On August 11, the day after Beihai Town promulgated its first local regulations, Qianlong ordered the royal ministers in Beijing to submit their own reports, asking for practical methods on how to conquer Beihai Town.
After Sun Shiyi's apology document arrived in Beijing in early August, the government and the public were shocked. The Qing government did not expect that the Pearl River Estuary patrol system, which was originally regarded as impregnable, would be so unsound, and that the officers and soldiers of the Guangdong Navy would be so cowardly and incompetent! Although Sun Shiyi's approach was somewhat sensible,
Through this military operation, the ins and outs of large iron ships were also tested. Ships that can only rely on a few boats to drag the wind cannot defeat them.
In the eyes of Qianlong and a group of military ministers, whether Zhao Xin bombarded the British warehouse in Yanzi Bay or bombarded the Portuguese fort in Macau, it had nothing to do with them.
It’s different, it belongs to Kou Bian.
The ministers in the capital had a surprisingly unanimous view on this matter, that is, if Zhao Ni continues to mess around like this, if he goes to the north today and goes to the south tomorrow, there will be big trouble sooner or later.
The old and strong Qianlong was determined to completely solve Zhao Xin's problem before he ascended the throne sixty years ago. So after the Mid-Autumn Festival, a series of edicts were issued one after another, which overwhelmed the officials.
Expand the capital camp, with the quota increased from 10,000 to 20,000. Previously, there were 4,000 horsemen, 3,000 combat soldiers, and 3,000 garrison troops from outside the nine gates of the capital to within the boundaries of Zhili Prefecture. A total of 10,000 people were added.
Later, the number of horsemen increased to 6,000, the number of fighting soldiers was 10,000, and the number of garrison soldiers was 4,000.
The old warships were scrapped and Tongan ships were built; through the Lifan Yuan, commissioners were sent to order five British three-masted sailing ships from Siam, each equipped with 64 new smoothbore guns.
Fukang'an, who had previously been dismissed from all actual posts and retained only the title of Marquis of Jiayong, after a period of introspection, was appointed as the Minister of Internal Affairs and the imperial envoy to Shandong, Henan, Zhejiang and other provinces to inspect the Manchu troops and green camps stationed in various places.
, review the money, food, armor and equipment of soldiers and horses in various places and carry out rectification.
Agui, who was managing river engineering in Henan, was transferred to the northwest to replace Qinggui as acting governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.
Qinggui, the acting governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, was appointed as the co-organizer of the bachelor's degree. At the same time, he was awarded the seal of the Minister of Economics and Strategy to manage the military affairs of Jilin and Heilongjiang. In his first letter to Qianlong, Qinggui requested to establish establishments in Hunchun and Ningguta.
In the main camp, we must first stabilize the situation and ensure that Zhao Xin's attempts to advance westward and southward are blocked. After 100,000 troops have been stationed, the armies of the two places will fight steadily and make camp step by step.
Qianlong also understood at this time that the firearms equipped by Zhao Xin were really overbearing, and it would be impossible to encircle and suppress them with 10,000 to 20,000 Eight Banners soldiers. Without the scale of 100,000 soldiers, it would be difficult to annihilate them. For the current plan, the only way to carry out the encirclement and suppression was first.
Blocking.
After the First World War in Fuldan City, more than half of the Eight Banners' artillery, shotguns and other ordnance were lost. Even if they went all out to build it, it would still take a year or two. According to Fukang'an's statement in his confession, in addition to Yonggu General's cannon, other types of
The range of small artillery can hardly cause damage to Zhao Ni. Even if the capital and Jilin and other places went all out to build artillery at this time, hundreds of large general artillery would still take several years to prepare.
Among the series of edicts, the most incredible one was to order the Ministry of Internal Affairs to conduct a draft. Qianlong, who was in his seventies, also wanted to conduct a draft with great fanfare, which made the officials stunned. Qingliu, headed by Dong Gao and Qian Feng, wrote to dissuade him.
He was severely reprimanded by Qianlong.
Only He Shen saw Qianlong's intention at the beginning, and he was happy to see the Qing Dynasty slumped.
The fifteenth elder brother Yong Yan also wanted to write a letter to remonstrate, but was stopped by his teacher Zhu Gui. Zhu Gui warned Yong Yan that the emperor's real intention in selecting the emperor was to tell the world that he was not old!
However, although He Shen looked at the joke coldly, he still had a lot of troubles. Whether it was increasing troops, expanding Hunchun City, allocating ordnance and food, building artillery or even drafting, money was needed behind it. And Qianlong's arrangement required at least eight years in the early stage.
The expense of one million taels of silver worried Heshen. So when Qinggui returned to Beijing to ask Heshen for military expenses, Heshen had to advance 500,000 taels to him from the Chongwenmen tax office and said that the rest of the military expenses
Will be allocated gradually.
Qinggui saw that this little money was not enough, so he came to Heshen to complain and tried to get hundreds of thousands more taels.
"Brother Zhizhai, you have been to Hunchun. There is no decent city wall there at all. To build the city, the military camp, the seeds for the fields, and the farm tools, the five hundred thousand taels invested are just like wasting money."
He Shen stroked his forehead and sighed helplessly: "Brother Shuzhai, it's difficult to handle! The master has far-reaching plans, and we slaves should try our best to understand and implement them. But now money is needed everywhere, where can I get money?
!Not to mention anything else, millions of taels of silver have been invested in Henan's disaster, river engineering, and water transportation, and you can't even see a drop of water. I'll tell you the truth today, except for the huge amount of money in the treasury, the Ministry of Finance can't get out a single penny.
Even the master’s daily expenses are maintained by my running around here.”
Qinggui was shocked and said quickly: "Brother Zhizhai, does the emperor know about these situations?"
He Shen shook his head expressionlessly.
Qinggui sighed: "I have been in Shaanxi and Gansu for more than a year. I only know how difficult it is for me. I didn't know that it would be a thousand times more difficult to become a vegetarian! But to tell the truth, only you can bear this mountain-like burden.
!”
These words surprised Heshen and were extremely helpful. Everyone in the court knew that Qinggui was an extremely cautious, even almost pedantic, honest man; he usually didn't say what he should say, let alone what he shouldn't say. See
This little money was really not enough, and Qinggui was forced to do nothing.
He Shen smiled and cupped his hands at Qing Gui and said, "He is ashamed to accept what Mr. Shu Zhai said. Well, just give me a few more days and I'll think of a solution."
"Then I'll look forward to good news."
In the evening two days later, the Zhimizhai Restaurant on the east side of Meishi Street Road outside Qianmen was booked. When it got dark, three sedans arrived one after another as promised. Among the three people who came, except for Lianghuai Salt Administration,
There is also a committee member in charge of Yunnan copper exports and a committee member in charge of copper mines in Chizhou. They are all fifth-grade officials who have returned to Beijing to report on their duties.
He Shen is now in power. He posted a message to invite people to dinner, and no one dared not to come. When they entered the private room on the second floor and sat down, and the food and wine were served, He Shen said: "I am too busy during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so I can't spare time.
. Today I am hosting a certain person, and I invite you all to gather here. With our friendship, there is no need to be rigid about etiquette, just feel free to do it."
"Okay, okay!" The three people present nodded in approval.
That being said, Heshen is now a very popular minister, a person who is busy every day with his heels hitting the back of his head. He is hosting a banquet for guests, how dare the three of them do so casually, Lianghuai Yanzheng Quande said: "I
People are not polite, but the first glass of wine must be toasted to the main hall. Everyone knows that the three of us are working in fat and oily jobs, but this is also the job that makes others jealous the most.
Everyone is staring at us like black-eyed roosters. It’s all thanks to Mr. Zhongtang’s protection over the years, otherwise the rest of us would have been wiped out long ago.”
He Shen stared at Quan De and said with a smile: "I don't agree with what you said, brother. It is true that the three of you are fat and oily, but if you are all fasting and chanting Buddha, you will not touch the oil at all, even if
No matter how jealous others are, how can they help you and wait?"
Quande and the other three were stunned for a moment, then forced a smile on their faces and said, "What Zhongtang said is so thorough, so thorough!"
He Shen continued: "But then again, if you really do something inappropriate and are caught, let alone me, the King of Heaven will not be able to protect you. Is that right, everyone?
"
When the three of them heard this, their hearts suddenly trembled. They knew that today's topic was coming, and they nodded in agreement.
He Shen chuckled, picked up the wine glass and said: "Come on, let's all have a drink first. I'm always being lectured by the emperor and his elders on weekdays, but now my words are unknowingly laced with such a taste. Don't take it seriously, I'll do it first as a token of respect.
!”
The three people from Quande said hurriedly: "Anyway, Master Zhongtang's lesson is also for my own good. It is us who should respect Zhongtang."
Liu Quan, who was waiting on the side, had a slumped face, and filled the four wine bottles respectively. He Shen glanced at it and scolded: "It's rare to be happy today, who are you showing your bitter face to?"
Liu Quan finished pouring the wine, hugged the wine bottle and said, "My mind is full of money right now, and I'm worried about you!"
He Shen said: "It's your slave's turn to worry about national affairs. Stop mentioning such disappointing words!"
Liu Quandao: "That's so much money! I'm so worried that I can't sleep well every day. How can I, a slave, not worry about it?"
He Shen's expression changed when he heard this, he put down his wine glass and sighed: "You little slave, you have ruined my taste!"
The three people present were all smarter than monkeys. They all knew what the performance of Master Heshen and his servant meant. After a quick glance at each other, Quande first smiled and said: "It doesn't have to be like this in the middle hall.
You usually treat me kindly and kindly, but now there are difficulties, and we can't just sit back and watch. Although the court is very tight on the salt and copper policies, we can dig out the cracks and nooks and crannies.
If you can scrape together some loose silver, please give me some money. Zhongtang, can you give me some money?"
"Okay!" He Shen smiled and raised his hand to give him a slap.
"Hmm." Quan De frowned and asked tentatively: "Five hundred thousand?" He hesitated for a moment, nodded with difficulty and said: "Okay, the salt administration will provide two hundred thousand."
The other two people also hurriedly said: "Each of our two places will contribute 150,000 yuan from the Tongzheng Government."
But after the three of them finished speaking, they saw that Heshen's palm was still stretched out. Quan De said: "Zhongtang, what do you want?"
Liu Quan on the side sneered: "Five million!"
"Ah!" The three of them were dumbfounded upon hearing this.
Quande begged with a mournful face: "Five million! Zhongtang, even if you put together the money collected by the twenty-seven salt channels in the world, you still can't make up so much money! If the court wants to audit the accounts, how will you explain your humble duties!"
"
Tongling's committee members also said anxiously: "Tongling has a salary of 150,000, and Beizhi is already going to sell it. If it comes again, Beizhi will have to go to the streets to beg for food!"
The Yunnan Copper Committee member also hurriedly said: "Yes! The last time there was trouble in the copper mine, all the money I finally saved was lost! You know this in the middle of the court."
He Shen's face gradually became colder, and he watched the three people opposite him performing to the fullest. But as the three people talked, their voices became lower and lower.
"Say, keep talking. Why don't you say anything anymore when you pretend to be poor and complain?" He Shen sneered and continued: "You really can't tell, Qiao Moqiao is pretty good at acting, and he can't catch up with Shuang Qing.
Wei Changsheng is born!"
With a "pop!" sound, He Shen jumped up and startled the three of them.
"Who do you three think you are?! Huh? How dare you fool me!"
He Shen raised his hand and pointed at Quan De: "You! The government sells private salt and collects money from both ends. You have collected at least three million taels in the past two years, right? Don't think I can't handle you if you don't keep accounts! July 19th is here
Where did the private money that was confiscated in Suzhou go? It was you Quande who told me to split the money in half when we met, right? This amount alone is two hundred thousand taels of silver! Do you really think this was done flawlessly?
On the 22nd of last month, you drank wine and slept with a bitch named Ainu in Suzhou. You spent 1,640 taels of silver in one night. You are so rich! Brother Quan, you are still here with me
Why are you pretending to be a vegetarian?"
Quande broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that whether it was a private relationship or a slave, he thought he was doing it very secretly, how could He Shen know about this kind of thing?
He Shen said that he was completely moral and glared at another committee member: "There are two pieces of information like you! They collaborated to smuggle the imperial copper mines and regarded the imperial copper mines as their own vegetable garden. They plucked the radishes and sold them for takeout! Qianlong 48
What happened to the 90,000 kilograms of Yunnan copper that Jiangning sank in 2016? Do you want me to continue talking about it? It’s so unscrupulous, you bastard adds three kilograms!”
He took a sip of the tea Liu Quan handed him and said in a deep voice: "Now I ask you three to spit out five million taels. It's really a bargain for you! On weekdays, I always think that we all serve in the same court, and we always have to take care of each other's face.
, that’s why I didn’t tear things apart.”
He Shen slapped the table again, and Quan De and the other three trembled in fright. "But today, you three are so shameless! Why don't you just make a fuss today!"
The three people in Quande knelt on the ground with a bang, and begged in a cold sweat: "Zhongtang, please don't get angry, don't be angry, don't act like a kid. You are a wise man, and what you say is the truth.
You can't afford to be a low-ranking official. But whether it's the salt administration or the copper administration, it's all an old mess! You can't count your predecessor's shortcomings as small."
Quan De saw He Shen's face getting colder and colder. He gritted his teeth and said, "Do you think it's okay? We've paid for it! However, we can't even get it together even if we sell off our property."
No, you want to make an IOU? Our Lianghuai Salt Administration will pay 2.5 million, and they will each pay 1.25 million, what do you think?"
He Shen then changed his expression and said with a smile: "Sure, no matter what you do! As long as I can raise the money the emperor wants, let alone borrow it, I will do anything including murder and arson!"
He turned to Liu Quan and said, "Quan'er, write them an IOU!"
When Liu Quan finished writing the IOU, He Shen took it, folded it and put it in his sleeve with a smile. He was in charge of the household department himself, and the court borrowed money from the Lianghuai Salt Administration and the Copper Administration Department. For He Shen, it was just a matter of left hand and right hand.
thing.
The three people in Quande were so manipulated by He Shen that their calves and calves were all twisted. They were kneeling on the ground with extremely ugly expressions on their faces.
He Shen laughed, stepped forward and helped the three of them up respectively, and said: "Why are you three doing this? Come and have a drink. Friends are together for happiness. This is the court borrowing money from you, what's so scary about it?"
of."
The three people in Quande forced their smiles, which were uglier than crying. They raised their wine glasses and toasted Heshen, and then drank them all in one gulp.
Two days later, Qinggui received 3 million taels of military expenses from He Shen, and he couldn't help but feel emotional. He didn't expect that He Shen could actually make money.
Seeing Qinggui's hesitant expression, Heshen didn't have any trouble for him, and told him: "Brother Shuzhai, I am very aware of Zhao Ni's cunning. You must be more careful this time when you go north. If you don't have enough money, just ask for it."
I!"
Qing Gui felt sore in his chest. He didn't expect that the person who supported him the most was He Shen, who repeatedly bowed his hands in greeting.
A few days later, after Qinggui went north, Liu Quan went south with two hundred thousand taels of silver notes. His trip was to go to Flower and Bird Island to order another batch of pearls, large pieces of plate glass and pocket watches from Zhao Xin and the others.
. It is said that the batch of 20,000 taels of silver brought back by Ma Bashi last time caused a sensation in Jiangnan and the capital, and the supply exceeded demand. These commodities from the so-called "Ainu Country" became a popular item for the princes, ministers and ministers in Beijing.