From the admonition is like a stream
One dares to tell the truth, the other follows the advice, and the monarch and the minister create a peaceful and prosperous era of "Zhenguan Governance"!
In China's 5,000-year-long feudal society, the relationship between the monarch and the minister was a major event related to the rise and fall of the dynasty. The relationship between the monarch and the minister is healthy, and the country is often strong;Otherwise, it will go downhill or even perish.
There have been many cases in this regard in history, the most famous and widely circulated are the two monarchs and ministers of Li Shimin and Wei Zheng in the early Tang Dynasty.
Although Tang Taizong's ascension to the throne is not very glorious, no one can deny that he is a rare good emperor. In the first ten years of his reign, there was basically no partisan dispute in the court, and the civil and military generals were both harmonious and united, and dared to criticize, so that the Tang Dynasty could rise rapidly in the troubled times.
In order to avoid repeating the mistakes of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty and the Eastern Turkic Jieli Khan, Taizong encouraged his courtiers to actively advise and point out their political mistakes. Under his vigorous advocacy, a large number of ministers who put people's livelihood first and dared to tell the truth emerged, and this atmosphere continued until the Tang Xuanzong period. And Wei Zheng is undoubtedly the best of them!
Wei Zheng, the word Xuancheng, is a native of Jinzhou, Hebei. In his early years, he took refuge in the Wagang Army to follow Li Mi, and later assisted the crown prince Li Jiancheng, and after the Xuanwumen Change, he came under Li Shimin. He has successively served as a counselor, a scholar, a secretary, a supervisor, and a waiter.
He was ordinary-looking, but he was extremely bold and strategic, and was good at reversing the emperor's erroneous ideas. Sometimes when Taizong was angry, he also dared to speak out, and his expression was calm, insisting on his own opinions, and Taizong always gave in.
Taizong got a harrier and loved it very much, and often put it on his arm to play with. Once I saw Wei Zheng coming from afar, and hurriedly carried the harrier in his arms. In fact, Wei Zheng had already seen it, and in order to prevent Taizong's plaything from losing his mind, he deliberately lengthened the performance time. After Wei Zheng left, the harrier had already been killed.
Another time, Wei Zheng asked for leave to visit his home, and when he came back, he said to Taizong: "They all said that Your Majesty was going to Zhongnan Mountain, and everything outside was ready, but you didn't go, why is this?"Taizong smiled bitterly and said, "At first, I did have this idea, but when I thought of your attitude, I didn't want to go again. ”
Wei Zheng once put forward many good ideas and good viewpoints that are beneficial to the country, such as "listening to both sides will make it clear, and listening partially will make it dark" and "be prepared for danger in times of peace, abstain from extravagance and frugality", which had a positive impact on Li Shimin's governance behavior and promoted the formation of "the rule of Zhenguan." After his death, he was given the title of "Wenzhen", ranking fourth among the "Twenty-four Heroes of Lingyan Pavilion".
1. Strive to discourage the sealing of Zen on the basis of reason.
Feng Zen is a major ceremonial activity for ancient Chinese emperors to personally go to Mount Tai to worship heaven and earth. It is a large-scale national ceremony that was highly valued by monarchs and ministers in ancient times, and is usually used to show peace and prosperity. Before Taizong, there were only three times of Feng Chan recorded in the history of Qin, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
In the fourth year of Zhenguan (630), Li Jing and Li Shichang broke through the Turks, and the Tang Dynasty shook in all directions, and the prosperous weather has appearedIn the fifth year of Zhenguan (631), Li Xiaogong, the king of Zhaojun, and Wu Shitong, the governor of Lizhou, successively asked Taizong to seal Zen, but they were all rejected by Taizong.
In the first month of the sixth year of Zhenguan (632), the civil and military officials invited again, although Taizong still refused this time, but his heart was very yearning. At the instigation of his ministers, Taizong was ready to approve it, but Wei Zheng insisted that the move was inappropriate.
Taizong asked a little unhappily: "You don't want me to seal Zen, is my credit not high enough?"”
Wei Zheng replied: "You have made great achievements. ”
Asked, "Is my virtue not thick enough?"”
Answer: "You are virtuous. ”
Question: "Is China still not stable?"”
Answer: "It's settled." ”
Asked: "Is Siyi still not obedient?"”
Answer: "Obeyed." ”
Asked: "Is it because the crops are not harvested?"”
Answer: "A good harvest." ”
Asked: "Is it because Fu Rui has not yet come?"”
Answer: "It has come." ”
Taizong asked in surprise: "Then why don't you agree?"”
The majesty of the Ether Sect, if it were replaced by a person, I am afraid that it would have been speechless under this series of pressures.
Wei Zheng calmly replied: "Although Your Majesty has met the above conditions, the population of the world has not recovered after the turmoil at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and the warehouse is still not abundant. You are driving eastward, accompanied by thousands of troops and horses, and it is difficult for the people to afford only to ensure the food and clothing of these people.
Besides, His Majesty is enshrined in Zen, and the monarchs of distant countries must accompany him. Nowadays, the hinterland of the Central Plains is affected by the war, and there are sparsely populated people along the way from Luoyang to Mount Tai, and many of them are reckless and barren
In addition, the road to Feng Zen is far away, no matter how much you reward, I am afraid that it will be difficult for everyone to be satisfied, and even the annual tax exemption may not be able to make up for the people's labor. You advocate a false name but you don't get half of the real profit, so why do you have to go!Taizong was speechless. happened to encounter floods in several prefectures in Henan and Hebei, and Feng Chan immediately stopped.
Taizong seriously thought about Wei Zheng's words, and never mentioned Feng Chan again in his life, but gave the opportunity to leave a name in history to later generations of descendants Tang Gaozong and Tang Xuanzong.
2. Take advantage of regret and take advantage of the situation to promote good governance and good laws.
In the second year of Zhenguan (628), Li Shou, the governor of Jiaozhou (now Vietnam), was dismissed from his post for being convicted of **. Taizong recruited him into the court because of the assassin Shi Lu Zushang in Yingzhou (Cangzhou, Hebei) and his good official reputation, and told him: "Jiaozhi is a vast place, and there has been a lack of sages to govern it for a long time, so it needs talents like you to go to the pacification." ”
Lu Zushang was very happy at first and agreed. Unexpectedly, he soon repented and said that he was not in good health and did not adapt to the climate there. Taizong was very unhappy, asked Du Ruhui to talk to him, and warned him: "Pifu still attaches importance to promises, how can you agree to me and regret it." Lu Zushang didn't know which tendon he took, but he didn't agree.
Taizong summoned him again to do the work himself, but Lu Zushang still disagreed. Taizong angrily reprimanded him: "I can't even arrange individuals, how can I govern the world." In a fit of rage, he directly executed Lu Zushang in the court.
After the incident, Taizong regretted it a little. While chatting with the courtiers, he asked, "What kind of person is Emperor Qi Wenxuan?"”
Emperor Wenxuan of the Northern Qi Dynasty, Gao Yang, was famous for his conquests, and was a well-known tyrant in history for his excessive drinking and indiscriminate killing of innocents in the later period of his reign.
Wei Zheng saw that Taizong suddenly asked about Emperor Wen Xuan, and knew that Taizong was remorseful, so he said euphemistically: "Although Emperor Wen Xuan is rebellious, when arguing with others, he will also obey if he is wronged. His Qingzhou governor Shi Weikai sent an envoy to Nanliang to return, and was reappointed as the governor of Gwangju, Shi, who refused to take office. Emperor Wenxuan scolded Wei Kai, but Wei Kai said eloquently: 'The minister was in Dazhou (in ancient times, the population and the size of the territory were divided into large and small states, and the jurisdiction and household registration of Qingzhou far exceeded that of Guangzhou) as a long history, and he was ordered to send an envoy to Nanliang, but he was sent to a small state to serve without merit, and he was not satisfied. Emperor Wen Xuan pondered for a while, felt that Wei Kai was reasonable, and pardoned him. That's his forte. ”
Taizong sighed: "You are right. Although Lu Zushang has lost the integrity of his ministers, his sin is not to death, and my approach is a bit excessive. From this point of view, I am not as good as Emperor Wenxuan!Immediately, Lu Zushang was reinstated.
Another time, there was a ** named Li Haode who was suffering from madness and said a lot of crazy things like he could be the son of heaven, and Taizong ordered a division to investigate. Dali Cheng (the ** who was in charge of the prison law in ancient times, equivalent to the president of the Supreme Court) Zhang Yungu truthfully reported after the trial: "Zhang Haode is mentally abnormal, and he should not be punished according to the law." ”
Zhang Yungu, said that Zhang Yungu had served in Xiangzhou, and at that time Zhang Haode's brother Zhang Houde was the assassin of Xiangzhou, and he was the leader of Zhang Yungu, and he was deliberately covering up for personal gain, and the situation did not match the facts.
Zhang Yungu was appreciated by Taizong for presenting "The Great Treasure Zhen" and analyzing the gains and losses of the dynasty and politics, and was directly promoted to Dali Cheng by Taizong from the grassroots level (for details, see the clumsy work "In the Early Years of Zhenguan, the Monarch and the Ministers Asked the Right: How Li Shimin and His Team Created the Prosperous Tang Dynasty"). After listening to Quan Wanji's report, he couldn't help but be furious, thinking that Zhang Yungu had failed his expectations, and immediately ordered Zhang Yungu to be killed.
Soon Taizong felt remorseful and issued an edict emphatically saying, "From now on, any capital crime, even if it is carried out immediately, must be executed three times before it can be executed." ”
Quan Wanji and another imperial historian, Li Renfa, both gained the trust of Taizong by exposing and reporting others, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty hated them to the core.
Wei Zheng saw Taizong's edict and took the opportunity to persuade Taizong: "Quan Wanji and Li Renfa are dark villains, who specialize in falsely accusing others as righteousness and slander as loyalty. Your Majesty, you are not blind to this, but you just want to use them as a warning and spur on your ministers. And they are doing mischief under your banner, and most of the things they do are not really guilty. Your Majesty, even if you can't appoint virtuous people to change the atmosphere, you can't reuse the treacherous and self-destructive image!”
Taizong was silent for a long time, and rewarded Wei Zheng with 500 horses of silk as a token of appreciation. Soon, the crimes of Quan Wanji and Li Renfa were exposed and they were punished in accordance with the law.
Wei Zheng's words shocked Taizong greatly, and the two ministers he executed were both virtuous and virtuous in the court, and they were tragically killed for only a slight mistake. Especially Zhang Yungu, who was obviously expounding the facts, Taizong believed the false accusation and killed this loyal and outspoken ** official, forgetting what Wei Zheng once said: "If you listen to both, you will be clear, and if you listen partially, you will be dark."
Under Wei Zheng's persuasion and prompting, Taizong learned from the pain and wrote the edict that "the death penalty needs to be announced three times" into the law, making it clear that "all those who are sentenced to death must be approved twice within two days before the execution;."It can only be implemented after three more proclamations and approvals the day before implementation. On the day of the execution, the department in charge of meals in the palace must not arrange a banquet of wine and meat, and the inner teaching workshop and Taichang Temple must not play musical instruments. The ministry is responsible for inspection and supervision. At the same time, if there is a person who deserves to die in accordance with the law, but there are extenuating circumstances, it should be truthfully reported. ”
The implementation of this good law has saved many innocent lives!
To tell the truth, in that era when human life was regarded as a mustard, the emperor's words were the law, and killing a few ministers at random was nothing. We can fully imagine that if Wei Zheng did not do positive work, but allowed Taizong to kill indiscriminately, there would not have been the introduction of this good law.
Third, the monarch is upright and upright, in order to establish a good interactive relationship between the monarch and the minister.
In March of the sixth year of Zhenguan (632), Taizong's daughter Princess Changle got married. Princess Changle was born to Empress Changsun, and Taizong was very fond of her. When a beloved daughter gets married, it is natural to be arrogant when he becomes a father. Taizong immediately arranged for Yousi to reward his daughter with double the bride price when Gaozu's daughter Yongjia's eldest princess got married.
Wei Zheng disapproved of this approach, and admonished him: "Back then, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty crowned the crown prince and specially explained to the minister, and the treatment set for his children must not exceed the standard of the son of the first emperor. And the bride price you give to your daughter is twice that of the eldest princess, compared with Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, you have a big gap in respecting your elders!”
Taizong felt justified, so he entered the harem and told Empress Changsun about it. The queen sighed heartily and said: "The concubine used to always hear His Majesty say that Wei Zheng was virtuous, and I didn't know why, but from today's point of view, he deserves to be a real minister of society!."The concubine and His Majesty are married couples, and every time they talk to you, they must be observant of their words and feelings, for fear of offending you. And he, as a courtier who has no relatives and no reason with you, dares to persuade you like this, and His Majesty must not listen to his words!”
Afterwards, Empress Changsun specially sent someone to reward Wei Zheng with 400 yuan and 400 horses of silk, and gave him a message: "I heard that you are loyal and upright, and today I see that this is indeed the case, I hope you can continue to be like this and do not change." ”
Once, Taizong held a banquet in the Danxiao Hall to entertain the court. Monarchs and ministers talk about the world and have a good time.
The eldest grandson Wuji said to Taizong with emotion: "At the beginning, Wang Qi and Wei Zheng both assisted Li Jiancheng to be your enemy, but I didn't expect to be able to gather together today. ”
Taizong said: "Wang Qi and Wei Zheng can do their best, so I reuse them." However, every time Wei Zheng admonished, once I didn't accept it, he would no longer pay attention to me, why is this?”
Wei Zheng replied: "The minister thinks that you are not doing it right, so he advises." Your Majesty, you don't accept it, but the minister is still full of promises, that is, it is a tacit acquiescence that this wrong thing can be implemented, so the minister does not dare to ignore you!”
Taizong said: "You can agree first, and then advise." ”
Wei Zheng replied: "Emperor Shun warned his ministers back then, 'Don't obey in person, criticize behind your back'. The minister clearly knows that you are wrong, but you still agree against your will, so you will not violate the teachings of the saints. ”
Taizong laughed and said, "People say that Wei Zheng behaves frivolously, but I think you are more charming, and it is precisely because you dare to tell the truth!"”
Wei Zheng stood up, bowed and thanked him, and said, "Your Majesty, you allow us to speak, so that the minister can speak freely;If Your Majesty does not accept the minister's opinion, how dare the minister offend repeatedly!”
From the current perspective, the reason why the relationship between the monarch and the minister in the early Tang Dynasty was healthy and harmonious, aside from the factors of Taizong's personal cultivation, the same interests and goals of the monarch and the minister were probably the main reason.
As the Tang Dynasty born from the troubled times, Taizong's monarchs and ministers have experienced hardships and even life and death tests, and they know that the era of peace is not easy to come by. It is the common hope of their generation to make the country strong and prosperous so that future generations can enjoy peace. With this kind of consensus, it is easy to reach an atmosphere of unity between the monarch and the minister.
With the increasing national strength of the Tang Dynasty and the long time of prosperity, it is inevitable to give birth to a comfortable and happy heart. At this time, Wei Zheng was still like Zhenguan in the early years, and advised Taizong to be prepared for danger in times of peace. Although Taizong is still very polite on the surface, his heart is no longer as happy and convincing as he was at the beginning, and contradictions between the monarch and the ministers slowly arise.
It can be seen that the relationship between Taizong and Wei Zheng is irreproducible, and there are extremely high requirements for the comprehensive factors such as the virtue cultivation and mind measurement of both the monarch and the minister, but we can learn from their feelings of focusing on the world and career.
In the relationship between the king and his courtiers, the courtiers are a vulnerable group and are in a passive position, and the role of the king is particularly important. As a king, if you always put your own interests, likes and dislikes first, how can you love to listen to the truth and truth of your courtiers, and in the long run, upright people will inevitably stay silent and stay away, and there will only be those so-called "villains" with high emotional intelligence around you, how can you not be ruined. And once the king dies, the courtiers who are attached to him usually do not end well!
No matter what era you are in, no matter what position you are in, no matter what position you hold, as long as you conform to your conscience, conform to the will of the people, and get rid of selfishness, you will definitely enjoy good fortune.
Follow the right line, and meet with auspiciousness!
Author: Wang Gongjian.