Qing Yao

Chapter 259 Lord Zhao Welcomes You
Teacher Lou came out to buy some personal necessities, but unexpectedly, she didn't buy anything and instead took back a "Ten Prohibitions" list.

Knowing full well that Zhao An was using him to try and gain a reputation for integrity from the governor, he had no choice but to reluctantly help him "make a name for himself" because Zhao An threatened him with the high profits in Yangzhou.

Although Zhao An assured that this was the last time, Teacher Lou knew that this kid's last time was always "the next time".

Out of consideration for past relationships, and as long as it didn't go against his conscience or harm his mentor's interests, Teacher Lou reluctantly accepted it.

Back in the document room, just as he was pondering how to show the "Ten Prohibitions" to his mentor and how to speak "just right" for Zhao An to satisfy his desire for fame, the Anhui Provincial Judicial Office sent him an important official document, saying that they had discovered that Hong Bao, a member of the White Lotus Sect, was having an affair with salt bandits Xie Hongyi and Yang Biao.

According to Na Hongbao's confession, Liu Zhixie and Song Zhiqing, two disciples of Liu Song, the leader of the White Lotus sect who organized missionary work in Anhui in the fortieth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, fled back to Anhui from other places to secretly gather their old followers, with great ambitions.

The salt bandit Yang Biao was a disciple of Liu Zhixie.

Not long ago, Teacher Lou knew about the incident in Huaibei where salt bandits ambushed and killed government soldiers. At the time, he found it unbelievable. Now, seeing that the salt bandits were very likely to have "joined forces" with the White Lotus cult, which had disappeared in Anhui for more than ten years, he knew that the matter was of great importance and dared not delay. He quickly delivered the official documents to his mentor in person.

His mentor, Sun Shiyi, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, was writing a report for the emperor in his office about reforming the grassroots grain clerks.

The newly appointed governor-general, who was known for his arrogance, intended to send special commissioners to Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi provinces to thoroughly investigate the county registers and crack down on petty officials who exploited and extorted money from the people. This would not only rectify official corruption but also effectively increase revenue for the national treasury.

In addition, the Governor-General intends to pilot the salt industry reform measures he implemented with Fukang'an when he was Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi in Liangjiang. However, the salt merchants of Lianghuai are too powerful, unlike the salt merchants of Guangdong and Guangxi. Therefore, he wants to consult the Emperor first to avoid resistance from the salt merchants.

The real power behind the salt merchants was the Imperial Household Department, whose head was Heshen. Therefore, even though Sun Shiyi was the governor-general, he did not dare to rashly promote the reform of the salt industry.

Because this time he did not have Fukang'an's support.

I had only written half of it when I heard my student Lou Sanqiang calling for an audience from outside the door.

"Is this Da Zhen? Come in."

The governor put down his brush and smiled as he looked at Teacher Lou, who had just entered through the door.

"Da Zhen" is Teacher Lou's courtesy name.

The governor valued Teacher Lou, who was not really a student, quite highly; otherwise, he would not have entrusted such an important position as the Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat to Teacher Lou.

Actually, the reason why the governor-general selected Teacher Lou as a supplementary candidate for the imperial examination was because he was influenced by Fan Jin in "The Scholars" and felt sympathy for Teacher Lou, who had a similar experience.

The Scholars was written in the fourteenth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign and circulated secretly among the people. It was not banned as a book in literary inquisitions, so many officials read it, including Sun Shiyi.

Although he was listed as a supplementary candidate out of sympathy back then, Mr. Lou, who was nearly sixty years old at the time, was still highly praised by the Governor-General. Although the Governor-General had been serving in Beijing all these years, he still cared a lot about Mr. Lou, who was working in the Jiangsu Provincial Education Office.

Both the previous and current education commissioners had positive comments about Teacher Lou. From other sources, it was learned that Teacher Lou had always been simple and honest since taking office, and had no problems with either his morality or his conduct as an official. He was even ostracized by his colleagues for refusing to compromise his principles.

Therefore, the newly appointed Governor-General of Liangjiang exceptionally transferred Teacher Lou to the position of a sixth-rank official in the Governor-General's Office.

If Teacher Lou had even the slightest bad reputation in the education administration department, he certainly wouldn't have been chosen for this important position.

"Teacher, this is a document just sent by the Anhui Provincial Judicial Office, saying that the White Lotus Rebellion has resurfaced in Anhui."

As he spoke, Teacher Lou respectfully placed the document in his hand on the table, then took two steps back and bowed respectfully.

"White Lotus Sect?"

The governor frowned. This religion had been an enemy of the government since its founding and had been deeply hated by successive dynasties.

In the thirty-sixth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, the Hunyuan Sect, a branch of the White Lotus Sect in Shandong, rebelled along the Grand Canal under the leadership of its leader, Wang Lun. They captured Linqing, a key town for grain transport, and forced the canal to be disrupted. If the imperial court had not sent troops to suppress the rebellion in time, a major disaster would have occurred.

Although Wang Lun was executed, White Lotus sect members continued to operate in various places, and the government's repeated prohibitions were ineffective. In some places, as long as the White Lotus sect did not rebel, they were left to their own devices.

After reading the report from Anhui, the governor thought carefully and said, "I remember that Liu Song, the leader of the White Lotus Sect, was exiled to Gansu in the fortieth year of Qianlong's reign, wasn't he?"

Teacher Lou quickly shook his head and said, "I know nothing about this."

"You were still studying hard back then, so it's normal."

Sun Shiyi slowly stood up. The reason why Liu Song, the leader of the White Lotus Sect, was not executed by slow slicing but exiled was because he did not actually plot a rebellion when he was arrested. The then governor of Anhui was Min Eyuan, who was later ousted by the Jiangsu officialdom.

Min Eyuan was a humble man and unwilling to use a fabricated rebellion to tarnish his official rank. He said to those around him, "My hair is already white. How can I exterminate a human race to seek advancement?"

Therefore, the Liu Song case was downplayed, and apart from Liu Song himself being exiled, the other followers were not punished.

Liu Song's two senior disciples, Liu Zhixie and Song Zhiqing, were thus able to escape to other places.

Previously, when Sun Shiyi was acting governor of Sichuan, he heard that Liu Song had died of illness in Gansu. If this is true, then the current leader of the White Lotus Sect is most likely his two escaped disciples.

The two had been on the run for over a decade, so why did they suddenly return?
Sun Shiyi speculated that it was related to the unrest in Anhui in recent years.

In recent years, Fengyang and Yingzhou prefectures in northern Anhui have frequently suffered from famine due to the flooding of the Yellow River, resulting in a large number of displaced people in the area.

Refugees are most susceptible to the White Lotus Sect's influence, and Liu Song had cultivated a considerable following in Huaibei over several years, thus having a certain "mass" base. If this is indeed the case, then Liu Zhixie and Song Zhiqing most likely intended to launch an uprising with the help of their teacher Liu Song's former subordinates.

Combined with Hong Bao's confession that many of the salt bandits were members of the White Lotus sect and that the two sides had conspired to ambush government troops, the governor became even more convinced that the White Lotus sect was about to launch an uprising in Anhui.

He immediately instructed Teacher Lou to issue a proclamation in the name of the Governor-General's Office to arrest Liu Zhixie and Song Zhiqing. At the same time, he sent documents to the three major government offices of Anhui Province—the Governor, the Provincial Administration Commissioner, and the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner—ordering them to intensify their crackdown on White Lotus sect members.

"Anyone captured who is a believer shall be severely punished without leniency! In addition, Anhui shall set up additional checkpoints in Bozhou to conduct strict inspections, especially since the Wo River waterway is of great importance and cannot be ignored."

"Water transport on the Wo River?"

Teacher Lou was puzzled as to why her mentor had made such an arrangement.

"With the situation tightening in Anhui, the White Lotus Rebels will be unable to operate. I estimate that they may flee from Bozhou via the Wo River to Shangqiu in Henan or Macheng in Hubei. Those places are remote and impoverished, making it extremely difficult for government troops to search for them. If these rebels are allowed to infiltrate, they will become a major threat to our dynasty within a few years."

After speaking, Sun Shiyi thought for a moment, sat down again, and wrote a letter to Bi Yuan, the Governor-General of Huguang. The letter stated that White Lotus Religion activities had been discovered in Anhui, and reminded Huguang to keep a close watch on the border between the two provinces to prevent the rebels from Anhui from going to Huguang.

After finishing writing, he sealed it, summoned someone to send it out by fast horse.

"Teacher, the reason why the White Lotus Cult cannot be eradicated is that it is good at bewitching refugees. I think that if we can appease the refugees in time and help them resume production, how many refugees would be willing to leave their homes to follow the White Lotus Cult?" Teacher Lou boldly put forward his opinion, believing that while cracking down on the White Lotus Cult was important, solving the refugee problem in the Huaibei area was the most urgent task.

Otherwise, the refugees will face potential risks every day they cannot return to their hometowns to farm.

Sun Shiyi nodded slightly, sighed, and said, "Da Zhen is right. If we cannot settle the displaced people, we are only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. The current official corruption is rampant. Local officials are only concerned with making money and do not care about the people's suffering. If this continues, it is hard to guarantee that there will not be a major upheaval."

After speaking, he revealed to his students his intention to thoroughly rectify the officialdom in the two rivers region.

Upon hearing this, Teacher Lou had an idea and quickly took out the "Ten Prohibitions" that he had folded from his sleeve: "If you wish to rectify officialdom, I believe these Ten Prohibitions may be of great use."

"Ten prohibitions?"

Sun Shiyi curiously took it, and the first thing that caught his eye was that from now on, no one was allowed to use government funds to purchase any private items.

"Apart from routine welcoming and sending off, no one is allowed to accept banquets from outside, nor is anyone allowed to submit their personal expenses for eating and drinking outside to the government for reimbursement."

"It is forbidden to take the government vehicles out for private use."

"You must not ask for favors, plead on behalf of anyone, or make any requests on their behalf."

"."

After reviewing the ten prohibitions, the governor was pleasantly surprised: "These are excellent ten prohibitions! If officials all use these as guidelines to restrain themselves, how could the administration not be clean and efficient!"

Historically, the rectification of officialdom involved sending censors to inspect, ordering superiors to keep a close watch on officials, or encouraging the people to expose wrongdoing. There were never such detailed rules for governments at all levels to implement, which resulted in very little effect from the rectification efforts.

Once the storm had passed, the local officials continued to do as they pleased.

If these "Ten Prohibitions" can be used as the code of conduct for officials and the parallel assessment method can be enforced, the governance of officials at the grassroots level will surely be renewed!
In his excitement, he immediately asked where these "ten prohibitions" came from.

Teacher Lou hurriedly explained that these "Ten Prohibitions" were something he had heard from the people of the city when he was out. They were the new Jiang'an Grain Commissioner's regulations for his subordinates. He felt that these "Ten Prohibitions" hit the nail on the head regarding the shortcomings of grassroots officials, so he copied a copy and brought it back.

He also told his teacher about Zhao An bringing an iron coffin to his post, and about how he implemented the "Grain Transport for the People" program and opened the government offices to the public, in order to deepen his teacher's impression of Zhao An.

"Jiang'an Grain Transport Office? Zhao Youlu?"

Sun Shiyi was stunned. He knew Zhao Youlu all too well. He was promoted five ranks by the emperor for voluntarily paying the fine for his crimes, and was even listed by Heshen as a typical example for "propaganda". Later, he didn't know why the emperor made Zhao Youlu the supervisor of grain transport.

He had questioned this matter, suspecting that Fu Chang'an had misheard, but Heshen confirmed that this was the emperor's intention, so he had no choice but to order the Ministry of Personnel to process the appointment procedures.

How could someone like this come up with "Ten Prohibitions"?
Could the people Heshen employed be honest officials?
The governor didn't really believe it.

Upon seeing this, Teacher Lou felt a chill and dared not speak up for Zhao An any longer, fearing that she would end up hurting herself.

Unexpectedly, Sun Shiyi suddenly said, "Da Zhen, go change into some casual clothes and come with me to see if Zhao Youlu is a charlatan who seeks fame and fortune."

"is teacher."

Teacher Lou hurriedly went back to change his clothes, but he was extremely uneasy. He didn't believe that Zhao An could really be honest and upright himself while also effectively disciplining his subordinates.

If his mentor were to discover that Zhao An was saying one thing and doing another, he would be in deep trouble.

There's no going back now; all we can do is hope that Zhao Anzhen will truly fulfill his vow to be an honest official.

It was not uncommon for the governor to travel incognito. In his earlier years, when he was serving in other places, Sun Shiyi enjoyed traveling incognito and even discovered two wrongful convictions during that time.

Nowadays, even old men like to travel incognito because it allows them to observe people's lives up close and see aspects of life that are not usually seen.

Soon, Sun Shiyi, dressed in plain clothes, led Teacher Lou and two guards into a carriage and headed to the grain transport office.

"If the gatekeeper asks, tell him we are going to the grain commissioner's office to get rice subsidies."

The governor has thought this through very well. Although the student knows that Zhao Youlu's grain transport office allows people to come and go as they please, there must be a reason for doing so. They can't just be let in for no reason.

"Rice subsidy" was a subsidy policy agreed upon by the grain transport office and merchants when surplus grain was sold. This was a regulation permitted by the imperial court.

The carriage soon arrived at the Grain Transport Office. After getting off the carriage, the governor found a group of workers carrying away the two stone lions that were placed at the entrance of the office.

Driven by curiosity, the governor, who looked like a businessman, went over to ask the workers why they wanted to move the two stone lions.

"Oh, the magistrate inside sold these two stone lions to us, saying that the money from the sale could be used to do more practical things for the people."

Because the stone lions were too heavy, the workers moved them with utmost care, fearing they might drop and break them, and didn't have time to say much to the governor.

Another group of people came out of the gate carrying a bunch of random things. When Teacher Lou went up to ask, he was surprised to learn that the grain commissioner, Lord Zhao, had packed up all the things that were not usually used in the government office and sold them to them.

"This way, we can save space and increase the government's revenue. If the government has an extra tael of silver available, the national treasury can allocate one less tael of silver, and the people can also have one less tael of silver burden."

Teacher Lou was also quite shocked, wondering if this scene was something Zhao An had specially arranged for them to see, or if this kid was really making sweeping changes to clean up the industry.

"."

The governor seemed to be deep in thought. He and Teacher Lou walked into the yamen, but stopped at the door. He looked at the two smiling yamen runners and was about to explain their purpose when one of the runners waved his hand and said, "If you have something to do, just go in and find someone to take care of it."

"Aren't you two going to ask what we're here for?"

The governor was a little confused.

"What's there to ask?"

The constable laughed and said, "My magistrate said that the yamen is there to serve the people. If it's there to serve the people, why are you stopping them? That's ridiculous."
Even if commoners come to borrow the yamen's outhouse for no reason, my magistrate welcomes them, because the yamen is meant to provide convenience for the people.

(End of this chapter)