The prefect of Jinan still sighed to himself, and another government official came in from outside, but he bowed his hand to him.
"If you have something to say, say it quickly." He didn't want to get angry with outsiders, so he barely held back his temper and whispered.
"Your Excellency, Chen Tongpao, the supervisor sent by Yan Xiang, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, has arrived and is waiting outside the gate with the two clerks."
"The matter hasn't been finished yet, and here comes this...forget it, please quickly invite Mr. Chen here for an interview. The good tea must be served immediately, so don't neglect it!"
"yes."
After a while, the yamen servant brought Chen Tongpao into the second hall. The prefect saluted him and invited him to sit on the armchair opposite.
Chen Tongpao said: "I am not familiar with the situation in Shandong. I wanted to go to the governor's office first, but I couldn't find him. Then I realized that there has never been a governor in this place. I don't know why?"
The magistrate smiled and said: "Your Excellency, I have been staying in the capital for a long time. I don't know that the provinces surrounding the capital have always been concerned about security and feared that the governor's power would be too great, so they have not been established for a long time. All government affairs in Shandong will be handed over to this government."
"Wouldn't setting up posts like this just add to the trouble?" The two clerks, claiming to be from the Zhongshu Province, started to argue dissatisfied, "You are the only prefect here, how can you control the people below? Prime Minister Yan's good governance is still How to carry it out!"
Tongpao Chen turned his head slightly, coughed twice, and interrupted: "Well, these are the rules established by this dynasty. It is difficult to find changes, so why bother to blame others. If everything goes smoothly, the Deputy Prime Minister will send us What are you here for? Isn't it just to help the prefect solve his difficulties?" The two people were suddenly speechless.
"Master Magistrate, you don't have to worry about these unimportant matters anymore," Tongpao Chen turned his head with a smile, "First give a general introduction to the situation of running schools in the province."
The magistrate wiped the sweat from his head, bent down and replied: "Okay, let's start with the official school. The so-called official school, that is, county school, government school, etc., specializes in teaching local students. Your Excellency should still remember. In order to To ensure the operation of the school, it is generally necessary to have more than thirty acres of school land, rent it to farmers for farming, collect rice every month, and compile books for verification. In order to facilitate management, local officials often hand over the school land to the squires for custody , this way it is easy to control the group of tenants. Unexpectedly, these landlords are stubborn by nature. They not only block Prime Minister Yan's new policy, but also criticize the expansion of the school. Among them, Qufu is the most serious, and this government has nothing to do."
"A bunch of bastards!" As soon as he finished speaking, a clerk yelled angrily, "How can a country fool understand national affairs! Mr. Chen, as the supervisor, you should quickly punish these squire landlords who poison the people. !”
When the prefect heard their stern shouting, he couldn't help but glance at Chen Tongpao in horror. Seeing that the latter didn't say a word, he became even more panicked: "Please give me your instructions, Mr. Superintendent."
"Oh, are you asking for my opinion?" Chen Tongpao smiled faintly at him again. What the two of you said was very reasonable. Prime Minister Yan's policy must be implemented. But as the saying goes, what you hear is false and what you see is belief. So let’s go to Qufu first and then make a conclusion. What do you think? "
Although the two clerks were dissatisfied, they couldn't resist Chen Tongpao after all. They just sighed and said: "Everything is up to you. I wonder if we are going today? Tomorrow?"
"The weather is not sunny today, but tomorrow will be better." Tongpao Chen stood up and dusted off his official uniform, "Master Magistrate, please spare three guest rooms. We can make do with one day and sleep in the Yamen."
"Understood." The magistrate reluctantly exhaled and respectfully sent the two of them out of the door.
"Sir, the person who came in didn't say anything, did they? It's not easy for you. Eat something and have a rest." The sky was completely dark at this time, and a confidant was holding a bowl of meat in the sparse moonlight. Tang found the prefect who had not yet fallen asleep.
"Thank you for giving me something like this in the middle of the night..." The prefect quickly brought the soup, blew a few puffs, raised his eyes and ordered him to sit down.
"Sir, how powerful is that Minister Chen?" He didn't dare to sit down and asked standing up.
The magistrate stroked his beard and said: "This person is well-spoken and knows the general situation. However, the two clerks spoke arrogantly and did not leave any room for me. This is very unexpected."
The confidant sneered and said: "Those two people were sent by Yan Wen. Their duties are nothing more than making suggestions and they don't have to bear the responsibility. Naturally, they want to complete the reform as soon as possible in order to return to the court and claim credit."
"When it comes to understanding people's hearts, you, the subordinates, know it in your heart." The prefect smiled and drank the soup.
"Sir, please don't take this kind of thing as a joke," a confidant said hurriedly, "You should actively promote the relationship with Supervisor Chen, otherwise you will have no friends and no one to clean up the situation for you. When the time comes, it will be up to them to destroy Shandong. If there is chaos, I am afraid you will lose your head. These are the words from the bottom of my heart. I am loyal and upright. I hope you will accept your advice!"
After hearing this, the prefect immediately put down the porcelain spoon in his hand and frowned: "What you said is indeed reasonable. But Supervisor Chen doesn't even know whether there is a governor in Shandong, and he has no understanding of the local political system. He must not be able to understand the current situation here. .How dare you count on him now?"
"But you also said that Chen Shilang is a smart man. As soon as he comes to Qufu with you, he will understand it immediately after taking a look at the academic fields. You can pay attention to his expression. If you notice something strange, take the opportunity to say something and persuade him not to do it. Harsh government.”
But the prefect shook his head: "He is closely followed by two clerks, how dare I tell the supervisor clearly?"
The confidant was stunned for a while, then suddenly slapped his head: "The villain has an idea!"
"Say it quickly!" The prefect got excited and spilled the soup into his sleeves.
The confidant widened his eyes and looked to both sides, indicating that the matter should not be made public. The prefect understood this and tore a piece of paper from the table and asked him to write it himself.
Under the illumination of the candlelight, I saw my confidant waving his hand and writing for a moment, then gestured to the prefect, then folded the note and handed it to him; the latter also silently stuffed the note into his arms without making a sound. .
There are birds chirping on the eaves outside, and the lights in the study have been turned off.
The next day turned out to be a warm and refreshing day. The clerks urged Chen Tongpao to get up early in the morning and set off in a hurry. They didn't even reach Chenchu in Qufu County.
"We're here!" The prefect reined in the horse in front of a square courtyard, turned around and said to Chen Tongpao, "Superintendent Chen, this is the county school in Qufu."
Everyone dismounted and looked up. They could see that the yard was not very big. There were only a few scattered dead bamboos outside the door, and a few stone walls no more than two feet high. They had not been painted. Traces of peeling paint.
"Master Magistrate, in this hometown of saints, even the county school is in such a state of decline!" The two bookkeepers did not follow the two in. Instead, they stood at the door pointing and complaining.
