Qing Yao

Chapter 440 Your Excellency, you must truly be a powerful minister!

Execution of the entire family?!
Heshen was stunned, never expecting Zhao An to be so "vicious".

The execution of entire families is not uncommon in this dynasty. In the decades since the old emperor ascended the throne, quite a few families have been executed, but they were mostly Han Confucian scholars who harbored lingering feelings for the Ming dynasty and used sarcastic and obscure language to justify their actions.

In a major case involving literary inquisition, not only were entire families executed, but three generations of relatives were exterminated.

Not to mention the living, even the dead will be dug up, their corpses mutilated, and their ashes scattered.

Aside from major cases of literary inquisition, the execution of entire families was extremely rare. Even when it happened, only adult descendants were executed, while the remaining children and women were mostly exiled or enslaved as soldiers. Although it seemed cruel, it at least left some descendants for the officials involved.

Although Heshen dealt with many political enemies during his twenty years in power, he never physically eliminated them. He usually only dismissed them from their posts, stripped them of their titles, and confiscated their property.

Zhao An immediately ordered him to wipe out the entire family of the Marquis of Jinghai. It was just like how the two of them originally planned to steal a chicken, but ended up killing the whole family for that chicken.

It's too shocking and unbelievable.

It's absurd and laughable.

Even if Marquis Jinghai Shi Bingren truly disregarded Heshen, and someone behind the scenes instructed him to humiliate Heshen's lackey Zhao An, or even if he joined a small anti-Heshen group, at most he would try to persuade the old master to execute him personally, rather than having his entire family wiped out.

Therefore, Heshen's face was full of shock and disbelief, and he also clearly felt reluctant to do so.

This was Heshen's biggest weakness.

Before he was ordered to commit suicide by Emperor Jiaqing, this powerful "second emperor" had never been ruthless!
They never even considered the cruelty and horror of political struggles.

The biggest impression he gives to outsiders is that of a favored minister who abuses his power by relying on the old master's favor, rather than a ruthless and decisive minister who has the power of life and death.

The biggest difference between a favored minister and a powerful minister is whether or not they dare to kill.

What is deterrence?

With a mere wave of his hand, he could wipe out an entire family; in a critical moment, the image of a powerful minister who would simply overturn the table was a deterrent!
Zhao An did want to eliminate Shi Lang's descendants, but he also genuinely wanted to make up for Heshen's shortcomings in image and mold him into a true powerful minister. This way, Heshen might be able to fight against Jiaqing for a few more years after the old master's death, which would be beneficial for Zhao An's own unbridled development in the "wilderness".

Heshen's downfall was too swift and did not serve Zhao An's interests.

After all, in the original history, it took the Qing court eight years to quell the White Lotus Rebellion. When the old master died, the great uprising had just developed to its middle stage. At this critical juncture, the fact that Heshen was eliminated by Jiaqing was not a good thing for Zhao An, who was likely leading the army to quell the White Lotus Rebellion.

It's been about six years.

It was unrealistic to expect to gain control of a powerful army capable of challenging the Qing Dynasty and a strategic buffer zone within six years.

Even in the most optimistic scenario, we could control two provinces and have 30,000 to 40,000 troops.

With that little capital, she's just a copycat of Bai Lian.

Unless they join forces with the White Lotus Sect, the chances of defeating the Qing Dynasty are slim, at best a 50/50 chance.

Therefore, we must support Heshen and not let him fall too quickly.

The fiercer the struggle between Heshen and Jiaqing, the happier Zhao An in the wilderness laughed.

At that time, it will be up to discussion whether to become Dong Zhuo, cleanse the court of corrupt officials, or even enter the capital to seize the throne.

It's not impossible that the gunfire in Wuchang started a century earlier than expected.

The historical evaluation of his legitimacy in seizing power is no less than that of his long and prosperous reign. Of course, executing the entire family is very difficult, but as long as you and the Grand Secretary are determined, evidence of the Shi family's conspiracy to rebel can be obtained.

Even if we don't have it, we have to.

Everyone knows that even the loyal Yue Fei could be falsely accused, let alone a descendant of a three-surname slave who surrendered to the Qing, then to the Ming, and then back to the Qing.

By establishing the image of Heshen as a truly powerful minister who held absolute authority in the court through the Shi family, it can be said that Shi Lang, that bastard, made another contribution to the Qing Dynasty.

At the same time, it also allowed Zhao An to vent the pent-up anger in his heart.

hero?

And I'll make sure you, hero, are childless and without descendants!

Just as Heshen's mind was in turmoil, Fu Chang'an, who had just finished his questioning, came over and overheard Zhao An's last few words. He immediately said urgently, "Lord He, no, absolutely not! Marquis Jinghai may have made a mistake, but his crime does not warrant the execution of his entire family! If Your Excellency does this, the court and the public will be shaken, and Your Excellency's reputation will be damaged. I urge Your Excellency to reconsider!"

After saying that, "Four Fools" turned to Zhao An and scolded him with a displeased look: "Zhao Youlu, you must not act rashly and put He Zhongtang in an unjust position! Even if He Zhongtang accepts your opinion, the Emperor will not agree to this matter!"

It's clear that the "Four Idiots" are quite clear-headed and don't want to make a big fuss.

Knowing he was in deep trouble, Lord Shi had just given the Four Fools ten thousand taels of silver as a tribute to protect himself.

The person sent home to collect the silver notes could retrieve them in no time, perhaps within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Zhao An was already furious, so how could he let the four fools extinguish it with a bucket of water? He hurriedly said in a deep voice, "Lord Fu, it's not that I'm malicious, but the situation is forcing me to act!"

The saying goes that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. The two ministers have already reached the pinnacle of power and influence. However, since ancient times, those who have reached the pinnacle of power have inevitably offended many people!

These people usually dare not offend the two Grand Secretaries, but once they have the opportunity, they will attack them in groups. Therefore, I think that only by taking this opportunity and using overwhelming force, with the blood of the entire Shi family, can we extinguish the hearts of those treacherous villains who are eager to cause trouble in the court and the country!
We must make the world see what happens when you oppose the two Grand Secretaries, cut off their claws, make them feel pain, and make them fear!
Only in this way can the two Grand Secretaries firmly hold their positions at the center, without fear of future changes!

Zhao An deliberately drew out the last sentence, emphasizing the phrase "things may change in the future" even more.

They've truly mastered the art of manipulating public opinion and social norms.

Fu Chang'an was taken aback, then shook his head and said to Heshen, "Minister He, don't listen to this kid. He harbors resentment towards Marquis Jinghai, which is why his words were so harsh. The Shi family are descendants of meritorious officials, and the master highly values ​​the Shi family's ancestors. If we act rashly, we risk losing popular support."

"People's hearts?"

Fearing that Fu Chang'an might persuade Heshen not to take action against the Shi family, Zhao An quickly said, "Lord Fu, let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart. Although you two are officials at the highest level, how many officials who have reached the highest level have had a good ending? When the wall falls and everyone pushes it down, who will talk to you about people's hearts?"
After the death of Zhang Juzheng of the previous dynasty, his family was raided and his son was tortured to death. How could you two high-ranking officials not know the fate of so many of them?

Zhao An almost told the "Four Idiots" not to bite the hand that feeds them—that if Heshen falls, the "Four Idiots" will be the first to suffer.

The "jackal" in "colluding with each other" doesn't refer to me, Zhao An, but to you, Master Fu!
Zhao An's threatening remarks really frightened Fu Chang'an. Although he was greedy, he was not stupid. He knew that by following Heshen, he had offended many people. If Heshen really got into trouble in the future, he could get out of trouble safely.
The new emperor is Yongxing's brother-in-law, so he'll definitely be fine. But what if it's someone else?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel uneasy and re-examine whether the Marquis of Jinghai, Shi Bingren, who had just pleaded with him, was truly unintentional or had ulterior motives.
Heshen, on the other hand, had many more thoughts on his mind. He thought of his aging father's increasingly senile yet still unfathomable gaze, Prince Jia Yongyan's seemingly obedient but actually distant attitude, the cold stares of his old rivals Agui and Wang Jie, the curse that powerful ministers never meet a good end, and the recent events...
Zhao An's words were like a key, gradually unlocking the Pandora's box of "fear" in Heshen's heart.

Perhaps Zhao Youlu is right!
The previous power struggles and political suppression may seem too mild in the face of the upcoming change of imperial power.

Besides secretly seizing military power, he and the Grand Secretary did indeed need a blood sacrifice to deter villains and consolidate their seemingly stable but actually cracked positions of power.

After a long while, Heshen slowly opened his tightly closed eyes. The hesitation in his eyes had vanished, replaced by an almost ruthless decisiveness. His gaze first slowly swept over the "Fu Lu Shou" calligraphy, which had been torn in two, lingering especially on the powerful strokes of the character "Shou" (longevity). Finally, his gaze settled on Zhao An, who was kneeling before him with an expression of utter loyalty and pleading. He gave a soft snort.
"His Majesty's calligraphy has been openly damaged. As a servant, how can I tolerate and cover up such a disrespectful act? Zhao Youlu, come with me to the palace now and report everything to the master."

After saying this, he looked at Fu Chang'an and said in an unquestionable tone, "I trouble Fourth Master to keep an eye on our Marquis Jinghai. Fourth Master, you don't need to think too much. Everything is up to the master to decide."

(End of this chapter)