Qing Yao

Chapter 264 Lord Zhao, the higher-ups want to test you.

Is the old man not confused, or is he confused?

He wasn't confused at all; he falsely conveyed the imperial decree and didn't even get a salary penalty, letting the matter slide effortlessly.

Although he was confused, he knew that Sifu'er had misunderstood his own intentions and had taken it upon herself to promote someone to the fourth rank of Daotai.

Heshen felt that the old master's problem wasn't a matter of whether he was confused or not, but rather that he doted on Sifu'er too much.

Fukang'an, the "Third Fu'er," rarely spent more than a few days a year in the capital, spending the rest of his time leading troops in battle. As a result, he was frequently penalized and demoted for trivial matters. Meanwhile, his younger brother, the "Fourth Fu'er," had never been scolded by the old master, no matter how big a mistake he made since he entered officialdom.

The old master also handed over the Chongwenmen tax, which had previously been managed by Heshen, to Sifu'er.

The annual tax revenue of Chongwenmen Customs was set at 100,000 taels. This 100,000 taels was not deposited into the national treasury, but was used for the cosmetics expenses of the imperial concubines.

However, the actual tax collected was around 500,000 taels, making it the largest of the eight major customs offices in the country.

When Heshen took over the Chongwenmen Customs, in addition to giving the imperial harem a fixed annual allowance of 100,000 taels of silver, he also pocketed some of the surplus, but still gave the Imperial Household Department at least 100,000 taels of silver.

As a result, after Fukang'an took over the Chongwenmen Customs, he drastically increased the tax rate and allowed people to arbitrarily detain the goods of merchants and travelers, extorting money from them. As a result, the Chongwenmen Customs was ridiculed by the people of the capital as the "Gate of Hell," where even rats had to pay a coin to pass through.

The actual amount of tax collected was twice as much as when Heshen was in power, which is about one million taels of tax collected each year. However, apart from giving 100,000 taels to the imperial harem, not a single tael of the remaining money was handed over to the Imperial Household Department by Qian Fuchang'an. Instead, it all went into the money shop in Tongzhou owned by his family.

An official raised this issue with the old man. How did the old man handle it?

The officials who reported the problems were demoted and transferred to other places.

As a result, no one in the government or the public dared to expose Fu Chang'an's corruption anymore.

This shows how much the old master favored "Sifu'er".

It would be a lie if he wasn't her biological son!

But this is for the best. The more the old master favors "Sifu'er," the more "Sifu'er" can demonstrate his value as a vanguard.

Fu Chang'an was also relieved, and the head eunuch Li Yu, who was also sensible, stepped forward and helped him up with a smile, comforting him, "Lord Fu, the master said that you can no longer speak so quickly. The master knows this perfectly well."

"Ah, ah."

Fu Chang'an felt a little scared and lowered his head, not daring to look the old man in the eye.

The old man found it both amusing and exasperating: "I'm not some demon or monster, why are you so afraid of me?"

"Master, this servant..."

Fu Chang'an looked both aggrieved and uneasy, like a child who had made a mistake, standing there awkwardly.

"If you had half the courage of your brother, I wouldn't have kept you by my side."

The old man shook his head slightly, smiled, and raised his hand. Li Yu quickly brought over a bowl of calming soup.

After taking two sips, the old man put down the soup bowl and looked at Heshen, who had not spoken until now: "If I remember correctly, I originally wanted to promote Zhao Youlu by ten ranks, but it was you, Heshen, who persuaded me to change it to five ranks?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, that is indeed the case."

Heshen nodded. If he hadn't considered the negative impact, Zhao Youlu would have been a fourth-rank official long ago.

The old man nodded and said, "It's not a big deal that Zhao Youlu has been promoted to the fourth rank of Grain Commissioner. He was supposed to be promoted to the fourth rank anyway. Besides, Zhao Youlu's work is in line with my expectations. Just take the three words 'clean, cautious and diligent' for example. You, Heshen, have been by my side for twenty years. How come you didn't think of that?"

"This servant is foolish!" What could Heshen say? The old master's words were clearly an attempt to exonerate his own son.

Should the father repay the son's debts?
However, it is time for Zhao Youlu to be promoted. How many people in the world can think the same way as the old master?

It must be said that this kid is blessed with both good fortune and luck.

The old master spoke again: "Everyone outside says that Zhao Youlu is Heshen's lackey, but I don't think so. If we're talking about whose lackey he is, it should be mine."

Upon hearing this, Fu Chang'an became even more enthusiastic and quickly said, "Your Majesty, Zhu Gui's report is completely different from Sun Shiyi's report. One says it's good, and the other says it's bad. This servant finds this matter suspicious. Either Zhu Gui is deceiving His Majesty, or Sun Shiyi is deceiving Your Majesty."

Having been frightened, "Sifu'er" dared not be as arbitrary as before.

Heshen added fuel to the fire: "The master knows what kind of person Sun Shiyi is."

The implication is that Zhu Gui was most likely lying.

Unexpectedly, the old man shook his head and said, "I know Zhu Gui's character. How could someone who doesn't even care about money deceive me?"

"."

Heshen was at a loss for words.

The issue is somewhat like a Rashomon effect.

The Governor-General of Liangjiang and the Governor of Anhui were both approved of by the old master, but their opinions on the same official were completely different. What was going on?
If the old master continues to insist that Zhu Gui is lying, it will easily lead him to think of Prince Jia behind Zhu Gui, which would then involve the struggle for the crown prince position.

Heshen dared not speak further, for there were too many taboos surrounding it.

Fu Chang'an, unaware of the gravity of the situation, arrogantly declared, "This servant believes that someone is definitely deceiving Your Majesty. Your Majesty should send someone to investigate to prevent being misled."

After listening, the old man pondered for a moment and actually agreed with Fu Chang'an's idea, asking Heshen to send someone to Jiangning to see if Zhao Youlu was really a person who was just trying to gain fame and reputation.

Heshen dared not make a decision on his own and cautiously asked, "Whom does Your Majesty think should be sent to Jiangning?"

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Cao Zhenyong, the son of Cao Wenzhi, the former Minister of Revenue, ranked third in the Hanlin Academy. He is talented in literature and of excellent character. He is to be promoted to Lecturer and sent to Jiangning."

He paused, then mentioned another person: Moergenge, a second-class imperial bodyguard.

Morgeng'e's father, Eldenbo, once served as a bodyguard in Burma and the Jinchuan region, rising through the ranks to become a first-class bodyguard. A few years ago, he accompanied Fukang'an in suppressing the rebellion in Taiwan, and this year he followed Fukang'an on the campaign against the Gurkhas. He is currently serving as the acting Minister stationed on the Plateau and is an important assistant to Fukang'an.

The old master sent Erdenbao's son, Moergenge, to Jiangning with Cao Zhenyong to "inspect" the honest official Zhao Youlu. He clearly wanted to give Moergenge a chance to gain experience, and if he did a good job, he might be promoted.

This also applies to Cao Zhenyong.

"Send two people to investigate secretly, without letting Jiangning know."

The old man gave him some words of advice out of concern.

"Whoo!"

Having decided on the candidate, Heshen didn't say much and respectfully took his leave with Tongfu Chang'an.

The old master was also tired, so he rested in the warm pavilion for a while before ordering Li Yu to help him back to Consort Yu's place.

After leaving the palace, Heshen and Fu Chang'an returned to the Grand Council and drafted a secret edict for Cao Zhenyong and Moergenge. The edict was sent out by the secretary on duty, but Heshen instructed Fu Chang'an: "Send someone to Jiangning to tell Zhao Youlu that the Emperor wants to send someone to investigate him, and tell him to be careful."

(End of this chapter)