Chapter 30 Read the emperor's mind

An important reason for Heshen's success is that he is good at trying to figure out the emperor's mind, which is a difficult technical task.As the saying goes: know people know face but not heart.People's inner world is the most complex and unpredictable, but once you master the secret inner world of others, you can easily control their every move.Even if you are flattering, you can hit a hundred shots without hitting the horse's hooves, which is laborious and unflattering. He Shen has been by Qianlong's side for more than 20 years, and he is good at understanding Qianlong's psychology, summing up his temper from Qianlong's every move, so as to figure out Qianlong's inner world clearly, so every step is just right. It fell on Qianlong's heart.

He Shen knew from a young age that Qianlong loved to recite poems against others, so he searched everywhere for Qianlong's imperial poems for research as early as when he was still studying in the official school of Xian'an Palace.The ancients said: poetry expresses ambition.A person's state of mind at that time can often be guessed from his literary works, especially a person as noble as Qianlong, who can be said to have no personal privacy at all, always lives under the watchful eyes of the public, and has great restrictions on his actions , I had no choice but to vent my hidden inner world through poems.Therefore, he may reveal some clues inadvertently.He Shen knew all of Qianlong's poems well, which may be an important factor for him to accurately understand Qianlong's meaning.Not only that, but he deliberately imitated Qianlong's brushwork.After years of experience and observation, Heshen learned about the little-known inner world of Qianlong, who is the Supreme Master of All Saints.Knowing that he is also an ordinary person, just like any ordinary person in the world, he has ordinary happiness, joys, sorrows, sorrows and joys, and also has all kinds of small problems of ordinary people, such as strong vanity and so on.Therefore, He Shen may treat Qianlong as an ordinary person more than others, and be happy and sad with him.

Whether it is the high-ranking emperor or the ant people who work all day long to survive, family affection is the most important thing to them.Starting from the normal feelings of the old and the old, the young and the young, and the young, Heshen knew that Qianlong was also full of the affection that an ordinary person should have for his mother and his many children.At this time, Qianlong, who scolded Fang Qiu and pointed the country, turned into a filial son and a loving father, enjoying the family happiness. Heshen's son, Fengshen Yinde, had the honor of marrying Qianlong's favorite Princess Gu Lun and Princess Xiao. He Shen treated Gu Lun and Princess Xiao with little restraint, just like a friend's child, showing a sense of respect in his respect. The care and kindness satisfied her childlike innocence, and Qianlong, as her father, was also very happy.

He Shen knew that Qianlong was still an arty monarch, he liked collecting antiques by nature, seeing rare albums and ink stains made him happier than seeing gold and silver.For this reason, Heshen used various opportunities to search around, picking out rare antiques presented to him by officials and wealthy businessmen from all over the country, keeping the ones he liked, and then picking other tributes to Qianlong.In officialdom, the hobbies of higher-level officials are always quickly known by lower-level officials.Soon, officials from all over the country who wanted to bribe Heshen also knew that Heshen liked antiques, and they offered antique calligraphy and paintings from past dynasties and masterpieces of celebrities.In the forty-five years of Qianlong's reign (1780), there were Buddha shops in the capital, and they traded with each other. The courtiers used this as a contribution, and the emperor also rewarded the nobles. In the morning dynasty of the Qianqiu Festival, there was a tribute covered with a yellow handkerchief shelf, holding a golden Buddha It can be several feet long, and it enters the palace. It is heard that it was presented by the Minister of the Ministry of Households, Heshen.

He Shen's deep understanding of Qianlong can be seen from one incident.In the last years of Qianlong and the early years of Jiaqing, the massive White Lotus Rebellion launched in Xiangyang area, which caused great shock to the Qing court.This made Qianlong, who had returned from the Zen position to the government and claimed to be a perfect old man, feel restless and brooding. Later, when Qianlong was dying, he still missed this matter.One day Qianlong summoned Heshen alone, and when Heshen entered the harem, he found that Qianlong was sitting facing south, while Jiaqing, who had become emperor at that time, was only sitting on a small stool next to Qianlong.He Shen knelt on the ground, and Qianlong didn't speak for a long time. Qianlong closed his eyes as if he was asleep, but he was muttering something, as if he was saying something.Jiaqing pricked up his ears and tried hard to hear clearly, but he couldn't hear clearly after all, so he didn't understand why.After a while, Qianlong suddenly opened his eyes and shouted: "What's that man's name?"Kneeling on the ground, He Shen immediately replied without thinking: Xu Tiande, Gou Wenming.Qianlong then stopped talking and continued to close his eyes and recite something silently. After an hour, he sent Heshen out without saying a word to Heshen.Jiaqing was very surprised. After a few days, he secretly met with He Shen and asked him: "The last time, the emperor called you into the palace, what did he say, and what did you mean by the six words you answered?" ?He Shen said with some pride: What the Supreme Emperor recited was a secret spell circulated in the Western Regions.It is said that by silently reciting this spell, the cursed person will die suddenly even if they are thousands of miles away. Therefore, when the Supreme Emperor asked about it, I used the names of Xu Tiande and Gou Wenming, the bandit leaders of the White Lotus Sect, to respond. He is naturally very satisfied.When Jiaqing heard this, he was even more astonished. He didn't expect He Shen to be good at this kind of sorcery, so after Qianlong's death, he executed He Shen within a few days, lest he use sorcery and curse himself.

When a person is dying, he will always murmur incessantly, as if there are endless things to say.The same is true of Qianlong. Even Jiaqing can hardly tell what he said, but He Shen was able to communicate with him. He even knew about Qianlong's spells in the Western Regions and understood their meaning.From this incident, it can be seen that Heshen has become so thoughtful and omniscient about Qianlong. If he can understand Qianlong to this extent, how can Qianlong not use him as his right-hand man?