Sima Guang had a comment on the well-known chancellors of the Tang Dynasty: "Tang Shixianxiang, formerly known as Fang Du, later known as Yao Song, the others Mo Debi Yan. The four famous ministers of the Tang Dynasty mentioned by Sima Guang in this passage were Fang Xuanling and Du Ruyi, who were known as "Fang Mou Du Duan" during the Tang Taizong period, Yao Chong, who was known as the "Prime Minister of Saving Time" during the Tang Xuanzong period, and Song Jing, who was known for his "impartiality and law-abiding". The names of Fang Xuanling and Du Ruyi are already household names, and Yao Chong and Song Jing, as the names of later generations, have always been well known. However, among these four people, the one who has the most complicated experience, the most generous governance, and the one who knows how to protect himself is None other than Yao Chong.
Yao Chong
Yao Chong, born in Jiaoshi Township, Shaanzhou (硖石乡, Shaanzhou District, Sanmenxia City, Henan), had a free-spirited personality as a child, liked to ride horses and hunt, studied diligently as a teenager, and finally entered the career as a filial piety emperor Li Hongbanglang. Yao Chong, who had been good at governing the country three times, once assisted Tang Xuanzong in saving the locusts from the plague, put forward the "Ten Things to Say", advocated abolishing maladministration, and implementing a new policy that benefited the country and the people, and achieved good results. However, because of his many resignations, the New Deal was only beneficial for a while, not for a long time, so it was called "saving the time prime minister". Yao Chong, a person who seems to be upright and upright, but is also good at calculation, and knows how to protect himself in the official arena, his life experience and personality are very complicated.
Yao Chong's first time as prime minister was in the first year of Wu Zetian's long life. At that time, the Khitan minority invaded Hebei, wu Zetian hurriedly summoned the heavy ministers to discuss how to deal with it, and among all the ministers' theories, Yao Chong's insights were the sharpest and most original, and the head of the analysis of the whole thing was the Tao. Wu Zetian was very interested in this little-known person, and after a conversation with him, he found that this was a young man with lofty ideals and down-to-earth, so he promoted him to the rank of Bingbu Shilang, and later promoted him to Bingbu Shangshu and became one of the prime ministers.
Wu Zetian was able to become the first female emperor in the past and the present, her vision of people is naturally very unique, in this young man, Wu Zetian saw his influence on the future of the country, but also felt his attitude of being an official. During Wu Zetian's reign, he reused cool officials, who often fabricated charges, created creepy torture devices, and tortured prisoners to death, with the ultimate purpose of making those who opposed Wu Zetian afraid to speak and also winning political capital for themselves.
Wu Zetian
But Yao Chong did not buy it at all, and when everyone was only making promises in the face of torture, he was the first to stand up and point out the fact that Wu Zetian abused cool officials and killed innocent people, which would cause endless harm. Just when everyone pinched a handful of sweat for Yao Chong, Wu Zetian did not punish him, but instead rewarded him with 1,000 taels of silver to show his appreciation, and admitted the mistakes he had made, so that everyone would dare to tell the truth in the future. However, Wu Zetian did not expect that this young man, who was deeply trusted by her, would be the main force to overthrow the Wuzhou Dynasty.
In his later years, Wu Zetian favored the Zhang brothers to the point of no return, and even because her grandson and granddaughter said bad things about the Zhang brothers, he ordered the two to be beaten to death. With the favor of the Zhang brothers, even Wu Zetian's nephews gave them three points, and actually openly called the Zhang brothers "Wulang" and "Liulang", which should be known as the title of the master in ancient times. In the eyes of those who tend to be inflammatory, the Zhang brothers are naturally a piece of fat meat, but in Yao Chong's eyes, there is no difference between them and stinky meat, he repeatedly refused the solicitation of the Zhang brothers, was retaliated by them, and finally was demoted by Wu Zetian to become an official in other places.
Before Yao Chong's departure, Wu Zetian asked him if he had a suitable candidate for prime minister, and Yao Chong recommended Zhang Kamzhi, who was already more than 80 years old, to be the prime minister, and Wu Zetian never dreamed that he would finally fold on this 80-year-old man. After Yao Chong's departure from Beijing, the Zhang brothers were even more powerful and blessed, and there were many civilian and military generals in the DPRK who opposed them, but the Zhang brothers repeatedly embezzled and accepted bribes, extorted money, and framed loyal subjects, but Wu Zetian turned a blind eye again and again, which eventually triggered the "Shenlong Coup".
In 705, the chancellor Zhang Kamzhi, together with Huan Yanfan, Cui Xuanwei, Jinghui, and Yuan Shuji, launched a coup d'état, known in history as the "Coup of the Five Kings". At this time, Yao Chong, receiving the news, also returned to the capital in time, planned the coup with them, and finally led the army into Xuanwu Gate, killed the Zhang brothers, overthrew Wu Zetian, and established Emperor Zhongzong of Tang as emperor, and Yao Chong was made the Marquis of Liang County, with 200 households. However, Tang Zhongzong, who was not long old and faint and incompetent, actually sent troops to kill the crown prince Li Chongjun under the seduction of his wife Empress Wei and his daughter Princess Anle, and then he was poisoned by his wife and daughter. The murderer did not take too long to be killed by Li Longji and Princess Taiping, and then Tang Ruizong Li Dan succeeded to the throne, and Yao Chong became the prime minister again.
Li Dan was still a coward, obedient to his sister Princess Taiping, and even did not hesitate to belittle the crown prince Li Longji to win his sister's favor. At that time, almost all the prime ministers of the imperial court were henchmen of Princess Taiping, and Yao Chong, as a supporter of Li Longji, was naturally found an excuse to depose the prime minister and exiled to a foreign country as an official. After Li Longji mutinied and killed Princess Taiping, Yao Chongcai was recalled to the imperial court to serve as prime minister, which was his third time in the imperial court.
Princess Taiping
At this time, the world was already the domain of Tang Xuanzong Li Longji, and Yao Chong could also make great achievements in the imperial court. Yao Chong successively put forward ten new policies, which involved various aspects of people's livelihood, economy, military, imperial examinations, and laws, especially the measures to prohibit noble officials from corrupting the law, reducing expenditures, and abolishing redundant officials, and greatly rectified Wu Zetian's maladministration in his later years.
For example, after Yao Chong proposed measures to reject extravagance and oppose pleasure, Tang Xuanzong took the lead in burning the gorgeous jewelry and silk satin, and the ministers did not dare to be extravagant, and one by one became diligent and simple; Yao Chong advocated the dismissal of redundant officials, and a large number of idle people below were dismissed, and for a time the funds of the imperial court became much richer; Yao Chong also did not tolerate the emperor's relatives and state relatives, even Tang Xuanzong's uncle violated the law, and it must be handled impartially, and the emperor's intercession was not easy to use... Yao Chong's series of new policies have revitalized the lifeless Tang Dynasty, and the "Kaiyuan Prosperous Era" has begun from this moment.
During Yao Chong's tenure as chancellor, he implemented the New Deal for Tang Xuanzong, and also straightened out Buddhist temples throughout the country, so that all those who used the excuse of monasticism as an excuse and did not want to engage in labor production were all returned to the customs, and at the same time, the repair of Buddhist temples was prohibited, which saved a lot of money for the country, also allowed the labor force to return to the land, and promoted agricultural production. In the locust plague in Shandong in the fourth year of the new century, Yao Chong, in the fourth year of the new century, opposed the use of incense and kneeling to pray for the blessing of heaven, but used the habit of locusts to let people set up a fire at night to burn the locusts, thus reducing the losses caused by locusts.
Yao Chongwei was so upright and upright, wisdom and ability coexisted, laying the foundation for Tang Xuanzong's prosperity, but he was always cautious and cautious, in Yao Chong's heart, it was very important to be respected as an official, and it was also very important for Mingzhe to protect himself, he was a person who could speak and plan for himself. When Yao Chong's third time as prime minister, another prime minister with him, Zhang Shu, was very unhappy, and in order to bring down Yao Chong, he had been saying bad things about Yao Chong in front of Tang Xuanzong, but Tang Xuanzong ignored it. After Yao Chong knew about this, he was afraid that Zhang had said too much, and the emperor would really believe it one day, so he secretly looked for an opportunity to retaliate against Zhang.
Tang Xuanzong
One day, Zhang said that because he could not defeat Yao Chong's depression repeatedly, he went to drink in the mansion of Li Longfan, the king of Qi, who had befriended him, and told the king of Qi that he wanted to overthrow Yao Chong, but he was repeatedly scolded by the saint, and this conversation happened to be known to Yao Chong. The next day, when Yao Chong deliberately pretended to be lame, Tang Xuanzong quickly pulled him to inquire about the situation and asked him if he had a leg disease, but Yao Chong calmly replied: "I do have a leg disease, but I have more heart disease."
Tang Xuanzong naturally continued to ask, and Yao Chong said: "Since ancient times, when princes and auxiliary ministers have come close, they will have a bad impact on the country, and there is even a possibility of collusion and rebellion. Now zhang said that he was assisting His Majesty, but he was friendly with the King of Qi, and I was afraid that they had some conspiracy, so I was very worried. Yao Chong's few short words, but directly hit Tang Xuanzong's sore spot, you must know that he also started as a prince by launching a coup d'état, and now some people are secretly coveting his throne like he used to stare at others' thrones, how could he not be vigilant? In this way, under Yao Chong's clever tongue, Zhang Shu, who had only been prime minister for five months, was dismissed from his post, and Yao Chong successfully eliminated this big problem.
Wei Zhigu
Yao Chong not only had a way to save himself, but also used means to save the lives of his family, and Feng Menglong's "Complete Collection of Wise Men" in the Ming Dynasty recorded such two things. Although Yao Chong was very clever, his sons were useless, and once they heard that their father recommended a person named Wei Zhigu to the emperor, who was now a high official, so they privately approached Wei Zhigu and asked him to seek his own interests. Wei Zhigu ignored them and returned to the capital to tell Tang Xuanzong about it.
Tang Xuanzong then approached Yao Chong and asked him where his sons worked. What about the ability to work? Yao Chong, how clever, said bluntly: "My sons are useless, it is good to be a petty official, I heard that they have recently secretly sought out Wei Zhigu to do things, fortunately, that person has never favoritism, I will definitely ask the truth of the matter, let them come to your majesty to plead guilty." ”
Tang Xuanzong did not expect that Yao Chong would be so selfless, but instead believed that Wei Zhigu did not know gratitude, so he was going to remove him from his official position on the spot. Yao Chonglian interceded, saying that Wei Zhigu was not at fault, that it was his sons who were at fault first, which made the emperor take back his life. However, from then on, Tang Xuanzong trusted Yao Chong more and gave his sons the high-ranking official Houlu.
However, "the tiger father has a dog", Yao Chong's sons are indeed stupid, after becoming an official, they formed parties everywhere for personal gain, causing great trouble to their father, and it happened that not long after, Yao Chong's cronies were imprisoned for accepting bribes, yao Chong's many defenses, and finally angered Tang Xuanzong, plus his sons continued to do their best to bless and add fuel to his father's fire, which eventually led to Yao Chong's dismissal in the fourth year of the new century.
Zhang said
In the ninth year of the new century, the seventy-two-year-old Yao Chong was already terminally ill, but his political enemy Zhang Shu re-became prime minister. Seeing that he was about to die, and his sons were useless, Yao Chong, fearing that Zhang would retaliate against his family in the future, left a last word before his death. Yao Chong said to his sons: "Zhang said that he was good at writing inscriptions, and he always liked calligraphy and painting antiques, and when I died, when he came to mourn me, you would put out all my treasured calligraphy and painting antiques." Zhang said that if you want it, you will give him all these things, and then ask him to write an inscription for me, and he will definitely agree, and after writing it, you can send the inscription to Your Majesty for your majesty to see. If he doesn't look at these things, then you are ready for imminent destruction. ”
After Yao Chong's death, Yao Chong's family did what he said before his death, and Zhang said that he was really deceived, and immediately wrote an inscription for Yao Chong, which clearly wrote yao Chong's deeds in his life, all of which were words of praise, enough to make Yao Chong's eternal life. The Yao family showed the inscription to the emperor, and Tang Xuanzong was very happy, so he immediately asked people to engrave the inscription on the tombstone, and when chatting with Zhang Shuo, he said that the inscription was well written. At this time, Zhang Shu suddenly realized that he originally wanted to rectify Yao Chong's sons in the future, but he exaggerated the people so great in the inscription, and praised them together with his descendants, how could he go to Yao Chong's descendants in the future? Thinking of this, Zhang was so angry that he beat his chest and stomped his feet, but Mu had already become a boat, and he was no longer willing, and he could only give up his revenge on Yao Chong.
Tomb of Yao Chong
This is the real Yao Chong, who has a lot of experience in his life, a complex and sleek personality, and has done something in the official arena, becoming a famous person in the annals of history, and also making the emperor trusted, never suffered too much blow, and at the same time, he is good at calculation, and knows how to protect himself and his family. But on the other hand, Yao Chong can be said to be godchildren without a way, if he can spend some time to educate his son well, he will not lament that there is no one available in the family before he dies, and he must also use strategies to confuse Zhang to save his family. People have a complicated side, the story of Yao Chong's life also happens to prove this, although his personality is very complicated, his experience is also very bumpy, and even there are tricks and defects, but as a generation of famous people, he is indeed a meritorious service to the country, and his merits are enough to shine through the ages.