Did Yuan Tiangang, a genius whose life was exposed in the Tang Dynasty, ever say that he had a strange figure and was afraid that he would not live long?

Only Ma Zhou, the secretary of the Secretariat, made Li Shimin not want to leave for a moment. His talent was so high that Chairman Mao once praised him: "Fu said that Lv Wang was so good at what they did, Ma Zhou was so talented, and they were so far away. Ma Zhou's Chen Zhengshi's Book is the first wonderful article after Jia Sheng's Public Security Policy. Thousands of words were written in the Song Dynasty, such as what Su Shi and his colleagues did. They talked on paper. It can be seen that Ma Zhou's talent is a good word for running the world; Ma Zhou has been soaring since he was appreciated by Emperor Taizong. From five years to twenty-one years in Zhenguan, he worked in the province without rank, and achieved the goal of being a good secretary. He triumphed all the way, unparalleled in Datang.

"The Rule of Zhenguan" Li Shimin

Ma Zhou was born in a poor family. Even though he was proficient in poetry and biography in that hereditary society, he was not reused and was not respected by Zhou in his early years. This is the greatest sorrow of intellectuals, so he indulged himself in Lu Yu. Besides reading, his biggest hobby is drinking and venting his inner depression through drunkenness. After a long time, his only talent was covered by alcohol. Finally, he was completely awakened after being insulted by the Kaifeng order. After studying all my life, I finally sold it to my relatives and relatives, so I traveled thousands of miles west to Chang' an in order to achieve fame.

Ma Zhou's trip to Chang 'an is legendary. When he first arrived in Chang 'an, he didn't even like to eat. The owner of the restaurant only pays attention to the vendors but turns a blind eye to Ma Zhou. The stimulated Ma Zhou asked for a barrel of eight liters in a rage and drank it alone. You can imagine how spectacular the scene was. The fate of Ma Zhou in the fifth year of Zhenguan ushered in a turning point. He wrote a piece of information about the gains and losses of current politics for his friends, which was dug up by Li Shimin from the people. According to historical records, Li Shimin was pleasantly surprised when he saw this information. How can such a talent be buried? So he sent four groups of people to invite Ma Zhou. After a brief encounter, Li Shimin ordered him to stay with him. Because there was no vacancy, Ma Zhou was allowed to stay at the door temporarily.

Ma Zhou, the rule of Zhenguan

Ma Zhou admitted that he met Bole and finally got rid of the decadence of that year. He was determined to serve the royal family in his lifetime, so he wrote a letter to Li Shimin to express his determination. The general meaning is: "a gentleman is loyal to his filial piety, but unfortunately his parents died young and he was unable to raise dogs and horses." If you don't mind my stupidity, I will try my best to serve the court. " Although Ma Zhou's induced speech sounds a little flattering, as a poor child, it took a long journey to get such an opportunity. Who wouldn't cherish it?

Li Shimin often took Ma Zhou with him in his office, and wrote countless letters around Ma Zhou, pointing out the gains and losses of current politics several times. Among them, he summed up the problem handed down from many dynasties as "accumulating virtue and industry" If the king does more good governance, the people will appreciate the court. The more kindness they accumulate, the longer the country will pass on. Even if there are one or two tyrants once in a while, the country can save itself from extinction. Take the Han Dynasty as an example. After the benevolent policies of the two emperors Wenjing, the people's hearts and minds have been in harmony. When the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty arrived, he could pour the whole country's strength against the Xiongnu, even if the people paid heavy taxes, they would not send troops to the governor. On the contrary, although Qin Shihuang unified the world, he did not do anything extensive and kind, and later monarchs had no virtue to rely on, so they would soon go to extinction; As for how to accumulate virtue and industry, Ma Zhou summed up eight words for Li Shimin: "Be frugal and be kind to others". Only in this way can people love it as much as the sun and the moon and fear it as much as thunder. It can be seen from this suggestion that Ma Zhou has a good impression on the way of being king.

How often does Zhenguan rule recommend Ma Zhou?

Besides Wang Junzhi, Ma Zhou has also made great achievements in national construction. First of all, he suggested that Li Shimin abolish the hereditary system, and those who make meritorious deeds can be rewarded with wealth instead of official positions to avoid harming the people because of meritorious deeds; Secondly, we should attach importance to the quality construction of officials, and not emphasize internal officials over foreign officials. "If all assassins in the world know its sacred meaning, your majesty will arch over the rock gallery"; Third, we should pay attention to filial piety, reminding Li Shimin that he has never offered sacrifices to the ancestral temple since he ascended the throne. The emperor who ruled the country by filial piety should first practice it.

Every time Ma Zhou writes a letter, Li Shimin puts forward a refreshing idea. Li Shimin once said with emotion, "Ma Zhou and I will think about it if we can't see it for a while", which shows that Ma Zhou is of great help to Li Shimin in politics. However, it is such a genius that is cursed by heaven. According to historical records, Ma Zhou looks very strange. Cen Wenben described him like this: "Shrugging your shoulders with your head high and your face flushed will definitely rise quickly, but I'm afraid it won't last long." According to the present statement, his shoulders are towering upward, such as flames, and his face is as red as Guan Gong, so his career is frank, but it can't last long; Cen Wenben's history is extensive and well-informed. Combining with the actual situation, he naturally knows that prosperity will decline.

The Rule of Zhenguan Li Shimin and Ma Zhou on Politics

In the eighth year of Zhenguan, Ma Zhou invited Yuan Tiangang to tell fortune. Yuan Tiangang saw the difference between Ma Zhou and Ma Zhou at a glance. Looking closely, he replied: "Ma Shi has a jade pillow, and his back is like a negative thing, so he is either rich or expensive. Since ancient times, it has been rare for the monarch and the minister to live in harmony. " The man's face is red, his life is dark, he has no bones behind his ears and no roots, so he is afraid of those who will not live long. "This description is more vivid. Ma Zhou's frontal bone protrudes to the top of his head, his back protrudes like a jade pillow, and his back looks like a negative object. Such people are expensive; However, Yuan Tiangang also pointed out that his face was red, but his life was bleak. The posterior bone without ears, that is, the temporal bone in medicine, protrudes behind the ears of normal people, but not in Ma Zhou, just like an ear without roots. How can you live long without roots?

In the twenty-first year of Zhenguan, Ma Zhou was seriously ill. Li Shimin tried his best to treat Ma Zhou, and the famous doctors kept in touch. Tang Taizong transferred Chinese medicine and the prince personally visited it, which had no effect. On one occasion, Emperor Taizong used the Cuiwei Palace to order a resort to build a villa, hoping to prolong the life of Ma Zhou. However, all these efforts did not save Ma Zhou's life. In the twenty-second year of Zhenguan, Ma Zhou died of illness at the age of 48.

A long talk between Li Shimin and Ma Zhou in Zhenguan period

Ma Zhou's short life left many prescriptions for the Tang Dynasty, which played an inestimable role in the rule of Zhenguan. There are many records about Ma Zhou's suggestion in the history books, which seems to be a cure now. Ma Zhou's Journey to the West on foot set an example for future generations to stay poor.