"Wang Yuchen! Kou Zhun!" Emperor Liu's slightly emotional voice sounded in the Chui Gong Hall.
Two ministers, one in the middle and the other in the youth, stood solemnly and respectfully in front of the emperor, accepting Emperor Liu's inspection. The etiquette was in place, but his demeanor always gave people a sense of calmness.
Wang Yucheng and Kou Zhun both returned to the court from the local area this time. Wang Yucheng was recalled by Emperor Liu's decree, and Kou Zhennan returned to the capital to report on his duties, and then they were both called to Chui Gong Hall for questioning.
The age difference between Wang and Kou is only seven or eight years, but judging from their appearance, they seem to be people of two generations. Wang Yucheng is now thirty and six years old, but his face is mottled, his body is rough, and even his hair is mixed with a little white silk. It is obvious that he has endured too much suffering and hardship in the world. In comparison, those who are less than thirty years old will appear to be high-spirited.
"I have heard that there is a saying in the court that when it comes to loyalty and outspokenness, the king and the bandits are the first to be respected. Both are upright and cannot be bullied!" Behind the tall imperial case, Emperor Liu was still sighing: "I have no respect for this. I’m very curious about the remarks, are you two the only ones in the current dynasty who dare to tell the truth and give honest advice?”
"I really don't dare to take such ridiculous praise!" After Emperor Liu said this, King Yucheng thought for a moment and immediately responded with his hands raised: "Your Majesty is wise and wise, and everyone is upright in the court. In such a large court, is there only one King Yucheng? But compared with all the sages, "My words and deeds are too arrogant and unbridled. I don't know the importance of things, and I don't even know how to restrain myself. I just have a reputation for being sensational."
"Haha!" Wang Yucheng said this. Emperor Liu was really surprised. He looked at him carefully and chuckled: "When did Wang Yucheng become so self-aware? This doesn't sound like what you said?"
Emperor Liu's words became more and more casual, and there was an obvious ridicule in his words, which made it difficult to distinguish between good and evil. If you were a person with poor psychological quality, you would have already become frightened.
Wang Yucheng also had some ripples in his heart. After all, Emperor Liu's words made it difficult for people to feel comfortable, and they didn't know how to respond. After pondering for a while, Wang Yucheng said solemnly: "It is important for people to know themselves. It is an honor for me to receive such praise from your majesty!"
"It's different! It's really different!" Paying attention to Wang Yuchen's expression, Emperor Liu praised him repeatedly, but deep in his eyes, there flashed a hint of disappointment that was not easy to detect.
Is Wang Yuchen still Wang Yucheng with his edges smoothed away? Thanks to myself, I thought of him from time to time and called him back to Luoyang.
Wang Yucheng had been an official for more than ten years. Except for the two years when he was not well-known and stayed in the capital peacefully, the rest of the time, after receiving the praise and promotion from Emperor Liu, could be described as repeated attacks.
Either he had been demoted or on the way to being demoted, Wang Yucheng had also become a frequent visitor to the Northwest. Shengzhou, Lingzhou, Lanzhou, these northwest prefectures and counties, all left Wang Yucheng's footprints and articles.
This time, Wang Yucheng was transferred to Beijing from the position of governor of Shanzhou. The wind and sand in the northwest are not easy to deal with. Coupled with the frequent transfers, this is also the reason why Wang Yucheng aged so quickly.
Every time Wang Yucheng was demoted, the reason was basically inseparable from his open mouth. Wang Yucheng, who could not tolerate the sand in his eyes, was too daring to speak and too able to speak. The most true reflection of his many years in office was that misfortunes came from his mouth.
Logically speaking, Emperor Liu was not an intolerant emperor. It was not a big problem if the ministers said a few words or complained. However, every time Wang Yucheng pointed out the problem, it hit Emperor Liu's "hidden illness" and made him feel stuck in his throat.
If people do something wrong, they will subconsciously look for excuses or even deliberately cover it up. Emperor Liu is the same. Even if he has a clear mind, he will use some means of self-deception. But Wang Yucheng was ignorant and always wanted to lift the lid. Every time he made Emperor Liu extremely angry, it was time for him to be demoted.
I have to say that Emperor Liu had the intention to kill Wang Yucheng, and more than once. This person was too ignorant and annoying. In his early years, he could still smile and punish him a little, but when Emperor Liu reached his old age and lost patience, he would be wandering at the gate of hell every time.
When the suspicion of Wang Yuchen was at its peak, Emperor Liu already regarded him as the kind of villain who "sells his integrity to gain loyalty" and wanted to use him to steal Emperor Liu's "wool" to become a contemporary Wei Zheng. At that time, Emperor Liu really wanted to order someone to send Wang Yuchen a bottle of poisonous wine.
Wang Yucheng was able to save his life, probably thanks to the deep impression he left on Emperor Liu in his early years: Wang Yucheng was a loyal minister, and he was just like that. He liked to tell the truth, but he couldn't speak.
In this way, one's life can be saved, but every time the "exuberance" passes, one will have to face the result of being demoted. However, people always have a mean side. Every once in a while, Emperor Liu would always think of Wang Yucheng. Likewise, the older he gets, the more so he becomes.
It's not because Emperor Liu valued Wang Yucheng, but because Wang Yucheng has long become a symbol of Emperor Liu's "opening up the public opinion and taking into account the opinions of all people". Even Wang Yucheng was killed, so how could anyone else dare to speak?
On the other hand, it is a common problem of the old emperor. He always feels that someone is taking advantage of his old age, belittles his authority, or even deceives the emperor. Although Wang Yuchen's words are not pleasant, at least he will not deceive the emperor.
Therefore, when he saw Wang Yuchen's submissive look with lowered eyebrows, Emperor Liu felt a little disappointed, even sad.
Even Wang Yucheng had changed. Who else in the court could he trust?
No matter how complicated his mood was, Emperor Liu's face remained unchanged, and his tone remained calm as he said: "I heard that you, like Liu Kai, are advocating some innovation in poetry and criticizing those flamboyant styles of writing. I highly recommend Han Yu and Bai Juyi, and hope that poems and essays can pay more attention to the sufferings of the people and reflect the current ills of reality."
Hearing Emperor Liu mention what he had insisted on for more than ten years, Wang Yucheng nodded, but still said seriously: "Your Majesty, it is indeed true! There are thousands of ways to write articles, and the writing style is endlessly changing. I and Liu Liuzhou , I just found a writing style that suits me.”
The "Liu Liuzhou" mentioned by Wang Yucheng was naturally not Liu Zongyuan in the Tang Dynasty, but Liu Kai, who was the magistrate of Liuzhou at that time. This was also a Jinshi in the Kaibao Year, and he advocated innovation in poetry earlier than Wang Yucheng. Of course, his personality is not as upright as Wang Yuchen's, but he is good at criticizing the current ills and has offended many people. His official career is also relatively bumpy. He has been in office in Liuzhou for three years now.
Wang Yuchen and Liu Kai were also close friends. Although they were thousands of miles apart, they still exchanged letters every year and wished each other with poems. Their feelings and aspirations were also entrusted in their poems.
Hearing what Wang Yuchen said, Emperor Liu smiled and said in a calm tone: "You talk about reforming poetry and changing the style of writing. I know that you literati just wrote your political opinions and ideas into those works.
I have also read some of your poems and essays. I am very curious. In your eyes, my big man is so unbearable. Are the common people of the big man living in dire straits? Is it just a joke to create a prosperous world? "
At the end of the sentence, Emperor Liu's voice rose to an extremely high pitch, like a roar, which was frightening. Even Kou Zhun couldn't help but glance at Wang Yucheng, with a little worry in his eyes. He still admired Wang Yucheng very much.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Liu's words seemed to wake Wang Yuchen up, and his whole face was no longer as "lifeless" as before. After brewing for a while, Wang Yucheng said to Emperor Liu: "What your Majesty said is true. Your ambition to serve the country and your concern for the people are indeed reflected in your poems. In the past ten years or so, although I have had many ups and downs, But I have also seen all kinds of things in the world. The livelihood of the common people in the world and the toil of the head of Guizhou are definitely not the scene of a prosperous age."
"So, this is the origin of "Ode to the Western Expedition"?" Emperor Liu suddenly interrupted Wang Yuchen and said coldly. For some reason, Emperor Liu always gave people a feeling of excitement at this time, as if a hunter had discovered his prey.
Wang Yucheng also wrote an "Ode to the Western Expedition". However, although the name is the same, the content and meaning are quite different. What Wang Yucheng described in his poem was the difficulty of livelihood of the people in Helong during the Western Expedition, the depletion of the treasury and the exhaustion of the people's strength. In Wang Yucheng's eyes, if there were health indicators in the Helong area, the red light alarm would have started now.
Faced with Emperor Liu's aggressive questioning, Wang Yucheng seemed to have been stepped on the tail. He suddenly regained his fighting spirit and handed over his hand: "Your Majesty, I have been in Shanzhou for two years. Tens of thousands of people in the whole state, including my subordinates, are here every day and every month. Those who are busy are not well fed, clothed and warm, but the imperial court's "Four Expeditions". Shanzhou is a poor state with not much agricultural and animal husbandry output, but nearly 70% of the income every year needs to be turned over to feed the Anxi army, and the remaining 30% needs to be supplied. The livelihood of people across the state.
Fortunately, there have been no disasters in the past two years, and the people have gritted their teeth and been able to persevere. More than 2,000 men from all over the state died in Gaochang and Anxi, and half of them went to the Western Regions to escort grain and grass."
When it came to the emotional part, tears welled up in Wang Yuchen's eyes and he choked with sobs: "Your Majesty, the people of Shanzhou are suffering! The soldiers and people of the northwest are suffering!"
After listening to Wang Yuchen's story, Emperor Liu frowned and said with some suspicion: "Why is this? There are rules for the imperial government to collect grain and grass, how could it be so unrestrained? Shanzhou is abusing the people's power, and you, the governor of the state, are doing this again What?"
"How dare I disobey Tao Sijun's order? How can I resist again and again if I can resist it once?" Wang Yucheng said in a deep voice: "I have also reported to the court several times to explain my difficulties and complain about my hardships, but there has been no news."
Having said this, Wang Yucheng took a deep breath, raised his head suddenly, and asked Emperor Liu loudly: "Excuse me, I dare to ask, how many years has it been since your Majesty visited the place and saw with your own eyes what kind of world is it now?"
Wang Yucheng's question was really loud and shocking, and could even be regarded as a direct question. Everyone in the palace was shocked by Wang Yucheng's boldness, but at the same time, the familiar Wang Yucheng came back again.
Emperor Liu, whose face was as gloomy as water, said coldly to Yan Tuo on the side: "Go, check it out for me, and bring me the memorial that Wang Yucheng gave to the court!"
"Keep talking! Whatever you want to say today, just say it!" Emperor Liu even felt like he was getting angry. He turned around and shouted at Wang Yuchen again.
Emperor Liu felt that he should be angry because he had never seen Wang Yuchen's memorial.
