Qing Yao

Chapter 254 Could Lord Zhao be the Emperor's illegitimate son?

The meaning of Fuchang couldn't be more straightforward.

The Chaotian Palace, valued at three million taels, was acquired internally for the low price of one million taels.

The one million taels of silver did not need to be paid by Zhao An, the supervisory committee member; it was to be handled personally by Fu Chang.

It's highly unlikely that Fu Chang personally paid for it; he probably couldn't afford it. The most likely scenario is that Fu Chang has already contacted a buyer.

Someone had already written the checks.

In other words, someone is willing to pay three million taels of silver to buy Chaotian Palace, or even more.

What Fu Chang is doing now is just dragging Zhao An, who has the right to sign off on the sale, into the mess. Otherwise, as the governor of Jiangning, he wouldn't be able to bypass the Jiangsu education sector and sell off prestigious schools that are not under his jurisdiction.

After deducting the one million taels to be handed over to the imperial court, Fuchang and Zhao An each took one million taels of the remaining two million taels.

But the two million taels didn't just end up in their pockets. They each had to pay their respective "big shots" to ensure that this largest real estate transaction in Jiangning's history wouldn't become another case of embezzlement of disaster relief funds in Gansu.

The case involved dozens of officials, including one governor-general, two provincial governors, and three provincial treasurers. The case involved more than 16 million taels of silver, making it the largest corruption case since the founding of the Qing Dynasty.

The old man was so angry about the case that he almost died prematurely.

To prevent a good thing from turning into a bad thing, it is necessary to take good care of those above. In this way, the maximum amount of benefit that can actually fall into the pockets of the two of them is 500,000 taels.

Even less.

Because in addition to blocking the mouth at the top, the mouth at the bottom also needs to be sealed.

Should the officials and staff of Jiangning Prefecture also get a share of the spoils?
Shouldn't other officials in Jiangning also offer something in return? They shouldn't enjoy the pleasure alone; they should share it with everyone.

There are countless examples of how being so selfish as to eat meat without sharing the soup with others can turn a good thing into a bad one.

Fu Chang's intention was for Zhao An, the supervisor of education, to handle things at the Jiangning Prefectural School. Regardless of what methods Zhao An used, he was to ensure that everyone at the school remained silent about the sale of the school.

The Jiangning General, Jiangning Prefecture, Shangyuan County, Jiangning County, and other related institutions were all handled by him, the provincial governor.

Zhao An did not give an immediate reply. He felt that embezzling two million taels of silver at once was a bit excessive. This amount was considered "exceptionally huge" and could be punishable by death.

Moreover, he didn't know who Fuchang's powerful backer was. He had finally become a fourth-rank official by a twist of fate, and he couldn't let this small gain ruin him.

Whether it's one million taels or five hundred thousand taels, it's really a small profit in his eyes.

Because what he wanted to steal was the old man's private piggy bank.

In Suzhou, Governor Fu Song handled the matter alone and did not give any money to Zhao An. Moreover, Fu Song took the initiative to report the sale of the school to the court, which clearly indicated that he planned to hand over the lion's share of the proceeds from the sale to the national treasury.

It's not that I don't want to be greedy, but there's another piece of cake in Fusong—school district housing—so there's no need to take that risk.

However, people in Fuchang are unaware of the benefits of building school district housing, nor do they realize that relocating schools, hospitals, and government offices can boost local economic development. They simply want to make money from selling schools, which carries a significant risk.

Just as he was hesitating, Fu Chang spoke up: "Lord Zhao, there's no need to worry. In fact, we are sharing the burden of the court. Think about it, Lord Zhao, if this academy isn't sold, what difference is there between it and being worthless? But if it is sold, it can truly earn a million taels of silver for the court. Why not do it?"

Seeing that Zhao An seemed unwilling to get involved, Fu Chang felt a little irritated and decided to go further, asking, "Does Lord Zhao know what His Majesty said a few days ago?"

"What did the old emperor say?"

Zhao An was very curious.

"The Emperor said that anything that can increase the national treasury can be sold. If the old doesn't go, how can the new come in? Therefore, he specially awarded the Governor a double-eyed peacock feather and instructed him to do his job well in Suzhou."

Fu Chang's tone was tinged with envy.

In the more than one hundred years of this dynasty, only a few dozen people have been granted the single-eyed peacock feather, and only a dozen or so have been granted the double-eyed peacock feather. The triple-eyed peacock feather is even rarer.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Shi Lang was awarded the title of Marquis of Jinghai for his meritorious service in pacifying the Zheng family in Taiwan. However, Shi Lang was willing to exchange this title for a single-eyed peacock feather, which shows how precious the peacock feather was.

With this double-eyed peacock feather, even the governor-general had to treat Fu Song with deference.

How did Fu Song obtain this double-eyed peacock feather?

The money was obtained by suggesting to the emperor that the schools be sold to generate revenue!
If Fusong can sell, then Fuchang can naturally be sold as well.

As the second "pig" to see the opportunity, Fuchang didn't dare to dream of winning a double-eyed peacock feather, so he wanted to do something more substantial for himself. He wanted to make a few hundred thousand taels of silver before retiring.

However, this matter requires the cooperation of the young man in front of him. If he does not cooperate, Fuchang can only watch helplessly.

Oh?
Zhao An was deeply moved, feeling that he was truly a benefactor to these Manchu bannermen.

Last year, Yangzhou Prefect Eqina was promoted to Provincial Surveillance Commissioner because of his first memorial to the throne. Now, the Governor-General has been awarded the incomparably prestigious double-eyed peacock feather because of his method of generating revenue by selling schools. Two of the three big shots in Suzhou have benefited from his favor. If he can cooperate amicably with the Governor of Jiangning in front of him, wouldn't he be able to do whatever he wants in Jiangsu's officialdom?

At the same time, I also envy Fuchang's access to information. He even knows what the old master said, which shows that this fat governor has cultivated a deep network of connections in the capital.

It's unclear who the powerful figure behind this is; it's clearly neither Heshen nor Fu Chang'an, otherwise they would have made it clear long ago.

The old man's statement was also very interesting. What did he mean by "anything that can be sold can be sold"?

Have we taken such big steps?
"His Majesty has said that anything that can be sold should be sold, and with the Governor selling the Suzhou Prefectural School as a precedent, what is there for Lord Zhao to hesitate about?"

Fu Chang was getting quite angry because Zhao An was slow to express his opinion.

"It's not that I think there's anything wrong with it, it's just... it's just..."

However, Zhao An couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but he felt that he shouldn't do anything that directly embezzled the government's assets.

“I know that Lord Zhao wants to be an honest official, but I'm afraid he can’t be one.”

Fuchang has laid its cards on the table.

Zhao An asked with a chill: "What does Your Excellency mean?"

Fu Chang said in a deep voice, "Now that things have come to this, I will speak frankly with Lord Zhao. As far as I know, your Governor of Anhui, Lord Zhu Gui, has impeached Lord Zhao."

Zhao An was stunned: "What is Lord Zhu impeaching me for?"

"Important: Lord Zhao, you are seeking fame and fortune by abusing your official power."

Fu Chang actually recited almost exactly what Zhu Gui had said in his memorial.

Zhao An was dumbfounded: Good heavens, he thought Zhu Gui was messing with him because he hadn't received the student's note, but it turns out Zhu Gui had already sent people to keep an eye on him.

This report is a complete distortion of the truth, disregarding the facts and showing a biased view of people.

Taking a deep breath, he asked Fuchang with some nervousness, "What did the Emperor say?"

Fu Chang smiled and shook his head: "Don't worry, if His Majesty listens to Zhu Gui's report, I won't need to discuss the academy with you here."

"Didn't say anything?"

Zhao An looked aggrieved. "Zhu Gui has framed me so falsely, turning black into white. Hasn't His Majesty issued an edict to reprimand him?"

"No."

Fu Chang answered very decisively.

Indeed, no, the old man didn't say a word at the time.

"This"

Zhao An frowned, then immediately understood why the old master hadn't dealt with Zhu Gui—because Zhu Gui was someone the old master had left for his son, Jiaqing.

If we were to punish Zhu Gui for this, wouldn't that be blatantly telling the whole world that Prince Jia is definitely not the crown prince?

Otherwise, how could they possibly harm the crown prince's teacher?

"Lord Zhao, I actually admire you quite a bit."

"Why do you say that, Lord Fu?"

"Because Lord Zhao, like the Emperor, has written the three characters 'Qing Shen Qin' (meaning 'pure, cautious, and diligent'). And looking at Lord Zhao's age and how quickly he was promoted, people who don't know him might think you are the Emperor's illegitimate son from his southern tour years ago."

Fu Chang was clearly joking when he said that.

(End of this chapter)