The journey of a husband and a gentleman is to cultivate oneself quietly, to cultivate virtue with thrift, not to be indifferent and to have a clear mind, and not to be quiet and far-reaching. Frugality is the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation, there is no shortage of frugal people in life, but if they are very rich, they still live a frugal life for decades, without desire or demand, so it is even more precious.
There really is such a person, he is Zhang Jian, the prime minister of the Liao Shengzong and The Xingzong Dynasty. Others, as his name suggests, even if he is the prime minister, still lives a life of poverty and frugality. Even the emperor couldn't look at it, and wanted to open the treasury to give him a boost.
Appreciated by the Liao Holy Sect
Zhang Jian came from an ordinary family, he was very diligent and thrifty in his studies, and his parents were very supportive of his studies. For ordinary children, only by studying well and participating in keju high school is the easiest way to embark on a career path.
Zhang Jian is also well aware of this, but his purpose is not only to shine the lintel of high school, he is among the working people at the bottom and knows the suffering of the people, so he also has the idea of making profits for the people after becoming an official.
Under Zhang Jian's daily hard work, he was appointed as an official of Yun Prefecture in the fourteenth year of tonghe's high school. In his daily life, he always adhered to the belief of "being honest and honest for officials", eating and wearing the same as when he was for the people, never fishing the people; in terms of serving officials, he rectified corruption and did things for the people.
Zhang Jian's good name in Yunzhou Was known to his superiors, and he was thus appreciated by the local emissaries of Jiedushi. And this emissary became his benefactor.
Once, Liao Shengzong went hunting in YunzhouFu and stayed and rested in Yunzhoufu. Many officials came with local specialties to greet them, but when Liao Shengzong came to Yunzhou Yamen, the local emissaries were empty, which made Liao Shengzong feel a little dissatisfied.
The envoy of Jiedushi looked at the color and rushed forward to say: "There is no specialty in the Gongchen jurisdiction, only one Zhang Jian, which is our treasure here, and I hope to dedicate him to you." ”
Liao Shengzong was quite curious when he heard this person, so he ordered someone to summon Zhang Jian and talk to him. During the conversation, Liao Shengzong found that Zhang Jian did have outstanding talents and had unique views on governing the country and strategizing, which made people feel enlightened.
Emperor Shengzong of Liao took Zhang Jian away with satisfaction, and Zhang Jian did exert his talents at the emperor's side and became the emperor's right and left arm. During the reign of Emperor Shengzong of Liao, he had great trust in him, and Zhang Jian did not live up to the emperor's trust and dutifully helped the emperor deal with political affairs.
On the deathbed of Emperor Shengzong of Liao, he entrusted his succeeding crown prince, later Emperor Xingzong of Liao, to Zhang Jian.
A dress worn for 30 years
After Emperor Xingzong of Liao succeeded to the throne, he also entrusted him with heavy responsibilities, promoting him to Taifu (太傅), conferring meritorious service to Tongde, and later to Taishi (太師), Zhongshu Ling (中書令), and so on.
When Emperor Xingzong of Liao was crown prince, he was extremely curious about Zhang Jian, and he did not believe that the prime minister above ten thousand people under one person was really as frugal as he appeared, so at the beginning of his succession, he wanted to test him. One day, he ordered the people around him to quietly burn a hole in Zhang Jian's clothes to see if he was wearing the same imperial dress when he went up to the court.
However, with the passage of time, the "perpetrator" Liao Xingzong gradually forgot about this matter, until a year later, at the court, he suddenly saw that Zhang Jian's clothes still had a hole that had been burned before, and he remembered this matter.
Zhang Jian's frugality greatly touched the emperor, so after the dynasty, he summoned Zhang Jian to ask if it was not enough, and Zhang Jian replied that it was because this dress had been worn for thirty years and was reluctant to change. Liao Xingzong was no longer able to do so, how could an emperor make his prime minister so shabby, so he ordered the treasury to be opened and Zhang Jian to choose a few horses from the cloth in the treasury to go home.
For Zhang Jian, those few pieces of cloth were nothing. But as a courtier, he could not let the king lose face, so he had to pick a few pieces of cloth at random. After Zhang Jian finished picking, he hurried home. It wasn't until Emperor Xingzong of Liao saw that Zhang Jian had changed his burned clothes that he was satisfied.
A lifetime of being an official for the people
Liaoxingzong succeeded to the throne only a few years ago, just a case of theft occurred in the home of an official, Liaoxingzong because of lack of experience, eager to solve the case, show the majesty of the emperor, so the case did not have much in-depth investigation to arrest eight suspects. Emperor Xingzong ordered the eight men to be beheaded. But before long, the real murderer surfaced, and the eight people who had been executed had become scapegoats.
This incident made Xingzong feel anxious and uneasy. Because the families of the eight men came to the door and demanded justice. But Xingzong couldn't help it, and the case dragged on. Zhang Jian repeatedly asked the emperor to retry the case.
Zhang Jian repeatedly requested, and Xingzong was overwhelmed. Once, Emperor Xingzong was very angry, so he asked Zhang Jian if he wanted the emperor to pay for their lives. Zhang Jian replied that the family members have no way to complain about their grievances, and if you can give a little sympathy to these families so that they can bury the bodies, you can give comfort to the dead and the living.
Xingzong was suddenly enlightened, so he rewarded them with something and verbally soothed them, and the matter was quickly put to rest.
Zhang Jian was an official for twenty years, and when he was first in Yunzhou, he was upright, honest and honest, and the people, and was deeply loved by the local people. Although his style sometimes offended some officials, he was never afraid. It is precisely because of this rare quality in the official field that he entered the eyes of the Liao Shengzong and his career has been smooth sailing ever since.
Zhang Jian remembered his original intention when he was determined to study and take the meritorious name, even when he was the prime minister, he never abused his power once. He often told his family not to act outside because he was the prime minister.
Once, When Emperor Xingzong heard that Zhang Jian's younger brother had participated in the imperial examination, he wanted to make his younger brother a jinshi and the first, but when Zhang Jian knew about it, he refused, asking him to take the meritorious name by virtue of his own strength. Xingzong then trusted and used Zhang Jian more.
As the prime minister, his Feng Lu was naturally not low, but Zhang Jian left some of his family members enough to use, so he donated the rest to the people. He also often told his family not to waste extravagantly.
Over time, Zhang Jian's approach made other officials look bad. In the Shengzong Dynasty, once, a minister slandered him in front of the Shengzong, because the Shengzong trusted Zhang Jian very much and knew that Zhang Jian was a person, and the minister was demoted to a commoner by the Shengzong and then exiled.
Since then, even if some of the ministers were jealous of Zhang Jian's talents and the emperor's appreciation for him, they did not dare to say anything more.
Until old age, Zhang Jian returned home from the court to retire and died at the age of ninety-one. Throughout Zhang Jian's life, he lived a simple life, often giving his own belongings to the poor people, but he himself lived a life of rough tea and light food; he did not charge a penny of silver from the people for the sake of the officials; he ruled for the people and made decisions for the poor people. And his advanced age seems to be a life of giving back to him for the people.