Chapter 316 Using Corrupt Officials to Fight Corrupt Officials
Li Guolou leaned forward and said: "Prince Gong, Lord Zhang, Lord Wang, in my humble opinion, officials cannot be distinguished by their integrity or greed, but rather by their ability. If the country needs honest officials, then there will be many in the world."
Honest officials, just like during the founding of the Ming Dynasty, when the people of the world were in poverty, there were countless honest officials, and the law also imposed harsh laws on corrupt officials, even skinning them. The same was true when this dynasty was founded, the country was peaceful, and honest officials were recorded in the annals of history one by one
For example, during the period of the Holy Ancestor Yu Chenglong, there were operas praising and singing about his deeds. They are still performed today, and the people even set up merit monuments for him. As for the benefits of upright officials, the people are also reciting them. What is it about being an official and making decisions for the people without fear?
Power. For example, when Hai Rui celebrated his mother's birthday and ate meat, it became a big news in Nanjing. Therefore, honest officials like to invite names. This is an indisputable fact."
Li Guolou said a lot of good things about upright officials and representative figures, but did not talk about the dark reality.
"Li Guolou said it very well. Continue, what do you think of the current political situation?"
Li Guolou swallowed his saliva and said: "The official read a piece of history and remembered that when Yu Wentai, the founder of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, became the prime minister of the Northern Wei Dynasty, he imitated Cao Cao's "coercing the emperor to command the princes". He once met Zhuge Liang and Wang Meng who could be compared with each other.
Yu Wentai asked Su Chuo how to govern the country and how to firmly control the officials. Su Chuo said: "Use corrupt officials and fight against corrupt officials." Yu Wentai was shocked and asked Su Chuo why he was like this? Su Chuo said
Said: "The main purpose of officials is to fight for power and profit. Fighting for power is a means, and fighting for profit is the goal. Who would be willing to be an official if they don't get the benefits?" Yu Wentai said, hasn't the imperial court already given them a salary? Su Chuo said:
'The more greedy an official is, the more he loves being an official. The more he loves being an official, the more he is afraid of losing his official position. The more he is afraid of losing his official position, the more he fears you will take care of him. The more he fears you will take care of him, the more he will listen to you. On the contrary, if honest officials are selfless and fearless, they will dare to commit crimes.'
Yu Wentai asked, should we let it be corrupted? Su Chuo said: "If you are disobedient and rebel, the public will be extremely angry. If the people praise you for fighting corruption, the people's support and power will be firmly in your hands." From this, we can see that what is the use of
What kind of official is the decision of the court, not that the official has become a corrupt official. So it makes no sense to talk about who is a corrupt official and who is an honest official."
The two clerks were choked by Li Guolou's words. They didn't know how to refute Li Guolou's point of view. Li Guolou had no point of view. He only talked about historical figures. He did not say which people in the Ministry of Justice were honest officials.
?Which people are corrupt officials? A difficult question was thrown to Prince Gong Yixin. It is the master who has the final say whether to use honest officials or corrupt officials.
Prince Gong Yixin glanced at Li Guolou. The little fox was also scared sometimes, and wanted to test Li Guolou's real thoughts. He showed a kind smile and said: "I have met many foreign students who have returned from studying abroad. They all say that they are great."
The Qing Dynasty wants to reform its system, do you agree with their proposal?"
Li Guolou said: "Prince Gong, I believe that the national system cannot be changed and must be maintained in continuity, so that the country and the people can be peaceful. I agree to learn from the advanced things of foreigners, remove their dross, and use foreigners for my own use.
Combine the horizontal and vertical to create a new Qing Empire. I only know these things because of my humble abilities, but they are actually just words on paper and have not been put into practice. I hope Prince Gong will not take offense at Xiaguan's reckless and inappropriate words."
Yi Xin waved her hand and said: "I don't want to listen to these empty words. Everyone says so. Please give me specific examples."
Li Guolou frowned and stared: "Prince Gong, our Qing Empire is now at a critical stage. The rebels have reached the end of their strength. They cannot wear Lu's silk. They are at the end of the wind and their strength cannot float a feather. With our country's current situation With the speed of economic development, foreigners are full of fear and distrust of us. They will restrict and restrict us everywhere, fearing that we will come back to bite them in the future. Therefore, in the development of our country, foreigners will put us in trouble. Drugs, deceiving us. Just like the arms contracts signed with foreign powers today, officials can boast about the few customized warships. Some will never fall into our hands in a lifetime, and some will be delivered when the contract expires. We can't get them either. When they fall to the Beiyang Navy, these warships will become obsolete and inferior goods. We will never get ahead by relying on foreigners. We should set up our own shipyard, start with simple imitations, and hire some foreigners to make them. consultant."
"Li Guolou, what do you think of foreign consultants?" Zhang Jingtian, who is in his forties, has three strands of beard, and has a fair face, asked.
Li Guolou said: "The foreigners employed are mixed, good and bad, and can be roughly divided into three categories. The best ones are very intelligent and have unique ideas. Most of them are proficient in specialization, strong and sharp in quality, believe in justice, avoid laziness and greed, and operate well. Youheng is a man of unpretentiousness, sincerity, seriousness in doing things, and this is what he is good at. The leader among them is General Gordon of the Ever-Victorious Army. He made an indelible contribution to the Qing Dynasty's annihilation of the Taiping Army. Among them, also Being able to follow the rules, abide by the law and serve the public, be hands-on when dealing with things, not neglect one's duties, and be creative and creative are not just for everyone. This is also the ethics that most foreigners hired already have, and they can be considered quite satisfactory. The inferior ones are arrogant and bullying, and are not suitable for everyone. He respects constraints, has many dull qualifications, is stubborn, monopolies, and fights with the same party. If he is indulged in yin and alcohol, he will even bully the people of the Qing Dynasty. The longer he lives in the Qing Dynasty, the deeper his habits become. He is scornful of the Qing Dynasty and is exaggerated and arrogant. . Among them, the cunning ones are always jealous of others who have learned their skills, or they may not teach them all in secret, or they may not be diligent, procrastinate, love to get salary, deceitful fortune-tellers, and are full of cunning. There are some who are not professional and use their skills. It's cheating. In addition, it misuses foreigners and uses them for reasons other than their strengths, which also causes a waste of human resources."
After listening to Li Guolou's story, Prince Gong Yixin found out that Li Guolou had a good foundation in eight-legged writing, so he couldn't help but like him even more. He said that Li Guolou could do it well, could write official articles, and could stand in the court and compete with those Jinshi. The person who succeeds will do the defense.
Yi Xin glanced at Zhang Jingtian, the clerk next to her, who had already written down Li Guolou's statement. She nodded with satisfaction and sighed: "Li Guolou, you are quite talented. You have studied abroad and are a scholar. Why are you Uncle Li Zhongtang did not recommend you, but instead asked you to work as an errand in the Ministry of Punishment."
Li Guolou smiled awkwardly and said: "I have been abroad for a long time, and I have acquired a lot of fake foreign habits. Master Zhongtang doesn't like me as my grandnephew, so he asked me to practice more here."
Yi Xin praised: "Li Guolou, you are a talented person. You are young and decisive in doing things. Mr. Bao hired you out of the norm. You have a vision and a good talent. No wonder President Zhen, in front of me, I kept praising you, and I thought that President Zhen was exaggerating and almost made you useless in the Ministry of Justice. Good, good, good!"
Yi Xin said three words in a row, then stopped without saying a word. She picked up her tea cup and drank tea, maintaining an amiable appearance. The two clerks next to her understood that Prince Gong and Yi Xin were considering how to use Li Guo Tower, so they talked with Li Guo Tower. The discussion in Guolou started with the eleven points of Li Guolou. The discussion started from the first one. Two Jinshi and a scholar began to defend themselves. They had a great time chatting. Time passed by and Yixin was very happy. He didn't talk much and didn't move away. He just sat there and listened to Li Guolou's explanation.
Since Li Guolou wrote down the eleven propositions on the statement, he already had his own opinions. If he wanted to refute Li Guolou's opinions, he would have to work hard. The two sides were going back and forth, and they were not giving in. There is no bottom line when you throw out your own opinions, it's like talking bullshit in court. Everyone can find quotes from famous people in the previous dynasty, but no one can convince the other party.
Zhang Jingtian, the clerk, could not convince Li Guolou, so he said: "You have written so many articles, so let me ask you where to start?"
Li Guolou replied: "Xiaguan wrote to Prince Gong for details. As the decision-maker of national policy, of course we must start together. How can we wait for the opportunity to be lost in vain? Looking at the national resources and wealth, it fell into the hands of foreigners. Xiaguan I am also doing my own little bit. My family runs schools and does business, starting with education and enriching the country. Maybe the two adults think that the lower official is harming the public and enriching the private life by being an official and businessman. But the lower official must first make it clear, and say it with a clear conscience, Those who serve as officials are honest and honest. They use the money they earn to stick to the officialdom. They are just like those who donate money, just for fame, not for profit. They never take their salary and money home and put it in the public account, although some people take it. I criticize my subordinates for their personal indiscretions, but that is what I am willing to do. The foreign girl traveled across the ocean to embrace me, and I did not disgrace the Qing Dynasty."
There was laughter in the Qiuju Hall. How could the three senior officials of Li Guolou not know that there were items used by Prince Gong. They haven't talked about them yet, and they couldn't put them on the table to talk about them. They could only use laughter. Let out the joy in your heart.
Yi Xin covered her mouth with her fist, coughed dryly, and said: "Li Guolou, I heard that you are still practicing boxing and want to compete with Tarzan. Are you doing it for the bounty or for the honor? Do you think you have won?" Tarzan?”
Li Guolou said solemnly: "Reporting to Prince Gong, I just regard this boxing match as a test and a challenge for myself. Although Taishan the Ape has the title of boxing champion, as a Qing man, he is absolutely I don’t want to insult my character. Since I want to compete, I just want to win and trample my opponent under my feet. Of course, I can bear the consequences of losing. Losing is not terrible. I can lose once, but I will still have the courage to challenge. After working hard, I will still work hard. I will not be intimidated by one or even two failures, and I will be ready to continue fighting in the future.”
Yi Xin was overjoyed and was very satisfied with this interview. Li Guolou was young and energetic, with a positive energy. Sitting in his position was actually planning and nurturing talents, and placing all the needed talents in the right places. Of course, the first people to be promoted are confidants, and disciples and former officials are the first choice. There are also various factions in the court, Aisin Gioro; Zai Chun is about to take charge, and he is also arranging disciples of the emperor.
In fact, Yi Xin did not attach great importance to power. She thought that when Emperor Tongzhi was young, he was more powerful. However, he still fulfilled his responsibilities and guarded the imperial power. He did not have the desire to overstep the throne and force the palace to seize the emperor's throne.
Now that Yi Xin is nearly forty years old, he has an even greater sense of urgency and mission. The Qing Empire has been in power for more than ten years, and it was a shame for him to sign the "Beijing Treaty" in his hands, which betrayed national interests and humiliated the country. In exchange for the support of the Western powers in annihilating the Taiping Army and the Nian Army, he saw the divided territories returned to the Qing Empire piece by piece, which added to his confidence. He was an accomplished regent, although now the "regent" His title no longer exists, but he is so powerful that most of the most accomplished high-ranking officials in the entire Qing Empire came from his disciples.
Li Guolou was only in his early twenties and had not yet fully grown up. He was a leader among the younger generation. What was even more rare was that Li Guolou and his uncle Li Hongzhang had different political views. Their subordinates had different factions, and they fought with each other. What Xin wanted to see could be used by him. It could be used as a talent training for the next generation. Yi Xin's love for talents grew and he wanted to cultivate Li Guolou.
Li Guolou has no military merit, he is not a Jinshi, and he is not a noble son of the Manchu people. If he wants to promote Li Guolou out of the norm, he will be criticized. Even if he is promoted to the second level and is allowed to sit in the seventh-grade official position, it will be very difficult in the future. It is difficult to achieve great things. His family background and background will be an insurmountable obstacle for Li Guolou's promotion. An unprecedented idea has been born in his mind.
Yi Xin interrupted the "Eleven Statements" discussion between Li Guolou and the two clerks and said: "Li Guolou, I heard that originally you came to the capital to take the imperial examination, and there is a 'township tribute' 'Identity. Really?"
"Yes! I stayed in the capital for more than a year. I originally wanted to take the Jinshi exam, but by chance, I joined the Ministry of Justice as a clerk and became an official. I had a lot of fun at work. I liked fighting with criminals, so I gave up my intention to take the Jinshi exam. Thoughts. I even had a quarrel with my brothers and sisters at home because of this matter. Fortunately for me, I have an upright official like Mr. Bao in the Ministry of Punishment who appreciates me, so I was promoted two levels in a row and became a ninth-grade official." Li Guolou answered respectfully. , I feel so happy in my heart that I am about to get the seventh-grade official title, but on the surface, I still remain calm and do not show any pride and complacency. He is the best at putting on airs and can maintain his composure despite being overwhelmed. Others want to see the fluctuations in his heart, All we have to do is crack his head open.
Yi Xin suddenly changed his color and shouted angrily: "What nonsense! Li Guolou, you are destroying your future. How can I watch you waste your great youth in the corner of the capital alley? You will be admitted to the imperial examination for me." , give your name first. Zhang Shuban, leave this matter to you, say hello to the examiner Li Hongzao, say this is my student, and ask him to be generous and give you a name."
The faces of the two clerks changed drastically. An unprecedented favor was about to come to Li Guolou. This was to give Li Guolou a Great Expectations, a greater reward than a seventh-grade official hat. Like two After the secretary resigned from his post, he was only a seventh-grade official in the local government. He worked for seven years in a good job, and the harvest was guaranteed despite droughts and floods. But now Prince Gong wanted to vigorously cultivate Li Guolou, and the two secretaries were both jealous and envious. They thought to themselves. : How come Li Guolou came up with the "Eleven Statements" and had a sharp mouth? It was almost eleven o'clock, but he still hadn't defeated Li Guolou and lost the face of becoming a Jinshi.