Chapter 21 A white practiced this life

The case of Heshen was handled by Emperor Jiaqing, and the efficiency was of course very high. The charges were quickly determined, and the next step was to send them to the governors of various provinces for deliberation.Jiaqing's trick of impeachment by the ministers, and then the emperor quickly eliminated the powerful ministers and political opponents in accordance with the wishes of the people, has been seen frequently in Chinese history, but it has repeatedly worked. As the saying goes: June’s day, baby’s face, changes as soon as it is said.In fact, the ability of those officials to adapt to the wind is not weak.When Heshen was proud, he flocked to Heshen one by one, fearing to be left behind. On the day Qianlong died, some officials with low political sensitivity went directly to Hefu to comfort Heshen, bypassing Emperor Jiaqing. Unexpectedly, there will be a world of difference, and those officials have turned their backs one after another, which is really a great irony.

He Shen has been in the court for more than 20 years and has never been directly impeached.But when Emperor Jiaqing made up his mind to clean up Heshen, all the ministers in the court rushed to complain, all confessing how they had been persecuted and attacked by Heshen, lest the emperor would not believe it; what's more, they cried bitterly in the hall With runny nose, he made a bloody and tearful accusation against He Shen.Emperor Jiaqing was dumbfounded by the rapid change in attitude. Those who had a close relationship with Heshen in the past were naturally eager to confess themselves; those who had never been used to Heshen as a human being even rallied to crusade against him, demanding that Heshen Lingchi be executed in order to relieve their hatred.The most prominent one is Hu Jitang, the governor of Zhili. He said in the memorial: He Shen is devoid of conscience, he is not of the eighth class, all kinds of rebellious and disobedient ministers, the sick people of the Luan country, and the thieves and bandits of Sichuan and Chu, greedy and debauched, is really a shameless little People, insane and insane, have no eyes on the king, please be executed in a timely manner according to the law of great rebellion.Although the level of diction is average, Emperor Jiaqing was very satisfied with his determination to execute He Shen.Emperor Jiaqing immediately ordered the officials above the third grade in Beijing to discuss this opinion. In fact, this has set the tone and let everyone vote on this conclusion.Everyone finally grabbed a life-saving straw, and of course they all moved closer.

Seeing that the overall situation was irreversible, Princess Gu Lun and Princess Xiao, who married Heshen's son Fengshen Yinde, wept and pleaded for Heshen's body and limbs repeatedly.The ministers Dong Gao and Liu Yong also took the opportunity to speak out, thinking that He Shen's crime was extremely heinous, even though he was hacked to death, it was still a light punishment, but he was a minister of the previous dynasty, please follow the law.Emperor Jiaqing saw that the ministers in the court had bowed to him, knew that he had achieved his goal, and didn't want to go too deep into it, lest the ministers say that he was too strict and lost his benevolence, so he made some small changes in sentencing.

Jiaqing said in the order of punishment: Heshen's all kinds of rebellion, arrogance and domination are heinous crimes, and there is nothing in the law.Because of Sisheng Zuren's punishment of Oboi, Emperor Sejongxian's punishment of Nian Gengyao, and Huang Kao's punishment of his relatives, these three people are equal to Heshen, and Heshen's crime is even more severe.In the past, Oboi and Nian Gengyao were ordered to commit suicide by grace, while Neqin was executed in front of the army because of delaying the military aircraft.As far as He Shen's crimes are concerned, he suppressed the military report, intentionally deceived the concealment, prepared the road barracks to listen to his will, falsely reported the leader, and pretended to be military rations, so that the military affairs were not completed for a long time, and the army was delayed. If the big rebellion is late, it should also be punished according to the law of Neqin.If this matter is handled in a year or two, it will be difficult to be lenient, but now that the emperor is about to execute a major event, He Shen is about to be executed. In Yigu, it is the true crime of love, and I can't bear it.Moreover, although Iraq's crimes are based on Neqin, he is not in the barracks, which is slightly different from Neqin.The country originally had a policy of discussing relatives and nobles. With Heshen's mourning, he was ignorant and contemptuous of human beings. The amount of discussion has never been reduced. Gu Nianqi used to be the first and auxiliary minister. four city.

In fact, Jiaqing, who suffered from Heshen's embarrassment, wanted to execute Heshen Lingchi, only in this way can he express his anger.But since there were princesses and ministers interceding for him, Emperor Jiaqing followed the precedents of Kangxi's killing of Oboi and Yongzheng's killing of Nian Gengyao, and entrusted Heshen to commit suicide in prison, claiming that it was for the sake of the state, not against Heshen himself.On the same day, He Shen was ordered to commit suicide in prison. During the Qianlong period, Heshen's luck was so good that he flourished and declined after Qianlong's death.Perhaps it was retribution for Heshen's wanton use of power and corruption. After the first year of Jiaqing, Heshen's family suffered misfortune one after another.On the seventh day of July in the first year of Jiaqing (1796), the second son of Heshen’s favorite child, who had just turned two years old, died; only two months later, Heshen’s younger brother, He Lin, who was the governor of Sichuan at the time, was in the army again. In the following year, Heshen's grandson also died; in February of the third year, his wife Feng Shi, who had been with Heshen for 30 years, also passed away; less than a year later, he himself died. Fate to the west.After Heshen's death, his son Fengshen Yinde found a piece of land in Jizhou, Hebei, and hastily buried him. The contrast between his life and his death is really overwhelming.

Jiaqing is not Qianlong who is old and dim-witted. He himself presided over the power of the government after making compromises for several years, so no disguise can escape his eyes.Those who are close to Heshen, no matter how they justify themselves, cannot escape the end of being dealt with.Although Heshen's younger brother, Helin, died of illness in the army, Jiaqing believed that he was guilty and had no merit. Jia En stayed at the earl, stayed at home, and was not allowed to go out to cause trouble; his servants Wu Shenglan and Li Huang were demoted to editors; The court's political arena has experienced a major earthquake, and many troubles will inevitably arise.In order to quickly stabilize the political situation and prevent someone from taking the opportunity to frame up and cause the case to expand, on the second day after Heshen was executed, Jiaqing issued an edict prohibiting implicated connections in time: If you can't go up, if you don't set up and get rid of the original evil, you can't clean up the common government and straighten the officialdom.Now that the crime has been cleared up, the case has been closed.Because Si Heshen is in charge of many yamen, there must be many people who are promoted by him. It is inevitable for officials from other provinces to go to Heshen's door to cater to bribes. meaning.Moreover, there have been a lot of disadvantages recently, and it is difficult to list all the things. If the ministers and workers misunderstand my intentions, search for things, and then attack private affairs, pick up details, or point to one, two, or two things to tell the truth, it will be too much to do. And fear of initiating criticism and retaliation.It is not my original intention to eliminate a giant mushroom, but it will inevitably become a bad habit of the Jue aid family.

He Shen was arrested, and indeed many of his disciples and old officials were in panic all day long. Jiaqing's action quickly dispelled their worries, and the daily order of the court was quickly restored.At that time, people had a good opinion of Jiaqing's handling of the Heshen case.The Korean envoy Cao Xizhong recorded: After He Shen was dealt with, everyone said that the emperor had three virtues.Since he ascended the throne, he has known that Heshen will definitely want to murder him. Heshen is the only one who listens to government orders, so as to show his trust and trust, so as not to arouse suspicion and fear. This is also wise.It is courageous to adjudicate one day, keep calm, make a new move, and hold your breath.It is benevolent to let the ministers and workers, big and small, wash their hearts and minds and worry about it, so that they can be at peace without ruling the party members, and they have nothing to punish them.

Jiaqing dealt with He Shen cleanly and without causing a major commotion, which shows that his political ability is extraordinary.Therefore, the Qing Dynasty is still slowly moving forward in his hands.