Chapter 11 Old Changle—the most calm "second minister"

In Chinese history, what is the biggest insult to a scholar with a sense of integrity? Rebellious ministers and treacherous ministers?Ordinary characters don't seem to be able to cultivate to this level. When they have such strength, these words are likely to be swallowed into the stomachs of those who dare not speak out.Corrupt officials?It's everywhere, maybe when you scold others, you scold yourself at the same time.Mediocre?A vegetarian meal?Uneducated?If you have the ability, you also come to the corpse for a while?Our family is not good at learning, only you are Taibai's reincarnated son Jian reborn?

"Second Minister"! When these two words came out, I don't know how many people were sweating, and their clothes were soaked. Before the regime change, no matter how disgusting the evils and ugliness of the Taiping Era: vicious greed, cunning and insidious, incompetent and hypocritical, all became insignificant rotten foam in the turbid waves. As a courtier, loyalty is the last and most basic moral bottom line of our ancient country that governs the country with loyalty and filial piety.For thousands of years, as the three cardinal principles of building a body, the first cardinal guideline is impressively "the ruler guides the ministers"!A good woman does not matter to two husbands. When a disaster is imminent, how can the minister betray the monarch?

Dishonest women still have to bear the accusations of thousands of people, how can you, a rebellious villain who is facing Qin Muchu, have the face to live in the world? So I don't know how many people, biting the horns of the quilt in the dark night and sobbing in a low voice, desperate to live because of the irreversible mistake at that time, slapping their haggard old faces fiercely. With tears in his eyes, the golden walls and splendid clothes and food around him became the most poignant and cruel irony. "What you want is not to deceive the earth, not to deceive the people in the middle, not to deceive the sky above, and to take the three not to deceive as a rule. So low, so expensive, so long, so old."

The pride and gratification between the lines can almost make future generations see that the author smiled and put his sleeves behind him, proudly looking down on the common people in the world.But these few words come from a concluding autobiography of his life in the last years of one of the biggest dissenters in history. Oh, to be precise, it should be said to be the "Four Ministers".He is "four dynasties, three in the book, and more than 20 years in phase", serving the eight surnames and ten emperors, and the chief minister of almost all dynasties in the Central Plains during the Five Dynasties: Feng Dao.

In his autobiography, Feng Dao gave himself a nickname: "Old Changle." "Etiquette and righteousness are the great law of governing people; honesty and shame are the great festivals of building people... I read Feng Dao's "Changle Laoxu" and saw his self-reporting, and I am proud of it. He is a shameless person!" (Ouyang Xiu) "The court is an enemy, and the twilight is a monarch and minister. He has changed his face and changed his words. He has never been ashamed. Such a great festival, even if there is a small good, is it enough to be called mediocre?" (Sima Guang)

"A minister who is an extremely human being cannot die when the country dies. How important is it to treat his king like a passer-by!" (Hu Sanxing) "(Feng) Dao's evil was higher than Zhou, and the disaster was worse than (robber) Zhi." (Wang Fuzhi) ... This is the evaluation of the elder Changle by later generations. It seems to be able to smell the gunpowder behind the words, and even hear the loud or light "chi" sound from each nostril. Their indignation is understandable. However, if history can change time and space and put them in Feng Dao's position, how will these impassioned loyal ministers and righteous men behave?

The biggest possibility is that there will be a group of Yimin who have gone far away, and a group of disgruntled hermits. If the situation is urgent, there should be one or two iron martyrs like Fang Xiaoru a few hundred years later. Coming from the more and more stringent constraints on morality in their era, they will sacrifice everything else for integrity and for the fame behind them.However, in the age of vicissitudes, such Yimin hermits or loyal ministers and martyrs, in addition to leaving traces of chastity and unyielding in history to inspire future generations, add a brick to the ideological stability of future dynasties, and add a bloody light. How much significance could Shining Liang have to the people of Limin who were in dire straits at that time?

Ever since I read Feng Dao's biography, I have always had a small wish, hoping to see the tombstone of this Changle old man.Not only to see if there are countless angry criticisms written by moralists over the past thousands of years, just like improvisations such as "so and so is a big turtle" written by urchins on the wall, or like an article that risked the world I spit and spittle follow-up posts after such a big article; the main reason is that I am curious: how can a small tombstone be engraved with the official name of this tumbler, which has a long series of five generations? ——

On his stele, which dynasty and generation, which position is engraved on it? In the early summer of the first year after Zhou Xiande, in 954 A.D., the seventy-three-year-old Feng Dao finally finished his life that he could not even imagine how future generations would evaluate it (in his autobiography, he also left a helpless and ominous sentence. Lamented: "Those who know, those who sin, the unknown are few!"), walked behind the mysterious tombstone. Perhaps it was because of the disgust of the historians towards Feng Dao, the official history did not leave many reflections of Feng Dao's government and the public when he died, but it was just a routine dropout of the court, granting gifts, and pursuing posthumous titles.But there are still some traces that cannot be concealed: it is said that on the day of his funeral, the paper money was scattered so that the trees on the side of the road turned white; Ouyang Xiu had to write down such a stroke in "New History of the Five Dynasties": "People of the time They all praised him, saying that he lived the same life as Confucius."

It is not certain that the paper money was scattered by the people spontaneously, but for a villain who was ridiculed by later generations, he was a volatile villain who was facing the Qin Dynasty and the late Chu Dynasty, and no one would think of comparing his lifespan with Confucius - wouldn't it Greatly blasphemed the most holy teacher?Wei Zhongxian seems to be the only one who dares to compare with Confucius so much, but Feng Dao is known for his humility and tolerance, and he has no such vicious and arrogant methods. For those who despise Feng Dao, there is a conversation they love to talk about.The two sides are Feng Dao and Liao Lord Yelu Deguang.The Lord of Liao asked him: "How can the people in the world be saved?" He replied: "In this era, even the Buddha is born and cannot be saved—only the great emperor can save you."Listen, how servile, how disgusting!According to the practice of those straight ministers and gentlemen in later generations, at this time, it should be a time to hold your head upright and stand on your head, and teach these Hu Yi who don't know the heights of the sky and the depths of the earth a good lesson in the Chinese righteousness of how a sage can overcome the disabled, kill and help the world-a dignified prime minister of a country, How can you be so humble and ashamed?

Many years later, Wang Anshi, who was also in the center of the vortex of right and wrong, deeply admired the good intentions of Feng Dao's words with the mind of a doer, which is simply "the practice of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas".It is said that this is "bowing one's body to calm people", in order to stabilize the people of the world, the honor and disgrace of one's life has long been ignored. After all, Ouyang Xiu is a qualified historian, and he still wrote down such a stroke in "New History of the Five Dynasties": "Everyone thinks that the Khitan will not destroy the people of China, and Dao's words are kind." This conversation is just one of Feng Dao's countless efforts in his life to try his best to stabilize the people in troubled times. History books also recorded some other deeds of him that are not ashamed even if they are included in "Biography of Liangchen" and "Biography of Xunli": Carefully and skillfully admonished Li Siyuan, Emperor Mingzong of the late Tang Dynasty who was violent, when he had the opportunity, he preached Confucian scriptures for the emperor who was born in the army and could not read, hoping that he could restrain his temper, be conscientious and considerate of the people; Using self-blame as a means to persuade Liu Zhiyuan to correct the wrong law to save the people; When the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were frightened by the cruel and untrustworthy Khitan, they took orders calmly, and even set off directly after receiving the orders without returning to the house to order family affairs; Redeemed and returned the children of the Han Chinese who had been plundered by the Khitans; Reward lonely students and vigorously promote culture and education; In the flames of war, we made great efforts to engrave the "Nine Classics" and tried our best to preserve the culture; In every famine year, I use my salary to provide disaster relief; ... In the sloppy world, Feng Dao tried his best to make the people who were struggling in the land he could influence live as well as possible.It should be said that it has been achieved to a certain extent: at least during the Mingzong period of the later Tang Dynasty, it was recorded in the history books that "coarseness is well-off". Take a moment to look away from Feng Dao, and let us look at the heroes who came and went on the ruins of the Tang Empire in just over eighty years. What's interesting is that no matter what method they use to obtain this crippled regime, no matter what their surname is or what ethnic group they belong to, as long as they get off their horses and sit on the blood-stained dragon chair, they almost want to do the same thing: Welcome or recruit Feng Dao. Such a thing happened.In the third year of Qianyou (950 A.D.), Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty Liu Chengyou suspected the general Guo Wei and wanted to kill him, resulting in a mutiny.Guo Wei led the army to attack Kaifeng, Liu Chengyou was killed by the rebels, and the throne was vacated.The already fledged Guo Wei thought that the ministers of the Later Han Dynasty would embrace him as emperor, but after meeting Feng Dao, he found that he didn't show any signs of it.He tentatively bowed to Feng Dao, but Feng Dao accepted it carelessly. From this, Guo Wei realized that the time to seize the throne had not come, so he had no choice but to push someone else to be emperor for the time being. Whether Feng Dao supports it or not has almost become a symbol of the legitimacy of the regime. If you think about it carefully, this phenomenon is actually reasonable. The government originally had to be composed of the emperor and ministers.When the throne is like a wild mushroom and lacks reliability, the relatively stable ministers can play a more deterrent and stabilizing role in this chaotic world.The iron-clad ministers of the emperor of flowing water, as long as they don't get too deeply involved in the constant killing, the ministers are like sampans in the torrential torrent, continuing to drift and carry people—— And the emperor is only the helmsman: the helmsman can be changed frequently, but it is troublesome to re-sampan. Feng Dao, at this moment is the indispensable heavy iron anchor for the small sampan. Perhaps in that era, when he ascended the throne, facing the people under his feet, Yuxi, Longan, soldiers and horses, Feng Dao, all four of them are available, the new master will feel as if he is grasping something again when he puts down his sword, spear and spear, and will have With a heavy sense of stability and security, I feel that this is the real stability of my seat.Only when the old minister obeys and obeys orders, will you look like you have inherited the mess from the eyes of the people, and you will stop thinking about the previous dynasty-doesn’t even the old man who has been there for many years continue to work? And the imperial court with all the newcomers and new clothes looks like a cottage of grass bandits or a shop of nouveau riche. Later, the conflict between Ming Chengzu and Fang Xiaoru, which ended with thousands of lives, should have the same reason behind the tragedy. Look at the people at that time. I'd rather be a dog of peace than a person in troubled times. Just a few sayings express how much pain and bitterness.The emperors and generals who come and go like lanterns have already made their bleeding hearts scabbed and numb. Who cares who is sitting on the Golden Temple? They just want to take a breath and relax a little in the gap between soldiers and fire. The waist that has been curled up for a long time.What nonsense morality, nonsense integrity, whoever can make us live one more day is the living Bodhisattva who saves the suffering and the suffering! Feng Dao is honest, simple, upright, smart, kind, generous, knowledgeable... Even if you say he is tactful, cowardly, shameless, and he is a mother if he has milk, but we just need such a shameless and no integrity tumbler Chang Le Lao. What have those pious adults and gentlemen done for the common people other than clinging to their own fame? Taking a step back, even if Feng Dao is a despicable, vicious and greedy corrupt official who has been raising him for so many decades, he has blunted his minions and filled his pockets with people's fat and people's ointment. If the hungry ghosts are fed from scratch, wouldn’t that make things worse and peel off another layer of skin? The common people have a vivid metaphor for this: "The new pot wastes oil." No one can do without the pot, every family is already too poor to stand the toss, it is better to use the old pot. Feng Daoneng's poems.It is definitely not the style of a romantic genius, simple, calm, and casually wrote: "But know and do good things, don't ask about the future." "When did morality die, and where can the boats and cars not pass through? But there is no evil in every inch of the teaching area, and even the jackals and tigers can stand among the bushes. " I don't know if he dared to recite this couplet of poems in public at that time, otherwise anyone could have heard that this old man who is always pleasant and submissive, actually, in his heart, he took turns taking turns to sit on the nine-fold jade chimney. The mighty monarch saw such a copy: Jackals, clumps of wolves, tigers and leopards! If everyone walks away for the sake of fame and honor, will the devastated world be allowed to be ravaged by the cold fangs and claws wantonly? What he has to do in his life is to save as many people as possible from the bloody mouths of these wolves, tigers and leopards. The sea of ​​bitterness is surging, what to choose and what to give up: Baiyi Shengxue maintains his reputation all his life, or how many people are saved by lying in the mud and ignoring the filth? Feng Dao seems to have seen through the essence of fame a long time ago: Isn't what I do the same as the shame and morality that you keep saying, and it is ultimately for the benefit of the common people? Why be bound by a false name? There is a famous joke that seems to illustrate Feng Dao's views on name taboos.One day, Feng Dao asked his disciples to talk.But reading the first sentence "Tao can be Tao, very Tao" is troublesome.Because of the taboo, saying the word "Tao" directly is disrespectful to Feng Dao, so the disciples pretended to be smart and read it as: "I dare not say it, I dare not say it, I dare not say it very much." Feng Dao couldn't help laughing, and immediately waved his hand to stop it, letting He read it aloud according to the original text. What is name to a fully enlightened person? Do it calmly, "but there is no evil in every inch of teaching", where is there not happiness? Paper money was scattered all over the road, and the wind blew, dancing one after another, and the dancing whitened the green trees... Going back a few years, let me fantasize about a scenario that I believe could have actually happened: The night was deep, except for a few feeble watchmen, everything was silent. Like other homes in the city, Feng Dao's Prime Minister's Mansion had its lights turned off and its doors closed.Feng Dao was already sound asleep. Suddenly, there was a thrilling shout from the direction of the palace, and a fire broke out, illuminating half the sky ragingly.From every corner of the capital, the sound of metal and iron clashing and shrill screams and cries could be heard. A branch of dysprosium whistling and speeding on the street. The panic-stricken servant shouted outside Feng Dao's door in disheveled clothes: "Master Xiang, it's not good, another army is attacking the palace, it seems that it can't hold it anymore..." "Oh?" Feng Dao, who was awakened, turned over and muttered, "Really?" Without waiting for anyone to answer, he continued to order: "Then you all get up, clean up the house, and set up the incense table... Get my best court dress ready.go down. " Turning over again, tucking the corner of the quilt, Feng Dao faced the bed and fell asleep again. I just don’t know, in that night’s dream, will he remember that time when he was young, strongly admonishing the tyrannical Liu Shouguang, dissuading him from launching an army to attack a neighboring town, and almost dying in prison, thus completing the process of character transformation in his life; I don't know if he will dream of Yi Yin who runs between Jie and Tang again and again for the sake of the common people; I don't know if he will blame himself again and again in the dream: "There is more than enough to serve the body, but it is not enough for the time. What is not enough? If you can't achieve unity for the majesty and set all directions, you are ashamed of all the calendar officials..." Who can blame him?Maharaja, wise and benevolent Maharaja, who can put an end to this miserable and chaotic world, where are you? I only know that this "four ministers" will never bite the corner of the quilt and sob like those second ministers in later generations.