"Lin Jue, this is Mr. Kang, our father-in-law and prefect of Hangzhou. We were originally going to receive guests in the hall, but Mr. Kang insisted on coming here to see you in person. Don't you think this is rude?" Lin Boyong smacked his lips.
"Hey! What are you talking about? I have admired Lin Shixiong's literary talents for a long time. I am here today in a private capacity. Where can I get so many etiquettes? You don't have to stick to common etiquette. I am afraid that Lin Shixiong will say that I am abrupt." The middle-aged man laughed.
road.
Lin Jue chuckled and stepped forward to bow and salute: "Lin Jue has met Mr. Kang. Mr. Kang came and made the humble house shine. How can it be offensive?"
Kang Zizhen laughed and returned the courtesy: "Brother Lin Shi, just call me Kang Zizhen. Or maybe I'm a few years older than you. If you don't mind my rudeness, you can call me Brother Kang. Don't ask for anything from Mr. Kang, Mr. Kang."
I won’t call you Mr. Lin. It’s more friendly.”
Lin Jue smiled and nodded, thinking: At first glance, this Kang Zizhen is the kind of person commonly seen in officialdom. He is good at building close relationships, gets to know each other easily when he meets someone, and talks nonsense to others. This kind of person is everywhere in the world.
I’ve seen it a lot, but I’m not surprised at all.
"Master Kang is joking, how dare you call yourself brother and sister to Master Kang? Master Kang is a superior official, how dare you be rude."
"What are you talking about? In terms of official positions, you and I are on the same level. You are a punishment officer, with an official rank of fifth rank. In addition, you are a capital official, so you are naturally half a rank higher than our local officials. So, speaking of it, you should be from fourth rank.
That's right. I'm also from the fourth grade, so how can I tell the difference? Do you think so?" Kang Zizhen's mouth felt as if he had touched honey, and he spoke eloquently.
Lin Jue gave up resistance and said with a smile: "Okay, hello, Brother Kang."
"Hey, that's right. This kind of title is still kind." Kang Zizhen stroked his beard and said with a satisfied smile.
Lin Jue stretched out his hand and said, "Brother Kang, please sit down in the room. Come and make tea."
Kang Zizhen turned his head and looked around, and praised loudly: "Hey, what an exquisite little courtyard, what an elegant place. No wonder Lin Shixiong is so amazing in literary talent. Living in such a place to study, naturally he will feel at peace and learn knowledge. Oh? I was here just now.
Are you reading? Let me see what you are reading?"
Kang Zizhen reached out from the low table and picked up a book that Lin Jueshi had just read. He looked at the cover, frowned unconsciously, and then smiled and said: "It's actually a military book. I didn't expect that Brother Lin would actually like to read this."
Plant something. Could it be that Brother Lin wants to join the army? I'm afraid not."
Lin Jue smiled and said: "I just picked up a book and read it to relieve my boredom. I have no intention of joining the army. I am not that material."
Kang Zizhen chuckled and said, "Isn't that right? Brother Lin's talent is so great that no scholar in the world can compare to him. If he continues to learn the art of war, wouldn't it mean that all the generals in the world have nothing to do? Hahaha, let's leave some for them.
Let's get things done, those rough guys can't learn literature, so they can only rely on their hard work to fight."
Lin Jue smiled and said nothing. The disdain for warriors revealed in Kang Zizhen's words was the true heart of the scholar-bureaucrats in the Zhou Dynasty. Not only Kang Zizhen was like this, but also many literati Lin Jue came into contact with.
When talking about military attachés, they all look with disdain on their faces, as if they are all a group of barbarians.
"Let's go inside and talk. What's wrong with standing outside?" Lin Boyong interrupted.
Kang Zizhen waved his hands and said: "Wouldn't it be nice to just stay under the pear tree? I think it's pretty good. I said it's a private visit, so you don't need to worry about etiquette. Lin Shibo, you have a lot to do, so go and do your own business. I'll talk to Brother Lin Shibo."
That’s it.”
Lin Boyong was stunned for a moment, then smiled awkwardly and said: "Okay, I'll take my leave first. Lin Jue, please take good care of Magistrate Kang, don't neglect it."
Lin Jue nodded and said, "Don't worry, uncle, I know."
Lin Boyong cupped his hands and turned to leave. Lin Jue ordered someone to make tea again, added a bamboo chair next to the low table, and asked Kang Zizhen to sit down. Kang Zizhen sat down with a smile and looked at Lin Jue with a smile.
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Brother Kang, what's wrong? Is there something dirty on my face?"
Kang Zizhen laughed, shook his head and said: "No, I feel that God is so unfair sometimes. People like Lin Shixiong are simply the pride of heaven, with great talents and talents, but they are also like Song Yu and Pan An.
Isn't this the envy of others? You are already famous all over the world at a young age, does Brother Lin know how many people in the world envy you?"
Lin Jue felt nauseated and had goosebumps all over his body. He smiled and said, "Brother Kang is joking, I have nothing to envy. I don't think I am that good. If Brother Kang says that again, I can't sit still."
Already."
Kang Zizhen waved his hands and said: "What I said is true. Brother Lin doesn't know your reputation among scholars. I read some of your poems when I was still a county magistrate in Lingnan. They were so shocking to me."
Generally speaking, I have always thought that it would be great to see Brother Lin one day. I didn’t expect that I would actually see him. This is really very happy.”
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Brother Kang is too polite, there is no need to say these things anymore. Brother Kang came to see me today just to tell me these things?"
Kang Zizhen smiled and said: "Expressing my admiration is the main purpose of today. I just learned that Brother Lin has returned to Hangzhou from the capital, and according to etiquette, he should come to see him. However, I came here today to apologize to Brother Lin.
Apologetic."
Lin Jue frowned and said, "Where do we start talking about this?"
Kang Zizhen reached out and took out a few pieces of silver from his arms, put them on the table and said: "This is seven taels of silver. Yesterday afternoon, Brother Lin met the officials in my yamen on the street who were calling for official loans and exemption money. He advanced seven taels of silver.
Two pieces of silver. After I learned about this, I felt really uneasy. How can I let you pay for this money? So I came here today to return the money and apologize to Brother Lin for the actions of these government servants."
Lin Jue suddenly realized that what he was talking about was what happened on his way to the palace yesterday afternoon. He must have been recognized by passers-by, and the government officials reported Kang Zizhen after they returned. Kang Zizhen only came to visit yesterday afternoon.
"It turned out to be about that incident, so what's there to apologize for? It's just a trivial matter."
"No, no, no, this is no small matter. Hey, these people in the yamen are really hateful. I told them not to act rough and barbaric, but they still did such excessive things. Brother Lin, don't worry, these yamen servants
I dealt with them harshly. If this doesn't happen next time, that situation will never happen again. It's really abominable," Kang Zi said.
Lin Jue smiled and said: "So they took it upon themselves to treat the people roughly?"
Kang Zizhen straightened his back and said: "That's not true? How can I let them do that? I am the prefect of Hangzhou and the parent of a common people. How can I allow them to do this? These people just act on their own initiative and completely misunderstood
The intention above.”
Lin Jue nodded and said: "That's good. I want to thank Brother Kang on behalf of the people of Hangzhou. Don't treat the people as enemies. Otherwise, there will be backlash. Hangzhou City has enjoyed harmony between the government and the people for many years, and nothing like this has ever happened.
When my predecessor, Mr. Yan, was in office, he loved his reputation as much as his son. When you come to Brother Kang, you can't be scolded."
"That's right, that's right, I don't want to be scolded." Kang Zizhen said with a sneer: "But... Brother Lin is from the capital, and he was also an official of the Ordinance Department. He participated in the formulation of two new laws, so he naturally knows the current situation.
We should also understand the difficulties of our local officials. With the promotion of Changping's new law, the local officials in charge of Changpingcang and Guandai must be personally supervised by the chief official. They should be included in the assessment of political performance. Think about the pressure on our local governments.
How big should it be? The principal and interest of the official loans released cannot be recovered, and the money for exemption from military service cannot be collected. How should we explain it? The imperial court reformed the past and implemented reforms. If the implementation is not effective, how can it be effective? So sometimes we have no choice but to do it. The people take it.
Money, money is spent, but it is not repaid when it is due. What do you think I should do? The resulting shortfall, where does the money that should be turned over to the court come from? I can't just sell iron to make up for the shortfall. I have a clear mind, and my family
With less than a hundred taels of capital, there is nothing you can do if you smash my bones and sell them. Alas!"
Kang Zizhen shook his head and sighed, looking helpless.
Lin Jue pondered and said: "Brother Kang, as far as I know, the payment of official loans and silver taels is suspected of being a forced apportionment rather than a voluntary principle. This is contrary to the purpose of the "Changping New Law". I also heard that the amount of tax exemption money is levied.
There is also injustice. There seems to be some unfair fraud in the classification of household levels. That is why it is difficult to collect money. I don’t know how Brother Kang explains this?"
Kang Zizhen was startled, his face suddenly changed, and he said loudly: "Who said this? It's unreasonable. How dare someone spread rumors like this? Brother Lin, where did you hear this?"
Lin Jue said lightly: "Master Kang, I don't need to go into details about where I heard this. I just want to ask if this is the case?"
"Absolutely not. Brother Lin, please don't listen to the rumors outside. Some people just don't want to return the official loan and pay the immunity money, so they create some rumors to confuse people. There are also some people who resist the implementation of the new law and are deliberately trying to
These rumors and slanders cannot be tolerated. This government is also doing its best to investigate those who spread rumors and confuse the public, and these people must be brought to justice. Brother Lin Shi must not be deceived by the words of these people. These people and those with good intentions
People are very cunning, and what they say cannot be believed." Kang Zizhen said firmly.
Lin Jue frowned and said: "Master Magistrate, there must be a reason for the groundless rumors. They may not all be rumors. At least the family yesterday was proof. That family had an official loan of ten taels and a free payment of five taels in silver. This is what a second-class household can do.
The amount of tax collected. I found out that that family is considered a third-class household at best. The amount of official loans cannot exceed five taels, and the amount of exemption money cannot exceed two taels. The difference in amount is so huge, and the facts are there, so how can it be a rumor."
Kang Zizhen's face looked a little ugly, and he said in a deep voice: "Brother Lin Shi did his investigation carefully. However, the implementation of the two new laws is complicated and complicated. I don't know how much manpower and energy are used. It is inevitable to make mistakes while busy. No one can
I can guarantee that everything is correct and there are no mistakes. But if we negate all our efforts just because of a few mistakes, I’m afraid it won’t work.”
Lin Jue nodded and said: "Of course, we can't generalize, but it also exposes some clues, doesn't it? Not to mention other things, this method of collection and collection is not rough and overbearing. The implementation of the new law is inherently bad.
There are many difficulties. When implementing it at the local level, shouldn't we be cautious, minimize errors, and do a good job of explanation and publicity to avoid too many misunderstandings? If public dissatisfaction boils and people's hearts are unstable, wouldn't it run counter to the purpose of the reform?"
