We often say: "The merits and demerits of right and wrong will be judged by future generations." Why leave it to future generations to comment? Don’t contemporary people know more clearly and be closer to the historical truth? No, you don’t know the true face of Mount Lu, just because you are in this mountain. How can contemporary people living in Mount Lu know all the face of Mount Lu?
Time can indeed explain the problem. Those who can still be praised after thousands of years have their own immortality. Speaking of ancient history, it is indeed a bit strange. Our country has a tradition of attaching importance to history since ancient times. In "Zuo Zhuan", there is a saying that "the history of the left records events and the history of the right records the words"; Wen Tianxiang's "Song of Zhengqi" mentioned that in Taishi of Qi Jane, in Jin Dynasty Dong Hubi. , and Taishi Gong's spirit of writing straight and straight without concealing evil or false beauty is even more admired by future generations. Following Tai Shigong's "Historical Records", there are so many historical records in our country, including the so-called "Twenty-Four Histories".
However, the real characters passed down from generation to generation are not recorded in historical books, but passed down orally. For example, Bao Gong and Guan Gong are recorded in the "History of the Song Dynasty". Bao Gong only broke the law in his life. A "Niu Tongue Case", he is an honest official, but among the people, people say that he is amazing, not afraid of the powerful, upright and honest. Speaking of Guan Gong, he is proud and arrogant, and it seems that few people in the world can understand him. However, it is because of his loyalty to Liu Bei that the common people hold him to the highest position. Regardless of good guys or bad guys, people from all walks of life worship him, as if he has become the supreme good and omniscient "god".
Zuo Zhuan of Spring and Autumn Period_Picture
To put it bluntly, ancient history discusses heroes based on morality. In "Zuo Zhuan", there are three theories of immortality: establishing virtue, establishing meritorious service, and establishing words. Morality comes first, and performance comes second. Is this correct and reasonable? This is like a sword with two edges. On the one hand, it can make those who are unscrupulous and pursuing fame and wealth have some scruples and restraint. For example, Wu Qi "Killed his wife to seek general", "Mother died and never returned", many of which will happen in later generations. Ziyi said that although he had extremely high military talents and made great achievements in reforming the Chu State, he was not recognized by later generations.
On the other hand, it also hinders the development of history. It should be noted that in extraordinary times, extraordinary people will do extraordinary things. If they are restricted by morality, nothing will happen. This has also resulted in the attitude of inaction of some people who only seek to be morally sound and not to achieve success. As long as someone does something, it will be tolerated by the world. For example, Shang Yang's reform was a great move that followed the trend of history. If it were not In this way, how can society develop forward and civilization progress? However, there has been a lot of criticism of Shang Yang in the past dynasties. Even Tai Shigong simply said that he was "naturally mean and unkind" when he evaluated him. This may not be convincing to the public, right?
Zhang Juzheng (1525-July 9, 1582)_Picture
Such incidents have occurred throughout history. We might as well go back to the Ming Dynasty and select two people to talk about them in detail. In the Ming Dynasty, especially in the middle and late period, Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui were famous and well-known. One was the powerful chief minister of the cabinet, and the other was an upright and honest official. However, it seems that Hai Rui was more famous than Zhang Juzheng in history books and among the people.
Speaking of Zhang Juzheng, some people say that there are three real politicians in the history of our country, one is Zhuge Liang, one is Wang Anshi, and the other is him. However, Zhuge Liang is loyal to the Shu Han regime and lives in a corner. The influence was limited; Wang Anshi's reform encountered too much resistance and was ultimately stillborn; only Zhang Juzheng's reform was more thorough and comprehensive.
We often say that knowing people and judging the world, to talk about Zhang Juzheng, we have to explain the history of the middle and late dynasties. Zhang Juzheng went through the Jiajing, Longqing, and Wanli dynasties in his life. Emperor Jiajing, as soon as he came to the throne, started a "Great Etiquette Controversy" with the entire civil servant group. He was very assertive and dealt with the treacherous villain favored by Emperor Zhengde.
Who would have expected that he later favored Yan Song and fled to Xiyuan to seek immortality and seek immortality. He even tried to refine the elixir of immortality, which led to the Renyin Palace Incident and almost killed him. He ignored the government affairs, causing Yan Song to seize power and fight against dissenters. In addition, the Northern Captives The troubles of the Southern Japanese, constant natural disasters, and heavy taxes made it difficult for the people to make a living. Originally, the entire government and the public were in chaos due to Emperor Zhengde's debauchery. Now, at the time of the ZTE, unexpectedly, the situation was worsened.
Emperor Zhu Houcong of Jiajing (September 16, 1507 - January 23, 1567)_Picture
Jiajing Yan came to the throne and Longqing ascended the throne. This was another opportunity for resurgence, but Longqing Perhaps when his father was in power, the emperor was trembling, walking on thin ice, and suppressed himself too much. Therefore, as soon as he ascended to the throne, he began to indulge himself and indulged in the land of gentleness. He lived and died in dreams. It should be noted that the land of gentleness was a tomb of heroes, so he died in just six years. . At this time, the Ming Dynasty was already facing a chronic disease common to all dynasties - land annexation, and it was extremely serious. If the bones were not scraped to cure the poison, death would be certain.
When the country was in crisis, Zhang Juzheng came into being at this time. It is no exaggeration to say that he was able to turn the tide and help the building before it collapsed. ?, it cracked down on the powerful, carried out tax cessation, inhibited land annexation, and increased the national finance; promoted the one-whip law to avoid excessive collection of various excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes; reformed the military, boldly appointed capable generals, and strengthened the army's combat effectiveness; strictly implemented the test The Wanli New Deal has achieved a series of remarkable results, and the country's economy has significantly recovered and developed. However, he also pushed himself to the forefront and offended too many people. The use of talents and the appointment of Xun officials offended the Qingliu; the attack on the powerful offended the powerful; the monopoly of power made the emperor feel like a thorn in his back, which laid the foundation for his liquidation after his death.
History is like this. Those who do great things and become great people always end up unlucky. Wu Qi made a reform and was killed by random arrows; Shang Yang made a reform and was torn apart by a chariot? Every time it is mentioned, it makes people sigh!
Hai Rui (January 22, 1514 - November 13, 1587), courtesy name Ruxian_Pi
Let’s talk about Hai Rui, who was born in Hainan Island. He is a true water town Zeguo, but he does not have the frailty of the southerners. Instead, he behaves extremely upright. When faced with the inspection of his superiors, he cannot kneel down and bow down, so he is known as "Hai Bi Jia"; He was weak. When he was the magistrate of Chun'an County, he dared to offend Hu Zongxian, who was the governor. He only had two kilograms of pork for his mother's birthday. His reputation for integrity and uprightness had long been known to both the government and the public. Because he was extremely strict with his subordinates and did not cater to his superiors, his subordinates requested to be transferred to other places one after another. Every time his superiors inspected his area, they bypassed his area of ??jurisdiction. All officials were unwilling to deal with him and only asked him to be promoted and transferred elsewhere. So he was promoted very quickly without paying bribes.
Later, he was appointed as the head of the household department. After preparing the coffin, he wrote to Emperor Jiajing with harsh words and pointed out his fault. Long Yan was furious and sent him to prison. After he was released, he served as a local magistrate, cracked down on powerful people, and forced Xu Jie, the chief minister, to quit his farmland. After his death, his family was left destitute and not much money was left, so everyone had to raise money to bury him. After his death, his story was widely spread among the people.
Officials of the Ming Dynasty_Pictures
We might as well compare the two. Hai Rui belongs to the Qing Dynasty and is praised for his morality; Zhang Juzheng attaches great importance to merit and hard work. It’s not that morals are bad, it’s just that people with high moral standards may not be good at politics. Looking at Hai Ruizhi’s experience as an official, except for his integrity and fighting against powerful men, his political achievements are almost lackluster. He even has some scholarly business ideas and has an obvious idea of ??robbing the rich and giving to the poor. . During Zhang Juzheng's reign, he never used Hai Rui because although his morals were noble, he might not be successful if he was asked to do specific practical things. And the reason why the imperial court used him was just to decorate the facade! Otherwise, how could the common people endure the dynasty's corruption? It is not easy to find an upright official, and the people still have hope in the court.
It goes without saying that Hai Rui’s morality is a deterrent to officials who break the law. However, being in charge of government is not just about having high moral standards. You also need to be aware of the overall situation and cannot blindly follow the rules. Being strong and jealous of evil, you have to be devious when you need to be devious. The most difficult thing is not to stay clean and upright, but to have the courage to self-sacrifice, that is, to sacrifice your own reputation and even dignity. Sometimes being burdened by fame will hinder you everywhere. It is difficult to move even an inch. From this perspective, Zhang Juzheng is obviously a true politician, courageous in taking charge of affairs, not afraid of rumors, and attaches great importance to hard work. In history, those who value hard work often do not end well. On the contrary, those who have high moral standards but are still talkative are sought after throughout the ages.
Zhang Juzheng’s calligraphy_Picture
But we seem to have overlooked the fact that we always associate upright officials with capable officials, as if those with high moral standards are also very capable. As long as you You have high morals and average abilities, and some things will be added to you out of necessity. In short, good people are good in all aspects, and bad people are bad in all aspects. Just imagine, could this work? What will this lead to? This will only lead to officials talking more than taking action, because those who really make a difference and dare to do things often have no good ideas. These people pride themselves on being honest. They usually stand up and talk about their hearts, and die in danger to repay the king. In addition to being praised by others, , After sighing with emotion, it didn't help. This is probably the reason why so many officials "exerted themselves" in the face of the invasion of foreign powers in Wanqing Dynasty!