Sima Guang was very clever when he was young. When he was a child, his companion accidentally fell into the water tank and was drowning. Sima Guang was too weak to save him. In desperation, he moved a stone and smashed the water tank, and the water flowed out, and his companion was saved. "Sima Guang smashed the jar" has become a beautiful talk that has been passed down through the ages.
He is gentle and generous. Even when he became prime minister, he followed the old law, inherited the ancestral system, advocated "governing by doing nothing", spoke softly and dressed appropriately, and was a modest gentleman.
Wang Anshi read good books since childhood, and his reputation spread in the alley. He was serious and unsmiling at a young age. Young people are successful and have a successful career. Being in charge of the imperial power is "strict with self-discipline". In addition to not taking a bath, I am not very particular about wearing clothes, and I often go to court to see the son of heaven in my unkempt appearance and give orders to civil servants. By the standards of the time, he was basically a mental derangement. But the emperor admired him very much. Although Wang Anshi was a typical "mess", he was "extremely kind to the emperor" and became the prime minister of the dynasty. He was determined to reform, implemented the method of "one whip", tried his best to collect taxes for DaSong and enrich the national treasury.
Sima Guang and Wang Anshi, who have different personalities and are political enemies, take turns to be prime ministers, and they are quite reluctant to deal with each other. Their political views are far apart. In the temple, Sima Guang and Wang Anshi were sworn enemies, and each thought the other's ruling policy was ridiculous. We all feel that we are smarter than each other, more correct than each other, and understand the national conditions better than each other. Therefore, in the process of competing for power, the two were not at all polite and killed each other by various means. The result of the struggle was Wang Anshi's victory, and Sima Guang was ousted from the throne of the prime minister.
When Wang Anshi was in power, the emperor asked him what he thought of Sima Guang. Wang Anshi praised Sima Guang, calling him "the pillar of the country", and spoke highly of his character, ability and literary attainments.
Because of this, although Sima Guang lost the trust of the emperor, he did not fall into a tragic situation because of his relegation. Instead, he was able to calmly "retire from the rivers and lakes" and write extravagant poems.
The worse the luck now, the better the next time. As the saying goes, thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi. The cynical Wang Anshi vigorously promoted the reform, which not only touched the interests of the royal nobility, but also aroused strong dissatisfaction from local officials. The ruling and opposition parties are cursed and impeached every time. "Zeng Shen is a murderer, three times a day, and the mother is shocked." The emperor had trusted Wang Anshi, but three men became a tiger. He heard people say that Wang Anshi was wrong every day and finally lost patience. He was dismissed on the spot and Sima Guang was re-appointed as Prime Minister.
The wall fell and everyone pushed, and ten thousand people broke the drum. Now that Wang Anshi has been dismissed from office, many officials will jump out and tell the emperor that he is black. At that time, complaining like snow, pouring Dan. The emperor listened to the slanderers, wanted to cure Wang Anshi's crime, and asked Sima Guang for advice.
Many people think that Wang Anshi made Sima Guang lose his official position. Now is a good time for the emperor to punish him. However, Sima Guang did not intend to be the last straw to crush the camel. He sincerely told the emperor: Wang Anshi hated evil, was frank and honest, and had the demeanor of an ancient gentleman. Your majesty must not listen to gossip.
The emperor listened to Sima Guang's evaluation of Wang Anshi and said: You and others are gentlemen!