Chapter 140 Only be good ministers, not loyal ministers
Chapter 140: Only be a good minister, not a loyal minister
Author: An Jing l
Chapter 140: Only be a good minister, not a loyal minister
[As we all know, the famous prime minister Wei Zheng served six masters in his life. If this was considered in the past, it would be an unforgivable betrayal. He should bear the infamy of history and be criticized by future generations.
However, Wei Zheng not only was not despised by his contemporaries and future generations, but instead became a model of upright and loyal ministers through the ages, and was respected as "a famous prime minister of a generation" by future generations.
According to the "Old Tang Book Biography of Wei Zheng", after Wei Zheng's death, Li Shimin was heartbroken and said: "If you use copper as a mirror, you can straighten your clothes; if you use ancient times as a mirror, you can know the rise and fall; if you use people as a mirror, you can understand
Gains and losses. I always keep these three mirrors to prevent myself from making mistakes. Now that Wei Zheng has passed away, one mirror has died!"]
"Your Majesty!" When Wei Zheng saw this, his tears couldn't stop flowing down. He was so moved.
"Six six???" Guan Yu couldn't believe his eyes.
In his era, Lu Bu, who served three masters, was already scolded by his third brother as a "family slave with three surnames".
If he were to know that Wei Zheng served a total of six lords, he might have to say something even more unpleasant.
[Let’s first take a look at which six people Wei Zheng followed.]
Wei Zheng's face suddenly fell. He felt that Su Qian was targeting him.
[Wei Zheng's father was the magistrate of Tunliu County in the Northern Qi Dynasty. Later, due to the change of dynasties and the early death of his father, the Wei family changed from a wealthy family in the Northern Qi Dynasty to a poor family in the Sui Dynasty.
Although the Wei family was in decline, Wei Zheng rarely had great ambitions. Seeing that the world was becoming chaotic, he became a Taoist priest.
Wei Zheng was fond of reading and had a wide range of interests. He was particularly fond of the theory of vertical and horizontal, and could be said to be a political expert. His eloquence was first-rate, he could talk endlessly, his opinions were precise, his arguments were accurate, and he was well-founded.]
[Wei Zheng is not only good at speaking, but he also has real talent and learning.
When the world was in chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Yuan Baobao, the prime minister of Wuyang County, started a rebellion and invited Wei Zheng to join the Taoist temple, join the rebel team, and serve as a clerk.
Yuan Baobao became the first master Wei Zheng followed.】
[Yuan Bao Bao has close contacts with another group of rebels, namely Li Mi of Wagang.
Moreover, Yuan Baobao has an advantage, that is, he has self-awareness.
He knew that his strength was too weak and he was not very capable, so he took refuge in the Wagang Army led by Li Mi.
After Li Mi learned that all the letters between Yuan Bao and him were written by Wei Zheng, Li Mi appointed Wei Zheng as a literary officer in the Marshal's Mansion, specializing in documents and files.
Therefore, Li Mi became the second master Wei Zheng followed.]
[It is a pity that Li Mi is not a dragon among men. He was defeated by Wang Shichong after not supporting him for long, and then surrendered to Li Tang. Wei Zheng also surrendered to Tang Gaozu Li Yuan.
Therefore, Li Yuan was Wei Zheng's third master.
However, although Wei Zheng surrendered to Li Yuan, he was not reused, so he asked himself to recruit hundreds of thousands of rebels from Xu Maogong in Shandong and Hebei.
Li Yuan immediately approved it without even thinking about it.
In fact, Xu Maogong had long wanted to surrender to Li Tang, so when Wei Zheng came to Shandong to persuade Xu Maogong, Xu Maogong happily led 50,000 elites to surrender to Li Tang.
But Wei Zheng was still staying in Liyang at that time, but he didn't expect that Liyang was captured by Dou Jiande the next year, and Wei Zheng was captured.
Dou Jiande also raised troops to rebel against the Sui Dynasty, defeated Wei Daoer, Yu Wenhuaji, Meng Jiigong, etc., and established the Xia Kingdom.
Dou Jiande also knew that Wei Zheng was talented, so he appointed Wei Zheng as a member of Zhongshushe.
Therefore, Dou Jiande is Wei Zheng’s fourth master.】
"This Wei Zheng is also an interesting person. He brings the Taoist spirit of being content with the situation to its extreme."
"In my opinion, this is actually because Wei Zheng has real materials, otherwise he would not be able to survive for long no matter how he takes things as they come."
"What this brother is saying is that you need to be tough in order to forge iron. People with real talent and knowledge will not be afraid of losing their jobs no matter where they go!"
[A year later, Li Shimin destroyed Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, and Wei Zheng returned to Li Tang.
As soon as he returned to Chang'an, Wei Zheng was invited by Prince Li Jiancheng.
In this way, Wei Zheng became Li Jiancheng's crown prince Xima, and Prince Li Jiancheng became Wei Zheng's fifth master.】
[After that, Wei Zheng proposed three strategies to the prince to fight for the world:
The first is to strive to lead troops in war and improve one's own merit and reputation.
The second is to dig out the talents of the Prince of Qin, either by buying them with a lot of money, or if they don't accept them, they will be transferred from the capital and the Qin Palace.
The third is to make early decisions and strike first to gain the upper hand.
To put it bluntly, Wei Zheng was trying to persuade the prince Li Jiancheng to get rid of Li Shimin as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Li Jiancheng didn't listen, and he just kept his promise and didn't take action, so that Li Shimin took the lead.】
[When the Xuanwumen Incident happened, Li Shimin saw Wei Zheng and asked on the spot: "Why do you want to alienate my brothers?"
Unexpectedly, Wei Zheng said calmly and calmly: "If the prince had listened to me earlier, how would he be today?"
The implication is that if Li Jiancheng listened to him, there would be no Li Shimin.
Everyone was frightened into a cold sweat by Lao Wei's words, but Li Shimin was very happy, because this was exactly what he wanted.
The struggle between the East Palace and the King of Qin has no right or wrong, nor does it have anything to do with morality. There is only one question: whoever strikes first will have the last laugh.
Explained according to the logic of success as king and defeat as bandit, Wei Zheng's personal attitude and position are also very clear, it is nothing more than each being his own master.
Wei Zheng's "ruthlessness" just proved that he was sincerely serving the prince. Li Shimin admired such a man who was loyal and dedicated, and had great vision and ability.
From then on, Wei Zheng was reused by Li Shimin and became an admonisher and minister Zuocheng (equivalent to the prime minister).
And Li Shimin became Wei Zheng’s sixth master and Wei Zheng’s last master.]
[Under Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Wei Zheng tried his best, worked hard for the country, and worried about Li Shimin's personal problems.
Finally, Wei Zheng assisted Li Shimin in establishing the rule of Zhenguan, and he himself became a famous prime minister.】
Li Shimin twitched the corner of his mouth and said with some grievance: "Actually, he doesn't have to worry so much about my personal affairs."
[Judging from Wei Zheng's life experience, although he changed his master six times, he was actually forced to do so each time, not on his own initiative.
And every time after changing his lord, Wei Zheng would silently perform his duties and do what a minister should do.
Whether he was under Li Mi, Li Jiancheng, or Li Shimin, Wei Zheng fulfilled his duties and loyalty, and adhered to the ethics a minister should have.】
[And Wei Zheng also has a principle, that is, national interests are higher than personal grievances.
Everything he does is based on the interests of the country. Who becomes the emperor is actually not that important.
At the same time, Wei Zheng also has two strengths:
First, he is extremely talented and proficient in politics, and if he doesn't say anything, his words will definitely hit the mark;
The second is that he has an upright personality and never knows what hitting a wall is or what the consequences are. Either he doesn't say anything, and he always speaks clearly and clearly.
Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, felt particularly deeply about this second point.]
Li Shimin didn't know whether to laugh or cry and said: "God Su understands me."
[Wei Zheng once said to Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty: "Your Majesty wishes Wei Zheng to be a good minister and not a loyal minister."
Taizong was surprised and asked: "What is the difference between loyalty and kindness?"
Wei Zheng said: "A loyal minister only gives advice without considering whether the other party can accept it. As a result, he loses his life and the ruler also gets a bad name. This is not advisable. The correct approach is to make the ruler a wise ruler and himself a good minister."
Taizong replied: "Very good!" and fulfilled Wei Zheng's idea.
And Wei Zheng's principle of only being a good minister and not a loyal minister has always been throughout his life, and he has done very well.
This is probably the reason why Wei Zheng changed his master six times and was still praised by later generations.]