Chapter 80 261 The Great Corrupt Official He Shen

Emperor Qianlong has been the emperor for sixty years, and has won victories in martial arts and martial arts.Satisfied with his ambition, he became proud and called himself "the perfect old man".He liked to listen to words of praise more and more, so some people used flattery to gain his favor and power. Once, Emperor Qianlong was about to go on an inspection tour and asked his attendants to prepare a guard of honor.The officials couldn't find the yellow cover used for the guard of honor at once.I was so anxious that I didn't know what to do.Emperor Qianlong was very annoyed and asked, "Who did this good thing?"

The officials were speechless when they heard the emperor's questioning.A young lieutenant beside him said calmly: "The person in charge cannot shirk responsibility." Emperor Qianlong turned his face and saw that the school lieutenant had fine features and a calm attitude. Emperor Qianlong was so happy that he forgot to question Huang Gai and asked his name.The young captain replied that his name was He Shen (sound shen).Emperor Qianlong asked him about his family situation and what books he had read, and He Shen answered all of them fluently. Emperor Qianlong admired Heshen very much, and immediately announced that he was in charge of the guard of honor, and later appointed him as the imperial guard.He Shen was a very smart person, and he was very satisfied with what Emperor Qianlong wanted; Emperor Qianlong liked to listen to good things, and He Shen said everything that was pleasing to the ear.After a long time, Emperor Qianlong regarded He Shen as a confidant, and He Shen also rose step by step.Within ten years, he was promoted from a guard to a bachelor.Later, Emperor Qianlong also married his daughter and Princess Xiao to Heshen's son.He Shen climbed into the in-laws with the emperor, not to mention how powerful it is.Coupled with the fact that Emperor Qianlong was old and weak, major political affairs naturally fell into Heshen's hands.

Now that He Shen is in power, he doesn't care about other important matters, but he blindly seeks wealth.He not only accepts bribes, but also blackmails openly; not only embezzles secretly, but also plunders openly.The tributes presented by local officials to the emperor had to go through Heshen's hands.He Shen first picks the most exquisite and rare ones for himself, and then picks the rest and sends them to the palace.Fortunately, Emperor Qianlong didn't ask questions, and others didn't dare to report, so his greed became bigger and bigger. Once, a minister named Sun Shiyi returned to Beijing from the south to meet Emperor Qianlong, and happened to meet He Shen at the gate of the palace.When He Shen saw a box in Sun Shiyi's hand, he asked, "What's in your hand?"

Sun Shiyi said, "It's nothing, it's just a snuff bottle." He Shen stepped forward and grabbed the box in his hand without any politeness.When I opened it, I found that the snuff bottle was carved out of a big bead.He Shen held it in his hand, looked at it again and again, tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk-ed in his mouth, and salivated (sound xian) and said shamelessly: "Good baby! Just give it to me, how about it?" Sun Shiyi hurriedly said: "Hey, it can't be done. This treasure is going to be dedicated to the emperor, and it was played to the emperor yesterday."

He Shen's face darkened, he stuffed the bead pot into Sun Shiyi's hand, and said with a sneer: "I'm just kidding you, why are you so shabby!" Sun Shiyi dedicated the bead pot to Emperor Qianlong.A few days later, he bumped into He Shen again, and He Shen said triumphantly, "I also got a treasure yesterday. Take a look, can it compare with the one you paid tribute to last time?" Sun Shiyi walked over and saw that it was the bead pot he dedicated to Emperor Qianlong.Sun Shiyi responded with a few casual words, thinking to himself, why did this treasure fall into Heshen's hands, it must have been rewarded to him by Emperor Qianlong.Later, he secretly inquired, only to know that He Shen had bribed the eunuch to steal it from the palace.

He Shen took advantage of his position and power to do everything possible to seek wealth. Some courtiers and local officials knew his temper, so they searched for precious jewels as much as possible to please He Shen.The big officials oppressed the small officials, and the small officials oppressed the people layer by layer, so the life of the people naturally became more and more difficult. After Emperor Qianlong had been emperor for sixty years, he passed on the throne to the crown prince Yongyan (sound yongyan). Emperor Jiaqing knew about Heshen's corruption and perversion of the law.Three years later, when Emperor Qianlong died, Emperor Jiaqing immediately arrested Heshen and told him to commit suicide; and sent officials to search Heshen's family property.

He Shen's wealth was originally famous, but the result of the house raid still surprised everyone.In the long list of house raids, there are records of gold and silver treasures, silk and satin, and rare antiques. There are too many to count. A rough estimate is that it is worth about 800 million taels of silver, which is worth ten years of the imperial court. income.Later, I heard that Emperor Jiaqing sent people to transport the large amount of treasures confiscated to the palace.Therefore, some folks made up two jingles to sarcastically say: "Heshen fell, and Jiaqing was full."