The Great Fanqi people will leave a special trace in history, because they and the number of ways they have been in life are very human.
Today, the Yao Guangxiao we want to introduce is like this. He was a monk, but he also intervened in mundane affairs, and he carried out his own "practice" in the Zen room and in the temple; he seemed to be transcendent, but he exhausted his strategy to say whether he was born or joined the world; he was dressed in robes, but he was also a politician who changed the course of the history of the Ming Dynasty; his reputation in history was not prominent, but to this day, posterity can still see his influence: such as the imperial masterpieces such as the Yongle Canon, such as the prosperity of Beijing today.
Extraordinary life
Yao Guangxiao is a "strange" person.
His intellectual composition is very "strange". He was originally the son of a doctor, but he did not have a son to inherit his father's business. He was young and studious, intelligent and thoughtful, and should have embarked on the path of the imperial examination, but at the age of 14 he became a monk with the title of "Daoyan". Although he was dressed in a monk's robe, he had no taboos, and he also learned yin and yang techniques and astronomical martial arts from Taoists. In short, Yao Guangxiao learned all the way and dabbled widely, and eventually became a miscellaneous scholar who was proficient in Confucianism and Taoism. Because of his extraordinary learning, Yao Guangxiao soon became famous. He was also keen to make friends with literati and celebrities, including great Confucians such as Song Lian and Su Boheng.
Yao Guangxiao's "strangeness" is also blamed on the fact that although he escaped into the empty door, his appearance, words and deeds were not quite like that of a monk.
Once, Yao Guangxiao traveled to Songshan Temple and met a xiangshi named Yuan Jue. The other party saw him and said, "What a monk!" Eye triangle, shaped like a sick tiger, sex will be murderous, Liu Bingzhongliu also. Liu Bingzhong was a major minister on Kublai Khan's side, a designer of the Yuan Dynasty system, and a planner of the Yuan Capital. Yuan Jue's evaluation of Yao Guangxiao's appearance is obviously not a good word, and it is good for ordinary people to be able to stabilize their emotions after being evaluated in this way. Who knows, after Yao Guangxiao heard it, he was actually "overjoyed"!
Another time, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict to send monks who were proficient in Confucianism to take the exam at the Ministry of Rites. Yao Guangxiao left full of confidence, but regretted that he was not hired. After that, he received the monk's robes rewarded by the imperial court and returned to his home. When passing through Beigu Mountain, he gave a poem: "The blood of the war has dried up over the years, and the fireworks are still half withered." The Wuzhou Mountains are near the clouds and chaos, and the night and moon are cold in the sky. The river has no tide through the iron urn, and Noda has a road to the golden altar. Where is the Xiao Liang Emperor now? Beigu Qingqing guest tired of watching. The fellow monks asked him, "Is this what a monk should say?" Yao Guangxiao laughed again and did not answer.
Yao Guangxiao was a monk, but he was not like a monk. Later history also proves the judgment of Xiangshi: although he wore robes all his life, he actually used what he learned in his life to become a politician who founded a dynasty.
Extraordinary strategy
Yao Guangxiao was the most critical figure in Zhu Di's seizure of power.
In the fifteenth year of Hongwu (1382), Zhu Yuanzhang selected a group of senior monks to accompany the kings. Yao Guangxiao took this opportunity to get acquainted with Zhu Di, the King of Yan. The two talked happily and were very cooperative, and the King of Yan asked Zhu Yuanzhang to let Yao Guangxiao follow him. For more than ten years after that, Yao Guangxiao frequently entered and exited the Yan King's Mansion as the abbot of Qingshou Temple. His whereabouts are very secret, and he often turns away from others when talking to Zhu Di. After Emperor Jianwen succeeded to the throne, Zhu Di had the heart to raise an army but was afraid that the people's hearts would not be turned against him. Yao Guangxiao said, "I only know that the Heavenly Dao is like this, so why bother with the people's hearts?" It was with Yao Guangxiao's full support that Zhu Di made up his mind and prepared to raise an army.
Subsequently, Zhu Di secretly selected generals, gathered troops, and recruited warriors. Yao Guangxiao, on the other hand, trained soldiers and horses in the houyuan of the Yan King's Mansion. The Palace of the Yan King is the royal palace of the former Yuan Dynasty, and the palace is originally very deep. Yao Guangxiao also built a crypt surrounded by thick walls, built weapons, and raised geese and ducks to cover up the sound.
Everything is ready. In 1399, Zhu Di swore to raise an army. But at the oath ceremony, a storm suddenly struck, and the tiles on the roof fell to the ground. Zhu Di was stunned, thinking that this was not a good sign. Yao Guangxiao, however, thought that this was precisely an "auspicious omen", and he interpreted it this way: "The flying dragon is in the sky, and the wind and rain follow each other." The tiles fall to the ground, which means that it will be changed to yellow, and the country will change owners. The words not only made Zhu Di's heart calm, but also the morale of the army soared.
Although Yao Guangxiao was the number one adviser on Zhu Di's side, he did not go out with the army, but sat in the rear. During this period, on the one hand, he assisted Shizi and defeated the enemy army that took advantage of the void; on the other hand, he also strategized thousands of miles away, advised Zhu Di, and commanded the advance and retreat of the Yan army.
At first, the battle was very smooth, and Zhu Di broke through all the way until the siege of Jinan was frustrated. Not only was it unable to conquer it for three months, Zhu Di himself was also caught in the other side's trick and almost captured. When Yao Guangxiao heard the battle report, he immediately wrote a letter saying, "Our army is tired, please ask the squad master to come back!" Zhu Di therefore withdrew and returned. After the rest, the large army went out again, but it was still unfavorable, especially in the Battle of Dongchang, where the Yan army suffered heavy losses, and Zhu Di was on the verge of danger many times. After the defeat, Zhu Di wanted the soldiers and horses to rest well, but Yao Guangxiao strongly supported him in attacking again, and suggested that Zhu Di advance lightly, not caring about one city and one yi, and taking Nanjing. Zhu Di's final victory proved that Yao Guangxiao's decision was indeed clever.
Looking back at the Battle of Jingnan, many people will lament that Zhu Di achieved a headwind reversal with the power of the king of the domain, which is rare in history. And the person who was revitalizing this chess game was the monk Yao Guangxiao, who was sitting firmly in the Chinese military tent.
Extraordinary ambitions
In the Battle of Jingnan, Yao Guangxiao can be said to be the first hero. It took him so long to play this game of chess, but he was very indifferent to the fame and fortune brought by this victory.
Because he was "happy to travel well and had no intention of honoring", Zhu Di initially granted him the official position of "Monk Lu Si Zuo Shan Shi", managing monk affairs, with low grade and general treatment, and he had no opinion. However, Zhu Di would never "treat" such a hero badly. In the second year of Yongle (1404), Zhu Di made him a prince and a young master, and also restored his common surname, the name "Guangxiao", which was given by Zhu Di.
Although his merits were great, Yao Guangxiao did not care about the fame and fortune in his heart, but only conscientiously fulfilled the tasks entrusted to him by Zhu Di: assisting the crown prince, editing the "Records of Taizu" and "Yongle Canon", planning and designing the city of Beijing...
Zhu Di ordered him to grow his hair and return to the vulgar, but he refused; he gave him the mansion and the palace maid, he did not want it; he also took advantage of the opportunity to return to his hometown and scattered it to the clan townspeople. Because of his insistence, Zhu Di's court had such a spectacle: when he went to the court, Yao Guangxiao put on a crown robe belt and needled in the court hall, and was a minister; after retiring from the dynasty, he changed back into a monk's robe, chanted and practiced Buddhism in the temple, and was still a monk.
The conspiracy in the Battle of Jingnan, the great opening and closing of the court, the low-key indifference under the court, which one is the real Yao Guangxiao? If it is not for fame and fortune, then what is he doing so much?
In 1418, Yao Guangxiao became seriously ill, and by this time he was eighty-four years old and still living in Qingshou Temple. Zhu Di was worried in his heart, and went to visit him twice by car and asked him what he wanted. Yao Guangxiao said: "The monk Puqia has been imprisoned for a long time, and I hope that His Majesty will pardon him. Pu Qia was the chief monk of Emperor Jianwen, whose whereabouts were unknown during the Battle of Jingnan, and because he suspected that PuQia knew his whereabouts, Zhu Di imprisoned PuQia for more than ten years. Although Emperor Jianwen was ill with his own heart, Zhu Di fulfilled Yao Guangxiao's wishes and immediately ordered Puqia's release.
Zhu Di asked him what he wanted from what happened behind him. Yao Guangxiao replied, "The monks have fallen in love with each other." Zhu Di asked again, and Yao Guangxiao "was speechless in the end."
Extraordinary ending
For Yao Guangxiao, people are very controversial.
In his later years, Yao Guangxiao compiled a copy of the DaoyuLu, which offended a number of Confucians because it had denigrations of previous Confucians. Many people began to despise him, and even relatives and friends began to alienate him. When he returned to his hometown, Yao Guangxiao was turned away by his sister. His friend Wang Bin did not want to see him either, but shouted at him from a distance: "The monk is wrong, the monk is wrong!" ”
In contrast to this loneliness, the imperial court gave him great glory. After Yao Guangxiao's death, Zhu Di was very sad and resigned from the dynasty for two days; later, he posthumously awarded him the title of Duke of Rongguo, and personally wrote a Shinto inscription, and let him enter the Mingzu Temple as a courtier, worthy of the Taimiao Temple.
In fact, posterity has a high evaluation of Yao Guangxiao. Gu Yanwu praised his talent, believing that "the talent of a young master is no less than that of Wencheng (Wang Yangming)." Li Zhen praised his merits, saying that "for more than two hundred years in our country, we have rested and recuperated, and now we are here." Shi An is full of warmth, people forget their wars, all of them are the strength of Emperor Zuwen and Yao Shaoshi. ”
Yao Guangxiao was dressed in robes, but he stepped into the dust to jointly hold up the "great event of a thousand autumns", as for whether he left a "beautiful name of eternity", let him see the wisdom in the controversy! Perhaps, strange people are like this: because they do not take the usual path, they will naturally leave a different mark.