A layman looking at the excitement will only be envious and jealous of how domineering Mr. Li will be in the future; an expert looking at it, many people will think of the uproar last month when the three Yancao Prefecture families jointly impeached Li You.
Among these three, Magistrate Luo was promoted first and then suppressed. In fact, he was promoted and demoted secretly. Ding Yunshi was reprimanded for introspection and banned from interfering in local political affairs. What about Gu Shanhe, the director of Guazhou Warehouse?
Everyone couldn't help but turn their attention to Director Gu, and saw that he had obviously thought of something, and his face was pale.
As expected, Zhu Fanghe continued to issue an edict: "The owner of Guazhou Warehouse wasted money without authorization, framed the place, and acted under threat. He was interrogated by the imperial envoy, and if he found out the truth, he was dismissed from his post and brought to Beijing for trial."
Everyone sighed, it doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong here. What's the big deal if you add a little loss? But what's important is that the boss is too self-sufficient. A mere seventh-grade warehouse official with no reputation has to be involved in the battle in the city.
The imperial court's sacrifice in order to calm the situation was self-inflicted.
Gu Shanhe suddenly turned his head to look at Ding Yunshi. He was also tempted by Ding Yunshi before he got involved, but Ding Yunshi was like an old monk in meditation, so he couldn't care less about him.
Ding Yunshi was not a cold and heartless person, otherwise Yangzhou was located at a strategic location, and there were as many officials passing by from south to north as crucian carp crossing the river. No one who was entertained by Ding Yunshi said anything bad about him.
It's just that Mr. Ding has his own connections in Beijing. He can write a few letters later to rescue Mr. Gu. After all, Mr. Gu has not committed any heinous crime. But at this time, in front of the imperial envoy, he cannot say anything openly.
of.
Zhu Fanghe said to Li You again: "I will borrow the money from your county jail for some use." Li You naturally agreed.
The Yangzhou Pingshan Hall gathering on the Winter Solstice Festival in the eighth year of Jinghe came to an end. Indeed, as most of the people present thought, it was not a grand event, but it became a strange event.
Starting today, in Yangzhou City, one of the top five metropolises in the world, it is very rare that the Salt Transportation Department and the government office have both stepped aside, and the situation has completely changed.
Of course, it was all because of the strong man. Without Li You, who was extremely personal, this abnormal situation would not have been possible.
However, in the long history, this meeting of Pingshan Hall should be unknown and completely disappear in the memory. From the perspective of emperors and generals, this power change in Yangzhou City is just a small splash that cannot even be called the smallest wave.
Events and local chronicles will not be recorded.
But what Yuanwei He didn't expect was that the failed party he held would be recorded in the literary history of later generations.
Hundreds of years later in this time and space, when studying the poetry and art of the Jinghe period, I will always mention these few sentences. Since the outstanding poet Li You arrived in Yangzhou as a local official, he also took on the important task of fighting floods in Sizhou, and he had a profound influence on the livelihood of the lower class people.
More profound feelings. Taking the Pingshan Hall meeting on the Winter Solstice Festival in the eighth year of Jinghe as the dividing point, his poetry style shifted from romanticism to one that emphasized both romanticism and realism...
Li You took a boat back to the city with Jin Wanwan. He read and re-read the reward letter in the cabin. It was really hard-won. Yang Futai intercepted him in the front, and three Yangzhou families attacked him in the back. After many twists and turns, he finally succeeded.
I got it, and luckily it turned out pretty good in the end.
He also reminded himself that he would go to the imperial envoy station at the county government office tomorrow to bring back the gold book, iron certificate and bullfighting uniform.
Jin Wanwan was thoughtful, as if he had a new understanding of his son-in-law.
In the context of the emperor's upcoming southern tour, the important places along the way naturally have to be entrusted to reliable people. This reliability must not only be reliable in character, but also reliable in work. At this time, excluding others and completely assigning Jiangdu County to Li You means that
Li You is deeply trusted by the royal family.
Otherwise, why would Li You have been promoted to the fifth rank and be assigned to the same post in Yangzhou Prefecture, yet he still has to continue to manage the seventh rank Jiangdu County and the sixth rank garrison department? Probably just because Yangzhou City must be an important town for the emperor's southern tour, so Li You has to be
Stay nailed here.
Ding Yunshi was also unlucky, but he encountered this opportunity. As long as he was not as favored as Li You in the palace, he would have no chance to turn around before the emperor's southern tour was over, Jin Wanwan thought.
In fact, Jin Wanwan guessed half of it right, and the other half was because the Queen Mother was unwilling to promote Li You. The culture of the country was that officials in the capital were valued, and the Queen Mother was not willing to transfer Li You back to the capital, nor did she want to promote him too high, so she simply
Only the level is upgraded, and the position remains unchanged.
Speaking of joining politics from the third level, after Luo Xingye, the acting government official, was forced to cede Jiangdu County, he secretly cursed on the way back to the city. What Li You did and the authority he received was just like the guarding eunuch back then!
In the past, since the Xuande Dynasty, there has been a tradition of sending guard eunuchs from outside the palace to check and balance and supervise civil servants in various places. This was the guarding eunuch system. However, after the Chongzhen Dynasty, it basically disappeared except in Nanjing, Zhongdu, Xingdu and other places.
Objectively speaking, Mr. Li and the Zhongguan do look very similar on the surface. They both rely on high-level forces to force their way into the local area. Local officials at all levels have absolutely no choice but to monopolize the rights and obligations of serving the emperor. Even
They used exorbitant taxes to force the rich and plundered people's wealth in the same way.
But the essential difference is that Mr. Li is a civil servant after all, and his political needs are different from those of the emperor's slaves and eunuchs. In order to achieve political achievements and reputation, he transferred the extorted wealth to local middle- and lower-class people and scholars, and gained a reputation in the sky.
Number.
But Mr. Li is a special civil servant. His background is destined that he cannot be as stable and step-by-step as his colleagues in the Jinshi. He can only find another way. After in-depth observation and induction, it can be found that Mr. Li's official style from the capital to the local areas is extremely
Eunuchization.
When he was in the cabinet of the capital, he played half the role of the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch who was responsible for the etiquette. When he got to the local government, he acted like a guarding eunuch. This was not for no reason.
But the news has spread to Yangzhou City, and the streets and restaurants and teahouses have been lively in the past two days. The most popular argument is: "Who said that Mr. Li should be deposed? Today, the wise king is in power, the wise ministers are in power, and Mr. Li is like a blue sky.
The court sees it!"
The earth-shattering sound of firecrackers rang out on Yaqian Street in the old city. Amidst the congratulations of people from all over, the plaque of "Jiangdu County Office" was taken down and replaced with the new "Yangzhou Prefecture Tongzhi Branch Office".
Among the people, there are two governors in Yangzhou. Luo Shenzhi is called the great governor, and Li Tongzhi, who is in charge of Jiangdu County, is called the little governor. However, Tongzhi branch is still habitually called a county in the common people's spoken language.
Yamen.
The new office has a new atmosphere. Although Li You is embarrassed to renovate the original county government office, the couplets, plaques and other things can be replaced.
With a stroke of his pen, Li Tongzhi changed the couplets in the lobby to "It is no honor to gain an official, and it is no disgrace to lose an official; do not say that an official is useless, the place depends on an official; eat the food of the people, wear the clothes of the people; never care about the people."
But you can be deceived, you are also a common people."
As for the second hall at the back, it was changed to "The sound of running water can be seen in business affairs, and people can be seen in the shadow of cold mountains."
"It's really wonderful!" The masters praised this.
To put it bluntly, the couplets are for others to see. The lobby is a place where cases are heard and matters are publicly discussed, so the couplets should be more friendly to the people; and the second hall of the back office is a place for private offices and receptions. It can be said that there are no idlers, so the couplets should pride themselves on elegance.
, to show your taste. So it is easy to be an official, but it is not easy to do it well. Countless tiny details must be taken care of.
After changing the couplets, Li You summoned the four masters, the county magistrate and the chief registrar, and gathered in the back office hall to discuss matters. The theme of the meeting was "Building a harmonious new Yangzhou and welcoming the Holy Emperor's southern tour."
"The imperial envoy said that if the money is not in the way, it is expected that the Holy Emperor will get married in March next year and tour the south to worship ancestors in April." Li Taishou said straight to the point: "I, Yangzhou, is an important place along the way, so before April next year, all official duties must be focused on
On a southern tour, I have some ideas that I would like to discuss with you."
These people have long been familiar with Mr. Li's style, and they are all silent and listening to Mr. Li's speech. It's not that they are not active, but because they all know that if Mr. Li really asks for advice, the words will probably be "You guys have some advice."
What a good strategy?", "What do you think about it?" and so on.
Once he expresses that he wants to discuss some ideas, it means that he has already made up his mind and needs to hear what he has to say before adding anything.
Li You said eloquently: "I believe that the top priority is to do four things. First, build the royal dock, royal road, and palace. This is necessary to welcome the emperor to stay.
Secondly, renovate the city wall, both sides of the Xiao Qinhuai River and several streets to show the current peaceful scene and promote the prosperity of Yangzhou in the hope of speeding up the emperor.
Thirdly, the scenery of Slender West Lake and Shugang must be rebuilt and repaired to entertain the emperor’s eyes and ears and to promote Yangzhou’s scenic spots;
Fourth, renovate the Confucian Temple, the Academy, and re-establish the ancestral temples, so as to tie the emperor’s heart and promote our Yangzhou education.”
"The proprietor is wise!" "The master of the house is wise!" Two kinds of clapping sounds sounded.
Mr. Li inquired: "What do you think of these four things?"
Guo Xiancheng was the first to say: "The large pier in the east of the city is crowded with people, so the imperial pier should find another place. The lower official thinks it is better to build it in the north of the city, one for the honorable place, two for the saints coming from the north, and three for the emperor.
Then the scenery in the north of the city will be good and the waterways will be smooth."
Without waiting for others to say anything, Guo Xiancheng continued: "As for the palace, it can be built based on Tianning Temple in the north of the city. On the one hand, it is close to the imperial pier; on the other hand, it has a convenient location, whether entering the city or going to Slender West Lake.
Three, the city is densely populated, there is a tax office in the south of the city, there is a large wharf in the east of the city, and the waterway in the west of the city is not good, so it is not easy to build the palace, so it is better to place it in the north of the city."
"What a great idea!" Li You praised.
This Guo County Prime Minister is not bad at thinking, and he definitely came prepared. Several masters looked at each other, and they also came up with ideas——
"From Slender West Lake to Shugang, there are mostly wealthy businessmen. We can ask them to renovate their gardens, bridges and pavilions without any money from the government. Whoever has a beautiful scenery can be invited to visit it, which will be enough for them to be honored for the rest of their lives."
"Yangzhou has also been a place of prosperous literary style since ancient times. We can follow the example of Suzhou in setting up a sage temple to bring together the sages and heroes and offer sacrifices in four seasons to highlight the humanities of Yangzhou."
Hearing this, Li You suddenly raised his hand and said, "The Panthéon should be separated, and should not be combined together."
Master Zhuang and others were stunned, not quite understanding what the proprietor meant. Setting up a temple is indeed a good thing that can make you famous. It can gain the reputation of respecting the sages and attaching importance to education.
But building ancestral temples costs money. There have been so many famous people in Yangzhou. It costs an unknown amount to erect a bunch of ancestral temples. It will also be troublesome to manage them in the future. How can it save worry and effort to build a main ancestral temple?
Mr. Li added: "Of course, there is no need to gather 500 sages like Suzhou Prefecture did. There are too many. Just select a few very famous sages. It is nothing more than a symbol."
None of the masters were stupid, and they immediately made assumptions. The proprietor allowed everyone to speak freely about other matters, and they happily followed it. Only this matter has a specific decision, what does this mean? This shows that in the proprietor's heart, this
The importance of the matter is quite high, not necessarily lower than building a palace.
Since the proprietor has an idea, let's do it. Why on earth does the proprietor value this so much and ignore it in advance? The things that the proprietor values are the things that a staff should pay attention to. Several masters put aside other things and discussed which sages should be selected.
matter.
"There should be Dong Zi of the Han Dynasty. This is a great Confucian of the generation." Master Cui first proposed one person. Dong Zi was Dong Zhongshu who "deposed hundreds of schools of thought and only respected Confucianism." He served as the prime minister of Jiangdu and was about the same as the current governor of Yangzhou.
.should be the earliest sage in the history of Yangzhou City.
Master Hu stroked his beard and said: "There is Dongzi Temple in Beiliu Lane in the city, which was enclosed when the Yanyun Division Yamen occupied the land."
When Li You heard this, he said domineeringly: "In that case, I will send the letter to the Salt Transportation Department and ask the Salt Transportation Department to carefully renovate Dongzi Temple and open it to the public at all times. If you don't want to, ask the Transportation Department to give up the place. If you still don't want to, then ask the Transportation Department to give up the place."
Let us ask the soldiers to demolish the outer wall of the Yunsi Temple and open up the road to the Dongzi Temple. How can we let the Panxian Temple be buried in the government office and not be heard of?"
That was the Xuanhe Yanyun Department... Everyone was speechless. They were in a daze for a moment, then put down the Dongzi Temple and continued to discuss, "There should be three sages of the Song Dynasty."
The Three Sages of the Song Dynasty refer to Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu, and Su Shi who served as the governor of Yangzhou. Ever since Li You first took office, he combined these three people into a poem to satirize Magistrate Luo, and the Three Sages became popular in Yangzhou city.
statement.
Mr. Hu is most familiar with the anecdotes of Yangzhou. "There used to be the Ouyang Wenzhong Temple in the city, but it fell into disrepair and was ruined. Su Zi also built the Gulin Hall on Shugang. Now there are some incense and incense there, and there are also books written by Su Zi himself."
The remnants of the stele remain. The Dukes of Han and Wei have never heard of the sacrificial temple."
"Ouyang Wenzhong's ancestral temple was rebuilt on the same site, and Su Dongpo's ancestral temple was built in Gulin Hall. I just don't know where the official offices of Han and Wei are located. You can find the old site to build an ancestral temple!"
The chief registrar of Jiangdu County, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth and said: "Du Fanchuan of the Tang Dynasty passed down the tradition of Yangzhou poetry circles, and a temple can also be established."
Du Fanchuan, also known as Du Mu, was a great poet who used countless poems to describe Yangzhou. When talking about Yangzhou poetry, we must first talk about Du Mu.
But Li You flatly denied it and said: "Du Mu is wandering around in Yangzhou. His corpse is lying on a plain diet, which is of no use to the people. It is said that the sages have gone too far, so we don't need to worry about him this time."
Hearing the words of the proprietor, everyone was once again stunned. Mr. Li is both a famous poet. It is a bit unreasonable to belittle the poets of the previous dynasty like this. This is not the way for peers to be jealous of each other. Du Mu was almost a thousand years ago.
People.
Soon Master Zhuang suddenly realized it! It was actually because Du Mu had never been the governor of Yangzhou. Dong Zhongshu had been the prime minister of Jiangdu, and all the three sages had been the governor of Yangzhou. Only Du Mu was just a secretary when he was in Yangzhou.
The proprietor deliberately took the opportunity to welcome the emperor to build a temple for a group of Yangzhou governors. This is the reason. I have to admire him!
