On August 2 (September 5), the second year of Duangong's reign (989), Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan was born in Gaojiazhuang, Changshan, Zhending (now Gaoping Village, Quyangqiao Town, Zhengding County, Hebei Province). On the 100th day, he went with his family to Wuxi Wangting (now Suzhou City). His father, Fan Yong, went to Xuzhou in the early years of Duangong's reign (988) to serve as Secretary of the Wuning Army Jieduzhang (secretary to Xuzhou's military commander). He died of illness in 990 AD. Xie was poor and helpless, so she remarried Zhu Wenhan of Henan Village, Changshan County, Zizhou, Shandong (now Fan Gong Village, Changshan Town, Zouping County) with her two-year-old Fan Zhongyan in her arms. Fan Zhongyan also changed his surname to Zhu Shuo and grew up in Zhu's family. Fan Zhongyan has been studying very hard since he was a child. The Zhu family is a wealthy family in Changshan, but for inspiration, he often goes to Liquan Temple in nearby Changbai Mountain to stay and study. Morning and evening, he would read and recite satires, which left a deep impression on the monks. At that time, his life was extremely difficult. He only cooked a bowl of thick porridge every day, cut it into four pieces after it cooled, took two pieces in the morning and evening, mixed with a few pickles, mixed with vinegar sauce, and continued reading after eating. Later generations had the reputation of Duan Yu painting porridge, but he didn't mind this kind of poor life, and spent all his energy to find his own fun in books. After nearly three years of this, the books in Changshan Township could no longer meet his needs. An accidental incident exposed the secret of Fan Zhongyan's family background. He discovered that he was originally the son of Wangting's Fan family, and he had been relying on his stepfather's care over the years. This incident deeply stimulated and shocked Fan Zhongyan. Feeling guilty and angry, he decided to leave the Zhu family and establish his own family. After he established a successful career in the future, he would take his mother back to raise him. So he hurriedly packed a few simple clothes, put on his piano and sword, and despite the obstruction of the Zhu family and his mother, he shed tears and resolutely bid farewell to his mother, left Changshan, and went to study on foot. In the fourth year of Zhenzong's Dazhong Xiangfu reign (1011), 23-year-old Fan Zhongyan came to Suiyang Yingtianfu Academy (the former site is in Suiyang District, Shangqiu City, Henan Province today). Yingtianfu Academy is one of the four famous academies in the Song Dynasty. It has 150 school buildings and thousands of volumes of books. In 1043, Song Renzong decreed that Yingtianfu Academy be changed into Nanjing Imperial College, which became the highest academic institution in the country during the Northern Song Dynasty, alongside the Imperial College in Kaifeng, Tokyo, and the Imperial College in Luoyang, Xijing. What's more important is that there are many teachers and students with great ambitions and talents gathered here. To study in such a college, you can have famous teachers to consult with, many classmates to learn from each other, and a large number of books to read. Moreover, the college is free to study, which is what Fan Zhongyan, who is financially strapped, can only dream of. Yingtianfu later changed its name to Nanjing, and Yingtianfu Academy was also called Nandu Academy. Fan Zhongyan cherished the new learning environment very much and studied day and night. One of Fan Zhongyan's classmates and the son of Nanjing Liushou (the highest official in Nanjing) saw that he ate porridge all year round, so he gave him some delicious food. He didn't even taste it and allowed the food to get moldy. It wasn't until people began to blame him that he bowed his head and thanked him and said: "I have settled for a life of porridge and gravy. I am worried that once I enjoy a delicious meal, I will not be able to swallow porridge and pickles in the future." Fan Zhongyan's difficult life is a bit like Confucius's wise disciples Yan Hui: A bowl of rice and a ladle of water, in a back alley, while others complained, but Yan Hui did not change his joy. Fan Zhongyan studied hard for years, also from spring to summer, through autumn and winter; he danced with a sword in the early morning, returned home and fell asleep in his clothes in the middle of the night. Others look at flowers and the moon, but he only seeks pleasure in the Six Classics. Occasionally, he also recited poems to express his feelings: "The white clouds and the rogue emperor's hometown are far away. Who is playing the cave Xiao in the Han Garden? The song bird has not answered the song in so many troubles, but a poor talent can still sing the song of the wren. I still feel happy when I think about Yan Zi, and I hate it when I meet the bell. But if Si Wentian is not dead, why should the pines complain about the mountain seedlings?" (This poem was written by Fan Zhongyan to his academy classmate Yan Shu.) A few years later, Fan Zhongyan wrote about Confucian classics such as "Book of Songs", "Book of Changes" and "Book of Changes". "The Classics", "Book of Rites", "Spring and Autumn Annals" and other books can be said to be universal. When he recited poems and composed essays, he took the world as his own responsibility. In the seventh year of Dazhong Xiangfu (AD 1014), Song Zhenzong, who was superstitious about Taoism, led hundreds of officials to Bozhou (today's Bozhou City, Anhui Province) to worship the Taiqing Palace. A huge number of carriages and horses passed through Nanjing (today's Shangqiu City, Henan Province, the same below). The whole city was in a sensation. People rushed to see the emperor. Only one student stayed behind closed doors and was still immersed in studying. A good classmate came to persuade him: "Go and see, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, don't miss it!" But the student just said casually: "It's not too late to see you in the future," and didn't even look up. and continued reading his book. Sure enough, he won the imperial examination the next year, and this student was Fan Zhongyan, the future great reformer and thinker of the Northern Song Dynasty. In the autumn of the seventh year (1014) and the spring of the eighth year (1015) of Dazhong Xiangfu, he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi. When attending the imperial examination in Chongzheng Hall, he saw Emperor Zhenzong, who was nearly fifty years old, for the first time. Later, he was honored to attend the banquet given by the emperor. In February, Bianjing (now Kaifeng City) was filled with spring flowers. Scholars rode on horses and paraded through the streets amidst the sound of drums: "Changbai and Han Confucian scholars have been famous for more than two years." He chanted such verses, thinking that he was already twenty-seven years old. Compared with Teng Zongliang and others next to him, he looked much older. Soon, he was appointed as the manager of the Guangde Army (Guangde Army is located in today's Guangde County, Anhui Province. The manager of the army is an official in charge of litigation prisons and hearing cases, from the ninth grade). Then, he was transferred to the Jieditui official of the Jiqing Army (the jurisdiction of the Jiqing Army is in the area of ??Bozhou, Anhui today, and the Jieditui official is an official in the bureau, from the eighth rank). He took his mother to support him and officially restored his surname to Fan, changing his name to Zhongyan and his courtesy name Xiwen. This began a nearly forty-year political career. In the fifth year of Tianxi (1021), Fan Zhongyan was transferred to Xixi Town, Hailing, Taizhou (near today's Dongtai County, Jiangsu Province) as a salt warehouse supervisor - responsible for supervising the storage, transportation and marketing of Huai salt.
Xixi Town is close to the coast of the Yellow Sea. Although you can occasionally see peonies in the town, its remote scene is different from that in the mainland. At first hearing the roar of the wind and waves and the cry of wild cranes, Fan Zhongyan couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. Since the warehouse official was on idle duty, he temporarily laughed at himself by being lazy and enjoying the banquet: "I have never held up a chair, but I dare to talk about the ambition of thousands of miles! Mengsou should be equal to the black and white, why should Yu Mou blame the world, and be drunk? How can the people of Xi believe that they are so lazy and lazy?" However, he soon discovered that there were many things to do here. The local seawall, which has been in disrepair for many years, has collapsed. Not only have the saltworks and pavilions lost their barrier, but the vast farmland and residential buildings have also been repeatedly threatened by sea waves. When encountering sea tides, water even flooded the city walls of Taizhou, displacing thousands of victims. The government's salt production and rents all suffered losses. For this reason, he wrote to Zhang Lun of Jianghuai Water Transport, expounding the pros and cons of the sea dike, and suggested that a strong sea dike be rebuilt along the coasts of Tongzhou, Taizhou, Chuzhou, and Haizhou (today's Lianyungang to the north bank of the Yangtze Estuary). Zhang Lun enthusiastically agreed with this huge project and informed the imperial court that Fan Zhongyan should be appointed as the magistrate of Xinghua County (today's Xinghua City, Jiangsu Province) to be fully responsible for the management of the weir. In the autumn of the second year of Tiansheng (1024), Fan Zhongyan, the magistrate of Xinghua County, led tens of thousands of people from four states to the seaside. However, not long after the weir control project started, there was a storm with snow, and then there was a sea tide, which swallowed up more than a hundred migrant workers. Some officials believed that this was God's will and that the embankment could not be completed. They advocated canceling the original proposal and suspending work completely. When the matter was reported to the capital, the courtiers were hesitant. Fan Zhongyan, on the other hand, was not afraid of danger and insisted on guarding the weir. The strong wind rolled up the waves and rushed to his legs. The soldiers and civilians fled in panic, and the officials were panicked. However, Fan Zhongyan did not move. He deliberately looked at his friend Teng Zongliang of the same age beside him. Zongliang was calmly commenting on a standing embankment. Everyone found that the two of them were calm and calm. Thanks to the efforts and perseverance of Fan Zhongyan and others, the work of defending the sea and regulating the weirs was fully resumed. Soon, the long embankment stretching for hundreds of miles stood at the head of Huangtan Beach. The production of salt fields and farmland has been guaranteed since then. Countless households that were displaced by disasters in previous years have returned to their homes with the help of the elderly and the young. People were grateful for Fan Zhongyan, the magistrate of Xinghua County, and called the Haiyan "Fangong Dike". Many disaster victims in Xinghua County took his surname Fan. To this day, there are still ruins of Fan Gong Temple in Xinghua, which are remembered by the elders. "There are travelers who are crazy and honest, and young people love fame." "Three-six years of travel, but I have not become a hero among thousands of people." These are the poems Fan Zhongyan wrote when he was thirty-six years old. He didn't get married until he was about thirty-four or five years old. This year he had a son and was transferred back to the capital to be the Prime Minister of Dali Temple. From then on, he entered the ranks of Beijing officials.
In the sixth year of Tiansheng's reign (1028), Fan Zhongyan's mourning ended. After Yan Shu's recommendation, he was promoted to the Collector of the Secret Pavilion - responsible for the collation and arrangement of royal books and classics. The secret pavilion is located in the Chongwen Hall of the Capital Palace. The position of director of the Secret Pavilion actually belonged to the emperor's literary attendant. Here, not only can you often see the emperor, but you can also hear many court secrets. For ordinary Song Dynasty bureaucrats, this was a rare shortcut to success. Once Fan Zhongyan learned some of the inside stories of the imperial court, he boldly intervened in the dangerous political struggle. He found that Emperor Renzong was already twenty years old, but all major military and political affairs in the court were handled by the sixty-year-old Empress Dowager Liu. Moreover, he heard that on the winter solstice this year, the Empress Dowager wanted Renzong to go to the front with all the officials. The palace kowtowed to her to celebrate her birthday. Fan Zhongyan believed that family etiquette and national etiquette should not be confused, and things that harm the dignity of the monarch should be stopped. He wrote a chapter criticizing this plan. Fan Zhongyan's memorial made Yan Shu panic. He hurriedly called Fan Zhongyan and blamed him for being so frivolous. Aren't he afraid of injuring the leader? Fan Zhongyan had always respected Yan Shu, but this time he refused to give in and protested with a stern face: "Just because I have been recommended by you, I am often afraid that I will not be able to do my job and make you embarrass me. Unexpectedly, today I have offended you for my honest comments. ." After saying this, Yan Shu was speechless. After returning home, Fan Zhongyan wrote another letter to Yan Shu, pleading in detail, and simply added another chapter, simply asking Empress Dowager Liu to withdraw from power and return power to Renzong. The imperial court did not respond silently, but issued an edict, demoting Fan Zhongyan to live in Beijing and transferring him to Hezhong Prefecture (today's Yongji County in southwest Shanxi Province) as deputy governor - Tongpan. His colleagues in the Secret Pavilion sent him to the outside of the city. They all toasted him with wine and said, "Fan Jun's trip is extremely glorious!" Three years later, Empress Dowager Liu died. Renzong recalled Fan Zhongyan to the capital and appointed You Si Jian, a public commentator specializing in commenting on court affairs. With his status as an official, he felt even more fearless when writing letters and speaking out. In the second year of Ming Dynasty (1033), there was a severe drought in Jingdong and Jianghuai areas, and there was a locust plague. In order to calm the people's hearts, Fan Zhongyan asked Renzong to send people to rescue the disaster immediately, but Renzong ignored it. He asked Renzong: "What should your majesty do if the palace stops eating for half a day?" Renzong was shocked and ashamed, and asked Fan Zhongyan to go to relieve the disaster. When he returned, he also brought back a few handfuls of weeds used by the victims to satisfy their hunger, and gave them to Renzong and the family members of Houyuan Palace. The prime minister at this time, Lu Yijian, initially made his fortune by pleasing Empress Dowager Liu. As soon as the Queen Mother died, he rushed to speak ill of the Queen Mother. This cunning behavior was once exposed by Empress Guo of Renzong, and she was dismissed from the position of prime minister. However, the causal relationship between the Yi bamboo slips in the court is still deep-rooted. Soon, he returned to the throne through his chamberlain Yan Wenying and others, and he colluded with Yan Wenying and wanted to use Renzong's household disputes to depose Empress Guo. The young emperor, who fell in love with Yang Meiren and Shangmei, finally decided to abolish the imperial edict, and based on Lu Yijian's premeditation, he explicitly prohibited all officials from participating in the matter. Fan Zhongyan understood that behind these palace household disputes, there was a profound and complex political struggle hidden. He and Kong Daofu, the imperial censor in charge of the inspection, went to Chui Gong Hall and asked to see Renzong for an interview.
They appealed to the pavilion for a long time, but no one paid attention; the gate officer slammed the palace door shut again. Fan Zhongyan and others held copper rings in their hands, knocked on the golden door, and shouted through the door: "The Queen has been deposed, why didn't you listen to the advice from the stage!" Seeing that it was to no avail, everyone decided on a plan by the steel tiger, preparing to go to court tomorrow morning. He left all the officials behind and debated with Prime Minister Lu in public. In the early morning of the next day, his wife Li held Fan Zhongyan's clothes and repeatedly warned him not to cause trouble. But he went out without looking back. As soon as he arrived at Dailu Courtyard and waited to go to court, he suddenly heard the imperial edict and ordered him to be sent far away from the Yangtze River to become the magistrate of Muzhou (now Meicheng Town, Jiande City, Zhejiang Province). Then, the imperial court sent people to his home again, urging him to escort him out of Beijing immediately. Kong Daofu and others were either demoted or punished, and no one was spared. This time, not many people went to see him off in the suburbs, but there were still people who raised their glasses and praised him, saying: "Fan Jun will be more glorious during this trip!" On the way to Zhejiang after leaving his post as an admonitor, Fan Zhongyan had no regrets in his heart, but only felt a little unfair. : "If you respect your father, you must respect your mother. To rectify the country, you must rectify the family first. With one mind, ten people will go to the end of the world!" Some people laughed at him like the unfortunate Qu Yuan, but he thought he was more like Meng Ke: "Fan Fu went outside the river, and people laughed like "Saoman", "Ke's ideas are profound and broad, and he is leisurely and light"! A few years later, he moved from Muzhou to Suzhou. Because of his merits in flood control, he was transferred back to the capital and received the honorary title of Tianzhang Pavilion to be made. He became the prefect of Kaifeng. Kong Daofu and others who had been demoted together also returned to the court. Fan Zhongyan vigorously reorganized the bureaucracy in the capital, eliminated bad governance, and arranged work in an orderly manner. In just a few months, the Kaifeng Mansion, known as a complex drama, was "awe-inspiring". Fan Zhongyan saw that Prime Minister Lu Yijian had opened the back door, abused his private life, and made the government extremely corrupt. Based on the investigation, Fan Zhongyan drew a "map of hundreds of officials" and presented it to Renzong in the third year of Jingyou (1036). He pointed to the promotions of officials listed in the picture and made sharp criticism of the prime minister's employment system. Not to be outdone, Lu Yijian ridiculed Fan Zhongyan for being pedantic. Fan Zhongyan wrote four chapters in a row, criticizing the cunning of Lu Yijian. Lv Yijian even falsely accused Fan Zhongyan of colluding with cronies and alienating the emperor and his ministers. Many people can clearly see the merits of the dispute between Fan and Lu. However, Lu Yijian was scheming and good at taking advantage of the monarch's power and finally won. Renzong was twenty-seven years old and had no heirs. It is said that Fan Zhongyan was once concerned about the issue of Renzong's successor, and perhaps talked about establishing some kind of emperor's younger brother or nephew. Although this incident was out of the sincerity and loyalty of the prosperous Song Dynasty, it inevitably damaged Renzong's self-esteem. In addition to Lu Yijian's slander, Fan Zhongyan was deprived of his official title and demoted to Raozhou magistrate. Later, he was almost demoted to Lingnan. In order to cater to the prime minister's wishes, Taiwan official Han Du asked Fan Zhongyan to write a list of names of his comrades and hang them in the court. Yu Jing, Yin Zhu, Ouyang Xiu and others were also exiled to remote places because they complained on behalf of Fan Zhongyan. From then on, the upright ministers in the DPRK lost their power and the upright men were speechless. This time, only a few relatives and friends went to see Fan Zhongyan off outside the capital. But the upright Wang Zhi came to the hospital with a drink, and praised "Fan Jun's trip is particularly glorious!" After hearing this, Fan Zhongyan laughed loudly and said: "Zhongyan has been three times before and after. I will send him again next time." I, please prepare a whole sheep as a sacrifice!" The next day, someone warned Wang Zhi that everything he said and did when he sent Fan Zhongyan yesterday would be recorded by the monitors, and he would be examined as a member of the Fan Party. When Wang Zhi heard this, he showed no fear and was proud of it. Raozhou is on the bank of Poyang Lake. To get here by water from Kaifeng, you have to pass through at least a dozen states. Except for Yangzhou, no one went out to receive Fan Zhongyan along the way, and Fan Zhongyan didn't mind. He was used to being demoted from the capital to a local official. He twirled his gray mustache and recited a poem in the official residence of Raozhou: "Three times I left Qingcheng, my temples were as silky, and I passed the master of Shanting in the studio." "Fan Zhongyan has been sickly since childhood, and has suffered from lung disease in recent years. Soon, his wife Li also died of illness in Raozhou. Mei Yaochen, a poet friend who was a county magistrate nearby, sent him a poem "Lingwu Fu" and told him that his many outspoken remarks in court were regarded as ominous crows. In the past, he was expected to be chained. Tighten your tongue, lock your lips, and besides eating and drinking, just fly high. Fan Zhongyan immediately replied with a poem "Lingwu Fu" and said, no matter how much people hate the dumb sound of crows, I would rather die than live in silence! Around the age of fifty, Fan Zhongyan was transferred to Runzhou successively. (today's Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) and Yuezhou (today's Shaoxing, Zhejiang) were the prefects. At this time, a major event shocked the country and changed his fate. The Dangxiang people who originally lived in Ganzhou and Liangzhou (now Zhangye and Wuwei, Gansu) originally belonged to the Song Dynasty. Starting from the first year of Baoyuan (1038), Yuan Hao, the leader of the Dangxiang tribe, suddenly founded the Xixia Kingdom, claiming to be emperor, and mobilized 100,000 troops and horses to invade Yanzhou (near today's Yan'an, Shaanxi) and other places in the Song Dynasty. Faced with Xixia's sudden provocation, the Song Dynasty was caught off guard. Some in the court were engaged in attack and some in charge of defense, and there was a quarrel. Song Renzong was also indecisive and couldn't decide what to do. The border was even more miserable. Due to more than thirty years of no war, the Song Dynasty's border defenses were not repaired and the soldiers were not in battle formations. In addition, Song general Fan Yong was incompetent. Most of the hundreds of miles of border villages in northern Yanzhou were looted or taken away by the Xixia army. . Renzong discussed with Lu Yijian and sent Xia Song to be the commander-in-chief of the Shaanxi front line; he also adopted the opinion of the then deputy commander-in-chief Han Qi and transferred Fan Zhongyan as the deputy commander-in-shaanxi economic strategy to appease and recruit the deputy envoy. Later, Yin Zhu was also transferred to the Western Front. Fifty-two-year-old Fan Zhongyan was first restored to the title of waiting for Tianzhang Pavilion, and in the blink of an eye, he was awarded the title of direct bachelor of Longtuge. After entering Beijing to bid farewell to Renzong, Fan Zhongyan took command and rushed to Yanzhou. The hardships and delays in his official career had already stained his hair, but his enthusiasm for serving the country loyally remained unchanged.
Fan Zhongyan personally inspected the front line. He found that the Song army and soldiers, battle formations, logistics and defenses had many shortcomings in all aspects. Without reforming the military formation system and adopting strict strategic defense, it would be difficult to reverse the war situation. Han Qi had a different view. He underestimated the superiority of the Xixia army and was indignant at being repeatedly harassed. He advocated concentrating all forces and launching a massive counterattack. In order to ask Renzong to approve the counterattack plan, Xia Song sent Han Qi and Yin Zhu back to the capital at the same time. After receiving Renzong's edict, Yin Zhu was ordered to see Fan Zhongyan and ask him to send troops at the same time as Han Shuai. Although Fan Zhongyan was close friends with Han and Yin, he believed that the time for counterattack was not yet ripe and refused to comply. Yin Zhu sighed with emotion: "Han Gong once said, 'A soldier must disregard victory or defeat.' You are just too cautious today. It seems that you are not as good as Han Gong!" Fan Zhongyan said: "When the army is launched, all lives are at stake. If you don't care, you will not care about victory or defeat." I don’t know where the concept is?” In the first month of the first year of Qingli (1041), Han Qi received a report of the Xixia army’s invasion of Weizhou (today’s Pingliang area of ??Gansu Province). He immediately sent General Ren Fu to lead his army to attack. The Xixia army was frustrated and retreated, and Ren Fu ordered an urgent pursuit. They pursued them straight to the foothills of Liupan Mountain in the Western Xia Kingdom, but were ambushed and surrounded at the mouth of Haoshui River. Ren Fu and other sixteen generals died heroically, and more than 10,000 soldiers died tragically. Han Qi returned in defeat and met thousands of family members of the deceased along the way. They cried out the names of their loved ones and prayed that the souls of the dead would return with Han Shuai. Han Qi stood on his horse and hid his tears, full of regret. Fan Zhongyan's strategic defense is not a simple or passive defensive measure. When he first arrived in Yanzhou, he comprehensively reviewed the military and carried out serious elimination and reorganization. He promoted a group of strong generals from soldiers and low-level officers, recruited many militiamen from local residents, and carried out rigorous military training. He also abolished the mechanical battle system of placing soldiers into battle according to their rank, and replaced them with contingency tactics of selecting generals based on the enemy's situation. In terms of fortifications, he adopted Zhong Shiheng's suggestion and first built a city in Yanbei; later, he built forts in the war zone between Song and Xia. For the ethnic minority residents along the border, we sincerely unite, provide generous concessions, and strictly establish reward and punishment conventions. In this way, a solid barrier was gradually erected along the roadside defense lines such as Luyan, Huanqing, and Jingyuan. One day in March of the second year of Qingli (1042), Fan Zhongyan secretly ordered his eldest son Chunyou and Tibetan general Zhao Ming to lead troops to attack the Xixia army and recapture Mapu Village in the northwest of Qingzhou. He himself then led the army to set off. None of the generals knew the purpose of this operation. When the troops were about to penetrate deep into the Xixia Army's defense line, he suddenly issued an order to start building the city on the spot. The construction tools were prepared in advance, and it took only ten days to build a new city. This is the famous isolated city between Song and Xia - Dashun City. Xixia was unwilling to lose and sent troops to attack, only to find that the Song army, with Dashun City as the center, had formed a solid strategic system that echoed the fortress. On the way back to Qingzhou from Dashun City, Fan Zhongyan felt relieved. In the first year, Zhong Shiheng was sent to Yanzhou to build Qingjian City, and the northeastern border defense became stable. The private discussions among the Xixia army also reached his ears. They said, "We can't capture Yanzhou easily. Now Xiao Fan has tens of thousands of soldiers in his chest, which is not as easy to deal with as Da Fan." The border defense in northern Gyeongju is now generally close to being consolidated. But his own body felt very tired. It was late spring at the moment, and the wildflowers on the mountainside were just blooming. If it were in Jiangnan, it would already be in full bloom. He recited four lines of poetry casually: "On March 27th, flowers began to appear in Qiang Mountain; the general was away from the border affairs, and the spring old man has not returned home." In a blink of an eye, summer passed and autumn came again. In order to maintain tight defense, Fan Zhongyan had to go to Dashun City and other places to conduct inspections. He is over fifty-four years old this year, with a head full of white hair, swaying in the wind. Looking at the geese flying south in the sky, he feels endless emotion in his heart. Late at night due to insomnia, he picked up the light to fill in the lyrics, and wrote several chapters of "The Proud of the Fisherman", all beginning with the same four words: When autumn comes, the scenery is strange, but when the geese in Hengyang go away, you don't notice. Sounds ring out from all sides, thousands of miles away, long smoke sets, the sun sets, and the lonely city closes. A cup of turbid wine can lead to a home thousands of miles away, but Yan Ran has no plan to return home. Qiang Guan is covered with frost all over the ground. When a man is sleepless, the general's hair turns gray and his husband weeps. Fan Zhongyan also took some measures to improve the combat effectiveness of the army. The emperor's edict of the Song Dynasty stipulated the number of troops commanded by generals at all levels. If the enemy invaded, low-status officers would lead the troops to defend themselves first. Fan Zhongyan said: "The generals do not choose the right people. They only use their official rank as the criterion for entering the battle. This is a recipe for failure." So he carefully inspected Yanzhou's army and eliminated them. He eliminated a group of cowardly and incompetent generals and selected a group of talented people who had been tested by war to replace them. He also eliminated the old and weak, selected 18,000 qualified soldiers, divided them into 6 groups, and asked each general to command 3,000 people. They were trained separately, which changed the situation in the past that the soldiers and generals did not know each other. During the war, they were dispatched according to the number of enemy troops. Take turns to fight against the enemy. Fan Zhongyan also actively recruited soldiers. Because it turned out that most of the people guarding the border were corrupted imperial troops transferred from the interior. These people were neither able to endure hard work, nor were they homesick for a long time, so they had low morale. Instead, they recruited soldiers from the local people. They were familiar with the mountains and roads, and were strong and brave. Fighting, and because of defending his hometown, he has a strong fighting spirit. Refining soldiers improves the combat effectiveness of the army. In addition, Fan Zhongyan set an example by never complaining that he was thirsty until his soldiers had water to drink, and he never complained of hunger before his soldiers had food to eat. All the gold and silk that the imperial court awarded him were distributed to the soldiers. Fan Zhongyan had clear rewards and punishments, rewarding soldiers who bravely killed the enemy, promoting and re-employing generals who had made meritorious service, and beheading corrupt elements who deducted military pay in public without mercy. In this way, under the leadership of Fan Zhongyan, many brave and strategic generals like Di Qing and Zhong Shiheng emerged in the Northwest Army, and a group of strong and brave soldiers were trained. Until the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, this army was still the leader of the Song Dynasty. A strong team.
Thanks to the painstaking efforts of Fan, Han and others, the border situation has been greatly improved. At this time, various crises occurred in Xixia, and there were many contradictions among the generals of the Xixia army. After the second year of Qingli, people from Xixia on the border had surrendered to the Song Dynasty one after another. The people of both Song and Xia countries hoped to stop military operations as soon as possible. The envoys negotiating peace between the two sides also began to travel secretly between Xingqing Mansion (today's Yinchuan City) and Bianliang. In the fourth year of Qingli (1044), the two sides formally reached a peace agreement. Peace was restored in Song and Xia, and the situation in the northwest was turned around.
Since Yuan Hao rebelled against the Song Dynasty, the Song army’s border defense expenditures suddenly increased. In order to expand revenue, the government has to increase the burden on the people. As a result, riots and riots against the imperial court broke out in various places, including near the capital. In the third or fourth year of Qingli (1043-1044), Emperor Renzong, who was eager to stabilize the political situation, seemed to be particularly cheerful and progressive. He transferred the three commanders-in-chief of the Western Front - Xia Song, Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan - back to the capital together, and appointed them as the chief and deputy chiefs of the highest military organs - Privy Envoy and Deputy Privy Envoy respectively. He also expanded the number of ministers and personally appointed the following officials. Three or four admonishers - Ouyang Xiu, Yu Jing, Wang Su and Cai Xiang, were later known as the "Four Admonitions". The "Four Remonstrances" officer gave a memorial and dismissed Xia Song, who had little military merit, and appointed Du Yan and Fu Bi as military commanders. The "Four Remonstrances" officials issued another memorial, completely removing Lu Yijian from military and political power. The "Four Admonitions" made their third speech and expelled the deputy prime ministers Wang Ju and Fan Gongdi
Zheng, and replaced him with Fan Zhongyan. Facing this unprecedented outstanding team, Shi Jie was overjoyed. He wrote a poem to praise: Promote the good and eliminate the charming! Promoting the virtuous is like pulling out the grass, and gathering in large numbers to drive out the evil is like cutting off the chicken's feet, which will never last. In September of the third year of Qingli (1043), Renzong urged Fan Zhongyan and others for several days to take measures to change the situation. Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi and Han Qi drafted a reform plan overnight. Fan Zhongyan, in particular, carefully summarized the reform ideas that had been brewing for 28 years in politics, and quickly presented the famous New Deal program "Ten Matters in Answer to the Imperial Edict", which put forward ten reform proposals. After the "Ten Matters" was written, Immediately presented to Song Renzong. Song Renzong discussed with other officials of the imperial court and agreed, and then gradually issued an edict to the whole country. As a result, the Qingli New Deal, which was a sensation in the history of the Northern Song Dynasty, began under the leadership of Fan Zhongyan, and Fan Zhongyan's reform ideas were implemented. In just a few months after the implementation of the New Deal, the political situation has completely changed: the bureaucracy has begun to be streamlined; in the past, children who were officials based on their family status were subject to heavy restrictions; in the past, bureaucrats who were promoted based solely on their seniority have added procedures such as investigating performance and moral character. Personnel with special talents were promoted exceptionally; practical argumentative essays were highlighted in the imperial examinations; schools were opened across the country. Fan Zhongyan also advocated changing the system of multiple leadership and weak decentralization of powers in central agencies, and seriously expanding the real power of ministers to improve administrative efficiency. In order to replace incompetent local officials, he sent many inspectors to various places. As soon as the inspection report arrives, the name of the thief officer is checked off the class book. Fu Bi saw that he was holding a book in one hand and a pen in the other, like a ruthless judge of Yama, so he advised from the side: "Every time you tick a big pen, a whole family will cry!" Fan Zhongyan replied: "When a whole family cries, it will always happen. It should be better than people crying in several states and counties!" The breadth and depth of reform are often directly proportional to the opposition it encounters. A large number of conservative bureaucrats began to discuss in secret. Among the officials of Yushitai, some people have criticized some of the inspectors - talking about the "Three Tigers of Jiangdong" and the "Four Minions of Shandong". Several of Fan Zhongyan's generals on the border defense were also secretly investigated and encountered many troubles. Ouyang Xiu and other "four remonstrances" attempted to drive away these conservative minions and replace several Taiwanese officials. But they soon discovered that behind the Taiwan officials, there were more powerful figures hiding. Ouyang Xiu himself was secretly withdrawn by Mingsheng and left Beijing as an envoy to Hedong. Fan Zhongyan had a premonition that things were by no means as simple as Shi Jie praised: there were many hidden dangers on the road to reform; the future of the New Deal was also in jeopardy. In midsummer of the fourth year of Qingli (1044), Taiwan officials suddenly claimed to have uncovered a major rebellion. Those directly involved in this case were Shi Jie and Fu Bi. Renzong didn't believe that such a thing would happen. Shi and Fu both felt even more baffled. However, Taiwanese officials had Shi Jie's handwritten letter to Fu Bi as evidence; and the letter had an implicit intention to depose Renzong. Shi Jie denied this. Before Fu Bi could defend the false accusation, he was already panicking. In fact, this matter was entirely caused by Xia Song. From the moment he was dismissed from his post as Privy Councilor and was denounced by Shi Jie as a "treacherous charmer", he secretly bribed his maid to copy Shi Jie's handwriting. The success of this maid's writing has not been achieved in a day. As soon as the case became popular, rumors spread. Later, it even implicated Fan Zhongyan's sincerity in reform and even his intention to expand the power of the prime minister. Although Song Renzong may not fully believe this matter, he began to waver when he saw that the forces opposing the reform were so strong. At this time, Song and Xia had formally negotiated peace. The political crisis has also been largely eliminated. Renzong's interest in reform has gradually become indifferent and faded. In order to avoid suspicion, Fu Bi asked to be sent to the border areas. Fan Zhongyan also knew that he was boring, so he took the post to inspect Hedong and Shaanxi. Prime Minister Zhang Dexiang and Deputy Prime Minister Jia Changchao had initially agreed with Fan Zhongyan's new policy. But in actual implementation, they are doing both the right thing and the wrong thing. When the New Deal was thwarted and the reformists were falsely accused, they immediately turned around. After Fan and Fu left Beijing, they simply joined forces with conservative forces to inflict insults on Fan Zhongyan and others; and through Taiwan officials, they created new unjust cases and wiped out all the revolutionary figures in Beijing.
At the beginning of the fifth year of Qingli (1045), Song Renzong, who had been impassioned and wanted to work hard to govern, finally backed down completely. He issued an edict to abandon all reform measures, and Fan Zhongyan and Fu Bi were removed from important military and political positions. Various new policies that were implemented for only more than a year have also been banned one after another. The dignitaries and their descendants inside and outside the capital were still singing and dancing loudly. Fan Zhongyan's painstaking efforts in eradicating bad government were wasted in an instant.
He was transferred to be the magistrate of Nazhou (today's Binxian County, Shaanxi Province), and he was ready to do whatever good things he could for the birthplace of Fan's ancestors to realize his ambition