Song Renzong Zhao Zhen once said: "Bao Zheng is public and forgets his selfishness, and does not invite Yin Xingye." As a courtier, being able to receive such a high evaluation from the emperor is enough to show that Bao Zheng was very impartial and selfless as an official.
When we mention Bao Zheng, the first picture that comes to mind is mostly a Bao Qingtian with a black face printed with a white crescent moon on his forehead, and his image is so fixed in people's hearts, and there is also the name of "Bao Black Charcoal".
Through various dramas and film and television works, Bao Zheng's image has been shaped into an iron-faced and selfless official who asks for the people's lives, so that many people in ancient times would build temples for him to sacrifice. People express their respect and love for him in this way, which is enough to show that Bao Zheng has won the hearts of the people.
In fact, the reason why Bao Zheng is loved is not only his iron-faced and selfless qualities, but also because of his ability to judge cases like a god. It is said that he relied on his superior wisdom to solve many unsolved cases in the private sector. So, what is his method of judging the case?
The cow's tongue was stolen and the cattle were ordered to be slaughtered
If we want to talk about Bao Zheng's method of judging the case, we have to mention the famous cattle tongue cutting case, in this case, the skill and resourcefulness of Bao Zheng's judgment are fully reflected. According to historical records, when Bao Zheng was the prefect of Tianchang County in Yangzhou, a local farmer took the initiative to report the case to the government.
The farmer told Bao Zheng that the tongue of his own cow had been secretly cut off, and since no one had witnessed the incident, he did not know who the thief was, and specifically asked Bao Zheng to find out about the matter.
In ancient times, farmers' lives depended on the harvest of crops, and their farming tools were also very simple, of which cultivating cattle was one of their important production tools.
The cutting of the tongue of the cattle did not directly cause significant property damage, but the cattle that lost their tongues would soon be starved to death. So this incident, it means a major blow to this farmer's family, who is likely to miss the farm time, which in turn will prevent their harvest from being guaranteed this year.
As the saying goes, the people take food as the sky, and once such a thing cannot be well solved, it will make the livelihood of more people unable to be guaranteed, and it will also greatly damage the prestige of the government. Therefore, the detection of this case is very important for Bao Zheng.
Just when the officials of the government were anxious about this difficult case, Bao Zheng suddenly said to the farmer: "You don't have to worry, you will slaughter this cow when you go home, and then sell its meat to the market." Don't tell anyone how the beef came from, though."
The wicked sue and the truth comes out
Since in the Song Dynasty, the imperial court had a rule that it was not allowed to kill cultivating cattle at will, and if anyone violated this regulation, he would be arrested and sentenced. However, since the government allows this, the farmer is not killing the cattle for no reason.
Therefore, after the farmer returned home, he killed his cattle according to Bao Zheng's instructions. The farmer then took the beef to the market to sell, and since there were very few people selling beef, he sold out of beef in a short time and received a good income.
At that time, people could hardly eat beef, so the farmer's behavior was greatly concerned by the people around him. At that time, after passing ten or ten hundred, many people had a doubt in their hearts: How did his beef come from?
The acquaintances around the farmer knew that he had killed the cattle, so some people ran to the government office to report him for killing the cattle. So, how will Bao Zheng deal with this? Was there any intention in doing so?
In fact, Bao Zheng asked the farmer to do this because he saw the essence of the matter: the thief only cut off the tongue of the cow and did not take any other action, because he wanted the farmer to kill the cow for a living, so that he could go to the government to report the farmer.
From this, it can also be guessed that this thief must have a more serious contradiction with the farmer, otherwise it would be difficult to do such an act that harms others and harms himself. So when Bao Zheng saw the people coming to report the farmers, his heart was very calm, and he was waiting for the thieves to take the bait.
When he had heard the reasons for the men's reports separately, he asked them to wait aside. He also secretly instructed his subordinates to inquire about the relationship between these people and the farmers.
After receiving the order, the servants quickly received specific information, and they returned to tell Bao Zheng the news they had received. Sure enough, one of these whistleblowers had a serious conflict with the farmer before, and he had privately said that he wanted to give the farmer a little color.
Therefore, Bao Zheng let the rest of the people leave first, leaving only this one person and interrogating him. At first, the man did not admit that he had cut off the cow's tongue, but after a harsh interrogation, he admitted that he had deliberately retaliated against the farmer.
The case was resolved smoothly, the thief was taken to jail, and he compensated the farmer for his losses. Through the case of cultivating cattle, we can see why Bao Zheng can judge the case like a god: this is because Bao Zheng has a deep insight into human nature, and he learns to use the characteristics of human nature to solve problems.
Insight into human nature, judgment like God
When Bao Zheng faced the thorny case, he was not helpless, but calmly used the way of reasoning to think about the intentions of the thief. Thus realizing that the purpose of the thief is most likely to vent his anger, and using this psychology of the thief, he cleverly reverses the set.
He told the farmer not to be silent when he killed cattle and sold meat, so as to induce the thieves to take the initiative to report to the officials, so as to solve the case in one fell swoop. This way of thinking of Bao Zheng is very worth learning, because in our lives, we often face some difficult problems, and if we only pay attention to the superficial problems of things, then it is likely to be deadlocked.
When we encounter a problem, we may try to think outside the limits of thinking and analyze the essence of the problem from another perspective. Starting from the essence of the problem, it is likely to make the problem simplistic, and the corresponding solution may soon surface.
Of course, this way of thinking is not something that can be cultivated in a day, it requires us to think more and more in our daily lives, only in this way will our way of thinking become more and more flexible and meticulous.
The Song Dynasty was also a dynasty of great talents, and although Bao Zheng was not as rich and powerful as some powerful ministers, he realized his ideal of serving the people and adhering to the heart of honesty and integrity.
He has written his ideals and spirit into the long river of history, and he has also won the support and love of the people. His stories have also been circulated in various folk texts and novels. To this day, Bao Zheng is still a symbol of justice and incorruptibility in people's hearts, and he is an unquenchable firework in the hearts of the people of Li.
He has a strong influence in the world, and whenever his name is mentioned, his heart will be full of pride. What do you think of Bao Zheng's "cow tongue case" or his thinking?