"I've been busy recently and haven't had time to talk to you about this matter. Over at the Ministry of Finance... you know very well that there are many unclear relationships. If you hit me with a stick, I'm afraid the person won't be killed, but instead...
Disturbing the original balance," Xiao Feng smiled faintly, "I can understand your desire to do practical things for the court and the people. Young people will always have a passion for it! If it were not for the restriction of status,
, maybe I will be as motivated as you, but some things cannot be accomplished with blood alone."
Song Huaishu opened his mouth and was about to defend himself when Xiao Feng raised his right palm: "I understand what you want to say. I have never doubted your ability to do things, and I greatly appreciate your integrity. But you have to do it.
Understand one thing. Before you decide to do something big, you must first think of the most comprehensive countermeasures. Hubu is a hard rock. If you don't do it well, you will lose yourself. You are a talent of the imperial court.
I don’t want you to be hurt because of this matter, and please think about it again.”
"Weichen understands what His Highness means very well." This is not the first time Song Huaishu has heard such words. Compared with the first time he was ridiculed, he has been able to maintain a calm mind now, "In Weichen's hometown
There is a local saying that when you are an official and do not make decisions for the people, it is better to go home and plant sweet potatoes. Now that Weichen has decided to step into this officialdom, he is ready to fight. If I am not afraid of your jokes, Weichen will never wear this suit.
Once I started wearing official uniform, I had no intention of taking it off alive!"
The last sentence was as impactful as a stone, and the atmosphere was stagnant.
There are many upright officials in history, and there are also many people like Song Huaishu who are willing to risk their lives. Most of them died young, and the few who lived a long life ended up with a miserable life and stayed here.
The only thing left for future generations is an incorruptible and pure name.
Song Huaishu continued: "Weichen knows that you will think that Weichen is trying to gain fame, and that Weichen is too pedantic and does not know how to adapt. To be honest, Weichen has received a lot of ridicule and blows along the way.
It's even more uncomfortable than Weichen imagined. My father once said that being an official means going to die. People who don't have the courage should not do this. Weichen had already put the coffin and shroud on his first day as an official.
Everything is done and placed at home. I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid that it will be too dark and no one can see the hope of moving forward."
When he said this, the rocker was straight, exuding an awe-inspiring aura that was unyielding.
This time, not only Xiao Feng, but even Xiao Shen was a little surprised. They had seen many honest officials with bad tempers and tough tempers, but it was unprecedented for him to have prepared the coffin and shroud.
Xiao Feng was slightly moved: "Your father is also an official?"
"Well," Song Huaishu's eyes suddenly dimmed, his expression a little obscure and deep, "He is a very powerful official, and he is also a corrupt official who is despised by others. I once thought that he would continue to be famous, but I never thought that he would eventually die in exile.
On the way. Look, God’s law is clear, this is retribution.”
As for who his father was, he didn't say it clearly, but Xiao Feng already knew it in his heart and didn't ask any further.
Xiao Feng said calmly: "I can understand your anxiety of eager to prove that you are different from your father, but there is a saying, it is called killing the goose to get the egg. Do you understand what I mean?"
Song Huaishu lowered his head slightly and said humbly: "This humble minister is stupid, please give me a clear explanation from your highness."
"You attack the Ministry of Household Affairs today, the Ministry of Work tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow you attack the Ministry of War... When will you be the leader like this? You said you want to fight corruption, but you have to understand one thing. Wherever there are people, there will be
Desire and greed. As the saying goes, if the water is clear, there will be no fish. If you have to wash this pool of water clean, who will be willing to serve the court in the future? Not everyone can carry the coffin like you.
When they come to be officials, the old and young in this court are all people with families, and a large family is waiting for them to support them. If they really want to make a difference, let the family members behind them go and drink the northwest wind!
"
Song Huaishu didn't expect Xiao Feng to say such words, and couldn't help but pause, not knowing what to say.
Xiao Feng continued: "It sounds nice to be an honest official. If conditions permit, who wouldn't want to be an honest official? But being an honest official is not that easy. An honest official will often hinder the financial path of a group of corrupt officials. If it really makes people angry, everyone will get together.
However, no matter how tough an honest official is, he will eventually have to give up his life and his future. I don’t think you are a person who seeks fame and reputation, but I think you are a hypocritical and pedantic person who thinks about things too rigidly, which is easy.
Hurt yourself."
"Then what should we do? Are we just going to watch those people being corrupt and accepting bribes and being lawless!" Song Huaishu pursed his lips, put his hands on his knees and clenched them tightly into fists, feeling a little excited and indignant, "Weichen is pedantic, because Weichen
I have only one belief in my heart, and that is to be a good official worthy of my conscience!"
"Look, you finally spoke your mind. You want to be an upright official, just to satisfy your conscience. You want to stay out of the mud. You want to look different from others. You want to
Pick yourself out of this pool of mud, and then look down at everyone with a savior's mentality," Xiao Feng still had a faint smile, but the coldness in his cold eyes had condensed into ice, which was bone-chilling."
A truly good official will not care about what others think, let alone place his moral status so high. A truly good official will wear rich clothes, sleep on a high bed with soft pillows, and hide a house full of gold.
Yin Caibao, who has been accused by the world of being a corrupt official and a sycophant, can still secretly do practical things for the people of Liming in a corner that no one else knows about. For example, your father is like this."
The last sentence made Song Huaishu freeze up. He slowly opened his eyes and was very surprised: "Do you know about my father? He..."
"He is a sycophant who likes to play with power, but he is also a good official who cares about the world." Xiao Feng's cold eyes showed a look of admiration, "You may not know that because of his words,
With his words, he just plucked out a large sum of money from the hands of corrupt officials and saved hundreds of thousands of victims; he once secretly contributed money to buy the grain from the hands of profiteers, preventing them from taking advantage of the disaster to raise prices;
He also deliberately let go of several innocent loyal ministers who almost died due to unjust imprisonment... Even though he was criticized by thousands of people and ended up with a bad death, he was still an out-and-out good official. Song Yushi
, you are so far behind your father."
Song Huaishu was completely stunned. Since he was a child, he had only heard two kinds of words, one was flattering words, and the other was insulting and mocking words. As he grew older, he gradually understood what his father did, and also
I know that he is an out-and-out sycophant. Several times when he went out to play, he could always hear someone talking about his father's misdeeds behind his back. In everyone's words, his father was a traitor who could not let go, even if he was killed by a thousand swords.
It's not an exaggeration to say that he was torn to pieces.
Song Huaishu began to feel ashamed of such a father, and his personality became dull and introverted. He stayed at home reading and writing every day and rarely went out to socialize with people. Until one day, his father was suddenly taken away from home. He was frightened.
, even a little bit of happiness.
See, this is retribution.
Later, the Song family completely declined. Song Huaishu followed his mother back to his hometown of Qingzhou and began a hard life of poverty. Later, his mother fell ill and died. He worked hard alone, and in the end the emperor paid off and allowed him to pass the exam.
He stepped into the officialdom that he had not seen for a long time, full of joy and excitement. He was determined to be an upright and honest official, and would never become a sycophant like his father!
This belief has persisted in his heart for nearly twenty years. After the death of his mother, it almost became his last spiritual support. It was with this breath that he could fearlessly get to where he is today, but now
But someone told him that the sycophantic father in his heart was actually a good official, and the whole world completely collapsed in front of him.
He pursed his lips and his knuckles turned white: "I don't believe it. Father has never told me this. You must be lying to me..."
"I don't need to lie to you. In fact, my father also knows these things. We respect your father very much. After he was arrested and imprisoned, we also thought about sending someone secretly to rescue you mother and son, but your father said,
He doesn't want us to do anything for you mother and son, he hopes you can grow up independently in the face of adversity."
Song Huaishu lowered his eyes, gritted his teeth to keep himself calm, and his straight back trembled slightly.
Xiao Feng took a clear view of his performance and did not mean to appease him. He just continued to narrate lightly: "Before your father was exiled, I once met him in private. He said that he was the two people he was most sorry for in his life.
, that is, the son and his wife. He will wait on the road to death to apologize to his wife, and also hopes that his son can live upright and bravely. He asked us not to give you money, but begged us to send someone to secretly protect the safety of your mother and son. You
You probably don’t know that your father was imprisoned because he exposed a group of corrupt officials and was framed for revenge. He was worried that those people would not let you mother and son go. He hoped that we could keep you mother and son safe for a while.
Once the storm is over, you will naturally be safe."
Xiao Feng paused and added a few words: "He also said that if I can see you again, let me tell you eight words... To be an official is good, to be evil."
After listening to these words, Song Huaishu finally couldn't help but his eyes were red and his voice was trembling: "Since you know that my father is a good official and you know that he was framed, why are you still watching him go to jail?!"
"This was the path he had decided on from the beginning, and the ending was something he had already anticipated. He felt that he died at the right place and at the right time. When he confessed in prison, he said that money and power are actually
It is very scary. Once a person possesses these two things, his character will be changed unknowingly. He wants to stick to his original intention, but he is a normal person with emotions and desires. He is afraid that he will not let go of money and power.
If he did, he would not be able to help but be completely corrupted by them. So when he was at his most glorious, he chose to let go and stick to his true heart. This is his belief. Although we feel sorry for him, we still respect his courage.