In the second year of Chunhua, there was a child of a family in Linchuan in the Northern Song Dynasty who fell with a spring rain, and no one would have known at that time that his birth had great significance for the entire Northern Song Dynasty. When we were young, the article "Wounded Zhongyong" in our Chinese textbook let us know Zhongyong, who although he was gifted in childhood and could write poetry at the age of 5, but because he lacked the cultivation of the day after tomorrow, he was unknown to everyone. Coincidentally, the children born to this family in Linchuan are as brilliant as Zhongyong, and they can also read and write at the age of 5, and can also write essays.
From ancient times to the present, such a prodigy can be described as a rare sight in a hundred years, and it didn't take long for this child's reputation to spread out a hundred miles and gradually become a household name. Everyone must be curious whether this child will also repeat the mistakes of Zhongyong and disappear from everyone? On the contrary, because of the grace of Bo Le, this prodigy entered high school at the age of only 14, and since then the official fortune has been smooth and developed, and he has become a high-ranking official and magnate respected by everyone, and he is the famous Xiangyanshu of the Northern Song Dynasty. In the first half of his life, Yan Shu's life seemed to be open, but nine out of ten things in life were unsatisfactory, but such a genius was detained in the later part of his life, so how did Yan Shu view these things?
1. Prodigy Yan Shu
As we all know, even Maxima needs Bo Le's insight, and Yan Shu is lucky, and Fang Zhongyong is fortunate that he met the first nobleman in his life in his childhood: Jiangnan Zhibai Zhang Zhibai. Because Yan Shu wrote like a god at the age of 5, after the publicity of the neighbors, Zhang Zhibai, who was only virtuous, soon heard about this number one. So Zhang Zhibai immediately went to Yan Shu's house, wanting to see for himself what this child's talent was. Sure enough, when he personally tested Yan Shu, the answer sheets given by this child all stunned everyone present and were deeply impressed, and it was this test that changed Yan Shu's life since then.
In the second year of Jingde, Yan Shu was recommended by Zhang Zhibai and participated in the palace examination that year. At that time, the palace examination was the last and most difficult level in the imperial examination. Not only is the opponent strong, but the examiner is also the saint of today, and the king's heart is unpredictable, which means that the palace examination not only tests the knowledge of the candidates, but also the ability to play on the spot and adapt to changes.
On the day of the exam, all the examinees saw Yan Shu coming with his bags, and they all wondered, how could a 14-year-old child get to the palace examination step by step? What surprised everyone even more was that during the examination process, Yan Shu also proposed to replace the test paper on the spot, and the reason turned out to be: he had done this set of papers. After this incident, Yan Shu not only became popular throughout Bianjing, but also successfully won the appreciation of Song Zhenzong. If you can win the favor of the emperor in the palace examination, do you still need to worry about your future career? In the same year, Yan Shu was granted the title of secretary by Emperor Zhenzong of Song and left him in the secret pavilion. Since then, 14-year-old teenager Lang Yanshu has successfully started his professional life.
Many believe that Yan Shukong is talented and young, and he is afraid that he will soon suffer in this complicated officialdom. But what people didn't expect was that Yan Shu's official path was brilliant, and he rose all the way, as if he had opened a hanging. But everyone only needs to look down to understand that these are not his luck, but Yan Shu is worth enough.
Yan Shu, who worked in the secret pavilion, had never felt superior because of his outstanding talents. On the contrary, he clearly realized that although he was slightly better than others in terms of knowledge, he still had very little life experience, and he should devote himself to constantly absorbing knowledge to make himself stronger. These efforts of Yan Shu were seen by the leaders of the Secret Pavilion, and they would often report to the emperor. Not only that, Yan Shu also did not care about banquet invitations on weekdays, only concentrated on studying his own knowledge, and lived a plain and simple life. I think that if it weren't for Yan Shu's mentality, future generations would not have seen the song "Huan Xi Sha" he wrote.
On a sunny day, having a few drinks on the pavilion and looking at the flowers scattered on the river due to the breeze, Yan Shu not only felt quiet and beautiful, but also added a touch of sentimentality. When the swallow suddenly flew overhead, with the clouds on the sky to draw a trace, perhaps because of the strength of the wine, Yan Shu felt it, so he picked up the pen and wrote: "A glass of new words wine, the old pavilion of last year's weather." What time does the sun set? Helplessly, the flower fell, and the déjà vu Yan returned. The small garden fragrance path wanders alone. "In fact, the "Huan Xi Sha" written by Yan Shu when he was young is also his attitude in the rest of his life." Born of sorrow and dying of happiness", this is Yan Shu's credo in the officialdom, but it is his attitude of entering the ranks that has attracted the dissatisfaction of others in the dynasty, and among them there are many Wen Sheng who he himself promoted, and the later generation of Wenzong Ouyang Xiu.
Second, the weak and incompetent prime minister
In the eighth year of the Heavenly Saint, Yan Shu was ordered to preside over the tribute, and it was in this year's imperial examination room that he met Ouyang Xiu, a student who fell in love with him. Everyone knows Yan Shu's prodigy experience, so everyone knows that his knowledge is real material, so for the examination of selecting talents such as the imperial examination, Yan Shu naturally has to spend some effort and effort, so in this imperial examination, Yan Shu did not play cards according to common sense like those examiners in the past, and made a cold and cold question. Therefore, his acquaintance with Ouyang Xiu was destined by heaven, and he had such a fate. However, it is a pity that although the two share good poetry, they are not like-minded people.
"In the spring of the fourth year of the Qing calendar, Teng Zijing guarded Baling County." When Fan Zhongyan wrote this "Tale of Yueyang Lou", it was at the time when the competition between reformers and conservatives was most fierce within the Northern Song Dynasty. In fact, Song Renzong also knew that the current Song Dynasty not only had serious problems with land annexation, but also had many problems of forming parties and making personal interests within the imperial court. It's just that because the heart of the villain is not naked in the sun, the Song Dynasty is still peaceful on the surface, but as long as you go deep among the peasants, you will find that the masses' grievances have already been deepened. To this end, Emperor Renzong of Song appointed Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi and others to carry out the reform plan.
Although Fan Zhongyan and Fu Yi are all famous loyal and capable ministers in history, Fan Zhongyan at that time was only a deputy prime minister, so all his actions could not bypass one person, that is, Yan Shu. And this has also become one of the important reasons for the impeachment of Yan Shu, who does not agree to reform.
In fact, Yan Shu did not directly stand on the side of the opposition, but just when Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhongyan and others were full of ambition to change the style of this great Song Dynasty, they encountered Yan Shu's obstruction. However, the reformers at that time could not understand why Yan Shu kept delaying such a matter that was conducive to the people's livelihood, resulting in a slow reform process and little effect. If you don't help, forget it, Yan Shu even put Ouyang Xiuwai elsewhere and cut the reformist army, which obviously touched the bottom line of the reformists. In a fit of anger, these ministers, who were eager to reform and save the country, publicly played impeachment of Yan Shu at the imperial court.
But Yan Shu is Song Renzong's teacher, and he has been reading beside him since childhood, so the emperor has always respected Yan Shu, and even when encountering some difficult problems, Song Renzong will specifically ask Yan Shu's opinion. So why did this time, when Ouyang Xiu and others impeached Yan Shu, Song Renzong dismissed him without saying a word? In fact, the emperor also has his own selfishness, and he has long been unhappy with Yan Shu. And the reason for this matter, we have to start before.
III. Quarrels with the Emperor
When Song Zhenzong died, Song Renzong was only thirteen years old, so after he ascended the throne, some power-hungry ministers in the dynasty wanted to take advantage of the void. At this time, there was chaos in the imperial court, but at this time, Yan Shu stood up from among the ministers, and he proposed that Empress Dowager Liu obey the government, which stabilized the situation for Song Renzong and kept his rights. In fact, this Empress Dowager Liu is not Song Renzong's biological mother, and his mother Shunrong Li has long been beaten into the cold palace by Song Zhenzong because of her low status and framed by others. But before Empress Dowager Liu's death, Song Renzong always thought that this was his biological mother. What makes him feel sad is that Yan Shu, who accompanied him day and night to teach him to read, knew the truth but still hid it from him until now, and Song Renzong felt deeply betrayed.
In order to see his mother, Song Renzong personally took a car to the Hongfuyuan where his mother's coffin was placed, but his move was strongly opposed by Yan Shu. At this point, the two had a fierce quarrel. It was precisely because of the guilt of his biological mother that Song Renzong initially hated Empress Dowager Liu and Yan Shu, and he couldn't believe that the mother he had called for decades was fake. When Song Renzong thought that when he was happy with the Liu family, his biological mother actually spent every difficult day in the cold palace, thinking of this, he felt that he was extremely unfilial, so he wanted to posthumously seal his biological mother and give her the supreme honor.
This idea was naturally opposed by Yan Shu, who reminded Song Renzong countless times that his actions not only exceeded the etiquette system, but also disrespected Empress Dowager Liu. In any case, Empress Dowager Liu raised Song Renzong by her side since she was a child, taught him and persuaded him to the best of her ability, and did not even harm the Li family, so Song Renzong could not treat his concubine like this. But how could Song Renzong, who suddenly knew the truth, listen to these lessons? Seeing this, everyone should have understood why Song Renzong knew that Yan Shu released Ouyang Xiu to protect him, but he still responded to the request of those who impeached and removed Yan Shu from his official position. Why did Yan Shu release Ouyang Xiu? In fact, the reason is very simple.
Because the reformists represented by Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhongyan and others moved the cake of conservatives, including Yan Shu himself. But after all, Ouyang Xiu was pulled up by Yan Shu himself, although there was always a conflict between the two in terms of personality, but Yan Shu could not deny that Ouyang Xiu's talent and writing were all very recognized by him. Therefore, if Ouyang Xiu and the others have been allowed to act so recklessly, then how could some of the old ministers in the dynasty let them go? It's a pity that these people don't understand Yan Shu's retreat to advance, but those who understand Yan Shu are still angry with him.
However, Yan Shu did not struggle too much for such an ending, because he knew the progress and retreat, and looking back on his life, I believe Yan Shu was satisfied and content. During his tenure as prime minister, he offered good advice to help the imperial court calm the war in Western Xia, and helped Song Renzong stabilize the situation between the government and the public. Even during his demotion, Yan Shu never complained about the emperor or Empress Liu, but actively established schools in the local area and devoted himself to developing and cultivating talents. In the imperial examination conducted by Yan Shu, those who were shortlisted became available talents in the later imperial court, and many of them continued to bloom in the literary world.
It is no exaggeration to say that what Yan Shu contributed to the Northern Song Dynasty was by no means as simple as we think. Therefore, now seeing some people in later generations scolding Yan Shu as a soft bone and a weak and incompetent conservative in the DPRK, I can't help but feel sorry and sorry for Yan Shu. Although Yan Shu was indeed relatively passive in the reform, and even one of the main reasons for the failure of the Qingli New Deal, it is unfair to deny all of Yan Shu's contributions because of this.
Life is not black and white
After reading Yan Shu's life, we can naturally understand why he is known as the "Prime Minister of Taiping". Although in the eyes of some people, Yan Shu's temperament is too weak, so it seems that he is even a little incompetent, as long as you read today's article, you will understand that Yan Shu is not a mediocre and brainless person. On the contrary, the reason why he was able to return to the imperial court smoothly after several degradations, and even his official position became higher and higher, was because his wisdom was deep enough.
Yan Shu, who has been with the Son of Heaven since Song Zhenzong, knows too well the sinister nature of this river. Why is it that Su Shi and others are not less talented than Yan Shu, very good at official documents and loved by the people, but their lives are bumpy? It is precisely because of their daring to speak out that they have harmed themselves.
This is not to ban a group of outspoken loyalists, but as long as they choose this difficult uphill, they are destined to suffer the tragic consequences it brings. Su Shi and Ouyang Xiu loved the country and the people, and they did not want to see the national building collapse but did nothing, so Ouyang Xiu spoke out and moved the conservative cake, which was hated by people. So Yan Shu is not responsible, seeing that the country is in trouble and seeing death and not saving it?
If Yan Shu is just a greedy person who is afraid of death, then why would he openly contradict Empress Dowager Liu in the past and ask himself to be deposed, if Yan Shu is not a virtuous person, why would he personally promote Ouyang Xiu, a student who later repeatedly opposed him, and how would he be willing to marry his daughter to a poor but ambitious rich man, and we would not see Wang Anshi, Su Shi, Fan Zhongyan and others have the opportunity to show their style above the court of the Song Dynasty. So wait and see, it's just Yan Shu's attitude towards life, he is already old, and he doesn't have the energy to toss anymore.
From Yan Shu's later behaviors and statements, we can see that in fact, life is not black and white, perhaps many people have encountered this problem in their own lives, we often fall into a dilemma when facing choices, but in many cases we do not necessarily have to make a choice of yes or no, because there is no right answer in life, but all roads lead to Rome. So it's better to be like Yan Shu, wait and see, give the right to choose to time, and stay in another village, maybe you can find the answer in your heart.