On March 26th, the seventh year of Emperor Shenzong Xining of the Northern Song Dynasty (1074), a picture scroll reflecting social conditions and public opinion and depicting the sufferings of the people was delivered to the imperial court. The old and the young swarmed here, all of them had a disheveled face and a naked body.They sell their sons and daughters to pawn their wives, and they can only get some bran and coarse grains to make ends meet. If they have no family to sell, they eat tree bark and grass roots. It is only a matter of time before they starve to death in the city. This is completely different from "Surfing the River During the Qingming Festival".

The person who presented the picture was a small official named Zheng Xia, whose job was to install the gate supervisor, that is, to guard the gate for the emperor.Zheng Xia said in the memorial that he saw these with his own eyes every day on the tower, and less than one percent of them were drawn.Under the emperor's chariot, the tragic situation is still like this; thousands of miles away, I really don't know what it is like! Emperor Shenzong burst into tears. In fact, the emperor should have been mentally prepared for this.Because there has been no effective rainfall in many places since July last year, the nationwide drought has lasted for eight months.For the agricultural empire, this is tantamount to a heavy blow.What's more, according to Dong Zhongshu's view of the relationship between heaven and man in the Western Han Dynasty, natural disasters are the result of the ruler's lack of morality, and they are also warnings and condemnations from heaven, and someone must be responsible.

The spearhead of public opinion quickly pointed at Wang Anshi. It was in February of the second year of Xining (1069) that Wang Anshi began to implement the reform known as the "Xining Reform" in history, and it had been five years since Zheng Xia presented the map.Over the past five years, the voices of opposition have never stopped, and at this moment, the waves are getting higher and higher.The reason is also very simple: even if the severity of the drought was not due to Wang Anshi's perverse actions that angered the heavens - which is of course impossible, then it is obvious that his reforms undoubtedly aggravated the disaster and made it impossible for the people to save themselves in production.

Zheng Xia is one of the representatives of this view.He pointed out that the people have long had no food for the night, so why do they wear chains to cut down their own mulberry trees and demolish their own houses?Just because they had to repay the national debt that Wang Anshi forced them to borrow, and pay the new taxes and fees Wang Anshi set up, the special fund that was supposed to be used to relieve disaster victims and suppress prices was misappropriated by Wang Anshi for other purposes and to collect money for the government (see below for details ). Such a new law, is it not a man-made disaster other than natural disasters?

Therefore, Zheng Xia resolutely proposed: I implore Your Majesty to stop the law that harms the country and the people, and prolong the dying lives of all surnames.If your majesty follows the words of the minister and it does not rain within ten days, please behead the minister outside the Xuande Gate for the public to commit the crime of deceiving the emperor. The emperor was moved by this Fujian Fuqing man who was not afraid of death.When he went to court, he gave this memorial and this picture to the ministers to see, and asked Wang Anshi: "This man named Zheng Xia, Aiqing, do you know him?"

Wang Anshi replied: He is a student of the minister. Shenzong immediately understood: the two of them should have no personal enmity. of course not.In fact, Wang Anshi is not only Zheng Xia's teacher, but also his benefactor.Although Zheng Xia was also a Jinshi, it was Wang Anshi who introduced him into the officialdom and cultivated him.Moreover, Zheng Xia's status was too low, and he was not qualified to write directly to the emperor, and the memorial and pictures were also returned by the court.Zheng Xia had no choice but to go to the official station outside the city, pretending that it was a top-secret emergency, and then delivered it to Yuqian.

Obviously, this is illegal.Zheng Xia also stated in the memorial that even if the facts prove that his opinion is correct, he still asks for punishment.That is to say, Zheng Xia opposed Wang Anshi's reform without personal grievances or profit-driven, but he had to take risks. So, why is he doing this? Maybe because of disagreement, maybe because of different status.After all, Wang Anshi is the prime minister, living high in the temple, thinking about macro-control; Zheng Xia is the gate supervisor, going deep into the grassroots, and facing the common people.According to the new law, people are required to pay taxes on any transaction.Collecting these taxes is also one of the tasks of the gate supervisor.Zheng Xia could neither accept nor implement it.You know, this is a famine year.Are those poor and innocent refugees who sell their children and daughters also have to pay business tax and income tax?

Zheng Xia couldn't take it anymore. The ones who couldn't bear it were the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager. The empress dowagers of the two palaces also opposed the reform and Wang Anshi, but their opinions were not listened to by Emperor Shenzong.Once, Shenzong took his younger brother Qi Wang Zhao Hao to accompany the Empress Dowager to see the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager repeated the old saying: There are many complaints among the people, and they all report that they are suffering from the new law. Should it be stopped? Emperor Shenzong said: The new law is for the benefit of the people, not for the poor.

The Empress Dowager said: So, can Wang Anshi be replaced?He is very talented, but his popularity is too poor.Even in order to save him, it would be better to let him leave the aspect temporarily, and recall him after a year or so, wouldn't it be better? Emperor Shenzong said: Only Wang Anshi stood up for the country. Qi Wang Zhao Hao said: "Emperor Grandmother's words are reasonable, please consider your majesty." Emperor Shenzong suddenly lost his composure and said hysterically: What do you mean?Have I ruined the world?Why don't you do it for the emperor? Qi Wang Zhao Hao cried on the spot.He said with tears: As for it?

The dear and warm family broke up unhappy.When the emperor saw the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager again, the attitude of the two palaces became very clear: Wang Anshi messed up the world!Although there is no evidence to show that this incident happened on the night Zheng Xia presented the picture. Emperor Shenzong was distraught. Wang Anshi disappointed the emperor.In the face of disasters, he showed heartless indifference, and even said: Disasters are common occurrences, even Yao, Shun and Shang Tang can't avoid them, as long as we repair human affairs to cope with natural disasters, it's nothing to worry about.

Emperor Shenzong was astonished.He said: Is this a trivial matter?The reason why I am so afraid is because I am worried about personnel problems. Wang Anshi remained indifferent. So the emperor felt that perhaps it was time to listen to Han Wei's opinion. Han Wei's identity is even more special than Zheng Xia's.He is the younger brother of Prime Minister Han Jiang, the benefactor of Wang Anshi, and the teacher of Song Shenzong—if you can say that.In fact, when Shenzong was the county king, Han Wei was his sidekick.Moreover, whenever the later emperors admired Han Wei's remarks, Han Wei would say that this was not his idea, but the farsightedness of his close friend Wang Anshi.It can be said that without Han Wei, Shenzong would not have valued Wang Anshi so much, and there would be no Xining reform. Therefore, Shenzong summoned Han Wei in Yanhe Hall. The emperor asked: "If it doesn't rain for a long time, I will burn all inside, what should I do?" Han Wei replied: Very simple, abolish Wang Anshi's new law. If, at the last moment, only a straw is needed to overwhelm the camel, then when such a big tree falls, the camel has no chance of survival.The emperor no longer hesitated.He said to Han Wei: Well, it's up to you to draw up the imperial edict. Under the edict.Three days later, it rained heavily. Of course, this is too dramatic, so it may not be reliable, and even if it is true, it is a coincidence.However, this matter was passed on again and again by the historians, which fully reflected their attitude towards Wang Anshi's reform.It can be said that that kind of hatred, that kind of pleasure, that kind of gloating and gnashing of teeth is simply beyond words. For Zheng Xia, this was timely rain, at least saving his life.However, this small official who dared to speak out was exiled to Yingzhou (now Yingde City, Guangdong Province) by Wang Anshi's henchmen, and only survived death because of Shenzong's protection. Wang Anshi also left the phase and was relegated to the prefect of Jiangning.Although this was not the final outcome, he himself was reinstated ten months later, but his glory was obviously gone, and his relationship with the emperor was also very different from before, so that he was relegated to Jiangning again more than a year later. Forever left the political center. Without this backbone, it is actually difficult to carry out reforms. Eight and a half years later, in March of the eighth year of Yuanfeng (1085), Song Shenzong died at the age of thirty-eight.The prince succeeded to the throne as Zhezong, who was only ten years old.The original empress dowager became the empress dowager, listening to the government behind the curtain, and counterattacked against the reform.In the second year, the first year of Yuanyou, Wang Anshi died, and all the new laws were abolished.So far, a vigorous and anticlimactic reform has finally failed. Perhaps, everything is due to Zheng Xia's picture. This has to ask why.The answers are nothing more than the following: Wang Anshi has problems, Song Shenzong has problems, the opposition has problems, the new law has problems, or the reform itself has problems.There are arguments for and arguments against all of these answers.Our story must start from the beginning.

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Notes: I think it was the night when Zheng Xia presented the picture.But according to "Song History Biography of Wang Anshi", it seems that after Zheng Xia was punished and before Wang Anshi was dismissed.