And The Greed for Money monopoly
He Shen was a big red man on the side of the Qianlong Emperor, he was greedy for money and authoritarian, and no one in the imperial court dared to offend him.
Once, Sun Shiyi, the governor of Liangguang, was waiting outside the imperial palace for the emperor to receive him, and happened to meet Hezhen. Hekun asked, "What did you take?" Sun Shiyi said it was a snuff bottle. He took a look at it, and it turned out to be a snuff bottle made of a large pearl, crystal clear and very exquisite. "Okay with me?" he asked. Sun Shiyi was shocked and said, "I have already submitted it to the emperor in advance, and I really want to offer it..." He Yan smiled slightly and said, "I'm joking with you!" "After a few days, He Yan said to show Sun Shiyi a treasure given by the emperor, and took it out to light up, it was actually the pearl snuff bottle!" Sun Shiyi was very confused, and only later did he know after inquiring from many sources that he did not say that he had secretly left the palace with He Yan.
In his later years, the Qianlong Emperor gave Hezhen a lot of power, and coupled with the fact that Hezhen's son married the emperor's daughter, he was even more invincible, and even the Newly enthroned Jiaqing Emperor respected him. If there was anything to play the Emperor Taishang, the Jiaqing Emperor would have to ask for instructions and yan first.
In 1799, the Qianlong Emperor died, and the Jiaqing Emperor, who had long been fed up with the nest, immediately ordered the capture of Hezhen. When he confiscated his family's property, he found seventy-five pawnshops, forty-two silver shops, thirteen antique shops, two jade warehouses, and countless gold and silver treasures, worth eight hundred million taels of silver, equivalent to the income of the national treasury for ten years. These properties eventually flowed into the imperial palace, so there is a folk saying that "Hekun falls, Jiaqing is full".
(Excerpt 5,000 years of Hua Shangxia)