In ancient times, in the minds of the common people, the so-called good and honest officials were those who sat in the yamen and did good things for the people; while the so-called bad and corrupt officials were the officials who sat in the yamen and harmed the people. (lingdiankanshu)
What the two have in common is that whether they are doing good things in the yamen or doing bad things in the yamen, they will only sit in the yamen and do things.
In this era, the concept of "everyone is equal" has not yet appeared. In the minds of the people, court officials should be superior to others and should sit in the yamen and issue orders.
But what Zhao Junchen did during the locust eradication period completely subverted this concept in the hearts of the people.
After the sacrifice to heaven, the operation to cull the locusts was launched vigorously. With the help of all parties, everything went smoothly without any commotion. However, in more than a month, the locust plague was under control. The locusts that were originally overwhelming have now become It can only be seen sporadically.
Hedong and Taiyuan, under the coordination of Zhao Junchen, have been fully cooperating with Lu'an Mansion's actions these days. Due to timely control, the autumn harvest in the two places was not affected by the locust plague this year.
Under the organization of the two prefects, people from Hedong and Taiyuan also came to Lu'an Prefecture to help the people of Lu'an Prefecture to cull the locusts.
For the people in Hedong and Taiyuan, the most surprising thing after arriving in Lu'an Prefecture was that the dignified imperial envoy Zhao Junchen was dressed in ordinary farmer's clothes and culled locusts with the people of Lu'an Prefecture. ! !
Zhao Junchen's original intention of doing this was just an act, just to stabilize his image as a "good official" in the hearts of the people of Lu'an Prefecture.
But the people did not think that Zhao Junchen was being pretentious, because during the culling of locusts, Zhao Junchen did not enjoy any privileges and was never lazy at all. Like ordinary people, he received porridge and pickles from the government's porridge shed every day. Eat, and be so kind and polite to every common person.
In this way, it is needless to say that the people were moved and grateful to Zhao Junchen. It can be said that with Zhao Junchen's current status and reputation in the hearts of the people of Lu'an Prefecture, not to mention asking them to exterminate the locusts, even if they were asked to demolish the Locust Temple, I am afraid not many people would hesitate.
According to a scholar who was moved by Zhao Junchen's behavior, throughout the ages, perhaps only Zhao Junchen can truly bear the four-character comment "love the people like a son".
If anyone dares to say "Zhao Junchen is a corrupt official" in Lu'an Prefecture now, it will be easy for him to be sprayed with saliva, and it is not impossible for him to be surrounded and beaten by the common people.
With the help of the people in Lu'an Prefecture, Zhao Junchen's actions these days have become known to the people in Taiyuan and Hedong, and Zhao Junchen's image as a "good official" has begun to be increasingly recognized. The more people accept it, the more it is no longer limited to the corner of Lu'an Prefecture.
In fact, it was not just Zhao Junchen. Because of Zhao Junchen's personal actions, local officials such as Liu Changan, although they did not understand, had to follow suit. They took off their official robes, put on peasant clothes, and worked together with Zhao Junchen. back.
As a result, Liu Changan, a corrupt official who used to collect excessive amounts of money in Lu'an Prefecture, actually received a lot of praise these days.
………
It is getting late and the sun is setting in the west.
Zhao Junchen had been busy for a day. Although he was quite tired, he still did not rest. Instead, he directed the people to burn the locust corpses.
According to Zhao Junchen, gathering locust corpses and burning them in the fields will make the fields fertile, and Lu'an Prefecture will definitely have a good harvest next year.
The people believed Zhao Junchen's statement, so they followed it one after another.
When the locust carcasses burst into flames, everything was settled. Liu Changan, who had been following Zhao Junchen closely these days, asked Zhao Junchen softly: "Sir, it's getting late. You have worked hard all day. It's time for you to eat." , shall we go to the porridge shed to eat today?"
Seeing Zhao Junchen nod, Liu Changan couldn't help but flash a bitter look on his face. He had always been pampered, and he was forced to eat porridge, wotou and pickles all day long. How could he get used to it? But since Zhao Junchen had already eaten all this as an imperial envoy, Liu Changan was just a mere prefect. Even if he didn't want to, he could only follow suit.
Seeing the misery on Liu Changan's face, Zhao Junchen smiled and said: "Mr. Liu, I know that you are not used to those porridge and pickles, and I have really made it difficult for you these days. As for this, you can go find some food by yourself today. There is no need to accompany me. What I have done these days only represents an individual, and you local officials can only act voluntarily."
Although Zhao Junchen said so, how could Liu Changan really agree? He quickly said: "My lord, you are looking down on this humble official. Your lord is far-sighted and loves the people like a son. I feel that I have benefited a lot from being with you these days. Now is the opportunity to continue to learn from you, sir. How can I miss it? So, naturally, whatever you do, sir, I will do."
Zhao Junchen shook his head and laughed: "You are asking for trouble. Don't blame me in the future."
"How could it be? Your Excellency, you are joking again. It is an honor for a low-ranking official to follow you by your side."
While they were talking, Zhao Junchen, Liu Changan and others had already arrived near the porridge shed.
I saw people lining up in a long queue in front of the porridge shed, and it was actually in good order.
Such order can only be attributed to Zhao Junchen, because every time Zhao Junchen comes to the porridge shed to receive porridge, he always queues up, and the common people always do this when they see Zhao Junchen, plus the porridge in the porridge shed. I had enough steamed buns and pickles, so I queued up.
After seeing Zhao Junchen's appearance, most of the people near the porridge shed showed respect and joy. They knelt down to Zhao Junchen and saluted him.
"Everyone, get up quickly. You have been busy all day, so you don't have to kneel down anymore. I'm not wearing an official robe now, so I don't need so many rules."
After seeing the people kneeling down, Zhao Junchen said quickly and helped the people around him up one by one.
After the people stood up, their enthusiasm remained unabated, and they all greeted Zhao Junchen:
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, you must have had a hard day!"
"Sir, please go to the front and get the porridge first. It's okay!"
"Sir, please stand in front of me. It's faster this way."
Amidst the noise and greetings, Zhao Junchen just smiled and waved his hand in rejection.
Seeing this scene, Liu Changan and other Lu'an government officials all had complicated expressions.
In the past, once they appeared among the people, the people would avoid them one after another. How could they have encountered the enthusiasm today?
The love of the people gave these corrupt officials, who always only cared about money, a sense of fulfillment.
For these corrupt officials, it is naturally impossible for them to change their greedy nature because of this. In their eyes, free money is still more important than the love of the people. However, if they can be like Zhao Junchen, they can not only take bribes but also take bribes. Being loved by the people seems to be a better choice?
Many people have begun to seriously consider this, such as Liu Changan, the prefect of Lu'an.
Through various channels, the officials of Lu'an Prefecture knew very well that during these times, Zhao Jun's subjects had greatly increased their popularity, and they also received a lot of money. It is said that the filial piety of Shanxi merchants alone amounted to as much as one hundred thousand taels. .
Gaining both fame and fortune is naturally enviable.
………
Regardless of the complicated thoughts of the officials of Lu'an Mansion, Zhao Junchen seemed to have discovered something while chatting cordially with the people. After being stunned for a moment, he quickly walked towards an old man not far away.
The old man was accompanied by two three- and four-year-old children. It was the old man who had communicated with Zhao Junchen a few days ago and claimed to be "laughing and waiting to die." At this time, he was also waiting in line to receive porridge.
Arriving in front of the old man, Zhao Junchen asked with a smile: "My father-in-law, do you still remember me?"
The old man nodded and replied respectfully: "You are the Imperial Envoy, a great Qingtian."
Zhao Junchen said with a smile: "It seems that my father-in-law has forgotten me after all. Does he still remember that we met a month ago on the edge of the field not far away?"
The old man was stunned for a moment, and after looking at Zhao Junchen carefully for a few times, he finally remembered and said with surprise: "So...it's actually the Imperial Envoy!? Oops, old man, I can't see Taishan, so I was so negligent that day. Imperial Envoy, please forgive me!"
As he said that, the old man was about to pull his two grandsons to kneel down to plead guilty. Zhao Junchen quickly supported him and said: "Then the Japanese official paid a private visit incognito, and I didn't know about it. Besides, I didn't neglect me, so what's the crime? "
After helping the old man up, Zhao Junchen asked again: "Is your son's leg cured now?"
The old man looked happy and replied: "Thank you for your concern, sir. After meeting you that day, for some reason, a doctor came to my home the next day and prescribed medicine for my child's leg for free..."
Halfway through the words, the old man's body suddenly shook. Seeing that Zhao Junchen was smiling and seemed to have known about it for a long time, he finally understood who the benefactor was. He once again pulled his two grandchildren and knelt down to Zhao Junchen. He looked excited and said: "Grandson, hurry up. Kneel down to express your gratitude to the Imperial Envoy. The benefactor who cured your father's leg injury is the Imperial Envoy."
This time, Zhao Junchen couldn't stop him no matter what.
When Zhao Junchen finally helped the three grandfathers and grandsons to their feet, he said, "Now that your son's leg injury has been cured, I'm relieved."
With that said, Zhao Junchen patted the old man on the shoulder, turned around and left.
After Zhao Junchen left, the curious people around him surrounded the old man to inquire about the news. The old man also explained loudly to the people around him: "This Master Zhao is really a good official. You don't know that since my child's leg was broken, , the whole family has no way to survive anymore, old man, I even want to seek death, who would have thought that that day I met Mr. Zhao who was visiting privately incognito..."
