Chapter 55 Fu Song was poisoned for personal gain

He Shen's power in the court is growing, and his official position is not as cautious as it was at the beginning.He tried his best to win over his cronies, and public revenge against those who offended him was common. Governor Fusong of Zhejiang is upright, bold and uninhibited.Because he didn't want to make friends with Heshen, and never went to Heshen's mansion to pay homage, Heshen held a grudge in his heart, and even sent someone to poison Fusong. His arrogance was outrageous. Fu Song was a subordinate of A Gui, a veteran minister and general in the court.In the forty-sixth year of Qianlong (1781), Fusong, who was in his twenties, followed Agui on an expedition. In a battle, Fusong took the lead and charged forward.Even if the enemy's muskets knocked off the feathers on Fu Song's hat, he was not afraid and had no intention of retreating.After the victory in the battle, Agui admired his bravery very much and intended to promote him.After years of training, in the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong (1790), Agui recommended him to be the governor of Zhejiang.

Fu Song was upright, and he was very decisive and clear in his actions, and his subordinates were in awe of him.At this time, Heshen was even more favored by Qianlong because of Qianlong's tiredness, and his power was overwhelming.The governors and governors from other places return to Beijing to report on their duties every year, and they have to go to visit with heavy gifts, so that He Shen will not make trouble for him.As the governor of a province, Fu Song is no stranger to this kind of thing, but he just can't understand the greedy He Shen, and he doesn't want to get along with him.Every time he returns to Beijing, he doesn't visit his house, and he never gives gifts. It seems that Fusong is openly challenging Heshen's authority.So He Shen held a grudge against Fu Song, and it was difficult to grasp the reason for revenge.He Shen asked his eyes and ears in Zhejiang to pay close attention to his movements, and to report to him immediately if there was any evidence against Fusong.Hard work paid off, and he finally got his chance.

The thing is like this, He Shen has a close friend who is the Lianghuai Salt Administration, named Quande.This person obtained this position under the care of He Shen, so he has always been grateful to He Shen, and secretly gave He Shen a lot of benefits. One day, Quande sent someone to send Heshen a secret letter, reporting something about Fusong in Zhejiang.Quande is a salt official. He accidentally discovered that Chai Zhen, the Lianghuai salt transport envoy, misappropriated 220,000 taels of silver from the Lianghuai branch. After a quiet investigation, he found that many people were involved. He dared not make a decision without authorization, so Pegasus asked He Shen for advice. How to deal with it.

It turned out that this Chai Zhen was originally from Yandao, Zhejiang Province, and he had no government affairs ability. He became an official by bribery and flattery.He took office in Zhejiang Salt Road for less than a year, and was soon promoted to Lianghuai Salt Transport Envoy.Before resigning, there was still a shortfall of 220,000 taels of silver that could not be accounted for, so Chai Zhen must have used it to curry favor with his boss.So he pleaded with Fusong, asking him to go to Yangzhou to take up the new post of Lianghuai salt transport envoy, and then he raised all the shortfall in silver and made up for it as soon as possible.Fu Song had some friendship with him, so he agreed.

As expected, Chai Zhen kept his word, and when he took office in Yangzhou, he used his strength of embezzling ink and embezzling ink. In less than five months, he raised 220,000 taels of silver and sent it back to Zhejiang to make up the shortfall.There is no loss of government money, and the matter is said to have been settled.However, it happened to be known by Lianghuai Salt Administration Quande.Quande thought: Chaizhen was just a small salt transporter from the Huaihe River to the Huaihe River, where did he raise so much silver taels?Feeling that there was a suspicion of embezzlement, Quande kept an eye out and secretly inquired. It turned out that the money and food paid by five people including businessman Wang Lutai were intercepted by Chai Zhen privately, and 220,000 taels of silver were embezzled.

At the end of the investigation, Quande was in a dilemma, because he used his convenience as a salt official to quietly check the old files of the Yandao, and found a record that Chai Zhen gave a thousand taels of money to Fu Gong.Even the Minister of the Household Department, Fu Chang'an, has an extraordinary relationship with Chai Zhen. In fact, the whole province knows about it, and everyone just tacitly doesn't say it.Seeing that this matter involved a first-rank official in the DPRK, Quande dared not make decisions casually.He was concerned about the friendship between He Shen and Fu Chang'an, so he suppressed this matter, not daring to make it public, and immediately sent someone to ask He Shen for instructions on what to do next.

He Shen and Fu Chang'an have always been close and have a very good relationship.Seeing that his old friend was in big trouble, He Shen came to Fu Chang'an's house to discuss countermeasures without stopping.Because he was an old acquaintance, He Shen was not polite, so he dismissed the servants by himself, and then asked Fu Chang'an if he had a close relationship with Chai Zhen, the envoy of the Lianghuai Salt Transport.Fu Chang'an didn't hide anything from He Shen, so he admitted that this happened, and said that this person has always been loyal, but his handling of things was rough, which was not very reassuring.

He Shen told Fu Chang'an with a serious expression that he was right. This Chai Zhen has already had a problem and will be impeached soon.Lianghuai Salt Administration Quande found a record of donating 1,000 taels of money to Fu Gong in the old files of Yandao.He was afraid that Mr. Fu was Fu Chang'an, so he went all the way to report to the capital.He Shen is here today to ask whether this matter is true. Fu Changan turned pale when he heard that, not only told Heshen that Chaizhen had bribed him, but also asked Heshen to find a way to save him, and must suppress this matter, otherwise his future would be ruined, maybe Even the wealth and life have to be put into it.

He Shen is not surprised by this, but just told Fu Chang'an that the emperor is now strictly investigating the collusion between Beijing officials and local officials. big.If you can't grasp the real evidence, everything can be redeemed. Seeing what He Shen said, Fu Changan was relieved.It turned out that he had always been cautious and kept in touch with Chai Zhen privately. He had never had any correspondence with him by letter, so he would never leave any clues. It is estimated that this record was also recorded by Chai Zhen privately. Anyway, there is nothing here in Fu Chang'an.

Seeing that Fu Changan was so careful, He Shen told Fu Changan to suppress the matter for the time being, and it would inevitably explode in the future, so he just kept going and found a scapegoat to avoid future troubles.Since Quan De said that Fu Song was also involved, it would be better to put all the crimes on Fu Song.In fact, the reason why Heshen had this idea was also due to his personal reasons. This Fusong was arrogant and rude to him, and never took Heshen seriously. There is such a thorn growing in three parts, so he wants to take this opportunity to attack Fu Song and kill the chicken for the monkey to see.

Fu Chang'an is a good player in leading troops to fight. When it comes to intrigue, he is far behind He Shen.He Shen told Fu Chang'an that Fu Song sold such a big favor to Chai Zhen, it was a shortfall of 220,000 taels of silver, and anyone who thought about it would think it was a generous gift for Fu Song.It is also normal to understand Fu Gong in the records as Fu Song. Only then did Fu Chang'an understand He Shen's thoughts, but he felt a chill in his heart. Cultural people just can't offend!At the same time, he did not forget to flatter Heshen, and expressed his concern. Can Fusong admit it so easily?If he admits it, even if someone in court intercedes for him, Fu Song will inevitably move his head.In addition, he was also worried that Chai Zhen's work would not be easy to do. In short, he was a little worried about this plan. However, He Shen said that people like Chai Zhen who have no position in the officialdom are the best to deal with; as for Fu Song, it is only natural for him not to admit it, and no corrupt official will easily plead guilty.We just have to make enough evidence and serve him with great punishment, and he can't help but submit.It is best to die without anyone noticing and without knowing why, so that there will be no proof of death. Fu Chang'an gradually began to be happy that he was able to get rid of the case.But as a general who has also fought in battle, he can't help worrying about Fu Song's fate.Fusong had military exploits. During the rebellion in Gansu, Fusong was the first to rush into Hualin Temple, which led to his subsequent great victory. There are not many generals in the Qing Dynasty who can have such courage. At this time, it was about Fu Changan's own wealth and life, and he couldn't care less. He began to conspire with He Shen and carefully considered every detail, stripping off the relationship between Fu Changan and Chai Zhen. De wrote a reply.He was ordered to write a memorial immediately, to impeach Chai Zhen for misappropriating public funds, resulting in a deficit in the treasury, and to impeach Fu Song for lax supervision and accepting bribes.At the same time, we must firmly insist that Chai Zhen's donation of one thousand taels to Fu Gong is a bribe for Fu Song. After Quande wrote the memorial according to He Shen's intention, the memorial was first sent to the military aircraft department.Heshen submitted it to Emperor Qianlong, who habitually sought Heshen's opinion.He Shen said what he had memorized by heart long ago: according to Weichen's analysis, Chai Zhen resigned after less than a year in Zhejiang Salt Road, how could he be short of so much silver?There must be another reason for this. It is unlikely that he would embezzle so much by himself.Fu Song shielded Chai Zhen, and might intervene in this matter. Maybe Fu Song also had corrupt behavior, and I don't know how much of the short-lived silver taels flowed into Fu Song's pocket.One thousand taels of public money was given to Fufu. It is likely that Fusong asked for bribes from the officials below, which led to the embezzlement of public funds by the people below.A capable minister must be sent as an imperial envoy to investigate the matter. He Shen's analysis was clear and well-founded, and Qianlong deeply agreed with it.Of course, Qianlong didn't know the reason, so he believed He Shen's words.Qianlong saw that Heshen had such a deep understanding of this matter, so he asked Heshen who could be the imperial envoy in the civil and military affairs of the court. He Shen continued to say what he hadn't finished saying: Fusong is the governor of a province and he was born in the army. The minister thought that he must send a capable minister.Minister of the Ministry of War, Qinggui, is shrewd and capable, and he was also from the army, so he may be able to take on this important task. He Shen's recommendation of Qing Gui was deliberate, the reasons seemed to be sufficient, and the recommended candidates could also stand scrutiny.Qinggui was a native of the Yellow Banner in Manchuria. He had successively served as a cabinet bachelor, deputy governor, counselor, general, and governor.In the fifty-seventh year of Qianlong (1792), Qinggui made great contributions in the Northwest War and was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of War with his military achievements.Qianlong has a good impression of Qinggui, but Qianlong has been kept in the dark about Qinggui and Heshen for a long time. Qianlong immediately ordered that Fusong and Chaizhen be suspended from their duties immediately, pending investigation and handling; Qinggui, Minister of the Ministry of War, was sent to Zhejiang as the imperial envoy to investigate the case.From this moment on, Fu Song's fate was completely handed over to He Shen. Before Qinggui leaves, He Shen tells him that the main goal of this trip is Fu Song, not Chai Zhen.To deal with Chai Zhen both hard and soft, Chai Zhen must admit that the shortfall is Fu Song's extortion and extortion, and admits to bribe Fu Song.To convict Fu Song, the crime must be made a capital crime, and the case should be turned into an iron case.With Heshen's instruction, Qinggui felt confident.After he arrived in Zhejiang, he vigorously investigated Fu Song's case.Generally speaking, Fu Song is still a competent official who is diligent in government affairs.But at that time, unspoken rules in the officialdom were commonplace, apportionments at all levels were also very serious, and the treasury expenditure was huge, and the money on the books of the court was far from enough.As the governor of Zhejiang, Fusong would be lying if he said he didn't take money, so it was easy to frame him. Qing Gui started with Chai Zhen, hinting at him, his staff and family members everywhere that they could push the responsibility to their superior Fu Song as much as possible.Zhao Bing, Chai Zhen's aide, was an idiot, and he quickly confessed that at least half of the 220,000 taels of silver deficit was due to Fu Song's demands.After Chai Zhen came to Zhejiang Yandao, Fu Song ordered him to buy jades, court beads and other items on his behalf. He spent more than 90,000 taels of silver, and Fu Song only gave more than 28,000 taels of silver; the rest were worth several thousand taels of silver. Leopard skins, fox fur coat tubes, etc. In addition, Chai Zhen's family confessed: Fu Song once went to Beijing and asked for three hundred taels of silver from Chai Zhen;The rest of the shortfall, nearly 80,000 taels of silver, was spent on government affairs and miscellaneous affairs, and the expenses were not reimbursed at every turn, and the officials who undertook it paid for it, so Chai Zhen had to take out the taels of silver from the treasury.Besides, the remaining 40,000 taels of silver were used by Chai Zhen himself.With these testimonies against Fusong, Qinggui decided to withdraw the net. Qinggui knew the facts of the case well, so he decided to bring Fusong to trial.Fu Song confessed to accepting bribes: I accepted money from Chai Zhen, worth 28,000 taels of silver.The remaining shortfall may be paid in advance for the project, paid for criminal fines, or paid for the lack of honesty.Then a list of expenses was listed. The record of one thousand taels of blessing public funds found in the old files of Yandao.Qing Gui retreated to the left and right, and interrogated Chai Zhen alone. Chai Zhen began to say that it was a generous gift to Chang'an, Minister of the Ministry of Households, which of course was not the result Qing Gui wanted.He obliquely reminded Chai Zhen: How could Master Fu Chang'an associate with a local official like him who is inferior to pigs and dogs and greedy for money?He also warned him not to frame him maliciously.Then he hinted: If Fu Song admits to accepting bribes, there is still a chance of survival; otherwise, Chai Zhen will inevitably move his head and implicate the nine clans.Only then did Chai Zhen realize that they were going for Fu Song this time.Now that he could neither protect himself nor care about so much, he could only make a confession according to Qing Gui's wishes. Judging from the records of the trial process, Fu Song and Chai Zhen only received and gave gifts in accordance with the rules of the officialdom, which is not considered to be particularly greedy and embezzled. Death, unable to meet He Shen's requirements.So after the trial, Qinggui colluded with the officials and changed the case files.In the end, Qinggui made the conclusion in the memorial submitted to the court that Fu Song deliberately shielded Chai Zhen, and extorted a bribe of 110,000 taels of silver and 1,000 taels of gold from Chai Zhen, all for private use.According to this amount, it is recommended to be sentenced to death. When Qianlong received the memorial, his face changed drastically. He did not expect the case to be so serious.After the news came out, there was an uproar in the capital, and many officials did not believe that Fu Song would do such a thing.At this time, Ah Gui is dead, and He Shen has become the chief minister of military aircraft. He is the only one in the military aircraft department, and He Shen naturally suggests that Fu Song should be executed on the spot. Although Qianlong was old, he was not confused.He felt that since Fu Song was specially recommended by Ah Gui, and he had repeatedly made military exploits, he should not be executed at will.It's best to escort back to the capital to find out the ins and outs of the matter.So Fu Song was decreed to be escorted back to the capital and interrogated in detail by the Ministry of Punishment. After Fu Chang'an knew what Qianlong meant, he was so frightened that he lost his soul. As soon as Fu Song arrived in the capital, the Ministry of Punishment was not as easy to settle as Zhejiang.If Chai Zhen gets himself involved, it will be troublesome.He immediately went to discuss countermeasures with He Shen. He Shen was calm and relaxed, because he knew the emperor best and knew how to make the emperor change his mind. As long as Fu Song hadn't entered Beijing, there was still room for maneuver. He Shen's method was to anger Qianlong.He first ordered Qing Gui, the imperial envoy, to write a memorial, send it to the capital quickly, and submit it to the emperor.Of course, the content of the memorial was very unfavorable to Fu Song. He fabricated the fact that Fu Song not only did not reflect on the journey, but uttered wild words, disrespected the emperor, and took the opportunity to confuse people. The accompanying officials were very angry and suggested a decisive decision. After receiving the memorial, Emperor Qianlong still habitually came to Heshen to ask his opinion.He Shen took the opportunity to say that Fu Song was proud of his credit, especially after the death of the two generals Agui and Fu Kang'an, Fu Song was arrogant and contemptuous of his colleagues.The emperor often persuaded the court ministers to be united.Unexpectedly, this Fu Song is so ungrateful. Now that he has made a big mistake, not only does he not know how to repent, but he dares to say disrespectful words to the emperor during the interrogation by the imperial envoy. Even if the old general Agui is alive, he may not forgive him. . Qianlong admired Agui and Fukang'an's contributions on the battlefield, and regretted their death.Listening to what He Shen said now, it aroused Qianlong's anger for a while. He Shen hesitated to speak, showing a dilemma, deliberately provoking Qianlong's anger.He Shen falsely accused Fu Song of being extremely arrogant on the way back to Beijing, saying that he had made great contributions to the court, and now embezzling a little money is nothing.He also said that most of the emperor's merits for thousands of years are due to their ministers.The ministers of the Military Aircraft Department were afraid that he would utter wild words after returning to Beijing, which would hurt the dragon's body, so they dared not report his words to the emperor truthfully, so they suggested to kill him. Qianlong was furious and suddenly realized that he knew the truth of the matter, so he immediately sent an order, ordering Qinggui to kill Fusong on the spot.Later, considering Fusong's repeated military exploits, he was specially given to commit suicide on the spot, which can be regarded as the most benevolent. He Shen's goal was achieved, and he was very happy in his heart. He kept trying to persuade Qianlong not to get angry and hurt his body. The dragon's body was important. He Shen soon passed on Qianlong's will to Qing Gui, the imperial envoy. At this time, Qing Gui had been escorting Fu Song for several days and arrived in Shandong.This is a place called Honghuapu, which belongs to Yizhou, Shandong. Fu Song is very clear about his situation, and he knows that He Shen must be the culprit, and he has been wronged.Now that the emperor asked him to go back to Beijing for trial, the emperor would have doubts about this matter. As long as he arrives in the capital, he can explain the matter clearly in front of the emperor and expose Heshen's various crimes of extortion, extortion, and corruption on the local officials, and ask the emperor To uphold justice, I believe that the emperor will be able to distinguish right from wrong and eradicate treacherous ministers. Unexpectedly, the emperor's decree was handed down on the road, and the content was all about reprimanding Fu Song.Fu Song was stunned, and soon regained his composure, yelling that he was wronged.And shouted that the emperor was blinded by the villain and could not kill himself unjustly. Qinggui knew that Heshen had successfully operated in the capital, which made Qianlong make the decision to kill.My heart is also much more relaxed.Fu Song angrily scolded Qing Gui as a traitor, the emperor sent him here to investigate the case, but who knew that he turned black and white and planted crimes on Fu Song, which has already committed the crime of deceiving the emperor.He also said that he was worthy of the court above and the people below.Insist on going to Beijing to face the saint and clarify the facts. Qinggui already had ghosts in his heart.If Fu Song is really allowed to come to Beijing to tell the truth, I am afraid that his own life will be in danger.Fortunately, He Shen was prepared for this, and he also gave Qing Gui a death order that Fu Song must disappear on the road, otherwise, when he arrived in the capital, everyone would die! Unexpectedly, Fusong, who was born in a soldier, has a violent temper and just refuses to submit. Qinggui has no choice but to say hello to Shandong governor Ji Qing, secretly expressing that he is investigating the case under the order of the emperor, and Fusong is very prejudiced against him now. Deep, Fu Song couldn't listen to what he said.Now the emperor granted him the grace to commit suicide, but he refused, so this stalemate is not an option.Shandong is under the jurisdiction of Jiqing, and Fu Song resisted the decree and refused to commit suicide, neither side could explain to the emperor Finally, Qinggui finally said: Fusong is mortal anyway, why not use a jug of poisoned wine to end Fusong, lest he suffer even more when he returns to the capital, and both Jiqing and him can give an explanation to the superiors. Ji Qing knew that the relationship between the DPRK and China would be involved, and he was unwilling to cause troubles, and he was unwilling to offend the imperial envoy, and it would be difficult for the emperor to explain, so he agreed to Qing Gui's suggestion. Ji Qing quietly prepared dishes and wine, which were secretly poisoned.Then he released Fu Song from the prison car, and lied to him that he respected him for his great military exploits and that he was a man.Although he is now wearing a crime, since he passed by his own jurisdiction, he begged the imperial envoy for a favor.In this way, Fusong can temporarily rest in Shandong for a few days, and the food, drink, and accommodation will be paid for by the Shandong treasury.Ji Qing also said that during this period, he would make a note to the emperor, hoping that the emperor would be merciful, change his mind, and let Rong Fusong go to Beijing to meet Chen Shengshang.To find out the truth and restore Fusong's innocence. Fu Song has always been straightforward and doesn't know how to beat around the bush. Seeing that Ji Qing said it so sincerely, he believed it.So he ate vegetables and drank with peace of mind, but died of poisoning immediately. Although Qing Gui and Ji Qing acted according to the order, they still poisoned the court minister after all, and quickly ordered his servants to collect Fu Song's body, bury it on the spot, and rewarded everyone present as a hush money.Later, the emperor said that Fu Song had committed suicide according to the order. After Qinggui returned to the city, he reported the situation of Fusong's case to the emperor. Since he and Heshen had already colluded, Qianlong couldn't detect any flaws.Not only that, Qianlong's lingering anger persisted, and he blamed relevant officials in Zhejiang for not reporting their knowledge and punishing them severely.Gui Jingzhao, the governor of Zhejiang, was sent to Yili and was not allowed to donate; Ming Bao, the prefect of Hangzhou, and Zhang Shen, the current Zhejiang Yandao, were removed from their posts for investigation and sent to the army; Gu Changfu, the inspector of Zhejiang, was sent to the army.In addition, officials from Hangzhou in the capital, such as Shizhong and Yushi, were also jointly and severally liable, and they were fined not to be promoted within two years. It can be said that He Shen unjustly murdered a second-rank official of the imperial court out of self-interest, which added another piece of evidence for him to share the anger of man and god.