The total text number is 1545 words, 5 pictures, and the reading time is about 5 minutes
The famous northern Song Dynasty minister Yan Shu was an honest man.
How honest is that? Here are 2 stories.
One
Yan Shu (晏殊), courtesy name Tongshu, was a native of Linchuan, Fuzhou (present-day Fuzhou, Jiangxi), born in 991. Yan Shu was smart and studious from an early age, and at the age of 7 he was able to write a beautiful article (modern people only started to study primary school at the age of 7), and was praised by the locals as a "prodigy". Yan Shu's fame grew, and later even Jiang Nanfu Zhang Zhibai had heard of his name.
Yan Shu
The Song Dynasty "emphasized literature over martial arts", advocated reading, and respected culture. In 1004, Zhang Zhibai recommended Yan Shu to the imperial court. The following year, Yan Shu omitted the two passes of the understanding test and the provincial test, and directly entered Beijing to participate in the temple test. This year, Yan Shu was only 14 years old. Yan Shu successfully passed the temple examination, received a reward from Song Zhenzong, and gave him the birth of a jinshi.
After two days, there will be a re-examination of poetry, endowment, and discourse. Only by passing the re-examination can they be officially awarded official positions. During the re-examination, after Yan Shu saw the test questions, he said a sentence that made the examiner stunned: "The minister has made this endowment ten days ago, and there is still a gift of grass, begging for a proposition." This means that Yan Shu did this exam question 10 days ago, and the article is still preserved, requesting another question.
Statue of Yan Shu
If you follow the normal understanding, if you encounter the test questions you have done during the exam, you should be ecstatic. Yan Shu honestly admitted to the examiner that he had done this test question, are you stupid?
Of course, in this way, Song Zhenzong instead had a good eye for Yan Shu, and promoted Yan Shu to the secretary of the provincial zhengzi, staying in the secret cabinet to study and further study.
Two
Yan Shu entered the official arena.
Since the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty signed the "Alliance of Liaoyuan", both countries have entered a century-long period of peace, "swords and guns into the warehouse, horses put on the South Mountain". The officials in the capital had a very comfortable life. They often called on friends and held various banquets, or went out to the city house tavern, feasted and had fun.
Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty
Yan Shu did not go out with these Beijing officials. He lived alone at home, read diligently, and taught poetry to his brothers.
In 1018, Emperor Zhenzong of Song made his sixth son Zhao Zhen the Crown Prince and renamed him Zhao Zhen, which was later Emperor Renzong of Song. Zhao Zhen was 8 years old. Since he was made crown prince, he needed to find a teacher who was full of poetry and books and had a decent style. In the imperial court, there were many "scholars", all of whom were people who were rich in five cars, and everyone wanted to be the teacher of the crown prince. Once the crown prince ascended the throne, the teacher became an "imperial master", is it quite prestigious?
Surprisingly, Song Zhenzong personally chose the obscure Yan Shu as Zhao Zhen's teacher. Everyone thought it was very strange, Song Zhenzong explained: "Recently heard of the Pavilion Cabinet Ministers, all of them are enjoying the Yan Appreciation, day and night, only Shu Dumen and his brothers are studying, so respectful, they can be the officials of the Eastern Palace." This means that when the officials are going out to play in the mountains, only Yan Shu is at home and his brothers are studying behind closed doors, and such a cautious and loyal person is the best candidate for the prince's teacher."
Song Zhenzong
Yan Shu was immediately promoted to the position of Hubu Wailang (外郎) and crown prince, and had the opportunity to meet Emperor Zhenzong of Song. Once, Song Zhenzong told Yan Shu in person the reason for choosing him as the prince's teacher, and Yan Shu honestly replied: "The subject is not a person who is not happy with Yan You, but is poor and has nothing to do." If the subject has money, he must also go, but if he has no money, he cannot go out. ”
Yan Shu is saying that I don't want to go out and play, but I just don't have any money. If I had the money, I would go out and play. However, I don't have money in my hand, I don't want to talk, and I can't participate in activities for more than 1 yuan...
Song Zhenzong sighed and felt more and more that Yan Shu was honest and lovely, and it was most appropriate for him to be the prince's teacher, so he became more and more affectionate with him.
Three
If Yan Shu is an honest person who is not enlightened, it is also wrong. Yan Shu mixed in the official field for decades, and his official position became bigger and bigger, and finally he became the prime minister (tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi), which had his own unique characteristics. When necessary, Yan Shu is also very particular about the way and method of doing things.
In 1022, Emperor Zhenzong of Song died of illness, and Zhao Zhen succeeded to the throne, that is, Emperor Renzong of Song. At the beginning of Song Renzong's reign, he was still young, only 12 years old, and it was difficult to handle the affairs of the government independently, and his mother-in-law, Empress Liu, bowed to the government. Empress Liu was a very powerful woman, and she successively drove the foolish chancellor Ding Zhi and the privy councillor Cao Yu out of the imperial court, and the ministers were very afraid of her.
Empress Liu
In 1033, Empress Liu led the Wenwu hundred officials to visit the Taimiao Temple. Someone came up with a bad idea and suggested that she wear the emperor's dress and crown to participate in the worship ceremony. This practice is obviously contrary to the etiquette system. The chancellor, hindered by Empress Liu's authority, did not dare to raise objections to her, lest he cause trouble. Liu Tai later consulted Yan Shu's opinion. Yan Shu did not honestly point out the mistake of doing so, but took out a copy of the Zhou Guan and showed it to Empress Liu. In the book, it is clearly written that the emperor and queen concubines should wear the dress and crown when participating in the worship ceremony.
Empress Liu thought about it and dismissed the idea of wearing the emperor's dress and crown to participate in the worship ceremony.