Movie variety show soul travels between two worlds to become a rich man

Chapter 885 Surrounded by Treasures, Planning for the Future
Heshen!

Every Chinese person knows the notorious corrupt official Heshen. As Emperor Qianlong's most trusted minister, his power once surpassed that of the emperor, but his greed was equally extreme.

When Emperor Jiaqing confiscated Heshen's property, a popular saying circulated: "When Heshen fell, Jiaqing was well-fed," which shows just how astonishing Heshen's wealth was.

According to the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", Heshen's total assets during his reign amounted to 10 billion taels of silver.

What does this mean? During the Qianlong era, the Qing court's annual revenue was only 4000 million taels of silver. In other words, Heshen's wealth alone was equivalent to 25 years of the court's fiscal revenue.

However, according to "Secrets of the Qing Palace", when Emperor Jiaqing ordered the confiscation of Heshen's property, only more than 300 million taels of silver were found in his residence, which is far from the legendary 10 billion taels of silver.

It would be impossible to say that Emperor Jiaqing's confiscation of property was not thorough or ruthless. The confiscation operation lasted for three whole months and involved thousands of officials and soldiers.

They not only searched Heshen's residence in the capital, but also conducted an in-depth investigation into his businesses and investments throughout the country.

They even dispatched several imperial envoys, thoroughly investigating the area.

The cellar was dug up and found millions of dollars worth of gold and silver; the secret compartments of the mansion were pried open and pearls and agates were found; even the artificial hill in the garden was knocked down and several chests of jewels were unearthed.

However, the items seized were less than one-tenth of Heshen's billion-dollar assets.

From then on, various legends circulated. Some said that Heshen dug a huge cellar somewhere in the Western Hills. Others said that he built a secret warehouse on the banks of the canal in Tongzhou. Still others said that Heshen had long ago transferred his wealth to the border regions.

Anyway, there are many different opinions, but no one can find it. However, everyone in the capital knows one thing: Heshen's huge treasure is buried under the capital.

It wasn't until the 1980s, during the reform and opening up, that workers accidentally discovered a secret room while renovating an ancient Ming and Qing dynasty building. The room contained a large number of cultural relics and silver ingots, which, after expert appraisal, were identified as part of the wealth that Heshen had hidden away.

Even more interestingly, a ledger was discovered in the secret room, detailing a partial list of Heshen's assets. According to this ledger, Heshen had at least seven other treasure troves around the capital, immediately causing a sensation.

It turns out that Heshen had long ago laid out a massive scheme: he dispersed his wealth into different locations, each known only to one trusted confidant. These confidants were complete strangers to each other, and some were even unaware of each other's existence.

This intricate arrangement made Emperor Jiaqing's investigation extremely difficult. Even if he captured Heshen's confidants, he could only find one treasure location at most. Even more ingenious was that each treasure location was equipped with traps; once discovered, the corresponding security measures would be triggered.

Later, based on that ledger, parts of the treasure were found in seemingly inconspicuous places, such as the cellar of what used to be a rice shop, and inside an entire wall...

However, the real treasure remained elusive until 08, when archaeologists unexpectedly discovered Heshen's secret treasury during an archaeological survey at an inconspicuous location.

This site was originally Heshen's mansion, which is part of Prince Gong's Mansion. However, due to hundreds of years of historical changes, the buildings on this part of the land have long since covered up the original historical traces.

It is said that the underground vault is incredibly large, with a total length of over 160 meters and an intricate, labyrinthine layout. The 110 rooms are arranged in a staggered manner, resembling a palace immersed in the depths of the underground.

Each room is uniquely designed. Some rooms display ancient artifacts and precious jade, while others are filled with gold and silver jewelry. In one room, ginseng is piled up like a mountain, containing more than 600 kilograms of ginseng, each kilogram of which is extremely precious.

Even more astonishing was the sight of 100 gold ingots, each weighing over 60 kilograms, along with piles of ordinary gold and silver ingots, not to mention a large number of cultural relics and works of art.

Those smaller treasure locations, whose exact locations he didn't know, could only be left to the state. But the underground treasure vault outside Prince Gong's Mansion was something Gao Dongxu was more than qualified to claim.

For Gao Dongxu, the gold and silver jewelry were secondary. What truly captivated him was the more than 600 jin of ginseng he possessed. It was no ordinary ginseng that Heshen had collected; it was a legendary spiritual herb, each jin of which was like a gemstone imbued with celestial energy, priceless and undoubtedly the most prized possession in that treasure trove.

He was determined to get those ginseng roots!

Gao Dongxu rode his bike toward No. 95 courtyard with increasing excitement.

The following morning, Gao Dongxu rode his bicycle to Pianye's courtyard house again.

When Pianye opened the door and saw Gao Dongxu, his gaze was somewhat complicated. He sighed softly and let Gao Dongxu into the courtyard.

"Master Pian, judging from your expression, you're not thinking of backing out, are you?" Gao Dongxu noticed Master Pian's hesitation and asked directly.

“No way—” Pian Ye hurriedly shook his head and said, then smiled bitterly, “To tell you the truth, another buyer came to the door last night, and now I’ve been complained about for not being fair.”

"Hehe, what's the big deal? Let's talk business. We can't let your interests be harmed because of a few words, can we?"

"Don't worry about it. Since the other party treated you like this, they don't consider you a friend. If they really considered you a friend, they can't blame you. They can only blame themselves for not being willing to spend more money. What do you think?" Gao Dongxu followed Pian Ye into the main room, sat down, and said with a sneer.

When Pianye heard Gao Dongxu's words, his expression softened, and he laughed, "That's well said. If you really considered me a friend, you wouldn't have made things difficult for me. Ah, you can see a person's true character in a matter of time."

Gao Dongxu smiled, took out the remaining payment, and pushed it in front of Pian Ye, whose eyes were shining and who was grinning from ear to ear, saying, "Please check it, sir—"

"A little bit?" Pian Ye said, sounding a bit affected.

“Let’s make sure we’ve cleared out our deal before it’s considered done, right?” Gao Dongxu knew these old Beijing gentlemen valued face the most, and as long as it benefited him, he didn’t mind praising them a few times.

"Alright, let's count them then—" Old Master Pian's old face beamed like a chrysanthemum, and he grabbed a handful of money from the table, his eyes wide as he began to count the bills one by one.

Gao Dongxu sat to the side with a smile, looking at the furnishings and the whole set of old furniture in the room, his eyes getting more and more envious.

All of them are antique furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now, these antique furniture pieces are just old, broken pieces of rotten wood in people's eyes, but in a few decades, each piece will be a treasure.

“That’s right, not a penny less. Alright, I’ll move to the back today to make room for you.”

After counting twice to confirm that there were no errors, Pianye smiled at Gao Dongxu and said, though his tone carried a hint of wistfulness.

"I'm not in a hurry, you can take your time packing," Gao Dongxu said with a smile.

"You can have all the furniture and decorations; my husband and I will just need some clothes and bedding, which we can roll up and leave."

"We've settled the debt, and you've been so kind to let me stay in the back room. I can't be ungrateful, can I? Please sit down, and I'll move to the back with my wife right away—please wait a moment—" After packing up the money, Pian Ye immediately and decisively stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Gao Dongxu, and turned to leave without the slightest hesitation.

"I'll treat you to drinks at noon—" Gao Dongxu said with a smile as he saw him out of the house.

"No need for us to spend money—" Master Pian said with a smile as he turned around.

"No, I'd like to ask you to introduce me to the neighbors," Gao Dongxu said with a smile.

Pian Ye's eyes lit up, and he nodded with a smile, saying, "Alright, the only thing I can do for you before I leave is to entrust this matter to you."

"Thank you, Uncle," Gao Dongxu said with a smile.

"Haha, easy to say—nephew—" Pian Ye laughed heartily, his earlier sighs about selling the house gone.

Gao Dongxu watched as Pian Ye strode into the east wing and closed the door. He couldn't help but smile slightly, then turned to look at the furniture in the main room and began to examine it by touch.

It was either rosewood or huanghuali wood. Gao Dongxu sat on the large rosewood Luohan bed with carved dragon patterns, reached out and stroked the long rosewood kang table, and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.

This is what it means to be surrounded by a treasure trove without realizing it.

However, he will have to put all these good things away in two years, otherwise, he won't be able to keep them.

Thinking of the coming years, Gao Dongxu lit a cigarette, frowned in deep thought, and resolved to find a way to salvage as many cultural relics as possible, even if it meant creating supernatural events.

Two hours later, Pianye and his wife moved into the right wing of the rear building. This three-section building was very exquisite, a large courtyard house, and it completely belonged to Gao Dongxu.

Gao Dongxu looked at everything in the courtyard, his smile exceptionally bright.

(End of this chapter)