Chapter 24 8. A successful "official information war"

After this incident, Wen Yanbo's mind immediately cleared up. He almost lost his official career for the rest of his life, and he broke out in a cold sweat.After the situation subsided, the first person Wen Yanbo wanted to thank was the god-niece who acted as an eyeliner in the capital, that is, Song Renzong's favorite concubine Zhang Gui.The two also had a relationship. Concubine Zhang's father, Zhang Yaofeng, used to be a servant under Wen Yanbo's father. At that time, Concubine Zhang was still young and recognized Wen Yanbo as his uncle.After Concubine Zhang Guifei became prosperous, her father Zhang Yaofeng had passed away, but her uncle Zhang Yaozuo and uncle Wen Yanbo were still alive, and Concubine Zhang Guifei supported the two old friends.

Wen Yanbo recalled what happened to Lu Yijian Suo Mo back then, and the idea of ​​giving gifts spontaneously came to him.I read it right, Wen Yanbo, the famous Prime Minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, did a career by giving gifts through the back door. "Bi Yun" records that the Shangyuan Festival is just around the corner. The festival is very important to us. It is a good day to exchange feelings and build relationships.Wen Yanbo wondered what to give as a present?Concubine Zhang Gui gave him a hint and asked him to present "Different Brocade".Shu embroidery, the cultural representative of Sichuan.As early as the Taizu Dynasty, the empire established the Silk Brocade Academy, which absorbed brocade craftsmen from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Shuzhou, and Huzhou to form court embroidery.Later Song Huizong also founded the Wenxiu Institute, which is similar to today's vocational technical college.Today, Su embroidery, Hunan embroidery, Shu embroidery and Yue embroidery are still the four famous embroideries in China.I don't know how much the different brocade is worth, it must be worth a lot!Someone in the court hinted that Wen Yanbo also had the intention to send it off, and things would naturally follow.Here comes the question again, there is information about sending Shu brocade, but what pattern should be sent?Gift giving is a science, Wen Yanbo has already understood it.Wen Yanbo ordered craftsmen to weave lanterns with gold thread, and put lotus flowers into brocade.This is his first-hand preparation, and he prepared a pair of swings for the Cold Food Festival.

On the day of Shangyuan Festival, Concubine Zhang Guifei appeared in front of Song Renzong wearing the "Different Brocade" costume presented by Wen Yanbo.Song Renzong was a master of goods, and he was quite surprised. Where did such a beautiful brocade come from?Concubine Zhang followed suit and said that this was a Shu brocade sent by Wen Yanbo, the magistrate of Yizhou, because my concubine's father and he were old friends.Speaking of this, Concubine Zhang Guifei changed the subject, Concubine An dared to covet extravagant hopes, but in fact, this is Wen Yanbo's dedication to Your Majesty.Song Renzong was overjoyed immediately, and he had completely remembered Wen Yanbo's name in his heart. He dared to love Wen Yanbo and his concubine.

One or two days before the Ching Ming Festival is the Cold Food Festival. There are folk customs such as banning fireworks, eating cold food, offering sweeping sacrifices, outings, swings, and Cuju.Wen Yanbo's other gift was dedicated to Concubine Zhang on such a special day.Sending a swing has its deep meaning. Li Qingzhao wrote a poem "Dian Jiang Lips·Cu Ba Swing". At that time, swinging was a woman's patent, especially a lady.Ouyang Xiu wrote a poem "Butterflies in Love with Flowers". There is a sentence "tearful eyes ask flowers without saying a word, chaotic red flies across the swing" to prove that swing is usually one of the elements for women to mourn, cherish spring, and lament the perishability of youth.In days like Cold Food Festival and Ching Ming Festival, the complex of nostalgia for old friends arises spontaneously.We have reason to believe that under the mediation of Concubine Zhang Gui, Wen Yanbo Yizhou Zhiman entered the central government and was promoted to be a political adviser in March of the seventh year of Qingli.

"Song History Biography of Empresses" records that Concubine Zhang Guifei is a woman who is "clever and intelligent, good at welcoming, and powerful at home and abroad", that is to say, she is a woman who can play tricks and understand politics.The emperor's wives and concubines had deep political factors mixed in, most of which were for the purpose of uniting the family and balancing the political power of the various scholars and bureaucrats.Zhang entered the palace at the age of eight, and when she grew up, she became a legend just because Song Renzong took one more look at her in the crowd.Concubine Zhang Guifei was favored, and her status increased day by day, only one step away from the position of empress.But she is very clear about the political composition of the emperor and the harem. She has no background and foundation. In the two prefectures, the one that plays a big role.Just having the support of low-level central officials such as Dali Sicheng, Jixian College Li, and Secretary Provincial Secretary Lang will not do much.

Wen Yanbo gave gifts to Concubine Zhang Gui hoping to get her support. It is true that Zhang Guifei supported Wen Yanbo and hoped to get his support in the future. Both parties took what they needed and jointly built a chain of interests.But as far as gift giving is concerned, it must be admitted that Wen Yanbo gave it cleverly and skillfully, which not only made the emperor remember him, but also made Concubine Zhang think of him, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.However, participating in political affairs is not Wen Yanbo's ultimate goal. There are many deputy prime ministers. Although they participate in the decision-making of the government, they are certainly not as powerful as the top leaders, so they have to go further in their official career.

In the seventh year of Qingli (1047), Wang Ze rebelled in Beizhou, Hebei East Road.Wang Ze was originally from Zhuozhou and belonged to the territory of Liao Kingdom. He fled from famine and fled to Beizhou. Later, he joined the army and did a good job.It is not clear why, Wang Ze launched a mutiny on New Year's Day in the seventh year of Qingli, and was elected as the king of Dongping County, the country name was Anyang, and the year name was "Desheng".The soldiers under his command are very distinctive, with the words "rebels defeat Zhao Desheng" tattooed on their faces.The early king, who was dealing with the local area, took advantage, and the Song court sent Ming Hao, the governor of Kaifeng Prefecture, to lead the army to discuss it.

Hearing that the pickaxe was broken by the thief general, Song Renzong expressed his emotion, saying that none of the ministers in power shared the country's worries, and none of them took the initiative to stand up and lead troops to suppress the rebellion.Concubine Zhang Guifei comforted Song Renzong with a few words, and her eyes were keenly aware that this was an excellent opportunity, so she sent someone to secretly tell Wen Yanbo the news.Access to information is a key factor in success.Han Feizi, a master of legalism, once said in the article "Difficult Three": "The great thing dominated by the people is illegal, and the law is also. The legal person compiles the books, sets them up in the government, and publishes them to the people. The artisan, It is hidden in the chest, and it is also the one who combines many things with others, participates in many things and secretly guards the officials. Therefore, the law is not as obvious, but the technique is not seen." It means that "law" is external, People all over the country know that "art" is inherent, and it is the ultimate skill for the monarch to control his ministers. The more open the "law", the better, but the "art" should not be revealed easily, so the leader is not afraid to play open rules and regulations with you, playing tricks that no one knows.Han Feizi's thoughts have influenced Qin Shihuang and even many emperors in later generations. The highest leader is usually mysterious and unpredictable, and it is very difficult for you to directly obtain information from him.Therefore, people of insight usually make friends with the emperor's close ministers, such as noble concubines, internal servants, etc., to ensure accurate information and to cope with changes.

The next day when he went to court, Wen Yanbo took the initiative to invite Ying. Song Renzong Longyan was very happy, and showed his literary talent, saying that the word "Bei" plus "wen" was "defeated", and Qing must be captured.Appointed him as Xuan Fu envoy of Hebei Province, and led his troops to suppress the rebellion.Wen Yanbo gave gifts to enter the central government, and led troops to suppress the rebellion in order to gain political capital and try to advance further.Thinking about Wen Yanbo's situation in the central government is very embarrassing. His past political achievements have not reached the level of publicity of Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi, and the experience of other ministers is not weak. Only he is a newcomer and urgently needs a chance to show his respect to the people. The scholar-bureaucrats proved his talent and strength.Then again, the weight of political achievements is far greater than gifts, especially at this height.Giving gifts is to build a relationship and get the qualification to enter the house. If you want to go further, gift giving will not work.

There are two different versions of the record about the suppression of the Beizhou Wangze Uprising. "Bi Yun" records that Ming Hao, the commander-in-chief at the front line, was looking to wipe out the culprits, but Wen Yanbo showed up at the right time, and he took a lot of credit for nothing. "Song History·Wen Yanbo Biography" records: "The king of Beizhou rebelled, and Ming Hao challenged him for a long time, but he couldn't overcome it for a long time. Yanbo asked to go, and ordered him to be the envoy of Xuanfu. The bandits collapsed in ten days, and the threshold was sent to the capital." "Mian Shui There is also a record in Yan Tan Lu that "Ming picks have been challenged for a long time, but there has been no success for a long time. Wen Yanbo, a political adviser, please go, and Renzong gladly sent him." When Wen Yanbo arrived at the front battlefield, he found that the terrain in the south of the city was low-lying. The engineer team dug a tunnel, entered the city, and conquered it in ten days, and captured the king and other bandit leaders.In any case, Wang Ze's uprising failed, and Wen Yanbo had reached the pinnacle of his official career at the age of forty-three because of his meritorious service.

Although Wen Yanbo is a literati, he does not have so many common faults of literati.Although he also made mistakes, he reined in the precipice in time, and quickly rose to power by virtue of his political achievements and nepotism, and quickly found his own political camp.Gifts, information, and achievements are key factors in his success.There are many bottlenecks for a literati to be an official, and Wen Yanbo can hardly find any weaknesses.The promotion of his career is eye-catching, and how to keep his hard-won salary has become Wen Yanbo's current goal, but he failed in his first struggle with his colleagues.