Zheng Qiao is the way of officials

As the saying goes: for the sake of an official, for the benefit of one party. This sentence is most appropriately used in the three dynasties of the Southern Song Dynasty, the official to the National History Academy, the Privy Council and the prince attendant, the attendant, and the official Shangshu, and the posthumous title of Zheng Qiao of the Taishi Guogong.

Zheng Qiao is capable and incorruptible

After Zheng Qiao won the title, he was appointed by the emperor as the Jiedu commander of the Zhennan Army. After his arrival, he assisted the Zhijun in governing the localities. At that time, the Zhennan Army was causing a famine, and due to the lack of grain harvest, there were often cases of starvation and death, and the people were miserable. Zhi Jun was impatient and helpless. Zheng Qiao actively rescued the famine, inspected the site, and proposed more than a dozen disaster relief measures. As a result of the effectiveness of the measures, the famine passed quickly. When the emperor learned of this, he was very satisfied with Zheng Qiao's disaster relief measures, and ordered the ministers to study them carefully and promote them to the whole country as a decree.

Later, there was also a famine in the Huai-Zhejiang area, and the imperial court sent several ministers to rule it but could not cure it, and a large number of displaced people continued to flow out, and the situation was very critical. At this time, the emperor remembered Zheng Qiao again and immediately sent him to govern. At that time, Zheng Qiao had just finished his stay at home because of the death of his father, and when he received orders from the emperor, he rushed back to the imperial court without stopping. After requesting the allocation of 40,000 stones of grain to help the hungry, he personally handled the matter of transporting grain for relief and distributed all the relief grain to the homes of the hungry people.

At that time, the salt tax was still an important financial revenue of the state, but because of the corruption of officials at all levels, not only did the imperial court have no income, but lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, which really caused the emperor a headache. The emperor remembered Zheng Qiao again and sent him to manage the salt tax. Salt to circulate throughout the country, mainly rely on water transport, after Zheng Qiao took office, while punishing corrupt officials, while dredging the river, in just one year, the river for transporting salt was unimpeded, the salt tax turned a loss into a profit, and suddenly accumulated three or four million silver for the imperial court.

Zheng Qiao's ability and honesty were praised by the government and the public, and Emperor LongYan, who immediately summoned Zheng Qiao to Beijing, made him the prince's teacher, and drafted documents for the emperor. Zheng Qiao was full of poetry and books, not only very competent for the work of the prince's teacher, the edict drafted for the emperor, but also the words and words, the splendid embroidery, the readers at that time all competed to read his articles. During his tenure at the emperor's side, Zheng Qiao was still upright, upright, and outspoken in denouncing the darkness of the officialdom, which made his prestige in the court as good as the sky.

Zheng Qiao disobeyed the order and refused to draft the edict

The emperor at that time was Emperor Xiaozong. Emperor Xiaozong was a womanizer, and a traitor surnamed Chen saw the situation and offered a beautiful woman. This beautiful woman was extremely obscene, and the emperor was deceived by her and mixed with her day and night. One day, when the emperor was happy, this beautiful woman took the opportunity to intercede with the emperor and asked the emperor to promote Chen's courtiers to a higher position. The emperor was happy, and without even thinking about it, he personally wrote an edict asking Zheng Qiao to draft an appointment document. When Zheng Qiao received the order from Emperor Xiaozong, he was very angry, he said: "This surname Chen is not a thing, it is useless and virtuous, and I cannot write the edict for him to be promoted!" ”

Zheng Qiao returned the edict given to him by Emperor Xiaozong. His friend advised him, "How can the emperor's edict be withdrawn?" This is the sin of deception! Zheng Qiao did not listen to the persuasion and said flatly: "I am doing this for the good of the imperial court and for the good of the emperor, and if I am removed from my post or killed for this, then I am also willing!" ”

Emperor Xiaozong was a little angry when he saw that Zheng Qiao had returned the edict, but because he loved Zheng Qiao's literary talent too much and listened to Zheng Qiao speak with a straight face, he had to give up.

Zheng Qiao made Jin not dishonor his life

In the late Northern Song Dynasty, it was a very weak imperial court. Jin soldiers captured Fenjing, and Emperor Huizong of Song and Emperor Qinzong of Song took prisoners and were taken to northern Mobei. After Emperor Kang (Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty) crossed the river in a hurry and established the small court of the Southern Song Dynasty in Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou), he did not want to miss his father and brother who had imprisoned Mobei, implemented a policy of surrender, reused the surrender faction qin ju and others, persecuted Li Gang, Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and other generals of the main war faction, and also brutally killed Yue Fei's father and son in the Fengbo Pavilion on the charge of "false accusations." Since then, in order to seek a corner of peace, the Southern Song Dynasty has to send a large amount of gold and silver treasures to the Jin Kingdom every year.

By the time Zheng Qiao was an official in the dynasty, Emperor Gaozong had already abdicated. Later, Emperor Xiaozong also sent people to give gifts to Jinbang every year, but this envoy was not good, and he was often harassed and insulted by Jinbang. In this year, the imperial court again sent emissaries to the Jin state to send gifts, and no one in the DPRK dared to accept this task. Zheng Qiao saw that the courtiers were so afraid, so he took the initiative to ask Emperor Xiaozong for his life. Of course, Emperor Xiaozong was pleased, so he made Zheng Qiao an envoy to Jinbang.

When Zheng Qiao arrived in Jinbang, it happened that the lord of Jinbang was sick in bed and could not be received. One day, Minister Jin Bang took Zheng Qiao into the palace to visit the sick. Entering the Jinbang Deep Palace, Zheng Qiao looked up and saw that the palace gate to be entered was not the main gate, but the east pavilion gate. He immediately stopped walking and stood firmly outside the door holding the emperor's edict. Minister Kim said, "Come in." Zheng Qiao said in an awe-inspiring tone, "No, this East Pavilion Gate is the door that your Minister jin bang entered." I am here today on behalf of the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, and I should go through the main gate. Minister Jin smiled and said, "The Great Song Dynasty has perished, and the emperors have become our captives, didn't you come here to pay tribute, and what stinky shelf of a big country?" Zheng Qiao said: "I am a civilized country of the Song Dynasty, a country of etiquette, and now I see that you are extremely poor in the north of the desert, and only then do you give gold and silver materials, but you dare to be so disrespectful and speak wildly!" Minister Jin Bang sneered and said, "Today in my palace, you have to enter, and if you don't enter, you have to enter, aren't you afraid of death?" Zheng Qiao smiled slightly, and said in a loud voice: "The crime of humiliating life is not enough to atone for death." "The Golden Soldiers pushed him, but if he landed on the ground, he just wouldn't enter through the East Pavilion Gate."

From morning to noon, and from noon to afternoon, Zheng Qiao had to enter the main entrance. There was no way, and the minister of Jin Bang had to tell him to return to the inn. In the evening, Jin Bang sent someone to threaten Zheng Qiao, and Zheng Qiao never gave in. The minister of Jin Bang had no choice but to report to the Lord of Jin, who was seriously ill admired Zheng Qiao's courage and ordered Haosheng to entertain.

After Zheng Qiao completed the important task of envoying Jin, Jin Bang had to send him back.

When Zheng Qiao returned to the imperial court, Emperor Xiaozong had ceded the throne to Emperor Guangzong. The new emperor knew that Zheng Qiao had sent an envoy to Jin State, did not fail in his mission, and fought for the face of the imperial court, so he personally received him, praised him greatly, and promoted him to an official.

From this point of view, Zheng Qiaozhi's ability to rise step by step, relying on not flattery, selling officials and buying officials, completely relying on a heart for the people and the country, relying on talent, relying on honesty and not loving power to make his career smooth. "Stand straight and walk straight" This is Zheng Qiao's way of being an official.