In the fourth year of the new century (716 AD), Song Jing returned to the Beijing Division, which had been absent for many years, and took over the post of prime minister. After Song Jing took office, he quickly burned three fires.
The first fire: dare to speak directly.
Song Jing was a famous talent, and once, Tang Xuanzong asked Song Jing to name the prince and give the princess the name of Yi. It turned out that Tang Xuanzong had taken 30 alternate names in advance, and specially explained that among these 30, he wanted a beautiful, loud and bright name and a name.
Tang Xuanzong's favorite Concubine Wu Hui was the cute little prince and little princess born to him, and wanted to make them different.
The result was unexpected, and Song Jing refused. And said two key words.
The first key word: the palms of the hands and the backs of the hands are all meat. Your Majesty's children are your flesh and blood, thicker than water, and cannot be treated specially just because the birth mother is favored.
The second key word: the state has the national law, and the family has the family rules. His Majesty must not obstruct the rules and destroy the system because of emotional matters, otherwise there will be strife in the court and no peace in the country.
Summary statement: I think 30 names and 30 yi numbers are the best, unless you have to choose the first one, the minister can not do it.
As the prime minister, Song Jing dared to speak out in such a way, and Tang Xuanzong naturally feared him.
Coincidentally, soon, Song Jing accompanied Tang Xuanzong on an eastern tour. Passing through Kungu, due to the narrow and uneven roads and crowded rides, they had to stop and go. Tang Xuanzong was very angry and ordered the removal of two relevant officials. Song Jing persuaded: "Your Majesty came down to the Japanese side, and as soon as he left the patrol, he dealt with the two officials with uneven roads, and I am afraid that everyone's life will be difficult in the future." Tang Xuanzong then withdrew the order.
The second fire: the Grand Duke is selfless.
After Song Jing became prime minister, Guangzhou erected a monument of merit to publicize his merits, and the three words "Ode to Love" were engraved on it to please Song Jing. After Song Jing learned of this incident, he immediately gave instructions to the Officials in Guangzhou: To eradicate the Monument of Merit. The reason is: When I was in Guangzhou, as a local parent official, I just did what I should do and did my due responsibilities. You can't do such flattering things just because I'm prime minister.
Song Jing not only indifferent to fame and fortune himself, but also dared to uphold principles in the face of major issues of right and wrong. In the seventh year of the new century (719 AD), Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's father-in-law Wang Renjiao fell ill and died. Wang Renjiao was empress Wang's biological father, and when Tang Xuanzong was still in disgrace, Wang Renjiao, who had a discerning eye, married his daughter to him, which made Tang Xuanzong very moved. What was even more touching was that Wang Renjiao had been very kind to him since then, and Tang Xuanzong did not go to his house to eat for this reason. Later, my father-in-law's family also declined. Once, Tang Xuanzong went to his father-in-law's house for his birthday, Wang Renjiao wanted to cook longevity noodles for him to eat, however, at that time, there was no noodles in the family, for this reason, Wang Renjiao took off the purple half-arm shirt on his body, went to the pawnshop, bought a bucket of noodles, and made a meal of noodles for Tang Xuanzong, which made Tang Xuanzong even more moved.
It is precisely because of this that after the death of his father-in-law Wang Renjiao, Tang Xuanzong buried him thickly and wanted to build a large tomb five feet high, but Song Jing stood up and resolutely opposed it, on the grounds that this was not in line with the system and regulations. According to the regulations of the system, the grave of a pin official is only nine feet in length, and now it is necessary to repair a large tomb of five feet and one foot, is this not an easy change in the system, and how can we ensure its implementation in the future?
In the end, Tang Xuanzong not only obeyed his advice and did not build a large tomb for his father-in-law, but also rewarded Song Jing with 400 caijuan.
The third fire: rectify the bureaucracy.
After Song Jing became prime minister, although he held great power, he was clean and honest in government and never favored personal feelings. He selected officials out of the public mind, without exception to others and to himself, so that the hundred divisions were appointed to their respective positions. Song Jing's uncle Song Yuanchao became a candidate official for the imperial court, and in order to be able to give priority to admission, he relied on Song Jing's power and demanded that the officials of the bureaucracy give priority to him. Seeing that the great future was in front of him, even if there was no impermeable wall in the world, the news actually went away and reached Song Jing's ears.
Song Jing was very shocked, and immediately replied to the official, directly asking the official not to take special care because of him, and he must not admit Song Yuanchao. In this way, Song Yuanchao lost the opportunity to take office this time.
Coincidentally, Qishan County Ling Wang Renchen was a former official of Tang Xuanzong's domain before he became emperor, and Tang Xuanzong remembered his old feelings and specially sent him five pin officials. After Song Jing knew about it, he immediately obstructed it, and Tang Xuanzong weighed it up again and again, but still listened to Song Jing's advice and praised his style of not consulting privately.
After that, Song Jing took the opportunity to propose to restore the system of fighting during the Zhenguan period to avoid the arbitrariness of the imperial court ministers. Tang Xuanzong also approved the restoration of this system, making the official style more pragmatic and the officials more honest and honest.
In Song Jing, we see the style and temperament of the prosperous world, open-mindedness and tolerance, and freedom of speech; we see the mind and ambition of a generation of Ming monarchs, who know people and do good deeds, and follow the flow of advice; we look at the passions and dreams of an era, the great country, and the coming of all nations. When a sage meets the Lord, his iron backbone is respectable, his noble character is praised, and the government and the public praise him as "yangchun with feet".
However, Song Jing, like Yao Chong, was also honorably laid off after only being prime minister for more than three years. The reason is that Song Jing is not a perfect person, and he also has shortcomings, that is, he is too stubborn and rigid, does not know how to work around, and does not know how to be soft. It is mainly reflected in the following matter: the bad money incident.
Evil money is private money minted by the people, and its circulation disrupts the socio-economic order. Due to the widespread prevalence of evil money, the poor are getting poorer, and the treacherous and powerful are richer. Song Jing, who was jealous and hateful, immediately carried out a strict ban, specifically: "Cut off the evil money in the world, do two baht and four tired money, those who cannot be used, and break it and recast it." Song Jing's proposal violated the interests of the rich who minted money, and they all went up against it. After adding that the bad money could not be used, the phenomenon of "cash flow" faults soon appeared in the market, and the economy and trade were seriously affected, causing public resentment.
Under pressure from all sides, Tang Xuanzong finally made an act of forbearance and love—deposed Song Jing and sealed him an official position with no real power but a respected status—Kaifu Yi Tongsan Division. And Song Jing, who had no real power, was still outspoken and outspoken, and Tang Xuanzong still respected him. Nine years later, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang once again appointed Song Jing, who had reached the age of seventy, as the right chancellor of Shangshu. However, after all, the years are not spared, Song Jing asked for resignation on the grounds of old age and infirmity, and then chose to return to the pastoral garden - to the eastern capital Luoyang to live a secluded life. Five years later, in the twenty-fifth year of the new century (737 AD), Song Jing died at the age of 75 at his home in Luoyang. It is said that when Song Jing was seriously ill and dying, Tang Xuanzong sent a special envoy to boil medicine for Song Jing to express his love and concern for him.
After Song Jing's death, Tang Xuanzong was grateful for his meritorious service, so he made a special decree to give the grand lieutenant, Yu Wenzhen, and at the same time, he was also exempt from all his ying.
Song Jing was an official, and he was honest and honest. The New Book of Tang praises "Song Jinggangzheng and too much (Yao) Chong" and "good at keeping righteousness to uphold the righteousness of the world". Historically, he was called "Yao Song" along with Yao Chong.