Jia You was a scholar in the second year of the exam and served as a general judge in Yuezhou. There was a famine this year, and he estimated that the food stored in regular warehouses was not enough for relief, and it was impossible for all rural people to come to the city to buy food. Ceng Gong posted notices telling counties to persuade rich households to truthfully declare their stored grain, and * * * has1500,000 stone, so that they can sell the grain to the people after slightly raising the price of normal warehouses. People can buy food conveniently nearby, but there is more than enough food without leaving their hometown. Ceng Gong also asked the government to lend farmers seeds and let them repay them together with the autumn tax, so as not to delay farming.
Ren Zhizhou, his management is based on eliminating all evils and cracking down on thieves. My son, a family named Zhou in Qu Di, is an arrogant and hurtful citizen. His ability can influence local dignitaries, and no one in the county dares to chase him. Ceng Gong arrested and punished him. Zhang Qiu is known as the "overlord's club" in the countryside. He kills and robs prisoners and can do anything. Ceng Gong asked people to form Baowu, let them monitor the thief's whereabouts, beat drums to convey information and help each other, so that they could catch the thief every time. There is a man named Ge You, who is one of the hunted people. One day, he turned himself in to the government. Ceng Gong entertained him to eat and drink, gave him clothes and hats, and equipped him with horses, chariots and attendants to show off. When the thieves heard about it, most of them turned themselves in. On the surface, Ceng Gong seems to publicize it everywhere, but in fact, he wants to alienate the thieves so that they can no longer be together. Since then, people in qi zhou can sleep peacefully without closing the gate.
Transfer to Hongzhou. Ceng Gong ordered all counties and towns to store medicines for emergencies. Soldiers and civilians who are unable to support themselves because of difficulties in life are recruited to live in official houses, provided with food, clothing and quilts, and appointed doctors to treat them. When the imperial army conquered Annan, all the states it passed through had to prepare the materials needed by tens of thousands of people. Officials in other places took this opportunity to extort money, which made the people uncomfortable. When the army suddenly assembled ahead of schedule, Ceng Gong dealt with food and shelter alone. So after the army left, people in urban and rural areas did not know.
Transferred to the well-known Mingzhou, Bozhou and Zhangzhou. Ceng Gong is very talented and prestigious. He has been a local official for a long time. Many people in the world think that he is unfortunate. During this period, a group of younger court ministers succeeded, and Ceng Gong didn't care. Once passing by the imperial court, Zongshen summoned him, greeted him and comforted him. He was very prized and appointed him as the Chinese Book Sheren.
Ceng Gong is filial to his parents and friendly to his brothers. After his father died, he took good care of his stepmother. When his family was poor and helpless, he raised four younger brothers and nine younger sisters, all of whom were under his management. The articles written by Ceng Gong cover a wide range and have great momentum. Few people were good at writing articles at that time. When I was young, I interacted with Wang Anshi. Wang Anshi was not famous at that time, and Ceng Gong introduced him to Ouyang Xiu. After Wang Anshi succeeded, Ceng Gong had a different view of him. Zong Shen once asked Ceng Gong: "What kind of person is Wang Anshi?" Ceng Gong replied: "Wang Anshi's article knowledge and behavior ethics are not worse than Yang Xiong's, just because he is mean and can't compare with Yang Xiong." The emperor said, "Wang Anshi looked down on wealth. How can you say that he is stingy? " Ceng Gong said: "When I say he is stingy, I mean he is brave in doing things, but he is stingy in correcting mistakes." Zongshen agreed with him.