He is generous, kind, upright, honest and decisive. He was a rare good prime minister in the early years of Northern Song Dynasty, and also a mentor of Bao Zheng, a scholar in Longtuge.
The author consulted a lot of historical materials and didn't get any information about "Wang Yanling". According to the History of Song Dynasty, there was indeed a prime minister named Wang Dan in the Northern Song Dynasty, not Wang Yanling.
Extended data:
Wang Xing, Prime Minister of Northern Song Dynasty;
Wang Dan (957-1017-10-2), whose name is clear. Shen County, Daming Prefecture (now Shandong Province). A famous soldier in the Northern Song Dynasty, the son of Wang Hu, assistant minister of the Ministry of War.
In the fifth year of Taiping and Xingguo (980), Wang Dan was a scholar and edited Wen Yuan Hua Ying as a writer. Tired officials know the Privy Council and participate in the discussion of state affairs. In the battle of Zen Temple, Wang Danquan was appointed as a left-behind official in Tokyo. Jingdezhen three years (1006), visited the prime minister and supervised the history of the two dynasties.
He is good at recognizing people, recommending people with great qualities, and advising Zhenzong to follow the methods of his ancestors and carefully change them. He was in power for 18 years and 12 years, and he was deeply trusted by Shinto Sect. However, under the persuasion of Wang Qinruo, it failed to stop the true Sect of the book, which was criticized by later generations.
In his later years, Wang Dan repeatedly asked to abdicate. In the end, due to illness, Wang Dan was led by Yu Qingzhao, an imperial envoy. In the first year of Tianxi (10 17), Wang Dan died at the age of 6 1 year. He was named a surname, senior secretary and minister of Chinese calligraphy, Wei Guogong, and posthumous title was named "Zheng Wen", so later people called him "Wang Wenzheng".
In the first year of Ganxing (1022), it was granted to Zhenzong Hall. Song Renzong wrote "German elder" on his inscription. He is one of the twenty-four heroes of Zhao Xun Pavilion.
Twenty volumes of collected works have been lost. His works were included in Quan Song's Poems and Complete Works.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Wang Yanling
Baidu Encyclopedia-Wang Dan