Yu Dingguo solved the case of Yang Yun, a talented man, and displayed his talents. He was deeply loved by Liu Xun, and he rose to the rank of prime minister.
In the second year of Emperor Xuan's reign (52 BC), Du Yannian, the imperial censor, was old and frail and was dismissed from his post. Liu Xun immediately promoted him to Dingguo. As the "King of ZTE", Liu Xun was very wise and did not bury talents. For example, he did not kill Zhang Chang indiscriminately. In the era of statism, a thousand-mile horse is important, but Bole is even more important.
Helping the building to collapse, Liu Xun reversed the trend of imperial power's imminent collapse and put the Han Dynasty on the right track. It can be said that he was a wise king. But when his life was coming to an end, there was one thing that this wise king could not let go of. The thing he couldn't let go of was his son Liu Shi. Liu Xun was wise and powerful, but his son Liu Shi was weak and fond of Confucianism, and only knew falsehoods and corrupt etiquette. Liu Shi's weak personality cannot be entirely blamed on him. The reason should be found from his living environment and educational background.
Liu Shi was established as a prince at the age of eight, and he lived a privileged life. He was just a little flower growing under a big tree, unlike Liu Xun, a strong grass that wandered among the people in his early years. The environment can shape people. Liu Xun lived a hard life in his early years, so he was perseverant and decisive and could withstand strong winds and waves; Liu Shi was a child who did not understand the hardships of life. He had never suffered the hardships of life, nor experienced the ups and downs of life, let alone understand The treachery of the human heart.
The kings of the Han Dynasty governed the country by emphasizing "Confucianism on the outside and law on the inside". On the surface, they played Confucian Kungfu and governed the country with benevolence and etiquette. On the inside, they used Legalist methods, backed by harsh punishments and laws. Liu Che was such a king, and so was Liu Xun. In order to consolidate the imperial power, Liu Xun executed Zhao Guanghan, Han Yanshou, Yang Yun and other important court officials one after another, but his son Liu Shi could not bear it. Liu Shi wrote to Liu Xun, saying that the punishment was too harsh and that Confucianism should be used to govern the country. Liu Shi's words reflect his dark character and Confucian ideological tendency. Liu Xun told him that the strategy of governing the country emphasizes "external Confucianism and internal law", otherwise power will inevitably fall to the side. Liu Shi had never experienced battles with relatives, scholar-bureaucrats, and eunuchs, and could not understand the profound meaning of Liu Xun's words.
After this incident, Liu Xun knew the weaknesses in Liu Shi's personality and knew that it would be difficult for him to support the Han Dynasty. Liu Xun once said to others: The person who ruined the foundation of our great Han Dynasty is the current prince. Liu Shi was cowardly, and Liu Xun also thought about establishing another prince. The candidate in his mind was Liu Qin, King of Huaiyang. However, Liu Xun could never forget his feelings for Xu Pingjun. After a conflict between career and feelings, he chose love.
Empress Xu and Liu Xun shared hardships in their early years, but could not share joys in their later years. Liu Xun was very sorry. Queen Xu passed away, leaving Liu Shi alone and helpless. If Liu Xun abandons him again, Liu Shi will become Liu Xun back then, even worse than he was back then, because Liu Shi does not have the ability to live independently. Liu Xun's heart ached when he thought of Queen Xu; and when he thought that Liu Shi was the blood and flesh of Queen Xu, Liu Xun's heart softened.
When he was dying, Liu Xun summoned three important officials to prepare for his death.
Liu Xun entrusted Liu Shi to Shi Gao, Xiao Wangzhi and Zhou Kan. Shi Gao served as the servant. He was Liu Xun's cousin and represented the influence of his relatives. Shi Gao himself is incompetent, but the backer behind him is very strong and cannot be easily shaken by others. Xiao Wangzhi and Zhou Kan were Liu Shi's teachers. They didn't have much power, but they had profound academic skills and good plans.
In order to further balance the power of these three, make them evenly matched and check and balance each other, and to reward them, Liu Xun was re-enfranchised. Liu Xun made Xiao Wangzhi a former general and Guanglu Xun; he made Zhou Kan a Guanglu doctor; Shi Gao was made a Grand Sima and a general of chariots and cavalry. Xiao Wangzhi and Zhou Kan represent the potential power of scholar-bureaucrats. If they can make good use of their wisdom, they can prevent their relatives from taking power; Shi Gao represents the deep-rooted power of foreign relatives. Relying on this thousand-year-old tree, Shi Gao can prevent the scholar-bureaucrats from taking power.
Emperor Xuan ordered Xiao Wangzhi, Zhou Kan and Shi Gao to assist Liu Shi together.
Yu Dingguo never likes to cause trouble. Therefore, Liu Xun appointed him as prime minister, but did not ask him to assist the government. Yu Dingguo's decision to settle the case can achieve the effect of "the people believe they are not unjust" because he likes to act as a peacemaker, neither punishing Party A nor giving preferential treatment to Party B. Yu Dingguo's personality is suitable for doing things but not suitable for assisting the king. If Yu Dingguo is allowed to assist the emperor, he will only temporarily ease the conflicts between the competing parties, rather than completely resolve them. The conflict has been alleviated, but it still exists; if Yu Dingguo dies and the conflict breaks out, Liu Shi will be unable to control it. With Liu Shi's ability, it was impossible to win in the battle to seize power. Liu Xun needed minister Gu Ming to completely eliminate the contradiction instead of easing it.
The leader is weak and his subordinates are constantly fighting with each other.
Compared with Xiao Wangzhi, Shi Gao is like the mud underground and the other is the clouds in the sky. Xiao Wangzhi is a master of Confucianism. He stands at the pinnacle of virtue in everything, and looks like a role model for all generations. In the ideal realm of Confucianism, when one is in a position, he must have his own abilities, and more importantly, he must plan his political affairs. Shi Gao, who was immoral and incompetent, was granted the title of Grand Sima. Xiao Wangzhi, who deeply cherished the ideal of a Confucian scholar, refused to accept it. As a minister who cares about life, Xiao Wangzhi wanted to fulfill his duties, expel Shi Gao and evade his power.
At the same time, he appointed three ministers who took care of life. Emperor Xuan's purpose was to achieve stability in the triangle and check and balance each other. However, Xiao Wangzhi and Zhou Kan are very similar. They both represent scholar-bureaucrats and can only be regarded as the same force. Xiao Wangzhi was from Lanling, Donghai (now Lanling Town, Cangshan, Shandong), and Zhou Kan was from Qijun (now northeast of Zibo, Shandong). They were fellow villagers. Both of them once worshiped Xia Housheng as their teacher, studied "Shangshu", and their teachers came from the same school. Xiao Wangzhi was the Taifu, and he had a profound study of "Qi Shi", and Zhou Kan was the Young Master. With so many similarities added together, they are in the same boat. More importantly, they both face a common enemy, the incompetent and high-ranking relative Shi Gao.
As a result, the triangle plan transformed into a bipolar confrontation, that is, Xiao Wangzhi teamed up with Zhou Kan to fight against Shi Gao. Shi Gao is a relative, and his influence is deeply rooted and difficult to shake. If you want to compete with Mount Tai, you must find another mountain. This mountain is Liu Xiang, a descendant of the royal family and an academic master.
Liu Xiang, whose original name was Liu Gengsheng, was renamed Liu Xiang after the death of Emperor Yuan of Han Dynasty. Liu Xiang is quite talented. He edited "Warring States Policy" and wrote "Shuo Yuan" and other good books. Xiao Wangzhi admired him very much. Liu Xiang's ancestor was Liu Jiao who followed Liu Bang in his battles across the world. Liu Xiang was the fourth generation descendant of Liu Jiao, so he naturally maintained the imperial power and won the respect of Xiao Wangzhi. Xiao Wangzhi, Zhou Kan and Liu Xiang were like-minded, and the three formed an alliance of scholar-bureaucrats against foreign relatives.
In order to strengthen Liu Shi, Xiao Wangzhi and Zhou Kan jointly recommended Liu Xiang as the official of Sanqi Zongzheng to Shizhong. After taking office, Liu Xiang's task was to stay with the emperor, supervise the emperor's mistakes, and give good advice. Xiao Wangzhi arranged for Liu Xiang to be by Liu Shi's side in order to find a guide for Liu Shi to prevent him from going astray.
But Liu Shi had no perseverance and was weak-minded.
After Liu Shi proclaimed himself emperor, the courtiers wrote a letter recommending Zhang Chang as Liu Shi's teacher. Zhang Chang's face was somewhat ferocious, and everyone felt that if he taught Liu Shi, he might be able to change Liu Shi's cowardly personality.
Liu Shi had no ability to decide matters at all, so when he appointed a tutor for himself, he also had to consult his teacher Xiao Wangzhi. Xiao Wangzhi naturally disagreed, saying that Zhang Chang's words and deeds were frivolous and unfit to be a tutor. Zhang Chang was his wife's thrush and loved to visit the popular Zhangtai Street, which was known to everyone. When Liu Shi heard what Xiao Wangzhi said, he silently agreed. However, Zhang Chang is a talented person and has a far-reaching reputation, so he cannot stay in the local area forever. So Xiao Wangzhi transferred Zhang Chang back to the court and arranged for him to serve as Zuo Fengyi to fight against the evil forces. However, Zhang Chang died as soon as the order was given.
Liu Xi was active and uncertain by nature. He loved to travel east and west, so Liu Xiang could not accompany him all the time. For the emperor's safety, Xiao Wangzhi arranged for Liu Shi to have another follower and ordered him to follow Liu Shi at all times. This person's name is Jin Chang, and he serves as a servant. Xiao Wangzhi did not use a master like Zhang Chang, but hired a little-known junior. In addition to being stubborn, he was also jealous. As an official in the same dynasty, Xiao Wangzhi could not tolerate others and would inevitably block his own escape.
As soon as Liu Xun died, Xiao Wangzhi hurriedly placed people around Liu Shi and formed an alliance of scholar-bureaucrats. His intention was obvious. Although Shi Gao was incompetent, he was not a fool, and he saw the secret. Liu Shi was under Xiao Wangzhi's control. No matter how big or small, he consulted Xiao Wangzhi but not Shi Gao. Shi Gao was in name only and he had been ignored by Xiao Wangzhi. After controlling Liu Shi, Shi Gao was no longer a big threat to Xiao Wangzhi.
Since the emergence of the post of Grand Sima, it has been held by relatives, who are very powerful.
Shi Gao was the Grand Sima appointed by Liu Xun. Although he had great power, under Xiao Wangzhi's control, he was only in name only. Shi Gao was naturally angry. Xiao Wangzhi used his method to evade his relatives as fast as lightning, catching Shi Gao off guard.
The soldiers came to stop him. Xiao Wangzhi formed a gang to seize territory, and Shi Gao also wanted to form an alliance to counterattack with all his strength. The relatives and the royal family are relatives on the surface, but in reality they are enemies. This has been the case since the dictatorship of Lu Fei, so Shi Gao cannot win over the royal family. Shi Gao was devoid of virtue and incompetence, had no talent or learning, and could not win over the scholar-bureaucrats. Just when he was desperate, an idea flashed in Shi Gao's mind and he decided to win over the eunuch. Xiao Wangzhi was able to sideline Shi Gao all because he placed Liu Xiang and Jin Chang beside Liu Shi. If Shi Gao can win over the eunuchs, Xiao Wang's alliance will meet its match.
Shi Gao wanted to take revenge on Xiao Wangzhi, and Pushe Shixian helped a lot.
It turned out that Shi Xian had a boss named Hong Gong. Hong Gong was the Secretary of the Central Committee and was responsible for managing palace affairs, while Shi Xian was the executive officer. Shi Xian was from Pei and Hong Gong was from Jinan. They had not followed the rules in their early years and were punished by castration. After the palace sentence, Shi Xian studied law hard and hoped to find a job in the palace. Not long after Liu Shi became emperor, he was promoted to Zhongshu Ling. After Shi Gao approached Shi Xian to discuss the plan of forming an alliance between relatives and eunuchs, Shi Xian became more and more eager to please Liu Shi. Liu Shi, who was cowardly by nature, needed the coaxing of people like Shi Xian. Liu Shi was incompetent, physically weak, and had weak willpower... Whenever there were many memorials, he asked Shi Xian to do it for him. Once he had the power to approve memorials, he would have the power to govern the world, and Shi Xian was naturally very happy.
Shi Xian was willing to do the work for him, and Liu Shi suddenly felt relieved, leaving the country behind and focusing on studying music and art. In the first game, through the hands of Liu Xiang and Jin Chang, Xiao Wangzhi controlled Liu Xi; in the second game, through the hands of Shi Xian, Shi Gao controlled Liu Xi. After the two major alliances were formed, Liu Shi's imperial power was what they wanted to fight for. The two sides decided to fight around Liu Shi.
Greedy for power, Zheng Peng takes advantage of the situation
The memorials Liu Shi approved were increasingly not to Xiao Wangzhi's taste. Whatever Xiao Wangzhi agreed with, Shi Xian opposed, and Shi Gao firmly opposed; whatever Xiao Wangzhi opposed, Shi Xian agreed with, and Shi Gao unconditionally agreed with. Seeing Xiao Wangzhi helpless, Shi Xian smiled, and Shi Gao laughed even happier.
Shi Gao was incompetent, but Xiao Wangzhi was not afraid; Shi Xian was also incompetent, but Xiao Wangzhi was very afraid because Shi Xian was close to Liu Shi. Shi Xian is a serious problem for Xiao Wangzhi and must be eliminated. Xiao Wangzhang wrote to Liu Shi, saying that state power is concentrated in the central government, the central government is very important, and the people who handle central affairs should be upright people. It is obvious that Xiao Wangzhi's memorial was directed at the eunuch Shi Xian. Xiao Wangzhi was worried that Liu Shi did not understand the meaning. He also said that according to Confucian tradition, eunuchs could not hold official positions, and asked Liu Shi to remove Shi Xian from his post.
Shi Xian was deeply trusted by Liu Shi and could read the memorials from the courtiers. Xiao Wangzhi's submission of such a memorial was a letter of challenge. Liu Shi was incompetent and did not dare to abolish the eunuch system because it was created by his ancestors. The alliance of scholar-bureaucrats wanted to abolish it, but Liu Shi did not dare to abolish it. The alliance of relatives and eunuchs certainly did not want to abolish it based on their own interests. These three forces were entangled and inseparable.
Xiao Wang issued a letter of challenge, and Shi Xian used his power to fight back immediately. Shi Xian promoted Liu Xiang to Zongzheng, so that Liu Xiang could no longer accompany Liu Shi. With Liu Xiang gone, Xiao Wangzhi lost one hand to control the emperor. After Liu Xiang left, Xiao Wangzhi and Zhou Kan jointly submitted a letter recommending Confucian scholars to serve as admonishers. No matter how many admonishers there were in the scholar-bureaucrat group, they were no match for Shi Xian, because Liu Shi had a young mind and little resourcefulness. He did not like the dry and tasteless principles of Confucian scholars, and only liked to listen to Shi Xian's sweet words. The battle between the two major groups has reached this point, and Shi Xian has become the main force in the alliance of relatives and eunuchs, occupying an advantageous position in the battle.
Just as the scholar-bureaucrat group was retreating, an evil and coward suddenly appeared and supported Xiao Wangzhi. This man's name is Zheng Peng. He has no firm political stance and is completely opportunistic. The reason why Zheng Peng supported Xiao Wangzhi was because the scholar-bureaucrat alliance was defeated by Shi Xian. Zheng Peng believes that only by turning the tide can he highlight his talents.
Zheng Peng wrote an exposé letter, saying that Grand Sima Shigao secretly placed retainers in various feudal states and counties to extract illegal benefits and had evil intentions; his relatives, the Shi family and the Xu family, colluded with each other, causing countless harm to people and committing evil deeds. There are so many crimes that cannot be punished. Zheng Peng's move made Liu Shi intolerable and he didn't know how to deal with it. So Liu Shi went to his teacher Zhou Kan to consult about the matter.
There was no one in the Zhengchou alliance, and Zheng Peng suddenly appeared. Zhou Kan was very happy. He sent someone to notify Zheng Peng and asked him to report to Jinmamen and wait for the summons. Zhou Kan is upright, treats others calmly, and has no scheming. Xiao Wangzhi met with Zheng Peng. When Zheng Peng saw Xiao Wangzhi, he got straight to the point and asked whether Xiao Wangzhi wanted to be Guan Zhong or Duke of Zhou. Guan Zhong and Zhou Gong were both powerful figures who assisted the king and were highly respected by the world. Zheng Peng said that if Xiao Wangzhi wanted to be Guan Zhong, he had misjudged the person; if Xiao Wangzhi wanted to be Duke of Zhou, he was willing to take the lead and blaze a trail. Zheng Peng's words were astonishing, Xiao Wangzhi's brain was heated, and he immediately admired him, and the two had a very good conversation.
After Zheng Peng left, Xiao Wangzhi suddenly woke up. Zheng Peng was very timid and could do anything. This seriously violated the moral boundaries of scholar-bureaucrats. As a representative of scholar-bureaucrats, Xiao Wangzhi behaved very strictly and would never go too far. Letting Xiao Wangzhi cooperate with Zheng Peng would destroy his moral values, and he would rather die than obey.
Xiao Wangzhi turned a blind eye to Zheng Peng, and Zhou Kan followed suit and broke up with Zheng Peng. After Zheng Peng submitted the letter, Liu Shi prepared to summon him and another person. Zhou Kan stood in the way and Zheng Peng had no chance to see Liu Shi.
After the alliance of scholar-bureaucrats hit a wall, Zheng Peng retreated to the next best thing and joined Shi Gao. At the time of employment, Zheng Peng was willing to submit. Shi Gao was very happy and ordered Zheng Peng to visit Liu Shi and complete what he wanted to say. Zheng Peng met with Liu Shi and said that he was ordered to write the memorial by someone else, and that person was Xiao Wangzhi.
Shi Xian was very smart, not as stupid as Xiao Wangzhi, so he let the other party see the memorial. While Xiao Wangzhi was away from the government and the public, Shi Xian handed Liu Shi the memorial to accuse Xiao Wangzhi. Liu Shi had no brains and could not see through the real tricks of the legal master Shi Xian, so he ordered people to investigate. The person in charge of the investigation asked Xiao Wangzhi how he could explain that someone had accused him of instigating a relationship between the emperor and his relatives. Xiao Wangzhi did not know that he was carrying a big case, so he generously said that his wife was proud of her high status and was extravagant. He sincerely advised the emperor to stay away from his wife, and he had the same ambition. The speaker has no intention, but the listener has intention. Xiao Wangzhi is too conceited, and disaster comes from his mouth.
Xiao Wangzhi personally confessed to the crime, but Shi Xian couldn't get it. Shi Xian handled the case and told Liu Shi that Xiao Wangzhi admitted the crime and should be handed over to Ting Wei. Liu Shi didn't understand what it meant to hand it over to Tingwei, so he thought he wanted Tingwei to investigate. In fact, leaving it to Ting Wei is to let Ting Wei confirm whether the suspect is guilty. If he is guilty, he will arrest and imprison him and determine the punishment. Shi Xian knew the law well and deliberately set a trap in front of the emperor in order to bring down the scholar-bureaucrat group.
After learning that Xiao Wangzhi and Liu Xiang were captured by Tingwei, Liu Shi was very angry and ordered Shi Xian to release them immediately. Shi Xian spent a lot of effort to throw Xiao Wangzhi into prison, and he could never let the tiger go back to the mountain. Shi Xian had no choice but Shi Gao took action. Shi Gao told Liu Shi that the teacher Xiao Wangzhi and the royal disciple Liu Xiang were guilty and were arrested by the emperor. The people thought that the emperor was selfless and respected them all. If Xiao Wangzhi and Liu Xiang were suddenly released, the people would think that the emperor was partial and would be detrimental to the emperor. image. When Liu Xigang ascended the throne, he should establish a good image instead of leaving a bad image to the people. The best way to prevent Xiao Wangzhi and Liu Xiang from suffering in prison and to maintain the emperor's image is to remove Xiao Wangzhi and Liu Xiang.
Liu Shi never thought about court matters, so he trusted Shi Gao and left the matter of deposing Xiao Wangzhi and Liu Xiang to Shi Gao. Soon, Liu Shi issued an edict, saying that Xiao Wangzhi had taught the emperor for eight years and was old and frail. The emperor took pity on him and allowed him to retire. Xiao Wangzhi was dismissed, and Zhou Kan and Liu Xiang were demoted to common people.
