Qing Yao

Chapter 434 Request for Severe Punishment
Senseless!

The official, Wuya, was so shocked that her mouth could fit a fist.

Quan De, who had lost a front tooth in the attack, stared in disbelief at Zhao An, the "murderer."

In broad daylight, how dare you, Zhao Youlu, openly assault the banner commander?

Is there no law or order?
Quan De was filled with resentment. He was not a Han Chinese bondservant, but a genuine Manchu of the Bordered Yellow Banner. He had even passed the translation examination and become a Juren in one fell swoop. At the age of twenty, he followed the army to fight in Burma and Jinchuan. He was promoted to the rank of fourth-grade bondservant captain based on his solid military achievements.

His backer was none other than Liu Quan, the second master of Heshen's chief steward.

After getting on Liu Quan's good side, Quan De set his sights on the lucrative position of Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai. In terms of background, he was a Manchu of the Bordered Yellow Banner, while Akdang'a was a Manchu of the Plain White Banner.

Although both are the Upper Three Banners, the White Banner is definitely shorter than the Yellow Banner.

In terms of academic qualifications, Quan De was a translator who passed the imperial examination, while Akdang'a entered officialdom as a scribe. The prestige of a Manchu translator who passed the imperial examination was much higher than that of a scribe who could be bought with money.

In terms of merit, Akdan'a had been working within the Ministry of Internal Affairs and was no match for Quan De, who had real military achievements.

However, Akdang'a was quite adept at interpersonal relationships. After taking office as the Salt Commissioner, in addition to giving the Imperial Household Department its normal profit share, he privately gave Heshen 500,000 taels of silver every year. Therefore, despite Quan De's best efforts to curry favor with Liu Quan, he only received ambiguous answers in return.

Fortunately, Quande quickly found another good opportunity.

This high branch is Fu Chang'an, whom Zhao Anmiao calls "Four Fools".

In order to curry favor with Fu Chang'an, Quan De almost went bankrupt, spending nearly 20,000 taels of silver in total, before finally winning Fu Chang'an's approval to secure the lucrative position of Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai for him.

The premise is that Akdang'a cannot be allowed to stand out again, because news from Yangzhou indicates that Akdang'a's son is very likely to become the first Manchu "Little Triple Crown Scholar" in the Qing Dynasty.

It just so happens that it's the old master's 80th birthday. If this matter goes through, it will undoubtedly make the old master extremely happy. At that time, let alone 20,000 taels, even 200,000 taels wouldn't be enough for Fu Zhongtang to promote you, Quande.

They then came up with the idea of ​​using a sniper named "Little Triple".

If Guan Ming could not become the first Manchu "Little Triple Crown" winner, Akdang'a's prominence would not be so great. Based on his own influence and Heshen's need for the Fu family as an "ally," the replacement of the Lianghuai Salt Commissioner was a foregone conclusion.

Anyway, the annual tribute of 500,000 taels of silver to Quan De will continue.

The "Little Three Scholars" program was a matter for the education system, and to make it happen, it certainly had to rely on Zhao An, who was the Jiangsu Provincial Education Commissioner and concurrently a professor at Yangzhou Prefectural School.

As a result, Zhao An sold Quan De without hesitation in order to make money from salt.

This caused Quan De to lose both his wife and his army. In addition, Zhao An's reputation grew stronger and stronger. He rose from a small supervisor to a second-rank official. Quan De, who had suffered a great loss, could not swallow his anger.

Even if Zhao An was Heshen's man, he had the support of the Fu family behind him, and he was doing things according to the rules of the Imperial Household Department. So even if Heshen was unhappy, it didn't matter. At worst, he could just follow the Fu family wholeheartedly in the future.

Don't be fooled by Heshen's current status as the "second emperor." The Fu family's Fourth Master can rival you and the Second Emperor, and if the Third Master were to step down, he could overwhelm you and the Second Emperor!
Quan De, who had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, had been looking for an opportunity. And now the opportunity had come. However, what he never expected was that what he originally intended to do was to embarrass the other party and vent his anger. He did not intend to make things too big. After all, he knew that Zhao An was currently a rising star and was highly regarded by the emperor. If he went too far, he would definitely not have a good ending.

But what he never expected was that his "difficult" attempt, which left him room for maneuver, would be met with a merciless iron fist.

The first thing to do after realizing what's happening is to rush forward and fight the other person to the death—who's afraid of who!
He, Quan De, had seen his share of great things, even those fraught with bloodshed!

However, a sudden thought struck him: This hand cannot be returned!

It is absolutely impossible to return it.

Returning the money would lead to a fight, and things would get messy.

If they don't pay back, it's Zhao An's responsibility alone. No matter how you look at it, Quan De, the victim, is in the right!
What did Quande do next? He did nothing but "call the police".

Several ministers from the Imperial Household Department were having tea in their offices not far away.

News of Quan De being beaten spread like wildfire throughout the various government offices inside the Xihua Gate.

Guangchu Division, Duyu Division, Zhangyi Division, Kuaiji Division, Yingzao Division
Almost simultaneously, all units, large and small, directly under the Imperial Household Department received this explosive news—Hey everyone, did you know? That Zhao Youlu beat up Quan De, the banner commander!
Zhao An's side definitely can't leave now that he's hit someone. It's not that Wu Ya and the others are preventing him from leaving, but that Quan De is preventing him from leaving.

The first person to learn of the situation was Fengshen Jilun, the top-ranking minister in the Imperial Household Department.

This Fengshen Jilun has no relation to the brothers Heshen and Helin, because his father is Fulongan, the second son of the Fu family and the son-in-law of the current patriarch!
My mother was Princess Hejia, who was known in the palace as "Princess Buddha's Hand".

Therefore, the old master was his maternal grandfather! He also inherited the title of First-Class Duke of Loyalty and Bravery, which was two levels higher than Heshen's First-Class Earl of Loyalty and Assistance in terms of rank alone.

In addition, his third uncle was a general and his fourth uncle was a Grand Councilor.
In addition to his position as Minister of the Imperial Household Department, Fengshen Jilun also served as Deputy Commander of the Manchu Bordered White Banner and Commander of the Plain Red Banner Guards, making him the most powerful minister in charge of the Imperial Household Department, second only to the Grand Steward Heshen.

Although Fengshen Jilun did not interfere in the specific affairs of the Imperial Household Department or have direct conflicts with Heshen, Heshen would generally not object to him as long as he expressed his opinion on a matter.

Both sides gave each other face, after all, Heshen still needed Fukang'an's support, and did not openly break ties with Fukang'an, who held the power of the Eight Banners army.

It wasn't unheard of for bondservants to beat up captains in the more than 100 years since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, but it was the first time that a second-rank bondservant had beaten up a fourth-rank captain.

The nature of the matter is extremely serious.

The situation was so serious that even Jin Jian, the minister in charge of the daily work of the Imperial Household Department who was at home for the Lunar New Year, was invited over by Fengshen Jilun.

Jin Jian, who was over seventy years old, was not only the most senior minister in the Imperial Household Department, but also held the position of Minister of Works, giving him a great deal of influence within the department.

When Jin Jian arrived, the other two ministers of the Imperial Household Department on duty, Yilinga and Shuwen, were already in their offices.

Yiling'a had served as the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai and was now in charge of personnel work for the bondservant class of the Imperial Household Department. Shuwen was in charge of palace affairs and construction projects, which were very lucrative. Like Yiling'a, he was very close to Heshen and could be considered one of Heshen's two staunch supporters in the Imperial Household Department.

The last uninvited guest, Yunbu, was in charge of the guard battalion composed of bondservants from the three banners of the Imperial Household Department. He was straightforward and had no relation to Heshen.

The reason I came here was simply because I was handling some business at the Guangchu Department. I heard that a bondservant had openly beaten the banner commander in the accounting department, and I found it very unusual, so I came to take a look.

Upon arrival, they learned that the man who beat up the banner commander was none other than "Fu Lu Shou," the one who had made a name for himself at the New Year's Eve party and received a calligraphy scroll from the old master.

Yunbu's first thought was to leave and not get involved.

Now that he's already brought all the problems, how could Fengshen Jilun possibly let him leave?

"I'm sure you all know about the Accounting Department's affairs. Zhao Youlu's beating of Zuo Ling Quande was a heinous act. What do you all think is the proper course of action?"

Fengshen Jilun coughed lightly and took the lead in stating his position: "Our Great Qing governs the world with propriety and law, and the regulations of the banners and prefectures are the foundation of this system. Although Zhao Youlu holds the official rank of second grade and is acting governor, his status as a bondservant of the Imperial Household Department remains unchanged, and this is a fact."

Quan De accepted the courtesy according to the rules. Even if his words were inappropriate, Zhao Youlu should not have raised his fist in response. If all bondservants acted like this, what would become of the Imperial Household Department?

I think we should request the Emperor to severely punish him, so as to set an example!

Fengshen Jilun's stance was clear: rules are paramount, and Zhao An, who openly assaulted the Zuo Ling (military commander), must be punished.

It wasn't that I had any issues with Heshen; it was just official business, purely about the matter at hand, not about the person.

If we don't handle it this way, it will be difficult to win over the hearts of our subordinates.

Even if Heshen were to handle it, it would most likely be the same.

Jin Jian nodded slightly, not objecting to Feng Shenjilun's official handling of the matter, and said, "The regulations of the Imperial Household Department are related to the dignity of the royal family. Zhao Youlu may have beaten Quan De, but in fact he was shaking the foundation of the Imperial Household Department. If everyone disregards the regulations of the Imperial Household Department because of the prominence of the officials outside, what kind of order is this? I agree to request that the Emperor punish him severely."

This septuagenarian official's relationship with Heshen was neither close nor distant, and it was also out of public interest.

If Zhao Youlu is not severely punished today, all the bondservant officers will follow suit, and the hierarchy within the Imperial Household Department will be thrown into chaos.

Seeing this, Yiling slowly said, "In my opinion, you two should calm down. Is there something else going on in this matter?"

He paused, then looked at Wuya, who was standing nervously in the duty room. "According to Wuya, Quande's words were indeed provocative, saying something like, 'Do you still remember that you are a bondservant?' I'm afraid those words wouldn't sound good to the Emperor."
Zhao Youlu was, after all, a high-ranking official appointed by the Emperor, representing the face of the court. For Quan De, a mere lieutenant commander, to so humiliate a second-rank official like this—wasn't that overstepping his bounds?

Shu Wen, another staunch supporter of Heshen, immediately chimed in, "What Lord Yi said is absolutely right. It is certainly wrong for Zhao Youlu to take action, but there was a reason for it. If we request an imperial decree to severely punish Zhao Youlu because of this, wouldn't that discourage the bondservants who are on duty outside the capital? Wouldn't they think that those of us sitting in the capital are only good at using the rules to criticize our own people?"
In my opinion, we should have Zhao Youlu apologize to Quan De, pay him some money, and then handle the matter privately. Why make a scene before the Emperor?

Yiling'a smiled and nodded, saying, "The Emperor has praised Zhao Youlu's achievements in Anhui and considers him a capable official. As for Quan De, he is somewhat outrageous. It would be more appropriate to give both sides a stern warning."

After saying this, seeing that Fengshen Jilun seemed dissatisfied, he quickly added, "Or should we wait for Grand Secretary He to come over before discussing it again?"

"No need to discuss it further,"

Heshen's voice came from outside the door, "Zhao Youlu has openly assaulted the banner commander, violating the rules of the Imperial Household Department. Regardless of what he has done or what merits he has made, today we will proceed according to the Duke of Zhongyong's wishes and request that he be severely punished!"

(End of this chapter)