Author: Shi Xin Source: Learning Times
In the course of their eunuch careers, ancient officials, through the knowledge they had mastered, constantly realized various problems that arose in social practice. Aspiring to be sages and being honest and self-sustaining became the creed of their lives. They put this creed in poetry, showing their noble sentiments and wisdom as officials who were self-cultivating and honest.
Let him sink in the blue waves
Wu Ne, a famous minister of the Ming Dynasty, "resolutely respected himself with the Tao, did not have a small name, and had the ambition to save the general body." Because he was "prudent and honest" and "not manneristic", he was often entrusted with heavy responsibilities. During his tour of Zhejiang, he sorted out Lu Zhen's discussions, repaired Yue Fei's tomb, and "consulted the officials and made a sound" and "discussed measures, and had a former sage style." Subsequently, when he was touring Guizhou, because he was able to take measures to govern Guizhou according to local conditions, he achieved political achievements, and local officials and people respected him very much.
When he left Guizhou to return to the dynasty to resume his life, the Envoy Department of Guizhou, the Department of Envoys according to the Inspection, and the Commander of the Envoys of Guizhou prepared gifts to send him off, but he refused. When Wu Ne took a boat to The Three Gorges Prefecture, the officials of the Third Division of Guizhou sent people to catch up with him and prepare to send him a golden hundred and two. At this time, Wu Ne wrote "Golden Poems" on the gold box to express his meaning: "Xiao Xiao's luggage is returned to the east, and he wants to cross the most dangerous beach in the future." If there is dirt and dirt, let him sink in the blue waves. "Wu Ne was very frugal in his life, and even if he achieved the high position of the left deputy capital Yushi, he could still restrain himself with extremely strict requirements. Back at home, "cloth and vegetables, surrounded by Xiao Ran." Zhou Chen was an official in Jiangnan, and seeing that his residence was simple and dilapidated, and "wanting to have a new residence", he was also rejected by Wu Newan.
Not sleeping is often like a pillow with a police
Qian Chenqun entered the priesthood during the sixty years of the Kangxi Dynasty, and then embarked on a career path, "self-serving frugality is like a cold su", able to encourage himself with integrity. At that time, he was responsible for school education and examinations in a province, and he had great power and great temptation. However, Qian Chenqun, who served as a scholar and politician in Shuntian, was very strict with himself. At that time, xuezheng had to go to various prefectures and counties every year to understand the situation and preside over examinations. Local officials attach great importance to the inspection of study and government, and the hospitality is even more "very prosperous", which often brings a great burden to the people. Qian Chenqun set strict demands on himself, inspecting the prefectures and counties as a scholar and politician, refusing all hospitality and demanding frugal living conditions. When he first went to Hejian Province for inspection, as long as the magistrate provided a bedroom, a tent was set up in the bedroom, the cold was cold, and the summer was repelled by mosquitoes, and when he left, he also had to take the account down and return it to the office, and settle down to use this account next time.
In 1741, Qian Chenqun came to Hejian Province for the fifth time to make an inspection. At that time, the old accounts were dilapidated, so local officials asked them to change the new ones. Unexpectedly, after seeing the new account, Qian Chen Qun was greatly dissatisfied, and immediately ordered someone to remove the new account, replace it with the old account, and write a poem "Inscription Account": "Not sleeping is often like a pillow with a police, and the screen is like a mirror without dust." The inscription poem has its own sarong protection, and stays with him when he is an accountant. In order to show ambition and warn future generations, Qian Chenqun wrote a preface in front of this poem: "In previous years, the emissaries of the school got off the train and offered Zhang Shisheng, and those who were successively briefed here, the predecessors of the Many Qing Festivals, were deleted one after another." However, there is a tent in the bedroom, and the cold is against the wind, and the summer is to avoid flies and mosquitoes. Yu before and after seeing this, all seven years, the fourth of the Ying County, will be done, will be withdrawn to the Division, said: "Next year, there will be no trouble in changing it." 'Xin You, who came in spring and summer, saw that the account was extremely new, because he knew the number of words, and was embellished with poetry. Those who follow the remnants of this service will be a right gentleman, cautious and thrifty, and have comrades. ”
But drink a glass of water from the Xiang River
During the Qianlong period, there was a famous courtier, Lu Langfu, who learned literature from an early age and encouraged himself with ancient sages. After he embarked on his career path, he was "honest in his official position", and the trend of incorruptibility has always remained unchanged. When he was serving as an envoy in Shandong, he was once ordered to enter Beijing, and was intercepted by the tax collector outside the city gate and asked him to pay the door tax. Lu Langfu had nothing on him at that time, so he had to take off his clothes and pay the door tax. Later, he found his old friend in the capital and borrowed a dress before meeting the emperor.
Lu Langfu was an inspector in Hunan, and in a dream he composed a seven-word poem, and when he woke up, he only remembered one of them: "I can open the Thousand Layer Clouds of Hengyue, but drink a glass of water from the Xiangjiang River." He took this as his motto, and the verse not only expressed his love for the people, but also reflected his ambition for integrity. At that time, he was sick for many days and wanted to eat lotus flour in the middle of the night. At that time, there was a lot of water in Hunan, and "lotus root was very cheap", so that the people did not like to eat lotus. As a result, in the Lu Mansion, there was no such thing as such a very cheap thing, "it was not possessed, but it made the servants knock on the door of their guests and beg."
At that time, there was a bad habit in Hunan that salt merchants should count the money they gave to the government when they made huge profits, which undoubtedly increased the burden on the people who bought salt. At that time, the salt merchant gave Lu Langfu thirty thousand taels of silver. Lu Langfu did not know why, and asked why. The salt merchant replied, "This old rule is also." Advance this gold, and then continue to advance with the times. "The salt merchants gave the government a large amount of money, and the government would no longer restrict the salt merchants' behavior and encourage them to seek huge profits." Lu Langfu resolutely refused to accept it. The salt merchant replied, "If the adult does not receive it, then the gold will not be returned." Therefore, Lu Langfu used this money to stabilize the price of salt and benefit the people.
Lu Langfu is in Hunan and has very strict requirements for himself, his family and friends. At that time, it was common for officials to be lax and bribes, but he did not taste a single thing to give to the courtiers and emperors. He also warned his son not to show off in front of outsiders. Lu Langfu asked his staff to teach his son to read and be a man. When his son went out to return to his hometown, before leaving, Lu Langfu settled his staff: "The capital of the capital, fortunately, did not let the officials know my son." "Why did Lulland have such a settling instruction?" The main reason is that Lu Langfu knows that if the state and county officials know that it is their sons who are crossing the border, they will inevitably give gifts to their sons, which will cause disturbances to the people, so they have settled down. When Lu Langfu's son left Changsha, "the luggage was so small that no one knew that the person who had passed was the son of Gong (Lu Langfu)."
At that time, the governor of Huguang came to Changsha, without notice, went straight into the patrol gate, saw Lu Langfu eating, "all the food is milk leeks", very surprised, asked the reason. Lu Langfu replied: "It has not rained for a long time, and the magistrate abstained from killing Qing Zhai as a prayer for rain." At that time, the governor of Huguang had always been extravagant, and he was very ashamed to hear Lu Langfu's words, so after returning to the line, he immediately withdrew the wine and meat. As soon as this matter came out, the people were "known by the Governor of the United States, and the Qing de instrument of Yi Si Gong (Lu Langfu) touched the people quickly."
Lu Langfu took an illness to Hunan to take up a post, because of the work day and night, the accumulation of labor became ill, and finally died of illness in the ren office. When the local people learned of his death, they chanted "Can open the thousand-layer clouds of Hengyue, but drink a glass of water from the Xiangjiang River" to express their remembrance of him.