An example of doing things with a fair heart

Who cut off the tongue of the cow?

Bao Zheng went to Tianchang County in Yangzhou (in present-day Jiangsu Province) to be the magistrate. Soon after he took office, he encountered a case.

On this day, a farmer's child went to the river to graze his cattle. He put the cows on the beach to graze, and went to play by the river. When he tried to take the cow home, he found the cow standing listlessly, dripping blood from its mouth. The child was so frightened that he began to cry.

When the child's father heard about it, he ran to the river to take a closer look, only to realize that the cow's tongue had been cut off by someone. He was anxious and hateful, and stamped his feet and said:

Destroy my cattle, how can I plow the land! ”

After speaking, he rushed to the county yamen to complain. After listening to his narration, Bao Zheng thought about it and had an idea. He said to the complainant unhurriedly:

When the tongue of an ox is cut, it cannot grow any more. Go home and slaughter the cow and sell it as ripe meat. lest the oxen not be able to eat grass and die, and even the meat will be worthless. ”

After hearing this, the peasant was very dissatisfied, looked at Bao Zheng, and complained:

County master, if the people slaughter the cattle, what else will they use to plow the land? Besides, the government also does not allow the slaughter of cattle ......”

Bao Zheng pretended to be impatient and said

What is a cow's tongue? Is it worth it endlessly? Let's go! ”

The peasants had no choice but to go back and do as Bao Zheng said.

The next day, a man from the same village as the peasant came to complain. He said that the farmer had violated the law by slaughtering cattle privately.

Bao Zheng looked at this person's ghostly appearance, so he stared at him and asked

You sued him for killing a ploughing cow, and you said, why did he kill the ox? ”

Because the cow's tongue is ......As soon as he said this, the complainant realized that he had made a mistake and hurriedly shut up.

Bao Zheng stood up suddenly, slapped the startled wood with a "snap", and asked

Say! What about cow tongues? ”

The cow's tongue was cut ......”

How do you know if a cow's tongue is cut? ”

The complainant was so stuttered that he could not answer. At this time, Bao Zheng asked loudly

You have brought me the truth, why did you cut off his cow's tongue and sue him? ”

When the man heard this, he was shocked and quickly kowtowed and confessed:

It was the villain who had an enmity with him, so he cut off the cow's tongue ......”

Bao Zheng punished the person who cut the tongue of the cow in accordance with the law. Since then, his reputation for being good at solving cases has spread everywhere.

I didn't take a piece of inkstone.

This story is from "Lü's Spring and Autumn Period: Go to Selfishness". When Jin Ping was the emperor, there was a place called Nanyang that lacked an official. Jin Pinggong asked Qi Huangyang:

Who do you think can be this county official? Qi Huangyang said: "Xie Hu is a good person, he is suitable to be this county official."

Qi Huangyang replied with a smile: "You are asking who can be a county official, not who is my enemy." Pinggong thought that Qi Huangyang was right, so he sent Xie Hu to Nanyang as a county official.

After Xie Hu took office, he did a lot of good things for the local area, and was generally praised by the people of Nanyang.

After a while, Pinggong asked Qi Huangyang again: "Now that there is a shortage of judges in the court, who do you think can take this position?" Qi Huangyang said

Qi Wu can take responsibility. Pinggong felt strange again, "Isn't Qi Wu your son?" Qi Huangyang said

Qi Wu is indeed my son, but you are asking who can be a judge, not if Qi Wu is my son. Pinggong was very satisfied with Qi Huangyang, so he sent Qi Wu to be a judge, and later Qi Wu really became a good judge who could enforce the law fairly.

Later, people used the idiom "selflessness" to describe being completely concerned about the collective interests and without any selfishness. It can also refer to dealing with things fairly and without favoring any party.