For two consecutive days, the drizzle fell quietly and silently, like the silver threads spit out by countless silkworm ladies.
The "Integrity Inspection Office" in the office area of the Metropolitan Governor's Office is filled with the faint fragrance of tea.
The briquettes in the stove were burning brightly, constantly dissipating the cool moisture.
The aroma of hot tea, sipping tea and reading, is extremely comfortable and leisurely in this humid and cold weather.
It's a pity that since Shangguan Yi came to this duty room, she had too many things to do and didn't even have time to go back home. Naturally, she didn't have time to study leisurely in such an environment.
However, Shangguan Yi immediately liked the taste of the slightly astringent tea because the tea could refresh him.
Of course, although she has been very busy these days, Shangguan Yi enjoys it.
After all, he used to be a down-and-out scholar who didn't even have a place to stay.
Now at least I no longer have to worry and run around for a living.
The most important thing is that now he is the inspector of the inspection room, a proper fifth-grade official.
You know, even if a student takes the imperial examination, it will take more than ten years at the fastest if he wants to get into the position of a fifth-rank official.
But Shangguan Yi realized it all at once, it can be said that he reached the sky in one step.
Therefore, he cherishes the opportunity now.
Of course, he also knew that Yang Fan gave him all this.
Shangguan Yi was grateful for Yang Fan's promotion.
In order not to disappoint Yang Fan, Shangguan Yi was meticulous and even a little ruthless in his work.
This made the entire Huating County officials and merchants fearful.
Many people even signed a letter to report Shangguan Yi's "evil deeds" to Yang Fan.
Officials were complaining, and businessmen were suffering from harsh requirements...
This is also the reason why Yang Fan came to the inspection room today.
Looking at Yang Fan sitting opposite, Shangguan Yi's eyes were filled with gratitude.
It's just that Shangguan Yi doesn't understand the purpose of Yang Fan's visit today.
Because Yang Fan didn't say a word after he arrived. Instead, he just sat on the chair and read a book.
This made the confused Shangguan Yi feel a little restless, fearing that she might not do well and disappoint Yang Fan.
After carefully thinking about what happened during this period, I felt that there were no mistakes, so I breathed a sigh of relief.
There was silence in the check-in room, except for the rustle of Yang Fan turning the pages of a book and the sound of tea gurgling in the teapot.
After a long time, Yang Fan raised his head from the book, glanced at Shangguan Yi who was a little restless, and said: "You Shao, the sage Confucius emphasized benevolence, righteousness and morality, opposed official corruption, and advocated clean government. Xunzi proposed that 'those who give bribes will be killed, and those who take bribes will be killed.
Do you think it is really advisable to wait for strict laws such as death?”
Shangguan Yi looked at Yang Fan in confusion and asked: "Grand Governor, is this also wrong?"
Shangguan Yi, who has always been influenced by Confucianism, naturally agrees with the Confucian theory of clean government.
But he could hear doubts about this idea from Yang Fan's tone, which made him feel a little panicked.
Yang Fan put down the book and said with a smile: "Of course the words of the sage are correct, but if you only understand and implement them literally, it is easy to misinterpret the meaning. After all, the law is implemented by people. Confucius also said
No one can make mistakes without being a sage!"
Shangguan Yi raised his head blankly: "Please make it clear, Commander-in-Chief!"
Yang Fan murmured to himself: "When dealing with people, those who are too strong are easy to break, but those who are kind and soft are undefeated. Hard and soft can be combined, and hardness can be achieved without desire. This governor believes that the way to be an official is the same. If you are an official, you are not afraid of corruption, but you are afraid of failure.
Those who work as businessmen are not afraid of making money, but they are afraid that they will not come..."
Regarding Yang Fan's somewhat rebellious view, Shangguan Yi obviously disagreed. He glared and retorted: "What kind of crooked truth is this? Corrupt officials are the pests of the country, and everyone will punish them! Honest officials benefit the people, and they are honest and honest, and they benefit all people."
The businessman only pursues profit, how can the Lord put the cart before the horse and not distinguish right from wrong?" Shangguan Yi said angrily, eyes wide open, gesticulating, looking very excited.
If it weren't for his good cultivation, Shangguan Yi would have really wanted to go up and crack the head of this young master to see if he was talking nonsense.
Yang Fan smiled but said nothing!
Of course he supports clean government and would be happy to see all his officials be honest.
But the reality is cruel. Under such social background and productivity conditions, it is impossible to eliminate it.
Of course, this does not mean that Yang Fan supports corruption, but it is a helpless move.
In Yang Fan's view, when material and social productivity have not been developed to the extreme, corruption will never be eliminated.
For example, during the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu implemented skinning methods against corrupt officials. The method was cruel enough!
But can this really put an end to corruption?
In fact, this is not the case. Instead, this trend accumulates in the darkness.
After all, officials are human beings too, and they also have to live.
What's more, officials still have so many servants to support. Emperor Taizu wanted to use a meager salary to keep officials honest. How is this possible?
Under such great pressure, officials may not dare to be blatantly corrupt, but they will always try every means to deceive and find ways.
On the contrary, these people unite and focus on how to corrupt money, without caring about the life and death of the people, causing a greater impact.
Yang Fan even believed that the demise of the Ming Dynasty was closely related to the fact that corruption had always been hidden in the dark and could not be resolved.
Of course, it also has a lot to do with closing customs and inhibiting the development of commerce.
However, Yang Fan could not express this truth.
Because the ancients simply couldn't understand it, and it has a lot to do with knowledge.
This is also the reason why Yang Fan wants to beat Shangguan Yi.
In Yang Fan's view, Shangguan Yi is upright and principled, which is definitely a good thing and can make him a good official.
But it’s also possible to do bad things with good intentions.
After all, such people are so stubborn that once identified, they can easily get into trouble.
From the fact that Shangguan Yi blatantly confronts him, we can know Shangguan Yi's character.
It is no wonder that in the original history, Shangguan Yi was executed by Wu Zetian.
Although Yang Fan hopes that his officials will be honest, he does not want an official who is always causing trouble for him.
Yang Fan is not a masochist!
Now that Shangguan Yi has just entered the officialdom, if he can change his thinking a little, he will definitely be a very useful talent.
Therefore, Yang Fan decided to follow the temptation.
In response to Shangguan Yi's doubts, Yang Fan was not angry, but asked again: "Tell me, You Shao, is he an upright, pedantic and incompetent official who is good for the people, or is he a little corrupt but trying his best in everything?"
Are officials who work for the people good for the people?"
"This..." Shangguan Yi was speechless and didn't know how to answer for a while.
It is certainly a good thing for an official to be upright and upright, but if he does not do any practical work, what is the use of such an official?
That's really not as good as officials who are a little corrupt and who sincerely work for the people.
But such a paradox completely subverted Shangguan Yi's cognition, making him unable to accept it for a while.
Yang Fan stretched and said with a smile: "You Shao, if a person is pure, there will be no disciples, and if the water is clear, there will be no fish. Some things are fine as long as they don't touch the bottom line, what do you think?"
This sentence should come from "The Book of Rites of the Great Dai: Zizhang asked about becoming an official"...
It means that if the water is too clear, fish will have nowhere to hide; if a person cares too much, it will be difficult for others to get along with him...
Now that Huating County is in a period of great development, Yang Fan can still tolerate some flaws among officials and businessmen.
This is inevitable in development.
Yang Fan asked Shangguan Yi to take charge of the inspection room, but he didn't want him to be so stubborn that no one would be available to him, and no one would even dare to invest in Huating County.
Shangguan Yi thought for a while and said: "Grand Governor, if this is really the case, then how should we serve as officials?"
It is undeniable that Shangguan Yi is very smart.
Now he can somewhat understand Yang Fan's purpose of coming today.
It was just the impact of the two concepts that made him a little at a loss.
Yang Fan shrugged and said lightly: "Of course it is good to be honest and upright as an official, but how can there be perfect people in the world? Everyone has selfish intentions and desires, but what I want to remind you is that there is more than just one person in this world.
It is black and white, but filled with too much gray, and even this gray occupies the vast majority. As long as the gray does not completely turn black, it only needs to be beaten a little."
"I'll be taught by you!" Shangguan Yi pondered for a while and said with a wry smile.
It seems that the great war during this period has touched the interests of many people.
This also made him a little suspicious. Could it be that his Grand Governor was also an official who only paid attention to formalities?
Looking at Shangguan Yi's appearance, Yang Fan stood up, picked up the pen, and said: "I'll give you a set of words. You can regard it as the official code, but it is only the highest requirement!"
Now that Shangguan Yi understood what he meant, Yang Fan certainly stopped.
We can't let such a good young talent turn into a shady officialdom veteran.
More importantly, Yang Fan knew that it would take some time for Shangguan Yi to adapt and understand.
After hearing Yang Fan's words, Shangguan Yi, who was standing aside, looked expectant.
Shangguan Yi has been admiring Yang Fan's calligraphy for a long time, so she was overjoyed to have the opportunity to see it today.
This is a literati’s respect and love for knowledge and culture.
Yang Fan smiled and waved:
"Officials do not fear my strictness, but fear my integrity; the people do not obey my ability, but obey my public. If I am honest, the officials will not dare to be arrogant; if I am honest, the people will not dare to bully me. Publicity breeds wisdom, and honesty breeds authority."
This sentence comes from "Guan Zhen" written by Guo Yunli of the Ming Dynasty, and Yang Fan agrees with it very much.
Although Yang Fan wanted to change Shangguan Yi's stubborn attitude, he was still afraid that he would become a black man because of his words.
Therefore, Yang Fan gave these warnings to him.
Yang Fan is best at thin gold calligraphy, with graceful strokes and square frames. The fonts appear graceful and moving, yet solemn and clear. It can be said that every word is as it says and every word is alert.
It explains that the most important things that are the foundation of an official are two points: one is publicity, the other is integrity...
The meaning is very clear.
Subordinates respect me not because I am strict but because I am honest;
The people support me not because I have talent but because I do things fairly.
If you act justly, people will not dare to be disrespectful; if you are honest, subordinates will not dare to deceive you.
Only by being fair can one distinguish right from wrong, and by being honest can one establish authority.
In just a few words, Shangguan Yi suddenly had an epiphany.
It turns out that the chief governor from home does not object to his subordinates being honest and honest, nor does he object to doing things on his own. He just wants to be more flexible.
From this, Shangguan Yi also realized that being a good official is not difficult, it just requires being fair and honest.
But is it really not difficult to be a good official with integrity?
Shangguan Yi has some doubts again!
Seeing Shangguan Yi's expression of admiration, Yang Fan smiled and asked, "What do you think?"
Shangguan Yi praised: "The Governor's words are so precise and precise. They seem simple, but they are extremely difficult to implement."
Yang Fan chuckled: "You Shao, let's encourage each other! So, do you think the ranking of scholars, farmers, industry and commerce is biased?"
"Uh..." Shangguan Yi was stunned and didn't know how to answer.
Obviously, he already understood Yang Fan's intention, which was to guide him.
If Shangguan Yi originally had some objections to Yang Fan's statement, now he dare not make a conclusion easily.
The rhetoric of scholars, farmers, industry and commerce has actually been around for a long time in Confucianism, but is this really correct?
What he experienced in Huating County during this period made Shangguan Yi afraid to make a conclusion immediately, and he lost the strength he had just now.
Now that Shangguan Yi knew how to think for himself, Yang Fan said with a smile: "Let's go, I will take you out for a walk today..."
Shangguan Yi stood up and said, "I obey!"
Although there were still many things on hand, Shangguan Yi did not refuse.
He wanted to see what Yang Fan could use to refute the tacit rules of past dynasties.
Seeing Shangguan Yi's unconvinced look, Yang Fan curled his lips, opened the door and walked out without saying much.
Shangguan Yi followed him and took two steps, then stepped back.
Use the stove hook to gently turn the honeycomb stove in the furnace, and the stove mouth of the honeycomb stove will be closed.
If the air is blocked, the flame will be small, thus saving coal.
…
Huating County changes every day, but the most talked-about thing is the farmers' market in Huating County.
Because this farmer's market is closely related to people's jobs.
Huating County is mostly swamps and tidal flats, and compared with other areas south of the Yangtze River, it is not suitable for long farming.
Therefore, the people here have made a living by fishing since ancient times.
In the Tang Dynasty, pirates were rampant in the Jiangnan area, and fishermen lived in dire straits. It was common for them to be full and hungry.
Since Yang Fan came to Jiangnan and cleaned up the pirates, the fishermen have also caught more fish.
If you get more fish, you will naturally eat them all.
The farmers' market in Huating County allows these fishermen to sell their extra fish for some money.
In particular, Yang Fan, the governor of Huating County, focused on trade. Many merchants from outside came to Huating County to conduct transactions, and the fishermen's wallets gradually bulged.
If there are no accidents, everyone will definitely have a good year on New Year's Eve this year.
Unfortunately, this good times did not last long, because during this period few merchants came to buy their fish, resulting in many fishermen having to throw away their fish.
The reason why merchants don't come to collect fish is not because everyone doesn't like to eat fish.
It is said that some people reported to the Inspection Office of the Metropolitan Governor's Office that some businessmen deliberately purchased at low prices, which resulted in those businessmen being directly punished and fined by the Inspection Office.
Therefore, many businessmen no longer dare to come to buy.
After all, fish is sold in other places, but not as concentrated as in Huating County.
Prices in Huating County are expensive, and these businessmen certainly don't want to come here to buy.
However, once the price is lowered, it is easy to be punished, which also leads to fewer merchants collecting fish.
This situation has caused some misery for the fishermen in Huating County.
After all, these fish have not been treated and will rot within a few days, which makes the fishermen very distressed.
After all, this was fished hard from the sea.
Besides, if they can't sell it, how can they make a living by fishing?
Of course, fishermen are still willing to dispose of all these fish.
After all, if you harvest more fish, you can earn 30% more income at a lower price than before when the price was high.
Say that the inspector's office of the Metropolitan Governor's Office is too nosy!
But this is all for everyone's benefit, so what can anyone complain about?
It's just that everyone can't figure out why such a contradiction occurs.