Chapter 13 Adventures in the officialdom of the Military Aircraft Department

He Shen was favored by the emperor and quickly entered the Military Aircraft Department. He was promoted so fast that he couldn't even imagine it himself.In the first month of the forty-first year of Qianlong (1776), Heshen was promoted to the right servant of the household department; in March, Qianlong, who loved Heshen so much, couldn't wait to order Heshen to walk for the military aircraft department. Walking in the Qing Dynasty refers to walking in a certain place where the original official served, was valued, or was an errand in an institution that did not have a special official.The same is true for the Military Aircraft Department. There are no official members in the Military Aircraft Department. There are only walkers appointed by the emperor temporarily, which is commonly known as the Minister of Military Aircraft.In order to prevent leakage of secrets, the bottom-level servants of the Military Aircraft Department are all illiterate teenagers, and princes and ministers without the title of walking in the Military Aircraft Department are not allowed to enter without permission.Other personnel are not allowed to approach the military aircraft office, and irrelevant personnel are not allowed to be around when the emperor is discussing with the Minister of Military Aircraft.When people in the palace pass by the military plane, they all walk quickly, and those who violate it will not be forgiven, and there is no need to ask for orders.

The young He Shen became Minister of Military Aircraft, marking his first step towards power.However, if you often walk by the river, there is no way that your shoes will not get wet.Heshen's pride in officialdom is only superficial, and officialdom is always dangerous. Even the lucky Heshen must be careful at every step. Heshen's first official adventure was at the military plane. After He Shen entered the Military Aircraft Department, he was successful as a young man, so he was complacent, and he was also favored by the emperor, gradually revealing his greedy nature.In addition, the ministers in the DPRK and China were all optimistic about his future, respected him and scrambled to curry favor with him, so He Shen couldn't resist the temptation and began to accept bribes in private.

After all, He Shen is a smart person, and his qualifications are still young, so he is very careful in handling things.When an official asks him to do something, he must find out the details of the other party in advance. For officials who do not have deep contacts and are unreliable, he must act in a businesslike manner.For a while, stories about He Shen, the new minister of military aircraft, refusing bribes from many officials were circulating everywhere in the capital. This kind of thing was unheard of before, coupled with He Shen's cleverness, finally let Emperor Qianlong know.Qianlong heard many ministers say that He Shen is an upright, clean-spirited, and incorruptible official, and he was even more proud of the promotion and reuse of him in his heart, secretly glad that he didn't miss it.When Qianlong was happy, he rewarded the new Minister of Military Aircraft with five thousand taels of silver, and gifted Heshen to build a luxurious mansion on the north shore of Shichahai, which will be the Prince Gong's Mansion for later generations.

Things in the officialdom are always kept secret.No matter how stern and selfless you and Shen are, as long as you really want to take bribes, someone will find a way to bring the money to your door.The first person to arrive was Yasaki Hirobu's pen post.He Shen is the right servant of the household department, and can be regarded as An Ming's direct leader.It was An Ming who almost ruined He Shen's future. An Ming was originally the secretary of the household department. He didn't think about making progress, he just wanted to keep his position and make more money.The new Shangshu of Hubu arrives, and the left and right servants don't pay attention to the new Shangshu, and want to empty him, and An Ming also joins in.

Unexpectedly, the new minister already knew it well. He secretly investigated carefully, bought people's hearts, and obtained evidence of crimes committed by the two servants during their tenure. Then he played to the Emperor Ming and successfully transferred the two servants away. An Ming was also demoted to a pen post .Bi Tie Shi is just an idle job, so An Ming can only smile all over his face, trying his best to curry favor with the new minister.It's a pity that Shang Shu hated people like An Ming so much that he ignored him at all. The servant of the household department was vacant, so He Shen was promoted to the right servant of the household department, and soon he was promoted to the minister of military aircraft.An Ming thought to himself: This He Shen is young, has no deep background, has no military achievements, and has few political achievements. How can he be promoted so quickly?It is unreasonable to be appointed as the right servant of the household department before the age of thirty, and to be among the ministers of military affairs. This is unreasonable, and must have received special favor from the emperor.

An Ming is a person with a keen sense of smell, so he quickly aimed at He Shen.Every time he saw He Shen, he was very respectful.When He Shen first arrived at the household department, he went over to explain and help if there was something unclear about the work.As soon as he heard that He Shen was planning to build a new house on the north shore of Shichahai, An Ming immediately sensed the opportunity, and rushed to visit him, hoping to take the opportunity to curry favor with He Shen. Facing An Ming, He Shen admitted that there was indeed such a thing. An Ming quickly said that he has a relative who specializes in building materials business. Firstly, he can control the quality, and secondly, he can prevent profiteers from being ripped off.He Shen pretended to evade, and agreed.In order to deceive others, so as not to be caught by others, He Shen pretended to ask An Ming to make a final quotation truthfully.

In fact, An Ming doesn't have any relatives in the building materials business, he just finds an opportunity to curry favor with He Shen.With He Shen's acquiescence, An Ming contributed money and efforts himself, and under the guise of his relatives, he quietly completed all the material matters, and did not make any publicity about his efforts.After the matter was completed, An Ming also made a bill, listing the expenses in detail. In fact, this bill was just a deception.How can a shrewd person like He Shen not know An Ming's kindness? Since then, the relationship between the two has gradually become closer.An Ming also often went to Hefu, bringing some gifts from time to time, but never asked for anything.Because An Ming knew in his heart that He Shen was investigating him, and he couldn't speak rashly before the time came.After long-term observation, He Shen is very satisfied with An Ming's performance, and has already regarded An Ming as one of his own.

One day, An Ming visited He Shen again with a big ceremony.He Shen pretended to ask casually: You are neat and capable, why did you only make a small post? An Ming knew that the opportunity had come, and quickly knelt down in front of He Shen and said: The two original servants of the household department and the new minister did not get along, and they fought each other.This is a misunderstanding between the villain and Lord Shangshu, Wang and the adults clearly understand. He Shen knew that An Ming's original position was the secretary of the household department, not a high-level position, and it was easy to restore the official position, so he asked An Ming to wait patiently, and recommended him to Lord Shangshu when he found an opportunity.In fact, Heshen has some reservations here. With the current status of Heshen's household servant and the well-known emperor's favor for him, as long as he speaks to Shangshu, there is no reason to be rejected.It's just that He Shen is very scheming and won't be too straightforward.An Ming is naturally grateful.Soon, He Shen recommended An Ming to the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs as the secretary.Shangshu didn't want to offend Heshen, so he made a favor and agreed, and An Ming was finally reinstated.

Just at this time, An Ming's father died of illness.According to the Qing system, if an official's parents have died, he must go home and observe mourning for three years. After the three-year period expires, he will be reassigned. This is called Ding You.If you conceal and do not report in order to keep your official position, and do not go home to keep your filial piety, you are committing a serious crime of unfilial decapitation.An Ming saw that the vacancy for the secretary of the household department had been obtained. If he went home to observe his filial piety at this time, the officialdom would change in three years, and he would have to ask for help.An Ming, who is obsessed with officials, actually decided to keep his funeral secret for the sake of his official position.

In fact, the relationship in the officialdom is like this. I don’t know how many pairs of eyes are watching your position!What's more, it's a major event of losing a father, nobody knows about it.After a censor verified the news, he knew that An Ming had Heshen's background, so he dared not report it directly to the emperor, but first reported it to Tai Fu Zhu Gui. Zhu Gui was the teacher of Yongyan, Emperor Jiaqing, and he was upright.He was very angry when he learned the news that An Ming had lost his father but kept it secret.He has a good friendship with Yonggui, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and he is not used to Heshen's actions, so he wants to ask Yonggui to come forward to impeach Heshen, which seems more weighty.

Yonggui has been fighting abroad for years, and he has made great military achievements. He is a minister trusted by Qianlong, but he has always been at odds with Heshen.When Yonggui heard that Anming was obsessed with the official position and did not want to go home to guard the system, he was so angry that he beat the case.Afraid that something might go wrong, he immediately secretly sent someone to visit An Ming's hometown to confirm that An Ming's father had indeed passed away not long ago.Yonggui then confidently believed that Heshen would be defeated this time. It's a pity that Yonggui's son Yi Jiang'a ruined his event.Yi Jiang'a thought that his father was already an old man, and He Shen was an upstart in the court, and he would be rich in the future. Only by relying on He Shen can he ensure his future wealth, so he often flattered He Shen.He Shen knows Yonggui's status well, and is happy to make friends with powerful children like Yi Jiang'a.The two are often referred to as brothers. Yonggui and his son Yijiang's attitude towards Heshen is really different, and the two often argue about it.On this day, Yonggui scolded Yijiang again: Heshen is such a deceitful person who recommends some shameless people to take important positions, and dares to conceal his father's death. Heshen actually deliberately covered up and recommended him for promotion. It is really shameless. I must impeach him! Yi Jiang'a turned pale with fright and hurriedly retreated.He thought to himself, now that Heshen is favored by the emperor, his father will definitely not be able to defeat Heshen, but he will get angry at that time, and I am afraid that he will also implicate himself.Therefore, Yi Jiang'a decided to give Heshen a favor, and begged to see Heshen overnight.He Shen hurriedly invited him into the study.Yi Jiang'a said in a panic: My father is going to participate in the meeting with my lord tomorrow, and I hope my lord will make preparations quickly! He Shen turned pale with shock, Yonggui is an important minister of the court, and it is not a trivial matter for him to impeach him, so he hurriedly asked the reason.Yi Jiang A Dao: Your Excellency once recommended an official. This person's father died, but he concealed it in order to keep his official position. I'm afraid it will be disadvantageous to Your Excellency. He Shen immediately thought of An Ming.He Shen hurriedly saluted Yijiang Ah, saying: I did recommend a person once, and it was because he was capable of handling things and was a talent.As for whether my father is dead, I don't know, I must have been deceived by this villain!Thank you, brother, for telling me about this today, otherwise, my life would be in danger. Brother, my savior is really my lifesaver!Afraid that Yonggui would become suspicious, Yi Jiang hurried back without waiting for He Shen to say more. He Shen is still very clear about Yonggui's status.Yonggui is a well-deserved important official of the court, and his status is far more important than Heshen, an upstart in the officialdom.If Yonggui really wanted to make things difficult for him, it would be really dangerous. He Shen sent someone to call An Ming overnight, and after questioning, it turned out that, as Yi Jiang'a said, An Ming had just died of his father and kept the funeral secret.He Shen reprimanded: You are really confused, how can you hide such a big event as your father's death from others?If Yonggui wants to impeach you tomorrow, he will implicate me and punish me for an undetectable crime!He Shen sighed, and went on to say that if Yonggui came forward in person, this matter would be irreversible!This is a serious crime of beheading, the matter has come to this point, and the evidence is conclusive.Even I have been victimized, and I am bound to be implicated.I called you here today, just to remind you to arrange your funeral, and then you should speak with restraint. Knowing that the matter is irreversible, An Ming begged He Shennian to take good care of his family and children on the basis of his loyalty.After all, he bowed his head silently and retreated silently.That night, An Ming secretly sent the valuable money and belongings at home to Heshen's mansion.He Shen was also thinking about remedial measures. He decided to pre-emptively wrote a memorial to expose An Ming overnight. In the early morning of the next day, Yonggui really participated in the books of Anming and Heshen, and the memorial said: "The censor and the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs jointly reported it.In the previous Beijing inspection, the servant of the household department and the minister of military affairs, He Shen, still recommended this person as an official. It was clear that he was in collusion with An Ming, colluded with each other, practiced fraud, and deceived the court. Yonggui has always been cautious in doing things, and this time he came prepared again, with sufficient preparations and conclusive evidence. Even if He Shen is favored by the emperor again, he will inevitably be guilty of dereliction of duty.Zhu Gui and other ministers who were usually dissatisfied with He Shen also agreed. What Qianlong hated the most was unfilial people like An Ming. After hearing this, he was furious and immediately questioned He Shen.Unexpectedly, He Shen didn't panic, and played loudly: The emperor is holy, An Ming didn't report his father's death, deceived the court, committed treason, and the slaves were also deceived.This incident has only spread out in the past few days, and the servant, like Yonggui, only got the news yesterday and knew the whole story.The minion has already written the melody, and I don't want Yonggui to be one step ahead of the minion.After all, I presented the memorial that I had prepared long ago. He Shen knew that Qianlong had always liked and valued him more, so as long as he dealt with it carefully this time, it would not be difficult to evade if he didn't get caught.Sure enough, when Qianlong saw Heshen's memorial, it was indeed already written, and the words were earnest, and the feeling of guilt was clearly on the paper, and he already had a heart of protection in his heart. Seeing that He Shen had already prepared, Yonggui and the others felt a bit cold.But now that the skylight has been opened to speak out, we have to continue.So I further said that the emperor, An Ming's father died of illness, and the funeral was kept secret. Everyone in the household department knew about it. As the servant of the household department, He Shen said that he just knew, who would believe it?As for an unfaithful and unfilial person like An Ming, He Shen actually recommended him, obviously deliberately covering up and deceiving the Holy Majesty, not just a crime of negligence. Since Qianlong already had the heart to protect Heshen, he would naturally speak for him. In addition, Heshen did write a memorial, which is at least an excuse.So he said: He Shen was indeed deceived. If he deliberately covered up, he would not personally write a memorial to impeach him.Besides, everyone in the household department knows it, so why hasn't anyone brought up this matter long ago?He Shen pleaded guilty sincerely, so let him be punished for the crime of negligence, and see the aftermath.Yonggui knows that Heshen is covering up Anming, but suffers from lack of real evidence. Seeing that Qianlong intends to let Heshen go, he has no choice but to stop insisting.In the end, An Mingling was executed, his home was ransacked, and all his property was confiscated. He Shen was successfully exonerated. He Shen turned the major incident into a minor one, and was only convicted of a small negligence, and was demoted to a second rank to stay in office.He Shen is good at observation and analysis, knowing that the emperor still trusts him, so he is relieved, as long as he performs well in the future, it will not be difficult to continue to be promoted. He Shen experienced this adventure in the officialdom. Although the danger was saved, the incident made He Shen understand that his situation has just gained a foothold, and he must be cautious in doing things, and beware of political opponents seizing the opportunity to bring him down. After this adventure, He Shen also learned about Qianlong's temper and figured out how to deal with it: everything should be prepared in advance, creating an illusion that he has nothing to do with him.As long as there is no evidence, everything has room for maneuver.