Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 117 Blockade the West Mountain and catch the turtle in the jar!
Western Hills.

Governor's Yamen.

The prefects, county magistrates and county magistrates of the four prefectures, seven states and seventy-seven counties were all present.

They gathered in front of a long table that was more than ten feet long.

People in border towns are less polite and more practical. After the greetings, a late Mid-Autumn Festival banquet officially began.

Xishan Governor Guo Jingchang stood up from the main seat and walked to the side of his subordinates, saying as he walked: "My dear gentlemen, we are brothers and sisters in the same court. You have been working with me, Wang, in Xishan for many years.

There is a saying circulating in the capital city recently: "Three years of clean government and millions of silver coins."

But this is not talking about our Xishan!
People like us can't be compared with the officials in the wealthy towns, let alone the officials in the capital. There is a huge difference between us and the high-ranking cabinet ministers.

We in Xishan are poor. In addition to feeding tens of millions of people, we also have to spare no effort to do good things and practical things for the local area.

I, Guo, know all of you are poor! "

As the governor of Xishan.

Guo Jingchang not only had to make profits for the people of the province, but also paid special attention to the welfare of officials throughout the province.

Now, these officials who have worked with him in the northwest for several years, not only did not get "millions of silver", but they are all "poor".

Guo Jingchang acted very ashamed.

However, in the Western Hills, officials from the prefecture, state, and county looked at each other, and it seemed that no one was particularly thin.

But whether one is poor or not is judged by people. If you consider yourself poor, that is enough.

Before he knew it, Guo Jingchang had returned to the main seat. He picked up a cup of aged fine wine that cost several hundred taels and saluted from a distance before drinking it all in one gulp.

More than a hundred powerful "officials" in Xishan drank up the wine in their glasses.

Without putting down his wine glass, the clerk filled it for Guo Jingchang. Guo Jingchang wandered around the officials again. When he reached a seat further back, he stopped and said, "Lord Min Heyuan and Lord Meng Yansi, you two are prefects of a prefecture and officials of the fourth rank of the court, but you can't afford to hire sedan chair bearers and can only ride mules instead. Thank you for your hard work."

A dignified prefect.

Their seats were actually below those of several prefects and county magistrates, which shows their situation in the officialdom of Xishan.

Min Heyuan and Meng Yansi were very frightened by the sudden concern from the governor. When they saw the governor toasting them with wine, they hurriedly stood up and bowed to return the toast. Due to their hasty movement, some wine in the glass spilled out.

After paying respect to the prefect, Guo Jingchang took a few more steps and came to the seat of the county magistrate, where he stopped. "Mr. Tao Shilin of Linfen County, Mr. Tao's father passed away, but he could only be buried in a thin coffin and in a hasty manner. It's heartbreaking to think about it!

"Thank you for your hard work in returning to your post after the mourning period is over."

When faced with the wine glass handed over by the governor, Tao Shilin, the magistrate, whose hair was all white and whose official robe was tattered, had no choice but to accept it. At the governor's earnest gaze, he drank it all in one gulp.

Two prefects who could not afford to hire sedan chair bearers.

A county magistrate who buried his old father in a thin coffin.

The poverty of Xishan officialdom has been proven, and it is time for Guo Jingchang's pretense to end.

The Jinyiwei massacred the officials in the two capitals, killing so many officials that their heads rolled and blood flowed like a river.

Moreover, the Jinyiwei did not stop their actions and continued to arrest and kill corrupt officials in the thirteen provinces.

Sooner or later, the Jinyiwei's butcher knife will reach Xishan. Guo Jingchang doesn't know what evidence the Jinyiwei uses to kill people, but he will not allow anyone in Xishan's officialdom to be greedy.

He wanted to make the Xishan officialdom as solid as a rock and indestructible, so that even if the Jinyiwei came, they would return empty-handed.

This Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was just an excuse for Guo Jingchang to corrupt the few remaining honest officials in Xishan.

Moreover, the money used was the reserved silver in the provincial treasury, which belonged to the Hua imperial court. It was used to handle one's own affairs, thus killing two birds with one stone.

Guo Jingchang walked around, toasting from time to time to express his concern for his subordinates. After a while, he drank a lot, but he had a good alcohol tolerance and his body did not sway at all. He walked back to the main seat and said in a rising voice, "All the gentlemen are very poor, and each family has its own suffering.

Guo knows that I am the one who let you down. Today, I, Guo, would like to offer you a glass of sake as an apology!"

With a few words of apology and a glass of wine, he took all the poverty of the officials in the Xishan officialdom on himself.

The people who were toasted by Guo Jingchang alone before gradually realized that something was wrong. After serving as an official for many years, they had seen all kinds of people and experienced all kinds of things. This posture and rhetoric were no different from those who tried every means to give them money and gifts.

Guo Jingchang's words also confirmed what they thought, saying: "'Food is the first necessity of the people', this is an eternal truth.

Officials are also human beings and need to eat. The New Year is coming soon. In order to allow everyone to have a more affluent New Year, this governor has decided to distribute the 3.6 million taels of silver reserved by the provincial treasury as a subsidy to everyone!"

After saying this, Guo Jingchang lifted the red cloth on the table in front of the officials, revealing the silver and banknotes that were hidden.

Officials needed ice to cool down in the summer and charcoal to keep warm in the winter, and the silver used for cooling and heating was called ice and charcoal silver.

Of course, this is just a "beautiful excuse" used by officials to cover up the fact of accepting bribes.

The imperial court has never acknowledged it, but it has been the unspoken rule for more than a hundred years.

Local government offices had used this method before, and twice a year they were always able to spend all the fire consumption money they had at their disposal.

But the appearance of more than three million taels of silver and silver notes before their eyes was a huge visual shock to all Xishan officials.

Under the reflection of the silver light, even the governor's office seemed three times brighter.

Just as the Xishan officials were still in shock, Guo Jingchang signaled to the clerk, who came forward and said loudly, "My Lords, I am here to read the official list on behalf of the emperor, so I will not avoid mentioning my name."

"Taiyuan Prefecture Governor Chen Gui, thirty-two thousand taels of ice and charcoal silver."

"Lin Qing, the prefect of Datong Prefecture, thirty thousand taels of ice and charcoal silver."

"Min Heyuan, the prefect of Pingyang Prefecture, 24,000 taels of silver for ice and charcoal."

"Meng Yansi, the prefect of Lu'an Prefecture, gave 24,000 taels of silver for ice and charcoal."

"..."

When the clerk read out the name and the amount of silver, Min Heyuan was about to stand up and refuse on the spot, but was held back by Meng Yansi.

His status and name were too prominent. If he refused at this time, it would embarrass the governor and anger all his peers. The lives of the governors of Pingyang and Lu'an prefectures were already difficult enough. If it became more difficult, he would not be able to survive.

After the prefect finished reading, it was the seven state magistrates, and then the seventy-seven county magistrates. When the clerk read out "Linfen County Tao Shilin, six thousand two hundred taels of ice and charcoal silver", Tao Shilin stood up and said, "Governor, I cannot accept it!"

Tao Shilin bowed and looked around, "My Lords, the ancients said: 'Everything in the world has its owner. If it is not mine, I will not take even a tiny bit of it.' It is so hard to understand, my Lords!"

The faces of the people present changed.

If one person is unhappy, everyone else will be unhappy.

Guo Jingchang's anger raged instantly, but after years of serving as an official, he managed to calm down and said with a smile: "Okay! Lord Tao has a backbone, even if he is poor, he is still strong. Since you don't want to accept it, I won't force you."

"Thank you, sir." Tao Shilin thanked him ecstatically.

Guo Jingchang's smile was so cold, he looked down at the whole audience and said: "Is there anyone else like Lord Tao who is so stubborn and willing to live in poverty?"

Hearing this, Min Heyuan shook off Meng Yansi's hand, stood up, and said with a folded hand: "Governor, I don't want to take this position either!"

Sighing, Meng Yansi also stood up and said, "Governor, I do the same!"

Immediately afterwards, two prefects and a dozen county magistrates stood up and refused the offer.

Guo Jingchang remembered the person who stood up.

The Xishan governor can independently evaluate the officials of the province. Replacing a few prefects, county magistrates, or a dozen county magistrates is a difficult task, but it is not completely impossible.

It just so happens that the silver that Min Heyuan and others refused to accept can be sent to the capital, and it can be used to buy the official positions and lives of Min Heyuan and others!
……

at the same time.

The commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Lu Bing, appeared in Xishan. All roads, big and small, were blocked by more than ten thousand Embroidered Uniform Guard messengers, allowing only entry but not exit.

In front of Datong Town, Lu Bing temporarily closed the city gate with an imperial edict, and then headed towards the Governor's Mansion with the imperial edict.

(End of this chapter)