In "Water Margin", there is a prince in front of the imperial court (a senior official in charge of the military) Gao Qiu. This is a disgusting villain. He forced the 800,000-strong Forbidden Army instructor Wang Jin. He left his hometown and left Lin Chong, another 800,000-strong Forbidden Army instructor, with his family and family destroyed. He often used cunning schemes to oppose Liangshan heroes, and finally framed Song Jiang and others. Gao Qiu actually existed in history, but there is no clear record of this person in history books. Wang Ming and Qing Dynasty of the Southern Song Dynasty wrote in the "Records of Hui Pian Hou" that "Gao Qiu wrote a short history of Mr. Dongpo, and his writings are very good. Dongpo came from Hanyuan to lead Zhongshan and left it to Zeng Wensu. Wensu had written many words about it in the historical order. Dongpo belonged to Wang Jinqing. "In Water Margin, Gao Qiu was Xiao Su's scholar. Wang Mingqing of the Southern Song Dynasty thought that Xiao Su was Su Shi, which was a misunderstanding.
It can be seen that Gao Qiu was originally Su Shi's little history (that is, a role like a little secretary, said to be a book boy in "Water Margin"). He was a well-behaved person and was good at copying and writing. In the eighth year of Yuanyou (1093), Su Shi was transferred from Hanlin Academy to Zhongshan Prefecture and gave Gao Qiu to Zeng Bu. Although Su and Zeng Bu belonged to the old and new sects, they had some contacts during the Yuanyou period. And there is still a certain amount of friendship. According to research by some scholars, the maternal grandfather of Wang Mingqing, the author of "Hui Pian Lu", was Zeng Yu, and Zeng Yu was Zeng Bu's son. The events that he recorded about the Zeng family should be trustworthy. But Zeng Bu declined Su Shi's kindness. So Su Shi recommended Gao Qiu to his friend Wang Shen (also known as Wang Jinqing), the Taiwei of Xiaowangdu, so Gao Qiu returned to Tokyo (today's Kaifeng, Henan).
How did Gao Qiu, who came from a humble background, rise to the top? What is the reason for his prosperity? It is said in "Water Margin" that he later met a noble man. The young prince Du Taiwei made good friends with his nephew Duan Wang. The small prince Du Taiwei sent Gao Qiu to deliver gifts to Prince Duan's palace, and thus he got acquainted with Prince Duan (later Huizong). , was attracted by King Duan, and stayed with King Duan from then on. This statement is well founded.
Wang Shen was the brother-in-law of Shenzong of the Song Dynasty and the uncle of King Duan (Huizong). The "History of the Song Dynasty" said that although Wang Shen was a dignified prince-in-law, he was a attractor of bees and butterflies and neglected Shu. The princess. The princess later died of depression, and Shenzong was so angry that he demoted Wang Shen immediately after the princess was buried. However, Wang Shen was a good calligrapher. When Huizong was in his residence, he often discussed with him and had a good relationship with him. In the third year of Yuanfu (1100), Gao Qiu's life took a major turning point because of an accident, which was his acquaintance with Duan Wang Zhao Ji. "Records of the Huiqu Hou" says that Wang Shen and Zhao Ji met while waiting to go to court. Zhao Ji forgot to bring his grate knife, so he borrowed one from Wang Shen and repaired his temples. After using it, Zhao Ji said to Wang Shen: "The style of this grate knife is very novel and cute." Wang Shen replied: "I have made two recently, and one is unused. I will send someone to deliver it to you later." In the evening, Wang Shen sent Gao Qiu to Prince Duan's Mansion to deliver the grate knife. By chance, Zhao Ji was playing football in the garden, and Gao Qiu stood aside and watched, showing disapproval. Perhaps Zhao Ji noticed the boy's expression and asked, "Can you also kick?" Gao Ji, who was young and energetic, replied that he could. So the two kicked each other, and Gao Qiu used all his skills to kick the ball until it was as if the swim bladder was glued to his body, which was very suitable to Zhao Ji's taste. Zhao Ji was overjoyed and immediately sent a message to Wang Shen: "Thank you for the grizzly knife you gave me. I will accept it together with the person you sent." Gao Jiu then became a confidant of King Duan Zhao Ji.
Even more coincidentally, Emperor Song Zhezong died soon after, and King Duan was fortunate enough to be selected by the Queen Mother to succeed him, becoming the Emperor of the Song Dynasty. And Gao Qiu, an "old minister" who caught the last train to the late Qing Dynasty, also had good luck. He suddenly jumped from a playmate of an idle prince to the officialdom of the Song Dynasty. And he rose rapidly in the officialdom.
The Song Dynasty adopted the policy of "promoting civility and suppressing military power" in the official promotion system. However, this was for power and prestige. The salary and grade of military ministers were actually not low. But since civil servants have the upper hand, the requirements for them are much higher than those for military ministers. In the Song Dynasty, civil servants serving as county magistrates and above basically had the qualification of Jinshi from the third examination. For idlers like Gao Qiu, it was unrealistic to squeeze into the circle of civil servants. The military minister system is relatively low-ranking and has little power, but the qualifications of employees are relatively low, and the flexibility of promotion is also large. For people like Gao Qiu, it is obviously a shortcut to enter the official career.
However, the appointment of military attachés in the Song Dynasty also had a system. Without merit, one could not be the chief of the three yamen. Huizong took great pains to promote Gao Qiu. He first sent Gao Qiu to the grassroots level and entrusted him to Liu Zhongwu, the general who guarded the border. This was used to "gild" Gao Qiu and lay the foundation for future promotions.
The "Biography of Liu Qi" in Volume 1 of "The Biography of Ten Generals of Southern Crossing in the Song Dynasty" says: First, Gao Qiu became an official of King Duan's residence and ascended the throne, hoping to promote him. According to the old method, if there is no side merit, it cannot be three yamen. At that time (Liu) Zhongwu was the commander-in-chief of the frontier, and Qiu was subordinate to him, and Qiu competed with him to become the commander-in-chief of the palace. ”
What kind of border service did Gao Qiu perform? There is no historical record, but Liu Zhongwu commanded it well and won a great victory in the rebellion of the Song Dynasty by Tubo Zhao Huaide and others in about October of the third year of Chongning (1104). Zhao Huaide and others surrendered again. Some scholars believe that Gao Qiu may have also participated in the above battle at that time. In the second year of Daguan (1108), Tong Guan and Liu Zhongwu achieved another major victory in the west. They successfully recruited the Qiang prince Zang Zhengpu Ge. The Jishi Army was recovered. Huizong was very happy about this. He personally received Liu Zhongwu, was very kind to him, and appointed Zhongwu's nine sons as officials. Judging from Huizong's performance, he thought this was a great victory. , Gao Qiu may also have participated in the battle. "Huizhi Houlu" says that Gao Qiu "built festivals for several years, followed the ministers, and traveled through the three yamen for twenty years. "The capital for Gao Qiu's promotion was probably due to his experience in Liu Zhongwu's army, and Liu Zhongwu knew Huizong's purpose of entrusting Gao Qiu to him, and he might also expand Gao Qiu's achievements and make a favor. This is what Gao Qiu and Liu will do from now on. This can be seen from the close relationship between the Zhongwu family. Liu Zhongwu was defeated in Zhenghe for five years, but his career was not affected. Gao Qiu spoke well for him in the court, and Gao Qiu strongly recommended him to Huizong after Liu Zhongwu's death. His son Liu Qi served as a general.
The rebellion of Zhao Huaide to the Song Dynasty was actually a large-scale counterattack by the Western Xia and the local forces of the Qing and Tang Dynasties against the occupation of the Qing and Tang Dynasty by the Northern Song Dynasty. It took place in the beginning of the fourth year of Chongning. He was neither a commander nor a creditor in the incident. Instead, he was guilty of the crime! Lieutenant General Yu Gao Yongnian not only failed to stabilize his troops and continue the rescue mission, but instead fled all the way back to Xining and watched the siege of Xuanwei City. It took two other generals to lead the troops to relieve the siege of Xuanwei City. Liu Zhongwu was also imprisoned in Qinzhou Prison. According to the records of "Ten Dynasties Changbian", Liu Zhongwu would have been sentenced to at least exile, but because of bribery of Tong Guan, instead of being exiled, he took the position of his former boss Gao Yongnian. The record of Gao Qiu's four years in Chongning is that he accompanied Lin Yu as an envoy to the Liao Kingdom. At this time, Gao Qiu and Liu Zhongwu should not have been on the line.
In the second year of Daguan, Jishi was restored. In the battle to capture Zang Pu Zheng Ge alive, Tong Guan took charge of the overall situation, and the temporary military commander was Liu Fa. The original task assigned to Liu Zhongwu was to block Zang Pu Zheng Ge's retreat, but Liu Zhongwu took advantage of the victories of other armies. He took the risk of sending his eldest son Liu Xi into Xige City to persuade Brother Zang Puzheng to surrender, and he succeeded. In fact, he was using his son's life to gain his wealth. Afterwards, Tong Guan probably thought that Liu Zhongwu was stealing credit, so he Liu Zhongwu's contribution was not particularly emphasized. However, Liu Zhongwu's contribution was demonstrated during the Zhenghe period, when Huizong allowed Qiyin to supplement one person. From this perspective, the relationship between Liu Zhongwu and Gao Qiu should be during the Zhenghe period.
In the fifth year of Zhenghe, Liu Zhongwu led an army of 100,000 to attack Zangdihe City in Xixia and returned with a great defeat. In the words of "Song History·Xia Guo Zhuan", it was "Qin Fengdi". "Three generals and ten thousand people died." The history of the Song Dynasty probably brought Wang Hou to accompany him and tied him up because of the honor's taboo, saying that Wang Hou bribed Tong Guan. However, according to the epitaph part of "Jianchang Local Chronicles", Wang Hou He was buried in the first year of Daguan. How could a man who had been dead for eight years lead troops to fight with Liu Zhongwu? So if there was any bribery, it was probably Liu Zhongwu who also helped. Maybe Gao Qiu was the supervisor of this battle.
Some people think that if Gao Qiu was favored by the emperor and rose to prominence just because of his good kicks, this would be an underestimation of Gao Qiu. . Gao Qiu was not an ordinary person. He still had some tricks to gain power for officials, so he could stay in a high position for ten years. First of all, he was well-behaved and sycophantic. He tried every means to please his superiors, especially Emperor Huizong, and catered to Huizong's great talents and good reputation. The psychology of greed for merit. Gao Qiu managed the Forbidden Army and played a lot of tricks on military training, as recorded in Meng Yuanlao's "Tokyo Menghua Lu". The army bidding competition presided over by Gao Qiu began with "four colorful boats lined up horizontally, with various military dramas on them, such as big flags, lions and leopards, sabers, wild cards, gods and ghosts, dramas, etc. Two more boats were lined up, and everyone enjoyed it. Department." Before the bid competition, there was a lot of blowing and fighting, and various tricks such as "Xuanluo", "Haiyan" and "Jiaotou" were also played in the subsequent bid competition, which was quite lively. Huizong was very satisfied with it.
At the same time, this person has another advantage: he never forgets to repay his old friends who have been kind to him. In addition to maintaining a close relationship with Liu Zhongwu's family, he also took great care of his original owner, Su Shi's family. Some unofficial histories record that he "did not forget the Su family, and provided generous support to his children every time they entered the capital." Therefore, these actions of his were also praised by some people in the court.
However, Gao Qiu was very greedy. Some scholars pointed out that during the Jingkang period, the political situation changed, and some ministers wrote a letter exposing Gao Qiu's crimes of relying on favors for personal gain. "Jingkang Yaolu" records: "On May 20th of the first year of Jingkang," officials wrote, I would like to note: Gao Qiu... was in charge of military affairs, and invaded military camps, used them to expand his private territory, and occupied most of the imperial army to serve at full capacity. . Most of the people they occupied were skilled craftsmen, who were used both for private service and as military companions. Soldiers who can contribute money to support military craftsmen will be exempted from school review. Any private construction of bricks, tiles, mud, etc. will be done by all the troops in the military camp. There is no time to give, and there are too many arrogances. It is impossible to survive and often does not start other businesses. Even though the army was banned, they all tried their best to survive in order to live and feed themselves, and abolished schooling and reading, and did not care about their pity. Those who provide money are not allowed to teach, and those who have no money are making a living and abandoning teaching. Therefore, in the urgent situation the day before yesterday, people did not know the soldiers and had no one to use. The imperial court could not help but succumb to the barbarians, which was actually due to selfish interests. ". Gao Qiu built private residences on the land of the general camp, and that's not all. He also treated the Forbidden Army as private servants, regardless of training, and dedicated themselves to his private efforts. If you don't have craftsmanship, you can only spend money to hire craftsmen. If you have money If you don't have money, you can avoid training; if you don't have money, you can only find a job to make money, and you can't practice. Therefore, the army has "lax discipline" and "military affairs are not repaired", and it has become a useless device. , Even when the country was in crisis and faced with the attack of the Jin Army by the tiger and wolf army, the hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops in Kaifeng City quickly collapsed. The crime was unforgivable.
In the first year of Jingkang, Huizong learned that the Jin Army had passed. After crossing the Yellow River, he fled to the southeast in a hurry overnight. "Jingkang Yaolu" records that Huizong fled south to Sizhou. Tong Guan and Gao Qiu each led a number of victorious soldiers and forbidden troops to join him, and for a time they formed another group. A small group of Huizong's cronies. However, Huizong's favorites were jealous of each other and fought against each other. Soon after arriving in Sizhou, Tong Guan had a conflict with Gao Qiu. Huai is like Huai Yang. Gao Qiu left Sishang with three thousand imperial guards to control Huaijin. "Tong Guan's troops continued southward with Huizong and others, leaving Gao Qiu in Sizhou, named "Control Huaijin". Gao Qiu then returned to Kaifeng on the grounds of illness. History books say that Tong Qiu, who was accompanying the emperor at that time, Guan and Liang Shicheng's group were all killed together, Tong Guan was executed and his head was taken to Kaifeng, and Cai You was also executed by Qinzong's order precisely because Gao Qiu left Jiangnan in advance and did not participate in the Huizong Group and Qinzong at that time. The struggle of the group gave him a much luckier end than Tong Guan, Cai You and others. Evil people may not all be rewarded, which can be regarded as a regret left by history.
Evaluation
When Jin Shengtan reviewed "Water Margin", he once said: "If you don't write about Gao Qiu, just write about one hundred and eight people, it is a random act; if you don't write about one hundred and eight people, you first write about it." Writing about Gao Qiu is just messing up things from above." Jin Shengtan is indeed a talented man. These words are profound and thought-provoking. Gao Qiu in the TV series
Gao Qiu, the book said that he "kicked He got good foot balloons." He also "played songs and dances, speared and wielded sticks, sumo wrestling and juggling; he also randomly studied poetry, calligraphy, Ci, and Fu." From this point of view, he was quite a well-rounded character. "When it comes to benevolence , righteousness, propriety, wisdom, faith, conduct, loyalty and kindness, but they cannot. "That's okay. They say, "Men are not bad, but women are not loving." If a young male like this is knowledgeable in all aspects, "restrained" in morality, and good at football, if he were born in modern times, he might Become the Prince Charming in the eyes of girls. If things turn out differently, he can lead the Chinese team to win the World Cup in one fell swoop. But he happened to be born in the Song Dynasty, and he unexpectedly became the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace. He was able to play a clown.
At first, he was not popular in Tokyo, just accompanying other young men, running red lights, fighting cocks and playing horses, and wandering around in a romantic way. Later, he was sent out of the society and had to go to Huai. Xiliu Dalang settled down. Three years later, Emperor Zhezong granted pardon to the world, and he also wanted to go home, so Liu Dalang sent a letter to Dong Jiangshi's house in Tokyo. Dong Jiangshi saw that he was a poor man and was afraid that staying at home would spoil his children. , and sent another letter to Xiao Su, who had the same consideration. At this time, Gao Qiu also sent a letter to Xiao Wang Du Taiwei. Like a ball, he was passed around and his life was not easy.
But he deserved to be successful.
One day, Xiao Wangdu Taiwei sent him to deliver something to King Duan, who happened to be playing football. As soon as this bastard saw the round thing, he was eager to show off, so he stepped forward and kicked it. This kick sent the ball to the feet of King Duan, which actually kicked him into the ruling group. Later, Song Jiang and others also planned to "go to the side court to win a wife and a shadowy son with a sword and a gun." But Gao Qiu decided the world with just one kick. The charm of football can be seen here.
The road after that was very smooth. Zhezong died and King Duan ascended the throne as Huizong. Within half a year, Gao Qiu became the Taiwei of the Palace Commander's Mansion. As the saying goes, "When a person attains enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." When the idiot became the emperor, he also granted official positions to the steamed buns below, and they were all high officials. Gao Qiu, who could only be a football coach at best, suddenly became the "Chairman of the Military Commission" and quickly followed others.
However, steamed buns are steamed buns after all. Maybe you are lucky for a while, relying on your own flattery and the master's reward, you can get unlimited glory and wealth. However, the knowledge in the belly and the skills in the body cannot be shown by a few flattery. A guy like Gao Qiu can still look good when he receives awards and autographs from the officers and soldiers of the armed forces; but when it comes time for a donkey or a horse to ride around, the bastard nature in his bones is fully exposed. Later, he organized an army and went to Liangshan several times, but never succeeded, and he wasted a lot of money and food. The last time, he took charge of the expedition himself and led the ten military governors to attack together. However, it was like playing a monkey. After only three battles, he was killed by Song Jiang and was captured by Zhang Shun and taken up the mountain. If Song Jiang hadn't been so eager to recruit him and let him go, Captain Gao's head would really have been kicked by the heroes.
For a person like this, he may not be able to do good things if he does good things; but he can definitely do bad things if he does bad things. You see, when he took office, he neither rectified military discipline nor inspected the troops. The first thing he did was He repaired Wang Jin, who had a problem with him. A few years later, because his godson Gao Yanei was young and restless, he fell in love with Lin Chong's wife, so he tried his best to force this honest man who always tolerated his anger to rebel. Later, Yang Zhi was forced to live on the streets with no place to stay. The reason why Liang Shanshuibo was able to gather such a group of tigers and wolves was that Gao Taiwei had made an indelible contribution.
This is not the first time, nor the last time, that such a comedy has been staged in Chinese history. When God creates a leader, he never forgets to create a few more villains and put them next to him to chat with him and sing his praises. So, Huang Hao appeared next to Adou, and He Shen came next to Qianlong. Even Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, who was known as the Ming Emperor in the world, while appointing Yao Chong as his prime minister, he also kept Li Linfu by his side and told dirty jokes from time to time to relieve his boredom.
The situation of Song Huizong was more complicated than the above. Before he ascended the throne, he was a man who did not care about political affairs. He spent all his time playing chess, calligraphy and painting, and playing bamboo and silk. Compared with Gao Qiu, he is a truly charming man. He is not only good at playing football, but also has culture and content. His love story is unparalleled in ancient times and modern times. Coupled with his naturally handsome face and his wealth and splendor, he would definitely fall in love now. If he had honestly been his writer, artist or love saint, he might still have left a lot of good stories in the history books, but who would have thought that his precious brother Zhe Zong was busy going west without even giving birth to a prince? . The ministers discussed and discussed, and finally pushed the happy monkey up.
It is conceivable that before this, few ministers must have visited his Prince Duan Mansion. They are all busy trying to fawn over the emperor, who has time to greet this playboy? So, when his butt just touched the throne, he felt very nervous when he faced the unfamiliar faces at the foot of the stairs. . On the surface, these bastards were shouting, "Long Live the Mountain", but what were they thinking in their hearts? God knows! He couldn't help but feel a sense of loneliness.
One day, when he came back from the court, he met Gao Qiu. He looked carefully and felt that his figure and appearance were perfect materials for becoming a loyal minister! And in Gao Qiu's view, Huizong might as well be a good material for becoming a saint? With the appearance of these clowns, the Northern Song Dynasty The pace of the dynasty's demise has greatly accelerated.
Gao Qiu, formerly known as Gao Qiu, was originally a rogue and street gangster in Tokyo. Even his father could not tolerate him, so he couldn't bear it and went to the government to file a complaint against him. As a result, Gao Qiu was "cut off". Twenty-spine staffs were obtained, and they were distributed out of bounds one after another." Later, Gao Qiu went to Huaixi to seek refuge with Liu Shiquan, an idle man who ran a gambling house.
Unexpectedly, Liu Shiquan did not want to take in this scoundrel for a long time. Recommended by Liu Shiquan, Gao Qiu returned to Tokyo and joined the drug dealer Dong Jiangshi.
General Dong was unwilling to take him in, so he sent him to seek refuge with Xuexian Xiaosu, who in turn recommended him to the Taiwei of Xiaowangdu. This time, Gao Qiu finally found a close friend, and Xiao Wang Du Taiwei actually treated him "like a family member." Soon, Prince Duan, the younger brother of Prince Du Taiwei, took a fancy to Gao Qiu. Since Gao Qiu defected to the prince of Xiaowangdu, he actually had an opportunity to make a fortune. Although Gao Qiu was still a helper at this time, he had climbed up the high branches invisibly, and it was only a matter of time before he rose to prominence. The author of "Water Margin" ingeniously added the word "小" in front of Taiwei of the Royal Capital and his uncle King Duan, indicating that any villain who is deeply hated by the common people will naturally be appreciated by villains. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. Group points.
That brother-in-law Duan Wang was none other than Emperor Huizong who later came to the throne. Huizong was a football fan, and it so happened that playing football was Gao Qiu's specialty, so people in Tokyo called him "Gao Qiu." Of course, just playing well is not enough. Gao Qiu has other abilities. Let’s take a look at his performance when he first met Huizong: he first used a "mandarin duck crutch" to kick the ball back to Huizong, which happened to be at his feet. Huizong was amazed by this move; then, when answering Huizong's question, he quickly "kneel forward" "Down", and then "kneeling down with hands folded", and "bowing down" and "bowing down again", which is extremely respectful. When Huizong asked him to play football, he "kowtowed to apologize" and "used all his skills in his life to flatter King Duan."
Besides, Emperor Huizong was naturally very happy to meet a close friend like Gao Zhuan. After he ascended the throne, he promoted Gao Zhuan to the rank of Grand Lieutenant of the palace commander's office within half a year. When Gao Zhu became successful, he changed "毬" to "俅". Perhaps he felt that the word "Mao" next to the word "Mao" looked like a beast, so he changed it to Shanliren, which made him look like a human being.
When a villain succeeds, the first thing he does is to avenge his private revenge. Gao Qiu discovered that Wang Jin, the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards in Tokyo, was under his charge, and Wang Jin's father had beaten Gao Qiu. Therefore, Gao Qiu wanted to take revenge on Wang Jin, causing the highly skilled instructor Wang to run away with his mother overnight. At that time, the Song Dynasty was plagued by frequent border troubles, and it was the time to recruit people. However, Wang Jin, a useful talent for the country, was forced to have no other choice. It would be strange if the Northern Song Dynasty did not perish and Huizong was not captured alive by the Jin army!
"Water Margin" begins with the story of the rise of a scoundrel, Gao Qiu, and does not mention the Liangshan hero as the protagonist of the book. The implication is very clear: the country is in turmoil and the people are in dire straits. Until the government forces the people to rebel, the crime lies. The emperor and the corrupt officials he favored. When a large number of people across the country read "Water Margin" in the 1970s, people thought that "Water Margin" "only fights against corrupt officials, not the emperor", but this is not the case. In the imperial era, Shi Naian had no choice but to use a curved pen. Just imagine, who is appreciating and reusing Gao Qiu, Tong Guan, Cai Jing, Yang Jian and others? Without a foolish king, how could there be treacherous ministers?