Chapter 779 The Taoist Arts of Kings and Ministers
In the past forty years, our country and our country have spread over three thousand miles of mountains and rivers.
Once he became a captive, his waist was sunken and his temples were languid. On the day of his hasty farewell to the temple, the temple still played farewell songs and shed tears to the palace concubines.
——Excerpt from "Broken Array·Family and Country in Forty Years" by Li Yu (Southern Tang Dynasty)
…
Guo Ziyi led a mixed army of 70,000 Hu and Han troops to attack Fan Yang and wipe out Hebei. However, the eunuch Yu Chaoen sabotaged and blocked his plan, so he could not succeed.
A few days later, Huang Zhen, the commander of the Chang'an branch of the Sichuan Gang, sent intelligence, recording in detail how Yu Chaoen took advantage of the situation step by step, and finally made Suzong change his mind.
Bai Fu finished reading the military newspaper and sighed: "When I was a boy studying, my master and Taifu Xu loved to tell me historical allusions. When I read history books, I always read the people and events in the books as stories, and I always deplore the emperors and generals. The prime ministers made a big mistake by not taking the unruly advice.
However, after living for a long time and experiencing more, I discovered that historical books such as "Spring and Autumn", "Historical Records", and "Hanshu" are not only historical books, but also prophetic books. Many incredible past events have happened over and over again. Repeat it all over again.”
The scholar also sighed: "When His Majesty Lingwu succeeded to the throne, although his title was not correct, he worked hard and worked hard to govern. He was delighted when he heard about it, and he seemed to be reviving the Ming Dynasty. Why is it that today, when the situation is great, his loyal words are particularly offensive? "
Bai Fu said: "I think that human nature is to like to hear praise and reject criticism, and the so-called restraint of nature, which makes you happy when you hear it, is either because you are ambitious and can endure it, such as Cao Cao and Sima Yi; or because you have no choice but to endure it, such as Liu Bang, Liu Bei.
His Majesty Lingwu has ascended the throne, and the civil and military forces of the entire dynasty are all grass-roots teams. The military situation is in danger, and every day is like walking on the edge of a cliff. One wrong step may plunge the Tang Dynasty into an irreversible situation. At this time, your Majesty will of course listen with an open mind. All criticisms should be corrected if they are found, and encouraged if they are not.
After regaining the two capitals, especially after Xuanzong officially issued an edict to abdicate, His Majesty sat firmly on the throne, and his mentality naturally changed.
Although Shi Siming conspired to rebel again, the mastermind An Lushan is dead, and the overall situation of countering the rebellion has been decided. As long as the Tang army does not make a big mistake, it is only a matter of time before the rebels are annihilated. Your Majesty is already pampered and unwilling to listen to all kinds of annoying objections about trivial matters. Advice.
On the other hand, in His Majesty's position, he is faced with countless memorials submitted by Yan Zhenqing and Zhang Hao. Various opinions come in one after another, and it is too numerous to listen to.
If your Majesty is very open-minded and hands-on, then even if you have three heads and six arms, you will still be busy.
A common decision-making strategy is to only listen to the opinions of one or two close advisors and then act arbitrarily.
Even if many decisions are wrong, it doesn't matter, because firstly, there are more and more important decisions that are right; secondly, the Tang Dynasty is vast and rich in resources, and the family has a strong foundation. Even if many wrong decisions cause losses, it can still rely on the people and time to Rest and recover slowly.
When a king governs a country, he or she is just like a banker gambling. They place bets on the side of high probability. As long as the time is long enough, the chances of winning are always greater.
This truth is not entirely my opinion, but the understanding of Mr. Li Mi. It was precisely because Mr. Li Mi noticed the change in His Majesty's mentality in time that he bid farewell to His Majesty and retired to Hengshan after regaining Chang'an.
Mr. Li Mi comes and leaves with ease, because he is not tied down by fame and wealth. In his eyes, freedom is the most precious thing in life.
People in the world are accustomed to use power, status, and wealth to evaluate a person's success, but Mr. Li Mi regards fame and wealth as dirt.
Mr. Li Mi once said to me that the world is treacherous and ever-changing, and fame, fortune, and wealth are as fleeting as clouds of smoke and ever-changing. When pursuing fame and fortune, one must devote all his energy to pursuing fame and fortune, worrying about gains and losses, and staying awake at night. In order to reach a higher level in his official career, he not only knows how to
If you abandon kindness, you will even be swayed by desire, destroy your humanity, lose your life, and bring disaster to your descendants!
Mr. Li Mi is indeed a Taoist figure, free and easy. It’s a pity that there are not many real celebrities like Mr. Li Mi in today’s world.”
Tang Kui read the military report and said: "It would be fine if Yu Chaoen really had a good plan to impress His Majesty. I read this report that he used to persuade His Majesty. It is full of disgusting words of flattery.
.I really don’t understand why His Majesty can’t see through it?”
Bai Fu turned the coins in his hand, and the coins flew up and down on his fingertips, moving very quickly.
Bai Fu said calmly: "Third brother, because you are just an ordinary official of the Tang Dynasty now, you won't bother too much when others compliment you. But if you one day become a powerful person, you can help people become rich and powerful with just a few words."
Life or death, then there will be countless wise and capable ministers and officials racking their brains to please you.
Eunuchs and other eunuchs are best at observing words and emotions, and both Li Fuguo and Yu Chaoen are masters at this.
Once you accept the flattery of top masters, adapt to it, take it calmly, and become accustomed to it, then don't say any harsh words of advice. If someone's words of compliment to you are not warm enough or not extreme enough, you will find that person's words harsh.
, hateful in appearance, and not loyal enough.
From the perspective of onlookers, we always feel that the compliments of jesters and eunuchs are too excessive and too disgusting, so your majesty should be aware of everything and not be blinded by flattery.
But this is just our wishful thinking, because we are not in the Golden Palace where hundreds of officials are kneeling, we are not sitting in that arrogant position, and we are not holding the scepter of life and death."
After Tang Kui listened, he remained silent for a long time. The scholar was curious and asked the reason.
Tang Kui sighed and said: "How can the prince and general Xiang Ning have the guts?! Nowadays, we are living in troubled times, and everything is possible.
Brother Fu, if one day you wear a yellow robe, will you become such a loner? We won't even be brothers anymore."
Bai Fu laughed heartily, patted Tang Kui on the shoulder and said, "Third brother, don't worry, I know myself, I can't be like Cao Cao and Sima Yi.
When I was in Yuzhou, by chance, I met an old man who recognized my master. She commented on my master, saying that my master was both wise and brave, unparalleled in the world. His only weakness was that he was a scholar from a poor family and was not ruthless enough.
I didn't think so at the time and even asked a few questions.
The old man said that being a hero in troubled times is destined by God.
The old man took Zhang Liang and Liu Bang as an example. Liu Bang was born in the grassroots, and Zhang Liang's family had been close to each other for five generations. Their identities were very different. However, Zhang Liang personally called Liu Bang "Pei Gong's Heavenly Grant" and was willing to assist Liu Bang in achieving hegemony.
Old people say that scholars and scholars are at best the seeds of prime ministers, while scoundrels are the embryos of emperors.
Therefore, although scholars like us are full of knowledge, we are not made to be heroes. Only by assisting the Ming Dynasty in governing the country and bringing peace to the world can we make a difference."
The scholar said: "After reading the military report, I have one thing that I don't understand. Guo Linggong was so insulted by Yu Chao'en. He should fight for it both in public and private matters. Why did he remain silent and let Yu Chao'en take charge of politics?"
Bai Fu pondered for a moment and said: "I'm afraid this is where Guo Linggong excels. In the battle of Yecheng, Yu Chaoen, as an observer of the army, gave instructions to the nine military governors, which led to the defeat of Yecheng.
After the defeat in Yecheng, Guo Linggong did not mention Yu Chaoen's fault at all, but shouldered the blame for the defeat on his own shoulders. This was not only a noble mind, but also the wisdom of court survival.
The Art of War says: "There are five dangers in general: death is inevitable and can be killed; life is inevitable and can be captured; anger can be insulted; honesty can be humiliated; loving the people can be annoying. All these five are to be passed over.
, it is also a disaster when using troops. To overthrow the army and kill the generals, there will be five dangers, so we must pay attention to them.'
Cao Cao interpreted the sentence "A person who is angry can be insulted" to mean "A person who is anxious can be insulted by anger."
To be a general, your character must be prudent, solid, and steady. If you are impatient, irritable, and narrow-minded, your enemies will take advantage of your character weaknesses to anger you, insult you, and lure you into taking the bait.
Throughout history, the reason why traitors are able to bring down loyal ministers is often because they can always use some despicable means to arouse the anger and extreme behavior of loyal ministers. These extreme behaviors are often used by traitors to show their self-respect as a supporter of the army.
, having a big tail, having evil intentions, and other treasonous labels, which eventually aroused the emperor's suspicion and vigilance towards his loyal ministers.
If my prediction is correct, Yu Chaoen's obstruction of Guo Linggong's control of the army was only the first step. He was waiting for Guo Linggong to become furious, roar at the court, and make a big mistake. In this way, he could not only destroy Peng Yuan
Countermeasures' can also get rid of Guo Linggong, a serious problem. This is his serial plan.
It's a pity that his opponent is Guo Linggong. Guo Linggong is well versed in the art of war and is very resourceful, so how could he not see through his clumsy plan.
The imperial court dismissed him from office again, but Guo Linggong just laughed and said nothing, doing whatever he had to do without any regrets.
This kind of indifference to the world is like using softness to overcome strength in martial arts, allowing Yu Chaoen to hit the empty space with a punch. As long as Guo Linggong "falls without dying", he will definitely find the opportunity to counterattack, regain military power, eradicate Xiaoxiao, and reorganize
Rivers and mountains.
Compared with those who stick to the pillars in front of the palace and give advice, loyal ministers who know that they cannot do anything but do it, wait for the right time and follow the trend, are the first-class people in the world!
In the past forty years, our country has spanned three thousand miles of mountains and rivers. Phoenix pavilions and dragon towers reach the sky, and jade trees and branches are like tobacco. How many times have we ever seen war?
Once he became a captive, his waist was sunken and his temples were languid. On the day of his hasty farewell to the temple, the temple still played farewell songs and shed tears to the palace concubines.
——"Broken Array·Family and Country in Forty Years" Li Yu (Southern Tang Dynasty)