I studied in modern times

Chapter 849: A Good Official Who Is Clean and Honest and Loves His People Like His Own Children
When Shu Tan went out and headed for the capital.

Today's Bian Jing Yi Bao has also been delivered to the wealthy families and various government offices in Bian Jing city.

"Can a trickle of water save the vast ocean?!"

After seeing the title, countless people frowned and felt suspicious.

Because the Bian Jing Yi Bao had very high requirements for articles and poems.

Even figures like the two Su brothers were eliminated because their articles and poems failed to meet the standards.

Therefore, when they saw such a mediocre headline appearing on the front page of the Bian Jing Yi Bao, they would subconsciously feel disgusted.

When they saw the author's signature, these people became even more disgusted.

"A book collector from Langzhong?"

"Pu Chuanzheng?!!!!"

In an instant, there was a huge rebellion!

The eyes of countless scholars and literati suddenly turned red.

Even my articles and poems have never appeared on the front page of the Bian Jing Yi Bao!
You are just a person who barely gets recognition by relying on your brother-in-law's articles and poems!
Are you nothing but a bootlicker?

Are you a flatterer? !
You are arrogant, extravagant and licentious!
What good article can you write?
With indignation, countless people began to pick up Yangsui, carefully looking at the text on the Bian Jing Yi Bao, and began to read it word by word.

Wen has no first, Wu has no second.

The hearts of literati and scholars are often smaller than the eye of a needle.

Especially when they discover that someone they have always looked down upon has surpassed them in the area they value most.

The hole in your heart will become smaller than a needle eye in an instant.

"I have heard in the Book of Zhou that if farmers do not go out, they will lack food; if workers do not go out, they will lack work; if merchants do not go out, the three treasures will be gone; if hunters do not go out, there will be a lack of wealth! This is true in ancient and modern times, and nothing can change..."

Reading the words on it, the whole place was suddenly in an uproar.

So simple? So banal!

Also worthy of being on the front page of the Bian Jing Yi Bao?
Does it mean that as long as you become the prime minister, you can do whatever you want?

Where is the dignity of the scholar-officials? Where is the pride of the literati?

You, Pu Chuan, didn't throw it away, right?

Thinking about it more carefully, it seems that Pu Chuanzheng never had these things.

How can he throw away something he doesn't have?
On the spot, a few Taoist students who had come to their senses were so angry that they jumped up and down and cursed, saying that the world is going downhill and people's hearts are no longer as they used to be.

But they know it in their hearts.

Now Pu Chuanzheng has just been appointed as the right prime minister, and he is in high spirits.

Some are people who flatter him.

Maybe, at this moment, someone is already writing articles praising Pu Zongmeng.

In the Song Dynasty, even Ding Wei's stinky feet were praised by some people.

With indignation, people continued to read the words in the Bian Jing Yi Bao.

The first two or three hundred words are very ordinary, and can even be said to be just some old-fashioned arguments.

It is nothing more than quoting what Confucius said: "When the granaries are full, one knows etiquette; when one has enough food and clothing, one knows honor and disgrace." It then elaborates on the deeds of those tycoons who have been famous throughout the world or have left their names in history since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period up to the present day.

For example, Guan Zhong revived Qi, Tao Zhugong and Ji Ran revived Yue, Zhuo Shi in Han Dynasty, Dou Yi in Tang Dynasty, etc.

but……

After that, this article was like a Mars hitting the earth, instantly causing waves in the hearts of countless people.

Because, after this, this article puts forward an unprecedented point of view, a perspective that is enough to shock people's souls.

……

Grand Master, in the residence of Wen Yanbo.

Wen Jifu was holding the Bian Jing Newspaper and reading the text on it.

Wen Yanbo closed his eyes, dozed off, and listened to Wen Jifu's recitation.

At first, he didn't take it seriously.

however……

"In the past, Duke Ai of Lu asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied: "Government should make the people rich and long-lived." Duke Ai asked: "What does this mean?" Confucius said: "If taxes are light, the people will be rich; if there is no trouble, crime will be far away; if crime is far away, the people will live long." The Duke said: "If this is the case, I will be poor." Confucius said: "The Book of Songs says: 'A kind and benevolent gentleman is the parent of the people. I have never seen a son who is rich while his parents are poor!"

"Holy words!"

"When the holy dynasty rose to power, it did not suppress annexation, nor did it establish a land system, but established rural households and city households..."

"As a result, all industries flourished, merchants gathered, and the world was rich..."

"How profound is the wisdom of our ancestors? Without the highest virtue, who could have obeyed the people to such an extent?!"

Hearing this, Wen Yanbo sat up.

Wen Jifu looked at his old father and stopped reciting.

"Bring it here..." Wen Yanbo said, "I want to see it myself!"

"Yes!" Wen Jifu stepped forward and respectfully handed the Bian Jing New News in his hand to his old father.

only……

He had doubts in his heart.

My old father is old and his eyesight is not very good.

So he was the one who read most of the tabloids to his old father.

Why did the old father want to see it in person this time?
Could it be that this article has something to say?
With this question in mind, Wen Jifu asked cautiously: "Sir..."

"The words used in this article are simple...why do you attach so much importance to it?"

Wen Yanbo did not raise his head, but just said: "This is the profound meaning of the sage's words, and you don't understand it? How do you read the scriptures?"

Wen Jifu???
Wen Yanbo shook his head, feeling despair at his stupid son's political intelligence.

He had no choice but to ask, "Duke Ai of Lu asked Confucius about politics. Where did this come from?"

"Confucius's Family Sayings!"

"Then what book does the saying 'who can obey the people to such an extent if he is not of the highest virtue' come from?"

"The Book of Filial Piety!"

"Do you remember the previous sentence?"

"A kind and benevolent gentleman is the parent of the people..."

"So, do you understand?" Wen Yanbo looked at Wen Jifu.

Wen Jifu opened his clear eyes, which were in their fifties, with a burning gaze and full of curiosity.

Wen Yanbo sighed: "A benevolent gentleman is the parent of the people. There has never been a son who is rich while his father is poor..."

"So the emperor is the parent of the people. The prosperity of the people is the prosperity of the emperor!"

"This is filial piety, but also loyalty!"

“Therefore, to make the people rich is to unite loyalty and filial piety!”

“And who can make the people rich?”

"Only scholars and officials can make the people rich!"

"In other words, what Pu Chuanzheng meant by this passage is that the scholars and officials should lead the people to become rich!"

"He who leads his people to prosperity is not only a filial son, but also a loyal minister!"

"Understand?"

Wen Jifu understood.

The literati of the Song Dynasty had very high demands on their own moral standards.

At least on the surface, at the public level, both the imperial court and the scholar-official community had very high moral requirements for civil officials.

If a person has corrupt morals, he will be excluded no matter how capable he is.

Similarly, as long as a person has a high moral level, ability and other things are secondary.

A typical example is Sima Guang.

Although he was almost forced into a state of disgrace by the clerks in Chenzhou, he finally managed to stabilize the situation by killing people.

However, because of his high moral character, the world still praises him.

In addition, in the Song Dynasty, there were many officials who were dismissed or demoted because of moral issues or personal family reasons.

During the reigns of Emperors Xi and Feng, dozens of high-ranking officials were demoted because of their personal morality or because of involvement in family affairs.

Therefore, Wen Yanbo knew that once this article came out, a consensus would soon be formed among the literati, and this consensus would eventually turn into a whirlwind.

It’s just like the whirlwind when Fan Wencheng launched the ancient Chinese literature revival movement!

Do not!
This whirlwind may very well be stronger than the trend started by Fan Wencheng back then!

the reason is simple……

These words in the Bian Jing Yi Bao hit the hearts of countless people in the court and the country, and touched the sore spots of the scholar-officials, nobles and relatives of the emperor.

Especially, today when the pawnshop is about to go bankrupt.

This article will definitely become a masterpiece!
It will also surely win praise from scholars and acclaim from the world.

"A benevolent gentleman is the father of the people. There has never been a situation where the people are rich but the father is poor..."

"Who else but the most virtuous can obey the people to such an extent?!"

Wen Yanbo chewed over these two sentences and his face turned red.

Yes!

We are all loyal subjects and filial sons, and the emperor must be a wise and benevolent ruler.

A wise ruler, loyal ministers and filial sons.

Therefore, our wealth is the emperor’s wealth. This is the teaching of the saints!

Wen Jifu roughly understood it, but he still didn't understand why his old father took it so seriously.

Wen Yanbo looked at his foolish son who was over fifty years old and still needed his hands-on teaching, so he had no choice but to ask, "Who do you think wrote this article?"

"Isn't it the Right Prime Minister?" Wen Jifu asked. "It's him!" Wen Yanbo nodded, then asked, "If Pu Chuanzheng hadn't shown this article to the palace, would he dare to publish it?"

Wen Jifu was stunned.

Wen Yanbo had almost finished reading the article in the Bian Jing Yi Bao at this time.

He stuffed the tabloid in his hand into Wen Jifu's hand and said, "Go back and read it carefully. Read it seriously!"

"Watch it fifty times, a hundred times!"

"Then, write three post-reading comments for me!"

"Ah!" Wen Jifu widened his eyes.

Since the current emperor, he has accepted the imperial son-in-law Guo Xianqing and Wu Anchi as teachers in the Imperial Academy, and asked the teachers of the Imperial Academy to supervise their reading. Not only did they read, but they were also required to write reading notes after reading.

Self-analyze the teachings of the saints, self-reflect, and self-correct.

This method was spread out, and now has become the way many relatives of the emperor, nobles, and ministers use to educate their children.

When reading, you should write a review, analyze yourself, and even speak on behalf of the saints.

The Wen family is a family that implements such rules.

Under the oppression of Wen Yanbo, the descendants of the Wen family were forced to pick up bulky books and begin their long journey in the ocean of books.

But Wen Jifu is already over fifty years old and he is already a grandfather.

But we have to write a review like the young people do, and write a review for an article that has nothing to do with the classics? !

This was a little hard for Wen Jifu to accept.

But Wen Yanbo didn't give him a chance at all. He stared at him and said, "If you read this article carefully and understand it thoroughly, you will benefit from it for the rest of your life! It can even ensure wealth and prosperity for three generations of your descendants!"

"Oh!"

Although Wen Jifu has great potential for development in political intelligence.

But in other aspects, it is not weak.

He lowered his head as if realizing something, and said, "I understand, sir!"

……

Almost at the same time.

On the other side of Bianjing City, Han Jiang was also reading the article in the Bianjing Yibao.

He happened to see the passage after Wen Jifu read.

"Since the current emperor took office, he has inherited the teachings of the three previous kings, implemented the policies of the six sages, lightened taxes and levies, and given the people a rest..."

"Thus, the country prospered, the world was at peace, and all nations came to pay tribute..."

"I heard that there is a merchant in the capital named Sun Ci, who opened many shops to sell barbecue and employed thousands of workers... Li Erhu, a borough owner outside the new city, employed hundreds of workers..."

"All these things are relied upon by millions of soldiers and civilians in the capital for their livelihood... so they can have enough food and clothing without having to farm..."

“So it is said: A trickle of water can save the vast ocean!”

Han Jiang put down the Bian Jing Yi Bao in his hand and let out a long sigh.

He thought of his family's property in his hometown, and also of the pawnshop where he was about to buy a bet with Cao Yi.

So he said: "Young people are to be feared!"

The article is not very good.

It can even be said to be mediocre.

But the problem is...

It touched his heart!

Especially that sentence: A trickle of water can save the ocean!

It is simply a perfect interpretation of the saint’s profound words!
Do not!
This is what the saints intended!

This must be what Confucius truly thought more than a thousand years ago.

It is also something that the rulers of the Han and Tang dynasties could not adopt, but it is an eternal sage policy that only this dynasty, only the current officials, can and are willing to adopt.

Your Majesty, you are truly a wise ruler!
……

Of course, those wealthy merchants also paid close attention to the Bian Jing Yi Bao and the Bian Jing Xin Bao.

Especially for newspapers and periodicals such as Bian Jing Yi Bao, which were aimed at scholars and officials, wealthy businessmen paid more attention to them than scholars and officials.

This is the nature of businessmen.

They always involuntarily imitate, imagine and try their best to integrate themselves into the mainstream circle.

This was especially true for merchants in the Song Dynasty.

They wore Confucian robes and caps, and regardless of whether they were educated or not, they would set up a study room at home, fill it with books, and pretend that they were also scholars.

Therefore, every time the Bian Jing Yi Bao was published, there would be a long queue in front of Sima Guang’s old residence, all of whom were servants of the wealthy businessmen in the capital.

Therefore, as soon as today's Bian Jing Yi Bao was published, it was bought by these people and then delivered to their respective owners.

Naturally, these wealthy businessmen all employed a large number of literati who were dedicated to interpreting the articles, poems and allusions in the Bian Jing Yi Bao for them.

At this moment, these wealthy businessmen were listening to the interpretation of their disciples and looking at the Bian Jing Yi Bao in their hands.

Each heart was beating rapidly.

"Taishigong said: Rituals are born from existence and are abolished by non-existence!"

"How true!"

"If everyone in the world has a job, the world can have enough food and clothing!"

“So the key to governing the people is to enrich them, and the way to enrich them is to enable the rich to produce more.”

“Gold hidden in a room is nothing but dead stuff; gold used to decorate a Buddha is nothing but clay figurine. But if it is used to cultivate production and hire workers, then the gold of one person will fly into thousands of families, providing them with food and clothing!”

“The ways of the ancient kings and the teachings of the sages are all contained therein!”

Some uneducated merchants could not wait to look at their disciples.

These disciples immediately began to explain the doubts to their master.

At this moment, in front of Sun Ci, a scholar in a Confucian robe bowed and explained: "Master Dong... what you mean is..."

"Like you, the owner, who uses his wealth to cultivate property and hire workers, you are practicing the way of a saint and are a man of both benevolence and righteousness!"

"Although you are a businessman, your behavior has already taken shortcuts!"

Sun Ci listened and felt relaxed all over, every pore was screaming.

It seems that I should read more scriptures of saints in the future!

Maybe you can get closer to being a saint!
He thought about it and said, "So that's how it is!"

"I have always admired the ways of saints and longed to be closer to them..."

So, he decided to continue spending money to expand! Even if he had to borrow money, he had to expand!

Because this is the great truth expounded by the saints’ subtle words and profound meanings!
People like him already have enough wealth, and what they can pursue is recognition from mainstream society, that is, the literati.

In order to gain recognition from the literati, Sun Ci would spare no effort!
In this respect, merchants including Sun Ci are actually a group of lickspittles of the literati.

……

Cao Yi put down the Bian Jing Yi Bao in his hand and looked at the old guys in front of him.

He said leisurely: "Those thieves in the palace world..."

"If you have anything to do with this... go to the palace and plead guilty as soon as possible!"

"Otherwise... don't blame me for being ruthless!"

The old guys all stood up and bowed, "We dare not!"

"These people who have no king or father, are unkind and unjust, disloyal and unfilial, can be killed by anyone!"

They are nothing more than dogs raised by a group of servants out of boredom in their spare time.

Just kill him!
……

Zhao Xu looked at the article in the Bian Jing Yi Bao and nodded slightly.

"The Right Prime Minister writes well!" He smiled and looked at Pu Zongmeng in front of him.

"I dare not, this is all thanks to your majesty!"

He revised this article three times before it was published.

The first time, the emperor said it was too complicated and too vague.

The second time, the emperor said, it should be more popular.

It took the third time to finally pass.

No more showing off skills, no more piling up words, just quoting from classics and telling the story in a plain and straightforward manner.

"Sir, this article will surely be remembered forever!" Zhao Xu commented with a smile.

Pu Zongmeng lowered his head and said, "My Lord is so virtuous, how dare I take credit for it?"

"I asked you to do it, so please do it!" Zhao Xu said, "Trickle-down economics, you should work hard!"

"Yes!"

Pu Zongmeng often goes to the palace these days.

Zhao Xu has given him special treatment for three consecutive days.

Next, the right prime minister who will represent the interests of industrialists and businessmen should step to the front, use the words of Confucius and Mencius and the Confucian classics to stand up for the emerging capital and cheer for the emerging interest groups.

Perhaps, a hundred years later, he will have many titles.

Or perhaps, he will be infamous for eternity and still be reviled by people a thousand years later.

Just like... just like...

Just as Zhao Xu witnessed in the modern empire that once boasted the sun never set.

Even though Mrs. Thatcher is dead.

But when the British people mention her, they still grit their teeth and still want to dance on her grave!
And this has nothing to do with Zhao Xu.

He is a good official with a clean character who loves his people like his own children!
(End of this chapter)