"I realize it late, and things have changed in the past. What's wrong with the white jade? Blue flies come to me again and again." [Snow Slander Poems for Friends]
The seventh day of the twelfth lunar month in the fourth year of the Han dynasty.
On the verandah on the west side of Xuanshi Hall, several mats were spread against the railings. The cold north wind passed over the ridge of the roof, carrying a faint whistling sound. The bamboo curtains hanging between the outer columns and beams were blown back and forth by the wind.
It swings and makes a rustling sound, leaving erratic and sparse shadows on the verandah and walls.
A rare sunny day.
The emperor was wearing loose Yanju uniform, holding a red tube in his hand, and was writing strokes on the silk.
Sikong Zhao Wen sat on one side, bowing his head and saying nothing. His expression and mood were calmer and calmer than outsiders expected.
"For a period of time last summer, I often practiced calligraphy here." The emperor broke the silence, moved the tip of his pen, and elegantly wrote the last stroke of this character on Zuo Bo's paper. The stroke was like a long dragon stretching out.
Walking in the sky, swinging his slender tail among the clouds. The emperor stopped writing and looked at what he had written, and began to recall the past: "Now that I think about it, it was the time when the prince, Ma Gong and others conspired to kill Dong."
"Thanks to the blessing of heaven, our ancestors were virtuous, and your majesty was ignorant and neglected food, and clearly cut off the affairs of the common people. Only then were all the princes in the court able to eliminate evil and set things right, and the people in the four directions were able to live peacefully. They all thought they had met the right time." Zhao Wen.
Without thinking, he opened his mouth and flattered.
When he was powerless, no achievements could be attributed to him. Now that he is powerful, everything he has never done has become his mastery.
The emperor sneered in his heart, but it was not directed at Zhao Wen personally. It was just a sudden emotion: "You don't have to put everything on me. Whether it is merit or demerit will be judged by future generations. The execution of Dong will be seen by all officials in the government and the public.
In my eyes, the prince was the mastermind. And I was just sitting on the royal couch and showing off. Afterwards, whether it was a congratulatory note sent by the prince to eradicate the Dong thieves or an impeachment report sent by Dong Zhuo to liquidate the prince, I could only accept it all.
The next share.”
At that time, the emperor's resourcefulness was not obvious, and he was indeed in such an embarrassing situation. At best, he was the emperor, but at worst, he was just a statue for worship. Even the two brothers Zhao Wen and Zhao Qian did not take the emperor seriously at first, but now they just
Zhao Wen actually felt a little sorry for being exposed by the person involved without concealing it. He wanted to say a few words, but didn't know how to say it. In the end, he had no choice but to bow his head to the ground and bowed his head to the emperor in an upright manner. He wanted to use a silent gesture to solemnly
Etiquette to express one's mood and attitude to the emperor.
The emperor then turned his head to look at him, extended his hand to him and made a gesture, and said with a smile: "What are you doing? You have already done this once when you came to the audience, so there is no need to bow again."
"I am incompetent..." Zhao Wen said in a heavy voice.
The emperor's smile immediately froze on his face, and soon returned to normal. He just took his hand back and said, "What does this have to do with you? The situation is pressing, and everyone is like this. I have never blamed you, but I have never blamed you.
It’s enough to know that you are loyal to the Han Dynasty.”
Zhao Wen actually said two things. He also knew that the emperor understood but did not follow his words, so he no longer mentioned the follow-up matters of the earthquake, but quietly stood up and sat upright.
, listening to the emperor reminisce about the past.
"At that time, the person I trusted most was the prince. He taught me how to read, taught me how to read the "Book of Filial Piety", and taught me how to be a good emperor." The emperor seemed to have forgotten the original intention of summoning Zhao Wen this time, and returned to
The topic just now: "He said that a truly wise king is one who is good at distinguishing right from wrong and selecting talents. I thought at that time that if I had the opportunity to take power, I would definitely use the prince as my prime minister, because the prince is such a capable person."
Having said this, the emperor's lips revealed a warm smile, with a hint of sarcasm: "But you also know what happened next."
This refers to a period of time between the emperor and Wang Yun, from initial good faith to resentment, involving several turmoils. Zhao Wen also took advantage of this to get into the center of the court and profit from it. Therefore, as one of the witnesses, he has
This is very familiar. Although I don’t know why the emperor mentioned the story again, the emperor almost never did meaningless things in front of ministers. Perhaps there was an ulterior motive. Zhao Wen did not dare to make rash remarks and wisely remained silent.
Seeing that Zhao Wen was silent, the emperor raised his pen again and continued to write with his head down: "Do you know why I liked coming here to practice calligraphy at that time?"
The emperor asked a question, and Zhao Wen had to answer: "Your Majesty has the world in mind, and the propaganda room is in a high place in Weiyang. When practicing calligraphy here, you should climb high and look far away, and express your emotions freely."
"If you have nothing to do, you naturally have to find something to do." The emperor wrote seriously, the tip of his pen kept moving, and said: "If I don't take advantage of my free time to practice calligraphy and reading and become familiar with allusions, how will I be able to deal with you and other ministers in the future?
How can we cope with the great events of the world?"
"Wei Wei, your majesty has been diligent in his studies and has achieved his present foundation. I am inexplicably impressed by him." Zhao Wen was startled and vaguely guessed what the emperor meant by these words.
The emperor sneered and continued without raising his head: "When I first sat here to practice calligraphy, there was a red sunset outside the railing, Shanglin Garden was full of trees and grass, and Jianzhang Palace was full of ruins. I
At that time, I was thinking, will the Han Dynasty, which has been established for four hundred years, be as dying as the sunset? If the ministers in the court have no one to entrust, who can I expect to support the Han Dynasty for me? Ma Ri
Shi? Shi Sun Rui? Or Dong Cheng? "
"It doesn't matter who it is." The emperor didn't wait for Zhao Wen to answer, and said in a shocking tone: "Since I took office, although I have reset many systems based on the ancestral system, what I pay attention to is still 'flexible and reforming the disadvantages, and adapting to the times'.
Eight words. I will use everything that can revive the Han Dynasty, enable the people to live and work in peace and contentment, and can be useful for the present. Why do I care about the rules? Some rules are appropriate for the time and are beneficial to me, so I will use them; if they are not appropriate for the time, I will still abide by them.
What did he do?"
The emperor stopped writing, as if he had finally finished an article, and asked with deep meaning: "Sikong, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty!" Zhao Wen's expression showed surprise at first, and then deep shock. He couldn't bear the emperor's love: "Your Majesty, please think twice!"
It is now the fourth day after the earthquake. According to the past rules, Zhao Wen, as Sikong, should take the initiative to resign and take the blame for the emperor. But what is different from the past is that the emperor not only did not approve Zhao Wen's vocabulary, but also the court
Apart from a few pedantic Confucian scholars who were making insinuations, no other important person took the initiative to speak on this matter.
As a result, not only the intensity but also the impact of this earthquake were far less than the earthquake that deposed the predecessor, Sikong Shi Sun Rui, in October.
Everyone is pretending to be deaf and mute, as if the earthquake never happened.
Because this is not only a matter of Zhao Wen, but also a matter of the emperor.