Chapter 20 3. Zhang Zhidong decided to make one or two eye-catching major events

For several days, Zhang Zhidong and Sang Zhiping discussed how to govern Shanxi after handling the daily government affairs.Sometimes he woke up in the middle of the night, and he would never sleep again for it.He deeply realized that the burden on the governor is ten times or a hundred times heavier than that of washing horses and studying politics. After nearly a month of visits and inquiries, especially after the sincere conversation with Wei Rongguang, Zhang Zhidong already knows the situation in Shanxi.The poverty, donation stalls, poppies, and feudal treasury that Wei Rongguang summed up that night are indeed serious.There is another big problem that Wei Rongguang didn't mention, but Zhang Zhidong felt it strongly, and that is the corruption in Shanxi's officialdom: Corruption is widespread, bribery is common, official slack, and self-seeking.In addition to those listed by Wei Rongguang, Zhang Zhidong also heard that there were a few good officials, but in the entire officialdom, these people accounted for only a minority.As Wei Rongguang said, Shanxi is already a muddy pit.What to do?Zhang Zhidong was distressed and anxious.

He thought, first of all, he should truthfully report these situations to the queen mother and the emperor, so as to obtain the court's understanding and support. There is no doubt that poppies will be eradicated.But for decades, the imperial court has repeatedly relaxed the ban on opium, banning it for a while, relaxing it for a while, and now it is actually taxing it openly.Since the tax has been collected, doesn't it mean that it is legal!What if someone resists poppy eradication based on this?This is a major event that involves the interests of many people, and the imperial decree must be obtained before it can be carried out in all parts of the province with great fanfare.

The matter of donating stalls should be explained in more detail.Because this is actually an additional burden imposed on Shanxi due to the negligence of the Ministry of Household Affairs.How can there be a price that was nuclear a hundred years ago that has been used without any adjustments?Shanxi almost does not produce silk, why should Shanxi produce this tribute?Shanxi is a poor province, how can we replace a bolt of silk with a high price of ten taels of silver? Isn't this extortion?Zhang Zhidong really didn't understand, was it because the lords in the household department were confused and irresponsible, or was it because the imperial court had no money and deliberately shifted the burden to the provinces?Is it a decision made by the household department to replace a piece of silk with ten taels of silver, or is it the idea of ​​the officials in charge of the silk tribute to make money from corruption?More than 30 years ago, Zeng Guofan once said that Beijing officials were corrupt and foreign officials were corrupt.Zhang Zhidong thought that the current situation should be summed up together: Beijing officials are greedy and corrupt, and foreign officials are corrupt and corrupt.In the future, no matter whether it is reimbursement of iron donations or exemption of silk tribute, it must be approved by the Ministry of Households.This fold must be drawn up as soon as possible.

Clean up treasury funds, especially this matter must be reported.Zhang Zhidong had repeatedly received the true biography of being an official from his cousin and brother-in-law who had been a local official for a long time: To be an official, one must do one or two eye-catching major things.Trivial and trivial things, no matter how much you do, no matter how hard you put in, in the end it seems that they are not worth mentioning. During the year-end court performance appraisal, I am too embarrassed to report those trivial things, but there is nothing worth reporting. The imperial court's assessment can only be mediocre, and there is no hope of promotion.You can only concentrate on doing one or two big things, make it impressive, and make it shine, and you will always have a bright face when you say it. Even after you leave office, the local people still remember and count inferred.This kind of political achievement is the most important and the best evidence for promotion.Zhang Zhidong kept this kind of true teaching of being an official firmly in his heart, and firmly believed that this was a very useful secret.Zhang Zhiwan and Lu Chuanlin's smooth official careers and prosperous official careers are undoubtedly due to the ingenious use of this true biography.The new governor, who is over a decade old and has more than ten years of official career experience, knows that it will be very difficult to achieve satisfactory results in the two major events of banning opium poppies and stopping donations.At that time, with the wisdom and power of Lord Daoguang, and the firmness and wisdom of Lin Zexu, opium could not be banned. Later, it caused the flood of local medicine in the country, which shows how attractive this kind of thing is to secular people.At least in Shanxi, hundreds of thousands of people are cultivating it, and millions of people are smoking it. It is not easy to eradicate it, but we just do our best.As for the withdrawal of donation stalls, it is not known whether the imperial court will support it or not.It seems that the only major thing that can be done is to clear the treasury funds.It is appalling to say that the treasury of a province has not been checked for 30 years, and it may be unprecedented to check it in the records.Doing this by yourself is already eye-catching. After cleaning up, there will always be a result. How much does this result match the actual situation? Who will check it?As long as you have a public heart, don't rely on selfish desires, and urge your subordinates to do it seriously, you can comfort the court at the top and appease the people at the bottom.

It is really the best official asset left to me by my predecessors in Shanxi, and it depends on how I receive it!Zhang Zhidong became excited unknowingly, and all the anxiety and restlessness of the past few days were swept away. He arranged for the three staff members who were working on the copywriting under Wei Rongguang to draft a title each.As for Yan Jingming, he decided to personally draw up a secret book for the Queen Mother.Zhang Zhidong had a premonition that Yan Jingming would soon rise to prominence in the Chinese political arena.The scene of His Majesty's speech on the morning of leaving the capital came to mind again——

Cixi talked to Zhang Zhidong in a clear and pleasant voice, as if chatting, and Zhang Zhidong replied with a sincere and fearful mood, nervous but decent language.After Cixi said a lot of clichés such as "the current situation is difficult, pay attention to government affairs, and if you see something, you can tell it at any time", and suddenly asked: "Yan Jingming, you recommended him in the book last year, do you usually have contact with him?" ?” Zhang Zhidong replied: "I have never met Yan Jingming, nor have I had any contact with him. I just heard many people say that Yan Jingming is good at managing money."

Cixi also said: "It is said that Yan Jingming has been in Shanxi Jiezhou Academy for these years. After you go to Shanxi, you should inquire about this person carefully. The imperial court issued several edicts ordering him to go to Beijing to handle errands. You declined. You go and ask carefully to see how his body is." "Yes." Zhang Zhidong replied, "I will definitely visit this person when I arrive in Shanxi." "Yan Jingming is capable, and the first emperor praised him in Japan. In the early years of Tongzhi, he also did a good job as the governor of Shandong and the minister of the Ministry of Industry. Why did he suddenly resign? When you see Yan Jingming, ask If there is something unpleasant about him in the past, it has been more than ten years, just throw it away, the court will wait for him to get through the hardships together!"

"Yes." Zhang Zhidong said respectfully, "I will definitely pass on the Queen Mother's wishes to him." "Zhang Zhidong, you are the governor of Shanxi now, and Yan Jingming is in Shanxi. Whether you can persuade him to return to the court depends on your ability." Zhang Zhidong hurriedly kowtowed: "I must try my best to persuade Yan Jingming to return to the court to serve the country." Back home, Zhang Zhidong carefully pondered what the Empress Dowager Cixi said, and deeply felt that Cixi's deep care and expectation for Yan Jingming, no one seemed to be able to match these years.Yan Jingming used to serve as a servant, he is sixty-five years old this year, if he comes back, his rank should be higher than that of a servant.Zhang Zhidong, who was born in a family of officials and officials, knew the importance of accepting high officials in the court.This time, if he came forward to persuade Yan Jingming to come back, he would naturally form an extraordinary relationship with Yan Jingming.What's more, there is another layer of connection between Zhang Zhidong and Yan Jingming, that is, they have a common benefactor, Hu Linyi.

Zhang Zhidong vaguely remembered that Hu Linyi had sent him a letter before his death, asking him to come to Wuchang Fufu Office to practice, and the letter praised Yan Jingming.Zhang Zhidong hurriedly found the old letters from the past, and he did find this letter, so he deliberately brought this letter to Shanxi.So he wrote a letter with his own hand, and handed it to Sang Zhiping together with this letter, asking Sang to go to Jiezhou to visit Yan Jingming on his behalf, and convey his warm greetings. After Sang Zhiping left Taiyuan, three staff members sent up the manuscript.Zhang Zhidong looked at each one carefully, and the more he looked at it, the more he frowned: none of the three manuscripts made his intentions clear, and one of them didn't even have a smooth sentence.He was so angry that he threw it back and ordered them to draft again.The next day, three manuscripts were sent up again.After Zhang Zhidong read it, he was still not satisfied.He sternly taught the three self-righteous staff members a lesson, and told them to pack up and walk.He sighed, and said in his heart: How did Wei Rongguang use such a batch of idiots!It is necessary to hire a few people who understand the heart and write fluently to handle the copywriting.Zhang Zhidong was the first to think of Yang Rui.He picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Yang Rui.For these three important scriptures right now, I have to do it myself.

During the days when Zhang Zhidong personally drafted these memorials related to the interests of thousands of households in Shanxi, several people were busy uneasy in the backyard of the Taiyuan City feudal yamen.