Chapter 23 3. Reform has nothing to do with morality
In July of the seventh year of Yuanfeng (1084), Shenzong ordered Su Shi, the Deputy Envoy of Huangzhou Tuanlian, to move to Ruzhou (now Ruzhou City, Henan Province).Su Shi expressed his gratitude and asked to live in Changzhou, where he had his own land.After getting approval, Su Shi, who claimed to be a layman on Dongpo, went down the river from Huangzhou and passed Jinling on the way to Changzhou.
Hearing that Su Shi was here, Wang Anshi was very happy, and rode a donkey in plain clothes to meet him at the pier.Dongpo went out of the boat to greet him without a hat on, and said with a smile: Su Shi dared to appear as a savage to meet the prime minister today!
Wang Anshi said with a smile: How can red tape be set up by my generation?
Dongpo said: Su Shi also has self-knowledge, and I don't care about the minister's family.
Wang Anshi didn't answer directly, but just invited him to visit Jiangshan together.This trip lasted for several days, and the two talked about the past and the present, and talked about poetry and Zen.Afterwards, Wang Anshi sighed and said to others: I don't know if there will be such a person again in hundreds of years!
This is the truth.
Moreover, Su Shi is, and Wang Anshi and Sima Guang are not.
Looking at it now, from Renzong to Shenzong, it was really an era of shining stars, and these three people are superstars among the stars.Sima Guang has been handed down from generation to generation, Wang Anshi is one of the eight great masters in Tang and Song Dynasties, and Su Shi has become the pride, symbol and symbol of civilization in the Song and Song Dynasties with his outstanding achievements in various fields of literature and art.
What's even more rare is that they are not only talented, but also have excellent personalities.On the sixth day of April in the first year of Yuanyou (1086), Wang Anshi died of illness in Jiangning.When the prime minister Sima Guang was seriously ill and unable to go to court, he wrote to the deputy prime minister, Lu Gong, saying: Jiefu's morality and writing are outstanding, but his personality is a little problematic.Now that the immortal is gone, and the court is trying to bring order out of chaos, those shameless people will definitely take the opportunity to slander her.Therefore, I would like to ask my dear brother to ask the emperor to give Jiefuyou a generous gift to show integrity and rectify the world.
The Empress Dowager, who was listening to the government behind the curtain, accepted Sima Guang's suggestion and posthumously bestowed Wang Anshi as Taifu.Su Shi, on the other hand, took advantage of the convenience of writing and drafting the book, to give his old opponent and old friend a very high evaluation: he is famous for a while, and he has learned for thousands of years; The writing is enough to embellish all things, and the outstanding deeds are enough to move the wind everywhere; it can be used between the ages to change the customs of the world.
With such friends and political enemies, Wang Anshi can smile in Jiuquan.
What is intriguing is that Wang Anshi, who won the respect and praise of Sima Guang and Su Shi after his death, tried his best to exclude them when he gained power, and even regarded Sima Guang as a black sheep and Su Shi as a man of disorder.For example, in August of the second year of Xining, when Shenzong asked about his opinion of the Su Shi brothers, Wang Anshi's answer was: those two people are just good at sophistry, and they are good at wagging their lips and tongues.
Why did Wang Anshi do this?Can you be jealous?
No, politics is in command.
Indeed, in Wang Anshi's view, political stance, political attitude and political line come first, and can even determine a person's moral judgment.As for the relationship between the two, it can be inferred according to "Chinese logic"——
Wang Anshi is virtuous.
Therefore, Wang Anshi's reform is moral.
Reform is moral.
Therefore, it is immoral to oppose the reform.
Sima Guang and Su Shi opposed the reform.
Therefore, Sima Guang and Su Shi are villains.
This principle seems to be very smooth, but unfortunately the reverse is also true——
Sima Guang is moral.
Therefore, Sima Guang's opposition to political reform is moral.
Opposition to reform is moral.
Therefore, it is immoral to advocate reform.
Wang Anshi and Lu Huiqing advocated reform.
Therefore, Wang Anshi and Lu Huiqing are villains.
Please think about it, isn't this kind of logic absurd?
Not only is it absurd, but it will also create an injustice.
Wang Anshi did exactly that.Before the reform, he told Shenzong that the reason why Yao and Shun were Yao and Shun was because they could distinguish between villains and gentlemen, and punished all the villains.What was the outcome?The one who was accused of being a murderer was the loyal and friendly Fu Bi, while Sima Guang, Han Qi and Su Shi were accused of being vulgar.
This method can be used by Wang Anshi, as can the opposition.
For example, Li Ding was characterized as a villain almost from the beginning. The evidence is that he didn't wear hemp and filial piety for his mother, Qiu Shi.However, the actual situation is that Li Ding is not sure whether he is born of the Qiu family, so how dare he wear mourning?Yes, this person's performance in the Wutaishi case can be called evil, but it does not mean that he can or should be wronged.
And Zhang Dun.Together with Lu Huiqing and others, this person was included in the biography of treacherous ministers in "Song History". One of the evidences is that he never privately granted his relatives with official positions.Three of his four sons, who were Jinshi and the first, were handed over to the Ministry of Officials for official business and sent to prefectures and counties. Only the fourth son was arranged to be a small official in Beijing.Such inhumanity, of course, is treachery.
Hehe, I have never seen such a treacherous official who does not use power for personal gain.
The impeachment certificate of Yushi Zhongcheng Liu Zhi is also ridiculous.He said that Zhang Dun clearly knew that the exemption law would harm the country and the people but insisted on his own opinion. It was nothing more than fear of embarrassment when he met Wang Anshi in the future, so he would rather disappoint the court.Well, Lu Huiqing has turned against each other, you say he is a traitor; Zhang Dun is consistent, and you also say he is a traitor.So, if you want to be a loyal minister, how should you treat Wang Anshi?Pretending not to know?
And so on, it's really not worth refuting.
As for what he did later, it wasn't adultery, it was ruthless, it was crazy.
However, the craziest one is not Zhang Dun, but Cai Jing.This person is quite famous, and everyone who has read about him will say that he is a traitor, but few people know that he was originally Sima Guang's henchman.In February of the first year of Yuanyou (1086), Sima Guang ordered the restoration of the official labor law within five days. Everyone said that the time was too tight, and only Cai Jing, the prefect of Kaifeng, completed the task as scheduled.Sima Guang was overjoyed and said: If everyone is like your Excellency, what policies and laws cannot be implemented?
But how?Cai Jing turned his face faster than he turned a book.
We know that Huizong, the penultimate emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, also opposed the policies of the Yuanyou period, just like his elder brother Zhezong.He even invented the term "Yuanyou traitorous party", blacklisted all those who opposed the restoration of the new law, and wrote it in his famous thin gold script.All the people on the list were persecuted, and the works of some people, such as Su Shi, were burned.
This blacklist was probably concocted by Cai Jing.Later, he used his authority to increase the number of people by two or three times, and Sima Guang was at the top of the list.
What's even more ridiculous is that Zhang Dun is also on the list.
This is of course enough to prove that Cai Jing is a traitor, but it also proves that morality has nothing to do with politics.Politics is about position, while morality is about quality.Good quality can have different positions, such as Wang Anshi and Sima Guang.Although those who stand firm will be scolded as traitors, most of them actually have no moral problems, such as Zhang Dun.It can be seen that except for those who follow the trend, the choice of position has nothing to do with morality.
The same goes for reform.Reform is related to politics, economy, and even technology, but has nothing to do with morality.For example, Sima Guang believes that the national economy is a constant, and managing money is to compete with the people for profit.Wang Anshi believes that wealth is a variable, and financial management is to make the cake bigger.So, is it a constant or a variable?This is of course an academic issue, and has nothing to do with morality, and has nothing to do with it.
For another example, Su Shi believes that both exemption from service and draft service have their own advantages and disadvantages.The problem with the labor law is that farmers and citizens have to go to the government to perform labor, which will inevitably affect production.The Exemption Law solved this problem by monetizing labor, but it gave officials the opportunity to extort money, leaving the people without money.The former problem is fundamental, while the latter is technical. Therefore, Su Shi does not recommend abolishing immunity from military service and performing official duties.
Obviously, this is a scientific analysis.The solution is to sit down to discuss and discuss calmly, and make corrections and improvements in a realistic manner.However, Sima Guang insisted on making moral judgments, and he was still obsessed with his obsession, so he could only miss the opportunity and make people feel sorry.
Are pan-moralism and moralism harmful?
In fact, there are prudence and recklessness in reform, cleverness and missteps, and effective and slack, so there are successes and failures, but there is no morality or immorality.Putting moral labels on reform measures will only cut off the way to listen to opinions and make adjustments.
What's more, it can make people crazy.
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