Wu Zetian appreciated, and Yao Yuanchong rose

In the second year of Tiance Long Live (696 AD, Yao Chong was 47 years old), Yao Yuanchong was in office in Xia Guanlangzhong, and the Khitan tribe in the northeast had originally surrendered to the Southern Zhou Dynasty (Wu Zetian reigned) The leader Li Quanzhong/Sun Wanrong rebelled, and the reason for the rebellion was very simple, that is, the officials forced the people to rebel, but the Khitan tribe had a famine, and Zhao Wenhui, the governor of Yingzhou, not only refused to help, but abused and insulted the chiefs of the Khitan tribe, and the two could not bear it, so they rebelled.

Wu Zetian repeatedly sent large troops to resist, so the affairs of the military department were particularly busy. Yao Chong's talents have been fully brought into full play so far, and the complicated affairs have been handled neatly and in an orderly manner in his hands. The Ministry of War is the central organ, and the news quickly reached Wu Zetian's ears. Wu Zetian loves talents very much, Yao Yuanchong's talent, she appreciates it very much, and immediately promoted him to Xia Guan Shilang (Bingbu Shilang) and promoted him to a central-level senior official.

In the first year of Shengong in the Southern Zhou Dynasty (697 AD), once Wu Zetian said when chatting with his close ministers:

"In recent years, Zhou Xing/Lai Junchen has often implicated a large number of government officials when investigating and trying cases, and I sometimes suspect that I sent personal attendants to the prison for interrogation, and the defendants all wrote confessions and admitted their crimes, so I also believed it, but since Zhou Xing/Lai Junchen's death, I have rarely heard of anyone plotting rebellion, so it seems that there has not been wronged before?"

Yao Yuanchong happened to be beside the attendant at this time, and replied:

"Many of those who committed rebellion were executed before because of Zhou Xing and others' fabricated charges. The people sent by His Majesty to the prison for questioning were afraid of being framed, so how could they dare to say something different? The reason why the defendant writes a confession admitting the crime and does not dare to cry out is because if the defendant does not admit it, or if he does not complain, he will be tortured in a way that is worse than death. So I had to admit it. Fortunately, God moved His Majesty's Sacred Heart, Zhou Xing and others have already subdued the law, and I use the lives of hundreds of people in my family as a guarantee, and now there are no traitors in the officials. If there is, I am willing to accept the penalty of "not reporting the information". ”

Wu Zetian was very happy and said: "In the past, the prime ministers agreed to all the verdicts, which made the people mistakenly think that I was a king who was easy to kill. I heard your words, and I liked them. "Ordered to reward Yao Yuan with a thousand strings of money.

I believe that this dialogue once again shows Yao Yuanchong's ability to perceive the will of the people and do the right thing at the right time. In the early days, Zhou Xing/Lai Junchen was able to rejuvenate the unjust prison because of Wu Zetian's dual need to eradicate those loyal to the Li Tang Dynasty and establish a reign of terror. Later, Wu Zetian's regime was already stable, so he needed to change his approach, Yao Yuanchong had a complete insight into the female emperor's mind, which was his superiority.

This dialogue made Wu Zetian deeply impressed by Yao Yuanchong, and the next year, Yao Yuanchong was promoted to prime minister, and was renamed Yao Yuanzhi, and later concurrently served as the governor of Wang (Li Dan) and Li Dan's family. established a relatively close relationship, and served as prime minister for the second time when Li Dan became emperor for the second time.

However, soon after, he was demoted to governor because of the fact that he played with Song Jing to invite Princess Taiping out of Beijing. (See above)

(Original Serialization Update 019)

04 What a bold son, do you still pose as the prime minister?

In October of the second year of Xiantian (713 AD), three months after he completely took power, Li Longji held a military parade in Lishan, collecting 200,000 troops, and the flag fluttered for 50 miles.

Lishan. It is the famous Lishan, King Zhou You smiled in order to fight for the favor of Ji, and raised the beacon fire to play the princes. During the Republic of China, Zhang Xueliang Xi'an Incident, Chiang Kai-shek was exiled here. The existing ruins are "Hyo-tei". And our protagonist, Mr. Li Longji, asked Yang Guifei to go to Huaqing Pool to take a bath, "Spring cold gives a bath in Huaqing Pool, and the hot spring water is slippery and washes gelatin" is also nearby.

At the time of the military parade, I don't know why, maybe it was not rehearsed in advance. Maybe just because it was an impossible task to keep the 200,000 people in order, in short, Li Longji thought that the military appearance was not neat enough, so he asked Guo Yuanzhen, the secretary of the military department (yes, Guo Yuanzhen, who had appeared earlier), to tie up and prepare to behead. At this time, Liu Youqiu told Zhang that the two ministers hurriedly came out to intercede and said: "Guo Yuanzhen has made great contributions to the empire, should he be killed?" So Li Longji exiled Guo Yuanzhen to Xinzhou (Xinxing County, Fuyun City, Guangdong Province), and beheaded Tang Shao, the governor of the matter (supervision officer) (acting ceremonial officer), because the military etiquette he formulated was not rigorous enough.

Li Longji was just to establish his prestige at first, so he deliberately reprimanded loudly and said that he would be killed, but in fact he had no real intention of killing, but Li Miao, the general of Jin Wuwei, could not perceive the intention of the emperor, and immediately executed him in response to the order, which made Li Longji very unhappy, and not long after, this fool was removed from his official position, never hired for life, and retired at home. (Hehe, this is a typical workplace survival story!) You have to figure out whether the boss is pretending or really wants to do it, otherwise, the boss will hold a grudge and definitely don't know how to die)

This time in Lishan, in addition to the military parade, another thing is to inspect Yao Yuanzhi, so the day after the parade, Lin Longji ordered the eunuch to pass Yao Yuanzhi to see, Yao Yuanzhi served as the governor of Tongzhou (Dali County, Shaanxi Province) at this time, and when he heard the emperor summoning him, he arrived immediately.

When Yao Yuanzhi arrived, Li Longji was hunting by the Weishui River, so he asked Yao Yuanzhi: "Does Yao Gong know how to hunt?" ”

Yao Chong replied: "This is what I used to do when I was young!" When I was young, I lived in Guangchengze, and I took pleasure in calling eagles and chasing beasts, and later met Zhang Jingzang, who said that I had the opportunity to be the prime minister to assist the emperor, so I began to study hard, and then I became an official all the way, and now although I am old, I still remember what I learned when I was young! “

So the two of them talked about national affairs while hunting, and Li Longji was impressed by Yao Chong's ability, so he asked him:

"Would you like to be my prime minister?"

Unexpectedly, Yao Yuanzhi did not immediately kowtow to thank him.

Li Longji thought it was strange.

Yao Yuanzhi said: "I want to put forward ten conditions to the emperor, if the emperor thinks it is not feasible, I want to make a request to the emperor not to take over the position of prime minister!" “

Li Longji smiled and said, "You still have conditions, but if you don't bring it up, how do you know that I will not agree?" Mention it! “

"Then I'll mention it!"

Ten opinions and the pits behind them

(Those who can't stand the following paragraph can watch it faster or skip it by themselves)

"Since the vertical arch (the first time Ruizong Li Dan became the emperor), his subordinates have been restrained by strict punishment and strict laws, and I hope that the emperor will give priority to benevolence and forgiveness in his future governance, is it okay?"

"The imperial court was wiped out in Qinghai before, and now it is still unwilling to repent, I hope that the emperor will not use troops lightly in the future, is it okay?"

"Recently, some officials have broken the law, because they are the emperor's cronies or favored people can get out of sanctions, I ask the emperor to let the judiciary give priority to the emperor's cronies, is it okay?"

"In the past, when the heroine was in the court, she often used eunuchs to convey orders. I ask the emperor to order that eunuchs should not interfere in politics, is that okay? ”

"The family of foreign relatives contributed money and goods to the emperor, and the ministers and local officials gradually gradually appeared, and I asked the emperor to pay taxes in addition to the regular taxes. Don't take any more tribute or gifts, is that okay? ”

"The dictatorship of the relatives and the emperor, and the appointment of officials is not in accordance with the proper system, I ask the relatives and the emperor not to serve as the ministers of Taiwan Province (Yushitai and Zhongshu/Menxia/Shangshu Provinces), is it okay?"

"The emperor of the first dynasty got along with the ministers too casually. There is no balance between the monarch and the minister, I ask the emperor to treat the ministers with courtesy, is it okay? “

"Yan Qinrong/Wei Yue will give advice to the emperor but will be punished, this will make the loyal courtiers frustrated and dare not speak, I ask the emperor to let all the courtiers criticize the scales (because the ancients believed that the emperor was a dragon, so there are scales), violating the emperor's taboo, is it okay?"

"Empress Wu built Fuxian Temple, and Emperor Taishang (Li Dan) built two Taoist temples of Jinzhen/Yuxian, both of which cost millions of dollars (this is the shortcoming of classical Chinese. I don't know what the unit of millions is, but I think it may be a string or a thread, that is, a thousand texts), I ask the emperor to cut off the construction of Buddhist/Taoist temples, is it okay? “

"During the Han Dynasty, Lu Lu/Wang Mang/Yan Xian/Liang Ji and others all interfered in politics with foreign relatives, and this phenomenon is particularly strict in this dynasty, I ask the emperor to take this as a lesson and stop letting foreign relatives interfere in politics, is it okay?"

These 10 points are mentioned in one piece. Yao Yuanzhi originally thought that the emperor would turn his face, but he didn't expect Li Longji to answer very cheerfully:

"I can do it!" No wordy, no more talking!

(Today is not over, but it will be updated in the evening!) ）

(Continued today)

So the next day. Li Longji issued an edict appointing Yao Yuanzhi as the secretary and prime minister of the military department (the same as the three products under the door of the Zhongshu Gate), sealing the title of Liang Guogong, and changing his name to Yao Chong (avoiding the era name of Kaiyuan).

It is said that after reading the biography of Yao Chong in the Old Tang Dynasty and the New Tang Dynasty, we wrote on the frontispiece: "Dazheng zhì family." Materialist Yao Chong" ten-character evaluation, and believes that Yao Chong is a rare minister in the ancient political family who has a political program, so it is said that Yao Chong's evaluation in *** is good.

I always think that with the wisdom and wisdom of our chairman, as well as the wealth of experience in struggle, this remark is a bit like a counter-argument? Didn't he wake up much when he wrote his annotations?

It seems that these ten opinions are Yao Chong's trick on Li Longji! You see, these ten points are to restrain the emperor's behavior, restrain the emperor's temper, and restrain the emperor's expenses, and not only the emperor himself, but also the emperor's relatives, favored people, and the emperor's servants (eunuchs).

And looking at these ten opinions, it is the most affordable to be a minister, there is no need to give gifts, you can talk nonsense, and you want the emperor to be polite to his courtiers, and he is happy to die.

So these ten opinions are actually digging a big hole for the emperor, but Li Longji jumped, why?

Because when he was his great-grandfather (Li Shimin), Wei Zheng also dug a pit, and Li Shimin also jumped; Li Longji wants to be Li Shimin, can he not jump if he has a pit? So it was a trick.

Li Longji's countermeasures

After Yao Chong became prime minister, Li Longji could only obediently act in accordance with the Ten Conventions.

After a while, Li Longji found out that he had fallen into a big trap, so he made a little Jiujiu in his heart, and decided to scare Yao Chong, take revenge, and find a little fun for himself.

So on a certain occasion, when Yao Chong reported to the middle and lower-level officials in accordance with the usual practice, he only saw the emperor's head high and his eyes looked at the roof, but he did not respond, and reported three times in a row, all of which were the same. At this time, Yao Chong thought that the emperor was dissatisfied, and was both shocked and afraid, so he staggered out.

At this moment, Yao Chong became nervous, and began to wonder left and right whether there was a problem with his list, or whether he exceeded his authority, or if someone had said bad things about him recently? All of a sudden, he made a lot of noise, the grass and trees were all soldiers, the diet was tasteless, and he couldn't sleep well.

After Li Longji heard the report, he felt relieved, and wanted to say, I have to make you suffer a little!

A few days later, the emperor felt that Yao Chong's hardships were almost over, and he should pack up and find a step to let himself go, so he asked his cronies Gao Lishi to co-act in such a play.

One day, before Jin met the emperor, Yao Chong was told that the emperor still had something to do, and you should wait a while, and then he was invited to rest in a side hall. Then I accidentally heard the eunuch Gao Lishi speak to the emperor, to the effect that Yao Chong is the prime minister, the emperor, you have to be polite to him, like the last time he reported things to your boss, you should squeak no matter whether you are full of dissatisfaction! Now that you don't say anything, the prime minister doesn't know what to do.

Li Longji said that I am a big boss, and now I entrust Yao Chong to be the general manager, if it is a big thing such as deciding on company policies, or being promoted to a position such as deputy general manager/director, of course, you have to report to me, today is just a promotion to some minor officials such as section chiefs/section chiefs, do you still want me to go for an interview and approval? It's too hard for me to do that! Why be a big boss? (I'm sorry, I'll admit that I'm also fantasizing about the big leaders of our company at the same time, haha!) ）

When Yao Chong heard this, he turned his worries into joy, ate and slept sweetly, and frequently praised Li Longji for knowing the secret of being a leader, so he began to let go of his hands, promote the talents he fancied, and adjust or demote bad officials.

The power of example is endless

Yao Chong got the emperor's endorsement and began to prepare for a big job, so where did he start?

He remembered an old saying: "The power of example is infinite", and this example should be set to be very extreme and very contrasting, so that officials big and small will be able to walk in the grass.

In the past, because the parties fought each other, the phenomenon of promotion through the back door and asking for help was very strict, Yao Chong wanted to put an end to this phenomenon, how should it be carried out? He thought that during the Warring States Period, Shang Ying wanted to change the law, in order to let the people know that this change was to play the truth, so he set up a three-zhang high wood at the south gate of the national capital, and posted a notice on it, if the wood could be moved to the north gate, he would give ten gold gold, but the people did not believe it and thought that he was bluffing; Shang Ying then increased the weight, and those who could move to the north gate were given fifty gold, so someone came forward to move this wood to the north gate, and Shang Ying really gave him fifty gold gold, so from then on, the people of Qin believed that the change was real. (To be continued.) )