In feudal dynasties, the emperor was the man standing at the tip of the pyramid of power, and sentient beings crawled at his feet, driven by him. Under the influence of Confucian culture on the mainland, the relationship between kings and subjects is even more like that of master and servant. In order to win the emperor's favor, most of the bureaucrats pondered the emperor's mind and tried their best to seduce the emperor. But there are also some people who take Jiangshan Sheji more seriously and regard the Celestial Beings as the truth, and this is the case with the minister I want to talk about today.
This person was called Wang You, he was a native of Xinxian County, Shandong, and had been an official in the Central Plains Dynasty, successively through the Later Jin Dynasty, the Later Han Dynasty, and the Later Zhou, but he was a small official such as a county order. After the Great Song Dynasty Tianzi Zhao Kuangyin Chen Qiao mutiny, a dynasty of heavenly sons and a courtier, the change of dynasty also needs fresh blood, Wang You was elected to the central government to serve as the inspector of imperial history.
Because of his excellent work and cautious work, he gradually gained the trust of Zhao Kuangyin, and his official position was constantly promoted. However, it should be known that he was not a concubine of Zhao Kuangyin, and there were many good ministers at the founding of the country, and it was still very difficult to stand out and become the emperor's right and left hand. Maybe his life was spent like this, and there are only a few strokes in the history books.
However, the opportunity finally came, when someone secretly told Wei Zhou Jiedu to make Fu Yanqing plot a rebellion. In ancient times, this was a top priority. Zhao Kuangyin then sent Wang Youquan to inform the Daming Mansion and investigate. Song Taizu's intentions were very good, and the Daimyo mansion was Wei Prefecture and Wang You's hometown, and using his interpersonal relationships and information channels, it should be easy to implement this information.
Before leaving, Zhao Kuangyin cordially received Wang You, and said very angrily: The Daming Mansion is Aiqing's hometown, and this time when he goes back, don't be too low-key, that is, he wants to return to his hometown and honor his ancestors. In addition, the matter I handed over to you, give me a good investigation, if it is done well, Wang Pu's position is yours.
Wang Pu was the prime minister at that time, and when the emperor made such a promise, everyone would be very excited, and Wang You was no exception. After thanking the emperor for his kindness, he embarked on the road back to his hometown with heavy trust. But he was not a dead-headed person, not too much fanfare, but acted in a low-key manner, secretly investigating Fu Yanqing.
In fact, it is inevitable that it will be difficult to conceal the rebellion, at least it is necessary to recruit soldiers and horses, to widely accept customers, to hoard grain and weapons, and to make friends with other powerful figures. If you rush to start an incident, I believe that this kind of extermination will be done by few disciplined people. Wang You also firmly believed that if Fu Yanqing made a move, he could not find out.
However, after Wang You's painstaking inspection and secret visit, he stumbled for several months, and there was no evidence. According to modern law, Fu Yanqing is innocent. Song Taizu couldn't wait any longer, and summoned Wang You to report to his post.
In front of Tianzi, Wang You did not hide anything, he told Song Taizu: "Fu Yanqing is a loyal minister, he has no changes in WeiZhou, honest and dutiful, all in accordance with your will, the minister feels that he has no disobedience, not to mention that he is over seventy years old, and there is no benefit to rebellion." ”
In fact, whether Fu Yanqing had the heart to rebel or not, whether there was a rebellion or not, Song Taizu was very clear. The problem was that Fu Yanqing was Chai Rong's subordinate, not his cronies, and he had a heavy army, and he needed to find a reason to lift the military power. Song Taizu thought to himself, this nerd is too honest, or not as good as Zhao Pu understands my mind, it seems that I have to enlighten him.
Taizu then reminded: Although Fu Yanqing did not have any anti-heart now, it was really uneasy to hold the military power in his hands. In this chaotic world, the temporary rebellion is not without precedent.
Wang You prostrated his head in fright and replied: General Fu and I do not have deep friendship, but according to my investigation and understanding, there is really no basis for rebellion. As for the temporary rebellion, which is such a great rebellion, he will not do it, and the minister dares to guarantee the lives of the whole family. Since Liang, Tang, Jin, and Han, it is because of the suspicion of the lord of the people that the good will be condemned, and there are few examples of national strength being weak? Your Majesty thinks twice.
Zhao Kuangyin's face was green with anger, he was Chen Qiao's mutiny, how could the temporary rebellion be a big rebellion? However, after all, he was not a cruel prince like Zhu Yuanzhang, but he just let Wang You retire and no longer fight with him.
The next day, Wang You received an order to reassign Xiangzhou Zhizhou, and since you could not complete the task, then send someone else. Later, Fu Yanqing was still relieved of his military powers, and was impeached by Yushi because of the trivial matter of still asking the imperial court for the small matter of asking for Qilu after his dismissal. Fu Yanqing was finally placed under house arrest in Luoyang, and died after seven or eight years.
As for Wang You, he did not listen to the emperor's arrangements, did not do bad things with the emperor, and of course did not get the holy family. Not to mention being the prime minister, even the position of Zhizhou has been doing it for many years. In a fit of rage, he planted three locust trees in his house in Xiangzhou, and said a little gamblingly: "I will not become the prime minister in this life, and sooner or later my descendants will become the third duke!" ”
There is an allusion to this, and the history books record that during the Zhou Dynasty at that time, there were three locust trees outside the court. When the Hundred Officials met Zhou Tianzi, the three dukes all stood facing the locust tree, so from the Zhou Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, the "three locusts" referred to the three dukes.
His prophecy did not wait too long, and thirty years later, Wang You's second son Wang Dan did indeed become the chancellor of Song Zhenzong, and for nearly twenty years, he was posthumously honored with the title of Wenzheng. Not only that, due to Wang Dan's sage, the Sanhuai Wang clan became more and more famous, and was one of the important noble families, and among the many branches of the Wang clan, only the King of Taiyuan and the King of Langya, the descendants soared and flourished.
Reference: The Biography of Song Shi Wang You