Chu Kuangge laughed and said, "How can you not deserve this toast from us? Not to mention anything else, just the fact that you can refuse General Xue's invitation and accompany us here to drink wine, this kind of behavior is something that not many people can do. Frankly speaking, if the person they invited was me, I can't guarantee that I wouldn't refuse the banquet here and go to their appointment! "
Li Dayin said curiously, "What are you talking about, Big Brother?"
Chu Kuangge told him about Yang Fan's refusal to meet with Xue Na and the others. Li Dayin was surprised and said, "How many people have tried their best to get the approval of this group of people and become one of them? Such a rare opportunity, you … you actually refused?"
Wei Yong also showed a slightly surprised and admiring expression and said, "Xue Na is the son of our Tang dynasty's famous general Xue Rengui. Do you know how many generals in our Tang dynasty army came from General Xue? Li Zhan is the son of the former Prime Minister Li Yifu. Although Li Yifu has passed away, he was the Minister of Personnel for many years. Who knows how many officials were promoted by him and he is also a big tree with deep roots in the court. Ye Huli is the son-in-law of the Feather Wood Guard General Li Duozuo. Di Guangyuan is the son of Di Renjie. Wang Tongjiao is the direct descendant of the Wang family of Taiyuan! Brother Yang, do you know that if you can be recognized and accepted by them, your future will be limitless? "
Yang Fan said helplessly, "We are drinking happily, why are we talking about this again? Brothers don't have a noble family to rely on, but aren't they still outstanding? "
Lu Yan put down her wine cup and sighed, "Brother Yang, you are too naive! Yes, we do have some official positions in the army, but do you know how much more effort we have to put in than others? With the same military achievements, if we had their background, how could we only be a brigade commander now? "
These words hit the hearts of these people, and they couldn't help but nod and sigh.
Li Dayin said, "Yes! They have a good father, so it is easier for them to get promoted than us. We are all ordinary people, it is not easy to get ahead. If I, Li Dayin, had such a background, I wouldn't have been bullied by my superiors, and I wouldn't have implicated Brother Chu … "
He paused for a moment and glanced at Wei Yong. Pointing at him, he said with a smile, "However, if you want to talk about their backgrounds, you can't generalize them. Hehe! We are commoners, but Wei San is not. Wei San is also from a wealthy family, and his family background is not lower than those people. Unfortunately, his family background has become his burden. Otherwise, based on his military service in quelling Ji Ren Bai Tieyu's rebellion, and his great merit in following General Cheng Wuting in counterattacking the Turks, where he led five hundred soldiers against three thousand elite cavalry, he would at least have been promoted to Lang Jiang. "
Yang Fan was surprised and asked, "Oh? May I know Third Brother Wei's background? "
Wei Yong couldn't stop him in time, and Li Dayin's big mouth had already spoken. Now that he heard Yang Fan's question, he hesitated for a moment, then laughed and said, "I am from Julu, my ancestor is the Duke of Wei, my name is Zheng!"
Yang Fan was taken aback and said respectfully, "So Third Brother Wei is the descendant of the Duke of Zheng? My apologies, my apologies! "
The Duke of Zheng was Wei Zheng, so why was Wei Yong's descendant an obstacle to his promotion? This was due to the outstanding example of a monarch and minister: Li Shimin and Wei Zheng. Li Shimin and Wei Zheng were the model of a monarch and minister in the history books, but was their relationship as pure as the history books made it out to be?
In fact, it was not.
Wei Zheng was talented, but Li Shimin had many talented subordinates under him. At the very least, Wei Zheng could not be compared to Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui. After Li Shimin started the coup of Xuanwu Gate, killed his brothers, and seized the throne, why did he try so hard to recruit him? The main reason was political necessity.
At that time, the Tang dynasty was not stable both inside and outside the country. Liang Shidu and other separatist forces had not been completely eradicated, and the remnants of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji's faction were scattered everywhere. The old Sui officials who had pledged allegiance to the Tang dynasty and various rebel forces were still unsettled, and the Turkic army was eyeing them covetously. At that time, the Tang dynasty could not fall into chaos. He had to win over the support of all forces.
What was the biggest force in the Tang dynasty at that time? The aristocrats of Shandong (aristocratic families east of Mount Taihang). The aristocrats of Shandong were too powerful. Li Shimin had to use them and guard against them at the same time. Who could keep them in check? The heroes of Shandong, of course. The heroes of Shandong were the leaders of the rebel army in Shandong during the chaos at the end of the Sui dynasty. After they surrendered to the Tang dynasty, they became the new landlords of Shandong.
Wei Zheng was the leader of the rebel army who participated in the Wagang Village Uprising and was one of the heroes of Shandong. He was the key figure in Li Shimin's subjugation of the heroes of Shandong. Now that he was the head of Li Jiancheng's Eastern Palace's strategist, he was the best candidate to contact the various forces. Li Shimin would never kill such a person.
However, although Li Shimin had achieved his goal of appeasing the aristocrats of Shandong, winning over the heroes of Shandong, and taking over Li Jiancheng's Eastern Palace, he had also caused some obstacles in other aspects.
For example, when Li Shimin wanted to take back the four commanderies of Liaodong and Han that had been occupied by Goguryeo during the civil strife in the Central Plains, he was vehemently opposed by Wei Zheng. Once a war broke out, Shandong would be the first to bear the brunt of it. The corvee and taxes there would inevitably be increased, affecting the interests of the entire Shandong region. The common people of Shandong hoped that the world would have less corvee and less corvee. Because the fall of the Sui dynasty was closely related to the heavy corvee in Shandong, the Shandong group had suffered greatly and was naturally sensitive to such matters. Li Shimin gave up on attacking Goguryeo. Rather than saying that he had been persuaded by Wei Zheng, it was more because he had seen the strong opposition of the entire Shandong group.
Later, when Li Shimin was preparing to ascend Mount Tai to perform the ceremony, Wei Zheng was adamantly against it, saying that it was a waste of manpower and money. Although it was a waste of manpower and money, Wei Zheng's opposition had a deeper political reason. The Shandong group did not want the Guanlong group, represented by the emperor, to take advantage of the ceremony to infiltrate and encroach on Shandong.
Li Shimin was well aware of the power behind Wei Zheng. He had just ascended the throne and the country was not yet at peace, so he could not confront this powerful force head-on. Therefore, he had no choice but to go against his will and accept Wei Zheng's' direct remonstrations'. But … while Li Shimin was' enduring to achieve enlightenment ', the anger in his heart continued to accumulate.
On the surface, the two of them continued to put on a political show of 'a wise ruler and a virtuous minister' in front of the world. Ten years after Li Shimin became the emperor, the world gradually stabilized, and his power grew stronger. Wei Zheng was no longer of much use to him, so he was chased away by Li Shimin to revise the history books. At the same time, he began to weaken the Shandong group.
After Wei Zheng's death, Li Shimin became in-laws with Li Shimin. This political show, which benefited both Li Shimin and Wei Zheng, could have come to a perfect end. Unexpectedly, two incidents happened one after another, both of which were related to Wei Zheng. Li Shimin's suppressed anger finally exploded.
First, Du Zhenglun and Hou Junji, who were highly recommended by Wei Zheng, met with misfortune one after another. One was demoted, and the other was killed for treason. Li Shimin began to suspect whether Wei Zheng's recommendation of these two people was out of the public interest. Then, to his surprise, he heard another incident that drove him to the limits of his tolerance.
It turned out that every time Wei Zheng admonished the emperor, he would make a copy of his memorial and send it to Chu Suiliang, who was personally recommended by him. Li Shimin had killed his brothers and forced his father to abdicate the throne. This had always been a sore point for him. He interfered with the revision of the history books, tampered with the history books, and repeatedly asked the historian what was written in the daily notes. He even demanded to see the daily notes for himself before he could be at ease. This was all because of his sense of moral crisis.
Now, he heard that Wei Zheng was doing such a thing. What was Wei Zheng trying to do? Did he want to leave a good name in the annals of history and leave it to me? Ma Zhou was also famous for his straightforward admonitions. Before his death, he ordered his family to destroy all the manuscripts that advised Li Shimin to hide the wrongs of the emperor. This was the complete opposite of Wei Zheng's approach. It was obvious which of the two liked to put on a show.
The suppressed anger in Li Shimin's heart finally erupted like a volcano! The furious Li Shimin lifted his hammer and smashed Wei Zheng's tombstone with his own hands. Naturally, the marriage between Wei Zheng and Wei Zheng was ruined.
In the 18th year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin's first expedition to Gaoli failed. Hence, he rebuilt Wei Zheng's tombstone and consoled Wei Zheng's family. However, it was just another political show to repair his reputation and rebuild his image as a courtier. In the end, the marriage with the Wei family was never mentioned again. In fact, the descendants of the Wei family were still neglected.
For thousands of years, the story of Li Shimin and Wei Zheng, a wise ruler and a frank minister, had been widely spread. No one knew that there was also a struggle for fame and fortune behind it. It was a legend of a wise ruler and a good minister. It was a model example of a pair of politicians using each other.
There was a type of history called a fairy tale.
Unfortunately, the history that we know is often a fairy tale or a myth. Just like Yao Shunyu's abdication of the throne, under the warm and affectionate atmosphere was a bloody attempt to force the emperor to abdicate, use of military force, and seize power. In the fairy tale, the prince and princess always lived a simple and happy life.
Wei Yong sighed as he recounted the joys and sorrows of the past few years. The others listened with sorrow and sorrow. Only Yang Fan raised his cup and said with a smile, "This little brother rejected Commandant Wang's invitation. My brothers felt sorry for this little brother, but after hearing Third Brother Wei's words, this little brother feels that he did not do anything wrong!"
He swept his gaze across the crowd and said, "Even the story of a ruler and minister for thousands of years is not so simple, let alone you and me. If we did not have the same ambition or the same path, and only because of my outstanding bow technique, I was favored by Generals Xue and Di. Even if I pandered to them in every possible way, could I really gain their respect? The noble families also started out ordinary. Thousands of years ago, weren't they also commoner families? I advise you not to belittle yourselves. As long as we are willing to work hard, there may be a chance that we will meet again in the future! "
Chu Kuangge listened with lofty sentiments. He raised his cup and said, "Xiao Fan's words are reasonable! Let's drink to the future, to our world! "
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
On this autumn, in the forest of Guide Lane, above a small building, seven people and seven cups of wine clinked together.
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