Qing Yao

Chapter 270 Greeting someone makes things easier

News of the Anhui grain commissioner's ginseng being confiscated by Governor Zhu Gui quickly spread throughout Jiangning City.

Upon receiving the news, Teacher Lou was shocked and immediately reported the matter to his mentor, Sun Shiyi, the Governor-General of Liangjiang.

"Ginseng harvesting?"

Sun Shiyi was astonished. He put down the official document in his hand and said with some surprise, "In this dynasty, no one may impeach someone except for a serious crime. Zhu Gui impeached Zhao Youlu with impeachment. Could it be that Zhao Youlu has really committed an unforgivable crime punishable by death?"

In his anxiety, he asked the student what had happened.

"Teacher, Zhu Gui impeached Zhao Youlu for two crimes. As the Grain Commissioner, Zhao Youlu was guilty of two crimes: first, he opened the granaries and released grain without permission; second, he concealed a deficit under the guise of releasing grain to save the people. Therefore, Zhao Youlu was impeached for these two crimes. Now Zhao Youlu has been stripped of his official hat and imprisoned in the Grain Commissioner's office."

Teacher Lou shared what she had learned.

The people who came to remove the official hats of the prisoners were sent by the Anhui Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office. They had no personal grudges and were simply doing their duty.

"Zhao Youlu has only been in office as the Jiang'an Grain Commissioner for a few months. What deficit could he possibly have? Even if there is, it's left over from his predecessor. What does it have to do with him?"

Sun Shiyi shook his head, feeling that Zhu Gui wasn't just being aggressive, but rather a bit delusional.

As a former Vice Minister of the Grand Council, Sun Shiyi was well aware of why Zhu Gui was at odds with Zhao Youlu, and also knew that Prince Jia behind Zhu Gui was at odds with Heshen. As a result, Zhao Youlu, who was seen as Heshen's "lackey" by the court and the public, suffered collateral damage.

Before his arrival in Liangjiang, Sun Shiyi disliked Zhao Youlu, a man who had risen to power through opportunism. However, his opinion of Zhao Youlu had changed after his previous incognito visit. Regardless of his background or whether he was truly promoted by Heshen, his official conduct was commendable and he was a model of integrity.

Sun Shiyi felt that Zhu Gui, a respected figure among the upright officials, was going against the teachings of sages and was somewhat unable to distinguish right from wrong, simply because Zhao Youlu was Heshen's man. He insisted on dealing with Zhao Youlu and even resorted to punitive measures.

Upon closer analysis, it's likely that Prince Jia couldn't swallow his anger.

After all, Prince Jia had already lost two generals because of Zhao Youlu.

After hearing his mentor's words, Teacher Lou breathed a sigh of relief, but then worriedly said, "Even if the deficit has nothing to do with Zhao Youlu, he will probably not escape punishment from the court for opening the granary without imperial permission."

“If he truly cared for the people, Zhao Youlu would be safe.”

Sun Shiyi offered a different perspective, citing an example of a grain commissioner opening granaries and releasing grain without authorization.

In the twenty-sixth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, Dezhou, Shandong Province, was besieged by a flood. Yan Xishen, the grain commissioner, happened to be away on official business at the time, and the people of the city had no food to eat. His mother took it upon herself to order the granaries to be opened and grain to be distributed. Afterwards, Yan Xishen took responsibility for the matter, resigned his official post, and awaited the court's decision.

At that time, the Shandong governor also submitted a memorial to impeach Yan Xishen in accordance with the rules. However, the old master said that Yan Xishen was wholeheartedly devoted to the people and was worthy of great use. He was promoted to Sichuan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, and later transferred to Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan as governors. He died in office due to overwork.

"If this hadn't happened, do you really think this Lord Yan would have been able to later serve as the governor of several provinces?"

After a pause, Sun Shiyi gave another example, which also happened in Shandong, but the protagonist was much more famous than Yan Xishen, the regional official.

This person was Zheng Banqiao, one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou".

When Zheng Banqiao served as the magistrate of Weixian County, a great famine struck, and people resorted to cannibalism. He ordered the granaries to be opened for disaster relief without reporting the situation. His subordinates pleaded with him to stop, but Zheng said, "What kind of time is this? If we have to report it to the authorities, how can the people survive? If the emperor punishes me, I will accept it!"

As a result, he saved more than 10,000 lives, and when he left office, tens of thousands of people, grateful for his life-saving grace, saw him off for miles.

The old master did not punish Zheng Banqiao either, and the following year, when he toured Shandong, he appointed Zheng Banqiao as a "calligraphy and painting official" to participate in the preparations for the emperor's ascent of Mount Tai, together with Grand Secretary Gao Bin and Censor-in-Chief Liu Tongxun.

In short, in the more than 100 years since the founding of the country, even if officials who opened granaries to distribute grain without authorization due to disasters were impeached afterward, none of them lost their positions or even their lives as a result.

Only those officials who use the pretext of disaster relief and the distribution of grain to amass wealth will be severely punished. For example, the Gansu disaster relief embezzlement case a few years ago involved 16 million taels of silver.

Therefore, Sun Shiyi was not worried that Zhu Gui's accusation against Zhao Youlu for opening granaries without authorization to save the people would be punished by the emperor, but he was worried about the second crime that Zhu Gui was accused of.

"Did Zhao Youlu know about the deficit, and did he intend to use the grain distribution to conceal the deficit in order to cover up the accounts? If he did not know, he is not guilty, at most negligent; if he knew, he knowingly committed the crime, which is a serious crime."

Even the Governor-General of Liangjiang had no right to directly intervene in this case, because the parties involved were a governor and a grain commissioner, and only an imperial envoy from the capital could investigate whether the impeachment was true.

Not long ago, he had submitted a memorial to the court praising Zhao Youlu, so he could not interfere in this matter now. After thinking it over, Sun Shiyi instructed his teacher Lou: "Dazhen, draft a memorial for your teacher, and report the details of the disaster in Anhui to the court."

"is teacher."

Teacher Lou knew that this memorial, ostensibly a report to the court detailing the disaster, was actually a ploy to "besiege Wei while seeking Zhao."

Only by letting the imperial court know the extent of the disaster in Anhui can the officials and the emperor understand the helplessness and urgency behind Zhao Youlu's emergency grain distribution.

While Sun Shiyi was "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao," Fu Chang, the provincial governor of Jiangning, was also sending people to inquire about the specific situation. He learned that the people who came to Jiangning to remove the "Five Blessings" official hat were from the provincial judicial commissioner's office. So, he wrote a letter to the provincial judicial commissioner of Anhui in his private capacity, and at the same time sent people to invite Han Ruipeng, the captain of the team, to the provincial governor's office.

The fact that the Jiangning Provincial Governor invited him to dinner made General Han feel flattered. After instructing his men to thoroughly investigate the "official incapacitated" Zhao Youlu, he went to the Provincial Governor's office for the banquet.

The banquet was extremely lavish, with dozens of cold dishes, hot dishes, and desserts, making General Manager Han's eyes dazzled.

The provincial governor was extremely simple and approachable, without any airs. Despite his noble status, he took the initiative to serve food and wine to Commander Han, which warmed Commander Han's heart.

After three rounds of wine, the provincial governor gave a signal, and Chen, the clerk, quickly brought over a box and placed it in front of Han, the commander. When the box was opened, it contained ten gleaming gold ingots, each weighing ten taels.

"This"

General Han was startled by the gold ingots in the box and rose in a panic, saying that he had no merit to deserve such a reward.

The provincial governor also spoke frankly, stating that the hundred taels of gold were a gift for Commander Han, and that he was not pleading for the suspected corrupt official Zhao Youlu, but simply making a small gesture.

What kind of greeting is this?

If Zhao Youlu wants to communicate with anyone, or if anyone wants to pass on a message to Zhao Youlu, please, Commander Han, turn a blind eye and don't be the one to cause trouble.

"Although it was Governor Zhu of Anhui who was in charge of picking ginseng and Zhao, the grain commissioner, before the truth comes out, Commander Han should just do his job."

With a smile, Master Chen stuffed the box directly into General Han's arms, while the Provincial Governor raised his wine glass at the opportune moment.

After hesitating for a long time, Han Qianzong put down the box, picked up the wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

It doesn't matter how many words you say, as long as the meaning is clear.

As long as the "official in disgrace" doesn't escape, nothing else matters.

At the grain transport office, several soldiers from the Anhui Provincial Surveillance Commission were slapped several times, but they dared not be angry or speak out.

Because the one who slapped them was the 86th-year-old man from the Eight Banners garrison in Jiangning.

(End of this chapter)