As the first giant greed of the Qing Dynasty, the name of Hezhen is well known. Because there is Qianlong as a protective umbrella, Hezhen can be said to be greedy and cheerful. According to the "List of Raids and Treasures of the Family Property" written by the late Qing dynasty diplomat Xue Fucheng, He yan embezzled a total of more than 260 million taels of silver, plus antique calligraphy and paintings without valuation, and reached 1.1 billion taels of silver.
You know, at that time, the Qing government's annual revenue was only 70 million taels of silver, and the embezzled stolen funds of Hezhen were enough to feed the Qing Dynasty for 15 years, and it is no wonder that the people have the saying that "Hezhen fell, and Jiaqing was fed".
It is worth mentioning that Washu was not so bad at the beginning. He was also an aspiring young man, but he slowly lost his mind under the corrosion of money and power.
When he was 3 years old, Washun's mother died in childbirth due to the birth of her younger brother and Rin, and her father also died of illness when washun was 9 years old. The death of both parents is undoubtedly a huge blow to the Hezhen family. As the eldest son, the burden of supporting the family fell on hezhen's shoulders.
In order to get ahead, He Yan studied very hard, and at a young age, he mastered the four languages of Manchu, Han, Mongolian and Tibetan, and later was admitted to the Xian'an Palace and successfully embarked on a career path. Because of his good looks, He yan also married the granddaughter of a governor and has had a patron ever since.
Maybe he was poor and scared when he was a child, and washu had an infinite desire for money and power. In order to realize his ambitions, Hezhen did not stop by becoming the granddaughter-in-law of the governor, but studied harder, waiting for the day when he could become famous. Finally, at the age of 23, he was given a chance to serve as an attendant of the emperor's honor guard.
Because of the relationship between the position, the contact between Yan and Qianlong became frequent. Qianlong also felt more and more that this was not simple, not only would he be able to do things, but he could even be said to be very shrewd. Soon, He Yan was appreciated by Qianlong, and he was promoted from the attendant of the ceremonial team to the third rank in a row and became the minister of military aircraft.
He Yan, who had just become the Minister of Military Aircraft, was not a corrupt official, and even said that he was a little incorruptible. But as time went on, more and more people began to fall. Especially after Qianlong asked him to investigate the former giant greedy Li Shuyao, seeing Li Shuyao's room full of gold and silver treasures completely stimulated he's deep desire for money, and from then on, he embarked on a road of no return.
After becoming a corrupt official, He Yan was not only greedy to do whatever he wanted, but also greedy for many tricks. He invented a method of embezzlement in a vacuum, and some people still imitate it. And what is the specific method?
As a giant greed of the Qing Dynasty, He Yan's favorite at that time was the New Year. When it comes to the New Year, people have a lot of personal contact, and it is also the time when Hezhen receives the most gifts in the year. Because everyone gave silver, and the number of people who gave gifts was increasing year by year, later, the small vault of the Heyan family was really piled up. In addition, the silver is really simple and rough and too high-profile, although there is Qianlong as an umbrella, but it is still necessary to do a look to avoid suspicion. As a result, Hezhen began to refuse to accept the money.
At first, everyone thought that Hezhen had reformed from evil, and immediately, people realized Hezhen's true intentions. It turned out that the non-cash collection of cash and Yan frantically implied that others would send him some antique calligraphy and paintings, and these things became the new darling of Hezhen because of their great collection value, flexible and concealed, and not easy to be caught.
Therefore, by the time of the New Year, Hezhen had basically confiscated the silver, all of which were antiques. Later, He Yan also opened several antique shops in the capital, selling antiques that he did not like in the shops. Those who want to tie the knot and can't touch the threshold can go directly to the store to buy hezhen antiques, and hezhen has really done mass trafficking in corruption.
It is said that this routine of sending calligraphy and painting to send antiques, although it was first created by Hezhen in the past, but to this day, there are still people who use it. However, these corrupt officials will eventually end up with the same fate as the Hezhen of that year, and only by being a clean official who is bent on the people and not tidying up these moths will they be supported by the people and will be passed on for all eternity.