On the fourth day of October in the forty-eighth year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign in the Qing Dynasty, the emperor’s camp was held at Gaoling Station (near today’s Gaoling Town, Huludao).
More than four months ago, the 72-year-old Emperor Qianlong began his fourth eastward tour to Shengjing, which was also the last eastward tour in his life.
Because the Wensu Pavilion built by Qianlong in Shengjing a few years ago had been completed, he needed to come to Shengjing to celebrate in person this time and show his ancestors his literary achievements.
Different from the previous eastward tour, this time Qianlong started from the Old Summer Palace and first stopped at the Summer Resort. Because of the hot weather, there were many people, horses and luggage, and it was inconvenient to walk. Therefore, it was not until August 16 that he came to Chengde with his colleagues
After meeting all the Mongolian princes of the Zhuosuotu tribe, they set off again to Shengjing.
At the same time, he also ordered Prince Yi Yonglang to carry a jade book and jade treasure (actually it should be called a posthumous treasure, a posthumous book, which was used when the emperor of the Qing Dynasty was the previous emperor and the posthumous title was given to the queen. Customized in the Qing Dynasty:
Every emperor respectfully goes to the emperor to examine his concubine’s posthumous title, temple name, and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to make a jade album and jade treasure, plus the names of saints and empresses, and the imperial decree to remake the jade album and change the engraving of jade treasures.), lead all elder brothers and the Ministry of Rites,
After the officials sent by the Ministry of Industry knelt down to worship at the Ancestral Temple, they set off from Beijing on August 12 and met at Changjiatun on September 2.
In the emperor's tent, a minister with a delicate and handsome face, wearing an official hat with flower feathers on his head and a first-grade court uniform, was reciting the decree prepared by the Military Aircraft Department.
"Sazai, Min Eyuan reported to the Jiangsu Procuratorate that the thief Deng Er and other five men escaped from prison together on August 29th and were captured one after another on September 3rd. It has been stated that they were to be executed, and the details are on record. They belong to the Procuratorate.
Su Song's Grain Store Director Qin Xuepu asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strictly discuss the matter..."
In the middle of the big tent, there was an old man sitting in a brown lake silk cotton robe. This man's hair was already gray, but judging from his complexion and appearance, he was well-maintained and he looked like he was only in his fifties.
He is none other than the seventy-two-year-old Qing Emperor Qianlong.
Qianlong listened quietly to He Shen, who was standing below, reciting the imperial edict he had prepared. He nodded slightly and then said: "This Qin Xuepu has really failed me in promoting him. Let Sa Zai and Min Eyuan investigate thoroughly. If there is any
Other matters of love and evil will be dealt with separately. You can draft your decree according to my wishes."
"Hey, I obey the decree." After reciting the decree, He Shen and Fukang An, who stood aside, both kowtowed and followed the decree.
"No gifts."
"Hey, I thank you, Master."
After saying this, Qianlong frowned and said to Fukang'an: "Today I received a report from Li Fenghan (Governor of Jiangnan River) that the copper ship from Yunnan to the capital sank in Jiangning. Fukang'an,
You were the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, what happened to this copper ship?"
At this time, Fukang'an was only twenty-nine years old. From the thirty-sixth year of Qianlong's reign, he assisted Agui to fight the rebellion in Da Jinchuan, to the forty-sixth year of Qianlong's reign, he served as the governor of Sichuan to arrest the "throat bandits" and rectify the rebellion. In these ten years,
Over time, he has become known as a "famous general" in the court.
He successively served as Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Deputy Governor of Manchuria with a Yellow Flag, Minister of Internal Affairs, General of Jilin, General of Shengjing, and then Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, Governor of Sichuan and General of Chengdu. In the forty-seventh year of Qianlong's reign, he was promoted to the imperial minister because of his achievements in arresting bandits in Sichuan.
, plus the prince’s Taibao.
This year, he was ordered to return to Beijing to serve as Minister of Science and Industry. In May, he was appointed as the Minister in charge of Luan Yiwei, Minister of Military Parade, and in charge of the affairs of Jianrui Camp. He accompanied him to Shengjing.
Fukangan, who was standing opposite Heshen, heard the emperor talking to him and knelt down quickly.
"No gift."
Fukang'an immediately stood up and replied: "Back to my master, the copper and lead shipped from Yunnan and Guizhou to the capital are always built on separate ships in Chongqing and hired sailors. After delivery, the ships are dismantled and sold."
Qianlong said: "Is there such a thing?"
Fukang'an replied: "When I took office in Sichuan and Yunnan, I sent people to inquire about this matter. The local committee members responsible for this matter have done so. Each ship contains a lot of copper and lead, so it must be
Only by thickening the plates of the hull can a new ship be built every time.
The slave believes that among the ships that ship goods in Sichuan, there are originally many large ships, and many of them are solid and usable. In the future, we only need to select strong and durable cargo ships and hire ships and related shipwrights according to market prices. There is really no need to build new ones."
He Shen across from him glanced at Fukangan and said nothing, while Fukangan seemed unaware.
"New ships must be built every year, and then dismantled and sold after unloading the copper..." Qianlong was speechless. He knew that there must be many evils here, but at this time, corruption in the officialdom had become the norm. Pressing the gourd lifted the ladle, and corruption spread everywhere.
Corruption happens one after another.
But he couldn't say this yet, otherwise how could he live up to the "prosperous age" that he and his ministers advertised?
In his later years, Qianlong wanted to create a prosperous world, but at the same time he became very lazy in politics. Especially after he appointed Yong Yan, the fifteenth son of the emperor, as the crown prince in November of the 38th year of Qianlong's reign, he was no longer the same as he was when he was young.
Because of corruption, prisons were established and people were killed. In many cases, he could only order the local governor to strictly enforce officials in the form of memorials.
As mentioned before, the escape of five prisoners including Deng Er in Jiangsu Province. Five serious robbery convicts were able to escape from a tightly guarded prison, pull open the bars of the cell, break the chains, and escape over the wall. It is simply ridiculous.
The sinking of the Yunnan Copper ship that he just asked about was a national event related to coinage. The ship that sank in Jiangning this time carried as much as 90,000 kilograms of copper and lead. If there was no fraud involved, Qianlong himself would not
He didn't believe it. But at this moment, he just asked Sa Zai, the governor of Liangjiang and Li Fenghan, the governor of rivers, to quickly find a way to salvage it.
Thinking of this, Qianlong asked Heshen again: "Heshen, you are in charge of the household department. How much copper does our Qing Dynasty transport from Japan every year?"
He Shen replied: "Master, as far as I know, our Qing Dynasty imports about two million kilograms of fine copper from Japan every year."
Qianlong nodded slowly and stretched out his right hand habitually. The eunuch on the side quickly handed a cup of warm human milk into Qianlong's hand. Qianlong took a sip and then slowly said: "Although the annual output of Yunnan copper now exceeds ten million kilograms,
However, the copper imported by Japan every year is still important to our Qing Dynasty, and we must ensure the purchase quantity."
He Shen suddenly remembered something at this time, knelt down and said: "Master, today I received a report from the Korean envoy from the Lifan Yuan. It said that a volcano erupted in eastern Japan and the disaster was very serious. I am afraid it will affect Japan's copper."
transaction."
Qianlong nodded slightly: "Yes. I understand. You go down and draw up a statement and submit it. Since I ascended the Dabao throne, I have always strictly prohibited the sale of rice abroad, and ordered the governors of each province to inspect all key passes with strength."
"Hey." After the two kowtowed, they stood up and exited the tent.
Qianlong looked up at the two departing ministers and smiled with satisfaction. However, when he saw a stack of memorials on the desk, he sighed slightly, picked up his pen, and began to give instructions.
After saying goodbye to Fukangan, Heshen returned to his residence.
At this time, Heshen was deeply trusted by Qianlong, so he held so many positions that others were stunned. In addition to managing the Chongwen Gate Customs in the capital, acting as the Minister of the Ministry of War, managing the Third Treasury of the Ministry of Revenue and the Minister of the Lifan Academy, he also served as the National History Museum.
Vice President He Shen, who promoted cabinet affairs in Wenyuan Pavilion, followed Qianlong on his eastern tour this time. The most important task was to send the compiled "Sikuquanshu" to Wensu Pavilion in Shengjing for storage. This was also the
One of the celebrations of the Eastern Tour.
Thirty-two-year-old He Shen is tall and thin, with a delicate mustache on his lips and a very delicate and handsome face. If he changes his clothes and walks on the street, anyone who doesn't know him will think that he is a scholar.
After entering the house, the servant accompanying him came up and took the hat he had just taken off.
"I'll write a letter, and you'll send it back to your house in person overnight and hand it over to your father." He Shen ordered his servants.
"Hey." Liu Yin, the eldest son of Liu Quan, the steward of He Mansion, responded immediately after taking the hat and putting it on the hat stand.
Liu Quan, Heshen's housekeeper, nicknamed Liu Tuzi. After the death of Heshen's father Chang Bao, Liu Quan protected nine-year-old Heshen and six-year-old Helin, accompanying them and borrowing money everywhere. Until Heshen was fifteen years old,
When he was able to take charge of his own household, Liu Quan became the steward of the He Mansion. However, He Shen always regarded Liu Quan as his own relative and never called him a steward.
Liu Yin didn't ask what it was about. Since the master asked his father to deliver a letter, there must be something important.
He Shen did not explain to Liu Yin. He washed his face and went to the desk to write a letter. Soon, the letter was written. He Shen put the letter into an envelope and affixed it with wax paint. He waited for a while for the wax paint to dry.
After that, he handed it over to Liu Yin.
"Master, do you have any other orders?" Liu Yin asked in a low voice after receiving the letter.
"Just tell him that he should consult Mr. Izumi first about what I said in the letter."
This Mr. Quanzhi was Heshen's former teacher Wu Shenglan, nicknamed Quanzhi. He and his brother Wu Shengqin once served as teachers in Xian'an Palace. Both brothers later took refuge in Heshen, and Wu Shenglan was the most shameless among them.
The reason why He Shen asked Liu Yin to deliver a message to his father, Liu Quan, was because he was worried that the Yunnan copper cargo ship had something to do with Liu Quan. He remembered that Liu Quan once mentioned to him that he wanted to get involved, but he didn't take it seriously, so he agreed.
.
This time the copper ship had an accident in Jiangning, and more than 90,000 kilograms of copper fell into the water. This is not a small matter. What if Qian Feng, who is the supervisory censor of Jiangnan Province, finds out that Liu Quan was meddling in it?
That would be troublesome.
He Shen had no involvement in the interests of the Yunnan copper mines. What he did intervene in was the shipping business of Japanese copper mines.
After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, all the traditional copper mines left over from the Ming Dynasty had been exhausted. At that time, the copper mines in Yunnan were still in the initial development stage. The serious copper crisis made the Qing government overwhelmed, and the Yunnan copper mining areas were scattered deep in the mountains, making transportation very difficult; even though
It exhausted the entire province of Yunnan and could only transport three million kilograms of copper a year. In addition, the fineness of Yunnan copper in the early stages of mining was insufficient, so starting from the seventh year of Yongzheng's reign, Jiangsu began to purchase copper produced in Japan.
At this time, it only took fifteen days for a merchant ship to arrive at Nagasaki from Zhejiang. Each copper ship could carry 100,000 kilograms of copper. With two voyages a year, the transportation volume of twenty copper ships would exceed the Yunnan Copper Shipment.
The number of ships going to Beijing. By the end of the 17th century, there were as many as 200 merchant ships coming to Nagasaki Port to trade copper every year, and the number of Chinese merchants engaged in copper trade in Nagasaki was close to 10,000.
The large amount of copper loss in the island country caused the copper price in the island country under the shogunate to drop upside down, and the continuous export also caused the domestic copper mines to face the risk of depletion.
Therefore, starting from 1715 (the fifth year of Masatoku), the Tokugawa shogunate implemented the "Shantoku New Order", which stipulated that the number of Qing ships entering Nagasaki for trading each year was limited to thirty. However, only those allowed to enter the port for trade were limited to 30 ships.
Those merchants who hold the "letter card" issued by the shogunate are limited to an annual trade volume of 6,000 guan of silver and 3 million jin of copper.
In order to accumulate capital for fighting against the other three factions in the DPRK (the military attache faction headed by A Gui, the imperial censor faction headed by Liu Yong, and the opposition faction headed by Qian Feng), Heshen intervened in various trades in Jiangnan and secretly demanded that the big people in Jiangnan
Merchants must pay help fees to He Shen. If they do not comply, they will send people disguised as robbers to confiscate their homes and destroy their families. No one among the big merchants in Jiangnan dares to obey.
Therefore, Heshen took a serious step in the matter of copper sales in Japan.
It was still early at this time, so He Shen thought for a while, returned to the back room, and asked his servants to change into court clothes and put on his hat. He still had to go to the emperor to serve him. In more than a year since he came back from Gansu,
Qianlong trusted him more and more and asked him to accompany him at all times.
When He Shen arrived outside Qianlong's tent, he saw the eunuch in charge coming over.
"My lord, the emperor is looking for you."
Heshen quickly entered the tent and came to the emperor. He was about to kowtow when he heard Qianlong say: "Heshen is exempt from courtesy."
"My servant thanks my master." He Shen looked up and saw Qianlong holding a memorial in his hand with a hesitant look on his face.
"Master, what's bothering you?"
"Please take a look at the folding book Qinggui handed you."
He Shen heard the words and immediately bowed forward, took the fold from the eunuch's hand, opened it and looked at it.
This is a plea letter jointly sent by Jilin General Qinggui (son of Yin Jishan) and Ningguta Deputy Governor Anlin. The people reported above are the exiled prisoners Lin Achuang, Lu Shoushan, Pan Xiucheng, Yaning, and Jiesan
Zi and others escaped one after another, and at the same time they sent troops to arrest them.
He Shen saw two names at the bottom of the list of fugitives: Xu Shounan and Xu Funan.
Is this? He Shen focused his eyes on this name and recalled it carefully. In a moment, like a flash of lightning, a name emerged in his mind.
No wonder Qianlong was unhappy, it turned out to be these two people.
However, in Heshen's memory, the two brothers were three years old and one year old when they were assigned to each other. Five years later, they are only eight and six years old now.
How on earth did they escape? There must be a hidden secret, or maybe someone was working inside and outside.
After figuring out the connection, He Shen handed the memorial back to the eunuch. Then he said, "Master, I think this matter is nothing to worry about."
"Huh? How do you say it?" Seeing Heshen say this, Qianlong asked curiously.
"I thought that the two sons of rebels were only eight years old and six years old. Even if someone came to help before the incident, how far could they run with two children? Qin Ninggu Pagoda was originally
It is a bitterly cold place, nearly ten thousand miles away from the capital. It is difficult for the adults who are exiled here to endure the winter, let alone the two children. It is now October, in the far north, under the blizzard and snow, and the slaves are expected to have two children from the Xu family.
He will not survive this winter. Therefore, the master only needs to order Qinggui and Alin to send troops to guard the roads and checkpoints to capture him."
Qianlong's face brightened slightly after listening to He Shen's memorial. In fact, what he was most worried about was that someone would cooperate inside and outside to rescue the two sons of the Xu family. The mastermind behind it was what Qianlong was most concerned about.
Thinking of this, Qianlong had no choice but to put the matter aside for now. Later he would draft an order to Qinggui, ordering him to strictly arrest and interrogate the relevant persons.
Putting aside his troubles, Qianlong immediately raised his brows and said to Heshen: "Tell me, how are the arrangements for next year's southern tour?"