The Sage of Confucianism and Taoism

Chapter 1823 Wei Lan

However, Fang Yun did not just use the Minggu County Magistrate to establish his authority. On the second day after the Minggu County Magistrate was arrested, officials from all over the country were arrested and brought to Baling City.

People in the Governor's Office spread the word that these people were the same as the Minggu County Magistrate, who did not stop after Fang Yun announced the rectification of the official atmosphere.

At first, many officials thought that Fang Yun was purging the Qing officials or the Zuo Xiang forces, because anyone with a little experience in the officialdom knew that the so-called rectification of the administration of officials or the punishment of corruption was essentially a political struggle, and essentially a new emperor and new ministers.

If a group of people are not knocked down, how can the new officials eat their fill?

After a few days, everyone found that Fang Yun was completely different from the previous officials. There was no pattern among the arrested people. Not only did they have the background of Qingguo or Zuo Xiang, but there were even staunch iron-core royalists. There was a seventh-rank county magistrate who even took the path of a foreign relative and grew up wearing open-crotch pants with the empress dowager's brother-in-law.

If we must say that these people have something in common, it is that after Fang Yun warned everyone, they not only stopped, but also did not know how to restrain themselves.

In less than ten days, two Hanlin, eleven Jinshi, ninety-four Juren and more than three hundred Xiucai were successively arrested and dismissed.

Those with serious crimes will be escorted to the capital for trial, and may eventually be exiled to various places.

Those with minor crimes will be fined ten times the amount of corruption income, stripped of their official robes, driven out of the yamen, and then the criminal records of these officials will be submitted to the Holy Court, and the countries and the Holy Court will never recruit them.

Scholars must not be killed indiscriminately, but they cannot be allowed to commit crimes without paying any price.

Fang Yun's iron-fisted approach shocked the entire human race. Many people realized that this time, Fang Yun was serious. He really wanted to create an officialdom that was at least relatively honest and practical.

Gradually, all Xiangzhou people felt that all officials had changed a lot. No one would ignore them when they went to the yamen to do things. Some officials who took the initiative to ask for benefits before dared not to ask for them now, for fear of being caught.

In the past, when something was reported to the government, the government would often take a long time, but now it arrives quickly and works meticulously according to the government regulations.

Many officials began to complain constantly, but some officials thought it was good, at least they didn't have to accompany him to eat and drink every day. They had a strong body, but they were ruined by eating and drinking.

For the first time, the people of Xiangzhou deeply felt the benefits of Fang Yun's arrival, and they admired Fang Yun more and more.

Some people gathered in front of the Governor's Mansion to thank Fang Yun. Fang Yun did not meet them, but asked the clerk of the Governor's Mansion to go out and send a message to the people on his behalf.

"The world was originally a room of orchids, with fragrance everywhere, but sin prevailed, turning the room of orchids into an abalone shop. Living in an abalone shop for a long time, and smelling the fragrance of orchids again, you can cheer and be grateful, but you must remember that we are like orchids!"

Fang Yun's words are quite meaningful, and different people have different interpretations, but in any case, they have a positive meaning.

The people of Xiangzhou loved Fang Yun more and more. If someone said that Fang Yun was not good, they would be refuted by many people.

Soon, the officials of Xiangzhou created a phrase, "officials are not living a good life".

Not long after, some officials handed in their resignations and left the government office.

Everything in Xiangzhou seemed to be under the control of Fang Yun.

Every winter, lower-level officials would give some silver money to their superiors on the grounds that they needed to buy wood for heating, but they would not mention money at all. They called it "charcoal tribute". In the hot summer, there was "ice tribute".

But this year, no official in Xiangzhou dared to send charcoal tribute to officials in the capital, and the small officials in Xiangzhou did not dare to send charcoal tribute to their superiors because some of them were caught by Fang Yun for this.

Without the charcoal tribute in previous years, the officials in Xiangzhou suddenly felt a little inconvenient, especially some officials who were short of money, and had some emotions that they should not have.

On October 28, Juyuan Prefecture issued a decree. In response to the Governor-General's call, from today on, the public kitchens of the whole prefecture will reduce meat dishes, and all meals will be limited. Everyone must save food and seek benefits for the human race.

As soon as this decree was issued, Juyuan Prefecture complained, and some officials became more and more dissatisfied with Fang Yun.

The court meetings often lasted for a long time. After the court was dismissed, the monarch would arrange for officials to eat, so the meals arranged by the palace for civil and military officials were called "retreat meals". Because the place for eating was under the corridor in front of the palace, it was also called corridor meals.

Ordinary government offices would arrange a free lunch for all officials every day. They did not dare to call it retreat meals or corridor meals, so they called it public kitchens.

As soon as Juyuan Prefecture issued this decree, most places were watching, but several counties followed suit and also announced that they would reduce the meals in public kitchens in response to the Governor-General's call.

As a result, many officials in these places worked in the afternoon on an empty stomach, and when the time came, they almost ran home to eat.

This matter was written into an official document and appeared on Fang Yun's desk. Fang Yun took a look at it, pondered for a moment, and then put it aside, seemingly not caring.

Just after November, every household was preparing for the Winter Solstice Festival.

On the fifth day of November, Tangshan Prefecture issued an official document stating that in order to return the fragrance of Xiangzhou Zhilan, all the public envoy money this year would be confiscated.

As soon as this news came out, all the officials in Tangshan Prefecture were in an uproar. Some officials even went to the prefect of Tangshan Prefecture, but were scolded by the prefect and forced to leave.

The so-called public envoy money was originally public funds used by senior officials, such as travel and entertainment expenses. Later, many funds were also considered public envoy money.

The government operated some workshops. If the workshops were profitable, the government would give some public envoy money to the officials every New Year and festival. During the best period of profitability, the public envoy money of a year was even dozens of times the court salary.

Although the official workshop of Tangshan Prefecture has mediocre benefits, the public money from the winter solstice to the four festivals of Laba, Little New Year and Spring Festival is at least equivalent to the salary of half a year, which is not a small amount of money for many officials.

The lower the level of the clerks, the more honest the officials who have no extra income, the more they need this money. It is no exaggeration to say that this money is life-saving money.

Now Tangshan Prefecture has directly deducted it, which has completely disrupted the lives of these people.

The next day, Tangshan Prefecture issued another notice, and all winter gifts for this year were cancelled.

Many officials cursed.

The so-called winter gifts were originally New Year goods given by the monarch to officials, such as silk and cotton clothes, rice, flour, grain and oil, chicken, duck, fish and meat, etc., and various places would also give some similar New Year goods to small officials. In ordinary winters, although the winter gifts of Tangshan Prefecture are not much, they are enough for the official family of three to change into new clothes, eat for two months one after another, and have a good New Year.

Soon, Juyuan Prefecture also issued a notice to cancel all public money and winter gifts.

Officials from both places started to curse wildly. Some fearless old officials went to the government office and cursed in public, but no one could punish them because they did not name names.

This matter was soon spread to the discussion board. Many people thought it was absurd. It was okay for charcoal tributes, which were indeed things that could not be said openly, but the ambassador's money and winter gifts were all legal and reasonable subsidies for officials in various countries. It was too much to deduct such money.

On the seventh day of the eleventh month, another incredible notice was posted on the notice board of Juyuan Prefecture. Official Wang Nian was reported for buying three taels of meat without paying the butcher. He was expelled from his public office to set an example.