Wang Anshi in the Millennium —— Changing officialdom into battlefield —— On Wang Anshi's political reform from the case of young crops

Zhang Chengzhong (Lecturer, History Department, Shanghai University)

202 1 is Wang Anshi's1000th birthday. For a thousand years, the controversy surrounding Wang Anshi seems to have never stopped. Is he a "great man in the world" or the culprit of "the disaster of Jingkang"? What kind of political legacy did he leave to future generations, and to what extent did it affect the historical process of China after the Song Dynasty? In order to clarify the above problems, the paper Private History specially launched the topic of "Wang Anshi in the Millennium", inviting many scholars of Song history to show Wang's true face from the dimensions of politics, literature and philosophy for readers.

Revolution is not a dinner party, nor is political reform.

During Wang Anshi's political reform movement in the Song Dynasty, major cases occurred one after another and were repeatedly banned. Zu Wuxuan, Zhao Shiju, Xia Zheng, Zhang Ruoji, Chen Shiru, Pan Kai, imperial academy, Wutaishi and Lv Jia asked questions ... One case after another, ministers were put into prison for trial, and branches and vines were everywhere, showing the fierce political struggle and the cruelty of power struggle.

Among the major cases during Zongshen's reign, Bozhou Miao juvenile prison occurred at the beginning of the implementation of the new law, and the cause was directly related to the new law. The "first offender" was Fu Bi, a veteran of the Three Dynasties, who was called the first major case of the new law. Knowing the whole story of the case, we can know the resistance encountered by the political reform and how to eliminate it, and then we can get a glimpse of the political atmosphere and historical trend at that time.

The silent prime minister

Fu Bi was a man of the hour in the history of the Northern Song Dynasty. As a boy, he is brilliant and outstanding. Fan Zhongyan praised his talent in Wang Zuo and presented his articles to Prime Minister Yan Shu for appreciation. Later, Fu Bi became Yan Shu's son-in-law.

At the beginning, Fu Bi defected to Liao. At that time, Song Jun was defeated in the Song and Xia Wars, and the Liao people seized the land of the Song Dynasty. Fu Bi was ordered at the critical moment. With extraordinary courage and wisdom, he sternly refused the request of the Liao country to cede territory, reached a peace agreement with the Liao country and became a world-famous diplomatic hero. In the third year of Li Qing, Fu Bi paid a visit to the deputy envoy of the Council, and together with Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu, he carried out the New Deal of Celebration, which was a pioneer of reform. During the years of He Zhi and Jiayou, he was worshipped by Renzong as the prime minister, and was known as the "true prime minister" at that time, and he was also called "as rich as an enemy" with another famous soldier, Han Qi.

Wang Anshi, the mayor of Fu Bi, is 17 years old. He appreciates Wang Anshi very much. He once recommended Wang Anshi as a bachelor of Hanlin, but Han Qi disagreed. Fu Bi asked: "With Wang Anshi's knowledge, articles and talents, what else can't be done?" In his letter to Fu Bi, Wang Anshi said: "Getting started is not easy, haste makes waste." Respect is beyond words.

In the second year of Xining (1069), 66-year-old Fu Bi was sworn in as assistant minister by the ambitious Song Shenzong the day before. Zongshen's purpose is obvious. He hoped that this noble veteran from all directions could come out to stand for Wang Anshi and pave the way for political reform, but it backfired.

Zongshen appointed Wang Anshi, hoping to make Qiang Bing a rich country through reform and then expand its territory. He asked about Fu Bi's national affairs, and Fu Bi bluntly said: "I hope the emperor will not talk about war for twenty years!"

Wang Anshi is a "materialist", who believes that "nothing is afraid of heaven", and disasters and differences are caused by heaven rather than human gains and losses. Hearing this, Fu Bi said, "One is afraid of heaven. What can you do if you are not afraid of heaven? "

The two people's ideas can be said to be diametrically opposed and incompatible. For Wang Anshi's platform, Fu Bi couldn't do it, but he was embarrassed to dismantle it directly. He said that he has a foot disease and often asks for leave from work, thanking the guests for staying at home.

Zongshen was disappointed that Fu Bi didn't go to work. In October of this year, Fu Bi was demoted as our envoy of Wuning Army and was sentenced as the secretariat of Bozhou, that is, he served as the local governor of Bozhou as an envoy and still enjoyed the treatment of prime minister. Fu Bi worked with Wang Anshi for nine months, which was very painful for him. The actual working days add up to no more than one month.

At the time of the strike, Fu Bi and Zongshen had a meaningful scene:

Zong Shen asked Fu Bi, "Who can take your place after you leave?" Fu Bi recommended Wen Yanbo. Zong Shen was silent for a long time and said, "Where is Wang Anshi?" Fu Bi was silent.

Fu Bi has mixed feelings for this young man whom he once valued very much. According to the report, before the strike, Fu Bi had "On Wang Anshi and Seeking Retreat", in which Wang Anshi was lambasted: between Anshi and Pingju, the mouth was high and the pen was high; When you have a bright future, you will manage and do business physically and mentally. The most important thing is to tell the story to our ancestors. The story was ridiculed at home and abroad, and I was the only one who was happy. Treat the Lord as a bully and his colleagues as nothing.

Autumn and Dan refer to Confucius, Duke Zhou, Guan, Shang refers to Guan and Shang Yang. This means that what Wang Anshi said and wrote was Confucian benevolence and morality, but what he thought and actually did was the hegemonic politics of Legalists. In Fu Bi's view, Wang Anshi was headstrong and arrogant, deceiving the emperor and playing with his colleagues. He is an unscrupulous, malicious and treacherous strongman.

What is Fu Bi in Wang Anshi's eyes? He said to Zongshen, What does your majesty think of Fu Bi? I only see him pandering to the world and pursuing fame and profit in everything. The world is at peace, and Fu Bi can buy people's hearts; If there is something in the world, it is absolutely impossible to turn the tide and help the dangerous building with his IQ strategy, and it is bound to miss the world events.

Wang Anshi showed no mercy to Fu Bi's evaluation. In his mouth, Fu Bi is a mediocre, vulgar and decadent person who only knows how to cherish his feathers.

The position of Prime Minister is not easy to sit. Fu Bi is naturally willing to leave this troublesome place, but his heart is not calm.

This case is clear.

The local administration in the Northern Song Dynasty was divided into three levels: states and counties. Bozhou belongs to Huainan Road, not too far from Kaifeng, the capital, and governs seven counties, namely, Qiaoxian, Chengfu, Mengcheng, Luoxian, Lu Yi, Yongcheng and Weizhen. After Fu Bi arrived in Bozhou, he stayed at home most of the time, studied Buddhism with Zen master, and occasionally handled government affairs.

The case of young crops in Bozhou occurred at the beginning of four years in Ning, JaeHee. Young crops law is the most important and controversial law in Wang Anshi's new law. It was promulgated in September 2002 in Xining, with agricultural loans as the main content. At this time, it has been one year since the young crops law was fully implemented. At that time, Evonne, deputy manager of Changping Department of Huainan Road, was touring the counties. When he passed Yongcheng County (now Shangqiu, Henan Province), someone stopped him from borrowing money from young crops. It turned out that Bozhou County was afraid to lend money to young crops because of Fu Bi's orders.

Wang Anshi was promoted to Changping Division, which is a competent institution established at the road level for the implementation of the new law. At the end of the second year of Xining, after the implementation of the Young Crop Law, Wang Anshi sent more than 40 young crop officials to various places. The official was promoted, and the adjutant was Guan Hook, all of whom were "young crop messengers". Most of these officials are junior, and some of them have never even been a magistrate, but as Wang Anshi said, they came under the orders of the imperial court and enjoyed the power to supervise counties.

Evonne, the messenger of young crops in Huainan Road, was born in Fengqiu, Kaifeng (now Fengqiu, Henan). His grandfather was a famous minister, Zhao He. His father Zhao Zongdao and Han Qi are both sons-in-law of Cui Li, assistant minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Han Qi is Evonne's uncle. According to people at that time, it was a typical "new teenager" (the "teenager" mentioned by Song people was relatively old and mature, roughly equivalent to the young adults mentioned today). As a candidate, he was promoted to Changping Division. Civil servants in Song Dynasty can be divided into three classes: elected officials, Beijing officials and court officials. The lowest candidate belongs to the "hardship" class in officialdom. Soon after, Evonne changed his official position and was appointed Zuo Lang.

After learning about this situation in Bozhou, Evonne felt that the situation was serious. He immediately rushed to Kaifeng and went to North Korea to meet Zongshen. Chen said the crime, and said to him, "He is an important official of the imperial court. He even abolished the new law, and the legal profession got off to an expensive start. You don't ask, how does the court order the world! "

Interestingly, according to historical records, when Zongshen heard Evonne's report, his reaction was "Hi"!

Zhang Hu, an admonition official, also said: "It is unforgivable for a minister to disobey the law, and the law should be implemented from the minister."

On February 5th, Zong Shen ordered Jianghuai Maritime Department to send officials to set up an investigation office (equivalent to a special court) to investigate the situation that Bozhou county officials prevented people from voluntarily applying for young crops loans, and initiated the trial procedure of the case.

According to the investigation, Fu Bi once blamed Mengcheng county officials for scattering young crops, punished county collectors, sent people to the counties to send letters, ordered them not to follow the documents of the promotion department, and signed Xu Gongyi to write letters to the counties, so that they could not follow the imperial edicts.

At that time, the pioneers of Li Qing's reform were all conservatives who opposed the new law, but Fu Bi's opposition was the most obvious. Although Han Qi went to court in Daming House and severely criticized the Young Crop Law, after the policy was decided, he turned to pursue it. Although Ouyang Xiu once stopped lending young crops money in Qingzhou, he also wrote to the court to explain the situation. Unlike Fu Bi in Bozhou, he ignored the imperial orders directly.

The decree is not state-owned, so why not? Zong Shen said to the minister, "Recently, most counties have not strictly implemented imperial edicts." Bozhou, a county, refused to distribute young crops' money and asked officials to question him. He even said,' Although there is a will of the imperial court, the "xianggong" won't let us borrow money, and there is nothing we can do. This is outrageous! "

Tang Yanbo added: "When ministers see that imperial edicts are inconvenient for the people, they naturally have to write them down and discuss them. How can they just shelve and not implement it? " Although he was the prime minister recommended by Fu Bi, he also accused Fu Bi of violating discipline.

This case involves a senior official like Fu Bi, and the trial process is unusual. All the coerced accomplices-Bozhou officials at all levels-were detained for interrogation, but the principal offender was not interrogated.

Fu Bi's attitude is clear: confess. He called three times and said he had confessed to all the charges. If the court wants to achieve the goal of subliming the world through this matter, it is enough to punish him alone.

In April, Deng Wan impeached and Bozhou signed a sentence for Xu, and sent a letter to Deng Wan to Bozhou Tukan, but only ordered him to sit behind the case. So he appeared for the fourth time, saying that Xu, Shi and others just carried out their own orders and took all the blame. Moreover, he said that Xu Heshi also opposed it, and he scolded them on the spot. Fu Bi has repeatedly stressed that this is his own "exclusive, and the situation is very clear".

Of course, Fu Bi also defended himself. He said that if he publicly ordered the counties not to implement it, it would be the new law of the court. If you lend young crops money according to the court decree, it will inevitably lead to the poor fleeing in the future, and the young crops will not be collected, and the county officials will also lose money together. This is a dilemma. Therefore, he first accepted the imperial edict, and then implemented it to show his respect for the imperial edict, and then secretly asked the county not to lend money to young crops immediately, so as to avoid the poor households fleeing in the future, and the county official lost money, killing two birds with one stone.

"Young crops, everybody, smart or stupid, all know that the longer the time, the deeper the harm, but the court doesn't know. This is really helpless! " Fu Bi said angrily. He claimed that he was willing to be severely punished, "although he died without regret" and hoped that others would be forgiven.

Fu Bi

Wang Anshi is not satisfied.

In the process of handling this case, few officials dare to intercede. Only Herry Liu, the newly appointed producer, wrote, "I heard that Bozhou local officials and related personnel have been detained and become a big prison, and people are worried", requesting to close the case as soon as possible. However, he dared not pardon Fu Bi. He just said, "The local officials in Bozhou, such as the chief bookkeeper and the county magistrate, are all accused of not distributing young crops. This was actually done by the former Prime Minister. Can these people control it? "

Herry Liu is considered to be the boldest remonstrator in Taiwan Province during this period, but he can only go so far. Because the case of young crops in Bozhou is very clear, the key lies in how determined the emperor is to deal with the former prime minister.

Zong Shen thinks that Bozhou young crops case is an opportunity to change the political atmosphere. He said to Wang Anshi, "For example, the case of Fu Bi was investigated before, but now it is reviewed. This kind of thing has been done a lot, and the attitude of officials has gradually changed. "

Wang Anshi thinks Zongshen's attitude is not tough enough. He said: "From what I have seen, it seems that this villain still refuses to turn over a new leaf. I think foolishly, if your majesty can really see the hypocrisy of ministers and control them with interests, who will dare to do evil? As long as people in the imperial court dare not do evil, the literati's atmosphere will change immediately. Where is it necessary to worry about lack of discipline? "

After more than four months of trial, the final verdict is: Fu Bi abdicated as an envoy and sentenced Ruzhou (now Ruzhou, Henan) with his left servant; A total of 18 county magistrates from seven counties, including Tang Yi, Xu, Shi and Yongcheng in Bozhou, were all replaced. Be eager for success, that is, recall, and you must leave at once.

After being demoted as an envoy, Fu Bi is still very tough. He will go to Ruzhou and say, "I am old now, and my vision is blurred. I have been accused of incompetence by the imperial court, and now I am a magistrate, and it is inevitable that I will abolish the imperial edict. I hope that all new legal documents will not be signed by ministers, but will be directly delivered to the court for execution. " He still showed an uncooperative attitude and soon became an official.

Later, when the money was exempted, Li, the magistrate of Henan Province, was very active and took the lead in implementing it in various States. Retire home, Li Yi and other households. Let him be with the rich. Fu Bi can no longer obstruct the new law, but also become the direct target of the new law.

This is the first time that the court put the young crops in Bozhou into prison to deal with the problem that the local area stopped lending money to the young crops. Although there have been similar situations before, Zongshen often did not delve into them. This time, not only Fu Bi was demoted, but also officials from seven counties in one state were punished, which was unprecedented in the past, indicating the firm determination of the imperial court to promote the young crops law. This is closely related to Wang Anshi's proposition.

Wang Anshi once advised Zongshen: "There is no difference between the imperial court exorcising evil spirits and killing thieves and bandits on the battlefield. There are many thieves and robbers, and the longer they stay in power, the more they need to be brave, strong and persistent. If you crusade much, you will naturally surrender. This is a fact. " In his view, in order to eradicate the dissidents in the new law, the court must fight a protracted war like killing the enemy on the battlefield, so as to achieve the purpose of "changing customs and legislating".

Daxing Prison is exactly how Wang Anshi eliminated rape. As early as during the reign of Emperor Renzong Jiayou, when Wang Anshi expounded his proposition of political reform in Wan Yan Shu, he put forward that "the crime is light and the punishment is aggravated". "The left and right rich people all follow their own inclinations, and there is one who is not handsome (that is, the one who is not smooth has nothing to do with appearance), and the addition begins from now on."

Fu Bi said that Wang Anshi was "in charge of the body and mind", and he really knew people and talked about the world. Wang Anshi was deeply impressed by Shang Yang's spirit of establishing trust and punishing the prince's teacher to establish prestige. In his poem Shang Yang, he wrote: "Today's people must be Shang Yang, and Shang Yang can make politics imperative." Wang Kan, Wang Anshi's son, often praised Shang Yang as a "hero". Shang Yang is the spiritual idol of Wang Anshi and his son.

Wang Anshi said to Zongshen, "Although Fu Bi was forced to surrender, he still lived a rich life. How can this shock treacherous court officials? " He also said, "In dealing with this case in Fu Bi, the rule of law was really not implemented. The gun was beheaded for disobeying orders, the worker was exiled for adultery, and Fu Bi was punished for both crimes, but he was only dismissed! " In his view, Fu Bi was indeed guilty, and his punishment was too light.

According to records, Wang Kan even said: "Cut off the heads of Han Qi and Fu Bi in downtown areas, and the new law will be implemented!" Some people think that this is Pei's joke, and Wang Anshi's son is also a refined person who has read many poems and books, so he won't release such cruel words. However, if we look at Wang Anshi's strong dissatisfaction with Fu Bi's lenient punishment, we will know that it is not surprising that Wang Pei said such a thing.

In the third year of Xining, Tang Yao, a small official, wrote: "Young crops are not good, so it is appropriate to behead one or two ministers who disagree." As a result, he was deeply appreciated by Zongshen and endowed with a literati background. He was appointed as the secretary of provincial orthography and Chongwen Academy Book. Wang Anshi also appreciated him and promoted him to suggestion. People who release such malicious words can be promoted quickly, which shows the political atmosphere at that time.

Aggressive teenagers

Veteran Fu Bi lost power and influence, and young official Zhao Jizhi was full of pride. First, the fairy gave me a red official uniform and a silver fish bag. Originally, according to the grade, you can only wear green official clothes, which is a special gift from the emperor. Not long after, he was promoted to Prince Zhongyun (an official in the imperial court, below five grades) and had the right to send him to prison, becoming a condescending official in the Song Dynasty. Less than two years after the political reform, he realized a gorgeous turn from "bitterness" to "coolness".

"Distribution right" is a new system widely implemented during Wang Anshi's political reform, mainly to solve the problem that new officials are too junior. Adding "power" before sending is junior, and adding "dispatch power" is junior, which can expand the selection scope of senior officials and promote junior officials with insufficient qualifications to key positions under the new law, so as to be young and promising.

Wang Anshi's implementation of the young crops law caused great controversy in the court. He drove many dissident ministers to the local area and wiped out the opposition forces above the imperial court, but various opposition forces appeared in the local area. At the local level, Wang Anshi relied on these newly promoted Changping officials. Most of them didn't disappoint Wang Anshi, and half of them later served as various transshipment ambassadors and kept in prison for a long time, becoming the backbone of the court's implementation of the new law.

For example, Li Yuanyu, the first extension officer of Chengdufu Road, performed very well. He was originally the magistrate of Yongchang County, Pengzhou, and he was very conscientious after being promoted. Three years later, Ning was promoted to right delivery and sent to Changping Prison to serve his sentence. At that time, Fan Chunren, Xie Jingchu, and Li Gao Qing, the Taoist supervisor of Chengdu Prefecture, held a negative attitude towards the implementation of the Young Crop Law. Li Yuanyu confronted them and seized the opportunity to accuse them of excessive debauchery, accompanied by geisha, especially Xie Jingchu and Li Gaoqing, who behaved badly. At that time, the court was rectifying the life style of officials, and Zongshen sent a letter to prison for trial. Xie Jingchu and Li Gaoqing were severely punished, and Fan Chunren was transferred.

Probably because the implementation of the new law was too tired, Li Yuanyu died in June of four years in Xining, becoming a martyr who died for the new law. Wang Anshi was very sorry and said to Zongshen, "Li Yuanyu fought Fan Chunren, Xie Jingchu, Li Gaoqing and others in Chengdu. Fan Chunren and others failed to make him yield, and most of their parties and parties were exposed by Li Yuanyu and dealt with by obstructing the new law. " At that time, the level of Li Yuanyu, according to the system, should not push this favor. God specially ordered a son to push this favor, ordered the eunuch to escort him back to his hometown for burial and gave him 300 silks.

In addition, Su Juan, the first messenger of young crops in Shaanxi Province, impeached Sima Guang, the ambassador of Yongxing Army, which was also a typical incident in which a new teenager tried to shake an old minister.

Herry Liu later impeached Evonne, saying that rewards and punishments were the emperor's means to control officials, while Evonne stole the emperor's authority. "Dancers worship the old and go to prison to chase officials." This is just Herry Liu's wishful thinking, and Evonne is just a pawn of the emperor.

The new law is an opportunity for young officials to be pawns or promoted to knighthood. Because of this, those "new teenagers" who have just been promoted, such as Evonne, Li Yuanyu and Su Juan, dare to attack those senior officials and local officials who are much older than themselves, and the result is often a blow. As a result, the power struggle in officialdom has obviously intensified.

Officialdom has become a battlefield, hunting for power and ideals. When the teenager stepped on the stage, the old minister gave way, the new door opened, and the authority of respecting the old landed. Wang Anshi's political reform movement, first of all, is a movement to update the official system and a great change in the bureaucratic system. The ambition and glory of the younger generation made the Song Dynasty imperial blood boil.

This can easily lead to a misunderstanding, that is, the struggle between the old and new parties is simply understood as the struggle between veteran ministers and young newcomers. In fact, many people who oppose the new law are young officials, such as Su Shi, Su Zhe and Herry Liu. Even those new party officials who actively participate in the new law will win favor.

The new law is a test for all bureaucrats. Some people choose to seize the opportunity, while others choose to stick to their own ideas. The reasons behind their personal choices vary widely, and there is no unified ultimate reason. In the final analysis, it's just a personal choice. Political reform is a movement and a wave, and the majority is bound to be caught by the wave.

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The era of political reform in the Northern Song Dynasty was also an era of struggle. Bozhou young crops case is one of the typical cases. It was through fierce struggle that the emperor's authority was promoted, government decrees were unblocked, and the policies of the new law were implemented. Wang Anshi took Shang Yang as an example and really achieved the goal of "enabling politics".

However, once officialdom becomes a battlefield, it is not easy to stop fighting. The interests of scholars are at stake, and the reconciliation of non-commissioned officers has become a luxury. It was not only the rule of God, but also the fierce power struggle in the last 60 years of the Northern Song Dynasty until the collapse of the Jingkang Dynasty.

It is worth mentioning that there are still many imitators of the modern reform thought of "starting from expensive". During the Reform Movement of 1898, Kang Youwei was summoned by Emperor Guangxu and met Rong Lu. Rong Hong asked: "The law of knowledge should be changed, but once it is completed in one hundred and twenty years, it can be suddenly changed?" Kang Youwei replied angrily: "Kill a few senior officials with one or two qualities, and the law will change."

Proofreading: Liu Wei