Chapter 32 212 Lu You's Dying Poems

When Song Xiaozong first ascended the throne, he was determined to change the policy of humiliation and seeking peace, and wanted to do a great cause of restoring the Central Plains.In 1163 AD, he appointed a well-known veteran Zhang Jun (sound jun) as a privy envoy. Zhang Jun decided to send troops to the Northern Expedition, and asked the imperial court to issue an edict, calling on the people of the Central Plains to rise up and fight against Japan, and cooperate with the Song army to recover the lost land. At that time, there was an editor in the Privy Council, Lu You, who was very talented in literature, so Zhang Jun sent Lu You to draft the edict.

Lu You was a famous patriotic poet in the Southern Song Dynasty. He was born in Shanyin, Zhejiang. When he was young, it was the time when the Northern Song Dynasty fell.Jin soldiers robbed, killed and plundered in the south of the Yangtze River. Lu You had tasted the pain of national calamity since he was a child, and he also saw and heard many evocative stories of soldiers and people in the south of the Yangtze River fighting against Jin soldiers. In his young heart, his love for the motherland and the nation grew. deep feelings. In his youth, Lu You was able to write excellent articles because of his diligent study.At the age of twenty-nine, he took part in the examination in the Liangzhe area and was ranked first.Coincidentally, Qin Xun (sound xun), grandson of traitor Qin Hui, also took the exam.Before the exam, Qin Hui hinted to the examiner that Qin Xun should get the first place.The examiner didn't buy his account, and still acted impartially, so that Lu You won the first place.

This incident made Qin Hui very angry.In the second year, Lu You went to Lin'an, the capital city, to take the exam.The examiner discovered Lu You's literary talent and wanted him to be among the best.When Qin Hui learned of this, he was even more angry, and arbitrarily ordered the chief examiner to disqualify Lu You from the exam, and to hold the examiner accountable in the Liangzhe area.After that, Qin Hui held a grudge against Lu You and refused to let him participate in court work.It was not until Qin Hui's death that he went to Lin'an to serve as the editor of the Privy Council.

Lu You enthusiastically supported the Northern Expedition.However, Zhang Jun, who served as commander-in-chief, lacked the ability to command.The two chief generals under Zhang Jun were suspicious of each other again, and there was friction.Not long after the Song Army dispatched troops, it was defeated in Fuli (now north of Su County, Anhui), and the Song Army retreated across the board. The Northern Expedition failed, and the ministers who had always advocated seeking peace attacked Zhang Jun in front of Song Xiaozong, and said that Zhang Jun's use of troops was originally instigated by Lu You.Later, Zhang Jun was expelled from the imperial court, and Lu You was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown in Shanyin.

Under the threat of Jin soldiers, Song Xiaozong's determination to resist Jin was shaken.In the second year, he signed a humiliating peace treaty with the Jin Dynasty. After that, he never dared to mention the Northern Expedition again. Almost ten years later, Wang Yan, the general in charge of the military in Sichuan and Shaanxi, heard of Lu You's reputation and invited him to Hanzhong to be his staff.Hanzhong was close to the front line of the anti-golden war. Lu You thought that if he went there, he might have the opportunity to participate in the anti-golden battle and contribute to the recovery of the lost land. He happily accepted this appointment.When he got there, he once rode to the edge of Dasan Pass to observe the area occupied by the Jin people.In Wang Yan's yamen, he often saw with his own eyes the people in the area occupied by the Jin army risking their lives to send military intelligence to the Song army.These scenarios make him hopeful about his future against Kim.

After careful investigation, he proposed a plan to Wang Yan.He believed that to restore the Central Plains, Chang'an must be recovered first, and Wang Yan was required to accumulate military rations in Hanzhong, train troops, and make all preparations to attack at any time.However, at that time, the Southern Song court in Lin'an had no plans for the Northern Expedition. Most of the generals in Sichuan and Shaanxi were arrogant and corrupt, and Wang Yan had nothing to do with them, let alone send troops according to Lu You's opinion.Lu You's hope was lost again. Soon, Wang Yan was transferred away, and Lu You was also transferred to Chengdu, where he served as a counselor under Fan Cheng, the pacifier.Fan Chengda is an old friend of his. Although it is a superior-subordinate relationship, he does not pay attention to general official etiquette.Lu You's anti-golden ambition was not realized, and he was depressed, so he often drank and wrote poems to express his patriotic feelings.However, ordinary people in the officialdom can't understand him, saying that he doesn't pay attention to etiquette and law, and his thoughts are decadent.After hearing this, Lu You simply gave himself an nickname, "Fang Weng".Later people called him Lu Fangweng.

Another twenty or thirty years passed like this, and the Southern Song Dynasty changed two more emperors—Song Guangzong Zhao Dun (sound dun) and Song Ningzong Zhao Kuo. The Southern Song Dynasty was still not determined to regain the lost ground.Lu You lived an idle life for a long time, and he pinned his patriotic enthusiasm on his poetry creation. In 1206 AD, Han Yuzhou (sound tuozhou) served as prime minister and launched a large-scale Northern Expedition. This made Lu You very excited.However, Han Tuozhou's Northern Expedition was not fully prepared, and there were many contradictions within the court, which made the last Northern Expedition fail again.Song Ningzong and a group of surrendering ministers killed Han Tuozhou, dedicated his head to the Jin Dynasty, and concluded a humiliating peace treaty.

Lu You's strong desire to recover the lost land and unify the motherland that he longed for all his life has never been realized.He can only use his poems to express his love for the motherland and concern for the nation.He worked hard all his life and left more than 9,000 poems in total.Among the poets of all dynasties in our country, his creation is the most abundant. In 1210 AD, the eighty-six-year-old patriotic poet became seriously ill.When he was dying, he still couldn't forget to restore the Central Plains.He called his children and grandchildren to his bedside, and read his last touching poem "Shower":

When you die, you know that everything is empty, but you don't see Kyushu in sorrow. Wang Shibei set the Central Plains Day, and the family sacrifices were never forgotten to tell Nai Weng.