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卷九十七 列傳第二十二 魏徵五世孫:謨

Volume 97 Biographies 22: Wei Zheng and Fifth Generation Descendent Mo

Chapter 97 of 新唐書 · New Book of Tang
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Chapter 97
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1
__FORCETOC__
__FORCETOC__Wei Zheng, whose style name was Xuancheng, was a native of Qucheng in Weizhou. Orphaned in youth, he lived in destitution and made no effort to manage his inheritance, nurturing grand ambitions while mastering the literary and scholarly arts. When the Sui dynasty collapsed into turmoil, he disguised himself as a Daoist priest. When Yuan Baozang, assistant magistrate of Wuyang Commandery, took up arms in support of Li Mi, he put Wei Zheng in charge of drafting documents and proclamations. Li Mi always praised the letters Yuan Baozang sent in—but when he learned that Wei Zheng had written them, he hurried to summon him. Wei Zheng offered Li Mi ten strategic proposals, but Li Mi did not act on them. When Wang Shichong attacked Luokou, Wei Zheng went to see Chief Secretary Zheng Ting and said, "Though the Duke of Wei has won rapid victories, his best generals and toughest fighters have been killed or wounded almost to the last man; And furthermore the headquarters has no ready funds—so even when they win, there are no rewards. With these two conditions, they cannot afford to go on fighting. If we deepen the moats and heighten the walls, draw the fight out over time, and wait until the enemy runs out of supplies and withdraws, we can pursue and defeat them—that is the path to victory." Zheng Ting replied, "That's the usual talk of some old bookish pedant!" Wei Zheng offered no thanks and walked away.
2
Later he followed Li Mi to the capital, but for a long time remained obscure. He volunteered to pacify the Shandong region and was appointed Secretary of the Palace Library, then rode post-haste to Liyang. At the time Li Shiji was still defending the territory on Li Mi's behalf. Wei Zheng wrote to him: "When the Duke of Wei first rose against the dynasty, he rallied hundreds of thousands to his banner and his influence reached across half the empire. Yet a single defeat left him unable to rally again, and in the end he submitted to Tang—clear proof that Heaven's mandate already rested elsewhere. You now hold a territory every power will fight over. If you do not act quickly on your own behalf, the opportunity will slip away forever!" After reading the letter, Li Shiji resolved to surrender and dispatched a large store of grain to supply the Prince of Huai'an's army.
3
When Dou Jiande seized Liyang, he captured Wei Zheng and gave him the nominal title of Attendant of the Imperial Diary. After Dou Jiande's defeat, Wei Zheng fled through the passes into the heartland with Pei Ju, where the Hidden Crown Prince appointed him Junior Mentor. Seeing the Prince of Qin's mounting power, Wei Zheng privately urged the Crown Prince to act before it was too late. After the Crown Prince's defeat, the Prince of Qin confronted Wei Zheng: "You turned my brothers against me—how do you answer for that?" Wei Zheng replied, "If the Crown Prince had taken my advice sooner, he would not have met this day's doom." The Prince admired his blunt honesty and held no grudge.
4
鹿 使
When the new emperor took the throne, he appointed Wei Zheng Remonstrating and Advising Grand Master and enfeoffed him as Baron of Julu County. At that time, officials throughout Hebei who had long served the Hidden Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi were uneasy, and many secretly plotted rebellion. Wei Zheng told Emperor Taizong, "Unless you demonstrate absolute fairness, this trouble cannot be put to rest." The Emperor said, "Go and reassure the people of Hebei on my behalf." On the way he encountered Li Zhian, the Crown Prince's Palace Attendant, and Li Sixing, the Prince of Qi's Protector-General, being escorted to the capital. Wei Zheng conspired with his deputy: "An edict has just been issued granting general amnesty to all former palace retainers. If we now send Li Zhian and the others under guard to the capital, who among those we are trying to reassure will not begin to doubt us? Even if we make the journey ourselves, no one will trust our message." He released them at once and reported his action only afterward. When he returned from his mission, the emperor was delighted. Their bond deepened day by day; sometimes the emperor would summon him into his bedchamber to consult on affairs across the empire. Convinced he had met with an unparalleled opportunity, Wei Zheng held nothing back. In more than two hundred memorials, each one was pointed and struck exactly where the emperor's concerns lay. On this account he was promoted to Right Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel while retaining his post as Remonstrating and Advising Grand Master.
5
使
Courtiers accused Wei Zheng of favoring his relatives and allies, but when the emperor had Wen Yanbo investigate, the charges proved false. Yanbo said, "As a minister, Wei Zheng failed to make his conduct transparent and keep himself above suspicion, and so became the target of malicious gossip—for that he deserves a rebuke." The emperor sent Yanbo to admonish Wei Zheng. When Wei Zheng saw the emperor, he replied, "I have heard that when ruler and minister are of one mind, they form a single body. How can one pursue absolute fairness while obsessing over appearances? If both ruler and ministers go down that road together, there is no telling whether the realm will prosper or perish." The emperor started, then said, "Now I see it!" Wei Zheng kowtowed and said, "I ask that Your Majesty make me a good minister—not a loyal minister." The emperor asked, "Are loyal ministers and good ministers not the same thing?" He replied, "Good ministers are men like Hou Ji, Qi, and Gao Yao; loyal ministers are men like Long Feng and Bi Gan. Good ministers win lasting fame for themselves, bring glory to their sovereign, and leave blessings that their descendants inherit for generations; loyal ministers suffer death and ruin themselves, leave their sovereign mired in folly and wickedness, bring down the state and destroy their clans, and gain nothing but an empty reputation. That is the difference between them." The emperor said, "Well put." Then he asked, "What makes a ruler enlightened, and what makes him blind?" Wei Zheng said, "A ruler is enlightened because he listens to many voices; he is blind because he trusts only one side. Yao and Shun opened the four gates of their palace, sharpened the vision of their four eyes, and extended the hearing of their four ears. Even men as corrupt as Gong Gong and Gun could not choke off the flow of information, and even smooth words and perverse conduct could not mislead them. The Second Emperor of Qin shut himself away and put his trust in Zhao Gao; rebellion spread across the empire, yet he heard nothing of it; Emperor Wu of Liang trusted Zhu Yi; Hou Jing marched on the capital, yet he heard nothing of it; Emperor Yang of Sui trusted Yu Shiji; rebels spread across the empire, yet he heard nothing of it. Hence the saying: when a ruler listens broadly, the wicked cannot block or conceal the truth, and the concerns of those below reach the throne."
6
The daughter of Zheng Renji's son was both beautiful and gifted. The empress repeatedly asked that she be made a Lady of Handsome Fairness, and the investiture documents were already prepared. Word came that she had already been promised in marriage. Wei Zheng remonstrated: "When Your Majesty lives in palaces and pavilions, you wish the people to have homes of their own; when you eat fine food, you wish the people to eat their fill; when you choose consorts for the palace, you wish the people to have wives and families of their own. The Zheng family has already arranged her marriage. If Your Majesty takes her anyway, is that the conduct of a ruler who acts as parent to the people?" The emperor was deeply ashamed and at once issued an edict canceling the investiture.
7
西使 使 西
In the third year of Zhenguan, as Director of the Palace Library he took part in deliberating court affairs. When the King of Gaochang, Qu Wentai, was about to come to court, the various states of the Western Regions all wanted to send envoys bearing tribute along with him. The emperor ordered that Wentai's envoys be met and escorted at Yandan Qagan. Wei Zheng said, "When Wentai came to court before, the localities along the route could not even supply his party adequately. Now, with envoys from all these states added, countless border counties will be punished for failing to meet the demand. If they come as traders, the border people will benefit; but if they are received as state guests, the heartland will be drained dry. In the Jianwu era of Han, the Western Regions asked to establish a Protectorate and send hostage princes; Emperor Guangwu refused, unwilling to let frontier peoples drain the resources of China." The emperor said, "Well put." He revoked the edict.
8
宿
By the fourth year of his reign, only twenty-nine death sentences were passed that year, punishments were all but abolished, and rice sold for three cash per dou. Earlier the emperor had sighed and said, "After such great upheaval, will the realm not be hard to govern?" Wei Zheng replied, "That chaos makes governance easier is like hunger making food easier to eat." The emperor said, "Did the ancients not say that only after a good man has governed a state for a hundred years are the violent overcome and executions abolished?" He answered, "That saying was not meant for sage rulers. The rule of a sage responds like an echo; within a month or a year it can be achieved. It is not so difficult as people imagine." Feng Deyi objected, "Not so. After the Three Dynasties, depravity and cunning grew worse with each passing day. Qin relied on law, Han mixed in hegemonic methods—both wanted to govern well but could not. It was not that they could govern but chose not to. Wei Zheng is a bookish pedant who loves idle theorizing. He will only throw the state into confusion and should not be listened to." Wei Zheng replied, "The Five Emperors and Three Kings did not change the people in order to teach them. They practiced the Way of the Emperor and became emperors; they practiced the Kingly Way and became kings. Everything depended on the path they chose. The Yellow Emperor drove out Chiyou. After seventy battles he quelled the chaos and thereby achieved effortless rule. When the Nine Li threatened moral order, Zhuanxu campaigned against them and, once they were subdued, brought order to the realm. Jie brought chaos, and Tang banished him; Zhou was without the Way, and King Wu attacked him. Tang and Wu themselves lived to see an age of great peace. If people grow ever more depraved and cunning and no longer return to simplicity, then even if one were a ghost or demon, how could one transform them!" Deyi had no answer, though in his heart he still did not believe it. The emperor accepted Wei Zheng's view without hesitation. By this time the realm was at peace and well governed. Barbarian chieftains donned Chinese robes and caps and served as armed guards at the palace. The realm stretched east to the sea and south beyond the mountains. People left their doors unbarred, travelers carried no provisions, and found what they needed along the road. The emperor told his ministers, "This is because Wei Zheng urged me to practice benevolence and righteousness—and it has already borne fruit. It is a pity Feng Deyi is not here to see it!"
9
Soon afterward he was made Acting Palace Attendant and promoted to Duke of the Commandery. The emperor visited Jiucheng Palace, and the palace women were quartered at Weichuan Palace below. Left Pushe Li Jing and Palace Attendant Wang Gui arrived shortly afterward, and the officials reallocated the palace women's quarters to lodge Jing and Gui. When the emperor heard of it, he said in anger, "Is authority and favor to be wielded by people like this! Why do you treat my palace women so lightly?" He ordered them all prosecuted. Wei Zheng said, "Jing and Gui are both trusted ministers close to Your Majesty's heart; palace women are only attendants of the inner quarters who sweep and clean. When great ministers leave on business, officials consult them on court regulations and statutes; When they return, Your Majesty inquires about the people's suffering. Official lodgings are naturally where Jing and the others receive officials—officials cannot fail to pay their respects. Palace women are another matter: beyond supplying food, they have no duties of consultation or audience. To prosecute the officials over this would shock the whole realm." The emperor came to his senses and dropped the matter.
10
'退 ' 使
Later, while feasting at Danxiao Tower, the emperor said mid-cups to Zhangsun Wuji, "When Wei Zheng and Wang Gui served the Hidden Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi, they were truly odious—but I can put aside old resentments and employ talent. I need not blush before the ancients. Yet whenever Zheng remonstrates with me and I do not heed him, he never answers me immediately when I speak. Why is that?" Wei Zheng replied, "Your servant remonstrates because some matters ought not be done. If I assented the moment You did not heed me, I fear they would then be carried out." The emperor said, "You could assent at once and then set forth a separate argument—would that not do?" Wei Zheng said, "Long ago Shun warned his ministers, 'Do not obey to one's face and speak differently behind one's back. If assenting to one's face were acceptable, then offering a separate argument afterward would itself be speaking behind one's back. That is not how Hou Ji and Xie served Yao and Shun." The emperor burst out laughing and said, "People say Zheng's bearing is careless and insolent—but I see only his charming persuasiveness!" Wei Zheng bowed again and said, "Your Majesty encourages your servant to speak—that is why I dare speak so frankly; If You did not welcome it, how would your servant dare repeatedly to touch the dragon's scales against the grain!"
11
祿 便 祿
In the tenth year, he was made Palace Attendant. Lawsuits stalled in the Ministry of State were ordered settled by Wei Zheng. Wei Zheng was not trained in law, but he upheld the broad principles and judged cases with human sympathy—everyone was satisfied. He was promoted to Left Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and Duke of Zheng. He fell frequently ill and asked to resign. The emperor said, "Do you not see that raw gold in the mine is worth nothing? Only when skillfully refined and forged into a vessel do people treasure it. I compare myself to gold and take you as a fine craftsman to sharpen and polish me. You are ill, but not yet in decline—how can you leave so easily?" Wei Zheng pleaded earnestly, but the more he was refused, the more firmly he pressed his request. Thereupon he was appointed Special Grand Master and placed in charge of Chancellery affairs, with orders to deliberate court regulations and state institutions and comment on their strengths and flaws; his salary, gifts, household staff, and guards were all on the same footing as an incumbent minister.
12
After Empress Wende was buried, the emperor built a multi-storied tower in the park to gaze upon Zhao Mausoleum and had Wei Zheng ascend with him. Wei Zheng looked closely and said, "Your servant's eyes are dim—I cannot see." The emperor pointed it out. Wei Zheng said, "Is this Zhao Mausoleum?" The emperor said, "It is." Wei Zheng said, "Your servant thought Your Majesty was looking toward Xian Mausoleum. If it were Zhao Mausoleum, I would surely have seen it." The emperor wept and had the tower torn down. Soon, for his role in codifying the Five Rites, he was entitled to ennoble one son as a county baron. Wei Zheng asked instead to ennoble his late elder brother's orphaned son Shuci. The emperor said, deeply moved, "This can inspire the people." He granted it at once.
13
退
Later the emperor visited Luoyang and lodged at Zhaoren Palace, where he issued many reprimands. Wei Zheng said, "The Sui dynasty condemned people only for failing to present food or for substandard tribute. Such demands knew no bounds—and led to the dynasty's fall. Heaven therefore entrusted the realm to Your Majesty in their place. You ought to be vigilant, restrained, and wary. How can you make people regret that they were not more extravagant? If you deem this enough, what you have now is more than enough; If you deem it insufficient, even ten thousand times as much would never be enough." The emperor said, startled, "If not for you, I would never have heard such words." Afterward Wei Zheng submitted another memorial, saying:
14
The Book of Documents says, "Illustrate virtue and be cautious in punishment," and "be compassionate in administering punishments." The Book of Rites says, "When superiors find their tasks easy and inferiors easy to understand, punishments need not be numerous." "When the ruler is overly suspicious, the people grow confused; When inferiors are difficult to fathom, rulers and chiefs exhaust themselves. When superiors are easy to serve and inferiors easy to understand, rulers need not wear themselves out and the people need not be bewildered. Then the sovereign keeps to a single standard, and his ministers harbor no divided loyalty. Punishment and reward exist above all to promote virtue and chastise wrongdoing. What a sovereign grants must be one law for all under Heaven, never lighter or heavier for kin or stranger, for the highborn or the low. Punishments and rewards now are meted out at whim—now by mood, now by personal favor or disfavor. In pleasure, the law is stretched to show mercy; in anger, guilt is hunted beyond what the statutes allow. For those favored, the skin is picked apart to discover merit; for those despised, every stain is scrubbed until a blemish appears. When punishment runs wild, the petty flourish; when reward goes astray, the upright are driven from the path. If the wicked go unchecked and the worthy unrewarded, yet one still expects tranquillity and the abolition of the penal code—I have never heard of such a thing. In moments of ease they speak only of revering Confucius and Laozi. Yet when wrath rises, they govern by nothing but the harsh doctrines of Shen Buhai and Han Fei. The spirit of virtue has scarcely taken root, while the taste for harsh severity already blows through the court. Of old, Yang Chu rigged the balance and Chu law collapsed; Zhang Tang bent the scales to his whim and Han justice went awry—what then when the Son of Heaven himself raises and lowers the weights? Lately men have been punished for inadequate feasts, or for failing to gratify every wish—matters far removed from the urgent business of good rule. Rank needs no appointment with pride for pride to arrive; riches need no tryst with extravagance for extravagance to follow—this is no idle proverb.
15
' 便
The realm we now hold is the very one we took from the Sui. Set the Sui treasuries beside our stores today, their arms and armor beside our soldiers and horses, their registered households beside our people—measure the greater against the lesser, and we are not even of the same order! Yet the Sui, for all its wealth and might, was destroyed—because it would not keep still. We remain secure in our poverty and smallness—because we hold ourselves in quiet. Quiet brings peace; unrest brings disorder—everyone knows this. It is neither hidden from sight nor too fine to discern. Why leave the broad, level path to follow the tracks of a wrecked cart? Secure, one forgets peril; well governed, one forgets disorder; while the state stands, one forgets how it may fall. Before the Sui unraveled, they were certain it never would. Before they were destroyed, they were certain they never could be. So arms were ever on the march and forced labor never rested, until shame and ruin overtook them—yet still they did not see what brought their fall. Is it not pitiful! To judge whether a face is fair or foul, one must look into calm water. To gauge whether rule is secure or imperiled, one must take a fallen kingdom as one's mirror. The Book of Songs says: "The mirror of Yin is not distant—it lies in the age that followed Xia. I beg Your Majesty, in every move and every pause of the present reign, to take the Sui as warning—then whether the state will stand or fall, govern well or sink into chaos, may be foreseen. Reflect on the causes of peril and you will remain safe; reflect on the causes of disorder and you will keep the realm governed; reflect on the causes of ruin and you will preserve the state. Whether the state endures or perishes depends on nothing more than curbing desire, cutting back the hunt, laying aside splendor, dropping what is not urgent, guarding against one-sided counsel, cleaving to loyalty and sincerity, and keeping glib sycophants at a distance. What is won with difficulty is kept with ease—or so it should be. Having already gained what was hard to gain, can you not guard what is easy to keep? Fail to hold it fast, and pride, luxury, and excess will set it moving again.
16
西 使 使 使
The emperor gave a banquet for his ministers at the Pool of Accumulated Emerald, drinking deep in merriment and composing verses. Wei Zheng recited his poem "Western Han," whose closing lines run: "Only through Shusun Tong's rites does one learn how august an emperor truly is. The emperor said, "Never once has Zheng spoken without schooling me in propriety." On another occasion, speaking at ease, he asked, "How stands the realm's governance of late?" Wei Zheng, seeing how long peace had lasted and that the emperor's attention had grown lax, answered, "At the opening of the Zhenguan reign, Your Majesty encouraged men to speak plainly. After three years, when remonstrance came you took it gladly and acted on it. These last one or two years, you accept counsel only with reluctance—and in your heart you are never quite at peace with it. The emperor, taken aback, said, "On what grounds do you say so?" He answered, "When Your Majesty first took the throne, the court debated putting Lawyer Yuan to death. Sun Fugue remonstrated that the law did not require death, and Your Majesty gave him Princess Lanling's estate, worth a million cash. Someone said, 'The reward is too lavish.' You answered, 'I have only just come to the throne and had not yet heard a single remonstrance—that is why I rewarded him.' That was encouraging men to speak up. Later Liu Xiong falsely claimed assets from the Sui; the authorities caught him, charged him with fraud, and were about to condemn him to death. Dai Zhou submitted that the offense merited only penal servitude. Your Majesty held firm four or five times before granting pardon at last. You told Dai Zhou, 'My friend, you hold to the law so steadfastly—you do not shrink from my overbearing punishments.' That was taking remonstrance gladly and yielding to it. Not long ago Huangfu Dekcan submitted a memorial stating, 'The repairs to Luoyang Palace impose hardship on the people; To levy land rents is to burden the people with heavy taxation; The vogue for towering coiffures—that is the palace's doing. The emperor said in wrath, 'This fellow would have the realm press not one soul into service, take not one coin in rent, and leave the palace women without a single lock of hair—only then would he deem my wishes fulfilled.' Wei Zheng replied, 'When a minister submits a memorial, he cannot rouse his sovereign's attention unless he speaks with sharp urgency—and yet sharp urgency borders on slander.' At the time, though Your Majesty took my counsel, rewarded me with silk, and dismissed the matter, your heart remained unsettled to the end. This is why it is so hard for a ruler to accept honest counsel." The emperor saw the truth and said, 'But for you, no one could have put it so plainly. The trouble with men is that they cannot see themselves clearly!"
17
Earlier, the emperor had raised the Flying Immortal Palace. Wei Zheng submitted a memorial, saying:
18
退 殿 使
The Sui ruled the realm for more than thirty years. Its influence reached ten thousand li; its might overawed foreign lands—and then, in a single stroke, it was cast aside. Did Emperor Yang truly hate peace and love destruction? He trusted in his wealth and power, and gave no thought to the ruin that would follow. He drove all under Heaven and pressed every living thing into his service. He hoarded women and treasure, jade and silk; he built palaces, towers, and pavilions without end. Corvée labor knew no season; war never ceased. Outwardly he flaunted might; inwardly he nursed suspicion and malice. Slanderers rose; the loyal were cast aside. Court and people lied to one another until life became unbearable—and so he died by a commoner's hand, a mockery to all the world. Then the wise and worthy seized their chance and pulled the realm back from the brink of ruin. Today, palaces and towers—you already inhabit them all; Rare treasures and exotic wonders—you have gathered them all; Fair consorts and graceful ladies—all stand in attendance at your side; The four seas and nine provinces—all lie at your command. If you can read in their fall the warning of your own rise—burn the brocade robes, tear down the vast halls, and dwell in humble chambers—that is the highest virtue. If, now that success is won, you do not abandon the work entirely but keep what was begun, stripping away only what is not urgent—that is the next best virtue. But if you forget how bitterly the throne was won, trust that Heaven's mandate will endure forever, expand the old foundations, and surrender yourself to extravagance—so that the people hear nothing of your virtue, only of their toil—that is the lowest course of all. To overthrow tyranny only to become tyrannical yourself is to follow the path of ruin. When a ruler's deeds violate the proper way, those who come after have no standard by which to judge him. When the people murmur and the spirits grow angry, disasters follow; when disasters come, rebellion follows; and when rebellion comes, few rulers can preserve their lives and good names to the end.
19
That year came torrential rains. The Gu and Luo rivers burst their banks, destroying nineteen palace temples and sweeping away six hundred households. Wei Zheng laid the matter before the throne, saying:
20
使
I have heard that a state is built on virtue and ritual, and sustained by sincerity and trust. When sincerity and trust stand firm, those below harbor no divided loyalties; when virtue and ritual are made manifest, even distant peoples come to pay homage. Virtue, ritual, sincerity, and trust are the great cords of the state—they must not be set aside even for a moment. The Classic says, 'Let the ruler treat his ministers with ritual; let ministers serve their ruler with loyalty.' Since ancient times, all men must die—but a people without trust cannot endure.' It also says, 'When two men speak alike, trust is already present before the words are spoken; when two commands are alike, sincerity already exists beyond the command itself. Thus, to speak and not act is to speak without trust; to command and not be obeyed is to rule without sincerity. Words without trust, commands without sincerity—the noble man will not stoop to such things.
21
綿 便
Since Your Majesty's enlightened reign began, more than ten years have passed. The granaries grow fuller; the realm grows wider—yet virtue does not deepen day by day, nor benevolence and righteousness grow day by day. Why? Because in your dealings with those below, sincerity and trust have not been complete. You have begun well, but not finished well. And so the smooth-tongued and the cunning have had their way: they call unity of purpose 'faction'; they call denunciation 'impartial justice'; they call forthrightness 'grasping for power'; they call loyal remonstrance 'slander.' Call it faction, and even the loyal and trustworthy fall under suspicion; call it impartial justice, and even deceit and fraud escape blame. The forthright fear the charge of grasping for power and cannot speak their full mind; the loyal and outspoken fear the charge of slander and dare not argue back. To dazzle the ruler's eyes and ears, to block the great Way—nothing does more harm to good governance and virtue.
22
使 使
Today, when you seek good order you rely on noble men—but when something goes wrong, you turn to petty men for advice. Praise and blame thus fall to petty men, while responsibility and censure fall to noble men. Men of middling wit may have their small talents—but their vision does not reach far. Even if you make them serve with all their strength and sincerity, they cannot save you from disaster. How much less those who harbor secret greed and fawn upon your face to follow your every whim? Confucius said, 'There have been noble men who lacked benevolence—but there has never been a petty man who possessed it. Even the noble cannot be wholly free of small failings—but failings that never gather into habit do not corrupt what is upright in them. Even the base man may now and then do a small good—but scattered kindnesses do not add up to true loyalty. If you already call a man good, yet still doubt his faithfulness, what is that but planting a straight post and then accusing its shadow of bending? When those above withhold trust, they lose the means to command; when those below withhold trust, they lose the means to serve. In governance, nothing weighs more than trust.
23
使 使 使 使
Long ago Duke Huan of Qi asked Guan Zhong, 'Suppose I let wine go sour in the goblet and meat rot on the board—would that ruin my path to hegemony? Guan Zhong answered, 'That is hardly the conduct of a great ruler—but it would not, by itself, destroy your hegemony.' The duke pressed him, 'Then what would destroy it?' Guan Zhong said, 'Failing to discern men—that destroys hegemony; discerning them but failing to use them—that destroys hegemony; using them but failing to empower them—that destroys hegemony; empowering them but failing to trust them—that destroys hegemony; and once you have trusted them, letting petty men meddle in their affairs—that destroys hegemony. When Xun Mubo of Jin besieged Gu and could not take it for a full year, a man named Xian Lun was brought forward. He said, 'I know the quartermaster at Gu. Do not exhaust your officers and soldiers—let me handle this, and Gu will fall.' Mubo said nothing. His attendants urged him, 'Not one halberd broken, not one soldier wounded—and Gu is ours. Why will you not do it? Mubo replied, 'Xian Lun is a man of sycophancy, not of humaneness. If I let Xian Lun take the city, I would have no choice but to reward him—and to reward him would be to reward a sycophant. When sycophants prosper, Jin trades humaneness for flattery. Even if we win Gu, what would it be worth?' Mubo was only a minister among rival states; Guan Zhong merely the counselor of a hegemon—yet both still guarded trust with care and kept sycophants at arm's length. How much more should Your Majesty, who stands above all sages? If you would keep the noble and the base from mingling in confusion, you must hold them with virtue, meet them with trust, sharpen them with righteousness, and bound them with ritual. Then, loving what is good and hating what is evil, weighing punishments and making rewards clear—what distance could there be to rule by effortless transformation? If you honor the good but cannot promote them, despise the wicked but cannot remove them, punish without reaching the guilty, and reward without reaching the meritorious—then the hour of peril and ruin may not long be delayed.
24
The emperor answered with his own hand, praising the memorial. At once he closed the Xuanyuan Garden of the Bright Virtue Palace and gave it to those who had lost homes in the floods.
25
On another day, feasting his ministers, the emperor said, 'Before Zhenguan, when I fought through hardship to settle the realm in its raw beginnings, the credit belonged to Fang Xuanling. After Zhenguan, in receiving loyal counsel, correcting my errors, and securing the long welfare of the state—only Wei Zheng. Even the greatest ministers of old—who could surpass that? He took the knife from his own belt and gave it to the two of them. Once the emperor asked his ministers, 'Between Wei Zheng and Zhuge Liang—who is the greater man? Cen Wenben answered, 'Liang united in one person the gifts of general and chancellor. Wei Zheng cannot match that.' The emperor said, 'Wei Zheng walks in benevolence and righteousness, steadies my rule, and would raise me to the level of Yao and Shun. Even Liang cannot stand against that.' At that time many sealed memorials arrived, some of them trivial; the emperor grew tired of them and wanted to mock and dismiss the writers. Wei Zheng said, 'In old times rulers erected a post for criticism because they wished to hear their own faults. These sealed reports are the last echo of that post! If Your Majesty truly wishes to know what succeeds and what fails, you should let them speak as freely as they please. When they are right, the court gains; when they are wrong, the realm loses nothing. The emperor was pleased, thanked each writer, and sent them away.
26
In the thirteenth year, Ashina Jieshelv rebelled; stones burst into flame at Yunyang; from winter until the fifth month no rain fell. Wei Zheng submitted a memorial speaking without reserve:
27
I have served at Your Majesty's side for more than ten years. You pledged to me the way of benevolence and righteousness, to hold fast to it and never let it go; and to live in frugality and plainness, unchanged from first to last. Your gracious words still ring in my ears, and I dare not forget them. Yet in recent years you have slowly failed to carry your beginning through to the end. I respectfully set out these points one by one, hoping they may aid you in the smallest measure.
28
使駿 使 便 使
At the start of Zhenguan, Your Majesty lived in clarity and restraint, with few desires, and your transforming virtue reached even the farthest wilds. Now you send envoys ten thousand li to buy fine horses and hunt for curiosities. Emperor Wen of Han once refused a horse that could run a thousand li; Emperor Wu of Jin once burned a pheasant-head fur robe. In your daily counsels you set your gaze on Yao and Shun—do your present deeds now place you below Han Wen and Jin Wu? This is the first drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. Zigong asked Confucius how to govern men. Confucius answered, 'With fear and trembling—as though holding six horses with a rotting rein. Zigong said, 'What is there to fear?' Confucius answered, 'If you do not lead them by the Way, they become your enemies—how can you not fear?' In the early Zhenguan years, Your Majesty guarded the people's labor, cherished them as a father cherishes a son, and did not lightly launch new undertakings. Lately, grown extravagant, you have turned to conscripting labor, saying, 'When the people have no work they grow proud; when worn down by corvée they are easy to manage. Never in history has a state fallen because its people lived in ease and plenty—why dread their contentment and instead wear them down with forced labor? This is the second drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you restrained yourself for the people's good; now you indulge your desires and burden others with the cost. You speak endlessly of caring for others, yet what truly grips your heart are the pleasures that serve you alone. Whenever you plan some new work, you say, 'If I do not build this, it will be inconvenient for me. Weigh that against ordinary human feeling—who would dare speak against it? This is the third drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you drew near to noble men and kept petty men at arm's length. Lately you have grown familiar with petty men while treating noble men with distant ceremony. You honor noble men, yet revere them from a distance; you treat petty men lightly, drawing them close in easy familiarity. Those kept near hide their faults from your sight; those kept far hide their virtues from your sight. When you cannot see their merits, estrangement follows without need of cause; when you cannot see their faults, intimacy grows by degrees. To favor petty men, alienate noble men, and still expect good order—there is no precedent for it. This is the fourth drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you did not covet rare goods or pursue useless extravagance. Now rare treasures pour in from every side, and objects of idle pleasure are sought without pause. If the ruler lives in luxury while expecting simplicity below, and broadens forced labor while hoping agriculture will thrive—that cannot be achieved. This is the fifth drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you thirsted for talent; whomever the worthy recommended, you trusted and appointed, taking what they offered and fearing only that you might fall short. Lately you follow your own likes and dislikes: when many worthy men recommend someone, you use him; when one man speaks against him, you cast him aside—even a man trusted for years may be rejected in a single morning. Character has its steady path; service leaves its record. One man's slander is not necessarily true, and years of faithful conduct should not be undone in an instant. Without examining the root of the matter, you take slander for judgment of merit, letting flatterers prevail while men of integrity are pushed aside. This is the sixth drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you held yourself aloof in dignified repose, with no love of hunting, hawking, or the chase. Within a few years your resolve weakened: hawks and hounds arrived as tribute from the four directions; you rode out at dawn and returned at dusk for sport—if disaster struck suddenly, could help reach you in time? This is the seventh drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you treated subordinates with courtesy, and the people's sentiments could reach you. Now when provincial officials submit memorials, your face shows no welcome; sometimes you seize on a small fault and harry them over trifles—though their loyalty is genuine, they cannot fully speak their mind. This is the eighth drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, you labored tirelessly at governance, as if you could never do enough. Lately, trusting in the scale of your achievements and the brilliance of your wisdom, you have grown proud and willful, launching wars without need and punishing distant peoples. Those near you echo your wishes and will not remonstrate; those far from you fear your power and dare not speak. If this goes on unchecked, the damage will be no small matter. This is the ninth drift away from carrying your beginning to its end. In the early Zhenguan years, frost and drought struck year after year; families in the capital region moved beyond the passes, old and young together, traveling back and forth for years—yet not one household finally fled. That was because Your Majesty cherished and reassured them, so that even unto death they did not abandon their loyalty. Lately, worn down by corvée, the people of the Guanzhong region have suffered most grievously. Artisans due to be dismissed are overlooked and kept on. Regular troops rotating for palace duty are again pressed into separate assignments. Purchases from the markets pour in unceasingly; couriers and porters throng the roads. Should even one harvest fail, I fear the people's hearts will no longer be as calm and secure as before. This is the tenth drift away from carrying your beginning to its end.
29
Fortune and disaster have no door of their own—only men open them; when men give no cause, strange omens do not appear at random. Now drought and heat afflict distant regions; foul omens have appeared at the capital itself—this is Heaven's warning, and a day for Your Majesty to feel fear and redouble your care. An age of lasting peace comes once in a thousand years and cannot be seized twice; when a wise ruler can act and does not—that is why I am choked with grief and long sighs!
30
使
When the memorial reached him, the Emperor said, 'I have heard my faults and mean to amend them, to carry the good path through to the end. If I break this promise, how could I face you again? He had the memorial mounted as a screen to read morning and evening, and ordered a copy placed in the historical archives so that future ages would know the bond between ruler and minister. He then rewarded Wei Zheng with ten catties of gold and two horses.
31
殿 '' '使使 '' '
When Gaochang was conquered, the Emperor banqueted in the Liangyi Hall and sighed, 'If Gaochang had not lost its virtue, how could it have perished! Yet I too must take warning, not to judge noble men by petty men's words—then perhaps I may keep my footing. Wei Zheng said, 'Long ago Duke Huan of Qi drank with Guan Zhong, Bao Shuya, and Ning Qi. The duke asked Shuya whether he would rise and propose a toast for him. Shuya took the cup and rose, saying, 'May you, my lord, not forget your days in Ju; may Guan Zhong not forget when he was bound in Lu; may Ning Qi not forget when he fed oxen beneath his cart.' Duke Huan left his seat and apologized, 'If I and these two ministers do not forget your words, the altars of state will not be endangered.' The Emperor said, 'I shall not forget my days as a commoner; you must not forget how Bao Shuya conducted himself.'
32
使西使 西
The Emperor sent envoys to the Western Regions to install Ashina Qilibi as qaghan; before they returned, he sent another mission with gold and silks to the various states to buy horses. Wei Zheng said, 'The qaghan is not yet firmly established, yet you already send buyers to the various states—they will surely think your heart is set on horses, not on enthroning the qaghan. Even if the qaghan is installed, he will not feel bound by gratitude. When the frontier peoples hear of it, they will think China prizes profit over faith—you may fail to gain the horses and will lose righteousness first. Emperor Wen of Wei once wished to buy a great pearl from the Western Regions; Su Ze said that when grace reaches the four seas, what is sought arrives unbidden; what must be chased down is not worth cherishing. Your Majesty—should you not heed Su Ze's warning? The Emperor thereupon abandoned the plan.
33
Later the post of Right Vice Director fell vacant; the Emperor wished to appoint Wei Zheng, but Wei Zheng declined and the appointment was not made. Crown Prince Chengan and Prince Li of Wei had fallen out. The Emperor said, 'Today no one surpasses Wei Zheng in loyal bluntness; I appoint him tutor to the Crown Prince—when the empire's hopes rest on him, his support will be secure. He thereupon appointed Wei Zheng Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince. Wei Zheng pleaded illness; the Emperor replied, 'The Han crown prince had the Four Ho to assist him; I rely on you in the same way. Even lying ill, you can still guard and sustain him."
34
殿 宿使 西 使 西
In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, his illness grew grave. Wei Zheng's home at first had no proper main hall; the Emperor ordered timber from a small palace withheld to build one for him, finished in five days, and sent plain bedding and cotton quilts suited to his austere habits. He ordered a palace attendant to stay at Wei Zheng's house; every change in his condition was reported, and gifts of medicine and food were beyond count, palace messengers filling the road. The Emperor came in person to ask after him, dismissed attendants, and talked with him all day before returning. Later he visited again with the Crown Prince; Wei Zheng donned court robes, the sash trailing from weakness. The Emperor grieved, stroked him and wept, and asked what he desired. He answered, 'A widow does not fret over thin cloth, but fears the fall of the royal house! The Emperor planned to marry the Princess of Hengshan to Wei Zheng's son Shuyu. The princess was present; the Emperor said, 'Look upon your new daughter-in-law while you can! Wei Zheng could not answer. That night the Emperor dreamed of Wei Zheng as in life; at dawn Wei Zheng died. The Emperor came in person to mourn, grieved deeply, and suspended court for five days. The Crown Prince led mourning rites in the Xihua Hall. An edict summoned all officials and envoys to the funeral; he was posthumously made Minister of Works and Area Commander of Xiangzhou, titled Wenzhen, granted feathered parasols, musical escort, and forty halberds of honor, and buried near Zhaoling. As burial approached, his wife Lady Pei objected, 'Wei Zheng lived always in frugality; to borrow first-rank funeral rites with such grand display is not what he would have wanted. When the Emperor agreed, they used a plain cart with white cloth curtains, without lacquered carriage or straw effigy. The Emperor climbed the western tower of the imperial park, looked toward the funeral procession, and wept his fill. The Prince of Jin, by imperial command, performed the sacrificial offerings. The Emperor composed the inscription for the stele and wrote it in his own hand. He also granted the family nine hundred fief households.
35
使稿' '
Later at court the Emperor sighed, 'Take bronze for a mirror and you can set your cap and robes aright; take history for a mirror and you can see the rise and fall of ages; take other men for a mirror and you can know success and failure. I once kept these three mirrors to guard against my own faults. Now that Wei Zheng is gone, one of those mirrors is lost. Recently I sent an envoy to his home and found a single sheet of writing, still only half drafted; the legible portion reads, 'All affairs under Heaven have their good and their evil—put good men in charge and the realm is secure; put wicked men in power and the realm is ruined. Among the high ministers, affection and dislike run deep; those who dislike a man see only his faults, those who favor him see only his virtues. In the sway of personal feeling, one must weigh matters with extra care. If you can love a man yet see his faults, or dislike him yet see his merits—cast out the corrupt without wavering, trust the worthy without suspicion—the state may thrive again. That was the gist of it. When I reflect on it, I fear I cannot escape this very failing. Let every minister and attendant official write these words on his court tablet—knowing of a fault, remonstrate without fail."
36
Wei Zheng looked no more striking than any ordinary man, yet he had nerve and daring; he would speak against the Emperor's will again and again, and even when the Emperor flew into a rage his face never changed—until the Son of Heaven himself relented. Observers said that not even the legendary braves Meng Ben and Xia Yu could match him. Once, on returning from tending his father's grave, he submitted a memorial: 'I heard lately that Your Majesty planned a tour to Guannan, made ready, then stopped—why?' The Emperor said, 'I was afraid of your remonstrance, so I called it off.' In the aftermath of the rebellions, law and ritual had fallen into disarray; Wei Zheng petitioned to gather Confucian scholars to collate the palace library, until the empire's records stood complete and in order. Finding the Lesser Dai Rites poorly arranged, he reorganized them into the Categorized Rites in twenty chapters, a work of several years. The Emperor praised the work and had it copied into the inner archive. The Emperor had won the realm by the sword; though the land was at peace, he never ceased planning campaigns on the frontiers. At court feasts, when the Breaking Formation Martial Virtue Dance was performed Wei Zheng would bow his head and refuse to watch; when the Celebrating Goodness Music played, he would listen with rapt pleasure—each gesture a quiet rebuke.
37
After Wei Zheng's death the Emperor could not stop thinking of him; he climbed Lingyan Pavilion to gaze at his portrait and wrote verses of mourning. Envious courtiers seized the moment to slander him without restraint. Wei Zheng had once recommended Du Zhenglun and Hou Junji as men fit for the chancellorship; when Zhenglun was disgraced and Junji executed for rebellion, small-minded men denounced him as a patron of cliques; they also claimed he had copied his past remonstrances and shown them to the historiographer Chu Suiliang. The Emperor's displeasure deepened; he halted Shuyu's marriage, cast down the stele he himself had erected, and let the family fall from favor.
38
During the Liaodong campaign, Goguryeo and Mohe forces breached the line; Li Ji and others fought hard and broke them. On the army's return he said wistfully, 'If Wei Zheng were still alive, would I have launched this campaign at all!' He at once summoned the family to his camp, rewarded wife and children, offered the lesser tai sacrifice at the tomb, raised the stele again, and restored their honors.
39
祿 姿
He had four sons: Shuyu, Shuwan, Shulin, and Shuyu. Shuyu inherited the marquisate and served as Vice Director of the Imperial Household. In the opening years of the Shenlong reign, his son Ying was re-enfeoffed. Shulin, Vice Minister of Rites, was put to death by the empress's brutal magistrates during Wu Zetian's reign. Shuyu, Prefect of Yuzhou, excelled in cursive and clerical script and passed his brushwork to his son Hua and his nephew-in-law Xue Ji. Calligraphy masters were said to run 'from Yu and Chu in the earlier age to Xue and Wei in the later.' Hua served as Supervising Secretary to the Left Wing of the Heir Apparent and held the title Baron of Wuyang. Under Kaiyuan, fire destroyed the family hall; his descendants mourned three days while an edict called every official to the funeral. Wei Zheng's fifth-generation descendant was Mo. Mo, of the fifth generation, styled Shenzhi, passed the jinshi examination and was engaged by Yang Rushi, Prefect of Tongzhou, as patrol officer of the Changchun Palace. Reading the Zhenguan Administration Essentials, Emperor Wenzong sought Wei Zheng's line; Rushi recommended Mo as Right Reminder. Mo was tall and commanding in bearing; the Emperor took him for a man out of the ordinary.
40
使 使
Dong Changling, military commissioner of Yongguan Circuit, had adjutant Heng Fanghou killed on false charges; Fanghou was demoted to registrar of Xun Prefecture, then soon made prefect of Xia. Mo remonstrated, 'A sovereign may pardon guilt, but never pardon those who offend again. Changling has just murdered innocents at will—the facts are plain, the family pursued justice from afar, and though guilt was proved he was spared; court and country alike call it a miscarriage of law. To appoint him prefect again and set him over the people is to tangle the code and betray good government—I see no warrant for it.' An edict reassigned Changling to Assistant Prefect of Hong Prefecture.
41
Li Xiaoben of the imperial clan, Vice Censor-in-Chief, was executed in the Li Xun affair; his two daughters were seized for the inner palace. Mo memorialized, 'Since Your Majesty's accession you have shunned music and courtesans; for ten years you have taken no new consorts. These past months you have begun to favor music and entertainers—the Music Bureau keeps reviewing candidates by the hundred, and rumors of estate purchases run without cease. Now you take Xiaoben's daughters into the harem—imperial blood left unprotected, pleasure heaped upon favor—striking at the root of rule and inviting scandal. The proverb runs, 'To end cold, wrap yourself in furs; to end slander, mend yourself. I beg Your Majesty to uphold virtue that will shine for ages and put aside passing amusements.' The Emperor at once released Xiaoben's daughters and proclaimed, 'Your forebear in the Zhenguan years spoke blunt truth on every matter; whenever I read the annals I admire him for it. Mo, as Reminder, offered counsel again and again. Keeping the inner quarters in order is not the same as stocking courtesans; sheltering a clan girl is not the same as seizing women—yet appearances confuse, and not every household can see the difference. Mo's words cut deep; could his care for my failings be greater? Mo has served only briefly, yet why should I spare a single title? To strengthen the voice of an honest minister—appoint Mo Right Supplementation Censor."
42
使使
Earlier the Emperor told his chancellors, 'Taizong had Wei Zheng to shore up his flaws; I now have Mo, who remonstrates just as fiercely. I dare not claim the Zhenguan age, yet perhaps I may live without grave error.' A Music Bureau artisan who excelled at new songs was made Assistant Military Commissioner of Yangzhou; critics protested that the post was too lofty for a common craftsman—the Emperor sided with the appointment. The chancellor told the remonstrance officers to hold their tongues; Mo alone insisted it could not stand, and the artisan was demoted to Runzhou. Army supervisor Lü Lingchen of Jingnan let his runners humiliate the magistrate of Jiangling; observation commissioner Wei Chang failed to report upward and instead whispered the facts to a inner-court eunuch. Mo impeached Chang: charged with oversight, he knew the army supervisor had abused officialdom yet said nothing to the throne, confiding instead in court favorites— a breach of law; Mo asked that punishment be fixed. The court did not reply.
43
Soon Mo became Diarist; the Emperor asked, 'Does your family still keep any of the imperial edicts?' Mo answered, 'Only the old court tablet remains.' An edict commanded that it be sent in. Zheng Tan said, 'What matters is the man, not the tablet.' The Emperor said, 'Tan misses my meaning—this tablet is today's sweet-pear tree under which worthies rest.' He then instructed Mo, 'When anything is amiss, do not hesitate to speak.' Mo replied, 'When I was a remonstrance officer I could speak freely; now I record conduct and dare not exceed my charge.' The Emperor said, 'Officers of both secretariats may all discuss court business—do not hold back!' When the Emperor asked for the court diaries, Mo wrote, 'Antiquity set Left and Right Historiographers to record right and wrong as a mirror for rulers. Your good deeds need not fear going unrecorded; your missteps—the people under Heaven will record them too.' The Emperor said, 'Not so. I have already looked at them once.' Mo said, 'When Your Majesty demanded to read them, the historians failed their office. Once you have seen them, later entries will bend and hide the truth—good and evil will lie—and history will mean nothing; what will later ages believe?' The Emperor desisted.
44
Eunuch Qiu Shiliang of the Army of Inspired Strategy arrested the sorcerer Helan Jinxing and his band, tried them within the army, and when the treason case was complete the Emperor interrogated them himself and ordered the prisoners executed as a public warning. Vice Censor-in-Chief Gao Yuanyu argued, 'Trials belong to the public courts. The Ministry of Justice and Court of Judicial Review are the judges—how can great cases be decided without them? What becomes of the code? Return the case to the proper offices. No answer came. Mo wrote, 'If the matter is military, try it in the army. If the accused are ordinary subjects, give them to prefecture and county. Now the prisoners are not with the civil courts—with law's gradations hidden, who can tell fair from foul?' The Emperor stayed the executions and ordered the army to keep its officers on duty while the rest went to the Censorate. The Censorate feared Shiliang and dared not dissent; in the end all were put to death. Raised to Remonstrance Grandee while serving as Diarist and academician of the Hongwen Institute, Mo declined repeatedly but at last took the posts.
45
When Mo first rose, Li Jue and Yang Sifu had been his patrons. When Wuzong took the throne, Mo was tied to their faction and sent out as prefect of Fen. Soon he was demoted to long secretary of Xin Prefecture. Under Xuanzong he served as prefect of Ying and Shang in turn. Recalled as Gentleman for Drafting Edicts and then Censor-in-Chief, he exposed the embezzlement of imperial son-in-law Du Zhongli, and the great families quailed. When he was also given Revenue duties, Mo wrote, 'The Censor-in-Chief holds the empire's discipline—he should not also handle coin and grain; let me govern Revenue alone.' The edict agreed. Shortly he rose to Grand Councillor. He urged, 'The realm is largely at peace, yet no heir sits in the Eastern Palace—unless upright tutors are appointed soon, the weight of the succession is not secured.' He wept as he spoke, and the Emperor was moved. Since Jingzong's day talk of the heir had been perilous, and ministers dared not broach it. The Emperor was aging and the rightful heir still unsettled; Mo in office spoke first to the heart of the matter, and court opinion rallied to him.
46
使
When Zhan Piguo sent an elephant, Mo held that it was alien to the realm and should not be kept, and asked that the gift be sent back. The edict agreed. Hedong commissioner Li Ye slaughtered surrendered tribesmen and unsettled the borders; shielded by court patrons, he went unchallenged until Mo had him transferred to Hua. He was moved to Vice Director of the Secretariat. Chief Justice Ma Shu owned dozens of rhinoceros-hide armors and, in fear, buried them. His slave Wang Qing, nursing a grudge, accused Shu of hoarding armor for rebellion; inquiry found no plot; Shu was exiled beyond the Ling Mountains and Qing went free. Critics said the law does not hear a slave's suit against his master. Mo cited statute and fought the ruling until Qing was sentenced to death. He rose to Vice Director of the Chancellery and Minister of Revenue.
47
西使
In Dazhong 10 he served as Grand Councillor and military commissioner of Jiannan West Circuit. Falling ill, he asked to be relieved; recalled as Minister of Personnel, he was long sick and made acting Right Vice Minister of Works and Junior Mentor to the Heir Apparent. He died at sixty-six and was posthumously made Minister of Works.
48
歿
As chancellor, when matters were debated before the throne other councillors might hedge and hint; Mo alone spoke straight without flinching. Xuanzong once said, 'Mo is a famous minister's grandson; he has the old family's spine—I stand in awe of him.' Yet his very uprightness drew the envy of Linghu Tao, who slandered him from office. 【Appraisal】The appraisal says: The bond between ruler and minister—how hard it is! For all Wei Zheng's loyalty and Taizong's clarity, scarcely had he died when suspicion and slander rushed in. Wei Zheng's remonstrances ran to tens of thousands of words; again and again he warned the Emperor of noble men and petty men, of how sycophants poison loyalty. Even so, he could not escape calumny in the end. Hence the saying: 'Pure white stains easily; lofty heights are hard to keep'—a lament since antiquity. Liu Fang of Tang wrote that when Wei Zheng died, all who knew him or not grieved, calling him the straight truth the Three Dynasties had left behind. So it was! Mo's counsel stood as straight as his forebear's fame—is he not the man the Odes mean when they say, 'In this he takes after him'?
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