In front of The Tomb of Yue Fei in Hangzhou's West Lake, there are four life-size kneeling statues cast in iron. On one side are the adulterous ministers Qin Ju and his wife Wang Shi, and on the other side are the traitors Wan Qianbi and Zhang Jun.
(Network illustration)
It was these four people who colluded with each other to cater to Emperor Gaozong's will and create the age-old unjust case of killing Yue Fei. They were forever nailed to the pillar of shame of history, and they were reviled by tourists every day. Even if the "do not spit" prompt next to their kneeling statues is very eye-catching, it still can't stop tourists from expressing their inner contempt to them, and their heads, especially the top of Qin Juniper's head, are still sputum-stained.
After visiting Yue Fei's tomb during the Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty, Qin Dashi could not suppress his inner indignation and wrote down the ancient name of "People are ashamed of their names from the Song Dynasty, and I am ashamed of my surname Qin before the grave." It can be seen from this that these traitors who framed Yue Fei are ugly images in people's minds.
In fact, at first, only Qin Ju and his wife knelt in front of Yue Fei's tomb, and then gradually increased until the number became 5 people. So, when did these people kneel in front of Yue Fei's tomb? Who is the 5th person? Why is it now 4 people again?
As we all know, Yue Fei was born at the end of the stormy Northern Song Dynasty and witnessed the darkest page in Chinese history. The country was destroyed, the foreign tribes invaded, the lives were ruined, the cowardly and faint Hui Qin Second Emperor was captured, and the mountains and rivers fell. The young Yue Fei, with the ambition of "serving the country with loyalty", made a wish to "regain the old mountains and rivers", resolutely joined the army, and accompanied the famous anti-Jin general Zong Zezhen to guard Kaifeng. Later, he led his army to defeat the Jin army in Jiankang, Xiangyang, And Gaocheng and other places, and recovered a large area of lost land.
With his outstanding military ability and indomitable determination, Yue Fei became the indestructible great wall of steel in the Southern Song Dynasty, and also became an insurmountable mountain and nightmare for the Jin people. Jin Ren could not help but lament: "It is easy to shake the mountain, but it is difficult to shake the Yue family's army." Jin Wushu, the famous Jin general, was also almost captured alive by Yue Fei several times.
Just as Yue Fei was marching forward and wanting to directly attack the Yellow Dragon, the surrender faction led by Qin Ju summoned him back to Lin'an in a furious rage. From then on, Yue Fei was relieved of his military powers, and was framed by Qin Ju and others, and killed him on the charge of "false accusations".
(Yue Fei)
The 39-year-old Yue Fei died unjustly without being paid, casting the most tragic unjust case in Chinese history.
After Yue Fei was killed, "the people of the city heard about it, and there were people who fell into tears." The people of Lin'an were all in tears and sighed. "The jailer Kui Shun came out of the city and crossed the city to the Nine-Curve Temple. Therefore, to this day, the Nine-Qu King Xianmiao Temple is still spiritual." In 1162, Yue Fei was finally rehabilitated by Emperor Xiaozong of Song, and Yue Fei was buried in Qixialing, West Lake.
All along, there was no kneeling statue of Yue Fei in front of his tomb. It was not until the eleventh year of Emperor Mingxian's chenghua that when Zhou Mu, a Changshu man, came to Hangzhou to serve as an envoy to Zhejiang, he rebuilt Yue Fei's tomb out of admiration for the national hero Yue Fei. At the same time, he felt empathy for the hatred of Qin Juniper by the people, and cast a kneeling statue of Qin Juniper and his wife with pig iron for the people to criticize.
Qin Ju was the mastermind who framed Yue Fei, and it was only right for him to kneel in front of Yue Fei's tomb. So, why did Qin Juniper's wife Wang Shi also enjoy such "treatment"?
Although there are few records of Wang in the history books, it is not difficult to find evidence of her and Qin Ju conspiring to frame Yue Fei from some books. "West Lake Tour Zhiyu Yu Xing Pan Huang" says: "Junzhi wanted to kill Yue Feiye, and conspired with his wife Wang Shizhi under the east window. Wang Shiyi: 'It's easy to catch a tiger, but it's hard to hunt a tiger!' And his intentions were decided. ”
It is said that after Qin Jun's death, he was beaten into the 18th layer of hell, and he told the Wang clan: "Lady Chuanyu, the East Window Incident occurred." This is the origin of the idiom "East Window Incident".
As for Wan Qianbi, who had been attached to Qin Juniper all his life, wantonly fabricated evidence, framed Yue Fei for delaying fighters, falsely reported military information, and stayed in Huaixi, he was the one who helped Qin Ju collect Yue Fei's "evidence of rebellion," that is, Qin Juniper's minions and accomplices.
(Qin Juniper stills)
Therefore, in the eighth year of Emperor Zhengde of Emperor Mingwu, after the kneeling statues of Qin Juniper and his wife were torn apart due to long-term sun and rain, Zhejiang Du commanded Li Long to recast the kneeling statues of Qin Juniper and Wang clan with copper, and added Wan Qianbi. The three kneeling statues all cut their hands back and knelt in front of Yue Fei's grave.
Zhang Jun, in fact, had unlimited scenery in history, and he also worked with Yue Fei to kill the enemy on the front line of the anti-Jin Dynasty.
But there are big differences in the values of the two. Yue Fei loyally served the country and fought to restore Heshan in the main battle. Zhang Jun, on the other hand, blindly "preserves the rich and noble and flatters the lord." After The Second Emperor Hui Qin was captured, Zhang Jun could not wait to "plead and persuade Him" to persuade Zhao To ascend the throne as emperor.
At the same time, Zhang Jun was also jealous of Xian's ability, and when Yue Fei's resistance to Jin Jie was frequently reported, he was repeatedly defeated. Under the psychological imbalance, he held a grudge against Yue Fei and wanted to get rid of it quickly.
Under the influence of this personality and psychology, Zhang Jun eventually became attached to Qin Jun, and the two became adulterous, trying to exclude and attack Yue Fei until they conspired to frame Zhongliang.
Therefore, Yue Fei's unjust death, Zhang Jun is a sin that cannot be escaped. In the "Biography of Qin Jun" it is said: "The death of Fei, Zhang Junli Yan. ”
In the twenty-second year of the Wanli calendar of emperor MingshenZong, after the kneeling statues of Qin Ju and his wife and Wan Qianbi were once again destroyed by the angry people, Fan Lai, the deputy envoy of Zhejiang Province, recast the kneeling statues of Qin Jun, Wang Shi, and Wan Qianbi, and added zhang Jun's kneeling statues.
(Zhang Jun stills)
The fifth person was Luo Ruyi, who was then the attendant of the palace, and together with Wan Qianbi, he attached himself to Qin Juniper. "Talk to Yue Fei with Zhongcheng He Zhu and dismiss his pivot." He played several impeachments against Yue Fei and slandered Yue Fei for "staying in Huaixi" and other so-called crimes.
Subsequently, Luo Ruyi tried to depose a large number of Yue Fei's subordinates, and impeached Liu Ziyu and several other officials who had wronged Yue Fei. He made a "meritorious contribution" to Qin Juniper's persecution of Yue Fei, and was deeply appreciated by Qin Juniper, "Juniper was angry, and the wind and ru were dismissed.".
Later, when Luo Ruyi's son Luo Yuan served as the governor of Ezhou, he had many political achievements, but because of his father, he never dared to enter the Yue Fei Temple. "One day, I thought of my own goodness, and I went to the temple, prayed, and died in front of the statue."
So, why was Luo Ruyu removed later?
This is because during the Yongzheng period, when Li Wei was serving as the governor of Zhejiang, he believed that Luo Ruyi was not even qualified to kneel in front of Yue Fei's tomb, and ordered the removal of his kneeling statue, leaving only the remaining 4 people.
"Aoyama has the honor of burying loyal bones, and white iron innocently casts servants." For hundreds of years, Yue Fei's image has become increasingly tall and majestic, and the four traitors in front of Yue Fei's tomb are destined to kneel here for a long time, and to apologize to the loyal souls for generations, and to apologize to the people of the world.
(References: History of the Song Dynasty, West Lake Tour Zhiyu)