Prime Minister

Chapter 1216: Morality is Above Achievement (2 Updates in 1)

Chapter 1216: Morality is Above Achievements (Two Updates Combined into One)

at night.

In the underground cave of Luoyang Duleyuan.

A candle was lit to illuminate this small space. Sima Guang was working at his desk, while Sima Kang was organizing files for him and Guo Lin was proofreading his articles.

Sima Guang lowered his head very low, with his gray hair pinned up by a hairpin. It was very difficult for him to see things with his eyes, and his teeth were almost all gone, but he was still concentrating on studying.

He raised his head and asked Guo Lin beside him, "How many volumes have not been published and proofread today?"

Guo Lin raised his head and said, "In reply to the scholar, there are still two volumes."

Although Guo Lin was less than 40 years old, he had almost as much white hair as Sima Guang, and looked like a man in his 50s or 60s. He sorted through a mountain of files.

Sima Guang put down his pen and said, "Finally, only the Tang and Five Dynasties are left, more than 80 volumes and the catalog. I wonder if it can be completed in another two years."

Sima Kang said: "Don't worry, father. If the book is successful, I will be happy. If it is not, I will leave it to future generations."

Sima Guang said leisurely: "Yes, this matter is left for future generations to judge!"

"You said that throughout history, there have been so many emperors and generals who have pursued achievements throughout their lives. No matter how you forbid others to talk about them when you are alive, they cannot escape the pen of future generations. Do you think what we have done is really terrible?"

Sima Kang smiled and said, "Father, I heard that because the reputation of the book Zizhi Tongjian is so great, many dignitaries in Luoyang have come to see it."

Sima Guang said: "My original intention in compiling this book is to let Your Majesty see my sincere and honest advice from the book, but I also want people in the future to learn from it."

After a pause, Sima Guang said, "I think I have been wanting to publish the Zizhi Tongjian for a long time. I have been writing it for seventeen years since the third year of Zhiping, and it is still not finished."

"What a pity! How many seventeen years can we have in our life?"

Sima Kang said: "Father, compiling history books will be of great benefit to future generations. Even if it takes thirty years, it is worth it."

Guo Lin and Sima Kang on the side looked at Sima Guang. Sima Guang was the first to persuade the emperor to ascend the throne. It can be said that without him, there would be no foundation for the two generations of emperors Zhao Shu and his son. Or it can be said that the throne might not necessarily pass to their family.

But Sima Guang was so "unreliable" that he even gave up his post as deputy envoy to the Privy Council in order to stick to his political views. He did not do his job as a prime minister, but went to write books.

Even Han Qi, who had always been at odds with Sima Guang, praised him, saying, "I have never seen anyone resign from the post of Deputy Privy Councilor, and only Sima Guang did it."

Between official career and political views, Sima Guang firmly chose his own political views.

All the old parties in the world regarded Sima Guang as the "mainstay", and Sima Guang's deeds were indeed worthy of these words.

Both Guo Lin and Sima Kang admired Sima Guang sincerely from the bottom of their hearts.

However, what Sima Guang did was to be remembered by future generations, but he could not hide the sadness on his face. In the previous Wutai Poetry Case, he was fined 20 kilograms of copper for exchanging letters with Su Shi.

This is something that is not very harmful but very insulting.

Before that, he went back to his hometown, Xia County, to give lectures, and even taught the illiterate common people the "Book of Filial Piety". When his wife Zhang died of illness, Sima Guang was not too sad.

Because of the copper fine, Sima Guang resigned from all his official positions and cancelled all his activities.

This was a knife that the emperor stabbed into Sima Guang's heart.

Thinking of this, Sima Guang sighed to Sima Kang and Guo Lin: "At that time, Emperor Wu of Han listened to the words of the alchemists and sent General Li Guangli to fight against the Xiongnu, which led to the loss of troops and humiliation of the country. But later, Emperor Wu of Han regretted it, cancelled the reclamation of Luntai, and rejected Sang Hongyang's proposal. Therefore, although Emperor Wu of Han had the loss of Qin in the end, he did not have the disaster of Qin's destruction."

“I have written these words in the book.”

Sima Guang's words were also about Wang Anshi. He compared the emperor's arrogance to that of Emperor Wu of Han, and Wang Anshi was a man of Sang Hongyang's stature. He hoped that the emperor could be like Emperor Wu of Han and finally come to his senses.

Sima Kang said: "Father, besides Emperor Wu of Han being willing to issue an edict of repentance and reflect on his past mistakes, the most important thing is that he chose a good minister like Huo Guang to entrust his affairs after his death."

"But looking at the ministers in the court today, none of them want to be like Huo Guang."

Guo Lin on the side remained silent. In fact, after Liu Shu died, Guo Lin became Sima Guang's most important assistant in compiling Zizhi Tongjian.

Guo Lin was in charge of all the proofreading and checking. Among all the editors, Sima Guang liked Guo Lin the most. But among all the people in the bookstore, Guo Lin also had the lowest official position.

For example, all the other people in the bookstore were officials in Beijing, but Guo Lin was only the county magistrate of Baima County, and was still a selected person. However, Guo Lin contributed the most, and he devoted almost half of his life to Sima Guang and was loyal to him.

Zhang Yue once joked with Guo Lin in a letter that Guo Lin admired Fan Zhongyan when he was young, but now he has found Sima Guang who is no less talented than Fan Zhongyan.

Unlike when he was young and admired Wang Anshi, now he is the one who is undermining Wang Anshi.

After chatting for a while, they continued to edit the book. During the whole day of editing the book, chatting was probably the only entertainment for them. At this time, someone reported that Fan Zuyu had arrived.

Fan Zuyu was also a loyal follower of Sima Guang.

Officials were promoted every three years, but Fan Zuyu did not take the assessment in order to follow Sima Guang in compiling books, so his official position remained the same. However, he still followed Sima Guang in compiling books without any regrets.

Fan Zuyu entered and said, "Scholar, the imperial court has conquered Liangzhou!"

Sima Kang, Guo Lin paused when he heard this. Guo Lin's face showed surprise and joy, while Sima Kang looked at Sima Guang's expression.

But Sima Guang continued to edit the book without moving.

Fan Zuyu quietly walked aside and watched Sima Guang, who was still working on his book under the candlelight.

Sima Guang has poor hearing. Could it be that he didn’t hear what was said just now?

No, Sima Guang heard it.

After Sima Guang finished writing the last word on this page, he slowly raised his head and said, "Well, when it comes to governing a country and maintaining peace, Zhang Duzhi is definitely better than Wang Jiefu!"

When Sima Guang said this, everyone laughed.

Suddenly the atmosphere in the dungeon improved.

Fan Zuyu said: "When we took over Xihe Road, I did oppose Prime Minister Zhang, but this time when we took over Liangzhou, several of my friends went to Xihe Road in person."

"Although the people are tired, they are not suffering too much from the military service. Some even seem to be happy to serve. It seems that Prime Minister Zhang has really lived up to his words and put the people first."

Sima Guang nodded and said, "Although he is clever, he also has benevolence in him. He will surely win and the people will rest."

Everyone was delighted to hear Sima Guang's comments.

Guo Lin was very happy to see Sima Guang agree with Zhang Yue. Guo Lin said boldly: "Teacher, the Book of Han says that Tang and Wu rebelled against the will of heaven and used it to gain the support of the people. Using both civil and military means a long-term strategy."

"This is the principle of taking it with wisdom and preserving it with benevolence!"

Sima Guang nodded happily upon hearing this and said, "Most of the emperors' foundations were conquered by adversity and maintained by success."

Sima Guang was not a pedantic person. In his Zizhi Tongjian, he commented on Emperor Taizong of Tang in both good and bad ways. He was not like many historians who put their stance more than facts in their writing of history.

Sima Guang said: "When Prime Minister Zhang was at odds with the late emperor and was dismissed from his post and returned home, I personally went to his house to invite him to work with me on the Zizhi Tongjian."

"Historians need talent, learning and knowledge, among which knowledge is the most difficult. For example, the 'Chen Guang said' in Zizhi Tongjian and the 'Taishigong said' in Records of the Grand Historian are all the insights of historians."

"As for insight, Mr. Zhang is superior to me, Sima Guang."

Sima Guang sighed quietly, as if he felt sorry that Zhang Yue had refused to follow him in compiling the book.

Sima Guang stood up and said, "Mr. Zhang has established his prestige through his achievements, and he has used his prestige to change his career!"

"To relieve the urgent with the slow, to change the urgent into the slow, is really a wise and strategic move, and it also takes the people's livelihood into consideration, taking both into account!"

"The foundation of governing the world is morality, not just achievements. This is what Mr. Zhang has not considered."

This is where Sima Guang had both praise and criticism for Zhang Yue.

Sima Kang said: "Dad has devoted his life to establishing customs and upholding virtues. This is the foundation of the world."

Sima Guang said: "The middle way is the foundation of the world; the harmony is the way of the world. Wang Jiefu's heresy has confused people's minds, and the court is pursuing profit. But Prime Minister Zhang may not be able to be middle way, just as he believes that Mencius inherited Confucius's tradition, and the successor of Confucius's way is Yang Xiong, not Mencius. This is the point where Prime Minister Zhang and I always disagree."

"I believe that as long as morality is promoted, scholars are not greedy for money, warriors are not afraid of death, merchants have righteousness, teachers have integrity, and the punishment of the people is light while the punishment of the officials is heavy, the lives of the people in the world will be better and the country will be well governed."

In addition to studying history, Sima Guang also talked about methodology, for example, he wrote "Qianxu" in imitation of Yang Xiong's "Taixuan".

Although Sima Guang was a moral role model, his methodology was indeed mediocre. Han Wei and the two Cheng brothers both criticized his theory of moderation.

Fan Zuyu said: "What the scholar said is fine, but the recovery of Liangzhou is also a cause for celebration, at least we did not lose our troops and humiliate our country."

Sima Guang said: "We are glad to win, but the Liao Kingdom will not sit idly by. There have been many cases of militarism in history, haven't they?"

"Draft a memorial for me immediately. I want to advise His Majesty!"

Everyone was shocked. Sima Kang said urgently, "Dad, have you forgotten what you said about never taking part in government affairs again?"

Sima Guang sighed, remembering that after he was fined with bronze, he compared himself to Qu Yuan for a while, and even drank wine for the first time. It should be noted that Sima Guang had always been a man who kept himself clean and did not drink a drop of alcohol.

Only the emperor could hurt his heart like this.

Sima Guang calmed himself down and then stopped.

Guo Lin was also secretly sad for Sima Guang.

……

At this moment, Guo Lin's son Guo Xuan was reading with Zhang Cheng in the library.

Zhang Cheng said to Guo Xuan, "Tell me what book you like and I'll take it and read it."

Guo Xuan looked at those almost out-of-print books and praised them with envy.

Guo Xuan said: "I heard that Duke Han Zhongxian (Han Qi) and Duke Cai Zhonghui (Cai Xiang) both have tens of thousands of volumes of books in their homes, but I have never seen them."

"There is also a large collection of books by Sima Xueshi, but it is only a thousand volumes. I usually borrow books from him to read, but the collection in the Prime Minister's Mansion must be several thousand volumes."

Zhang Cheng said: "Almost three thousand volumes."

"But my grandfather's family has a large collection of books. Some of them were brought to the Zhang Mansion as dowry. If you like books, I will take you to my grandfather's house to read."

Guo Xuan nodded and then asked, "Is that the residence of Prime Minister Wu? I wonder what kind of gifts I should prepare. I can't go there empty-handed."

Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "No, no, my grandfather also likes scholars. He will be happy to see you."

After hearing this, Guo Xuan felt uneasy and got to know Zhang Yue, and then he met Wu Chong.

Guo Xuan still declined, saying, "I think the books in this prime minister's mansion are enough. Too much will lead to loss."

Zhang Cheng said, "What you said reminds me of when my father was young and worked as a bookkeeper with your father. He wanted to read books but had no money, so he would memorize the books before returning them. He often told me about the difficulty of studying."

"But he seldom buys books on weekdays, probably because he is reluctant to spend the money. But my mother often goes to the bookstore near the Daxiangguo Temple to buy books. So most of the books in the Xiangfu were bought by my mother."

Guo Xuan said: "I have heard that the prime minister's wife is not only well-educated, but also as capable as any man. She has managed the prime minister's residence in perfect order for so many years."

Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "You should tell my mother about this. She is usually very strict with me. Now that my brother has gone to Shaanxi to supervise the army, she has taken charge of all my affairs."

"This is really worrying me. If you hadn't come, I don't know how much homework I would have to do."

"So I beg you to stay with me for a few more days. Even if I go to the Imperial College, you should come to see me often. Only in this way can I have some free time."

Guo Xuan thought, how can a poor boy like me keep in touch with the prime minister? But seeing Zhang Cheng's enthusiasm, he didn't know what to say.

Guo Xuan said: "Brother Cheng, you are so kind. I always thought that as the son of the Prime Minister's Mansion, he must be high and mighty."

"But you treat me like a family member."

Zhang Cheng laughed and said, "Well, what's wrong with being the son of the prime minister's mansion? I'm not good at studying, and I'm not willing to work hard, which often makes my mother unhappy."

"Dad always said that I have a good temper. Although I didn't study well, I could still stay with him. But my mother said that if I were like my brother, I would at least pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi. Alas, it was a waste of the emperor's gift of Jinshi to me."

"But I know my ability. If I don't have connections, I'm afraid I won't be able to pass the imperial examination. But if I can't pass, then I can't pass. Daddy is right. There must be someone in the family to take care of my parents. I have let it go a long time ago. But you have met the right person in the prime minister's mansion. Fortunately, you met me. If you are as arrogant as my brother, you may not be so easy to talk to. He is the real yamen."

After hearing what Zhang Cheng said, Guo Xuan couldn't help but laugh.

Guo Xuan whispered, "Brother Cheng, we hit it off right away, but I have something to say to you, please don't be offended."

"After all, this is our first meeting. Although we feel like old friends, you should not tell me so many of your innermost thoughts, especially those about family matters."

Zhang Cheng was not annoyed at all when he heard this. Instead, he said, "Hearing what you said, I am more willing to be friends with you."

"You know what? Daddy told me that Senior Brother Guo, your daddy, is a rare person in terms of character."

"His descendants must be strictly educated and must be gentlemen. Daddy is better at judging people than I am, so he must be right to ask me to learn more from you, otherwise he would not allow me to put down my studies. Don't worry, I will share with you."

While the two were talking, they suddenly heard a guest outside.

It turned out that Lu Huiqing had arrived.