Today, the History Encyclopedia editor will introduce to you who was the first upright official of the Tang Dynasty, hoping to be helpful to you.
When it comes to the upright officials in our country’s history, the first person that comes to everyone’s mind is Bao Zheng. Bao Zheng has been a clean official for decades and has never engaged in corrupt behavior. On the one hand, because Bao Zheng was self-sufficient, and on the other hand, because the salaries of officials in the Song Dynasty were really high, Bao Zheng really could not commit corruption. The honest official introduced to you by the editor today is the first honest official in the Tang Dynasty. He is so honest that even the emperor cannot bear to see him. He bluntly said: How greedy are you!
Who is this person? He is the famous Tang Dynasty prime minister Lu Zhi. Lu Zhi, styled Jingyu. Born on the 13th day of the Tianbao reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty in Sweet Water Well, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province. The original Lu family was from Jiangnan, but their family declined at birth. Although his father Lu Kan served as the county magistrate of Liyang, he passed away when he was young, so Lu Zhi was raised by his widowed mother Wei Shi. Wei’s upbringing was strict, so Lu Zhi not only studied very hard, but also paid attention to his behavior.
After Tang Dezong Li Shi took over from him, he sent eleven envoys, Yu He, to inspect the world and select talents for him. Lu Zhi persuaded the envoys to use the “Five Five Techniques” to observe customs and habits, the “Eight Stratagems” to test local political achievements, the “Three Subjects” to select outstanding talents, the “Four Taxes” to be changed to taxation and finance, and the “Six Virtues” of the exhausted people. Instigation told Lu Zhi that these ideas came from Emperor Dezong of Tang, who was overjoyed and promoted Lu Zhi to the position of Hanlin Scholar.
In the fourth year of the Jianzhong reign, the Jingyuan army rebelled and sought refuge in Dezong (now Gan County, Shaanxi Province), where he was promoted to the position of Gongsi Langzhong. In the first year of Xingyuan, Li Huaiguang rebelled, and Lu Zhi and Dezong fled to Liangzhou together, becoming a remonstrant official. Wherever he fled, Lu Zhi followed him. Moreover, the laws and regulations of Emperor Dezong of Tang were mainly drafted by Lu Zhi, who took swift steps in dealing with complex political affairs. The proposed legislation is not considered comprehensive.
Tang Dezong became increasingly dependent on Lu Zhi, so when he got lost during his escape, he cried and ordered those who found Lu Zhi to reward him with a thousand gold coins. After returning to the capital, many people came to Pakistan to get married, but Lu Zhi persisted and refused gifts from officials one after another. After the death of Lu Zhi’s mother, he went home to mourn and lived at Fengle Temple in Songshan. Many local bureaucrats came to visit, but Lu Zhi is looking for various reasons to deny it.
Later, during the Xichuan Festival in Jiannan, Wei Gao reported to Emperor Dezong, and Lu Zhi received this gift of adversity. When Emperor Dezong of Tang saw that Lu Zhi was living in poverty, he sent eunuchs to pass on this secret: “He is too clean to accept gifts from others. How do you get along with peers? Even if you don’t want to accept property, it’s like boots and whips. Accepting small objects in class is not a problem. Later, Lu Zhi offended Emperor Dezong by repeatedly criticizing him, and Emperor Dezong demoted him to Zhongzhou until he passed away.
