"Jiangnan Officials": an epic about officialdom and people's hearts in the middle of the Qing Dynasty.
In the south of the Yangtze River during the Chenghua period, there was an undercurrent under the affluence. Lin Fu, a scholar from a poor family, had the ambition to "serve the kings Yao and Shun" and started from his hometown. However, at the first step of his official career, he encountered the hard reality - the collusion of the squires, the uneven grain and tax, and even the guardian of an orphan girl had to have a grudge against the evil young man.
From being the Prime Minister of Lishui County to being promoted to an official position in Suzhou, he measured land, solved Japanese cases, and won the hearts of the people with his hard work, but he also became a "thorn in the eyes" of the gentry. When he entered the Central Criminal Department, he struggled in the whirlpool of party strife and saw Li Dongyang's compromises. After being coerced by the eunuchs, he understood the helplessness of "going straight is easy to break"; finally he asked himself to be released to Yingtian, rectified government affairs, fought against Japanese pirates, and reformed commercial taxes, and practiced his ideals in the land of Jiangnan, even if it touched vested interests and attracted countless impeachments.
This is not a story about an upright official cheating, but a history of choices made by an idealist in a grayscale reality of how to stick to the bottom line. When Lin Fu resigned and returned home, looking at the students at Jingshi Academy and the vast rice fields in the south of the Yangtze River, he finally understood that his official career was limited, but his achievements that benefited people's livelihood would be remembered by the people forever beyond the annals of history.
The wind from Jiangnan is still hot after a hundred years. This kind of story is worth reading, and even more worth telling to your peers - because every era requires the courage of "Lin Fu" people.
