In ancient times, the courtiers who could get the king's weight had their own unique shining points. Some are erudite and talented, whether it is astronomy and geography or governing state affairs, they can solve it with ease, such as Liu Bowen; Some are loyal, no matter what kind of difficulties they face, they always unswervingly follow their lords, such as Zhuge Liang; But Niu Hong is different, he is able to sit in a high position and be favored by the king, thanks to a unique and unusual weakness of his.
Niu Hong, a native of the Northern Zhou Dynasty during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, asked someone to tell his fortune when he was a child, and the other party asserted that he would be rich and prosperous in the future. When his father heard this, he was overjoyed and began to carefully cultivate Niu Hong.
A few years later, Yang Jian established the Sui Dynasty, and Niu Hong was recruited into the court to record the life of the royal family. He was diligent and conscientious, constantly promoted, and eventually became an important minister of the court.
However, in the early years, the war led to a large loss of the national collection, and Niu Hong suggested that the lost books should be collected from the private sector for a fee. Yang Jian adopted this suggestion, and the people learned that it was profitable and offered books to the imperial court.
In just two years, all the lost books were recovered. Yang Jian was overjoyed, and immediately issued an order to crown Niu Hong as the county prince and reward 1,500 households.
In 586 AD, Niu Hong was appointed as Taichangqing, specializing in the national ritual music system. He believed that the change of dynasty should bring a new atmosphere, so he proposed to the imperial court to revise the ** set.
Later, the imperial court planned to build the Ming Hall according to the ritual system, but Yang Jian considered that this would cost the people and money, so he asked Niu Hong to tell the historical story about the Ming Hall for the officials to discuss its gains and losses.
Soon after, Queen Dugu unfortunately passed away, and the ministers felt that they were shallow in their knowledge and did not dare to discuss the specifications of the funeral, so they asked Niu Hong to preside over the matter. Niu Hong gladly accepted it, and soon drew up a detailed charter, each of which was impeccable.
Another important minister, Yang Su, couldn't help but admire Niu Hongbo, the ancient and the modern. Soon after, Niu Hong's relatives passed away, and according to the regulations, he should resign from office and keep filial piety for three years, but in view of the fact that the country was in the process of employing people at that time, Niu Hong decided to shorten the period of filial piety after careful consideration, which was appreciated by Yang Jian.
In 590 AD, Niu Hong was appointed as the secretary of the ministry, responsible for selection and assessment**. He rejects his past connections and focuses on virtue and talent rather than family background.
In the selection process, he was very cautious, and although this led to a decrease in administrative efficiency, he ensured that every ** who passed the selection was the best, which won unanimous praise from all over the court.
It was agreed that this was a fair way to select. Niu Hong was encouraged to focus more on his work, and would make his own suggestions every time he was in the morning.
Yang Jian usually listened patiently to his advice, but once, he was in a bad state of mind because of a cold and could not hear everyone's speech clearly. Niu Hong felt a little uneasy, he glanced up at Yang Jian, and found that he was waving at him to get closer.
It turned out that Yang Jian couldn't hear everyone's speech clearly because of a cold. So, Niu Hong stepped forward and repeated what he had said before. Yang Jian agreed with this and asked him to help him pass on a few words.
Niu Hong nodded, listened to Yang Jian's arrangement, and then strode towards the ministers present, but did not speak. He was stunned for a moment, then returned to Yang Jian's side, and frankly said that he had a bad memory and had forgotten his password.
Yang Jian laughed, made some jokes on him, and then repeated his password in detail again, and Niu Hong completed his task. This accident did not make Niu Hong lose Yang Jian's trust, but made Yang Jian feel that he was honest and direct, and did not deceive himself, which was very rare, so he immediately ordered him to be rewarded.
When Yang Guang was still the crown prince, he established a deep friendship with Niu Hong, and when Yang Guang ascended the throne and became emperor, he also treated Niu Hong like a family member, and even allowed him to dine at the same table as Empress Xiao, and did not forget to take him with him when he visited the south.
However, Niu Hong was already very old and in extremely poor health, and the long-distance travel caused him to become seriously ill, and finally unfortunately passed away at the age of 66.
Niu Hong was born in a family of officials, but he never bred a trace of arrogance. In his decades of service, regardless of his official position, he has always been diligent and conscientious, handled government affairs in an orderly manner, and was worthy of his responsibility to the country.
He was a role model for those who were officials. When conveying the holy decree, he was not afraid of the crime of bullying the king, he was not afraid of being ridiculed for his shortcomings, and he responded with an open-minded attitude, and his spirit was admirable!