If the honest official Harry paid a bribe, it would be questioned by many people, but the historical evidence can not be questioned. The most direct evidence is that when he was a magistrate in Chun 'an, he gave 242 taels of silver as a bribe in the year of pilgrimage, of which 922 taels were given to the magistrate and Bubi Si Er.
There are two circumstantial evidences. First of all, he paid attention to the welcome of past officials: "It is better to be engraved on the people than to take it out on the people; Thin is not as thick as thick. " "The people are small, and there is a public discussion that cannot be self-sufficient; The passenger's mouth is very big, reversing right and wrong, and the swearing words and behaviors are a bit unreasonable. " "Be generous and treat others as yourself." How to satisfy past officials? Harry made it clear that all the money spent is public money, and besides eating and drinking, bribery is essential.
Second, I once lamented, "The year of pilgrimage is the year when Beijing officials collect rent." It seems that when it comes to phenomena, you can't help but pay bribes. This is the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, with many superiors and strict supervision and restraint everywhere. But in a word, you can't be an official without paying bribes. A little judge like Harry can't be alone.
According to analysis, there are four objects that Harry needs to bribe most:
One is the office and the other is the department. Harry found the county magistrate from the doctrine. The official position and Bubi Er are the direct superiors of the county magistrate, and the county magistrate has become the main target of bribery. Harry once said helplessly, "Pepsi is in the government, and all ages should participate." Harry only saved a few dozen taels of silver. When talking about local bribery in the late Ming Dynasty, Li Le said: "County officials took bribes until they received four or five hundred dollars, which was too little for the public. When I was in Guangzhou, I saw people taking pearls of different sizes to important places. In China, people as big as beans don't count for a liter, and they don't stop. According to Li Le, Harry's bribe is not worth mentioning.
Second, according to the governor. These officials are sent by the central government, so it is essential to bribe them. Someone pointed out this kind of bribery problem in Yongle Dadian: "Every time the imperial court sends someone on a business trip, it means that this person can earn his own living and be held accountable indefinitely." State officials promised to kiss up for fear of being photographed. Between honesty and self-discipline, loving the people has no future, which means increasing harm and thinking that you can't do things. The court did not censor, but suddenly committed a crime. He is the county magistrate of a foreign vassal. When he hears of an imperial envoy, he will remain vigilant to avoid the future. Between superiors and subordinates, bribery is open and there is no jealousy. It is not surprising that corruption is rampant, especially the officials of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development are the bane of local officials. During Li Jiawan's reign, all local taxes were in the hands of family officials. At that time, heirlooms were not good at grinding books, and books were mainly human hands. Accepting bribes, advancing and retreating, shows that the unfinished work has been completed. If you don't do this, you will finish it, finish it. Therefore, it was circulated for a time that "those who oppose the emperor, calligraphers first." The combination of bribery and petty official politics makes politics darker and darker. It will become more and more difficult for Harry to be an honest official and do practical things for the people. Can't you bribe?
How to understand Harry's bribery? He is by no means in cahoots, he must do so, and it is a compromise to change the strategy. The Bible says I can only take you to the door, not push you in. This means that you need to know yourself, admit that you are still outside the door, strive to enter and seek further sublimation of your soul.
Of course, Harry hasn't read the Bible, but his compromise strategy is the result of his own thinking: first, compromise and seek self-protection to seek his own politics; The second step is to seek change. Only when you are in your position and seek the government can you promote the healthy trend and benefit all people.