In the face of the minister's "delaying time", why did the empress Wu Zetian turn from anger to joy

Ma Huaisu (马華素), courtesy name Weibai , was a native of Dantu , Runzhou ( present-day Zhenjiang , Jiangsu ) , a scholar and bibliographer of the Tang Dynasty .

The "pregnant" person has a heart, the "plain" person has the true color, and the combination is open-minded and frank, and the true color of the people in the world is important. Ma Huaisu, just like his name, only the law is not superior, only the facts are not only vain, adhering to the principles of fairness and justice, upholding equality and leniency, sometimes called "law enforcement and forgiveness".

In Ma Huaisu's view, no matter whether the officials or the people, no matter whether they are close or distant, as long as they break the law, they should be brought to justice. At that time, some officials Li Yixiu relied on the favor of Wu Zetian's male favorite Zhang Yizhi and accepted bribes. Ma Huaisu, who was then the imperial historian, was not afraid of the other side's backstage hardness, sorted out the facts, compared with the law, and impeached in one fell swoop, and Li Yixiu was finally deposed.

No matter how much resistance there is to unjust, false and wrongly decided cases and where they come from, he also dares to correct them out of a heart of justice and benevolence and according to law.

In the first year of longevity, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong colluded with the cool official Lai Junchen to frame the chancellor Wei Yuanzhong for plotting rebellion. Later, due to the lack of solid evidence, Wei was exiled to Lingnan. Eight people, including Cui Zhenshen, the military attendant, and The General Dugu Weizhi, entertained him. Zhang Shi hated it and used the name of "Chai Ming" to sue Cui and others for conspiring with Wei to rebel.

Wu Zetian did not ask any questions, so he ordered that people be arrested and imprisoned and handed over to Ma Huaisu for trial, and set the tone: The facts are clear, as long as you simply go through the procedure, you can close the case and report it, without much trouble.

Ma Huaisu was well aware that this case was an unjust case, and despite Wu's repeated urging, he deliberately delayed time in order to ascertain the facts and think about ways to clear up the unjust case.

He asked "Chai Ming" to come and confront him, but without success. According to this, Ma Huaisu expressed his position: Wei Yuanzhong's plot to rebel is still groundless, and it is even more untenable to say that the senders plotted rebellion. Wu Shi said unhappily: Although Wei Yuanzhong has no evidence of rebellion, he has traces of rebellion. There will be insults to me between the words of the sender. How can it be said that there is no rebellion?

Ma Huaisu said bluntly: If you convict by speculation and clues, you are only afraid of the wind and the noise, and even the grass and trees have become anti-thieves. Wu Shi was furious: You dare to shield and connive at the rebels to satirize me!

Ma Huaisu had no fear, and took the example of Peng Yue's rebellion and his death: Wei Yuanzhong's crime had not yet reached peng Yue's level, so why should he add guilt to the person who sent him off? His Majesty holds the power of life and death, and if he wants to punish him, why should he borrow my hand? Since Your Majesty has ordered me to hear this case, I should deal with it according to law. Otherwise, even if the courtiers are notorious for the use of indiscriminate punishment, they will also tarnish His Majesty's honor. If the world imitates it, how is it better?

Ma Huaisu's persistence and eloquence finally made Wu Zetian reflect. She turned her anger into joy, affirmed that "law enforcement is fair", and decided to release Cui and eight other people.

Now, Ma Huaisu knows that the Wu clan has set the tone, and as long as he does it, pretends to be like this, and follows a procedure, it will save effort and please, and may also be promoted to a higher rank and get rich. On the contrary, it is difficult to deal with the law, to resist hard, to be troublesome and not to get rid of the unjust case has not been cleared, and it may also be put into it because of the reversal, how dangerous!

Ma Huaisu's valuable point is that he put his own safety at risk and resolutely chose the latter. This fully reflects his "Huaisu" and "white" nature that is loyal to his duties and only the law and not only the supreme.

According to historical records, during his tenure as an envoy to Jiangxi, he strictly evaluated officials according to law, sought truth from facts, and praised and degraded them appropriately; during his tenure as an examiner, when he was a foreign minister, his noble relatives indulged in indulgence and asked him to do public work.

Ma Huaisu has been intelligent and wise since childhood, his family is poor and has no candles, he collects su by day and reads hard at night. Parents gave it this name, with high hopes. Ma Huaisu is worthy of his parents' expectations, and he does not forget his original intention and remembers his true colors for the official. After his death, he stopped for two days.