Qing Yao

Chapter 126 We are the ones who are most deceiving

The position of the Grand Canal Commissioner sounds like the second-in-command of the Grand Canal Administration, but in reality it's a clerical job, just like a staff member working in the prefectural or county government offices. There's no separate office or special security, and at most, he's carried in a sedan chair by four people. The reason he can control the Green Gang is simply because of the fifth-rank official robes he wears and the intimidating effect of the Grand Canal Administration behind him.

Putting aside his official robes and workplace, what's the difference between Wu, the Councilor, and an ordinary person?
To deal with ordinary people, you obviously have to involve gangs.

Isn't this faster than going to the government office?

As an honorary member, Zhao An could ask about the Green Gang's affairs or not, but he could choose not to ask about the specific matter concerning the Grand Canal Administration, since it had little to do with him.

Why ask and give such a bad idea? Because Zhao An had a feeling that he might be the one who caused this.

It's possible that his 1,000 taels of silver for redemption caused the price of redemption certificates to skyrocket, forcing the officials in the Grand Canal to desperately extort money in response to the emperor's call.

Relying on mountains to eat mountains, relying on water to draft water.

If the government office in charge of canal transport doesn't extend its reach to the subordinate transport units, where else can it extend its reach?

This is indeed the case.

It was Zhao Shaojun who caused so much trouble for the "uncles" of the Green Gang!

They not only harmed their own people, but also caused great suffering to the higher-ups.

If even a low-ranking official of the ninth rank has to pay a thousand taels, how much will the higher-ups have to pay?

Regardless of whether they are guilty or not, or whether they plan to commit crimes in the future, officials all over the country have been desperately accumulating wealth during this period so that they can pay the fines for their crimes according to their rank.

In particular, the latest official gazette published two news reports.

First, the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, Wu Lana, had previously been dismissed and exiled for failing to report truthfully, as Yu Chaowu, the garrison commander of Shaowu Battalion, and Huang Guocai, a garrison officer, had embezzled funds and misappropriated official documents.

As a result, Wu Zhitai was granted leniency by the emperor after he paid 130,000 taels of silver to the court for his alleged offenses.

Another news item also came from Fujian, saying that Fujian Naval Commander Huang Shijian was sentenced to death by the Ministry for embezzling military supplies funds for Taiwan.

With no other option, Admiral Huang had to follow the example of the Governor-General and voluntarily hand over the silver, a total of 200,000 taels, making him the number one on the list of those who had been impeached for crimes in the 55th year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign!

The effect was surprisingly good, and the emperor ordered that he be stripped of his official rank, fined three years' salary, but allowed to remain in his post.

Huang, the admiral, had a legal annual income of 4200 taels of silver. If he paid 20 taels of silver at once, it would take him 47 years to pay it off even if he didn't eat or drink!
Where did this money come from?
Does His Majesty really not know?

But in reality, both Governor Wu and Admiral Huang were spared punishment by paying money.

Once these two real-life facts were published in the official gazette, local officials who originally only wanted to give it a perfunctory answer were instantly energized, and some regions even launched a "campaign" to see who paid the most money.

Driven by competition, the price of indulgences skyrocketed.

Consequently, the extortion imposed by the Grand Canal Administration on the Yangzhou branch of the Green Gang also increased from 16,000 taels to 60,000 taels.

It really is a boomerang!

Even if he really caused the trouble, Zhao An would not pay to settle things for the branch unless he, the "young master," became the "uncle" and truly took charge of the Yangzhou branch.

Unable to speak to the canal transport authorities directly, and unable to get help from anyone, the only option was to resort to their gangster nature.

It wasn't just a random attempt; it was meant to test the waters.

If the 60,000 taels were demanded by the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, then there was no room for negotiation; the branch headquarters would simply find a way to raise the money.

If this Councilor of Waterways asked for it behind the Governor-General's back, then this matter needs to be discussed. It's not that we won't give it to him, but at least give him half price, right?

If you, Councilor Wu, are truly ruthless to the extreme, then don't blame your gang members for carrying groceries for your sister-in-law every day, carrying your eldest son's schoolbag, and buying menstrual pads for your young mistress.

This sordid affair really left you, Councilor Wu, helpless. After all, you did it behind the Governor-General's back.

With tens of thousands of brothers in the Yangzhou branch, how many can you arrest?

Could it be that you, Lord Wu, are really going to make a big deal out of this and let it reach the ears of the Governor-General?

Zhao An has provided the solution; whether or not to take it is up to "Uncle".

Zhang Baofa refused to use this method to probe the depths of the matter, leaving Zhao Anzhen helpless.

The old man was in a real bind, because he had never done anything like this—openly threatening officials—since he joined the Green Gang.

Lord Wu is a fifth-rank official of the imperial court. Can he really be frightened by them?

Just as he was hesitating, Mr. Ding suddenly thought of something and said thoughtfully, "Young Master's method is not impossible."

Where can I get it done?

Zhang Baofa looked curiously at Ding Jiu, who had been sent down from Shisi'an.

Ding Jiu hurriedly said, "Uncle, when I was at Shisi Temple, I heard the old men talk about something. Back when Li Weigong was alive, Orqi, the younger brother of Ortai, the Minister of State Affairs, relied on his position as Minister of Revenue and Commander of the Infantry to make things difficult for Li Weigong. Later, Li Weigong submitted a memorial impeaching Orqi for violating the law and engaging in corruption. The late Emperor Yongzheng pardoned Orqi for Ortai's sake. But guess what happened, Uncle?"

A month later, Erqi was strangled to death at home! The old man said at the time that it was Li Weigong who had our old gang leader send people to do it!

But the story doesn't end there. According to Ding Jiu, Ortai, the "Prime Minister" of the Qing Dynasty, knew that his younger brother was killed by Li Wei, but as the older brother, Ortai dared not retaliate against Li Wei. Instead, he had to shamelessly try to curry favor with Li Wei, this foreign official. Isn't that strange?
"Is there still this?"

Zhang Baofa was stunned. Then he thought that he had been working at the "grassroots" level for decades and had never been to any of the Six Ministries or the Four Temples and Nunnery. It was normal that he didn't know about the gang's secrets.

"Lord Li is a capable and ruthless man. So what if Ortai is the prime minister? He still has to be afraid of Lord Li!"

Sun Rui said this with a proud look on his face.

"No, Ortai isn't afraid of Li Weigong, he's afraid of the knife in Li Weigong's hand, and that knife is our Green Gang."

Zhao An chuckled lightly, "To put it bluntly, if Emperor Yongzheng hadn't had the support of our Green Gang, could he have defeated the other princes? The same goes for Ortai. Even though he was the Minister of State Affairs, second only to the emperor in rank, our Green Gang has a million members. If we want to deal with him, we can always find a way to kill him. If we can't kill him, we can kill his family or his confidants, right? Unless the court sends troops to wipe us out, we'll be like maggots clinging to his bones, watching him like glue. How can he feel good about that?"

"."

Zhang Baofa, the "uncle," didn't dare to utter a word after hearing Zhao An's half-joking remark.

Ding Jiu, upon hearing this, said something that shocked Zhang Baofa even more: "No wonder some people in the nunnery said that Emperor Qianlong was afraid of Li Weigong back then, and later tried to poison Li Weigong to death."

Uh?
What's this all about?

There's something to it.

Li Wei caught a cold while serving as Governor-General of Zhili. Emperor Qianlong, who had only recently ascended the throne, immediately dispatched an imperial physician to his residence to treat him. However, three days after the physician left, Li Wei died of illness at the age of fifty-one.

Is this a coincidence?
Given that even a prime minister like Ortai was afraid of Li Wei, it's not impossible that Emperor Qianlong, who had just ascended the throne and whose position was not yet secure, was also afraid of Li Wei.

What could Li Wei possibly have that would make the emperor and prime minister fear him?

Besides the Green Gang's million members, what else is there?
(End of this chapter)