Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Yang Zhen "Shows His Sword" to the Eastern Han Dynasty

Li Yunlong in the war movie said: A real swordsman, facing an opponent much stronger than himself, even though he knows he is invincible, he must bravely shine his sword. The spirit of shining the sword is our military soul. Being an official is not a battle, but the officialdom has always been a battlefield. On the battlefield, bayonets and guns are fought, and the officialdom fights for power and scheming.There is no smoke of gunpowder, but conspiracy and conspiracies are pervasive. In the ups and downs of the officialdom, you can shoot openly and secretly, hide from the defense, accompany the king and the tiger, stumble, and go through the ups and downs all the way. How can one walk on thin ice.On such a battlefield, it is difficult to save one's life, difficult to win, and it is difficult to retreat completely, but it is even more difficult to "brighten the sword".

There is one person who did it. He is not a swordsman, but he has a "military soul". He missed the "prosperous age" and experienced the decline of the world. Undercurrents can't grind his hard edges, and the heavy and suffocating official authority can't crush his strong character.In the official career where traps and black guns are intertwined, no matter whether it is the powerful and powerful, the villain with all the tricks, the intricate "corruption alliance", the absurd and incompetent fool, he is tough and never compromises. "Bright Sword".His "difficult" life is the lightning that splits the darkness.

Today, he is a stranger to others. He is so unfamiliar that in the entrance examination for graduate students in the history department of a certain university, some candidates actually confuse his name for the scientist Yang Zhenning.But during the 2,000 years of vicissitudes, Wei Zheng painted his portrait to reflect on himself, Bao Zheng went to his former residence three times to worship, Wen Tianxiang angrily denounced traitors with his famous words, and Hai Rui read his biography in prison and burst into tears.He who is alive is a "true swordsman", an indomitable minister, and behind him is a monument that excites the wise and trembles the treacherous.

Wiping away the dust of the years, the name on the monument appeared: Yang Zhen, styled Boqi, was born in Shuiyu Village, Huayin County, Shaanxi Province, and a famous official in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Before a swordsman can "brighten his sword", he must "practice" first. Jia Dao of the Tang Dynasty said "sharpen a sword in ten years", and Yang Zhen is even longer, "sharpening" from a boy to 50 years old. As a "swordsman" in the officialdom, Yang Zhen is a bitter boy with a background. Yang Zhen was born in the third year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty. His family "Hongnong Yang" has a strong background in the Han Dynasty: Yang Xi, the eighth ancestor, was the founding hero of the Western Han Dynasty. He was named "Marquis of Chiquan" by Liu Bang. , because of his meritorious service in supporting Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, he was named "Marquis of Anping".But Yang Zhen's generation suffered "hardship": the Yang family began to fall into disrepair at the end of the Western Han Dynasty. Yang Zhen's grandfather Yang Tan and father Yang Bao were both teachers who had never been officials.Yang Zhen later said that his grandfather "willing to stay poor" for two generations, which shows that life is hard.When Yang Zhen was a child (the exact age cannot be tested), it was even worse: Yang Zhen’s father, Yang Bao, left three orphans and widows (Yang Zhen and his younger brother) and died young.

Poor children are in charge of the family early, and Yang Zhen is no exception. At a young age, he took on the burden of family life, farming the land, harvesting food, carrying water and firewood, caring for his mother to take care of his younger brother, and even opened a few acres of wasteland to grow herbs in exchange for money to supplement the family.I work hard inside and out, and I can eat as much as I can. It is said that when I was learning how to steam steamed buns, I ate them while watching the fire.Seeing that his mother and younger brother were starving because of this, Yang Zhen's intestines were so regretful that he picked his throat with his hands, and even vomited out the bitter gall, and never stole it again.This story is a local folklore in Shaanxi, and its authenticity cannot be tested.But when Yang Zhen was a teenager, he went through all kinds of hardships. When he had food, he thought of his mother and brother first. He was often hungry, but it was true. "Continued Han Shu" says that he "serves his mother to teach his younger brothers, and is called filial piety in the village", which is also a typical example of self-improvement today.

With such family conditions and no compulsory education, it seems difficult to study.But Yang Zhen's education environment was not bad: his father Yang Bao was a famous Confucian, and he paid close attention to Yang Zhen's homework when he was alive.Although his father died later, his mother was proficient in writing and ink and understood righteousness. Not only did he take over the educational task of young Yang Zhen, but also often taught him with the great achievements of his ancestors, and asked him to always remember the glorious family. Therefore, Yang Zhen also "has little ambition. ".Yang Zhen himself is also very gifted. He has a good memory for reading and has a high level of comprehension. He can often draw inferences from one instance and has a strong self-consciousness in learning. Behind his village is a mountain. The place where Yang Zhen reads every day.Even though he worked hard, he never stopped his studies. The evaluation of him as "sensitive and studious" in "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" was the result of his years of hard work over mountains and mountains.

This difficult childhood had an important impact on Yang Zhen's life.If your family is poor, you have to work hard. As the eldest son, you have to take responsibility. You have to grit your teeth and get through the days when you are hungry and full.If you have been hungry, you know what it feels like to be hungry. Yang Zhen has tasted the warmth and bitterness of the grassland people at a young age.It is conceivable that his worries about the people, tenacity, and daring to take responsibility in the officialdom all came from this.More importantly, no matter what changes in life, his parents always ask him to "have great ambitions".Therefore, in the days to come, no matter what kind of blows he suffered in life, he never abandoned one thing—ideal.

Of course, if the legend about eating steamed buns is true, then from this moment on, Yang Zhen must have understood another important truth in his life: you shouldn’t eat, you shouldn’t eat, you shouldn’t take, and you shouldn’t eat. take. But ideals can’t be eaten, and his mother is only fluent in literature and ink. Although Yang Zhen is smart and eager to learn, it is not enough without a famous teacher. If he needs a teacher, the family has no money, and it is difficult to become a talent.Mother and son are suffering through these hard days, and they don't know where they will be tomorrow.

When Yang Zhen was 15 years old, "Tomorrow" came to him on his own initiative——Taichang Hengyu. "Taichang" is the official title of the Eastern Han Dynasty, in charge of ancestral temple sacrifices and court etiquette, equivalent to "Minister of Culture".As a "minister-level" Hengyu, he had another identity at that time - a master.He was a master of Confucianism in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and he was full of peaches and plums all his life. Among the students he taught, one was named Liu Zhuang, the historical Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, and the other was named Liu Zhao, the historical Emperor He of the Han Dynasty.To paraphrase the words in the history books, this person "has been taught by two generations of emperors, and he can be called a sub-sage".

The "sub-sage" Heng Yu came to the door, not on a whim, he was a close friend of Yang Zhen's father Yang Bao, this time he came to visit him, and then he met Yang Zhen. Naturally, the "sub-sage" had good eyesight, and after some conversation, he was greatly impressed, and decided to accept Yang Zhen as a disciple on the spot, and ordered Yang Zhen to go to Luoyang to study with him. The entire Yang family was overjoyed by such a good deed, and his mother ordered Yang Zhen to pack up immediately.The mother is worried when the son travels thousands of miles, and she will be reluctant to leave before leaving, and she will give thousands of warnings and instructions.But Yang Zhen's mother was very calm, and just said a word, as all expectations for her son.

"If you bear your father's pure name, you will never recognize each other." Yang Zhen kowtowed goodbye to his mother with tears in his eyes. These words, every word, were engraved in his heart.As it turned out, he lived up to his mother's expectations. In this way, Yang Zhen followed Hengyu and went to Luoyang, the capital city, to do "South Drifting". This was a turning point in his life.As a transfer student under Hengyu's school, he has a strong understanding, studies hard, and soon becomes a top student.Hengyu not only taught him Confucianism, but also taught him to learn from all schools of thought.Yang Zhen kept in mind one by one that he not only read all kinds of Confucian classics, but also extensively dabbled in astronomy, calendar, mathematics, medicine and other fields of knowledge. He is impressed by Jun, and he is decent and has a very good reputation. Within a few years, there will be comments from the masses for "standing upright" and "exposing Mingjing". But Hengyu's more important influence on Yang Zhen is to be a human being. Hengyu, besides being a well-known scholar at that time, was also a well-known direct minister. His official position was "Taichang", and he was in charge of the country's ancestral temple sacrifices and etiquette norms. The biggest characteristic of his work was his acceptance of death.For example, if the court etiquette is not in compliance with the norms, even if it is a minor problem, he will fight it with reason.Big things are even more unambiguous. The emperor wants to spend extravagantly, or the minister wants to take advantage of "activities".For example, once Emperor Hanzhang spent a little more money on a tour, Hengyu was furious when he found out, and sent out a memorial to the Emperor Hanzhang insisting on admitting his mistakes, so angry that Emperor Hanzhang ordered the guards to pull him out, and he went on strike at home in a rage up court.Afterwards, Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty went to visit his mansion in person, and it was only a matter of kind words. As for education work, Hengyu is also unambiguous, not only strictly requires students academically, but also carefully disciplines students in life, so detailed that students have strict rules and restrictions on waking up, eating, and sleeping every day.For example, no leftovers are allowed when eating, and you must eat every single grain left; you are not allowed to sleep late when you are sleeping, and you must get up at the end of the day.Even the crown prince, who was studying with him, had his hands swollen from his beating all day long, making the students torment and complain endlessly, but he dared not have the slightest bit of resentment.Because Heng Yu himself did just that. But Yang Zhen never complained. Since he studied under Hengyu, he has always been conscientious and hardworking. He has a good academic performance and a better life style. He and Hengyu are like birds of a feather.Such a student, Heng Yu, naturally likes it, not only often "teaching him a little bit", but also promoting him to be his confidential secretary, and ordering him to assist him in handling some daily government affairs.Especially later on, even Heng Yu's memorials to the emperor were often handed over to Yang Zhen for editing, and he was also ordered to participate in the planning of the daily work plan, and he was often brought to attend various entertainments.Yang Zhen followed his teacher to study and study government affairs. He had experienced all kinds of beings in the officialdom of the Han Dynasty for several years.Hengyu's upright and upright character, he has been more deeply impressed, and since then in his heart: right is right, wrong is wrong, right must be persisted, wrong must be corrected, if you do not correct, you must fight, even the king of heaven and I can't stop it. Hengyu also taught Yang Zhen a special knowledge - Ouyang School "Jinwen Shangshu". The Ouyang school "Jinwen Shangshu", the founder is Ouyang Sheng of the Western Han Dynasty, which is a special branch of the Confucian school in the Han Dynasty.When Qin Shihuang burned books to bury Confucianism, he also burned the Confucian classic "Shangshu". ", since the Han Dynasty, "Jinwen Shangshu" has been divided into Xiaoxiahou faction and Ouyang faction.Heng Yu, a master of Confucianism, is the descendant of Ouyang School's "Jin Wen Shang Shu". It is this knowledge that gave Yang Zhen a sword that he will never abandon and hold tightly for a lifetime—the sword of incorruptibility. Because the Ouyang School's "Jinwen Shangshu" is really different. Other schools are all about theories, but the Ouyang School emphasizes combining theory with practice. The important ideas in "Shangshu" not only annotate and study, but also summarize themselves. The core idea is one sentence: Confucianism Children and grandchildren must be known to the world for their integrity. Therefore, since the Western Han Dynasty, this school has been passed down from generation to generation, not only producing great Confucians, but also producing upright officials, such as Mao Jie and Ouyang Gao in the Western Han Dynasty, and Dong Xuan and Zhi Hun in the early Eastern Han Dynasty. It can be said that Yang Zhen is the next one. Yang Zhen is no stranger to this school of thought. His father, Yang Bao, is also a student of the Ouyang School, so he is naturally familiar with it. He studies hard and thinks hard.When Yang Zhen was 20 years old, something happened, which convinced the teacher, Heng Yu, that Yang Zhen could successfully graduate. The thing is like this, one day Hengyu gave a lecture, and he talked about the story of Ouyang Diyu, a famous official in the era of Emperor Han Yuan, who was a sage of the Ouyang School in the Western Han Dynasty.This great Confucian from official to servant was poor all his life. When he died, his family had no money left, and he left a last word to his descendants: "I will not accept rewards from the government when I die." Such a "model of clean government" naturally made all the students admire them, and they all expressed their stance to learn from others. When it was Yang Zhen's turn, he let out a long "ah". Heng Yu was surprised, what happened to this good student who is usually obedient?Dare to be disrespectful to the sages?Just about to open his mouth to reprimand him, Yang Zhen lowered his head and said with emotion: Although he was clean and honest, the atmosphere in the officialdom was corrupt and corruption was rampant at that time. Could it be that he was not at fault? Those who dare to talk about the "first teacher" are not crazy, Heng Yu is angry from the heart, and is about to roll up his sleeves and use the ruler to punish him, but Yang Zhen raised his head, stared at the teacher with piercing eyes, and said something about him loudly. Strive for the ideal of life. Confucian disciples should be honest and self-defense, and more importantly, they must eradicate rape and evil, and help the community, so as to live up to the teachings of saints. As soon as these words came out, everyone in the audience was shocked. Heng Yu was stunned for a while, and seriously, as if he was the first time he knew this student. Finally, a gratified smile appeared on his face, and he let out a long breath. He happily said to Yang Zhen: "It's good that you have such an ambition, but you have to experience more things in the world and understand the people's sentiments before you can realize your wish." Yang Zhen graduated in this way. Originally, Heng Yu wanted to recommend Yang Zhen to become an official in the court, but Yang Zhen refused. He gave up his residence in the capital, packed his bags and returned to his hometown in Huayin, Shaanxi. The sons of Hengyu's disciples inherited their father's career - teaching.In Niuxin Valley at the foot of Huashan Mountain, he reorganized the school that his father had run.This teaching lasts for 30 years. Yang Zhen did a good job in education. There were many bad habits in the education circle during the Eastern Han Dynasty. Students not only had to wait on the teacher, but also helped the teacher's house to carry water and grow vegetables. They were both students and long-term workers.Yang Zhen abolished all these. He never asked students to do private work, and treated each student more generously, but he was extremely rigorous in his studies, and taught them to study and be a man. Such a good teacher naturally has no worries about enrolling students. The school is crowded with students from all over the world to sign up, and Niuxingu has been crowded into a farmer's market. Therefore, the place is named "Yangmenhuai City" (Niuxingu Huaishu many).Within a few years, the number of students exceeded 1,000.As his career grew, a branch school was opened. Yang Zhen taught classes in Shuangquan Academy in Huayin, Shaanxi, and Yuling Town, Lingbao, Henan, and taught for more than ten years.He does not seek to make a fortune in running the school, never charges "exorbitant registration fees", and treats students from different families equally; secondly, he works tirelessly, travels far and wide, and travels back and forth between several major schools for one thing ——Preaching, disseminating the way of Confucian saints.At that time, he was already a well-known "model teacher" in the Eastern Han Dynasty. There were no imperial examinations in the Eastern Han Dynasty. If one wanted to become an official, the main method was to "raise filial piety and honesty", that is, local officials recommended local celebrities to enter the court as officials.Yang Zhen's qualifications have already met the standard of "filial piety and honesty". During the 30 years of teaching and educating people, the local officials where the "branch schools" are located in various places have recommended him no less than 20 times, but Yang Zhen resolutely declined each time.As time went on, his school career reached its peak, and he had more than 3,000 disciples. His disciples Yu Fang, Chen Yi and others all became famous ministers in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Because of his outstanding contributions on the education front, the outside world even gave him a lofty award. Nickname - Kansai Confucius. Of course, in addition to being a "Confucius", Yang Zhen has also done many other things in the past 30 years.For example, whenever he gave lectures, he cared about the production and life of the local people. In Henan, he also helped farmers refit their agricultural water vehicles, and gave local officials reasonable suggestions such as updating farm tools. Check it out often.The sufferings of the people are thus clear to the chest. For 30 years, he was actually "sharpening his sword". Until the fourth year of Yongchu in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 110), one day when Yang Zhen was 50 years old. According to historical records that day, part of it is a myth. It is said that Yang Zhen was giving a lecture that day, and suddenly a stork flew into the classroom, put down three eels in its mouth, and flew away with flapping wings.Yang Zhen was puzzled, so he asked someone to ask, and the answer was: "Eels are a symbol of being a high-ranking official, and three eels mean that you will be among the three princes." Then, Yang Zhen put down the pointer and became an official in the court from then on.Some are not myths.Empress Dowager Deng, the mother of Emperor Han'an who was in power at that time, admired Yang Zhen. Since January of this year, her elder brother, General Deng Lu, visited Yang Zhen three times in a row and finally moved Yang Zhen. The story of "The Stork Delivering the Eel" is not so much a myth as it is an expectation for Yang Zhen, expecting that this noble "Confucius in Kansai" can personally write a myth about eradicating rape and evil and invigorating the court. At this moment, the sword light flashed, Qingfeng unsheathed, and the swordsman Yang Zhen came. What he was facing was the surging dark clouds that were full of shadows in the officialdom of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Being an official depends on seniority. Although Yang Zhen was over fifty years old when he entered the official position, he was really a "newcomer", so he still had to start from the grassroots. But Yang Zhen, the "basic level", was promoted very quickly. First, he worked as an aide for the general Deng Lu for two days, and then he was sent to Xiangxian County, Hebei Province as a county magistrate. In two months, in the autumn of that year, he was officially appointed as the governor of Jingzhou and became the chief official of Quanzhen. This speed is really a "helicopter cadre". The reason for such a "helicopter" is inseparable from the appreciation of the Deng family who controlled the government. At first, the Empress Dowager Deng invited Yang Zhen to use him as a "signboard" and use his fame to consolidate power.But after Yang Zhen entered the mansion of General Deng Lu, he had several in-depth talks with Deng Lu, and his views on the current situation were in line with the disadvantages of the times, and he was even more familiar with the people of the states and counties of the Han Dynasty.Under Deng Lu's admiration, he recommended to Queen Mother Deng: "Mr. Yang has the talent to save the time." Then Yang Zhen "helicopted", the purpose, of course, was to let him "save the time". But at this time, the court situation of the Eastern Han Dynasty was no longer the prosperous situation of Yang Zhen's youth, and the situation can only be regarded as four words-internal and external difficulties. At this time, it was during the reign of Han'an Emperor Liu Hu. He was only 13 years old when he came to the throne, and the power of the country was controlled by a group of foreign relatives headed by his mother Deng.Before he came to the throne, his father Han and Emperor Liu Zhao left him a mess full of dangers. After he came to the throne, domestic and foreign conflicts broke out at the same time. The Xiongnu also raised their flags to rebel. In terms of internal affairs, the power of Deng's relatives caused some courtiers to be dissatisfied.However, natural disasters also came to join in the fun. From the first year of Yongchu (AD 107) when Emperor Han'an came to the throne, large-scale natural disasters occurred one after another. First, 37 counties across the country suffered floods, and then the counties in Hexi suffered from drought. Hail disasters, treasury reserves stretched.In the second and fourth years of Yongchu, the Eastern Han government ordered twice that prisoners in custody were allowed to pay atonement to supplement the national finances.It is evident that the country is in dire straits. Fortunately, the Deng family who controlled the government at that time still had something to do. The general Deng Lu offered to reduce the fief and salary, advocated frugality to tide over the difficulties, and was very low-key in dealing with people, and declined court rewards many times.Empress Dowager Deng Sui faced the predicament head-on, and selected talents to "fight the fire". Yang Zhen was one of them. The Jingzhou area where he went to work was the "hardest hit area". Jingzhou was already an important town in the Eastern Han Dynasty. This strategic location where the Sun and Liu families fought bloody battles during the Three Kingdoms period was also the economic pillar of the Eastern Han Dynasty at this time.The local products are rich, and there is a saying that "the world's taxes and grains come from Jingxiang", which can be called the "money bag" of the Eastern Han Dynasty.But when Yang Zhen took office, the "money bag" had already been poked full of holes.The local area of ​​Jingzhou was occupied by many "noble families" in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Land annexation became more and more intense, and the central government received less and less taxes. Yang Zhen's former governor owed the central government six years of taxes. ", those "noble families" who passed on taxes to the common people.In addition, peasant riots continued. Many peasants in Nanjun, Jiangxia and other places turned into bandits and opposed the government.At the same time, ethnic minorities such as "Shanyue" in southern Jingzhou also rebelled from time to time.All kinds of problems are really like a mess. Facing the mess, Yang Zhen "brightened his sword".His moves are obviously fierce. Since it is chaotic, then cut the chaotic quickly with a sword, first find the key problem, and then slash to death. The problem in Jingzhou is roughly like this: the "prominent families" annexed the land, which led to intensified social conflicts, a sharp drop in government revenue, farmers had no way to live, and rebelled if they had no way to live, the government had no money, so they could only do it in a hurry, and some barbarian tribes also took advantage .The crux of the problem lies in the "noble families". Before "cutting down", we must first rectify the internal affairs. Although the country is poor, the "eating and drinking style" in the officialdom is lively. Yang Zhen has only been in office for a few days, and various yamen are vying for invitations. Yang Zhen politely refuses: Come to my house to eat.Lord Inspector had a banquet, and the "lower officials" were of course flattered, and a group of them cheered, but they saw a few plates of home-cooked dishes on the table, which were useless at all.Everyone couldn't swallow it, but Yang Zhen ate very deliciously. While eating, he settled the accounts for everyone: how hard the life of the peasants is, how much money the people spend on a meal, and shakes off the "bad debts" of the officials while doing the accounts, and then waved his hand , The soldiers outside the door rushed in, and the "lower officials" at the dinner table were paralyzed on the spot. Then Yang Zhen followed the persuasion and showed the patience he had in educating the students back then, doing ideological work one by one, and talking about the importance of being an honest official.All the "lower officials" rushed to express their determination, willing to go through fire and water with the adults. After the rectification is over, let's start. First, take the Du family, the largest local family in Jingzhou. This family is not simple. There are only a dozen relatives who are officials in the central government.cut!The Du family's son was immediately kidnapped. I have investigated all the illegal things your family usually does here. There are two ways, one is to retreat, and the other is to arrest people according to the "blacklist".Dissatisfied?hit!Still not convinced?Grasp!Catch it after beating, and beat it again after catching it. After a while, the Du family was persuaded: give up! The Du family was discouraged, and the other "prominent families" had no choice but to admit defeat, clear the land again, recover taxes owed, and hand over illegal property. The name of "Yang Qingtian" spread, and the "grass bandits" from all over the country voluntarily surrendered. The hole was filled.The "Shanyue" people in the south of Jingzhou heard the news and came to plead guilty in a hurry. Yang Zhen dealt with it fairly, and the "recidive criminals" who caused troubles were severely dealt with, and those who were persecuted by the "noble families" were all given lenient measures. Farm tools were distributed to the ethnic minorities to help them to farming life.The Jingzhou area, which was in turmoil before Yang Zhen's arrival, has finally returned to peace.The first sword in officialdom, "cut" beautifully. Not two years after the situation in Jingzhou stabilized, Yang Zhen got another transfer order——transferred to be the prefect of Donglai.This is a more severe place than Jingzhou's "disaster". The core of Jingzhou's problems is the economy, and in the final analysis, it is a man-made disaster.Dongnai's problem is even more serious, and natural disasters and man-made disasters are gathered together. Laizhou has been plagued by disasters since the fourth year of Yongchu (AD 110) when Yang Zhen became an official. First, there were droughts and then floods.Peasant uprisings also followed one after another.Since it was a disaster, it was necessary to appease the people and distribute food relief, but the Eastern Han government was already so poor that the imperial court told him clearly: disaster relief is possible, but food, you have to find a way by yourself. What else can be done?The official warehouse in Laizhou was already empty.At this time, someone told Yang Zhen that grain could still be obtained, and that the wealthy households in the area had grain in stock, but they would rather pile the grain in the warehouse, and the hired servants would watch over it, and would never give a grain to the common people. As long as he knew where there was food, Yang Zhen quickly cut through the mess again.To talk about borrowing food from wealthy households, it is necessary to get the most famous "noble family" in the area.The Geng family is the most prominent family in Donglai. This family is not easy to mess with. A branch of the country's founding heroes, generations of titles, magistrates will look at his face, and asking him to "bleed" is simply a fantasy. But Yang Zhen made up his mind to let his blood go, so he went straight to the door and begged. He begged twice, but they always said one word - no loan.Yang Zhen's stubborn temper came up, so he simply guarded the door of Geng's house, determined to "waste" with Geng's family, this time lasted for 3 whole days, Yang Zhen passed out at the door of Geng's house without taking any water.It’s not fun to starve to death by the imperial court, the Geng family was so anxious to beg for forgiveness: I’ve convinced you, I’ll borrow it, can’t I borrow it? The Geng family had "bloodletted", and all the wealthy households in Donglai had "bloodletted", and Yang Zhen raised food in this way.Then he gave relief widely in various parts of Dongnae, comforted and sheltered the victims, and the chaotic situation in Dongnae finally began to improve.It is worth mentioning that, with money and food in hand, he actually "stop eating one meal" every day.When his subordinates advised him to pay attention to his diet, he always sighed: "The people are not hungry, how can I feel at ease?" After governing Donglai, Yang Zhen rushed to Zhuozhou, Hebei without stopping.The situation in Zhuozhou became even more chaotic. The rioting peasants killed corrupt officials and wealthy households, and the momentum was loud for a while.After Yang Zhen got the order, he led his whole family to rush to Zhuozhou in homespun clothes and light clothes. He thought there was going to be a fierce battle, but he didn't expect that the problem would be solved as soon as he arrived at the Zhuozhou government office. It turned out that when the peasants heard that Yang Zhen was coming, they ran to the Yamen to surrender in unison. The leader of the riot said: We rebelled, and we were really persecuted by corrupt officials. Only when we saw Mr. Yang came today, did we know that there are really honest officials in the world. How can you not be willing to subdue the law? Afterwards, Yang Zhen dealt with it impartially, pardoned most of the farmers for their crimes, and distributed relief, only beheaded a few leaders.The few "thief leaders" who were punished according to the law, not only did not complain when they were executed, but respectfully bowed down to Yang Zhen who was beheaded.From then on, Yang Zhen shared weal and woe with the people in Zhuozhou and painstakingly governed the place.He declined all entrustments and gifts, rectified the bad habits of the officialdom, and abolished unreasonable and exorbitant taxes.Most of his salary was used to help others. Some people advised him to leave some property for his descendants. He replied, "Isn't it the most precious property for future generations to call my descendants descendants of upright officials?"He governed Zhuozhou for two years, and the local "thieves almost disappeared, and the officials and people were safe." From Jingzhou, to Donglai, and then to Zhuozhou, in seven years, Yang Zhen "brightened his sword" all the way to appease the local area and punish evil for the Eastern Han Dynasty. Quotations from great people are indispensable.Modern people's "Quotations of a Great Man" are at most all the rage, but one of Yang Zhen's quotes has been around for a long time, and is more famous than himself-God knows, Earth knows, you know, I know. The thing is like this, when Yang Zhen was running the school, there was a student named Wang Mi, who was from Jingzhou. When Yang Zhen governed Jingzhou, he assisted a lot in making suggestions.Yang Zhen recognized him as a talented person, so he recommended him as the county magistrate of Changyi, which is in Donglai. Later, Yang Zhen was transferred to be the prefect of Donglai, and teachers and students worked together again. Reunion after a long absence, of course there are endless things to say.Wang Mi also respected the teacher very much. Yang Zhen came to see him after he took the initiative. The master and apprentice chatted happily until late at night.However, he didn't notice that his favorite student looked very strange, and kept groping around, as if he was waiting for something. Sure enough, when the willow tip came to the top of the moon, Wang Mi suddenly gave a mysterious "shh", and then carefully took out a bundle: Teacher, please put it away. Yang Zhen opened it and saw everything: 10 catties of gold. Wang Mi still looked at the teacher with a smile all over his face, but he didn't notice that the teacher's expression had changed. For a long time, he saw the teacher raised his head, and asked in a very sad tone, suppressing his anger, in surprise: "I know you, don't you know me?" Wang Mi hasn't come back to his senses yet, probably because he has been in the officialdom for a long time, and his head is also confused, so he comforted him very easily and proudly: Don't worry, it's late at night, no one knows about this... Before he finished speaking, he saw his teacher, staring at him with wide eyes, gouging out his eyes like knives, almost exhausting all his strength, and let out that deafening roar that traveled through 5,000 years of history. "Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know (you know), I know, what is ignorance!" Wang Mi was ashamed, and immediately ran away, and this roar was known to almost everyone in the Han Dynasty at that time, so Yang Zhen, who was honest and upright, had a resounding title-Yang Sizhi. To this day, this little story has been published by many "Chicken Soup for the Soul" magazines, and most of them use it to praise Yang Zhenqing for his integrity and good character.However, some people lamented that Yang Zhen "doesn't know how to deal with people and the world", so what's wrong with a student giving a gift, it's too disrespectful.This rhetoric is often quoted by modern people, but of course the meaning is mostly distorted.But very few people mentioned the bitterness behind this roar. If you want to talk about bitterness, you have to do the math first. What is the approximate value of the 10 catties of gold that Wang Mi gave you now? The price comparison of precious metals in the Eastern Han Dynasty is somewhat different from that in modern times. If the price of grain is used to convert, 1 catty of gold in the Eastern Han Dynasty is worth about 15,000 Wen copper coins. The price of millet in the Eastern Han Dynasty is 400 Wen per stone (20 kg). Compared with the current price of millet, copper coins are equivalent to about 30 cents in RMB, 1 catty of gold is about 4,500 yuan, and 10 catties of gold is 45,000 yuan. And what is Wang Mi's salary as a county magistrate?The salary of officials in the Eastern Han Dynasty was calculated according to grain, mainly grain, and the price of one stone grain was 220 copper coins. The annual salary of the county magistrate was 600 stone grains in the time of Emperor Han'an. It is 40,000 yuan. Wang Mi, with an annual salary of 40,000 yuan, gave 45,000 yuan as a gift, and it has not been half a year since he was appointed as the county magistrate. Fish less. Yang Zhen, who is honest and upright, gave hope to the students who worked so hard to teach, but turned into a corrupt official in a blink of an eye. Under his own eyes, he was greedy for such peace of mind, such shameless and fearless.I am afraid that there is no teacher in the world who can endure this kind of sorrow. Through the deafening rhetoric that has penetrated through the millennium, and the distorted modern meaning, what we hear is the pain of a teacher's betrayal and the speechless loneliness of a soldier. The shameless Wang Mi betrayed, but the lonely Yang Zhen continued to move forward.In June of the fourth year of the Yuan Dynasty (AD 117), he ended his career as the "best local official" and went to Beijing to serve as a servant. Half a year later, he was promoted to Taichang. He vigorously recommended talents, deposed many officials who were sitting on vegetarian meals, and appointed well-known scholars such as Chen Liu and Yang Lun as officials. Three years later, he was promoted to "Situ" (Prime Minister), the head of the "Three Dukes", and repeatedly asked to rectify the administration of officials and punish lawless dignitaries and eunuchs.Two years later, he was transferred to "Taiwei" and became the "Minister of Defense" of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The first thing he did when he took office was to ignore the "greetings" of Emperor Han'an and refuse to promote his uncle.An upright official, no matter where you sit, you are an upright official. Yang Zhen, who has reached the apex of his political career, is about to usher in the loneliest and most disparate "bright sword" in his life, and pay the price of his life. This "bright sword" began in the second year of Yongning in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 122) - the death of Empress Dowager Deng. Yang Zhen's political career suddenly collapsed in half. Previously, Yang Zhen's successful "bright sword" all the way from Jingzhou to Luoyang, from the local government to the central government, was certainly due to his own bravery and fearlessness, but also because of the support of the Deng family.Now that Han'an Emperor Liu Hu, who has been a puppet for 15 years, is now in power, the years of depression have completely rebounded - liquidation!The bones of Empress Dowager Deng were not yet cold, and 9 brothers and sisters of the Deng family were convicted and killed one after another. Deng Lu, who came to invite Yang Zhen three times, was demoted to the people and was persecuted to death by local officials instructed by Emperor Han'an.In a blink of an eye, the officials of Deng's faction were either dismissed or beheaded, and the officialdom of the Eastern Han Dynasty was full of blood and rain.Although Yang Zhen was not implicated because of his high morals and high prestige, there is no doubt that Emperor Han'an didn't like him. In fact, for Yang Zhen, these are not the most important. The most important thing is that Yang Zhen is a person who does not rub sand in his eyes, but when facing Emperor Han'an, he can only see sand in his eyes. Emperor Han'an was also a well-known absurd emperor in the Eastern Han Dynasty. When he was a young emperor, he was once "smart and smart and educated", but he was probably a puppet for a long time, and then he became more and more twitchy.As for his basic performance after taking office, it can be summed up in three sentences: Do everything, but don't do work; believe everything, but don't believe the truth; After Emperor Han'an came to power, he relied heavily on eunuchs. The eunuchs Jiang Jing, Li Run and others who helped him take power were all greedy and cunning.Li Run is a villain. When Empress Dowager Deng was in power, it was he who spread rumors to Emperor Han'an that Empress Dowager Deng wanted to "abolish the emperor", which eventually caused the tragedy of the death of Deng's family.On the other hand, Jiang Jing repeatedly made evil plans and helped Emperor Han'an get rid of many ministers in the era of Empress Dowager Deng.After Emperor Han'an became pro-government, Li Run was granted the title of Marquis of Yongxiang, and Jiang Jing was named Marquis of Duxiang. After these two men came to power, their biggest hobby was "digging the country's walls", not only "fooling" Emperor Han'an every day to play in the harem , and often issued edicts in the name of the emperor, embezzling treasury savings for his own food, drink and entertainment.It is also worth mentioning that Wang Sheng, the nanny of Emperor Han'an, and her daughter Bo Rong, both relying on the power of Emperor Han'an, not only "digged the country's footsteps" with the eunuchs Jiang and Li, but also fought for wealth with each other. You wear a famous brand, tomorrow I will build a famous car, and the day after tomorrow I will do a lot of construction and repair of luxury houses. Even when I go out for a trip, I will make a fuss, forcing local officials and even nobles along the way to kneel and worship.而这个伯荣更是“风流”，史载她长期“出入宫闱，交通奸赂”，几乎天天闹“性丑闻”，彼时东汉，怎一个糜烂了得！ 这么多沙子，杨震的眼里当然揉不得。他很愤怒，知汉安帝不待见，可照样要斗争。和当年一样，这次他照样简单直接——上奏章开骂。先是满腔怒火的向王圣母女开炮，怒斥二人“道德败坏”，要求汉安帝将这对“狗母女”立刻赶出宫廷。这篇字字喷火的奏折，拿到汉安帝手里，却逗得他哈哈大笑，随手就把奏折拿给王圣母女“分享快乐”，这下可把杨震“卖”了，王圣们恨得牙根子痒痒，立刻结成了“反对杨震统一战线”。 可杨震不惧，在调任太尉之后继续“亮剑”，此时是东汉延光二年（公元123年），对大汉王朝来说，这是四面边声连角起的一年：四川有越族造反，东北有鲜卑族进犯，河西走廊有羌族叛乱，中国南北再次烽烟四起。杨震身为“国防部长”，自然尽心竭力御敌，可要打仗，边关的军饷却还拖欠着，粮食也送不上去，四下告急的文书雪片一般飞进京城，钱呢？全给“挖了国家墙脚了”。 为国家大事计，杨震一边竭力调度，一边继续“亮剑”——开骂！这次他更狠，拉了一长串进攻目标：江京、李闰、王圣、伯荣……挨个指着鼻子骂，从“挖国家墙脚”到“淫乱宫廷”，做的恶事一件一件数，顺便大逆不道了一把，把汉安帝也骂了一通，说你要再这样下去，老百姓就该造反了！你自己好好想想吧（力尽则怨，财尽则叛，望陛下度之）！ 汉安帝当然不会“好好想想”，相反气得暴跳如雷，但慑于杨震的威望，终不敢拿他怎么样。杨震骂痛快了，继续忙活前线的战事，他和大司农胡广密切配合，筹到一笔钱粮，总算可以解燃眉之急了。 但是老谋深算的李闰们却发现，杨震，已经没多少好日子了。 因为杨震第一次开骂的时候，朝廷里还有几个帮腔的，而后杨震越骂越多，帮腔的却越来越少，到最近这次，连他的学生也不敢说话了。官场上就是这么世态炎凉，杨震，也注定要死在这世态炎凉上。 扳倒杨震的机会已经出现了，就在这笔杨震刚刚筹措到的钱粮上。 延光三年（公元124年）初，李闰再次以汉安帝的名义下诏，命大司农胡广挪用这笔钱粮为自己修造住宅。胡广软弱不敢抗命，到手的军费飞了，杨震闻讯暴怒，又写了一篇怒气冲天的奏折，这似乎是之前固定的剧本了。但当杨震急匆匆地把奏折送到汉安帝手里时，他才发现：这次真的不一样。 因为杨震刚把奏折交给汉安帝，汉安帝就哼了一声，看都不看随手扔在地上，继而拂袖而去。杨震登时傻了：耻辱！彻头彻尾的耻辱。他明白，自己已经完全失去了汉安帝的信任，下狱获罪甚至横遭身死，都很可能是明天的事。 杨震不争了，他回到家里闭门谢客，甚至几天不上朝，在想什么没人知道，但面对阴影重重的“腐败联盟”，这个“亮剑”了一辈子的“剑客”，人生里第一次累了：心灰意冷，身心俱疲。 直到一个人的死。 这个人叫赵腾，和杨震根本不认识，他没读过多少书，更没做过什么官，只是一个河间府的平头百姓。但就是这样一个小人物，在杨震闭门谢客期间，竟然勇敢上书批评朝政，怒斥李闰们误国，慷慨激昂之词，连杨震读了都汗颜。 这番勇敢当然换不回好下场。汉安帝听后非常不爽，顺带着把对杨震的不爽也发到他头上，然后下狱，论罪。杨震闻讯后挺身而出，竭力营救，却是火上浇油，原本赵腾判了个“秋决”（秋后问斩），杨震一营救，变成了“立斩”。 赵腾很勇敢，一路上不停地骂，刑场上冲着李闰骂，人头落地的时候，一双虎目直瞪着众宦官们，胆小的，竟吓得失声尖叫起来。 那些时日里，杨震一直闭门谢客，对家人说的最多的是一句话：我不如他啊，我不如他啊。Repeatedly. 很不幸的是，世上没有不透风的墙，这句话很快传到了李闰们的耳朵里，成了压垮杨震的最后一根稻草。 但杨震不知道这些，他正在筹谋着做最后一搏，一辈子“阳谋”的他，这次终于准备玩一次阴谋了：看似得宠的李闰们，其实有一个天大的漏洞，他们“挖国家墙脚”都是假传圣旨的，虽然汉安帝不会在乎他们糟蹋了多少钱，但有一样东西是不能不在乎的——权力。 所以杨震抖擞精神，一边闭门谢客，一边开始整李闰们的黑材料了，这黑材料有多少用不好说，但总算，这是最后的机会。 可这最后的机会已经晚了。 因为此时汉安帝正在山东出巡，李闰们就陪护在身边，近水楼台先得月，外带攥着杨震的“小辫子”，正是最好的“下药”机会。所以拿出当年糟践邓太后的本事来，这次糟践杨震：皇上您听说了吗？自从那个赵腾伏法后，杨震很不高兴，天天在家哀叹，他现在是太尉，手中掌握兵权，万一搞出点什么事情来…… 摸住帝王心脉，先发制人，局面，已经无可挽救了。 这次，汉安帝难得“效率”了一回，李闰“下药”后的当晚，下令快马800里加急返京，当场撤掉杨震太尉一职，并立刻遣返回原籍。杨震一家还在睡梦中，就被如狼似虎的官差强行塞进马车，然后火速开拔。杨震悲恸万分，甚至来不及悲恸，一家人被催命似地往老家赶。晨光熹微时，他们已经走出了洛阳地界，来到了一个地方：陕西华阴夕阳亭。 家，已经很近了。 夕阳亭，好熟的名字。 微微晨光之中杨震想起来了。49年前，他辞别母亲，离开家乡，跟随恩师恒郁，正是经此地进入洛阳。然后求学，满师，讲学，为官，惩奸除恶，治理地方，背叛，孤独，斗争，陷害，亮剑一生。 他会想到什么呢，是否会想到已经作古的母亲，那一句铮铮的叮咛？ 若负汝父之清名，则永不相认也。 如果想起这一幕的话，杨震一定会说：“母亲，我，一生未负。我，回来了。” 然后，就是《后汉书》的记载，行至夕阳亭，杨震迟疑良久，对两个儿子留下了最后的嘱托。 为官不能效忠国家，报答百姓，反而落得千古骂名，活着，又有什么意思呢？ 死亡，只是我们士大夫的责任。奸臣祸国殃民，我却无能为力。妖女淫乱宫廷，我却不能阻止，又有什么脸面去见日月。我死以后，用杂木做棺材，用被单蒙住我的头，盖住我的身体，不要埋在家族的祖坟，不要祭祀。 一字一泪，原原本本，翻译下他最后的遗言。一个爱惜名誉如爱惜羽毛的人，最后的无奈，孤独，悲伤，激愤。 言罢，饮毒酒而死，这是延光三年（公元124年）三月十二日，杨震时年64岁。 杜甫说：死者长已矣。昏君和贪官们说：休想。 杨震死讯传来，汉安帝不爽。君要臣死，臣才能死，没让你死你就死，便是大罪。王闰们继续“下药”，不许杨震的棺材下葬，更不许他回老家，就扔在露天里，让他饱受日晒雨淋。值得讽刺的是杨震的学生们，从始至终，一句话都不敢说。杨震家乡的“父母官”——陕西弘农太守移良更是“叭儿狗”，他先是派兵扣住杨震的棺材，接着又把杨震的两个儿子发配做驿兵，可怜两个文弱书生哪里干过这个，又兼“叭儿狗”们无微不至的“照顾”，吃尽苦头。 史载那几日，夕阳亭当地连降暴雨，打在杨震的棺木上，如泪。 古人云“冤沉似海”，杨震总算幸运，只等了一年零八个月。 这一年零八个月里发生了很多事情：先是沉于玩乐的汉安帝刘祜玩大了，南下旅游的时候感染风寒，回到京城就莫名其妙地死了。“树”倒了，“猢狲”们还想扑腾两下，李闰江京们欲废黜皇太子拥立幼主，以继续把持朝政，反被太子一网打尽，统统被处以“凌迟”，即老百姓常说的“杀千刀”。而后太子即位，即历史上的汉顺帝刘保。当年在杨震冤案里装哑巴的杨震门生们，而今也总算开口了。陈翼等人向汉顺帝力陈杨震冤案，汉顺帝闻知嗟叹不已，立刻下令释放杨震的两个儿子，将杨震的尸骨厚葬于华阴潼县（即陕西潼关），汉顺帝亲写祭文，称杨震“匡扶社稷，正直是与”。杨震棺木下葬之日，《后汉续》说有一大鸟从天而降，在杨震灵前俯仰悲鸣，血洒满地。之后，人们就塑一石鸟守护于碑前。至此，杨震一案，彻底平反昭雪。杨震死后，其子孙后代连续8代皆为东汉高官，可谓世代显贵。400多年后，他的家族出现了一位鼎定天下的英雄——隋文帝杨坚。