In 1076, Wang Anshi was dismissed as prime minister and demoted to the prefect of Jiangning, and after working in Jiangning for a few years, he felt disheartened and couldn't help but retreat. So he sent a report to the imperial court: "I am not in good health, and I apply to go home to recuperate." "I was packing up my things, and a small official from Jiangning Mansion suddenly came!
In 1076, Wang Anshi ended his career as prime minister twice, and was demoted to Jiangning as the prefect after officially leaving office. This is undoubtedly one of the most significant turning points in Wang Anshi's life.
After Wang Anshi came to Jiangning, he still handled government affairs with a positive and enterprising attitude, striving for the benefit of the people. However, years of political torture have left him physically and mentally exhausted.
After working in Jiangning for a few years, Wang Anshi gradually felt disheartened and had the idea of retiring.
So he submitted a resignation to the imperial court, saying that he was old and in poor health, and asked for permission to retire and return to his hometown to retire.
Just as Wang Anshi was packing up and preparing to return to his hometown, Jiangning Mansion suddenly sent a small official.
This little official named Zhang Defu looked hurried, and it was said that he had been ordered to retrieve some things that Wang Anshi's wife, Wu, had borrowed from the government.
It turned out that when Wang Anshi first arrived, he was busy with official business and did not keep the official residence very neat.
His wife, Wu, had a strong personality and paid attention to the taste of life, and when she saw that the things in the official residence were poor, she took it upon herself to borrow some things from the treasury and return them to the inner mansion for use.
These things are nothing more than antique calligraphy and paintings, a few precious brocades and an extraordinary bed of rosewood rattan.
Legend has it that this rattan bed was given to Jiang Ning by Zhao Kuangyin, Taizu of the Song Dynasty, and it is extremely precious.
As soon as Wu used this bed, she loved it deeply and was reluctant to return it, and she successively prevaricated for various reasons, occupying this "public bed" for more than three years.
None of the officials of the treasury dared to pursue this rattan bed, which was nominally a "public property".
Now that Wang Anshi has stepped down and left, it is reasonable to return the public property. The little official Zhang Defu came to the door of the palace and reasoned with his subordinates about the bed, and the words between the two sides became more and more intense.
Everyone in the Wang family knew Mrs. Wang's temper, and no one dared to tell him about it.
Wang Anshi thought about it, and personally came out to Zhang Defu and said, "I know, this rattan bed should be returned." But it's too late today, you can come back tomorrow afternoon to pick it up. ”
Zhang Defu saw that Wang Anshi personally showed goodwill, so it was not good to entangle him anymore, so he had to leave.
That night, Wang Anshi came to the inner house and began to roll left and right on the rosewood rattan bed, and deliberately kicked the pillow into a mess.
After a while, he took off his shoes and socks, stepped on the dirty soles of his feet directly on the white sheets, and scratched a few dirty footprints.
Early the next morning, Wu went to the rattan bed to freshen up, but when she saw the messy scene on the bed, she almost screamed. She questioned Wang Anshi loudly, but Wang Anshi said leisurely that this was originally his bed, and he could sleep as he wanted.
Wu was so angry that he immediately ordered the maid to remove the "dirty bed" from the bedroom and never bring it in again.
She has always paid extreme attention to the taste of life, and regards all dirty things as a thorn in her side. The ravaged and dirty bed of rosewood rattan seemed to her disgusting.
Wang Anshi smiled knowingly, and moved the rattan bed out as Wu ordered.
After a while, Zhang Defu, a small official in the house, came to ask for the bed again on time, and Wang Anshi pushed the boat down the river and handed him the rattan bed.
It turned out that Wang Anshi knew Wu's temper well, she was stubborn and domineering, and arguing with her head-on would definitely not end well. So he decided to do the opposite, set up this bureau, and let Wu take the initiative to abandon the rattan bed.
This move not only avoided the head-on conflict with the Wu family, but also allowed the little official to complete the task, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
This kind of wisdom in thinking backwards and dealing with problems also reflects Wang Anshi's political skill.
After the Battle of Jiangning, Wang Anshi returned to his hometown and lived in seclusion in a separate industry by the West Lake.
This property is called Wanqing Hall, which he purchased a few years ago. The scenery here is beautiful and suitable for retirement.
Wang Anshi lived an isolated life in the Wanqing Hall, and for the first period of time, he was still immersed in the frustration of the gap and could not extricate himself.
After all, from the power to the opposition to the disgraceful departure, this kind of blow is too heavy for anyone.
But Wang Anshi was a high-ranking monk after all, and he quickly adjusted his mentality and turned his attention to scholarship and poetry.
He reorganized old manuscripts, polished long-standing articles, sorted out miscellaneous notes, compiled his own anthology, browsed books, and learned ancient and modern art of war.
Wang Anshi is not completely isolated from the world, he still inquires about the situation and news of old friends through various channels.
Sometimes he writes letters to some friends in the old ministry to analyze the situation and express his opinions, which shows that he still remembers the major national affairs.
Wu also came to Wanqingtang to accompany her husband after a while, she has always loved Wang Anshi deeply, even if there were those small frictions before, it did not affect her admiration for him.
Wu was quite accomplished in literature, and she often discussed knowledge and recited poetry with Wang Anshi.
In his retirement, Wang Anshi was happy to teach and solve doubts, opening up his collection to aspiring young people and instructing them to read and write.
Many of the great Confucian scholars who later achieved extraordinary achievements were taught by Wang Anshi.
Time flies, and several years have passed in a blink of an eye, and Wang Anshi spent the last years of his life in Wanqing Hall.
In 1086, Wang Anshi died of illness at the age of 66 in the West Lake Farewell. Wu was always by his side until the moment of his death.
Wang Anshi had a rough life, he tried to change the law and innovate, but failed. But his enthusiasm for serving the country and his spirit of unhesitating will always be admired by future generations.
