20 years ago, a TV series called "Iron Tooth Copper Tooth Ji Xiaolan" was released, and the director told the story of Ji Xiaolan and He Yanming in a very humorous way during the Qianlong period. Interesting plot coupled with the superb acting skills of Zhang Guoguo, Zhang Tielin and Wang Gang, this TV series is immediately popular all over the country, and within a few years, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th parts have been produced.
But the TV series is a TV series, history is history, the historical He Yan and Ji Xiaolan can not be so easy and witty, Qianlong as an emperor can not be so easy-going and cheerful, as we all know, He Yan finally ended up being raided and hanged himself, but for this, He Yan had already anticipated that a word at that time hinted at his future.
He Yan, born in 1750, is a famous figure in the history of the Qing Dynasty, his origin is not small, the surname of Niu Hulu, is the Manchurian Zhenghong Banner, but He Yan's luck is not very good, when he was 3 years old, his mother died in childbirth, leaving him and his brother Helin, his father also died when he was 9 years old, and Hezhen and Helin were almost "kicked out" by someone, fortunately, an old family Ding and a partial house protected them.
In this case, He Yan was very mature at a young age, he was determined to regain everything that belonged to him, so he studied more seriously than anyone, and the clever He Yan easily mastered the four languages of Manchu, Han, Mongolian and Tibetan, and was proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics, and the teachers Wu Shengqin and Wu Shenglan especially liked Hezhen and decided that he would become a great instrument in the future.
However, every time he participated in the imperial examination, he was named Sun Shan, and he was quite puzzled, but at the age of 23, he got the opportunity to show his talents in front of the Qianlong Emperor and became an attendant of Qianlong's honor guard. What is the concept of honor guard? It was quite close to the emperor, and He Yan firmly seized the opportunity and straightened Qianlong with a three-inch tongue.
The emperor is happy, is he still afraid that there is no official to do it? In the second year, He yan changed from a servant to a minister in charge of the treasury (mainly in charge of buku), at this time Hezhen learned the way of financial management, so that the stock of bu increased greatly, Qianlong was very happy; in the 4th year, he was promoted to qianqingmen guard; in the 5th year, he became the minister of military aircraft, and at the same time in charge of the internal affairs department; in the 6th year, he was appointed as the left shilang of the household department and the commander of the infantry army...
Such a speed of promotion is a miracle, Qianlong even married his beloved young daughter Gu Lun and Princess Xiao to the eldest son of He yan, and he actually became a relative of the emperor, saying that it was impossible for him to be unhappy.
Taking advantage of this relationship and the convenience of his position, Hezhen began his "career of corruption", of course, at first, Hezhen also said that he would never be corrupt and bribed, but who is right about the people's hearts? Later, He Yan was bold enough to control the imperial examination system, monopolize the imperial court scholars, and did not give him and Yan money, afraid that he would never have the opportunity to go to high school, which led to the fact that the scholars at the end of the Qianlong period were most likely from the "Hemen".
In fact, this is a very dangerous thing, even if he is greedy for money, He Yan dared to develop his own power in this way, but the blame is that Qianlong did not take any measures, even if he punished He Yan, he did not move his bones and bones, just to make a show, after all, he knew that He Yan was extremely loyal to him. It wasn't until Qianlong's 83rd birthday that He yan felt the crisis.
This year was the day of Qianlong's 58th reign, on that day he was particularly happy, asked people to bring pen and ink, write on the spot, and in a few moments, a "Zen" word came out, everyone thought it was Zen in Buddhism, Qianlong laughed with satisfaction, and the officials present also laughed with the emperor, and the hall was full of joy, but Hezhen was like dead ash.
He Yan was very good at guessing Qianlong's heart, only he understood Qianlong's meaning, and it turned out that this "Zen" was not a Buddhist principle at all, but the meaning of "Zen Rang"! Qianlong had long said that during the 61-year reign of the Kangxi Emperor, he would never surpass his grandfather, and if he reigned for 60 years, he would take the initiative to zen concessions. Wouldn't it be a dead end to lose the biggest patron, Hezhen?
In 1799, Qianlong died of illness, his son Yongyan took the throne (Jiaqing Emperor), 3 days after his father's death, Jiaqing declared 20 major sins of Hezhen, ordered the family to be raided, and received 800 million taels of silver, equivalent to 15 years of income of the Qing government. Washu was imprisoned, and 5 days later he was given a white aya and committed suicide at home.
Reference: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty