Qing Yao

Chapter 420 Invitation to the Imperial Palace
Shulin was a repeat offender.

It's not a "second stint" in prison, but rather that if Shulin really does become the Governor-General of Liangjiang after the new year, it will be his second time holding this important position.

The last time he served as Governor-General of Liangjiang was in the fifty-second year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, and he served for less than four years. His successor was the current Governor-General Sun Shiyi, and the six-month vacancy in between was filled by the Jiangsu Governor Fusong.

The name Shulin sounds like a genuine Manchu name, but in reality, the Shulin family were Han Chinese from Liaodong. After surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, they were registered as bondservants in the Imperial Household Department and later promoted to the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner.

Shulin's father was Gao Jin, a Grand Secretary, and his great-uncle was Gao Bin, who served as the Governor-General of the Yellow River and the Governor-General of Zhili.

Gao Bin's daughter was Consort Huixian, Gao Jia, whom the old master had favored in his early years. In terms of age, Gao Jin, the cousin, was also the old master's brother-in-law, while Shulin was Consort Huixian's maternal grand-nephew.

Because of the influence of Consort Huixian, the old master had always taken good care of the Gao family. Not only did Gao Bin and Gao Jin, the uncle and nephew, hold important positions, but their descendants also had successful careers in officialdom.

Gao Bin's eldest son, Gao Heng, who is also the younger brother of Consort Huixian, was the person involved in the infamous Lianghuai Salt Transport Case more than 20 years ago.

Because the case had such a great impact, Gao Heng was executed by order of his brother-in-law.

His son, Gao Pu, served as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. In the forty-third year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, he went to Yarkand on official business. He secretly instructed the local people to mine jade and demanded gold and jewels from them. Yonggui, the minister in charge of the Uqturpan region, reported this to the emperor.

Enraged, the old patriarch issued an edict to arrest and execute Gao Pu.

Grand Secretary Fuheng suggested that Gao Pu be spared death out of consideration for Consort Huixian. However, the old master retorted, "If the Empress's brothers also broke the law, how should I deal with them?"

Fu Heng was so frightened that he dared not utter a sound.

Because he was the Empress's brother.

Perhaps in his later years, the old master felt guilty about the execution of his maternal uncle and his son, so he showed great favor to his uncle and brother-in-law Gao Jin's family. In addition, his grand-nephew Shulin was upright, conscientious, and disliked flattery. He was a rare honest and pragmatic official among the Manchu nobles, so his official career was smooth. He was promoted to governor of Guangxi at the age of thirty-one and became governor-general of Liangjiang at the age of fifty.

However, because of his overly upright character, Shulin's career was thwarted during his tenure as Governor-General of Liangjiang.

The one who targeted him was Heshen.

After Heshen came to power, local officials, especially those in lucrative positions like the Governor-General of Liangjiang, had to offer him large sums of money as tribute every year. Shulin resolutely refused to bribe Heshen, which was tantamount to openly challenging the authority of Heshen, the "second emperor."

As a result, Heshen took every opportunity to sow discord between Shulin and the old master, exaggerating Shulin's minor problems in government affairs and accusing him of being incompetent and stubborn.

In the end, the old patriarch, who was getting old and senile, dismissed Shulin from his post and exiled him to Yili. Last year, when he was old and lonely, he thought back to his concubines from his youth. For some reason, he thought of the young and beautiful Imperial Noble Consort Huixian. His heart softened, and he reinstated Shulin as the governor of Shanxi.

The old master's sudden whim caught Heshen off guard, but he dared not openly oppose it and could only grit his teeth and accept it. He also took advantage of Shulin to frame Yin Zhuangtu, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, who openly opposed the discussion of the criminal silver and pointed out that the warehouses in various provinces and prefectures were empty.

Because Yin Zhuangtu's first stop on his "open visit" was Shanxi, and Shanxi performed well under Shulin's governance, which contradicted the situation Yin Zhuangtu described in his memorial to the court.

The governor of Shanxi was doing a good job, so why did he have to go to Liangjiang for a second time after the New Year? The reason lies with the eldest grandson of the emperor, Mian'en.

Yesterday, the grandson of the emperor, Mian'en, who was promoted to Prince Ding, and his younger brother, Prince Zhi, Mianqing, went to the palace to pay their respects to the old master.

Mianqing's father was Prince Yongrong, who passed away last year. He was the sixth son of the old master.

Yongrong lost his right to the throne because he was adopted by Prince Shenjing, Yunxi, at the age of sixteen. Out of guilt, the old master bestowed upon Yongrong the title of Prince. After Yongrong's death, the title of Prince was reduced to that of Prince of the Second Rank, and his fifth son, Mianqing, inherited the title.

Mian'en and Mianqing are the only two princes among the current imperial grandsons. Strictly speaking, Mianqing is no longer an imperial grandson, since his father has been adopted out. Legally, he inherits the lineage of Yunxi, the twenty-first son of Emperor Kangxi.

The arrival of the two imperial grandsons delighted the old patriarch, who chatted with them for quite some time, eventually leading the conversation to the high-altitude war. Mian'en was favored by his grandfather for his "handsome appearance, studiousness, and knowledge of military affairs," so he naturally wanted to impress his grandfather. The grandfather and grandsons talked at length about the high-altitude war and logistical issues.

Mianqing was just a foil on the side.

The campaigns on the plateau were all about money, food, and logistics, so it's natural to talk about Li Shijie, the governor of Sichuan, who repeatedly petitioned to resign.

The old man asked Mian'en who he thought could succeed Li Shijie in the court, and Mian'en immediately said it was Sun Shiyi, the Governor-General of Liangjiang.

This coincided with the old man's earlier thoughts, and the next question was naturally who would succeed Sun Shiyi.

The most popular candidate was Fu Song, the governor of Jiangsu, who was repeatedly transferred around by the old master to pay off a debt he owed.

Mian'en hesitated for a moment, but then suggested that Shulin, the governor of Shanxi, be appointed as the governor-general of Liangjiang again. He only said that Shulin had served in Liangjiang before and was familiar with the area, but he did not dare to say his true thoughts, which was that he would support anything that Heshen opposed.

Or rather, simply to annoy Heshen.

Why did Mian'en dislike Heshen?

There was no other reason; as the eldest grandson of the emperor, he simply couldn't stand Heshen's airs. Moreover, Mian'en had an excellent relationship with his fifteenth uncle, Prince Jia. His fifteenth uncle was often targeted by Heshen's faction, so as his nephew, he naturally wanted to help him, even if it was just to annoy Heshen.

Heshen also tried to curry favor with Mian'en, the eldest grandson of the emperor, by gifting him a priceless jade plate, but Mian'en immediately rebuked him and returned it.

This matter was widely circulated in the capital and was no secret.

After some thought, the old man, perhaps out of respect for the late Imperial Noble Consort Huixian, agreed to allow Shulin to serve as Governor-General of Liangjiang once again.

Such important news was revealed to Uncle Fifteen immediately after Mian En left the palace.

At the banquet at Uncle Fifteen's house, in a moment of joy, he casually mentioned it. Teacher Wu then thought the news was quite important and passed it on to Zhao An.

Heshen was completely kept in the dark, unaware that the two candidates for high-ranking regional officials in the Qing Dynasty had already been decided without his knowledge.

It's no wonder Heshen was careless; he was too busy organizing the "New Year's Eve Gala" to spare any time for himself, and he didn't expect Mian'en to create such a big news story for him.

There's no other way; we can't just put the old man under house arrest and prevent his children and grandchildren from seeing him.

This also gave Zhao An a surprise attack. Back then, Shu Lin was brought down by He Shen, but now he has made a comeback and returned to his original position, becoming Zhao An's superior. If you can't handle the King of Hell, you can't handle the little devils.
The Governor-General of Liangjiang held far more weight and power than Zhu Gui, the Governor. If Shulin were to cause trouble for Zhao An, a member of the He Party, every day, he could make Zhao An's life in Anhui unbearably difficult.

What could he do when the die was cast and even Heshen couldn't overturn the personnel decision?
It's best to bear it; if you can't, then you'll have to fight them in Jiangning City.

In the Qing Dynasty, it wasn't uncommon for governors to be shot.

The following morning, an official from the Ministry of Rites arrived and presented Zhao An with an "invitation letter" which read: "Information: Zhao Youlu, Acting Governor of Anhui, is hereby instructed to enter through the Donghua Gate at 3:00 PM on New Year's Eve to attend the New Year's Eve banquet before the Emperor in the Qianqing Palace. Please wear court attire and prepare your official token."

The letter was written in the official script, and it was exceptionally neat and classy. If Zhao An had received such an invitation in his previous life, he would have definitely posted it on Douyin to show off.

However, it must be posted afterward; it cannot be posted beforehand, as it will be subject to traffic restrictions.

(End of this chapter)