After Heshen was brought to justice, Jiaqing continued to issue edicts and gradually updated some of the bad policies in the late Qianlong years.

First of all, Jiaqing gradually launched investigations into notorious local officials, such as Zheng Yuanxuan, Hunan's chief envoy who indulged in corruption and lawlessness in Huguang and triggered the civil uprising, Hu Qilun, Taoist priest in Huguang, Chang Dankui, the prefect of Wuchang, and others.

He may not have interacted with He Shen, but the corruption was real, and he was all dismissed and investigated. Another close confidant of He Shen, Fu Gang, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, was also dismissed from his post for questioning and escorted to Beijing soon after.

Next, Jiaqing followed Zhu Gui's suggestion and identified the system of "criminal silver" as "the bad government created by Heshen". With Heshen's name, it was natural to abolish the criminal silver.

Subsequently, Jiaqing began to issue an edict asking for advice, claiming that both officials and civilians could submit letters to the Minister of Military and Aircraft or various ministries. Later, they changed to submitting letters to the Metropolitan Procuratorate. In short, even ordinary people could report to the court what they saw as bad policies.

Theoretically speaking, unless Jiaqing makes a personal decision, the Metropolitan Procuratorate is not allowed to regard civilians' memorials as "absurd". (However, due to the large number of petitions, there are still cases where the Metropolitan Procuratorate arbitrarily returns civilians' memorials.

(circulation.)

At the same time, Jiaqing also announced the release of some of the family members of prisoners who were imprisoned for writing poems and essays during the Qianlong Dynasty. The surviving family members of Xu Shukui and Wang Xihou were able to return to their hometowns. In the edict, Jiaqing also stated: "I don't know that words and poems can originally mean

Xuan Yu. Kuang, these criminals grew up in this dynasty and have been admiring the deep benevolence and kindness of their great-grandfathers for more than a hundred and dozens of years. How can they no longer be associated with the victory of the country and use hatred to block conflicts." For a time, people were holding poems.

The case of literary prosecution gradually became unknown.

While eradicating old abuses, Jiaqing also practiced frugality. In the fourth year of Jiaqing, the trip to the summer resort was suspended due to the fact that the Daxing Emperor Zi Palace had not yet been buried. Previously, Xinjiang officials were ordered by Heshen to excavate Dahe Khotan jade and send it to the capital. Jiaqing learned of this

After that, the officials at the front were ordered to discard the Dahe Tianyu. The name of the Qianlong temple was also decided at this time. The temple was called Gaozong, and the posthumous name was Chun Emperor. The posthumous title has been improved in later generations, so it will not be mentioned for the time being.

Regarding Chinese and foreign officials, Jiaqing made further adjustments. Frontline officials Yi Mian and Qin Chengen were dismissed from their posts for interrogation due to the long-term battle without success. Songyun returned to the Central Plains and was temporarily appointed as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu. Wu Xiongguang, an official promoted by Agui,

He was appointed governor of Henan. Liu Qing, who was famous for his integrity in Sichuan, was also entrusted by Jiaqing with the important task of appeasing the people in the war zone. At this time, the results of the battle were also reported frequently on the front line, and leaders of the White Lotus Sect such as Ran Wenchuan and Leng Tianlu were all wiped out.

Even the affairs of Duke Yansheng's Mansion were adjusted by Jiaqing. Originally, Qianlong asked the Yu family to raise Kong Qingrong. After Jiaqing came to power, on the grounds that Yu's maternal wife was not allowed to interfere in the Confucian family affairs without authorization, the important affairs of the Confucius family were temporarily handed over.

Leave it to Kong Xianzeng to handle it. This is also the best result for the Kong family's father, son, sister and brother.

At this time, Jiaqing also temporarily concentrated power in the South Study Room to prepare for the excessive power. Ruan Yuan also received more important responsibilities, temporarily appointed Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War, and participated in the appointment and dismissal of generals in the Green Camp. For a while, everyone in the imperial court was

It was Wang Jie, Liu Yong, Ji Yun, Dong Gao, Zhu Gui and other senior officials. Ruan Yuan couldn't help but sigh. At this time, the government was already in full swing, and it might be possible to prosper the country again.

Ruan Yuan's life has never been restful. Although there is no longer any way to capture He Shen and deal with it, there is no need to wait until the next day to return home. But for a while, a large number of official documents from various ministries were gathered in the south study room. Ruan Yuan

Not only do I need to be responsible for the Qianlong ceremony of the Ministry of Rites, but I also need to participate in the appointment and dismissal of generals in the Ministry of War. Every day in the South Study Room is still hard. Most of the days when I join the duty, I have to be busy until I apply for the post, and then I can withdraw from the duty. This is

In the Qing Dynasty, it was already a very late period of devaluation.

Seeing that winter has turned to spring in Beijing, and March has entered, Ruan Yuan's official duties are not at all busy. On this day, part of the memorial drafted by the Ministry of War on the reassignment of general officers was sent to the South Study Room, because all involved were the admiral and the commander-in-chief.

Ruan Yuan did not dare to make a decision for a while. So he called Yinghe and Pan Shien to jointly plan the change of appointment.

Yinghe looked at the proposed candidates for re-appointment and asked: "Shilang Ruan, since the Emperor has purged the Heshen Party, the new appointees are all people with deep qualifications and many meritorious deeds. Behind this list, there are also

Everyone’s examination results in recent years have been prepared one by one. But I don’t know what Minister Ruan has to suggest. Is there anything wrong with the Ministry of War’s careful transfer list?"

Ruan Yuan said with a smile: "Actually, that's not the case. Most of the officials transferred by the Ministry of War this time are people who have served as officials diligently in recent years and are able to improve the area. I have no objection to this. It's just that there is one candidate among them, and I think it's better to do it again.

Let's discuss it." He opened the list and pointed his finger at a familiar name: Li Changgeng.

"Li Changgeng?" Yinghe felt a little confused and said: "It has been stated in the document that Li Changgeng has served as the commander-in-chief of Dinghai Town for more than two years. He has always been diligent and won the hearts of the people, so this time he was changed to the commander-in-chief of Guangdong.

The commander-in-chief of Jieshi Town is a transfer at the same level. Moreover, in recent years, there have been frequent pirates on the southeastern coast. Don’t you know that Ruan Shilang is in Zhejiang? By transferring him to Jieshi Town, I think he will be closer to the pirates and lead troops to fight.

On the contrary, it’s more convenient.”

"But I think it would be better for Li Changgeng to continue to serve as the commander-in-chief of Dinghai Town at the moment." Ruan Yuandao.

"Then what is Mr. Ruan's advice?" Yinghe asked.

"I believe that there are three reasons why Li Changgeng moved to the town. First, Li Changgeng has only been in Dinghai Town for two years. If he is suddenly transferred, the morale of the military in Dinghai Town will inevitably be affected. And he is a new arrival in Jieshi Town and needs time to familiarize himself with the military situation.

.This is inconvenient for both towns. Secondly, I have communicated with the generals of Dinghai Town and learned that they only owed half of the military pay for the second and third years of Jiaqing.

If a convincing person is in charge, if the military pay is not paid again this year, I am afraid that there will be a mutiny in the army in Dinghai Town. Thirdly, when I was in Zhejiang, I knew that pirates were erratic at the moment, and there were a large number of pirates in the three provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong.

It does not mean that Zhejiang is close to the East China Sea and suffers less disasters than other provinces. On the contrary, pirates often go north to suddenly attack the coast of Zhejiang because Zhejiang Province is unprepared. Therefore, at this time, the total troops in each town in Zhejiang Province not only

To choose someone with deep qualifications, you must also consider whether he is good at naval warfare and whether he can use troops in a timely manner. The person currently proposed to be appointed, Lord Jelhanga, has also heard that although he is diligent, he is not good at naval warfare. At this time, once Zhejiang calls

If he is not timely, I am afraid that the people along the coast will be harmed by pirates within this year, so I thought that I could keep him in Dinghai Town temporarily until the pirates are put down, and then I will consider his promotion." Ruan Yuandao.

"But Mr. Ruan, what you said is correct even if you say it the other way around, right? Since Li Changgeng can stabilize the morale of the army in Zhejiang in just one year, then if he goes to Jieshi Town, he can also take command quickly.

The whole town is right. As for the military pay, the emperor estimates that it will be distributed in the next few days, so why should he continue to stay? As for the erratic pirates, why must we strengthen Zhejiang's prevention? Is it possible that Fujian and Guangdong

, do you no longer need to think about it?" Yinghe asked.

"Master Ying, naval warfare is definitely different from land warfare. If you are not a veteran general who is proficient in naval warfare and suddenly supervises the battle, you will definitely suffer heavy losses. Therefore, I think most of the towns along the coast do not need to be changed, but for example, the former general of Huangyan Town

Chen Shanggao's corruption and misdeeds have long been reported to the public, and it is necessary to remove him from his post. However, Li Changgeng is not such a bad person, so what is the use of calling him to suppress him at this time? Moreover, I also think that at the moment,

The towns along the coast also need a naval force that is proficient in naval warfare, so that they can clear out the pirates in the future and be successful. Changing towns so frequently is actually not conducive to military training." Ruan Yuan insisted.

"Sir Ruan, how can the matter of raising towns in other provinces be as troublesome as you think? It is normal to be transferred after one or two years of service. Why is it that here, Lord Ruan, this is not possible and that is not possible? Or is it?

"Master Ruan has an old relationship with Li Changgeng, so you want to use this to protect him?" Ying He said.

"What do you think, Master Pan?" Ruan Yuan saw that he could not convince Ying He, so he had to turn to Pan Shi'en for help.

"This... Mr. Ruan, I have been in the Imperial Academy for many years, and I am not as good as Mr. Ruan. I still have the opportunity to go out to the capital to supervise schools. When it comes to military matters, I am really not good at it. It is better to wait until the emperor arrives and invite you again."

The emperor will decide." Pan Shien was the number one scholar in the fifty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign. Due to his outstanding literary talent and diligence, he was promoted to Zhanshi in just seven years. He was also one of the fastest-promoted Han officials after Ruan Yuan. But because of this, foreign affairs

It was not familiar for a while.

At this moment, I heard a voice from outside: "Ruan Yuan, Ying He, are you discussing political affairs here? This is a good thing. I am not as wise as Emperor Ama, so naturally I need you to work together and have more opinions.

You can use it at your own discretion." When Jiaqing arrived, Zhang Jinzhong followed him with a volume of edict. Ruan Yuan and others also quickly knelt down on both sides, allowing Jiaqing to sit on the dragon throne first.

After Jiaqing sat down, he also smiled and said: "Everyone, get up first. You all say that Ruan Yuan is the minister, so let's talk first. After you have all said it, I will make the final decision. How about it?" He looked at Jiaqing and begged for words.

, Ruan Yuan and Ying He no longer held taboos, and told Jiaqing one by one about the appointment of the Ministry of War.

After listening to the debate between the two, Jiaqing pondered for a long time and said: "Actually, I think Ruan Yuan's words are more appropriate for this matter. This is the third year Li Changgeng has been in Dinghai Town, so he said this

Come on, replacement is not necessary. And Yinghe, you just mentioned that I can pay the arrears of military pay to Dinghai Town right now. When did I tell you? I have exempted a lot of prefecture and county taxes this year, so I can collect it.

With money and food, it would be good to make up for the gap in Sichuan and Chu. I can reissue the remaining military salary for the first two years, but what I can issue is only January and February’s arrears. You have paid for it without verification.

I was a bit negligent when I said this. And you don’t know that Ruan Yuan had talked with me many times about Zhejiang affairs when we were in the South Study Room. Naturally, he should be more familiar with it. After all, you are new to political affairs, so you still need to work more hard.

It's all about experience. Of course, I didn't tell you these things before, which is also my negligence." Yinghe listened to Jiaqing's words, which were both gentle and strict. For a moment, he thought that he did have evil thoughts, so he didn't dare to speak anymore.

.

"But Ruan Yuan, Yinghe's comments are not directed at you. Like you, he has never agreed with Heshen. He is from a Zhongliang family. He, Ama Debao, was the Minister of Rites. At that time, Heshen wanted to talk to them

In family marriage, Debao has always been upright, so he turned He Shen away. It is because of the strict family tradition. It has only been seven years since Ying He became a Jinshi. Naturally, there are some things that are not familiar to him. Even if you two have some disputes, I

I also hope that after today, you will forget about it. You only need to think about the Qing Dynasty, but don't have any bad feelings about it and target them everywhere. That is not good." Jiaqing also said to Ruan Yuan.

Ruan Yuan also paid homage to Yinghe and said: "Although Lord Ying's words are different from those of me, they are all about serving the country. I am just talking about the matter and have no other thoughts. Please forgive me, Lord Ying."

Seeing Ruan Yuan's sincere words, Ying He also knew that he did have some carelessness, so he also replied: "Master Ruan is so polite. It turns out that I am not familiar with frontline military affairs, so I misunderstood Master Ruan."

As for the others, there was not much controversy. Cang Bao was still chosen as the commander-in-chief of Zhejiang. He had been the commander-in-chief in Zhejiang before, and Ruan Yuan was familiar with him and trusted him. The commander-in-chief of Huangyan Town was replaced by Yue Xi, and the commander-in-chief of Wenzhou Town was replaced by Hu Zhensheng.

He is a reliable person in the discussion. Seeing that the discussion was over, Jiaqing also said to everyone:

"Okay, Ying He and Pan Shi'en, you two have been Jinshi for only seven years, and both of them are working in the Imperial Academy. It's normal for you to be unable to take charge of some things for a while. But you should also see that He Shen has been in power for many years.

In the Hanlin Examination, there are many cases of using power for personal gain and not distinguishing between good and bad. In recent years, there are not many junior officials who are really worthy of promotion. You can do great things, so I first let you come to the South Study Room to see how it goes.

When you have experience in doing things, it will not be difficult to participate in ministry affairs. You can step down first, I have another edict for Ruan Yuan." Jiaqing also took great care of everyone in his words.

Yinghe and Pan Shien did not want to feel neglected by him. They temporarily resigned, and Ruan Yuan was left alone to listen to the order. Zhang Jinzhong said: "According to the order: Ruan Yuan is appointed as the left minister of the household department, and also the official of the banquet, and he is promoted to the general examination.

Deputy Examiner, I appreciate this!"

Ruan Yuan was surprised and happy when he heard this. In the imperial examinations of the Qing Dynasty, the emperor himself set the questions and invigilated the examination at the top level, and the ministers were not allowed to interfere. But at the next level, there was the examination, and he would pass it.

It was not even ten years ago that I got the opportunity to preside over the examination. Although I was only the deputy examiner, it was already an extremely rare and important task. I was a little worried for a while and hurriedly declined: "Your Majesty, I have only been released for ten years.

I feel that I have little talent and little knowledge, so it is somewhat difficult for me to take the exam."

Jiaqing said: "Ruan Shilang, you have written books to start a school, and you have always been famous for examining scholars from two provinces. How can you not do well as the deputy examiner in this examination? In terms of knowledge, I will watch you become the deputy examiner.

, is the most suitable. And don’t worry, the examiner appointed by me for this examination is your mentor, Zhu Gui, the Minister of Household Affairs, and the other deputy examiner is Liu Quanzhi, the censor of Zuodu.

He has a lot of qualifications, has a lot of experience in supervising schools, and has experience in setting questions. If you don’t know how to do it, just study more with him and that’s it. If I say this, do you still want to refuse?”

Hearing Jiaqing's encouragement, and knowing that the examiner was his mentor Zhu Gui, Ruan Yuan naturally did not dare to refuse anymore. He could only respond: "Your Majesty, I must do my best and carefully select candidates. This examination must be successful."

Promote those who have real talents and practical knowledge to repay the favor of the emperor."

Unexpectedly, Jiaqing then changed the topic and said with a smile: "Shilang Ruan, if it were anyone else, I wouldn't want to say anything, but you said you are doing your best, and I have been watching you in the South Study for the past few months. Which day is it not?"

You can only withdraw your value after applying for membership? It is indeed hard work for you, so I also want to know what the people in your family have to say? Madam, I remember that you are only in your prime years, but seeing you so busy with official duties,

I’m afraid you don’t want to, right?”

Ruan Yuan couldn't help but blushing as he listened. In fact, what Jiaqing said was true. He usually went to court early and left late for nearly two months. Kong Luhua had some free time at home, and she couldn't help but complain that she had not been there since she came to Beijing.

We won't be able to reunite for a few days. In fact, Ruan Yuan was used to doing academic work before, and he was quite reluctant to be on duty in the palace for such a long time. However, he always remembered Qianlong's kindness of knowing him, and he tried his best to repay it, so what?

Dare to take the initiative to resign from Jiaqing? At this time, he had no choice but to reply: "Your Majesty, I have been able to ascend to the second rank position without having accomplished any merits. If I cannot do my best in official duties, I am afraid that Emperor Gaozong's spirit in heaven will be angry with me.

"

"But you are different from others?" Jiaqing said with a smile: "I have heard about your family's affairs. You are the only one of your grandfather's direct grandchildren. You had no children before, only one adopted son.
To be continued...