Chapter 13 6. Resentment erupts
On August 26th in the fifth year of Xining (1072), Shenzong visited Zichen Hall.
The Zichen Hall is to the north of the Daqing Hall, where the Chang Dynasty is held.This time the imperial meeting should be a regular meeting, and all officials in Beijing should participate.Therefore, after the civil and military officials saluted like a ritual, they were ready to step down.For the rest of the time, the chief and deputy chiefs of the "Two Governments", that is, the highest administrative organ, Zhongshu Province, and the highest military organ, the Privy Council, will report to His Majesty the emperor and ask for imperial edicts.
A man named Tang Xie (pronounced as embarrassing Yinping) suddenly rushed out of the queue.
Tang Xie's duties are very long to say, and they are called Prince Zhongyun, Tongzhi Admonishment Court, and Quantong Judgment Department Liu Neiquan.The first is the official rank, which is used to determine the rank, receive salary, wear clothes and count seniority.The latter two are dispatches, that is, actual work.But the third one is actually a part-time job, and it may not be serious.Therefore, Tang Tie's real position is the Tongzhi Jianyuan, that is, the assistant officer of the Jianyuan, under the chief "Zhijianyuan".
The Jianyuan in the Northern Song Dynasty was the organ responsible for correcting the mistakes of the imperial court, so Tang Xie actually had a say.However, you must abide by the rules and procedures when making comments.It is a serious faux pas and foul to rush out to speak at the imperial meeting without saying hello.So Emperor Shenzong, in astonishment, asked the ceremonial officer to inform him to talk about it the next day.
Tang Di refused.
The emperor had no choice but to order: Then wait in the apse!
Tang Tie replied: What the minister said today must be said in front of all the ministers.
After finishing speaking, he lay on the ground and refused to get up.
The emperor had no choice but to summon him to the throne, and Tang Tie unhurriedly took out a large scroll, cleared his throat, and prepared to read his long speech.
Shenzong hurriedly stopped: the memorial stays here, Aiqing can retire.
But Tang Xie said: "The minister who wants to impeach today is the minister of the court. He must make a statement for his majesty, verify it face to face, and discuss right and wrong face to face."Then, the admonisher turned around and yelled: "Wang Anshi, come to listen to the audience in front of the throne!"
Wang Anshi was caught off guard and at a loss.
Tang Xie said: Your Majesty is still like this in front of you, how domineering you are outside!
Wang Anshi was startled, and hurried forward.
So, Tang Tie let go of his voice and enumerated Wang Anshi's various crimes and crimes, totaling more than 60 items.Moreover, every time he talked about something, he would say to the emperor: Your Majesty, please declare to Wang Anshi, and ask his ministers whether what he said is true or not?
Wang Anshi was in a panic.
Others dare not say a word.
Emperor Shenzong had to interrupt Tang Jue many times, but Tang Jue became more energetic and impassioned the more he talked.In the end, he forgetfully pointed to the throne and said: If Your Majesty doesn't listen to the minister's advice, I'm afraid this seat won't last long.
Everyone was dumbfounded, and their faces turned pale with fright.
Tang Tie regained his composure.He stepped back from the throne, bowed solemnly to the emperor, and then ran outside the east gate alone to wait for the crime.
Inside the Zichen Palace, there was still complete silence.
It took Shenzong a long time to recover, and asked: How dare this person do this?
Wang Anshi could only smile wryly: he is crazy.
Of course Tang Tie wasn't crazy.This person was originally Wang Anshi's henchman and Song Shenzong's favorite.Because he once told Shenzong that Qin Ershi was restrained by Zhao Gao not because he was too strong, but because he was too weak.He once said to Wang Anshi: There is nothing difficult in implementing the new law, just kill a few people like Han Qi.
How could such a person oppose Wang Anshi?
In fact, Tang Xie was not severely punished, but was demoted to Guangzhou as a quartermaster.The official history books could not explain Tang Tie's turning against each other, so he had to say that he was dissatisfied with the arrangement of his duties.However, this person has written many letters to the remonstrance court in March, and he can say a lot of words when he launched an attack in August. What does it mean?It shows that not only he himself is full of deep hatred, but also the court is full of resentment towards Wang Anshi.
Grudges are always going to explode, it just depends on when and how.
Sure enough, five months later, Wang Anshi became the center of the storm again.
The cause is a small matter.On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month in the sixth year of Xining (1073), Wang Anshi accompanied the emperor to watch lanterns, and was invited to the palace to watch a hundred operas.However, when he entered Xuandemen on a tall horse, he was stopped by the eunuch leader Zhang Maoze.Under Zhang Maoze's signal, the guard beat the groom severely.
The groom jumped up: Blind your dog eyes, didn't you see whose horse this is?
Zhang Mao scolded angrily: "The prime minister is also a courtier. Do you want to be Wang Mang?"
It was the New Year's holidays for an extremely human minister, but he was humiliated by this. Of course, Wang Anshi would not let it go.Therefore, he complained to Emperor Shenzong and asked the guards to be sent to Kaifeng Mansion for justice.In order to please Wang Anshi, the judges of Kaifeng Mansion (one judge and one pusher) beat the guards to 17 boards regardless of whether they were black or white.The result can be imagined, just like a drop of water dropped into boiling oil, the public opinion immediately exploded.
A man named Cai Que stepped forward.
Cai is also unusual.He was from Jinjiang, Fujian, and was of the same family as Cai Jing, who was later famous. His job at the moment was to supervise Li Xing, the censor.As mentioned earlier, the Tang and Song dynasties attached great importance to supervision and advice.Admonishing officials are called admonishing officials, and Tang Tie is one.Supervisory officials are called Taiwan officials, and Cai Que is.Both the Taiwan official and the admonisher have the right to raise opinions, not to mention that the censor is justified.He said: The job of the guards is to defend the emperor, of course they have to be reprimanded when they enter the Xuande Gate, and the Kaifeng Mansion is obviously slapping horses and perverting the law.If there is no severe punishment, can the guards be expected to be loyal to their duties from now on?
This is of course very serious, and Shenzong couldn't help being moved by it.
It is said that the emperor even looked at Cai Que differently and prepared to reuse him.
Wang Anshi had to defend himself.What he said was: It is a common practice for prime ministers to dismount in Xuande Gate, and no one has ever taken care of this matter before, so why is there a new rule this year?Who are eunuchs and guards, and why do they dare to be so rude to the prime minister?Someone must be behind the scenes.Therefore, Wang Anshi asked the emperor to find out who was behind the scenes.And he asserted that it must be a "counter-revolution" that sabotaged the reform.
This is a typical "conspiracy theory", and it is also a common tactic used in official struggles in traditional society.It seems that as long as the label of "bad motives" is pasted, the unreasonable can become reasonable.Fortunately, Emperor Shenzong was not confused, and decided to find out whether the prime minister should dismount inside or outside the Xuande Gate.Although this matter seems trivial, advocating the rule of law is the tradition of the Chinese Empire.Breaking the etiquette and law will also shake the foundation of the country.
The results of the inquiry were mixed.Some people say inside the door, some say outside the door, and some say they don't remember.Only Wen Yanbo, the senior privy envoy of the three dynasties, said coldly: I have always dismounted outside the Xuande Gate.
Shenzong had no choice but to fine the two judges in Kaifeng Mansion.
Wang Anshi had no choice but to swallow his bad breath.
In fact, this case is likely to be an accidental incident. The strange thing is not the eunuch Zhang Maoze and the Xuandemen guards, but Cai Que.Like Tang Tie, Cai Que was originally Wang Anshi's henchman, and he still insisted on the new law after Wang Anshi's resignation.He came out to speak as a Taiwan official, and there should be no "counter-revolutionary" instigation behind him.
So, why did Cai Que want to impeach Kaifeng government?
It is said that it was because he saw that the emperor had disliked Wang Anshi.
But this is not accurate.In fact, after Wang Anshi was humiliated, he submitted his resignation to Shenzong, but Shenzong's persuasion was almost low-key, and he even said something like this: Every time Aiqing asks for resignation, I feel restless.I must have felt sorry for you, are you still brooding over the matter of Xuandemen?
Therefore, it is better not to speculate on Cai Que's motives.
There is no doubt that Wang Anshi is unpopular.
May wish to provide another circumstantial evidence.It is said that Emperor Shenzong once questioned the eunuchs in the palace about this case. Unexpectedly, all the eunuchs knelt down and burst into tears and said: "The Holy Book of Officials!"Now the family law of the ancestors has been wiped out, and what Wang Anshi has done has harmed the people and abused things.The ministers and others knew that disasters came from their mouths, but they dared not keep silent.May Your Majesty depose Wang Anshi and save all the people from the fire and water, even if the officials are exiled to the ends of the earth, there will be no regrets!
Emperor Shenzong could not help but let out a long sigh.
It is not difficult to see that Wang Anshi has offended almost everyone, and even the people in the same trench have begun to be alienated, such as Tang Jue and Cai Que.Of course he didn't care.He is truth-in-hand and righteous, and he has considered all obstacles and difficulties.The only thing I didn't expect was the drought that never happened in a century.Of course, he never thought that his own camp would split.
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