Loyalty and righteousness for thousands of years

Loyalty and justice for eternity

The word "loyalty" written in gold inscriptions and small seal scripts is composed of the combination of "中" and "心". The original meaning of the word is "respect". "Zhong" means impartiality, and "heart" means working wholeheartedly without slacking off, so keep your heart in the middle and do your best for the country and the nation, even if it harms your life. This is called Loyal.

In "Zengzi's Benevolent Filial Piety", it is said that loyalty (sincerity and respect) is the foundation of filial piety, and being filial to parents is the foundation of humanity. However, compared with being loyal to the country, "the filial piety of a son of man" can only be It is called "little filial piety". When loyalty and filial piety cannot be fulfilled at the same time, being loyal to the country is the true great filial piety. Therefore, it is said that filial piety but not loyalty is not what a filial son should have. Let us see how the ancients practiced the connotation of "loyalty".

Yue Wumu served the country with loyalty

Yue Fei was a well-known general in the Southern Song Dynasty. He once said: "Civil officials do not love money, but military officials are willing to die, and the world will be peaceful." When he was young, Yue Fei was a powerful man who could draw a heavy bow. Seeing his talent and loyalty, his father said to him: "You will be a man of great achievements in the future. You will be appointed by the king, but you may sacrifice for the country because of your loyalty." . ”

When Yue Fei was fifteen or sixteen, the Jin people from the north invaded the south. The people in power in the Song Dynasty were corrupt and incompetent, and they were retreating steadily. The country was at a critical moment of life and death. One day, his mother-in-law called Yue Fei to him and said, "Now that the country is in crisis, what are your plans?" Yue Fei replied: "Go to the front line to kill the enemy and serve the country with loyalty!" But at the same time, Yue Fei also hesitated that his mother had no one to take care of him. However, his mother-in-law said He said: "Since ancient times, it has been difficult to have both loyalty and filial piety." He advised Yue Fei to put the country first and not to miss his family.

Before Yue Fei was going to join the army, his mother wanted to tattoo the four characters "Serve the Country with Loyalty" on his back. Yue Fei unbuttoned his shirt and asked his mother to do the needlework. Mother-in-law asked: "Are you afraid of pain?" Yue Fei said: "If you are afraid of needles, how can you go to the front line to fight!" Mother-in-law first wrote on Yue Fei's back, and then pricked it with an embroidery needle. After the tattoo was done, the mother-in-law applied vinegar ink. From then on, the four characters "Serve the country with loyalty and loyalty" remained on Yue Fei's back forever. "Serve the country with loyalty and loyalty" is exactly what his mother-in-law expected of his son. The filial Yue Fei did not dare to forget his mother's teachings, and those four words became the creed that Yue Fei followed throughout his life.

Later, Yue Fei joined the army. Because he was good at military management and had strict military discipline, the "Yue Family Army" he led was the main force in the Southern Song Dynasty's resistance to the Jin Dynasty. The enemy often attacked the enemy at the sight of the "Yue Family Army" flag. Afraid of running away, there was a popular saying at that time: "It is easy to shake the mountains, but it is difficult to shake the Yue family's army!" It can be seen that Yue Fei's army was brave and good at fighting, and had extremely strong combat effectiveness. He won the battles one after another, which frightened the Jin people. Yue Fei's biggest wish is to restore the Central Plains. Soon, Jin general Wushu led his army to attack Changzhou, so King Kang sent Yue Fei to lead the army to kill the enemy and regain Jiankang. Yue Fei wrote a letter to the emperor requesting to revitalize the Han Dynasty, and the campaign against the Jin soldiers began. When the people of the Central Plains heard the news, they rushed to tell each other and cheered to celebrate.

However, the treacherous minister Qin Hui repeatedly slandered Emperor Gaozong and suggested negotiating peace with the Jin soldiers. So Gaozong began to obstruct Yue Fei's Northern Expedition in every possible way, and awarded him twelve gold medals in a row, which made Yue Fei burst into tears. Qin Hui believed that as long as Yue Fei survived, he would do his best to obstruct the peace negotiation, so he deliberately planned to put Yue Fei to death. In the end, he executed both Yue Fei and his son on "unfounded" charges. On December 29, the 11th year of Shaoxing, 39-year-old Yue Fei died unjustly in prison. It was not until the last years of Shaoxing that Cheng Hongtu, a student of the Imperial Academy, filed a lawsuit against Yue Fei for his injustice, and Song Xiaozong issued an edict to restore Yue Fei's official position and clear his name.

It was precisely because Yue Fei was ordered to lead the army that the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains failed to succeed. Therefore, some people criticize Yue Fei for failing to use the ancient adage "If a general is outside, the emperor's orders will not be accepted", which is "foolish loyalty". In fact, this criticism is not consistent with historical facts.

In 1127 AD, the Northern Song Dynasty died, and Kang Wang Zhao Gou ascended the throne in Yingtian Mansion and proclaimed himself emperor. However, Zhao Gou was passive in the Northern Expedition and adopted the policy of avoiding the war and moving south, and went south to "tour". When the twenty-five-year-old Yue Fei learned the news, he ignored his low official position and wrote thousands of words to Zhao Gou, Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty. ": "Your Majesty has ascended to the great treasure, and has a master of the country, and has made plans to defeat the enemy.

I hope that your Majesty will take advantage of the fact that the enemy's lair is not yet secured and personally lead the six armies to cross northward, so that the generals and soldiers can regain their strength and the Central Plains can be restored. "However, his loyalty was only exchanged for the criticism that "a minor minister has overstepped his duties and is not what he should say."

In 1138 AD, Emperor Gaozong sent Qin Hui to negotiate peace with the Jin army in order to "submit himself and seek peace." Yue Fei expressed firm opposition to the peace talks. He said to Gaozong: "The Yi and Di cannot be trusted, and reconciliation cannot be relied on. If the prime minister is not interested in the country, he will be ridiculed by future generations." "Gaozong disagreed.

In May 1140 AD, the Jin Kingdom tore up the peace treaty, and Marshal Wu Shu led an army of 100,000 to the south. Shunchang Prefecture was besieged and was in danger. So Yue Fei was ordered to raise troops and advance into the Central Plains. Cooperating with various armies of the Southern Song Dynasty, they relieved the siege of Shunchang and defeated the Jin army in Zhuxian Town, making the Jin army invincible and creating an excellent opportunity to regain the Central Plains. However, at this moment, Gaozong, who had always advocated kneeling down to negotiate peace, again. He quickly sent Sinong Shaoqing Li Ruoxu to Ezhou and conveyed the order to Yue Fei that "the troops should not be moved lightly and declare the troops". In the face of a good situation, but suddenly withdrawing the troops, wouldn't Yue Fei think this was a lost opportunity? Li Ruoxu was deeply moved by Yue Fei's patriotism and loyalty regardless of personal interests, so he resolutely took on the crime of subverting the imperial edict. In order to force Yue Fei to lead his army, Li Ruoxu also used vicious methods to draw fire from the bottom of the cauldron. , ordered other troops to retreat. As a result, Yue Fei's army was so angry that he even wrote "Zha Zi" and other memorials, asking the neighboring troops not to retreat, but to advance together and take advantage of the opportunity. They wrote an impassioned "Edict to Stop the Class Master", hoping that Gaozong could take back his life. However, Gaozong and Qin Hui were afraid that once Yue Fei crossed the river and went north, it would be more difficult to control him, so they really came to "go straight to Huanglong Mansion" to welcome Qin back. Zong, where would Gaozong be placed at that time? Naturally, he ignored Yue Fei's memorial. In order to avoid the danger of annihilation of the Yue family army, and to save the opportunity of the future Northern Expedition, Yue Fei had to be ordered to lead the army.

The facts fully prove that Yue Fei's patriotism of resisting the Jin Dynasty and opposing compromise and surrender always ran through his actions. , always adhered to the correct policy of resisting Jin and restoring the country. When there was a conflict between "loyalty to the emperor" and "patriotism", he always put national interests first without hesitation and put "patriotism" in the supreme position; if he is said to be loyal. , he was loyal to the country first. This is the fundamental reason why Gaozong finally killed Yue Fei.

Yue Fei's loyalty will last forever. As a model of patriotism, he will always be worthy of our respect.

"Loyalty" is one of the important norms of feudal ethics. Rulers always want to confuse the connotation of loyalty to the emperor with patriotism, hoping that their subjects will be willing to rule for them. Many people in Chinese history seem to be disloyal to the emperor, but in fact they are not. There are many loyal ministers who serve the country and the people, and Wei Zheng can be called their representative.

Wei Zheng is loyal to the country but not loyal to the emperor

Wei Zheng (580-643), named Xuancheng, Guantao. His life is quite legendary. "Old Book of Tang·Biography of Wei Zheng" says that he was "lonely and poor when he was young", but "he had great ambitions and had no career, and he became a Taoist priest". He was a man who read extensively in classics and was calm and thoughtful.

When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty became immoral and the heroes of the world rose up to rebel against the Sui Dynasty, Wei Zheng first participated in the uprising of Yuan Bao Bao. He was a soldier, but felt that he could not see the general trend of the world clearly and felt at a loss, so he became a Taoist priest. Later, Li Mi, the leader of another rebel army, the Wagang Army, appreciated him very much and sent someone to invite Wei Zheng to take charge of the military's documents. At this time, Wei Zheng was already thirty-eight years old.

In Li Mi's army, Wei Zheng's status was very low. He saw many shortcomings in the army and took the initiative to give advice, but Li Mi did not accept it. Li Mi was defeated and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and he followed Li Mi into Chang'an. Later, Li Mi was unwilling to accept it and raised troops to oppose Li Yuan. He was soon defeated and killed.

Wei Zheng believed that Li Tang's regime was more promising, so he asked Li Yuan to recruit Li Mi's old troops, and he succeeded. After obtaining Li Yuan's consent, Wei Zheng buried Li Mi with the rites of a king, and wrote an article comparing Li Mi to Xiang Yu who failed in Gaixia, meaning that although Li Mi failed, he was still a great hero.

This jade seal was later often referred to as the "Jade Seal of the Nation".

Bian He did not take this piece of jade as his own, and even had his feet cut off and had to offer the treasure. Bian He did not cry for himself but for the jade, which was not recognized by the emperor, and his story was spread accordingly. Throughout the ages, it is not just because he presented a piece of jade, but the most important thing is Bian He's loyal and sincere heart for the country and the people, which is the most precious.

Loyalty to the country and the people is not only a person’s ambition, but also a moral code of conduct that runs through everyone’s social relationships. Whether one is loyal, filial, and loyal to relatives and friends is always testing everyone. A person's moral standard.

Loyal Servant Aji

In the Ming Dynasty, a family named Xu in Chun'an (in today's Zhejiang Province) had a servant named Aji. When several brothers of the Xu family separated, the eldest brother was given a horse, the second brother was given two cows, and the third brother's widowed daughter-in-law also had two sons and three daughters, but only the old servant Aji, who was over fifty years old, was given. .

The widow of the third family cried and said: "Horses can ride and oxen can plow the land, but Aji is over fifty years old and can't even walk steadily. He still has to eat my food. Alas, I What a bad luck!"

When Ah Ji heard this, he sighed: "Master, are you saying that I am not as good as a cow or a horse? Don't be sad, I will help you plan your livelihood."

As a result, Ah Ji decided to plan his livelihood to prove his worth. Seeing that he was honest and hard-working, the widow sold all her jewelry and got twelve taels of silver, which she gave to Ah Ji for business.

Aji used these as capital and went into the mountains to sell raw lacquer. After a year, he made three times the money, so he said to the widow: "You can be carefree now, rich man." The day will come soon." After more than ten years, Ah Ji's wealth for his master's family reached tens of thousands of taels, and he also arranged marriages for his three daughters and two sons. Each wedding cost a thousand taels of silver. After that, he invited teachers to teach the master's two sons, and paid money to let the master's two sons become eunuch students. The widow's family also became the richest family in the area. But Ah Ji's wife and only son were both wearing tattered clothes that could only cover their bodies.

A few days later, Ah Ji fell ill. Before he died, he said to the widow: "I have repaid you like a cow and a horse." As he said this, he took out two sheets from the pillow. The paper divided all the property into two equal parts and said: "Leave these two properties to your two sons, and they can keep them from generation to generation." After saying this, Ah Ji died.

Some of the descendants of the Xu family suspected that Ah Ji was hiding property, so they secretly opened his cabinet. They found that there was not even an inch of thread or a grain of rice in the cabinet, and they couldn't help but feel ashamed. In order to repay Ah Ji's loyalty, they treated Ah Ji's descendants particularly favorably.

In a modern society where materialism prevails, how to choose between loyalty and lies and fraud, and which way the moral balance tilts, is a test of everyone's soul. As for us, we don’t have to chant slogans of serving the country and the people. As long as we always put the interests of the country, nation and people first and fulfill our responsibilities with heart, we are practicing the connotation of "loyalty".