Fang Guancheng is a descendant of the criminal minister, he served as the governor of Zhili for 20 years, and he controls the power in his hands, which can be said to be a threat to the imperial power. Many people have impeached him because of this, including Yu Shi Ji Mengxiong and Zhu Xujing. However, the Qianlong Emperor not only ignored these impeachments, but instead spoke well for him, protected him all the time, and let him get a good death in the high position of the governor of Zhili.
What anecdotes can be told about Fang Guancheng, the minister of the Qianlong Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty?
During the Kangxi period, Fang Guancheng, a native of Tongcheng, was originally born in a scholarly family, and when he was a teenager, his father and ancestors were involved in the case and were confiscated from the army. Because he was a prisoner, Fang Guancheng, who was full of knowledge, could not participate in the imperial examination, and his relatives and friends also stayed away, and he was still alone in his thirties, usually teaching Mengtong or selling words for a living.
One day, Fang Guancheng was selling words in the bazaar. A familiar Xiangshi passed by, stared at him for a while, and said, "Congratulations!" Mr. Fang, you have great official luck in your face, and you will be able to seal the Xinjiang side in about ten years! "Xiangshi is quite famous in Nanjing, and he never speaks falsely, and he does not lose one of the good fortunes and murderers.
Fang Guan Cheng sighed silently when he heard this, and then retorted: "After I committed an official offense, I didn't even have the qualifications to enter the science field, isn't it wishful thinking to serve as a feudal territory?" ”
Xiangshi Zhengse said: "Don't be discouraged, dead wood can still be spring!" Sir's official fortune starts in the northwest, which is not conducive to the southeast, why not go to Jingshi to try your luck? ”
Xiangshi's words immediately moved Fang Guancheng, he was conceited in calligraphy all his life, and often heard that the pavilions of the Beijing division recruited transcription officials, and the monthly salary could get two taels of silver, so he had already planned to enter Beijing to seek a job. Now, with a few words of encouragement from Xiangshi, he decided to go north.
Fang Guancheng carried bedding luggage, stayed overnight along the way, saved food and frugality, and finally arrived in Baoding, more than 100 miles away from the capital. At this moment, he was penniless, it was the height of summer, and the heat was unbearable. There are a few thatched huts for pedestrians to rest on the side of the road, and Fang Guancheng went in to rest for a while.
The old woman who was doing small business in the house carried the kettle and poured water for the guests one by one, Fang Guancheng was hungry and thirsty, and could only watch others gulp cows because of the lack of money. The desk is full of cooked rice dumplings, and the fragrance is overflowing. The old woman saw Fang Guancheng's eyes staring at the zongzi and swallowing her saliva, so she asked with a smile, "Do you want to eat some zongzi?" ”
Fang Guancheng was a little ashamed when he was seen through his thoughts, and said with a red face: "The hunger in my stomach is unbearable, but it's a pity that I am shy in my pocket!" The old woman smiled slightly, took a plate of zongzi and handed it to Fang Guancheng, and said, "I see that you are not the kind of person who is willing to repay your debts, who has not encountered difficulties." These are free gifts from my old woman, so eat them as you like! ”
Seeing that the old woman spoke earnestly and had no intention of teasing, Fang Guancheng did not shirk, peeled off the dumpling leaves and devoured them. A plate of zongzi into the stomach, Fang Guancheng was already full, took out a pen and paper at the moment, wrote a bond in his hand and presented it to the old woman, and said: "Old man, if he passes by here again in the future, I will definitely repay you for the full zongzi, please keep this coupon properly." ”
The old woman didn't think so, but seeing that Fang Guancheng said so solemnly, she felt that it was inconvenient to brush his mind, so she folded it up and put it away as she said.
Soon after Fang Guan Cheng entered Beijing, he was appreciated by the county king Fupeng for his outstanding calligraphy and became a Qing guest of the palace. In July of the 11th year of Yongzheng, Fu Peng was appointed by the Qing court as the general of Dingbian and led his division to the northwest to crusade against Zhunger. Fang Guancheng, as an important advisor of Fu Peng, also followed the army on the expedition.
Two years later, Fu Peng triumphantly entered Beijing, when Emperor Yongzheng had just died and Qianlong ascended the throne. Fu Peng Bao played a meritorious soldier in the war, Fang Guancheng was also among them, and was actually awarded the cabinet secretary and became a close minister of the Son of Heaven. The following year, he was transferred from the cabinet secretary to the military aircraft Zhangjing, and began to participate in military affairs. In the eleventh year of Qianlong, Fang Guancheng acted as the governor of Shandong and became a feudal official, and it was exactly 14 years since Xiangshi talked to him. After another three years, Fang Guancheng was promoted from the governor of Zhejiang to the governor of Zhili, and became the head of the world's governors.
The old woman who sold tea dumplings back then is still running the old business. Suddenly, one day, the local lord Qingyuan County Commander personally came to the thatched hut and told the old woman that he was sent by the governor Fang Butang and asked her to go to the governor's office for questioning. The old woman had never seen an official in her life, let alone the governor who was in charge of the army and the people, and came to the governor's yamen tremblingly.
Fang Guancheng was waiting in front of the hall, and when he saw that the old woman was about to kneel, he hurriedly stepped forward to help her up, and greeted with a smile: "I haven't seen you for many years, and your hair is already completely white." The thatched hut is still there, right? I ate your zongzi at the beginning, but today I can finally repay my debts, and I can get back the bonds I wrote! ”
When the old woman heard these words and thought about the past, she realized that the governor in front of her was a passer-by who had no money to eat back then. Surprised and delighted, he said with a smile: "You are now a nobleman, I can't imagine that you still remember the old woman, and you will die without regrets!" At that time, I didn't know Mount Tai, and I was not shy to offer, so how could I dare to invite rewards. The bond is still hidden at home, and when I go back, I will find it and pay it to you. ”
Fang Guan was overjoyed when he heard this, and advised: "Don't be tired when you go home this time, eat and rest well." I'll give you a sum of money to retire and enjoy your old age in peace! He ordered him to take out a thousand taels of silver left and right, and escort him to his home with the old woman. Later, the old woman felt the virtue of Fang Guancheng and funded the construction of a pavilion next to the thatched hut, and the stele in the pavilion remembered this incident. The business travelers who passed through here were praised after seeing it, and they all called this pavilion "Qianjin Pavilion"!
In the twenty-eighth year of Qianlong (1763 AD), there was a rebellion of the White Lotus Sect in Cizhou under the rule of Fang Guan Cheng, although the rebellion was quickly quelled, but the disturbance was not small, and even the Qianlong Emperor who was far away in the capital was angry. Later, Fang Guancheng punished ten traitors, three of whom were sentenced to beheading, and seven were sentenced to hanging, but Emperor Qianlong thought that Fang Guancheng's punishment was not enough, and he had to kill some more people to have deterrence, but Fang Guancheng did not punish one more person, even if Emperor Qianlong issued an order to urge 13 times, Fang Guancheng also resisted the decree and did not obey, which made Emperor Qianlong very faceless.
Just when Emperor Qianlong wanted to punish Fang Guancheng, he heard other ministers talk about Fang Guancheng's experience and his story after he became a sinner. So Emperor Qianlong thought about it carefully, and he found that Fang Guancheng's case completely followed the "Laws of the Qing Dynasty", and there was neither killing nor indulgence in vain. Therefore, if you kill people casually, it is completely against the provisions of the law, so Emperor Qianlong thought about it calmly and felt that Fang Guancheng did the right thing, and in the end he did not punish him again.
Fang Guancheng enforces the law impartially, because he knows very well that the harm brought by an unjust case will not only destroy a family, but even ruin a person's children and grandchildren, so Fang Guancheng will not trample on the law even if he resists the decree. In this regard, we should also learn from him and stick to a bottom line at all times.
Fang Guancheng was originally a criminal minister, but he also failed to pass the imperial examination. But he was able to become the governor of Zhili, and he remained in this most important governorship, which he held for 20 years, until his death in office.
We all know that it is not easy to be an official under Emperor Qianlong, and many ministers have been punished by him, and they have not been able to get a good death. And Fang Guancheng is just the opposite, not only did Qianlong not suspect him, but others impeached him, Qianlong didn't believe it, and protected him. Fang Guancheng was able to have such a good ending, obviously because he showed great loyalty to the emperor and the country while he had excellent talents. Emperor Qianlong said that Fang Guancheng was a righteous man and a gentleman, and he had no selfish thoughts. This is also the fundamental reason why Fang Guancheng can survive in the world.