Chapter 61 Section 61 Refusal of bribes is also a political achievement

The gate of the temple opened slowly, and it turned out that the little monk who delivered the letter opened the door today.As soon as the little monk saw the sedan chair and the soldiers, he quickly chanted the Buddha's name and stood aside, pointing to the northeast corner with his hand. The crowd surrounded the sedan chair and walked to an empty house in the northeast corner of the temple. From a distance, Zeng Guofan saw two guards guarding both sides of the door, the same as what he saw last time, they were obviously on guard.Zeng Guofan quietly signaled to Zhang Zuo to take the lead to call the two guards over and take them down, in case Mr. Jia escaped.

Zhang Zuoling nodded, and didn't say much at the moment, he led two soldiers and swaggered over.There were still a dozen steps away from the door, so he waved his hand, which meant to come over.The two guards were stunned for a moment, and then they walked over slowly, very reluctantly. When he got to the sedan chair, he saw the blue woolen sedan chair carried by four people, and one of them cursed: "Things that don't have eyes, don't even look at who's above you! Why don't you go over there and say something?" Before the other could speak, a big-armed soldier came over and knocked the two of them down, dragged them to the back of a tree, stuffed their mouths with rags, and made them unable to speak.

Zeng Guofan saw that the soldiers had succeeded, so he got off the sedan chair in a hurry and came to the door in stride; He will restrain himself a bit, and if the face is completely torn apart, the other party will have no scruples!" He said softly to Liu Heng: "Knock the door first." Liu Heng pushed it with his hand, and the door creaked open, so it was not locked. Zeng Guofan strode in and said loudly: "It's so lively, Mr. Jia should say something!" Jia Ren was squinting his eyes and listening to the little opera singer he brought with him sing "Eighteen Touches" when he suddenly heard the stop drinking, which scared him Quickly opened his eyes and looked around, he saw that there were two guards and five or six soldiers in the room at some point, Zeng Guofan was standing proudly by the door, with a half-smile on his face, he couldn't help but feel flustered Such as hemp.He secretly called out "Bitter", and didn't think much about it at the moment, he stood up quickly, bowed deeply, and said: "I pay my respects to Mr. Zeng, please greet my lord. I went to the temple to offer incense for my nephew, it was too late, so I had to temporarily I stayed overnight. I didn't know Master Zeng was also staying in the temple, so I didn't go to see him, please forgive me."

Zeng Guofan asked calmly, "Where are Mr. Jia's family members?" Jia Ren blushed, bowed his head and answered, "Your wife is not feeling well, so I didn't come with you." Zeng Guofan shouted: "Zhang Zuoling!" Zhang Zuoling entered in response.Zeng Guofan pointed to Jia Ren and said, "Did Zuo Ling recognize this person?" Zhang Zuoling took a careful look at Jia Ren, and said, "Isn't this Mr. Jia?" Then he gave a deep salute and said, "My lord pays my respects." Jia Ren's face turned redder and redder. Zeng Guofan said word by word: "Master Jia, you took the bureau to stay overnight at Baoguo Temple. Zhang Zuoling has seen it clearly, so the hall will not say anything. Please hand over the official certificate, Mr. Jia. How will the emperor deal with it?" It depends on Mr. Jia's luck. However, there are a few words that I still want to say. Like Mr. Jia, who is full of ethics and morality in front of others, but does such things after others, the Qing Dynasty may not find many high-ranking officials. Well, this can be regarded as a miracle for me!"

Jia Ren's face was flushed, he couldn't make a sound, he just fumbled for the official photo in his arms with trembling hands. Zeng Guofan took the official photo with both hands: "Sir, will you go back to the city with the main hall, or continue to touch this Buddhist holy place?" Jia Ren was so ashamed that he said: "Your Excellency, I will go back to the city with my lord. My lord, my lord has already made a mistake. You and I are officials in the same dynasty. I will see you when I bow my head. I hope that my lord will be merciful..." Zeng Guofan sneered and said, "Of course the hall wants to be merciful, I'm afraid the laws of the Qing Dynasty will not be merciful. Lord Jia, you are always in the Jiuqing, and you are too nonsense. You are always a model of Taoism known all over the world. !"

Jia Ren suddenly pulled Zeng Guofan's sleeve with his hand, and said in a low voice: "My lord, it's not easy for you to be poor, and it's also difficult to live in the capital. I would like to give you this number to buy out the matter..." As he said, Stretch out two fingers and compare. Seeing Zeng Guofan staring at his two fingers in a daze, Jia Ren knew that Zeng Guofan didn't understand the rules of officialdom, so he whispered, "It's twenty thousand taels of silver!" Seeing how Zeng Guofan is in a daze, maybe two thousand can be settled." Only then did Zeng Guofan understand, and he couldn't help laughing and said, "Lord Jia underestimated the second-rank officials of the Qing Dynasty too much. There are high salaries and a decent amount of support under the head of the Ministry. You should hurry up and pack your bags." Get ready to face the saint!" After finishing speaking, he walked out proudly, and said as he walked, "Honbutang is waiting for the adults to go down the mountain together in the sedan chair."

"I obey, I obey!" Jia Ren hurriedly responded, angrily asking people to pack up quickly. Zeng Guofan returned to the mansion and ate dinner in a hurry, then drafted the notes for participating in Jia Ren overnight.In the early morning, he handed over the notebook without even thinking about it. Five days later, the imperial decree issued: "Dali Temple Minister Jia Ren is confused in his work. He will be demoted to the second level and fined for six months. This is it." He didn't say why he was downgraded, and he didn't point out any reason for the fine. He just said he was confused.

The civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty were bewildered.What is even more puzzling is that Mr. Jia was happier than being promoted after being punished. Zeng Guofan would never have thought that Jia Ren had committed a major crime but received a small punishment, which was even more inexplicable than the inexplicable civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty. Seeing the imperial decree, he couldn't help but speculate: "Is the emperor sick and confused?" When I returned to the mansion that day, it happened that Huang Zishou came to visit.Talking about Jia Ren, Huang Zishou laughed loudly and said, "My lord, cabinet scholar, you always only know that Jia Ren committed a serious crime and should be punished severely, but do you know who recommended Jia Ren? Mu Zhongtang's Ninth Ru Mrs. Jia and Mrs. Shiru were both sent by Mrs. Jia! I heard that the emperor is so sick that he can’t even read the papers. Everything is decided by Mu Zhongtang. At this time, Mu Zhongtang’s people, that is, you are always relying Some Shengen dare to participate in a daze. If you want to change someone else, the one who will be demoted by two levels may not be Jia Ren, it should be the person who participated in him!"

Zeng Guofan suddenly felt a little hatred for his teachers and students in his heart. When he went to the court the next day, he handed over another paper to the emperor, Li Shen Jiaren. He didn't believe that the emperor was so ill that he couldn't even read the paper.He shouted in the excerpt: "If Jia Ren is a scum in Taoism, if he doesn't punish him severely, how can he talk about purging Gangji!" That night, Emperor Daoguang summoned him in the study behind the imperial garden—now where Emperor Daoguang raised his dragon body.After the ceremony, Emperor Daoguang said slowly: "Zeng Guofan, I see you now because I want to talk to you about Jia Ren. Jia Ren's trouble with this matter really hinders his reputation. I asked Mu Zhang'a to investigate carefully. After a while. Cough, as long as Jia Ren knows that he is wrong, he does know that he is wrong. Cough!"

Zeng Guofan bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty is wise! But I think that Jia Ren must be dealt with severely." Emperor Daoguang asked casually, "Correct the mistake if you know it. Why do you have to deal with it?" Zeng Guofan said: "I have three reasons: First, Neo-Confucianism is the foundation of my Qing Dynasty, and it is the belief of my scholars in the Qing Dynasty. As a master of Neo-Confucianism, Jia Ren talked about morality and ethics, and what he did was spread. Going out, who still believes in Confucianism? Second, many officials use Jia Ren as a model. What should officials do in the future? Third, precepts and deeds are the foundation of our Qing officials. What Jia Ren did is clearly a challenge to the emperor , Your Majesty, please investigate carefully." Then, he told about Jia Ren's attempt to bribe himself.

Emperor Daoguang thought for a while, and waved his hand for a long time: "Currently corrupt officials are rampant, and refusing bribes is also an achievement. You go down first, I know what to do." Soon Jia Ren was dismissed from his post and left Beijing to return to his native place within a time limit, never to be employed again.The post of Minister of Dali Temple was promoted by Wo Rensheng.So far, the personal relationship between Mu Zhang'a and Zeng Guofan has also come to an end. This year can be called an eventful autumn. The two provinces of Shandong and Henan encountered a severe drought that had not happened in 30 years.There are large groups of powerful people in every state and county, and all kinds of folk sects are also flourishing and developing rapidly. The governors of the two provinces asked the capital again and again, asking for soldiers and money. Emperor Daoguang, who was ill, really experienced the feeling of being burnt out. The treasury had no more money to allocate, and the soldiers who fought in the war also moved from place to place and became exhausted.But the emergency documents from the two provinces still flew to the capital like a snowflake, completely ignoring the current majesty's difficulties. The strongmen in Shandong were the first to play the banner of "anti-Qing and restoring the Ming Dynasty". The governor's yamen mobilized troops to suppress them, but they suppressed more and more, and finally developed into a large gang of 10,000 to 20,000 people, which became a prairie fire. Huidaomen in Henan also soon chanted the slogan "Anti-Qing and Fuming".Although there are only two or three hundred strongmen here, they changed a man whose surname is black to Zhu out of thin air, claiming that he is a descendant of Zhu Ming's royal family. Anyone with a discerning eye can easily see that this is the evil result caused by the laissez-faire of the officials of the two provinces. Emperor Daoguang summoned the princes and ministers three times a day to discuss countermeasures. The focus of the debate was on suppression and appeasement.The real power faction headed by Mu Zhang'a, also known as the "Mu Party" at the time, firmly advocated Fu, and cited three benefits of Fu: comforting the people, not spending money, and not shaking the foundation of the court. A group of literati headed by Wen Qing and Zeng Guofan, known as the masters of Confucianism and the "Qingliu Party" at the time, firmly advocated the suppression, and also cited several reasons for the suppression: one is that only by suppressing can the people be peaceful; Fu; the third is to stabilize the state system without suppressing it. Emperor Daoguang was so quarreled that he couldn't make up his mind, so he decided to consult the governors of various provinces for their opinions. It went on and on like this for three months without taking any measures, but the "cults" and Huidao sects in Shandong and Henan provinces have already become more noisy.In Henan, a golden palace was built, and a banner was hung, with the word "Zhu" shining brightly.This time, this group of strong men in Henan is not only going to be the leader of the strong men in Shandong and Henan provinces, but also to compete with the Qing Dynasty.Naturally, Shandong was unwilling to lag behind, and soon broke down two cities in a row, hung up the banner of "Ming" with great fanfare, and sent people to Henan to send a post calling for surrender, saying: "If you don't submit to the Ming court, you will be heavily suppressed. .” Emperor Daoguang panicked as soon as he touched the country and land of the Qing Dynasty.He dispatched Jiangnan, the admiral of Zhili overnight, to lead troops to Shandong to suppress bandits, and appointed Minister of Military Aircraft Bai Ling as the imperial envoy, and quickly went to Henan to transfer to the green battalion in the province to specialize in suppressing bandits.At the same time, Wenqing and Zeng Guofan were also ordered to serve as imperial envoys to the two provinces to specialize in disaster relief. The relief money and food for disaster relief should be dispatched urgently from Jiangxi. After Wen Qing and Zeng Guofan received the imperial edict, they did not dare to delay, and after a little preparation, they brought their own soldiers and embarked on the road of disaster relief.Saving people is like fighting a fire. In order to be safe, Zeng Guofan asked Li Bao to go to Jiangxi to collect food first.In order to prevent bandits along the way from harassing the imperial envoys, Emperor Daoguang ordered the yamen along the way to send heavy troops to protect the envoys. If there was a problem in any province, he would ask the governor of that province. At this time, the governor of Shandong was Chong En, and the governor of Henan was Pan Duo. Because Chongen was ill, Hechun took care of Fuzhuan for the time being.Hechun used to be the governor of Henan. Zeng Guofan, who went to Shu to preside over the provincial examination, was vacated and returned to Beijing as a substitute because he believed Yinggui's false accusation.Later, he followed the path of Mu Zhang'a, was recommended by Mu Zhang'a, and waited in Beijing for half a year, then he was sent to Shandong to act as the chief envoy, and then acted as the governor.However, Hechun's fate was not good. As soon as he arrived in Shandong, there was a severe drought, and then there were bandits, and the Zhu Ming dynasty continued.He Chun regretted breaking his intestines and regretting his liver, regretting that he should have fallen headlong into this hornet's nest in Shandong. He was thinking about how to send people to Beijing for management, and wanted to change provinces, but the imperial envoy came down, so he took his heart away and hurriedly notified the local yamen to arrange to welcome the imperial envoy, but he was secretly planning to send the imperial envoy away and move immediately! The governor of Henan, Pan Duo, was originally the chief envoy of Henan. When E Shunan was vacant, he acted as the governor at first.Pan Duo is a somewhat official person.Because it is not the Mu party, it has been unable to move for several terms in the vacancy of Henan governor; after the severe drought and chaos, it seems that this vacancy cannot be maintained.So, before the arrival of the imperial envoy, I made a note of "I am old and frail, and I am requesting a vacancy", thinking about it. According to Mu Zhang'a's intention, this incident must be used to punish Pan Duo.However, Emperor Daoguang considered that Pan Duo had been a magistrate for many years. If there is a lack, the imperial envoy Bai Ling will temporarily act. The food relief allocated from Jiangxi to Shandong and Henan has arrived in advance.When Wen Qing and Zeng Guofan arrived, yamen from all over Shandong were going back to the provincial capital to collect grain; according to the size of the population, the grain was distributed by county by county in Taiwan. On the day after Wen Qing and Zeng Guofan arrived, they checked the grain distribution records, and judging from the record books, it was fair. At the governor's yamen, He Chun said to Wen Qing with a bitter face, "Lord Wen, if you don't have your old life-saving food, even the headquarters will be hungry and faint in the signing room." Wen Qing didn't speak, but Zeng Guofan said sternly: "Lord Zhongcheng, when Shandong encounters such a catastrophe, the court's relief is of course important, but the government should also organize the people to help themselves. The refugees we saw in Shandong are all help It looks like the old and the young are moving out with their families. If this continues, the population will decrease. After the famine is over, who will cultivate the large tracts of land? What do you think, Mr. Zhongcheng?" He Chun said with a blushing face: "Master Zeng's words are certainly true, but why did the headquarters think so? But firstly, there is no money, and secondly, there is no food. Who will listen to people who are hungry if they organize people to save themselves? Shandong is not as big as it is." The province has a small population and land. Last year, it suffered from the Yellow River disaster (Yellow River flood), and this year it suffered from the drought. Every year is not as good as every year!"