Governor Yu Zhao of Shanxi Province was impeached on two counts of "eager for quick success and failure to provide disaster relief." The case was based on the facts and did not lead to other crimes such as corruption. After he resigned, his eunuch's bag contained no more than two boxes of old books and several bags of old clothes. Shanxi scholars all praised him for his integrity, but in the countryside, Hou Yuzhao was scolded by the people.
Because of his wrong decision-making, Shanxi's grain stores were short of food, and Shanxi was suddenly defeated by a disaster. In fact, Hou Yu Zhao had discovered that the situation was not right when spring began, and some remedial measures were taken, but the difficulties were still the same. Food entering Shanxi faced the dilemma of insufficient channels, not to mention that the Chief Secretary of Shanxi did not have enough financial resources. As the disaster became increasingly serious, it caused It is not surprising that it has become a disaster. It can be seen that honest officials are not necessarily good officials - some officials do not love money or sex, but good reputation and face can bring serious consequences, sometimes even more serious than corruption.
Because the emperor was furious, Hou Yuzhao's supervision procedures went very quickly. But there was no corruption problem, so in the end he had no choice but to pack up and get out. Because the disaster relief work was urgent, the imperial court did not dare to send a new governor to Shanxi, so as to avoid making blind decisions and delaying the matter if he was not familiar with the situation, it promoted Chief Secretary Liang Wenmeng to a higher level and made him governor and Chief Secretary to take charge of the overall disaster relief.
The governor system of the Ming Dynasty sprouted in the Yongle period, was founded in the Xuande and Zhengtong periods, gradually developed from the Jingtai to Zhengde periods, and was basically established in the Jiajing period. This system was actually created to plug the loopholes in the inconsistent powers of the "Three Law Divisions" without destroying the benefits of Zhu Yuanzhang's weakening of local power. It can be seen from the name of the official position that he patrolled local areas and appeased the military and civilians. Flexibly manage local affairs as a "temporary dispatch".
After the governor system matured, the powers and responsibilities of the Chief Secretary became much smaller. Now that Hou Yuzhao has withdrawn, Liang Wenmeng has become the boss of the province. Although Lu Mingke, the inspector-general, is unwilling, there is nothing he can do. Who says the inspector-general can't manage civil affairs? There is no doubt that the civil affairs officer is the largest in Shanxi today. .
It is said that Hou Yu Zhao's stupid things would not have been possible without the support of Liang Wenmeng. The Chief Secretary was a subordinate of the governor, but civil affairs such as grain storage and water conservancy construction were under the charge of the Chief Secretary. Liang Wenmeng flattered Hou Yu Zhao. I never thought it would cause such a big mess.
Liang Wenmeng Neng and Hou Yuzhao Hang colluded because he and Hou Yuzhao had similar tastes: neither of them loved money but a good reputation. In the 10th year of Wanli, this guy accidentally fell into the water when he went to Huguang Chief Secretary's right council meeting and was rescued by a puffer fish. This guy made a lot of hype and came up with a couplet of "holding up to the sky, raising dragons and dancing; riding the sea and looking at the sun and moonlight". It has been cited as a legend in the literary world.
Hou Yuzhao was a very particular person, and relied on his integrity to shoulder all the responsibilities. Liang Wenmeng was a blessing in disguise and was promoted to a higher level. This shows that keeping up with the right person in officialdom is so important.
But Liang Wenmeng also knew that his appointment as governor was an expedient measure for the imperial court. When the disaster was over, if there were those who wanted to settle accounts after the fall, he would not suffer the consequences. After all, there is a sentence in the imperial edict that appointed him: "If there is any incompetence, I will not hesitate to punish him" - this sentence can be regarded as the first of all promotion decrees in the past.
Therefore, this good thing must be divided into two parts. If Liang Wenmeng has done a good job in disaster relief during his tenure, it will be a win-win situation for all parties. If something goes wrong again, he will be punished for several crimes and his head will probably be lost.
Liang Wenmeng is also a very smart person. Although he is full of sourness and has a good reputation, he does not dare to be careless about the possibility of losing his head. Therefore, as soon as the decree came, he took the governor's royal order flag and went deep into the major disaster areas, rushed to the front line of disaster relief, and did his best.
As a large amount of food entered the Jin Dynasty, the fraught situation gradually eased, and Zhu Yijun felt relieved. As the Prime Minister, Zhang Siwei has the great trust of the village elders. His eyes have been red since June, and orders from the political hall were lined up to issue:
First, Shanxi gentry are called upon to donate grain for disaster relief. Anyone who donates more than 500 dan will be awarded a plaque of "righteous gentleman"; those who donate more than 1,000 dan will be awarded the title of "virtuous gentleman" and have the privilege of not kneeling before officials; those who donate more than 2,000 dan will be awarded the title of "virtuous gentleman". The imperial court allowed him to raise the height of his gate; for those with more than 5,000 stones, he was allowed to build a "Xianliang Gate" archway and provide a chance to study at the Capital University.
Except for the last one, all the court paid was in vain. But for the squire, this false reputation can be converted into real benefits. After all, despite the rise of the reform, the governance of rural elders is still the mainstream among the people. With plaques and titles and high-level archways, this family's status is naturally different from that of ordinary people. It has the right to speak in civil disputes, settlement of lawsuits and settlements - here The benefits of being a leader cannot be bought with thousands of stones of food.
Therefore, after the government issued an order, Shanxi landowners actively donated grain, which greatly eased the court's grain transportation burden. The grain donated by landowners is closest to the disaster area, and it has a quick and immediate effect in alleviating the disaster. At the same time, because a large number of landowners donated grain, farmers like Mrs. Tian's family in Mayi County were able to keep their fields, which also greatly alleviated the problems caused by the disaster. merger frenzy.
The second major order of the Zhengshi Hall was to promote labor service and provide relief with work. The imperial court allocated money to overhaul water conservancy projects in the prefectures of Taiyuan, Ningwu, Datong, and Shuoping, and to store water and open canals. This led to a climax in farmland water conservancy construction.
Prime Minister Pan Jixun's Huanghuai Water Conservancy Project originally had nothing to do with Shanxi, but in recent years, the late Zhongxing County Prince Zhang Juzheng used this style to strengthen the assessment content in this aspect in the examination method, and Shanxi has already laid a good foundation.
Hou Yuzhao, who has a lot of money, has done a wave of work-for-relief projects last year and has done some projects. The amount of appropriations from the imperial court has quadrupled this year, and Hui Yinqian and Bai Longyang have almost all been allocated in full under the supervision of Zhang Siwei with red eyes. If Shanxi officials at all levels continue to do poorly, they will have no choice but to suffer under the banner of Wang Ming—— When it comes to disaster relief food funds, Liang Wenmeng is even more afraid to lose control in this regard.
The third is the order to prevent secondary disasters. There are many droughts in Shanxi, and they are evil in nature. Almost every disaster occurs in a chain. Although there are not many severe droughts across the country like this year in history, local droughts are also accompanied by secondary disasters.
It is almost a rule that after a drought there will be a locust plague; then there will be difficulty in drinking water for humans and animals, resulting in over-exploitation of groundwater and land subsidence, which often leads to "the ground subsides hundreds of feet in radius, and houses will collapse without warning"; there are also forest fires and land desertification. As for the long-term impact, the ancients have long recognized the connection between these disasters.
In order to prevent secondary disasters, the Zhengshitang Jun Order requires Shanxi local governments to comprehensively consider water resource utilization. In all counties that can use the Huang, Fen, Qin, Sangqian, Zhang, Hutuo and other large river systems, the governor's office must ensure that the entire province is a game of chess and is utilized evenly - no local protection is allowed.
Although there will be no harvest this year, irrigation cannot be stopped if conditions permit. We should irrigate one section after repairing it, try our best to eliminate the geographical conditions for locusts to breed, and try our best to meet the drinking water problem of people and animals in the province.
In fact, Shanxi has more than 50 rivers with a drainage area of more than 1,000 square kilometers, so there is not a lot of water resources. However, due to severe drought throughout the territory, small rivers are basically dry and large rivers are shallow, creating conditions for the construction of dams.
In order to implement Jun's order, Liang Wenmeng requisitioned cement throughout the territory. Since the invention of this thing, demand has been in short supply for a long time. After all, this thing is much cheaper than glutinous rice triple soil, and it is easy and quick to use.
Under the overall situation of disaster relief, the princes and princes behind these cement plants did not look for trouble. Anyway, the disaster relief funds are sufficient. If we don’t increase the price, it will give the emperor face, so why bother to ask for help?
The last one is epidemic prevention. It is almost a standard procedure that a major disaster will be followed by a major epidemic - the imperial court sent a large number of epidemic prevention experts to Shanxi counties to guide epidemic prevention, which basically involves getting rid of pests, drinking boiled water, practicing hygiene, and washing hands frequently - which is quite effective.
Otherwise, after the policy is determined, cadres are the decisive factor. Zhu Yijun was dismissed from his post and replaced by Zhao, and his promotion of Liang Wenmeng played a decisive role in the disaster relief. This man was also a man with many years of experience. After he figured out the situation, he was not lacking in means. He actually controlled the disaster in a severe and complex situation. , and no large-scale civil uprising occurred in Tongtong Province.
After receiving the phased report that the disaster relief was being carried out in an orderly manner, Zhu Yijun sighed with emotion - these bunch of bureaucrats really didn't get anything for free. I am using a knife to force out a capable minister.
