Rise From the Humble

There is no airtight wall in the world.

Zhu Ping'an, the magistrate of Jingnan County, fought against more than 3,000 Japanese pirates with less than 100 government officials and soldiers. He not only defended Jingnan County, but also beheaded 824 Japanese pirates. He also liberated Taiping County, a neighboring county that had been occupied by Japanese pirates. .

This news spread like wildfire in Wuyi Hall, first to the official circles, and then to the people.

A civil servant who was not yet in his prime was demoted from the capital, but he made outstanding military exploits that many generals could not achieve.

This news was very topical, and for a while, people could be heard talking about it in the streets and alleys of the capital. Of course, although it is not as popular as a certain high-ranking official's concubine having an affair with a housekeeper, a certain family's cow giving birth to a calf with two heads, or the selection of the top ten oirans in Beijing, they are still among the more popular topics. One.

Although Zhu Ping'an is not yet a famous figure in the capital, he is no longer unknown.

Of course, in Jingnan, and even in Taiping, Zhu Ping'an is a man of great influence, no one else.

This was the third day after the Japanese invasion was completely subdued. On this day, Zhu Ping'an did something that shocked the entire Jingnan.

Zhu Ping'an dismissed all the subordinate officials in the six offices of the county government, leaving only the government officials who jointly guarded the city during the Japanese invasion and were recorded.

After the post-disaster reconstruction was on the right track, Zhu Ping'an finally freed up his hands to quell the power of the Japanese and vigorously restructure the county government.

"Sir, why did you dismiss us all?! Are you kidding me?!"

"That's right. All the subordinate officials in the six houses have been dismissed from their posts. There has never been such a ridiculous thing since ancient times."

"Your Excellency, think twice. Your Excellency, please think again. No matter how wise and powerful your Excellency is, how can you manage the huge Jingnan County alone without our help? Even if you have only three heads and six arms, you can't."

"My grandfather was a tax clerk, and my father was a tax clerk. My generation is already the third generation of tax clerks. We can't stop the inheritance here. Three generations of my family have contributed to the county government and worked hard for dozens of years. Years pass by, my lord, you have only been in Jingnan for a few months, how can you say you are dismissing me and dismissing me?"

"Three good men help one fence and three stakes. Without me, how will the county government function?! Sir, you can't just have your own way."

After receiving Zhu Pingan's dismissal order, all the subordinate officials in the county government couldn't help but became angry and rebellious. They gathered around Zhu Pingan and asked for an explanation. They used hard and soft tactics to get Zhu Pingan to withdraw his dismissal order.

"Why should I dismiss you?"

In the center, Zhu Ping'an glanced at the six subordinates calmly, twitching the corner of his mouth in a curve.

"That's right, why should we be dismissed from our posts! Zhang Xiancheng, Yao Zhubo and Li Dianshi haven't arrived at the Yamen yet, but you want to dismiss us. At least you have to ask their opinions?!" The subordinate staff in the six houses were furious.

"Just because I am the magistrate of Jingnan County." Zhu Pingan slowly scanned the crowd and said lightly.

In ancient county governments, only the county magistrate, county magistrate, chief minister, and Dianshi were officials appointed by the imperial court. They were selected by the Ministry of Personnel and appointed and dismissed by the central government. The remaining six subordinate officials were not appointed officials of the imperial court, but were appointed and removed by the county magistrate. In ancient times, county governments implemented a system of magistrate responsibility. The magistrate held great power and could directly decide on the appointment of subordinate officials in the six houses. As the magistrate of Jingnan, Zhu Pingan naturally had this power. Whether he dismissed one or all of them, he was committed to his word.

To deal with Zhang Xian Cheng, Yao Zhubo, and Li Dianshi, Zhu Ping'an still had to work hard. He needed to be impeached and appointed and dismissed by the Ministry of Personnel. But to deal with the six subordinates, Zhu Ping'an can do it with just one sentence. Time is precious, and Zhu Pingan is too lazy to waste time.

"Yes, you are the county magistrate. It is true that you have this power, but you cannot abuse your power like this!"

"Sir, we don't accept it! You dismissed all the subordinates like me from the six houses without any reason. What's the reason?!"

"We are going to Fucheng to reason."

It was related to their vital interests, and all the subordinate officials kept clamoring. As subordinates of the Sixth Floor, although they have no rank, are not officials, and have no salary, they can only receive meager subsidies for paper and pen fees, copying fees, meals and other expenses from the county government, but they have real power and use the power in their hands to They can eat and drink, ask for bribes and accept bribes. They have a hundred and a thousand ways to line their own pockets.

"For no reason?!" Zhu Ping'an lowered his face when he heard this, "Thank you for being able to say this word."

The expressions on the faces of the six subordinate officials were slightly unnatural, but they soon became embarrassed again.

"You are guilty of being absent from work for thirty-eight consecutive days without any reason. "The Law of the Ming Dynasty" stipulates that officials who are absent from work for one day will be beaten with 20 small strokes, and one grade will be added for every three days, and after 20 days, they will be beaten with 100 big strokes. Hong Wu During the year, an official in the Ministry of Revenue was dismissed from his post after he was absent from work for thirty days. If an official is punished for being absent from work, let alone you, a minor official?! And if you are absent from work for thirty-eight days without any reason, your crime is even worse! I am dismissing you from my post. , what's wrong?" Zhu Ping'an glanced at the crowd expressionlessly, twitching the corners of his mouth, and said coldly.

Well!

ah!

A group of six-room subordinate officials looked at each other. They were late on purpose because they wanted to hug Zhang Xian Cheng and others. They secretly united to create obstacles for Zhu Pingan and wanted to drive Zhu Pingan out of Jingnan County. Thinking about it, what he did at that time was so stupid, it was equivalent to actively giving the handle to Zhu Pingan.

However, even so, they did not recognize it.

"Absent from work? No, sir, I am not absent from work. I answer and leave office on time every day."

"Won't."

"nonsense."

The subordinate officials shook their heads and denied the three companies and refused to admit their accounts.

Having expected this for a long time, Zhu Pingan twitched the corner of his mouth with disdain, took out the signature book from his arms, and threw it on the table, "Your daily response to Mao is recorded in the book, and each day is signed by you." .”

"Liu Mu, Dadao, please take note of the sign-in book. If any of you are dissatisfied, you can come forward and check with Liu Mu."

Zhu Pingan glanced at all the subordinate officials.

All the subordinate officials lowered their heads and did not dare to look at Zhu Pingan. Only now do I understand why Zhu Pingan is watching them at the door every day as they sign in. It turns out that he is waiting for them here. This little thief has been harboring evil intentions since then. It is hateful. At that time, he thought that he would let this person The little thief was embarrassed. Now that I think about it, the little thief didn't know why he was laughing in his heart at that time.

"Sir, we are just late, not absent from work."

"Yeah, that's it. We didn't miss work, we were just a little late."

Several subordinate staff were quibbling and quibbling, saying that they were just late, not absent from work.

"Now it seems that you are not only 'lazy', but also 'mediocre'. What is 'diligence'? Being on duty and leaving office on time is the minimum requirement of 'diligence'. You guys don't distinguish between 'diligence' and 'kuang'! Not only You are a lazy official, and even more mediocre. I should be dismissed from my post."

Zhu Ping'an glanced at them and twitched the corners of his mouth in disdain, "Aren't you just asking for death by just talking nonsense with me?"

Those people suddenly turned red and their heads almost dropped to their crotches.