidao: Do ​​you dare to say that you have no purpose? After Zhou Yanru was stared at by Chongzhen, he immediately felt that something was wrong—the emperor must have thought that Wang Zhidao was my accomplice.To be honest, it doesn't matter that Wang Zhidao is my party member, but the object of Wang Zhidao's opposition is wrong. He even used "inner ministers discussing politics" as a knife. "Inner ministers' discussion of state affairs" is an important achievement of the emperor's reform. Officials all know that they can only sing praises and not oppose it. Isn't Wang Zhidao looking for death?Wang Zhidao not only courted death himself, but also dragged me on the back. In the eyes of the emperor, I, Zhou Yanru, as the first and auxiliary minister, engaged in party disputes and secretly opposed the government at the same time. I am really sinister and cruel... Zhou Yanru understands that he must do two things right now: 1. Severely attack Wang Zhidao's arrogance and let the emperor know that he is not with him; , especially his chief minister of the cabinet.Standing upright is not afraid of slanting shadows, and the chief assistant is not afraid of supervision. When Zhou Yanru did these two things, his expression was vivid, and his likes and dislikes were clear.When he hit Wang Zhidao, he was shocked by the vicious words he used, as if the two of them had a sworn hatred.Wang Zhidao closed his eyes, deeply savoring the demeanor of a chief minister's speech, and the desolation and ugliness of human nature.Zhou Yanru supported "inner ministers discussing politics" but it was so heartfelt and tear-jerking.He did not hesitate to slander himself, expressing that the loss of power and supervision will inevitably lead to corruption, which leads to the view that if the ministers do not supervise, the state affairs cannot be done for a day, so as to invite grace.Zhou Yanru did these two things in front of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty. Wen Tiren is so smart, he immediately understood that this old guy was trying to solve the problem. Everyone knows how to solve the problem, and each has a different method. I have seen those who abused themselves, but I have never seen anyone who abused themselves like this. But a man can bend and stretch, Zhou Yanru can bend himself to such an extent, I am afraid that the emperor will not have the heart to do something to him. If the emperor didn't attack Zhou Yanru, who would he attack? Wen Tiren shuddered: This week, Zhou Yanru is retreating in order to advance. Wen Tiren remembered the metaphor of the tiger chasing two rabbits again. The emperor has been paralyzed by one rabbit, will the emperor turn to another rabbit? The Sacred Heart is unpredictable, the Sacred Heart is unpredictable. Chongzhen finally bites: Wang Zhidao, the minister of Fengxian, dares to play with repeated orders, wantonly slander, and use pretexts to sell his name, how is the friendship of the ministers?This should be the most important thing, so I changed my job to serve the people lightly. Dismissal for the people, this is a gentle bite.But Chongzhen clearly and unmistakably conveyed such a message to all officials: Anyone who opposes reform will never end well. But—Chongzhen still couldn't bear to do anything to Zhou Yanru. Wen Tiren's guess was right, Chongzhen was intimidated by Zhou Yanru's courage to practice himself. How much hatred does a person have to hate himself in his heart before he can be abused to such an extent! This practice touches the soul completely.The so-called heart-killer is probably nothing more than that. Chongzhen told Zhou Yanru that it doesn't matter if a person makes a mistake, the important thing is to recognize the mistake and correct it.Knowing mistakes, you are already very deep; correcting mistakes, it must be equally profound.I want to give you another chance. Zhou Yanru felt relieved. But this is the last chance.Because a person cannot repeatedly humiliate himself! Zhou Yanru's heart trembled: Did the emperor see it? Chongzhen: People who repeatedly humiliate themselves are not human. Zhou Yanru: ... Chongzhen: I hope you will be a human being in an upright manner.In this world, there are only two outcomes if you don’t be a human being: either you become a god, like me, and become an emperor; or you become a ghost and go to hell. Zhou Yanru lay on the ground and wept uncontrollably: I wish to be an upright man! Chongzhen patted Zhou Yanru's trembling back, full of emotion: Get up, get up.You are a talent and will be recorded in the annals of history.Especially the words you criticized Wang Zhidao are very exciting, every word is like a knife, every sentence sees blood, very exciting.Will go down in history. Chongzhen paced slowly, turned and left.Zhou Yanru felt like he was alive after a catastrophe.After all, the emperor underestimated him.Indeed, if a person has no bottom line, it is quite a scary thing.The bottom line is gone, so what do you care about? No wonder Chongzhen respects Zhou Yanru at a distance. Zhou Yanru is the chief assistant of the cabinet, and the cabinet chief assistant has no bottom line.Everything is a temporary balance, and everything will come back again.But what can be done?Life is like shuttling between one situation and another, depending on whether you can escape safely.Zhou Yanru got up from the ground, clapped his hands, and walked forward with his head held high.He felt that he was very much like a person at this time. Wen Tiren did not wait for Chongzhen to punish him. Wen Tiren knew immediately that Chongzhen had talked to Zhou Yanru. This is a conversation that touches the soul.According to legend, Zhou Yanru knelt on the ground for two full hours. According to legend, Chongzhen said many far-reaching words to Zhou Yanru. A tiger walked around a rabbit for two hours but didn't open its mouth. It wasn't that the rabbit didn't taste good, but that the tiger was in a complicated mood. He couldn't bear to speak for a moment! The tiger must be forced to eat as soon as possible, because the tiger has been hungry there all along, and it is necessary to find a way to fill the tiger quickly—while the tiger has a deep trust crisis in the rabbit. Otherwise, my rabbit will always be in an unsafe state. Wen Tiren understood that it was time to deal Zhou Yanru the final fatal blow—to send this rabbit into the tiger's mouth completely. Wen Tiren asked Chen Zanhua from the Criminal Division to impeach Zhou Yanru, saying that he was recruiting power and accepting bribes.Zhou Yanru instinctively refuted it. But there was one thing he couldn't refute.Chen Zanhua revealed that Zhou Yanru once said the following words to his assistant minister Li Biao: the first to let go, the remaining seals will be restored, and the upper will be changed to stay, (Yu) has the power to return to heaven.Today, His Majesty Xihuang is also here. What does that mean?It means that the emperor's attitude towards the memorial is at my mercy, and I, Zhou Yanru, have the power to recover.The current emperor is an ancient man before Fuxi! Chongzhen was furious and said that I was an ancient person before Fuxi. Doesn't this call me ignorant and uncivilized?I work hard and do everything myself. You, the chief minister of the cabinet, don't agree with me. Instead, you despise me so much. I am really blind!Check, this matter must be investigated to find out: if it is Chen Zanhua who made a false accusation, Chen will keep his head; if it is Zhou Yanru who uttered wild words, Zhou will keep his head. When the emperor got angry, he was destined to have his head fall to the ground. Zhou Yanru hurriedly asked Li Biao for help, and Li Biao knelt down for him: Mr. Zhou, this...you really said that. As long as you beat me to death and I didn't tell you, then Chen Zanhua is making a false accusation. This... I don't dare, who knows if Chen Zanhua will confirm this matter from other aspects. If you don't help me, I will die. How can that be, Mr. Zhou, the emperor has always favored you.Don't you just admit your mistake and it's over? This matter is too big. I think the emperor is really angry this time, and it cannot be redeemed by admitting his mistakes. Hehe, since the emperor is really popular, how dare I help blindly? Are you afraid of getting burned? dare not. why? ... Still afraid of getting burned.Do you think that if you hide far away, the fire will not burn you? Master Zhou... In the cabinet, the two of us are closer together, I am on fire now, you have to help me no matter what... Master Zhou, I... If you pour some water over here now, you can put out the fire.But if you don't want to save me, don't blame me for coming to hug you! Master Zhou, you... If you want to burn it together, it is not in vain for our colleagues. Mr. Zhou, you can't be shameless like this. At the critical moment, I can't care so much. Master Zhou, please listen to me... Nothing to say, splash water over here! I splashed water on it...it didn't help... How do you say this? As far as I know, Chen Zanhua has turned to Shanglinyuan Dianshu Yao Sunqu, Li Shiqi and former Huguang deputy envoy Zhang Fengyi as witnesses. He wants to be convicted of your crime! How could so many people know what I told you in the secret room? Walls have ears, my lord. So what to do? There is only one way. you say. Find Wen Tiren. Why are you looking for him? All of Chen Zanhua's actions were instigated by Wen Tiren. Let me beg him for mercy?Where is the dignity of my chief assistant? At the critical moment, I can't care so much. What do you mean? Mr. Zhou, one has to be shameless - to achieve the goal, one can use any means.