Qing Yao

Chapter 413 Sifu'er, this worm

"Sir, who is this person? What a grand entrance! Goodness, even the guards are wearing yellow jackets!"

Xu Lin, who cautiously entered the room, seemed to be shocked by Heshen's grand display outside the examination hall. It's no wonder he was so surprised, after all, all he saw were yellow jackets representing the supreme imperial power, and the visual impact was truly breathtaking.

Before this, Xu Lin had only seen that Shao Jun had a yellow riding jacket. He had always thought that the yellow riding jacket was an extremely precious reward, a symbol of supreme honor, which only great figures who had made great contributions could receive.

The shock and disbelief felt when seeing that even the most powerful figures in the capital wore yellow jackets as their henchmen was unimaginable.

Yang Xiaoshuan also came in. Although he didn't speak, his eyes betrayed him. He clearly also wanted to know who the important person who had just come to see Brother An was.

"It's Heshen."

Zhao An walked to the window and gently pushed it open a crack. He saw Heshen being carried onto a sedan chair by a kneeling servant. Before going in, Heshen said a few words to the servants below.

Zhao An was not surprised that Heshen's guards all wore yellow riding jackets. Yellow riding jackets were the standard military uniforms of palace guards, and almost everyone had one. Including other branches of the Eight Banners, there were at least tens of thousands of people wearing yellow riding jackets in the capital.

However, the yellow jackets worn by these guards were different from the one that the old master had given to Zhao An. The jackets worn by the guards had black buttons and could only be worn during working hours; they could not be worn after get off work.

It's equivalent to work clothes.

The buttons on Zhao An's reward jacket were yellow, and as long as he didn't rebel or commit any crimes, he could wear it forever until the end of time.

It's the same principle as the Medal of Honor.

Of course, it is for personal use only and cannot be left to one's children or grandchildren as an inheritance.

As for Heshen's grand entourage, it's nothing unusual. With power at Heshen's level, let alone a few hundred guards in yellow jackets, mobilizing the entire Eight Banners Imperial Guards would be a simple matter of a word.

The second emperor is a level above the crown prince!

He Shen had just left Zhao An with the impression of being extremely shrewd. In just a few words, he had explained the essence of forming cliques and pursuing personal gain to the fullest extent. How could such a person not make arrangements for himself and leave himself a way out when he knew that the old master's days were numbered?
It's likely that the palace guards, the Eight Banners Imperial Guards, and the Green Standard Army under the command of the Nine Gates Commander had long been infiltrated by Heshen.

Jiaqing was able to succeed because Heshen had a deep relationship with the old master, so much so that when Heshen heard the bad news, he lost his composure and rushed to the palace to mourn. As a result, Jiaqing, in a moment of rashness and a risky move, caught him by capturing the king first.

If we follow the traditional drama of power struggles between emperors and their ministers, Emperor Jiaqing would either have been sidelined or become the shortest-lived emperor in history.

Because he was simply not qualified to fight against Heshen.

However, Zhao An was still taken aback, as it was Heshen's sedan chair that caused his pupils to shrink slightly.

To be precise, it was the four sedan chairs that were steadily parked in the open space in front of the examination hall.

It can no longer be called a sedan chair; it looks more like four mobile bedrooms, and the color used on the roof of each sedan chair is a bright yellow that only royalty could use.

What astonished Zhao An even more was not the enormous size and outrageous color of Heshen's sedan chair, but that each of the four sedan chairs was equipped with thirty-two porters.

According to the "Collected Statutes of the Qing Dynasty", a prince's sedan chair was carried by sixteen men, while a first-rank official was carried by eight men. However, Heshen, a first-rank official, used twice as many sedan chair carriers as a prince.

What does it mean?
This shows that Heshen was indeed the second emperor, and his reputation was well-deserved. Not to mention princes, even the crown prince would have to be subservient to him!
As for why there were four identical sedan chairs, it's obvious that Heshen would only ride in one of them, while the other three were for security reasons, used to confuse assassins.

Heshen wielded immense power, but he also offended many people, so it's understandable that he feared assassination.

Emperor Jiaqing was assassinated several times in his life, twice narrowly escaping death. This incident reveals that the Qing Dynasty's security measures were merely superficial, and the system itself was thoroughly rotten.

Heshen's impressive security setup might just be a facade.

"My lord, isn't this Lord He Zhongtang afraid that people will say he's arrogant?"

Xiaoshuan didn't understand the regulations of the Qing Dynasty regarding officials riding in sedan chairs. He only felt that Heshen's entourage was probably comparable to that of the emperor. If a subject was almost as powerful as the emperor, what else could it be but arrogance?
“Even I, a canal worker in Yangzhou, know that wealth should not be flaunted and that one should make a fortune quietly. Does this Minister He not know this principle?”

Xu Lin also looked completely bewildered.

"If you were Heshen, you would have done the same. Otherwise, wouldn't the two emperors have been emperors for nothing?"

Zhao An chuckled. Heshen wasn't arrogant, nor was he oblivious to danger; rather, he was overconfident. So confident that he believed everything in the Qing Dynasty was under his control, so confident that no one except the old master would dare to harm him.

After twenty years of Heshen's management, the imperial court is now an impenetrable fortress, and even if the old master wanted to overturn the table, he would be powerless to do so.

I heard that the old master is now unable to speak fluently, and he relies entirely on Heshen to "translate" and relay messages when communicating with his ministers.

That's where things get complicated. What can be said and what can't is entirely up to Heshen's discretion.

The meanings of the words can vary greatly.

Can "Everyone's here" and "Ren Quan's here" mean the same thing?

It's hard to say that Heshen didn't slip in his own agenda when translating for the old man.

What Zhao An didn't know was that the reason he was able to become the Jiang'an Grain Commissioner was not only because Si Fu'er didn't hear "Father Emperor" clearly and acted on his own initiative, but also because he took the initiative to ask Heshen whether it was true or false and didn't ask the old master for verification at all.

This shows just how important Heshen's role as "translator" was.

Xu Lin seemed to understand but not quite: "My lord, is Heshen coming to see you so late to try and win you over to his side?"

This question is a bit naive. Everyone knows that Zhao Youlu's rise to power was entirely caused by Heshen. He was practically branded as a member of the Heshen faction. So why would he need Heshen to win him over?

Even if it's not a party, it's still a party!

Heshen's late-night visit seemed to show Zhao An's respect, a typical act of "showing warmth," enough to move Zhao An to sincerely pledge allegiance. In reality, Zhao An saw it as a master visiting his own dog, then putting the dog on a chain to prevent it from becoming an uncontrollable stray after being out in the wild for too long.

That makes sense, but can Zhao An admit that he is Heshen's dog?

Even if he were, this dog would still have to stand up and ask Heshen face to face: "Does Your Excellency see me as the Emperor?"

Watching Heshen's sedan chair disappear into the distance, Xiaoshuan muttered, "The Emperor is over eighty years old this year. At that age, ordinary people won't live much longer. If the Emperor passes away and a new Emperor ascends the throne, will Heshen still be as powerful as he is now? I think he's likely to get into trouble."

Xu Lin listened dismissively: "How could something happen to someone as powerful as Heshen? Don't worry about things that don't concern you. The court is full of Heshen's people. When the new emperor ascends the throne, who will he have to rely on? He will definitely have to give Heshen a lot of power. Who knows how long he will be so powerful?"

"Oh." Xiao Shuan thought about it and realized that it made sense. What did it matter to him whether Heshen was powerful or not? Hmm, it seemed to have something to do with Brother An.

Zhao An gently closed the window and casually said to the two of them, "What do you think would happen if the new emperor disliked Heshen's behavior and wanted to get rid of him? Should I help Heshen deal with the new emperor, or should I help the new emperor deal with Heshen?"

"."

Xu Lin and Yang Xiaoshuan looked completely bewildered; the question was beyond their comprehension and understanding.

Seeing this, Zhao An smiled and said, "Alright, you guys go back and rest."

After the two left, he sat alone by the charcoal stove, playing with the warm jade that Heshen had given him and pondering.

Using Heshen's influence and influence in the court to help him get rid of Jiaqing would actually be of little benefit, because Heshen was too shrewd.

No matter how corrupt the Qing Dynasty was, as long as Heshen was in charge, it was unrealistic for Zhao An to rely on a strong army to quickly overthrow the Qing Dynasty.

Furthermore, even if he helped Heshen get rid of Jiaqing, what benefits would Heshen give him?
At most, he could become a Grand Councilor, a position equivalent to a vice-state leader. What else could he possibly achieve?
We can't very well give him the position of Chief Military Advisor.

What was Heshen's job then?
If Zhao An was determined to be a dog of the Manchus, then Grand Councilor was indeed the best position for him, and also the greatest achievement that a Han Chinese could attain under the Manchu Qing dynasty.

For Zhao An, who was determined to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, the position of Grand Councilor was not as practical as that of a provincial governor who held the power of the Green Standard Army.

Conversely, helping Jiaqing get rid of Heshen wouldn't actually bring any benefits, because he was on Jiaqing's blacklist. Even if he betrayed Jiaqing on the spot, it was hard to guarantee that this "Renzong" wouldn't settle scores with him later.

If Emperor Jiaqing didn't keep accounts, would Teacher Hu or Head Teacher Zhu?
In any case, the benefits Zhao An would receive from Jiaqing would certainly not be as great as those from Heshen, and there would be many hidden dangers. Therefore, neither helping Heshen nor helping Jiaqing would actually benefit Zhao An.

So how can we maximize our own interests by taking advantage of this situation?
Zhao An's brows furrowed and relaxed intermittently, never expecting that someone would come to visit again so late at night.

The visitor was An Dali, a senior official in the Grand Council. Although his rank was lower than Zhao An, a second-rank official who was actually serving as a provincial governor, he had a strong potential for advancement.

It is well known that those who can work in the General Office are all important figures, and the probability of them becoming Grand Councilors is also very high.

Therefore, Zhao An had to be polite. No matter how much he disliked someone, he would show them enough respect until he was absolutely certain he could kill them.

Andali came on behalf of Fourth Master Fu Chang'an.

No sooner had Heshen left than Fu Chang'an sent someone over. Was it a coincidence or intentional?

After ordering someone to invite Andali in, Zhao An had the examination hall manager, Qian, serve tea. After exchanging a few pleasantries, before the tea had even touched his lips, Andali got straight to the point. To Zhao An's utter surprise, this An Zhangjing was not there on behalf of Si Fu'er to win him over, but rather on Si Fu'er's orders to collect a debt from Zhao An.

They were demanding the interest on the two million taels loan.

This left Zhao An both amused and exasperated, and his opinion of Fu Chang'an plummeted. No wonder the history books of his previous life described this kid with just two words—greed!
That's absolutely true. It's not just greed, it's downright stupidity!

It's also a bit petty.

They are nothing compared to the shrewd Heshen. I really don't know why Heshen chose to associate with such a scoundrel as Fu Chang'an.

Instead of personally coming to win over Zhao An at this critical juncture, they sent someone to demand interest. What kind of person would do such a thing?
The loan was taken out by Zhao An, and he acknowledged the interest, but Si Fu'er's childish behavior disgusted him. A troubled expression instantly appeared on his face, his brows furrowing into a deep frown. He sighed deeply and said to Anda Li:
"Lord An, you know Anhui is a place with barren land and impoverished people. This year, it has suffered from both drought and religious rebellion. To alleviate the disaster, restore people's livelihoods, and quell the religious unrest, I was so poor that I almost pawned my pants. To tell you the truth, the treasury is so empty that you could hear the rats running inside."

After his long and earnest explanation, he had no other intention than to ask An Zhangjing to go back and tell Master Fu that he would acknowledge the debt in Anhui, but could he ask if it could be postponed?

"Lord Zhao, what are you saying? When the Grand Secretary lent you the money, he did so readily and decisively, without even deducting any interest, and then had the money shipped from Jiangning to Anqing. It can be said that the Grand Secretary treated you with utmost kindness and generosity. So why are you making such a fuss about repaying the money now?"

Behind Andali is not only the fourth master Fu, who is a high-ranking official, but also the third master Fu, who is a great general.

He naturally didn't take a second-rank acting governor seriously. If he really wanted to cause trouble, let alone the Third Master taking action, the Fourth Master could crush this little ant with a flick of his finger.

So what if he was one of Heshen's men!
As a result, An Zhangjing's attitude made Zhao An even more unhappy. He didn't show it on his face, but he still tried to soften his tone in his words.

"How long do we need to slow it down?"

Andali's expression was clearly not good.

"Um"

Zhao An pretended to hesitate for a moment, then proposed that this year's interest be calculated together with next year's interest, meaning that the interest would be deposited into Fuzhongtang's account at the end of next year.

"No, even if we can slow it down, it will only take two or three months at most. How can we drag it out for a year? Lord Zhao, you are not doing this in a very fair way."

Andali refused outright, picked up the teacup, took a symbolic sip, and put it down again, his tone becoming less friendly.

“Lord Zhao, I came here specifically on the instructions of Lord Fu. If I don’t give him a definite answer, Lord Fu might have some reservations about me.”

A naked threat.

If this were in his own office in Anhui, Zhao An would definitely grab the weight used to weigh silver and give this guy a whack on the head.

But this is the capital, their territory.

Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Besides, Zhao An still needs to see the old master, so how could he really offend the old master's illegitimate son—his own good fourth brother?

After some initial embarrassment, a silver note worth one thousand taels appeared on the table in front of Andali.

"Lord Zhao, what do you mean by this?"

An Zhangjing looked suspicious; even if the other party wanted to send him a gift, it wouldn't reach him.

"This is just a small token of my appreciation; please accept it, Lord An."

As he spoke, Zhao An pushed the silver notes in front of Andali, and then said sincerely, "Please tell Lord An to convey to Minister Fu that if Minister Fu can be considerate of me and remove the title of 'acting official' from my name, I am willing to borrow another three million taels of silver from Minister Fu!"

"."

Zhao An's request left An Zhangjing stunned for dozens of breaths. Then he stared at Zhao An as if he were a fool: You asked the Grand Secretary to do something without paying a single penny, and you still want the Grand Secretary to lend you another three million taels.

Are you out of your mind, or did I mishear?
(End of this chapter)