Qing Yao

Chapter 232 is all thanks to Fu Zhongtang.
The Jiang'an Grain Transport Office was stationed in Jiangning.

During the Kangxi era, considering the actual areas under his jurisdiction, the Anhui Ningchi Taiguang Circuit and Lufeng Circuit were established in Huizhou to share the responsibilities of the Jiang'an Circuit.

After the division of Jiangnan into Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, some officials suggested relocating the Jiang'an grain route to Anqing or Huizhou, the capital of Anhui, to facilitate unified management of the grain route.

However, since the rice transported from prefectures and counties in southern Anhui all went through the Grand Canal, and the grain supplies for the Eight Banners garrison in Jiangning City were entirely allocated by the Jiang'an Circuit, the Qing government kept the Jiang'an Grain Circuit Office in Jiangning City to facilitate the distribution of grain.

Another key consideration was that the Jiangnan region had been deeply influenced by the Ming Dynasty's ruling ideology for a long time, especially Fengyang and Nanjing, which were key strongholds of the Ming Dynasty and had extremely stubborn rebellious sentiments.

After Anhui became a province, the main government offices, such as the governor, provincial administration, and provincial judicial commissioner, continued to operate in Jiangning until more than a decade later when the anti-Qing forces on the Chinese mainland were completely eliminated, at which point the Anhui provincial government offices left Jiangning.

Only the grain route, a "stubborn household" related to the grain rations of the Eight Banners stationed there, remains in Jiangning to work.

Unsure whether Fu Chang'an heard "supervising the grain route" or "supervising the grain route," Heshen chose the latter, because Fu Chang'an was his most important crony in the court.

It would be foolish to go to the old master for confirmation. If it turns out he was "supervising the grain transport," Fu Chang'an would definitely lose face, and the old master would think Fu Chang'an was incompetent.

If Sun Shiyi were to use this as an excuse to cause trouble, it could very well lead to Fu Chang'an being transferred out of the Grand Council, which would undoubtedly diminish Heshen's influence within the Grand Council.

The Grand Council currently has six Grand Councilors, with Agui as the chief, followed by Heshen, Fu Chang'an, Dong Gao, Wang Jie, and Sun Shiyi.

Agui and Wang Jie were at odds with Heshen, while Sun Shiyi and Dong Gao maintained a superficial relationship with Heshen. Only Fu Chang'an followed Heshen's lead without question.

Therefore, if Fu Chang'an is dismissed from his position as Grand Councilor because of this incident, Heshen will be left to fend for himself in the Grand Council alone.

Zhao Youlu was also known as Heshen's "lackey" by General Kuilun of Fuzhou. This "lackey" had given him a sum of 80,000 taels of silver in one go. According to Heshen, the money was borrowed from a branch of the Yangzhou Imperial Household Department's money shop, and it was guaranteed by the tuition fees for the Yangzhou Prefectural School for the next five years.

Although the Imperial Household Department could collect the loan from the Yangzhou Prefectural School, Heshen felt that the tuition fees for students studying there should have been collected entirely by the Imperial Household Department the following year. Therefore, Zhao Youlu was using the Imperial Household Department's money to pay off its debts, and in the end, the Imperial Household Department was the one paying for it.

This not only fleeced the old master, but also the Grand Secretary, who was in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

However, Zhongtang was quite happy because this proved that Zhao Youlu was indeed quite shrewd.

Considering that they would still need this boy to promote the school transfer program in Jiangsu next year, and since the old master had indeed rewarded him with a yellow jacket, the Grand Secretary naturally followed suit, adding to the glory.

The other person is a fourth-rank official. Whether it's right or wrong, let's do it this way.

Even if the old master realized something was wrong afterward, Heshen would have a way to resolve it.

The reason why Zhao An was not appointed as the Su-Song Grain Commissioner was because the Su-Song Grain Commissioner's office was located in Suzhou. If Zhao An were an official in Suzhou, he would definitely have to deal with the governor's office, which was also located in Suzhou.

The Jiangsu governor, Fu Song, was a man of A Gui. He Shen did not want Zhao An's work to be hampered by Fu Song, nor did he want Zhao An to be won over by A Gui's faction due to too much contact with Fu Song.

Therefore, reassigning him to the position of Jiang'an Grain Commissioner is the most suitable option.

Another reason was that Anhui had two officials who shared the same responsibility as grain transport officials, thus preventing Zhao An's lack of expertise from affecting Anhui's grain transport business. This showed a degree of public-spiritedness.

Sun Shiyi had no doubt that Heshen had not gone to the emperor at all. When he saw that the emperor was indeed going to appoint Zhao Youlu as the grain commissioner of Jiang'an, he could only sigh in despair.

Fu Chang'an, in his capacity as the Grand Councilor on duty, sent official documents to the Ministry of Personnel, the Jiangsu Provincial Governor's Office, and the Anhui Provincial Governor's Office, requesting that relevant procedures be completed and that the imperial court's instructions regarding personnel transfers be implemented.

Zhao Youlu was promoted to Jiang'an Grain Commissioner, so the current Grain Commissioner Zhang Pangui had to be reassigned.

Perhaps to compensate Zhang Pangui, Fu Chang'an asked Sun Shiyi, who was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, which provinces had vacancies.

Sun Shiyi said that Zhang Panggui's term as Jiangxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner had expired, and since he had served as the Jiang'an Grain Commissioner for several years without any mistakes, he could be promoted to Jiangxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner.

Heshen had no objection and agreed to the arrangement, and that the Ministry of Personnel would submit a formal report to the emperor after the New Year.

With the Emperor's banquet for Mongolian princes and ministers at the Hall of Preserving Harmony fast approaching, one of the two Grand Councilors on duty had to attend, and Heshen, as the Emperor's most trusted favorite, would certainly be there as well.

As a result, Sun Shiyi, a Han official, stayed behind, while Fu Chang'an and Heshen went to the Baohe Hall to prepare.

On the way, looking at Fu Chang'an, who was only nineteen years old and had already become the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works and Deputy Commander of the Plain Yellow Banner Han Army, and would only turn thirty next year, Heshen warned him: "In the future, if you don't understand what the master is saying, you might as well ask him to make sure. Don't make decisions on your own. The grain commissioner is only a fourth-rank official. If he makes a mistake, he makes a mistake. But if the governor or the provincial administration makes the same mistake, it will really cause a big problem."

Fu Chang'an said "Oh," as if he had listened, but in reality he didn't take it seriously at all.

Heshen was also helpless. A rumor circulated in the capital that Fu Chang'an was the old master's illegitimate son, while Fu Kang'an was used to cover up the truth.

Some say that Fukang'an and Fuchang'an were the illegitimate sons of the old master. Back then, the brothers' mother frequently visited the palace, and over time, the old master, who was the brother-in-law, took a liking to his aunt and gave birth to the two brothers, Fukang'an and Fuchang'an.

As a result, Fu Heng's other two sons, who were cuckolded, both married princesses, but these two brothers did not.

Although the old master had never mentioned the two brothers to Heshen, Heshen suspected that the two brothers might really be the old master's illegitimate sons. Didn't the old master give the Chongwenmen tax office to Fu Chang'an? And the older brother, Fu Kang'an, even held military power in the Qing Dynasty.

The two brothers, one a general in his twenties and the other a Grand Councilor, have never enjoyed such favor in any dynasty.

Perhaps only Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, uncle and nephew, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han could compare.

Compared to his elder brother Fukang'an, Fu Chang'an was clearly much more frivolous. No other minister would have dared to do such a thing today, but Fu Chang'an was incredibly bold. Without even hearing what his master said, he dared to arbitrarily decide the assignment of a fourth-rank official. He doesn't know how serious the consequences will be.

He's just a spoiled brat.

If Fu Chang'an hadn't been his biggest helper in the Grand Council, Heshen wouldn't have bothered cleaning up his messes.

Fu Chang'an followed Heshen to the Baohe Hall, but instead of greeting the Mongolian princes and ministers who had come to Beijing for the New Year like Heshen did, he secretly found a guard on duty and instructed him: "Send someone to my residence to tell the steward that he should send someone to Yangzhou to tell Zhao Youlu that it was my recommendation to the Emperor that he was appointed as the Jiang'an Grain Commissioner."

(End of this chapter)