Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

(Ju Ming was a court official who knew the state. In the previous chapter, I was confused and wrote it as a capital official who knew the state.)

Ju Ming did not immediately accuse these two people, because the rules that had lasted for decades must have been ordered by the imperial court.

"When did the ban on woodcutting and animal husbandry begin?" Zhu Ming asked.

Cao Yuangui answered carefully: "During the reign of Shenzong, the imperial court ordered the people to move out of the mountains, leaving only five households to worship Yao's mausoleum for generations. Those five households also strictly designated cultivated land and firewood forests, and were not allowed to farm or cut firewood beyond the scope. The surrounding people were strictly prohibited from farming. , wood-cutting and animal husbandry.”

Ju Ming asked again: "How to offer sacrifices?"

Cao Yuangui said: "The chief of this county will worship once in spring and autumn. If a magistrate takes office, he will come to worship in person in the first year of taking office. The imperial court worships irregularly, and the official family sends clan members or civil servants to come to worship."

"How many times has the imperial court sent people to offer sacrifices in the past few decades?" Zhu Ming asked.

Cao Yuangui said: "Two times. Once during the Shenzong Dynasty, and once three years ago."

Ju Ming asked: "What virtue did Yao have?"

Cao Yuangui thought that this was the magistrate's examination of teaching knowledge, and quickly said: "Yao's virtues include selecting talents, implementing benevolent government, fixing the calendar, clarifying the Five Codes, controlling floods, subduing the Southern Barbarians, and meditating on Yu and Shun."

Ju Ming asked again: "What is benevolence?"

Cao Yuangui said: "A benevolent person loves others."

Ju Ming asked again: "What is benevolent government?"

Cao Yuangui said: "Sparing punishments, reducing taxes, plowing deep and easy farming, the strong use their spare time to cultivate their filial piety, loyalty and trust, go in to serve their fathers and brothers, and go out to serve their elders."

Ju Ming looked at Wang Tian again: "What does the county magistrate think?"

Wang Tian had never dared to steal the limelight of the county magistrate. Now that he was called out for questioning, he immediately added: "You have a way to get his heart, gather with him what you want, and don't do anything to him."

Ju Ming asked: "What do the people want? What do they hate?"

Cao Yuangui already felt that something was wrong. After weighing it repeatedly, he replied seriously: "What the people want is food, clothing, and warmth; what the people hate is excessive levies and miscellaneous labor."

Ju Ming asked: "If we don't let the people farm, if we don't let the people collect wood, how can we get enough food and warmth?"

"This..." Cao Yuangui said, "The mausoleum of the ancient holy king should not offend both sentiment and etiquette. What's more, the court has orders, and the ministers dare not disobey them."

Wang Tian buried his head and said nothing. The magistrate had to shoulder the blame of the magistrate, and it was not convenient for him as a county magistrate to step forward.

Ju Ming said: "The huge Gulin Mountain has a radius of twenty miles, and the people all rely on its trees for food. How can we ban it? There must be many illegal cutters."

"It is true," Cao Yuangui said, "there are many illegal collectors among the people at the foot of the mountain."

It’s easy to ban papermaking workshops, but how can we ban people cutting firewood?

In the past, officials always turned a blind eye, otherwise they would have sent people to guard the place all day long.

But just three years ago, Song Huizong sent people to worship Yao Ling, and the imperial envoy found traces of logging in the mountains. As a result, the officials in Leize County were dismissed, and the county magistrate was directly demoted to Guangnan. The successor officials never dared to neglect him.

Cao Yuangui and Wang Tian would send a team of archers to patrol every three or five days.

They don't have any bad intentions, they just want to complete the mission.

The archers took the opportunity to prey on the common people. If they caught them, they would slap them. If they didn't want to slap them, they would have to pay bribes. Even sometimes when no one is caught, they just point to the farmer's house and say, your firewood must have been cut down from Gulin Mountain. If you don't pay the grain to offset the fine, you will be slapped with a slap in the face.

The top will issue a decree casually, and the bottom will seize the opportunity to benefit the people.

The protection of Yaoling is no longer a matter of banning farming, mining, and grazing, but a matter of grassroots law enforcers extorting money from the people under the guise.

Ju Ming said: "Emperor Yao was a holy king of three generations and a most benevolent king. If he knew that his mausoleum harmed the people, he would be very unhappy. How can we go against Emperor Yao's wishes? The exact location of Yao's mausoleum is no longer known. All we need to do is mark out a restricted area for sacrifices. Outside the restricted area, the people should be allowed to collect firewood and cultivate crops. In this way, both aspects will be respected, and the emperor Yao will be respected, and the people will be loved."

"But the court's order..." Cao Yuangui was very embarrassed.

Ju Ming said: "Let the archers stop harassing the people first. We will not admit or prohibit illegal mining. I will go to the court and re-draw a restricted area, and no longer interfere with the people outside the restricted area. If something happens, I will Carry it!"

Cao Yuangui looked at Wang Tian, ​​and Wang Tian looked at Ju Ming.

These two local officials did not dare to disobey Ju Ming's order, but they were afraid of being blamed by the court.

If something goes wrong, Zhu Ming is worried that this kind of verbal promise is too nonsense.

"Bring me a pen!" Ju Ming shouted.

Wang Tian stood up immediately and came back with pen, ink, paper and inkstone.

Zhu Ming wrote it down in black and white, ordering Leize County not to interfere with people's woodworking.

"Can you rest assured?" Zhu Ming pushed the writing paper over.

This was so wild and blatantly violated the emperor's orders. It could easily be taken advantage of by political opponents. The two county magistrates were dumbfounded.

Cao Yuanhui thought that what he said before was just for fame and reputation. Now that Ju Ming wrote it down in black and white, he realized that Ju Ming was really thinking about the people.

Cao Yuangui's official career was bumpy, and his edges had long been smoothed off. He had no political ambitions and was just making money to get by.

But Ju Ming's words and deeds pricked his heart, and he couldn't help but stand up and bow: "The virtue of the prefect is shameful, and the lower officials will definitely comply with his orders."

Wang Tian also quickly flattered him: "The prefect is devoted to the people, and he is truly the blue sky for the people of Puzhou!"

Those who are selfless and fearless will surely win respect.

The premise is that Ju Ming's order will not infringe on the interests of the two county officials.

Forbidding the people to cut and farm would do them no good, and would waste manpower to implement it. Cao Yuangui and Wang Tian had long since stopped wanting to do it, and Ju Ming just fulfilled their wishes today.

The Gu tree is the Gou tree, and there are Gou trees everywhere in Gulin Mountain.

This kind of tree is difficult to use as a building material and is used only for making paper and burning firewood. And it grows very fast. As long as papermaking is banned, people's burning of firewood will have no impact at all, and it will not cause damage to the mountains and forests at all.

Ju Ming said: "Tomorrow you two will follow me into the mountain and re-define a restricted area. Outside the restricted area, people will be allowed to harvest. You go and make arrangements. I will go back to the hotel to rest first."

The two of them quickly got up and accompanied Ju Ming to the hotel.

After returning, Cao Yuangui called the police officer: "Immediately find all the reports from the past three years!"

Not long after, the custodian brought a stack of newspapers.

Cao Yuangui and Wang Tian, ​​together with a group of civil servants, carefully read the Di newspaper, trying to find out information about Ju Ming.

Only a few minutes later, a civil servant shouted: "Ju Ming, the third person in the palace examination in the fifth year of Zhenghe, will be awarded the title of Jinshi!"

Cao Yuangui said: "Look at last year's Di newspaper again."

Soon another civil servant shouted: "Ju Ming, the third Jinshi, is awarded Wen Linlang and Taixue Zheng!"

Wang Tian said: "To be able to confer rectification to the Imperial Academy for the first time, there must be someone in the court."

Immediately, someone shouted: "The Imperial Academy is Zheng Zhu Ming, and he has made great contributions. He is specially transferred to an official position and promoted to Chengwu Lang."

Cao Yuangui compared the dates of the two residence newspapers and said in horror: "In two months, he went from selecting people to being promoted to the capital official?"

Wang Tian shouted: "Look at this year's Di newspaper again, the ones in the last two or three months."

When a civil servant saw the latest appointment, he said irritably: "What a promotion...so fast! The Imperial Academy is also in charge of the Imperial Academy's library, Zhu Ming. He has made great contributions to the creation of Dasheng movable type and Dasheng ink. He has been transferred to the two officials and promoted to Tong Zhilang." , Quanfa sent people to know about Puzhou affairs."

Cao Yuangui and Wang Tian suddenly looked at each other.

Wang Tian smiled bitterly and sighed: "It took me eight years to advance from the seventh level of selection to the fifth level of selection. For our magistrate, it only took two months to select people to be promoted to Beijing officials, and it only took just two months for Beijing officials to be promoted to court officials. for a year.”

Cao Yuan returned to the screen and retired his subordinates, leaving the two of them alone, thinking: "Looking at his style, he doesn't seem to be clinging to traitors. How did he rise to the top?"

"Who knows?" Wang Tian broke his head and couldn't figure it out.

Neither of them has any background, and they can't find a chance to join the traitors. Although they usually engage in various forms of corruption, they pride themselves on being clean and even attribute the failure in promotion to the traitors and corrupt government. They also resent the traitors.

Even if Ju Ming passed the imperial examination, it would take ten or eight years to be promoted to a court official, and it would take five or six years even if someone in the court supported him.

What the hell is being promoted to a court official in just one year?

This was not the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty. There were not many Jinshi at that time. Li Di, the most prominent family in Puzhou, went from being the number one scholar to the prime minister in just twelve years.

Now, there are more wolves and less meat, so normal promotion is too slow.

Cao Yuangui was just a transitional magistrate in Leize, and did not have much conflict with the county magistrate Wang Tian. He said: "This magistrate dares to plead for the people in black and white, and he is so young. I think he has some ambitions. You must be careful in what you do in the future. It’s okay to make a little money, but the important thing is to follow his wishes.”

"He wants to govern benevolently and love the people, and we should also govern benevolently and love the people," Wang Tian said. "This man is young, and he is an official in the court and knows the state. If there are no mistakes in the future, he will be a prime minister, assistant, and important minister!"

The two county magistrates looked at each other and felt that their opportunity had come.

They have a serious background as Jinshi, and have already completed their qualifications. They only have one Shangguan to train and promote them.

If nothing else, their salary officer must pass Ju Ming's review if he wants to be promoted. If Zhizhou gets stuck just like that, they will be stuck for at least three years!

And if their errands want to be promoted, Ju Ming also has the right to recommend them, and the speed will definitely be faster than normal grinding.

The entire Jingdong Road is being sucked by Kaifeng Mansion.

The bigger Leize County also has a magistrate and a county magistrate, so the money gained from corruption must be divided. No matter how much you levy and extort money, how much money can you get?

It would be better to be less greedy, to please the promising Zhizhou, and to take this opportunity to complete the career advancement.

If Zhizhou becomes a prime minister in the future, they will be among the early subordinates and hardcore confidants. Riding on the east wind, soaring upwards, maybe I can still be a court official in this life!

Even if you want to be greedy, wait until you are transferred to a good place.

Cao Yuangui said: "The plan for now is for you and me to join hands to restrain those subordinate officials and try our best to please the governor!"

Wang Tian said: "The chief clerk should also be brought over. He is also a sergeant and wants to be promoted like us."

Fortunately, although the population increased in the late Northern Song Dynasty, the official arrangements did not change. Otherwise, with the number of household registrations in Leize County, one county magistrate and one county captain would have to be appointed.

That's called redundant officials. The county magistrate, the county magistrate, the county magistrate, the chief registrar, and the county lieutenant all serve the people at the same time. How can the people in the county shed tears of gratitude?

By the way, despite Song Huizong's mediocrity, during his reign, the population of the two Song Dynasties reached its peak.

Especially the Fangtian Order at the beginning of his accession to the throne, and the detailed Baojia in the middle of his reign, a large number of hidden household accounts were traced, and the fiscal revenue also reached its peak.

Fengheng Yuda is not just bragging!

That night, the two county magistrates also called the chief clerk for a meeting and determined the policy of "benevolent government and caring for the people."

At the same time, they sent their confidants to Tokyo to inquire about information, hoping to find out Ju Ming's plan.

This can be reserved as a backup plan. For example, if it is discovered that Ju Ming has offended Cai Jing, if one day Ju Ming loses power, he can add insult to injury and seek refuge with Cai Xianggong, and use Ju Ming's black materials to cling to the traitors. Such a betrayal of one's benefactor would easily lead to contempt, unless one encounters an irresistible temptation.

The next day, the magistrate, magistrate, chief registrar, and a group of subordinate officials gathered around Ju Ming and went to worship Yao's mausoleum.

By the way, the restricted area was re-demarcated to leave enough space for the people to collect firewood.

(Thanks to the leader of Guoyang Qianxing for the reward, and by the way, I have the courage to ask for a monthly ticket.)