"Wang Yuchen! Kou Zhun!" Emperor Liu's slightly emotional voice sounded in the Chui Gong Hall.
Two ministers, one in middle school and one in youth, stood solemnly and respectfully in front of the emperor, accepting Emperor Liu's inspection. The etiquette was in place, but his demeanor always gave people a sense of calmness.
Wang Yucheng and Kou Zhun both returned to the court from the local area this time. Wang Yucheng was recalled by Emperor Liu's decree, and Kou Zhencheng returned to the capital to report on his duties, and then they were both called to Chui Gong Hall for questioning.
The age difference between Wang and Kou is only seven or eight years, but judging from their faces, they seem to be people of two generations. Wang Yucheng is now thirty-six years old, but his face is mottled, his body is rough, and even his hair is mixed
Wearing a little white silk stockings, it is obvious that she has endured too much suffering and hardship in the world. In comparison, she looks high-spirited even though she is not even thirty years old.
"I have heard that there is a saying in the court that when it comes to loyalty and outspokenness, the king and the bandits are the first to be respected. Both are upright and cannot be bullied!" Behind the tall imperial case, Emperor Liu was still sighing: "I don't care about this.
I’m very curious about the remarks. Are you two the only ones in the current dynasty who dare to tell the truth and give honest advice?”
"I really don't dare to accept such ridiculous praise!" After Emperor Liu said this, King Yucheng thought for a moment and immediately responded with his hands raised: "Your Majesty is wise and wise, and everyone is upright in the court. In such a large court, is there only one King Yucheng? But compared with all the sages,
"My words and actions are so arrogant and unbridled that I don't know the importance, let alone restraint. I just have a reputation for being a sensationalist."
"Haha!" Wang Yucheng said this. Emperor Liu was really surprised. He looked at him carefully and chuckled: "When did Wang Yucheng become so self-aware? This doesn't sound like what you said?"
Emperor Liu's speech became more and more casual, and there was also obvious ridicule in his words, which made it difficult to distinguish between good and evil. If you were a person with poor psychological quality, you would have already become frightened.
Wang Yucheng also had some ripples in his heart. After all, Emperor Liu's words made it difficult for people to feel comfortable, and they didn't know how to respond. After pondering for a while, Wang Yucheng said solemnly: "It's rare for a person to be self-aware, so that your majesty can do this."
Praise is my honor!"
"It's different! It's really different!" Paying attention to Wang Yuchen's expression, Emperor Liu praised him repeatedly, but deep in his eyes, there flashed a hint of disappointment that was not easy to detect.
Is Wang Yuchen still Wang Yucheng, whose edges have been smoothed away? Thanks to himself, he still thinks of him from time to time and calls him back to Luoyang.
Wang Yucheng had been an official for more than ten years. Except for the two years when he was not famous and stayed in the capital peacefully, the rest of the time, after receiving the praise and promotion from Emperor Liu, could be described as repeated attacks.
Either he had been demoted, or on the way to being demoted, Wang Yucheng had also become a frequent visitor to the northwest. Shengzhou, Lingzhou, Lanzhou, and other northwest counties all left his footprints and articles.
This time, Wang Yucheng was transferred to Beijing from the position of governor of Shanzhou. The wind and sand in the northwest are not easy to deal with. Coupled with the frequent transfers, this is why Wang Yucheng aged so quickly.
Every time Wang Yucheng was demoted, it was basically because of his open mouth. Wang Yucheng, who could not tolerate the sand in his eyes, was too brave to speak and was too able to speak. The most true reflection of his many years in office was that misfortunes came from his mouth.
It stands to reason that Emperor Liu is not an emperor who cannot tolerate others. It is not a big problem if the ministers say a few words or complain. However, every time Wang Yucheng points out the problem, it just hits Emperor Liu's "hidden disease"
, leaving him with a lump in his throat.
If people do something wrong, they will subconsciously find excuses and even deliberately cover it up. Emperor Liu is the same. Even if he has a clear mind, he still has to use some means of self-deception. But Wang Yucheng is not sensible, so he has to lift the lid every time.
Emperor Liu was so angry that it was time for him to be demoted.
I have to say that Emperor Liu had the intention to kill Wang Yucheng, and more than once. This man was too ignorant and annoying. In his early years, he could still smile and punish him a little, but when Emperor Liu came to his old age, he lacked patience.
At that time, I was really wandering in front of the gate of hell every time.
When the suspicion of Wang Yucheng was at its peak, Emperor Liu already regarded him as the kind of villain who "sells his truth to gain loyalty" and wanted to use him to steal Emperor Liu's "wool" to become a contemporary Wei Zheng. At that time, Emperor Liu was really
I want to order someone to send Wang Yuchen a bottle of poisonous wine.
Wang Yucheng was able to save his life, probably thanks to the deep impression he left on Emperor Liu in his early years: Wang Yucheng was a loyal minister, and he was just like that. He liked to tell the truth, but he couldn't speak.
In this way, one's life can be saved, but after every "exuberance", one has to face the result of being demoted. However, people always have a mean side. Every time a period of time passes, Emperor Liu can always think of Wang Yucheng. Similarly, the older he gets, the more likely he is to be demoted.
The bigger, the more so.
It's not because Emperor Liu valued Wang Yucheng, but because Wang Yucheng had already become a symbol of Emperor Liu's "opening up the public opinion and taking into account the opinions of all the people". Even Wang Yucheng was killed, so how could anyone else dare to speak?
On the other hand, it is a common problem of old emperors. He always feels that someone is bullying him because of his old age, belittles his authority, or even deceives the emperor. Although Wang Yucheng's words are not pleasant, at least he will not deceive the emperor.
Therefore, when he saw Wang Yuchen's submissive look with lowered eyebrows, Emperor Liu felt a little disappointed, even sad.
Even Wang Yucheng had changed, so who else in the court could he trust?
No matter how complicated his mood was, Emperor Liu's face showed no change, and his tone remained calm as he said: "I heard that you, like Liu Kai, are advocating some innovation in poetry and criticizing those flashy styles of writing.
He strongly admires Han Yu and Bai Juyi, and hopes that poetry and prose can pay more attention to the sufferings of the people and reflect the current ills of reality."
Hearing Emperor Liu mention what he had insisted on for more than ten years, Wang Yucheng nodded and said with a serious face: "Your Majesty, it is indeed true! There are thousands of ways to write articles, and the writing style is endlessly changing. I and Liu Liuzhou
, I just found a writing style that suits me.”
The "Liu Liuzhou" mentioned by Wang Yucheng is naturally not Liu Zongyuan in the Tang Dynasty, but Liu Kai, who was the magistrate of Liuzhou at that time. He was also a Jinshi in the Kaibao Year, and he advocated innovation in poetry earlier than Wang Yucheng. Of course, his personality was different.
Wang Yucheng was too upright, but he was also good at criticizing the current ills. He offended many people, and his official career was relatively bumpy. He has been in office in Liuzhou for three years now.
Wang Yucheng and Liu Kai were also close friends. Although they were thousands of miles apart, they still exchanged letters every year and wished each other with poems. Their feelings and aspirations were also entrusted in their poems.
Hearing what Wang Yuchen said, Emperor Liu smiled and said in a calm tone: "You talk about reforming poetry and changing the style of writing. I know that you literati only wrote your political opinions and ideas into those works.
I have also read some of your poems and essays. I am very curious. In your eyes, my big Han is so unbearable. Are the common people of the Han people living in dire straits? Is it just a joke to open up a prosperous world? "
At the end, Emperor Liu's voice was very high, like a roar, which was frightening. Even Kou Zhun couldn't help but glance at Wang Yucheng, with a little worry in his eyes. He still admired Wang Yucheng very much.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Liu's words seemed to wake Wang Yuchen up, and his whole face was no longer as "lifeless" as before. After thinking for a while, Wang Yuchen said to Emperor Liu: "What your Majesty said is true.
The ambition to serve the country and the concern for the people are indeed reflected in the poems. In the past ten years, although I have had many ups and downs, I have also seen all kinds of things in the world. The livelihood of the common people in the world and the hard work of the head of Guizhou have never been the same.
Not a prosperous scene”
"So, this is the origin of "Ode to the Western Expedition"?" Emperor Liu suddenly interrupted Wang Yucheng and said coldly. For some reason, Emperor Liu always gave people a feeling of excitement at this time, as if a hunter had discovered his prey.
Wang Yucheng also wrote an "Ode to the Western Expedition". However, although the name is the same, the content and meaning are very different. What Wang Yucheng described in the poem was the hardship of the people in Helong during the Western Expedition, the depletion of the treasury, and the loss of people's strength.
In Wang Yucheng's eyes, if there were health indicators in the Helong area, the red light alarm would have started.
Faced with Emperor Liu's aggressive questioning, Wang Yucheng seemed to have been stepped on the tail. He suddenly regained his fighting spirit and handed over his hand: "Your Majesty, I have been in Shanzhou for two years. Tens of thousands of people in the whole state, including my subordinates, are here every day and every month.
Busy people are not just food, clothing and warmth, but the imperial court's "Four Expeditions". Shanzhou is a poor state with not much agricultural and animal husbandry output, but nearly 70% of the income every year needs to be turned over to feed the Anxi army, and the remaining 30% needs to be supplied.
The livelihood of people across the state.
Fortunately, there have been no disasters in the past two years. The people gritted their teeth and still managed to persevere. More than 2,000 men from all over the state died in Gaochang and Anxi, and half of them went to the Western Regions to escort grain and grass."
When it came to the emotional part, tears welled up in Wang Yuchen's eyes, and he choked up and said: "Your Majesty, the people of Shanzhou are suffering! The soldiers and people of the northwest are suffering!"
After listening to Wang Yuchen's story, Emperor Liu frowned and said with some suspicion: "Why is this? The imperial court has rules for collecting grain and grass, how could it be so unrestrained? Shanzhou is abusing the people's power, and you, the governor of the state, are doing it again
What?"
"How dare I disobey Tao Si Jun's order? If I can resist once, how can I resist again and again?" Wang Yucheng said in a deep voice: "I have also reported to the court several times to explain my difficulties and complain about my hardships, but there has been no news."
Having said this, Wang Yucheng took a deep breath, raised his head suddenly, and asked Emperor Liu loudly: "Excuse me, I dare to ask, how many years has it been since your Majesty visited a place and saw with your own eyes what kind of world it is like now?"
Wang Yucheng's question was really loud and shocking, and could even be regarded as a direct question. Everyone in the palace was shocked by Wang Yucheng's boldness, but at the same time, the familiar Wang Yucheng came back again.
Emperor Liu, whose face was already as gloomy as water, said coldly to Yan Tuo on the side: "Go, check it out for me, and bring me the memorial that Wang Yucheng gave to the court!"
"Keep talking! Whatever you want to say today, just say it!" Emperor Liu even felt like he was getting angry. He turned around and shouted at Wang Yuchen again.
Emperor Liu felt that he should be angry because he had never seen Wang Yuchen's memorial.