The tumultuous life of Yu Guozhu, a famous prime minister

On a certain day in 1625 AD, Yu Guozhu was born in Yuci Village, Mingshan Township, Daye City.

When Yu Guozhu was very young, his father died. Because his family was poor, he was fostered with his uncle and lived in Shenghongqing Village, Tieshan, not far from Dongfang Mountain. His uncle loved him very much and sent him to study at Dongfangshan Academy. Yu Guozhu was very smart since he was a child, and was deeply loved by his enlightenment teacher Lu Rujie. Teacher Lu was from Zhoujiazhuang, Daye County, and was a Jinshi. Yu Guozhu has a super memory and has a photographic memory of the "Four Books" and "Five Classics" he has read.

One winter morning, Yu Guozhu came to school very early. Teacher Lu felt a little strange when he saw that his trousers were dry. Because, on winter mornings, the grass on the roadside in Dongfang Mountain is covered with dew. The trousers of the children who came to school were soaked by the dew from the grass on the roadside. Only Yu Guozhu's trousers were dry.

Teacher Lu asked Yu Guozhu: Why are your trousers not wet with grass dew? Yu Guozhu replied: There were two little white rabbits running in front of me in the morning, and they helped me get dew.

Teacher Lu felt very strange. One day, he went up the mountain with Yu Guozhu and saw two little white rabbits side by side, walking in front of Yu Guozhu, jumping and dripping.

Teacher Lu followed the little white rabbits to see where they went.

The little white rabbit walked into a cave, and Teacher Lu followed him in.

Inside the cave, there was a large stone table with a book of war and a sword on it. Teacher Lu flipped through the book of war. There were no words in the book of war. This was a book of war without words. Later, this incident was spread by everyone: If Teacher Lu hadn't gone to the cave prematurely, read the military books and broke the law, Yu Guozhu might not have become the prime minister, but became the emperor.

When I was very young, I heard adults tell this story. It’s just that when I was young, I didn’t know that the protagonist of this story was my fellow countryman, and he turned out to be an amazing senior fellow countryman.

Yu Wenming is the uncle of Yu Guozhu, who was the magistrate of Daye County in the Ming Dynasty. In his youth, Yu Guozhu followed his uncle and engaged in activities against Zhang Xianzhong's peasant uprising. As a result, almost everyone in his family was executed by Zhang Xianzhong. This incident is recorded in the Daye County Chronicle: "The times were chaotic and lawless, thieves were everywhere, the natives in the palace were in trouble, more than 100 members of the Yu family were besieged and killed, and more than 30 houses were burned down."

This is the famous "Guiwei Rebellion" in Daye's history. After Yu Wenming learned about this, he died of anger in Xingguo, and Yu Guozhu fled to Lushan.

In the eighth year of Shunzhi (1651), Yu Guozhu made a sensation in Huguang by taking the first place in the A-level examination.

In the ninth year of Shunzhi (1652), Yu Guozhu passed the examination for the top three Jinshi (that year, 3 first-class, 77 second-class, and 317 third-class scholars included Yu Guozhu's name) and was awarded the Yanzhou promotion official. The person who moved was the person in charge of delivering edicts and canonization matters. Later he was transferred to the head of household department.

In the fifteenth year of Kangxi (1676), the household department was granted to Shizhong. At that time, troops were frequently used, and he repeatedly wrote letters discussing strategies to raise wages. The palm seal of the Li Ke was assigned to the event, the household and ceremony walls were compiled, food and wages were collected, and the music was set. During the reign of the three vassals, he repeatedly neglected the main task of raising food and wages, reduced the power of the vassal, punished the powerful, and increased national taxes.

In the 20th year of Kangxi's reign (1681), he was promoted to the position of censor of the left deputy capital. Soon he was appointed governor of Jiangning. Because he catered to Mingzhu, he got high positions such as Zuodu Yushi and Hubu Shangshu. He once blackmailed Tang Bin, the governor of Jiangning, but was rejected, so he tried his best to exclude Tang Bin.

In the 23rd year of Kangxi (1684), he was the censor of Zuodu in Jin Dynasty and a minister of remonstrance to the imperial court. In September, the ruling Pearl was introduced to the Ministry of Revenue. During his tenure as Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he was in charge of the national finance, agriculture, and economic lifelines, implemented the government policies, increased national strength, strongly supported the recovery of Taiwan, the resistance against Russia, and the counterinsurgency and unification war, and restored and developed the country. national economy. He assisted Emperor Kangxi in the three major national affairs of pacifying the Three Feuds, regulating rivers, and water transportation. At this time, in order to improve his salary, he attached himself to the powerful minister and became the deputy leader of the Northern Party of the day.

In the twenty-sixth year of Kangxi's reign, he was promoted to the rank of Bachelor of Wuyingdian, concurrently as the Minister of Household Affairs and the official of Guanglu. According to records, the books "Political Code and Training", "Qing Dynasty Huidian" and "Qing Yitong Zhi" were all written by him. During this period, Yu Guozhu's collusion with Mingzhu became even closer, and people at the time called him "Yu Qinhui".

Recently, there is a 40-episode TV series "Yu Chenglong", which is about the desperate duel between the governor of Liangjiang, Yu Chenglong, and the cronies of the Minister of the Interior, Yu Guozhu, Jiangsu Governor Yu Guozhu and Jiangning General Heli. The scene is a reproduction of real history.

At that time, when Yu Chenglong was the governor of Liangjiang, Yu Guozhu was the governor of Jiangsu (from the 20th to the 23rd year of Kangxi 1681-1684).

At this time, Yu Guozhu had a vicious mind and a bad official reputation. Instigated by Mingzhu, he colluded with General Heli of Jiangning, pushing each other, and tried his best to prevent Jackie Chan from eradicating "Huo Hao" in the two rivers. The storyline is like the ups and downs of the sea, which is thrilling and gripping.

During the trial of Heli, Yu Chenglong had a wonderful conversation with Heli and Yu Guozhu:

Yu Chenglong: "Take the murderer Heli to court!"

All the government officials tied up Heli Wuhuada and took him into the lobby, but Heli refused to kneel down.

Yu Chenglong: "Criminal Heli, why don't you kneel down quickly!"

Heli: "My great relative who loves Xinjieluo, will you kneel down?"

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Yu Chenglong: "Kneel down!"

Heli: "Who are you?"

Yu Chenglong: "Kneel down!"

The government officials kicked him with their feet, and Heli could only kneel down.

Yu Chenglong: "The criminal Heli, come back to this hall for questioning. Did you kill the driver of the fish shell with your own hands?"

Heli: "I didn't kill him, could it be you? "Isn't it possible to kill him?"

Yu Chenglong: "Go back to the hall and ask. Who killed the driver of Yuke?"

Heli: "I killed him. Why?" Like?"

Yu Chenglong: "Let me ask you again, who killed Liu Jinyang?"

Heli: "I killed him."

Yu Chenglong: "Okay! Heli, as an army commander, a national general, a frontier official, and a royal relative, you don't care about the safety of the world, the country, the country, the suffering of the people, and the emperor's grace. You commit murder with a knife." Killing innocent people is an unpardonable crime."

Heli: "Yu Chenglong, just remember that I am a relative of the royal family. Just remember that I am a general of the country. You, the governor, have no right to judge me in the royal family. He is the nephew of the current emperor. In Jiangning, I am the leading officer of Liangjiang and your superior. If you understand, you will immediately untie me."

Yu Chenglong: "I will give it to you. Don't worry, I will untie you when your head falls to the ground."

Heli: "Yu Chenglong, I want to go back to the capital! I want the emperor to interrogate me!" You are not qualified!"

At this time, Yu Chenglong reached for the killing token on the table.

Heri: "What are you going to do?"

At this time, Yu Chenglong had already obtained the killing token.

At this time, Yu Guozhu, the governor of Jiangsu who was standing below, stood up hurriedly and said to Jackie Chan: "Your Majesty, you must not act like this. General Heli is a relative of the emperor and a first-class official. Even if he is If you have committed a capital crime, you should also submit it to the Zongren Mansion for trial. Your Majesty, I would like to ask you to immediately stop the trial of General Heli and transfer him to the capital for trial and disposal."

Yu Chenglong: "Master Futai, from what you said, this governor does not have the right to judge Heli?"

Yu Guozhu: "You indeed do not have the right to judge General Heli."

< p> Yu Chenglong: "Then I have to go to trial?"

Yu Guozhu: "If you have to go to trial, I can only summon officials of the third rank and above from Liangjiang to jointly submit a petition to Emperor Shu to impeach you. ."

Yu Chenglong: "You do what you want, and I judge mine. We all do our own thing, criminal Heli, and I will judge your crime now."

< p> Yu Guozhu: "Yu Chenglong! You don't have this right!"

Yu Chenglong: "Yu Guozhu! Step back!"

Yu Guozhu had no choice but to step aside. No more talking.

Yu Chenglong: "criminal Heli, listen carefully."

Heli: "listen to me. If you dare to judge me like this, first of all The only person who can't spare you is the emperor. I want to go back to the capital!" Yu Chenglong: "You want to fall into the hands of this governor? Can you go back? Heli, you are running rampant in the countryside, bullying the emperor and harming the people, and have done many evil things. Now, on behalf of the court, on behalf of the country, and on behalf of the people of Liangjiang, I will sentence you to death."

Heli: "You sentence me to death. I am a noble of the Eight Banners and the emperor's nephew. You cannot sentence me. The court will not approve it! The emperor will not approve it!"

Yu Chenglong stood up and clapped his right hand heavily. He looked at the table and said: "Don't forget, this governor also holds the title of Minister of the Ministry of War. Come here! Take the intentional murderer Heli out of the yamen and torture him to death!"

Yu Chenglong took care of the murderer in his hands. The token was tossed to Heri.

At this time, Heli was so frightened that he broke out in cold sweat and collapsed to the ground. The government officials carried him out of the lobby.

On May 31, 1684, Yu Chenglong died of exhaustion at his post, and Yu Guozhu continued to serve as an official.

Later, Guo Xiu, the censor of Zuoqiandu, wrote the "Special Correction of Ministers", impeaching Mingzhu and Yu Guozhu for their corruption behavior to Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. In the 26th year of Kangxi, Mingzhu was dismissed as prime minister, and Yu Guozhu was dismissed. Dismissed (1687).

After Yu Guozhu was dismissed, he lived in Jiangning. He Jinlan was impeached for building a private residence. Qu Jiuwan committed suicide by drowning himself in the river, and Yu Guozhu was deported back to his hometown. A few years later, he died at home.

It is said that Yu Guozhu's entry into the cabinet to worship the prime minister is also very legendary. One year, the elephant in the imperial garden suddenly started braying. The emperor didn't know whether it was bad or good luck. The next morning, he asked the ministers what this sign was. None of the civil and military officials in the dynasty could answer the question, and the emperor was very angry.

At this time, Yu Guozhu appeared in the class: "I am reporting to my lord that the elephant is roaring. This is auspicious sign. Ancient books say that if the elephant roars, the country will prosper.

The emperor asked Yu Guozhu , It comes from He Dian. Yu Guozhu said: It comes from Buddhist scriptures.

The emperor asked him to bring the scriptures to check, and it turned out that he was very knowledgeable. , It is really worthy of worship. A person like him even knows the Buddhist scriptures and other books even more.

It turns out that Yu Guozhu read this Buddhist scripture when he was studying in Dongfang Mountain.

After Yu Guozhu became Prime Minister, he cared very much about local culture and education. He was respectfully called Mr. Yu Ge by Daye people, and some also respected him as Prime Minister Yu. He also donated money to build pavilions in Dongfang Mountain.

From the southern foot of Dongfang Mountain, along the mountain road to the top of the mountain, there is a large archway, which is the gate of Honghua Zen Temple in Dongfang Mountain. On the green bricks of the mountain gate arch of Honghua Zen Temple, there are five characters "The First Mountain of Three Chus" engraved on it, which were written by Yu Guozhu, the famous prime minister of the Kangxi Dynasty.

Yu Guozhu, also known as Liangshi, was a Jinshi in the ninth year of Shunzhi (1652). In the 26th year of Kangxi, he was promoted to a bachelor of Wuyingdian and a minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He was a famous official in the Qing Dynasty with the title of Zhengyi.

Why did Yu Guozhu call Dongfang Mountain "the first mountain in the Three Chus"? It is said that in 1683, when Yu Guozhu was governor of Jiangsu, the county chronicle was compiled in his hometown in Daye, Hubei. The then county magistrate Chen Gang sent someone to find Yu Guozhu, hoping that he would write a preface to the county chronicle. Yu Guozhu was full of love for his hometown's request and readily agreed. That night, he read through the county annals and sent them for review. Three days later, he wrote the preface and gave it to the county magistrate to take back to his hometown.

The Daye County Chronicle was quickly printed. After Yu learned about it, he traveled back to his hometown day and night. County Magistrate Chen notified some wealthy gentry, scribes, etc. to entertain Yu Guozhu warmly. After hearing the news, Zhou Shihuang, Yu's classmate and friend, came to meet his friends. After some hospitality, they decided to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Dongfang Mountain.

Wherever he visited, Yu Guozhu was very interested and recited a poem of Qilu whenever he saw the scene. Master Huiwu and Master Yuanqing of the temple accompanied him and took notes. He wrote down 8 poems in one sentence: " "Chan Guan Yue Yong", "Daodong Clouds Stop", "Lingquan Xizhuo", "Xian Lu Sun Xuan", "Green Pine Inverted", "White Lotus Frequently Blooming", "Iron Ox Lying Loosely", "Stone Boat High" support".

After the tour and a vegetarian meal, Master Huiwu asked Yu Guozhu to write an inscription to commemorate Dongfang Mountain. Without thinking, Yu took Master Yuanqing’s brush and splashed ink with five words: "The First Mountain in Three Chu" Big letters.

These five big characters are written in tall and handsome handwriting. Master Hui Wu put his palms together to express his thanks. Unexpectedly, Zhou Shihuang was not happy. He said: There are many famous mountains in the Three Chus. Is it too exaggerated to call Dongfang Mountain "the first mountain in the Three Chus"? He said that Xishan in his hometown is the best mountain in Sanchu.

Which three Chus did the "Three Chus" mentioned by Emperor Zhou Shihuang refer to?

During the Warring States Period, the territory of Chu was vast. It was not until the Qin and Han Dynasties that it was divided into Western Chu, Eastern Chu and Southern Chu, collectively known as the Three Chus.

"Historical Records·Biographies of Huozhi" lists Huaibei, Pei, Chen, Runan and Nanjun as Western Chu; east of Pengcheng, Donghai, Wu and Guangling as Eastern Chu; Hengshan, Jiujiang, Jiangnan, Yuzhang, Changsha is Southern Chu.

"The Book of Han: The First Chronicle of Emperor Gaodi" records that "Yu established himself as the overlord of Western Chu." Yan Shigu quoted Meng Kang's "Yinyi", and Jiangling (i.e. Nanjun) was regarded as Southern Chu; Wu was regarded as Eastern Chu; Pengcheng is Western Chu.

During the Five Dynasties, Ma Yin occupied Changsha, Zhou Xingfeng occupied Wuling, and Gao Jixing occupied Jiangling. They were all in the ancient Chu land, also known as the Three Chus. See "New Records of Three Chu" written by Zhou Yuchong of the Song Dynasty.

The above are all different. However, in the poems and articles of later generations, "Three Chu" was generally used to refer to the area south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, which is now Hunan and Hubei.

Since the Three Chus are so big, Yu Guozhu said that Dongfang Mountain is "the first mountain in the Three Chus". There is a reason why Zhou Shihuang was not very happy, but he said that the Xishan Mountain in his hometown is the "three Chus". "The first mountain in Chu" is not a correct theory either.

Yu Guozhu explained: Dongfang Mountain is not only beautiful and rich in scenery, but also a world-famous Buddhist temple. It is rich in products and contains more than ten kinds of metal minerals. It is like a cornucopia, which is rare even in the Qing Dynasty. There is a proverb, "It is better to travel all over the world than to be at the foot of the Eastern Mountains." Yu Guozhu quoted scriptures to support it, and his words are like countless treasures. Although Zhou Shihuang was dissatisfied in his mouth, he had already surrendered in his heart and suggested that Yu Guozhu's inscription be placed on the gate of Honghua Zen Temple.

Yu Guozhu not only inscribed "The First Mountain of Three Chus" for Dongfangshan Gate, but also wrote the famous "Poem on Eight Scenes of Dongfangshan" for Dongfangshan:

Yi Congzhuo The Anchor Dojo is open, and the Moon Yong Zen takes care of the Buddhist altar.

There are pines planted upside down in the mountains, and lotus roots were planted first in the pond because they were clean.

The iron ox often lies in the palace,

The stone boat does not move the row of Buddhist shadows.

Xianji Ning went with Manqian,

The Taoist came to see the master at the entrance of the cave.

In fact, everyone knows that there are two famous mountains in Hubei Province: one is Dongfang Mountain and the other is Wudang Mountain. Dongfang Mountain is a Buddhist holy place, and Wudang Mountain is a Taoist holy place. There is a good saying: "Worship the Buddha in the East and ask about Wudang." If I have to rank first and second, I still agree with Dongfangshan being first. Because there are more people who believe in Buddhism than Taoism in China. There are four very famous Buddhist holy places in our country: "Golden Wutai (Shanxi), Silver Putuo (Zhejiang), Tongemei (Sichuan), and Tiejiuhua (Anhui)".

Yu Guozhu served as an official in the court for 36 years. In 32 BC, he was honest and upright, worked hard to govern, and made immortal contributions to the Qing Dynasty. In the next 4 years, when implementing the major policies of the court, he formed a party and took bribes, participated in the strife of Mingzhu's cronies, and was finally dismissed from office and sent to his hometown to die of illness.

Why did Yu Guozhu degenerate from an honest, smart and capable official to a corrupt and greedy official? Why did he ruin his innocence in just the last four years of his 32-year career as an official?

This starts with the internal political struggle in the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Suo'etu was an important minister around Emperor Kangxi. However, this man monopolized power, took bribes, and gained huge wealth.

At that time, Manchuria was the jewel of the Zhenghuang Banner, and its power was second only to Suo'etu. He gathered party members and formed another authoritarian and corrupt bureaucratic group and political force.

In July 1679, there was an earthquake in the capital. Wei Xiangshu, the censor of Zuodu, impeached Suo Etu and Mingzhu for accepting bribes and engaging in favoritism. The following year, Suo'etu resigned due to illness, and the Pearl Party became even more proficient. Among the Mingzhu Party, Yu Guozhu, a Han official, was the most important member after Mingzhu and was accused of being "Yu Qinhui".

Emperor Kangxi gradually realized that the Mingzhu Party was evil and corrupt. In December 1687, the imperial censor Chen Zizhi impeached Huguang governor Zhang Qian of the Mingzhu Party. "He has been here for a short time and has a lot of illegal goods." Zhang Qian was dismissed from his post and questioned. Emperor Kangxi issued an edict: "The duty of science and education is to correct and impeachment. Zhang Qian is greedy, and no one dares to speak out. Chen Zizhi is the only one who can participate in impeachment, which is very commendable."

Yu Chenglong, the newly appointed governor of Zhili, reported to Kangxi The emperor secretly reported: "The official position has been sold out by Mingzhu and Yu Guozhu." Emperor Kangxi was furious.

Leave the pearl to the bachelor and hand it over to the ministers of the bodyguard for their discretion. Yu Guozhu was dismissed from his post and sent home.

After Yu Guozhu was dismissed from office, he returned to live in Ezhou, Hubei Province. He built a mansion in Ezhou and a garden in Xishan. He closed the door every day to thank guests and sorted out his works and manuscripts. At this point, the Yu family gradually declined.

In the thirty-third year of Kangxi's reign, Yu Guozhu was over seventy years old and submitted "Ode to the Peace" to express his loyalty to the emperor and his patriotism. In the thirty-seventh year of Kangxi (AD 1698), a famous prime minister finally died in Ezhou at the age of 73. Buried together with his wife Li in the northeast of Chen Kezhen's house in Jinchen Ruanwan Bay, Huashan Village, Huahu Town, Ezhou City.

The middle of Yu Guozhu’s tombstone is engraved with “The tomb of Wuyingdian University Scholar Yi Kao Yu Gongjian Lufu Jun”

Yu Guozhu is also the author of "Memories in the Wall" and "Fu Wu Shu Manuscript" , "Selected Works of Yiqing Pavilion", "Essays of Xisai Shanfang" and other 40 volumes.

Who would have thought that in the history of Daye, such a peak and prominent historical figure would emerge - Mr. Yu.

Although Prime Minister Yu has left us for more than three hundred years, his influence on us is still there. He is not only a historical figure who has made contributions to the country, but he is also an old-timer who has made contributions to my hometown. Even Emperor Kangxi could forgive him and let him return to his place of origin. We must not be too demanding of him, we must treat him fairly and objectively, and give him full respect. His ups and downs in life will surely provide profound enlightenment to future generations.

It is said that the Yu family was a famous bureaucratic family in ancient times. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, there have been as many as 57 people in the Yu family below Yu Bidi, including 3 Jinshi, 12 Juren, and 42 Gongsheng. , the highest official became prime minister when he entered the cabinet. When the Yu family's official career was at its peak, the descendants of the same clan had official offices in 17 provinces across the country (China was divided into 18 provinces in the Qing Dynasty). The entire family was powerful and famous throughout the country. Even now, many descendants of his family are pillars of national construction.