During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, after Meng Chaoran of Minxian County, Fujian Province, was admitted to the Jinshi, he became a Wupinlang in the official department and distributed Sichuan Xuezheng.
One day, the Governor of Sichuan celebrated his birthday. The governor was the most greedy by nature, and often accepted gifts in disguise in the name of his own shou and his wife's shou. Meng Xuedao had long been disgusted with the governor's greed, but he was bitter that he was his subordinate and could not punish him, so he took advantage of the governor's birthday party, wrote a couplet in his own handwriting, and went to the governor's mansion.
Meng Chaoran came to the Governor's Palace, and the general meal thought that he had brought some generous gifts, who knew that Meng's birthday gift was just a couplet, and his heart was unhappy. When Meng Xuedao shook the couplet open, the general adult was even more angry, and it turned out that this couplet was written: "Meritorious and shocking, incorruptible and covered shuzhong."
In fact, the governor started his family with his father's shadow, who had no merit to speak of, and who was the most greedy. Is such a sarcastic couplet hanging out on the Shou Tang, is it still like words? This Meng Chaoran, honbudo does shou, not only do you not send generous gifts, but also so sarcastically me, how can this be!
The governor was angry in his heart, but his face pretended to be smiling, saying: "Brothers have always advocated longevity, let alone receiving gifts. ”
Meng Xuedao listened and said, "Grand Marshal, my couplet has already fallen off, how can I bring it back?" ”
The governor laughed and said, "It is said that the brother bought such a generous gift, how can the brother not receive it?" Helplessly, the province is not the only brother, if everyone smells the wind and comes to give a birthday gift, it is difficult for the brother to refuse. ”
Meng Chaoran listened to it and smiled slightly: "It is really admirable that the Grand Marshal is so incorruptible." Since the marshal does not accept gifts, how can the subordinates make an exception for the marshal? However, the subordinates have said that if I see that the marshal has received a gift from someone else, he will still come to send it. ”
The governor laughed and said, "Since I don't accept a generous gift from my brother, how can I accept someone else's birthday gift?" It is true that all of them will not be accepted, and I hope that the elder brother will understand." Say, bring tea to the guests.
Meng Chaoran came to give gifts today, what he wanted was the governor's "no acceptance" sentence, he resigned the governor to go out, his heart was secretly funny, he went out of the palace, but did not return to the house, asked people to move a stool from the car, and sat down outside the gate of the governor's palace.
After a while, the Chengdu government sent gifts to the governor, picking a large number of gold and silver treasures, and before he could pick them up at the door, Meng Xuedao shouted loudly: "Pick it up!" The Grand Marshal does not accept birthday gifts. ”
The people who came to chengdu to give gifts did not believe it, and Meng Xuedao showed him the couplet and said, "Look, I have written both of my couplets, and the marshal still refuses to accept it, can I accept your gift?" ”
At the sight of the provocateur, this person who was sitting outside the gate to pay the resignation of the governor, wearing a coral roof and a two-pint golden chicken court dress, could not help but disbelieve, so he picked up the birthday ceremony burden back.
The doorman went in and reported the situation to the governor, who was immediately furious: "Why did he Return my birthday gift?" ”
The doorman said, "Old Man Meng said that the Grand Marshal himself told him." The governor listened, and sat down in his chair, how to settle the account of what he had just said. He quietly came to the door to inspect, and saw Meng Chaoran sitting upright on a chair at the door of the palace.
After a while, another person picking up a gift box came outside the main gate, followed by a prisoner official. Before he could reach the door, he was drunk by Meng Xuedao: "What are you going to do!" ”
The provocateur said, "The little man was sent by Lord Shiofa Toma to give a birthday gift to Lord Governor." ”
Meng Xuedao said, "The Governor General ordered that no birthday gifts be received. ”
The messenger who gave the gift froze, and he looked at Meng Xuedao in disbelief and said, "We have come to give gifts on the orders of Lord Daotai, and we must meet with lord governor to talk back in person."
Meng Chaoran's face sank: "You are so bold, even I don't believe it, the grand marshal said it himself, the birthday gift will not be accepted, you dare to pick this birthday gift into the gate, I will immediately play the holy song, see what a good end your master has, even you slave will be shackled to show the public." ”
The next two sentences of Meng Xuedao really calmed the gift-giver. They thought that this official was a second-grade official, two pins higher than his master, and if he was annoyed, it would be really terrible, and since the governor intended not to accept it, we would pick it up and forget it.
The governor saw all this in his eyes, and his eyes were on fire, and he hated that he couldn't kill Meng Chaoran at the moment. But what Meng Xuedao said was indeed what he said, and if he really played the Tao, if he didn't get it right, he would poke out a big flaw.
In this way, Meng Chaoran had been sitting outside the Governor's Palace for three days, and had to send the gift givers away one by one. This incident caused a sensation in Chengdu, and the governor burned the turtle with pain in his stomach and stomped his feet at home in anger.
Meng Chaoran used his wisdom to punish a corrupt official, which was praised.