Chapter 29 120 Tao Kan transports bricks

After Zu Ti's death, several civil strife occurred in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.Emperor Jin and Yuan wanted to resist Wang's influence, so Wang Dun sent troops to attack Jiankang and killed a group of ministers who opposed him.After Emperor Yuan's son, Emperor Ming of Jin ascended the throne, Wang Dun failed to attack Jiankang again, and died of illness himself.At the time of Emperor Cheng of Jin (the son of Emperor Ming), Su Jun, the general of Liyang (now Hexian County, Anhui), rebelled and attacked Jiankang.Some ministers in the Eastern Jin Dynasty were helpless, and later relied on Tao Kan, the governor of Jingzhou, to send troops. It took two years to put down Su Jun's rebellion.

When Tao Kan gained power in Wang Dun, he was originally Wang Dun's subordinate.At that time, Tao Kan made military exploits and became the governor of Jingzhou.Someone was jealous of him and spoke ill of him in front of Wang Dun.Wang Dun transferred him to Guangzhou.At that time, Guangzhou was still a remote area, and being transferred to Guangzhou actually degraded his position. When Tao Kan arrived in Guangzhou, he was not discouraged.Every morning, he moved a hundred bricks (the classical Chinese is "甓", sound pi) from the study to the outside of the room; at night, he transported the bricks into the house in piles.People were surprised to see him doing this every day, and couldn't help but ask him why he did it.

Tao Kan said solemnly: "Although I am in the south, what I want in my heart is to regain the Central Plains. If I am used to idleness, how can I take on important responsibilities when the country needs me in the future. Therefore, I use this to exercise every day. " After Wang Dun's failure, the Eastern Jin Dynasty promoted Tao Kan to the general of Zhengxi and the governor of Jingzhou.When the people of Jingzhou heard Tao Kan's return, they all happily congratulated each other. Although the official has become a big one, Tao Kan is still very cautious.He has to carefully check all the big and small things in the Jingzhou yamen, and never relaxes.He often said to his subordinates: "Da Yu is a saint, and he still cherishes every inch of time. Ordinary people like us are far behind Dayu in terms of wisdom and ability, so we should cherish every minute of time. Greed for ease. If you don’t contribute to the country when you live, and leave no good reputation when you die, isn’t that self-defeating?”

Some officials under him like to drink and gamble, which often delays official business.Tao Kan was very angry when he found out.He ordered people to put away all the wine vessels and gambling utensils and throw them into the river; he also whipped the officials.After this, everyone was too scared to gamble and drink anymore. Once, Tao Kan went to the outskirts to inspect and saw a passer-by picking a handful of immature ears of rice and playing with them in his hand. Tao Kan stopped him and asked, "Why did you pull out the rice?" The passer-by had no choice but to say, "It's nothing, just pull it out for fun.

When Tao Kan heard this, he was furious and said, "It's really unreasonable for you to destroy other people's crops without reason!" After finishing speaking, he ordered his soldiers to tie up the man and beat him severely before releasing him. When people heard that the governor protected the crops in this way, they became more diligent in farming.Jingzhou gradually became richer. Jingzhou is on the banks of the Yangtze River.When the government builds ships, it often leaves a lot of wood chips and bamboo heads.If it is in the hands of others, it will either be swept away or burned.But Tao Kan ordered someone to pack it up and store it in the warehouse.When people saw him, they didn't understand why he did this, and they didn't dare to ask.

Later, during the Spring Festival, officials from Jingzhou all came to the government to meet Tao Kan.It just so happened that there were several heavy snowfalls a few days ago.When the weather cleared and the snow melted, the front of the hall was wet and slippery, making it difficult to walk.Tao Kan ordered the officials in charge to take out the sawdust in the warehouse and spread the floor, so that he would not be afraid of slipping when walking. Another time, the Eastern Jin navy needed bamboo nails to build a batch of warships.Tao Kan also asked people to take out the collected bamboo heads and give them to the soldiers to make bamboo nails for shipbuilding.

At this time, everyone knew the usefulness of Tao Kan's collection of wood chips and bamboo heads, and admired his thoughtfulness. Tao Kan led the army for 41 years. Because of his strict law enforcement and serious work, everyone admired him.It is said that in the place under his jurisdiction, the social order is stable, and it is true that "the road does not pick up lost things"!