Chapter 81 The fourth article is a wealth of money, the way to gather money and the way to make money

Chapter 1 Being an official for thousands of miles is only for money, embezzlement and bribery, and amassing family property If you are an official, you cannot be promoted Giving bribes is a pass for those who give bribes, and honesty is the epitaph for those who are honest. Giving and accepting bribes has always been a cancer that cannot be eradicated in officialdom, and it is also an example of officialdom corruption.Like He Shen, a big celebrity in front of Qianlong, his hands and eyes are open to the sky, and there are countless people who bribed him.He Shen is also relentless in this regard, often directly extorting bribes from officials at all levels.

He Shen has always been by Qianlong's side, serving him at any time, and of course he can ask for money and things in the name of the emperor.Wherever Yu Jia passed by, it was a great opportunity for him to extort money from officials everywhere.In the forty-fifth year of Qianlong (1780), Qianlong made his fifth southern tour.He Shen rampantly blackmailed the provinces along the route, and beat local officials hard.When passing through Yangzhou, Qianlong was very happy to see that the wells in Yangzhou were prosperous and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. He rewarded the local officials in Yangzhou and bestowed the slaughter on all the salt merchants.So Qianlong arranged a big banquet in Yangzhou Palace, which was very lively.

After the banquet, He Shen secretly called Lianghuai Yanzheng Zhengrui to him, and secretly mentioned an old case to him, which happened more than ten years ago.It turns out that during the 20 years from the 11th year to the 32nd year of Qianlong's reign, the Lianghuai salt bank pre-extracted a total of about 4.9 million taels, and obtained a total of more than 10 million taels of silver. None of this money was confiscated.The case finally came to light in the 33rd year of Qianlong. Although the Lianghuai Salt Administration and the officials involved in it were severely punished, the succeeding Salt Administration still refused to hand it over with various excuses, and always dealt with it. .In the ten years until the forty-fourth year of Qianlong, it has not been repaid, and it still owes the Ministry of Internal Affairs more than five million taels.Later, He Shen arranged this fat job to Zhengrui who bribed him.

This time, He Shen accompanied Qianlong to Yangzhou. He Shen personally saw the prosperity of Yangzhou, and there were many salt merchants here, all of whom lived in luxury. Then he felt that Zhengrui's contribution to himself was too little, and he was very dissatisfied. But it's hard to say clearly.So, he took the opportunity to bring up the old matter to him again, planning to extort more money.After He Shen finished speaking, he said in a strange tone: You owe more than ten million taels of silver, it seems that you haven't paid much?Why not pay it off?Who spoke to you and asked the emperor to give you relief?And how much money you have collected from it, you and I also know.We are all smart people, if the emperor asks about this matter, knowing that you haven't returned it for so many years, he will definitely be furious, don't say me and a certain person didn't remind you!He Shen's words were a naked threat and intimidation, how could Zhengrui not see it?His Lianghuai Salt Administration position was originally obtained by relying on He Shen. If He Shen changed his face, he would not be able to make a fortune. In order to keep this money-making position, Zhengrui could only keep nodding his promise: "Little one." I pay 100,000 taels to the top every year, and I never miss other festivals. I hope my lord can understand the difficulties of being an official, and the villain will go back to raise silver taels. Please don't worry, my lord.

He Shen originally came here for money, seeing that Zhengrui understood his intentions and behaved so obediently, he changed his tone and said in a soothing tone: In the end, you are only doing things for the emperor. If you really don't have the silver tael of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, you don't have to be too nervous.There are so many links in between, how can the emperor make things difficult for you?Besides, during the emperor's southern tour, you were well received and won the great joy of Long Yan, and you were not only rewarded, it was not, but you were also rewarded with a top Dai Hualing.After finishing speaking, he took out the item rewarded by the emperor and gave it to him.

Seeing what He Shen said, and the emperor rewarded him with gifts, Zhengrui calmed down a little. That night, he summoned his confidant salt merchants, raised two taels of silver, and sent He Shen one hundred thousand taels of silver, which temporarily comforted He Shen . Even so, Zhengrui's Lianghuai Salt Administration position was soon removed by Heshen under an excuse and given to Yangzhou salt merchant Wang Rulong. Later, after Zhengrui inquired, he learned that it was Wang Rulong who gave Heshen a full 200,000 taels of silver. It's no wonder that He Shen wants to take off his hat to others, and He Shen is really quick to do things with money.

In Heshen's eyes, he feels that accepting bribes from his subordinates is a matter of course. Of course he must be paid for doing things for others, but Heshen not only secretly asks for bribes, but also blatantly blackmails him. Ask for it face to face. The officials sent by the imperial court to various places will return to Beijing to report on their duties every few years, so that the emperor can understand the governance situation in various parts of the country. Every time they go to Beijing, they will bring some local rare things to present to the emperor. In June of the fifty-fourth year of Qianlong (1789), Sun Shiyi, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, returned to Beijing from the Annan front to report on his duties.The governor is in charge of the administration of a province or several provinces. He is a high official in the court, and usually only someone who is trusted by the emperor can take over.Their status in the court is very high.General officials are in awe of them.Only He Shen is arrogant, even princes and ministers are afraid of him, and the governor will not fall into his eyes.

As soon as Sun Shiyi arrived in the capital, he went to the Jinluan Palace to meet the emperor, and met He Shen outside the gate of the palace. He Shen saw at a glance that he was holding something in his hand, and he presumably wanted to present it to the emperor.I asked him to take a look, and it turned out to be a snuff bottle made of pearls. The workmanship is very exquisite, and it is a rare gem in the world.He Shen couldn't put it down when he saw it, and praised him again and again.Before parting, He Shen said to Sun Shiyi: Master Sun, will this plaything be transferred to the next official?Sun Shiyi had heard about Heshen accepting bribes and corruption for a long time, but now he actually asked for it in person, so he couldn't answer for a while.I had to answer truthfully: this object was originally intended to be presented to the emperor, and it had already been announced.My lord is loved by He, and should have been given as a gift to my lord, but it is not easy for me to explain to the emperor, and I hope that I can understand the embarrassment of my lord.Next time I come to Beijing, I will prepare another gift for Mr. and Mrs. What do you think?He Shen didn't expect Sun Shiyi to refute his face, but since it was dedicated to the emperor, he couldn't get angry, so he could only cover up and say: Don't worry about Mr. Sun, I was just joking, a gentleman doesn't take people away love!Seeing what He Shen said, Sun Shiyi thought the matter was over.

A few days later, Sun Shiyi saw He Shen at the military plane, He Shen deliberately shook a snuff bottle in his hand, and said to Sun Shiyi: Master Sun, I also have a snuff bottle, please see how it compares to yours ?Sun Shiyi was quite surprised when he saw that this was obviously the one he dedicated to Qianlong.He Shen smiled triumphantly: Don't be surprised, Mr. Sun, this snuff bottle was gifted to me by the emperor, it may not be the one you presented.After speaking, he laughed.Only then did Sun Shiyi fully understand He Shen's status and power in the court, and from then on, he never dared to show any disrespect to He Shen.

Although Heshen is very greedy and greedy, he has amassed a huge amount of wealth by virtue of his official power, and he is even more domineering in the court, but he can be as peaceful as Mount Tai. This is exactly what the saying goes. .