When I saw Su Jin saying these words, his breath had still not calmed down. Huang Qiong could only shake his head and smile bitterly: "You, you have to learn from Jian Yong in this aspect. Isn't he also a civil servant? You are now the palm seal officer of this mansion. How can you go down there if you don't know how to ride a horse? In Jian Yong's words He said that sitting in a sedan chair inherently separates you, your parents, from the people."
Hearing Huang Qiong mention Jian Yong, Su Jin was somewhat convinced and said: "Your Majesty, please don't tell me. It turns out that I always thought he was too naughty and looked down on him. But now I am an official in Zhengzhou with him. After more contact with him, I discovered that there are so many things worth learning from him. Compared with him, I am at most a direct minister, and he is the truly capable minister."
"I go to the Yamen every day either by car or in a sedan chair. He almost always walks to the Yamen every day. Along the way, even a vendor selling tofu cakes can laugh and joke a few words. What the common people are thinking while chatting along the way. What, if you have any opinions on the government, you have already figured it out. If nothing else, on this point alone, I am far inferior to you."
"I have always been a Beijing official before. I have learned nothing else in these years in Beijing, but I have learned a lot about putting on airs. As you said, sitting in a sedan separates myself from the people. This How can the common people truly serve the emperor as a shepherd when they don’t know anything? How can they govern the place so that they don’t close their doors at night and don’t pick up lost things?”
After Su Jin said this, Huang Qiong nodded in agreement and said, "Indeed, you have to learn some things from him. He is different from you. You have always been a Beijing official after becoming a Jinshi. Jingzhong You don’t have to study hard to follow the behavior of those officials who see others as three feet higher than you, and you will gradually get involved. He was promoted from county magistrate to level one."
"What the common people are thinking about and what they want to do is much clearer than you. He has much more experience in governing the local area than you. Therefore, you have to calm down and learn from him about some things. . The sage said: When three people are walking together, there must be my teacher. As you said, if you don’t know what the people are thinking, how can the prefect do a good job? "
"However, you don't have to be too discouraged. You can't learn from his experiences. And you also have your own advantages, such as your understanding of the court officials and your grasp of the court's policy direction. This is all because he has been away for a long time. It's hard to compare with his tenure. I only hope that you can learn something from him during this period of time."
"Combine your own advantages with his experience in governing the place and truly mature as soon as possible. Otherwise, your term as prefect will be over. I can protect you for a while, but I cannot protect you for life. This time you Outside, the court is waiting to see you, and there are many people who are watching my jokes, but there are many people there."
"Also, you must curb your temper and nature. Remember, some people appreciate you, but no one will tolerate you all the time. I also know that you may not be able to understand Jian Yong's behavior. . To be honest, there are some things about him that I can’t stand either. But to a certain extent, at least until he doesn’t cross my bottom line, I will tolerate him.”
"Because I know that when he was an official in the local area, he had to face some stereotypes and bad habits in the officialdom for a long time. And these things were all things he had to do before. So , As for his petty calculations, as long as they do not cross the king's bottom line, I will not pursue them. You, too, must learn to be tolerant and don't impeach anyone with excuses."
After hearing Huang Qiong's words, Su Jin said: "Your Majesty, you are right. Some things really are not to blame on him. He has no choice but to do so. This is the current practice in the officialdom. After I became the magistrate of Zhengzhou, Only then did I realize that even if you know something is wrong, sometimes there is really nothing you can do about it."
"Just like this year's river workers' money, if he hadn't collected 3,000 gu of charcoal money and sent it to the Minister of Industry and the two ministers. I'm afraid that the money for the repair of the Yellow River river workers has not been allocated yet. And this is for the workers It is customary for the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Household Affairs to pay for charcoal in winter and ice money in summer. This money is really not much, and the senior official in the court is not short of it."
"But whether you send it or not, it means what your attitude is towards Shangguan. Just like the river labor money this time, there are so many prefectures, prefectures and counties along the Yellow River, and the money is allocated to each prefecture. If you don't send it, you will You will never be able to wait. I am cheating you and doing it openly. My lord, even if I have your handwritten letter, if you don’t send the money, the Ministry of Industry will still delay you for several months.”
"Although I dare not deny it, they have been dragging it on for several months. They have nothing to do, but it will do great harm to the people along the river. It is about to freeze now, and the river workers can't do it if they drag it on. Even if the people are looking forward to the improvement of the river construction, what's the use if they can't get into the river? If the river construction is not completed this winter and the floods come next spring, it will be a big deal."
Huang Qiong was a little surprised by Su Jin's explanation for Jian Yong. I heard that these two people had a big quarrel every three days in the Zhengzhou government office, and it could be said that there were minor quarrels every day. In addition to the two people's deliberate show of harmony in front of themselves, they were always at odds with each other in the government office. Why did Su Jin defend Jian Yong today? This is a bit strange.
Seeing Huang Qiong looking at him without saying anything, Su Jin blushed and said, "Jian Yong is not only a fellow countryman, classmate, and the same year as me, but we are actually kind of related in a roundabout way. Although I can't Although he was born into a family of officials, he was considered a famous family in his hometown. My family was once a hairpin family, and my great-grandfather was once the second-rank minister of the Ministry of Etiquette."
"Even the ancestor of our family also became the right deputy imperial envoy of Yushitai. However, my father was upright by nature and thought the officialdom was too dark, so he never took the imperial examination. He only served as the deputy minister of Enmeng Imperial Academy for one term and then resigned and returned to his hometown. Relying on the two thousand hectares of land left by my ancestors, I became a wealthy man. After resigning and returning to his hometown, my father put more energy into his family studies."
"Under the painstaking care of my father, my family's family studies have become very famous in the local area because they have produced several Jinshi scholars, one of whom was the top student in high school. In addition, my father also paid a lot of money to hire several well-educated scholars to teach, so that Ethnic studies are extremely prosperous. Many surrounding aristocratic families send their children to study."
"Jian Yong lost his father when he was young. Seeing that his family was so poor, his grandmother still refused to give up studying hard, so she loved talents and enrolled him in the clan school. She also provided him with grain and rice every month to make his life hassle-free. Worry, you can study with peace of mind. This person has been extremely smart since he was a child. In the second year after entering the clan school, he repeatedly failed in the teacher's examination questions."
"You also know, how many of those children from aristocratic families are willing to study hard? But they can't memorize it, and they are afraid of being punished by the teacher. I don't know how this guy got it. Every time before the teacher takes an exam, he will ask questions that the teacher gives. I can actually guess nine out of ten times. As time goes by, before every exam my husband takes, those children from aristocratic families always buy articles from him in order to get through."
"Speaking of which, this guy is also a capable person. Over the past few years, he has relied on this, without relying on a single penny of support. Not only has he saved up enough to travel to Beijing to take the exam, but he has also left a lot for his widowed mother. That is, Because of this, I have always had a bad impression of him in the early years. In my opinion, buying and selling articles is unbecoming of a scholar and is even more insulting to a saint."
"For this reason, after he won the election, I always thought that he would become a corrupt official. Until he was transferred to Zhengzhou, the two of us had no contact. But this time we became colleagues, and I realized that no matter whether he was an official , or as a person, I am far worse than him. I have always thought that the only way to be a minister is to give advice and fight to the death."
"Now I realize that sometimes you want to do something for the people, and even if you don't want to do something, you still have to do it. Because if you don't join in the slander, you won't be able to stand in the officialdom, and sooner or later you will be punished by others. They are squeezed out. If you can't become an official, how can you benefit the people?"
"It's hard to be a local official. Anyone can pinch your neck and find fault with you. If you don't give gifts, I'm afraid the seventh-rank official will have to become an official. Now there are only two types of officials in Daqi's officialdom. One is to make money at all costs. An official who does not do anything. One is an official who has a bottom line in making money, and at the same time can do some practical things for the people."
"Although the place where Jian Yong worked as an official was not too wealthy, it was at least above average in Fujian Province. He has been able to achieve this level over the years, which is actually very good. Officials in some places , the hands are much darker than his. Just one food collection will increase the rat consumption to three points. According to his position, it is normal to have a rich family. "
Regarding Su Jin's comments, Huang Qiong smiled slightly and said: "You have made a lot of progress during this time as the prefect. I didn't think about it at the beginning. I was just looking for an excuse to go out for a visit. People who don't like him will resort to impeachment even if they don't like him. Su Changshi, who was transferred to the position of Chief of Staff of the Royal Palace, would rather dismiss than take up the post. His character also changed like this one day."
"It is said that people can be arrogant but not arrogant. Your brother is also proud and has a lot of arrogance. Since I recommended you as the magistrate of Zhengzhou, I have been worried that your strength will not last long in this official position. , so I was pushed out. Now it seems that these worries are unnecessary. In this way, I can return to the capital with peace of mind. "
Huang Qiong's words were half ridicule and half sincere, but Su Jin blushed when he recalled the past and said: "Actually, that time, I thought that the prince was so ridiculous that he accompanied his concubine to visit the son of his ex-husband. I really didn’t know that the prince came to investigate the situation of the refugees. If he had known that the prince was devoted to the people, how could he have done such a bastard thing."
"Actually, Your Majesty, you can't blame me entirely for some things. Your Majesty, I am also really frightened by the fate of those colleagues who once served as subordinate officials in the Prince's Mansion. Your Majesty is actually quite strict in disciplining the princes. . It’s a pity that few of the kings are sensible, and most of them are absurd. The princes are absurd, but the unlucky ones are always the officials of the palace."
"Among the princes who have left the palace, only the Chief of the Prince of Shu and the Chief of the Prince of Ji have always been able to succeed in the vassal relationship between the two kings. The Chief of the Prince of Zhao has been able to safely become the Prince of Zhao because King Zhao has been seriously ill. Died. As for the other princes, they can only be described with two lines of tears. The two chief historians and the first Sima of King Yong's Mansion were dismissed because they were unable to restrain King Yong."
"The current chief history, since he took office last year, knowing that he could not control Yong Wang, he simply reported everything to the emperor truthfully, and then he did it calmly. The chief of Teng Prince's Mansion Shi, a dignified fourth-rank official, was beaten with a whip by King Teng and was bruised all over his body. Just because he persuaded King Teng not to ride horses in the capital."
"The King of Song went too far. The three chief ministers did not reach the end. One of them was a little stricter in supervising the King of Song's studies. The King of Song cried in front of Concubine De, and was demoted to Qianzhong Road to become a fellow scholar. The other was because of the King of Song. He refused to listen to dissuasion and broke his leg while riding a horse. He was resented by Concubine De and was demoted from the fourth rank of Changshi to Sichuan West Road, where he became an eighth-rank county magistrate."
