The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Ouyang Xiu has been confused by Su Jin. He doesn't know how many other tricks this kid has. He has been in the court for more than ten years, and he has encountered too many difficult things. None of them is due to his own ability The resolution was perfect, but today in front of Su Jin, why did he appear so mentally retarded, as if falling into the traps set by this person everywhere, unwilling but helpless.

"Which two big cases?" Ouyang Xiu blurted out, wishing he could slap himself twice, he wanted to say: "I will do my best to handle the errands, and I will do my best for the sake of the society. When the matter is over, I will walk away and hide my merits and fame." But his mouth I just can't say it.

"I have fallen, I have fallen." Ouyang Xiu sighed in his heart.

Su Jin smiled and said mysteriously: "Lord Zhongcheng, do you know why I have to fight to the death to wipe out the bandits in Bagong Mountain?"

Ouyang Xiu rolled his eyes and said, "Is there any reason for this? The banditry is causing chaos, and the side that has lost its charcoal must always be wiped out; besides, the bandits have taken away your food for relief in Yangzhou, so naturally you want to take it back."

Su Jin smiled and said: "Lord Zhongcheng is only half right, and I am not afraid that Lord Zhongcheng will underestimate you. To tell you the truth, it is not for me, a rankless food envoy, to suppress bandits. It's the responsibility of the state capitals on the nearby Huainan Road, and I don't want to go to this muddy water."

Ouyang Xiudao: "Although what you said is selfish, it is also true. Suppressing bandits is a matter for the local state government to garrison; but when you attacked the mountain, why did you refuse the aid of Shouzhou and Luzhou Xiangbing soldiers? Wouldn't it be unnecessary to have help? Are you taking such a big risk?"

Su Jin said with a smile: "Do you think I'm a fool? Don't I know that these bandits are so fierce that thousands of people from various states have wiped them out several times but they have never returned? I am a person who has never led soldiers to fight before." , with more than 1000 people fighting against these bandits, what are the chances of winning? I'm afraid it's not even half of it."

Ouyang Xiu said: "Yes, I am also very puzzled, why do you refuse to help? Is it really for the sake of taking credit for yourself?"

Su Jin spat and said: "This evil is nothing more than to deceive fools. If you think about it with your ass, you know that these words are clearly planting an official."

Ouyang Xiu reprimanded: "Pay attention to your words, are you talking to me? Do you mean that the emperor sent me to investigate this matter? Is it foolish? It's too courageous."

Su Jin said: "I didn't say that, the emperor was deceived, the emperor was in the stable palace, and it is understandable that he didn't know the ferocity of the Bagong Mountain bandits, but those people in the court hall are all smarter than ghosts. If they say they don’t understand this truth, I wouldn’t believe it even if they were beaten to death; it’s clear that they want to punish people, and I’m like a mirror in my heart.”

Ouyang Xiu suddenly said: "It's not up to you to decide whether you want to punish someone or not. One of the purposes of this official is to find out the truth. If you are really wronged, wouldn't finding out the truth justify your innocence?"

Su Jin shook his head and said: "There is no need to investigate at all, the evidence is in my hands, as long as I tell Mr. Zhongcheng, you will understand everything."

Ouyang Xiu said: "Then why are you still talking about it? Since you have evidence to prove your innocence, why didn't you show it to me earlier? Are you trying to hide something?"

Su Jin said: "It's not that I don't want to show it, but that this matter is too big, and I'm afraid that if I tell it, there will be another big mess."

Ouyang Xiu suddenly laughed, squinted at Su Jin and sneered, "Are you afraid of trouble? Although I don't have much contact with you, judging from what you have done, you are a master who thinks things are small and makes big troubles; Don't think that this official doesn't know what you're thinking, you just can't do anything now, once you do, it's no wonder you don't do it."

Su Jin laughed and said: "Your Excellency is really a confidant of the lower officials, so I know that I can't hide it from your discerning eyes; I am really busy and can't get away, and you also know that I can't protect myself, and I don't have the heart to do it; there is another reason But I guess this matter will cause a big shock, and I really can’t do it with my ability, so I forbear to say nothing. But now it’s all right, with Mr. Zhongcheng here, I don’t have to be afraid of anything.”

Ouyang Xiu scolded: "Who is your bosom friend? Don't interrupt me. If you know what you know, you will be guilty of the same crime as the criminal..." Ouyang Xiu suddenly stopped talking. He couldn't say this anymore. Could it be that he was planning to know but not to act? Words can no longer be presented in a high-sounding manner to scare people.

Su Jin pretended not to hear, and said in a low voice: "This matter started when I left the stable. At that time, the situation in Yangzhou Prefecture was critical and time was short, so I split up with Long Zhen, the deputy commander of the Ma Jun; we After arriving in Yangzhou, I realized that the situation in Yangzhou city was even worse than I imagined. Every household closed their doors, and the shops on the street were also closed. city."

Ouyang Xiu sighed: "Yangzhou came to me as a rich and prosperous place in the Song Dynasty, and it turned out to be like this?"

Su Jin said: "This is not the main thing. What's more important is that the food in the city has run out, and most of the people have no food at home. They are forced by hunger. Some of them flee with their families, and some gather to riot, smashing and looting the rich. There are several vicious incidents every day. In the face of hunger, the law can't restrain people's desire for life; and the way soldiers fight back and forth to fight the fire can only be suppressed and arrested, but how to suppress it?"

Ouyang Xiu Nianxu nodded and said: "The strategy of repression is the worst strategy. The common people are not mobs, they just have no way to survive. At this time, we must quickly mobilize food for relief. The right way."

Su Jin cupped his hands and said: "Your Excellency Zhong Cheng clearly learned that the lower officials think the same way. Officers and soldiers suppress and arrest people every day, and people die every day when houses are burned down. Conflicts accumulate little by little, and eventually they will explode. Once there are people with ulterior motives As soon as you ascend the heights, the common people will gather together and become bandits, and then it will not be a simple matter of relief, but the disaster of the country and the chaos caused by the flames of war, the lower officials will be afraid when they think about it."

Ouyang Xiu said: "You are quite right. When the people are in dire straits, there will be great chaos; there are precedents to follow in the past dynasties, but was that when you decided to open the warehouse to release the military rations?"

Su Jin nodded and said: "I wanted to wait for a few days, waiting for Long Zhen to bring Luzhou's relief food, then everything can be calmed down temporarily; but Long Zhen, a thief, has been in Luzhou for a long time for some reason. Without transporting food, I originally estimated that the food could be reached in seven or eight days at most, but this guy has been delayed for more than ten days; a heavy snow at the beginning of the month made the situation extremely unfavorable. The heavy snow caused the city of Yangzhou to freeze to death and starve to death The number of people has risen sharply, the high price of food on the black market has exhausted the last valuable possessions of the people, and tens of thousands of people have begun to flee Yangzhou City; Sir, that is fleeing, this is the home of their ancestors for generations, unless it is a last resort, they How could you choose to flee from your hometown? It is a tragedy in the world."

In Ouyang Xiu's mind, the scene of tens of thousands of people in ragged clothes and empty stomachs, supporting the old and the young, fleeing on the vast snow field, could not help but feel sad; it is really instructive that such a miserable scene in Yangzhou, a wealthy and prosperous Song Dynasty It was hard to accept; but he believed that what Su Jin said was true. When he came to Yangzhou, he asked local officials about the situation at that time, and some said it was worse than Su Jin.

"The lower officials know that once the snow falls, it will be more difficult to walk on the official road, and the relief food in Luzhou will be extended indefinitely. The news of the transport away, my lord, if you were me, what would you do?"

Faced with Su Jin's question, Ouyang Xiu remained silent. Could it be that he guarded the food that could not be transported away, and let the people starve to death, freeze to death, and be displaced? But this is military food, and if it is moved, it will be a crime of beheading. This choice is really true. Dilemma.

Su Jin didn't press to ask Ouyang Xiu how to choose, and said to himself: "I don't know much about the laws of the court, but I still know that it is a treasonous crime to tamper with military rations, but how can I just watch the people starve to death under my nose? What's the use of fleeing famine to other places? Yangzhou has no food, and other prefectures that are more barren than Yangzhou will definitely encounter the same difficulties. Life and death, the sage Kuang once said: the people are the most important, and the country is second; the people can't live, how can we talk about the stability of the country? So the lower officials resolutely decided to risk their lives and use the army to help the people."

Ouyang Xiu didn't say anything, but he pointed his thumb in his heart. This decision was not made casually. This kid is really courageous, and he seems to be a good official who loves the people. He can choose not to act, and he has reasons to prevaricate afterwards. , After all, natural disasters are fierce, and manpower is irresistible; not moving the army rations is restricted by the law, and there is no way to blame him.

"But Song Zhifu disagreed, so you used anesthetics to deal with him, and forged his official documents, didn't you?"

"It seems that Song Zhifu explained it more carefully than me." Su Jin teased.

Ouyang Xiu said: "There is nothing wrong with Song Zhifu's actions. Is he going to learn from you and lie to the officials?"

Su Jin bowed and said: "What your lord reprimanded was that only [-] shi of the [-] shi was sent down, and the situation in the city immediately settled down; the lower official knew that the [-] shi of grain would not last for a few days, so he sent someone to the hut Zhou urged Long Zhen to transport the grain, but he did not expect to bring back the news that the grain had been robbed by the bandits, it was like a bolt from the blue, and the next official was at a loss."

Ouyang Xiu frowned and said, "I'm also going to ask some doubts here, since you mentioned this, you might as well clear up my doubts one by one."

Su Jin said: "Dare not to obey orders, but I'm afraid my lord is still hungry, why don't you order your servants to prepare wine and food, how about we talk while eating?"

Ouyang Xiu nodded helplessly, he was originally here to take this kid, but it turned into a scene of drinking and talking, which he did not expect.