Qing Yao

Chapter 449 Lord Zhao's awareness is truly high!
Prince Jia's Mansion.

Although the sunlight outside the window was bright, it could not dispel the gloom in Prince Jia Yongyan's heart.

The Jinghai Marquis's mansion was destroyed overnight. Even Yongyan, who had seen many changes in the world over the years, couldn't help but feel a chill at this ruthless method.

"The Shi family is a first-class marquis whose title is hereditary and can be passed down through generations. They have suffered such a fate simply for defacing the imperial seal and an old book. Teacher, Father Emperor's actions will surely discourage many people. And that Zhao Youlu is nothing but a sycophantic dog under Heshen's command. How dare he frame a meritorious official like this? His heart is worthy of condemnation!"

The teacher Yongyan mentioned was none other than Master Zhu Gui, who was known for his integrity and uprightness.

Master Zhu's face was also solemn at this moment, but after listening to the student's indignant words, he remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Your Highness, be careful with your words."

"Be careful what you say? Does even Master think the Shi family deserves to die?"

Yongyan's face was full of incomprehension and resentment.

Zhu Gui sighed softly and shook his head, saying, "Whether the Shi family is wronged or not, justice will prevail, and this old minister dares not make a rash judgment. But Your Highness, you must know that the key to this matter is not whether the Shi family is truly guilty, nor whether Zhao Youlu framed them, but rather that this is the Emperor's will."

After speaking, he lowered his voice and said, "His Majesty has reigned for over fifty years, ruling with absolute power. What does he fear most? It is the word 'disloyalty.' This 'disloyalty' can be divided into disloyalty to the Qing Dynasty and disloyalty to His Majesty."

On the surface, the Shi family's affair appears to be due to their ancestor Shi Lang not being a loyal subject, and the successive Marquises of Jinghai knowing about it but failing to report it, which is disloyal to the Qing Dynasty. In reality, however, it is a matter of disloyalty to the Emperor.

Perhaps the Emperor intended to use the Shi family's affair as a warning to all his officials, reminding them that there can only be one sun under the Qing Dynasty, and that even in his old age, the Emperor is still the sovereign.

After saying that, he gave his good student a meaningful look.

"What does Master mean?"

Yongyan realized something, and his brows furrowed immediately.

Zhu Gui nodded slightly and said earnestly, "Your Highness, no matter how sharp Zhao Youlu's blade is, it cannot be wielded without the Emperor's tacit approval. Therefore, even if Your Highness despises this villain, you should not show it now. Otherwise, if someone with ulterior motives tries to claim that Your Highness is disloyal, it may shake Your Highness's position in the Emperor's heart. A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan, Your Highness!"

Upon hearing this, Yongyan felt as if he had been doused with cold water and instantly became more sober. For the sake of the future, even if he hated the likes of Heshen and Zhao Youlu to the bone, he had to endure it and swallow his anger.

If he were to submit a petition to plead for the Marquis of Jinghai, he might fall into the trap set by those with ulterior motives.

He exhaled lightly and said in a deep voice, "Master's teachings are correct, I understand."

"Now that Your Highness understands the implications, I am relieved. I will be setting off for Guangdong and Guangxi in a few months. From now on, Your Highness must not have any conflicts with anyone in the capital. Just be patient, and I can guarantee that Your Highness will be able to vent all your pent-up anger in the future."

After saying this, Zhu Gui gently turned his head to look out the window and whispered, "The sun will always set, Your Highness. Rest assured, what is yours will not be taken away by anyone no matter how hard they try. As long as Your Highness can be patient for a while, you will surely rise to great heights in the future."

At almost the same time, Wang Jie, a Grand Councilor and head of the Censorate, was furious in his residence.

Unlike Zhu Gui, who assessed the situation and taught his students to be patient and not to retaliate, the top-ranking scholar and prime minister Wang Jie was upright and outspoken, and always valued the law and discipline. Therefore, he was extremely furious about the matter concerning the Marquis of Jinghai.

He slammed his fist on the table and said to his prized student Ruan Yuan, "Even if a first-class marquis is guilty, he should be tried by the three judicial departments and punished according to the law! How can he be hastily sentenced to death, have his family property confiscated and be exterminated in a single day for suspected defacement of the imperial seal and possession of forbidden books? Where does this place the Qing Dynasty's legal code? Where does this place the laws of the court!"

Ruan Yuan was a favorite student of Wang Jie, who served as the deputy examiner of the imperial examination. After passing the imperial examination, he served as a probationary official in the Hanlin Academy. Last year, when the court held a grand examination for Hanlin scholars, the old master personally selected Ruan Yuan as the first-class winner and promoted him to the position of Junior Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

When summoned for an audience, the old master exclaimed with delight, "I never expected to find another person in my eighties!"

This evaluation is as high as a three-story building.

He then appointed Ruan Yuan to serve in the Southern Study and promoted him exceptionally to the rank of Grand Master of the Palace, a third-rank official.

Since the eighteenth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices had been designated as a special fund for the transfer of officials to the Hanlin Academy. This meant that Ruan Yuan, who was not yet thirty years old, had a limitless future and was the most outstanding student of Wang Jie, without exception.

However, unlike his mentor Wang Jie, who had a fiery temper, Ruan Yuan was very steady despite his young age. He also clearly saw that the incident at the Jinghai Marquis's residence was a warning from the old master to all the officials. Therefore, he earnestly advised his mentor not to submit a memorial that would offend the emperor.

"As a Grand Councilor and head of the Censorate, it is my duty to report what I hear and to rectify the law. How can I remain silent out of fear of disaster?"

Wang Jie ignored his students' advice and wrote a memorial to the throne before the government office had even opened its seal.

As a compromise, the top scholar and prime minister did not directly plead for the Shi family's innocence. Instead, he focused on the word "procedure," vehemently criticizing the case for being handled too hastily, without following legal procedures, violating ancestral laws, and setting a bad precedent of "substituting one's own will for the law" and undermining the legal system.

We earnestly request Your Majesty to reiterate the law and discipline, and that in the future, the handling of meritorious officials and high-ranking ministers must adhere to the laws and regulations in order to demonstrate the fairness of the court.

The writing was relatively tactful.

There was no mention of the old man demanding that he punish the relevant "illegal" officials involved in the case.

Unfortunately, when the memorial was sent to the palace, the old master neither gave any instructions nor summoned Wang Jie for questioning.

Wang Jie waited in the mansion for several days, only to be met with silence and the news that all the male members of the Jinghai Marquis's mansion over the age of twelve had been taken to the execution ground. His grief and anger intensified, but there was nothing he could do.

Zhao An has been having a very pleasant time these past few days.

Although the old master did not give him a specific order to be in charge of the affairs of the deputy military governor, Zhao An still showed up on time every day and pretended to go to work at his right-wing deputy military governor's office.

The position of Left Wing Deputy Commander was actually vacant, because the Left Wing Deputy Commander, Fu Ning, had been sent to Gansu as Provincial Governor in charge of logistics due to Fu Kang'an's army's expedition.

This was a distinctive feature of the old master's personnel management in his later years: the deputy commanders of the Upper Three Banners were all specially selected trusted nobles to concurrently hold the position, but they often "remained in other places," and the affairs of the deputy commanders within their own banners were mostly handled by mid-level officials such as the seal-issuing officer. To put it bluntly, the deputy commanders of the Upper Three Banners held concurrent titles, or you could say they were on temporary assignments.

They often work in other places.

But the unit continued to operate even without a "leader".

For example, if Zhao An were to return to work in Anhui, but his position as deputy military governor was not revoked, then he would also be considered to have "remained in a different place."

Knowing full well that he was only a "temporary worker" as the deputy commander, Zhao An naturally had no interest in actually dealing with those tedious banner affairs.

Every day, he merely flipped through the documents submitted below, mostly concerning minor matters such as changes in household registration, calculation of rations and pay, and disputes among Manchu neighbors. These matters had already been handled by the captains and assistant captains, and he only needed to write down "read," "approved," "as agreed," or affix the seal of the deputy commander.

At first, it was novel, and I read a few carefully. But later I found it boring and would often just flip through them and put them aside. I spent most of my time drinking tea, reading newspapers, and waiting for notices.

That day, I was holding a teacup, lost in thought, wondering if I should visit the He family and the Fu family again, when I suddenly heard a commotion coming from the second hall outside, interspersed with shouts and cries.

"what happened?"

Zhao An frowned slightly and put down his teacup.

Goshha, who was guarding the door, hurriedly came in to report: "Sir, it seems that the printing office has caught a fraudster who embezzled money and grain, and they are interrogating him."

Misappropriation of funds and grain?

Zhao An's heart stirred; this was indeed a novel thing. Since he had nothing else to do, he got up and said, "Let's go take a look."

Upon arriving at the second hall, one sees a large group of clerks and soldiers gathered in the corridor outside the printing room. In the middle kneels a middle-aged man with a pale face and trembling body. He was dressed in a decent silk mandarin jacket, but at this moment he was in a sorry state.

The officer in charge of the seal office was questioning them sternly, with Officer Fan, whose face was ashen, standing beside him.

Upon seeing Zhao An approach, everyone quickly bowed in greeting.

The captain stepped forward and reported: "Sir, this audacious thief dared to impersonate the grand-nephew of the captain of the Hesheli clan of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner and fraudulently claim his monthly allowance. He was exposed and arrested by me!"

"Oh? How did you see through it?"

Zhao An became interested.

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, this man claims to be Changbao, here to collect this season's wages and rations. Seeing that he was a stranger, I asked him a few questions in Manchu. But this scoundrel stammered and couldn't even pronounce 'father' and 'mother' properly in Mandarin. When questioned further about details of his clan, he made numerous inconsistencies!"

According to the genuine Manchu leader, the imposter who was arrested was originally a Han Banner bondservant named Zhang Changbao. Because his master's family was the Niohuru clan of the Bordered Yellow Banner, he was quite familiar with the family's situation due to his frequent visits. Seeing that the bannermen's children could receive a generous monthly stipend without engaging in production, he had evil intentions.

He meticulously forged a family tree that was almost indistinguishable from the real thing, and through an old acquaintance who was now a minor official in the Banner Affairs Office, he figured out the procedures and tricks for receiving money and grain.

For ten years, Zhang Changbao managed to obtain the money and grain that should have belonged to the real Changbao, who had long since died and whose record in the banner archives was vague, by bribing the clerk in charge and impersonating him.

In total, at least four hundred taels were fraudulently claimed.

"ten years?"

Zhao Andu was somewhat surprised. He looked up at Fan Canling, who was in charge of household registration and grain rations, and asked, "How did you manage the banner personnel files when this person was able to fraudulently claim rations for ten years?"

"Your Majesty, it's clear."

Commander Fan was somewhat embarrassed, his face turning red and then pale. "It's just that the era is so long ago, and the records of some distant branches of the clan are already unclear. In addition, some people below cooperated, which allowed this cunning thief to take advantage of the situation."

As he spoke, Commander Fan was very flustered, because if this matter were investigated thoroughly, he, as the commander in charge of household registration and the distribution of rice and grain, would not be able to escape the responsibility for negligence.

Just then, a messenger announced that several people from the banner had come to see him, and the one leading them was an elderly man of high standing, Niu Hulu.

After the old man entered, he first bowed to Zhao An, then looked at Zhang Changbao kneeling on the ground and sighed. He cupped his hands and said to Zhao An, "Deputy Commander, although Zhang Changbao is not of the Niu Hulu bloodline, he has visited the elders of my clan with generous gifts every year during festivals for many years. He is respectful and filial."

Changbao often helped some of his relatives in need, showing more courtesy than some of the actual Manchu descendants. While embezzling funds and grain is certainly a crime, considering his usual filial piety and assistance to his relatives, could we ask the Deputy Commander-in-Chief to be lenient?

"Sir, how about we make Zhang Changbao return the money and grain he has embezzled over the years, and then give him twenty lashes?"

Commander Fan hoped to minimize the damage and make the matter disappear, since he would bear a great deal of responsibility for it.

Zhao An said "Oh," and looked at the officer in charge of the seal-making office: "What are you thinking?"

"This"

The seal-bearer looked at the old man Niohuru, then at the somewhat unpleasant-looking Captain Fan. The former was an elder in the banner and had some connections within the banner, so he had to be given some face.

The latter was a colleague he worked with day and night, and he didn't want to offend him, so he expressed a similar sentiment to that of Commander Fan.

Unexpectedly, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief's expression changed on the spot, and he snorted angrily: "Where is your sense of justice! Is this a matter of embezzling other people's money and grain? This is a serious crime of fleecing the Great Qing and undermining the Great Qing!"

(End of this chapter)