The Song Dynasty minister Kou Zhun was born in the "second generation of officials", and his father Kou Xiang was an official in charge of documents in the Jin and Wei palaces five generations later. Probably influenced by his father, Kou Zhun was admitted to the jinshi at the age of 18 and took a career. But he himself never imagined that his future eunuch career would be so up and down.
Kou Zhun initially trained at the grassroots level and served as a petty official such as Zhi County. Within a few years, he became a Beijing official. But he came and disagreed with the emperor.
Once in the palace, talking too fiercely, Song Taizong was so angry that he shot the case and left, Kou Zhun did not know the face, dragged the emperor's clothes to let him sit down and continue to reason, must say something clear. As the saying goes, "accompanying the king is like accompanying the tiger", and this practice of Kou Zhun is likely to lead to the disaster of killing. Fortunately, Song Taizong felt that among a group of bureaucrats who usually only made promises, Kou Zhun seemed particularly "different", but instead admired him, considered him upright, and compared him to Wei Zheng, a sage during the Tang Taizong period.
But among his colleagues, Kou Zhun was not so lucky. Soon, because he and other ministers were exposing each other in the court, a quarrel broke out, and the emperor was furious and demoted Kou Zhun to Qingzhou as Zhizhou. It was the first setback of his political career.
Although the court quarrel lacked the style of a gentleman, Song Taizong probably just wanted to suppress Kou Zhun's fiery temper at this time, and he still admired his talent. Soon, Kou Zhun was transferred back to the capital and made him a suffragan, that is, the deputy prime minister. Emperor Taizong, who had always forbidden his ministers to raise the issue of ligus, also took the initiative to discuss with Kou Zhun which crown prince to appoint. When Emperor Taizong asked how King Xiang was, Kou Zhun replied, "Zhizi Moruo's father." Which prince you think is okay, the decision is up. "Although there is no explicit answer. But the tone is clearly supportive. Emperor Taizong therefore strengthened himself and made King Xiang crown prince.
Portrait of Emperor Taizong of Song
Not long after, Kou Zhun's cow temper caused trouble for himself again. Because he had a conflict with other ministers, Emperor Taizong rebuked him. He was fine, and regardless of it, he fought with Emperor Taizong. As a result, it is conceivable that the angry Emperor Taizong relegated him to Dengzhou, Henan this time. Kou Zhun went for several years, until Emperor Taizong died, and he could not return.
King Xiang, who was succeeded by Emperor Zhenzong of Song, was reinstated as prime minister because of his previous merits as a sponsor and his talents were appreciated by Emperor Zhenzong. The most proud stroke of his life began, which is known as the "Alliance of the Abyss".
At that time, the monarch of the Liao State led an army to attack the Great Song. In the face of a strong enemy, the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Committee did not think about how to retreat from the enemy, but were talking about moving the capital. Only Kou Zhun repeatedly went to ask Song Zhenzong to personally march, and later, together with the chancellor Yang Yi, he coaxed and deceived and dragged Song Zhenzong to Liaozhou. The morale of the Song army was greatly increased, and a member of the Liao state was killed. The Liao people had no choice but to propose peace, and the two sides signed a covenant. Kou Zhun's prestige in the Great Song Dynasty almost reached the peak of his life.
However, things must be reversed, and Kou Zhun, who was highly trusted by Zhenzong, still did not change his temper, and he was proud of his achievements, plus he used people completely according to his own ideas, and was hated by other ministers. Wang Qinruo, the chancellor who originally advocated moving the capital, borrowed Kou Zhun's most proud merits to attack, and he told Zhenzong that when he was in Liaoyuan, Kou Zhun was just a gambler, and he was about to lose, and he made the final bet with the emperor, without the slightest "love for the king". This can talk about the pain of Zhenzong, as the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, he was led by the nose, how unsympathetic. Emperor Zhenzong gradually alienated Kou Zhun and relegated him back to his hometown of Shaanzhou. This was Kou Zhun's third eunuch ups and downs.
It took Kou Zhun several years to return to the capital. "It's not three things", if it is someone else, how can they change their temper, but Kou Zhun's impression of Zhenzong is still "as tough as ever", and it was not long before he was released. In order to go back, he had to offer the Heavenly Book to the emperor. This is a trick often played by ancient officials, and the heavens sent down documents to represent Guotai Min'an and Emperor Shengming. Emperor Zhenzong of Song was indeed very happy and asked Kou Huai to re-establish himself as prime minister. It was also his last time in this position.
At this time, the imperial court, as the prime minister, must navigate between various forces, and it is inevitable to cause resentment. Emperor Zhenzong of Song was in poor health, and Empress Liu often interfered in political affairs, and Kou Zhun saw the danger and secretly planned to let the crown prince oversee the country. But before the plan could be implemented, it was known to Empress Liu and her powerful courtier Ding Zhi. Kou Zhun's prime minister could not do it, and was first demoted to Xiangzhou and other places. He was later demoted to Leizhou. And eventually died there.
Because Kou Tui was just and dared to speak, he could be appreciated by the emperor, but it was precisely because he lacked the compromise and smoothness he deserved, so he repeatedly rose and fell in the eunuch sea. This is called character determines destiny.
Regarding this personality of Kou Zhun, people at that time had comments. Kou Zhun had a good friend, named Zhang Yong, who once said that Kou Zhun was "the true prime minister", but also said that "Cangsheng is not blessed", the protégé asked him what he meant, Zhang Yong said: "Others say a thousand sentences, they may have to hide a few words of truth; Kou Zhun, he will finish his words." He entered the army at a young age, and was quickly reused, always superior, so he did not have time to learn to be smooth. Kou Zhun's "not learning" does not mean learning. Rather, it refers to political experience, and "no skill" does not refer to talent. Rather, it refers to political skill.
The Northern Song Dynasty court was full of factions, and even the ministers of lao cheng might not be able to navigate it, let alone those who became famous at a young age. Kou Zhun was appreciated by the emperor as soon as he entered the imperial court, which was fortunate for him, and even more unfortunate, in the official ecology of "shooting the head bird", Kou Nan had long become a "thorn in the eye" of other ministers, and there were people looking for opportunities to attack him at all times. If Kou Zhun was trained, maybe his life would be much better, but his personality was straightforward, outspoken, stubborn, and easy to argue, and he was not finished. In the "Biography of Song Shi 'Kou Zhun", it is said that he said: "Although there is a wind of bluntness, but there is less of a barren amount", it is impossible to tolerate people, so as to compete with people. This seems out of place in the official arena that emphasizes relationships and popularity.
Song Shinshu Image
The chancellor Wang Dan and Kou Zhun were originally jinshi in the same year, and both held high positions, and the two were almost the same in terms of seniority. However, Kou Zhun often took the opportunity to find trouble for Wang Dan, and even Song Zhenzong could not look at it anymore, and said to Wang Dan: "Although you often praise Kou Zhun, Kou Zhun specifically counts down your not." This Wang Dan was really a benevolent man, and he did not think anything of it, but instead excused Kou Zhun, saying: "I have been the prime minister for a long time, and there must be mistakes in political affairs." Kou Zhun is a loyal person, so he often speaks out in front of you, which is why I respect Kou Zhun!" Until his death, Wang Dan also recommended Kou Tui to Emperor Zhenzong as chancellor.
Wang Dan had a broad heart, and he would not be able to retaliate against Kou Zhun. But if you meet a narrow-minded person, you will get into big trouble, ding is a typical example.
This Ding Zhi is also a personal talent, and he was known for his articles when he was a teenager. However, although Ding Shu was talented and learned, his mental skills were not correct, and everyone in the world thought that he was a traitor, and Wang Qinruo and others were called "five ghosts". Even so, Kou Nan single-handedly promoted Ding Zhi to vice chancellor.
Once, the two of them were eating together, Kou Zhun's beard was accidentally stained with soup, Ding Zhi diligently ran to wipe Kou Zhun's beard, which is the origin of the word "slip", which shows how flattering this person is to his superiors. Kou Zhun said half-jokingly, "Ding said that you are also an important minister of the country, how can you whiske the chief?" In a word, Ding Zhi could not get off the stage in front of the group of courtiers, and from then on he became jealous of Kou Zhun. Later, Kou Zhun was demoted to Leizhou, which was given by Bai Ding. The selection of officials is not heavy on talent and morality, and the interaction with subordinates is not inferior, so that he has become a nemesis, which shows Kou Zhun's character defects.