Why did Cheng Yaojin dare to watch the fire from the other side and stand by while the King of Jin rebelled?
Why did you dare to give up the defense line and retreat in order to preserve your strength when Yuchi Gong was launching a massive attack?
It was because he knew that even if he did this, the emperor would not dare to do anything to him.
Whether it is to appease people's hearts, to be kind to the meritorious veteran, or even to fear the military power in his hands... In any case, as long as Cheng Yaojin did not raise a flag of rebellion openly, Li Chengqian could only tolerate him and let him go.
Of course, even if Li Chengqian understands everything, he still has all the seven emotions and six desires. Faced with such a minister who has no loyalty to him as the emperor and no loyalty to the empire, how can he not be angry and angry, and wish to get rid of him quickly?
The chamberlain quickly put away the bowls and dishes and served a pot of fragrant tea. Fang Jun waved his hand to dismiss all the chamberlains. He poured a cup of tea for Li Chengqian and said with a smile: "The emperor is the most powerful person in the world. He is rich all over the world and the ruler of the world." , all over the world, is it the king's land, is it the king's ministers who are on the shore of the land, the emperor is angry, and the blood flows... Just listen to these words, if any emperor takes it seriously, he will not be far away from ruining his reputation, ruining his family and destroying his family. "
It is indeed very rude to say such words in front of the emperor.
"The power of kings is given by heaven" is the root of Chinese culture. No one can deny this, otherwise the entire cultural system fabricated by Confucianism since the Han Dynasty will completely collapse. In Chinese culture, "Jun" is the representative of the "Supreme God" in the human world, that is, the "Son of Heaven". The monarch's will is the will of God and cannot be disobeyed.
Monarch, minister, father and son, this is the blood of Confucianism, which has long been integrated with the people of the world.
Of course, the monarch is not free to act arbitrarily, because "God" is watching at all times. Once the monarch is foolish and acts rebelliously, he will send disasters as a warning. This is Dong Zhongshu's theory of "response between heaven and man" to restrain the behavior of the monarch. .
Li Chengqian gave a wry smile, took a sip of tea, and sighed: "Since the day when the late Emperor Jin Dian conferred me as the crown prince, I have studied diligently under the teachings of many great scholars and world-famous ministers. I dare not slack off even for one day. In order to live up to the father's lofty expectations and prevent the common people from falling into the sea of misery. However, when I actually sat in this position that day, I realized that I was too far behind, not to mention that my achievements were greater than those of the Three Emperors, or that Germany surpassed the Five Emperors. Frankly speaking, just trying to get these ministers of cultural relics in the court to advance and retreat together with me is as difficult as reaching heaven."
Since the day he ascended the throne, countless people have openly opposed him. After that, even his brother, a compatriot from the same mother, raised a flag of rebellion and blatantly wanted to overthrow him as the "false emperor", "clear the source of Shuo" and "rectify the chaos." .
Of course, he did not expect that he could be respected by everyone in the world. It was natural that some people would oppose him. How could even his wise and powerful father conquer the hearts of the world?
But when facing the minister of cultural relics, he had to balance interests while focusing on the intrigues in order to advance government affairs, which really made him physically and mentally exhausted.
There was always a sense of resentment in my heart.
Why was he so angry with Cheng Yaojin?
It is precisely because he would rather face Yu Chigong's tens of thousands of troops who come to fight with open fire to fight for life and death. The victory or defeat depends entirely on his ability, instead of being like Cheng Yaojin who is clearly on your side but has to fight for his life and death. Duan, Chao, Qin, Muchu cannot be trusted, but they cannot be treated as enemies.
Fang Jun drank tea with a smile. He understood Li Chengqian's psychology.
To put it bluntly, he is "unworthy of his position"...
His Majesty Li Er's vision was very accurate. He saw that Li Chengqian's talent was not enough to intimidate the ministers, and it would most likely lead to the power of powerful ministers and the loss of imperial power. Therefore, he first planned to appoint Li Tai, who had an excellent reputation among civil servants, as the crown prince. , and then wanted to hand over the throne to Jin Wang Li Zhi, who was extremely talented in politics.
Of course, the matter of Chu Yi interferes too much and involves too much, and it can easily affect the inheritance of the throne. Comparing the two, it is a dilemma, so His Majesty Li Er has been hesitant.
Fang Jun heard the words and said with relief: "No one is perfect, and no gold is pure. Everyone has shortcomings, even a saint. Who can be born to know them and understand the universe? It is difficult to be an emperor. Chrysostom's words, It is absolutely impossible to keep the Tianxian in your mouth. Some people are disobedient, and some people want to rebel. Who can do anything? But being an emperor is also easy, as long as you know the way to be a king."
Li Chengqian asked: "What is the 'way of being a king'?"
Fang Jun put down his tea cup and said solemnly: "If you ask a great scholar of the time, he can write a huge book on this topic, elaborating on this topic from all aspects, and citing countless examples to support his point of view. However, such a grand and broad topic can actually be summed up in two simple summaries: employing people.”
Li Chengqian was astonished: "Employing people? The masters have been teaching them since they were young, and I know a little about the principle of knowing people and appointing them well."
As Fang Jun said, "Leave professional things to professional people." This is the basis for knowing people and doing them well. Once entrusted to someone other than someone, good things can turn into bad things. But can you become an emperor in this way?
It's too simple...
As expected, Fang Jun shook his head and said with a smile: "It's all nonsense to know people and do their jobs well. Wang Mang's clan praised him as filial piety, his mentors and friends were benevolent, and when he was in the position of assisting the government and becoming the emperor, he worked hard for the country and walked straight. It has been said vividly that he is indeed capable of governing the country; Cao Cao is outstanding in military strategy and an able minister in governing the world... These people have outstanding civil and military abilities. If your Majesty uses them in the fields they are good at, can the world be at peace?"
Li Chengqian was speechless.
Wang Mang actually usurped the Han Dynasty in the name of "conceding" and claimed to be the "Emperor Gengshi". Cao Cao even used the emperor to control the princes. Once these two people were reused, it would be the result of the decline of the country and the severance of the ancestral temple. How could they be appointed?
But these two people are both extremely talented people. If the principle of "knowing people and being good at them" is true, they will definitely suffer from it...
For a time, the orthodox education Li Chengqian received since childhood conflicted with reality, leaving him confused and even at a loss: "How could this be?"
Fang Jun smiled and said: "It's very simple. 'Knowing people and being good at them' has a premise, that is, this person must be one of your own, he will act according to your will, and his interests are consistent with yours. For example, why is Wei Chen always determined? Stand by His Majesty's side? We have the same ideals, congenial temperament, and the uprightness of the empire... In the final analysis, the interests are still the same. But if the interests of Your Majesty and the minister are contrary to each other, supporting your Majesty is tantamount to harming the interests of the minister. How can the minister do the same? Do you support His Majesty? Xiao Yu is a famous official in the world in all aspects and has outstanding abilities, but now he would rather defect to the King of Jin and become a rebel."
After giving an example to illustrate his point of view, Fang Jun made a conclusion: "The so-called 'employing people' actually means to recruit more of your own people and fewer of the enemies. To achieve this, His Majesty's throne will be Then you will be as stable as Mount Tai. Then, figure out your own abilities, personality, and strengths, and strive to know people well and assign them well, and then the world will be prosperous. Finally, manage more people and less things."
Human energy is limited, but the government affairs of the country are unlimited. It is not a good idea to devote limited energy to unlimited government affairs. It is not a good idea to do everything personally and practice it. Only when you know how to delegate power and how to employ people can you do both the individual and the country well.
Otherwise, even if you are made of iron, how many nails can you drive?
Like Zhuge Liang, Yongzheng never enjoyed half of his hard work, and eventually ended up getting sick from overwork and dying in his prime...
Li Chengqian understood, but he became more and more confused: "How can this be so? As a monarch, you should have a universal mind. When the late emperor was there, he tolerated Wei Zheng again and again, even if Wei Zheng often slandered him regardless of the king's majesty. Punishment, and even uttered the motto 'You can judge gains and losses by looking at people as a mirror', but Wei Zheng was obviously not one of the late emperor's 'own men'..."
Fang Jun was speechless and said helplessly: "If necessary, Your Majesty can also choose someone to be your 'Wei Zheng'. There are many candidates, such as Cheng Yaojin and Xiao Yu."
There is a saying in later generations: "Every outstanding political figure must first be an excellent actor." This statement is a bit extreme, but to a certain extent it is indeed insightful.
An actor's job is to perform, and so are politicians...
Li Chengqian understood, but he couldn't accept it. He asked with a distorted face: "You mean the reason why the late emperor treated Wei Zheng favorably and was able to turn his back on him was because he deliberately promoted his kindness and broad-mindedness to the world?"
In his heart, he has always regarded his father as an idol, and his father's words and deeds were all things he tried to imitate. Now someone suddenly said that the eternal legend of his father's preferential treatment of Wei Zheng was intentional, which made him feel hesitant that his idol had collapsed.
How could it be like this?
Fang Jun poured tea from the pot and said patiently: "Everyone's words and deeds have a purpose, whether it is sincere or fake, as long as there is no intention to harm others, it is within the scope of morality. Human beings are not Sage, who can truly be selfless in the heart and have boundless love? In a way that is almost a "show", let everyone in the world think that you are a selfless, loving person who accepts advice with an open mind, so that there is something in their hearts. If you have a righteous heart and can speak out without fear of power, what's wrong with that?"
True and false, false and true, this is not only the highest state of the art of war, but also the highest state of life.
Life is like a play, it all depends on acting skills...
…
When returning from the palace to the military camp outside Xuande Gate, His Majesty the Emperor was still immersed in doubt and self-doubt, but Fang Jun believed that Li Chengqian had enough wisdom to get out of this hesitation of "collapse of faith".
In fact, everyone has experienced such a dilemma. For example, the education we received since childhood was that "we are all successors of socialism". When we grow up, we find that this is not the case at all. When we were young, our parents and teachers told us that as long as we work hard, we will achieve success. But when you grow up, you will find that not all efforts are rewarded...
Everyone gradually grows up in this process of hesitation and self-awareness, until one day he reaches enlightenment and becomes a qualified social animal.
After returning to the barracks, he asked the soldiers to wash their hands and faces with a basin of water. He was about to put on his armor and go to the camp for a tour when he saw Cheng Wuting coming in a hurry. He scolded the soldiers in the tent and whispered: "General Gao just sent someone To deliver the letter, Li Fengjie secretly contacted the lieutenant colonel of the army last night. However, General Gao followed your instructions and only kept enough vigilance and marked these officers who were in contact with Li Fengjie without in-depth investigation. What’s the reason for the private contact?”
What's the point of contacting an army lieutenant colonel privately at this time?
It's obvious.
Fang Jun touched the short mustache on his lips. It was so hard that it pricked his hand, and he muttered: "It seems that the time for them to start something is not far away, maybe in the next two days."
