There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 308 The Death of Emperor Qianlong
Although the merchants of Anqing Prefecture had secretly agreed to defect to the Han Dynasty, they did not act immediately.

These wealthy businessmen certainly have money, but they don't have any soldiers.

After discussion, they selected Wang Yu as the merchant representative and approached Zhu Gui, the governor of Anhui, to express their willingness to donate money and grain to form a local militia to assist the government in defending the city.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gui appeared overjoyed. He first praised the righteous act of Wang Yu and other merchants, and then quickly took drastic measures, allowing merchants to raise funds to recruit soldiers, but not too many. Even the defense zones of each person were dispersed, so that even if someone did rebel, it could be easily suppressed.

Wang Yu and the other merchants were stunned. They had no choice but to lie low and wait for an opportunity, while continuing to observe how the battle unfolded.

If the Han army really fails to capture Anqing, they can easily defect without suffering too much loss on either side.

Meanwhile, while Anqing was still under siege and in a standoff, a momentous event had just occurred in Beijing, a city thousands of miles away.

On the fifth day of the third month of this year, the Han Dynasty held its special imperial examination.

Zhu Gui's memorial regarding the battle in Jiangxi was delivered to Beijing by express courier.

Because He Shen had been transferred by Emperor Qianlong to prepare for the Emperor's birthday celebration and the upcoming grand banquet, and Zhu Gui happened to be Emperor Jiaqing's teacher, this urgent memorial was delivered to Emperor Qianlong's desk without any obstruction.

After reading it, Emperor Qianlong was furious. It turned out that the victory reports he had seen before were all embellished by Heshen and local officials. The so-called excellent situation was all a conspiracy by his subordinates to deceive him.

The situation in the south had deteriorated beyond repair; the Governor-General of Liangjiang was killed in battle, and the 100,000-strong army in Jiangnan was wiped out.

The two women sent by the filial son Jiaqing, along with the tonics that had drained Qianlong's body, caused him to fall ill from the stress and anxiety.

This time, Qianlong was no longer as lucky as before, or perhaps his fate had indeed come to an end.

The imperial physicians worked tirelessly day and night to save the ninety-year-old Tartar emperor, but in the end, he could not overcome his hurdle of the sixty-fourth year of his reign.

On the seventh day of the third month, Emperor Qianlong passed away.

This "perfect emperor" lived two months longer than historical figures, but those extra two months did not allow him to reverse the Qing Dynasty's decline. Instead, his sixty years of revelry, indulgence, and ambition further pushed the Qing Dynasty into the abyss of depravity.

On the day Emperor Qianlong died, Emperor Jiaqing summoned Wang Jie and Liu Yong to determine the temple name and posthumous title for Qianlong.

Based on the many hints left by Emperor Qianlong before his death, there should naturally be a temple name with the character "Zu" above the Ten Great Military Achievements. Wang Jie and Liu Yong each came up with a temple name with the character "Zu".

Emperor Jiaqing did not adopt any of these suggestions, but instead simply decided on the temple name Gaozong.

Judging from its meaning alone, Emperor Gaozong's temple name should be a good one.

Virtue that covers all things is called high.

A grand and solemn occasion is called "gao".

A canopy that covers the sky is called "high".

Historically, Emperor Gaozong Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty and Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi of the Tang Dynasty were both exemplary figures of the Gaozong era.

However, after Emperor Gaozong of Tang, starting with Emperor Gaozong of Song, this temple name became less effective.

Because Emperor Gaozong of Song was Wanyan Gou, while others were all puppet emperors, he was a subject emperor, which was even worse than a puppet emperor.

Wanyan Gou was also the first emperor in history to submit to a foreign power.

Starting with Wanyan Gou, Emperor Gaozong's temple name began to carry a derogatory and satirical connotation, just like the Luo River and Mount Tai. Emperor Qianlong's attitude towards these three was also remarkably consistent.

He not only wrote poems satirizing Zhao Gou on multiple occasions, but also passed by Mount Tai three times without climbing it.

Now, Jiaqing not only refuses to use the title of "ancestor," but he can also explain it away by claiming to follow the imperial edict. Qianlong, for the sake of face, did indeed say that the Qing Dynasty had too many ancestral titles and he dared not use "ancestor" himself, but he also shamelessly hinted to his ministers that they "should follow the ancestral titles." But regardless of whether one uses "ancestor" or "ancestor," the temple name of Gaozong is truly somewhat inappropriate.

Wang Jie wanted to dissuade him, but when he met Jiaqing's cold gaze, he thought for a moment and shut up.

On the eighth day of the third month, Emperor Jiaqing held a grand court assembly and announced that, in accordance with the late Emperor Emeritus's instructions, the temple name would be Gaozong.

At the same time, Heshen was appointed to manage the national mourning affairs together with Prince Rui Chunying and others, and his teacher, Zhu Gui, the governor of Anhui, was summoned to Beijing to take up his post.

On the ninth day of the third month, Emperor Jiaqing issued another imperial edict, rebuking the generals who were suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion on the front lines in Sichuan for playing around and claiming credit.

Using this as a pretext, he dismissed Fu Chang'an, a close associate of Heshen, from his position as Minister of the Grand Council.

Subsequently, Jiaqing swiftly appointed Heshen and Fu Chang'an to guard the spirit of the retired emperor day and night, forbidding them from leaving without permission, thus cutting off their contact with the outside world.

This effectively stripped Heshen of his military and political power as Grand Secretary, Chief Military Councilor, Commander of the Infantry, and Commander of the Nine Gates.

The campaign officially began on the tenth day of the third lunar month.

First, Wang Niansun and other officials jointly submitted a memorial impeaching Heshen for abusing his power and committing serious crimes.

On March 11, after a day of investigation, Emperor Jiaqing announced the dismissal and imprisonment of Heshen, causing a huge uproar in the Qing court and the public, and leading to a series of adjustments to the power and responsibilities of the court.

After Heshen was stripped of all his official posts, all memorials and documents submitted to the emperor had to be reported directly to the Jiaqing Emperor from that day forward. The Grand Council was no longer allowed to make copies, and ministers of various ministries and departments were not allowed to inform the Grand Councilors of the contents of their memorials in advance.

At the same time, he appointed Prince Rui Chunying, Prince Ding Mian'en, Prince Yi Yongxuan, and Prince Qing Yonglin to take charge of military and political power respectively.

With this, Jiaqing had completely seized control of the government and began the formal purge of Heshen, who was imprisoned.

Emperor Jiaqing first issued an edict ordering all ministers in the capital to make a clear statement to the court regarding Heshen's corruption and abuse of power.

After receiving a hint from Emperor Jiaqing, Hu Jitang, the Governor-General of Zhili, took the lead in expressing his opinion and charging into battle. In his memorial, he accused Heshen of being insane, disrespectful to the emperor, stupid and harmful to the people, greedy and dissolute, and a shameless villain, requesting that he be executed by slow slicing.

Emperor Jiaqing immediately issued an order and demanded that officials of the third rank or above in Beijing make a statement immediately.

This was just the political turmoil. While Jiaqing was fabricating charges against Heshen and arranging for ministers to impeach Heshen and his cronies, he also ordered Prince Yi Yongxuan, Prince Cheng Yongxing, and others to confiscate Heshen's property and jointly interrogate him.

It wasn't until March 13th that Emperor Jiaqing issued an imperial decree to "investigate with full force and appoint a deputy," ordering a comprehensive investigation into the major case of Heshen.

On March 14, after a preliminary search and interrogation, Emperor Jiaqing announced twenty major crimes committed by Heshen, including deceiving the emperor, suppressing military reports, nepotism, violating ancestral rules, and embezzlement.

On March 20, a meeting of civil and military officials in Beijing requested that Heshen be executed by slow slicing and that Fu Chang'an, who was involved in the same case, be beheaded.

Emperor Jiaqing first said that "Heshen deserved his punishment," and then said that considering Heshen had once served as the leading Grand Councilor, in order to save face for the court, he granted him the privilege of committing suicide, which was carried out during Emperor Qianlong's mourning period.

Heshen, the most corrupt official in history and a powerful figure in the court, was swiftly and decisively executed by Emperor Jiaqing in less than half a month.

Heshen died, and his death was justified, but it was also ill-timed.

Moreover, after Jiaqing executed Heshen, in order to maintain political stability, he did not continue to investigate corruption and clean up officialdom, but instead tried to appease the situation.

Of Heshen's close associates and cronies, only a few died: Yijiang'a, Wu Shenglan, and Wu Shengqin.

Emperor Jiaqing even issued an edict on this matter, specifically announcing to the world: "All those who recommended Heshen or went to his door will not be investigated. They should be encouraged to repent and reform, and all should be given a chance to start anew."

(End of this chapter)