Fan Zhongyan, whose courtesy name was Xiwen, was from Wu County. Fan Zhongyan's ancestor was Fan Lubing, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, who lived in Binzhou for generations. Fan Zhongyan's great-grandfather, Fan Sui, crossed the river southward during the rebellion of Emperor Yizong of Tang Dynasty and served as the magistrate of Lishui County. When the Central Plains were in chaos, he settled in Wu County. His father Fan Yong was an official in Wu Yue in his early years, followed King Qian Chu of Wu Yue to surrender to the Song Dynasty and served as the chief secretary of the Wuning Army.

In the second year of Duangong, Fan Zhongyan was born in the Xuzhou Jiedu Secretary’s Office. In the first year of Chunhua, his father Fan Yong died of illness in Rensou. His mother Xie had to hold the two-year-old Fan Zhongyan and remarried Zhu Wenhan, a native of Changshan, Zibo. Fan Zhongyan also changed his surname to his name Zhu Shuo.

When Fan Zhongyan was four years old, he moved to Changshan with his stepfather and was inspired to study hard at Liquan Temple. Because of his poor family, he used two liters of millet to cook porridge. After the porridge was solidified overnight, he cut it into four pieces with a knife, and ate two pieces each morning and evening, and then cut some pickled vegetables to serve. After becoming an adult, Fan Zhongyan went to Yingtian Academy to study hard. When he was tired and sleepy in winter, he washed his face with cold water. When he had nothing to eat, he drank porridge to live.

Fan Zhongyan never complained about the hardship that ordinary people could not bear. A classmate told his father about Fan Zhongyan's situation. His father was very surprised and said, "You are not an ordinary person. You will definitely have a future. Please bring him some food." The classmate brought Fan Zhongyan a box of delicious food. Fan Zhongyan was unable to refuse his affection, so he had to accept it, but he didn't eat a bite.

A few days later, my classmates came to see him again and found that the food he gave him had not been eaten and had broken. So they asked him very angrily: "My father knows that you have a hard life and specially asked me to bring you these foods. Why don't you eat them?" Fan Zhongyan said: "I am very grateful to you, but I am used to hard life. If I eat these foods, I am afraid I will never be able to endure the hardships again." His classmates were very moved and admired.

In the eighth year of Dazhong Xiangfu, Fan Zhongyan won the 97th place in the B-class, became a Jinshi from a Han Ruo, and served as the military manager of Guangde Army, in charge of litigation and prisons, and was in charge of case matters. He was appointed as the ninth rank of official position. In view of the fact that he already had a salary in the court, Fan Zhongyan brought his mother to support him. Fan Zhongyan was promoted to Wenlinlang for his integrity and integrity in his prison, and was promoted to the governor of Jiqing Army. He returned to his hometown and restored Fan Zhongyan's name.

When he wanted to return to his hometown and his surname, the Fan clansmen of Wu County were afraid that he would come back to distribute his property and refused to accept it. Fan Zhongyan said that he only wanted to recognize his ancestors and not have property, so the clansmen agreed. Then he wrote a letter to the court to request the restoration of Fan, and the court agreed to his request. So he restored the Fan clansmen and named it Zhongyan.

In the fifth year of Tianxi, Fan Zhongyan was transferred to the Xixi Salt Warehouse Supervisor in Taizhou, responsible for supervising the storage, transportation and resale of Huai-Salt. Xixi was on the shore of the Yellow Sea. During the Tang Dynasty, the old seawall built by Li Cheng was disrepaired and collapsed in many places. The sea tides were backflowing, brine flooded, flooded fertile fields, and destroyed salt stoves. The people suffered a lot. So Fan Zhongyan wrote a letter to Zhang Lun of the Jianghuai River transport, experiencing the interests of the seawall, and suggested building embankments along the coast and rebuilding the seaweed.

In the fifth year of Tiansheng, Fan Zhongyan was mourned by his mother and lived in Yingtian Prefecture, Nanjing. At that time, Yan Shu was a left-behind Nanjing and was a master of Yingtian Prefecture. When he heard that Fan Zhongyan was famous, he invited him to serve in the prefecture and took charge of the Yingtian Academy. Fan Zhongyan was diligent in supervising the scholars, teaching himself, and leading current affairs and political opinions. Whenever he talked about major affairs in the world, he would always make a fuss and make generous statements. The scholars and officials corrected the world's style, strictly disciplined themselves, and advocated moral integrity. This was the advocacy of Fan Zhongyan. The academic style of the academy was completely renewed, and Fan Zhongyan's reputation grew.

The Sixth Year of Tiansheng

, Fan Zhongyan submitted a memorial to the court of Wan Yan's "Letter to the Governor", requesting to reform the administration, eliminate redundant personnel, and appease the generals. The Prime Minister Wang Zeng praised Wan Yan's letter very much, and Yan Shu was also in the Shufu, so Wang Zeng strongly recommended Fan Zhongyan, and Yan Shu expressed his past achievements in front of the saint.

Zhao Zhen then summoned Fan Zhongyan to Beijing and served as the escort of the secret cabinet, responsible for the collation and sorting of royal books and classics. When Zhao Zhen was nineteen years old, he was preparing to lead all officials to celebrate the birthday of the empress dowager in Huiqing Hall. Fan Zhongyan believed that this practice confused family rituals and state rituals, so he wrote a memorial: "The emperor has the way to serve his parents, but he did not serve as a minister; if he wanted to be filial, he could practice family etiquette in the inner palace. If he paid homage to the empress dowager with all officials, it would damage the emperor's majesty." He advised Zhao Zhen to give up the worship. He submitted a memorial to the inner court, but no reply was received. Fan Zhongyan also wrote a letter to the empress dowager and requested to return the power.

When Yan Shu learned that Fan Zhongyan had submitted a memorial, he was shocked and criticized him for being too frivolous, which not only hindered his career, but also implicated the recommended person. Fan Zhongyan argued with reason and wrote a long letter detailing the reasons for his actions and declared his position: "Serving the emperor should be a dangerous word and act, and never be a bad word and act. Flattering is beneficial to the court and the country. He must speak impartially and frankly, and even if there is a disaster of death, he will be willing to do it." As a result, he was indeed demoted from the capital.

Hanlin scholar Song Shou submitted a report to the military and national affairs. Except for the great matters such as being appointed as a supporting minister, the emperor should handle the rest by himself. This also violated Empress Dowager Liu, so Song Shou was also released as the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture.

Zhao Zhen changed his reign to Mingdao, and his biological mother, Li, was in a worse condition, so he was promoted from Shunrong to Concubine Chen. Since Zhao Zhen was occupied by Empress Dowager Liu, she has never spoken, and is usually calm and disciplined, and has never expressed any complaints or dissatisfaction. Everyone in the palace was afraid of Empress Dowager Liu, and no one dared to reveal these feelings for immortals. So when Zhao Zhen grew up, he still thought that Empress Dowager Liu was his biological mother and did not know that she was born to Li. This Li is Concubine Li in the "Cat Cat Changes Prince"!

Concubine Li Chen was from Hangzhou, with her father Li Rende, who was the Zuo Ban Dianzhi. When her father passed away, her stepmother remarried with her son, she turned her hair into a nun. Later, Liu E found out that she was beautiful in the temple, so she took her into the palace to be her maid. Zhao Heng favored Liu E and wanted to make her the queen. However, because Liu E's family background was not prominent and she did not give birth to a prince, the ministers were dissatisfied.

When Zhao Heng and Liu E were bothering, Li dreamed that the immortal was born as his son. Zhao Heng and Liu E were overjoyed and came up with a way to "bring a child through the belly". So he asked Li to sleep, and soon became pregnant. Li followed Zhao Heng to build a platform, and the jade hairpin on his temple fell accidentally. Zhao Heng secretly prayed: If the jade hairpin is intact, he will be a boy. The attendant picked up the hairpin and was indeed intact. Zhao Heng was very happy.

Soon, Li gave birth to a prince. Zhao Heng claimed to be born to Liu E. He named Zhao Shouyi and named Liu E the Concubine De. Li was only named the Lord of Chongyang County. Later, Li gave birth to another daughter and promoted him to Talent. He was promoted to Wanyi. Zhao Zhen ascended the throne and Liu E was honored as the Empress Dowager. Empress Dowager Liu was promoted to Shunrong and moved to Yongding to guard the tomb.

Empress Dowager Liu ordered Liu Mei and Zhang Huaide to visit his relatives, and his younger brother Li Yonghe was appointed as the third squad. Although Zhao Zhen was the son of Li, Zhao Heng brought it to Liu E's name and raised it with Yang Shufei. Li had no complaints and did not be proud of himself as the mother of the emperor throughout his life.

After Concubine Li Chen died, Empress Dowager Liu wanted to treat the funeral according to the general rituals of the palace servants.

Moving the coffin outside. Lu Yi briefly said: "I heard that a concubine died in the harem has passed away, why didn't he receive the imperial edict for mourning?" Empress Dowager Liu said in surprise: "The Prime Minister wants to interfere in the affairs of the palace?" Lu Yijian replied: "I am the prime minister, no matter how big or small, so naturally I should know." Empress Dowager Liu was very unhappy and said with anger: "Do you want to alienate us mother and son?"

Lu Yijian was calm and resolutely replied: "If the Empress Dowager does not care about Liu's safety, I will naturally not dare to say much. If the Empress Dowager wants Liu's safety in the future, the funeral of Chen Fei cannot be simple." Empress Dowager Liu was originally a clever person, and after hearing this, he couldn't help but nod. The Minister of You followed the Empress Dowager's will, but said that he would be buried in this year's time.

Lu Yijian said, "Since the burial is not good, the burial should be thickened. Everyone in the palace should wear a simple garment and choose a place to temporarily place the funeral coffin. Isn't that okay?" Empress Dowager Liu said to Lu Yijian: "You retreat, I understand!" After that, he left. The eunuch Luo Chongxun wanted to follow him, but Lu Yijian pulled him and said, "Wait! Please report to the Empress Dowager Chen. Concubine Chen should use the Queen's costume to make a burial, and also put mercury in the coffin. Don't say that I, Lu Yijian, did not mention it in the future, which would lead to regret." Luo Chongxun agreed and went in to report to Empress Dowager Liu. Empress Dowager Liu ordered to do the same and put the coffin in Hongfu Temple.

Soon, a fire broke out in the palace. Empress Dowager Liu issued an edict to all the ministers to speak out about the court's faults. The palace chief Teng Zongliang and secretary Liu Yue asked Empress Dowager Liu to return the power to Zhao Zhen. He had already redeemed the heavenly punishment, but he was like a mud cow entering the sea. The following spring, Empress Dowager Liu wanted to wear the crown of the emperor and enter the temple to worship the Taimiao. Xue Kui, the political assistant, advised: "If the empress dowager wears the emperor's clothes, what kind of worship ritual should he use?"

Empress Dowager Liu refused to listen, and actually wore a ritual crown, a dragon robe, prepared a carriage, and went to the Taimiao to be the chief priest. The imperial concubine Yang and the empress Guo were in charge. Empress Dowager Liu gave her first gift and bowed her to burn incense. The imperial concubine Yaxian, and the empress finally offered her. After the ceremony, the ministers were given the title of the Empress Dowager, and they were called Yingtian Qi Sheng, the emperor, and the empress dowager, and the emperor was the emperor, and she was called Yingtian Qi Sheng, and the empress dowager, and returned to the palace. After the sacrifice, Empress Dowager Liu quickly fell ill.

Zhao Zhen recruited famous doctors from all over the world for her and went to Beijing for treatment. They were ineffective and died a month later. Empress Dowager Liu was in charge of the 11th year of the reign of the dynasty. She used both the charity and the charity of the people. She was not entrusted with any vacancies, but also gave them to them inside and outside. She was also restrained. Cheng Lin, the envoy of the Three Divisions, once presented the plan of Empress Wu to the dynasty. Empress Dowager Liu threw it on the ground and said, "I will not do anything to let my ancestors down."

The grain envoy Liu Chuo returned to the capital from the west of the capital and reported: "The grain storage in Yu has more than a thousand dou of grain, and begs to be delivered to the three departments!" Empress Dowager Liu said: "Do you know Wang Zeng, Zhang Zhibai, Lu Yijian, and Lu Zongdao? Have the four of them ever offered to the capital to envy the capital?" Liu Chuo retreated in shame. In the later years of the empress dowager, he reused his foreign family. The eunuchs Luo Chongxun, Jiang Deming and others took the opportunity to steal power, and most of the matters such as being put on the crown were instigated by Luo and Jiang.

When Empress Dowager Liu was dying, she couldn't speak and held her clothes with her hands, as if she had something to say. Zhao Zhen looked around, not sure why. After the death, Zhao Zhen came out to ask the ministers. Xue Kui immediately replied: "The empress dowager's meaning must be because she was wearing an imperial uniform. If she used this uniform again, how could she see the late emperor underground?" Zhao Zhen then realized and changed to the later uniform to collect the burial.
Chapter completed!