Chapter 38 Hold the handle and do things well

In the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty, it was actually very dark. Not only the phenomenon of relying on nepotism to seek power and profit was very serious, but also corruption was very prevalent.This is actually an unavoidable phenomenon in any feudal dynasty. Let's talk about nepotism.After all, the history of China from the beginning of the Xia Dynasty until the end of the Qing Dynasty was all under one family, all under one family, and the emperors were either succeeded by their fathers and sons, or brothers until their brothers died. The ministers under him also used their own power to lay the foundation for their descendants to be officials for generations.Even the prosperous dynasty is the same.The imperial examination system we are talking about is nothing more than a supplement to the official selection system.

Let alone this corruption.Since it is a family, there will inevitably be a lack of law; this society must be a "rule of man" society, not a "rule of law" society; "Law" will definitely be eclipsed in front of "humanity"; the so-called "law" will hardly stop corruption.Although Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and others are the so-called Youdao Mingjun that we often say, although Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and others have made unremitting efforts for this, although they also want the Qing Dynasty to last for a long time, but Neither could they stop the darkness in the officialdom, nor could they effectively prevent the decline and demise of the Qing Dynasty.

As long as it belongs to the world, this dynasty cannot solve the problems of serious nepotism and widespread corruption, and the demise of this dynasty can only be a matter of time. Among Heshen's many henchmen, many of them are people who are themselves tainted with corruption. Here are three questions: First, did Heshen take in many people who were corrupted as friends and confidants?is it possible?Second, is there any value for those who have been caught by Heshen for various crimes?Thirdly, how does He Shen take in these people who were caught by him because of various crimes as friends?

Now let’s answer the first question: Heshen took in many people who were corrupted as friends and confidants?is it possible? You don’t know, but to put it bluntly, according to the "Great Qing Law", these people with corruption stains should be dealt with severely; even He Shen, who is under one person and above tens of millions, According to the requirements of the "Law of the Qing Dynasty", they should not be taken in as friends and confidantes; even if they are simply taken in, they should be guilty of concealment and should be severely punished. But, everyone, don't forget that this is the world of the Qing Dynasty, an era of rule of man, not rule of law.In any feudal dynasty in China, the rule of man was greater than the rule of law—whether it was Qin and Han, Tang and Song, or Yuan, Ming and Qing.In such a dynasty, in any case, the emperor alone had the final say, and there never was any problem of "the prince broke the law and committed the same crime as the common people". "The prince breaks the law and commits the same crime as the common people" can only be a kind and beautiful wish of people in feudal society.

If we look at any official history, there are a large number of officials who committed crimes and the emperor arbitrarily changed the sentence.Not to mention, for example, Ji Xiaolan, who was an official in the same dynasty as Heshen, was sent to Xinjiang for a crime, but later Emperor Qianlong hurriedly took him back because he could not find a poet to accompany him. Beijing, forgive his sin.However, although "Qianlong Dynasty" also wrote about Ji Xiaolan's dispatch to Urumqi, Xinjiang to guard the border, it was not a historical fact at all. In "The Qianlong Dynasty", Ji Xiaolan was sent to Xinjiang, it seems that because Ji Xiaolan wanted to avoid the succession dispute between the two sons of Emperor Qianlong, so the time when he was sent to Urumqi, Xinjiang should be when Emperor Qianlong was about to establish Before and after the successor, that is, it should be around 1794.However, the real historical fact is that Ji Xiaolan was exiled to Xinjiang in the thirty-third year of Qianlong (1768) because of her in-laws, Lu Jianzeng, the former Lianghuai salt transport envoy Lu Jianzeng, who was exiled to Xinjiang. 18 years old.In the thirty-fifth year of Qianlong (1770), he returned to the capital again. Heshen was 20 years old this year.At this time, He Shen is far from being on the political stage of the Qing Dynasty!

Besides, Liu Yong, who was an official in the same dynasty as Heshen and Ji Xiaolan, after he made a mistake, Emperor Qianlong just looked at Liu Yong's father Liu Tongxun's face and demoted him, and he actually demoted Liu Yong and left Beijing. Before taking office, he personally wrote poems as gifts.What a big face, this is not punishing criminals, it can be said to be encouraging crimes. It is precisely because of this that He Shen dared to blatantly disregard the law and take in those people who themselves have corruption stains as their friends and confidants.Because he knew that these people would be pardoned by Emperor Qianlong at any time. Instead of letting these people thank the emperor for being pardoned by Emperor Qianlong, it is better to cover up these criminals and let them thank him when he directly investigates and deals with them.

Now let's answer the second question: Is there any value for those who have been caught by Heshen for various crimes? Of course it has value!And the value is not small.This value is manifested in the following aspects: First, at least one less opponent and one more friend. Second, there may be more than one opponent missing and more than one friend added. Third, make yourself more informed. For example, as we mentioned in the previous chapter, in the fifty-first year of Qianlong (1786), Hangzhou Weaving Shengzhu, which was investigated and dealt with by the university scholar Agui and Heshen’s younger brother Helin for corruption, was very valuable.After all, he is the emperor's brother-in-law.At least, his news is well-informed.Moreover, later facts proved that Emperor Qianlong reappointed Shengzhu as Hangzhou weaving after more than a year.Think about it, but thanks to how to deal with the issue of Shengzhu, Heshen's younger brother He Lingao gave a high hand, and Shengzhu became friends with Heshen and Helin brothers; otherwise, Heshen and Helin brothers Isn't there a very powerful opponent?

Now let's answer the third question: How does He Shen take in these people who were caught by him because of various crimes as friends? In fact, this question is easy to answer. Raise the muzzle of the gun an inch, and the big and small things will be turned into small things. Wang Danwang and others mentioned in "Iron Teeth Bronze Teeth Ji Xiaolan" are the most typical examples.The cause of the matter is this: In the thirty-ninth year of Qianlong (1774), the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Le Erjin (Yitemo family, a Manchurian inlaid white banner) reported to Qianlong: "The two provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu are not big every year. The severe drought is different from the place. In addition, the land is barren and the people are poor and miserable. If you rely on the state every year, which will affect the treasury and make the ministers feel guilty, it is better to donate prisons in Gansu and Shanxi, and all the people will hand over rice and rice, in exchange for the sons of the state, and the officials who take the exam." That is to say. It is said that in order for the local people to survive and do not need to transfer money from the treasury, they had to order those scholars who wanted to obtain the qualification of supervisor to pay food in exchange for the status of supervisor. In fact, the identity of supervisor was clearly marked and auctioned out.Qianlong knew that this method was not a long-term solution, but the situation was urgent, so he had no choice but to do so, so he ordered Wang Danwang, the governor of Zhejiang Province, to go to Shaanxi and Gansu to preside over the matter.As a result, for the next three consecutive years, Shaanxi and Gansu reported that there were droughts in successive years, and a total of 150,000 people donated grain to supervise their lives. From the book, the donated grain has exceeded more than 6 million shi.In fact, the drought was fake, officials at all levels embezzled the donated grain in the name of the drought, filling their own pockets, and even the censor Wang Danwang, who was specially sent by Emperor Qianlong to preside over the matter, embezzled huge amounts of corruption.In his report to Emperor Qianlong, he also concealed the facts and made a false report: "Too much grain has been supervised in successive years, which has caused the warehouse to be full and cannot be accommodated. It is proposed to build another 20 new warehouses, and the emperor is specially asked to transfer the money." Emperor Qianlong dialed Give him 160,000 taels of silver to build a new treasury. If there is no food, build a new treasury. The 160,000 taels of silver are immediately divided up by various corrupt officials.

Emperor Qianlong didn't know the real situation in Shaanxi and Gansu, so he ordered He Shen to come to Shaanxi and Gansu for inspection.When He Shen got out of the car, Le Erjin, Wang Danwang and others led hundreds of officials and gentry to greet him.As soon as He Shen saw the expressions of the local officials, he guessed ninety-nine out of ten about the Shaanxi-Gansu prison donation, and soon took Le Erjin, Wang Danwang and others into his account. Of course, it was in the forty-sixth year of Qianlong, that is, in 1781, that Le Erjin, Wang Danwang and others were finally killed when the incident happened.Regarding Wang Danwang and others being killed after the event happened, the two TV series "Qianlong Dynasty" and "Iron Teeth Bronze Teeth Ji Xiaolan" have diametrically opposite statements.

In "Qianlong Dynasty", the description of Wang Danwang and others is as follows: First, Heshen discovered that Wang Danwang was a talent, so he recommended Wang Danwang to Emperor Qianlong, and Wang Danwang was promoted; Wang Danwang was killed when the accusation was exposed. In "Iron Teeth Bronze Teeth Ji Xiaolan", the person who first denounced Wang Danwang to the emperor became Ji Xiaolan again. Which one is real?None of them are real, they are all fake. University scholar Agui was the first to expose and denounce Wang Danwang. The first to try the case was Yang Kuiru, Minister of Criminal Affairs, and Chen Huizu, governor of Fujian and Zhejiang and governor of Zhejiang. The final judges of Wang Danwang were all the ministers in Rehe.At the end of the case, a total of 57 people were sentenced to death, 56 people were sent to prison, and many people were implicated.Wang Danwang also ended up being beheaded in the end.Therefore, in Wang Danwang's case, neither He Shen nor Ji Xiaolan had anything to do with it.

Our words have strayed too far from Heshen's way of employing people.Having said that, whenever there are major mistakes in various places, He Shen will take the initiative to invite Ying without waiting for the appointment of Emperor Qianlong: he will go to Yunnan to investigate the case of Li Shiyao; he will go to the west to build a palace for Emperor Qianlong.Every time he is satisfied, he will never leave empty-handed.Many times on tour, the local officials have also personally experienced his power and greed, and more people began to attach to him and become his loyal minions.