bookrandom Chapter 1140 Su Shi is rescued
Chapter 1140 Su Shi is rescued
Chapter 1140 Su Shi is rescued
At the end of May, the north gate of Dongchengmen Street in Bianjing.
Su Shi walked out of the imperial prison where he had been imprisoned for more than a hundred days.
Su Shi looked around aimlessly and saw that Bianjing was still as prosperous as before, with a lot of traffic.
The breeze blew gently on his face, giving him a sense of indifference. Su Shi actually enjoyed this feeling very much.
It seems that for him, life is a process of experience.
"elder brother!"
"Jiuzanlang!"
Looking at Su Zhe who came to pick him up, Su Shi hugged his brother in his arms.
Su Shi smiled and said, "Don't cry, Jiu Sanlang. This time in and out of the imperial prison really feels like a lifetime ago. The world has not changed because of me, but I have indeed become a new person."
Su Zhe shed tears when he heard this and said, "Brother, Su Mai and sister-in-law are waiting at home. Go home and have a rest first, and we can talk about the rest later."
"Okay, okay. But first let's find a place to have a drink. I'm hungry."
Su Che smiled and shook his head, then he and Su Shi chose a tavern to sit down.
Su Che ordered a glass of wine and some simple side dishes.
Su Shi smiled and said, "Very good, very good."
Su Shi drank two glasses of wine and tasted every dish carefully, enjoying it very much.
When his face turned red, he was inspired to write poetry. He immediately asked his waiter to hold the pen and wrote: "When I go out, the whirlwind blows on my face, and the magpies and horses gallop along."
Su Shi thought that this poem was very well written. Although he was imprisoned, he did not slacken his efforts. He was very happy and said to the wine utensils: "It seems like a dream to be facing the wine cup, but my poetry writing is like a god. Why should I blame myself for this disaster? There is no reason for stealing the salary."
"My writings have been a burden to me all my life, and I don't mind having a low reputation from now on. Even if the horses of another day return to the frontier, there will be no young chickens fighting in the east of the city."
After Su Shi recited the poem, he saw Su Zhe standing there in a daze without saying a word.
"what happened?"
Su Che smiled bitterly and said, "Brother, you still can't change your bad habit of talking nonsense. Otherwise, based on the poem you just wrote, the censor will not let you go."
Su Shi was stunned and didn't understand. Su Che said: "The young chicken refers to Jia Chang telling others in his old age that he was favored by the Emperor of Tang because he liked cockfighting when he was young, and became a jester."
"And the origin of the phrase 'stealing a salary' is that someone wrote it to Cao Cao. Aren't you implying that the emperor is the treacherous hero Cao...Cao?"
Su Shi was stunned for a long time after hearing this, and then he threw down his pen and said, "I am really hopeless."
Su Shi shook his head.
There was another sentence he didn't say: Ziyou, you are more suitable to be an official than me. If you can always follow Prime Minister Zhang, you will have a bright future.
After drinking, Su Che took out the Jiaozi Hui note. Su Shi was surprised and asked, "Why is it twice as expensive as before?"
Su Che sighed, "Brother, you don't know that Liang Yi sent out 800,000 troops to besiege Lanzhou. The people said that if Lanzhou was lost, the entire Xihe Road would be lost. At that time, the salt notes and Jiaozi would be worthless. Therefore, the prices of salt notes and Jiaozi in the market fell sharply."
"The money shortage that was alleviated in the past has come back. Prices of things are rising more sharply than before."
Su Shi heard this and said, "The Jiaozi and Salt Notes have depreciated so much, and the people are full of resentment."
"I've said before that exchanging paper money for gold and copper is, after all, just a way of maneuvering. It's said to benefit the people, but in fact it's just using money from the future to spend today."
Su Che said anxiously: "Brother, please stop talking. Could it be that Prime Minister Zhang is also going to be offended? If he and Zihou hadn't protected you in front of His Majesty, you..."
Su Shi said, "I know. I am used to discussing things based on facts. In fact, Prime Minister Zhang has the talent of Guan Zhong... How should the court respond?"
Su Che said, "I have been busy with your affairs lately, so I have rarely been to the Prime Minister's Mansion. But as you can imagine, Prime Minister Zhang is not having a good time these days."
"Recently, people have been questioning why Lü Gongzhu has been unable to negotiate peace with Xixia, leading to Xixia raising an army again."
"It was actually Xixia who called, not me who called him."
……
Three days later, Su Shi and Su Zhe paid a visit to Zhang Yue.
The two brothers chatted and laughed with Zhang Yue.
Su Shi smiled and said, "Actually, after the interrogation that day, one night, the evening drum had already struck, and I was about to go to bed when I saw a man walk into the cell. He lay down beside me and fell asleep. I thought to myself, this is the Heaven's Prison, why is this man in the same cell with me?"
"But I didn't ask any more questions and continued to sleep peacefully. But when it was almost dawn, he woke me up and said, "Congratulations, congratulations." I didn't know why he asked again and again. He said, "Sleep peacefully and don't worry."
"Now I know that His Majesty has no intention of killing me, so he sent a man to the prison to test me. That night, he saw that I was sleeping soundly and felt that I had a clear conscience. The next day, he reported to the emperor, so I was released."
After hearing what Su Shi said, Zhang Yue and Su Zhe both laughed.
Zhang Yue laughed and said, "This is not a lie made up by Zizhan!"
Su Shi smiled but said nothing.
Zhang Yue laughed and said, "Zizhan, I really don't know what to say to you."
Su Shi heard this and said solemnly: "I have committed a serious mistake this time. Whatever the court does is appropriate. However, I heard that Ziyou is willing to give up all his official positions to atone for my sins in order to exonerate me."
Zhang Yue glanced at Su Zhe when he heard this.
Su Shi said: "I am now as depressed as a dead man, and I am not a man who can be an official. It is Ziyou who is implicated because of me, and I feel bad. I hope the Prime Minister will consider Ziyou's talents and let him continue to work for the country."
Zhang Yue nodded and said, "I will consider Ziyou's matter."
"I am grateful for your kindness. I will always remember your help, Prime Minister."
Zhang Yue smiled and said, "It's okay, we won't talk about these things between you and me."
"In fact, the one who saved you this time was Wang Shugong from Jiangning. He wrote to Your Majesty and me, asking to keep talents for the country."
Su Shi was stunned when he heard this, and then remained silent.
Ever since Wang Anshi refused to draft Su Che's edict during the imperial examination that year, a feud arose between the Three Su brothers and Wang Anshi. Su Xun wrote an essay "On Distinguishing Traitors" to implicate Wang Anshi, and the two sides continued to fight each other until the Xining Reform.
Su Shi thought of this and asked, "Prime Minister, may I ask, can factional strife be eliminated?"
Zhang Yue was stunned. He did not expect Su Shi to ask such a question. He was not asking whether he and Wang Anshi should resolve their grievances, but what to do about the differences in the world?
How did Zhang Yue answer Su Shi’s question?
Zhang Yue sighed, "Zizhan, since you are here today, I want to tell you my troubles. When Liang Yimei attacked Lanzhou for the first time, he was questioned by Zhifu, Zihou and other new party members, who believed that he did not take any concrete actions but was just sitting there doing nothing."
"When Liang Yimei attacked Lanzhou for the second time, prices in Bianjing City soared. I just saw the trades of various businesses in Bianjing. They asked me how long the salt notes and Jiaozi would continue to fall, and whether the court would take any measures?"
"I heard that Lord Wen in Luoyang gave me some face, but the rest were not so polite."
Zhang Yue complained to Su Shi that when Liang Yimei attacked Lanzhou for the first time, the New Party criticized him, and when he attacked Lanzhou for the second time, the Old Party criticized him.
However, the opposition in Bian Jing this time was not as strong as the last time when Huangzhou was attacked.
Thinking about the last time they were slapped in the face by Zhang Yue on the city wall, many people in the court became more cautious in their words, but there were still many who did not learn the lesson.
But it was different in Luoyang. Sima Guang, Fan Zhen, Sun Jue, Li Chang, Liu Fu and other 22 officials who had correspondence with Su Shi were fined 20 kilograms of copper because of the Wudai Poetry Case.
They were all very angry, so their words were not polite. The scholars and officials of the old party in particular believed that although the ruling power was in Bianjing, the moral power of the world was in Luoyang.
They have the power to speak out and correct the emperor.
Fu Bi organized a gathering of senior officials, in which thirteen idle ministers participated.
They criticized the new law and opposed the use of troops against Xixia. Especially this time, Fu Bi said something about Zhang Yue's use of troops in Lanzhou that he did not understand.
Heaven and earth are most benevolent, why didn't Lord Zhang assist the holy emperor, but instead left the country alone and made things difficult for the Dangxiang Qiang in the northwest?
Zhang Yue was indescribably upset when he heard that even Fu Bi, a big boss he had been friends with, criticized him. Fu Bi was still polite, but the other scholars were even more impolite, saying something like "If you can't win, you'll just give up."
'It's a waste of manpower and resources, and the court's money and grain are thrown into the water.'
"Instead of using military force against Xia, it is better to think about how to stabilize prices and put the people first."
Zhang Yue complained a lot about Su Shi and Su Zhe. In fact, Su Shi was also against using troops against the Tanguts. When he took the Xihe Road, he wrote "I can draw a carved bow like a full moon, look northwest, and shoot the wolf in the sky", which seems to be in favor of using troops against the Tanguts.
But after learning that the two expeditions against Xia had failed, Su Shi felt that the Dangxiang were indeed too powerful to be taken lightly. He even had some complaints about Zhang Dun's capture of Meishan.
Su Shi is always like this. He doesn't know what he is saying while speaking and offends both sides.
If Zhang Yue had spoken to Su Shi today from a high position as prime minister, Su Shi would not have been able to accept it. However, Zhang Yue spoke to Su Shi from a humble position as a friend, which aroused the guilt in his heart.
Su Shi said: "I remember when I was young and frivolous, I was able to make decisions about the country. Now that I am an official, I know that life is not easy. Today, I hear the Prime Minister say this, and I feel that being a Prime Minister is not easy."
Zhang Yue smiled and said, "In the whole world, you and Ziyou are the only ones I can complain to."
Su Shi thought for a moment and said to Zhang Yue, "In fact, when I asked Mr. Zhang whether the factional struggle could be eliminated, I already had an answer in my heart."
Zhang Yue said: "I am all ears."
Su Shi said: "I thought of a Buddhist case. A monk was chatting with a monk. The monk asked, "Those who practice Zen have a way to guide their beginners. Do you know what it is?"
"The monk asked you to teach me."
"The monk said it seems you already know."
"The monk said that it is like putting another head on top of your head."
After listening to Su Shi's words full of Zen, Zhang Yue and Su Zhe both understood the meaning and nodded happily.
Zhang Yue thought to himself, Su Shi is worthy of being Su Shi, his insight is truly extraordinary.
After that, Su Shi and Su Zhe stood up to say goodbye. Zhang Yue saw them out the door and said to Su Shi, "If Lanzhou wins this time, I will ask His Majesty for mercy on your behalf."
Su Shi said: "Prime Minister, please don't do this. There is no cure for my illness. I just hate that I see things too clearly and can't control my mouth. It's better to be exiled far away, to calm down, meditate on Zen, and farm. It's very enjoyable."
"If the Prime Minister sees a farmer wearing a bamboo hat, holding a plow and rake, with his trousers rolled up, standing in the fields by the hillside, that could be me."
Zhang Yue and Su Zhe both laughed when they heard this.
No matter how pessimistic the time is, Su Shi can always be so optimistic.
Su Shi said leisurely: "When I am free and tired in the future, I will stop the ox, drink wine, and write poems while hitting the ox's horns. It is really refreshing to think about it."
After Su Shi finished speaking, he looked into the distance and walked away.