"Beggars do not use stolen officials": "The honest one, the people's watch; the greedy, the people's thief." "Bao Zheng is very good to the people, he has always done justice for the people and acted impartially. Although he was a court official, he never wasted extravagance and tried to spend every penny in a useful place, which is why he was loved by hundreds of people. However, in the vast history of China, there is not only such a good official as Bao Zheng, but zhang Jian, a minister of the Liao Dynasty, is one of them.
Zhang Jian was born in 962 in Wanping (present-day Beijing) to a family of eunuchs, and under the education of his father, Zhang Jian studied poetry and books from an early age and was familiar with literature and science. In the fourteenth year of the Liao Dynasty (996), Zhang Jian passed the examination in one fell swoop and ranked first among the candidates of this year, and subsequently, he was appointed to Shunzhou and embarked on the road to high promotion. Zhang Jian was an upright and rigorous person, never exaggerated and pretentious during his official tenure, and constantly forged ahead in the spirit of seeking truth from facts, which was unanimously praised by colleagues and superiors.
Once, When Emperor Shengzong of Liao went hunting in the Yunzhong area, a number of local officials came to pick him up. The Khitans had a tradition that wherever the emperor passed, officials were required to pay homage to gifts. However, the Emissaries in the clouds said that they had no other treasures, only one "Zhang Jian". Liao Shengzong originally wanted to be mad, but as soon as he heard the word "frugality", he immediately thought of a dream he had done before, he felt that Zhang Jian should be the person he was looking for, so he quickly summoned Zhang Jian.
In the course of their conversation, Zhang Jian put forward more than 30 suggestions in front of Liao Shengzong, all of which were about governing the world. When Liao Shengzong heard it, it almost coincided with his own ideas, so he admired Zhang Jian even more. From that day on, Emperor Shengzong of Liao left Zhang Jian by his side and reused him. In 1031, Emperor Shengzong of Liao became seriously ill, and before his death, he declared Zhang Jian an auxiliary chancellor, specifically assisting the crown prince Yelü Zongzhen (later Emperor Xingzong of Liao), and after Zhang Jian took the order, Emperor Shengzong of Liao closed his eyes and went west with peace of mind.
After Emperor Xingzong of Liao ascended the throne, he had great respect for Zhang Jian, and on the one hand, he constantly promoted Zhang Jian's official position, on the other hand, he also gave Zhang Jian a great reward, and even made his five younger brothers officials. When Zhang Jian listened, Yan Ci rejected the emperor's kindness, and he suggested that Liao Xingzong pay attention to the cultivation of talents, not blindly relying on relationships, reasonable arrangements for expenditure, and not extravagant waste... In addition, Zhang Jian also distributed all the rewards to the poor after removing the usual degree of eating and wearing, and called it a reward from the Son of Heaven, so the people's gratitude to Liaoxingzong also reached an unprecedented height.
However, Liao Xingzong was a master who liked to spend money indiscriminately and never considered so much. One winter day, he saw that Zhang Jian's clothes were very worn, so he wanted to tease him, and planned to take the opportunity to see if Zhang Jian was really so thrifty and thrifty. So, he sent someone to secretly burn a hole in Zhang Jian's robe, ready to observe for a few days to see if he changed or not. As a result, for several days, Zhang Jian was still wearing the hole in the robe, and Liao Xingzong was puzzled and asked Zhang Jian why he did not change it?
Unexpectedly, Zhang Jian said, "I have been wearing this robe for thirty years." Liao Xingzong was very emotional, and he asked Zhang Jian to take the palace items at will, as long as he liked it, he could take them. Later, Zhang Jian did not take any valuables, only three pieces of cloth out. Since then, Emperor Xingzong of Liao has admired Zhang Jian more and more and relied more on him. In 1053, Zhang Jian, who had been diligent and thrifty, quietly died at the age of ninety-one.