"The most honest official in the world" Yu Chenglong (1)

>In that drama about Emperor Kangxi, Jackie Chan, a famous official of a generation, was actually said to be Emperor Kangxi's senior bodyguard or super fireman who frequently paid private visits incognito. Whenever Emperor Kangxi was in trouble, the official known as Yu Chenglong would arrive promptly with a large number of troops. Although Yu Chenglong repeatedly said that "I forgive you for being late for rescue," in fact, he always arrived at the right time. So on one side, Long Yan was overjoyed, and on the other side, the criminals were caught without a fight. A nonsense "joke" ended happily after making a lot of money. Of course, it is definitely not a joke. The one above is Jackie Chan. Not only was he a rare good and honest official at that time, but even today, he is worthy of our "public servants" to learn from. Yu Chenglong is from Yongning, Shanxi. He gained fame in the Chongzhen period at the end of the Ming Dynasty, but he actually became an official in the 18th year of Shunzhi in the early Qing Dynasty. At that time, he was already 45 years old. This official is not a small one. He is the county magistrate of Luocheng, Guangxi, and is at the senior level. However, this Luocheng is located in the mountains. Although it is called a county, it has only 6 households. It has neither a city outline nor official residences. The so-called county Taiye's Yamen only has a few thatched huts. The folk customs around the county are fierce, and violent bandits often come in to steal or rob. Judging from today's situation, working in such a place cannot be called a job promotion. At most, it can only be regarded as "supporting the border areas" or "poverty alleviation." After Jackie Chan took office, he built a platform with clay and it became a desk. He went from village to village to summon the people to join him. If any tough people from the surrounding area came to intrude or steal again, he would report them to the superior for verification and then execute him on the spot. He also personally led the local soldiers to destroy the nest of thieves who often came to Luocheng to kill and plunder. From then on, the surrounding fierce people did not dare to invade again. Yu Chenglong used this extraordinary method to restore a more stable environment to the people. In this case, ordinary people will be able to work happily. The life and production of Luocheng people have gradually returned to normal. When Yu Chenglong was an official, he probably didn't often give instructions and reports. Instead, he "loved the people like a father and son in his family." The local people don't call him the county magistrate, but call him "Aye" in the local dialect. This "Aye" may be equivalent to "Uncle" or "Dad" in Chinese. If the people can enjoy their work, they will have income and can pay the land tax. A very special thing about Luocheng people's handover of gifts is that they must personally hand over the land tax to Yu Chenglong's hands, and then pay some more money and place it on Yu Chenglong's mud table. Yu Chenglong asked why this was happening. The people who had left money laughed and said, "If you don't ask us for more money in addition to the official tax, and if you don't ask us for food and clothing, if you drink wine, we will give it to you." A little money for a drink. Yu Chenglong didn't pretend to be pretentious. He really left some money to buy wine, but he never left more than enough for a pot. If there was more, he took it away. For such a county magistrate, one can imagine how miserable his life was. As time passed, the subordinates who followed Jackie Chan all the way to Luocheng to take office could not bear the hardship and left; those who followed with gritted teeth could not hold on anymore and died. Yu Chenglong became a loner. Seeing such a scene, the people in Luocheng respected and loved Jackie Chan even more. Therefore, every morning and every night, someone from Luocheng came to see if their county magistrate was well. Everyone pooled some money together and said to Jackie Chan: We know Aye is very poor, and we can't bear to see Aye living like this, so we pooled some money together, please take it and buy some oil, salt, firewood and rice. Yu Chenglong didn't accept it, smiled and thanked him and said: I live alone and don't need much. You take the money back and buy some delicious food to honor your parents. It will be as if I have enjoyed it. The common people had no choice but to collect the money and go home sadly. One day, people from Luocheng heard that a man had come to Yu Chenglong's hometown. They were so happy that they rushed to tell each other. They met at Yu Chenglong's Yamen and said: Aye, someone has come to your home. You can bring some things back to settle down at home. ! Then he took out the money he had collected and asked Jackie Chan to accept it. Yu Chenglong still smiled and refused: This place is more than six thousand miles away from my home. He is tired just walking alone. How can he take anything else? When the people in Luocheng saw that Yu Chenglong still refused to accept it, they all cried. He knelt down and begged again and again. Seeing this scene, Yu Chenglong was also moved to tears. However, after crying, Yu Chenglong still didn't get a cent of the money. As I write this, I think that if a person can come back to life, he should really ask Mr. Zai to go to the country to give a tour report, so that those corrupt officials who easily make millions, tens of millions or even billions of dollars can come and listen carefully. I am an official. Is there any comparison between your official position and that of Yu Chenglong? Yu Chenglong stayed in Luocheng for 7 years. During the past seven years, Yu Chenglong recruited the homeless people in Luocheng, built schools, built city walls, dredged the moat, and finally managed Luocheng, a small county with only 6 households, in a decent way. With such political achievements, Yu Chenglong was promoted to the post of magistrate of Hezhou, Sichuan, upon the recommendation of Governor Lu Xingzu and others. When Jackie Chan left Luocheng, the people of Luocheng knelt on the road and cried loudly, saying: Aye is gone, and we Luocheng people have no hope. These people cried and sent Yu Chenglong hundreds of miles away. After Jackie Chan repeatedly dissuaded him, they reluctantly left. But there was a blind man who just wouldn't leave. Yu Chenglong asked him why he didn't leave. The blind man said: I know that the little money in your wallet is not enough for you to go to Hezhou. I have learned fortune telling, and I have to follow you all the way. When your money runs out, I can tell fortunes and earn some money to help you. If this matter were to be placed today, it would definitely be a fantasy. Zhizhou, at least at the deputy department level, took office with great glory. Even if he can't ride in the Audi A6, Santana is definitely indispensable. Will there be a shortage of travel expenses? However, Yu Chenglong really made the blind man's calculation accurate.

Yu Chenglong originally thought that the blind man was sincere and couldn't bear it, but it rained constantly along the way and it was impossible to walk fast. The meager money in his wallet was used up, so he really relied on the blind man to tell his fortune along the way. , and then walked to Hezhou. This Hezhou is by no means a gentle town. Although it has three counties under its jurisdiction, the number of people who stayed after the great chaos totaled several hundred people. Their annual official income was only 15 taels of silver, but the labor service was extremely heavy. After Yu Chenglong took office, he truthfully reported the poverty situation in Hezhou to his superiors and requested to be exempted from various heavy taxes. He also rode a scrawny old horse and took a follower with a hungry look on his face. He borrowed money from everywhere to buy cattle and seeds for the people, and recruited migrant workers to return to their hometowns to resume production. Through his efforts, more than 1,000 new households were added across the state within a month. As soon as Yu Chenglong was in the army in Hezhou, a transfer order came down and he was transferred to Huangzhou to serve as Huangzhou's Tongzhi. Huangzhou is still not a good place. There are many deep valleys and lakes here. In these deep valleys and lakes, there are many lairs for thieves. These thieves are so bold that they dare to rob openly in broad daylight, and no one can do anything to stop them. After Jackie Chan took office, he used both soft and hard tactics. On the one hand, he recruited Peng Bailing, a bandit leader, and spared him to catch other bandits to atone for his crimes; on the other hand, he disguised himself as a beggar, entered the bandits' lair, and conducted reconnaissance for more than ten days. After finding out the situation, he led The soldiers worked together to destroy the bandit's den and capture the nine bandit leaders. Yu Chenglong disguised himself as a beggar and was able to deceive the bandits, which also proved that his daily life was indeed poor. Now, can any township cadre be brought out casually, fat and smooth, pretending to be beggars? Yu Chenglong's handling of these bandit leaders is really unconventional. He gathered the common people and pushed out all the bandit leaders. He told the common people that anyone who stood up and promised that he would no longer be a bandit could be released. Two of them had someone to vouch for them, and Yu Chenglong actually let them go. The remaining 7 people who had no guarantors were tied up with ropes and buried alive on the spot. When the other bandits heard about it, they all fled far away. Eliminating the banditry will give the people an environment to live and work in peace and contentment. His immediate superior, Governor Zhang Chaozhen, also "examined his differences" and reported his performance truthfully. That play said that the TV series made Emperor Kangxi a beggar, and the inspiration may have come from this. Statistics are in progress! !

>Note: All content published on this site is the opinion of the original author, and does not represent the position of Xinjiang, nor the value judgment of Xinqi.com. Gallery > In the 13th year of Kangxi's reign, Yu Chenglong moved to the prefecture of Wuchang. At that time, Wu Sangui made a coup and marched into Hunan. The imperial army conquered Yuezhou and ordered Yu Chenglong to build a pontoon bridge to respond. This time God did not bless Jackie Chan. The bridge was damaged and a flash flood occurred. The bridge was washed away. Yu Chenglong was dismissed from office for this. At this time, Wu Sangui was gaining momentum, and his anti-Qing proclamation spread throughout Hubei. In Macheng, Daye, Huanggang, Huang'an and other places in Hubei, there were people who occupied the mountains and became kings to respond to Wu Sangui. There was a man named Liu Junfu who once worked for Jackie Chan and was somewhat capable at catching thieves. Liu Junfu also received Wu Sangui's notice, and together with Huang Jinlong, the bandit leader from Daye who was hiding in his house, he joined forces with the thief Zhou Tiezhao and occupied Caojiahe to rebel. The officers and soldiers advanced to suppress the enemy and were defeated by him. Helpless, the governor Zhang Chaozhen knew that Yu Chenglong had won the hearts of the people, so he had to use him to conquer Liu Junfu. After Jackie Chan was ordered, he rushed to Liu Junfu's hometown day and night. He knew that although Liu Junfu was rebelling, he was still hesitant, especially among his men. There were not many people who really wanted to cause trouble, but they had already come this far and were afraid that they would be killed by the court if they turned back, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it. That’s all. About ten miles away from Liu Camp, Yu Chenglong was stationed and posted a notice announcing that anyone who surrendered within three days would be exempted from crime. After three days, he would be punished as a rebel. As soon as the list was published, more than a thousand people surrendered every day. As a result, Liu Junfu's power was greatly reduced. He wanted to surrender but was afraid of being executed. He was desperate. At this time, Yu Chenglong sent a letter to Liu Junfu, saying that he would personally go to recruit him. At that time, he rode a mule and took only two people with him. One held an umbrella and the other rang the bell. All the way, he made the two followers shout: Prefect Yu is here to save you! He walked leisurely towards Liu Ying. When Liu Junfu heard about it, he hid behind the mountain and ordered hundreds of archers to ambush on both sides of the road. Yu Chenglong came to the camp and sat in the hall. The rebels were surrounded with angry looks, and it seemed that if Yu Chenglong was even slightly disadvantageous to them, they would tear Yu Chenglong into eight pieces. Yu Chenglong seemed unaware of this, sat down, and asked around him: "Liu Junfu, where is my old slave?" Calling Liu Junfu an old slave, on the one hand, clarified the previous master-servant relationship between him and Liu Junfu, and on the other hand, it showed He has never been forgotten since Jackie Chan in the Sui Dynasty. Afterwards, he had a family affair with the rebels who were guarding him, and asked them: Is there enough rain in the mountains? How is the crop growing? You are all ordinary people who keep their lives, how can you cause trouble? The weather is so hot, Where are your parents, wives and children hiding? Can they bear it? His soft words made the rebels guarding him with angry expressions cry bitterly and kowtow like garlic. Seeing this, Yu Chenglong said: It's too hot, I want to take a nap. After saying that, he fell asleep, snoring loudly. When he woke up, he still didn't see Liu Junfu, so he cursed: "Old slave Liu Junfu, why haven't you come out yet? I'm here, but I won't set up a banquet or serve wine. What's the point?" Liu Junfu saw that Jackie Chan was so unguarded against him, and his heart began to calm down. Then he came out and led the crowd to kowtow and be comforted. After Liu Junfu was appeased, he turned back and led his people to capture the golden dragon and kill it. After Yu Chenglong's success in suppressing the rebellion, Governor Zhang Chaozhen reported the truth and asked to be reinstated as the magistrate of Huangzhou.

Governor Zhang's report was approved by Emperor Kangxi. When Yu Chenglong went to Huangzhou to take up his post, he encountered chaos in Hubei. He Shirong rebelled in Yongning, Chen Dingye rebelled in Yangluo, Zhou Tiezhao and Bao Shiyong rebelled in Baishuifan, and Liu Qiye rebelled in Shipi. Each of these people had thousands of troops, claiming to be one hundred thousand, and they came straight to Huangzhou. At this time, there were only a few hundred people in Huangzhou City, including officials and civilians. Someone suggested to Jackie Chan that in view of the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves, he should withdraw from Huangzhou and guard Macheng exclusively. Yu Chenglong said: Huangzhou is the throat of seven counties. If once abandoned, Jingzhou and Yuexian will also collapse. Therefore, I dare not give up Huangzhou until my death. However, it is not a good idea to sit in Huangzhou and take the initiative. Although there are many thieves, they all depend on He Shirong's behavior. If He Shirong can be eliminated first, the rest can be left alone. So he summoned rural soldiers and got more than 2,000 people. Yu Chenglong ordered Li Ji, the magistrate of Huanggang County, to attack Chen Dingye. He Shirong occupied Huangtu'ao at this time, and Yu Chenglong ordered the commander-in-chief Luo Dengyun and the military officer Zhang Shangsheng to attack. Unexpectedly, the two armies met, and the Qing army was at a disadvantage, so Yu Chenglong hurried to Zhang Shangsheng's camp to supervise the battle. By noon, the rural soldiers gathered together after receiving the news. There were more than 5,000 people stationed in Chaojin Village to confront the rebels. Early the next morning, He Shirong led tens of thousands of people to attack the Qing army from the east and west. There were few rebels on the east route, so Luo Dengyun led more than a thousand people to resist. There were many rebels on the West Road, and Yu Chenglong personally led General Li Maosheng to resist the rebels on the West Road. Yu Chenglong ordered Zhang Shangsheng to resist the rebels on the right, and sent General Wu Zhilan to attack the rebels on the left. However, as soon as the battle started, Wu Zhilan was shot and killed. When the rebels saw this, their fighting spirit soared and their offensive became more urgent, so much so that the flames of war burned Yu Chenglong's beard. The situation was critical, and his subordinates advised Yu Chenglong to take shelter for the time being. Yu Chenglong angrily said: Today is the day of my death! Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed! He also said to Li Maosheng: If I die in battle, you can report to Governor Zhang Chaozhen. After that, he raised his whip and drove his horse straight towards the rebel formation. Li Maosheng was afraid that Jackie Chan had made a mistake, so he fired artillery fire to knock down the rebel flag and led his troops to follow up. During the battle, Li Maosheng was shot on his horse. Li Maosheng jumped off his horse and shot two people in succession. After changing horses, he killed several more people. Zhang Shangsheng led his troops from the right side of the mountain to the rear of the rebel formation, and attacked from both front and rear. The rebels were defeated and thousands of left ears were cut off for merit calculation. He Shirong was captured with his left arm broken. Luo Dengyun met the East Route rebels and defeated them. The rebels were routed for dozens of miles. Yu Chenglong handed over the rebel roster and immediately burned it without even looking at it. Yu Chenglong took advantage of the victory and pursued the rebels until they reached King Lu City. At this time, someone suggested taking a short break. Yu Chenglong said: The power of breaking bamboo cannot be lost. After burying the pot and making rice, Yu Chenglong ordered all the cooking utensils to be destroyed. Yu Chenglong drafted a propaganda announcement on the horse, saying: Those who can catch the rebels will be rewarded heavily; those who surrender will be spared death; those who are coerced into rebelling, those who return can stay at home; as long as they have no weapons, they will be rewarded. Even if you are a thief, you will not be questioned; if you hide weapons secretly, even ordinary people will be executed. When the defeated rebels heard that He Shirong had been captured and that the roster had been burned by Yu Chenglong, they dropped their weapons and dispersed. He Shirong was defeated, and Zhou Tiezhao, Bao Shiyong and others were also captured one by one. In this battle, Yu Chenglong made great achievements. He rallied the villagers to resist the enemy, and used thousands of village soldiers to suppress tens of thousands of rebels in just 24 days, without spending a single piece of cloth or a pound of grain from the public family. In the seventeenth year of Kangxi's reign, Yu Chenglong was promoted to the post of Inspector of Fujian, a position equivalent to the president of the Provincial High Court. At that time, Zheng Chenggong often invaded the counties of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou from Taiwan. Some people were accused of "connecting with Zheng Chenggong" and were charged with "traveling to the sea". Thousands of people were implicated. If this case is proven, these people should be massacred. After some investigation and understanding, Yu Chenglong wrote a letter to Prince Kang, explaining that most of the people involved in this case were ordinary people and should be released. Prince Kang has always valued Jackie Chan and agreed to his request. Among the Qing troops in Fujian, many women from good families were plundered as slaves. Yu Chenglong raised funds to redeem the lives of these women and let them go home. Governor Wu Jianlian and Shangshu praised Yu Chenglong's talents. Yu Chenglong was promoted to chief envoy and deputy provincial level. In the 19th year of Kangxi's reign, Yu Chenglong was promoted to governor of Zhili, the highest chief executive of the province. As soon as he took office, he ordered that provincial officials at all levels were not allowed to secretly spend money to give gifts to superior officials. The so-called fire loss was originally the loss of broken silver melted into ingots, but later it became extortion in addition to the tax payment. In the early Qing Dynasty, fire consumption was extremely heavy, and fire consumption was added privately, mostly for officials at all levels to line their own pockets. Yu Chenglong's order has reduced the burden on the people of the province. In the 20th year of Kangxi's reign, due to the death of his mother, Yu Chenglong was allowed to take leave. However, not long after he went into mourning, he was appointed governor of Jiangnan and Jiangxi. After Yu Chenglong took office, he often paid private visits incognito to understand the sufferings of the people and the conduct of subordinate officials. He works by himself and often stays up all night. Jiangnan folk customs are inherently luxurious, but as a high-ranking official, Yu Chenglong rarely eats meat once a month and eats vegetables as his main dish all year round, so he got the nickname "Yu Qingcai". The impact of his example is huge. The gentry and common people in the south of the Yangtze River followed suit and replaced silk and satin clothes with coarse cloth. They dressed lightly and simply when going out. They no longer painted gold or silver when making furniture, and no longer spent extravagance and waste in weddings and funerals. During Yu Chenglong's governance, even the robbers and thieves fled far away. A few months after Yu Chenglong took office, Jiangnan and Jiangxi were under great rule. In the 23rd year of Kangxi's reign, Yu Chenglong also served as governor of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. I don't know if he was overworked, but he died in office not long after. Statistics are in progress! !

>Note: All content published on this site is the opinion of the original author, and does not represent the position of Xinjinet, nor does it represent the value judgment of Xinjinet.

Gallery > ? Yu Chenglong’s reputation as a generation of honest officials was certainly due to his incorruptible nature, but it was also his blessing to meet such a thoughtful emperor as Kangxi. Villains have been around for generations, it just depends on whether you can identify them. Yu Chenglong became the governor of Liangjiang, and the territory was under great rule, but there were still villains who made small reports against him. Although Jackie Chan was so incorruptible, he still couldn't help but feel worried after hearing these small reports. After Xiong Cilu was dismissed as prime minister, he lived in Jiangning. One day, Yu Chenglong visited Xiong Cilu. As they sat chatting under a sycamore tree, Yu Chenglong talked about his worries. Xiong Cilu immediately advised: I didn't expect you to be afraid of these villains' greedy words. When the real man found out, even though life and death were not easy, how could he care about the rumors of these villains? Yu Chenglong actually thanked Xiong Cilu for his advice at that time. But the rumors didn't stop there. The next year, when Yu Chenglong visited Xiong Cilu again, his face still looked worried. Xiong Cilu said to him sternly: Have you forgotten what we said under the plane tree? Not long after this visit, Yu Chenglong passed away. Even though Yu Chenglong met such a wise emperor as Kangxi, he was still on pins and needles at all times. It can be seen that officialdom is sinister and villains are sinister. After Jackie Chan passed away, his generals, governors, and staff went to sort out the relics and found that the relics of this genuine official were nothing more than a bamboo box. When he opened it, he found that there was only a set of robes and a few jars containing salt and black beans in the box. When Emperor Kangxi heard about it, he praised Jackie Chan as "the most honest official in the world." The emperor's praise is naturally good, but justice is more important in people's hearts. Upon hearing the news of Yu Chenglong's death, "people went on strike and gathered together to cry." Throughout the ages, the death of several officials has caused "people to go on strike and gather together to cry"! ? Statistics are in progress! !

>Note: All content published on this site is the opinion of the original author, and does not represent the position of Xinjiang, nor the value judgment of Xinqi.com.

Gallery