In the history of our country, there are many interesting stories. In the Northern Song Dynasty, a small figure once drew a cartoon and defeated a prime minister, Wang Anshi, who presided over the reform during the reign of Song Shenzong.
In the second year of Xining (1069), Song Shenzong appointed Wang Anshi as a member of the governor (equivalent to deputy prime minister), and Wang Anshi began to rank among the ruling authorities.
Wang Anshi proposed that the most urgent task is to change customs, establish laws, and propose reforms. Song Shenzong deeply agreed.
In the third year of Xining (1070), Wang Anshi served as the secretary of the Tongzhong School of Ping Zhang, and was the same prime minister. As a result, he promoted the new law nationwide and began a large-scale reform movement.
The new law implemented by Wang Anshi includes the equalization law, the young crop law, the city trade law, the exemption law, the square land tax law, and the farmland water conservancy law; in the military field, there are the placement law, the Baojia law, and the horse protection law.
The purpose of Wang Anshi’s reform was to enrich the country and strengthen the army, so as to reverse the situation of poverty and weakness in the late Northern Song Dynasty. However, Wang Anshi’s reform violated the interests of the conservatives and was firmly opposed by conservatives represented by Sima Guang.
Less than a year after the promulgation of the new law, the two factions supporting and opposing the reform began fierce debates and struggles.
What both parties did not expect was that the ultimate cause of Wang Anshi’s failure in the reform was a small official who was once optimistic about Wang Anshi, but was a stranger because of the reform. This small person is Zheng Xia.
Zheng Xia (1041-1119), named Jiefu, was born in Fuqing, Fuzhou (now Fujian). He was a scholar of Song Yingzong in the fourth year of the rule of Ping (1067). “.
Zheng Xia’s father, Zheng Hui, served as the liquor tax supervisor of Jiangning (now Nanjing City). He was determined to study in his father’s place, and learned hard to become famous. When Wang Anshi was the prefect of Jiangning, he was told that Zheng Xia was outstanding in talent, and he attached great importance to him. Not only did he invite him to meet and offer condolences and comfort, he also encouraged him to become a good scholar of the country.
In the 4th year of Zhiping (1067), the 27-year-old Zheng Xia was a Jinshi and the first, and was awarded a general as a Lang, secretary of the provincial school.
In the second year of Xining (1069), when Wang Anshi implemented the reform, he promoted Zheng Xia to join the army in Gwangju (now Huangchuan County, Henan Province), and was in charge of civil and criminal cases in Gwangju. All suspicious cases in Gwangju were clearly reported upon trial by Zheng Xia. Wang Anshi gave all replies in accordance with Zheng Xia’s requirements.
Zheng Xia gratefully regards Wang Anshi as a confidant, and is determined to do his best to serve the country and the people, know everything without saying anything, and repay Wang Anshi’s kindness.
In the five years of Xining (1072), Zheng Xia’s three-year term expired, and he met Wang Anshi when he entered Beijing to report on his duties. Zheng Xia witnessed the shortcomings of the new law among the people. He directly reported that Wang Anshi’s Young Miao Law, the Immunity Law, the Baojia Law and other new laws caused harm to the people during the implementation process.
Wang Anshi was very disappointed with Zheng Xia, who he had been supporting all the time. The two of them didn’t say a lot of speculation. After Zheng Xia left, they stopped seeing him, but they still sent letters to Wang Anshi repeatedly, stating the harm the new law had caused to the people. I hope he will change his course.
The political divergence caused Wang Anshi to turn his eyes on Zheng Xia from blue eyes to white eyes. Not only did Zheng Xia fail to get the promotion he deserved, he was instead relegated to being the guardian of the capital.
From the sixth year of Xining (1073) to March of the following year, there was a major drought in Hebei and Henan. There was no rain for ten consecutive months. It was often the wind and the sand flying, the sky was dark, and the land was thousands of miles away. The people don’t make a living.
Officials in various places are still urging the victims to return the principal and interest of the loans provided by the Young Crop Law. A large number of victims can only feed their hunger with grassroots and trees, and they have to be locked and tortured to pay off the official money. The hungry people support the elderly. Young, there is no end to the way of escape.
In March of the seventh year of Xining (1074), Zheng Xia knew that Wang Anshi could no longer listen to adversarial advice. He drew the plight of the refugees who helped the old and the young, as a picture, and wrote: “The minister would like to draw a picture from what he has seen day by day, but he can already weep through his eyes. And there is nothing worse than that!”
When Song Shenzong saw the comic drawing of “The Refugee” of the hungry people displaced, he sighed and read the picture repeatedly. Although he didn’t say anything, he “cannot sleep at night” at night.
At the same time, Song Shenzong’s grandmother Cao and the mother empress Gao were crying in front of Song Shenzong, saying that the world was messed up by Wang Anshi, and begging Song Shenzong to stop the new law.
In April, Song Shenzong also became suspicious of the reform, so he dismissed Wang Anshi from the post of prime minister and was changed to Guanwendian University Scholar and Zhijiangning Mansion. Wang Anshi left the capital and went to Jiangning Mansion for training.
In February of the eighth year of Xining (1075), Song Shenzong recalled Wang Anshi back to the capital to be prime minister. However, just a few months later, a comet appeared in the sky. This was a normal phenomenon, but at the time it was considered an omen.
In the court, some conservative ministers took the opportunity to attack the new law. Although Wang Anshi tried his best to defend the new law, Song Shenzong still hesitated.
After Wang Anshi’s restoration, he could not get more support. In addition, the internal division of the reformists was serious, and it was difficult for the new law to continue to be implemented. In the spring of the following year, Wang Anshi resigned as the prime minister again and completely returned to Jiangning Mansion for retirement.
In the eighth year of Yuanfeng (1085), Song Shenzong died, Song Zhezong ascended to the throne, and the Yuan was changed to “Yuanyou”. Was abolished.
In this way, a natural disaster produced a cartoon, and the prime minister who advocated reform was dismissed from office.
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