Qing Yao

Chapter 246 Lord Zhao was moved

To win the approval of the people, simply do some small things that they can see and appreciate.

It's just some simple forms.

The simpler, the more effective.

No need for publicity, just let the people see it.

One eyewitness account is worth more than a thousand words.

I heard from the officials in charge of grain transport that the governor plans to use his own salary next month to organize laborers to clean up a stinking ditch nearby that has been there for over a hundred years.

Due to years of neglect, this ditch has become a stinking sewage ditch. In summer, mosquitoes and flies breed, diseases spread, and many residents who live in sewage year-round suffer from illness.

Because there are no guardrails on either side of the ditch, a large number of children fall into the ditch and drown every year.

If it can be repaired and rebuilt, it would undoubtedly be a great thing that benefits the people.

The news caused a sensation not only among the residents of Jixian Street, but also throughout the entire city of Jiangning. It immediately topped the Jiangning hot search list and became a hot topic of discussion throughout the city.

Some residents even went to the Grain Transport Office to inquire whether the matter was true or false, and the relevant staff of the Grain Transport Office clearly answered that it was true.

It's really true!

This decision was made by Zhao An after conducting actual research.

To have a good reputation, it's not enough to just lead people to sweep the streets; you also need to do two real and significant things that benefit the people.

In other words, it's a facade project.

Unfortunately, although Zhao An was the director of the grain bureau in charge of grain transport, this position had a flaw: he was not a local official and therefore could not interfere in local affairs. He only had jurisdiction over business agencies related to grain transport, which prevented him from visiting ordinary people's homes to create a greater effect of being a good official, and he could not create an image of an upright official for himself by judging and adjudicating cases.

To put it simply, due to the limitations of his position, Zhao An was unable to showcase many of his Oscar-caliber acting skills.

Since we can't take shortcuts, let's get real.

Clean up this stinking ditch that stretches for two or three miles near the grain transport office, and build a green belt on both banks. The overall cost is not high, but the effect is significant.

Essentially, it's the same as having Lao Ding work on water conservancy projects; both aim to cultivate an image of a capable, honest, and people-oriented official through these projects.

Zhao An raised the project funds himself, and no matter how much he raised, he would definitely donate it all from his salary.

Not only should the Circuit Intendant himself take the initiative to donate, but his subordinates should also donate.

Officials throughout Anhui's grain system were required to donate.

If you don't donate, both will be suspended.

Work stoppage, salary suspension.

Zhao An calculated that a donation from just one employee in the grain system could cover most of the project costs.

Don't be fooled by the fact that his grain transport office only has a few dozen staff members. The subordinate prefectural and state agencies, grain depots, and managed entities all add up to several thousand people.

If one person donates five taels, there are tens of thousands of taels available.

After the news was confirmed, good heavens! Residents flocked to the Grain Transport Office, eager to see what Lord Zhao, who was about to do such a great thing for the people, looked like.

Unfortunately, Lord Zhao was too busy to come out and interact with the people. Instead, he instructed the gatekeeper not to stop the people from crowding around the government office and even posted a notice.

This notice is unprecedented and will likely never be seen again.

What kind of notice is it?

This means that in order to ensure smooth traffic flow near the government office, vehicles from outside the office could temporarily park in the parade ground inside the office. If the public needed to use the restrooms, they could do so.

The moment this notice was issued, not only were the common people astonished, but even the major government offices in Jiangning collectively exclaimed in disbelief.

In any dynasty or era, there was no reason for ordinary people to freely enter and leave government offices!
How are we, the "friendly suppliers," supposed to do things if Anhui Grain Transport does this?
The first to complain was Kong Qingguang, the magistrate of Shangyuan County, Jiangning. Magistrate Kong was a descendant of the sage, and the current Duke Yansheng, Kong Xianpei, was his uncle.

It was because of this connection that Kong Qingguang was able to become the magistrate of Jiangning City.

Although the magistrate of Fukuo County had many superiors, the county was still very lucrative.

What the grain commissioner of Anhui does has absolutely nothing to do with you, Magistrate of Shangyuan County. Why did Magistrate Kong come to the prefectural government office to complain? The reason is that the Shangyuan County government office is located near Shengping Bridge, not far from the grain commissioner's office.

The stinking ditch that the grain transport office wanted to repair fell under the jurisdiction of Shangyuan County.

"My lord, what kind of official from Anhui is he to interfere in the affairs of my Jiangning? Is it to show that he, surnamed Zhao, is capable, or to say that I, the county magistrate, am incompetent? I think Zhao Youlu is just a busybody, meddling in other people's business!"

Full of complaints, Magistrate Kong said that Zhao Youlu brought a coffin to his post and led people to sweep the streets, but these were all just for show to impress the people and make them praise him as a good official, thus gaining a good reputation.

Is he really a good official?

The common people may not know, but everyone in the officialdom knows that Zhao Youlu rose to prominence by offering bribes for crimes.

What is this "negotiated crime silver"? Everyone knows it.

It's better to expect such an opportunistic and cunning person to actually do things for the people than to expect him to become a saint and collect less money.

The current prefect of Jiangning, Li Yaodong, was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the 28th year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign. After entering officialdom, he served as the magistrate of Jiangning County. Except for a three-year term as prefect of Zhenjiang, he served in Jiangning for the rest of the time, making him a true "Jiangning expert".

Unlike Magistrate Kong, Prefect Li actually said that the stinking ditch in Shangyuan County should have been repaired long ago. If Shangyuan County doesn't repair it, the grain transport office will do it for you. How can you, a magistrate, be so hypocritical after getting the benefits?

Magistrate Kong immediately expressed his grievance: "Your Honor, it's not that I'm unwilling to repair it, but the county simply can't afford it. Besides, this isn't about whether to repair it or not; it's that Zhao Youlu is clearly using this incident to gain fame, making it seem like he, the Anhui Grain Commissioner, is the only one in Jiangning City who's truly serving the people. Forgive my bluntness, but if Zhao Youlu is a good official, an honest official, then what are we?"

In other words, Zhao Youlu is clearly trying to climb over us to get ahead!

The prefect immediately realized the problem: if Zhao Youlu really repaired that stinking ditch and truly lived up to his promise to be irreconcilable with corruption, then it wouldn't be long before his reputation spread throughout the country.

When the emperor hears that Zhao Youlu is so capable, he will surely promote him greatly.

Conversely, how did the Emperor view these Jiangning officials?

Therefore, we must never allow Zhao Youlu, this official from Anhui, to repair the stinking ditch in Jiangning!

Otherwise, it would really become a stepping stone for this kid to climb up the ladder.

He immediately went to the provincial governor's office to complain that the Anhui grain commissioner had overstepped his authority, hoping that the provincial governor's office could issue a document to Anhui, ordering the Anhui grain commissioner to stop meddling in other people's business.

Unexpectedly, the portly provincial governor praised Zhao Youlu highly, saying that although he was young and did not come from a proper background, he had brought the quality of education in Yangzhou to a new level when he served as a professor at the prefectural school. He also performed outstandingly in handling the Yangzhou canal incident, investigated and dealt with a group of lawbreakers within the canal gang, and was highly valued by the emperor.

"As a grain transport official, he is thinking about how to benefit the residents near his post. He is a rare and good official. Moreover, serving the people is serving the emperor. I think your Jiangning Prefecture can't just stand by and watch the ditch repair work, lest people laugh at our Jiangning officials for not doing their jobs."

The provincial governor actually instructed Jiangning Prefecture to negotiate with the grain transport office to jointly clean up the stinking ditch. To show his importance to the matter, the provincial governor specially allocated three thousand taels of silver from the provincial treasury for the cleanup.

"."

The prefect was completely bewildered by the governor, wondering why this official, who had only ever known how to collect money and listen to music since taking office, had suddenly decided to serve the people.

"Only when the ditch doesn't stink and the water is clear can our Great Qing Dynasty enjoy peace and prosperity. We're all working for the court, so why distinguish between Anhui and Jiangning?" The provincial governor's attitude was clear, and the prefect dared not disobey, so he could only sheepishly return to implement it.

At the grain transport office, Zhao An was busy with internal reorganization.

All the staff members wrote the commitment letter, and Zheng Fuyang, the sixth-rank grain magistrate, wrote more than two thousand words in a very sincere manner, almost saying that he would only wear patched pants to work from now on.

"This guy's pants are patched, what should I patch?"

Zhao An irritably put Zheng Tongpan's letter of commitment into the drawer, feeling that Zheng Fuyang was clearly making fun of him, the Daotai (prefect).

Despite the length of the text, it all boils down to a bunch of lies.

All the promises made by the subordinates, including the coachmen, sedan chair carriers, and cooks, were empty words with no substance.

Otherwise, why haven't we received a single confession or statement from them yet?

It seems we need to dig deeper.

Several individuals must be identified and severely punished as typical examples; otherwise, how can we demonstrate his zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption as the Daotai (a high-ranking official)?

The next day, all the staff of the Grain Transport Office were surprised to find a sign hanging in the room next to the Governor's office that read "Grain Transport Commissioner's Office".

The staff of the Qinglisi (清吏司) knew that it was a special agency established by the Ministry of Revenue to investigate the finances and grain of various provinces.

The fact that the Daotai (a high-ranking official) established a Bureau of Investigation within his office clearly indicates that he intends to investigate whether relevant personnel have embezzled funds.

Instantly, the atmosphere in the yamen became extremely tense.

Because no one knows who the governor intends to eliminate.

Zhao An appointed Han Jiexiu and Xiao Sicheng, two of the four scholars from the Grand Canal Gang, as chief clerks of the Bureau of Civil Affairs, and ordered them to immediately begin their work in the Bureau of Civil Affairs.

Han and Xiao were previously teaching in a private school in Yangzhou, and working as accountants in a rice shop. If Zhao An hadn't brought them to Jiangning as his "disciples," they probably would never have had any dealings with the government and would have had no idea how to carry out the work of the Qingli Division.

"Call them over one by one and make them confess voluntarily."

Zhao An provided specific methods for the work.

"What if they don't confess?"

Han and Xiao thought that these old hands in the government offices would definitely keep their mouths shut, and there was no way they would voluntarily confess their problems unless they were severely tortured.

Zhao An put down his pen, looked at the two men who had no experience in handling government affairs, and smiled slightly, saying, "It's not about asking them to explain themselves, but about asking them to explain the problems of others."

"what?"

Han and Xiao were stunned: What kind of operation is this?
"Do as I say. Whoever it is, let them go back as long as they confess. If they don't confess, keep them detained, don't give them food, don't allow them to use the toilet, and don't allow them to sleep."

As they spoke, Zhao An stood up and put on his washed yellow jacket. "Bai Li Yunlong will arrange for someone to cooperate with you."

"Sir, wouldn't doing this lead to false accusations and wrongful charges?"

The person who raised this concern was Han Jiexiu, who had always been a teacher; the question was clearly a bit bookish.

“If everyone in this government office, from top to bottom except for myself, were arrested, there would definitely be innocent people among them. But if every other person is arrested, there will definitely be some who escape.”

Zhao An told Han and Xiao to focus on their work, as he was going to inspect the Jiangning warehouse and would need to see everyone's documents upon his return.

Jiangning Warehouse was the largest grain depot under the Jiang'an Grain Road and the largest grain storage warehouse in the Liangjiang area. This warehouse was specifically used to allocate grain to the Eight Banners garrison.

In other words, whether the 100,000 Manchus in Jiangning City had food depended entirely on whether the Jiangning warehouse caught fire.

In addition to Anhui supplying grain to the depot, Jiangsu also had corresponding quotas. The Eight Banners needed mainly millet and japonica rice, supplemented with wheat, and an annual allocation of 506,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) was required to the Eight Banners.

According to the Qing dynasty system, one shi (石) was 28 kilograms. This means that nearly 30 million jin (斤) of grain had to be supplied to the Manchu people of Jiangning each year, which translates to less than 300 jin (斤) per person.

This is just food rations; wages are not mentioned.

The expenses are huge.

Such an important warehouse was bound to be the first stop for Zhao An, the newly appointed grain commissioner, during his inspection tour of the grassroots level.

The key is to check for deficits, that is, whether the grain stored in the grain depot is as shown in the accounts at the time of handover.

When it comes to checking grain, Zhao Andong knows that grain depots are generally operated on two methods: empty warehouses and grain theft using fake invoices.

Cheating by emptying granaries involves laying chaff at the bottom of the granary and piling grain on top to pass inspections; stealing grain with blank receipts involves petty officials forging seals to issue blank receipts and smuggling official grain out at night to sell.

The focus of the investigation is on these two areas, and they are almost always found guilty, because there are no grain officials who are not corrupt.

How many people could resist the temptation of huge profits when a low-ranking official with an annual salary of only thirty-one taels of silver was in charge of a granary worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels of silver?
Using granaries to support officials was a common problem in almost every dynasty.

To avoid alerting the Jiangning Grain Depot and causing any mishaps, Zhao An did not issue any prior notice. He led the Grain Supervisor Zheng Fuyang and a group of guards to the Jiangning Grain Depot located outside Xihua Gate in a small, unpretentious manner.

The sudden arrival of the grain transport official startled the guards at the gate, who hurriedly tried to go inside to inform him. Zhao An, however, did not allow them to tip him off and led his men directly into the warehouse.

Originally, he intended to order people to open the granary and inspect the grain on the spot, but he was unexpectedly attracted by a row of low and dilapidated bungalows in front of him.

Upon closer inspection, good heavens! This row of bungalows, which would be considered dangerous buildings even by today's standards, turned out to be the office buildings of Jiangning Warehouse.

The first room on the left is Ambassador Ku's duty room, Cheng Dade's room.

Zhao An's curiosity was piqued by the fact that the office of a staff member at a key national grain depot was so shabby. He immediately pushed open the door to the depot's duty room and was greeted by dilapidated walls, a bookcase piled with clutter, and a desk with bricks propped up on its two legs.

In addition, there was a stove in the room, and the kettle on the stove was obviously an old object with a noticeable patina.

"Who are you?"

Ambassador Cheng was startled by Zhao An's sudden intrusion. Due to his severe nearsightedness, Ambassador Cheng had to wear thick glasses on his nose.

Prefect Zheng Fuyang hurriedly said, "This is the newly appointed Circuit Intendant Zhao. Why don't you pay your respects to him!"

"what?!"

Ambassador Cheng was startled and quickly put down the half-eaten bowl of noodles in his hand. He stepped forward and bowed deeply to Zhao An with a flick of his sleeve: "This humble ambassador Cheng Dade of Jiangning pays his respects to Your Excellency!"

Zhao An was moved, because Cheng Dade not only had two patches on the knees of his pants, but also a large piece of black cloth sewn onto his protruding buttocks.

Looking at the official robes above, although there are no patches, there are obvious signs of mending on both the cuffs and the collar.

He's an honest and upright official!

"Your conditions are so poor, yet you still persist in working. That's truly remarkable. You must be recognized as an outstanding individual for integrity in our department!"

Zhao An was deeply moved; he was genuinely moved. Cheng Dade was the outstanding individual in the grain system this year.

(End of this chapter)