Tao Qian led everyone into the living room, served tea with his own hands, and looked at Wei Shuo with an eager face as soon as he sat down. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

In this way, Wei Shuo couldn't help but touch his nose in embarrassment and let out a few wry smiles.

"Originally, I wanted to sit down and drink tea first, and then talk to Mr. Yuan Liang about the details, but Mr. Yuan Liang couldn't wait for a moment."

"Most of the people are abrupt, but they really don't explain this matter clearly, and it's hard to be at ease."

Wei Shuo bowed his head slightly to show understanding, and then stopped hiding it.

"Mr. Yuan Liang, it is reported that you became an official when you were twenty years old, and you have been in officialdom intermittently for nearly eight years, so you must have a deep understanding of officialdom?"

"It is true that as Dadu Hu said, he has been mixed at the bottom of the officialdom all the year round, and he is very aware of all kinds of bad habits of officialdom."

"Dare to ask Mr. Yuanliang, in your opinion, what kind of bad habits disturb the people the most?"

"It's not corruption!"

I don't know what I thought, but he suddenly became emotional, got up and paced back and forth in the hall.

I don't know how long it took for Tao Qian to gradually calm down, his eyes drifted into the distance, and a piece of the past was narrated.

"I was only in my early twenties that year, and I had just come out to be an official, young and vigorous, and I wanted to be a good official who made decisions for the people."

"It just so happened that at that time, an old woman in ragged clothes went to the government to complain, suing the local clan Li family for stealing."

"The facts of the case are actually very simple, the Li family fell in love with the old woman's property, but not only did they give a little money, but also led a group of people to forcibly occupy the old woman's property."

"The old woman's family stepped forward to stop them, but who knew that the Li family relied on the strength of the crowd and beat their son and husband to death, and only the old woman survived."

"The rights and wrongs of the case are straightforward, who knows that in the hands of the government, just because the presiding judge accepted the Li family's money and bribes, the result is that there is no distinction between right and wrong, and the old woman is slandered against the Li family."

"In the end, the old woman was so angry that she crashed into her head and died in front of the county government."

"That scene will never be forgotten in the future, and it also reminds me all the time that being an official must be the master of the people."

Listening to Tao Qian's recounting of the past, Wei Shuo couldn't help but sigh: "Chang Tai breathed to cover up his tears, and mourned how difficult it was for the people's livelihood." ”

"Throughout the ages, corrupt officials and corrupt officials have been the biggest cancer in the world, and wise people like Emperor Qin and Han Wu cannot eradicate this stubborn disease."

At this time, Song Miao next to him also interjected: "Throughout the ages, the way to govern the country is the first to govern the officials, but how difficult is it to refresh the rule of the officials?" ”

"Since ancient times, the most ruthless ruler is none other than King Qi Wei of the Warring States!"

"In order to rectify the rule of Qi officials, King Qi Wei did not hesitate to kill corrupt officials in public."

"The result? Even if King Qi Wei killed fifteen cronies and courtiers, thirteen courtiers and local officials in a row, it was only to maintain the rule of Qi officials for a while, and it didn't take long for the people below to still be corrupt and pervert the law. ”

"It can be seen that it is impossible to cure the officials by killing and severely punishing the law."

"Is it possible to achieve the rule of law, and this group of lawless corrupt officials and corrupt officials?" Tao Qian seems to be full of grief and indignation, and there is nowhere to vent.

"No, Mr. Yuan Liang is worried, although the treatment of officials is a stubborn disease, it is not impossible to cure it."

"As the body industry said, strict punishment and strict law can only have a temporary effect, and if you want to make officialdom clear, the only way to start with the system is to start with the system."

In later generations, did Zhu Yuanzhang kill less corrupt officials? The result? It's useless if not!

Just now, Song Miao said that King Qi Wei was the most ruthless corrupt official in history, and that was because he had never heard of the name of Ming Taizu.

In ancient dynasties, Zhu Yuanzhang was definitely the most ruthless in terms of the intensity of the crackdown on corrupt officials.

Not only did he punish corrupt officials with capital punishments such as skinning and cramping, but he also killed countless corrupt officials during his reign.

Compared to him, King Qi Wei killed that little person, not even a hair.

However, even if Zhu Yuanzhang kills more corrupt officials, the effect is minimal.

Corrupt officials are still embezzling one after another, and the more they kill, the more they kill!

So many people in modern times blame everything on Zhu Yuanzhang being too picky and giving officials too low a salary.

According to these people, Zhu Yuanzhang treated officials as cattle and horses, not only did he not give everyone fragrant food and spicy food, but he also did not even give them grass.

There is no way, in order not to starve to death, everyone has to rely on corruption to survive.

Some people even use Hai Jui to prove this point of view that he can't afford to eat meat.

So is the Ming Dynasty official Yu Lu really low? So low that officials can only rely on corruption to support themselves?

In fact, whether the officials of the Ming Dynasty are low or not depends on what age.

The price of silver in the early Ming Dynasty was not comparable with that of the middle and late Ming Dynasty, that is, the Hairui era.

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the Central Plains was exploited by the Mongols for nearly a hundred years, the land was vast and sparsely populated, and the price of silver and grain was ridiculously expensive.

At that time, the best farmland sold for about one tael of silver per mu.

That is to say, if a county official is not corrupt, the annual income is 60 acres of land based on his salary alone (the county official is not allowed to bring his family members when performing his duties, and his food is reimbursed by the local government according to the regulations at that time).

Sixty acres of land is already an astronomical amount for a farmer whose lifelong goal is "thirty acres of land and one cow".

It can be seen that low income can never be a reason for corruption, and this is also the reason why Wei Shuo is extremely disgusted with high salaries and honesty.

For the low-level commoners, the income of being an official for one year is enough for him to earn a lifetime.

Of course, although Wei Shuo does not appreciate high salaries and incorruptible pensions, he also does not advocate harsh punishment and strict laws.

"How to start from the system?" Tao Qian, Liu Muzhi, and Song Miao all looked at Wei Shuo in confusion.

"Do you know that in order to rectify the rule of officials, in addition to cooking and killing corrupt officials, what other laws did King Qi Wei implement?"

"Xu Min's defamation order?" Liu Muzhi was the first to react.

"Yes!"

"According to the "Xu Min Defamation Order", the main streets of more than 100 cities of all sizes in Qi State, and more than 10 official roads that crisscross the entire territory of Qi State, have erected slanderous trees."

"This kind of slanderous wood is as tall as a person, and a piece is erected every five miles next to the official road, and a piece is erected every thirty zhang in the city street."

"Once the slanderous wood is full, the officials will be replaced at any time, and all the slanderous wood with calligraphy and painting must be handed over to the royal palace, and no local government office shall seize it."

The so-called slanderous wood is actually a large square wooden board nailed above a thick wooden pillar, which is specially used by the people to write, draw or engrave on it, comment on officials, criticize current affairs, or put forward their own national policy propositions.

In history, King Qi Wei's "Xu Min Slander Order" is indeed an ancient initiative that opens up the way of speech!

It greatly boosted the morale of the people of the Qi country, and everyone felt that they could speak to the king.

Officials of all sizes felt that there were always inspectors of the people, and they did not dare to slack off.

In less than five years, Qi was already full of vitality, prosperous industries, and prosperous civilization, and faintly became a first-rate power on a par with the overlord Wei.

At that time, the ministers of the Qi State had famous ministers such as Ji Ji, Tian Ji, Zou Yan, Yan Yan, Duan Ganpeng, etc., and the local ministers were full of talents in Qingming and diligent government.

In fact, the truly clear rule of the Qi State began with "Xu Min's slander".

But after the death of King Qi Wei, the "slanderous wood" was inexplicably raised.

Later, it became higher and higher, and after thousands of years of evolution, "slanderous wood" turned into an unattainable Huabiao carved by white jade.

And the word "defamation" has evolved into a special word for malicious attacks.

History is a kaleidoscope of irony.

"Dadu Hu, are you going to emulate King Qi Wei? But what does this have to do with latent beings? You won't let me be in charge of collecting slanderous wood, right? ”

Originally, Tao Qian thought that he would be reused when he came to Hexi, but when he heard what Wei Shuo said today, he couldn't help but be disappointed.

Wei Shuo ignored Tao Qian in disappointment, but asked rhetorically: "Why are ordinary people always persecuted by unscrupulous officials?" ”

"Corrupt officials and corrupt officials are rampant, resulting in the magnates breaking the law without guilt, and the common people have nowhere to redress their grievances."

"Compared with the government, the people will always be the weaker side, so that the people will have the saying that the people do not fight with the officials."

"Hmph, what people don't fight with officials? It's just a reluctant compromise. ”

"What if, what if, what if...... If the common people have a certain right to speak, will the officials still dare to blatantly bully the people? ”

"What do you mean by this? Could it be that you are also going to launch slanderous wood? Let the people take advantage of this to sue? ”

At this time, Wei Shuo didn't continue to go around the bend, picked up the teacup and took a sip of fragrant tea, directly indicating his intention.

"Slander wood is a little insufficient, Shuo has other plans."

"Mr. Yuan Liang, Shuo took the liberty to come here today, just to invite Mr. out of the mountain to prepare for the construction of the newspaper office."

"Preparing to build a newspaper? What is a newspaper? ”

"The newspaper is where the newspaper is issued, and the newspaper represents the will of the people and is the right to speak in the hands of the common people."

"Today, Shuo came to invite Mr. to go out of the mountain and preside over the upcoming newspaper office, specifically to ask for the people's life, I don't know if Mr. dares to take over this burden."

"Why don't you dare? It's just that you have to figure out what a newspaper is first? ”