Here comes the history lesson

#History Talks# Wang Shichong is not true because of "lip service"

The Zizhi Tongjian records that Wang Shichong, one of the heroes of the late Sui Dynasty, was made a imperial lieutenant after capturing Luoyang. In order to show that he has the mind to recruit talents and open up his words, Wang Shichong erected three signs outside the imperial lieutenant's mansion: one seeks literary talent, and can help the current affairs; Second, seek martial courage and wisdom, and can destroy those who can attack the enemy; Those who seek to seek injustice and those who do not apply for it. Seeing such three "billboards", hundreds of people write and talk every day. Wang Shichong "introduced him, examined himself, and gave his condolences", so "everyone was pleased with himself and obeyed his words." But in fact, Wang Shi was full of words and truth, "down to the soldiers, the world is full of words and pleasure, but there is no kindness." Wang Shichong, who was untrustworthy, gradually lost the trust of civil officials, military generals and the people, and also laid the groundwork for his ultimate failure.

7. The story of ancient officials "words must be believed, deeds must be fruitful"

Zhang Jin of the Ming Dynasty inscribed this couplet on the tower of Haining, Zhejiang: "If you are wide, the people will receive one more point, and if you take a penny, the official is not worth a penny." "During his reign, he abstined from his official duties, did not favor selfishness, was upright, and was deeply loved by the people. Qian Feng, the iron-masked imperial historian during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, also wrote a couplet: "Love half a text is not worth half a text, it is not an ignorant person in the world; To do one thing must be fine, and a few hearts are safe. "When Qian Feng was serving as the student administrator in Hunan Province, he went to various counties to inspect, and according to the "shed rules" at that time, students wanted to pool money to pay tribute to the student government, but Qian Feng was not allowed to accept anything; When he was a Beijing official, he did not decorate a carriage and horse, but only bought a mule with one blind eye as a mount.

8. The story of an ancient official walking straight

During the period when Yuan Dexiu served as a local county governor in the Tang Dynasty, he was determined to be diligent in government with the style of a sage, insisted on being clean and honest, never accepted bribes, and lived a life of "being thin and thrifty, and being humble and honest". When he left office at the end of his three-year term as a county magistrate in Lushan, he had only a thin cloth and no other money, and the people said goodbye to him in tears. Tang Dynasty Lu Zai praised in "Yuan De Xiu": "Whoever is the prince of the house, the dog will scoop the meat." Whoever is a government official, the horse will eat corn. Whoever dies Yuan Gong dies on an empty stomach. Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty commented: "Dexiu is pure and simple, and the scholars and doctors are obedient to it." "Yuan Dexiu abstains from greed and desire, walks upright, and benefits the people, which can be called a model of clean officials.

9. The story of ancient officials who were dedicated to justice

There is such an emotional story in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", after the Jin general Yanghu became seriously ill, he repeatedly recommended Du Pre to Sima Yan, the emperor of Jin Wu, but burned the recommendation manuscript afterwards. Emperor Wudi of Jin asked him: "It is a beautiful thing to recommend the virtuous and the virtuous, but why did Qing recommend people to the dynasty, that is, the self-immolation manuscript is not known?" Yanghu replied, "Worship the official and the court, thank you for the private door, and the minister will not take it." "According to the "History of Song", Wang Dan, the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, has been an official for decades, knows people well and is good at duty, recommends talents, does not leave a private name, and is not invited privately. The history books say, "When the guests are full, they dare not invite them privately." After a few months, he summoned him to speak and inquire about the sickness of the four directions, or let him give his words. The master of the talent, the secret name, its people return, and they are not seen. He also wrote, "Whatever is recommended, no one knows." After Dan was gone, Shi Guan revised the "True Sect Record", and obtained a chapter inside, and he knew that the cloud recommended by Chaoshi Duodan."

10. The story of Zhen Yuqian

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was an official named Zhen Yu, who was loyal and humble when things happened. One year Chinese New Year's Eve, the emperor gave each of the courtiers a live sheep. Since this batch of sheep is large and small, when it is distributed, the person in charge is worried. Some ministers advocate killing sheep and then dividing them equally, others advocating capturing lots... At this time, Zhen Yu said: "Is it so difficult to divide a sheep? I see that everyone can take a sheep casually. After that, he took the lead in leading the skinniest sheep home for the New Year. Then the ministers followed suit, and the sheep were quickly distributed.

11. The story of Yang Zhen's self-discipline

"Mr. Sizhi" Yang Zhen also set an example in governing the family, and established a clean family style. Yang Zhen said: "Let future generations be called the descendants of innocent officials, and leave them behind, is it not also thick?" From Yang Zhen to his son Yang Bing, his grandson Yang Ci, and his great-grandson Yang Biao, "the fourth imperial lieutenant, virtue and industry successively", generations of "can keep the family style, and are valued by the world". The Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai praised him: "Four generations and three public families, the breeze spreads the world." "A pure heart lives with less greed, and a clean family has no troubles. If one person is not honest, the whole family will not be round.

12. The story of the extravagant king of Jun

"Han Feizi" records the story that King Shang ordered people to make a pair of ivory chopsticks for himself, and his minister Jizi felt that something was wrong. Miko thought that if he used ivory chopsticks, he would no longer use a thick bowl, and then he would definitely use the "cup of rhino jade", eat the "elephant leopard fetus", wear "brocade clothes and nine heavy", and live in the "high platform and wide room", "If you call it so, the world is not enough". Sure enough, within a few years, the king built a wine pond and meat forest, set up cannon burning, and was extremely extravagant, and crippled Zhongliang, so that he died and the country was destroyed. Jizi can see the calamity of tomorrow with a pair of ivory chopsticks from a young age, and Han Feizi praised him for "seeing the small to know the cute, and seeing the end to know the end".

13. Lou Jing's outspoken story

During the conquest career of the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, there was a major mistake, that is, the "Siege of Baideng". According to the "Records of History", at that time, Liu Bang led his army to personally invade the Xiongnu who invaded Jinyang, and successively sent more than ten groups of messengers to investigate the enemy, but unexpectedly, the Xiongnu deliberately hid their strength, so that the envoys thought that they were vulnerable. Only Lou Jing, with the experience of "two countries fighting each other, this should boast of seeing what is strong", speculated from what he saw as "barren, old and weak" from the envoy, and speculated that the Xiongnu "Fuqi soldiers were fighting for profits", and put forward suggestions that they should not be attacked, but this was not adopted by Liu Bang. As a result, the Han army was trapped in Baidengshan for seven days because of the underestimation of the enemy, and Lou Jing was also made the Marquis of Guannei because of his loyalty and vision.

14. Su Shi's proud story

The "Cautionary Sayings" records that Su Shi paid homage to Wang Anshi and saw two poems in his house, "The west wind passed through the garden last night, blowing down yellow flowers full of gold." Su Shi took it for granted that chrysanthemums bloomed and were durable in late autumn, how could the wind blow the flowers and fall "full of gold"? So he added two sentences, "Autumn flowers do not fall more than spring flowers, say and chant carefully with poets." After one day of autumn breeze, Su Shi saw the petals of chrysanthemums scattered all over the place in his back garden, and remembered that he "didn't know how to pretend to understand" to play a clever poem to Wang Anshi, and couldn't help but feel regretful.

15. The story of Zheng Shaogu making friends

The Ming Dynasty poet Zheng Shaogu and Wang Ziheng were thousands of miles apart and had never met, but they admired each other and gave each other answers. Zheng Shaogu once had a poem praising Prince Heng: "Talking about poetry in the sea, Prince Heng, the spring breeze sits all over Lu Zhusheng". When Zheng Shaogu died, Wang Ziheng was extremely sad and ran for thousands of miles for his friends he had never met. The interaction between people seems ordinary on weekdays, but it is very common when there are things, and the common suffering and compassion give people strength and warmth.

16. The story of Shan Yun's incorruptibility

The Ming Dynasty writer Ye Sheng recorded a story in "Zheng Jiao on Guarding Against Corruption": The general Shan Yun went to the post of general army in Guangxi, and after his arrival, he inquired about the situation of the people. Shanyun asked Zheng Jiao, an old official who was straightforward: I heard that this place is still good for goods and bribes, can I also be greedy? Zheng Jiao replied: When an adult first arrives, it is like a clean white robe, and there is a stain, like a white robe dotted with ink, and it cannot be smudged in the end. Shan Yun nodded and praised, and after guarding Guangxi for more than ten years, his integrity and integrity remained unswerving, and he became a generation of clean officials.

17. The story of Fung Zhiqi's self-discipline

"The Great View of the Wild History of the Qing Dynasty" recorded: During the light years of the Qing Dynasty, Feng Zhiqi, the minister of the Criminal Department, loved inscriptions and paintings, but he never mentioned this good in front of people, and he was even more silent when he went to other places, not revealing the slightest hobby. Once a subordinate presented him with a copy of the Song Tuo tablet, and Feng Yuan returned it intact, and someone advised him to open it and take a look. Feng Zhiqi believes that this kind of antiquity is a rare treasure, once I open it, I may not be able to put it down, not open it, and imagine that it is a fake. "Seal his heart and eyes, cut off his temptation, how can I help?"

18. The story of Yang Zhen's rejection of Jin

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Yang Zhen was appointed as Donglai's punctual, and his friend Wang Mi gave him money late at night in order to repay his love, and said "the ignorant of the night". But Yang Zhenyi refuted it sternly: "Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know, what is ignorance?" "The incorruptible Yang Zhenhou official to the third duke, the allusion to "four knowledge and rejection of gold" has also been passed down from generation to generation.

19. The story of Zhang Boxing's thank-you gift

Zhang Boxing, an incorruptible official of the Qing Dynasty, wrote a special article in order to refuse gifts from all parties when he was the governor of Fujian, and the two most widely recited sentences are: "One grain and one grain, my name festival; Every centimeter, the anointing of the people". Zhang Boxing was a clean official in his life, with clean sleeves, and the Kangxi Emperor commented that his "ethics is the first in the world", which was widely recited by the people.

20. The story of Hou Mingke's wife

Hou Mingke of the Qing Dynasty served as an official in Shaanxi for many years, and when he was appointed as the Tongzhi of the Xiaoyi Hall (present-day Zhashui County), he lived frugally in order to help the disaster-stricken people. Unwilling to endure oil-free coarse rice, the officials in his hall asked the people for ten catties of lard, ate five catties for themselves, and secretly gave the remaining five catties to Hou Mingke's wife. When Hou Mingke learned this, he was furious: "Scraping the people's fat ointment, like killing my parents." The people hang upside down, and they enjoy the blessings of peace, and they cannot be brought up. "When the servant was stripped of his post as a citizen, he ordered his wife to return the lard and punished him for taking bribes. His wife regretted it, and Hou Mingke reprimanded: "Knowing is not without fault, not forty rods, Er will not be trained by this!" Hou Mingke's "wife who refused to bribe the cane" was greatly praised by the people, and when he left office, he presented a plaque of "benevolence and virtue like spring", and nearly 10,000 people sent it with tears.

21. The story of Yue Fei's service to the country

Yue Fei, a famous general of a generation, is precisely with the heart of "Jing Kang shame, still not snow; When will the courtiers hate? Although he was in the era of greed, he was not greedy for money, not beautiful, and not vain, and finally left a name for himself with loyalty.

22. The story of innovative thinking

Dr. Yang Zhenning said: Taylor, the father of the American hydrogen bomb, has 10 new ideas almost every day, 9 and a half of which are wrong, but he doesn't care. "Half a day of new ideas" accumulated, making Taylor a huge success.

23. Sima Yi's self-controlled story

In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Zhuge Liang led a large army to labor on an expedition, and military supplies were a big problem, so he was eager to fight a decisive battle with Sima Yi's army. Sima Yi saw through Zhuge Liang's weakness and could not hold on: waiting for Zhuge Liang's army to be unsustainable, he could only fight and was forced to withdraw his troops. In order to provoke Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang sent someone to send Sima Yi the woman's costume. Sima Yi accepted it calmly. Although Zhuge Liang was "wise and close to a demon" (Lu Xun), the return of Qishan in vain had a lot to do with Sima Yi's high degree of self-control.

24. Einstein pursues simple stories

Einstein was teaching at Princeton University in the United States, with an annual salary of 16,000 US dollars, and he voluntarily asked to reduce it to 3,000 US dollars, which people were puzzled by. He explained: "Every excess possession is a stumbling block to life; Only a simple life can give me the driving force to create! "A simple life is good for both body and spirit." Einstein made a will on the occasion of his death: no obituaries, no funerals, no tombs, no monuments. In this way, what reputation and status have nothing to do with him. But who doesn't recognize his world-beating contributions and extraordinary achievements!

25. The story of Zhukov's fearlessness

"Whoever raises an army will die." During World War II, at a critical moment in a battle, former Soviet Marshal Zhukov suddenly received a report that dozens of tanks were out of service. Zhukov hurriedly asked why, and his subordinates replied that the tank-specific shells had been fired. Without thinking, Zhukov said: "This tank can hit shells for our field artillery!" "In a word, these tanks came back to life and played an important role.

26. The story of the hedonism of the Eight Flags

Before entering the customs, the Manchu "Eight Banner Soldiers" were once an elite division that was "as powerful as thunder and moving like the wind", but only more than 100 years after entering the customs, they became vulnerable to "groups of three or five, carrying birdcage and bird racks, wandering around, or even gathering together to gamble". When "fighting the world", he strives to govern, can fight a good battle, and is invincible; When "sitting on the rivers and mountains", he is greedy for pleasure, swords and guns are put into storage, horses are released in Nanshan, and finally he defeats himself.

27. The story of Fabre's struggle

French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre famously said: "Opportunity is always reserved for those who are prepared." He himself has always practiced this phrase. Fabre lived in poverty, dropping out of school as a child because of his family's poverty, and worked as a railroad worker and lemon seller. Although life was difficult, he did not give up his pursuit, always insisted on learning, persisting in exploration, and insisting on writing, and left a name for himself in the book "Insect", Hugo called him "Homer of the insect world".

28. The story of the reasons for Napoleon's defeat

In June 1815, when summing up the lessons of defeat after the crushing defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon lamented: "I haven't had soup with soldiers for a long time!" "Even a man with a strong mind like Napoleon, once separated from the soldiers, will become alone, and defeat is inevitable.

29. The story of Zhao Zhitou Bean

Zhao Gui, an official of the Northern Song Dynasty, placed a bottle on his desk, as well as black and white beans, "start a good thought, throw a white bean into the bottle; If you have an evil thought, throw a black bean in the bottle." At the beginning, there were many black beans, but as he introspected, sharpened restraint, and corrected his ways, there were naturally more and more white beans in the bottle, and fewer and fewer black beans.

30. Stories of confronting shortcomings

Whether to correct one's own shortcomings in time or evade concealment is often related to the direction of life and the fate of individuals. During the Spring and Autumn Period, at the beginning of Qin Mugong's accession to the throne, he was stunned and unwilling to listen to the opinions of others, and even if the ministers objected, he still rashly sent troops to attack Zheng Guo, and as a result, the entire army was destroyed. In the face of the fiasco, Qin Mugong took the initiative to publicly admit his mistakes, painfully correct his previous mistakes, overcome his shortcomings of stubbornness and arbitrariness, pool his wisdom and advice, and finally defeat the enemy. On the contrary, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Yuan Shao, who claimed to be the prefecture of Jizhou, did not listen to the advice of his advisers and rashly launched the Battle of Guandu, which resulted in a great defeat. Yuan Shao not only did not admit his shortcomings of rigidity and self-use, but also pretended to be wrong, killing the strategist, which caused the morale to be demoralized and eventually came to an end.

31. Stories that cherish time

Dong Biwu said: "Gu Yun is a pity on this day, and my generation should cherish the second yin." "Every great cause is done by all people, and it depends on the uncomplaining, dedication and dedication of thousands of people, and the trickle of rivers." The father of hybrid rice, "Academician Yuan Longping", although he is 89 years old, still sticks to the front line of scientific research; Academician Lin Junde has been living and struggling endlessly, and at the last moment of his life, he is still working hard for the national defense modernization of the motherland; Yang Yegong, a "model commander who faithfully fulfills his mission", devoted his life to forging a long sword for the country, and still issued the password "one, two, one, go" when he died.

32. The story of Goodenough's "perseverance."

In 2019, Goodenough and three other scientists won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their outstanding contributions in the field of lithium batteries. It is worth noting that Goodenough, known as the "father of lithium batteries", is 97 years old and is the oldest winner in the history of the Nobel Prize. Goodenough was more than half a century old and began working on battery materials, and he also suffers from dyslexia. The old man once said: "Some of us are like turtles, walking slowly, struggling all the way, and we can't find a way out when we are standing." But the 'turtle' knew he had to go on. Peers who know him well said of him: "No matter what he does, he is always unpopular at the beginning, but he can have the last laugh." ”

33. The story that Huang Xuhua delved into

Huang Xuhua is the chief designer of the mainland's first generation of nuclear submarines, and he is willing to choose to "do earth-shaking things and be an incognito celebrity." In order to develop nuclear submarines, he sought far from home and desert islands, and hid his fame for 30 years; He never admitted defeat and insisted on "arching his head and feet in the sky, and also getting the nuclear submarine out." It was not until 30 years after the success of scientific research and the "disappearance" that Huang Xuhua saw his 93-year-old mother. "Loyalty to the country is the greatest filial piety to the mother", he has always used this phrase to support himself. "This life belongs to the motherland, this life has no complaints and no regrets", Huang Xuhua's life is a spotless, pure and pure life, and it is also a life of overcoming difficulties and bravely climbing peaks.

34. The story of Lv Yuan's acquaintance

When Lü Yuanying, a famous minister of the Tang Dynasty, stayed in the eastern capital Luoyang, he often played chess with Menke. Once, his subordinates sent a stack of important official documents, and Lu Yuanying put down his chess pieces and moved to review them. The doorman took the opportunity to steal a son to reverse the defeat, and he thought that he did something unconsciously and secretly proud. I don't want Lu Yuanying to see everything clearly, but he pretends to be unaware. The next day, a rich coil was prepared for him, and he was invited to go elsewhere. Everyone didn't know what to do, and he never explained a word. Ten years later, when he was dying, Lu Yuanying explained the reason to his nephews: "Yi Yi is a chess piece, and he doesn't mind enough, but his heart is terrible." Lu Yuanying warned them that they must be clear-eyed when making friends. Stealing a pawn is actually not worth minding, but it reflects the horror of this person's heart. In order to win, he can do whatever it takes to win, and if he neglects the mirror, it is tantamount to serving the tiger with his body, and the danger is indescribable.

35. The story of Wu Yinzhi and the "Greedy Spring"

Wu Yinzhi, an official of the Jin Dynasty, passed by the "Greedy Spring" on his way to Guangzhou to assassinate the history of history, and it was said that drinking the water of the "Greedy Spring" would become extremely greedy. He drank it and wrote the verse: "The ancients clouded this water, and they carried a thousand gold; Try to drink together, it should not be easy to drink. Later, Wu Yinzhi was known as the first good official of the Jin Dynasty. It turns out that clarity and inclarity are not in external objects, but in the heart of a person.

36. The story of the ancient family style

Fan Zhongxun, a famous thinker, literary scholar and military expert of the Northern Song Dynasty, proposed to his family the eight-character family style of "self-reliance, reading, thrift, and good deeds", and Fan's descendants have adhered to it from generation to generation, producing hundreds of champions and scholars. In addition, such as Confucius's "Poetry and Court Training", Zhuge Liang's "Maxims of Commandments", Sima Guang's "Family Fan", Zhu Xi's "Zhuzi Family Training", etc., have always standardized and inspired future generations to stand in the world and grow into talents. There are many of the best of it that deserve to be carried forward.

37. Su Shi's story of "hanging money on the beams"

In his more than 40 years as an official, Su Shi paid great attention to thrift and often lived a careful life. In order not to spend a penny indiscriminately, he first calculated all the money, and then divided it into 12 equal parts, using one per month; Divide each serving into 30 small servings equally, using one small serving per day. After the money is fully prepared, hang it on the beam of the house according to the portion, and take one part every morning as a living expense for the whole day. After getting a small amount of money, you must carefully weigh it and resolutely do not buy what you can not buy. Su Shi also stored the remaining money in a bamboo tube in case of accidents.

38. The story of Wang Pu "not being given a garment"

Wang Pu, an official of the Ming Dynasty, was serving as a government official in Guangdong during the Hongwu period, when his brother went to visit him from his hometown, and happened to be on the same ship as Wang Pu's subordinate official. In order to please Wang Pu, the subordinate official gave his brother a cloth robe. Wang Pu was very upset when he learned about this, and asked his brother to return the cloth robe to the master, saying: "Although the clothes are small, you must not be careless, and this defilement will gradually insult you." Wang Pu has been an official for many years, and "he has no heavy clothes, and he has no food", and he has won the respect of the people. Later, when he was wrongfully arrested, his subordinates and people gave him travel expenses and gifts, and he was thankful, saying that he could not change his mind because of the tribulation. Later, the imperial court found Wang Pu innocent and released him back to his hometown.

39. The story of Fan Zhongyan's "Caution as always"

In March of the eighth year (1015) of the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Fan Zhongyan was inscribed on the gold list and was admitted as a junior scholar. Soon after, he was appointed commander of the Guangde Army (present-day Guangde, Anhui) and was responsible for prison affairs. Si Li joined the army as a low-grade official, and there were not many servants, and at this time, Fan Zhongyan was also financially strapped for money. To what extent is the financial situation? After Fan Zhongyan completed his term, when he left the Guangde army, he was "poor and left a horse", but he also needed money for food and lodging along the way, and he finally sold the horse and returned on foot. It can be seen from this that although Fan Zhong drowned in the army as a commander, although he had difficulties in life, he absolutely did not use his power for personal gain, and he was cautious about his duties and his own reputation. Fan Zhongyan later participated in political affairs, presided over the change of the law, and had great power, but he was honest and did not change his official duties, as evidenced by history, "History of Song" Yun: "Although it is expensive after that, non-guests do not value meat." The wife can only feed and clothe, and can only feed herself. Later generations not only recited his cautionary words in the "Notes on Yueyang Lou", but also admired his honesty and thrift in his life, praising him as "a great loyalty festival, worthy of the ancients in the past, and able to learn from the comers." ”

40. The story of Lu Xian's "Shen Chu"

The prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, Lu Xian, was a clean official and had always been spotless in his dealings with the lords of the domain. Tang Dezong was worried that he would be "too cautious" and might hinder his official duties, so he told him: "Qing Qing is too cautious, and all the ways to give gifts will be refused, for fear that things will not make sense", and suggested that if he did not accept valuable gifts, small items such as boot whips, it would be okay to accept them. Lu Xian did not think so, thinking that "as soon as the bribery road opened, it became very prosperous." The whip boots will be golden. Seeing what you want, how can you suffocate yourself! Have made personal friends, how can you be absolutely invincible! It is a trickle endlessly, and the stream becomes a disaster. "From small gifts to big gifts, from cheap gifts to expensive gifts, insatiable greed, and in the end, "if the goods are bribed, the handle of reward and punishment will be lost; Greed for cloth will lead to the decline of shame. "The whip boot may seem small, but it can cause the dominoes of desire to fall, the first domino falls, and all the subsequent dominoes also fall. Lu believes that the most effective way to curb corruption is to "be cautious" and nip greed in the bud.