Chapter 22 6. Official infighting on the tip of the tongue

The "Four Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty" such as Wang Bo mentioned in "New Book of Tang: The Biography of Pei Xingjian" are all "impetuous and showy", and it is difficult to stay in the officialdom for a long time.As famous as the "Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty", there are also the "Four Friends of the Article". These titles are similar to the current literary societies.If it is done well, it will be famous in history, but if it is not done well, it can barely be regarded as a literati. All literati have this kind of group complex. The "Four Friends of Articles" are in the transition stage before the "Four Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty" and Li Bai, Du Fu, Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan and other Tang Dynasty literary masters exploded, namely Du Shenyan, Su Weiwei, Li Qiao and Cui Rong.It is worth mentioning that Du Shenyan is the grandfather of Du Fu, a generation of "poet sage".

Du Shenyan, a native of Jingzhao, was a Jinshi in the first year of Tang Gaozong Xianheng (670).After winning the Jinshi, Du Shen said that his ego was too inflated, and the characteristics of his talent and arrogance were vividly displayed. He once boasted: "My articles should be as good as Qu Song's government officials, and my pens should be as good as Wang Xizhi's north." It means that the articles he wrote Compared with Qu Yuan and Song Yu, they have to stand aside.Compared with Wang Xizhi, the "Sage of Calligraphy", Wang Xizhi has to bow his head and praise his calligraphy.It's loud, but it doesn't actually have that much positive energy.

Du Shenyan, who has entered the official career, has no words and wants to comment on everything, and he speaks in extreme ways to show his unique insights.Chatting among officials, chatting about poems and songs has not been a problem throughout the ages, but it would be unwise to judge whether they are people in the world.Because misfortune comes out of the mouth, too many words will lead to mistakes. The reason why the eyes grow above the mouth is nothing more than seeing more and talking less.Du Shenyan didn't understand this truth, so he kept cursing, and finally something happened.Du Shenyan demoted Jizhou Sihu to join the army, which was foreseeable. He committed a taboo in official circles-revealing shortcomings.

There is a small example to prove that Su Weiwei can be an official better than Du Shenyan.Su Weiwei was a Jinshi at the age of 20. He was appreciated and recommended by Pei Xingjian, a member of the imperial court.Su Weiwei only follows the leadership in everything, and does not express his opinions easily. "Old Tang Book Su Weiwei Biography" contains: "You don't want to be decisive and clear when dealing with things. If you make mistakes, you will be blamed, but you can hold both ends." The famous idiom "ambiguous" came from him. .Colleagues can't understand him, especially those literati officials, who call Su Weiwei's way of being an official "sex and tolerance".When Su Weiwei was the servant of the Tianguan, Du Shenyan once participated in the pre-selection trial of officials, that is, the official debriefing assessment.After the exam, he told people that Su Weiwei must die.When people asked why, Du Shenyan said that he should die of shame when he saw my article.It turned out that Comrade Du had criticized and scolded literary friend Su Weiwei.Even if Du Shenyan treats literary friends like this, he must not be used to treating other court dignitaries.I don't know which one of the noble speeches revealed the secrets and offended the powerful and was demoted to a foreign land.It is not forbidden to discriminate against others in the officialdom. It can be said that if you say something pleasant, everyone will listen to it. unknown.Rumors in the officialdom are far more serious than in the workplace. Negative news involving officials will affect their image, and they will definitely take action to eliminate them.

It is said that the official career has been hit, and the person concerned should restrain himself.However, Du Shenyan did not change his personality when he arrived in the new unit, but intensified it, and soon offended the leaders and colleagues.If you can change it, you are not a literati.Sima Zhou Jizhong and Sihu Guo Ruona combined, Du Shenyan is a master who does not know the heights of heaven and earth, and must be taught a lesson.The way to deal with the place where the emperor is far away is relatively simple. Zhou and Guo Luozhi Du interrogated various charges, put Lao Du in prison, and planned to kill him.This place is no different than the capital city. Whoever wants to move in the capital city has to consider the pressure of public opinion, but it is not necessary in a place where one hand covers the sky.Lao Du, who was convicted for his words, came to the end of his official career, but his son paid for the consequences.

It seemed hopeless at first, but suddenly Cheng Yaojin appeared.Du Shenyan's second son, Du Bing, was only thirteen years old at the time. Seeing his father humiliated, he desperately took advantage of Zhou Ji's big banquet to sneak into Sima's mansion and assassinated Zhou Jizhong.Du Bing was also dismembered and died on the spot.This act of filial piety shocked the government and the public, and Du Shenyan, who had nowhere to go but the mountains and rivers, his official career suddenly changed to another village.Fortunately, the second son Du Bing died. If it was the eldest son Du Xian, there would be no poet Du Fu.Wu Zetian ordered Du Shenyan to go to Beijing to reuse him, so I asked you if you are happy?Du Shenyan thanked him with dancing and dancing, and immediately wrote "Happy Poetry".After seeing it, Wu Zetian sighed for his talent and learning. He was appointed as a member of the catering department by Wailang, who was in charge of the royal catering.

After the pain of losing his son, Du Shenyan finally realized that he had been an official in the central government for many years, but in his later years he became confused and attached himself to Wu Zetian's favorite concubine Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Zongchang brothers.Empress Wu Zetian became seriously ill in her later years. Ministers Cui Xuan and Zhang Jianzhi led the Yulin Army to welcome Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian back, and killed Zhang Yi's brother. This is known as the "Dragon Coup" in history.Du Shenyan was implicated and exiled in Fengzhou, the governor of Annan, in today's Vietnam.Compared to Du Shenyan, his eldest grandson, Du Fu, had a high style and spent half his life working on his official career, but the result was worse than his grandfather.

Du Fu's family situation has something in common with many families, and the wealth is not more than three generations.The old Du's family had the glory of "inheriting Confucianism for the eleventh generation", and the plight of Du Fu's family is very obvious. "New Book of Tang Du Fu Biography" contains: "You are poor and not self-sufficient, and you live in Wuyue Qi Zhaojian." It is said that Du Fu lived a very poor life when he was young, and often acted as a staff member everywhere, begging for food from foreign lands.In Du Fu's "Five Hundred Characters of Yonghuai from Beijing to Fengxian County", there is a poem "How stupid Xu Shen is, stealing compared to Ji and Qi", hoping to achieve some achievements like the famous officials in the Yao and Shun era.In the end, he didn't get what he wanted, so Su Dongpo laughed at him, "What a fool Xu Shen is, stealing a piece of rice and a deed", unfortunately, his talent is not enough.A practical problem facing Du Fu is how to enter an official career.After many years of being around, he was finally discovered. His talent and learning attracted the attention of Li Yong and other relevant people, who made recommendations for him and went to Beijing to rush for the exam.The imperial examination system in the Tang Dynasty was very different from that in the Song Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty was in a historical environment where the imperial examinations were deeply in conflict with the imperial examinations.

With the recommendation of a senior official, Du Fu went to Beijing to participate in the Jinshi imperial examination. As a result, "the Jinshi was not ranked first, and Chang'an was trapped."If he didn't pass the exam, he became a member of the North Drifter family. The word "sleepy" is a high-level summary of Du Fu's hard life.Under the fence of others, he lived a wandering life for more than ten years, and took six imperial examinations, all of which failed.Forced by life, Du Fu had no choice but to pursue an official position.During this period, Du Fu met Li Bai, who was eleven years older than him, and the two hit it off right away, and they spent a period of "drunk sleep, autumn, quilt, and hand in hand".Li Bai's literati complex was even more serious. When he was drunk, he said "the emperor can't get on the boat", and dared to ask Xuanzong's favorite minister Gao Lishi to take off his boots.

In the thirteenth year of Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao (754), the imperial court held large-scale sacrificial activities. Du Fu's opportunity came to present the article "Three Rites and Fu".It is actually easier for a literati to seek an official with words, but they are usually messed up by their complex.For example, Meng Haoran, a famous poet of the same period, traveled to Chang'an at the age of forty and was invited to the Ministry of Internal Affairs under the arrangement of his friend Wang Wei. It happened that Tang Xuanzong came, and Meng Haoran was so frightened that he got under the bed.Wang Wei didn't dare to hide it, but told the truth.Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty ordered him to compose a poem, and when Meng Haoran came out, he said, "If you don't know your talents, you will abandon them, and if you are sick, you will be sparse."Tang Xuanzong felt disgusted as if swallowing a fly, saying that Qing did not seek an official position, but I did not abandon Qing, so how could I be accused of accusing me!The great opportunity to become an official was ruined by Meng Haoran just like that.It is unclear how many articles Du Fu wrote, but three of them were appreciated by the emperor.Du Fu said in an almost begging tone: "My minister Lai Xuye has been resigned since he was seven years old, and has been in office for forty years. However, he has no clothes to cover his body. He often sends food to others, fearing that he will die in the ravine, and the emperor will take pity on him." Tang Xuanzong He was given the official position of Hexi Captain, but Du Fu thought he was a petty official and refused to do it. Later, he was changed to the right guard and led the governor Cao to join the army.Du Fu was forty-three years old at the time, and finally entered the official career.Du Fu's luck was really bad, and the Anshi Rebellion broke out the next year.Tang Xuanzong fled to Chengdu, and it was rumored that he was located in Suzong Li Heng.Du Fu wanted to follow the emperor, but was caught by the rebels halfway, and finally saw the organization after several twists and turns.It was recommended by Fang Guan, the prime minister who was a friend of commoners, and Du Fu was on the right to pick up the relics.When the Fangguan Dongchuang incident happened again, Du Fu offended the emperor by defending him, and his official career entered a dark period.Later, Du Fu won the honorary title of Wailang, a member of the Ministry of Industry, during the reign of Tang Dynasty Emperor Zong, so he was called "Du Gongbu" in the world.

Du Shenyan and Du Fu's grandfather and grandson have committed many problems of literati. In fact, the two bottlenecks for literati to be officials are nothing more than keeping their mouths shut and seeing things clearly. Public opinion is sometimes a murderous weapon. In many cases, killing 10,000 people will harm 3,000 people. The effect is mutual.Most literati have the power of public opinion, but it seems that they have not used it scientifically. As a result, some say nothing, some exaggerate and magnify, and others try to catch the wind. Most of the literati in the officialdom are defeated by this.To master the tools of public opinion, you must target the target, and you cannot shoot arrows indiscriminately.The tool of public opinion is to prepare for the promotion of official career. It is best not to use it that has nothing to do with it.The officialdom is full of turmoil and changes. If you say that you are in the sky today, tomorrow you may be a corrupt official and a scum.Seeing the situation clearly is the basic quality of every official.Literati are easy to be emotional.Before he died, Du Shenyan said: "It's because of good fortune that children are suffering, so what can I say?" The words "Shang He Yan" expressed Comrade Du's inner voice, and I thought he had realized something, because he couldn't bear to say it because he cared about face.