Qing Yao

Chapter 439: Annihilation of the Entire Family!

They came together with Zhongtang and Fu Zhongtang.

Fu Zhongtang also held the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Eight Banners, but he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Manchu Plain Red Banner, which was not as high as He Zhongtang's position as Commander-in-Chief of the Emperor's Personal Banner.

Why did the two of them come together?
Previously, Fu Zhongtang specifically went to He Zhongtang to inquire why the old master had elevated Zhao An's rank and bestowed upon him a title.

From a normal person's perspective, even if the old master liked Zhao An very much and gave face to his good servant Heshen, he would have been fine with dealing with the arrogant Quan De. But to suddenly elevate Zhao An's rank and bestow a title upon him was, even Fu Chang'an felt, a bit too "high-level" and illogical.

He thought it was Heshen who spoke to the old master, and the old master, in his confusion, agreed.

However, Heshen made it very clear to him that he had not been involved in the matter from beginning to end and had remained neutral throughout.

If it wasn't Heshen's flattery, why would the old master bestow such a high-level reward upon him?
Not to mention Fu Chang'an's muddle-headedness, even Heshen was strange.

After a while, Fu Chang'an suddenly realized something and looked at Heshen with envy: "Perhaps the master knows that the Grand Secretary is too conspicuous in the court now, so he has created an even more conspicuous one."

Fu Chang'an's words made Heshen's heart skip a beat. He had originally analyzed that the old master had promoted Prince Jia's father-in-law, Gong'ala, to the position of Minister of Rites, transferred Shulin, who was at odds with him, to the position of Governor-General of Liangjiang, and intended to appoint Prince Jia's teacher, Zhu Gui, as Governor-General of Liangguang. In addition, Sun Shiyi, who had a good relationship with Prince Jia, was transferred to the position of Governor-General of Sichuan. These successive personnel arrangements made it difficult for outsiders to conclude that even if Prince Jia was not the crown prince, the old master's arrangements seemed to be aimed at Heshen.

If this conclusion is accepted by more court officials, it means that Heshen's days will not be easy, and it is hard to guarantee that no one will be bold enough to launch an impeachment against him.

Therefore, out of a desire to comfort Heshen, the old master casually gave Heshen's "lackey" a high-level treatment, thus showing the court and the public that Heshen was still extremely powerful and that no one should have any ideas.

This possibility exists.

But after Fu Chang'an said that, the old master's intention to protect Heshen became all too clear.

Very careful protection.

Thinking of how the old master was always protecting him, Heshen felt a lump in his throat and wanted to cry.

Then, the people from the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner General's Office rushed over in a panic.

Without hearing the specifics, I only knew that Zhao Youlu had another conflict with the Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Marquis of Jinghai, Shi Bingren, and Heshen, as the Commander-in-Chief of this banner, naturally rushed to deal with it immediately.

Since Fu Chang'an had nothing better to do, he came along to take a look, and on the way, he realized that this matter was quite troublesome.

Shi Bingren's rank was no more than Marquis, and his official position was no more than Deputy Commander-in-Chief, which meant nothing to Fu Chang'an.

The problem is that Shi Bingren's ancestor was Shi Lang, who helped the Qing Dynasty pacify Taiwan. Both Emperor Kangxi and the current emperor highly praised Shi Lang, a former Ming Dynasty general who had surrendered.

The old master even wrote a special imperial poem for Shi Lang, two lines of which read: "His pacification of the seas and his might in conquering Taiwan have made him a hero of the sea frontiers."

What does that mean?

The merit of Shi Lang's betrayal of the Ming Dynasty and assistance to the Qing Dynasty in eliminating the last Ming resistance army was not in conquering a small island like Taiwan, but in helping the Qing Dynasty completely solve the biggest "maritime threat" since its invasion of China.

This "maritime threat" was not the Japanese pirates of the Ming Dynasty, nor the Portuguese or Dutch from the West, but rather the anti-Qing forces led by the Zheng family.

Prior to this, another major force in the Ming Dynasty's resistance against the Qing Dynasty—the "bandit" anti-Qing group composed of the remnants of Li Zicheng's Shun Army and Zhang Xianzhong's Daxi Army—had been completely wiped out in the third year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign.

With the help of Shi Lang and the Dutch army, the Qing Dynasty successfully eliminated the anti-Qing forces, mainly composed of Zheng's pirates, thus achieving a complete conquest of China.

All that remains for those seeking to restore the Ming Dynasty is the lament, "Robbers die for the nation, pirates guard the country's gates!"
In recognition of Shi Lang's great contributions, the old master specifically ordered that Shi Lang be excluded from the compilation of the "Biographies of Traitorous Officials".

Because if it weren't for Shi Lang, Taiwan, separated from the mainland, would still be under the rule of the Han Chinese during the Ming Dynasty!
As long as the remnants of the Ming Dynasty remained, the Qing Dynasty not only felt a constant unease, fearing a Ming army counterattack across the sea, but also couldn't bring itself to claim legitimacy for its occupation of China.

If the Qing Dynasty was the successor to the Ming Dynasty, then what about the Ming Dynasty in Taiwan?

The Ming Dynasty hadn't even completely collapsed yet, so how could the Qing Dynasty have inherited its assets?
Why is there so much trouble when I'm just trying to transfer my household registration?

Fu Chang'an felt that Zhao Anzhen was a troublemaker, but no matter how big the trouble he caused, he and Heshen would have to clean up his mess.

Upon arriving at the Manchu Governor's Office of the Bordered Yellow Banner, without Heshen's prompting, he first "pulled" Marquis Jinghai, Shi Bingren, aside to inquire about the situation. Heshen, on the other hand, spoke privately with Zhao An, asking him what had happened before even sitting down.

"Your Excellency!"

Zhao An knelt down with a thud, holding up the tattered calligraphy of the old master with both hands, tears streaming down his face: "Please, Your Excellency, do justice for this servant!"

"Get up first,"

Seeing that the old master's calligraphy of "Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity" had been torn in two, Heshen frowned slightly and said, "Tell me the whole story."

"Whoo!"

Zhao An raised his head, his face full of grief and indignation born of humiliation, and recounted in an artistic way what had happened in the Governor's Office earlier.

According to him, Shi Bingren was arrogant and domineering because of his marquis status, looking down on him, a bondservant raised by the Manchus, and deliberately defaced the imperial edict. Finally, during the dispute, he deliberately destroyed the old master's calligraphy that he "treasured" on his body.

Although it is an artistic embellishment, the process is real, and the questioning of the officials Wuya and Fan by the magistrate was conducted in the same way.

"This servant's matter is small, but His Majesty's calligraphy is of great importance. I beg Your Excellency to uphold justice for this servant before His Majesty!"

After speaking, Zhao An kowtowed deeply.

Heshen's face was gloomy. He was very dissatisfied with Shi Bingren's audacity in insulting Zhao An. After a moment's thought, he said, "The Marquis of Jinghai damaged the Emperor's calligraphy. I will certainly impeach him before the Emperor and remove him from his position as Deputy Commander. You should not take this matter to heart."

This is already the maximum penalty, since upon closer examination it appears to be an unintentional mistake.

Unexpectedly, Zhao An suddenly looked up, a fierce glint in his eyes: "Your Excellency, if I may be so bold, Your Excellency's handling of this matter is far too lenient. My face is Your Excellency's face; my humiliation today is Your Excellency's humiliation! The Marquis of Jinghai has humiliated me so much, yet Your Excellency is so lenient towards him. Won't those villains in the court become even more unscrupulous in the future? If Your Excellency treats others with benevolence and righteousness, will others treat Your Excellency with benevolence and righteousness?"

"this?"

Heshen's heart skipped a beat. The truth was just as Zhao An had said. There were countless people inside and outside the court waiting for Heshen to fall from power, wanting to devour him and drink his blood.

However, Shi Bingren is a descendant of Shi Lang, a meritorious figure in the platform, and the old master greatly admires Shi Lang, so it is difficult for him to use today's incident to relentlessly attack Shi Bingren.

While he was still pondering, Zhao An said, "Your Excellency, Shi Bingren knows that I am your man, yet he still humiliates me like this. What is he relying on? Is someone behind him instructing him? If Shi Bingren dares to do this today, tomorrow Li Bingren or Wang Bingren may jump out."
Forgive my bluntness, but there are many who are hostile to you in the court. They dare not target you directly, so they take advantage of your underlings like your servants!

As the saying goes, "A thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole." In my humble opinion, today's events are a test of Your Excellency's power. If Your Excellency does not deal with Shi Bingren with swift and decisive action, the court will likely never be at peace again.

There were some things Zhao An didn't say, but he believed Heshen should know: the personnel transfers involving the old master and Prince Yongyan.

In this context, the emergence of Marquis Jinghai Shi Bingren is not a random event, but a premeditated and targeted attack.

What's this called?
Also known as "exaggerating".

However, this "outline" applies to Heshen.

Zhao An certainly couldn't kill Shi Bingren, but He Shen could, if he wanted to.

"This servant's face is a small matter, but Your Excellency's prestige is of paramount importance! This servant knows that Your Excellency has always been benevolent and righteous, but Your Excellency must also know that benevolence and righteousness are not enough to establish authority. Only by combining kindness and severity can you deter the villains and prevent the evil ones from stirring up trouble!"

After saying this, Zhao An didn't care how much Heshen had digested it, and immediately kowtowed heavily again: "Dismissing Shi Bingren from his post is too lenient. The Shi family is also deeply rooted, with disciples and old friends all over the court. If they cannot be uprooted, they will become a future problem!"

Heshen was moved: "What do you mean?"

"This servant believes that we can use the destruction of His Majesty's calligraphy as an excuse to execute the entire Shi family!"

Zhao An's voice was icy cold, "This servant knows that Your Excellency has the heart of a bodhisattva, but if Your Excellency wants to remain invincible in the court, you must show these thunderous methods, even if you don't want to!"

(End of this chapter)