Chapter 3 The second chapter is Wang Anshi's fault?

In 1127 AD, fifty-eight years had passed since Wang Anshi launched his famous reform movement; Forty-one years have passed since Sima Guang abolished these reforms; Twenty-six years have passed since the death of another Su Dongpo who opposed the reform. These three people enjoy the same great reputation in Chinese history, and were once good friends who admired each other.Because of this reform, the three gradually drifted away, and finally completely ruined their friendship, and became political enemies. Sima Guang and Wang Anshi died in the same year in 1086 AD in a desperate struggle.

If they could live a few more years and see the tragedy in 1127 AD, then Wang Anshi might ask Sima Guang and Su Dongpo: Why didn't they support their reforms? And the great historian Sima Guang and the great poet Su Dongpo are likely to denounce Wang Anshi, who enjoys a high reputation as a great writer and statesman: All this is your fault, Wang Anshi! It is said that until today, Wang Anshi has the highest popularity and attention in the foreign Sinology circles that take Chinese history as the research object; Mr. Huang Renyu, a great historian, believes that his praise and criticism has become a part of the international academic circle. Big issues affect and influence international audio-visual.

When China's "Cultural Revolution" was about to end, Wang Anshi's name suddenly appeared on various media with extremely high frequency. The Chinese also know that Lenin, the teacher of the world proletariat, once taught that Wang Anshi was the reformer of China in the 11th century.At that time, at the time when China was carrying out the "Criticism of Lin and Confucianism" movement, Wang Anshi was highly praised and respected as an outstanding representative of Legalism and the opposite of Confucius.Today, we know that's not true. In fact, Wang Anshi was once regarded as an outstanding successor of the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and enjoyed a very high status in a certain period.However, even when Wang Anshi was still sitting as the prime minister of the Great Song Empire, the fierce criticism of him never stopped.Even some extreme critics in later generations believed that it was Wang Anshi's reform movement that led to the decline of the Song Empire, which caused Jingkang's shame.Therefore, Wang Anshi needs to bear the main responsibility for this disaster, and even like Tong Guan, ten thousand deaths are not enough to cover his innocence.For example, Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji has always been regarded by historians as a very good emperor among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and this Emperor Xuande insisted on this view.

In the generations behind Wang Anshi, similar voices are endless. Quite a few people believe that if it were not for his outstanding literary achievements and honest character, it would be hard to imagine how the three words "Wang Anshi" should deal with the so-called history pen like a knife.Today, when we open the officially revised official history "History of the Song Dynasty", we will find out that the most important supporters, participants, assistants, students and successors of Wang Anshi's reform are almost all included in the ranks of treacherous ministers, and only this one held the reform aloft The initiator of the banner is safe and sound.This in itself is a particularly dramatic and intriguing phenomenon.

After entering the 20th century, with the disintegration of the imperial dynasty, the word "Wang Anshi" was given a fresh meaning again. The word "great" is often crowned before these three words.Wang Anshi became a great statesman, a great writer, a great reformer, etc., and reached its peak during the aforementioned "criticizing Lin Biao and Confucianism" movement. The praise movement for Wang Anshi in the 20th century probably started with the passionate political commentator Liang Qichao at the beginning of the century; by the end of the century, it seemed to have entered a fairly rational and calm period.The era of destruction has begun to pass, and the era of construction has arrived, and the emotions of both praise and criticism seem less excited.People no longer force ancient ghosts and real politics together, so they no longer have the urge to kill their opponents in debates.Such a situation is very gratifying.It at least saves people from allergies, and enables us to look at this great man who lived a thousand years ago from many angles, thus becoming more objective and more calm.

There seems to be no doubt about Wang Anshi's literary achievements. He was "excellent" in poetry, prose, and ci. In the thousands of years of Chinese literary history, it has already occupied the highest position." The phrase "Thousands of thick green branches and a little red, it doesn't take much to move the spring scenery", is simply a portrayal of Wang Anshi's self-confidence and even conceit.Hearty and full of flavor, it is already better than a thousand words. The sentence "The spring breeze turns green on the south bank of the river, when will the bright moon shine on me back" has already led to countless textual research and appreciation texts from later generations to this day.

"Jing Gong's poems are the first of the Jiangxi School, and they have the style of the Song Dynasty." In the words of a contemporary scholar, Wang Anshi "insisted on the truth of art and inherited the fine tradition of realism in ancient my country." His poems and essays "give a layer of splendor to the cultural undertakings of the Song Empire." This cannot be denied by those who completely hate him politically. Wang Anshi's life is very interesting.In addition to speculation, even his most vicious enemies can hardly find a way to attack him in his private life.

The biggest external characteristic of this person is the extreme slovenliness in life.It is said that he did not change his clothes, wash his face, rinse his mouth, or take a bath for a long time.This made his coat full of stains such as soup, oil stains and sweat, and some dry attachments can be imagined and suspicious.From the eating habits described in the custom history of the Song Dynasty, we know that Kaifeng’s crab roe steamed buns and quail soup are famous snacks loved by literati and bureaucrats. People’s daily non-staple foods included mutton, pork, chicken, goose, For fish, shrimp, crab, snails, vegetables, and dairy products, commonly used seasonings include onions and garlic—maybe the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, mustard, pepper, tempeh, etc. that we eat today. Alcohol is consumed in great quantities.There is a saying that the so-called hot pepper in the Song Dynasty refers to what we call prickly ash today, so the spiciness referred to at that time may refer to the spiciness of prickly ash; and the chili we eat today originated in South America.This argument holds that species from South America could have been introduced into my country only in the Ming Dynasty, which remains to be tested.In the legends of ancient India and ancient Egypt, there are beauties who are born without bathing, and their bodies are always new and fragrant.There is no information that Wang Anshi belongs to this category of natural beauty.Therefore, the combination of this eating habit and the above-mentioned hygiene habits can have conceivable consequences.Fortunately, Wang Anshi already had a very high official reputation and literary name at that time, so this kind of slovenliness that would definitely be unbearable for ordinary people added a new charm to him.According to historical records: People at that time called him a sage, that is to say, people generally believed that Wang Anshi was a great man.In this regard, there is another record that says: The scholar-bureaucrats' greatest hatred is not being able to get acquainted with Wang Anshi.

We could find two people who questioned this.One is Su Dongpo's father, Su Xun, an old gentleman who was only in his thirties when he was studying furiously. From the first impression he met, he disapproved of the famous Wang Anshi.For this reason, the old gentleman wrote a special article that was considered to be aimed at Wang Anshi, and the title was "Discrimination of Traitors".He believes that it is human nature to wash one's face and change clothes; contrary to human nature, wearing rags, eating pig and dog food, talking about poetry, books, etiquette and music in an unkempt manner, and gaining a reputation for being unconventional, there must be something hidden in it. The great treachery and cunning belong to the kind of great treachery and evil that harm the country.

Obviously, if judged only from this point, Su Xun's point of view is quite questionable.In fact, such people are not unique in ancient and modern China and abroad. They like to indulge in their own spiritual world and wander around. They have no time and may not bother to spend time.This is entirely their own business.We know that among the orthodox people in our country, there is indeed a kind of people, they are very similar to the kind of "thing mothers" that Beijingers call.Its characteristic is that it especially likes to connect some purely personal hobbies and interests with the country, the future and destiny of mankind, so that a little thing that is fart becomes infinite.

Wang Anshi's reaction is unknown, and it may be that he basically ignored it.Later, when he had a lot of power in his hands, he didn't see any behavior that was particularly difficult for Mr. Su Xun. The other person who raised doubts was something Wang Anshi could not ignore.This person is the emperor of Wang Anshi, Song Renzong, the fourth emperor of the Song Dynasty. Emperor Renzong reigned for forty-two years and was the longest reigning emperor of the Great Song Empire. The whole story of Bao Gong and Bao Qingtian happened during his reign as emperor.This emperor truly and faithfully carried out the basic national policy of his ancestors, emphasizing literature over military affairs, and suppressing military affairs to cultivate literature. As a result, the cultural tree of the empire became deeply rooted and leafy, and produced huge fruits.Su Shi and Su Zhe both won the Jinshi examination. After reading the articles of the two brothers, the emperor was very excited. When he returned to the harem, he was full of praise, saying that he had found two prime ministers for his descendants.During the Northern Song Dynasty, the most brilliant constellations in the poetry, ci, and literary circles basically ascended to the vast starry sky during this period.All of this must be closely related to Emperor Renzong's benevolence and generosity.We know that he also did something to destroy cultural people, which is the story that happened to Liu Yong.This story is fun to tell, but it is quite cruel to those involved.This poet, who is full of artistic spirituality and talent in every cell, has written too many good poems, but one song "Crane Soaring to the Sky", which he complained after failing, was caught by the emperor.The last sentence of this poem is: "Endure the false name, pour it shallow and sing." As a result, after the unlucky poet really passed the Jinshi examination, the emperor hated his frivolity, and swiped his pen, saying: What is this false name for? Let’s pour it out and sing it in a low voice.” As a result, our big poet couldn’t get a decent official job in his life, so we had to hang out with the beautiful girls in the theater and call ourselves “Feng Gong” Purpose to fill in words".In the end, even the most adept Chinese historians tried their best to find out the date of birth and death of this outstanding artist.It can be seen from this that the Emperor Renzong still lacked the generosity and sense of humor of a cultural sponsor after all, so he was criticized by later generations. Emperor Renzong admired Wang Anshi very much and planned to promote him many times, but Wang Anshi refused.This is an important reason for Wang Anshi's great reputation.In fact, this is also the most important mystery in Wang Anshi's life.However, when Wang Anshi, a local official with an excellent official voice, really came to the capital, Emperor Renzong probably changed his opinion.The reason for this is one small thing: Once, Emperor Renzong entertained some courtiers in the royal palace. At that time, he made a relaxed rule: everyone must go fishing in the imperial pond by himself, and then, the royal chef will use the fish caught to cook what everyone wants. eat dishes.It was sure to be a pleasant proposition, and all hooked and baited with gusto and went fishing.Only Wang Anshi sat absent-mindedly in front of a table, eating all the ball-shaped baits on the golden plate in front of him one by one in meditation.In the end, amidst the astonishment of everyone, he said that he was full, although he didn't know what he was eating.This made the emperor believe that this person was a hypocrite hypocrite.The emperor's reason is: a person may not like fishing, and he may accidentally eat a few baits by mistake, but it is impossible for him to eat the whole plate of baits in a daze.We know that in the history of Western culture, it is often recorded that some philosophers made many strange actions when they were immersed in their inner world.It is up to each individual to make his own judgment. When Emperor Renzong recalled Wang Anshi to the capital, there was a great possibility that he would entrust him with important tasks.However, in the absence of any other unhappiness between the two, Wang Anshi was actually treated coldly.This can be seen from the fact that his carefully written "Book of Ten Thousand Words" was silent after it was submitted to the emperor.Its cause is likely to be this inexplicable "bait" incident. Once, Wang Anshi's friend chatted with Wang Anshi's wife, and Mrs. Wang complained that she couldn't know what kind of food the husband likes to eat.That friend thought it was strange, he thought Wang Anshi especially liked to eat shredded venison.The reason was that when he had lunch that day, he saw Wang Anshi eat up a plate of shredded venison with his own eyes.Mrs. Wang asked: "Where was that plate of shredded venison placed at that time?" The friend replied: "In front of Wang Anshi." Mrs. Wang said: "Then try to put the shredded venison far away tomorrow." When eating, everyone put the shredded venison a little farther away, and put another dish in front of Wang Anshi's eyes.As a result, Wang Anshi ate all the food in front of him.When asked after the meal, he had no idea that there was a plate of shredded venison on the table just now. The same goes for clothing.One time while taking a bath, a friend of Wang Anshi exchanged Wang Anshi's dirty clothes with a clean robe.Want to see how he reacts.Unexpectedly, Wang Anshi didn't react at all, just put it on.People asked him whose clothes he was wearing, but he didn't know that the clothes had been changed. Judging from these examples, it seems that it is more appropriate to regard this kind of behavior of this person as the object of psychoanalysis than as the object of moral criticism or value criticism. Some things can quite show Wang Anshi's personality and personal virtues: Wang Anshi's Mrs. Wu is a fat lady, and she is probably not beautiful.Once, she said to herself that she bought a concubine for her husband.Maybe it was because she wanted to surprise her husband, she didn't mention this matter during the day, and at night when she was going to bed, she asked the woman to come and serve her after she got dressed.Wang Anshi was taken aback, and asked the visitor what he wanted?That is to say, he didn't know what a beautiful woman came to his house in the middle of the night, all dressed up.The woman told Anshi what her wife meant, and Anshi questioned him very seriously.The woman told him: her husband sank a ship of official wheat and lost it. After going bankrupt, it was still not enough to repay the official debt, so she was sold by her husband to pay off the debt.An Shi asked: "How much did you sell for?" The woman replied: "Nine hundred coins." That means nine hundred coins.Converted according to purchasing power, it is about less than 200,000 yuan today.After hearing this, An Shi ordered the woman to go back to her own room to rest.Early the next morning, he ordered the woman's husband to be found and asked him to take his wife back without refunding the money. Wang Anshi rarely reads well, and "he will never forget it once he has seen it".When writing an article, the writing is like flying, and it seems casual at first, but after the completion, readers are all amazed by its subtlety.What's more, this eloquence is very talented. According to historical records, An Shi "discussed Gao Qi, and he was able to make a lot of arguments." It is said that he was often able to quote from many sources and eloquently in front of many opponents. speechless.Finally, he has another characteristic, that is: "The fruit is for his own use, and he has the ambition to change the world." That is to say, this is a generous and courageous person who takes the world as his own responsibility. He is very confident in himself and determined to transform this world. secular world.This ambition may have been formed in his adolescence.According to data, although Anshi has few talents, his family situation is quite embarrassing because his father was only a middle-level and lower-level official all his life and needed to support the family of ten.Even after Anshi became an adult, when he was about eighteen or nineteen years old, he often needed to go to the mountains to collect wild vegetables for food.This situation of great contrast in the period of youth growth may be helpful for us to understand this person's maverick temperament. In 1042 A.D., the second year of Emperor Renzong's Qingli reign, An Shi was twenty-two years old.That year, he won the Jinshi Gaodi in one fell swoop, ranking fourth.From then on, he was an official all his life, and he lived in the high position of prime minister for eight years.However, this person never used this power for personal gain for himself or his relatives.He never cared about money. It is said that his prime minister's salary has almost become a public expense, which can be spent by relatives, friends and even colleagues.Moreover, this person has rarely seen personal enemies in his life, and most of the enemies he had formed were for the sake of political reform.Therefore, even his critics who later hated him quite a lot admit that they are dealing with a sincere, pious and clean man. Judging from a modern perspective, this kind of quality, ability, and character traits with strong orientation are especially suitable for becoming the leader of a certain art genre, social movement, especially political movement. In addition to the above reasons, Anshi enjoys a high reputation and great popularity. In addition to the above reasons, the excellent official voice he has formed during his career as a local official for more than 20 years is also a reason.The most important reason is that he has repeatedly rejected the "fat" official positions arranged for him by the court. According to the regulations of the empire, all Jinshi high-ranking officials can take up positions in the Qing Dynasty after three years as an official, including the Zhaowen Museum, the History Museum, and the Jixian Academy, and come to the emperor and become the emperor's edict Hanlin, Zhizhigao, etc.Many senior officials in the Song Dynasty were quickly promoted through this channel, and even became ruling and prime ministers. Therefore, it is considered the best shortcut to develop their official careers.Generally, those who are not high-ranking Jinshi are expected but out of reach.Wang Anshi was qualified to enter the museum at the age of twenty-five, which is quite rare and envied by people.An Shi wrote a letter to thank him.He would rather go to a small remote county to be a county magistrate.Therefore, from the age of twenty-two, until the age of forty-six, when he became a prominent eunuch and began to implement reforms, he repeatedly refused the court's intention to grant high positions, and he was unmoved by the temptation to enter the court and be promoted quickly. Turn a blind eye to it, and basically stay in the specific work or the post of local officials, from the county magistrate to the prefect.Among them, in every place, all of them have outstanding political achievements and excellent administrative talents, which can be called competent officials.Moreover, during this period, he built dikes and weirs, reformed schools, and established the Farmers' Loan Law, which was the embryonic form of the Young Crops Law. magistrate. These twenty years have been the most mysterious and miraculous time for Wang Anshi.Once he declined the kindness of the court, his prestige rose again and again. In the end, even the emperor, the scholar bureaucrats in the capital, and the civil and military officials in the court all wanted to see Wang Anshi's life. true colors.This experience has become the biggest mystery of this person's life. If it is said that he is trying to gain fame, this time is too long; if it is said that he is keeping a low profile, this kind of calmness is really rare. There is a view that: At that time, there were many stars and respected people in the court, such as Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Sima Guang, Zeng Gongliang, Wen Yanbo, Fu Bi, Han Qi, etc. A large number of people would make Wang Anshi eclipsed. Simply hide in a place and wait.This kind of view obviously underestimates Wang Anshi's dazzling talent and unique and firm character.As a local official, he can still make his brilliant literary name spread all over the world and attract the admiration of students from all over the world, so why would he be afraid to go to the capital to show his skills? From a psychological point of view, some contemporary scholars believe that Wang Anshi belongs to the kind of person who can only be the leader.He would rather be a chicken head than a leopard tail, so it is extremely difficult to cooperate with others when things happen.According to historical records, his colleagues, subordinates and superiors were quite annoyed by this.Therefore, he was unwilling to fight against those big men with deep roots in the court and China prematurely.For a politician, this kind of judgment should perhaps be said to be reasonable. But in any case, this person is quite confident, confident that once the time comes, he will achieve a great career.Moreover, in fact, he has also laid an extremely solid foundation for his future political career in the past two decades.This is beyond doubt. In 1060 A.D., that is, the fifth year of Emperor Renzong's Jiayou reign in Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi finally accepted an official position appointed by the imperial court amid long-awaited calls: as the judge of the third division.This is not a prominent official position, but it is an extremely important position, because the responsibility of this position is the financial revenue and expenditure and water transportation of the entire empire.We already know that the Sansi is the highest authority in charge of the national financial power in the central government of the empire, and the status of its highest chief, the Sansishi, is only slightly lower than that of the prime minister and the privy envoy, and is an important court official directly responsible to the emperor.There are three departments under the third division: Yantie, Hubu, and Duzhi.Yantie was in charge of industrial and commercial income, weapon manufacturing, etc., the Ministry of Households was in charge of household registration, taxation, and liquor distribution, and Duzhi was in charge of fiscal revenue and expenditure and water transportation.The third envoy has a high status and is known as the "planning minister"; there are three deputy envoys in charge of the three departments, and the duties and powers of the judges are roughly equivalent to the secretary-general who presides over the daily work of the department, and their status is slightly lower than that of the deputy envoys. At this time, Anshi was famous all over the world and was regarded as a genius.It is generally believed that the unfathomable talent and character are hidden in this man's extraordinary maverick.In Sima Guang's words: "Jiefu—Wang Anshi's style name is Jiefu. He has been famous all over the world for more than 30 years. He is talented, knowledgeable, indifferent to fame and wealth, and has lofty ambitions. Whether he knows people or not, they all have a common opinion: If Jiefu doesn't take on the big job, let it go, but if he shoulders the big job, a peaceful and prosperous world will be just around the corner, and all people in the world will accept his grace." At this time, Fan Zhongyan had passed away, and all the living figures of the older generation, such as Wen Yanbo, Fu Bi, Ouyang Xiu, Zeng Gongliang, etc., all spoke highly of Wang Anshi.Han Qi, another senior minister and once prime minister, is probably regretting and guilty for wrongly blaming this young talent back then. This happened at least fifteen years ago.At that time, Han Qi was the prefect of Yangzhou, and Wang Anshi was awarded the official position of the Huainan Jiedu Judgment Office after he had just entered high school.At that time, Wang Anshi often read at night by candlelight, and it was common for him to stay up all night.At this time, at dawn, he would lean on the chair to take a rest for a while, and sometimes he would take a nap and wake up, it was already too late.So I didn't have time to wash up, so I hurried to work.When Han Qi saw it, he thought that young people were proud of their youth and often indulged in their sex all night long, so he earnestly persuaded him: "Young man, there is no waste book, don't give up on yourself."——"Young man, while you are young, read more books Come on, don't give up on yourself." Obviously this is good intentions.Wang Anshi didn't make any excuses, but when he resigned at the end of his three-year term, he told his friends that Han Qi didn't appreciate him.Later, Wang Anshi's poems and essays became famous, and he seemed to be a literary giant of a generation. Only then did Han Qi realize that he was mistaken.Therefore, Han Qi was willing to treat and support him as his old subordinate, but who knows, Wang Anshi didn't buy it, and didn't take the opportunity to get closer, and he was always quite estranged from Han Qi.Later, in Wang Anshi's diary, people discovered that Wang Anshi had a very low evaluation of his old boss: "Han Qi has no other strengths, but good looks." From this, it can be seen that Wang Anshi is very arrogant. .It's hard to imagine that such a person would be a person who seeks fame and fame. At this time, there is only one person who can compete with Wang Anshi in all aspects, and that is Sima Guang. However, at this time, even Sima Guang admired Wang Anshi very much.Or rather, the two admire each other. Sima Guang was two years older than Wang Anshi, and four years earlier than Wang Anshi, he passed the Jinshi examination, and he was only a little over nineteen years old at the time.At the Wenxi banquet where Jinshi unveiled the list, everyone else wore flowers, but he didn't wear them.Later, the people around him quietly told him: It is a gift from the emperor, so you must wear it.He barely managed to wear one.What makes Sima Guang popular is not that he won the high school at a young age, but that he has already been favored as an official, and then has a future based on his strength.We know that in the ancient official system, when the father and grandfather were officials, the court would favorably select different numbers of descendants to be officials of a certain level according to their official positions, which is called grace.This is one of the reasons why people look at Sima Guang differently. When it comes to the time of becoming famous, Wang Anshi is even more incomparable with Sima Guang.The story of Sima Guang smashing the vat to save people has been circulated for thousands of years. At that time, it was actually recorded in various historical materials and was widely circulated. Speaking of private morality, a story about Sima Guang can be compared with Wang Anshi: when Sima Guang was young, he was an official judge, equivalent to the deputy mayor and secretary-general of a certain city.Because the wife failed to give birth.The prefect's wife, that is, the mayor's wife, chose a concubine who looked like a suitable child for him.Sima Guang ignored this person.Mrs. Sima thought it was because she was in front of her, so she told the concubine in advance that after she left home, she would dress up and go directly to the master's room to serve at night.At that time, when Sima Guang saw the woman in his room, Zhengyan warned: "My wife is not here, how dare you come here? Go!" Then he ordered the woman to leave. It took Sima Guang 25 years to write. When it was completed, the manuscript filled two rooms. It is the greatest historical work in Chinese history that only "Historical Records" can match. Sima Guang and Wang Anshi used to be colleagues.At that time, the two of them were under Bao Zheng, also known as Bao Qingtian, as the judge of the group shepherds, and Bao Zheng was their immediate boss, the group shepherd envoy.Once, peonies were in full bloom in the yamen of Qun Mu Si, and Bao Gong bought wine to enjoy the flowers.Sima Guang recalled: I never liked drinking, but when Bao Gong persuaded him to drink, I still tried to drink a few glasses; Method.From this, Sima Guang knew how stubborn Wang Anshi was. Regarding the relationship with Sima Guang, Wang Anshi's statement is: with Junshi—Sima Guang's word is Junshi, we get along well and for a long time, but we often have different views on things and different methods of dealing with problems. different. Sima Guang's view is much more pessimistic: Anshi has always treated me indifferently, and because I have worked with him several times, I always have some affection for my colleagues in my heart. In any case, such two moral articles can be called Taishan Beidou figures, after all, they broke up.Not only did they break up, but they were like fire and water, and they were irreconcilable, forming a real tragedy. For the Great Song Empire, the meaning of this tragedy is very real: Under these two banners, the entire empire’s scholar-bureaucrat class split openly into two factions. The dispute quickly degenerated into a power struggle.Along with the struggle for power, the political atmosphere deteriorated rapidly, and political morality continued to degenerate.The two political forces lost all the constraints of rationality and ethics, and quickly fell towards the dark abyss, and then, in the dirty swamp, bit each other like wild beasts.Until the officialdom of the empire completely lost the ability to judge right from wrong, good from evil, the sky above the empire was filled with evil breath.In the end, the entire empire was wrapped up in this evil, striding towards irreparable collapse. It's hard to say when it all started. There is a detail of special symbolic importance that is often overlooked by historians. In 1067 A.D., the first month of the fourth year of Song Yingzong Zhiping, Emperor Yingzong, who may have suffered from severe mental illness, died within four years of his reign.The crown prince Zhao Xu succeeded to the throne as Song Shenzong.This detail with special symbolic meaning happened after he became emperor.One day, the twenty-year-old young emperor came to see the empress dowager in full military uniform, which should be quite a heroic attire.The empress dowager really liked the young emperor's heroism, but she warned the young emperor: "If you can never be greedy for military merit, you will be a blessing to the people of the world." The different performances of these two generations foretell the fate of the empire. future fate. Emperor Shenzong's military uniform really showed his yearning for martial arts and martial arts, and his desire for a rich country and a strong army.However, not only can't we talk about all of this right now, even the usual expenses are already unsustainable.This made the emperor, who was just over twenty years old, in a particularly bad mood. The incident originated from the spring ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven to be held by the imperial court.Originally, according to the usual practice, every time the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven in spring was completed, the civil and military officials would be rewarded with silver taels of silk and satin.In fact, this may have become an expenditure similar to the double salary at the end of today, or the nature of year-end bonus.Unless it is really difficult to live on, this money is indeed not something that can be saved.Now, however, the national treasury has reached the point where it is truly empty, so the emperor is determined to dispense with this reward, turning embarrassment into meaninglessness, so as to save a fortune for the royal family. As a result, the first real dispute between Wang Anshi and Sima Guang in front of Emperor Shenzong was triggered.The time is probably around the end of 1068 AD.At that time, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang had been successively appointed as Hanlin Bachelors.Wang Anshi accepted the appointment without declining for the first time; while Sima Guang accepted the appointment under the emperor's order not to decline. This debate was tit-for-tat, and the basic differences between the two sides were generally expressed clearly: Wang Anshi believes: "The country's financial situation is not good, and it is not a top priority. The reason for this situation is that there are no people who are good at managing money." Sima Guang objected: "What you call a person who is good at financial management is just a clever trick to increase taxes on the heads of the people." Wang Anshi said: "No. Those who are good at managing money can fill the treasury without increasing taxes." Sima Guangda disagreed: "How can there be such a truth in the world? The money and all things born in the world are not in the people, but in the officials. Trying to steal from the common people is worse than increasing taxes. The rhetoric." Judging from what happened later, the emperor probably hesitated briefly, but finally supported Wang Anshi's reform proposal. There must be many factors that prompted the emperor to make this decision, among which the most important may be the following two points: First, the financial situation of the empire is becoming more and more difficult, and it is difficult to move forward; Second, Wang Anshi's set of theories is indeed extremely persuasive. As for the young emperor's aggressiveness, it was undoubtedly a fundamental factor. In 1069 A.D., that is, in February of the second year of Song Shenzong Xining, Wang Anshi was appointed as Shenzhizhengshi, that is, the deputy prime minister, in charge of the reform of the empire.The famous Xining reform began. At this time, more than 90 years have passed since the death of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, and the sixth emperor sat on the dragon chair to govern this huge empire.Although in terms of territory, it is not as vast as the Han and Tang Dynasties, is such a flourishing civilization like flowers and flowers, is it something that the ancients have seen before?As we know, most of the most important cultural figures in the Northern Song Dynasty have already appeared: Kou Zhun, Mei Yaochen, Fan Zhongyan, Yan Shu, Ouyang Xiu, Liu Yong, Yan Jidao, Zeng Gong, Sima Guang, Wang Anshi; Years ago, Su Dongpo, who was fifteen years younger than Wang Anshi, and his younger brother Su Zhe also came to the capital from Meishan, Sichuan, and won the first place in one fell swoop. Among the 388 Jinshi, Dongpo almost ranked first.It is said that just because the examiner Ouyang Xiu made a mistake in his judgment, he thought that such a beautiful article must have been written by one of his disciples.Therefore, in order to avoid suspicion, the ranking of the article was wrongly placed one place later, and Dongpo was wronged to become the second place.Huang Tingjian, Qin Guan and others are also approaching the age of weak crowns, and they are emerging in high spirits.It will take some years for Li Qingzhao, Lu You, and Xin Qiji to shine.In the Song Empire, the stars were brilliant; they threw songs into pots, sang poems and wine, and the wind and moon were shining, and their literary talents were elegant; maybe none of them thought that they were already at the peak of ancient Chinese culture. However, the heights were extremely cold, and the emperor and his ministers were worried.They know best that behind the blooming flowers, the country's poverty and weakness are a foregone conclusion, and it is hard to return. The so-called poverty does not mean that the country is poor.In fact, the Song Empire was the peak era of the most developed economy and culture in ancient Chinese history, and it must have been the wealthiest and most developed country in the world at that time.All agriculture, handicraft industry, commerce, international trade, urban development, scientific and technological progress, production process improvement, etc., are all the most glorious period.Unfortunately, the Empire is also known to be poor and weak, which makes for a rather helpless situation. Accumulated poverty refers to the long-term embarrassment of the empire's national finances that cannot make ends meet.The most important reason for this situation is redundant soldiers and redundant officials. Emperor Taizu established the recruitment system while implementing the policy of using literature to control military forces and suppressing generals.It is said that this was a very proud design of Emperor Taizu Emperor Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning of the founding of the country.史书记载说，赵匡胤曾经与赵普等二三重臣商讨“可以为百代之利者”，赵普们出了许多主意，皇帝都不满意。最后，太祖赵匡胤认为只有养兵一法才是长治久安之道。太祖曰：“可以利百代者，唯养兵也。方凶年饥岁，有叛民而无叛兵；不幸乐岁而变生，则有叛兵而无叛民。”意思是说，遇到灾荒年景，将饥民招募为兵，可以避免饥民作乱；正常年份，即便有军队作乱，而百姓也不会参加。于是，大宋建立了由国家财政养兵的募兵制度。实际上，是将军队作为收留饥民和地痞流氓、犷悍之徒加以管束的机构，使之不被放到社会上去滋事。 这套制度短期来看的确不错，时间一长，则一塌糊涂。 百姓一旦应募为兵，便被输入官府军籍。这些入了军籍的人们，行不得经商，居不得为农，生老病死皆不许脱籍为民，妻子儿女全部都要仰食于官府。于是，兵营里便到处都是老弱病残之兵。这种兵，一旦开战，如何上得了战场？于是，再大量招募精壮之兵。就这样，太祖开宝年间，禁、厢军部数为三十七万人；太宗至道年间增至六十六万；真宗天禧年间为九十一万；仁宗庆历年间为一百二十五万；到此时，神宗皇帝登基前不久，已经到达一百四十万有零。我们耳熟能详的梁山泊好汉——八十万禁军教头林冲，所教练的八十万禁军，盖源出于此。 帝国禁军属于中央正规军，其士兵每年的军饷军粮，通扯合计为每人五十缗钱。这里的缗，指的是一千钱，作为钱币的计量单位时，和贯的意思差不多。以当时的购买力折算，五十缗大约不到今天的一万元人民币，供养全家一年的花销，不算富裕。厢军则为地方部队，其士兵的军饷军粮还要再少一些，大约为三十到三十五缗，约合今日的六千元人民币左右。这些仅仅是平日养兵所需，还不包括战时的后勤保障、转运、赏赐、组织动员、损耗、管理等等。因此，到神宗皇帝登基时，每年军费开支约四千八百万缗，时人估计占全国财政收入的六分之五。这个数字很有可能是保守的。 军队人数众多，并不一定与能打仗呈正相关的关系。相反，冗兵与以文制武的国家政策和军事制度相结合时，战斗力便根本无从谈起。于是，大宋帝国军队极少打胜仗的灰败纪录也就自不待言。积弱之说盖出于此。 而太祖时期设计的官、职、差遣分离的制度，与科举、恩荫、荐举等选官制度结合起来以后，则演变出了大批量的冗官。据说，当时有官有职而没有差遣的人，占到了官员总数的百分之七八十以上。这也就是说，在帝国的所有官员中，有百分之七八十以上的属于冗官。为了安排这些已经有了官、职和每年继续涌进来的新官员，帝国绞尽脑汁地发明新差遣、新官位，于是就有了我们另一个很熟悉的形容词，叫作“叠床架屋”。这些叠、架起来的冗官们与帝国慷慨的高薪制度相结合，在催生出大宋帝国灿烂的经济文化之花时，也耗费了以千万计的俸禄。资料显示，神宗皇帝登基之前，两万五千名帝国正式在编的官员，和我们找不到准确数字，据估计在二三十万左右的吏员，每年需要支出的俸禄，大约在一千二百万缗钱。 其中，以宰相和枢密使为例，他们的俸禄收入包括：正俸，相当于基本工资；添支，相当于资历或年资工资；职钱，相当于职务工资；衣赐，相当于服装补贴；茶酒厨料，相当于伙食补贴；饲刍，相当于交通补贴；薪炭，相当于取暖补贴；还有七十个人的随从衣粮，相当于安全保卫兼威风摆谱津贴。其总数大约为一万缗钱上下，差不多合一万亩土地的出息，大约相当于今日二百万元人民币左右。我们知道，拥有宰相官位的人可远远不止三五个人。太祖杯酒释兵权之后，节度使的待遇是最高的，大约比宰相还要高出三分之一左右，而拥有节度使待遇的人，比拥有宰相官位的人，又要多出许多。有一种说法认为，宋朝宰相的官方收入大约至少是明朝宰相——首辅的五倍以上。 正如黄仁宇先生所说，宋朝由于缺乏数目字管理，其国家财政收支状况相当混乱。部分史家倾向于相信，北宋时期的国家财政收入，平均每年在六千三百万到六千八百万缗钱之间。上述官、兵两项，已经开支六千万缗，神宗皇帝时期的皇家开支大约为每年七百二十万缗，单单是这样几笔开支，已经导致入不敷出的财政赤字了。但是，还有必须花的几笔钱：景德年间祭祀天地祖先的费用是六百万，皇祐年间一千二百万，几年前的治平年间，四年不到是一千三百万；最后还有两项令帝国君臣最不好意思的开支——每年必须“赏赐”给辽国五十万两匹银绢，必须“赏赐”给西夏二十七万五千两匹银绢，两项合计七十五万五千两匹银绢。这笔钱数目不算大，占国家财政收入的百分之一多一点。不过，每当君臣为了钱不够花而心情灰恶时，这两笔钱所带来的耻辱感就格外强烈，不但令帝国臣民，更令皇帝本人颜面扫地，格外闹心。 帝国积贫之说，盖源出于此。 二十岁的皇太子赵顼登基前后，帝国财政状况大抵如此。其积贫积弱之势已成定局，则已经是不争的事实。 史书记载说，这位皇太子天性好学，读书或者研讨学问时，常常废寝忘食，皇帝不得不派内侍去制止他。他的老师在讲习经史时，他会率一同听讲的弟弟们行大礼拜之，中外为之感动，交口赞之曰：贤。他继位之后，不治宫室，不事游幸。就是说，他不图享受，不贪女色，励精图治，希望大有作为。而且，这位皇帝的心地相当善良、宽厚。这些，可能是后世史家对他评价颇高的原因。甚至有人认为，宋神宗赵顼虽然生长在深宫之中，却是中国历史上少见的杰出而英明的君主。 神宗皇帝的确颇想有所作为。他曾经广泛征求大臣们的意见，希望能够找到富国强兵的道路。遗憾的是，他听到的那些劝告，特别是那些元老重臣们的劝告，经常令他感到失望和沮丧。比如，他向德高望重的富弼征询有关边防的事宜，这位当年曾经支持过范仲淹实行“庆历新政”的老宰相忠告他说：“陛下如果能够二十七年口不言兵，亦不重赏边功，则国家幸甚、天下幸甚。” 之所以请陛下二十七年口不言兵，是因为老宰相与皇帝对话时，恰好距离庆历新政过去了二十七年。 这和皇帝的期望实在相去太远。年轻的皇帝怎么也无法理解，何以泱泱大国却要如此卑躬屈膝地面对契丹与党项人。特别是党项人的西夏小国，既小又穷，似乎根本没有资格成为一个国家，怎么居然也能够让大宋帝国颜面扫地，这简直太不可思议了。 应该说，很有可能这是皇帝迅速疏远这些老臣，转而去寻找更加志同道合的支持者的主要原因。 事实上，根本就是这些元老重臣们，将王安石推到了皇帝的面前。因为，所有这些人全都语重心长地告诫皇帝，要他爱养民力，要他布德行惠，要他选贤任能，要他疏远奸佞，要他持重安静，要他恪守祖宗成法。唯独没有人告诉他：眼前已经快要过不下去了，怎么办？大宋帝国积贫积弱的状况怎么扭转？泱泱华夏该如何重振雄风？怎么样干掉西夏蕞尔小国？怎么样夺回我燕云十六州？怎么样让我中原大国扬眉吐气？没有人能够告诉他、甚至愿意和他讨论所有这一切。只有王安石知道答案，只有王安石和他想着同样的问题，只有王安石雄辩滔滔、充满激情地告诉他：陛下，这一切是可以做到的。不要说汉唐盛世，只要君臣一心，便是再现尧舜，又有何难哉？不过在一振作间耳。 在这样的情势之下，刚刚二十岁出头的神宗皇帝还有可能做出别样的选择吗？ 何况王安石所说的那些，相当难以辩驳。 比如，就以上面提到的王安石与司马光的争论为例。王安石的观点，在理论上显然是正确的。不增加税赋而增加财政收入的方法有很多，早已为现代经济学的理论与实践所证明，加快资金周转速度，改进生产条件以增加生产等等皆属此类。事实上，王安石所推行的青苗法也是类似的一个相当高明的方法。据说，青苗法并非王安石所首创，最开始时，是陕西的地方官率先采用此方法扶助当地农业生产。王安石作县令时，曾经试用过，效果颇佳，深受百姓欢迎，于是便在他的辖区里广泛推行应用。 据当代历史学家研究推测：当时，帝国农村盛行高利贷，利滚利是较为常见的利率，事实上已经成为农民破产、土地兼并的一种形式，对帝国的危害不言而喻。因此，当青黄不接的时候，由政府贷款给农民，收取半年百分之二十的利息，收获之后连本带利即行归还。由于此贷款以田中青苗为信用保证，所以，称为青苗法。 以今天的眼光看，这半年百分之二十的利率已经是高利贷无疑。但是，据说只相当于当时高利贷的三分之一甚至五分之一。因此，用此方式扶助农桑，应该是功德无量的事情。诚如黄仁宇先生所说：令人惊异的是，早在九百年之前，王安石就已经懂得：可以用信用贷款的方式刺激经济的成长；当生产增加货物流通时，即便用同一税率也能在加速周转的流通状态里收到增加财政收入的成果。王安石其他与经济有关的变法，如设置三司条例司、农田水利法、均输法、市易法及免行钱、方田均税法、保马法等，其基本经济思想大体来源于此。这种采用金融调控的方式管理国家的企图，其深度与广度都不曾在当日世界的任何其他地方提出过。黄仁宇先生为此感叹道：王安石与现代读者近，反与他同时人物远。用台湾作家与学者柏杨的话说，则为：王安石具有超人的智慧。 显然，王安石的经济思想比司马光要高明和超前得太多了。 然而，这正是事情的不幸与悲剧所在。 原因是，天还没亮，而王安石起得太早了。对此，我们将在未来的岁月里，越来越清晰地看出这一点。 与王安石比较起来，司马光对于财政、金融与其他涉及到经济学方面的知识，显然在实践上缺少经验，在理论上缺少研究，差距不小。然而，作为中国最伟大的历史学家，如果说到数千年帝国政治与社会运行的机制与原理，说到对此丰富的知识与研究，说到在此基础之上所具有的深刻洞察力与了解的话，王安石比起司马光来，其差距何止以道里计，称得上是望尘莫及，不管王安石如何得读书万卷，如何得过目不忘。事实上，后代甚至现代中国人关于历朝历代兴衰治乱的许多知识与见解，都是拜这位史学宗师之赐才得到的。王安石在学术上的造诣，则更多地表现在诗词文学那样一些浪漫理想与文辞形象上面，这使他的变法带有了浓重的理想化色彩。 由此出发，只要向前再走一步，我们就能够看到相关的一个事实：司马光对于王安石变法的反对，正是建立在对于帝国历史脉动的精确理解与把握之上的。这使他的反对，拥有了极其雄厚的基础与令人敬畏的力量。 在前面提到的那场著名争论中，我们还记得，司马光曾经指斥王安石所筹划的变法，正是当年桑弘羊者流蒙骗汉武帝时采用过的伎俩。两相比较之下，确实可以看出两者之间具有许多相似之处。 众多历史学家特别醉心于汉武帝开疆拓土的所谓雄才大略，常常似有意似无意地忽略这位皇帝的穷奢极欲和凶残暴虐。事实上，假如不是他倾全国之力和数代人的积蓄打败匈奴，的确建立了开疆拓土功业的话，汉武帝刘彻其实应该被列入中国最坏的皇帝之列。相形之下，他的祖父汉文帝则可以称作是中国历史上最好的皇帝。汉文帝以圣徒般的德与行，开创了一个安静祥和的世道，以至于两千年后回首那一段往事，仍然使人油然感受到一种如沐春风般的清静温馨。与他比较起来，他的儿子汉景帝少了一些仁慈大度，多了一点莽撞戾气。好在他总算继承了父亲清静无为、与民休息的治国理念。结果，经过文、景两代皇帝的治理，全国仓库里的粮食已经储存不下，只能在院子里露天堆放；金库里则堆满钱币，就连串钱的皮绳都已朽坏。这就是文景之治时的盛况。 可惜，汉武帝全无乃祖风范。他以长达四十多年的对外战争和近五十年的对内恶政，将父祖几代人积蓄下来的财富挥霍一空。然后，便开始重用商人出身的桑弘羊等人，策划着如何盘剥百姓，实行所谓从无为到有为的财经变法。 桑弘羊这帮人的确敛财有术。他们首先推行了一整套国家垄断性质的经营活动，将铸钱、冶铁、制盐、卖酒等最赚钱的行业全部收归国有，实行专卖，甚至一度准备将河湖塘湾与海洋中捕鱼捞虾也实行国家专卖，由于立即出现产量大跌，市价腾贵，而不得不放弃。然后，桑弘羊们实行了均输法和平准法。均输法指的是命各地将贡税改为当地特产，以当地平均价格计价，官府则命其运输到指定的其他地区，由官家高价出售，牟取高出一般贡税的利润。这个做法为王安石变法所全盘照搬，就连名称都没变。平准法指的是由国家在各地设立平准官，垄断天下货物及价格，贵卖贱买，使商贾无法牟利，必须通过官府才能存活，王安石变法中的市易法即脱胎于此。此外，还实行了算缗与告缗制度，算缗就是征收商人的财产税，告缗则是打击商人不申报或者不据实申报上税的一种制度，规定凡上述两种行为，均没收全部财产，并充军戍边一年；凡告发上述两种行为者，奖励所没收财产的一半。于是，史书记载说，一时间，“告缗遍天下”。 上述财政政策出台后，迅速形成下列后果：国库立即充盈；民间经济活力迅速萎缩；带有较大主观色彩的告缗制度和财政税收行为迅速造就了一大批富有的官吏；最后，史书记载说，商贾中家以上大抵破产。 以今天的眼光看，大约只有那些小商贩出身、又急于讨好皇帝的官僚，才能想得出这种杀鸡取卵、饮鸩止渴的坏主意。须知，任何时代，国家想依靠行政权力来与民间争夺商业利益，都是一件轻而易举的事情。但是，也永远都只能是短期行为，前提条件是政府不怕窒息民间活力，不怕阻止经济与社会发展，不怕引起经济文化的动荡与破坏。 从历史记载上看，汉武帝时代的做法，对于国内社会经济的破坏相当惨烈。当时，各级政府“得民间财物以亿计，罚没入官的奴隶婢女以千万计，田地大县数百顷，小县百余顷，房地产也差相仿佛。于是，中产阶层以上者大抵破产。”在关于汉武帝中后期的历史记载中，全国各地“盗贼纵横”、“盗贼并起”、“盗贼群起”的字样大量涌现，“人相食”的记载一再进入视野。就是在这种情形之下，当时汉代的文人们，在称颂汉武帝和桑弘羊们的变法时，使用的词汇是“民不益赋而国用饶”。翻译成宋代和王安石的语言就是：“民不加赋而国用足”，不光意思，连字面都几乎一模一样。 在伟大的历史著作中，司马光对汉武帝的评价是：秦始皇干过的坏事，汉武帝基本上又干了一遍。之所以没有亡国，主要是因为他临死的前几年全面忏悔、改过；然后，临死时又把后事托付对了人的缘故。 王安石变法的指导思想酷似桑弘羊们的思路，事实上也同样是以国家垄断经营的方式，开启了与民间争利之门。以司马光的品格与学识，他不可能不反对这种做法。于是，正如王安石所说：从始至终，没有改变反对变法的态度的，只有一个司马君实。信哉斯言，否则司马光就不成其为司马光了。 后来，在司马光与神宗皇帝之间，曾经一起谈论过汉初萧规曹随的典故。这个著名的典故中有一层极深的含义，常常被人忽视，而其保守的一面，亦即不变更即成法度、不改祖宗之法一类的表层含义，反而被特别不适当地加以夸大和强调出来。这也是令人百思不得其解的一个问题。 许多历史学家认为，从汉高祖刘邦到汉景帝刘启，西汉初年七十年间以清静无为的黄老之术治国，轻徭薄赋与民休息，是国力迅速恢复，达到文景之治盛世的重要原因。而萧规曹随则起了特别重要的作用。 曹参是刘邦的老乡，也是西汉最重要的开国元勋之一。刘邦称帝后，封他为齐相国。当时齐有七十余城，是最大也最重要的封国，治下在今天山东沿海的一大片地方。 曹参到齐国后，就如何治理国家广泛征求社会各界的意见，结果，众说纷纭众口难调，搞得他一头雾水。后来，他听说胶西地区有一位盖老先生，精研黄老之术，就以重金请教。据说，盖老先生核心的话只有一句：治国之道，贵在清静无为不扰民，则民自定。史称，曹参大受启发。此后，以黄老之术治理齐国九年，国泰民安。从此，曹参名声大盛，当时的人们皆称其为贤相。 萧何去世的消息传到齐国后，曹参马上让人收拾行李，说：“我要当宰相了。”几天后，朝廷的使者到，召他进京出任宰相。 曹参的宰相当得很绝：他处理政事时，全部按照萧何的成规办理；任免官吏时，只挑那些年龄大的、忠厚老实的、不善言谈的人，辞藻华丽、长篇大套、追求名声者一概罢免不用。他自己则每天大碗喝酒，大块吃肉，白天晚上都是酒气熏天。 时间长了，他的同僚部下们相当苦恼，搞不清楚宰相这是什么路数。于是，忍不住想探问个究竟。谁知，一见到宰相，宰相就会极其热情地拉着喝酒；来者刚一说话，马上又被灌酒，直到最后，一醉方休。而且，这种情况居然成了每日的常态。不如此，人们反倒不习惯了。于是，整个宰相府晏然无事，整个国家也安静祥和。 宰相府旁边有个花园，是相府属吏们平时休息的地方。到后来，这帮家伙们也学着宰相在这里整日聚会狂饮，喝的高兴了就歌之舞之，相当快乐。终于，有古板一点的官吏实在看不下去了，于是，有一天请曹参去逛这个花园，意思是当场抓住这帮家伙整治一下。不料，宰相见此情形大喜，欢呼着端起酒杯立即溶进了狂欢的人群。 当时的皇帝，是汉景帝刘启的大伯惠帝刘盈。刘盈被自己的母亲吕后荼毒戚夫人的做法吓坏了，已经没有心思管理什么国家大事。现在看到宰相这副做派，也很疑惑，以为宰相是因为看不起自己才这样的。于是就让在自己身边做侍从的曹参的儿子，悄悄回家问问他父亲，究竟打的什么主意，还想不想治理这个国家了？结果，儿子的话刚刚出口，曹参便大怒，把儿子摁在地上一顿痛打，据史书记载：在屁股上足足抽了两百鞭子。打完后，对他说：“滚回去当好你的侍从，天下大事不是你该过问的。”这下子，皇帝的脸上也挂不住了。一天上朝后，刘盈责备曹参说：“是我让你儿子劝你的，你怎么把他打得那么惨？” 曹参脱帽，道歉，然后问惠帝刘盈：“陛下觉得自己与高祖谁更英明？” 刘盈回答说：“我怎么敢和高祖比？” 曹参又问：“在您看来，我和萧何谁更贤明？” 刘盈回答道：“先生好像要差一点。” 曹参说：“对呀。高祖与萧何已经定下了很好的治国方略和政策法令，您无为而治，我们守住职责不乱来，这不就可以了吗？” 刘盈听后放心了，说：“善。” 这就是历史上有名的萧规曹随的典故，也是西汉初年以黄老之术推行无为而治、与民休息政策的由来。 翻检这一段史料，会给人一个特别突出的感受：在这里，最重要的东西并不仅仅是不改祖宗之法的问题，曹参抓住了一个最深层的要害：在帝国政治结构之下，最难治理的其实不是民，而是官；只要如狼似虎的皇家与官吏能够不生事，不扰民，能够清静无为；只要不给官吏们鱼肉百姓的机会，让他们守住职责不乱来，从而官安其位，民乐其业；那么，中国人就会像变魔术一样，生产出无穷无尽的物质财富与精神财富。 这套思想与方略为汉文帝与汉景帝所忠实继承，终于成就了文景之治的太平盛世。 我们无法知道，在司马光的内心深处是否有这种担心：官吏们借变法之机，如虎狼出笼一般糟蹋百姓。但是，不管起初他是否因为这个原因反对变法，到后来，他成为坚定的反对派领袖，这个因素肯定发生了重大作用。原因是，随着王安石变法的渐次展开，这个问题变得越来越严重。 以青苗法为例。陕西地方官推行时，效果不错；王安石担任地方官时，在自己治下地区实行时，也一样大受欢迎。因此，王安石相当有信心地在全国推行。谁知，结果却大大出乎人们的意料，很快在全国形成了大面积的灾难性后果。其原因相当复杂。如果根据史料还原当时的情形，则大体情况是： 青苗法肯定是适合农民们需要的，特别是在青黄不接时节，更能显示其救济与援助的功效。有钱的人家不需要这种援助，贫苦之家需要，但必须以田里的青苗为信用担保或者抵押。这样一来，风调雨顺时，大家自然都很欢喜；而一旦出现天灾人祸，发放贷款的官府与使用贷款的农户双方，立即同时陷入恐慌之中。官府为了减轻自己的损失和由此产生的责任，唯有逼迫农民一途。农民便只好变卖家当，归还贷款本息。严重者需要卖房卖地，甚至卖儿卖女。最后，部分农民流离失所，更使许多农民无力或者不敢贷款。 这样显然不行，因为各个地方官府都有固定的贷款准备金，这些贷款本金附带着必须完成的增值使命一道下达。如果贷款发放不出去，地方官员便无法完成那百分之二十的贷款利息即价值增值的任务，这将直接影响官员们在上司眼中的形象、工作业绩与升迁。于是，各地官府及其官员们便花样百出。其中最普遍的做法是，根据当地农户的经济状况，将他们分成不同的等级，规定不同级别农户的贷款额度，然后，强令当地富户与其他不同等级的农户之间结成利益共同体，由富户为各等级贫户提供担保或者抵押。更有甚者，若干地方官府的官员们，为了