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Part One: Penghu Chapter 464: Between Honest Officials and Corrupt Officials

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    Ding Yunyi suddenly thought of something while listening:

    "Incorruptible people are the most admirable, but there is only one who has a bad temper. He always feels that the world is full of villains, and he is the only one who is a gentleman. This idea is the most harmful, and it has caused countless harm to the world's major events  Corrupt officials are hateful, and everyone knows it; honest officials are especially hateful, but many people don't know it. Corrupt officials know that they are sick and dare not do anything openly; honest officials think that they don't need money, so there is nothing they can do.  It will harm the country.¡±

    Although this is a bit extreme, it is not necessarily unreasonable.

    In an era like this, honest officials and corrupt officials actually have their own hateful qualities!

    Ye Yuan no longer worried about anything: "Ouyang Xiu, a contemporary of Bao Zheng, criticized the blind self-confidence of upright officials. In Renzong's "On Bao Zheng's Letter to Eliminate Three Secretaries", he criticized Bao Zheng as a man of integrity.  The Xianguan dismissed the idea of ??replacing two ministers after impeaching them. He believed that doing so would make "the ministers who speak and speak well will be coveted and become accustomed to each other." Bao Zheng argued that he had no intention of doing so. Ouyang Xiu said.  Said: "The heart is hidden in the heart, but no one can see it; the traces are shown outside, and the world can see them. Now Zheng wants to be confident in his invisible heart and hide the traces from the world. This is like exploring things with his hands and speaking with his mouth."  If you don't want to, no one will believe it. This minister's so-called suspicion is unavoidable. He also criticized Bao Zheng's sense of moral superiority very pointedly: "If you don't take something, you are honest. If you don't do something, you are honest."  It's called shame. The actions of the ministers are based on the etiquette of others. If you don't do something at this time, you can show your integrity to the world.'"

    Ding Yunyi never expected that his brother-in-law would actually talk about Bao Zheng. He listened carefully to what Ye Yuan said:

    "Ouyang Xiu's views represent the attitude of a considerable number of scholar-officials in the Song Dynasty. They undoubtedly admire Bao Zheng's integrity. But political affairs have their own characteristics and cannot be equated with personal cultivation. Bao Zheng only values ????the moral integrity  , but ignores the impact of his behavior on the political atmosphere. Such a willful act based on moral self-confidence, "may not think about the affairs of the court", "do not think well," and I, Hai Rui of the Ming Dynasty, also suffered.  He was criticized by scholar-bureaucrats, even more so than Bao Zheng. Hai Rui was honest and upright throughout his life, and he took the name of "Gangfeng" as his duty, but he had many fates.  Wrong, the way is not possible. Several times I started with great success, but ended in despair. "

    He sighed and said: "The reason is, of course, not just because 'everything in the world is dirty but I am the only one who is pure'. Emperor Wanli's conclusion to him was, 'Although the authorities are doing things, they may not be the best, but they are used to suppress elegance and customs and encourage decadence.  The wind is useless.' On the surface, it affirmed Hai Rui's merits, but in fact it was a denial. Emperor Wanli had no doubts about Hai Rui's integrity, but he believed that this honest and loyal minister only had an example in terms of moral integrity.  It cannot make any contribution to the national economy and people¡¯s livelihood.¡±

    Speaking of which.  He gradually strengthened his tone: "Integrity officials should throw away their moral superiority, they should not be too harsh on people, and their governance should not rely solely on paranoid toughness. This is of course not to encourage corruption, but it cannot be achieved.  It is a situation in which people can only observe things. If this happens, the country will not be able to function normally.¡±

    Ding Yunyi fell into deep thought. A leader will be responsible for the operation of the entire group.  The difference in the evaluation of honest officials between ordinary people and social elites is intriguing.

    The criticism of upright officials by scholar-bureaucrats and even emperors focused on the word "engraved".  The meaning of "engraved" is very broad, including harsh usage, harsh criticism of subordinates and people, and paranoia and toughness in governance.  unreasonable.

    ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? together  This mentality leads them to use harsh methods in governance, and this is precisely the reason why ordinary people respect honest officials.

    The common people have only three expectations for honest officials: to suppress the powerful and powerful who oppress the people; to crack down on the rogues in the fish and meat village; and to punish corrupt officials who take bribes and bend the law.  The harsher the officials deal with these people, the more "loving the people" they are.

    For example, when Grand Administrator Liang saw that Wang Xi, a rogue who abducted women and killed others, was only sentenced to exile in the army, he became furious and said, "I was punished with sixty bans, and I died immediately."

    This kind of murderous behavior was affirmed by the police, saying that he was extremely righteous.

    The scholar-bureaucrat class is very disgusted with this kind of "impression" of upright officials. In addition to the value factors of loyalty and forgiveness, the main reason is considering the reality of governing the country.  "Do things in order to achieve success." Political affairs are different from personal cultivation. It is an art of compromise and a chess game in which the interests of all parties are played. If you want to make a difference in governance, you cannot just rely on moral condescension and blind paranoia.  tough.  Sima Guang's "Sushui Jiwen" records: "Bao Xiren knew Luzhou, even in the countryside He had some knowledge."If someone breaks the law, he will be killed by Xiren.  All my relatives and friends hold their breath.  "

    This "good story" about killing relatives for justice always makes people have other thoughts: If the uncle has a death penalty, he can be killed; if the crime is not a death penalty, Bao Zheng will punish him severely in order to show his selflessness and kill him to gain revenge.  To put his name first, this kind of behavior of "killing his wife to seek a general" will undoubtedly greatly reduce people's respect for him.

    This is true for Bao Zheng, and even worse for Hai Rui. His family tragedy is a perfect footnote for his character: his first two wives were divorced, his third wife died violently, and a concubine committed suicide, which forced him to have to go back and forth.  Nine marriages.  And his daughter was forced to go on a hunger strike and died because she ate a piece of bread given by a servant.  This shows his harsh temperament.

    In addition, Hai Rui is also an admirer of harsh punishments. He remembers Zhu Yuanzhang's cruel measures to punish corruption in the early Ming Dynasty, and suggested restoring the ancestral system of "severe penalties for intruders and harsh punishments."  His suggestion not only shocked the officialdom, but even Emperor Wanli thought it was too much.

    According to the Chronicle of Hai Zhongjie Gong, after Hai Rui was appointed as the governor of Yingtian, "he became furious, the county officials were stern and gave orders, and the corrupt people looked at the wind and untied their seals and ribbons and left. The powerful officials held their breath and held their traces.  Move him to other places and avoid them."  This murderous aura that makes corrupt officials and powerful people flee is naturally the result of Hai Rui's daily actions.

    However, my subordinates hang up their hats and beg to go.  The large-scale escape also made it impossible for Hai Rui's plan to benefit the people to be implemented, and it ended sadly.

    Honest officials are the moral models promoted by the whole society, but in reality they are not tolerated in the officialdom. This really puzzles the honest officials: they can ignore the hatred and hatred of corrupt officials, but the criticism of famous ministers and scholars does not matter to them.  It was like a bolt from the blue.

    They who cherish their feathers value most the praise given to them by Qingyi, but this kind of criticism is undoubtedly an expression of disapproval by the social elite of what they guard.

    Is it really the case that "everyone in the world is filthy but I am pure, everyone in the world is greedy and I am alone in integrity"?

    It can't be engraved.  Qing is only one end of the treatment.  It is not enough to solve all problems in reality.  Moral obsession, extreme personality and tough tactics are the root causes of his inability to be tolerated in today's world and his inability to contribute to the national economy and people's livelihood.

    "There were two big figures in the Song Dynasty, one was Yue Fei and the other was Qin Hui." Ye Yuanxian said slowly, "Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty did have good words and deeds to oppose and punish corruption. He said. 'But it is not true for the crime of stealing.  "Loan, because the crime of stealing has harmed the public, it cannot be ignored."  His son Zou Xuzhi was in the state and had stolen stolen goods. Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty said, "Yuan You had a claim that his son was the one who committed the crime."  Narrative'. The above records alone seem to indicate that Song Gaozong was serious about punishing corrupt officials. However, Yue Fei, whom Song Gaozong was extremely suspicious of and eventually killed, was undoubtedly very honest"

    Ye Yuan sneered:

    "Yue Wumu is also a person I respect. He once said to the emperor, 'Civil officials do not love money, military officials do not care about their lives, and the world will be at peace.' With his abundant income, Yue Fei will live a luxurious life without any hesitation.  It was not difficult at all. But not only did he not keep any money for himself, he also often used his personal wealth to subsidize the military. Later, when Emperor Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty decided on Yue Fei's posthumous title, the officials who discussed it said: "Although he was given a huge sum of money, he never thought of it for himself."  They couldn't help but sigh and said, "Oh! There are many people who look around and avoid the generals, protect their wealth, and support the bandits to enrich themselves. This is not the case for the public. They live a clean and honest life and do not cultivate goods. Although they are given money and salary, they should not be stingy with it."  , I don¡¯t know where he has a home.¡± In fact, in the emperor¡¯s view, Yue Fei¡¯s outstanding conduct reflected Yue Fei¡¯s ambition. Song Gaozong only favored mediocre generals and greedy men like Zhang Jun, who lost their ambition in playing with things.  On the contrary, it made the emperor feel more at ease. In his view, greed means no ambition. Zhang Jun was probably the richest man in the early Southern Song Dynasty. He liked to buy land. Therefore, the annual rent in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was only one million dan.  Enter ninety thousand taels of gold.

    And what about Qin Hui?  At least he was one of the most corrupt bureaucrats in the early Southern Song Dynasty.  Song Gaozong was not unaware of his corruption, but he withheld it at the time. After Qin Hui's death, the emperor made up his mind to eliminate the Qin party in the court, but issued an edict to exempt Qin Hui, Qin Xi and his son from prosecution for corruption crimes.  Others, such as the eunuchs Feng Yi, Chen Yongxi, Kang Xu, Zhang Quwei and others favored by Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, were also treated in the same way, so the hypocrisy of punishing corrupt officials is self-evident.  At the time of Jianyan and Shaoxing, the biggest protection against corruption and political corruption was the imperial power of Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty.  Tang Pengju, the magistrate of Jiangzhou, paid 30,000 yuan for the Empress Dowager's return to the palace. This was an episode in the so-called Empress Dowager's Return Ceremony after the Shaoxing Peace Conference, when Song Gaozong's biological mother Wei Shi was released by the Jin people.  "The so-called aid when the people's power is very low" Song Gaozong actually issued an edict to reward him, saying, "You can manage the county impressively, and you can make a lot of money. You can return the surplus to your accumulation, and you have good manners. If people know this, things will not go well! Be careful and sincere."  , This is of course a reward for the officials to use the large amount of copper collected.?, directly bribed the emperor.  "

    "Song Gaozong is not the same thing!" Ding Yunyi said disdainfully.

    "Perhaps Song Gaozong is indeed not a thing, but a good emperor is not. Is that really the case? Song Taizu is the best emperor in the Song Dynasty anyway. He severely punished many corrupt officials, but he also protected the big corrupt official Wang Quanbin and others." Ye Yuan smiled and said  :

    "The national fiscal revenue is limited, and it has been impossible to provide generous official salaries to low-level officials in the past dynasties. In ancient times, there were countless discussions and measures on maintaining integrity. Wang Anshi, the famous Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty, was a person who advocated high salaries and maintaining integrity. He admitted that the honest officials at that time were  "One hundred but no eleven", less than one percent. But after he implemented the reform, as Li Xinzhi said before, there were still "11 honest officials and 19 corrupt officials", as the Jurchen Wugu Sunze of the Yuan Dynasty often said.  It is said that if a scholar is not frugal, he cannot cultivate integrity. He has been wearing a cloth robe for several years, and his wife is simple and unpretentious. The key to maintaining integrity lies in the word "frugal".  It¡¯s not about being greedy.¡±

    He let out a heavy sigh: "Integrity officials not only have to endure the hardships of life, but most of them are depressed in the officialdom. The official selection rules of the hierarchical award system often mean that gold sinks and dung rises. To be favored by the boss, one can  Those who are pushed out of the same ranks and rise to the top are like dirt, and those who are disliked by their superiors are like gold. There is a saying that "forming cliques for personal gain" has great connotation.  The party is not good enough for personal gain. Those who are squeezed out by many corrupt officials are corrupt officials. In the officialdom, those who benefit from various evil ways and rise to the top are corrupt officials.  Choosing people who are willing to change the system, using prudent people in admonishment, and serving as governors are nothing more than intimacy. Corrupt officials are unresponsive, and honest people are especially prone to resentment. This is the normal state of officialdom"

    When he said this, he completely let go:

    "Zongze, the famous anti-Jin general in the Song Dynasty, was a Jinshi in the sixth year of Yuanyou, while Wang Fu, the treacherous prime minister and corrupt official, was a Jinshi in the second year of Chongning. Zongze was an upright and upright official with little self-respect, but because of his refusal to execute  Huizong of the Song Dynasty was repeatedly demoted and punished for his erroneous government decrees, and was demoted to subordinates. Until the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, he was only a magistrate of Cizhou. However, Wang Fu, a Jinshi in the late twelfth year, was favored by Huizong of the Song Dynasty, and he paid homage to him in the first year of Xuanhe.  In the same year, Zongze of Dengzhou was found to be impious in establishing the Shenxiao Palace.  Taoism, wasting money and wasting people, building temples such as Shenxiao Palace, was severely punished. Zongze was nearly seventy years old, and he came to prominence when the country was in crisis. Less than two years before his death, his life was full of splendor.  It is a very sad sight, otherwise, he would have been unknown in the history books. Wouldn¡¯t the prosperity and decline of the two men be in sharp contrast?¡±

    When Ding Yunyi heard this, he suddenly raised his voice:

    "There must be perfect laws. Countries with relatively clear politics use perfect systems and strict law enforcement to maintain social fairness and justice and promote national progress. So we still need clean officials? How can corrupt officials continue to survive!  ¡±(To be continued Piaotian Literature registered members recommend this work
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