Author: Qingfeng Mingyue
This article was first published by Poetry World
June 19, 1052, Great Song Dynasty, Xuzhou, Jiangsu.
An old man who has experienced many vicissitudes has completed his legendary life.
This old man is Fan Zhongyan, who led the New Deal for celebrating the calendar.
The legend ended, and the whole country mourned.
Hearing this bad news, hundreds of miles away in Shuzhou, an official wept bitterly.
His eyes were red and swollen from crying, and he muttered something in his mouth.
For a long time, he picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and struggled to write: The Master of the First Life.
Years from now, he will follow in the footsteps of his predecessors.
This sad man's name was Wang Anshi.
01
Read thousands of books, travel thousands of miles.
This most reasonable quote is the epitome of Wang Anshi's adolescent life.
In 1021 AD, Wang Anshi was born in Linchuan, Jiangxi.
His father, Wang Yi, was a conscientious county-level cadre.
At that time, the Great Song Dynasty, more than 60 years after the founding of the country, the economy was thriving, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.
In the joy of the Taiping Dynasty, happiness flows like a clear spring.
Wang Anshi's children are prodigies, such as prodigies who are fakely replaced.
He is gifted and intelligent, loves to read, and has a talent that never forgets and writes like a god.
This is the child of others in the mouth of the neighbors, and Wang Lao's father is very proud of it.
With the transfer of his father's work, from Linchuan to Shaozhou, from Shaozhou to Beijing, from Beijing to Jiangning, along the way, Wang Anshi's reputation has become increasingly loud.
During the journey of more than ten years, he was able to enjoy the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, traverse the customs and customs of various places, and also experienced the suffering of people's livelihood.
These valuable life experiences laid a solid foundation for him to implement the change in the future.
Until the age of nineteen, his loving father died of illness while serving in Jiangning Province, and Wang Anshi kept filial piety for his father for three years.
Three years later, Wang Anshi packed his bags, bid farewell to his family, and embarked on a distant journey again.
This time, the place he went to was called Fenjing (present-day Kaifeng), the capital of the Great Song Dynasty.
He was full of ambition and was convinced that he would realize kuang shi ji min's grand ambitions there.
That year, Wang Anshi was twenty-two years old.
Yan Shu (film and television stills)
02
Twenty-two-year-old Wang Anshi used his amazing talent to knock on the door of the Northern Song Dynasty officialdom.
At this time, the empire is shining with stars. Yan Shu, Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu, Sima Guang, Zeng Gong, Liu Yong and other genius gods and men shine together.
They either send affection to the landscape, or worry about the country and the people, or snuggle up to the red and lean on the green, or point to the country, or sing in a shallow and low voice...
Years later, people found that it was a time when there was no ancient person before and no one after.
Lao Wang's first position was that of the Judge of Huainan Jiedushi, which was equivalent to the deputy leader at the county and division level.
At this time, the empire, due to the long-term inheritance, although the appearance is bright and gorgeous, in fact, the interior is already defeated.
Specific persistent diseases are manifested in the bloated and inefficient civil service; the army has an oversized number of soldiers and has no combat effectiveness; and the fiscal deficit is increasing year by year, and the income is not enough to make ends meet.
This is what people call the phenomenon of redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses.
All this made Lao Wang, who was extremely experienced, worried.
At the same time, there is also a generation of sages Fan Zhongyun.
In 1043, the third year of the Qing calendar, Fan Zhongyan led the New Deal of the Qing Calendar.
At this time, the twenty-three-year-old Lao Wang first entered the official field, and he could only silently watch and cheer for the reformers.
The New Deal, centered on rectifying the rule of officials, aimed at changing the situation in which the Great Song Dynasty was poor and weak, so as to achieve the goal of a rich country and a strong army.
Because the reform violated the interests of the bureaucracy, the implementation was premature after only a year, and Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, and others were expelled from the central government.
At this point, Lao Wang finally understood that nowadays, the stage of the Great Song Dynasty does not give the innovators the opportunity to lead the starring role.
To realize the great dream in my heart, the only thing I can do is to take root in the grassroots, accumulate experience, and wait for the accumulation of hair.
Lao Wang was waiting, waiting for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Statue of Song Shenzong
03
In 1067 AD, Emperor Yingzong drove the crane west.
Twenty-year-old Zhao Hao [xū] ascended the throne and became the sixth grand boss of the Northern Song Dynasty, serving as Emperor Shenzong.
This flesh-and-blood young emperor was full of vigor and had the same ambition as Lao Wang to revitalize the Great Song Dynasty.
Because the heroes feel sorry for each other, the two of them hit it off.
Tang Wu met occasionally. Wind Tiger Cloud Dragon. King Xing was only in laughter.
In 1069 AD, the forty-nine-year-old Lao Wang was transferred to the Central Committee and served as the Governor of the Government (Deputy Prime Minister), and the vigorous change of law was officially opened.
At this point, the era belonging to Wang Anshi really came.
This year's Spring Festival, in the deafening sound of firecrackers, the hesitant Lao Wang wrote "Yuan Day":
In the sound of firecrackers, the spring breeze sends warmth into Tu Su.
Thousands of households always exchange new peaches for old charms.
He was ready to exchange the new peach for the old charm and send the spring wind to thousands of households.
Under the elaborate design of Lao Wang, a series of bills and provisions such as the Qingmiao Law, the Municipal Yi Law, and the Baojia Law were quickly implemented to the corners of the Song Empire.
These provisions are rich in content and involve all aspects of national politics, military, and economy.
With the implementation of the new law, Lao Wang was pleasantly surprised to find that the dream he had been looking forward to for many years seemed to be about to come true.
Because the state revenue gradually increased, the national treasury became more and more abundant; many corrupt officials who were in a state of flux were punished, and the government began to operate efficiently; and the living standards of the common people were also greatly improved...
However, Lao Wang was still too happy too soon.
In 1070, three years after Xi Ning, Lao Wang received three letters in succession.
Seeing the end of the letter, Lao Wang was stunned. Because the person who wrote the letter was named Sima Guang, he was a genius who could smash the cylinder at the age of seven to save people, and at the same time, he was also his most respected best friend.
Subsequently, Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Zeng Gong and other thunderous names gradually entered the list of opponents.
Even Lao Wang's two younger brothers, Wang Anli and Wang Anguo, began to criticize the new law.
Watching his colleagues, friends and brothers stand against him one by one, Lao Wang did not waver in the slightest.
Not only did he not compromise, Lao Wang also quickly changed his personality signature: the sky is not enough to be afraid, the ancestors are not enough to fa, and the words of the people are not enough!
In the turbulent wave of opposition, Lao Wang rushed forward. Conformism and fear of hands and feet are not his character.
Later, Sima Guang, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi and other pillars of the state were degraded and demoted, and the outward release was successively left the central government.
At this time, there were almost no people to rely on around Lao Wang, so some people with ulterior motives such as Lu Huiqing, Zhang Huan, and Zeng Bu took the opportunity to take the throne.
But Lao Wang always believes that his choice is right, and time will tell.
However, at this time, Lao Wang felt lonely, unprecedented loneliness.
04
1074 AD, seven years of Xi Ning.
Amid the endless quarrels, the change entered its fifth year.
At this time, a realistic painting suddenly circulated in Beijing.
This painting depicts the misery of the world:
Skinny old men, sad and weeping big men, disheveled village girls, children who swallow garbage...
After viewing this painting, the top leadership of the Great Song Dynasty was stunned.
The empress dowager of the two palaces burst into tears, and Emperor Shenzong was silent.
Nowadays, the people should not have enough food and clothing, how can they be destroyed and live on the streets?
This "Map of Displaced Persons" became the last straw that crushed the new law.
Under the pressure of all parties, the fifty-four-year-old Lao Wang was disheartened, sighed a long sigh, and silently resigned from the post of prime minister and returned to Jiangning.
Although the new law continues to be implemented, it has not been as vigorous as before.
The leaders of the change of law also became Lu Huiqing, Lü Jiawen and Zeng Bu. These people, for their own interests, fought in the court.
At this time, the New Deal has deviated from the normal track, and the beautiful original intention of Lao Wang's design has gradually drifted away.
Shortly thereafter, Lao Wang returned to the central government and the officials were reinstated, but they no longer had the high morale to give up their own people.
In 1076, Lao Wang's beloved son Wang Yun, who was only thirty-three years old, died, eventually exhausting lao wang.
Therefore, the fifty-six-year-old Lao Wang resigned from the post of prime minister again, retired to Jiangning, and did not step into the capital half a step until his death.
In 1085, the eighth year of Yuan Feng, Sima Guang returned to the central government, and the new law was completely abolished.
At this point, the vigorous Wang Anshi changed the law and officially withdrew from the stage of history.
The ideal of Wang Anshi and others to enrich the country and strengthen the army was disillusioned.
05
In 1084 AD, the seventh year of Yuanfeng, Jiangning Wharf.
On this day, the sun is like fire, the mountains end with the plains, and the river flows into the wilderness.
At noon, an official ship descended the river to the dock.
A white-haired old man, dressed in a worn-out old peasant costume, rode a skinny donkey to the riverside to greet his guests.
The guests hurried out of the boat and bowed down to salute: How dare they meet the Grand Chancellor in an undressed manner?
The old man returned the salute and then laughed heartily: Is the number of gifts set up for people like us?
This old man was Wang Anshi, who was idle at home; and the guest was Su Dongpo, who had come to visit from Huangzhou.
At this point, the two popular figures who shook the ancient and the present finally put aside the dispute over the change of law and met to swim in the mountains and rivers together.
Perhaps, for people of high moral character like them, there has never been a grudge between them; there are only differences in political opinions and ideas.
The two traveled in the mountains and talked about poetry and Buddhism for more than thirty days before they reluctantly separated.
After Lao Wang sent Su Dongpo away, he sighed: I don't know if it will be hundreds of years before there is such a character!
Su Dongpo wrote poems to give to each other, and only hated to know Lao Wang too late:
Riding a donkey into the wilderness, I want to see my husband when he is not sick.
Persuade me to try three acres of house, from the public has been ten years late.
Two years later, in 1086 AD, Lao Wang died at the age of sixty-six.
Since then, there has been no Wang Anshi in the world.
06
Iroh and Irohim. Go through the exhaustion. One is a fisherman and one is a ploughman.
If you don't meet at that time, you will grow old as a hero.
Until now, after a thousand years, who competes with the merits.
——Wang Anshi, "Order of The Waves and Sands"
Wang Anshi's life was a life of controversy.
The world's evaluation of him has always moved between heaven and hell.
Those who like him, praise him; those who hate him, hate him to the bone.
Although thousands of years have passed, the jury is still inconclusive.
Nineteen hundred years ago, the brilliant Cao Mengde once sighed:
Singing about wine, life is geometric. For example, the morning dew, going to the day is more bitter.
Life is so short, why not sing aloud to the wine?
This truth is not only understood by Cao Mengde, but also by Wang Anshi.
However, he still chose to carry the weight forward without hesitation.
Because in his heart, he always has the dream of a rich country and a strong soldier.
Compared with the strength of the country and the prosperity of the people, what is the gain or loss of the individual?
So, when he took the first step, he had already put his posthumous name aside.
However, Wang Anshi's steps were too fast, and the crowd could not keep up with his rhythm.
Such a burly body is destined to trample on the innocent flowers and plants on the side of the road.
In the end, his enthusiasm, like a gushing river, was thrown into vain.
This romantic idealist, left a sigh on earth.
But the lost hero is still a great hero.
Until now, after a thousand years, who fights with the merits!
【Copyright Notice】Author, Qingfeng Mingyue, public number: Big Dream Honghuang (ID: xingyuege666), a native of Henan, Yijie Cloth, born on the beautiful Huai River. He is a contracted author of poetry world and tianya literature, believing in all the beauty of the world. The image comes from the Internet.