Chapter 11 Chapter Two Opportunities and Traps for New Officials

The political status of Hanlin bachelors is very high, and the lack of regular salary makes this position a huge gap between the aura and benefits.The stipend is not enough to buy wine and food, and the monthly departmental envoy's money is evenly distributed to the individual's head, which is not much.How should Shimizu's position be snatched?Tao Gu has a solution. Tao Gu, a famous scholar in the early Song Dynasty, was originally an official with Zhao Kuangyin in the later Zhou Dynasty. His book "Qingyilu" is an important note material for the study of Song Dynasty history. It preserves many important historical materials in Chinese cultural history and social history. More than half of the book The entries were collected by "Ciyuan" and "Chinese Dictionary".

The newly arrived scholar Quan from the Imperial Academy has a good horse that gallops hundreds of miles a day, and Tao Gu falls in love with him.In the Song Dynasty, ministers and ministers rode horses to work, but in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, only eight sedan chairs were used. "Sushui Jiwen" records that Shi Zhongli, a political adviser during Renzong's time, had a humorous personality, and he remained humorous when he became a deputy prime minister.One day, the horse was startled, and Shi Canzheng fell off the horse. His left and right sides were shocked, and hurriedly stepped forward to help him up and asked if he needed medical treatment.Shi Zhongli joked, fortunately it was "Shi's participation in politics", if this was "Wa's participation in politics", it would have to be smashed to pieces.The horses ridden by officials in the Song Dynasty are equivalent to today's private cars, which are a kind of transportation.Bachelor Quan's car is obviously a BMW, and it's a face-saving commute to and from get off work.Tao Gu directly asked him for it, who would be willing to give it to you?Scholar Quan said, Scholar Tao wanted it, and I should offer it as a gift, but because of my age, my thighs and feet are not good, and I will retire in two years, so I will present it to you as a gift.Tao Gu changed the subject, he made a joke with you, but you took it seriously, the bachelor was very moved by these words.

Bachelor Quan's refusal is reasonable, Tao Gu is understandable in terms of emotional factors, the relationship between the two is mediocre, why should I give you an expensive BMW?You are not the emperor, and what you say is not an imperial decree.Understanding is understanding, seeing Tao Gu, a scholar of power, is very itchy, and a scholar of Hanlin has no real power, and has nothing to hold him.Being able to serve as a Hanlin bachelor is recognized as the deepest knowledge, and he has studied a subset of classics and history, such as Dou Yi, the editor-in-chief of "Song Xingtong" who was in the Hanlin with Tao Gu.However, those who are well-educated are easy to fall into it. A scholar of Quan will only get into the position of a scholar of the Imperial Academy when he is about to retire.Tao Gu quickly discovered his weakness and attacked him.

Once drafting a secret edict, Tao Gu looked at Xueshi Quan with admiration and said, I like your broken characters (ancient simplified characters) very much, you can write them!The new scholar Quan thought that his calligraphy would have the opportunity to be displayed in front of the emperor, as if he had been beaten with chicken blood, so he didn't think much about picking up a pen and finishing the draft.Tao Gu picked up the memorial book and glanced at it, his admiration for his calligraphy just now suddenly turned into a smile.Tao Gu said that the emperor's secret edict is a major state secret and must be approved by the emperor first.Now you write an imperial edict without approval, what do you want to do?If the secret decree is leaked, the crime will not be forgiven.

Scholar Quan was covered in cold sweat from fright, and the two words that Tao Gu said casually made him panic.The two charges of leaking secrets and suspected rebellion, neither of which is too heavy for him to bear.Xueshi Quan cried and argued that he didn't know the rules when he just arrived, and asked Master Tao Xueshi not to forget the villain and let him go.Tao Gu said, it’s okay to let you go, just give me your horse.Only then did Bachelor Quan suddenly realize, but it was too late, so he had to sacrifice the BMW. The anecdote of Tao Gu in "Guo Lao Tan Yuan" is not a simple story of extorting bribes.Regardless of Tao Gu's character, one of the characteristics of officialdom can be seen through this story, that is, "three fires for new officials". Earn political achievements.It is not difficult to find in the story that the "three fires" that the new official takes office are actually a trap.While officials are burning the "three fires", political opponents have already prepared cold water, and will not hesitate to pour it when opportunities for profit arise.Bachelor Quan has just been transferred to the Hanlin Academy, like a newcomer who has just taken office, and is not familiar with the various rules of the department.Tao Gu, an old colleague, has been an official for many years. From Houzhou to Song Dynasty, he has quite rich political experience. He has seen this point in him, so he dared to openly ask for a good horse.Tao Gu also expected that Scholar Quan would refuse, so he used a trick to change from passive wanting to active asking.

Strictly speaking, someone who has just entered an official position or was promoted to another department is a "new official", and the rank-and-file is not counted.In the first three years of research for new officials in the Song Dynasty, there were seldom any blockbusters.Even if you have the talents of Jingtianweidi, you don't have the platform to display them.If you are not in your position, you will not seek your own politics. The first three years are aimed at learning various official rules and building relationships.If you run into a wall, the scholar Quan above is a living example.Therefore, it can be seen that the broad concept of "three fires for new officials" refers to the control of an official at each stage of career promotion.

When Tao Gu was an official in the Later Zhou Dynasty, he was valued by Shizong Chai Rong, and he was often sent as an envoy to the Southern Tang, Wuyue and other separatist regimes.In the political situation at that time, the Later Zhou Dynasty dominated the Central Plains, rejected Khitan in the north, bullied the princes in the south, and occupied the political center of China since ancient times. It was an out-and-out powerful country.As the so-called weak country has no diplomacy, Zhou Shizong was cautious after the ambassador of the Southern Tang Dynasty came to court.In view of international relations, it is a good opportunity for anyone to go to the south of the Yangtze River to make a fortune. Tao Gu made full use of his status as an "envoy from the Celestial Dynasty" to openly ask for bribes, even eating, drinking, and scolding.

"Guolao Tanyuan" records that during Tao Gu's envoy to Wuyue, local officials warmly entertained them, and prepared good wine and meat.Unfortunately, Tao Gu suffers from eye disease and cannot come out of the post house.What does this mean?All the Wuyue officials gathered together and quickly understood that although they are not officials in the same country, their essence is the same.The official sent someone to visit Angel Tao in the posthouse, and asked bluntly, "What do you want?" If you have any requests, just ask.Tao Gu said unceremoniously, give me ten gold bells!Admiralty is either a cricket or a purple clay pot. In short, it is a local product of Wuyue, which is very expensive.Wu Yue met the requirements of "Tao Angel".Tao Gu attended the banquet immediately, and wrote a poem to express his gratitude, "Begging and Jin Zhong are ill and have good eyesight", which means that as long as you get a lot of money, you will be cured of any illness.Tao Gu returned to Beijing with Wu Yue's gift and returned to Beijing. Before leaving, he promised that he would wait for my good news and give you a few good words in front of my emperor.Who would have imagined that Tao Gu would compose a poem at the post office (the information transmission outlet at that time) in his own country: "The frog in the well rests on the danger of heavy seas, and Zema Zeng neighs at the Jiuqu Bin." It is widely recited throughout the country.The meaning of the poem is plain and straightforward. It is nothing great for a frog at the bottom of a well to rely on the dangers of Jiangnan rivers. Sooner or later, our country will destroy you.It has roughly the same meaning as the business trips of later generations of Beijing officials, because many Beijing officials are willing to go on business trips because they have something to take.Not all business trips can get benefits. For example, Tao Gu made a joke when he went to the Southern Tang Dynasty later, which directly affected his career promotion.

After Tao Gu went to Wu Yue as an envoy, Zhou Zhiqi grew up, so Chai Rong sent him to the Southern Tang Dynasty again, and another opportunity came to eat, drink, take and curse people.Tao Gu showed off the majesty of the envoy from the celestial dynasty, relying on the strength of his own country to humiliate the next country exclusively.At the reception, Tao Gu spoke harshly and sarcastically to Li Jing, the lord of the court, and the ministers headed by Prince Li Yu dared not speak out. The reception in the Southern Tang Dynasty was good, but the two-month long mission made Tao Gu bored, so he wrote on the wall of the post house: "Xichuan dog, common people's eyes, tiger puer, public kitchen meal".After reading it, Han Xizai couldn't figure out what it meant, so he showed it to Prime Minister Song Qiqiu, who said, "This is an anagram. 'Xichuan' means 'Shu', and 'Shu' plus dog is the character for 'Du'; , "eye" is the word "mian" when combined; "hupuer" refers to the claw, and the combination of the two characters "claw" and "zi" is the word "solitary"; "gongchufan" is the official For food, the word for 'official' plus the word for food is next to the word for 'Guan'. The combination is 'Done Mian Gu Guan'." Mayor Han suddenly realized that the angel was singing lonely, and this matter is easy to handle!

One day, Tao Gu's eyes brightened, and a stunning beauty came to the posthouse. She claimed to be the daughter of a posthouse official, Qin Ruolan.Tao's eyeballs almost didn't fall off, and he suddenly went crazy.Miss Qin often wandered around in the post house, cleaning and sweeping, with a dignified manner. Tao Gu couldn't help but feel happy and excited, so she wrote a poem "Good Scenery", which said: "A good marriage, a bad marriage, What a god. I have to sleep in the post booth all night, don’t be a god. The pipa is full of lovesickness tunes, but there are few bosom friends. What year will it be when Luan rubber continues to break the strings?” There is no need to understand the meaning of the words, it is completely a love letter.

After the love letter was sent out, there was no news, and Miss Qin disappeared.Depressed, Tao Gu chose to return home.Prince Li Yu hosted a banquet to see him off, and Tao Gu acted domineering again, and vented his anger at being dumped on the ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty.At this time, Li Yu asked the singer to come out and sing to relieve the embarrassing atmosphere.Tao Gu saw that it wasn't the Qin Ruolan whom he had been yearning for day and night!What made him even more angry was that Qin Ruolan actually sang his song "The Scenery".Tao Gu was so ashamed that he returned home that day.Qin Ruolan is not the daughter of a post official, she is a famous prostitute in the south of the Yangtze River. Han Xizai and Li Yu set up a trick for Tao Gu to embarrass him on purpose. It's not over yet.Tao Gu came back to Kaifeng in dismay from the Southern Tang Dynasty. He thought he was going to be fine, but he didn't expect that "The Scenery" was like a popular song that became popular overnight, and it was sung in the city of Kaifeng.Shizong Chai Rong wanted to promote Tao Gu to the throne on the grounds of the embassy of the Great Changtian Dynasty in the Southern Tang Dynasty. When he proposed to promote Tao Gu, he was strongly opposed by Fan Zhi, the prime minister at the time. The reason was that Tao Gu watched He has a decent appearance, but his conduct is actually bad.Although no one told Chai Rong, he also heard some rumors and wanted to promote you, look at you for setting the fire.Tao Gu was left out in the cold, and his career promotion encountered a hibernation period. Soon, the political situation was reversed, and the Song Dynasty was established.Seeing the wind, Tao Gu turned the rudder, and attached himself to Zhao Pu, who was under Tong Zhongshu's door.With the help of Prime Minister Zhao Pu, Tao Gu served as Minister of Rites and Hanlin Bachelor, and only then did he have the matter of asking for a BMW.Tao Gu thought the fire was burning, but he didn't expect to be poured with cold water again. This time it was Zhao Kuangyin who poured cold water on him. After entering the Song Dynasty, Zhao Pu's family dominated the imperial power.In officialdom, the biggest ups and downs are nothing more than the word "balance". There is a certain balance between the emperor and the ministers. Once the balance is broken, there will be struggles. "Song History" records that when Xining reformed, Song Shenzong said: "The change of the legal system is very displeasing to the literati, but why is it inconvenient for the common people?" Wen Yanbo replied: "To rule the world with the literati, not with the common people Rule the world.” The Song Dynasty was honest and honest in politics, emphasizing literature and suppressing military affairs, forming a political form in which the emperor and civil servants were republican.The empire is like a joint-stock company, the emperor is the major shareholder, holding half of the shares, and other officials hold the other half.For example, officials of the ministerial class, such as Pingzhangshi, Shenzhizhengshi, Privy Council Envoy, Sansishi, and Zhikaifeng Fushi, accounted for more shares than other ministers.When Zhao Pu was prime minister, he monopolized all the power, to the point where he handled government affairs by himself without reporting to the top leader.His shares suddenly increased, which broke the balance between the emperor and the scholar-officials, so Zhao Kuangyin attacked him. Zhao Kuangyin found Dou Yi who had a gap with Zhao Pu.Because Dou Yi and Tao Gu are both Hanlin bachelors, and they are enemies in the same profession, the two often fight academically.Behind Tao Gu stood Zhao Pu, pushing Dou Yi aside.In the early Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin wanted to choose a year name that had never been used before—Qiande, which came from "Mu Dayu Qian Yuan", which symbolized the prosperity of the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty.Prime Minister Zhao Pu flattered him and said that the year name was very good. Not long after the Song Dynasty destroyed Houshu, he found a bronze mirror of Houshu with the words "cast in four years of Qiande".Zhao Kuangyin threw the mirror to Zhao Pu. I have not yet arrived in Qiande for four years in the Song Dynasty, how did I have this mirror?Zhao Pu's education level is not high, so he hesitated for a long time and couldn't answer.Zhao Kuangyin hurriedly summoned Tao Gu and Dou Yi, academicians of the Imperial Academy.Dou Yi said that this object did not belong to the later Shu, but must belong to the former Shu. The former Shu king Yan used the "Qiande" reign name.Zhao Kuangyin glared at Zhao Pu, and sighed that "to be a chancellor, you have to be a scholar". There was such a small holiday, Zhao Kuangyin gave Dou Yi face-to-face tips, hoping that Dou Yi would come forward to expose Zhao Pu's various crimes, and then he would be dismissed and Dou Yi would be in charge.Dou Yi is not a nerd, he understands that there is an opportunity or a trap in front of his eyes.The chance is that if you are willing to cooperate with the emperor in exposing Zhao Pu, you will be promoted to a higher position, and the leader agrees.However, Zhao Pu is not an ordinary person. When he was young, he followed Taizu to conquer the world. He had a close relationship with Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi. In the early Song Dynasty, he participated in various political activities. No matter his feelings, political achievements, or foundation, he had to weigh himself if he dared to touch him. A few catties and a few taels.If it's nothing more than Zhao Pu's aspect, one day Taizu remembers that he will use it again, and the person who exposed him back then would be a fool.Dou Yi hurriedly extinguished the spark, saying that Zhao Pu was a hero who founded the country, he was loyal and upright, and the minister didn't know what wrongdoing he had done.Seeing that he refused to agree, Zhao Kuangyin found Zhao Pu's other enemy, Lu Duoxun, and gave him the opportunity face-to-face.Zhao Pu was dismissed as prime minister, and Tao Gu's official career was also affected. Tao Gu felt that he had worked with Zhao Kuangyin in the Later Zhou Dynasty, so he was not far behind as a colleague. Moreover, he often went to the south as an imperial diplomat, and he felt that he had made a lot of contributions to the Song Dynasty.He is a scribe, he wanted to be promoted but was too shy to speak up, so he asked his servant to test the tone of the leader.Zhao Kuangyin said that when drafting documents, the Imperial Academy read the old works of their predecessors and changed the words.As the saying goes, "drawing a gourd according to the example", what is the contribution?Tao Gu felt hopeless after hearing this, and wrote a poem on the wall of the Imperial Academy with resentment: "Official positions must come from birth, so that they will not be useful when they are not. It is ridiculous for a scholar of the Imperial Academy to paint gourds in the same way every year." ("" "Guo Lao Tan Yuan") Zhao Kuangyin ignored him, so Tao Gu had no choice but to continue to be his Imperial Academy. As mentioned above, Bachelor Quan was burned by Tao Gu, and Tao Gu was put out by Zhao Kuangyin. Regardless of Bachelor Quan, Tao Gu or Dou Yi, they each showed their abilities when faced with the "three flames" of official career, and they had different choices. Not the same. Whether the "three fires" are an opportunity or a trap is entirely determined by the political awareness of the parties involved.This is the most basic quality of being an official. Political vision determines a person's long career.Just like the ripening of a melon, the "ripe melon" and the "falling of the pedicle" are two qualitatively different stages.If the "three fires" in the hands of officials are used well, sparks will start a prairie fire, and if they are used poorly, they may catch fire, such as Luderson. Dou Yi returned home and told his brothers about Zhao Kuangyin's plan to dismiss Zhao Pu. He sighed sincerely, "I will not be a prime minister anymore, but I will not be sent to Yazhou. The old Dou's family can save their lives."Sure enough, as he expected, Zhao Pu was restored during Emperor Taizong, and Lu Duoxun was demoted to Yazhou (now Sanya City, Hainan Province).After Lu Duoxun dismissed him, all his disciples dispersed, and there were only two people who sent him on his way, one was Su Guan, and the other was Zhongying.Su Guan changed his name to Su Yijian, and was the top student in high school in the fifth year of Taiping Xingguo.Zhongying changed his name to Zhongfang, and entered the officialdom by "seeking fame through concealment", and the new official "three fires" burned his face beyond recognition.