A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1253 Duke Wei is confused

After the dynasty dispersed,
Wu Huaiyu, who left the palace, had become the Duke of Chu.
His brother-in-law Wei Shuyu was waiting for him.

"Teacher, Wan Niang and I would like to invite you to our home for a visit."

Wei Shuyu did not invite his teacher and second uncle to his home for dinner, but wanted to ask Wu Huaiyu to prescribe medicine for his father Wei Zheng.

"Let's go."

Wu Huaiyu arrived at Yongxingfang in a carriage. He was not unfamiliar with this place. After he came to power, the emperor granted him a mansion right next to Wei Zheng's house.

He had been a neighbor of Wei Zheng for a long time, and the two went from being enemies to becoming relatives.

They used to ride on the wall between the two houses and curse at each other, but later they often chatted and even played chess across the wall, and often gave each other vegetables.

Arriving at Wei Mansion,

My younger sister Wanniang and my mother-in-law Pei came to greet me.

After a few pleasantries, Huaiyu followed Wei Shuyu straight to see Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng sat in the corridor, basking in the sun, wearing a fur robe, and Wu Huaiyu sat down beside him.

"What's wrong with Lord Wei?"

Wei Zheng leaned back on the recliner, raised his eyelids to glance at Wu Huaiyu, then closed them again and sighed softly.
"Dark eyes and headaches can cause all kinds of problems, and heavy drinking over the years can damage the lungs."

"The disease is in the lungs. I have a dry cough with little sputum. The sputum is sticky and difficult to cough up. There is blood in the sputum. I have wheezing and chest pain. It feels like my chest is burning when I breathe. I can't sleep at night."

Wei Zheng sighed, with a bit of a heroic breath. He was sixty-three years old this year, which was actually still quite young. When he was a neighbor of Wu Huaiyu, this bull nose was at his most combative.
Now he has become a haggard old man with half of his hair covered in frost and white.

His face was full of wrinkles and there were deep vertical lines between his eyebrows.

Old Wei loves drinking and he is also good at brewing his own wine. The Weigong wine he brews is even a famous wine in Chang'an, and many people are willing to pay a lot of money to get it.

He loved wine and books, but after serving as prime minister for many years, Wei Zheng gave the emperor many useful advices, but he also became ill due to overwork.

Even at this age, he still has a serious lung disease.

Even the imperial doctors couldn't cure it.

I can only treat myself at home. I can't breathe when I move. I cough all day long, but I can never cough it out. There is blood in my sputum.

Lao Wei used to be a Taoist priest and had also studied medicine. He diagnosed himself and felt that he didn’t have much time left. He became more depressed and his condition worsened.

"Don't read when you have blurry eyes, don't drink when you have lung disease. To nourish the lungs, you must first quit drinking. The lungs are a clear and empty organ, they like moisture and hate dryness. Dryness is most likely to damage the lung fluid, which is called lung thirst.

Liquor is pungent and warm in nature, and it enters the lung meridian, which can damage lung qi. According to the Compendium of Materia Medica of the Tang Dynasty, alcohol is good at ascending, and qi will follow it, phlegm will accumulate in the upper part, and urination will be difficult in the lower part. The lungs will be affected by evil, and the metal body will be very dry. Drinking cold and cool drinks will cause heat to accumulate inside, and the lung qi will be heated, which will cause great damage and loss.

Didn't the old eunuchs at the Shang Pharmacy explain this to Lord Wei?"

Wei Zheng sighed, "Those imperial doctors kept repeating the same things over and over again, but no one could cure me." Wei Zheng felt that he didn't have much time left, so he could only rely on alcohol to relieve some of his pain and irritability.

"Mr. Wei, you should drink tea. Tea tastes sweet, bitter, and cool in nature. It enters the lung meridian and has the effect of relieving thirst and resolving phlegm. The Materia Medica states that tea is sweet and cold and enters the heart and lungs to remove heat, which in turn produces body fluids, resolves phlegm and heat, clears the internal organs, and eliminates visceral diseases without any need to stop.

However, there is one thing to be careful about when drinking tea: it is only suitable for clearing the lungs at night, and it is not suitable for drinking in the early morning as it can damage the spleen.”

Wei Zheng sat up, which triggered another violent coughing fit. His throat was itchy and he wanted to cough, but nothing came out. He coughed so hard that it felt like his lungs were about to burst. His face was swollen and purple.
In the end, he only coughed up a little bit of sticky phlegm, which contained blood.

Wu Huaiyu observed carefully and combined the information he had obtained from asking Wei Shuyu and Madam Pei, he concluded that Wei Zheng's illness was not tuberculosis, which was highly contagious and could be diagnosed by the imperial physician.

Wei Zheng, who drank alcohol for a long time and worked too hard, had an irregular diet and liked to stay up late. His condition was similar to that of Ma Zhou, both lacked rest and exercise.
Lung qi deficiency causes thirst, phlegm and dampness blocking the lungs, chest tightness and shortness of breath, inability to lie flat and having to use a high pillow.

Abnormal ascending and descending of lung qi and disorder of body fluid metabolism.

Wei Zheng not only had lung disease, he also had rheumatism, or gout. Wei Zheng, who liked to drink whenever he had time, also suffered from gout. He had tophi on his toes and hands, which were deformed.

Wei Zheng was given a thorough examination.

Old Wei actually still has cataracts. No wonder he complained of eye disease a few years ago and even resigned from his post to the emperor because of it.

Old age is like seeing through fog, no wonder people say that old eyesight is blurry.

He also has diabetes like Ma Zhou and Zhangsun Wuji. Old Wei doesn't know how to quit drinking, doesn't know how to control his diet, and doesn't pay attention to regular work and rest and exercise.

This body is just like a broken house, with leaks everywhere.

Last year, Wei Zheng was too ill to work and had to go home to recuperate due to several illnesses. Then he had a stroke.

I have hemiplegia on one side of my body and have difficulty writing with my right hand.

Wei Zheng suffered from lung disease, gout, diabetes, and hemiplegia. His life was really miserable.

This is not taking care of one's body, just like Ma Zhou. Although Ma Zhou was unruly in his early years, he did not listen to Wu Huaiyu's advice later on. At least he quit drinking early on. It was just that he worked too hard, and diabetes is a disease that can only be controlled but not cured, so Ma Zhou's health deteriorated year by year.

"Duke Wei, you must give up drinking completely. Don't drink even a drop from now on. Also, you need to exercise and adjust your diet. I'll write you a list of dietary restrictions, etc.
I'll prescribe some medicine for you to take care of yourself."

Wei Zheng smiled.

"I have read many medical books and have prescribed medicines to treat illnesses, so I am considered a half-doctor. I know my situation very well. My end is coming and I won't be able to hold on for much longer.

I am sixty-three this year. When I was young, my father was a county magistrate. He died of illness while in office. I didn’t even have the money to send my father back to my hometown for burial, so I had no choice but to become a wandering Taoist priest...”

"In my life, I have experienced the prosperity of the Sui Dynasty and the chaos of the end of the Daye period. Fortunately, I met a wise ruler and assisted him, creating the Zhenguan era. Now I have achieved success and fame. In the future, I will leave my name in history. That is enough, enough."

The dignified Zhenguan mirror,

Now he is suffering from a lot of illnesses, which is really pitiful.

"Changsun Wuji went too far in handling this major case at the beginning of the year," Wei Zheng criticized mercilessly, "He also involved some people who shouldn't have been involved, such as the King of Jing, the King of Wu, the King of Shu, the King of Jiangxia, and Yuwen Jie, and even the King of Wei and the King of Qi, who shouldn't have been involved in the first place."

"Just deal with the Xue Wanche brothers, Li Anyan, Hou Junji, and the two Zhengs."

Wu Huaiyu picked up his pen to prescribe medicine for Wei Zheng, and wrote down some precautions on diet and exercise, but ignored Wei Zheng's words.

Wei Zheng was panting.

Looking sideways at what Wu Huaiyu wrote,
"It is useless to implicate those who should not be implicated. However, Your Majesty has been lenient with those who should be severely punished."

Wei Zheng kept rambling, "Since Zhangsun Wuji has handled the case like this, the emperor shouldn't be lenient with him.
We have to use drastic measures and kill a bunch of them ruthlessly."

"Since it has been turned into a case of treason, how can we end it so carelessly?"

"Changsun Wuji has been sitting idle for sixteen years, but he has not become more calm. He will not have a good ending." Wei Zheng asserted. Wu Huaiyu continued to write his own things and did not respond to his words.

Wei Zheng let out a long sigh.

"You were behind the scenes, keeping a low profile, while Changsun Wuji was charging in the front. All he gained was a moment of pride, but you actually accomplished everything you wanted to do. Compared to you, he is not even worthy of carrying your shoes."

Wu Huaiyu said calmly, "Mr. Wei, although you are seriously ill now, I will sue you for defamation for your nonsense."

Wei Zheng looked at Wu Huaiyu and said, "When you made great contributions in Longyou, the sage wanted to confer you the title of baron. I strongly opposed it. At that time, I really didn't expect that the 18-year-old young man who had just started out would be so extraordinary. It still feels like a dream to me now."

"Erlang, I know I can only hold on for a year or so at most. I have two things I want to entrust to you."

"Mr. Wei, please speak." Wu Huaiyu said seriously.

"In my lifetime, I have spoken out hundreds of thousands of words, always speaking directly and without hesitation."

He made dozens of presentations to the emperor in person and submitted more than a hundred memorials to the emperor. The number of his memorials, the intensity of his words, and the firmness of his attitude were unmatched by other ministers.

This is also what Wei Zheng is proud of.

Now that his life was about to come to an end, there were two things that worried him the most. One was his wife and children, and the other was his hundreds of thousands of pieces of advice.

Wei Zheng called his eldest son Shuyu,

"Bring me the box from my study."

Wei Shuyu and Shuyu carried a large box over and opened it, revealing it to be filled with handwritten manuscripts.

"These are the speeches I have submitted over the past decade or so. I have reorganized and copied them all. Since you are also compiling the national history, I will give these speeches to you..."

Wu Huaiyu interrupted Wei Zheng directly.

"Duke Wei, this is inappropriate."

"These are all valuable historical materials. You will definitely be able to use them when you compile national history."

Wu Huaiyu felt a little helpless when he saw Wei Zheng coughing again out of excitement. Old Wei was truly a traditional Confucian scholar. Not only did he have a strong desire to transform the emperor, but he also had a strong complex of leaving his name in history.

At this moment, he was determined to pass on his life's work, or even record it in history books to be passed down for thousands of years.

But didn’t Wei Zheng ever think about whether this was appropriate?

Many of Wei Zheng's admonitions were harsh in their words. To put it bluntly, he was fiercely criticizing the emperor's mistakes. The emperor did accept the advice and made improvements. But even a sage like Li Shimin would probably not want such things to be recorded one by one and handed over to historians to be recorded in history books.

Wouldn't all of Li Shimin's mistakes be passed down?
Wouldn’t Li Shimin’s image as a sage monarch be at risk?
You, Wei Zheng, may be famous throughout the ages after your death as a loyal and virtuous minister with an iron will, but where does the emperor put you?

"Duke Wei, I have a suggestion for you. It is best to burn these hundreds of thousands of words of advice. Do not leave them. Otherwise, Duke Wei may not be remembered for eternity, but will instead bring disaster to future generations."

Wei Zheng was stunned.

He was about to die, so he did not think about going to those places. He thought that these were the fruits of his life's work. Those advices were not only advice to the current emperor, but could also be used as a lesson for future emperors of the Tang Dynasty to read.

Of course, this is also the result of his life's work, and he hopes that these words can be passed down.

Wu Huaiyu's words left Wei Zheng stunned, but looking at the full box of hundreds of thousands of advices that he had worked so hard to compile, Wei Zheng felt reluctant to destroy it.

That was his hard work and also his political legacy.

Seeing that Wei Zheng didn't say anything, Wu Huaiyu stopped trying to persuade him, but he would never accept these things.

Wei Zheng was silent for a long time.

Finally, the eldest son Wei Shuyu was called over.

"My Erlang has married your sister. After I leave, you will take care of them. I don't need to worry."

"The only thing I'm worried about is Dalang,"

Wei Shuyu was only in his twenties, and the emperor chose him as his future son-in-law and wanted to marry Princess Hengshan to him.

In fact, at the beginning, when Li Shimin wanted to marry Wei Zheng, he did not choose Princess Hengshan. Later, things changed and the matter was delayed.

Wei Shuyu is now 25 years old. This year the emperor has chosen Princess Hengshan to marry him, but this princess is only eight years old.

Even if the princess got married at the age of thirteen, she would still have to wait five years, by which time Wei Shuyu would be thirty years old.

Wei Shuyu is Wei Zheng's eldest son, and the emperor conferred him the title of fifth-rank doctor, but Wei Zheng now wants to break off the engagement.

Although many children of noble families may wait until they are in their thirties in order to wait for a daughter of an aristocratic family of equal status, this is very common. After all, there is only one wife and she must be of equal status. However, concubines and maids can be taken in when they are in their teens, and children can also be born early.

Wei Zheng didn't want this.

If the one chosen to be the emperor's son-in-law was the second or third legitimate son, Wei Zheng could accept his son marrying a princess at the age of 30, but that was the eldest legitimate son.

He now has a wish, which is to help Shuyu get married before he dies, and finally to see his grandson being born before he leaves.

"Duke Wei, it is a blessing for many people to have Dalang chosen by the saint as his son-in-law. Even if there were some twists and turns before, the saint has arranged for Princess Hengshan now, hasn't he?"

"The eldest son is 25, and the princess is eight. We have to wait at least five years. If we want to have a child, we have to wait at least another three years."

Wei Zheng was unwilling.

"Duke Wei, it has always been the royal family that regrets marriages and changes the future prince consort. When will the future prince consort regret marriages with the princess? If the marriage is not decided and they just have this idea, then Duke Wei's refusal can still be accepted. But in this situation, Duke Wei, forget it."

"Eight years. I can't wait, and neither can Dalang."

"Lord Wei, it's only eight years. We can wait. Besides, it won't delay the arrangement of two maids for Dalang. Even if you want the eldest branch of the Wei family to have children sooner, you can at least have a few first."

It doesn't say that Princess Shang can't take in maids or anything like that.

Wu Huaiyu felt that Wei Zheng was seriously ill, even confused, so he actually asked him to entrust two tasks to him, but both turned out to be confused things.

I couldn't promise him anything.

Huaiyu handed the prescription and some dietary precautions to Wei Shuyu and said, "Dalang, take this and go to Qianjintang to get the medicine."

Wu Huaiyu did not stay for dinner, even though this was also his sister's home.
The Wei brothers sent Huaiyu out.
"Shuyu, you are the eldest son in the family. Go back and persuade your father not to do anything foolish."

(End of this chapter)