付岳飛 Letter to General Yueh Fei

【About the author】

蘇軾（1037－1101），北宋文學家、書畫家、美食家。字子瞻，號東坡居士。漢族，四川人，葬於潁昌（今河南省平頂山市郟縣）。一生仕途坎坷，學識淵博，天資極高，詩文書畫皆精。

Inside Story

This is a letter Emperor Kao sent to Yueh Fei. It started by autumn greetings and comforted the hardship of battling. Then, it stated if there was anything urgent happened Yueh Fei was allowed to report to him directly, there was no need to go through the routine channel. It also expressed the Emperor’s concerns on rebel’s condition in the dominion of army and navy troops to him. If the rebels should initiate attacks Yueh Fei was authorized to mobilize the navy to prevent further conflicts. Over all, the letter delivered Emperor’s greetings and concerns on the general who led troops to protect borderline area and gave him great extension of authority. However, several years later, Emperor Kao believed a treacherous court official’s words and ordered Yueh Fei to return to the capital with twelve gold plaques, then executed him with false accusations. Comparing the letter and the execution, it is truly pitiful.