Chapter 21 Chapter Four Lessons Learned
In July of the second year of Yuanfeng (1079), Su Shi was arrested for defamation.
The arrest warrant was signed by Emperor Shenzong himself, and the special case team was headed by Zhijianyuan Zhang Yu (read Ruzao), the chief of the admonishment agency, and Li Ding, the chief of the supervisory agency, Yushi Zhongcheng.The emperor also ordered that one of the courtiers be selected by Yushitai to go to today's Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, to arrest Su Shi, who was then the governor of the state.
As soon as the edict came out, it was like a thunderbolt, and it was too late to cover our ears.
Dr. Taichang Huangfuzun, who was selected by Yushitai, did not dare to neglect, and set off immediately with a son and two bailiffs, traveling day and night.Prince Consort Wang Shen (read Rushen) did not dare to be careless, and immediately sent someone to inform Su Shi through Su Che.Two groups of people scrambled to catch up with each other. Fortunately, heaven has eyesight. Huangfu Zun was delayed on the road for a long time because of his son's illness. Su Shi, who was caught off guard, finally got mentally prepared.
Not long after, Huangfu Zun also arrived.
After Huangfu Zun arrived in Huzhou, he went straight into the state office.The imperial envoy stood in the courtyard in full official uniform, holding a wat board, and was guarded by two bailiffs in white scarves and green clothes, one on the left and the other on the right.The two of them looked left and right with hideous faces, not knowing what to do.
The visitor was not kind, and Su Shi was too frightened to go out.
At this time, the power of Zhizhou had been performed by the general judge Zu Wupo.Zu Wupo said that it is a blessing not a disaster, and it is a disaster that cannot be avoided.Things have come to this, and I can only go out to see him.
Su Shi asked: Then what clothes should I wear?
Zu Wupo said: "I haven't been convicted yet, so of course I should wear official clothes."
Su Shi, also in official uniform, walked to the courtyard and stood still with a wat board in his hand. Zu Wupo led the other officials of the state government to stand behind them wearing headscarves.Looking at it at a glance, I saw two bailiffs with bulging pockets in their arms, which looked like daggers. I later realized that they were official documents.
Huangfu Zun didn't speak for a long time, but just stared at Su Shi.
Su Shi's heart was frightened by the look, so he bit the bullet and said to Huangfu Zun: "Shi has offended a lot recently, it seems that today he will be punished with death."The king wants the minister to die, but the minister dare not resign.I just beg the imperial envoy to show mercy outside the law and let Su Shi go back to say goodbye to his family.
Only then did Huangfu Zun speak: Not really.
Zu Wupo took a step forward and said: There should always be official documents, right?
Huangfu Zun asked: Who are you?
Zu Wupo replied: Zu Wupo, the acting governor of the state.
Huangfu Zun showed the official document of Yushitai, which turned out to be just an arrest warrant.
However, it must be done immediately.
Page 98.
The two bailiffs also took a step forward and took out the instruments of torture.
The romantic and suave Su Shi was tied up and taken away.After hearing the news, the people of Huzhou rushed to the pier to see him off, crying like rain.They said with emotion: It takes only an instant for a prefect to be arrested, just like catching a chicken or a dog.
This is not surprising.In the era of imperial power politics, let alone know the state, what can the prime minister do?The question is, how much crime did Su Shi have to treat him like this?
It's just a few poems.
After Su Shi served as the magistrate of Huzhou, he had to express his gratitude as usual. A censor who had long been deliberately finding fault found in the memorial that "Your Majesty knows that he is stupid and inappropriate, so it is difficult to accompany the newcomer; if he is old and not doing trouble, he may be able to shepherd Xiaomin", another censor found words attacking the new law in Su Shi's poems.After mastering these materials, Li Ding, the censor Zhongcheng, wrote a letter to impeach Su Shi, and asked the emperor to severely punish him as an example.
Shenzong was indeed furious.
It is not surprising that Li Ding and others wanted to kill Su Shi, because they rose to the top because they supported the reform, not to mention that Li Ding, a Yangzhou native, was a student of Wang Anshi.In April of the third year of Xining, Li Dingchu, who was then a military judge in Xiuzhou (where the government is located in today's Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province), came to the capital and visited Wang Anshi's friend Li Chang, an admonisher who had served as a member of the Regulations Department of the Third Division.Li Chang asked: What do people in the south think of the Green Crop Law?
Li Ding, who didn't know the details, replied: Everyone supports it, and no one says it's bad.
Li Chang was opposed to the Young Crop Law, and was very upset when he heard it, so he said: Don't talk about this, the court is very controversial about it.
So Li Ding went to see Wang Anshi.He said: When the students came to Beijing, they only knew to tell the truth, but they didn't expect that there were some things they couldn't say.Wang Anshi was very happy.He said: If you see the Holy Majesty, of course you have to tell the truth, why should you look at other people's faces?
Later, when he entered the palace, Li Ding talked about how the young crop method won the hearts of the people.
As a result, Emperor Shenzong was also very happy.
From then on, Li Ding became famous.That month, on the same day that Han Jiang replaced Zhao Bian as deputy prime minister, Li Ding was appointed supervisory censor Lixing.Li Chang, who opposed the Green Crop Law, was demoted to another place three days later.
This is breaking the rules.Because the magistrates of the state must be assessed by the Ministry of Officials and recommended by the Yushi to work in Yushitai.Therefore, the appointment opinion issued by Shenzong was sealed and rejected four times by the three Zhizhigao who were in charge of drafting the document in the Imperial Academy until they were dismissed.Under the pressure of public opinion, Li Ding also requested to resign.
However, there are quite a few officials who are not promoted according to normal procedures like this.These people are called "newcomers" by public opinion, and those like Wang Anshi and Lu Huiqing are called "ministers who make troubles".Therefore, when Su Shi said, "It's hard to accompany newcomers, and old people don't make trouble", their sensitive nerves were stung, and the backstage boss Song Shenzong was also extremely annoyed.
However, there are many people in the opposition, why is Su Shi the only one in prison?
Because Han Qi, Fu Bi, and Wen Yanbo and Sima Guang all publicly opposed it.They have a clear-cut banner, firm stance, and aboveboard, making the emperor feel that their motives are pure and their spirit is commendable.Of course, Su Shi was not sneaky, so Shenzong always had a good impression of him.Unfortunately, he not only wrote letters, but also wrote poems.
What's wrong with writing poetry?
Writing a letter is speaking to the emperor, and writing a poem is speaking to the people.Speaking to the emperor, no matter how harsh the words are, he is loyal to the emperor and patriotic.Speaking to the public, there is suspicion of bad intentions.What's more, poetry is easy to stir up emotions, and Su Shi has many readers and fans.If Li Ding and the others are charged with subverting the regime, who can defend him?
And only the emperor himself.
At this moment, Shenzong was furious, because Su Shi wrote satirical poems.For example, if the imperial court wanted to ban private salt, he wrote a poem saying: "Is it because I heard Shaojie and forgot the taste, and there was no salt in the food in March recently."This is of course sarcasm, because "The Analects of Confucius Shuer" said that after Confucius listened to "Shao Le" in Qi State, he didn't know the taste of meat for three months.Now Xiaomin in Song Dynasty has also forgotten the taste, but it is not because of the beautiful music, but because he cannot eat salt.
There is also a poem that satirizes the construction of water conservancy: If the East China Sea knows the idea, it should be taught to denounce the brine and turn the field into a mulberry field.The translation is: If the Dragon King of the East China Sea understands the good idea of our wise leader, he should automatically turn the sea into a mulberry field. Why is it still the same?
This is almost mocking Shenzong by name.
If it were someone else, I'm afraid it would be too much to bear.
No wonder Su Shi was imprisoned in Yushitai Prison, with prisoners and jailers.Yushitai is also called Baitai or Wutai, because many cypress trees were planted in Yushifu in the Western Han Dynasty, and crows often roosted on the trees, leaving early and returning late.This case started from a poem, and was reported by the censor and heard by the censor, so it is also called the "Wutai Poetry Case".
Hearing the name, it should be a literal prison, right?
Sorry, I'm afraid not.
Li Ding and the others wanted to make it a literal prison.After Su Shi was imprisoned in Yushitai Prison on August 18, this group of people wanted to make the case bigger and bigger.The translation of this sentence is: to find out the root cause, let me find out!
Actually they did.All the words written by Su Shi were transferred to the Yushitai, and all the clues were found to be infinite.As a result, not only did Su Shi himself seem to have committed a heinous crime, but there were as many as 26 people involved in the case, including Wang Shen, the son-in-law who leaked the secret, and Sima Guang, who was actually not at fault.
The conclusion of the case is: If you think so, you can put it away without punishing it!
This means, obviously, that the death penalty is to be imposed.
But what about the result?Wang Shen and others were demoted, Sima Guang and others were fined, and Su Shi was escorted by Yushitai to Huangzhou (now Ezhou City, Hubei Province) for surveillance and residence.Until July of the seventh year of Yuanfeng (1084), he was appointed as the Deputy Envoy of Ruzhou Tuanlian (living in Changzhou). He lived in Huangzhou for four years and wrote the famous "Chibi Nostalgia" and "Red Cliff Fu". A house was built in a place called Dongpo, and he called himself Dongpo Jushi, and from then on he was called Su Dongpo.
Loud thunder, little rain!
So, why?
Notes:
Notes: