When Prime Minister Cui Zuo was still a commoner, he was very close to Han Hui, Lu Dongmei and Zhang Zhengze, and was known as the “Four Kui”. The scholars around Jiangzuo called him “Kui in white”. Later, Cui Zuo was demoted and transferred to Hongzhou. The commander of Hongzhou, Cao Wang, wanted to hire him as a deputy ambassador. At that time, Dezong was in the province of Xing Yuan, and because Cao Wang had merits and was a relative of the emperor, he did not refuse to approve anything he asked for.
At that time, there was a man named Zhao Shanren who was very accurate in his predictions. Cui Zuo asked him, “Can King Cao’s request for me to be a deputy envoy be approved?” The answer was, “No.” Cui Zuo asked again, “Then what will be the result?” The answer was, “I can get a prince, and soon the official document will arrive, in a place farther than here.” Cui Zuo did not believe it and asked again. The answer said, “It must be so, and I know the name of the state you are going to, but I cannot tell you.” He also told Cui Zao which day of the month the official document would arrive, and asked him to offer his condolences first, and then celebrate.
Cui Zuo was afraid in his heart, because the day Zhao Shanren said was the anniversary of the death of his loved one. So he said to Zhao Shanren, “If you are right, I will give you a hundred thousand dollars, but if you are wrong, you will be beaten gently with a whip five times, is that OK?” Zhao Shanren smiled and said, “I don’t deserve a hundred thousand dollars from Mr. Cui, but only a bamboo house that you built for me.” What Zhao Shanren said was getting stranger and stranger. Cui Zuo asked again, “Do you think I have the good fortune to be a prime minister?” The answer was, “Yes.” Then he asked, “How long will it take?” The answer was, “Only for one or two terms, not more than three.”
On the day of the anniversary of the death of Cui Zuo’s family, because all the colleagues knew about it, they waited until the sun was in the west and came together to the pavilion by the river to comfort Cui Zuo. They first paid tribute to Cui Zuo’s relatives, and then gazed at the north of the river together, waiting for news. When the time came, they saw a man boarding a boat from the north bank and urging the ferry to come quickly to the south bank. Cui Zuo asked people to ask the man from afar, and the man replied that he was a messenger from the state. When the boat was about to dock, they asked again, “What are the personnel appointments and dismissals? Do you have the approval for Cui’s appointment as deputy ambassador?” The answer was, “No, but there is an official document for the appointment of the governor of Pious Prefecture here.” Everyone laughed in amazement. The whole process was just as Zhao Shanren had predicted, starting with a sad tribute and then a joyful celebration.
The next day, Cui Zuo told the king of Cao about the incident, and the king of Cao gave Zhao Shanren a hundred thousand dollars. Zhao Shanren did not want it. Cui Zuo built a bamboo house for him, and he moved in happily. And again, he said to Cui Zuo, “After you go to Pi Zhou, you must go through a great frightening event before you can enter the capital as an official.”
Later, because Cui Zuo’s uncle Yuan Huo was the chancellor for the rebel Zhu Zhu bright, he was afraid of being implicated and was in a sorrowful mood. The official letter from the chancellery arrived, making him even more worried and afraid. At that time, Cui Zuo’s old friend Dou Sen became the prime minister, and Cui Zuo was promoted to the post of Minister of Military Affairs, and soon to the post of Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and then to the post of Minister of the Central Secretariat, that is, the prime minister.
(from “Jiaxianlu”)
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