Chapter 39 130 Gao Yun who tells the truth

The rulers of the Northern Wei Dynasty were members of the Tuoba tribe of the Xianbei tribe.In the early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Tuoba tribe was still a nomadic tribe in the northeast of my country. Later, it absorbed the culture of the Central Plains and gradually established a feudal economic system.In 386 A.D., Tuoba Gui, a nobleman from Xianbei, established the Northern Wei Dynasty, that is, Emperor Wei Daowu. After Emperor Wei Daowu established the Northern Wei Dynasty, he appointed a group of Han scholars as his advisers.Among them, Cui Hao is the most famous. Cui Hao made great contributions in the war of unifying the north in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and was trusted by the three emperors of the Northern Wei Dynasty.After Emperor Taiwu of Wei ascended the throne, he served as Situ and mastered the power of the court. He also sent dozens of Han scholars to serve as prefects in various places.In this way, there was a conflict between him and the ruler of Xianbei.

Emperor Taiwu of Wei sent Cui Hao and several literati to write the history of Wei.Emperor Taiwu told them that writing national history must be based on actual records. According to this request, Cui Hao and his colleagues collected the materials of the previous generation of Wei State and compiled a national history of Wei State.At that time, the purpose of the emperor to compile the history of the country was originally only for the descendants of the royal family to read.However, Cui Hao had two literati under his command, who were ingenious and persuaded Cui Hao to engrave the history of the country on a stone tablet for all officials to read, which could also improve Cui Hao's reputation.

Cui Hao thought he was a high-ranking official, so he didn't have any worries. He really spent a lot of labor and money to engrave the history of the country on a stone tablet, and erected the stone tablet on both sides of the road in front of the Temple of Heaven in the suburbs. The national history records the historical facts, but the culture of the previous generation in the Northern Wei Dynasty was still very backward, and some things were considered indecent at the time.People passing by saw the stele and started talking about it. The Xianbei aristocrats of the Northern Wei Dynasty thought that this had lost face to the royal family, so they reported to Emperor Taiwu of Wei, saying that Cui Hao and his group wrote the history of the country deliberately to expose the scandal of the court.

Emperor Wei Taiwu already thought that Cui Haotai had made his own decisions, and when he heard about this incident, he became angry and ordered all the people who wrote the history of the country to be arrested and investigated. Lang Gaoyun, who participated in the compilation of the book, was the prince's teacher.When the prince heard the news, he was very anxious, so he took Gao Yun to the East Palace (the palace where the prince lives), and said to him: "I will accompany you to the emperor's court tomorrow. If the emperor asks you, you can only answer according to my opinion. Don't say anything."

Gao Yun didn't know what was going on.The next day, he went to court with the prince.The prince first went to the palace to meet Emperor Taiwu, and said: "Gao Yun is always cautious, and his status is relatively low. The national history cases are all about Cui Hao. Please forgive Gao Yun." Emperor Taiwu called Gao Yun in and asked him, "Is all the history of the country written by Cui Hao?" Gao Yun replied honestly: "No, Cui Hao is in charge of a lot of things, and only grasps the outline. The specific content is written by me and other writers." Emperor Taiwu turned his head and said to the prince: "Look, Gao Yun's crime is worse than Cui Hao's. How can he forgive him?"

The prince said to Emperor Wei Taiwu again: "When Gao Yun saw His Majesty, he was afraid and talked nonsense. I asked him just now, and he said it was Cui Hao who did it." Emperor Taiwu asked Gao Yun again: "Is that so?" Gao Yun said: "I have committed a crime, how dare I lie to Your Majesty. The prince said this just now to save my life. In fact, the prince did not ask me, nor did I tell him these things." Seeing Gao Yun's honesty and straightforwardness, Emperor Wei Taiwu was also a little moved, and said to the prince: "Gao Yun's death is imminent, and he still doesn't tell lies, which is really commendable.

I just forgive his sins. " Emperor Taiwu Wei sent someone to arrest Cui Hao for interrogation.Cui Hao's face was pale with fright, and he couldn't answer anything.Emperor Taiwu was furious and asked Gao Yun to draft an imperial edict to have Cui Hao executed. Gao Yun returned to the official office, hesitated for a long time, but did not write a word.Emperor Taiwu sent people to ask again and again, Gao Yun said: "I want to play it to the emperor again." Gao Yun entered the palace and said to Emperor Taiwu: "I don't know what other crimes Cui Hao committed. If he just wrote the history of the country and offended the court, he should not be sentenced to death."

Emperor Wei Taiwu thought that Gao Yun was too ignorant, so he yelled and asked the warriors to tie him up.Later, the prince begged again and again, and Emperor Taiwu's anger dissipated, so he let him go. Afterwards, the crown prince complained to Gao Yun and said, "A person should play by ear. I will forgive you for you, but why did you offend the emperor instead? When I think of this incident, I feel a little scared." Gao Yun said: "Cui Hao is selfish and wrong in doing this. However, there is nothing wrong with compiling history, recording the activities of emperors, and the gains and losses of the government. Besides, Cui Hao and I wrote the history of the country together. How can I leave it all to him. Your Highness, I am very grateful for your help. But if you want me to say something against my conscience in order to survive, I will not do it. "

Emperor Wei Taiwu did not spare Cui Hao after all, and executed Cui Hao and several of his relatives.But because of Gao Yun's direct remonstrance, no more people were implicated.According to Emperor Taiwu himself: If it weren't for Gao Yun, he would have killed thousands of people. In 452 AD, Emperor Taiwu of Wei was killed by eunuchs; a year later, Emperor Wen of Song's son Liu Jun came to the throne, and this was Emperor Xiaowu of Song Dynasty.