Chapter 300: A Scholar Not Suitable for Being an Official
The Prince of Yan's Palace is not located in the Yanzhou City in Yan area, but outside the Yanzhou City.
Walking into the mountains and forests on this snowy night, the view of the towering Prince Yan's Palace is absolutely beautiful.
The night was deep and the snow was heavy, and from time to time one could hear the sounds of pine and cypress branches snapping and bamboos breaking.
Meng Shaoan is a scholar. Although he did not pass the imperial examination, he relied on the appreciation of Xia Zhixu, the prince of Yan, and rose rapidly in career. In just a few months, he was promoted to the position of Chief Clerk of the Royal Palace and the position of Sima of Zhuozhou.
He is a young talent who is only thirty years old but has already held an official position of the fourth rank.
Moreover, although the persecution suffered by the barbarians in Mobei before was not that severe, it still needed to be rebuilt. Especially since Jiaodong was connected to Zhuozhou, it was of paramount importance.
However, Meng Shaoan followed the teachings of the sages on how to be an official, how to work as an official, and how to do things for the people. In the past few months, he has won the hearts of many people and restored Zhuozhou to its former appearance. He also continued to comfort the victims and worked with the people to reclaim the land in preparation for sowing in the spring of next year.
In addition, he also suppressed bandits and ensured the safety of the people, resolved unjust cases and eliminated bullies. He truly achieved the goal of "the key to governing is to ensure the safety of the people, and the way to ensure the safety of the people is to understand their sufferings."
Therefore, the people privately thought that this official in his twenties was a truly good man.
As a result, many people in the affected areas heard that there was such a great man in Zhuozhou who loved his people like his own children and rushed to settle there.
Walking in the heavy snow, Meng Shaoan was not in a hurry, because after receiving the summons from the prince Xia Zhixu this morning, he rushed here at full speed. It was still early, and he heard that the prince was receiving guests, so he deliberately slowed down his pace.
The Prince of Yan's Mansion is built on top of that low mountain. The scenery is superb, especially there is a place in the mountain called Shenxiantai, which was specially built by Prince of Yan Xia Chenfeng to entertain guests. And although this low mountain is not as high as other mountains, there is an ancient pine and cypress tree at the highest point of the mountain. Tonight, the green mountain is covered with snow, and the ancient pine looks extremely holy under the moonlight, especially under this moonlight.
Meng Shaoan looked at the ancient pine from afar and couldn't help but sigh. He was even more happy for the people because of the heavy snow today, thinking that next year would surely be a good harvest.
Although Meng Shaoan was known as "the one who dominated the literary talent of half of Xiangzhou" and was praised by the world, if he studied hard, he would definitely become a great scholar who would be famous throughout the ages.
but.
Meng Shaoan scoffed at this. He studied only to serve the country and emulate the capable ministers of the past, to show his ambitions, to be recorded in history books, and to be named a "virtuous prime minister."
When the servants in the palace who followed Meng Shaoan heard the impromptu poem Meng Shaoan composed, they immediately flattered him.
Many people can see clearly that this talented man from Xiangzhou will be the Crown Prince's right-hand man in the future, so they immediately flatter him in the hope that he will be promoted in the future.
Meng Shaoan was helpless. He did not like the flattery in the officialdom, but he knew in his heart that such things were unavoidable, so he just smiled and did not want to say anything more.
When they arrived at the palace, the steward of the palace heard that it was Meng Shaoan who came, and immediately invited this distinguished person Meng Shaoan into the palace, and then immediately went to report.
When he was invited to the reception area, Meng Shaoan discovered that not only he came, but also officials from other states in Yan.
Seeing Meng Shaoan, everyone stood up and bowed, all of them were very polite.
Meng Shaoan did not dare to be arrogant and returned the gifts one by one with great humility.
Then, Meng Shao sat quietly in an empty seat.
Sitting next to Meng Shaoan was a middle-aged man with a pointed face and a goatee. Just by looking at his appearance, one could tell that he was not a good official.
However, this official is not an ordinary official. He is the Beijia of Tanzhou. In terms of official rank, he is one level higher than Meng Shaoan.
The official looked at Meng Shaoan and asked softly, "Master Meng, do you know why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is so anxious to summon us?"
Meng Shaoan first looked at the official and bowed slightly: "Master Du."
Then he shook his head and said, "I don't know what your Highness wants to do."
Lord Du, whose name was Du Yu, smiled and said nothing more.
but
Meng Shaoan looked at Lord Du Yu. He knew about Du Yu. Xia Zhixu evaluated him as capable but without big ambitions, so he had been staying in Danzhou.
Danzhou was not implicated because it was not on the route of the previous invasion by the Mobei barbarians.
But Meng Shaoan knew that Lord Du had personally led his troops to aid Jizhou and killed many barbarian soldiers. Many soldiers from Tanzhou never returned.
When the people of Jizhou were living in dire straits, Lord Du accepted many refugees from Jizhou and provided them with shelter and farmland. Over time, many people from Jizhou settled down in Danzhou.
but.
What made Meng Shaoan curious was that this Lord Du Yu had made such great contributions, but was not rewarded by Prince Yan. At most, he was just given a random imperial edict.
Lord Du Yu also wrote a letter to the court to apologize, stating that he had led the troops to war without authorization, resulting in the deaths of many soldiers, and that it was his dereliction of duty.
Merits and demerits offset each other.
No one mentioned this matter anymore.
But Meng Shaoan was still a little curious, especially when he heard some officials in Zhuozhou where he was located mentioned Du Yu. They all said that this Lord Du Yu pretended to send troops, and therefore embezzled military funds and was discovered by the prince. Therefore, even if this Du Yu had made great contributions, they did not dare to say much.
Moreover, the so-called sheltering of disaster victims was just for show to others. Many of those disaster victims were stuffed into the army to expand the army.
In conclusion
Lord Du Yu did not have a very good reputation in the Yan officialdom, or it could be said to be very bad. Few people had said anything good about him. At most, Xia Zhixu's words that he was capable were considered reasonable.
Just like his appearance, he was labeled a "corrupt official and treacherous minister" by many people. As for why he has been safe until now, many people say that it is because of his relationship with the prince, and the prince did not touch him because of their old friendship. But some people also say that Du Yu is very capable and has never been caught, so he has been safe until now.
As for what the truth is, Meng Shaoan didn't want to think about it too much, mainly because he didn't have the time to think about it.
Because immediately some other officials from Yan came forward and talked to Meng Shaoan.
No one paid any attention to Du Yu over there. He just sat there drinking tea, and from time to time he looked at Meng Shaoan who was greeting others, and shook his head and sighed.
finally
The steward came back and told everyone that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was waiting in the hall. All the officials stood up and followed the steward to the hall.
Xia Zhixu was sitting in the hall.
but
Today's hall is not like in the past, with a clear distinction between the main and the secondary.
Instead, Xia Zhixu found a stove and placed it in the middle. He sat beside the stove and ate the steamed buns and other food that were baked on the stove.
Seeing Meng Shaoan and others coming, Xia Zhixu immediately smiled and waved his hand, asking everyone to don't formalities, and then asked seven or eight people to sit anywhere.
When everyone saw them sitting around the fire, they were a little hesitant.
Xia Zhixu smiled and said, "Please sit down. I am just a prince, not my father. There is no need to follow any etiquette. Come on, sit down."
As he spoke, Xia Zhixu pulled Meng Shaoan to sit next to him, and seeing this, the others sat down one after another.
Then, they all started talking.
It's nothing more than some flattering words.
Du Yu sat at the farthest place, silent.
After Xia Zhixu took a sip of tea, he got straight to the point and said, "Everyone, I called you here today because I want to discuss the affairs of Jizhou with you."
When everyone heard this, they looked at each other, and finally looked at Xia Zhixu.
Xia Zhixu said, "You all know that when Jizhou was in turmoil in Yan before, Huang Bingnan, the deputy governor of Jizhou, surrendered without a fight. Although he died, the people of Jizhou suffered a lot. The people inside and outside the city suffered so much. Although many people of Jizhou were spared because of Lord Du's relationship. Now that the Mobei barbarians have left, many people of Jizhou have also returned, but after all, they have been offended so much before, nine out of ten houses are empty, and the entire Jizhou city, and even those counties and towns are about to become ghost towns. I know that you all want to restore the former prosperity of Yan, but Jizhou can't be left empty like this."
Speak halfway, there is no need to finish the whole thing.
Xia Zhixu knew this truth.
so.
When he finished speaking, the officials around him were stunned for a moment, and then someone said with a smile: "Sir, this is not easy to do? Before, the people of Jizhou fled to various places. When we return, we can gather them together and send them back. Besides, Jizhou is in ruins now. If they are diligent and good, we can give them farmland and houses. Then the people will be happy to go back."
As soon as this was said, another official frowned and said, "When the people of Jizhou fled before, most of them fled to the capital, and some of them fled to other states. But now it has been almost a year. Not to mention those people in Yandi, many of those who stayed have already settled down in other states. I am afraid they don't want to go back. If we force the people to go back, it will be inappropriate."
The man who had spoken before immediately smiled and said, "Master Cao, you are worrying too much. Just let those who want to go go. As I said, they have fields and houses, so why can't they go back? Now that so many fields are abandoned, order the county magistrate and the village chief to distribute them one by one, there will be no one who will not go. However, what Master Cao said is also a problem."
When he said this, the man looked at Du Yu who was sitting at the back with his head down, and said, "Lord Du has taken in tens of thousands of Jizhou people before. If we want to let the people go back to Jizhou, Lord Du will be the first to bear the brunt."
Hearing this, everyone looked at Du Yu.
Du Yu was stunned for a moment, then stood up immediately, bowed to Xia Zhixu and said, "Your Highness, it's not that I don't want to go back. In fact, before winter, I secretly visited many people in Jizhou and asked them if they were willing to go back, but they all said they didn't want to. The main reason is that I did something wrong. When they fled here, I gave them land and helped them to reclaim wasteland. Now there are dozens of refugee villages in Jizhou and Danzhou alone. I am also worried. But... They don't want to go back to Jizhou, and I am also worried. After all, Danzhou is so small, it's really a bit powerless."
When he said this, Du Yu bowed deeply to Xia Zhixu again and said, "But don't worry, Your Highness. I will definitely ask again when I return and try to persuade him. But hey, I will do my best."
At the end of his speech, Du Yu looked helpless and sad.
Hearing this
The man who started speaking curled his lips and wanted to say something, but Du Yu's words were too comprehensive. He said everything that should and should not be said.
What else can I say? Besides, the question is whether Du Yu is going to go against the wishes of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
but
But Du Yu also said that he would try it when he returned.
So, the official frowned and didn't even bother to look at Du Yu again.
Instead, Xia Zhixu smiled and said, "Master Du, just give it a try. If the people don't want to, you can't force them, right? But I didn't expect that Master Du had thought of it so early. He really loves the people like his own children."
Upon hearing this, Du Yu immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. I just wanted to ask them to leave because I was disgusted by the trouble they had caused in Danzhou. I really can't bear the responsibility of loving the people like my own children."
Xia Zhixu smiled and waved his hand, motioning Du Yu to sit down.
On the other hand, Meng Shaoan frowned slightly when he heard Du Yu's honest words. How could a magistrate despise the common people for causing trouble? And from what he said, it seemed that Lord Du had long wanted to drive away those Jizhou refugees.
Meng Shaoan shook his head slightly, thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, I have a solution."
When Xia Zhixu heard this, he turned to look at Meng Shaoan and smiled with relief. How should I put it? He knew that Meng Shaoan would take the lead.
So, he immediately asked, "Shaoan, what can you say?"
Meng Shaoan said immediately: "There are many empty houses and vacant land in Jizhou. We can use this as a promise to the people. If anyone is willing to go there, they can live in those empty houses and get the vacant land. We can also sign a receipt at the county government office. If anyone is willing to go to the city, it will be easier to settle down. However, if we only give them a place to live and farmland, it may not work. After all, food is the most important thing for the people. The people are worried about not having enough food and clothes. So we can give them some silver to settle down and spend the winter. In addition, if anyone voluntarily goes to Jizhou, they can get some other preferential treatment."
"Of course, it's winter now, and the people can't just live on the silver they are given. However, reclamation of wasteland, repair of cities, etc. all need people to complete the work, so we can recruit these people to come and give them silver according to their daily work, so that they can save money to get through the winter. When spring comes, those who do business can naturally do business, and those who farm can farm with peace of mind. In this way, with work in lieu of relief, plus they can get houses and fields for free, I believe that many people will be willing to go."
When this was said, an official immediately said, "What a good idea! In this way, the people will definitely be willing to go. After all, there are very few people with land, and most of them are hired farmers of the big families. Moreover, with this work-for-relief program, some people's worries about not having money are gone. Lord Meng is indeed a great talent."
After whispering to each other, the others stood up and looked at Meng Shaoan.
Meng Shaoan returned the gifts one by one.
Among them, Du Yu remained calm, but when others praised him, he did not lag behind and also stood up and looked at Meng Shaoan to praise him.
Xia Zhixu looked at Meng Shaoan and asked, "The original population of Jizhou was 290,000, but now it is only 20,000. Can it be more than 150,000?"
After that, he added: "Jizhou is the heartland of Yanyun and a hub. We can't leave it alone for too long. We need to speed up."
Hearing this, Meng Shaoan hesitated for a moment, then said: "I'm afraid there won't be so many people in Zhuozhou, but if..."
Having said that, Meng Shaoan looked at the other officials.
The other officials naturally said immediately: "We will definitely go back and mobilize them."
Xia Zhixu smiled and said, "Okay! Next, let's talk about this work-for-relief thing. Let's come up with a proper solution and then make it happen. If other adults have other ideas during this period, they can also speak up. This matter must be done as soon as possible. It's already January, and spring will come in a few months. We must settle the people before spring comes, so that we can grow crops after spring, otherwise it will be another famine."
When everyone heard this, they all bowed and saluted.
Upon seeing this, Xia Zhixu immediately called everyone to start, then looked at Meng Shaoan. The more he looked, the more curious he became. What can I say, he abducted this person in the first place, and now he is of use!
This method saves me so much trouble!
Next, Xia Zhixu did not participate. At most, he nodded and said something like "Yeah, that makes sense" or "Yes, that's right, that's how it should be."
The main reason is that Xia Zhixu is not very interested in these things.
After everything was settled, Xia Zhixu just waved his hand and stamped it on the spot. The matter was done, and it was up to Meng Shaoan and the others next.
Meng Shaoan was holding an official document in his hand. He was the one who proposed this matter, so he was naturally the one in charge. However, people could not just go out from Zhuozhou. Officials from other states had to assist him and go back to mobilize the people to go to Jizhou.
and
Xia Zhixu even waved his hand and directly let Meng Shaoan take up the position of Jizhou Beijia. This time, he had tremendous power.
Jizhou borders Zhuozhou, so it’s not a big deal.
But Meng Shaoan is in charge of two places at such a young age. Everyone feels jealous and thinks how highly valued he is!
The future is really promising!
Meng Shaoan was even more grateful. After expressing his gratitude, he vowed that he would do a good job and would never let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince down.
Others were even more confident.
at last.
They also did not forget to praise Xia Zhixu for his painstaking efforts for Yan, and they kept saying how much Prince Yan would work hard when he returned to Yan. In short, they were just flattering him in various ways.
Xia Zhixu enjoyed the flattery and felt very comfortable.
Watching those people leave, Xia Zhixu turned back to the stove, picked up an orange and started eating, but suddenly...
The Crown Prince slapped his thigh and said, "I forgot! I forgot to talk to Old Meng about the new poem I came up with! What a pity."
Thinking of this, Xia Zhixu shook his head, thinking that it would be okay to wait a few days before talking about it.
But it was at this time.
A figure walked out from one side of the hall. It was Xiao Podi, the Mobei man who had discussed with Xia Zhixu yesterday.
Xiao Podi walked to the side of the stove and looked at Xia Zhixu.
Xia Zhixu looked at his senior brother looking at him and curled his lips: "What's wrong?"
Xiao Podi didn't say anything, but just picked up an orange. But just as he was about to peel it, he said, "The Queen Mother hasn't replied yet, and you're doing this. What if the Queen Mother doesn't agree?"
Xia Zhixu smiled and said, "I will definitely agree. Can't we take a step back on things that can be discussed?"
Xiao Podi glanced at Xia Zhixu, then asked, "What you did will be recorded in the history books of Great Xia, and it will bring you bad reputation. Aren't you afraid?"
Xia Zhixu chuckled, handed an orange to his senior brother Xiao Podi, and said, "If we eat this orange now, can we eat it after we die?"
Xiao Po Di didn't understand what he meant.
Xia Zhixu immediately said, "I'm already dead, why would I care about what they write about me? I just need to live a good life while I'm alive!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Podi frowned.
But Xia Zhixu thought of something, looked at Xiao Podi and asked: "But brother, I sent hundreds of thousands of people to your Mobei, what am I in your Mobei history books?"
Xiao Podi replied: "Good reputation."
Xia Zhixu nodded: "That's fine. As for Daxia, I'll make some changes after we conquer it. Wouldn't that mean I have a good reputation? But why say this? It's boring. I'll be dead by then, so it doesn't matter. But brother, would you like to hear my new poem?"
The post house in Yanzhou City is where officials from various states go to rest.
Many people complimented Meng Shaoan, and he was suddenly promoted tonight. Thinking that he could do more things for more people, Meng Shaoan felt a little proud. So he didn't like those flattering words, but the compliments still made him very happy.
Take care of the affairs of the two states!
And I am still so young.
Just thinking about it makes Meng Shaoan feel that he can realize his ambitions!
Just thought of this
Meng Shaoan thought of what Mr. Fang Wenhe had once said, that he should actually return to Xiangzhou to study.
He shook his head at the thought, feeling a little regretful. If Fang Wen and Mr. Fang saw him like this today, he wondered what they would say.
Du Yu was actually a little hesitant because he didn't know what today's matter was.
The people were sent to Jizhou and were treated so well, especially the work-for-relief policy proposed by Meng Shaoan. Although it had many drawbacks, it was still beneficial to the people.
Can.
Bad timing!
It would actually be more suitable if it were in early spring when the weather was warmer.
but.
The prince was in a hurry.
This made Du Yu feel a little weird, so he said that at the first moment.
"Sir Du, I will go back to my room first." Although Meng Shaoan was overjoyed, he did not dare to lose his manners. When he saw Du Yu, even though he was a little displeased with Sir Du, he could not be disrespectful.
Upon hearing this, Du Yu bowed immediately.
Meng Shaoan left.
Du Yu looked at this high-spirited young man, smiled helplessly, and thought that although this man worked for the people,
It's not getting the right timing.
Read so many books.
But they have forgotten the truth that 'the sage has no fixed mind and takes the people's heart as his own.'
After all, he is a scholar.
Thinking of this, Du Yu shook his head. It had nothing to do with him, so why should he care about it!
He now feels that this matter is quite subtle. He always feels that something is wrong, but he can't find out what is wrong.
…
Ps: This is just one update, I am not feeling very comfortable.
(End of this chapter)
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