Chapter 50. Shewu Liwen (II).

The so-called emperor's mind is the most important way to balance the emperor. 【】

And the so-called balance is reflected in two different aspects.

One aspect is the balance of power.

For example, under the emperor of Chu Ling, if there is Prime Minister Zhang Qian as the ruler of the dynasty, there must be the existence of the privy envoy Wang Han to compete with it. Wang Han's scheming, ability, sainthood, and power are all inferior to Zhang Qian, but the two have been fighting for many years, although Wang Han is at a disadvantage, he has always stood tall, and the reason is clear.

Two years ago, under the joint design of Wang Han and Niu Yuxian, Emperor Chu Ling mistakenly thought that the prime minister Zhang Qian's party was already dominant in the temple, although he still favored Zhang Qian and regarded him as an old friend, but he still decisively suppressed Zhang Qian's party and increased his support for Wang Han; Later, when he found that Wang Han was becoming more powerful, he turned to support Zhang Qian and suppressed Wang Han in order to maintain the balance between the two factions.

And these days, the reason why Emperor Chu Ling intends to let the Eight Sages King enter the dynasty to participate in politics is not only because the Eight Sages King is indeed brilliant, but also because Emperor Chu Ling is dissatisfied with Wang Han's performance in wartime and has a derogatory mind. And once Wang Han fell, in order to prevent Zhang Qian's party from becoming dominant, it was natural that a new faction would emerge to check and balance - it can be said that Emperor Chu Ling's strong advocacy of the Eight Sages King to enter the dynasty was by no means just because of the influence of personal feelings. Putting aside the emotional factor, the Eight Sages King is actually just a replacement for Wang Han after he went into the wilderness.

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On the other hand, there is the balance of rewards and punishments when making political decisions.

For example, the emperors of the Chu Dynasty all emphasized literature over military force, but this tendency was only reflected in various policies. On weekdays, when civil and military forces compete and reward and punish, whether it is Chu Taizu or Emperor Chu Ling, they will not blatantly express their bias and support, but on the matter, fair and just, and authoritative and trustworthy, which makes people convincing and ambitious.

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It is precisely because Emperor Chu Ling has strictly abided by such a balanced way since he ascended the throne, and grasped the military power in his hands, so although he has repeatedly delegated power to Zhang Qian and Wang Han, he has been even more slack in the government affairs of the DPRK and China, and is obsessed with Taoist doctrine, the way of immortality, and literati skills, but the throne has always been extremely stable.

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However, it is also because Emperor Chu Ling has always adhered to the way of balance for government, so when he sees the civil and military groups in front of him arguing, he will make difficulties in his heart.

From the heart, Emperor Chu Ling naturally hoped that the portraits of Xiao Mo and Zhang Yansheng could be hung on the left wall of the hall and be among the ministers, after all, in the eyes of Emperor Chu Ling, Xiao Mo and Zhang Yansheng were not compatible with the military generals at all.

However, the words of the protector of the country, Luo Shang, also have their truth, so after Emperor Chu Ling figured out the reason for the conflict between the civil and military factions, he did not make a decision, but just quietly listened to the two sides continue to debate.

At this time, a privy counselor named Lu Zuyou was counting Xiao Mo and Zhang Yansheng, as the grandsons of the prime minister, who had been known to the world since childhood, and was considered to be one of the best young talents in my Chu. His poems and articles are all spread all over the world; When it comes to Confucian attainments and literati skills, even many predecessors and masters claim to be inferior; Later, he entered the court with the imperial examination, the county examination and the state examination were all the first places, and the palace examination was also on the list, not to mention for the time being, the three books of "Three Chapters of Self-Questioning", "Six Records", and "Nine Talks on the University" are all works that shake the world; Now that he has returned to the dynasty victoriously, he has also been canonized as a priest by His Majesty."

After a pause, Lu Zuyou looked honored and continued: "Not to mention Xiao Hanlin, long before he became an official in the court, he had already become the first of the young talents recognized by my Da Chu as a member of the literary generation; His original "Xiao Ti", the author of "Self-disturbing Words" and "Confucianism" two books, the world reverberates; And "The New Interpretation of the Mean" has become a must-read classic for those who read; In the end, he entered the dynasty with three yuan and the first, and to this day, he has become the youngest Hanlin scholar in the history of our dynasty......"

Speaking of this, Lu Zuyou sneered, looked sarcastic, and asked Luo Shang, the protector of the country: "With the academic attainments and literary status of the two of them, today they are actually going to leave their names and hang paintings in the 'Jiying Palace' as the leading generals. ”

In the face of Lu Zuyou's ridicule, Luo Shang, the protector of the country, was not angry, but said slowly: "Xiao Hanlin and Bachelor Zhang's academic talent is well known to the world, and my father has always admired and never denied it. However, to be honest, although the two of them are talented, the reason why they can leave their names in the 'Jiying Palace' is because of their martial exploits, not because of their status in the literary world."

Yushi Zhu Wen retorted: "This is not appropriate, as far as the lower officials know, although Xiao Hanlin and Zhang Bachelor were ordered to lead the troops to fight against the grassland barbarians a few days ago, thus making great contributions today, they have never been canonized by His Majesty as a military officer, but only as a front-line supervisor in the capacity of the privy council and deputy secretary, from beginning to end, they are all civil ministers......

However, before Zhu Wen could finish his words, he was interrupted by a captain of the general's mansion: "You are using strong words, no matter what position the two of them are in, their merits are obtained through war, and their victory over the grassland barbarian army is obtained through the bloody battles of the front-line soldiers." This is clearly my great Chu's military exploits, and there is no other possibility, so their portraits, no matter what, can only be hung on the right wall of the 'Jiying Palace'"

Lin Zhishi sneered disdainfully, and said again: "Since this captain and general have made his words clear, we will no longer save face for your general's mansion, and to put it bluntly, according to the practice of our dynasty, if the portraits of Xiao Hanlin and Zhang Bachelor are hung on the right wall today, it will represent the victory of the grassland barbarian army, and it should be attributed to the strength of our Great Chu martial arts; If it is hung on the left wall, it represents the victory of our dynasty and the steppe barbarian army, and it should be attributed to the prosperity of Wenzhi."

Speaking of this, the sneer on Lin Zhishi's expression became more and more obvious: "Do you really think that such a feat should be attributed to the strength of the Great Chu Martial Arts?" ”

"How not?"

The captain general looked angry and asked sharply.

"Joke" Lin Zhishi's tone was full of disdain, and he said loudly: "The people of the General's Mansion led the troops to fight against the grassland barbarians a while ago, but not only did they not have an inch to build, but they were repeatedly defeated, and in just over two months, nearly 20 cities were lost. Could it be that the army you led when you were defeated was not my army of Great Chu? Or is the army led by Xiao Hanlin and Master Zhang more elite than the previous ones? ”

Lin Shang came out and echoed: "What Mrs. Lin said is reasonable, the reason why my Great Chu was able to have this victory and forced the grassland barbarians to sue for peace is not because of how strong my Great Chu's martial arts are now, but because Xiao Hanlin and Master Zhang are well commanded, loyal to Your Majesty, hard work, and dedication; And the reason why Xiao Hanlin and Bachelor Zhang can have such talents, and they can have such feats when they lead the troops in battle for the first time, is precisely because of the prosperity of my Great Chu's cultural governance, which makes people who study wise and loyal, and even more talented and stunning all-rounders like Xiao Hanlin and Bachelor Zhang, so my Great Chu's victory against the grassland barbarian army is the merit of cultural governance."

As soon as Lin Shang's words fell, Pavilion Elder Wang Zhizhi also came out again, and said: "If Ruoer and others insist on saying that the merit is in martial arts, then why is it that it is also my army of Great Chu, but the results before and after are far apart?" If my Great Chu martial arts strength is so strong, and Xiao Hanlin and Master Zhang's meritorious service is just ordinary, but you and other leaders have been defeated repeatedly, then it can only show that the people of the general's mansion have no talent to lead the troops but steal important positions in the army, are cowardly and stupid, and mislead the king and the country."

Under the pressure of the three of them, all the people in the general's mansion were speechless, although they became more and more angry, but they didn't know how to deal with it.

After a moment of silence, the protector of the country, Luo Shang, snorted angrily and retorted: "Don't deviate the topic to misunderstand, and turn to attack the generals in our general's mansion, although they were defeated by the grassland barbarians in wartime, but most of them were repeatedly defeated and fought until they died in battle, from beginning to end, no one surrendered, even if their ability was not enough, how could you be so sarcastic, not to mention, although Xiao Hanlin and Master Zhang led the army to victory as literati, although the merits of the Great Chu Wenzhi cannot be erased, but if there is no life for my Great Chu soldiers, they will fight to the death with one heart, No matter how talented the two of them are, what can they do in the face of the enemy's tiger and wolf division? ”

When a doctor heard this, he suddenly sneered and said, "Defeated and defeated until he dies in battle? I think it was repeated defeats and escapes, until they were killed, from beginning to end, no one surrendered? This is true, but this is probably because the steppe barbarians don't look down on those defeated generals at all, so they have no chance to surrender at all, right? ”

Such words can be described as bitter and mean, Xiao Mo, Zhang Yansheng, the Eight Sages King, and Emperor Chu Ling, and even some colleagues in the court and China, couldn't help frowning.

Sure enough, as soon as the words fell, everyone in the General's Mansion was furious, and they couldn't bear it anymore, so they rushed forward one after another, and they were about to be ashamed.

On the other side, the mean imperial historian was also startled when he saw such a scene, knowing that he had committed public anger, he didn't dare to say anything more, but just hid behind the ministers. The guards of the Imperial Forest Army around the main hall hurriedly stepped forward to block them.

Above the main hall, there was another chaos.

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"Enough"

With Emperor Chu Ling's angry shout again, this chaos finally calmed down a little, and under the leadership of the protector Luo Shang, a group of generals knelt down one after another, their faces showed sadness, and they shouted in unison: "Your Majesty, please call the shots for the ministers"

Emperor Chu Ling first glared fiercely at the imperial history who caused trouble in his mouth, and then said in a cold voice: "The dead are great, those generals who led the troops to fight, no matter what the results of the battle, have already done their best for me, how can you be allowed to slander like this From tomorrow, you will wear cloth clothes and go to the General's Mansion to clean the front hall for a month; Then go to the tombs of all the generals who died for the country, apologize one by one, and there must be no omission of such punishment, do you have any objections? ”

Looking at the eyes of the generals of the general's mansion who were eager to kill themselves, the imperial historian only felt frightened, and after hearing Emperor Chu Ling's decision, he hurriedly knelt down and pleaded guilty, saying: "The minister knows his mistake, and the minister is guilty."

After snorting angrily, Emperor Chu Ling turned to Luo Shang and the others, and said softly: "When Zirou returned to the dynasty today and was in the same car with me, he also said that if there were no generals in the General's Mansion to lead the troops to fight against the grassland coalition army, making him a tired army and losing his sharpness, if he didn't have his subordinates to use their lives wholeheartedly, it would not be so easy for him to win." Get up, I understand the hard work of the generals in the General's Mansion. ”

Hearing Emperor Chu Ling's words of consolation, everyone in the General's Mansion was grateful, and after shouting "Long live Your Majesty", he finally got up, and then looked at Xiao Mo's eyes, and there was a little more agreement.

After calm was restored to the main hall, Emperor Chu Ling sighed and said: "As you Aiqing said before, the first credit for this victory lies in Zirou's rejection of the barbarian army and the killing of countless enemies; Zijia harassed behind enemy lines and regained lost territory. And the reason why the two of them can have such talents is because of my century-old cultural rule of Da Chu. However, after all, it is because of military merit, if there is no unity of the front-line soldiers, it is absolutely impossible to fight with their lives. Therefore, the two of them are hanging their paintings today and leaving their names in the 'Jiying Palace', and they will return to the text and the martial arts......"

Between the deep groans, Emperor Chu Ling turned his gaze to Xiao Mo and Zhang Yansheng.

Although they are the protagonists of the incident and are in the center of the storm of the civil and military dispute, the two of them still look calm, even smiling, just quietly watching the farce in front of them, as if they have nothing to do with themselves.

Seeing the two of them with such looks, and knowing that Xiao Mo and Zhang Yansheng had always had their own opinions, he turned to ask: "Zirou, Zijia, now the whole court is discussing the civil and military ownership of your hanging paintings." However, in the final analysis, although today's ceremony is a grand event for my Great Chu, it is also your own business, so your inclination is very important. Tell me what you think. ”

Hearing Emperor Chu Ling's inquiry, Xiao Mo and Zhang Yansheng glanced at each other, and they both smiled slightly, obviously understanding that the other party's thoughts were no different from their own.

There is no doubt about it, Shewu Liwen

From a personal point of view, both of them are scholars, and now they are also the ministers of Dachu, so they naturally want to leave their names through the ages as scholars.

What's more, Da Chu has always valued literature and military affairs, and civil ministers have great power, if the two abandon literature and follow martial arts, and choose to hang their portraits on the right wall of the main hall, they will inevitably offend the vast majority of their future colleagues - you know, before the two supported the Eight Sages King to enter the dynasty, they have been dissatisfied by many courtiers, Zhang Yansheng is the grandson of Zhang Qian, and everyone still thinks that his decision came from the instructions of Prime Minister Zhang Qian, and the situation is good, but Xiao Mo has already found that many people look at him with unkind eyes.

In such a situation, the two of them are both civil ministers, for the sake of their own future development, how can they offend their Manchu colleagues here again? It's better to take the opportunity to exchange their favor.

From the perspective of the overall situation, the army of Great Chu has long been eroded and unusable, although the words of the previous imperial historian are mean, but in fact, a large part of them are facts - the army of Great Chu, from the generals of the general's mansion to the ordinary soldiers, has long been no longer heroic a hundred years ago, and has become cowardly and degenerate, and weak.

This situation is caused by the many ills of Dachu politics, and the sooner it is exposed to the eyes of the world, the better. If the two of them choose to hang their names in the "Jiying Palace" with martial arts, although they can make Da Chu pay a little attention to military martial arts, but treating the symptoms but not the root cause, it is like covering a curtain of gauze on an inflamed wound, deceiving others and pretending not to know, which is not a good thing.

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Under Xiao Mo's signal, Zhang Yansheng took the lead and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the minister and Xiao Hanlin do not have any ability to lead the troops to fight, and the reason why they can win is only because of the chance gathering, and there is more wisdom than strength. If the portrait inscription of our portrait is hung on the right side of the main hall, and those predecessors in the army, good generals and famous marshals, it is far from enough, and it will only make the predecessors shameful and the descendants despised. ”

After Emperor Chu Ling nodded, he asked again: "So, are you inclined to hang your portrait inscription on the left wall of the main hall, and leave your name in the 'Jiying Palace' as a Wenchen?" ”

Zhang Yansheng smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, there is actually a precedent for such a situation. Before the founding of our dynasty, Prime Minister Wei Liang was a military division in the army, Taizu led the troops to fight, and listened to his planning suggestions, and the generals in the army also listened to his command to fight, and few people could compare with his military exploits. However, after the founding of the country, Taizu canonized the fathers in this Jiying Palace, and the portrait inscription of Wei Liang's predecessors was hung on the left side of the main hall, not on the right side. Although Chen and Xiao Hanlin did not dare to compare with Wei Liang's predecessors, when they fought in the army, their roles were almost the same, and most of them were just planning in the center and arranging for the generals in the army to act, but they rarely led the troops to fight in person. ”

After a pause, Zhang Yansheng continued: "Besides, today, the minister and Xiao Hanlin are fortunate to leave their names and paintings here, but most of the gifts of 'entering the palace to leave their names' are to reward the courtiers for their lifetime merits." However, Chen and Xiao Hanlin are only twenty years old, and they still have at least thirty or fifty years to be loyal to His Majesty. To say a word of arrogance, with the talents of the ministers and Xiao Hanlin, in the next thirty or fifty years, the contributions they have made to our Great Chu Wenzhi may not be inferior to today. Therefore, the minister thinks that the portrait of the minister is still hanging on the left wall of the main hall, and his majesty is asked to see it. ”

Emperor Chu Ling thought so deeply that he couldn't help but nodded.

At the same time, Zhang Yansheng stepped back, Xiao Mo took a step forward, and continued: "Your Majesty, the minister and Master Zhang have the same opinion. However, there is also truth in the words of the predecessors of the former protector of the country, if there is no army of the generals who fight first and the exhausted grassland coalition army, if the soldiers under his command are not united and brave when he leads the troops, there is no way to talk about today's victorious military exploits, so I ask Your Majesty for permission to set up a 'Heroic Monument' in the places where the war has been fought in the north, engrave the names of all the fallen soldiers on it, and give more comfort and compensation to their families, so as to show that my great Chu will not forget their merits. In addition, meritorious soldiers are rewarded to inspire people with lofty ideals in the world to serve the country. ”

As Xiao Mo retreated to his position, Emperor Chu Ling thought about the words of the two of them, and Zhang Qian, who had been silent, suddenly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, what Xiao Hanlin and Master Zhang said is reasonable. The minister seconded. ”

Later, the privy envoy Wang Han also came out and said, "Your Majesty, the minister also thinks that it is more appropriate for the portraits of Xiao Hanlin and Master Zhang to be hung on the left wall of the main hall. ”

The wisdom of the old king: "The minister seconded the proposal, since there is a precedent to be found, it is natural that things should be followed." ”

Taifu Lin Zhishi: "The minister seconded the proposal, Xiao Hanlin and Bachelor Zhang's work, the first is in Wenzhi." The establishment of the 'Heroic Monument' and the generous treatment of meritorious soldiers are enough to prove to the world the martial arts exploits of our dynasty. ”

Signed the Privy Council Lin Shang: "Your Majesty, the minister seconded the proposal, with the talent and learning ability of Xiao Hanlin and Bachelor Zhang, a hundred years later, retrospective of their merits, it will inevitably be important to govern, so the portraits of the two are more appropriate to hang on the left wall of the main hall."

……

As the ministers seconded the proposal, seeing that Emperor Chu Ling couldn't help nodding, Luo Shang, the protector of the country, sighed secretly, knowing that the general trend was going.

On the other side, although the generals of the general's mansion were still unconvinced, they were speechless, not to mention that Xiao Mo's later suggestion had already given them enough face, and after seeing that the protector Luo Shang was silent, they were all helpless, although they were dissatisfied, they had to accept their fate.

In this way, the portraits of Xiao Mo and Zhang Yansheng, after some disputes, were finally hung on the left wall of the 'Jiying Palace'.

Since then, the Chu Dynasty's civil and military situation has reached its peak, and the generals of the "General's Mansion" no longer have the confidence to fight with the courtiers, and they have been completely suppressed by the courtiers.

In this situation, after nearly ten years of straightening, the middle and late stages of the Chu Dynasty's reform were only slightly alleviated.

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Because of the twists and turns, the ceremony of Xiao Mo and Zhang Yansheng's final hanging painting in the 'Jiying Palace' is also a bit hasty.

Today's court meeting is only to commend the merits of Xiao Mo, Zhang Yansheng, and the Eight Sages King, as for post-war matters, other rewards, most of them will be discussed in the court meeting a few days after the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, after the ceremony was completed, the ministers were listed, and after Emperor Chu Ling glanced at Xiao Mo and Zhang Yansheng, he suddenly smiled and said: "Originally, I haven't seen you for a few months, and I still want to get together with a few of you to hear your stories on the front line, but I want to come to your two families who are worried about you these days, and I can't wait for a long time, so I won't force it today, let's go to court." Well, eighth brother, you are discussing matters in the imperial study of the future. ”

As the ministers knelt down, this twists and turns of the court meeting finally ended.

Thinking back to Emperor Chu Ling's last words, the appearance of all family members kept appearing in Xiao Mo's mind, thinking of his grandfather and grandmother who were over seventy years old, these days they must be worried and afraid of themselves, unable to feel at ease, and couldn't help but feel guilty.

Therefore, after the dispersal of the dynasty, Xiao Mo just perfunctorily agreed with his colleagues for a few words, and then walked quickly towards the outside of the palace.

Outside the palace, Deng Shangquan, who could always guess Xiao Mo's thoughts in advance, had been waiting there for a long time.

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PS: Next Chapter: "After the Next Dynasty"