Qing Yao

Chapter 282 My lord, what about my county magistrate?

Liu Yong's envy and jealousy are understandable. The average age of passing the imperial examination in the Qing Dynasty was 34, which means that most officials started their careers at the age of 34.

Of course, this applies to Han Chinese officials; Manchu officials are not included.

Newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) were usually assigned to county magistrate positions or ministries. Taking a county magistrate as an example, to rise from a seventh-rank county magistrate to a second-rank provincial governor, one had to go through four stages: county magistrate, prefect, circuit intendant, and provincial inspector. If each stage went smoothly, and considering a four-year term, it would take at least sixteen years.

Therefore, the average age for Han officials to serve as provincial governors should be around fifty.

Liu Yong himself passed the imperial examination at the age of 32. Because his father, Liu Tongxun, was the chief Grand Councilor at the time, he was sent to Guangdong that year to serve as the chief examiner of the provincial examination, starting from the fifth rank.

At the age of 36, he was appointed as the Jiangsu Provincial Education Commissioner, becoming a key official in the province, and was enjoying great success.

However, after Liu Tongxun's death, Liu Yong's career stagnated for a long period of twenty years, and he never made any further progress, his highest position being only the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Shaanxi.

At the age of 57, seeing many officials rise to prominence through major literary inquisitions, Liu Yong, feeling lonely, launched his own major literary inquisition in Jiangsu.

In fact, Liu Yong had a history of manipulating literary cases. In the twenty-fourth year of Qianlong’s reign, when he was the Jiangsu Provincial Education Commissioner, Yan Dayong, a student of the Imperial Academy in Pei County, Jiangsu Province, was arrested for resisting grain taxes and refusing to pay his duties. Since students of the Imperial Academy were under the jurisdiction of the Education Commissioner’s Office, Liu Yong sent people to search Yan’s house. As a result, they found fragments of poetry manuscripts and traces of book burning in Yan’s house.

It was discovered that Yan Dayong had written "Yu Yu Ji" satirizing the government because his mother was not included in the local chronicle "Biographies of Filial Piety and Chastity," and the book directly used the name of Emperor Qianlong.

This was considered extremely disrespectful at the time.

Upon learning of this, Liu Yong was overjoyed and proactively submitted a memorial classifying Yan Dayong's poems as "rebellious writings" and demanding severe punishment. Ultimately, Yan Dayong was beheaded, and the county magistrate involved was dismissed and investigated.

It was just a small test of my skills.

As a result, Liu Yong was transferred to Shanxi to serve as the powerful prefect of the provincial capital.

When Liu Yong was reinstated as the Jiangsu Provincial Education Commissioner in the 43rd year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, he was already 57 years old. Seeing no hope for his official career, the Xu family of Dongtai, Jiangsu, was reported by their enemy Cai Jiashu for a land dispute. Cai Jiashu accused Xu Shukui's grandfather, Xu Shukui, of implying anti-Qing and restoration of the Ming Dynasty in his poetry collection "Yizhulou Poems".

Upon learning of this, Liu Yong realized it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so he took the lead in intervening in the investigation and determined that the poem was "rebellious," which led to Xu Shukui's coffin being opened and his corpse being mutilated, his grandchildren being beheaded, and more than 200 members of his family being implicated (exiled or enslaved).

Because of this major case of literary inquisition, Liu Yong was promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and at the age of sixty, he was appointed Governor of Hunan, thus becoming a high-ranking official in charge of a region.

Scholars in Jiangsu all condemned Liu Yong as a cruel official, saying that he had used the blood of scholars to stain his official hat, and that his reputation was extremely bad.

Liu Yong didn't care whether he was a cruel official or not; his career path was simply inferior to that of Zhao Youlu, who in his early twenties acted as the provincial governor of Anhui and actually served as the grain commissioner and the Huiningchi-Taizhou circuit intendant.

Zhao Youlu's speed of promotion was unmatched by ordinary banner officers; only those of imperial relatives and nobles could compare.

Like the Fu family and their relatives.

Therefore, he felt a mix of emotions, wondering what kind of luck Zhao Youlu had to be so valued by the old master and promoted in such an irregular way.

At this rate, Zhao Youlu will probably become a high-ranking official before he is even thirty. If he were a Manchu, it would be fine, nothing unusual. But he is a Han Chinese. Even though he was granted the title of bondservant by the old master, he is still essentially a Han Chinese.

A Han Chinese who was just a low-ranking official a year ago suddenly became the second-in-command of a province. Not to mention Liu Yong was upset, every minister and official present, except for Heshen, was cursing him in their hearts.

However, what they showed was silence.

A silent protest.

No one dared to advise the old master that this was against the rules and seriously violated the organizational regulations of the Qing Dynasty, because the old master had only one principle in doing things—"The more you oppose it, the more I will do it."

I am just that kind of man!
He's practically a second King Sejong.

They're all so senile, who would dare to mess with them?

While others were unhappy, Heshen was overjoyed, because he sensed something unusual about this appointment.

The Emperor is still on his side!

Otherwise, why would he have allowed his lackey Zhao Youlu to act as the governor of Anhui?

Although the Provincial Treasurer was nominally under the control of the Governor, in reality they each did their own thing and were not necessarily required to completely obey the Governor's orders, because the Provincial Treasurer also had the power to submit secret memorials.

Zhu Gui, as governor, did not receive the additional title of Vice Minister of War, thus holding only the rank of second grade. The Anhui Provincial Administration Commissioner was also a second grade official; in terms of rank alone, the governor was not superior to the provincial administration commissioner.

If the governor and the provincial administration minister have a conflict of opinion on any matter, the imperial court will be required to make a decision.

It is clear that although the emperor still has no intention of removing Zhu Gui, he is extremely dissatisfied with Zhu Gui; otherwise, he would not have made such an arrangement.

Heshen viewed this arrangement as a serious warning to Zhu Gui.

If Zhu Gui were to commit another offense, or clash with Zhao Youlu again, his position as governor would certainly be in jeopardy.

In other words, it would take another push to bring down Zhu Gui.

This fire still needs Zhao Youlu to start.

If Zhao Youlu can take down Zhu Gui, Heshen wouldn't mind helping him to become the official official in his place.

What's so special about a 22-year-old acting governor? He and the Grand Secretary became Grand Councilors at the age of 26!
"Your Majesty, Zhao Youlu is currently the fourth-rank Jiang'an Grain Commissioner. If he is to temporarily serve as the Anhui Provincial Administration Commissioner and concurrently as the Huiningchi-Taicang Circuit Intendant, is this in accordance with the precedent set by the Jing Circuit Intendant, or does Your Majesty have other arrangements?"

The one who asked the question was Dong Gao, the military officer on duty. Jing Daoqian was the prefect of Anqing and the acting governor of Anhui, temporarily serving as the governor of Huiningchitai Circuit. Before he took office as the governor of Anhui, the Ministry of Personnel had transferred him to Shandong to serve as the governor of Denglaiqing Circuit, which was a fourth-rank official position.

Therefore, Jing Daoqian was actually acting as the Anhui Provincial Governor, a position that was equivalent to a fourth-rank official and a second-rank official.

The position of Anhui Provincial Governor has been vacant for two years because the current Anhui Provincial Governor, Chen Dawen, has been ill. The old master values ​​Chen Dawen highly, so he ordered him to take good care of his health and not to reassign him to the position. He can return to work once he recovers.

Wages will be paid as usual during this period.

It means to retain one's position and salary.

Zhao Youlu, who was actually serving as the Jiang'an Grain Commissioner, was a fourth-rank official. Now, he was being appointed as the acting Anhui Provincial Governor in place of Jing Daoqian, and was also given the additional title of Huiningchitai Circuit Intendant. This meant that Zhao Youlu was now serving as the two most important Circuit Intendants in Anhui. Therefore, Dong Gao needed to clarify whether this acting appointment was at the original rank or a promotion.

Otherwise, if the Ministry of Personnel inquires, the Grand Council will have to submit another memorial for instructions.

"He shall be treated as an inspector and ordered to proceed to Anhui immediately to assume his post, without delay on the way."

The old master's intention was to promote Zhao Youlu from the fourth rank to the third rank. This arrangement was clearly intended to facilitate Zhao Youlu's coordination of various parties to allocate disaster relief supplies, while also implying a countermeasure against Governor Zhu Gui.

The third rank is only one level lower than the second rank, so there's something to see.

If it's a fourth-rank official, it's three ranks lower, not very prestigious.

Both to give Zhu Gui a warning and to train talent, the old master was generous with his rewards.

Behind the generous rewards was the old master's wariness of the resurgent White Lotus Sect. Zhu Gui's concealment of the White Lotus Sect's activities greatly angered the old master.

On the other hand, Zhao An not only proactively reported White Lotus Rebellion activities in Anhui, but also handled a major case of a canal gang rebellion in Yangzhou last year, dealing with it with great efficiency and ruthlessness. He was also adept at civil administration and disaster relief, acting decisively and boldly, even opening granaries to distribute grain before receiving imperial orders, saving countless lives. Comparing these two figures, the old master naturally wanted to give greater use to the courageous and capable Zhao An. The Huiningchi Tai Circuit had military responsibilities and could directly command the local Green Standard Army garrison. Appointing Zhao An to this position was clearly a deliberate arrangement made by the old master out of concern that a major White Lotus Rebellion might break out in Anhui.

Zhu Gui was indeed a renowned minister of the Qingliu faction and did not love money, but as a Confucian scholar, he often lost his mind when faced with chaos and was inevitably too weak in some aspects, which is what is called benevolent governance.

With such a severe disaster in Anhui, and a population of over 20 million, the consequences would be dire if chaos were to break out.

In this way, Zhao An, who has experience in suppressing rebels and is extremely strict in dealing with them, is clearly more suitable than Zhu Gui for Anhui, where there are already signs of unrest.

The reason why Zhu Gui was not taken down directly was simply because Zhu Gui was a talent that the old master was cultivating for the crown prince. He was unwilling to take down Zhu Gui, whom he had been observing for a long time, just for this matter, and still wanted to give him a chance.

On the surface, the old master placed high hopes on Prince Cheng, Yongxing, giving him this and that, but the person behind the plaque of "Upright and Bright" was actually Prince Jia, Yongyan.

Zhu Gui was Yongyan's teacher, and his influence was far-reaching.

Even if the old man is confused, he wouldn't really have the idea of ​​changing the heir apparent.

Therefore, Zhu Gui cannot be touched.

It cannot be moved, at least not now.

"Whoo!"

With things having come to this point, Dong Gao had no choice but to return to the Grand Council to draft an imperial edict to implement it.

In Jiangning, Zhao An continued his suspension and investigation, with no end in sight.

I get up early every day to go for a run, and then I read books in the office. Although the days are monotonous, I enjoy them.

Because people come to visit him from time to time.

Among those who came were ordinary people who admired his reputation as an upright official, and officials who came to speculate after hearing rumors.

After the provincial governor went to Anhui to investigate, the prefect of Jiangning, the magistrate of Shangyuan, and others eagerly went to Zhao, the grain commissioner, to "comfort" him.

The enthusiasm and fawning she displayed were almost overwhelming, even for Zhao An.

Afterwards, upon analysis, it was found that Fu Chang had been "spreading rumors" outside, which led many people in the Jiangning officialdom to know about him as "Five Blessed Sons," and then there was another round of unfounded analysis, which forcibly upgraded him from Five Blessed Sons to Imperial Prince.

Regardless of whether it was Fu Chang who spread the rumor, it was very beneficial to Zhao An. He was happy that the rumor could spread far and wide, and it would be best if the nobles throughout the country, including those in the Forbidden City, knew about it.

It's wonderful, really.

If the rumors originated from the common people, the government would most likely suppress and prohibit them, and officials would generally not believe them.

But if the source of the rumor is the highest-ranking official in a province, its credibility increases dramatically.

This is what is meant by the most terrifying official rumors.

With the added advantage of being a prince, everything becomes much easier for it.

Sure enough, the relocation of the Jiangning Prefectural School did not stall because of his "pending review" status as the supervisory committee member; it proceeded in an orderly manner, although the people in charge were from the provincial governor's office.

Zhao An did nothing but wait for Fu Chang to give him his share of the silver.

Zhao An also approved a note for the logistics of the new school's canteen. Eighty-six took the note to the professor at Jiangning Prefectural School, and he processed it directly.

But every night, Zhao An would stare at the grain transport map of the Grain Transport Office and study it.

This map of grain transport is actually a map of Anhui, including the Jiangning area. Because grain was transported by water, the map shows all the rivers and streams within Anhui.

While studying the map, Zhao An also continuously added to it. After two or three nights, the map had been expanded into a map of East China.

Given time, a complete map of the Qing Dynasty will surely be produced, perhaps even more accurate than the copper coin map hidden in the Forbidden City.

Because Zhao An measured each one with a self-made small ruler.

It's not as accurate as military maps, but the error won't exceed ten miles.

That day, a mysterious guest arrived at the government office. It was none other than Director Song, a good friend from Yangzhou.

Old Song came to offer his condolences to Zhao An on behalf of his fellow villagers from Yangzhou, and also to inquire about news.

Zhao An certainly didn't hide anything from Lao Song, frankly admitting that his being stripped of his ginseng by Zhu Gui, the governor of Anhui, was actually a grand scheme he orchestrated himself, with the aim of bringing down Zhu Gui and preventing this tutor of Prince Jia from constantly stabbing him in the back.

"I see. Lord Ding, I heard you were terrified by the governor's ginseng harvesting."

Old Song breathed a sigh of relief; it was a false alarm. Since the matter of Zhu Gui picking ginseng was not true at all, then Zhao An was definitely fine.

He then briefly described the situation in Yangzhou. The Xianfeng Bank had officially opened and was currently mainly handling the "business" of the Ganquan County government. According to Zhao An, Lao Ding had put all the government's salaries and construction funds into the Xianfeng Bank and issued a document requiring all government employees to deposit their money in the Xianfeng Bank.

As a result, Xianfeng Bank, which started with 100,000 taels of silver, now holds more than 600,000 taels of private "floating capital." Although this is not as much as the deposits of other long-established money shops, its absorption rate is unmatched.

Zhao An was very satisfied and asked Lao Song to go back and tell Lao Ding to organize people to open a branch in Jiangning, because he wanted the Jiangning Eight Banners to become Xianfeng Bank's biggest customer.

The solution was the same one Old Song used—deposit money to receive grain rations.

As long as the Jiangning General is bribed, there will be no obstacles to this matter.

"My lord, the Ministry of Personnel will be releasing donations at the end of the month. What do you think of my county magistrate?"

Old Song also had his own personal needs for coming here this time. After all, Zhao An had been promoted to a fourth-rank official, so his position as an eighth-rank instructor should be moved up a bit.

Zhao An nodded, and was about to suggest buying a county magistrate position for Old Song when the imperial edict arrived.

It was quite formal, with an incense altar set up, a purification ceremony held, and the imperial decree received in a solemn manner.

The imperial decree's outcome shocked the grain transport department—the official who had been impeached by the governor was not only exonerated but also promoted!
He was appointed as the Acting Provincial Governor of Anhui, a third-rank official, and concurrently served as the Grain Commissioner of Jiang'an and the Circuit Intendant of Huiningchitai.

Zhao An's understanding was that the position would be the executive vice-provincial governor concurrently serving as the director of the grain department, plus the top officials of several wealthy cities, and incidentally, the political commissar of a provincial military district.

In terms of power, he was in no way inferior to the top leader Zhu Gui, because Zhu Gui's dual control over military and political affairs was actually divided in half by him as the acting provincial governor.

Old Song was also dumbfounded. Looking at Zhao An, who had already changed into the robes of a third-rank official, he couldn't help but swallow hard: "Lord Zhao, my county magistrate?"

"What county magistrate?"

Zhao An, displaying his official arrogance, declared, "Lord Song should at least be a prefect!"

(End of this chapter)