Edit the history, and count the top ten emperors at the beginning!

Chapter 140 Only be a good minister, not a loyal minister

[As we all know, Wei Zheng, a generation of famous ministers, has served a total of six masters in his life. If this were placed in the past, it would be an unforgivable betrayal. He should bear the infamy of history and be criticized by future generations.

However, Wei Zheng not only was not despised by his contemporaries and future generations, but became a model of direct and loyal ministers through the ages, and was honored as "a famous minister of a generation" by future generations.

According to the "Old Tang Book Wei Zheng Chuan", after Wei Zheng passed away, Li Shimin was heartbroken, and said: "A husband can use copper as a mirror to straighten his clothes; use ancient times as a mirror to know the ups and downs; use people as a mirror to understand Gains and losses. I always protect these three mirrors to prevent my own mistakes. Now that Wei Zheng has passed away, one mirror is lost!"]

"Your Majesty!" Seeing this, Wei Zheng couldn't stop crying, he was so moved.

"Six six???" Guan Yu couldn't believe his eyes.

In his age, Lu Bu, who served the three lords, had already been scolded by his third brother as a "family slave with three surnames".

If he knew that Wei Zheng had served six lords in total, he might have cursed something worse.

[Let's first take a look at the six people Wei Zheng followed. 】

Wei Zheng's face collapsed, he felt that Su Qian was targeting him.
[Wei Zheng's father was the county magistrate of Tunliu in the Northern Qi Dynasty. Later, due to the change of dynasty and his father's early death, the Wei family changed from a big family in the Northern Qi Dynasty to a poor family in the Sui Dynasty.

Although the Wei family was down and out, Wei Zheng rarely had great ambitions. Seeing that the world was in chaos, he became a monk and became a Taoist priest.

Wei Zheng is fond of reading and has read a wide range of subjects. He especially likes the theory of vertical and horizontal, so he can be said to be a political strategist.His eloquence is top-notch, eloquent and eloquent, his insights are precise, his arguments are accurate, and are well-founded. 】

[Wei Zheng is not only able to speak, but also has real talent and learning.

Later, when the world was in chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Yuan Baozang, the prime minister of Wuyang County, rebelled and invited Wei Zheng to leave the Taoist temple to join the rebel team and serve as a clerk.

Yuan Baozang thus became Wei Zheng's first master. 】

【Yuan Baozang has close contacts with another group of rebels, that is, Li Mi from Wagang.

And Yuan Baozang has an advantage, that is, he has self-knowledge.

He knew that his strength was too weak, and he didn't have much ability, so he took refuge in the Wagang Army headed by Li Mi.

After Li Mi knew that all the letters between Yuan Baozang and him were written by Wei Zheng, Li Mi appointed Wei Zheng as the Marshal's Office of Literature to join the army, specializing in documents and files.

Therefore, Li Mi became Wei Zheng's second master. 】

[It's a pity that Li Mi is not a dragon among men. He didn't support him for too long before he was defeated by Wang Shichong, and then surrendered to Li Tang. Wei Zheng also surrendered to Tang Gaozu Li Yuan.

Therefore, Li Yuan is Wei Zheng's third master.

However, although Wei Zheng surrendered to Li Yuan, he was not reused, so he asked himself to recruit hundreds of thousands of rebels from Xu Maogong in Shandong and Hebei.

Without even thinking about it, Li Yuan immediately approved.

In fact, Xu Maogong had long wanted to surrender to Li Tang, so when Wei Zheng came to Shandong to persuade Xu Maogong, Xu Maogong was very happy to lead [-] elites to surrender to Li Tang.

But Wei Zheng was still in Liyang at that time, but he didn't want to, Liyang was captured by Dou Jiande the next year, and Wei Zheng was captured.

Dou Jiande also once raised troops against the Sui Dynasty, defeated Wei Daoer, Yu Wenhuaji, Meng Haigong, etc. successively, and established Xia Guo.

Dou Jiande also knew that Wei Zheng was very talented, so he appointed Wei Zheng as a member of Zhongshushe.

Therefore, Dou Jiande is Wei Zheng's fourth master. 】

"This Wei Zheng is also an interesting person, and he has brought into full play the spirit of a Taoist priest who goes along with the situation."

"In my opinion, it's actually because Wei Zheng has the real stuff, otherwise he wouldn't be able to live for too long no matter how easy he is."

"What this brother said is that you need to be hardworking to forge iron. People with real talents and practical learning will not be afraid of losing their jobs wherever they go!"

[One year later, Li Shimin destroyed Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, and Wei Zheng returned to Li Tang.

As soon as he returned to Chang'an, Wei Zheng was invited by Prince Li Jiancheng.

In this way, Wei Zheng became Li Jiancheng's prince Xi Ma, and Prince Li Jiancheng became Wei Zheng's fifth master. 】

[After that, Wei Zheng proposed to the prince three strategies for fighting for the world:
One is to strive to lead troops to fight and improve one's merits and reputation.

The second is to dig out the talents of the Qin Palace, or buy them with a lot of money, or transfer them away from the capital and the Qin Palace if they don't accept them.

The third is to make an early decision and act first.

To put it bluntly, Wei Zheng is to persuade Prince Li Jiancheng to get rid of Li Shimin as soon as possible.It's a pity that Li Jiancheng didn't listen, and kept his word and didn't act, so that Li Shimin seized the opportunity. 】

[After the Xuanwumen Incident, Li Shimin saw Wei Zheng and asked on the spot, "Why did you divorce my brother?"

Unexpectedly, Wei Zheng said in an unhurried and unhurried manner: "If the former prince had listened to me earlier, how would he be today?"

The implication is that if Li Jiancheng listens to him, there is no Li Shimin.

Everyone was frightened into a cold sweat by Lao Wei's words, but Li Shimin was very happy because it was exactly what he wanted.

There is no right or wrong in the struggle between the East Palace and the King of Qin, and it has nothing to do with morality. There is only a question of whoever strikes first will have the last laugh.

According to the logic of winners and losers, Wei Zheng's personal attitude and position are also very clear, nothing more than each being his own master.

Wei Zheng's "ruthlessness" just proves that he really works for the prince. Li Shimin appreciates such a loyal and intelligent person with great vision and ability.

Since then, Wei Zheng has been reused by Li Shimin and has become an admonisher, Shangshu Zuocheng (equivalent to a prime minister).

And Li Shimin became Wei Zheng's sixth master and also Wei Zheng's last master. 】

[Under Tang Taizong Li Shimin, Wei Zheng did his best for the country, and worried about Li Shimin's personal problems.

Finally, Wei Zheng assisted Li Shimin in creating the rule of Zhenguan, and he himself became a famous figure of his generation. 】

The corner of Li Shimin's mouth twitched, and he said with a bit of grievance: "Actually, he doesn't have to worry about my personal trivial matters so much."

[Judging from Wei Zheng's life experience, although he changed his master six times, in fact, he was forced every time, not on his own initiative.

And every time the master is changed, Wei Zheng will silently perform his duties and do what a courtier should do.

Whether under Li Mi, under Li Jiancheng, or under Li Shimin, Wei Zheng always fulfilled his duties and loyalty, and adhered to the ethics that a courtier should have. 】

[And Wei Zheng also has a principle, that is, national interests are higher than personal grievances.

Everything he does is based on the interests of the country, and who is the emperor is actually not that important.

At the same time, Wei Zheng has two other strengths:
One is that he is talented and proficient in politics, and if he doesn't say anything, he will be able to hit it;

The second is that he has an upright personality. He never knows what it means to hit a wall and what is a consequence. He either keeps silent and must say everything transparently.

This second point, Tang Taizong Li Shimin felt particularly deeply. 】

Li Shimin didn't know whether to laugh or cry and said, "God Su understands me."

[Wei Zheng once said to Tang Taizong: "May Your Majesty fulfill Wei Zheng, be a good minister and not a loyal minister."

Taizong was surprised, so he asked, "What's the difference between loyalty and goodness?"

Wei Zheng said: "A loyal minister is just giving advice, without considering whether the other party can accept it. As a result, he loses his life and the ruler also bears a bad name. It is not advisable. The correct way is to make the monarch a wise ruler and himself a good minister."

Taizong replied: "Very good!", and fulfilled Wei Zheng's idea.

And Wei Zheng's principle of only being a good minister and not a loyal minister has always run through his life, and he has done very well.

This is probably the reason why Wei Zheng has changed his master six times and is still respected by later generations. 】

(End of this chapter)