In the history of China's feudal dynasty, there have been many corrupt officials, and their deeds were not only spurned by the people at that time, but also ridiculed by future generations. However, in the course of historical development, there are also some honest and honest officials, and there are very few such officials, and it is precisely because of the small number that they appear to be invaluable. What they did was worthy of history, so in history they would be famous in history, and Yang Jizong of the Ming Dynasty was such an official.
Yang Jizong was born in 1426 in the village of Gongli in Yangcheng, Shanxi. During Emperor Ming's second reign as emperor, Tianshun (1457-1464), he was admitted as a jinshi, and at this time the imperial court granted him the post of chief of the official punishment department and began to serve as an official. In this position, Yang Jizong dealt with criminals the most. At that time, the sanitary conditions in prisons were not good, and there were many criminals who died of illness. In a people-oriented spirit, Yang Jizong arranged for the prison to be cleaned every three days and improved food for the prisoners. As a result, the living conditions of prisoners have changed. Yang Jizong is in this position, and what he still has to do is to judge the case. Hejian Province captured a robber, and perhaps there were not enough people, so the villagers Zhang Wen and Guo Li escorted them to the capital. Who knew that the robbers escaped halfway, and according to the law, the two should be beheaded. At this time, Zhang Wen said to Guo Li: You have the old one, the young one below, and no brother, let me die instead of the robber. Guo Li knelt down in thanks, and then pressed Zhang Wen to the capital. Yang Jizong learned that Zhang Wen was not a robber and let him go.
Yang Jizong worked diligently in his position for several years, and during the reign of Emperor Chenghua of the Ming Dynasty (1465-1487), someone in the imperial court recommended him to be the prefect of Jiaxing. Yang Jizong went to his post with only one servant retinue with him. After arriving in Jiaxing, Yang Jizong began to manage the government. One of the most important of these is running a school, where he stipulates that any child who has not yet gone to school by the age of 8 will be punished. Soon after Yang Jizong became the prefect, his wife came from his hometown to visit him. The messengers saw that Lord Yang was usually willing to be poor and did not receive any gifts, so they took advantage of the lady's coming and gave a roasted goose to the lady. Madame did not have such a high political consciousness as Yang Jizong, and felt that a roast goose was not a big deal, so she accepted it. Soon, Yang Jizong returned home, he saw the goose meat, thought that the wife helped him buy it, so he picked it up and ate it. After eating, Yang Jizong asked where the goose bought it today, it was very delicious. As a result, Madame 1510 said that she had received the messengers. When Yang Jizong found out, he was furious and ran to the hall in a fit of anger, gathered the servants, and said: I am not strict with my family, so much so that I ate the roast goose you sent. Just after saying that, Yang Jizong drank soapy water in front of them and spit out the goose meat he ate. His wife was also unlucky, and the next day, Yang Jizong sent people back to his hometown to think about it behind closed doors.
Yang Jizong was an official and honest, and he was not afraid of offending the powerful. When Yushi Kongru went to Jiaxing to clean up his military ranks, Yang Jizong was not satisfied with him, so Kong Ru went to search his home and found only a few old clothes. When some eunuchs in the imperial court passed through Jiaxing, some wanted to ask for bribes, and as a result, Yang Jizong said: The money is there, and if you want money, you must make a written note. The eunuch was too frightened to ask for it. Wang Zhi, a powerful eunuch of Ming Xianzong at that time, wanted to befriend him, but he did not see him, so he said to Ming Xianzong: Yang Jizong is the only one in the world who does not love money.
After serving as the prefect of Jiaxing for 9 years, Yang Jizong was promoted to zhejiang as an envoy. He was an honest official and offended the eunuch Zhang Qing. It just so happened that Zhang Qing's brother was the eunuch Zhang Min at the emperor's side, so he told his brother that he wanted his brother to slander Yang Jizong in front of the emperor. Zhang Mingang and the emperor slandered Yang Jizong, but Ming Xianzong said: Are you talking about Yang Jizong who does not want money? I relied on it, the emperor knew that he was clean, and slander did not work, so Zhang Min said to Zhang Qing: Be nice to Yang Jizong, the emperor knows that he is clean. During the Chenghua period, Yang Jizong was also known as the "First Qing Official of the Ming Dynasty". Later, Yang Jizong also recovered the land occupied by the magnates for the people, offending many magnates. During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, Yang Jizong served as an envoy to Huguang. His first day in office was to clean the hall, which meant to remove the stains left by corrupt officials and officials. Not long after, he also patrolled Yunnan with the imperial history of the capital.
In 1488, Yang Jizong died. During the Wanli Dynasty, Yang Jizong was given the title of "Famous Minister"; during the Apocalypse, he was given the title of "Duke of Zhensu". At present, the Yang Clan Ancestral Hall in Gongli Village hangs a statue of Yang Jizong, and the plaque reads "No private money". Yang Jizong's famous book Qingshi became a generation of famous courtiers respected by later generations.