Han Shizu

PS: This chapter is watery.

On the first day of autumn and September in the fourth year of Pingkang, on the official road outside Yanxi Post, Zhang Qixian, the former minister, was about to embark on a journey to leave Beijing.

The dusk is heavy, the Qin sky is vast, the autumn wind is blowing in my face, and my snow-white beard and hair are fluttering wantonly. The sound of barbaric sounds, the whistling of horses, and the prosperity of Xijing Station can hardly take away the trace of sadness on Zhang Qixian's old face.

The old man, who is already sixty-eight years old, should not be so frustrated, but looking at the road of frustration ahead, he suddenly realized that he did not have insight into world affairs, and there was still endless sadness and melancholy in his heart.

The reason why Zhang Qixian was dismissed from the prime minister was very simple. At the Mid-Autumn Festival royal banquet, he was drunk and disobeyed, and almost offended the holy bow. He was first punished to shut himself up in self-examination, and within a few days, he was deprived of his position as minister.

Of course, this is what appears on the surface. The fundamental reason is that Emperor Liu Wenpeng has strengthened his influence on the government, and has intensified the exclusion and suppression of these "official ministers" represented by Zhang Qixian.

Compared with King Lu who was deposed and left the capital to return to the country, Zhang Qixian's dismissal did not experience too fierce confrontation and struggle, and even seemed to be a matter of course. At the same time, Zhang Qixian's intention to retire may not have been included.

On the one hand, Zhang Qixian himself is already old. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is in his twilight years. It is inevitable that he will not have enough energy. Facing the complicated government affairs and people's hearts inside and outside the government, he is already unable to cope with it. How can he resist the emperor's attack?

The more important aspect is that Mr. Zhang is tired. During the nearly four years of assisting the government, Zhang Qixian worked hard and diligently, but in fact he only did one thing, which was to continue Emperor Taizong's "Yongxi Administration". Amidst the various disputes that came and went within the court, All of his decisions and actions are based on this basic stance.

Compared with Li Hang, Lu Mengzheng and others who have more lofty political ideals and aspirations, Zhang Qixian is more like the last watchman of the "Yongxi regime", maintaining it carefully and supporting it hard. Therefore, in the past four years, , can be called the "post-Yongxi era".

But now, it is obvious that that situation cannot be maintained. The emperor is Emperor Pingkang, but he wants the empire to maintain the style of the Yongxi era from top to bottom. This is not only embarrassing the emperor, but also embarrassing himself and other rulers. Class is not realistic and does not conform to "objective laws".

When the remaining persistence in his heart was about to be shattered, let Zhang Qixian occupy the position of prime minister again. Not to mention that the emperor couldn't bear it, even Zhang Qixian himself had no intention of staying any longer. Although leaving Chaoque in this way is a bit embarrassing, it may not be a good ending.

What's more, unlike Lu Wang Liu Ai, Liu Wenpeng still gave him basic dignity and allowed him to serve as an official with the title of Sikong. At the same time, he built a Caoyang Mansion in Zhang Qixian's hometown of Caozhou as his future retirement home. (Zhang Qixian was conferred the title of First Class Cao Yangbo by Emperor Taizong in the 14th year of Yongxi reign)

No matter what, Zhang Qixian's ending was more benevolent. For the first time, Emperor Liu Wenpeng did not follow his temper and unexpectedly gave him the respect of the imperial prime minister.

However, after becoming an official, Zhang Qixian did not immediately return east to Caozhou to recuperate. Instead, he chose to go west for two reasons. First, the second son Zhang Zongjie was the magistrate of Yanzhou. Although he was very skillful in suppressing local areas and quelling riots, and had many achievements during his tenure, he had repeatedly reported some disturbing behaviors and personal style problems before, which made him wise. Zhang Qixian's face was dull and he wanted to see it with his own eyes.

The second is that Zhang Qixian plans to conduct another inspection of the northwest. Now that he is free from the constraints of the phase, he has time to summarize some issues that have been ignored in the previous political process.

The Great Northwest has always attached great importance to and been deeply concerned about since Emperor Shizu. After all, it had been lost to China for two hundred years. After being eroded by barbarian countries such as Tubo and Uighurs, the Han civilization wanted to restore civilization and re-establish itself. It is not difficult to take root, but it is necessary to clear away those issues left over from history, especially some issues hidden under the Sinicization that appear to be compliant with the Han but are actually anti-Han, customs, ethnic issues, and religious issues.

Going back forty years, even if we put aside the impact of the Western Expedition, the northwest was the most unstable place in the Han Empire, and it was also the area where the imperial court focused on consolidating its operations. This has been true from Shizu to Taizong, and even now. The imperial court invested more resources and consumed more national power in the northwest than in Monan, Liaodong, and the southwest.

During this process, many capable ministers and officials emerged in the northwest. No matter how many troubles occurred, how much they were tormented by the court, and what kind of purges were carried out, the nobles and bureaucrats of the "Northwest Department" were the cohesive force of the empire. The strongest faction, there is never a shortage of their active presence on the political stage of the Han Empire.

At the same time, the Northwest faction is perhaps the most open and least exclusive faction in the empire, because many nobles and bureaucrats themselves are "outsiders". In the past few decades, political leaders in the Northwest, such as Lu Duoxun and Wang You, , Wang Ming, etc., all came from other places in Daozhou.

In the past few decades, from Daosi on down, there have been too many foreign heroes and talents who, after going through the hardships of the Great Northwest, have been reborn and become the pillars and pillars of the empire.

As for Zhang Qixian, he happened to be from the northwest. His experience in saving Yulin more than 20 years ago was also the most valuable resource in his political career. In the government, Zhang Qixian may not be able to suppress many forces, but in the northwest faction, at least in the northwest civil service system, he is also a leader who carries the flag. Moreover, since the Yulin Rebellion, or to be more precise, since the imperial court completely stopped the Western Expedition, rectified bad governance, and reformed people's livelihood, there has been no major chaos in the northwest for almost twenty years.

Zhang Qixian was both happy and worried about this. He understood the particularity of the northwest region very well. As one of the regions with the most complex ethnic composition and customs in the empire, there were naturally factors of turmoil and disturbance here.

Zhang Qixian, who had been away from the northwest for many years, had to live in peace and be wary of danger, especially when Emperor Liu Wenpeng was not very reassuring.

This led to his westward journey in his later years. He had been an official for more than forty years and worked hard for the country and the people all his life. He had long been used to it. It would have been impossible for him to grow old silently in his later years until his death. of.

Zhang Qixian's journey to the West in his later years was finally written into a book: "Rao Yang Gong's Journey to the West".

From the perspective of later generations, this is not only a record of investigation and travel, but also a book of political insights, involving descriptions of the entire northwest politics, military, economy, culture, and people's livelihood. It also contains a large amount of Zhang Qixian's experience and thinking in governing the country. , which greatly demonstrates Zhang Qixian's significant influence on the politics, military, and economy of the Han Empire during the Yongxi period, especially the late Yongxi period, and also reflects a large number of "Kaibao's prosperity" and "Yongxi's rule", which is of great significance to historians It is extremely valuable for us to study the "Kaiyong Dynasty".

Back outside Yanxi Post, only five or six child servant guards and his youngest son Zhang Zongxin accompanied Zhang Qixian on his westward journey. There were only two people who came to see him off, the financial envoy Li Hang and the left deputy censor Lu Zongdao. Of course, as a former prime minister, it would not be so miserable, but Zhang Qixian left suddenly and deliberately avoided it.

Needless to say, there is no need to say more about Li Hang, the financial envoy. Lu Zongdao was a famous remonstrator in the court. He was known as the "little king Yu Chen". Because he was outspoken and dared to remonstrate, and he was clear about the law and strict rules, he offended many people. Zhang Qixian was considered his mentor. , and there are many safeguards in the court.

"Brother Taichu, I have become a deserter. I am ashamed of my late emperor. I will rely on you more in the affairs of the court from now on. Please be careful and take good care of me!" Putting away the sad look on the old face, Zhang Qixian said to him Li Hang, who also had gray hair and was dressed in regular clothes, bowed his hands and said solemnly.

Li Hang still has that elegant demeanor. Even though his hair is gray, he is still calm and unmoving. Sensing Zhang Qixian's complicated mood, he returned the gift with his hands and responded with extraordinary calmness: "Brother Shi Liang said something serious! I have also been favored by two generations of ancestors, Emperor Shizu and Emperor Taizong, and I will not change my ambition. I will only die with all my heart. That's it." That’s all”

"Brother Taichu is so magnificent, I am not as good as me!" Zhang Qixian smiled ashamedly after hearing his words.

After saying that, he turned to look at Lu Zongdao, who had a rigid expression even when seeing him off. He thought for a moment, raised his finger and said: "Guanzhi, you are upright and dare to speak, and you hate Shao Rong. The court needs a loyal and upright person like you, but it lacks some flexibility." . I just hope that you can be more flexible when encountering problems in the future, so that it can last long!"

Facing Zhang Qixian's warning, Lu Zongdao's expression relaxed a little, and he smiled heartily, but his words were still as straightforward: "You know, Lu Zongdao gives advice, does not speak ill of lies, does not deceive the emperor, does everything justice, and is pragmatic and seeking justice. If If you give advice in vain, or if you are afraid and dare not speak out, you will be a dim-witted person. It is better to resign and go back to your hometown to teach.

What's more, the emperor is not as wise and powerful as his ancestors, and he needs loyal words and advice. If we and other ministers don't speak up, won't we let the villain succeed? "

Lu Zongdao was obviously the kind of person who would never look back until he hit the wall. Seeing his complacent and stern face, Zhang Qixian could no longer tell him about his political philosophy. Forced teaching might even hurt teachers and students. friendship.

"treasure!"

Finally, this quiet farewell ended with an affectionate farewell. The three of them were all well-educated people, but Zhang Qixian just left without breaking willows or reciting poems, leaving the capital where he had stayed for nearly twenty years.

However, when he boarded the carriage shaft, Zhang Qixian still couldn't help but look back. As far as the eye could see, Xijing was majestic and Qianyuan was towering. As he was about to leave, the old husband was still thinking about the temple and the emperor. At the same time, in his blurred eyes, It also contains a hint of concern about the future of the empire.

Zhang Qixian was obviously not so reassured about Emperor Liu Wenpeng, let alone the word "confidence". But no matter what, without that position, the influence he could exert on the Han Empire was minimal.

I can only pray silently that after taking charge of the emperor, the emperor can make changes and be less troublesome, so as not to destroy the foundation that the two generations of emperors Shizu and Taizong worked hard to build.