Chapter 17 6. The first county magistrate encountered was the opium ghost

On the morning of the third day after leaving Yinying Town, Zhang Zhidong and his party came to Yangqu County. Yangqu is an ancient county seat, located less than a hundred miles north of Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, and is the capital of Taiyuan.The Yangqu county that Zhang Zhidong saw had old houses, rough streets and alleys, and a sluggish market. Occasionally, there were one or two clerks sitting in a few half-open and half-closed shops, who described them as wretched and dull-eyed.There were few items on the shelves and the dust was all over them. It was as if no one had ever come to buy anything.From time to time, under the low eaves, a few old people or children in ragged clothes are lying on the verge of death.Zhang Zhidong couldn't help shrinking his neck when the biting northwest wind blew in his face. From his body to his heart, he felt icy cold.

Under the guidance of a pedestrian who was not much better than a beggar, Zhang Zhidong and his party came to the county government office. In front of the county government office, there is a big pagoda tree with a long history, and part of its roots are exposed on the dry and cracked ground.Zhang Zhidong suddenly remembered two lines of Tang poetry: "The old locust tree in the county has ancient roots, and the official is clean and the horse's bone is high."This is in line with the old saying that "the scenery remains the same, but people are not as good as they used to be".

It was already the right time, and the door of the county government lobby was still tightly closed. It seemed that Mr. Du was not lying.A middle-aged man in a black cotton-padded jacket scolded the white-haired old woman beside him with a straight face: "I told you several times, you just wait here. Mrs. Xu has something important to do. Sit in the yamen!" The old woman looked distressed: "Brother, how long will Mr. Xu be in the yamen?" The middle-aged man said impatiently: "How do I know how long it will take? Maybe an hour, maybe two hours, or maybe I won't sit in the Yamen today."

The old woman begged: "Brother, please do me a favor, please come out and sit in the yamen, I have to go back today!" "Humph, hum, what a big tone!" The middle-aged man sneered, "You told Mrs. Xu to come out, and Mrs. Xu came out? If you don't rush back today, what does it have to do with his old man? Don't talk too much, it's still old Just wait here!" Seeing Zhang Zhidong's eyes, the anger in his heart could no longer be contained.He walked over and asked the old woman directly without looking at the man who ate at the yamen: "Old man, why do you want to see Mrs. Xu?"

Seeing that Zhang Zhidong and his party were all neatly dressed, the old woman thought to herself that they must be people related to the yamen, so she hurriedly replied: "Master, I have come to sue Mrs. Xu! I am an orphan old woman with no children. Female, throughout the year, I feed a few chickens and sheep in exchange for some food. A few days ago, a person from the village came to my house and asked me to pay six hundred Wen. I asked what I was doing with the money? The man said , this was sent by the superiors to pay according to the head, and the money was collected to build roads and bridges, and also catered for the adults from the province and the masters from the mansion. I said that I am an orphaned old woman. With so much money, I only paid 400 Wen in the first half of the year, and now I have to pay 600 Wen, how can I afford it? The man said, the superior will pay 800 Wen each, because you are a lonely old woman, Only 600 wen. Can’t get it? No, lead the sheep to arrive. I said I had no money, and they really took one of my ewes away. Master, you come and judge for me, there is such a truth in the world ?"

Zhang Zhidong was so angry that he thought to himself: Why are these people working in the office so unreasonable? Taking away the sheep of an orphaned old woman, isn't it killing them? He suppressed his anger and asked kindly: "Old man, are you telling the truth?" The old woman immediately swore: "I'm telling the truth, if there is half a lie, I will be trampled to death by a horse or a car when I go out tomorrow!" Then Zhang Zhidong turned his face and asked the middle-aged man coldly, "Who are you from the county government?" When the middle-aged man was listening to the conversation between Zhang Zhidong and the old woman, he was thinking: What do these people do?The accent is not from Shanxi, but a passer-by, or a businessman who came to Yangqu to do business?Judging from the fact that the three of them were walking, they must not be officials or do big business, not to mention that the yamen has never received a bill to deal with the visits of distinguished guests.The middle-aged man concluded that Zhang Zhidong and his party were meddling passers-by, and seeing his cold face, he felt even more insulted, so he gave Zhang Zhidong a hard look and said, "I'm working in the yamen." What, what's the matter with you?"

Zhang Zhidong was originally a man with a lot of anger and a high regard for personal dignity. In the past, with his talent, learning and status, everyone was polite in front of him. Today, as the governor of Sanjin, Shanxi Province Officials at all levels and nearly tens of millions of people are under his jurisdiction, and he couldn't help being furious that a small county government servant dared to disrespect him. For a moment he forgot that his identity as the governor had not been made public, so he took on the airs of Mr. Futai and shouted: "You are so brave, dare to speak like this in front of the headquarters! Go, call Xu Shilin out, I will teach him a lesson !"

It turned out that this middle-aged man was a small squad leader in the county government office.There are three classes in the county yamen: those who arrest criminals are called the Kuai class, those who are on duty in the yamen are called the strong class, and those who execute prisoners are called the Zao class.This man is a distant relative of Xu Shilin, the county magistrate, and now he is the leader of the strong squad. The leader of the strong team had been working in the yamen for several years, and seeing Zhang Zhidong speak so loudly, calling the county magistrate by his name, and calling himself the headquarters, he felt a little timid in his heart.He knew that the Ministry is the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the governors of each province usually have the title of the left deputy Metropolitan Procurator of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, so the governor can also call himself the Ministry.According to this, the person in front of him is either the capital inspector from the capital, or the current governor.But after he stared at Zhang Zhidong again, he immediately denied the thought just now: this person is not good-looking, with a cotton cap and cloth gown, and he doesn't have the air of a high official.He took another look at Sang Zhiping and Dagen, but he couldn't see the slightest appearance of a wealthy servant or an evil slave.Who is he?Is it a drunk who has had too much to drink?

The leader of the strong team restrained his expression just a little bit, tilted his head and said, "Mr. Xu cannot come out because of something important. I am the leader of the yamen. Tell me if you have anything to do!" Dagen on the side has long been impatient: "Don't babble, call your grandfather out!" Dagen's big round eyes were bulging, and he looked quite fierce, and the head of the strong team couldn't help but took a half step back. Sang Zhiping quietly said to Zhang Zhidong: "Let's talk about it when we get to Taiyuan!" Sang Zhiping's suggestion is reasonable.The identity of the governor has not been made public, so it is understandable that he received a cold reception; if he is on official business, there are obviously many inconveniences, so it is better to go to Taiyuan to go through the official procedures first.Others might do this, but Zhang Zhidong is jealous and impatient. He knows that this trip is just a field investigation, and he has to wait until he takes over Dayin and Wangqi. The intolerance of this laxity is again brought on by the use of opium.When you have no power, you still have to impeach lawless people, let alone now that you have real power?

He stared at the leader of the strong team, and said in an orderly tone that could not be refuted: "Go and call Xu Shilin out, I want to talk to him face to face!" Seeing that Zhang Zhidong insisted on seeing Xu Shilin, the leader of the strong team knew that it was not a drunk who had drunk too much, but a tough character with a big background and not easy to mess with.He had no choice but to put away the disrespect just now, and squeezed out a few smiles: "Then you all come with me!" Zhang Zhidong turned his head and wanted to say hello to the old woman, but unexpectedly the old woman had already slipped away in fright.The three of Zhang Zhidong followed behind the leader of the Zhuang team, walked around the hall, and came to an inner living room on the side of the second hall.The leader of the strong team told them to wait here, and walked into the backyard by himself.

Xu Shilin turned off the smoke and went to sleep at dawn. At this time, the sweet dreams were sweet, and he was extremely reluctant to be disturbed by the head of the strong team.He didn't want to wake up, but after listening to the head of the Zhuang team in detail, his mind started to turn. After all, Xu Shilin was much smarter than the yamen servant.He knew that Governor Wei Rongguang had been ordered to be transferred outside, and it had been nearly a month since the decree regarding Zhang Zhidong's appointment as Governor of Jin had arrived in Taiyuan.Officials in Shanxi are talking about this well-known Qingliu celebrity who is famous all over the world, and there are rumors about his various temperament and temperament.As the county magistrate of the capital of Taiyuan, Xu Shilin is of course very concerned about who will be the governor.For officials at all levels in Shanxi, this matter is even more important than who will become emperor in Beijing.This is exactly what the saying goes: "The sky is high and the emperor is far away. Don't be afraid of the current officials and the current management." Could it be that Zhang Zhidong really came to Yangqu?With his celebrity habits, it is not impossible for him to go to the post with a light car, but at least there will be rumors about this in Taiyuan Mansion. He just came back from Taiyuan two days earlier, why didn't he hear any news? Suspiciously, Xu Shilin got up to wash up, lazily adjusted his clothes, shoes and socks, and staggered to the reception room after dawdling for a quarter of an hour.Seeing Zhang Zhidong sitting there with an angry face, he suddenly felt a sense of fear in his heart. He immediately corrected his attitude, took a step forward, politely bowed to the three of Zhang Zhidong, and introduced himself: "My humble servant is Xu Shilin, the county magistrate of Yangqu County. I'm sorry to welcome you from a distance." Seeing that Xu Shilin's attitude was still good, Zhang Zhidong's anger eased a lot.He pointed to a chair next to him, and said as the host, "Sit down!" Xu Shilin froze for a moment, and murmured in his heart: This is my yamen, why should you be in charge?But the body has sat down involuntarily. "Since you are the county magistrate here, let me ask you: Why don't you sit in the courtroom in broad daylight? You eat and drink people's fat and people's cream, and the common people come to you to complain and ask for help. Why do you hide? Leave it to you, why are you so careless?" A series of questioning, like an interrogation of a prisoner, made Yangqu county magistrate feel guilty and out of breath, and the hairs on his back.He tried his best to conceal his uneasiness, and replied: "Your Majesty was discussing important matters with a squire just now, so I couldn't sit down." Zhang Zhidong stared at Xu Shilin with majestic eyes, saw that he was sleepy, with black eye circles, and a tired expression, and said angrily: "Nonsense! You clearly drank and smoked opium last night. In broad daylight, you were still sleeping soundly on the bed." Why don't you admit your mistakes and lie in front of the headquarters?" The head of the Zhuang team said that the people who came here called themselves "the Ministry of the Ministry", and at this time it was "the Ministry of the Ministry", and the county magistrate Xu couldn't help being surprised. He didn't care about being scolded and humiliated in class, and asked timidly: "Excuse me, are you... " Dagen answered proudly on his behalf in a loud voice: "The new governor, Mr. Zhang, has been in Yangqu County for two hours, and you still don't kneel down to welcome him!" Sure enough, Zhang Zhidong is here!Why is there no news at all?Xu Shilin dared not ask Zhang Zhidong to show his identity certificate.If there is nothing wrong, this point alone offends the new governor, not to mention the already embarrassing situation today.He hastily left the chair, walked up to Zhang Zhidong, and knelt down on his knees: "I don't know that my lord is here, I don't know Taishan with my eyes, please forgive me, my lord!" Seeing Xu Shilin's appearance, Sang Zhiping sneered in his heart. "Xu Shilin, as the county magistrate, you violated the imperial court's ban by smoking opium, do you know?" Zhang Zhidong inspected the main hall of Yangqu County kneeling in front of him, and didn't ask him to get up. Xu Shilin didn't dare to admit or deny the opium smoking, so he had to kowtow again and again. Zhang Zhidong asked again: "Do you know how much land in Yangqu County grows opium?" Xu Shilin stopped kowtowing, and replied: "Yangqu County has 1.2 million mu of land, and about half of the good land is planted with opium." Zhang Zhidong gasped, and asked again: "Did you recently order the common people to pay 800 Wen per head?" Xu Shilin hastily argued: "My lord, there is no 800 Wen. The Taiyuan government has an order to pay 200 Wen per head to make up for the shortfall in office work. Yangqu County is also in the red this year, so I follow the Taiyuan government regulations. People hand in four hundred coins, two hundred coins are sent to the government, and two hundred coins are kept in the county. My lord, I have learned that the people in humble positions did not ask the people to hand in eight hundred coins!" Xu Shilin seemed to be full of grievances.It is obvious that the people below are also learning from their superiors and redouble their efforts.The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked.The county magistrate of Yangqu is the source of this excessive taxation! "When did you come to Shanxi, and what is your background?" "Reporting to my lord, the candidate magistrate of Shanxi was released eight years ago from a humble position. After waiting for six years, he was appointed to Yangqu County the year before last. The humble position came from a supervisor." It is natural that a lot of money plays a role in the candidate magistrate of the supervisor.Zhang Zhidong, who was born in Tanhua, has always looked down on officials with irregular backgrounds.In his view, those who are really capable can obtain official positions through the examination of Juren and Jinshi;People who don't have the real ability to be an official, but want to use a lot of money to buy an official job, just want to use the power given by the court to exploit the people and seek personal gain.This is the most shameful.He knew that this was a bad strategy adopted by the court as a last resort due to the lack of military pay for fighting with Changmao.As soon as this road opened, I don't know how many corrupt people squeezed into the officialdom.The officialdom, which was already full of ills, has been disturbed by this generation, let alone how many ills have been added!Even if Changmao stopped donating all the way after he settled down, it has already caused endless disasters, not to mention that it has not stopped for more than ten years. Still on this road, how can the government of the country not be bad? Zhang Zhidong had long thought of making a big deal, suggesting that donations should be stopped, and all the county magistrates who were donated should be refunded.It's just that this matter involves too many aspects, and the court will definitely not adopt it.Friends advised him not to stir up trouble, so he had to bear with it.Well now, Shanxi matters can be decided by myself.To rectify the administration of officials, we should start with these prefectures and counties with bad political achievements and donor backgrounds! Seeing Zhang Zhidong groaning in silence for a long time, Xu Shilin flattered him: "Your Excellency has worked hard all the way, please rest in Yangqu for two days, and then I will report the details to you. I will immediately go to arrange dinner and dinner, and clean up the dust for my lord and his party." Xu Shilin stood up while talking, and was about to turn around and go out when Zhang Zhidong shouted, "Stop!" Xu Shilin hurriedly stopped, his legs could not help shaking slightly.Zhang Zhidong walked to his side, opened his eyes and said severely: "You stay here, and the headquarters will immediately report to the Ming court, and you will be removed from the main hall of Yangqu County!" After all, he took Sang Zhiping and Dagen across the threshold and walked away.In the living room, Xu Shilin's legs kept shaking, his head became dizzy for a while, and he almost collapsed to the ground.