Shi Wei Su Can

During the ruling period of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty， there was a man named Zhu Yun. He learned of literal and martial arts when he was young， so when he grew up， he became a man with not only profound knowledge， but also a strong body. He was said to be about seven feet tall and as strong as a bull. At that time， Emperor Cheng appointed an important position to Zhang Yu， who was previously the emperor’s mentor. This position proved his grand knowledge， but possessing knowledge did not mean having skills and capabilities. Unfortunately， Emperor Cheng did not get to this point.

He appointed Zhang Yu the Prime Minister of the court. However， he did not have the skills that could match his positions. Neither could he think of any good ways to govern the state nor was he able to contribute any good strategies to the emperor. All he could do was fill his belly and attend no governmental affairs. So he became the topic of the court. Some ministers talked to Zhu Yun： “Have you seen that？ A man like Zhang Yu only has enough quality for a marquis， but he was now the Prime Minister that could make no contributions. If things were to go on like this， our country would be in danger.

Zhu Yun replied： “Yes， such a man should not be given an important position like. I am going to advise the emperor to sanction him from the post.”

The others tried to talk him into giving up this plan since Zhang Yu was the mentor of the emperor. But being a straightforward man， Zhu Yun did as what he said. He went to the court and met the emperor， to whom he offered a letter. He told Emperor Cheng： “Your Majesty， there is a man in the court that could neither offer ideas to the emperor nor comfort the ordinary people， but he still took an important position like a dead man sitting in the shrine without doing anything. I hope Your Majesty could remove this man from his post.”

Emperor Cheng asked Zhu Yun： “Who is the man you are referring to？”

Zhu Yun answered： “I am speaking of Zhang Yu， the current Prime Minister.”

Emperor Cheng was very angry upon hearing this. He shouted： “How dare you frame the Prime Minister and doubt my wisdom of using people？” Zhu Yun insisted： “Have you not seen this， Your Majesty？ What has Zhang Yu done since he became the Prime Minister？”

The more he spoke， the angrier the emperor got. He ordered his guards to pull Zhu Yun out of his palace. However， Zhu Yun， with his strength， was reluctant to be moved. Even two guards could not pull him. The emperor ordered two more to join in the rank and the foursome pulled Zhu Yun along the way to the palace gate. Zhu Yun grabbed the door frame firmly and shouted： “Your majesty， I am a loyal person. I could even show you my heart if necessary. But if you still keep Zhang Yu at the position of the Prime Minister， this country will be thwarted sooner or later.”

Emperor Cheng was now filled with rage. He ordered his men to pull Zhu Yun out of the palace and behead him as quickly as possible. Zhu Yun， still firmly holding the door frame， refused to give up and even took out a piece of the flank of the wooden door frame.

Seeing this， Xin Qingji， the commander-general of the Left Troop， came to Zhu Yun’s rescue. He knelt in front of the emperor and said： “Your Majesty， Zhu Yun should be blamed for his way of speaking， but what he said showed his loyalty to you. Even if he was wrong， his actions did not deserve him. I beg you to forgive him.”

Xin Qingji’s sincere words calmed down Emperor Cheng a bit. He was originally a ruler willing to accept others’ advices. He carefully considered Zhu Yun’s words and his comparison between Zhang Yu and the dead man. He finally found that what Zhu Yun said was true. So he spared him and later removed Zhang Yu from his post as the Prime Minister.

Someone advised the emperor to mend the palace door