Qing Yao

Chapter 110 Are you happy, sir?
The Minister was clearly joking when he said that Zhao Youlu was a "sycophant," but the Minister had changed his opinion of him and now thought that Zhao was indeed a promising talent.

In layman's terms, this kid is pretty quick-witted.

As for this kid's extensive education on loyalty at the Yangzhou Prefectural School, and even the slogan "Enter the Wenhua Hall in life, enter the Ziguang Pavilion in death," it was a bit too much in the eyes of the Grand Secretary.

"Pure" simply means to be unconventional, to try to attract attention, and to seek advancement.

If an official who passed the imperial examinations through the regular channels had done this, the Grand Secretary might have given him a thumbs up and praised him to the Emperor. But for someone who bought his way into the Imperial Academy to do this, it just seems a bit awkward.

Besides, Zhao Youlu had already been promoted five ranks by the Emperor for paying a thousand taels of silver as punishment. He hadn't even settled into his new position before he was already eager to flatter the Emperor. The Grand Secretary wasn't stupid; how could he possibly grant this wish?

If it weren't for the fact that this kid had just been made a "typical" example by the Emperor and himself and reported in the newspapers, the Grand Secretary might have slapped him into the real deal.

Do you really think I'm some kind of Gao Qiu or Cai Jing?
If we're talking about loyalty, even if I gave you two arms, you couldn't beat me.

Unexpectedly, this lad, while being unconventional, also had some brains. His plan to "borrow a school" in Yangzhou hit the nail on the head for the Grand Secretary – he was short of money!
"You guys take a look at the matter of Yangzhou Prefectural School charging tuition for students who are temporarily enrolled, discuss it, and see if it's a good or bad thing."

Having held the reins of the Qing Dynasty's finances for over a decade, how could the Grand Secretary not see the enormous commercial potential of the "borrowing school" arrangement? However, the Grand Secretary had a good habit: he was good at listening to the opinions of others and disliked making decisions unilaterally.

"Borrowed to study?"

Several officials from the Imperial Household Department were puzzled by this unfamiliar term. However, after reading the report submitted by the Yangzhou Hengli branch, they, who had worked in the "economic" field for many years, immediately cheered.

We have to applaud it; didn't you just see His Excellency say that it's a waste of Zhao Youlu's talents to be a professor?

What does this mean?
Doesn't this just show that the Grand Secretary approves of the Yangzhou Prefectural School allowing students to study there temporarily?

Only someone with a screw loose would contradict the emperor.

"That's right! If all the official schools in various regions could relax their restrictions on enrolling students as temporary students, wouldn't that bring in a lot of money for the imperial court?"

The speaker was Fan Tao, a senior official in the Ministry of Justice. Although he was not a bondservant of the Imperial Household Department, his family had a close relationship with the department and was a descendant of the famous Fan family, a prominent imperial merchant family in Shanxi.

His great-grandfather was Fan Yongdou, the head of the "Eight Great Imperial Merchants".

The term "Imperial Merchants" refers to the Shanxi merchants who made great contributions to the Qing army's entry into the Central Plains at the end of the Ming Dynasty. These Shanxi merchants were rewarded by Emperor Shunzhi with the title of Imperial Merchants, and their household registration was changed from civilian to the Imperial Household Department.

To this day, many descendants of the eight imperial merchants hold positions in the imperial court and the Imperial Household Department, effectively becoming one with the Imperial Household Department.

The government exists, the merchants exist; the government dies, the merchants die.

The other officials shared similar views with Fan Tao, believing that allowing local schools to widely recruit students would not only benefit local education but also increase national revenue, making it a win-win situation. They also believed that promoting this nationwide would greatly alleviate the financial pressure on the imperial court.

Only one official raised a different opinion; that person was Sun Yankun, the head of the Construction Department.

This Lord Sun believed that if local government schools were allowed to allow students to study outside their designated schools, it would inevitably lead to a situation where these schools, which were supposed to be fair and just, would be filled with a large number of students who were neither talented nor virtuous.

"I am worried that if there are too many students like this, those students from poor families but with excellent academic performance may lose the opportunity to study in official schools and thus be unable to support their studies in the imperial examinations."

Furthermore, an excessive number of students lacking both talent and virtue will inevitably affect the studies of outstanding students. Such a mixed quality of students goes against the original intention of the imperial examination system. I hope Your Excellency will reconsider.

Sun Yankun's opinion caught Heshen's attention, and he recalled his own experiences when he was young.

When he was selected to study at the Xian'an Palace School, he memorized the Four Books and Five Classics perfectly, earning high praise from his teachers. The famous Confucian scholar Yuan Mei also personally praised him and his younger brother He Lin for being "well-versed in poetry and etiquette from a young age".

Even so, the confident and self-assured Grand Secretary went to register for the imperial examination, only to fail. This shows how difficult it was to pass the imperial examination and how arduous it was for students.

The essence of "borrowing a place to study" is to charge money to allow poor students to study in official schools, so that the imperial court and local governments can "profit" from it. In this case, what about the outstanding students from poor families?
Official schools are places where the imperial court cultivates talent; they must not be allowed to become a complete mess.

While hesitating, Fan Tao, the Director of the Capital Garrison, stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Excellency, I believe that Lord Sun is mistaken."

Heshen raised his hand, gesturing for Fan Tao to sit down and speak.

Why should a good student need to study elsewhere?

Fan Langzhong meant that academically excellent students were already admitted to official schools, and as long as local official schools were strictly ordered to abide by this system, there was no need to worry about the problem of quota being squeezed out.

Upon hearing this, Sun Yankun immediately shook his head in opposition: "How can Lord Fan guarantee that local authorities won't squeeze out the spots of outstanding students for petty gains? And how can he ensure that outstanding students won't be affected by inferior students?"

"First, strengthen the supervision of local government schools; second, require local authorities to separate the enrollment of temporary students from those of government students."

Fan Tao suggested several feasible solutions, insisting that the benefits of the temporary schooling outweigh the drawbacks, and that the greater benefits should not be lost due to minor drawbacks.

Then, they did the math: if a prefecture's official school admitted several hundred more students on a temporary basis, and each student was charged 100 taels of silver per year, they could still earn tens of thousands of taels more per year.

How many prefectures are there in the whole country? And how many counties and prefectures are there?
How many people wanted to study in government schools but were turned away because they were not qualified?
Even if each student only pays ten taels of silver, that adds up to several million taels a year. "Your Excellency, the national treasury is currently empty, so any additional income is always good. Besides, this matter won't harm ordinary people much, and the wealthy won't care about the tuition fees. As long as the court strengthens its supervision and official schools teach according to students' aptitudes, I believe that allowing students to study elsewhere is absolutely feasible. Moreover, wouldn't a larger number of students studying be great proof of the prosperity of my Qianlong era?"

Fan Tao's last words struck a chord with Heshen, who nodded and said, "What Dr. Fan says makes sense. The matter of borrowing books for study is unheard of in history, both in China and abroad, and there is no precedent for it in our dynasty. I am worried that if this matter is promoted, there will definitely be people in the court who will object, saying that I, Heshen, am first causing harm to the country and the people by proposing the punishment of fines, and then making a fortune by promoting the borrowing of books for study."

After saying this, he gave a bitter laugh. In the eyes of some officials, he and Heshen were indeed heinous criminals, a reincarnation of Gao Qiu and a second Cai Jing.

But these officials had no idea how much he had worried about for the Qing Dynasty.

Fortunately, his master understands him.

"This year is His Majesty's birthday. Your Excellency, why don't you call this borrowing of books a blessing for His Majesty's birthday? Who in the court would dare to object then?"

The descendants of Shanxi merchants are indeed more resourceful than ordinary people; Fan Tao's idea really managed to shut up all the officials in the court.

Heshen didn't speak, but just stood there lost in thought.

Seeing this, Sun Yankun knew that the Grand Secretary was tempted, and sighed inwardly, not daring to object any further.

Sure enough, a moment later the Grand Secretary instructed his steward Liu Quan to prepare a sedan chair to enter the palace.

When the emperor's most trusted confidant and the Grand Secretary entered the palace, no guard dared to stop them. They passed through the Emperor's bedroom, the Hall of Mental Cultivation, without any hindrance. After inquiring with the eunuchs and learning that the emperor was in the East Warm Pavilion, they walked over on foot.

When Li Yujian, the chief eunuch waiting outside the warm pavilion, saw that the Grand Master had arrived, he quickly stepped forward, bowed, and whispered, "Grand Master, the master is speaking with Prince Cheng and Prince Jia."

"Oh?"

Heshen looked into the pavilion but didn't see the Fifteenth Prince Yongyan. He only saw half of the Eleventh Prince Yongxing's figure. He nodded and casually asked Li Yu, "When did the two princes arrive?"

"I've been here for a while."

As Li Yu stood up, he naturally accepted the hundred-tael silver note handed to him by Sun Zhongtang, and casually whispered to the Zhongtang: "Zhongtang Sun has submitted a memorial to the emperor, recommending Zhu Gui for the position of Governor-General of Sichuan."

Sun Zhongtang was referring to Sun Shiyi, a Grand Councilor and Minister of Personnel.

Zhu Gui is the current Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and also the tutor of Prince Jia, Yongyan.

Heshen, who knew nothing about this matter, frowned slightly: "Did Your Majesty summon Prince Jia to the palace because of Zhu Gui's affair?"

"No, that's not it,"

Looking around, Li Yu lowered his voice and said, "This afternoon, for some reason, His Majesty thought of Crown Prince Duanhui and was very sad. After lunch, he asked me to send someone to summon the two princes to the palace."

Crown Prince Duanhui was the eldest son of the current emperor. His name, Yonglian, was bestowed upon him by his grandfather, Emperor Yongzheng. He was not only greatly loved by his grandfather, but also favored by his father, Emperor Qianlong. Therefore, he was secretly designated as the crown prince in the first year of Qianlong's reign. However, just two years later, Yonglian died from a cold.

The untimely death of his beloved son was undoubtedly a huge blow to Emperor Qianlong. He did not attend court for five days because of this, and he also made public the secret edict designating Yonglian as the crown prince.

At this time, Yonglian had died young for fifty-two years. Why did the master suddenly think of this eldest son who died young?

Heshen felt that things were not simple. In addition, Sun Shiyi recommended Zhu Gui, the tutor of the Fifteenth Prince, to be the Governor-General of Sichuan behind his back. The Governor-General of Sichuan was also responsible for the logistics and supplies for the military campaign in the snowy areas next year. At that time, he would definitely have close ties with the generals who commanded the troops, such as Fukang'an and Hailancha. Heshen began to have a vague suspicion.

Without making a sound, he knelt down outside the warm pavilion and greeted His Majesty, saying, "This servant Heshen respectfully greets Your Majesty!"

"Hey Heshen, come in quickly."

Because the old master in the warm pavilion was hard of hearing, he didn't know at first that his favorite minister, Heshen, had come. It was only after the eleventh prince, Yongxing, told his father that he was informed.

"Yes, Master!"

Heshen quickly got up from the ground and stepped lightly into the warm pavilion. As soon as he entered, he saw the fifteenth prince, Prince Jiaqing Yongyan, kneeling on the ground and carefully saying, "How could I not know that Father Emperor misses his elder brother? However, I am the younger brother and he is the elder brother. It seems that it is not in accordance with the rules for the younger brother to pay respects to the elder brother."

After speaking, he lowered his head somewhat nervously, not daring to look his father in the eye.

The old patriarch, half-reclining on the couch, either didn't hear clearly or was displeased, ignored his very nervous son and instead looked at Heshen who had entered: "Weren't you off duty today? What brings you here to me?"

"Your Majesty, I was very pleased to hear about this, and I wanted to share your joy with you."

Heshen smiled and stepped forward to hand over the memorial from Zheng Bowen, the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai.

He originally didn't want to submit this memorial, but now he had no choice but to.

Because the one kneeling on the ground is the Fifteenth Prince.

(End of this chapter)