At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

After entering, it suddenly became clear that the road in front of me was very spacious, bright and full of light, which made people happy.

Not only that, the buildings on both sides of the street are also quite organized, unlike those low buildings in small cities crowded together like beggars sheltering from the rain, but spread out in a patchwork order, not crowded, but leisurely.

It feels like the layout style of the whole city is very similar to Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang's official office was remodeled from the former Cao Xiu's official office. It was said to be a remodel, but in fact it has not been touched much. It has been repaired and some personal favorite utensils have been added.

Zhuge Liang naturally has no other houses besides the official office, so there is no need for this.

In a place like Gancheng, no matter how convenient the transportation is, houses cannot be sold for a price, and no one will necessarily want them if they give them away for nothing.

"Anyway, you are a high-ranking official with two thousand shi. Why do you live in such a simple place? Is it because I didn't give you enough salary?"

Sitting in the main hall with Guo Chengzhi, Guo Peng looked at Zhuge Liang with a smile.

Zhuge Liang smiled, made tea for Guo Peng and said: "The minister is here to work, not to visit the mountains and rivers. It doesn't matter how the minister lives personally, what matters is how the people in the city live and whether they are comfortable or not." , and, don't you still have this tea here?"

Zhuge Liang offered a cup of tea with both hands and handed it to Guo Peng.

Guo Peng took it, lifted the lid and looked inside.

"Is this from the emperor or from your brother?"

"This is the tea that His Majesty rewarded officials all over the world after he ascended the throne. I was lucky enough to get some."

"Lucky? Kong Ming, what you are saying is that you are becoming more and more humble. I am not an emperor anymore, I am too emperor. You are still so humble in front of me? Ordinary people can't afford tea, and two thousand shi in your family , can't you afford tea?"

Guo Peng asked with a smile.

"It's not that I can't afford to drink, it's just that I don't want to part with it."

Zhuge Liang smiled lightly and said, "When I think that these tea leaves can be sold for several times the price in places like Guishuang Kingdom and Anxi Kingdom to supplement the country, I am not very willing to drink them."

"Hahahahaha!"

Guo Peng put down his tea bowl, laughed loudly, and slapped his thigh, overjoyed.

Then, Guo Peng introduced the eldest grandson Guo Chengzhi to Zhuge Liang, and asked Guo Chengzhi to say hello to Zhuge Liang.

Hearing Guo Peng's many words of appreciation for Zhuge Liang along the way, Guo Chengzhi was very curious about him.

"Along the way, Dafu kept telling me about Fujun, his words were full of admiration, and he said no less than [-] times just for praise, Fujun, this is not my lie, Dafu really What I want is to go all the way and praise you all the way."

When Guo Chengzhi said this, Zhuge Liang's expression became serious.

Zhuge Liang looked at Guo Peng, and after a while, he saluted with a long body.

"I never thought that the Supreme Emperor would miss me so much."

Guo Peng reached out and took Zhuge Liang's hand.

"Ten years ago, you bid farewell to me. At that time, you told me that you wanted to see the outside world. You wanted to start from the grassroots. Think carefully about what you did in the central government. What caused in place.

At that time, I knew that you, Zhuge Kongming, were destined not to be a vulgar person, and that you could do many things that perhaps even I could not have imagined, so I told you, I will watch you in Luoyang and wait for you Back to Luoyang that day. "

Chapter 1534 One thousand four hundred and fifty four young Guo Chengzhi can't understand

The parting from ten years ago came to mind, and the scenes of that day reappeared in his mind, Zhuge Liang was filled with emotion.

"How dare a lowly and despicable person bother the Supreme Emperor's record for ten years?"

"I will always remember the person who has made great contributions to the state of Wei."

Guo Peng let go of Zhuge Liang's hand and patted him on the shoulder: "Okay, sit down, I haven't seen you in ten years, I have a lot to say to you."

Zhuge Liang pursed his lips, obeying the holy order, asking Guo Peng to sit first, and then he sat down.

After that, Guo Peng asked him about his mental journey in the past ten years, about his life journey from the magistrate of Dunhuang to the governor of Dunhuang, and then to the guardian of Beiting, and what he learned during this period.

"At the beginning, I wanted to leave Luoyang and go to the local government. I just wanted to know how a government order was completed from the central government to the local government. .

What changes will happen during this period, how will the central government’s policies be implemented, will they be tampered with by people, will they go down to the local level one by one, will they lose their original meaning, and turn from a good thing that benefits the country and the people to a entrapment national evil.

If so, where did the change come from? If not, what makes the decree so smooth? When it comes time to implement it, how will the local government implement it? Will it be implemented as it is, or will it be changed by itself? How to deal with it.

And all this will eventually affect the people of the Li people, what will happen, whether it will benefit the people, or damage their lives, making their lives more difficult instead of easier, all this is what I want to know. "

Zhuge Liang talked eloquently: "In the past ten years, thanks to the trust and appointment of the Supreme Emperor and His Majesty, I finally understand the purpose of everything I do in Luoyang, and the purpose of everything I do in the local area."

"you understood?"

Guo Peng looked at Zhuge Liang appreciatively.

Zhuge Liang bowed his hands.

"I don't dare to say that I understand everything, but I finally understand how government orders are issued and finally implemented, the process and twists and turns in the process, and I also understand what is the most important thing for a politician and what to do."

Guo Peng nodded.

"Then tell me, what is your greatest insight?"

"The biggest insight..."

Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment, and then slowly said: "If you want to talk about the greatest insight, it must be the so-called [policies from above, countermeasures from below]."

Guo Chengzhi, who was drinking tea, was taken aback for a moment.

Guo Peng restrained his smile.

"go on."

"As ordered."

Zhuge nodded and said: "When I was an official in the central government, I often lamented the incompetence of the local government. A government order is implemented so slowly and inefficiently. The central government must send people to supervise it, otherwise it will never be completed on time and with high quality.

At that time, I was quite dissatisfied with complaints about this. I felt that the local officials only knew how to get their salaries, and they ignored the court's policies and should be severely punished.

However, when he left the central government and came to the local areas, he often lamented that the central government did not understand the sufferings of the local areas, and only focused on formulating policies, but refused to look up at the real people. One profit. "

"Well, keep talking."

Guo Peng nodded slowly.

"After feeling such contradictions, I felt that there must be a connection problem in a certain link between the central government and the local government, making it impossible for the two sides to understand each other's difficulties. The biggest problem probably lies in the fact that both sides are trying to Make no mistake."

Zhuge Liang frowned and said, "Central officials don't dare to make mistakes, and local officials don't dare to make mistakes. This kind of mentality is very common among our Wei officials, and this mentality will directly lead to officials from all over the world to only report good news and not worry. .

The implementation of policies requires officials to implement them. Officials are human beings, and human beings are not sages. Who can be right?There will be good results, but there will inevitably be bad results, but officials who are afraid of making mistakes dare not report mistakes, and as long as they can be covered up, they will try their best to cover them up.

Shangguan is busy with affairs, and often cannot personally determine whether the matter is done well. He can only listen to the reports of his subordinates and use this as a judgment to report to the higher authorities. If someone really reports the problem, will the Shangguan really dare to report the problem to the central government?

This is not necessarily the case. In the worst case, when something goes wrong, it is concealed layer by layer. From top to bottom, they help each other to cover up, and officials and officials protect each other. In the end, what the central government gets is a muddled account, which is not the real situation at all. .

But the central government thinks this is the real situation. On this basis, it promulgates updated policies to further achieve a certain goal, but how can the goal that was not achieved before be improved to a higher level?Can only continue to lie. "

Zhuge Liang's words were heavy, and Guo Peng's expression was not relaxed, and even Guo Chengzhi fell into thinking.

"You concealed the report, and I also concealed it. There will definitely be problems. Even if it turns out to be a small problem, the concealment from the top to the bottom will cause a big problem. In the end, it will be a big case that shakes the central government."

Guo Peng looked at Zhuge Liang: "How do you understand this problem?"

Zhuge Liang nodded again and again.

"Yes, that's how the problem came about, and what's even more frightening is that from the formation of a government order to the place where it is implemented, no matter which link, no matter who, even if there is only an extremely small mistake, as long as there is one, it will eventually be extremely serious. There could be a gap that is large and difficult to fill."

"Your Majesty, are officials at all levels so afraid of admitting mistakes and correcting them? This is not difficult. As long as you have the courage to admit it and make corrections, it is not too late."

Having said that, Guo Chengzhi finally couldn't hold back and asked his own question.

In his opinion, as long as there is a problem, it is the most important to correct it.

Whoever made the problem will correct it, and if the error is corrected, then the problem will be solved, and no one will have to pay a huge price for it.

Just like when he was in school when he was a child, if he made a mistake, as long as he has the courage to admit it, he will be forgiven, although he does have to bear some responsibility for it and needs to make up for his own mistakes.

But wouldn't it be enough to just admit your mistakes?

On the contrary, if you hide it, once you are discovered, it will be a fat beating.

In his memory, when he was a child, he was also afraid of making mistakes. After making a mistake, he was afraid of being punished by Guo Jin, so he concealed it, but how could he hide the matter of the prince?

When Guo Jin found out, she was very angry, beat him up, and then told him that making mistakes is not terrible, but the terrible thing is not daring to admit it, not daring to correct it.

That beating is still fresh in my memory. I remember that in the end, it was his mother Cai Wan who ran to the palace and invited her grandmother Cao Lan. Cao Lan rushed over and told Guo Jin to stop, otherwise Guo Jin would continue to beat him.

The memory of that beating was too deep, so this became what he believed.

Is it hard to admit mistakes?

Why can't something so simple be done?

The young Guo Chengzhi couldn't understand.

Guo Peng sighed and said nothing.

Zhuge Liang answered Guo Chengzhi's doubts.

"My lord, it's not a trivial matter for an official to make a mistake. It is related to the official's own position and future promotion. It is more likely to become a target for others to criticize this person. Once the target is in hand, he may lose his position.

Local officials are not in harmony with each other. They intrigue with each other for power and interests, and they hope that each other will make mistakes and fall down. It is almost impossible to deal with the matter according to the normal process.

If one person makes a mistake, those who are staring at his position will immediately take this opportunity to slander this person, and may even launch an alliance to attack this person and insist on bringing him down.

Losing an official position is an extremely terrible thing for an official. The entire family, including himself, may be liquidated and lose everything. Therefore, it is very difficult for an official to admit mistakes voluntarily. "

Guo Chengzhi was very surprised.

This is completely different from the conclusions drawn from the education he has received.

"How could it be... If that's the case, what's the use of those regulations? Isn't the regulations just for use? Such a small place, where are there so many intrigues? Why do colleagues have to fall?

Isn't making up for mistakes and fixing mistakes the most important thing?Isn't it the common people who are hurt by the official struggle?They only care about themselves, regardless of the life and death of the people? "

Guo Chengzhi was surprised and angry at the same time.

"Although it sounds very hateful, but the real place is like this."

Zhuge Liang shook his head helplessly: "What the young master said is an extremely ideal state, where officials are harmonious and united, and they are dedicated to doing things without selfishness, and everyone pursues the perfection of official affairs, not personal desires.

When one person makes a mistake, everyone bears and corrects it together. The superior takes the lead to bear the mistake, excuses the subordinate, and then concentrates all his efforts to make up for the mistake and correct the mistake. "

"Is not it good?"

Guo Chengzhi was full of doubts.

"This is very good, but the problem is that it can't be done. The ideal state we envisioned has been changing since the decree left the court. When it is implemented in the local area, it has long been far from the original intention, and it is not even the same idea.

The relationship between officials and officials is by no means a concerted effort. There are not no people who work together, but they are extremely rare. They are more intriguing and fighting for power and profit. They do not hesitate to magnify the mistakes of their colleagues for their own self-interest. To bring down colleagues. "

Zhuge Liang told Guo Chengzhi the true taste of the world with a face of regret.

Guo Chengzhi was hit hard.

"This... this is a complete bastard! This kind of official should be severely punished!"

Zhuge Liang shook his head again and again.

"Although this is said, how can such an official find out? He just did not act, but did not make a mistake. The law punishes those who make mistakes, but generally does not punish those who do not act. Inaction means that there is no mistake.

If you didn't make a mistake, how should you punish it?Under such circumstances, not to mention a small county, even a small village, such things happen. In the eyes of some officials, the people are just chips for them to fight for power and profit. "

Zhuge Liang talked about the fundamental problems of the local politics of the Wei Empire in one call.

Chapter 1535 One thousand four hundred and fifty-five

Seeing such a subversive real world for the first time, Guo Chengzhi frowned and couldn't say a word.

Guo Peng remained silent.

Guo Chengzhi is young, has just received a complete elite education, and has that set of ideal practices in his head.

That set of teachers told him the ideal political ecology and ideal country.

He has never experienced officialdom, does not know such things, and has insufficient understanding of people's hearts. He does not know that the ideal state of the country is imagined by people, and the bad state of the country is also caused by people.

When ideals and reality collide, illusory ideals often cannot compete with heavy reality.