Wei Zheng spoke frankly and dared to advise
After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, someone reported to Qin King Li Shimin that there was an official named Wei Zheng in the Eastern Palace who had participated in the uprising of Li Mi and Dou Jiande. After Li Mi and Dou Jiande failed, Wei Zheng went to Chang'an and worked under Crown Prince Jiancheng. He even persuaded Jiancheng to kill the Qin King.
Upon hearing this, the King of Qin immediately sent someone to find Wei Zheng.
When Wei Zheng met with the King of Qin, he turned stern and asked, "Why are you sowing discord among our brothers
The ministers on both sides, upon hearing the Qin king's question, thought it was an attempt to hold Wei Zheng accountable, and they all sweated for Wei Zheng. But Wei Zheng remained calm and calmly replied, "It's a pity that the Crown Prince didn't listen to me at that time. Otherwise, such a thing wouldn't have happened
Upon hearing this, the King of Qin felt that Wei Zheng spoke straightforwardly and with great courage. Instead of blaming Wei Zheng, he said kindly, "This is already a thing of the past, so there's no need to mention it again
After Tang Taizong ascended the throne, he promoted Wei Zheng to the position of Grand Councilor (official name) and also selected a group of people under Jiancheng and Yuanji as officials. Originally, the officials of the Qin Palace were not convinced and muttered behind their backs, "How many years have we followed the emperor? Now that the emperor is conferring titles and honors, he has let the people of the Eastern Palace and the Qi Palace shine first. What kind of righteousness is this
Prime Minister Fang Xuanling informed Emperor Taizong of Tang of these words. Tang Taizong smiled and said, "The court sets up officials to govern the country, and should select talented people. How can connections be used as the criterion for selection? If new people have talent and old people do not, we cannot exclude new ones and appoint old ones
After listening, everyone had nothing to say.
Emperor Taizong of Tang did not remember old grudges, chose talents, and encouraged his ministers to express their opinions behind the scenes. Under his encouragement, the ministers also dared to speak up. Especially Wei Zheng, he was very attentive to the important affairs of the court and would speak his opinions directly in front of Emperor Taizong of Tang. Emperor Taizong of Tang also had great trust in him and often summoned him to the inner palace to listen to his opinions.
Once, Emperor Taizong of Tang asked Wei Zheng, "Why are some wise and some foolish in history
Wei Zheng said, "Listening to the opinions of all parties is wise; listening only to one-sided words is foolish." He also cited examples from history such as Yao, Shun, Qin II, Emperor Wu of Liang, and Emperor Yang of Sui, saying, "If a ruler who governs the world can adopt the following opinions, then the lower level can reach the upper level, and his confidants cannot be deceived if they want to
Tang Taizong shook his head repeatedly and said, "How well you speak
One day, after reading the collection of writings by Emperor Yang of Sui, Emperor Taizong of Tang said to his ministers, "I think Emperor Yang of Sui is knowledgeable and understands that Yao and Shun were good, while Jie and Zhou were not. Why did he act so absurdly
Wei Zheng interjected, "It's not enough for an emperor to rely solely on intelligence and erudition. He should also humbly listen to the opinions of his subjects. Emperor Yang of Sui thought he was talented, proud and confident. He spoke the words of Yao and Shun, and did the things of Jie and Zhou. After being confused, he would disappear on his own." Emperor Taizong of Tang was deeply moved and sighed, saying, "Alas, the lessons of the past are our teachers