Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Who is "The Prime Minister Can Push a Boat in His Stomach"

"The prime minister can pull a boat in his stomach" is a common saying that every Chinese is familiar with. However, if you want to ask which historical figure the prime minister refers to in this sentence, not many people know the answer. Let's not talk about who this prime minister is, but let's talk about another famous old saying-Zhuge is only cautious in his life, and Lu Duan is not confused about major matters.Seeing this sentence, I believe many people will have a big question mark in their minds: Who is this Lu Duan sacred?He is actually qualified to be compared with the famous Prime Minister Zhuge and lead the coquettish together!It is true that Lu Duan is not as famous as Zhuge Liang, but he is also a famous prime minister of a generation, and he is the prime minister in "The prime minister can pull a boat in his belly".

The prime minister can punt a boat in his stomach The famous Prime Minister Lu Duan was stripped of his official position because he was framed by treacherous ministers, but he left the capital with Shutong without saying a word and embarked on the journey back to his hometown Anci (now Anci District, Langfang, Hebei). Going back to attend my brother's wedding. When the officials and businessmen who rushed to Lu Duan's hometown to attend the wedding banquet saw that Lu Xiangye had returned, they all got excited, and paid a big gift to pay homage, and paid a heavy gift again. Seeing this scene, Lu Duan couldn't laugh or cry, so he had to tell the truth in public: " I, Lu Duan, have now been dismissed as a citizen!" As soon as the words came out, a dramatic scene appeared, some of the officials and businessmen were stunned, some squinted at each other, and some even picked up the gifts and left without saying goodbye. And went.

At this time, the emperor sent the censor to issue an order. The censor rode to the door of Lu Duan's house, dismounted and shouted loudly: "Lu Duan accepts the order!" Listen to the censor's decree: "Lu Duan returned to the court and resumed his post as prime minister, hereby!" The officials and businessmen who had just dispersed saw that Lu Duan had returned to his post, so they had to pull back their skin and boldly come back to give gifts and congratulations again.They were all blushing, hesitating, and full of ugliness. Among these snobbish eyes, the seventh-rank sesame official from Anci County is naturally indispensable.He walked back and forth in a sedan chair, knelt in front of Lu Duan, kowtowed, apologized, and even slapped himself on the mouth.The book boy at Lu Duan was very angry, and he went up to grab the magistrate and said, "How dare you tease my prime minister, take off your black gauze hat!" The book boy's words frightened the magistrate. Shaking all over like chaff.At this moment, Lu Duan stepped forward to hold the book boy and said, "Don't do this!" The book boy said angrily, "Master Xiang, such a snobbish eye cannot be forgiven!"

"Since he knows that he has done something wrong, we don't have to punish him." Lu Duan's words made the magistrate feel even more guilty and ashamed, and hurriedly said: "Master, you are really a prime minister who can hold a boat in your stomach! Your brother's happy event Let's do it again, and I will carry the sedan chair for the bride." Since then, the saying "the prime minister can pull a boat in his belly" has been spread, and it has been passed down to today, more than a thousand years later, and it will continue to be passed down. Don't be confused in front of major events

Although according to the "History of the Song Dynasty", when Lu Duan was young, he was "beautiful in appearance" and was a handsome guy, but he was no longer a young man when he was transferred from a local official to the central government to accompany the king. Therefore, he was respected by Song Taizong. His favor should have nothing to do with his appearance, but with his character of "being magnanimous, generous and forgiving, good at talking and joking", "good at communicating with others, despising money and giving" and "holding a high level of knowledge and generality, and doing things with simplicity" "Government style.

As early as when Lu Meng was the prime minister, Emperor Taizong had the idea of ​​reusing Lu Duan, but when he discussed the matter with others, some people raised objections, and the reason given was that Lu Duan was "confused".Song Taizong, who had observed Lu Duan for a long time, had no intention of giving in at all, but responded immediately: "Duan is confused about small things, but not about big things." This made him determined to appoint Lu Duan as prime minister. Lu Duan was promoted to prime minister in the first year of Zhidao, that is, in 995 AD. He was already 60 years old at that time. I hate the late appointment."After Lu Duan became the prime minister, he did not fail to live up to the trust of the emperor. He acted prudently, fairly and honestly, and won praise from all quarters inside and outside.

Subsequent facts further proved Taizong's famous statement to Lu Duan that "be confused in small things, but not in big things", which has been recited for thousands of years. Shortly after Lu Duan became chancellor, the Baoan Army (a local military agency in the Northern Song Dynasty) captured the mother of Li Jiqian, the king of Xixia who was rebelling against the Song Dynasty, in battle.Song Taizong originally wanted to behead him outside the north gate of the security army, so as to restrain those rebellious or rebellious people. When Lu Duan heard the news, he immediately went to the court to make a memorial and put forward his opinion not to kill Li Jiqian's mother.In order to convince Emperor Taizong, Lu Duan first persuaded him with the story of Xiang Yu's attempt to kill Liu Bang's father during the Chu-Han War, and finally miscalculated, and then he said: "Your Majesty kills him today, and he can be captured tomorrow? If not, you will only have grudges, and you will be stronger." Betrayal." After hearing Lu Duan's words, Emperor Taizong found it very reasonable, so he asked for his advice, and he said: "It is better to put my minister's foolishness in Yanzhou, so that he can be raised and treated well, so as to attract successors. .Although it cannot be surrendered immediately, it can be tied to his heart in the end, and the life and death of my mother is in my hands.".

Taizong was very satisfied with Lu Duan's foresight and foresight, and said with emotion: "Weiqing, I have missed my business." So he adopted Lu Duan's opinion, placed Li Jiqian's mother in Yanzhou, and sent someone to serve her. , until she finally died of illness in Yanzhou.Later, Li Jiqian also died, and Li Deming, Li Jiqian's son, surrendered to the Song Dynasty because of the kindness of the emperor of the Song Dynasty to his grandmother. Lu Duan's correct decision on this matter not only avoided a war between Song and Xia, but also brought about a period of peaceful coexistence between the two countries.

Lu Duan also successfully dealt with a more important event, that is, the succession of Song Zhenzong. When Song Taizong was alive, he made arrangements for the funeral, and made Zhao Heng the prince, in case he would succeed in the future and take charge of the Song Dynasty.When Taizong was seriously ill, his servant Wang Jien was afraid that the crown prince would be unfavorable to him, so he contacted several other ministers to plan to appoint another crown prince, so that someone who would be beneficial to them would inherit the throne. What to do. After the death of Emperor Taizong, the queen ordered Wang Jien to call Lu Duan into the palace to discuss the crown prince's ascension. Lu Duan realized that something unexpected might happen, so he asked his subordinates to lock Wang Jien in his mansion and strictly guard him, and he was determined not to go out. imperial court.

When Lu Duan saw the queen, he did not hesitate and said firmly: "The first emperor established the prince for today. Now that the first emperor abandoned the world and left, how can we do things that violate the first emperor's order? For such a major event that is related to the future of the country, There can be no objection!" After listening to Lu Duan's words, the queen finally made up her mind to let the prince ascend the throne, and this is Song Zhenzong in history. It was precisely because of Lu Duan's sober judgment and prompt decision that a court turmoil that might erupt behind Taizong was successfully eliminated, thus ensuring that the giant ship of the Song Dynasty continued to move in the right direction.

Unstoppable Lu Xiangye As an official, Lu Duan was neither corrupt nor possessive, he had a clean hand, and he did not associate with corrupt officials. He was deeply loved by the people. Therefore, those corrupt villains repeatedly tried to plot against him. One day in spring, when the wind was sunny and the sky was cloudless, Song Taizong hosted a banquet in the imperial garden for his officials.When everyone was in high spirits, the treacherous minister Wang Jien took the opportunity to tease Lu Duan in front of Taizong, wanting to embarrass him, so he said: "My lord, in order to help the wine today, why don't you ask Lu Xiangye to answer a few questions?" When Taizong heard it, it was in line with his holy will, so he said to Lu Duan, "I come to ask you, where is the best wine today?" "Xinghua Village wine is the best." Lu Duan blurted out. Taizong asked again: "How can you see it?" Lu Duan replied with a smile: "There is a Tang poem saying: 'May I ask where is the restaurant? The shepherd boy points to Xinghua Village'." "How many taels of silver was the price of wine in Tang Dynasty?" When Taizong asked, everyone was sweating for Lu Duan. How to get it right. Lu Duan was still so calm, relaxed, and calm. He looked at the crowd, and then calmly murmured to Taizong: "The price of this wine——" Wang Jien thought it was difficult for Lu Duan, so he took over the conversation and said, "Why didn't Mr. Lu go on?" Lu Duan glanced at Wang Jien and said with a smile, "The price of wine in Tang Dynasty was three hundred yuan per liter." After hearing this, Wang Jien felt that there was a gap to be exploited, and took the opportunity to say: "Report to His Majesty, Lu Duan is clearly deceiving His Majesty, how did he know the price of wine that has been separated for more than a hundred years?" Taizong asked: "Lv Aiqing, tell me." Lu Duan said confidently: "In the Tang Dynasty, the price of wine was three hundred yuan for every liter, and there was no mistake. I remember Du Fu's poem: "Come and meet each other quickly, and drink a bucket, and there are exactly three hundred bronze coins." Taizong rejoiced and said: "Du Fu's poems can really be called a generation of history books! Lu Aiqing, you, a generation of geniuses!" So they raised their glasses to drink with Lu Duan. Master Lu!"