Chapter 48 Prepare enough to control political opponents

He Shen has always done things with a strong purpose, and he must avenge any revenge.Sometimes he has to wait to achieve his goal, but he will use this time to expand his strength, find the opponent's weak point, wait for the most favorable opportunity, or use this time to design a trap for the opponent. The so-called rainy day, in order to catch big fish, you must prepare bait in advance.He Shen always considers everything when doing things, and tries to think about the problem as complicated as possible, so that he can be fully prepared.Once the opponent launches an attack, it can immediately use the designed plan for careful deployment and decisive action.Doing things like this seems tortuous, and it is not as enjoyable as soldiers coming to block you and water coming to cover you, but it can keep you more secure in the court.

The biggest reform of the government when Heshen took control of the government was the establishment of the criminal silver system. According to this, officials who committed crimes could pay a certain amount of silver instead of punishment, and still had to sit on high-ranking officials and ride on horses.This system was deeply appreciated by Qianlong and brought him countless silver for him to squander.However, some discerning people saw the disadvantages and raised objections to this system.This person is Yin Zhuangtu, a cabinet bachelor. Yin Zhuangtu, courtesy name Chuzhen, was born in Kunming, Yunnan. He passed the Jinshi examination in the 31st year of Qianlong (1766), and was awarded the title of Shujishi by the official. Later, he was moved to be the head of the Ministry of Rites.In the thirty-ninth year of Qianlong (1774), he joined the cabinet as a cabinet bachelor and a minister of the Ministry of Rites.In the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong (1790), he wrote to the emperor bluntly discussing the disadvantages brought by the criminal silver system to the court. There is also such a record in the "Drafts of Qing History": In the year of Emperor Gaozong, the governor was punished, or ordered to pay fines and loans. Zhuang Tu thought it was not a political system. Immediately reprimanded, tens of thousands of fines were confiscated, and some governors asked themselves to admit to fines of tens of thousands. Under the pretext of their gluttonous selfishness, that is, the incorruptible people had to rely on the help of their subordinates. Tolerance is not to be used as protection, although the fine is severe, not only does it not move his heart of shame and fear, but he also hopes that the toy will be healed. Please stop this practice forever. Those with ordinary talents may be dismissed immediately, or use parental duties, There is no need to be appointed as a foreigner.

Yi Zhuangtu’s memorial mentioned that even if the governors of various provinces made mistakes, they would not be dismissed from their official positions immediately because of the great grace of the emperor, but they would only be fined a certain amount of silver as a punishment.Some officials even paid fines voluntarily. For those officials who have committed many crimes, this is tantamount to finding an excuse for their behavior, and they can continue to act recklessly.Even those officials who are usually well-behaved, honest and self-effacing have to cover up for their subordinates if they encounter any misbehavior because they have received silver from their subordinates.This is not the original intention of setting up the crime-discussion silver system.Therefore, although the system of fines for silver played a very good role, instead of making officials feel ashamed, it is easy to breed their unruly hearts and ask the emperor to abolish this system forever.

Qianlong was very dissatisfied after reading the memorial, and issued an edict saying: "Since Yin Zhuangtu played this memorial, he must have seen and heard it, and now he refers to it as a true repeat."Tell Yin Zhuangtu not to just guess out of thin air, but to cite examples. In fact, Qianlong didn't want to give up this policy of seeking money. The "Drafts of Qing History" also included Yin Zhuangtu's reply to the imperial edict: the governors are notorious, and the officials are slack.The ministers passed by the place to check whether the officials are good or not. The merchants and the people all sighed and sighed.

Yin Zhuangtu is too honest, Jinshi has been twenty-four years old, and he still doesn't know anything about officialdom.He didn't even think about it. Could it be that others couldn't see the problems he could see and waited for him to raise them?It is understandable that he never got a high-level official position.Although his replay actually pointed out the disadvantages of the criminal justice system created by Heshen, his attack was too broad and pointed at the entire bureaucratic group, which made Qianlong, the largest bureaucrat in the country, furious. unacceptable. Sure enough, Emperor Qianlong was furious after reading the replay.In particular, Yin Zhuangtu proposed in the memorial that the investigating officials should visit secretly, which made He Shen very angry with him.He Shen said to Qianlong: Yin Zhuangtu's so-called secret visits are really inappropriate, and he cannot be allowed to visit arbitrarily as an official of the court. His behavior must be restrained so that he will not act arbitrarily and disturb the peace of the people everywhere.Qianlong was very satisfied with Heshen's suggestion, so he ordered Yin Zhuangtu to notify the local officials in advance every time he checked a place.In this way, He Shen's acts of corruption and bribery, and wantonly searching for people's anointing and anointing will not be exposed, and he can sit back and relax.And those prefectures and counties that were short of government treasury were notified before Yin Zhuangtu's arrival, of course they would do everything possible to prevaricate.

Not only that, but Heshen recommended to Qianlong that Qingcheng, who had always been loyal to him, accompanied Yin Zhuangtu on the investigation, and obtained Qianlong's approval, and ordered Yin Zhuangtu to go to various provinces with Qingcheng to investigate the government Ku, every time he went to a place, he had to inform the localities with five hundred miles of horses, so as not to panic the localities, and the two must respect the local officials and not press people as imperial envoys. Yin Zhuangtu had to obey Qingcheng's arrangement and help the celebration into action.In this way, Yin Zhuangtu's business trip became a public-funded trip, and he got nothing.

Before leaving, He Shen summoned Qingcheng to give him tips.He Shen has also sent people to notify the provinces along the way to make arrangements. What Qingcheng has to do is to control Yin Zhuangtu's actions and try not to let him contact the local officials, so as to avoid many troubles.When necessary, even restrain him with orders.After such careful arrangements, Yin Zhuangtu set off with Qingcheng while still being kept in the dark. They first arrived in Datong, Shanxi.The magistrate of Datong is Heshen's uncle Mingbao.He squandered the national treasury a long time ago, but fortunately with He Shen's secret order, he was able to have time to prepare.As soon as Yin Zhuangtu arrived, he told Yin Zhuangtu that he was always frugal as an official, and received him with simple tea and light meals.Yin Zhuangtu didn't understand it, but he admired Mingbao very much.After sending Yin Zhuangtu back to the post house, Mingbao welcomed Qingcheng into his home and entertained him with a luxurious banquet. During the dinner, they kept laughing at the deceived Yin Zhuangtu.Wherever Yin Zhuangtu and the others went later, the actions of the officials became even more shameless. They warmly received Qing Cheng, talking and laughing, but they ignored Yin Zhuangtu as if they hadn't seen him at all.At night, someone invited Qing Cheng to a banquet, while Yin Zhuangtu stayed alone in the posthouse, and no one even prepared meals.After walking down several places, Yin Zhuangtu also gradually understood He Shen's intentions.But suffering from no evidence, he had to admit that he was exaggerating and had no real evidence, and requested to end the investigation and return to Beijing.

Qianlong saw that there was no real evidence, so he counted Yin Zhuangtu's memorials: Xirong was despicable, and he pretended to lie.It is recorded in the history books: Zhuangtu was ordered to ask about the kidnapping case, and asked if he saw merchants frowning and sighing on the way. As soon as Yin Zhuangtu returned to Beijing, he was sent to prison by the Ministry of Criminal Justice for defrauding Mr. Si and making objections. He was sentenced to beheaded.However, Qianlong gave him an extrajudicial favor and did not punish him. He was dismissed as a cabinet minister and stayed in his post, and was later promoted to the head of the Ministry of Rites.Later, Yin Zhuangtu resigned from office and returned home on the grounds that his mother was old and needed support.

It can be seen that the key to being fully prepared before the opponent's attack is to have accurate intelligence. On this basis, the enemy can act before the enemy and put the opponent in a passive position.This is the case with He Shen. When someone files a complaint, he often pre-empts the opponent, eliminates the evidence against him or removes the opponent's official position first, and does not leave any chance for the opponent.