I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 411 Su Jingming’s small classroom! Common fatal flaws among scholar-bureaucrats

Wang family, inside the family home.

Su Liang looked at Wang Anshi's depressed expression, and his expression gradually became serious.

"If it is difficult to become a saint, then you will stop being an official? Stop going on foreign tours according to orders? Will you not change the Dharma? Will you be able to break the rules?"

"Wang Jiefu, I really misjudged you!"

"You think you don't care about fame and wealth, but your attitude makes me think that you care about fame more than anyone else!
"In the past, you were stubborn because you insisted on the truth and the way of the saints. I support you. But now, you are like a little daughter-in-law whose reputation has been stained. You don't want to reverse the status quo, but only want to give up on yourself. With your attitude, Mo To be called a saint, you are not even a man!"

……

In the morning.

Su Liang is the only one who can scold Wang Anshi like this.

Wang Anshi lowered his head without saying a word to refute.

He naturally hoped it was the former.

He looked at Wang Anshi and glared: "Why do you write so well and in such detail?"

If it's the former.

"Bao Xueshi said that he has sent people to track down the criminals who kidnapped me. If the criminals can be caught and this article has not been leaked, he will decide to suppress the matter and only deal with the people involved. The details of the case will not be announced to the outside world to avoid the impact. Examination for the children.”

If you check the test papers after the imperial examination, the impact of this matter will be great.

Wang Anshi nodded.

So stubborn.

"If the murderer can be caught and it is confirmed that this article has not been leaked, it is really not appropriate to publicize this matter. Otherwise, it will not only affect the mood of the public, but also lead to some unscrupulous merchants selling fake articles to deceive people."

Sima Guang on the side quickly explained for Wang Anshi: "Brother Jingming, Jiefu did not give up on himself. He blames himself for affecting the current imperial examination and provincial examination and feels that he is not worthy of being an official anymore. He can go to Kaifeng Mansion to report the case immediately. It shows that in his heart, the interests of the court still outweigh everything else.”

This provincial imperial examination will definitely have questions related to the reform of the entire Song Dynasty.

If the latter.

If any candidate can plagiarize Wang Anshi's ideas in this article or borrow allusions for his or her own use, it will be of great benefit.

The main reason why he wrote a letter of resignation and prepared to return to his hometown was that he was worried that this embarrassing incident would spread throughout Bianjing.

a question.

Wang Anshi scratched his head.

Sima Guang continued to comfort him: "Jiefu, don't worry, with the Kaifeng Mansion's case-handling capabilities, we will be able to bring the criminals to justice quickly. If this matter doesn't spread widely, don't worry about it, it's nothing. "

Sima Guang took the letter from Su Liang and after reading it, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "Jiefu, your article is much better than the answer we gave when we answered questions in front of the Imperial Academy years ago!"

So he likes to go his own way and is easily confused when things happen.

"I...I...I was really afraid that they would put a woman in my arms, so...so when I got excited, I...I devoted all my energy to writing it!"

Even if there is only one policy topic.

Wang Anshi took out a stack of letter paper from the table nearby and said: "I remember 70% to 80% of it, I have written it all silently!"

This article is rich in viewpoints, substantial in arguments, and contains many quotations from scriptures.

It is possible to get rid of hundreds of places.

Su Liang calmed down, looked at Wang Anshi, and said, "Do you still remember the policy papers those bad guys forced you to write last night?"

He didn't dare have a hint of temper.

Su Liang took the letter with a name written on it: "On Strategies for Reform in the Whole Song Dynasty".

Su Liang naturally knew what Wang Anshi was thinking.

Su Liang took a closer look and couldn't help but become even more angry.

He looks slovenly on the surface, but mentally he is mysophobic.

Su Liang thought for a moment and picked up the "Reform Strategies of the Whole Song Dynasty" on the table.

Once this matter is made public, the embarrassing story of Wang Anshi being teased by two singing girls will probably be known to the whole world.

Sima Guang said excitedly: "Bao Bachelor is reliable!"

So stubborn.

It is indeed worth the risk for some opportunists who take the wrong path.

Then only a very few people knew that Wang Anshi was forced by a woman to write "On Strategies for Reform in the Whole Song Dynasty".

His person.

Wang Anshi just has too high requirements and standards for himself. He cherishes feathers too much and does not allow himself to make any omissions.

Su Liang thought for a while, looked at Wang Anshi, and asked, "How did Bachelor Bao discuss this with you?"

"If the culprit cannot be caught within three days or the article is confirmed to have been leaked, then the article will be distributed to all candidates to ensure the fairness of the provincial examination as much as possible."

In front of Su Liang.

Wang Anshi has always valued face more than life.

"Jiefu, you should rest at home! Junshi and I sent this article to Kaifeng Mansion. The Royal City Affairs Officer who was guarding me found someone following me yesterday. It is very likely that they are the same group of people who kidnapped you. We will We will investigate carefully, just stay at home and don’t go anywhere until the results come out.”

"Yeah." Wang Anshi nodded.

At the moment, he is depressed and can't do anything. The best thing for him is to stay at home.

……

After a while.

Su Liang and Sima Guang got on the carriage heading to Kaifeng Mansion.

Sima Guang took a long breath.

"Brother Jingming, I'm lucky to have you! You don't know that if this had happened five or six years ago, Jiefu might have thrown himself into a well or hanged himself based on his stubborn temper!"

Hear this.

Su Liang didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

When this happens to most people, they won't have such an extreme reaction.

But Wang Anshi is different.

Because he was afraid of being teased by a geisha and losing his reputation, he chose to compromise and agree to the other party's conditions.

For Wang Anshi, this was a betrayal of his faith and shattered his dream of becoming a saint.

It was almost like killing him.

In his eyes.

There is only one goal in this life: to become a saint.

So stubborn!

Sima Guang continued: "I hope that Bachelor Bao can catch the real culprit as soon as possible and let this matter end quietly. It would be good if a few of us know about Jiefu being teased by a female prostitute and forced to write policy papers, and we will definitely not mention it in the future. , otherwise he would definitely be so confused that he would do any ridiculous thing..."

Sima Guang knew Wang Anshi better than Wang Anshi's family.

At this time, Su Liang raised his head.

"Jun Shi, I want to make this matter a big deal. It will be so big that not only the whole city will know about it, but also the whole Song Dynasty."

"Ah? Why...why?" Sima Guang looked confused.

Su Liang smiled slightly and said: "I want to clean up the current trend of imperial examinations. In addition, I also want to know how Jiefu will react if this embarrassing incident is really spread."

"Jingming...brother, don't, don't try! Jie Fu might really commit suicide!" Seeing that Su Liang was not joking, Sima Guang immediately became nervous.

"Let's talk in detail when we get to Kaifeng Mansion." At this moment, Su Liang had a new idea.

……

After a while.

The two came to Kaifeng Mansion.

Bao Zheng was sitting in the meeting hall of the back office, and government servants kept presenting the latest information to him.

The government officials each performed their duties.

There are those who collect evidence, those who conduct secret investigations, those who question passers-by, and those who deliver news...

Bao Zheng is only responsible for checking clue information and then conducting deduction and review.

The efficiency is very high.

Su Liang handed Bao Zheng "On Strategies for Reform in the Whole Song Dynasty", and then called Zhou Daye, the royal minister of the Imperial City Department, to provide clues to the person who followed him yesterday.

Near dusk.

Bao Zheng's frown slowly relaxed.

He looked at Su Liang and Sima Guang.

"This case was premeditated by someone. They first looked for your daily route, Jingming. After finding out that you were protected by a special person, they focused on Jiefu. Jiefu always went back and forth between the two places in the Yamen's house. He came home very late, and sometimes even stayed up all night in the Yamen, which gave them an opportunity. "

"The composition of the people in Ji'er Lane is complicated, and those gangsters don't seem to be regulars there. And many of the karaoke girls are country girls who hide their families in this profession, and Jie Fu has never seen their faces, so it is really difficult to find out."

"I estimate that the perpetrator has most likely sold the "Plans on Reform Strategies throughout the Song Dynasty" and then went into hiding. I'm afraid the real culprit will not be found in a short period of time!"

"At present, we can only make this "Essay on the Reform Strategies of the Whole Song Dynasty" public to the public first to reduce the impact on the imperial examination!"

"My idea is that the Kaifeng Mansion will send the "Reform Strategy of the Whole Song Dynasty" to each official, and then continue to investigate the case. After the provincial examination is over, some suspicious officials will be summoned for investigation. So First, the impact on the imperial examination and the provincial examination can be minimized, and you will have enough time to let Jiefu accept this matter. This is not his fault, and he does not need to blame himself! "

Bao Zheng has always been rigorous and took into account many factors.

The provincial examination is approaching, and summoning the candidates with great fanfare will easily make people panic and lead to even greater panic. Sima Guang nodded in agreement, and then looked at Su Liang.

After Su Liang hesitated for a moment, he shook his head.

"Brother Xiren, I think you attach too much importance to the imperial examination and the provincial examination and underestimate this matter of 'robbing court officials in order to take advantage of the provincial examination'."

"I suggest that on the premise that no suspicious persons are identified, all the suspects should be summoned to Kaifeng Mansion and interrogated one by one! Someone must have read "The Theory of Reform Strategies in the Whole Song Dynasty". As long as you investigate carefully, you will definitely be able to find flaws. And then find out the mastermind behind it.”

Bao Zheng said: "Jingming, your method is indeed effective, but it is too rough. As the imperial examination and the provincial examination are approaching, doing so will affect the performance of the candidates. I will definitely investigate this case to get to the bottom of it, but I must use a softer method. "

"I support Bachelor Bao's idea!" Sima Guang raised his voice.

"As long as the "Reform Strategy of the Whole Song Dynasty" is sent to every candidate, fairness will be guaranteed. At this time, there should be no more obstacles to the imperial examination. The rule of our Song Dynasty has always been: all matters should be obtained through the imperial examination Give Way!"

The imperial examination is more important than Mount Tai.

This is a principle that all scholar-officials adhere to.

Su Liang shook his head again and said, "You two, listen to my reasons first."

"First, this act of kidnapping officials ignores national laws and is extremely arrogant. This trend must not increase. It must be dealt with strictly and quickly, otherwise bad people will follow suit in the future."

"Second, only severe punishment and urgent action can maintain the fairness of the imperial examination. Today's imperial examination and the parallel Sanshe method are all based on examination for promotion. Although this accident can eliminate hidden dangers, we will never allow it If it happens again in the future, only by immediately investigating all suspects, questioning all suspects, and severely punishing the culprits after they are found, can we let those bad guys see our zero-tolerance attitude towards such things. Nothing like this will happen again.”

"The third and most important point is."

"I want to use this incident to make all the literati and officials in the dynasty understand that caring too much about personal reputation is the biggest flaw of an official!"

"In this incident, Wang Jiefu seemed to be innocent, but in fact he made a big mistake in order not to make a small mistake."

"There is no difference between giving up the principles of doing things because you are infatuated with women and giving up the principles of doing things because you reject women. They are both wrong!"

"Wang Jiefu could obviously write the policy paper poorly, and he could even refuse to write the policy paper before the opponent threatened his life, but he believed that his personal reputation was above all else, so he caused this kind of trouble. There is nothing wrong with cherishing feathers. But don’t overdo it!”

"Some scholar-officials are too timid because they cherish their reputation and care about other people's opinions. They would rather not do it than dare to try it; some scholar-officials have flaws in their personal ethics because they are framed by bad people, so they will give up their official positions and their lives. Just to preserve their reputation; there are also some scholar-bureaucrats who do not hesitate to make up stories in order to win the reputation of loyalty, filial piety and benevolence..."

"What's more, the parents at home have only minor illnesses, but in the name of 'filial piety', they have to resign and return home to serve their parents, just to avoid being accused of being unfilial. This is what a scholar-bureaucrat should do. For that matter?”

"At present, these officials who pursue reputation excessively are not only not hated by the court, but are even regarded as good customs and admired by many officials. They are really extremely ignorant. This matter should be used as an example to educate officials all over the world. learn a lesson!"

……

Su Liang was impassioned.

These remarks made Bao Zheng and Sima Guang dumbfounded.

They also gradually understood what Su Liang meant.

As a scholar-official, you should cherish your feathers, but you must never let them become your weakness or flaw.

Such as Wang Anshi.

After the matter was made public, everyone knew his weaknesses, and if someone deliberately targeted him, it would be very easy to ruin his reputation.

He takes his personal reputation too seriously.

Bao Zheng took a long breath and said: "Jing Ming, you have convinced me. I have thought too carefully about this case. In fact, I also care about my reputation and do not want to offend the public. This case should be handled strictly and quickly, but it involves the imperial examination." , let’s ask the officials for instructions together!”

On the side, Sima Guang then said: "Brother Jing Ming, I also understand, but... but if this matter is made public, it will definitely cause great harm to Wang Jiefu. I'm worried that he can't think about it, will he..."

Su Liang smiled faintly.

"This is a hurdle in his career. If he can get over it and no longer insist on being a saint, he may be more likely to become a saint."

"I understand. I'll try to persuade him again."

Immediately, Sima Guang went to look for Wang Anshi, while Su Liang and Bao Zheng went to the forbidden area.

……

Inside the Chui Gong Hall.

After listening to Su Liang's story, Zhao Zhen also fell into deep thought.

He thought of Xia Song.

In order to fight for the posthumous title of "Wen Zheng" before his death, Xia Song did not hesitate to die in the Privy Council and wrote a letter of remonstrance in blood before his death.

Zhao Zhen was very moved at the time and almost gave him the posthumous title of "Wen Zheng".

Think about it now.

This behavior is nothing but selfish.

Su Liang requested.

One is to eliminate the style of scientific examination.

The second is to severely crack down on the gangsters who kidnapped scholar-officials.

The third is to make scholar-bureaucrats lose their proud vanity and pretentious etiquette of loyalty and filial piety.

Zhao Zhen would naturally not object.

He knows better than anyone the charlatanism of some officials.

To show their filial piety, some officials would call their parents sick even if they were not sick; some officials would not hesitate to spend money to hire artists to perform in order to show their benevolence and righteousness, and some even spent money to buy Wanmin umbrellas and Wanmin petitions for merit, etc.

This makes officials who are unwilling to commit fraud have to cherish their reputation even more. This is a manifestation of putting their personal reputation at the highest level.

Zhao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "What Bao Qing and Su Qing requested is very reasonable, and I agree with it."

Bao Zheng and Su Liang both handed over their hands.

Zhao Zhen said again: "Su Qing, after what you said, I suddenly lost confidence in the eight of you on the tour. When you go to a place, if there is a woman to seduce you, if there is a money bribe, someone will accidentally fall into it." It’s a trap, I want to resign, I want to commit suicide, what should I do?”

"I am confident in you, but not in anyone else!"

Su Liang also had a wry smile on his face.

There are many local routines.

In addition to the two upright people Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, other people may also encounter this problem.

When I go out, I feel dirty.

At this time, Bao Zheng cupped his hands and said: "Guan family, let Jing Ming teach everyone a lesson before leaving!"

"It's a good idea. The princes of the two governments and three departments should also come and listen to it. Don't let your personal reputation be more important than the interests of the court!" Zhao Zhen said loudly.

……

The next day.

The Kaifeng Mansion made all the details of Wang Anshi's kidnapping case public, and sent the "Review of Reform Strategies throughout the Song Dynasty" to every official.

Subsequently, the Kaifeng Mansion began to call in suspicious suspects for questioning.

Bao Zheng told them that those who admitted to purchasing the article would only be disqualified from the imperial examination.

Those who refuse to admit it and are found out will be punished with a cane of sixty and a thorn on Salmon Island.

at the same time.

Su Liang's small class also started in Zhongshu Provincial Political Affairs Hall.

In addition to Zhao Zhen, the Xianggong of the Three Prefectures and Three Divisions, the other seven officials who were ordered to go on patrol, and representatives of Taiwanese admonishers and government officials all went.

Even the eldest prince and Su Zimu were called over.

Su Liangben is a typical example of someone who doesn't care about his reputation, so he speaks very fluently.

Reputation is a double-edged sword for officials.

On the one hand, it can make officials become good officials, on the other hand, it can also become a burden in doing things.

It must be said that Wang Anshi is very savvy. After being prompted by Su Liang, he immediately stopped being decadent. However, it will take some time for him to completely ignore public opinion.

After all, he is still young.

In addition, the person who gained the most was actually Ouyang Xiu.

Ouyang Xiu has been criticized the most, and he seems to be very open-minded.

In fact, I have been feeling very sad.

Su Liang's speech made him understand that no matter whether it is a good reputation or a bad reputation, he should not be burdened by it.

In fact, Ouyang Xiu also had the idea of ​​worshiping the prime minister, but he felt that he was stigmatized, so he didn't work so hard. Now, Su Liang's words once again aroused his fighting spirit.

Other officials have gradually understood that there is no meaning or value in getting involved in this kind of personal reputation and competing for superiority.

……

at the same time.

In less than half a day, Wang Anshi's kidnapping case developed rapidly.

One of the examiners was under too much psychological pressure and chose to confess, admitting that he and two other examiners each spent a thousand guan to buy Wang Anshi's article.

The man behind the scenes was a bookstall owner at the Daxiangguosi Book Market.

In order to make money, the book stall owner and his companions came up with the idea of ​​kidnapping officials to write policies and make money, and finally targeted Wang Anshi.

The Kaifeng Mansion took action immediately and caught him and his two accomplices that day.

They also confessed that in addition to the three culprits, there was another culprit who bought the article for 800 yuan.

These three kidnappers must be punished by death.

As for the four people who bought the article, except for the one who surrendered, the other three were all sixty-year-olds with spines and were assigned to Salmon Island.

This incident also caused the number of street patrol officials in Bianjing City to increase.

(End of this chapter)