Tang Dynasty poet Zhang tells stories

Zhang Shuo was a writer, poet, and politician in the Tang Dynasty. Here are some stories about Zhang Shuo, let’s take a look!

No perjury

< p> When Zhang Shuo entered the court as an official, Wu Zetian's two favorite brothers Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi had great power in the court and the public, and most of them were involved in illegal activities. Among the Manchu officials, only Wei Yuanzhong, the famous tough guy prime minister, was not afraid of their power. The Zhang brothers hated Wei Yuanzhong so much that they tried every possible means to get rid of him. They falsely accused Wei Yuanzhong in front of the Queen Mother, saying that Wei Yuanzhong was talking behind her back: The Queen Mother is old, so it is better to rely on the Prince. Wu Zetian became angry when she heard this, and sent Wei Yuanzhong to prison, preparing to interrogate him personally, and asked Zhang Changzong and the others to expose him face to face.

Zhang Changzong was afraid that he could not defend Wei Yuanzhong, so he secretly went to Wei Yuanzhong's subordinate Zhang Yao and asked Zhang Yuan to give false testimony, and promised that as long as Zhang Yuan agreed, he would be promoted in the future.

The next day, Wu Zetian went to court, summoned the prince and prime ministers, and asked Zhang Changzong and Wei Yuanzhong to confront each other. Wei Yuanzhong refused to admit this. The two argued for a long time, but to no avail. Zhang Changzong said: "Zhang Shuo heard Wei Yuanzhong say these things with his own ears. You can ask him to testify." Wu Zetian immediately ordered Zhang Shuo to enter the palace, and Zhang Shuo entered the court. Wu Zetian asked him, "Have you heard what Wei Yuanzhong said about slandering the court?" As soon as Wei Yuanzhong saw Zhang Shuo coming in, he shouted loudly and said, "Zhang Shuo, do you want to frame someone with Zhang Changzong?" Zhang said back. He turned around and snorted and said: "Wei Gong is in vain for being the prime minister. He said such unreasonable words." When Zhang Changzong saw that what Zhang said was wrong, he urged him from the side and said, "Don't worry about him. Come and testify." Zhang said to Wu Zetian: "Please see, in front of Your Majesty, he still coerced me like this. You can imagine how he was acting arrogantly outside the palace. Now I can't tell the truth, I really didn't listen. Wei Yuanzhong said something against His Majesty, but Zhang Changzong forced me to give false testimony."

Wu Zetian was a smart person. After listening to Zhang's answer, she knew that Wei Yuanzhong was indeed unjust, but she did not want Zhang Changzong and the others to do so. When he couldn't get up the steps, he scolded Zhang Shuo and said, "You are such a capricious villain." After saying that, he ordered his attendants to arrest Zhang Shuo. Later, Wu Zetian sent people to interrogate Zhang Shuo again. Zhang Shuoheng made up his mind and insisted that he had not heard Wei Yuanzhong say anything about treason. Therefore, Zhang Shuo gained a high reputation among the court ministers.

Cutting suspicions to protect the prince

In the last years of Wu Zetian, coups occurred repeatedly in the Tang Dynasty. After Ruizhong Li Dan ascended the throne, the political situation was still unstable and a coup crisis lurked. Princess Taiping had many followers, including seven prime ministers, five of them, and most of the ministers of civil and military affairs were attached to her, seriously threatening the status of Prince Li Longji. Legend has it that one day during the reign of Ruizong Jingyun, the emperor said to his ministers in the morning: "Recently, a magician predicted that an army would attack the palace within five days. What do you think we should do?" When the ministers heard this, they were shocked and asked the emperor to investigate the matter. things and be vigilant. Zhang said to the class: "I think this is a slander spread by some people. They mainly want to frame the prince. If the emperor uses the prince to supervise the country, handle the government affairs, and strengthen the prince's real power status, then the status of monarch and minister will be fixed." , It will help stabilize people's hearts and the political situation. The evil villains will not have the courage to do harm anymore, so that no one will spread the rumors."

Zhang Shuo's suggestion was approved by other ministers. , Emperor Ruizong immediately issued an edict that Prince Li Longji would supervise the country's governance from that day forward, thus laying the foundation for the consolidation of Prince Li Longji's status.

Yao Chong plotted against Zhang Shuo

Yao Chong was a famous virtuous prime minister in the early years of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. He was buried in Luoyang after his death. Yao Chong and Zhang Shuo once served as prime ministers in the court together, but the two of them There are many political differences between them, so the gap is deep.

Legend has it that when Yao Chong was critically ill, he said to his sons who were guarding him: "Zhang said that the Prime Minister and I have different political views, but he has outstanding talents and excellent articles. After my death, I hope to let him Come and write an epitaph for me. We don't have a good relationship, but Prime Minister Zhang always likes to show off, and he especially likes gorgeous clothes and precious treasures. After I die, he will definitely come to express his condolences to me, and I will collect all my valuables. Put the things in front of the bed tent. Zhang said that if you don't look at them, there is no hope for you; if he pays attention to these things, give him his favorite toys and take the opportunity to ask him to write an epitaph for me. , and sent it to the emperor for review. Prime Minister Zhang is often slower than me in thinking about problems, and will definitely regret it after a few days.

If he takes back the inscription, tell him that the emperor has agreed and show him the carved stone. "

After Yao Chong's death, Zhang Shuo came as expected. Zhang Shuo saw the clothes and toys displayed by the Yao family, and his eyes flashed with lust, and he looked at them three or four times. The Yao family did as Yao Chong ordered. As expected, Zhang Shuo accepted the gift and wrote a memorial article describing Yao Chong's life and praising Yao Chong's political achievements. Zhang Shuo was a famous poet at that time, so as soon as the article was published, it was praised by everyone. It was called a masterpiece. The Yao family quickly presented it to the emperor and engraved it on the stone. A few days later, Zhang said that he sent someone to ask for the manuscript, saying that the writing was not thorough enough and wanted to revise it. The person who led him saw the engraved stone tablet and told the emperor that he had seen and approved it. The servant told Zhang that Zhang was very remorseful and said, stroking his chest: "The dead Yao Chong can still plot against the living Zhang, and I just said today." I know my talents are not as good as his!"