Qing Yao

Chapter 431 What's the meaning of coming empty-handed?
May all my wishes come true!
If we're talking about levels of excitement, even the gold coin the old master gave as a New Year's gift wasn't as significant as the jade ruyi that Heshen bestowed upon him.

Why?

This jade ruyi was originally intended for Emperor Jiaqing!

What does "如" mean?

Such is the great treasure of the Buddha.

It must be a coincidence.

How did Heshen know that the throne should belong to me?
How to describe Zhao An's feelings at this moment? His hands were trembling with excitement, and he carefully accepted the jade ruyi symbolizing the succession to the imperial throne. Without saying anything more, he kowtowed again.

"Your Excellency's wish is my life's ambition. Please rest assured, Your Excellency, I will do my utmost to train a new army to ensure Your Excellency's success and that your position is secure forever!"

Three loud thuds echoed as Zhao An, despite the carpet on the ground, still made him feel dizzy.

After getting up, he knew he should take his leave. As the second emperor, Heshen would definitely be meeting many important people today. Although he was also important, he couldn't keep him too long.

Without hesitation, he took out a 30,000 tael silver note that he had prepared in advance from his sleeve, presented it with both hands, and said respectfully, "Your Excellency's expenses are huge. This is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it."

"New Year's gifts" are a rule in officialdom, a way for officials to express their sentiments, and a legal form of bribery permitted by the imperial court.

Thirty thousand taels of "New Year's tribute" may seem like a lot, but it is in line with the current market conditions.

The starting salary for a governor-general or viceroy was 10,000 taels, with no upper limit, but it was usually kept below 50,000 taels.

Unexpectedly, Heshen glanced at the stack of silver notes, smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Anhui is not wealthy. You will need money in many places in the future. I appreciate your kindness, but take the silver notes back with you. My treasury is not short of your money."

It's definitely not a problem for them to be short of 30,000 taels. They receive millions of taels in bribes from officials at all levels during the New Year alone. Why would they care about 30,000 taels?
This incident directly demonstrates how much Heshen valued Zhao An and how high his hopes were for Zhao An's training of the new army.

Zhao An was deeply moved. He couldn't force Heshen to accept it, since it contained Heshen's good intentions.

The sentiment behind it is priceless.

If possible, I wouldn't mind adopting another father.

A fortune of hundreds of millions is quite tempting.

Just as he was about to take his leave, Heshen seemed to remember something, took out a silver token from a drawer in the table and handed it to Zhao An: "This is the token of the mansion. With this token, you can enter the mansion at any time without needing to announce your arrival."

The freedom to enter and leave He Shen's residence was an honor that many high-ranking officials of the first or second rank could not obtain, yet He Shen granted it to Zhao An, almost making Zhao An feel that he would die for a friend who understood him.

It has to be said that when it comes to being a good person, ten fools are no match for one Heshen.

No wonder he could become a second emperor.

"Slave, please resign!"

Taking three steps back, Zhao An was about to leave the study when he hesitated at the door. He then turned to look at Heshen, who was smiling at him, and said weakly, "Your Excellency, should this servant go to pay my respects to Your Excellency Fu?"

Heshen smiled but did not answer Zhao An's question directly. Instead, he said to the door, "Have Liu Quan see Lord Zhao off."

"Yes, sir."

The boy outside the door responded, and soon Liu Quan, who had been waiting, arrived at the door of the study and led Zhao An out of the mansion with a big smile.

They were incredibly enthusiastic throughout the journey.

Upon reaching the gate of the He Mansion, Liu Quan suddenly stopped and said to Zhao An, "Lord Zhao is new to the capital and unfamiliar with the place, so I imagine he may encounter many inconveniences. Here's what I'll do: I'll send someone to you, a clever and capable man who is familiar with all aspects of the capital and efficient in his work. If you need any errands or information, just let him know."

After saying that, he raised his hand and beckoned towards the gatehouse. Immediately, someone came running over, flicked his sleeves, and bowed, saying, "This humble servant, Cao Cheng, greets Second Master and Lord Zhao!"

This Cao Cheng looked to be in his late twenties, with a rather shrewd look in his eyes. Just from the fact that the other party knew his identity, he knew it was Heshen's arrangement. Perhaps he really wanted to send someone to serve Zhao An, or perhaps he wanted to plant a spy by Zhao An's side.

If nothing unexpected happens, Cao Cheng will likely have to return to Anhui with Zhao An. When Zhao An starts training the new army, He Shen will probably send someone over again.

It's not a matter of trust or distrust, but something that should be taken for granted.

Monitoring Zhao An was secondary, since Zhao An was Heshen's biggest "henchman" in Anhui. If Zhao An's loyalty to Heshen was insufficient, then unless Heshen removed Zhao An, sending more people would be pointless.

More importantly, it's about providing opportunities for those below them. The imperial court only has so many positions available; if they can't be filled, they have to be reassigned to local areas.

Therefore, Zhao An smiled and nodded without any surprise or dissatisfaction, saying a few words of gratitude, nothing more than that the Grand Secretary was kind and Master Liu was considerate, and he had no way to repay him.

"Then, Lord Zhao, you must be busy. Please forgive me for not seeing you off."

Liu Quan chuckled and told Cao Cheng to take good care of Zhao An, then left, making an excuse that he had several matters to attend to at his residence.

Cao Cheng was indeed quick-witted. Without Zhao An even asking, he pulled out a pre-prepared list from his sleeve and said softly, "These are all the people you need to visit, sir. Please take a look."

Zhao An took the list and scanned it. The list was not long, with about seven or eight people, including Fu Chang'an and Su Ling'a.

He must be an important member of the party; otherwise, there would be no need for Zhao An to visit him one by one.

"Let's go to Fuzhongtang first."

After handing the list to Cao Cheng, Zhao An asked Cao Cheng to lead the way.

Xu Lin and the other guards had already been arranged by the He family to wait in the warm room, and when they saw Zhao An come out, they all followed him.

Just as Zhao An was about to mount his horse, Cao Cheng raised his hand, and a groom drove a very elegant-looking carriage to Zhao An's side.

Cao Cheng bowed and said, "Second Master instructed that it is freezing cold and we must not let you catch a cold. This carriage is for you to use first. Please get in, sir."

Such thoughtful arrangements made Zhao An sigh with admiration. How could someone as meticulous as Heshen not have imagined that Jiaqing would take action against him in front of the coffin?

Should I remind myself?
After thinking about it, I think it's better not to do it for now.

Fu Chang'an's house was not far from Heshen's house. At this moment, the scene outside was similar to that of Heshen's house, with a constant flow of traffic and a dazzling array of official hats and insignia.

This time, Zhao An didn't need to introduce himself. As soon as Cao Cheng told the gatekeeper, the staff of Fu Chang'an's family invited Zhao An in immediately.

They were very familiar with Cao Cheng, and having heard that Zhao An had just been received by He Zhongtang, who would dare to be negligent?

What Zhao An saw next was a complete shock.

Fu Zhongtang, a Grand Councilor, Minister of Revenue, Minister of War, and Commander-in-Chief of the Manchu Plain Red Banner with the title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, was counting silver notes just like the company accountant in Zhao An's previous life.

While counting, he also moistened his fingers with saliva.

He was engrossed in counting, completely absorbed, and it was unclear whether he didn't notice Zhao An approaching or simply didn't care about Zhao An's opinion.

After counting, he looked up at Zhao An, who was still respectfully oblivious to what was happening, and casually pushed the silver notes he had just counted in front of him: "They came from He Zhongtang's place, right? I knew as soon as you went in this morning. Count them, there are two million taels here, from all the major money shops in the capital. My own money shop in Tongzhou has one million taels. Hey you?"

"The slave is here!"

The accounting staff at the Fu family's residence busily placed the prepared loan agreement in front of Zhao An, who then signed and pressed his seal in a daze.

Upon closer inspection, the contract stated not two million taels, but three million taels.

Where did that million taels go?

The total amount was reduced by five million taels.

It was black, as black as it gets.

Zhao An was furious. Even if interest was deducted in advance, five million taels would only amount to seventy-five hundred thousand taels a year. What about the remaining two hundred and fifty thousand taels?

On second thought, people come to pay New Year's respects to the Four Fools and are expected to give them gifts. He didn't give them a single cent, but instead took two million taels from the Four Fools. Such a good thing is hard to find even with a lantern. Why bother about the two hundred and fifty thousand taels?

With this change of perspective, he felt instantly at ease, and the two million taels of silver went straight into his pocket without him even counting them.

In other words, Fu Si is rich, with assets worth tens of millions of taels of silver every year. Others probably couldn't lend out five million taels of silver at such high interest rates, which is equivalent to the total assets of a small loan company.

Looking up again, he saw the four idiots staring at him: "Wait, you came to wish me a Happy New Year empty-handed?"

(End of this chapter)