LRAB Chapter 1079 3 Gu Frequently Troubled by the World
Chapter 1079 3 Gu Frequently Troubled by the World
Chapter 1079: Three Visits to Ask for Advice on State Affairs
When Cai Bian gave Zhang Yue's letter to the emperor, the emperor was skeptical.
The emperor said to Xu Xi, "Mr. Zhang, can you really predict the future? There are good news from all three routes. Is it really so smooth?"
Xu Xi said: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, although this campaign against Xia will ultimately lead to victory, it will not be smooth sailing."
"Now in Ganliang, Lanzhou is struggling, which shows that Xixia anticipated our invasion."
The official asked, "But did a minister in the court leak the secret?"
Xu Xi immediately said, "This minister does not know."
The emperor frowned. He had been ill for the past few days because he had been overworked in the previous attack on Xia. He also heard that the army was attacking Lanzhou but was blocked by the fortified city. He was so busy and worried that he fell ill for several days.
Guan's illness was very similar to that of Emperor Renzong and his father Emperor Yingzong. He first fainted and then became unable to move, making him unable to manage affairs.
The official inquired for a moment, and then his heart palpitated again. He had not yet fully recovered, and he had to take charge of all military affairs.
Xu Xi and Cai Bian were secretly worried when they saw this. At the same time, they felt that the emperor was controlling the war against Western Xia too much. He ordered the generals attacking Xia to report to him no matter how minor the matter was so that he could have a grasp of the overall situation.
And what about the emperor himself?
Before I collapsed from exhaustion, I would stay up all night, and the music from the northwest never stopped, one group after another, it was simply endless.
The official responded diligently. When the generals reported to him, he just had to write "I know" or "I've read it".
But the emperor did not do so. He responded to every matter in great detail, sometimes even longer than the reports written to him by the generals. He would give instructions on almost every matter and keep it in his overall context.
This certainly made the generals feel that the government attached great importance to this war against Xia, but it also made the generals confused when they were carrying out the plan, and they dared not act on their own and have different opinions on military affairs.
Although Zhang Yue and other ministers repeatedly advised the emperor not to "control the generals from the middle" this time when sending troops to Western Xia, the emperor agreed. However, his strong sense of guilt made him unable to let go of his concern for the war against Xia.
The emperor had to give instructions to the generals on almost every matter, giving them numerous warnings and instructions, and passing down his arrangements to the generals.
Xu Xi and Cai Bian knew that every general felt tremendous pressure.
Of course, there are advantages as well. The emperor always has the overall situation under control. He has a clear understanding of the situation, and the last sentence of almost every memorial he gives to the generals is to capture "Xingling as the key."
Any tactics exist to obey the grand strategy of conquering the two states of Xing and Ling.
Now that the official has recovered a little, he is eager to deal with military affairs, as if he wants to make up for the time he lost in the past.
When Xu Xi and Cai Bian saw this, they were both moved and worried.
The two men discussed military intelligence with the emperor until late at night. At this time, good news came one after another from Xihe Road, Fuyan Road, and Jingyuan Road.
The first place to hear the news of victory was Xihe Road.
It turned out that Zhang Zhi sent troops from Huizhou, defeated the Xia army at Quwu Mountain, beheaded hundreds of them, and then went to Tiandu Mountain, defeated the Xia army again, beheaded hundreds of them, and arrived at the border of Jingyuan Road several days ahead of schedule.
The Fuyan Road direction is where the government has the highest hopes.
Zhong Yan also led the troops of Fuyan Road to advance at a great speed. The emperor was worried that Zhong Yan would march too quickly and fall into an ambush by the Western Xia, so he repeatedly asked him to act with caution and obey Gao Zunyu's command.
However, Zhong Yan did not follow the government's arrangements. He won victory after victory along the way and attacked the Western Xia Mizhi Village for three days.
Eighty thousand reinforcements from Western Xia arrived and attacked Zhong Yan together with the troops from Mizhi Village. However, they were defeated by Zhong Yan and five thousand of them were beheaded.
After defeating the Western Xia reinforcements, Zhong Yan captured Mizhi Village.
When Zhong Yan brought the victory report to the capital, the emperor was surprised and happy. He immediately revoked his previous order and allowed Zhong Yan to lead the troops on his own without having to obey Gao Zunyu's command in everything.
In the direction of Jingyuan Road, there were the famous generals of the Western Army, Zhong Shidao and Liu Changzuo. As soon as they crossed the border, they encountered the main force of the Western Xia army, namely the six troops of the left wing led by Liang Yimei, the prime minister of Western Xia.
In fact, Liang Yimei did not bring all the troops with him to the left wing. When he led his troops, he heard that Zhong Yan was attacking Mizhi Village, so he sent some troops to support him.
After fighting with Zhong Shidao and Liu Changzuo, Liang Yi was unable to withstand the offensive of the Song army.
After the Xia army retreated slightly, the Song army suddenly pressed forward with its entire army. Liang Yimai was badly defeated and more than 2,500 of his men were beheaded by the Song army.
Seeing the victory on three fronts, the emperor was overjoyed. His illness that had been lingering for days was cured without any medicine. He immediately said to Shi De: "Mr. Zhang, you are truly a scholar. You know everything about the world without even leaving your thatched cottage."
Xu Xi said happily: "That is also because of your Majesty's unique mind."
The emperor said, "I am not a saint. When Lu Gongzhu and Sun Gu opposed my attack on Xia, I was also hesitant and wanted to give up. Especially when I saw Su Shi's memorial to Huzhou saying, 'I know he is stupid and out of date, and it is difficult for him to keep up with the newcomers. I see that he is old and does not cause trouble, so he may be able to lead the people.' It really inspired me."
"In the face of numerous difficulties, I still persevered. I don't want my descendants to say in history books that I was a king who was good at maintaining the status quo, but was mediocre and incompetent!"
Speaking of this, the official also has mixed feelings.
"I have heard that it is a dilemma to attack Xia and Zhang Qing this time. I have heard that some people say that Zhuge Wuhou opposed the First Lord's attack on Wu and then suppressed the rebellion. I am not pleased with their words. I am not the First Lord, Xia is not Wu, and Song is not comparable to Shu. Only Zhang Qing's loyalty can be compared to Wuhou."
Xu Xi said: "Your Majesty, this is like a strong wind reveals strong grass, and a turbulent time reveals loyal ministers."
The emperor looked at Xu Xi and said, "You are also very good."
After Xu Xi and the emperor got along well, he said, "Your Majesty, what should we do next? You should ask Prime Minister Zhang."
……
Within the Zhang Mansion.
Dahua does not speak for himself, but leaves it to the talents.
Taoism is not closed, and hard study should open it by itself.
……
Zhang Yue listened to Zhang Cheng reciting a lesson and dozed off on a bamboo chair.
The poem that Zhang Chengsong sang was Zhang Yong's "Encouraging Learning".
Zhang Yong was also a prime minister from a poor family. This poem encouraging learning has also inspired countless poor scholars to strive for excellence.
People often compare it with the "Farewell to the Three Chuans" that he wrote to Emperor Renzong.
This "Decline of the Three Transmissions" was written when he was in the Imperial College and Emperor Renzong granted him the title of the Three Transmissions. This article was written by Zhang Yue in imitation of "Preface to Sending Off Ma Sheng from Dongyang".
It was very famous at the time, and now, more than ten years later, it is popular again.
Especially after the government allowed the Imperial Academy to increase the number of students, countless children from poor families were able to enter, which made this article resonate among scholars again.
Many people compare this article with Zhang Yong's "Encouraging Learning" which was famous in the past, while even more people say that this article is even better.
After Zhang Yue became prime minister, he was praised and criticized for his reform of the labor service law. At the same time, he was suspected by many new and old parties. Some people used Zhang Yue's past deeds to criticize him. One day, a young official said that Zhang Yue's article was extremely hypocritical and was actually praising Emperor Renzong's Qingli period of promoting education.
Zhang Yue happened to be passing by and heard this. He said to the official: "You think I am praising his merits, but in fact my intention is only to encourage learning."
Zhang Yue immediately said to the official, "I have loved studying since I was young... Children like me from poor families, how can we borrow books from collectors if we are not known for our love of study?"
If it were an ordinary family, would the Wu family lend him books?
"I have no great teacher or famous person to travel with. I have traveled hundreds of miles to ask questions from the wise men in my village... How can I get close to the wise men and be taught by famous teachers if I don't study? I am afraid I can't even see the wise men in my village."
How could I, at such a young age, enter the Zhang clan school and receive guidance from famous teachers such as Zhang Youzhi, Ouyang Xiu, and Chen Xiang?
Is it by giving gifts? Is it by flattery? Isn't it because the other party is willing to cultivate you because you are sincere in studying and have a promising talent? If you haven't been admitted to a university, why would experts and professors give you guidance?
"I stood by his side, asking questions and leaning forward to listen. If he scolded me, I would be more respectful and polite, not daring to say a word in reply. When he was pleased, I would ask him again... You are a poor boy, so how can you take the wise man seriously when he treats you? If you are not respectful, how can he teach you sincerely?"
When you seek advice from a teacher, you must understand your position and get rid of your fragile heart. The boss is very busy, why should he spend so much time and patience to teach you. If you don't understand, just ask. It's normal to be scolded. Don't start the Dragon Aotian mode and fight back with words when the boss scolds you. You must remember that you are asking others to teach you, not others asking you to learn. Your attitude must be correct.
When it comes to reading and gaining knowledge, it is not shameful to bow to others.
When Zhang Yue failed to write poetry, Chen Xiang often scolded him when he was teaching him. But as long as you are sincere in learning and your aptitude is not too bad, he will eventually teach you the real skills.
"My roommates all wore embroidered clothes, hats with red tassels and precious stones, and white jade rings around their waists... They looked like gods. I was wearing tattered clothes and had no desire to envy them. I was content with what I had, and I didn't know that I was not as well-fed as others... I was from a poor family, so how could I get along with my classmates who were very wealthy? But my ambition and diligence were no less than theirs."
My classmates all wore Adidas on their left and Nike on their right, but I only had patched Huili shoes on my feet. How could I not lose my mentality? In fact, if you don’t have long-term goals and persist day after day, and if your teacher doesn’t appreciate you and give you knowledge and wisdom, it’s hard not to lose your mentality.
At the end, Zhang Yue even said something to the official that was not in the original article: "I have been so hardworking and diligent. Although I am now middle-aged and have not achieved anything, I am still fortunate to be among the gentlemen and enjoy the favor of the emperor. I am the successor of the ministers and serve as an advisor every day. People all over the world also praise my name. How can there be anyone more talented than me?"
After saying this, Zhang Yue left without even looking at the official's expression.
Why does this article resonate so well? Because the poor can see themselves in the article. After so many years of hard work, they can achieve their modest achievements today.
The way to be precise is to have both. How can you make money standing still? Reading.
There is no secret to crossing classes.
There is no road to success in this world, but there is a path to the mountain of books through diligence.
"Preface to Farewell to Ma Sheng of Dongyang", no, it's "Preface to Farewell to Ma Sheng of Dongyang", which tells you all the secrets of his origin.
If you want fate to favor you, you must be diligent, diligent, and diligent again, study, study, and study again, until you have something valuable.
Zhang Yue took a nap on the bamboo couch, recalling many things from his school days, his master and his mistress, Guo Lin, and the Nanpu River, everything was vivid in his mind!
While taking a nap, Zhang Yue suddenly noticed that Zhang Cheng had stopped reading.
Zhang Yue opened his eyes and was surprised to find that there were many people around him, but it was completely silent.
A man in a bright yellow robe stood a few feet away from him.
Zhang Yue was startled, and immediately stood up from the bamboo couch, bowed and said: "I am guilty of death!"
The other party smiled and said, "When the first lord came to visit Zhuge Wuhou in person, he was lying in bed peacefully! I am doing the same thing now, I hope I have not alarmed you."
Zhang Yue said: "How can I compare with Wu Hou? I am just... a humble scholar!"
Ps: This comment on the preface to Ma Sheng of Dongyang is partly quoted from Zhihu user Liu Lei.
(End of this chapter)