Chapter 8 (Chapter 8) Zhang said

Zhang Shuo, who bears the brunt of the envy and antipathy of the elites, and has lost power several times before being reinstated, can be said to be the forerunner of the bureaucratic Chinese society in the future.After his death, the officialdom was still dominated by clansmen, but the influence of poor clans was rising day by day. 【The Way to Use Empress Wu Zetian's Talents】 Zhang said, the word Daoji, said it in one word. He is from Luoyang, Henan, but his ancestors are said to be from Fanyang.Born in the second year of Qianfeng Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty (AD 667). If you want to talk about outstanding figures in the Tang Dynasty, I am afraid that there are three people: Taizong Li Shimin, Wu Zetian, and Xuanzong Li Longji.However, Taizong came to the throne by killing his brother, and Wu Zetian, although the queen of the Tang Dynasty, usurped the Tang Dynasty and temporarily established a Zhou Dynasty.Xuanzong was heroic when he was young, but in his later years he doted on Concubine Yang Gui, which caused the An Lushan rebellion and made the Tang Dynasty go downhill.

Zhang Shuo is cited here because through his experience, we can recite a typical figure from the late Wu Zetian to the early Xuanzong. If there was no Wu Zetian era, I am afraid there would not be a character like Zhang Shuo on the stage. Zhang said that he came from a humble background, his father was a low-level official, and his grandfather died before becoming an official, so it can be said that he died young.Great-grandfather was presumably a gambler. People from such a family background would never have been considered for inclusion in senior officials before Wu Zetian. In the era before Tang Dynasty, it was an aristocratic society.At that time, the north and the south were divided, and the six dynasties in the south, with Nanjing as the capital, alternately evolved, which were called the Six Dynasties.The name Six Dynasties is immediately reminiscent of nobility.The north is also a situation where warlords and aristocrats have emerged one after another.After entering the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the aristocratic society continued, and people still paid attention to family background.

About half a century before Zhang Shuo was born (618 A.D.), the Tang Dynasty was founded.Among the heroes at the beginning, there were robbers such as Li Ji. The birth of this new family lineage is only part of it, and the heroes have become a little aristocratic. Taizong died, Gao Zongli (649 AD), and Zhang Shuo was born eighteen years later.At that time, Wu Zetian had been canonized as the queen, replacing the sick Gaozong to take charge of politics.Zhang said he was born during Wu Zetian's reign. Wu Zetian, surnamed Wu, first name Zhao.His ancestor was a retainer of the Tang Dynasty during the time when the great ancestor Li Yuan raised his troops, but his name did not appear in the history of the founding of the country, so he cannot be called a hero, but his family background is equivalent to this.

She entered Taizong's harem when she was young.At that time, it is said that Taizong's prince, later Gaozong, was fascinated by his father's concubine when he first saw her.After Taizong's death, she entered Lingbao Temple in Anyeli, Chang'an, and became a nun with her hair cut.Later, he returned to secular life and became a member of Gaozong's harem.From the perspective of Confucian morality, it is against human relations to include the father's lover into the harem.But because she became a monk once, her previous experience disappeared. It seems that she escaped the moral problem through this kind of explanation.

Gaozong's official wife in the prince's time was Wang, and after he ascended the throne, Wang was made the queen.In the harem, there is also the beautiful Concubine Xiao Shu, who is favored by Emperor Gaozong.Wu Zetian stood on the queen's side, first cleared Concubine Xiao Shu, and then turned around to get rid of the queen.She did not have a strong background, but she won the power struggle in the harem, which shows that she is very alert.Speaking of outstanding figures in the Tang Dynasty, apart from Taizong who can actually be called an entrepreneur, she should be considered the number one.

Soon Wu Zetian was canonized as the queen, while the important minister Chu Suiliang who opposed it and Gaozong's uncle Sun Wuji were exiled and died there.This can presumably be regarded as being killed.So the heroes who led thousands of troops were also afraid.They are now good gentlemen surrounded by children and grandchildren, unwilling to risk disobedience to this terrible woman.Gaozong was sick, and he listened to his older wife Wu Zetian in everything. Wu Zetian deliberately weakened the power of Tang nobles and heroes.They were relegated one by one and lost their strength.Li Jingye, the grandson of the great hero Li Ji, couldn't help raising his troops and hoisted the banner of anti-Wu Zetian in Yangzhou, but he was immediately suppressed.Wu Zetian beheaded Prime Minister Pei Yan for colluding with the rebels.

When Emperor Gaozong died (AD 683), Zhang said that he was seventeen years old. The life and death of the emperor did not matter, and the world was already under Wu Zetian's control.Her son Zhongzong came to the throne, but was deposed and replaced by Zhongzong's younger brother Ruizong.However, the real power is completely in the hands of Wu Zetian.She abolished the Tang Dynasty built by the Li family and established the Wu family's Zhou Dynasty, seven years after Gaozong's death. Wu Zetian actually seized the dynasty inherited by her deceased husband, she was really a terrible woman.But historians still defend her.The "Zizhi Tongjian" compiled by Sima Guang in the Northern Song Dynasty commented on Wu Zetian as follows:

Although one abuses one's salary and position to win the hearts of the world, those who are incompetent will be deposed if they are found, or they will be punished.Holding the handle of punishment and reward to control the world, governing by oneself, being able to observe clearly and judge well, so the heroes and sages at that time also competed for it. She wins people's hearts with her salary or position, but if she finds that the arrangement is inappropriate, she will immediately dismiss her or punish her.In politics, she has subjectivity, that is, she is discerning and decisive (observation is quick and judgment is correct).Li Zhuowu of the Ming Dynasty also commented as follows in his collection of historical figures "Cangshu":

Try looking at the kings of ancient times, who knows people like the Wu family?Also dedicated to loving and nurturing talents, and caring for the people, is there anyone like the Wu family? After Wu Zetian, the so-called Golden Age of the prosperous Tang Dynasty followed by Xuanzong Kaiyuan and Tianbao, and the talents who created this era, as pointed out in the "Collected Books", were all cultivated during Wu Zetian's period.Indeed, historians with sharp vision unanimously praised Wu Zetian's appointment of talents. The so-called peace of mind is based on the fact that there were almost no records of peasant riots in Wu Zetian's era.The reason why Li Jingye's rebellion was quickly suppressed was also because there was no popular support.Even if there is a natural disaster, appropriate measures should be taken at that time so as not to cause a major disaster.

This is undoubtedly due to the fact that the bureaucrats in charge of practice do things. If Wu Zetian hadn't appeared, the bureaucracy in the world would probably have been occupied by the third or fourth generation of nobles and descendants of the powerful from the start-up period.They don't know how to work hard and have no strength. They are a group of people who cannot adapt to practice and will definitely disrupt politics. Wu Zetian, who excluded the royal family, nobles, and nobles, may want to use this to clean up the Tang dynasty.However, for this reason, she must seek replacements for these elites.

Zhang, who came from a humble background, said that although he was able to rise to the position of prime minister because of his talent, it was also due to Wu Zetian's strategy of appointing talents. 【There is no way for a talented person to get into an official position】 China seems to be a bureaucratic heaven.Since there are no other large enterprises, it can be said that men have no other way to make progress besides becoming an official.To enter the officialdom, one had to rely on family background in the past, but later one had to pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi. It is said that the imperial examination began in the second year of Emperor Yangdi's Daye in the Sui Dynasty (AD 606), but the absolute prerequisite for a Jinshi to become a high-ranking official did not come until after the Northern Song Dynasty in the tenth century.After the Northern Song Dynasty, relying on his father's achievements, his children also had the opportunity to be hired as officials without passing the exam.But even among the children of this kind of family, there are many people who give up grace and accept the imperial examination.It can be seen that the title of Jinshi has considerable power. In the Tang Dynasty, there were very few people who got Jinshi and the degree, and it was not absolute.There are still many people who rely on their family background to embark on official careers. According to the New Book of Tang, Zhang said Yingju was in the reign of Yongchang, which was the reign name used from 689 AD to September of the following year, that is, shortly before Wu Zetian founded the Zhou Dynasty.This is the period when Wu Zetian needs talents most.Zhang said that the false age should be twenty-two or three years old, because the "Old Tang Book" did not indicate the year number, it only said it was a weak crown. In the test results, Zhang said he was at the top of the list.But Wu Zetian ranked him as the first class, and he was listed as the second class.Empty the first class may show Wu Zetian's ardent desire for talents.Looking forward to the emergence of great talents that have never existed in ancient and modern times, so the first-class seats are reserved.It is said that she often leaves the first-class position vacant. In any case, Zhang Shuo was appointed as the prince's school secretary under the expectation of everyone, and was promoted to Zuo Buque.Bu Que is a person who advises the prince. Although his rank is low, he is regarded as the only way to become a high official because he is the emperor's confidant. Then, Zhang Shuo became one of the editorial members of "Three Religious Pearls".This is an encyclopedia-style cultural enterprise, with Wu Zetian's favorite ministers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong as the chief editors, and the main literati of the court participating in the editorial work. Headed by Li Qiao, who is quite well-known in poetry about chanting things, twenty-six literati jointly edited "Three Religious Pearls". However, the situation at the beginning was as follows: Talk day and night, write poems and get together. As a result, the work went nowhere.Because everyone talks differently.Only when the young Zhang Shuo and Xu Jian cited specific documents and projects that could be used as a basis, and provided a trial method for the overall structure, did the construction finally start.Most of the civil servants gathered for the compilation of "Three Religious Pearls" were those who talked about writing poems. Zhang said that among these people, they were valuable talents with practical ability. The 1,300-volume "Three Religious Pearls" was completed in the first year of Dazu (AD 701), when Zhang Shuo was thirty-five years old. Two years later, Zhang said that he encountered a disaster. The favorite Zhang brothers are most afraid of Wu Zetian's death.If Wu Zetian died, and the iron-framed prime minister Wei Yuanzhong took the real power, the Zhang brothers would definitely be wiped out immediately.The two brothers preemptively wanted to eliminate Wei Yuanzhong and his cronies Si Licheng and Gao Jian, so they sued Wu Zetian and said: The two of them intended to conspire against each other. The Zhang brothers and Wei Yuanzhong confronted each other in the main hall of the palace.At this time, Zhang Shuo was the witness proposed by the Zhang brothers. Because he was mentioned as a witness, some people speculated that Zhang Yue had a special relationship with Zhang Yizhi's brother.However, if the relationship is too close, I am afraid that the credibility of the testimony will be less, so people think that their relationship should be inseparable. Zhang, who came from a humble background, said that he has no powerful background in the palace, so it stands to reason that he should pay attention to maintaining moderate contacts with everyone and avoid making enemies as much as possible.In the eyes of Zhang Yizhi's brother, Zhang Shuo at least does not seem like an enemy, and he believes that it is impossible for him to testify against him. But in this confrontation, Zhang said: Wei Yuanzhong had no intention of treason, and the prime minister was wronged. As a result, Wei Yuanzhong, Gao Jian, and witness Zhang Yue were all exiled to Lingnan.Zhang said that if he gave false testimony, Wei Yuanzhong would definitely be killed. South of the Five Ridges is the south of Da Geng Mountains, but it is the area of ​​Guangdong and Guangxi.At that time, Lingnan was a land of miasma, and it was the area where serious criminals were exiled.Zhang said that he was exiled to Qinzhou in the south of Lingnan (now Qinzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region). Two years later, Zhang Yue was able to return to Chang'an. Wu Zetian was ill in bed, and the faction opposed to the Zhang brothers launched a coup, beheading Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong.The person who directed this coup was the eighty-year-old prime minister Zhang Jianzhi. He forced Wu Zetian to abdicate on the sick bed, restored Zhongzong, and revived Tang Zuo.It was the first month of the first year of Shenlong (AD 705), and Wu Zetian, who moved to Shangyang Palace, died in November.There are different opinions about the age of her death, ranging from seventy-seven to eighty-three. Zhang Shuo, who was exiled because of the Zhang brothers, returned to Zhongzong's court and was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Industry.On the way back to Chang'an from Lingnan, he once wrote a five-character verse in a place called Duanzhou, entitled Returning to Duanzhou Posthouse and Elsewhere in Gaoliu.Gao Liu is Gao Jian who was originally exiled to Lingnan for offending Wu Zetian.Zhang said that he was lucky enough to return to Chang'an, but Gao Jian had died in exile.This sad poem was included in "Anthology of Tang Poems". Jiangkou, the old building Looking at Luohui sadly meet travel food Parting and changing clothes The mountains and rivers of the past are Today hurts others instead of Africa This is the way life and death The harvest of this exile in Lingnan was getting acquainted with Zhang Jiuling.Zhang Jiuling is from Qujiang, Shaozhou, Guangdong. He is six years younger than Zhang Shuo and later became a prime minister.Zhang Shuo's epitaph was written by Zhang Jiuling. Zhang said that he deeply felt that a person like himself who has no background in aristocratic family and is only promoted based on his strength, has finally gained status without any backing, and it is also very unstable.Because he felt that the aristocrats who have always monopolized all the seats have always hated those who are promoted by strength. The poor family (those of humble origin) were repeatedly dismissed from their posts. They all have this sense of crisis. Zhang said that in order to fight against the noble families, the poor families must unite.To unite, he must alone muster many comrades. He has cultivated many juniors such as Zhang Jiuling.This is what Zhang said. On the other hand, it is not impossible to regard it as a gathering of party members.For Zhang Shuo, this is a way of self-defense not only for himself, but also for those in a similar situation. [Suggest Xuanzong to launch a coup] In the first year of Jinglong (707 A.D.), Zhang Shuo resigned from office and took mourning because of his mother's death.This was a custom at that time, called Dingyou.But if it is a senior official, it is also customary to be appointed during the mourning period, which is called Qifu.The general custom is to regard the order of reinstatement as an honor and to reinstate immediately.But Zhang said he firmly refused to come back, and he did not hold any official position at all during the mourning period. Zhang said he had no ambitions. Others must be made to think so.Without a background, he even has to win the evaluation of the world. Ding You's mourning period was three years for his father and one year for his mother, but Wu Zetian changed both parents to three years.It was Empress Wu Zetian who raised the status of women.For the same parents, there is a difference between father and mother, which is indeed very strange. Wu Zetian, who usurped the Tang Dynasty, became a usurper after the revival of the Tang Dynasty. His politics should be described as tyrannical and innocent, but it is not the case.After all, after Wu Zetian, Zhongzong and Ruizong who came to the throne after the revival of the Tang Dynasty were both Wu Zetian's biological sons, and Xuanzong who succeeded him was also a grandson of her blood.Some courtiers objected to the joint burial of Wu Zetian and Gaozong in Qianling, Gaozong's tomb, but Zhongzong still decided to bury them together.In fact, the reason cited by the courtiers who opposed the joint burial was that the Qianling Mausoleum had been sealed with molten iron and it was difficult to open it again.The emperor's mother cannot call her a usurper. Zhang said that in accordance with Wu Zetian's regulations, three years of mourning were required.He was forty-one when his mother died.As a high-ranking official, and it is a time when the stakes are high, the three-year blank experience cannot but be said to be disgusting.Perhaps duplication is a remedy for this phenomenon.Regarding the three-year mourning, the "Old Tang Book" says: Greatly known by those who know. He has long realized that he has no backer, but at least he should try not to make enemies.The three years of mourning proved that he was not born dead, and the three years of blank experience may be of great benefit. As soon as the funeral was over, he resumed his original position as the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and was soon appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of War (Second Minister of National Defense).His return to officialdom coincided with an unusual period. After Gaozong's death, Wu Zetian made Zhongzong the throne, but immediately abolished him and replaced him with his younger brother Ruizong.Both of them are her own sons, and the abolition of the establishment was caused by Zhongzong's wife Webster.Her husband had just ascended the throne, and Webster immediately ordered his father to hold an important position.This move angered Wu Zetian.Wu Zetian himself also reused many people from her natal Wu family, but that was because they were talented.She is the authority on appointment.Not only was Webster's father incompetent, but he had never talked to the regent Wu Zetian.As a result, Zhongzong suddenly lost his throne.Instead, Ruizong was willing to be his mother's puppet.Later, Wu Zetian founded the Zhou Dynasty and became China's first female emperor. Ruizong was also kicked out of the emperor's throne that he had sat on for ten years in name. In the revived Tang Dynasty, Zhongzong became emperor again.Webster, who was established as a queen, did not remember the lessons of failure ten years ago, but wanted to become Wu Zetian's second.Zhongzong became an obstacle to founding the Webster dynasty, and she actually poisoned Zhongzong to death.According to the predetermined plan, she will temporarily appoint Li Chongmao, a young man from the royal family, as the crown prince, and then abolish the heir and establish a new dynasty.She has only one daughter, Princess Anle.In the new dynasty, Princess Anle will become the crown prince, and the female emperor will last for two generations. Cui Riyong, Zhang's former minister of war, learned of the plan from Webster, pretended to be willing to assist, and then reported everything to Ruizong's third son Li Longji (later Xuanzong).On the 19th day after Zhongzong's death, Li Longji launched a coup, beheading Webster and Princess Anle.Needless to say, Ruizong came to the throne again, and the third son Li Longji was naturally established as the prince. Zhang Yue, who was reinstated, also served as the prince's attendant and became a schoolmate of the 25-year-old prince. The political situation in the Tang Dynasty was not stable at all.From the ten years since Ruizong took the throne last time, he completely obeyed his mother's orders, we know that he is actually an honest emperor.His younger sister, Princess Taiping, is a talented woman who once served as Wu Zetian's secretary.She also seems to have played an important role in the killing of Zhang Yizhi's brother.Later, when Webster was killed, Princess Taiping also made considerable contributions.The political situation in the Tang Dynasty was divided into the Princess Taiping faction and the Crown Prince faction, competing for power with each other.Ruizong has only Princess Taiping as a sibling.Princess Taiping has always pretended to be Ruizong's will, appointing and dismissing officials at will. At that time, someone made a strange prophecy, saying that there would be a mutation in the palace within five days, and it was played.Ruizong asked Zhang Shuo, who replied: It's just to shake us up.If the crown prince is established as the supervisor (regency) of the country, the division of monarchs and ministers is established, and disasters will not happen. Because of Zhang Shuo's advice, Li Longji became the supervisor of the country. In the second year (712 AD), Ruizong abdicated, and the crown prince ascended the throne as Xuanzong. But even if Xuanzong ascended the throne, the political situation is still not stable.Princess Taiping still pretends to be the Supreme Emperor Ruizong's will to control personnel scheduling. In the Tang Dynasty, there were seven important ministers known as prime ministers, among which Xiao Zhizhong and Cui Shi from the Princess Taiping faction accounted for five, and the emperor's faction only had two.Princess Taiping's clutches even reached out to Zhang Shuo.Because Zhang Shuo was Xuanzong's servant in the time of the crown prince, he can be regarded as a true emperor's school. Order to stay in the east. With such an order, he was sent to the eastern capital, that is, Luoyang, far away from Chang'an City, the political center. To be able to appoint the emperor's cronies shows that Princess Taiping is very powerful, so the young nephew Xuanzong frankly only bears the name of the emperor. Zhang, who was sent to Luoyang, said he was not at ease.He began to think about countermeasures to make Xuanzong an emperor worthy of his name and reality. "Old Tang Book.It is recorded in Zhang Shuo Zhuan: (Zhang) said that since he knew that Tai Ping had different plans, it was because the envoy presented the saber to Xuanzong, so please discuss it first.Xuanzong deeply praised Yan. Presenting a saber is forcing him to make a decision.Undoubtedly, he may have proposed specific strategies to Xuanzong through secret envoys. In July of the first year of Kaiyuan (AD 713), Xuanzong finally attacked the Taiping Princess faction and killed Xiao Zhizhong and others.Princess Taiping fled to the temple, left three days later, and was given to death at home. "True Records of the Supreme Emperor" records that she was imprisoned for life. Since Princess Taiping served as secretary to Wu Zetian, who had replaced the emperor several times, it might not be difficult to drive her nephew off the emperor's throne. The history was written by the victorious Xuanzong, and Princess Taiping's achievements in the past have almost been wiped out in the records of the Tang Dynasty. When we read history, we will definitely have doubts about Princess Taiping having such strength and Xuanzong's seemingly forced to raise troops.But in fact, when the Zhang brothers and Webster were eliminated, Princess Taiping gained a strong leadership.After killing the Zhang brothers, Princess Taiping and her elder brother Ruizong also granted 5,000 households as rewards for meritorious deeds. Launching a coup against Princess Taiping, even with the respect of the emperor, is an extremely dangerous thing. Zhang said that he had made great achievements in proposing the coup, so he could naturally return to Chang'an from Luoyang. 【The slander of the powerful has not stopped until death】 Zhang said he was promoted to Zhongshuling. The backbone of the political organization in the Tang Dynasty was the three provinces and six ministries. The three provinces are Zhongshu Province, Menxia Province, and Shangshu Province. Zhongshu drafted imperial edicts, which were deliberated by the disciples, and then executed by Shangshu.Politics was carried out according to the will of the emperor, and the edict conveying this will became the foundation of politics.As soon as Zhongshu Sheng completed the draft of the imperial edict, he handed it over to Menxia Sheng.Menxiaxing reviewed the draft from various angles for corruption, omissions, better strategies, inappropriate timing, etc., and then made a final decision.This decision was then sent to Shangshu Province for execution. Zhongshu Province filed the case, Menxia Province reviewed it, and Shangshu Province executed it.The chief of Zhongshu Province is Zhongshu Ling, and the chief of Menxia Province is Menxia Shizhong.The chief minister of Shangshu Province was originally Shangshuling, but because Taizong had held this position before he came to the throne, the minister was vacant in the Tang Dynasty out of the intention of avoiding taboos.Under Shangshu Province, there are six ministries of soldiers, criminals, workers, officials, households, and rites, that is, administrative organs. Zhang said that the Zhongshu Ling who took office was naturally a prime minister.But he took up his post in July, and was dismissed in December of the same year, demoted to Xiangzhou (north of Henan) governor. It is said that he was ostracized by Yao Chong (AD 650︱721), who had been prime minister three times.Zhang said that it seemed that he was too close to Xuanzong's younger brother, King Qi, and gave Yao Chong an excuse to exile him. Zhang said that after being moved from Xiangzhou to Yuezhou (Hunan), he became the governor of Youzhou.Youzhou is near present-day Beijing.Later, he became the governor of Bingzhou (Shanxi) and the ambassador of the Tianbing Army, which is a military post. During his tenure in Bingzhou, he met Wang Han, the author of the famous "Liangzhou Ci" of Grape Wine Luminous Cup.This person is also a talented scholar who was not born in a powerful family. In the eighth year of Kaiyuan (AD 720), Wang Jun, the ambassador of the Shuofang Army, killed more than a thousand Turkic people on the grounds that the Turkic chieftain who had surrendered once again rebelled, and the nine Turkic surnames in the north of Taiyuan were shaken.Zhang said that with only 20 riders, he visited the nine Turkic surnames to comfort them. So the nine surnames feel righteous, and their hearts are at ease. As recorded in the "Old Tang Book", the Turkic people were convinced by his character and believed his words. In the following year, Turks and Dangxiang jointly attacked Yincheng and Liangu, and Zhang Shuo led 10,000 paces to break through Hehe Pass. Zhang said that he has not been able to return to the Central Committee, perhaps because of his humble background.Yao Chong, a powerful minister, was at the political center at that time, but Zhang Shuo had never been in his favor. Yao Chong died in the year when he established his military exploits at Hehe Pass.He has always been a major obstacle for Zhang Shuo to return to the central government.On the seventeenth day after Yao Chong's death, a personnel order was issued, requiring Zhang Shuo to be Minister of the Ministry of War (Minister of Defense) and the third rank of Tong Zhongshu's subordinate (Prime Minister).This transfer felt as if Xuanzong had grown impatient with Yao Chong's death. In the tenth year of Kaiyuan (AD 722), Zhang Shuo traveled to the Ordos area as the Jiedu envoy of Shuofang County, and was immediately appointed as Zhongshu Ling after returning to Beijing. In the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan (725 A.D.), due to Zhang Shuo's proposal, the ceremony of enshrining Zen was held in Mount Tai.This secret ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven on the top of Mount Tai and to worshiping earth at the foot of the mountain is only eligible to be held by the Holy Son of Heaven who brings peace to the world. The attendants at this ceremony were selected by Zhang Shuo as the main low-level officials.At that time, Zhang Jiuling, a member of Zhongshushe who knew Zhang Shuo in Guangdong and had become a confidant, advised him: For such an important ceremony, people with good family background and high character should be allowed to participate. But Zhang said it fell on deaf ears.With a humble family background, he is often treated coldly by those who are pure and high-quality.It doesn't matter!His attitude is tough.After Feng Chan, Zhang Shuo was impeached and lost power. He is a very heroic person, just like the "Old Book of Tang" described Xi Yanna backward, with the demeanor of a leader, often surrounded by people of humble background.However, among these people, there were many people of low moral character, which made him lose power. Introduce the sorcerer to night solution (strange prayers at night) and be stolen. Someone impeached like that.It is true that people around him, including Zhang Guan and Fan Yaochen, had accepted bribes, while the Taoist priest Wang Qing went in and out for divination. The impeachers were Zhongcheng Yuwenrong, Li Linfu, Yushi doctor Cui Yinfu who hated Zhang Shuo and opposed his advice, and Yuan Qianyao, the prime minister who opposed Fengchan behind his back.These people were all from powerful families, including quasi-royal families like Li Linfu.They all hate people who rose from humble backgrounds. Zhang said he was thus in danger.At this time, it was the eunuch Gao Lishi who told Xuanzongguan for him.Therefore, Zhang said that he only dismissed the post of Zhongshu Ling, and the concurrent history compilation work continued in his own mansion. Even during this period of confinement, if there is a major event in the country, Xuanzong still sends an imperial envoy to inquire about Zhang Shuo's opinions. In the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan (729 A.D.), Zhang Yue resumed his position as Prime Minister of Shangshu You. In December of the following year, he finished his sixty-four-year-old life.When he was ill in bed, Xuanzong sent eunuchs to inquire about his condition every day, and it is said that he wrote a prescription for him. According to the usual practice, if an important minister died, the imperial court would grant him a posthumous title.Taichang Temple discussed what posthumous title should be awarded to him, and finally decided on Wenzhen.However, at that time there was a Zuo Si Langzhong named Yang Bocheng who objected, saying: This is too honorable for him!It seems that even after his death, Zhang Shuo was still hated by the clan.At the moment when there were divergent opinions, Xuanzong made the inscription of the Shinto stele (a stone stele standing in front of the tomb) and gave it to Zhang Shuo, with Wenzhen written on it, so no one dared to object. Regarding the confrontation between the powerful and the poor, Xuanzong seemed to have a good impression of the poor.Because a dynasty is usually usurped by a powerful family.Tang itself was also the leader of the Sui Dynasty, and Sui was also the leader of the so-called Eight Pillar Kingdom in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and later usurped the Northern Zhou Dynasty.It can be seen that the emperor had to regard the powerful as a danger. However, history is mostly recorded from the point of view of Qingliu Gaopin's aristocratic faction.For example, Sima Guang's "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" in the Northern Song Dynasty said about Zhang: Talented and easy to bribe, if there is disagreement among officials, it is easy to beat them face to face, as for scolding. In addition, unconfirmed facts were added, saying that Zhang said that he carried out an official hunting campaign. Zhang Shuo, who bears the brunt of the envy and antipathy of the elites, and has lost power several times before being reinstated, can be said to be the forerunner of the bureaucratic Chinese society in the future. Zhang said that as a representative of the poor family, he struggled alone.After his death, the officialdom was still dominated by clansmen, but the influence of poor clans was rising day by day. It was after the mid-Tang Dynasty that Jinshi who came from a poor family and passed the imperial examination had the strength to compete with the powerful bureaucrats. In the first half of the ninth century A.D., the struggle between Niu and Li occurred. Due to the factional struggle, the Tang Dynasty gradually lost its vitality and eventually perished.The leaders of either the Niu Party or the Li Party were of noble origin, but Niu Sengru was a Jinshi who refused to rely on his favor and passed the imperial examination, while Li Deyu never took the imperial examination.Naturally, most of the Jinshi from poor families belonged to the Niu Party. Although the party struggle has subjugated the country, the bureaucrats, especially the humble faction, have to get involved in the situation of the party. It should be understandable that Zhang said that he has repeatedly lost power.