Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

Defang smiled, "Madam, let me tell you something about Zhang Yong when he was young, and you will know his special talent and temperament. Ling'er, do you want to listen?"

"Yes" Wei Ling nodded

Defang took a sip of tea and said, "Zhang Yong is from Juancheng, Puzhou. Without a desk, he read under the tree, and never went into the house to rest until he finished reading a chapter. He once said: Taoism is not closed, and hard work should be opened. Later, in the fifth year of Taiping Xingguo, he became a Jinshi B and taught Dali As a judge, I know Chongyang County. At that time, the people in Chongyang did not farm or weave, and their family used to grow tea. After Zhang Yong took office, in order to avoid the disadvantages of tea being questioned in the future, he ordered tea to be pulled out and mulberry planted. Dissatisfied, but had to follow orders."

"Why is that?" Di Fei asked

"This is Zhang Yong's foresight. Later, the imperial court really questioned tea, and the income of tea households in other parts of Ezhou was reduced. The chaos in Sichuan and Shu was also related to the tea question, but only Chongyang County used the mulberry planted to raise silkworms and paid taxes with silk Today, people in Chongyang are still living in stability and prosperity, and they are all grateful for Master Zhang’s vision and merit.”

"Master Zhang is really a capable official. It is really a blessing for the people to have such an official in the court."

"Yes, Mr. Zhang is a clean and honest official. If any of his subordinates break the law, they will be severely punished." Defang took a sip of tea and said, "When Mr. Zhang was the county magistrate of Chongyang, one day he was inspecting the county government office. When Master Zhang saw that he always lowered his jaw, he asked him to look up, and saw a copper coin hidden in the beard of the petty official. Seeing this, Master Zhang ordered someone to punish him with a stick, but the petty official refused to accept it. , Shouting injustice: I just took a piece of money, and I was blamed for it! I don’t accept it! Master Zhang interrogated the little official, but the little official refused to admit his crime, so Master Zhang immediately sent someone to check the property of the small official’s house. Only then did he find out that this person stole more than a hundred copper coins from the mansion, as well as some small items such as cloth. Mr. Zhang wrote the verdict: One coin a day, one thousand coins a thousand days, a rope can break a tree, and water drops can penetrate a stone. Your Excellency drew out his sharp sword and walked down the stone steps, beheaded the little official with his own hands, then had himself tied up, went to the state capital to impeach him, and the magistrate learned the whole story and reported it to the imperial court. His Majesty not only did not convict Mr. Zhang, but even rewarded him. , The imperial court once again decreed to reiterate the decree that all corrupt officials will be severely punished, regardless of their rank or how much money they take."

"In this way, Mr. Zhang can be said to be a capable minister and brave official."

"Well, it is true. After Mr. Zhang became an official, he is no longer as poor as before, but he neither buys land nor indulges in wine and sex. Almost all of his official salary is used to buy books. It is said that the collection of books in his home has already been sold." There are thousands of volumes, and in addition to classics, histories, zi, and collections, he also collects books on medicine, tree planting, and even divination. People call him: do not do business to collect classics. But he himself said: Mechanics to seek it is not available today. tired."

"My lord, it doesn't sound like Mr. Zhang is an impatient person. My concubine thinks he is very calm."

"Hehehe, ma'am, why don't I say that Zhang Yong is a weirdo? Although he is so dedicated to reading and can deal with things calmly, he is not like this on weekdays."

"How is that?"

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