Chapter 8 Kangzong Chapter 10 The old minister is late
PS: This chapter is watery.
On the first day of autumn in the fourth year of Pingkang, on the side of the official road outside the Yanxi Post Office, Zhang Qixian, the former minister, was about to embark on his journey to leave Beijing.
The dusk is heavy, the Qin sky is vast, the howling autumn wind is blowing in front of my face, and my snow-white beard and hair are fluttering wantonly. There are sounds of nonsense, horses are whistling, and the prosperity of Xijing Station cannot take away the trace of sadness on the old face of Zhang Qixian.
An old man who is already sixty-eight years old should not be so frustrated, but looking at the road of frustration ahead, he suddenly realizes that he has no insight into world affairs, and there is still endless sadness and melancholy in his heart.
The reason why Zhang Qixian was dismissed from the prime minister was very simple. At the Mid-Autumn Festival royal banquet, he was drunk and disobeyed, and almost offended the holy bow. He was first punished to shut himself up in self-examination, and within a few days, he was deprived of his post as minister.
Of course, this is what appears on the surface. The fundamental reason is that Emperor Liu Wenpeng has strengthened his influence on the government, and has intensified the exclusion and suppression of these "official ministers" represented by Zhang Qixian.
Compared with King Lu who was deposed and left the capital to return to the country, Zhang Qixian's resignation did not go through too fierce confrontation and struggle, and even seemed to be a matter of course. At the same time, Zhang Qixian's intention to retire may not have been included.
On the one hand, Zhang Qixian himself is already old. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is in his twilight years. It is inevitable that he will not have enough energy. Facing the complicated government affairs and people's hearts inside and outside the court, he is already unable to do what he wants. How can he resist the emperor's attack?
The more important aspect is that Mr. Zhang is tired. In the past four years of assisting the government, Zhang Qixian has worked hard and diligently, but in fact he has only done one thing, and that is to continue Emperor Taizong's "Yong" legacy.
"Xi's Government", amidst the various disputes that were arising within the imperial court, all his decisions and actions were based on this basic stance.
Compared with Li Hang, Lu Mengzheng and others also have some more lofty political ideals and ambitions, Zhang Qixian is more like the last watchman of the "Yongxi regime", maintaining it carefully and supporting it hard. Therefore, in the past four years,
, can be called the "post-Yongxi era".
But now, that situation obviously cannot be maintained. The emperor is Emperor Pingkang, but he wants the empire to maintain the style of the Yongxi era from top to bottom. This is not only embarrassing the emperor, but also embarrassing himself and other rulers.
Class is not realistic and does not conform to "objective laws".
When the remaining persistence in his heart is about to be shattered, let Zhang Qixian occupy the position of prime minister again, not to mention the emperor can't bear it, even Zhang Qixian himself has no intention of staying any longer. And leaving the palace in this way is certainly a bit hurtful.
It saves face, but it may not necessarily be a good ending.
What's more, unlike Lu Wang Liu Ai, Liu Wenpeng still gave him basic dignity and allowed him to serve as an official with the title of Sikong. At the same time, he built a Caoyang Mansion in Zhang Qixian's hometown of Caozhou as his future retirement home. (Zhang Qixian lived in the 14th year of Yongxi reign.
In 2001, he was conferred the title of First Class Cao Yangbo by Emperor Taizong)
No matter what, Zhang Qixian's ending was a little more benevolent. For the first time, Emperor Liu Wenpeng did not follow his temper and unexpectedly gave him the respect of the imperial prime minister.
However, after becoming an official, Zhang Qixian did not return east to Caozhou to recuperate immediately, but chose to go west for two reasons. First, his second son Zhang Zongjie was the magistrate of Yanzhou. Although he was very skillful in suppressing the local area and calming down the unrest,
He also made many achievements during his tenure, but some disturbing behaviors and personal style problems were repeatedly reported before, which made Zhang Qixian, a wise man, look shameless and wanted to see it with his own eyes.
The second is that Zhang Qixian plans to conduct another inspection of the Northwest. Now that he is free from the constraints of the phase, he has time to summarize some issues that have been ignored in the previous political process.
For the Northwest, Emperor Shizu has always paid special attention to it and has been deeply concerned about it. After all, it has been lost to China for two hundred years. After being eroded by barbarian countries such as Tubo and Uighurs, the Han civilization wanted to restore civilization and rebuild its civilization.
It is not difficult to take root, but it is necessary to clear away those issues left over from history, especially some issues hidden under the Sinicization that appear to be compliant with the Han but are actually anti-Han, custom issues, ethnic issues, and religious issues.
Going back forty years, even if we put aside the impact of the Western Expedition, the northwest was the most unstable place in the Han Empire, and it was also the area where the imperial court focused on consolidating its operations. This has been true from Shizu to Taizong, and even now.
The imperial court invested more resources and consumed more national power in the northwest than in Monan, Liaodong, and the southwest.
During this process, many capable ministers and officials emerged in the northwest. No matter how many troubles occurred, how much they were tortured by the court, and what kind of purges were carried out, the nobles and bureaucrats of the "Northwestern Department" were the cohesive force of the empire.
The strongest faction, there was never a shortage of their active presence on the political stage of the Han Empire.
At the same time, the Northwest faction is perhaps the most open and least exclusive faction in the empire, because many nobles and bureaucrats themselves are "outsiders". In the past few decades, political leaders in the Northwest, such as Lu Duoxun and Wang You,
, Wang Ming and others were all from other places in Daozhou.
Over the past few decades, from Daosi on down, there have been too many foreign heroes and talents who, after going through the hardships of the Great Northwest, have been reborn and become the pillars and pillars of the empire.
Zhang Qixian was born in the Northwest faction, and his experience in saving Yulin more than 20 years ago was also the most valuable resource in his political career. In court, Zhang Qixian may not be able to suppress many forces, but among the Northwest faction, at least
In the northwest civil service system, he is also a leader who carries the flag.
Moreover, since the Yulin Rebellion, or to be more precise, since the imperial court completely stopped the Western Expedition, rectified the bad government, and reformed people's livelihood, there has been no major chaos in the northwest for almost twenty years.
Zhang Qixian was both happy and worried about this. He understood the particularity of the northwest region very well. As one of the regions with the most complicated ethnic composition and customs in the empire, there were naturally factors of turmoil and disturbance here.
Zhang Qixian, who had been away from the northwest for many years, had to live in peace and be wary of danger, especially when Emperor Liu Wenpeng was not very reassuring.
This led to his westward journey in his later years. He had been an official for more than 40 years, worked hard for the country and the people all his life, and had long been used to it. It would be impossible for him to grow old silently in his later years until his death.
of.
Zhang Qixian's experience of traveling to the West in his later years was finally written into a book: "Rao Yang Gong's Journey to the West".
From the perspective of later generations, this is not only a record of investigation and travel, but also a book of political insights, involving descriptions of the entire northwest politics, military, economy, culture, and people's livelihood. It also contains a large amount of Zhang Qixian's experience and thinking in governing the country.
, which greatly presents Zhang Qixian's great influence on the politics, military, and economy of the Han Empire during the Yongxi period, especially the late Yongxi period, and also reflects a large number of "Kaibao's prosperity" and "Yongxi's rule", which is of great significance to historians
It is extremely valuable for us to study the "Kaiyong Dynasty"
Back outside Yanxi Post, the only people accompanying Zhang Qixian on his westward journey were five or six child servant guards and his youngest son Zhang Zongxin. There were only two people who came to see him off, the financial envoy Li Hang and the left deputy censor Lu Zongdao. Of course. , as a former Prime Minister, it is not so miserable, but Zhang Qixian left suddenly and deliberately avoided it.
Needless to say, there is no need to say more about Li Hang, the financial envoy. Lu Zongdao was a famous remonstrator in the court. He was known as the "little king Yucheng". Because he was outspoken and dared to remonstrate, and he was clear about the law and strict rules, he offended many people. Zhang Qixian was considered his mentor. , and there are many safeguards in the court.
"Brother Taichu, I have become a deserter. I am ashamed of my late emperor. I am ashamed of myself. From now on, I will rely on my brother more for matters in the court. I hope you will act with caution and take good care of it!" Putting away the sad look on the old face, Zhang Qixian said to him Li Hang, who also had gray hair and was dressed in regular clothes, bowed his hands and said solemnly.
Li Hang still had the same elegant demeanor. Even though his hair was gray, he was still calm and unmoving. Sensing Zhang Qixian's complicated mood, he returned the gift with his hands and responded calmly: "Brother Shi Liang said something serious! I have also suffered. The ancestors of the two generations of Emperor Taizong have been so kind to us. I will not change my ambition. I will only devote myself to death and die. That’s all.”
"Brother Taichu is so magnificent, I am not as good as me!" Zhang Qixian smiled ashamedly after hearing his words.
After saying that, he turned to look at Lu Zongdao, who had a rigid expression even when seeing him off. He thought for a moment, raised his finger and said: "Guanzhi, you are upright and dare to speak out, and hate Shao Rong. The court needs a loyal and upright person like you, but it lacks some flexibility. .I only hope that you can be more flexible when encountering difficulties in the future, so that it can last long!"
Facing Zhang Qixian's warning, Lu Zongdao's expression relaxed a little, and he smiled heartily, but his words were still as straightforward: "You know, Lu Zongdao gives advice, does not speak ill of lies, does not deceive the emperor, does everything justice, and is pragmatic and seeking justice. If If you give advice in vain, or if you are afraid and dare not speak out, you will be a dim-witted person. It is better to resign and go back to your hometown to teach.
What's more, the emperor is not as wise and powerful as his ancestors, and he needs loyal words and advice. If we and other ministers don't speak up, won't we let the villain succeed?"
Lu Zongdao was obviously the kind of person who never looked back until he hit the wall. Seeing his complacent and stern face, Zhang Qixian couldn't help but tell him about his philosophy of politics and life. Forced teaching might even hurt teachers and students. friendship.
"treasure!"
Finally, this quiet farewell ended with an affectionate farewell. The three of them were all well-educated people, but Zhang Qixian left without breaking willows or reciting poems. He had been away from him for nearly twenty years. Gyeonggi Province.
However, when he boarded the carriage shaft, Zhang Qixian still couldn't help but look back. As far as the eye could see, Xijing was majestic and Qianyuan was towering. As he was about to leave, the old husband was still thinking about the temple and the emperor. At the same time, in his blurred eyes, It also contains a hint of concern about the future of the empire.
Zhang Qixian was obviously not so reassured about Emperor Liu Wenpeng, let alone the word "confidence". But no matter what, without that position, the influence he could exert on the Han Empire was minimal.
I can only pray silently that the emperor can make changes after taking office, be less troublesome, and not destroy the foundation that the two generations of emperors Shizu and Taizong worked hard to build.