Han Shizu

"Wang Yucheng! Kou Zhun!" Emperor Liu's slightly emotional voice resounded in the hall.

The two courtiers, one middle school and one young, stood solemnly and respectfully in front of the emperor, accepting Emperor Liu's scrutiny. The etiquette was in place, but their 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 order, and Kou Guidance returned to Beijing to report on his duties, and then they were called to the Chuigong Hall together for questioning.

The age difference between Wang Kou and Wang Kou is only seven or eight years old, but judging from their faces, they seem to be people of two generations.Wang Yucheng is now thirty and six, but his face is mottled, his whole body is rough, even a little white silk is mixed in his hair, obviously he has endured too much suffering and tribulation in the world.In contrast, if you are less than thirty Kou Zhun, you will appear to be high-spirited.

"I heard that there is a saying in the court that when it comes to loyalty and outspokenness, the king and the bandit are the first to be promoted. Both are upright and cannot be bullied!" I am very curious about the remarks, are you two the only ones left in the court today who dare to speak the truth and dare to speak honestly?"

"Your Majesty dare not take such ridiculous praise!" After Emperor Liu said this, Wang Wang Yucheng thought for a while, and immediately clapped his hands and said: "Your Majesty is wise and wise, and everyone is in charge of the court. Is there only one Wang Yucheng in such a big court? It's just compared to all the sages." , Your words and deeds are so arrogant and reckless, you don't know the severity, let alone restraint, and you have a reputation for sensationalism."

"Haha!" Emperor Liu was a little surprised when Wang Yucheng said that. He looked at him carefully, and said with a chuckle, "When did Wang Yucheng become so self-aware? Doesn't that sound like what you said?"

Emperor Liu's speech became more and more casual, and there was obvious ridicule in his words, so that people could not even distinguish between good and evil. If the psychological quality is not good enough, I am afraid that he would have been panicked.

Wang Yucheng also had some rippling in his heart. After all, Emperor Liu's speech made it difficult for people to feel comfortable, and it was even more difficult for people to know how to respond.After pondering for a while, Wang Yucheng said solemnly: "It is a great honor for a man to be praised by His Majesty for his self-knowledge!"

"It's different! It's really different!" Paying attention to Wang Yucheng's expression, Emperor Liu admired again and again, but in the depths of his eyes, there was an imperceptible disappointment.

Wang Yucheng whose edges and corners have been smoothed, is he still Wang Yucheng?Thanks to myself, I still thought of him from time to time, and specially recalled him to Luoyang.

Wang Yucheng has been an official for more than ten years. Except for the two years when he was not famous, he stayed in the capital safely. The rest of the time, after being praised and promoted by Emperor Liu, can be described as repeated attacks.

Either already demoted, or on the way to demote, Wang Yucheng has also become a frequent visitor to the Northwest. Shengzhou, Lingzhou, Lanzhou, these northwest counties, have left Wang Yucheng's footprints and articles.

But this time, Wang Yucheng was transferred to Beijing from the position of governor of Shanzhou.The wind and sand in the northwest is not easy to get along with, coupled with frequent transfers and tossing, this is also the reason why Wang Yucheng aged so quickly.

Every time Wang Yucheng was relegated, it was basically inseparable from the reason for his mouth. Wang Yucheng, who could not tolerate sand in his eyes, was too daring to speak, and he was too able to speak. Misfortune came from his mouth, which is the most true portrayal of his years of being an official.

It stands to reason that Emperor Liu is not an intolerant emperor, and it is not a big problem for the ministers to say a few words or complain.However, every time Wang Yucheng pointed out the problem, it just hit Emperor Liu's "hidden disease", which made him feel stuck in his throat.

If people do something wrong, they will subconsciously look for reasons, or even deliberately cover it up. Emperor Liu is the same, even if he has a clear mind, he still uses some means of self-deception.But Wang Yucheng was ignorant, so he wanted to lift the cover. Every time he annoyed Emperor Liu, it was time for him to be demoted.

It has to be said that Wang Yucheng and Emperor Liu had murderous intentions, and more than once, this person is too uninteresting and annoying.In the early years, he could still smile and give a little punishment, but when Emperor Liu came to his old age and lacked patience, he was really wandering before the gate of hell every time.

When the suspicion of Wang Yucheng was at its peak, Emperor Liu had already regarded him as the kind of villain invited to "sell his loyalty" and wanted to use his "wool" of Emperor Liu to become the contemporary Wei Zheng.At that time, Emperor Liu really wanted to order someone to send a bottle of poisoned wine to Wang Yucheng
And 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 is a loyal minister, just such a person, he likes to tell the truth, but he can't speak
In this way, life can be saved, but every time the "kouhe" passes, you have to face the result of demoting the official.However, people always have a low side. Every time after a while, Emperor Liu would always think of Wang Yucheng. Similarly, the older he was, the more so.

It's not because Emperor Liu valued Wang Yucheng, but because Wang Yucheng had already become a symbol of Emperor Liu's "openness to speak out and accept opinions from all sides". Even if Wang Yucheng was killed, how would other people dare to speak?

On the other hand, it was a common problem of the old emperor. He always felt that someone was bullying him for his age, underestimating his authority, or even bullying the emperor.And although Wang Yucheng's words are not pleasant, at least he will not deceive the king.
Therefore, when seeing Wang Yucheng's low-browed and submissive appearance, Emperor Liu felt a little lost, even sad.

Even Wang Yucheng has changed, who else can he trust in the court?

No matter how complicated his mood was, Emperor Liu's face remained unchanged, and his tone remained calm and he said: "I heard that you, like that Liu Kai, are advocating innovations in poetry and prose, criticizing those flamboyant writing styles, I strongly praise Han Yu and Bai Juyi, and hope that poetry and prose can pay more attention to the sufferings of the people and reflect the real and current problems."

Hearing Emperor Liu mention what he had insisted on for more than ten years, Wang Yucheng nodded, and said with a serious face: "Return to Your Majesty, there is indeed such a thing! There are thousands of ways to write, and the style of writing is infinitely varied. , I just found a style of writing that suits me.”

The "Liuzhou" mentioned by Wang Yucheng is naturally not Liu Zongyuan in the Tang Dynasty, but Liu Kai, who was the magistrate of Liuzhou at that time.Of course, his personality is not as upright as Wang Yucheng's, but he is good at criticizing the current situation, offending many people, and his official career is relatively rough. Now he has been in Liuzhou for three years.

And Wang Yucheng and Liu Kai are also confidants. Although they are thousands of miles apart, they still exchange letters every year.

Hearing what Wang Yucheng said, Emperor Liu smiled and said in a calm tone: "What are you talking about reforming poetry and prose, changing the style of writing, I know that you literati just put political opinions and ideas into those works.

I have read some of your poems and essays, and I am very curious, my big man, in your eyes, is so unbearable. Is it just a joke that the people of the Li people of the big man are all living in dire straits and prosperous times? "

At the end, Emperor Liu's voice was so high that it was like a roar, which made people frightened.Even Kou Zhun couldn't help but glance at Wang Yucheng, with a little worry in his eyes. He still admires Wang Yucheng very much.

Unexpectedly, what Emperor Liu said seemed to wake Wang Yucheng up, and his whole face was not as "dead" as before.After brewing for a while, Wang Yucheng said to Emperor Liu: "Your Majesty's words are very true. The minister's ambition to serve the country and the heart of worrying about the people are indeed put into the poems. In the past ten years, although the minister has repeatedly risen and fallen, 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 by no means the scene of a prosperous age.”

"So, this is the origin of "Xi Zheng Fu"?" Emperor Liu interrupted Wang Yucheng suddenly, and said coldly.For some reason, Emperor Liu always gave people a feeling of excitement at this time, as if a hunter had found his prey.
Wang Yucheng also wrote a "Xizheng Fu", but although the name is the same, the content and meaning can be quite different.Wang Yucheng described in his Fu that under the Western Expedition, the livelihood of the people in Helong was difficult, the treasury was exhausted, and the people's strength was exhausted.In Wang Yucheng's eyes, if there are health indicators in the Helong area, the red light alarm has already begun
Facing Emperor Liu's menacing questioning, Wang Yucheng seemed to have been stepped on the tail, and suddenly regained his fighting spirit, and came with his hands together: "Your Majesty, I have been in Shanzhou for two years. There are tens of thousands of people in the whole prefecture, every day and every month. Busy people do not have enough food and clothing, but the imperial court's "Four Expeditions", Shanzhou is a poor state, and the output of agriculture and animal husbandry is not much, but nearly [-]% of the income has to be handed over to the Anxi army, and the remaining [-]% needs to be supplied The livelihood of the people of the whole state.

Fortunately, there have been no disasters in the past two years, and the people have gritted their teeth and are still able to persevere.More than 2000 males in the whole prefecture died in Gaochang and Anxi, and half of them went to the Western Regions to escort grain and grass.”

Speaking of the emotion, Wang Yucheng had tears in his eyes and choked up, "Your Majesty, the people of Shanzhou are suffering! The army and people in the Northwest are suffering!"

After listening to Wang Yucheng's narration, Emperor Liu frowned, and said with some doubts: "Why is this? There are rules for the imperial court to collect grain and grass. How could it be so unrestrained? Shanzhou abused the power of the people, and you, the magistrate, are doing it again. What?"

"Dao Sijun's order, how dare I disobey it, can I resist it once, how can I resist it again and again?" Wang Yucheng said in a deep voice: "I have also reported to the court several times, complaining about its hardships, but there has been no news."

Speaking of this, Wang Yucheng took a deep breath, raised his head suddenly, and asked Emperor Liu loudly: "I have the courage to ask, how many years has it been since Your Majesty has not visited the place and witnessed it with his own eyes, what kind of world is it like today?"

Wang Yucheng's question was really loud and deafening, and it could even be regarded as a direct question. Everyone in the hall was amazed at Wang Yucheng's boldness, but in the same way, the familiar Wang Yucheng came back again.
As for Emperor Liu, his face was as gloomy as water, and he coldly said to Yan Tuo, "Go, check it out for me, and bring me Wang Yucheng's memorial to the imperial court!"

"Go on! Today, you can say whatever you want!" Emperor Liu even felt a sense of embarrassment, turned his head and shouted at Wang Yucheng.

Emperor Liu felt that he should be angry because he had never seen Wang Yucheng's memorial.