It is said that "the emperor's daughter does not worry about marrying", but in the Han Dynasty, there was a courtier who refused to marry a princess, leaving a sentence that became a famous saying throughout the ages.
This person was Song Hong, a famous minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Song Hong was born into a bureaucratic family, and his father held the position of Shaofu during the hancheng emperor's reign.
He himself served as a servant during the reigns of emperors of Han and ping.
Later, Wang Mang established a new dynasty, and he succeeded his father as a co-worker of the new dynasty, that is, Shaofu.
He was politically humble and had a reputation both in the official arena and in the civil society.
When the Chimei army attacked Chang'an, they heard of his name and sent emissaries to invite him to discuss the great cause.
For the safety of his family, he could only follow them.
When he reached the Wei Bridge, he took the passenger and jumped into the water in an attempt to commit suicide.
Later, after being rescued, he pretended to die under the cover of his family to save himself.
After Liu Xiu established the Eastern Han Dynasty, he recruited the world's sages.
Song Hong, who originally had experience as an official and was highly respected, was appointed as the Taizhong Doctor.
According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Song Hong was an upright and outspoken courtier.
Once, Liu Xiu summoned Song Hong to discuss political affairs.
But somehow, Liu Xiu kept staring at the picture of the lady on the screen.
Seeing such a scene, the general minister should just pretend to be deaf and dumb, waiting for the emperor to return to God.
The flatterers are probably thinking of finding beauty for the emperor.
But Song Hong was different, he said directly to the emperor
"I don't see good morality like lustful people"
。
Liu Xiu understood as soon as he heard it and replied
"Smell righteousness and obey, can you?"
"Good virtue is like lust" was originally from the Analects, and Confucius at that time expressed such an exclamation because he was snubbed by Wei Linggong.
The situation at this time was quite similar to Song Hong's situation, but ordinary people certainly did not dare to say it, after all, they were facing the emperor.
But Song Hong dared to say that fortunately Liu Xiu was a Ming Jun, otherwise he would have worn small shoes for him.
And what he is most praised by his descendants is not this incident, but his refusal to marry the princess.
Liu Xiu had an older sister named Liu Huang, who was given the title of Princess of Huyang after Liu Xiu ascended the throne.
Princess Huyang's husband unfortunately died of illness, and Liu Xiu planned to find another family affair for the eldest sister, so he talked to her about the chancellor of the court to test the princess's heart.
Of course, Princess Huyang understood her brother's meaning, so she pushed the boat along the water and said: "Manchu Dynasty Wenwu, I see Song Hong's most pleasing to the eye, whether it is appearance or character, no one can compare with him." ”
When Liu Xiu heard it, her sister's vision was really good, and she took a look at the courtiers she valued.
However, there is a problem in front of him, Song Hong has a wife, and the princess of tangtang cannot marry a courtier as a concubine, right? This royal face cannot be ignored.
And Song Hong's wife is not a big mistake, and she can't break up the husband and wife, so it will inevitably fall into reality.
However, his sister rarely looks at a person, and he has to help him as a younger brother.
So he summoned Song Hong and asked him euphemistically
"Proverbs are easy to make friends with, rich and easy to wife, and human feelings"
Probably the meaning is that if the family status is noble, it will ignore the poor and lowly friends of the past, and if you have money, you will abandon the wife in the family, is this human nature?
Song Hong listened to the Right Color:
"The knowledge of the poor and the lowly must not be forgotten, and the wife of the chaff does not go to the church"
As soon as Liu Xiu heard it, she knew that there was no drama, so she asked the princess to choose another good son-in-law.
The world praises Song Hong, but in my opinion, Liu Xiu's approach is also worthy of praise.
But whenever he was a little stronger, disregarding the wishes of his courtiers, he directly ordered marriage, and this princess Song Hong had to marry even if he did not marry, and he had to marry even if he did not marry.
Look at Wang Xianzhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, who also has a wife, but he is favored by the princess.
In order not to marry the princess, they all broke their legs, but even so, the princess refused to let go.
In the end, he was forced to be helpless, so he could only divorce his wife, marry a princess, and live in regret.
On his deathbed, he remembered his life and left only one sentence
"I don't feel that there is anything left, but I remember divorcing the Xi family"
So it seems that when encountering an emperor like Liu Xiu, Song Hong was also lucky, and refusing to marry the princess was not only fine, but also exiled for hundreds of lifetimes.
His legacy of this sentence, "The knowledge of the poor and the lowly must not be forgotten, and the wife of the chaff does not go to the church" has become a famous saying for thousands of years, but unfortunately, how many people have been able to really do it since ancient times?
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