Emperor Qianlong: the beginning of his glory

Chapter 44 Zhen Qian Gang E Shan Tortures Torture Officials Bestowing Soup Pots on the Emperor’s Mercy (1)
Although the folk Lantern Festival has gradually become lively as usual, the Lantern Festival in the royal palace is still very deserted because Qianlong has to observe filial piety for three years.On the fourteenth night of the first lunar month of Qianlong, he visited Zhang Tingyu, Ertai, Shi Yizhi, Sun Jiagan, Li Wei and other important military and political officials one by one. When he returned to the palace, he saw that there were white gauze lanterns hanging in front of the Chuihua Gate and the Yongxiang Lane. Swaying in the wind, flickering, flickering, feeling very desolate, unexpectedly gave birth to an inexplicable jealousy.Qianlong thought about it and went back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, looked at his watch, he called Gao Wuyong and ordered him to send Shuntianfu Yin into the palace immediately.Gao Wuyong said with a smile: "Master, I forgot that Ding Youqin, Yin Heqin of Shuntian Mansion, was vacant last month and has not filled the vacancy yet! Do you want the slaves to pass on their fellow-prefects to see you?"

"No." Qianlong was stunned for a moment before remembering, and smiled self-consciously, "I'm a little angry. It's just been a year since the late emperor passed away. Looking outside, everything seems to be fine. Those who set off firecrackers, those who walked the social fire, those who played tricks There are a lot of tricks for playing a hundred operas and playing dragon lanterns! I regard leniency as my policy, and I don’t want to be indulgent. I’m so careless, I’m really a villain! You don’t have to go to Shuntian Mansion, just pass the decree to Liu Tongxun and ask him to come in.”

"tie!"

Gao Wuyong agreed and withdrew.Qianlong made up his mind, and took a stack of memorials from the desk. The first one belonged to E Shan, and it was a memorial to the relief of victims after the flood in Anhui.In the beginning, it described in detail the flooding of the Yellow River and the collapse of seventeen places, and the disasters in seven prefectures and twenty counties, and then played:

... The Anhui chief envoy Xing Qiwen only used seven places to blaspheme the heavens, in order to deceive and cover up his crime of irregular river defense.The minister inspected the county of Shuizhou on the spot, and it is true that there are thousands of miles of Zeyuan, and there are more than ten rooms and nine empty spaces?Although winter clothes and quilts have been dispatched from Jiangsu by request, the victims are all over the place, sleeping in the wilderness under the severe frost, and sometimes the cold and hungry are thrown into the wilderness.Rich gentry from other provinces flocked to Anhui to buy slaves at low prices.In the human market, children in Huangkou are sold on straw labels. The sound of children crying and mother crying can be heard in the sky, and the minister's heart can't bear to hear it.Thinking about it, this is all the fault of Xing Qiwen and others who are greedy for positions, ignorant disasters, and Mengsai Shengcong.Assuming that Xing reported the truth at that time, our emperor has the virtue of being born like nature, and the hungry people are so miserable, how can we not add grace?According to a recent investigation, the members of the Bailian sect quite colluded with the victims in the name of doing good deeds.In order to prevent unexpected changes, the minister has boldly asked the king to order the flag to kill Xing Qiwen under the shaft.Beheading officials without asking for orders, the ministers will know the crimes, and the ministers will know the heart!
Seeing this, Qianlong's eyes jumped suddenly, and he wrote on the side of the fold with the ink pen:

Well done!What is the crime?However, the congregation should be closely interviewed in order to catch the first criminal and rectify the law of the country--I am now decreed that the taboo is like a taboo, and it will be an order forever.You can pass on my will, and quickly transfer reed mats and felts from Liangjiang, Shandong, and Zhili to distribute to the victims, so as to calm people's hearts.

Looking down, E Shan wrote:

According to the original purpose, the food for disaster relief is far from enough.Fortunately, when the former governor Li Wei was in office, there were free warehouses in every township, which can still last until February.In accordance with the old system of the first emperor's disaster relief, thousands of victims set up a porridge shed.Since the relief was established, seven Mexican county magistrates and 470 subordinate officials have been investigated and dealt with for embezzling disaster relief money.But the emperor silently checked his ministers' minds, learned the disaster situation, and hoped to dial 120 million taels of silver as soon as possible to prepare for the spring famine.Xia Mai opened the sickle, and the minister should return to Beijing to report the order and pay the order. If the minister cannot make the victims of the disaster here flooded with the emperor's grace, he will really have no face to see my sage.

Seeing this, Qianlong couldn't help but feel hot. He stared at the bright candles in front of the case, pondered for a long time, and commented word by word at the end of the fold:

Qing's loyalty to the country is as bright as the brilliance of the moon, and those who are not tempted after reading this performance are the faint emperors.I use leniency as a policy, the main point of which is to ease the government of the officials and calm the hearts of the people in the world.Civil and military ministers often neglect and slack and whitewash meritorious decrees, landowners and business households often increase their land taxes recklessly, and the sons of very poor and scoundrel tenants despise the laws and regulations.Qing took the middle way and ruled by twists and turns, which won my heart.Qing, Lu Zhuo, Li Shiyao, Qian Du, Agui, and Liu Tongxun are the newly acquired people.I used to be optimistic about Liu Kang, but now I see his shortcomings.Encourage it, don't disappoint my heart, and if you do it, you will have a kindness and decree for you!
After writing, Qianlong breathed a sigh of relief, took a sip of the milk, and took another copy, which was reported by the governor of Zhejiang Province about the closure of the Jianshan Dam project by Lu Zhuo:
... Chen Zunzhi went to check. The dam is six feet high and 740 feet long.However, Lu Zhuo's body was broken and his body was extremely weak!Now that the embankment work has been completed, Lu Zhuo is eager to return to Beijing to report his order. The minister thinks that the officer is too weak to go on the road immediately, so please order him to recuperate on the spot for three months before going to Beijing.Also, the common people here in Jinzhou have quite a few suggestions for Lu Jiansheng's temple. This matter is too big for me to specialize on my own. Please order to handle it.

Qianlong suddenly felt a burst of pride in his heart. After all, his eyesight is not bad. He just approved Lu Zhuo as a newcomer in that memorial. This memorial immediately added face to himself, so he swiped his pen to criticize:
Er can take Lu Zhuo into the yamen for recuperation, and I have sent the imperial doctor there.The birth of the shrine is subject to public opinion, but it is related to the system, and one must be built.Too much, I'm afraid Lu Zhuo won't be able to bear it, I love it!
Just as she put down her pen and wanted to read other memorials, Qin Meimei came in quietly with the curtain lifted. Qianlong saw it in a blink of an eye and asked, "Did the queen call you here? What's the matter?" Before Qin Meimei could answer, a court lady had already Raising the curtain high, Empress Fucha came in slowly, followed by a court lady who was holding a large cloisonné plate in her hand, and a hot pot on the plate was boiling hotly, whistling white smoke .The big and small eunuchs and maids of the Palace of Mental Cultivation immediately knelt on the ground.Qianlong couldn't help laughing and said: "It's so late, it's hard for you to think about it. There are more than a dozen memorials here, and they said that they will pass after reading."

"Get up." The queen looked at the eunuchs with a smile, bowed slightly to Qianlong, lied to sit on the edge of the kang opposite Qianlong, and said, "I just returned to Zhongcui Palace from the Palace of Compassion and Ning, and Lafayette said that the emperor is going to visit tonight. There is an officer outside, and I told him that I don’t need to come here today to say hello. After returning to the palace, my cook just cooked a pot of pheasant fish head tofu soup. Qianlong stood and listened to what the queen conveyed to his mother, and said "yes".Hehe smiled and said, "My 'Zitong' is still thoughtful. I just want to pass some dim sum!" Stretching out his chopsticks, he picked up a piece of thin white tofu like greasy fat from the hot pot, blew it, ate it, and scooped it up again. After tasting a spoonful of soup, she couldn't help praising: "Good!" The queen pursed her lips and smiled, "The emperor also said that he doesn't like to go to the theater, and 'Zi Tong' has been called out. Does the subordinate not laugh?"

Qianlong smiled slightly, and just scooped up the soup with a spoon.Gao Wuyong came in from outside and said: "Liu Tongxun has arrived and is waiting outside Chonghua Gate." Seeing that Qianlong was eating deliciously, Fucha hurriedly said: "Why are you so ungrateful? Tell him to wait a while! ——It's so late What is the emperor asking him to do?" Qianlong picked up a few pieces of tofu and ate it, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "This tofu soup is really good—it's like this: I'm going out for a walk tonight. Except that the red light is not hung, it is no different from previous years. The national mourning has not passed for three years, so why are people so happy? Ask Liu Tongxun to go out tonight and visit the homes of the ministers. No? Even Ertai’s house set off fireworks and served wine as a treat, it’s outrageous!”

"It's not in my business." Fucha said with a smile, "Hasn't your majesty read any books? It's human nature to go around the houses of the ministers tonight. Isn't it because it's the holidays, everyone is happy, and they go to comfort and comfort others? This way, it becomes a place to find fault with others. Is it worthwhile? Besides, Lafayette just had a decree. The relatives of the palaces have been detained for a year, and they can be relaxed, as long as they don’t need to be happy. The Palace of Compassion and Ning will hold a few banquets tomorrow night, calling the wives to come in to entertain the Lafayette! You asked Liu Tongxun to do this outside After a toss, even Lafayette's face was swept away." The queen persuaded Qianlong eloquently, which made Qianlong smile.Only then did I realize that I felt lonely and wanted to force others to be lonely too.But Liu Tongxun has already called, and he has no official business at hand, so what can I do?Thinking about it, he ordered: "Call Liu Tongxun to come in." Fucha got up and was about to leave, but Qianlong stopped him and said, "This is an upright minister, and he is in the prime of life, someone Yonglian will need in the future, you see that there is no harm. Only then did Mrs. Fucha sit down.

Liu Tongxun was called into the palace at night, but was blocked outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation and waited for a long time. He didn't know what happened, and he was always hesitating.He stood outside the hanging flower door looking at the starry sky, recalling one by one the cases he had recently handled and the errands he had assigned, going around in circles to reflect on which ones were flawed, which ones still had important points, and conspired secretly. Ask the emperor what to do and how to answer.Suddenly, it occurred to me that I should hand in a secret errand and ask myself to do it?All kinds of random thoughts filled his head.Hearing the call, Liu Tongxun hurriedly stepped into the courtyard, trotted up the steps to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and said softly: "Mr., Liu Tongxun is ordered to see you!" staggered.

"Gao Wuyong," Qianlong said in the warm pavilion, "the threshold is too high, and several foreign officials have stumbled. Tomorrow, I will order the Ministry of Internal Affairs to redo it, and it will drop three inches. Listen?" Gao Wuyong bowed hurriedly. agree.Only then did Liu Tongxun see that the Fucha family was also there, and hurriedly stepped forward and kowtowed: "My minister Liu Tongxun respectfully invites Sheng'an, and empress Jin'an! Kui Ye summoned the minister, I don't know what is the order?"

Qianlong glanced at Fucha with a smile, and said, "Don't be flustered, there is nothing important. Just now, I went out for a walk and visited several ministers' homes. I also want to see you. You just want to see me. I'm a servant, I'm afraid there will be objections. The queen just sent a pheasant fish head tofu hot pot. I enjoyed it very much, and I didn't want to finish it. The empress said that although Liu Tongxun's status is low, he is a loyal minister, so she rewarded you. Tomorrow's Lantern Festival If you want to patrol the streets, you won’t be able to eat as long as you are rewarded. Just eat here and finish it!” Fucha didn’t expect Qianlong to do it like this.Giving up the huge favor to himself, he couldn't help laughing, and got up personally to bring Qianlong's leftover hot pot and put it on the table next to Liu Tongxun.

"Thank you, master, thank you, mistress..." Liu Tongxun held back the tears that swirled in his eyes, and finally they flowed out like a sluice. The master and the empress are so caring..." He tremblingly stood up, sat on the twig, and finished the hot pot bit by bit.

Qianlong and the queen have not spoken.For fear that he would feel uncomfortable eating, the empress took a piece of paper and drew embroidered patterns on it, but Qianlong read the memorial one by one. It was not until Liu Tongxun got up to thank him that he nodded, smiled and waved his hands and said, "Sit down. Just a few words are finished, and I still have something to say." After finishing writing, he put down his pen and said, "What do you think of Liu Kang?"

(End of this chapter)