Qing Yao

Chapter 236 To make a long story short, give me the money.
With a fresh perspective, Director Song's suggestion actually proved to be quite feasible.

The Eight Banners were also people. Although there was a large gap between the rich and poor within them, they were still a relatively wealthy class compared to the Han people. Nowadays, money shops and banks no longer offered interest on deposits like they used to. So where would the Eight Banners officials put their spare money?
They wouldn't be placed in government-run money shops. The government-run money shops established by the Qing government were mainly used to regulate the circulation of copper coins among the people.

If the price of copper coins circulating among the people becomes too high, the Ministry of Revenue will order official money shops to use silver to purchase standard copper coins from pawnshops, private money shops, and banks before releasing them back into the market to stabilize the price.

In addition, if there was an excess of rice stored in the granaries in various places during times of peace, it would be sold for silver through official money shops.

This was also a good source of money for minor officials in the Ministry of Revenue.

In other words, the Qing Dynasty's state-owned banks, which were actually under the Ministry of Revenue (Finance), did not have deposit and loan business; they were only responsible for issuing currency and guaranteeing its value.

In theory, the only officially recognized currency is copper coins; silver and gold are not legal tender.

The legal tender was copper coins only because of the scarcity of gold and silver. In fact, silver and gold also circulated in large quantities and formed a relatively stable exchange rate.

This is similar to that of any country in later generations, especially regarding gold.

The actual deposit and loan transactions are handled by private banks.

The old master's Imperial Household Bank was also privately owned, except that the private owner's surname was Aisin Gioro.

It's true that the Eight Banners garrison in Jiangning are people of high status, but to paraphrase Zhao An's words from his previous life, the Eight Banners garrison in Jiangning are the direct business contact unit of Zhao An, the director of the Grain Bureau.

The director's family owns a bank, and your business partners don't deposit money in it. Is this because you look down on the director, or are you guys from the garrison too good at chewing rice and sand?

Adding sand is bad enough, but what if they send you ten pounds of rice mixed with three pounds of mold?
Let alone the Eight Banners garrison, she would obediently take home even the one with the "Head-Up-to-Heaven" mark in the capital.

Otherwise, where would Tongzhou get so many brewing workshops? Even a third-rate broker could earn tens of thousands of taels a year.

The grain transport system is a natural breeding ground for corruption.

Officially, the grain transport authorities have plenty of ways to make things difficult for you stationed in the Eight Banners; it's not like you're going to lose your quartermaster's head for missing a battle.

Even General Jiangning's intervention was useless; didn't you see that even a high-ranking official like Fukang'an had to give a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue a bribe of ten thousand taels of silver?

In the Qing Dynasty officialdom, nothing else matters but interpersonal relationships and social niceties.

So, it doesn't matter where you store it.
The department head isn't refusing to pay interest, right?

Director Song's reminder had a similar effect to the idea of ​​the 86-year-old wife, Shi, recruiting Manchu women to work.

Previously, Zhao An opened a bank not only to absorb private funds to accumulate capital for the rebellion, but also to use the bank to trap wealthy Han gentry. Now, Old Song's proposal has gone a step further and directly absorbed the money of the Central Army soldiers as well.

I want them all, whether they are security forces, puppet troops, night raid teams, or Japanese officers.

In the future, the old master will be able to beat Zhao An to a pulp with one hand, and he will have to give back all the money he has taken. He can just lie there and let the old master decide whether to torture him to death or skin him alive.

But what if Zhao An could pull back the old man's outstretched hand and then ask the Central Army soldiers, "Do you still want your savings?"

Or they might raise their arms and shout: "Brothers, the policy is great! All deposits will triple!"

It means that we've had a good year, and Lord Zhao is being lenient.

That scene was absolutely theatrical.

To put it bluntly, whether it's being in power or rebelling, it's just two different things.

Money bag and knife handle.

It doesn't matter if you don't have it yourself; you can find ways to get your opponent's money and weapons.

"Old Song, that's a great suggestion!"

Just as I was about to praise Director Song for having the potential to become Xiao He, Director Tong knocked on the door, saying that a man named Du Man from the capital wanted to see Lord Zhao.

Du Man came with the third-rank guard Ha Keshan. Zhao An had always thought that this guy was Ha Keshan's attendant. After all, he was a fifth-rank guard, so it was normal for him to bring some attendants to travel. But when he met him, he found out that there was a big shot behind Du Man.

"Fu Zhongtang?"

Zhao An subconsciously mistook the "Fu Zhongtang" that Du Man mentioned for Fu Kang'an. "Isn't Fu Zhongtang leading the army to the plateau? Why would he think of me?"

"Lord Zhao, the Fu Zhongtang I am referring to is not General Fukang'an, but rather Fu Chang'an, the Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, Commander-in-Chief of the Manchu Plain Red Banner, Grand Minister of the Interior, Minister in Charge of the Imperial Guard, Minister of Revenue, concurrently in charge of the Ministry of War affairs in the Imperial Palace, Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, and Chief Tax Officer of Chongwen Gate!"

The series of official titles that Du Man mentioned were things that Zhao An wouldn't even dare to dream of, and without exception, these titles all pointed to a prodigy—Fu Chang'an, who was thirty years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning and twenty-nine years old by actual age.

Shocked, Zhao An recalled the image of "Ertai"—yes, it was that kid.

His brother's name is "Erkang". This kid "Ertai" grew up with Jiaqing, so they had a very good relationship. However, after entering politics in his teens, he somehow ended up associating with Heshen and became the second most important figure in Heshen's faction, second only to Heshen.

When Emperor Jiaqing launched his surprise attack, the person kneeling with Heshen in front of the old master's coffin to keep vigil was "Ertai" Fu Chang'an.

To some extent, Fu Chang'an, like Heshen, was a regent minister—the same level as Sony and Aobai.

Perhaps out of consideration for their childhood friendship, or perhaps because Fu Chang'an might truly be the old master's illegitimate son, Jiaqing did not kill the boy. Instead, he made him kneel in prison and watch as Heshen committed suicide, which terrified the boy so much that he wet himself in fear.

To be honest, it was only because Jiaqing acted too quickly, almost as swiftly as Zhao An's impromptu decision to eliminate the leaders of the First Gang, that Heshen didn't even have time to react. Otherwise, it would have been hard to say who would have won.

In fact, Heshen was quite unlucky. In fact, this shrewd Grand Secretary Heshen began to take care of things after the old master's death after he learned that the crown prince was Jiaqing, so as not to be slaughtered by Jiaqing.

He did a great job, not only winning over the military giant Fukang'an, but also promoting his younger brother Helin to become the second most important military figure after Fukang'an.

Lin was especially proud of her brother. Despite being a civil official, she was brave and skilled in battle. Moreover, she was frugal and well-loved by her soldiers. She also had a particularly good relationship with Fukang'an.

This incident also shows that the He brothers had foreseen the purge by the new emperor after the old master's death; otherwise, He Lin would not have worked so hard.

Because controlling the military is the only way to deter the new emperor from taking action against the He family.

Emperor Jiaqing had no foothold in the military and could not even command any military generals. It was not because Heshen obstructed him, but because the old master did not allow it.

In theory, as long as Fukang'an and Lin firmly hold military power, even if the old master dies, Jiaqing will absolutely not dare to act recklessly.

Unfortunately, fate played a cruel joke on Heshen. The two pillars of the army that he had been trying to win over and support both died during the suppression of the Miao uprising in the first year of the Jiaqing Emperor's reign.

Fukang'an died first, and He Lin took over his position as head coach. Unexpectedly, He Lin died of malaria three months later at the age of 42.

The Qing court officially stated that Fukang'an died from overwork and illness. However, Fukang'an's grand-nephew wrote in the family diary that his uncle was lured and killed by Miao people. He used this to attack Heshen, suggesting that Heshen had a grudge against his uncle and therefore refused to truthfully report the cause of his uncle's death to the court.

In reality, Heshen was protecting the reputation of his Fucha family, and also protecting the reputation of the Qing Dynasty.

How embarrassing it would be if word got out that the top military leader was lured and killed by a group of Miao people.

Zhao An didn't care whether Fukang'an was lured and killed by the Miao people; he wouldn't remind them of it anyway, because it would be in his best interest for Fukang'an to die.

There are no great generals in Shu, so Liao Hua is the only one who can serve as the vanguard.

There was nothing that could be done; the Miao uprising and the White Lotus uprising were seamlessly connected one after the other.

Protecting Fukang'an would only bring trouble upon oneself.

Even if Erkang's battle record was exaggerated, he was still the de facto number one military figure in the old master's later years, and he had great prestige.

If Fukang'an had been in charge of suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion, he would have been able to easily control both the Eight Banners and the Green Standard Army, and it would probably have taken less than eight years, perhaps only one or two, to wipe out the White Lotus Rebellion.

Zhao An, who was preparing to list his company on the White Lotus Sect, was naturally unwilling to see this situation, so watching Fukang'an and Helin die in the Miao uprising was the wisest course of action.

The problem is that he had no connection with the Fu brothers, so why did "Ertai" send someone to find him?

Did Heshen know about this?
"I am unworthy of Your Excellency's concern; I truly am."

Unsure of the other party's intentions, Zhao An could only express his "overwhelmed gratitude" with excitement. It was truly beyond words to repay such a humble name that a Nascent Soul expert would care about it.

"Lord Zhao, do you know who recommended you to the Emperor for the position of Grain Commissioner of Jiang'an?"

Du Man was clearly a sycophant, yet he displayed an air of authority or even more so demeanor than Zhao An, a fourth-rank grain commissioner. Instead of getting up to exchange a few polite words with Zhao, he simply sat there swaggeringly, behaving with an air of superiority. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was the governor.

"This"

Zhao An, of course, wouldn't stoop to the level of someone who was just using someone else's power to bully others. He pretended to be thinking, then asked with a hint of doubt, "Could it be Minister Fu?"

"No wonder the Imperial Household Department said that Lord Zhao is a smart man. He really understands things quickly and is a clever person."

Du Man nodded slightly, looked at the somewhat apprehensive Zhao An, then tapped the table lightly with his index finger and said calmly, "Since Lord Zhao knows that it was Fu Zhongtang who delivered the message to the Emperor, guaranteeing your wealth and honor, then let's get straight to the point. Fu Zhongtang's idea is that Lord Zhao should just give according to the rules."

According to the rules?
Zhao An was completely bewildered: "Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know what rule this refers to?"

"Lord Zhao entered officialdom through donation and the Emperor's favor. He has never dealt with the Ministry of Personnel before, so there are some rules that Lord Zhao may not be aware of. I will be frank with you."

Du Man smiled, stood up and paced a couple of steps. “The price for a fourth-rank official position in the Ministry of Personnel is 16,500 taels. Adding the donations and celebratory money for the officials in the Ministry of Personnel, the market price is at least 30,000 taels. However, since our Minister Fu considers Lord Zhao to be a talented person and someone that Minister He values, it is not unreasonable for us to charge you 20,000 taels, is it?”

(End of this chapter)