The cruel officials, looking at the literary meaning, you can tell at a glance that it is not a good review. The cruel heart and cruel means are almost the standard of their personality. From the perspective of the success of cause and effect, it can be imagined that Zhang Tang n

Category：history

2025-07-28

Zhang Tang is a famous cruel official in the Western Han Dynasty period. The cruel officials, looking at the literary meaning, you can tell at a glance that it is not a good review. The cruel heart and cruel means are almost the standard of their personality. From the perspective of the success of cause and effect, it can be imagined that Zhang Tang naturally won’t have any good ending.

However, many friends only know this kind of historical figures and events, but not why. At most, he just sighed with anger or regret, "This is retribution", and he did not know the inevitable logic of cruel officials often having a good end.

Standard fire in the long and short, how long is the time? A snail horn is more female than a bear, what is the world? In fact, the fundamental purpose of our reading history is to help ourselves get rid of the inherent limitations of thinking, be able to understand and crack the complex and complex personnel around us from a larger pattern and height, and ultimately achieve a harmonious ending.

Therefore, it is of great benefit to most of us to review and analyze the cause of death of the cruel official Zhang Tang. Of course, this value lies more in reference and reflection than instructing and imitating. What made Zhang Tang a generation of cruel officials?

Zhang Tang was born in an official family. His father is Chang'an Cheng, who is mainly responsible for the daily public security work in the capital. Although his level is not high, it is also a real position.

When Zhang Tang was still very young, once, his father came back from work and found that the meat at home was stolen by a mouse, so he was angry and didn't beat him. He couldn't even see a piece of meat. Isn't this in vain to support you? So he gave Zhang Tang a severe lesson.

This made Zhang Tang feel very frustrated. If a mouse steals meat and eats it, go find a mouse. What's the matter if you vent my anger? However, in that era when patriarchal power was too high, Zhang Tang could only mumble in his heart and just finish it. If he really dared to contradict his father, he would probably have to be fried pork with bamboo shoots.

This is originally an ordinary family trivial matter, and most people will pass after being depressed. However, this Zhang Tang is not an ordinary person, he is destined to become a tough character.

This kid digs three feet into the ground to find the rat that steals meat and the rat eats the remaining meat. When the rat and meat are both captured, he opens the situational simulation mode with great imagination. He wants to judge this evil rat, make its crime public, and go through judicial procedures to restore his innocence.

He first filed a case for the rat, then issued a verdict, and after the announcement period, he interrogated the rat again, convicted it of stealing meat, and sentenced it torture on the spot (an ancient torture, cutting flesh and bones, cutting limbs, and cutting throat).

This matter was discovered by his father. After reading the document he wrote to judge the mouse, he was very happy. It seemed that this brat was a case-handling material and would have some success in the future. Therefore, he was specially trained and often asked him to write documents on prison management.

Here is a sentence, if I were Zhang Tang's father, I would never be relieved by this matter, but feared. Because Zhang Tang certainly showed a certain talent in handling cases, you can tell by looking at his methods of acting that the child’s heart was too heavy and murderous aura, and his methods were too cruel, which would be a disaster but not a blessing in the future.

Later, Zhang Tang's father passed away, Zhang Tang successfully took over and became an Chang'an official, and he worked for many years. When Zhang Tang was doing grassroots legal affairs and management, he successfully received the reward from the Laotian family by sheltering and caring for the powerful minister Tianfu 's brother Zhou Yang Hou Tiansheng. After Tian Sheng was released from prison, he introduced many noble officials to Zhang Tang to know him, and Tian Feng later promoted Zhang Tang to censor.

In order to leave a deep impression on the boss Emperor Wu of Han , Zhang Tang, when dealing with the witchcraft case of Empress Chen in , he conducted in-depth investigations into his followers. As expected, Emperor Wu of Han felt that he was very good at doing things and promoted him to Taizhong Doctor .

Although Zhang Tang's promotion is very rapid, some of his behaviors have been criticized in the circle.First, this person is very good at dealing with people and doing his best to flatter the powerful and powerful, and is cruel and ruthless to those who fall into his hands and have no value; second, this person is extremely flattering and hypocritical. He stores and communicates with well-known scholars and officials from all over the country in . Although he does not approve of the other party in his heart, he still shows admiration on the surface. Life is like a play, all depends on acting skills!

After entering the Dharma eye of Emperor Wu of Han, Zhang Tang concentrated on thinking about Emperor Wu of Han's thoughts. For example, Emperor Wu of Han prefers people with literary talent and knowledge. When Zhang Tang decides major cases, he deliberately adds some ancient meanings, and even specializes in digging out some doctoral disciples who have literary talent to explain the relevant laws.

If you encounter some difficult cases, this guy will first try every means to inquire and guess the opinions of Emperor Wu of Han, and then follow the instructions of Emperor Wu of Han, and find various basis for judgment based on the opinions of Emperor Wu of Han.

In short, Zhang Tang is a good player in flattery. However, if you often walk by the river, how can you not wear your shoes? Zhang Tang often flatters and always slaps on the horse's hooves, but we don't need to worry about him, he has his way of dealing with it. First, he took the initiative to admit defeat, said that he was wrong, the leader criticized correctly, and that the leader could point out my mistakes, which proved that the leader was wise; second, he pretended to be stupid and humble, and said that the problems pointed out by the leader were actually mentioned by those subordinates when he discussed with his subordinates, but his level was not as high as the leader, and he was ashamed of his ability to recognize people and distinguish things.

Can Emperor Wu of Han dislike subordinates who are both obedient and good at dealing with things? Therefore, Zhang Tang is becoming more and more reused. After

was truly reused, Zhang Tang became even more like a fish in water when he was careful. When he reported his work to Emperor Wu of Han, if he was criticized, those subordinates who had offended him would be in trouble. He would blame those people, saying that they were all their opinions; if he was praised, he would take the opportunity to recommend his confidant to Emperor Wu of Han, saying that it was their credit. Moreover, when he recommends people, he always praises them to death, and his shortcomings are definitely not mentioned at all; when he wants to punish people, he will definitely punish them to death. Even if you commit only a little sin, he will say that they are unforgivable.

Although Zhang Tang seems to be a person with strict law enforcement, he is actually a person with both ends of the rat. He has always been very inclined to the personal wishes of Emperor Wu of Han in terms of the criterion. If Emperor Wu of Han hates this person, then this person will probably be punished twice as much; if Emperor Wu of Han has someone who is partial, he will understand and arrange for the people below to help him exempt him from punishment. Only those other people who Emperor Wu of Han did not pay much attention to would do their business and act in accordance with the law.

However, Zhang Tang has always been very cautious about high-ranking officials and powerful people. If you can open the door of convenience, you will open the door of convenience. If you can take proper care of it, you will take appropriate care of it. When you interact with them, you will also pay special attention to etiquette.

So is Zhang Tang still relatively astringent? Do you think a violent person who has been making a big fuss about a mouse since childhood will really know how to restrain himself? Obviously he was thinking too much, and Zhang Tang just felt that he was not in power for the time being, so sometimes he had to be more low-key.

Later, when dealing with the rebellion of the three kings of Huainan, Hengshan and Jiangdu, he once again carried forward the spirit of beating the dog in the water, and pursued the people involved in the case relentlessly and thoroughly tried it. Even Emperor Wu of Han, who was willing to let him go, was killed by Yan Zhu and , were finally persuaded by Zhang Tang to kill him on the grounds that it would not be enough to establish prestige.

When Emperor Wu of Han saw that Zhang Tang played the role of "biting a dog" so hard, he trusted him even more, so he promoted him to the censor.

Zhang Tang, who ranked third in the third place, continued to carry forward the style of "only leaders in his eyes". In order to help Emperor Wu of Han make money to support military expenses, he suggested that Emperor Wu of Han make platinum currency and Wuzhu coins, monopolize the production and transaction of salt and iron, and exclude wealthy businessmen. In order to prevent local tyrants from evading sanctions, he suggested implementing a lawsuit order, creating white terror across the country.

This is originally an ordinary family trivial matter, and most people will pass after being depressed. However, this Zhang Tang is not an ordinary person, he is destined to become a tough character.

Can Emperor Wu of Han dislike subordinates who are both obedient and good at dealing with things? Therefore, Zhang Tang is becoming more and more reused. After

When Emperor Wu of Han saw that Zhang Tang played the role of "biting a dog" so hard, he trusted him even more, so he promoted him to the censor.

However, no one can resist Emperor Wu of Han likes this kind of loyal lackey. When Zhang Tang was ill, Emperor Wu of Han went to visit him in person to declare to everyone his trust and importance to Zhang Tang.

Zhang Tang, who holds heavy power and is trusted, discussed with Emperor Wu of Han about the manufacturing of white deer skin coins. The Grand Sennong Yan Yi expressed his opposition, which made Emperor Wu of Han very unhappy. Zhang Tang was already in a disagreement with Yan Yi, so he accepted the report and arrested Yan Yi for his guilty defamation.

We hate the Qin Hui for false charges. Isn’t Zhang Tang’s approach exactly the same as Qin Hui? It can be seen that this kid is really holding back his stomach.

So, how did Zhang Tang become a cruel and cruel official? In fact, when you are three years old, you can see some behavioral characteristics of Zhang Tang when he was a child. Zhang Tang has no compassion and no concept. This man is dedicated to trying to please his superiors to provide greater protection for his willful venting. The only thing that can restrict him is power and strength. Anyone who is not as powerful as him will become his tool or even a victim if he is not careful.

Zhang Tang's path to death

Zhang Tang gained power, and began to expand infinitely, wantonly suppressing dissident forces, making everyone angry at him and dare not speak out. But if you keep adding air to the pressure cooker like Zhang Tang, the pressure cooker will explode sooner or later. After all, the clay Bodhisattva still has a bit of earthiness, and it is absolutely impossible for everyone to tolerate Zhang Tang to the end.

For example, when Zhang Tang's disciple Tian Jia was a minor official, he had an indescribable financial exchange between him and Zhang Tang, and the two had an extremely close interest relationship. However, seeing Zhang Tang doing so randomly, he also resisted standing up and saying that Zhang Tang had indeed done something too much.

As public opinion began to ferment, some people who could not bear it were gradually plucking up the courage to fight Zhang Tang.

The first to attack was a Censor Zhongcheng named Li Wen. Zhang Tang had offended and bullied him, and he was extremely resentful to Zhang Tang. So I tried every means to find flaws from Zhang Tang's case handling documents, seized Zhang Tang's handle, and then went to Emperor Wu of Han to complain.

This incident was discovered by Zhang Tang's fan Lu Yeju, so he took the initiative to make a move first and instructed others to report that Li Wen had a ill-gotten evil. Emperor Wu of Han handed the matter to Zhang Tang for handling, and Zhang Tang took the opportunity to execute Li Wen. But when Emperor Wu of Han asked who reported Li Wen, he deliberately covered up Lu Yeju.

Later, Lu Yeju was sick and stayed at home. Zhang Tang not only went to visit him in person, but also massaged Lu Yeju's feet.

After the Li Wen incident, Zhao Wang Liu Pengzu followed closely at Zhang Tang. Because Zhao Guo was originally profitable by smelting and casting, Zhang Tang basically cut off his financial resources by establishing the state-owned salt and iron. Liu Pengzu vented his dissatisfaction with those iron officials, but was rejected by Zhang Tang many times, so he had long hated Zhang Tang. Moreover, Lu Yeju also offended King Zhao in the lawsuit against King Zhao.

After learning that Zhang Tang and Lu Yeju had surpassed ordinary friends, he wrote a letter to report that Zhang Tang was the third prince, but he ignored the ranks and inferiors and personally massaged Lu Yeju's feet. There might be something shameful about this!

Although Emperor Wu of Han trusted Zhang Tang very much, there was too much information about suing Zhang Tang recently, so he had to hand over the matter to Yanwei for investigation and trial.

Just at this moment, the person involved Lu Yeju died of illness. So the matter extended to his younger brother.

After Lu Yeju's younger brother was imprisoned, Zhang Tang actually had the intention to help him secretly, but when he met Lu Yeju's younger brother, he deliberately pretended to be very cold. As a result, this caused a misunderstanding from Lu Yeju's younger brother, who believed that Zhang Tang turned against him and was too ruthless.He made up his mind to be a tainted witness and poured out all the things that his brother and Zhang Tang colluded with each other to kill Li Wen with improper means.

Emperor Wu of Han handed over the case to the reduction publicity. The people who were usually bullied by Zhang Tang, so when you get this opportunity, you will naturally pursue this matter. Moreover, Jiuxuan was also a strong man. Because he was worried that Emperor Wu of Han would favor Zhang Tang, he deliberately did not report to Emperor Wu of Han during the case handling process.

See if it is not, Zhang Tang, who once caused both men and gods, is finally slowly becoming a mouse crossing the street that everyone shouts and beats.

But the matter is not over yet, because at this time someone stole the burial money from the Han Wen Emperor's Mausoleum. This kind of theft incident of Tai Sui's head was too bad. Maybe it would be a bloody political incident. Prime Minister Zhuang Qingzhai then made an appointment with Zhang Tang to apologize, confess to being lenient and resist being strict. Let’s first admit to the boss that he has dereliction of duty and requesting lenient despair. It is better than waiting for the boss to hold him accountable in a furious manner. When Zhang Tang thought about it, he made the same sense, so he agreed.

However, when he arrived at the office of Emperor Wu of Han, Zhang Tang began to make a small plan in his mind. This cemetery is the jurisdiction of the prime minister. What does it have to do with me? Why should I accompany him to apologize? Therefore, after Zhuang Qingzhai apologized, he did not say a word.

When Emperor Wu of Han heard that someone dared to hit his grandfather's cemetery, he ordered the censor to thoroughly investigate the matter.

At this time, Zhang Tang came up with another secret move. He planned to go to Emperor Wu of Han to file a lawsuit first, saying that Prime Minister Zhuang Qingzhai would not report it.

Zhuang Qingzhai was deeply afraid of this matter. The three chiefs of the Prime Minister's Office could no longer bear it and decided to join forces to kill Zhang Tang. The three chiefs were named Zhu Maichen , Wang Chao, and Bian Tong. Their initial positions were much higher than Zhang Tang and they were the objects of Zhang Tang's view. However, later, Zhang Tang rose like a rocket, but they were all demoted to the Prime Minister's Office as chiefs because of being excluded. After his status reversal, Zhang Tang bullied others many times and often deliberately humiliated them.

Three cobblers beat Zhuge Liang . The three officials gathered together for a long time and decided to start with Zhang Tang first. As long as they hold conclusive evidence of the crime, they will not believe that Zhang Tang will not be able to defeat him.

They first sent someone to arrest Zhang Tang’s friend Tian Xin and others, and without saying that you are all insiders and participants in the activities behind Zhang Tang. You should just give honest explanations, and try to be lighter. So Tian Xin arranged for Zhang Tang to accumulate goods to make profits, and then the two shared the interests and other matters.

Emperor Wu of Han soon heard about this. Isn’t this just to fill his personal pockets? However, Emperor Wu of Han did not have the intention to kill Zhang Tang, but deliberately criticized Zhang Tang, saying that the country's policy orientation and commercial confidentiality confidentiality work were not done well, and some people used the information gap to make money. After listening to , Zhang Tang was very calm and admitted that there would definitely be such a villain, as if what Emperor Wu of Han said had nothing to do with him. At this moment, the macho man's trial of Lu Yeju was also ineffective.

put a lot of things together, and coupled with some previous public opinion that was unfavorable to Zhang Tang, Emperor Wu of Han finally realized that Zhang Tang had a problem, so he sent envoys to bring a book to accuse Zhang Tang on eight charges. But Zhang Tang is just a stubborn person and says he is wronged no matter what he says.

Emperor Wu of Han was angry, why is it so difficult to make you admit your mistake? So, again, sent Zhao Yu to blame Zhang Tang.

Zhao Yu is much more experienced than a book writer. He doesn’t mess with Zhang Tang, and says straight to the point, why are you, Zhang Tang, so you don’t know anything about it? How many people have you killed and offended so many people over the years? Now that you have been caught by others, do you still want to get out of here? Your Majesty arranged for us to hold you accountable, but in fact he wanted to give you a decent way of apologizing. Why did you force Your Majesty to bring you to court? After listening to it, Zhang Tang felt that his vitality was bleak.He then submitted a memorial to apologize, first thanking Emperor Wu of Han for his promotion and trust over the years, and then said with resentment that he was murdered by the three chiefs of the Prime Minister's Office. Then, he committed suicide and bid farewell to his cruel life.

After Zhang Tang's death, the property of the family did not exceed 500 gold, all of which were rewarded by the emperor and had no other industries.

Zhang Tang's nephew felt that Zhang Tang was dead and wanted to bury Zhang Tang with great grave. As a result, Zhang Tang's old mother said, "Zhang Tang was an important minister of the emperor, but was slandered to death. What's the point of burying me? I think he died brilliantly, right? "

Did you see it? Many times, the old man still reads things more thoroughly. Therefore, Zhang Tang's family used an ox cart to bury Zhang Tang's body, with only a coffin but no outer coffin.

After Emperor Wu of Han learned about this, he sighed at Zhang Tang's mother, saying, "Without such a mother, you cannot give birth to such a son." Zhang Tang's mother's words were actually very lethal. Zhang Tang was framed to death as a close minister of the emperor. If the emperor did not help him to clear his injustice, it was that the emperor was too ruthless and ungrateful, and no one would be willing to work hard for Emperor Wu of Han in the future.

Therefore, Emperor Wu of Han sentenced three senior officials to death. Prime Minister Zhuang Qingzhai was forced to commit suicide. Emperor Wu of Han also released Zhang Tang's friend Tian Xin and promoted Zhang Tang's son Zhang Anshi .

The spy war drama surrounding Zhang Tang, a cruel official, finally ended. Except for Emperor Wu of Han, the lofty manipulator, none of the others was the winner.

Zhang Tang's realistic reflection

"Good will be rewarded, evil will be rewarded, not that it is not that the time has not come", "many unrighteous will be killed by doing unrighteous things", "Cause and effect cycle, it will be tried and tested" and so on, but why are there still many people who think of Zhang Tang just unable to do good to others?

The kindness in a person’s heart is actually a seed and a belief. In the initial stage of life, it is very fragile and needs careful cultivation and care. Otherwise, it will be easily poured into some vulgar ideas in the world, causing them to be covered in dust and lost.

is like Zhang Tang. Many children have been instilled with how to compete for fame and fortune in the world since childhood. Many parents only value their children's "talent cultivation" rather than their children's "moral cultivation". Zhang Tang's father saw that Xiao Zhang Tang was so conscious of taking a mouse with such a brain, and he didn't worry, but was happy. In fact, it means that Zhang Tang had serious deviations in his value guidance during his growth process.

Perhaps in the eyes of adults, the life of a mouse is not worthy of attention. What are the problems with children playing willfully? However, when we look at the growth and education of our children, we cannot stand motionless in our adult world, but should proceed step by step from the basis of a child. In the children's minds, mice are actually a kind of life and an animal. They will not be mixed with too much right and wrong in the children's world. For example, in the famous cartoon "Cat and Mouse", do most children like smart mice?

So, in this case, Zhang Tang treats a mouse that steals meat in an extremely extreme and cruel way, and we need to seriously analyze the cause and effect behind this.

Zhang Tang's father took his anger on him. He suffered grievances and dared not speak out, so he had to find the culprit to vent his anger. He dug three feet into the ground and caught the mouse and started to interrogate it in a decent manner. Then he cramped and skinned the mouse, making him look like a master of the sky. But let's assume that the one who steals the meat is not a mouse, but a tiger? Will Zhang Tang do this? Do you dare to do this?

In other words, Zhang Tang has shown a strong tendency to "bully the weak" since he was a child. His father took his anger on him. Because he was powerless to resist, he did not dare to resist, so he found the mouse at any cost to vent his anger. This kind of person is actually very common in our lives. He is the kind of person who holds special grudges. If he cannot make himself satisfied, he will never give up when he encounters anything.

Most of us think that being a human being is like Zhang Tang to avenge his grudges? Little do people know that such people will never escape the trap of grudges, love and hatred in their entire lives. Because if a person's revenge is too heavy, his ideological burden will inevitably be heavy, and it is impossible for him to truly have a clear conscience and be sincere and kind. Gradually, he can only struggle at the two extremes of harming people and being murdered.

People like Zhang Tang are too angry and cannot be content with the status quo, and they cannot be as peaceful as ordinary people. He needs to see the contrast in others to achieve his inner satisfaction, and if he doesn't have a deep foundation, he can only climb up with all his might if he wants to make more people kneel down at his feet.

So, we can see that Zhang Tang is the same at every stage. He is very flattering to those who are better than him, and he is a means of winning over and suppressing the people below him.

Before becoming the censor, he made friends with powerful people and wealthy businessmen. It was not that he really had the concept of "birds of a feather flock together, and people were divided into ", but that he simply wanted to use the resources behind these people to help him slowly climb up. Every time he climbed up, a group of people were abandoned by him. He once timid in front of Zhu Maichen. After he became the censor, he would humiliate Zhu Maichen and other old leaders after he found an opportunity. Isn’t this the mentality?

After he became the censor and received the absolute favor from Emperor Wu of Han, everyone else would be the "rat" that he could use to prove his innocence to his father at any time. It doesn't matter whether this "rat" steals meat or not. What's important is whether he needs to use you to prove himself to his father.

I believe that after seeing this, many people will gradually understand how destructive the power of people like Zhang Tang is. This kind of person is actually just about trying to please his superiors, regardless of the life or death of his subordinates, or even in need, he can sacrifice anyone. Those who flatter the superior will inevitably bully the inferior, which is a human inertia that most people cannot get rid of.

However, we should not care too much about people like Zhang Tang, because from the perspective of human nature, such people generally will not have any good endings. As long as we can watch the changes clearly and safely, we will definitely see the moment when he is ruined.

Because people like him seem to have the upper hand in gains and losses in front of them for a while, their logic of behavior cannot stand the test of time. They please and suppress their subordinates without any bottom line. In fact, in the workplace, they are absolutely hatred. Unless the big leaders can protect them for the rest of their lives, they will be devoured by hatred.

However, let’s think about it carefully. A big leader, who is not a relative or a relative, is he indulging you? He uses you, either you can help him do something that is inconvenient for him to do; or you can make him feel happy without affecting his core interests; or you have formed a benefit or emotional bond with him in certain potential aspects.

At the same time, can those who you regard as grass, always tolerate you? You are a tiger and have time to take a nap. As long as you catch a chance to kill you, they will definitely fight back. After all, killing you is a great pleasure, not to mention that those who are barefoot are not afraid of wearing shoes. At worst, they will die together or even bite off a piece of meat. No matter how much do you have to be favored by your leader, how many times can you afford to bite like this?

So, since ancient times, people who belittle their superiors and bully their subordinates have basically no good ending. Later generations, the , Tang Xuanzong , which was fascinated by , Yang Guifei, , was forced to die at Mawei Slope, let alone a lackey like Zhang Tang?

Back to the topic of accumulating good deeds and doing virtues, why do we have to have a kind heart regardless of whether we live a happy life or not? In fact, it may be easier for friends who like to read martial arts novels to understand this issue.

Accumulating good deeds is like practicing decent martial arts. Although it will definitely play a fast-acting role, as long as you practice down-to-earth, your martial arts will always rise steadily and will not go astray.However, some people are eager to achieve success and are determined to become first-class masters quickly. So they are hungry and specialized in practicing some evil martial arts. They are either killed by their enemies or become possessed by their devils, and it is difficult to end up well.

has some side-by-side tricks, just like practicing the Seven Injury Fist. Sometimes it seems to have quick results, high returns and great power, but in fact it has already been silently hurting one's own survival foundation and destroying one's internal organs. When the practitioners feel that their magical skills are achieved, it is often the day when they die. Isn’t it like this to be successful in villains?

I hope everyone understands Zhang Tang’s cold life, and must learn to be a person with awesomeness, and not become a person who uses any means to be defeated by desire. A gentleman does what he does and does not do, while a villain does everything.

He made up his mind to be a tainted witness and poured out all the things that his brother and Zhang Tang colluded with each other to kill Li Wen with improper means.