Prime Minister

Chapter 1346 Taking Medicine
It was early autumn in Bianjing, and a cold rain had just fallen. The copper bells on the eaves jingled in the wind. Sima Guang was half lying on his sickbed, leaning against a celadon pillow.
After Sima Guang met Zhang Yue that day, he fell seriously ill again.

After being sick for more than ten days, I was finally able to get out of bed.

Sima Guang stood up tremblingly, put on his clothes, and looked at the falling ginkgo leaves outside the window. In a trance, he could not tell which was more withered, the leaves or his own hair and beard.

Just as he said, it was like a lonely yellow leaf drifting in the autumn wind.

The illness came suddenly and fiercely. After recovering from it, Sima Guang felt that his appetite had decreased drastically and his energy was not as good as before.
He had already made arrangements for his funeral arrangements before going to the capital this time. As he said, he had already completed the book Zizhi Tongjian. As far as a scholar's ambition to write was concerned, his wish in this life had been fulfilled.

He entrusted himself to the doctor and his family affairs to Sima Kang. After Sima Guang passed away, the state affairs could only be entrusted to Lu Gongzhu.

Having established one's words, now it is time to establish one's virtues and achievements.

In Sima Guang's eyes, establishing virtue and making achievements meant abolishing the new laws and restoring the world that had been thrown into chaos by the New Party.

A few more ginkgo leaves floated in from the window, and Sima Guang suddenly heard the noise of students from the Imperial College coming from the door, vaguely hearing the cry of "exemption from military service forever". Sima Guang thought to himself that although these students were full of enthusiasm, they did not know the fundamentals of the country.

But now Lu Gongzhu has been leaning towards Zhang Yue little by little. The uncle and nephew Zhang Zhi are very firm on the issue of the exemption law. He firmly opposes Sima Guang's abolition of this law.

This made Sima Guang very worried.

Lu Gongzhu had been somewhat reserved before, when did he become so resolute?

Is it from the time Zhang Yue came to Beijing?
Since Zhang Yue submitted a memorial opposing the abolition of the new law?

Or did the Queen Mother order the Second King to go out?
Yes, it started from the time when the Queen Mother ordered the Second King to go out.

This is the wind direction!

In the future, the crown prince will definitely rule the Zhao Song Dynasty.

As soon as Zhang Yuefu entered the capital, he frightened Empress Dowager Gao and forced Prince Yong to leave.

Sima Guang held onto the door frame with his frail body. A bitter smile appeared on his face. The more Zhang Yue, Lu Gongzhu and others opposed his abolition of the exemption law and the more fiercely they expressed themselves on this matter, the more it proved that he was right!
"Father!" Sima Kang knelt in front of the steps holding a medicine cup. A few withered chrysanthemum petals were floating in the celadon bowl.

"Pass the pen!" He turned around suddenly, and under Sima Kang's panicked gaze, he tremblingly wrote "The third petition requesting the abolition of the military service and exemption from military service", and the force of his pen was so strong that it penetrated the back of the paper.

After finishing this memorial, Sima Guang was somewhat exhausted, and Sima Kang advised him, "Father, take a rest."

Sima Guang waved his hands and said, "I can't rest. During the days I was ill, Song Pengnian, the Junior Minister of the Imperial Household, submitted a memorial to the emperor, proposing the establishment of three yamen to manage the army, and Wang Xie, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, submitted a memorial to the emperor on the law of protecting horses and the establishment of a doctoral degree in the Spring and Autumn Annals at the Imperial College."

"Cai Que and Zhang Dun were fined 30 catties of copper each for speaking outside their duties and disturbing the emperor's hearing."

Sima Kang said: "Your Majesty is seriously ill, and it is indeed inappropriate to say that the law of preserving horses and adding the Spring and Autumn Annals is inappropriate."

As we all know, this is a trend. Wang Anshi hated the "Spring and Autumn Annals" and thought it was a rotten piece of court news, so the Spring and Autumn Annals was never taught in the Imperial Academy.

Song Pengnian and Wang Xie both tried to touch upon the edges of the new law in their memorials, testing the wind's direction, but they were blocked by Cai Que and Zhang Dun.

Sima Guang said: "Song Pengnian is ignorant of the situation and talks about old things, but Wang Xie is right to the point. If I can't speak, I will be of no use to the holy world. I will fail the Empress Dowager's intention to ask questions, and I will fail my loyalty. A tree will be straightened if it follows the rope, and a queen will be virtuous if she follows advice."

"I will submit another memorial, not only to open up the channels for public opinion, but also to ask the Queen Mother to seek advice. Both 'One Morality' and 'Ming Mingde' must be thrown aside."

After Sima Guang recovered from his illness and returned to work, he submitted two memorials. One was to firmly abolish the exemption law, and the other was to continue to open up channels for communication and issue an imperial edict to seek advice.

After finishing these two tasks, Sima Guang felt exhausted again, and Sima Kang served him medicine.

Sima Guang forced his eyes open and said, "I can no longer write. Please write to my family and tell them that I have been the prime minister for more than a month, but this is not what I expected. I am also more afraid than happy about the future. Tell them not to be proud of my position as prime minister, not to rely on my power to disturb the local area, and not to bully the common people."

After giving these instructions to Sima Kang, Sima Guang looked up at the top of the tent: "The expectations from the upper and lower levels are high. How can I cope with them?"

……

Sima Guang's two memorials were like boiling oil poured into cold water.

When Sima Guang first came to Beijing, thousands of people blocked his way and said, "Sir, do not return to Luoyang. Stay to serve the emperor and save the people!" This pushed Sima Guang's reputation to the sky.

The candlelight flickered in the hall in the twilight, and Sima Guang's second memorial was quietly spread out on the rosewood table. Cai Que's fingertips stroked the edge of the celadon cup, and the tea soup had cooled three times.

The Empress Dowager has issued an edict strictly urging the two men to respond to Sima Guang's two memorials.

After Wang Gui left, the central government underwent major changes.

Lu Gongzhu, Zhang Zhi and Su Song all tended to support the abolition of the reform to a limited extent. Sima Guang firmly opposed the reform. Li Qingchen, Zhang Xu and Han Zhen were all waiting and watching.

Cai Que and Zhang Dun became increasingly embarrassed.

"Be upright. New laws are like planting trees. Even if there are dead branches and fallen leaves, they must not be uprooted. The Queen Mother has no experience in handling political affairs. She only trusts Sima Guang. Sima Guang is even more stupid. He has mostly served as an assistant official and a staff official. He has never really governed the local areas. When the emperor was healthy, he would have nothing to do when he returned to the court. But now we can't let Sima Guang act recklessly and control the situation."

Cai Que glanced at Zhang Dun and thought to himself that Zhang Dun spoke without considering the occasion and that he himself lacked experience in local governance, so he was not even worthy of being the prime minister.

However, Cai did not reveal it and said: "Sima Guang has a high reputation and is a man of high moral standards. What can you do?"

Zhang Dun looked at Sima Guang's memorial that said "exemption from military service is the first of the corrupt policies" and continued, "Zhang Duzhi is quite clever. He stays in his house and doesn't come out. This makes you and I look like clinging to power."

Compared with Zhang Yue, who was idle and doing nothing in Beijing after being dismissed from his position as prime minister, Cai Que and Zhang Dun were both on pins and needles.

Cai Que said: "There is no point in blaming him for this. Among the three ministries, the Secretariat is the most powerful, and it is indeed inconvenient for Lü Huishu to be the right prime minister."

"I think the three ministries must work together to deprive the Secretariat of its power."

After the Yuanfeng Reform, the three ministries were set up, and the Secretariat had the power to receive imperial orders and was very powerful for a time. After Zhang Yue was dismissed from his post as prime minister, he handed over his power to the Secretariat, but the Secretariat still had power.

After Cai Que was promoted from Right Prime Minister to Left Prime Minister, he felt that power was falling into someone else's hands, so he decided to deprive the Secretary of State of the power to issue imperial edicts alone, and instead have the three provinces jointly issue imperial edicts after a public discussion.

If the three provinces work together to obtain imperial edicts, then the left prime minister Cai Que will still have the final say.

Zhang Dun nodded.

"And the rest?"

Zhang Dun said, "It's easy. The Baojia Law is under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. I will first take a set of regulations and slightly modify them. As for the exemption law, I will ignore it. I will deal with the Queen Mother first."

"Good idea." Cai Que said. Since the matter has come, he will deal with it. He can trust Zhang Dun to handle the matter.

"As for asking for advice, we can also follow Sima Guang's opinion. But before we write the edict asking for advice, we must do the following six things."

"What are the six things?"

Zhang Dun said: "First, if he has something secretly in mind, he will be punished without pardon."

"Second, those who commit crimes beyond their rights will be punished without pardon."

"Third, anyone who stirs up trouble will be punished without pardon."

"Fourth, those who comply with the orders of their own conduct shall be punished without pardon."

"Fifth, if you wait and see what the court is thinking, you will be punished without pardon."

"Sixth, those who dazzle the public with their affections shall be punished without pardon."

Upon hearing this, Cai Que clapped his hands and laughed, "Great job Zhang Zihou!"

Zhang Dun did not smile when he heard this, and Cai Que also stopped smiling and said, "Our obstruction is just a pretense in their eyes, and it will only make the Queen Mother and Sima Guang hate us more."

How could Zhang Dun not know what Cai Que meant? These were all tricks and clever tricks.

When Empress Dowager Sima Guang sees that you are carrying out the order as if it were a game, she will definitely be furious.

But if Cai Que and Zhang Dun really wanted to carry out the decision to abolish the new law, they would absolutely not allow it.

Zhang Dun said, "Then let's go. We will not let down your majesty and Lord Jing for their hard work. The prince will understand our painstaking efforts in the future."

Cai Que nodded and said, "Zihou, you must keep this promising body."

Zhang Dun's face changed and he asked, "Zuo Kui, why do you say that?"

Cai Que shook his head and said, "Nothing else."

"I have been in a high position for many years, done a lot of things, and offended a lot of people. It is only a matter of time before I am stripped of my hemp."

The appointment of a prime minister is called "Xuan Ma", and the removal of a prime minister for a crime is called "Baoma". Of course, the demotion will not be immediate, but a gradual process.

Generally, he was first appointed as a palace official, and then the censors wrote a letter to impeach him. After the emperor agreed, he was ordered to be demoted and gradually demoted.

Cai Que raised his head and said, "Think about the Xining period. Although there were attacks between the old and new parties, except for a few people, they were not affected by the party struggles. Although Han Weigong and Ouyang Yongzhong opposed the new law, Wang Jinggong treated them with courtesy after their death. Even when Sima Guang was accused of collecting taxes for merchants in Luoyang, Jinggong spoke out to defend him."

"During the Yuanfeng period, the Xiangzhou case, the Imperial College Yu Fan case, the Wutai poetry case, and the Chen Shiru case were all instigated by me, Cai Que. I'm afraid..."

Zhang Dun said: "Be upright and don't worry too much. Besides, you are the prime minister, and the prime minister has the dignity of a prime minister."

Cai Que smiled and said, "When I was young, a fortune teller read my face together with a few others."

"The fortune teller told me that I would become a prime minister like Ding Wei one day, but I would also be exiled to Lingnan like Ding Wei. However, Ding Wei was able to return from Lingnan, but I would die in Lingnan."

"It is often said that spring, Xun, plum, and Xin are close to death; Gao, Dou, Lei, and Hua are scary to even mention. No one has walked this road in Lingnan for seventy years. This may be the place where I will spend my old age."

After Cai Que finished speaking, he gradually fell silent.

Zhang Dun drank a cup of tea and said angrily: "As long as this precedent is set, there will be no other way but to repay evil with evil!"

"Be upright, your destiny is your own, why bother with the words of the sorcerers!"

Cai Que said: "I didn't believe it when I was young."

Zhang Dun said: "Left Prime Minister, don't worry too much. The emperor is blessed by heaven, and he will recover in due time!"

Cai Que thought to himself, yes, as long as the emperor recovers from his illness, everything can be solved.

……

After Zhang Dun left, Cai Que returned to the dark room and saw a short man standing in front of him.

Cai Que asked in a deep voice: "Is the official's life span really irreversible?"

The other party whispered, "According to the estimate of the Imperial Physician Zuo, it will take at most ten days."

Cai Que closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and said, "The imperial physicians treat illnesses step by step. How can it be useful to use those medicines to strengthen the body all day long? Everyone is afraid of being implicated. If something goes wrong, their lives and property will be in danger."

"The prescriptions of the Imperial Hospital are not very effective. They are all designed to avoid mistakes rather than to achieve results. The court likes to employ officials who stick to the old ways, and even doctors are like this."

Tsai Que became more and more angry as he spoke. Isn’t it the same with the struggle between the old and new parties?
The old party always blames the new party for everything, but the prescriptions they prescribe are all mediocre and cannot solve the country's problems at all.

They could only watch as the imperial court became worse and worse.

However, they regard the prescriptions prescribed by the New Party, regardless of their lives and taking the risk of relations, as a poisonous drug.

The people below echoed, "It's not that there are no traditional Chinese doctors, they just don't dare to treat them."

Cai Que thought to himself, this is ironic.

Cai Que said, "Just follow my instructions and ask Doctor Zuo and the others to prescribe some medicine to cheer you up."

Cai Que thought to himself that at this point the only way out was to try every possible means.

The other party said, "The emperor's medicinal diet is prepared by the imperial doctors jointly prescribing the prescriptions, and then completed under the supervision of the Imperial Pharmacy. The left imperial doctor alone cannot make decisions. After the imperial doctor Qian was impeached and dismissed from office, the imperial doctors have been like this."

Cai Que was helpless, because Qian Yi was recommended by Zhang Yue and served as a doctor of Chinese medicine in the Imperial College. However, not long after Zhang Yue resigned from his position as prime minister last year, Qian Yi was impeached and dismissed from office for a trivial matter, and Cai Que was also responsible for this.

The medical officers were involved in the party disputes.

Cai Que did not reflect on himself, but said: "I will ask the censor to impeach those imperial doctors for inaction. Tell me what you think."

The other party gritted his teeth and said, "I know a monk from the Western Regions. Why not offer him the golden elixir? The Queen Mother will also fall for it."

Cai Que said: "You can try any method. You can also ask the folk doctors. When Emperor Renzong was seriously ill, didn't Han Qi and others select doctors to come to the palace to treat him?"

The other party said, "Since the emperor became seriously ill, there have been many people offering elixirs or famous doctors recommending themselves. I think most of them are useless. However, there is a traveling doctor named Li Guanghong who claims to be a disciple of the Medicine King Sun Simiao. He seems to be useful."

Cai Que said: "Then you take him to the Queen Mother to plead your case. At least give it a try."

……

The crown prince gently stroked the edge of the medicine cup, his fingertips trembling slightly. Compared to the past few days, he was much more relaxed.

Looking at the emaciated emperor lying on the couch, the humiliation of being frequently entered the palace and spied on by Prince Yong in the past still lingered in her mind.

Now Prince Yong and Prince Cao, who used to go in and out of Funing Palace, have left the palace.

His fingertips finally touched the dark pattern of the brocade quilt, and he suddenly felt his eyes sore. His father's cloudy eyes fell on him, like the spring sun melting the ice, and the long-lost kindness made his throat choke.

After five days of mediation by Zhang Yue, the iron wall was finally broken.

The candle flame suddenly burst into a spark, startling his fingertips. He caught a glimpse of the eunuch in the corner of the hall bowing his head, and his previously arrogant face now turned into a submissive one.

After Prince Yong left the palace, these people's attitudes also changed.

The change of power was more effective than medicine, and he even found that the official's condition had improved a lot.

If Zhang Yue had not used thunderous means to drive Prince Yong out of the capital, Prince Yong and Prince Cao would be the ones kneeling in front of the couch. He even had to depend on Prince Yong's mood to tuck in the corner of the quilt.

He caught a glimpse of the relief hidden beneath the official's haggard face.

The official on his sickbed could no longer move his fingers or write words.

The official's eyes revealed relief and the affection between father and son, an expression he had never seen in the six months he had been serving Tang Yao.

The Crown Prince was secretly delighted, and of course he vaguely guessed who had caused all this.

Zhang Yue had only been back in Beijing for five days, and although he had not been summoned by the emperor, he had already accomplished this important matter.

With the sound of the medicine spoon colliding, the eunuch fed the medicine into the emperor's mouth one spoonful at a time. At least he didn't have to do these things, but filial piety was what mattered.

After finishing these things, the prince stepped aside to copy Buddhist scriptures, which was the rule assigned to him by the Queen Mother. In the past six months of day and night suffering, he had long been accustomed to chewing up his anxiety and swallowing it into his stomach. Instead, he really had a bit of precocity that children never had.

Children born in imperial families are naturally smarter than others.

The prince wrote it very carefully.

Soon the Queen Mother Gao arrived, and the prince hastily saluted. But beside the Queen Mother Gao there followed a man dressed in commoner's clothes, carrying a medicine box.

Empress Dowager Gao swept her majestic gaze over the prince, and when she saw the densely copied Buddhist scriptures on the desk, a look of approval appeared on her face.

The prince was taken aside by the eunuchs and the curtain was lowered.

The prince vaguely saw this commoner being invited to sit beside the emperor's bed, and then he took the emperor's pulse and then spoke to Empress Dowager Gao.

Although the prince did not understand medicine, the empress dowager was impressed by what this man said about the cause of the disease and the treatment method.

After a while, the man left the tent. The Queen Mother sent him back to the tent and said to Zhang Maoze, "The emperor's illness is getting worse day by day. Let the ministers discuss it."

The prince looked at the emperor lying on the sickbed and tears welled up in his eyes.

……

After asking the imperial physicians to come together for the consultation, they still gave ambiguous answers that no one could understand.

Despite the repeated doubts of the ministers, the imperial doctors still prescribed a mild medicine. Cai Que and others only changed two auxiliary medicines, which did not help the emperor's worsening condition.

The ministers outside the palace were all familiar with the emperor's pulse records, and they all said that if they could not be good ministers, they would be good doctors. But in addition to being good at governing foreign countries, the ministers also had some knowledge of medicine.

The ministers asked about the traveling doctor named Li Guanghong.

Lü Gongzhuo, twisting his white beard, asked first: "Mr. Li, since you are well versed in the art of medicine, you should know that offering medicine without knowing the truth is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor. Do you think the medicine you offer can cure the emperor's illness?"

The other party said: "There is no perfect medicine in the world. According to the official's current symptoms, even if Bian Que were alive again, he would not dare to say that it is perfect."

Zhang Xu said: "When it comes to taking medicine, you should be very careful. Now, even if there is a magic medicine, it should not be used lightly."

Li Qingchen shook his head and said, "This is a big deal, don't invest lightly."

Han Zhen looked at the expressions of the crowd and said, "We need to carefully select a good doctor to prescribe the medicine, and we cannot let Your Majesty try the medicine."

Su Song said: "You can't risk your country and the nation by making this attempt."

Sima Guang asked Li Guanghong directly, "As the saying goes, if a doctor is not from the third generation, his medicine will not be accepted. Did your ancestors have any national experts serving in the imperial court?"

"Never."

Cai Que's eyes became stern when he heard this, and all the ministers were busy distancing themselves from the matter.

Zhang Dun, the next in command, has already come forward and said, "The Imperial Hospital's prescriptions for diagnosing pulses have been instilled in your Majesty for half a year, but have only made your Majesty worse by the day. The officials below have all submitted petitions, saying that the Imperial Hospital is full of people who are just sitting there doing nothing."

Zhang Dun's hawk-like eyes swept across the trembling imperial doctors beside the palace.

Cai Que said sadly: "It is said that doctors do not last for three generations. The first generation is Acupuncture, the second generation is Shennong's Herbal Classic, and the third generation is Suwen and Pulse Classic. How can it be true that only when three generations of a family are doctors can a person save lives?"

"It is said in the Suwen, and it is even worse to follow it. Now is the time to burn our boats. So many imperial doctors have used so many medicines, but it is like a stone sinking into the sea. It is better to choose another good person."

Zhang Zhi said, "There used to be a Qian Yi who was also good at using medicine, but I don't know where he is now."

Zhang Zhi was of course indignant. Qian Yi was recommended by Zhang Yue and had been treating the emperor's illnesses very well over the years. However, he was dismissed by Cai Que, leaving the emperor with no one to treat his illnesses.

Cai Que was mocked by Zhang Zhi, but he said as if nothing had happened: "Your Majesty has been ill for a long time, and no medicine has worked. All doctors are helpless and avoid him as much as possible. Since this person dares to give you medicine, find someone to test it first."

Facing all the ministers, Li Guanghong remained calm and agreed with a serious look.

Soon someone from the Imperial Pharmacy took the man downstairs and prepared medicine on the spot. Li Guanghong took the medicine himself and then tried it on two eunuchs who were sick and found that they did not have any problems.

After looking at the prescription, the imperial physician said ambiguously that they seemed to be all tonic medicines.

The ministers and the imperial doctors discussed the matter for a long time.

The imperial doctors said: "This medicine is like a knife chopping rotten wood. When the condition is good, it can last for three days. When the condition is bad, it can last for three days."

Zhang Dun interrupted: "It's better than just watching your father die!"

Cai Que thought to himself that even if the emperor left some words, it would be better than Sima Guang overturning the situation.

Cai Que made the final decision, saying, "Your Majesty will not be able to get up soon. If you drink it, you may survive. If you don't drink it, you will just sit there and wait for death." He immediately ordered it to be presented to the emperor.

……

The hall was filled with the aroma of ambergris mixed with medicine, and several gold and silver palace lanterns illuminated the cold sweat on the imperial doctors' foreheads clearly.

He presented the medicine to the official and tasted it himself first.

There is a system for attending to the sick princes.

In the past, the king of the State of Xu was seriously ill, and his son Xu Zhi was always by his side, feeding him medicine himself. However, the king died after taking his medicine.

Confucius commented that Prince Xu was allowed to stop killing his lord Mai.

Why did Confucius comment that Prince Xu killed his lord? Later Confucianists explained that it was because Prince Xu's filial piety was not perfect.

The Book of Rites states that if the king is ill and needs medicine, the minister should taste it first; if a relative is ill and needs medicine, the son should taste it first.

Therefore, when the prince was served medicine, he had to taste it himself first.

This is also a way to distance oneself from any conflicts of interest.

The eunuch fed the medicine to the emperor. In the past, the emperor did not like to drink medicine, but this time he drank it all abnormally, very smoothly.

He heard a faint gasp from the person on the couch, and caught a glimpse of tears in his father's cloudy eyes.

The prince was very pleased after seeing it. After drinking the medicine, the emperor's illness was slightly relieved.

This made the ministers outside very excited.

Empress Dowager Gao immediately rewarded Li Guanghong and gave him the official position of a county lieutenant, allowing him to continue to treat the emperor with an identity, and at the same time ordered him to show some more skills.

Li Guanghong immediately added another ingredient to the medicine.

The next day at night.

The emperor suddenly opened his eyes, his face flushed, and he actually forced himself to get up. The prince was shocked when he saw this.

The eunuch immediately ordered someone to report to the Queen Mother and the prime minister on duty.

"His Majesty……"

The prime ministers of Suzhi were Lu Gongzhu, Han Zhen and Zhang Dun. They all rushed to the Funing Palace at the same time.

But he saw the emperor lying half-asleep on the couch, the imperial physician was taking his pulse, and Empress Dowager Gao was standing beside him with slightly red eyes.

Everyone thought, could it be that he sat up in shock from his dying illness?

The ministers came in to greet him, but saw the emperor pointing at the prince and saying, "Sixth brother..."

Everyone in the hall was shocked that the emperor could speak again. This was incredible.

PS: I don’t have 8,000 yuan in four days, only 6,000 yuan, so I have to owe it again.