Qing Yao

Chapter 250 Nationwide Bestseller
In February, Jiangsu Governor Fu Song submitted a memorial to the court, stating that after a century of development, Suzhou was overcrowded with scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans, and the buildings within the city were even more congested, which had seriously hindered local commercial development. Therefore, in order to coordinate development, he requested the court to approve the addition of an outer city to Suzhou, that is, to establish a "new district".

The memorial proposed moving the governor's office, located in Shuyuan Lane in the city, and the Suzhou Confucian Temple, the most prestigious school in Jiangnan, to the "new district" so that the "new district" could develop rapidly.

When Fu Song's memorial arrived in Beijing, the 81-year-old Emperor Qianqing was holding a military conference in the Qianqing Palace, mainly to discuss the raising of money and provisions for the troops fighting on the plateau.

In addition to several Grand Councilors, Prince Cheng and Prince Jia were also present at the meeting.

After the Lantern Festival, both princes received a notice from their father, the Emperor, requiring them to work in the Grand Council and participate in important military and national affairs. Prince Cheng, Yongxing, was concurrently appointed to the Ministry of Science and Technology, and Prince Jia, Yongyan, was concurrently appointed to the Ministry of Justice.

It is widely speculated that this is the old master starting to groom a "successor", and that the "successor" is either Prince Cheng or Prince Jia.

Overall, Prince Yongxing's prospects are looking up, as his brother-in-law, Fukang'an, has been awarded the title of "Grand General" by the old master and sent to the plateau.

Apart from the thirteen garrison generals of the Eight Banners during the Qianlong reign, only four people were temporarily granted the title of general due to war over the decades.

First, there was Fuheng, a Grand Secretary who led an expedition to Burma as the Grand General in the thirty-fourth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign.
Second, he was given the titles of General of Dingbian and Dingxi to quell the rebellions of the two Khojas and the two Jinchuan tribes;

Third, General Ren Zheng Burma died in Mingrui, Burma;
The fourth was Fukang'an, who quelled the rebellion of Lin Shuangwen in Taiwan with the rank of General Who Conquers the South.

Of the four, Fuheng and Fukang'an are father and son.

The fact that the old master appointed Fukang'an as "Grand General" to lead the expedition to the plateau effectively made Fukang'an the supreme commander of the Qing army. All generals, whether from the Eight Banners or those temporarily granted the title of general, were under Fukang'an's command.

If the old master did not intend for Prince Yongxing to succeed him, why would he allow his brother-in-law Fukang'an to command the entire army as a general?
Isn't this clearly a way to ensure Fukang'an protects his brother-in-law's succession?
Not only did outsiders see it that way, but Yongxing himself also saw it that way. Therefore, after receiving the imperial decree to work in the Grand Council, he was very proactive in everything he did, and he also personally took care of all the affairs of the Ministry of Works that he was concurrently in charge of.

In contrast, Prince Jia, Yongyan, lacked the support of Heshen and Tongfu Chang'an, and was practically powerless to speak in the Grand Council. The officials in the Ministry of Justice, which he also oversaw, rarely consulted with Yongyan on matters, causing him great distress. However, he dared not show it and was quite depressed.

Today, when attending the imperial military council, Yongyan remained silent as usual, while Yongxing occasionally offered a few words of advice.

Chief Grand Councilor Agui did not attend the meeting, firstly because of his advanced age, and secondly because his son, Abida, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, had passed away a few days earlier, causing the Qing Prime Minister great distress and making it difficult for him to attend to official duties.

The old master specially ordered someone to give Agui a box of cakes and decreed that he should "take good care of himself" and rest at home.

No members of the royal family were present because the old patriarch had suppressed the royal family after ascending the throne, taking away a lot of power from the princes. As a result, the princes are now more like mascots than the "electors" who could influence the succession of the throne at the beginning of the dynasty.

The imperial clan appeared obedient on the surface, but privately they were all dissatisfied with the old man, and various rumors and slanders were rampant. In particular, they shamelessly claimed that the old man was not the son of the late emperor at all, but the son of some Han Chinese man named Chen Laoguan.

Even more extreme claims are made that the old master was actually the result of the Holy Ancestor's incestuous relationship.

The reason given was that Emperor Shizong refused to be buried with Emperor Shengzu after his death, while the old master immediately placed the imperial mausoleum next to Emperor Shengzu upon ascending the throne. He also constantly criticized Emperor Shizong, suppressed the officials left behind by Emperor Shizong, and only praised Emperor Shengzu on various occasions, never praising Emperor Shizong.

Typical disobedience.

Anyway, ever since the old master ascended the throne, there has been no shortage of slander against him.

At first, the old patriarch tried to suppress and crack down on it, but later he realized he couldn't control it and just let it go. In any case, no matter how much the imperial clan made a fuss, they couldn't stir up any trouble.

The frontline army began raising funds and provisions last year, and a considerable share was allocated to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. Sichuan, Shaanxi and other provinces have also been preparing for the expeditionary army since last year, so there is not much to discuss in terms of specific details; each official simply performs their own duties.

The current discussion revolves around who will be in charge of the army's logistics.

According to custom, the Governor-General of Sichuan was in charge of the army's supplies when entering the plateau for combat. However, the current Governor-General of Sichuan, Li Shijie, submitted two memorials after the New Year, stating that he was old and ill and hoped that the court would approve his resignation and return to his hometown.

Li Shijie was a capable minister who served as the governor of Sichuan twice. He made great contributions to the court in pacifying the Jinchuan region. Sichuan is also close to the plateau, and recently tens of thousands of troops were transferred from Sichuan to the plateau to be stationed. Therefore, it was best for Li Shijie to continue to be in charge of the army's logistics.

However, Li Shijie was too ill to get out of bed. No matter how much the court relied on him, it could not disregard human feelings and force a seriously ill person to perform his duties. Therefore, Fu Chang'an suggested that He Lin, the deputy commander of the Han army who had already set off for the plateau, replace the old and sick Li Shijie as the governor of Sichuan.

This suggestion was opposed by Grand Councilor Wang Jie, who argued that He Lin had no prior experience as a governor-general or viceroy, and had only been promoted from a censor in the Ministry of Personnel to a Grand Secretary in the Cabinet and Vice Minister of War last year.

Therefore, even if someone is talented, they should gain experience for one or two years before being appointed governor. Moreover, this campaign to fight on the plateau is different from the past; the situation is very complicated, and He Lin may not be able to shoulder this heavy responsibility.

If the army suffers a defeat or is caught in a dilemma due to logistical problems, who will take responsibility?
Wang Jie's opposition naturally angered Fu Chang'an. Surprisingly, Heshen agreed with Wang Jie, saying that his younger brother Helin was indeed incapable of undertaking such an important task and that it would be better for him to learn more skills from General Fukang'an in the army.

"Li Shijie is seriously ill, and He Lin is not qualified enough to take over as Governor-General of Sichuan."

It was Prince Yongxing who said this. After he finished speaking, he glanced at Heshen and found that Heshen seemed to have no objection to Wang Jie's opposition. He couldn't help but wonder about Heshen's true intentions.

Because of Fu Chang'an, Heshen was clearly closer to Yongxing than Yongyan. After the New Year, Heshen praised Yongxing twice to the old master for his capable handling of affairs.

Grand Councilor Dong Gao stepped forward and said, “Logically speaking, since Sun Shiyi has served as acting governor of Sichuan and participated in suppressing Lin Shuangwen’s rebellion in Taiwan and the rebellion of Nguyen Hue in Annam, it would be more appropriate for him to go to Sichuan again. However, since Sun Shiyi has gone to Liangjiang and is still on his way, we cannot summon him to be reassigned to Sichuan.”

The old patriarch, leaning against the dragon throne, was somewhat confused and turned to ask Heshen, who was standing beside him, "What did he say?"

Heshen hurriedly said loudly, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Lord Dong said that Sun Shiyi is suitable to serve as the Governor-General of Sichuan."

The old man said "Oh," and then added, "I remember Sun Shiyi came to the palace to say goodbye to me a couple of days ago."

He paused, looking puzzled, and asked, "Where did he go?"

"."

Seeing this, everyone looked at each other, sighing inwardly: the Emperor (Father) has indeed grown old.

"Master, Sun Shiyi has gone to Liangjiang."

When Heshen saw the old man move slightly, he quickly went forward to help him up.

"The two rivers."

The old man nodded and struggled to his feet with Heshen's help. Just as he was about to speak, he felt something was wrong with his throat. He was about to ask the eunuch to bring him a spittoon when Yongxing, who was standing behind Heshen, presented him with the spittoon.

After coughing up a thick phlegm, the old man felt much better and slowly walked to the assembled officials: "What were you discussing just now?"

Everyone was slightly taken aback, not expecting that the Emperor's memory had deteriorated so much after the New Year, and they were all saddened.

Heshen then reiterated the matter he had discussed and respectfully requested the emperor's decision. The old master frowned and thought for a moment before instructing, "Let Li Shijie continue in his post for a few more months. If it really doesn't work out, we'll appoint someone else. As for He Lin, tell him to stay and work at Fukang'an's place."

"Whoo!"

Heshen agreed and was about to send someone to the Grand Council to draft an imperial edict when a eunuch came to report that the Grand Council had another memorial.

The one who submitted the memorial was Songyun, a Manchu who was appointed to fill the vacancy of Grand Councilor and Minister of the Imperial Court under Sun Shiyi, the Governor-General of Liangjiang.

This man had previously been handling trade with the Russians in Jilin and Kulun. During his tenure, he did not disturb the people and treated the Russians well, which gave the Russians no reason to provoke him. The old master was pleased that there was no trouble on the border, so he summoned Songyun back to the capital to take up his post.

This time, he was promoted to the Grand Council through an exceptional promotion, hence he was ranked last.

This broke the original structure of the Grand Council, which consisted of three Manchus and three Han Chinese, and changed it to a structure of four Manchus and two Han Chinese.

Songyun brought in two memorials, the first of which was from Fusong, the governor of Jiangsu.

"Fu Song has perfectly good government offices but wants to build new ones, and he even wants to move the Suzhou Academy out of the city, claiming it's for the convenience of the local area. In my opinion, it's clearly a waste of resources and a burden on the people!"

Songjun belonged to the Plain Blue Banner of Mongolia, not to the Upper Three Banners of Manchuria, and could not consider himself a slave, so he referred to himself as a subject.

Although he belonged to the Plain Blue Banner of Mongolia, he was a genuine Manchu.

The old man didn't use a magnifying glass to look at it; instead, Heshen read it to him.

Upon hearing Song Jun's words, Wang Jie immediately added, "Your Majesty, Fu Song's ideas are far too far-fetched. I only ask where the money for the newly built city walls will come from? And where will the money for the newly built government offices and academies come from? Will Fu Song take the money out of his own pocket, or will it come from the provincial treasury or the national treasury? If it is the former, I will have nothing to say. If it is the latter, I request Your Majesty to reject Fu Song's request."

This time, the old man heard clearly because he was close to his minister, but perhaps his mind had aged like a computer crashing, and his reaction was somewhat sluggish. He did not give an immediate response as he had in the past, and instead looked at Heshen with a sense of helplessness.

Heshen first helped the old man slowly to the dragon throne, and then turned to Wang Jie and said, "Has Lord Wang read the memorial? Fusong made it very clear that the academy and the old governor's office can be sold to merchants, and the proceeds can be used to build city walls and new offices. In this way, the local government and the Ministry of Revenue will not have to pay, and there may even be a surplus."

After saying that, he turned to the old master and said, "Master, the Suzhou Prefectural School occupies a huge area and can be called the best garden in Jiangnan. If Fusong were to sell this garden, I think he could probably get a lot of money."

How much silver can it sell for?

The old man's cloudy eyes suddenly brightened.

"Fu Song said in his memorial that if the Suzhou Prefectural School were sold off in parts, it could fetch at least several million taels of silver."

Heshen spoke very loudly, not only so that the old master could hear him clearly, but also so that Wang Jie and the others could hear him clearly.

"Several million taels? Good, good."

The old man nodded repeatedly, "Military operations on the plateau are extremely expensive. Tell Fusong to sell it for a good price and send more silver to the national treasury."

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Academy is a vital center for education and the cradle of scholars and sages throughout history. How can it be sold off so easily!"

Wang Jie couldn't stand it anymore, and Dong Gao, who also came from the imperial examination system, couldn't stand it either. They both stepped forward to oppose the Jiangsu governor's sale of school officials for "profit," arguing that if Jiangsu set this precedent, what would happen if all the other provinces followed suit?
How can a place for teaching and nurturing students be linked to buying and selling?

It damages the dignity of scholars, and it damages the face of the imperial court!
Anyone who didn't know better would think the imperial court was desperately short of money.

"this?"

The old man was at a loss after hearing what Wang Jie and Dong Gao had said.

"My lord, Fusong's actions are beneficial to the country and its people!"

Fu Song was clearly A Gui's man, yet He Shen wholeheartedly supported his petition to sell schools and government offices.

The reason is that all existing government offices and schools are located in the bustling parts of the city, and due to historical reasons, they occupy a very large area, especially the schools in the Jiangnan region, which are all masterpieces of garden design.

"Does Lord Wang know how much silver a garden in Jiangnan can sell for?"

Heshen chuckled softly, “It costs at least one or two million taels, and sometimes as much as seven or eight million taels. I’ve heard that some wealthy merchants have spent tens of millions of taels to build gardens, and even then, there are still no buyers. Why? Because of the different locations.”

This means that wealthy merchants in Jiangnan like to build large villas in the bustling areas of the city, but most of the land in these areas is already owned, so the wealthy merchants have nowhere to buy.

It's like having money but nowhere to spend it.

Therefore, Fu Song's move undoubtedly reflects the thoughts and needs of wealthy merchants, and if handled well, could generate significant revenue for the imperial court.

Take the Suzhou Prefectural School as an example. If it were sold for several million taels, and another million or so taels were used to build a new city, wouldn't that generate several million taels in revenue for the imperial court?

Last year, the Jiangsu Provincial Administration Commission paid only a little over nine million taels of tax to the imperial court.

What concept?
This means that Fusong's sale and construction together increased the tax revenue of the imperial court by the equivalent of a provincial administration commission.

Even the combined contributions from several southwestern provinces to the imperial court didn't amount to this much!
Why not support such a lucrative opportunity?

Heshen always dealt with matters objectively, not personally. He knew that Fusong was Agui's man, but that did not affect his support for this beneficial project for the country and its people.

Moreover, only the reconstruction of the prefectural schools could provide a large number of temporary study places, which also aligned with his intention to promote temporary study throughout the country to increase revenue for the Imperial Treasury.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to recruit so many students, and how would they collect money from the students' families?

Last year, A-Gui argued with him about the tuition fee for temporary enrollment. Now that Fu-Song has done this, the income from selling the school is far higher than the tuition fee for temporary enrollment. What can A-Gui say now?
Before Wang Jie could speak, he said to the old master, "Master, if all regions could follow this example, I believe the national treasury's annual revenue would be in the hundreds of millions of taels of silver. Our Great Qing Dynasty would surpass the Han and Tang Dynasties in both territory and wealth!"

"Very well, issue an edict instructing Fu Song to handle this properly and not to have any concerns. I grant your permission."

The old man was very happy. Even if he was confused, he could still do the math. He said something that left Wang Jie and the others speechless: "I think that anything that can increase the national treasury can be sold. If the old doesn't go, how can the new come in?"

(End of this chapter)