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During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, corruption was commonplace, and corrupt officials in the dynasty were common, the most famous of which was Hejun.
Hejun's corrupt behavior can be said to be all-encompassing, and he used his position to enrich himself, accept bribes, offer expensive gifts to the emperor, and buy officials to expand his sphere of influence.
Under his management, the imperial court's finances were empty, the people were destitute, and the society was in turmoil.
Although the Qianlong Emperor was aware of Helong's corrupt practices, due to his psychological dependence on Helong and the increasing power and wealth of Helong, the Qianlong Emperor did not take action, but only acquiesced to his actions.
However, when the Qianlong Emperor died, the Jiaqing Emperor finally made up his mind to settle Helong.
After the Jiaqing Emperor came to power, he took decisive measures to control the problem of corruption in the imperial government. He decided to pursue his crimes, ordered officials to examine him, and sent spies to investigate his corruption.
After a long investigation, the Jiaqing Emperor obtained conclusive evidence and finally ordered the execution of Hejun. Before the execution, Helong learned that his death was approaching, so he took out the "life-saving edict" given by Qianlong, hoping to save his life.
But when he opened it, he was surprised to find that there were only three words on the book, and in an instant, he was paralyzed on the ground, and it had become a luxury to want to live.
A corrupt official during the Qianlong period
Hejun (1750-1799), courtesy name Xide, was a Mongolian Zhengbai Bannerman, an official of the Qing Dynasty, an official to Guanglu Dafu, and the deputy capital of Manchuria with the yellow banner.
He was a minister during the Qianlong period, a feudal official, and was once praised as the "crown of Zampuchen". However, his reputation has also been heavily accused of corruption.
Both his grandfather and father served as the Yellow Banner Governors of Manchuria, and they came from well-to-do families since childhood. Since both his grandfather and father were important military generals, Helong also had access to the Qing dynasty's supreme ruler, the Qianlong Emperor.
He received a classical Confucian education from an early age, and he was very knowledgeable and outstanding in terms of intelligence.
However, instead of using his talents to serve the country and the people, he indulged in power and wealth, becoming one of the most famous corrupt officials in the history of the Qing Dynasty.
In the early years of Qianlong, Helong began his official career. At that time, the Qianlong Emperor was not long after his reign, his foreign policy was stable, he adhered to the principle of diligent administration and loving the people internally, and all the work of the state was also advancing in an orderly manner.
However, as time passed, Helong gradually became corrupt and degenerate, began to use his position to embezzle and accept bribes, monopolized power, and became the biggest corrupt official during the Qianlong period.
However, Hejun's life was not all smooth sailing, and Helong was born in the fifteenth year of Qianlong (1750), lost his mother at the age of three, and his father Changbao died when Hejun was nine years old, fortunately a hometown Ding and a side house of his father protected the two brothers Kan and Helin.
He was admitted to the Xian'an Palace, proficient in Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian, and Tibetan languages, and read through the Four Books and Five Classics. In the thirty-third year of Qianlong (1768), he married Feng, the granddaughter of Feng Yinglian, the governor of Feng Yinglian.
During the Qianlong period, Helong was not given the opportunity to be reused at first, and it was not until he showed his talents and abilities that he was gradually promoted.
The reason why he was able to show himself in front of Qianlong was because he had a deep background in homeschooling, and on the other hand, because he was diligent and studious, and constantly improved himself.
Because of his excellent work in the honor guard, he was appreciated by Qianlong and promoted to head of the internal affairs office. This was an important turning point in his promotion, and the beginning of his increasing opportunities.
In 1775, he was promoted to the rank of imperial bodyguard. Subsequently, Wakan's career rose step by step, and he served as the right attendant of Tobe to the vice president of the National History Museum, and was awarded a crown.
However, in the forty-third year of Qianlong (1778), due to the impeachment of the official Shangshu Yonggui, Helong was demoted by two ranks. In the forty-fourth year of Qianlong (1779), Helong was appointed as the imperial minister.
He rose from position to power, especially during Qianlong's forty to forty-two years.
As the chief of the internal affairs office, Hejun was in charge of the internal affairs of the palace, so he embezzled on a large scale, accepting bribes from large and small officials inside and outside the court, and taking a large amount of money for himself.
In the officialdom, he also befriended a large number of magnates, used his power for profit, and brought himself more wealth.
"The Road to Blackening"
But in fact, when he was an official at the beginning, he was still a clean official, but the successive encounters made Hejun forget his original intention,
During Hekan's work as a waiter, someone actually bribed Hekan, and this person was An Ming, but at this time, Hekan was still relatively clean and did not accept bribes.
Subsequently, Hejun promoted An Ming to become a secretary, but An Ming received news of his father's death after only a few days in office. According to the rules of the Qing Dynasty, he should go home to mourn for three years, but for the sake of his future, An Ming chose not to go home.
But the paper could not contain the fire after all, and soon this matter was known by Shang Shufeng, so Hejun also fell into the crime of covering up for favoritism.
However, after investigating the ins and outs of the matter, Qianlong believed that Helong had not shielded An Ming, but he was still demoted by two ranks, and An Ming was executed. This incident hindered Wakan's career.
In the forty years of Qianlong, Li Gongyao, a university scholar and governor of Yungui, was exposed for corruption. Qianlong sent Helong and several colleagues to thoroughly investigate Li Gongyao's case.
At first, there was no progress, but through Zhao Yiheng, the housekeeper who detained Li Gongyao, Helong learned of Li Gongyao's actions and announced these facts to Li Gongyao's senior officials. These officials came forward to accuse Li Gongyao.
In the end, with the efforts of Hejun, he obtained solid evidence and exposed Li Gongyao's corruption crime, so that Li Gongyao was sentenced to beheading and imprisonment, and severely punished.
And Hejun was richly rewarded and promoted to Hube Shangshu and became a high-ranking official in the Qing court.
This promotion is a very important milestone for Hutchison and marks a new stage in his career.
After the trial of Li Gongyao, Helong privately took most of the property of Li Gongyao and his henchmen for himself, and was also rewarded by the Qianlong Emperor. This harvest gave Wakan his first taste of power and wealth.
After that, Helong began a decades-long career of corruption, constantly extorting money from officials, merchants, and ordinary people, accepting bribes, and even hiding treasury property, taking a large amount of wealth for himself.
His corrupt behavior not only brought great losses to the country, but also plunged the people's lives into poverty and misery. According to historical records, at that time, Hekan was in charge of the internal affairs government and began to accept bribes from large and small officials inside and outside the court.
He took the opportunity to meddle in the business transaction and make huge profits from it. In addition, he kept a private possession of the treasury and hid some of his gold jewelry in his mansion.
As the Imperial Interior Office under the control of Hekan gradually expanded its size, it began to carry out embezzlement activities on a larger scale.
According to rumors, he received tribute from hundreds of officials and businessmen every day, from which he received hefty kickbacks. At the same time, he also extended his hand to the merchants and people outside, forcing them to hand over their belongings and amass wealth.
Later, Helong also carried out a large-scale expansion into Xinjiang, encroaching on a large amount of land and forcing many local residents to submit to the Qing dynasty.
In addition, he carried out large-scale conquests and plunders in Tibet. Helong's greed and corruption caused dissatisfaction and disgust among many people, but the Qianlong Emperor did not take any action against it.
Instead, the Qianlong Emperor continued to appreciate Hejun's talents, and in 1777 appointed Helong as the governor of the Eastern Factory, making him even more dominant.
During his tenure as the chief manager of the East Factory, he abused his power, brutally punished and tortured his employees, and even tried cases on his own, abusing his power to trap innocent people and other officials in injustice.
Hejun's embezzlement and corruption intensified in the later period. According to records, in 1781, Hejun admitted that he had embezzled 30 million taels of silver in front of Chen Weisong, the imperial doctor.
In the forty-fourth year of Qianlong (1779), Hejun's corrupt activities reached their peak. It is rumored that at that time, he gave a large amount of gold jewelry and other valuables to his family members and cronies, doubling his wealth even more.
In addition, he extended his hand to the people, forcibly expropriated the wealth of the people, plundered a large number of cultural relics and treasures, and caused great damage to the cultural and historical heritage of the country.
Over time, corruption and embezzlement became more and more obvious in Helong, and in the fifty-fourth year of Qianlong (1789), it finally aroused the alarm of the Qing court.
The Qing government investigated him, and during the investigation, Helong was found to have a huge amount of property, and Helong's property was found to be the largest among Qing officials, totaling tens of millions of taels of gold, worth hundreds of millions.
These assets were not only the proceeds of embezzlement, but also the wealth he had acquired through other illegal activities, and he was finally arrested in the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong (1790).
In Hekan's case, the total amount of his wealth was staggering, and the wealth of other Qing officials was much higher, which also shows his power and wealth status in Qing officialdom.
Life-saving book
In the 55th year of Qianlong (1790), Helong was censored by the Qing government for corruption and sentenced to death. At this moment, Hekan began a difficult road to survival.
After Hejun was arrested by the Qing government, he began a series of survival operations.
He knew he had committed a heinous crime and had to do everything possible to save his life. He Juan knew very well that if he could not obtain the amnesty of Emperor Qianlong, then his fate would be very tragic.
In early August of the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong (1790), Helong wrote a letter of survival to Emperor Qianlong. The letter is known as the "Letter of Life".
In this letter, Helong first expressed his loyalty and reverence to the Qianlong Emperor, emphasizing that he had worked his whole life for the prosperity of the emperor and the country.
He pointed out that he has held a number of high-ranking official positions, such as Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials, Shangshu of the Military Department, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, and Prince Taibao, and after becoming the chief manager of the East Factory, he has also been committed to eliminating risk factors inside and outside the country and maintaining the stability and security of the country.
He also expressed to the Qianlong Emperor that he was very grateful for the emperor's trust and appreciation, and vowed to protect the dignity and glory of the imperial family. In addition to expressing his loyalty and reverence, he also described in detail his past exploits and contributions to the country.
He noted that he had led several important military operations and had made significant contributions to national security and territorial expansion.
He also emphasized his indelible contribution to the political and economic development of the Qing Dynasty, and his reform measures greatly improved the country's financial situation and made a great contribution to the country's prosperity.
He claimed that his crime was "falsely accused of adultery" and assured that "true feelings come from the heart." He begged Qianlong not to kill him, giving him the opportunity to pay for his crimes and contribute more to the country.
In the letter of salvation, Helong also told Qianlong that he was willing to hand over all his possessions as long as he could save his life.
He asked Qianlong to give him a chance to become a new person and contribute more to the country. In his letter of life, he also stated that he was willing to pay for his death, as long as Qianlong could keep his family and descendants safe.
Wakan's life-saving letter expresses his deep repentance, but also reflects his desire to survive.
He knew very well that he had made an irreversible mistake, and if he could not obtain Qianlong's amnesty, he would face the end of his life and the end of his family.
Therefore, he not only expressed his loyalty and reverence for the emperor in his letter of life, but also expressed his willingness to sacrifice his wealth and life just to get a glimmer of life.
After the letter of salvation was issued, Kazukan's fate fell into suspense. He spent months in prison, awaiting the emperor's verdict. During this time, Helong constantly sent people to deliver news to Qianlong, hoping to obtain the emperor's pardon.
He even approached the emperor's cronies and important officials in the dynasty and asked them to intercede for himself and help him out of his predicament.
Although Helong was later blessed by the Qianlong Emperor, with the death of Qianlong, the succession of the Jiaqing Emperor, and the era of Helong doing whatever he wanted finally ended.
In the fourth year of Jiaqing (1799), he decreed that he be removed from his post and sent to prison. Only fifteen days after the death of the Qianlong Emperor, the Jiaqing Emperor ordered Helong to be executed.
With the last illusion, Helong took out the "Edict of Saving Life" given to him by the Qianlong Emperor, but after opening it, there were only three words in it - save the corpse. Seeing these contents, Hejun Xin suddenly cooled a half.
Subsequently, Wakan, who knew that he would not survive, chose to commit suicide in prison at the age of forty-nine.
Abuses of power and corruption will eventually be punished as they deserve, whether in ancient times or in modern times. As a corrupt official, Hejun occupied a high position for a long time and acted arbitrarily, but he was eventually exposed and faced the threat of death.
At the same time, those in power should have the courage and determination to take decisive measures to curb corruption, rather than sitting idly by or acquiescing in the actions of corrupt officials.
Do not easily believe the so-called "life-saving edict", only your own justice and conscience are the most reliable protection.
He was finally exposed because his corrupt behavior had reached the point where it could not be concealed, and no matter what kind of "life-saving edict" he held in his hand, he could not resist the trial of justice.
Therefore, we should always keep a clear head, not be fooled by power and money, always adhere to the standards of justice and morality, and be a responsible and conscientious citizen.