Hey friends, today I'm going to tell you a little story. The protagonist of the story is not a casual little person, but the familiar Confucian King Anshi of the Song Dynasty. Wang Anshi, a sage, is not only a thinker, politician, and writer, but also a well-known and well-known figure. But this outstanding person once did an unbelievable thing when he was fishing with Song Renzong, so that Song Renzong completely changed his opinion of him and asserted: "This person must not be reused." "What did Wang Anshi do to make Song Renzong so angry?
1. The smart and capable but eccentric Wang Anshi
Wang Anshi was born in a scholarly family and has been brilliant since he was a child. When he was 10 years old, his father taught him to read poetry, and by the age of 16 he was able to write gorgeous poems, and the beauty of the words was amazing. At the age of 22, he became a young man who was unstoppable in the government and the opposition.
However, Wang Anshi has a strange personality and acts recklessly, and is often criticized as a "fetish". He was unsophisticated, ignored the criticism of others, and denounced some bad habits, causing dissatisfaction among many people. For example, at that time, the trend of liking to have cats was very popular, and Wang Anshi criticized this behavior as a sign of "cynicism". Another example is that he once served as the chief of the imperial system, and his main responsibility was to draft edicts for the emperor, but he would occasionally add some of his own strange theories to the edicts, which caused the emperor to be dissatisfied.
Despite this, Wang Anshi's talent and political achievements are understandable. During his tenure in Wenzhou, he implemented the policy of reclaiming wasteland and encouraging agriculture and mulberry, so that the local people were rich. During his tenure in Hangzhou, he deliberately eliminated the accumulated bad rules and regulations. Because of his assertiveness and courage in doing things, Wang Anshi has the nickname of "little prime minister" in various places and is regarded as the talent of the future prime minister.
However, if a person is too opinionated and inflexible, it is easy to attract resentment and criticism. Wang Anshi's characteristics had already made some people complain about him at that time, and they were not optimistic about his future. The government and the opposition are very divided and controversial about him. On the one hand, some people vigorously promoted him, believing that he would be the future prime minister and important minister; On the other hand, there are also people who have always been cautious about him, believing that he has many eccentricities and cannot be reused. Emperor Renzong of Song at that time belonged to the holder of the latter view.
2. The strange behavior of accompanying Song Renzong to fish
One day, Song Renzong held a banquet in the back garden and invited Wang Anshi and several other ministers to come to enjoy the flowers and fish. Fishing has always been a pastime of the royal aristocracy, which is both leisurely and elegant, but also full of elegant charm. The emperors of the Song Dynasty were particularly fond of this leisure sport, and often fished by the pond for pleasure.
The scene of this fishing meeting was very grand. Delicate fishing platforms are placed all over the garden, and once a distinguished guest takes the bait, a palace maid immediately comes to greet him. The pond has been filled with a variety of fresh bait, green duckweed floating on the water, and weeping willows swaying gently in the breeze, which are reflected in the water.
Next to each dignitary's seat, the waitress is served with a gold plate with fragrant bait. These baits look crystal clear and vary in color, from deep red to yellowish green, and seem to be the best bait. The palace ladies strictly followed Renzong's instructions and regularly added fresh bait for the VIPs to prevent them from drying up halfway.
All the ministers were focused on fishing, smiling, and when they saw the fishing rod move, they gathered to see what was going on. Wang Anshi was the only one who was in a unique way, and when the others were engrossed in fishing, he occasionally aimed at the golden pan beside him, and seemed to be quite interested in the bait. After a while, he reached out and picked up a piece of bait, put it in his mouth and chewed it.
Although others are aware of it, they have not studied it deeply. But half an hour later, when the attendants repurchased the bait, they were all surprised to find that the gold plate around Wang Anshi was empty, and the bait was swallowed by him! Several ministers finally couldn't help but look sideways and looked at each other, but it was inevitable that there would be some rudeness, and no one spoke to dissuade them.
3. The reason why Song Renzong changed his opinion of Wang Anshi
Before the fishing meeting, Wang Anshi's strange behavior of devouring bait had spread throughout the field. First, some palace people secretly snickered, and then some ministers also began to talk to each other in private. Although no one accused him in person, Wang Anshi's explicit behavior has caused a lot of commotion in the venue.
Although Song Renzong did not say it on the spot, he was quite unhappy with Wang Anshi's unreasonable behavior. Later, at the end of the scene, he deliberately left Wang Anshi behind and personally asked him why he did such a grotesque thing. However, Wang Anshi's answer made Renzong very annoyed.
It turned out that Wang Anshi didn't know that it was bait, but felt that the bait looked quite delicious and the taste should be extremely delicious, so he was gluttonous. After hearing this, Renzong was furious, and reprimanded Wang Anshi for having no rules in the world, and even a simple bait would not choose to eat, isn't it a very disorderly behavior? Moreover, this is still at the Royal Fishing Festival, and as a guest, you should respect the occasion and follow the etiquette. Such a debauched corpse is indeed formless.
In fact, Wang Anshi's ridiculous behavior of stealing bait is certainly ridiculous, but the reason why Renzong is so disgusted with him is another reason. It stands to reason that how can such a willful and unruly person be entrusted with a heavy responsibility? Even if Wang Anshi is rich and talented, if he lacks basic ethics and self-cultivation, he may not be able to take on a big responsibility. Therefore, this incident made Renzong completely disappointed in Wang Anshi's character, and decided that he was not a material to control the crowd and could not be reused.
In Renzong's mind, how a person thinks and behaves determines whether he can be entrusted with important tasks. Although stealing bait is only a trivial matter, it can be seen that Wang Anshi is loose in thinking and behaving excessively. As a Master of the first generation, Renzong naturally hopes to select reliable and prudent talents, rather than acting perversely like Wang Anshi and finding it difficult to control the overall situation. So since then, Renzong has listed Wang Anshi as a "dangerous person" and categorically refuses to reuse it.
4. Wang Anshi's dissatisfaction and counterattack
After being reprimanded by Renzong, Wang Anshi naturally felt deeply aggrieved. He has a straightforward personality, coupled with outstanding talent, and has a very high opinion of himself, where can he be so humiliated? So Wang Anshi secretly held a grudge in his heart, and gradually accumulated a lot of ideas of resistance.
Soon after, Wang Anshi wrote to Renzong, suggesting a series of reforms, including the elimination of excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, the reform of the imperial examination system, and the crackdown on the old and the poor. However, Renzong simply ignored his suggestion and dismissed it as nothing. Wang Anshi was furious, and turned to reciting poetry and writing, secretly satirizing the government. For example, he wrote this untitled poem:
"Ten years is reduced, and tens of millions of skills are also poor. But will be hungry and thirsty, even if it is an urn of wine. To make the same calmly, this is a lonely standard. If you are a wanderer, you should take the highest number. ＂
In the poem, it is written that "ten years are reduced, and tens of millions of skills are also poor", implicitly accusing the imperial court of financial difficulties and the displacement of the people. "But the hunger and thirst, even if the wine urn" is to use wine to dispel sorrows, reflecting the suffering of the Li people at that time. The last few sentences imply that he has become a "lonely standard", and has been snubbed by the government and the opposition, and now he has to "drink" the people who are on the same road.
In addition to this kind of satirical work, Wang Anshi has also directly used poetry and writing to go to court on many occasions, calling for the implementation of the new policy. He said in the poem: "A hundred years of hypocrisy, exhaust the valley of money." If you don't want to save the lives of the people, you are afraid of going to the nest. "Questioning the deep habits of the government and the opposition, abandoning people's livelihood, and calling for urgent reform.
In the face of Wang Anshi's rebellion, Renzong did not take drastic measures, but he also did not reuse him. The two confronted each other like this, and no one could convince anyone. It wasn't until Renzong died and the new monarch Shenzong succeeded to the throne that the situation took a turn for the better. Unlike Renzong, Shenzong was open-minded towards Wang Anshi, not only exempting him from all charges, but also preparing to re-hire him and give him the power to reform.
5. Wang Anshi's triumphant reuse during the Shenzong period
Until 1063 A.D., after Shenzong succeeded to the throne, he ordered Wang Anshi to enter the dynasty as the prime minister and take charge of reform. This is undoubtedly a great affirmation of Wang Anshi's long-term struggle. From then on, his new policies began to be implemented throughout the dynasty, including:
The canals were cleared to facilitate the irrigation of farmland, the burden on peasants was reduced by reducing the amount of servitude, the method of selecting scholars and husbands was reformed through the imperial examination, corruption and bribery were cracked down, and redundant personnel were eliminated from the simplified imperial court. These are collectively referred to as the "Wang Anshi Reforms". At the beginning of the implementation, the reform was met with major resistance from the government and the opposition, but Shenzong personally insisted on implementing it and finally achieved results.
The countryside was able to recuperate and regain its vitality, and the dynastic finances were increasingly enriched by measures such as eliminating corruption and implementing monopolies. With the initial effect of the change, Wang Anshi gradually got rid of the criticism of the government and the opposition and regained respect. He himself was in high spirits because he was in power.
Once, Wang Anshi rode a white horse on a patrol and met a poor man on the road. As soon as the poor man saw that it was Wang Anshi, he cursed loudly: "You are the 'addict' who stole the bait ten years ago and was reprimanded by Renzong!" Now it's a high authority. ＂
Wang Anshi was not annoyed but happy when he heard this, and said to the poor people with a laugh: "Then do you know what happened to stealing bait back then? The pauper shook his head. Wang Anshi said triumphantly: "Now he is in command of the six armies, and he has a million lives in his hands!" ＂
It can be seen from these words that Wang Anshi has completely raised his eyebrows at this time, pretending to be majestic and domineering. And the reason why he can be so arrogant is precisely because the reform in power has finally been effective. Although Wang Anshi's new policy was later violently attacked by the Jurchens of the Eastern Palace, he himself was still respected by the government and the opposition until his death.