From ancient times to the present, the country has been a big country, and during the period of feudal rule, there were many corrupt officials. There are some small corruptions that we will not talk about, but now we want to talk about the big corrupt officials. The first thing that must come to mind is definitely Hezhen.
As the originator of corrupt officials, the degree of corruption can be said to be unprecedented and unprecedented. His family was rich enough to rival the property of the Qing government's treasury, and even some jewels had never even been seen by the emperor, which can be imagined as the degree of corruption of Hezhen.
But it was such a corrupt official who was also deeply loved by the emperor. The emperor knew that he was corrupt, but he also connived at him. So much so that Jiaqing, the son of the Qianlong Emperor, once asked: You have embezzled so much money, can you spend it all?
First, the childhood experience of Hezhen
He Yan was born in a family of officials and eunuchs, and the family conditions were very good. He yan received the love of both parents before the age of three, and when he was three years old, his mother became pregnant with his younger brother and Lynn. Although he is small, he is very happy that someone can finally play with him.
However, when the mother gave birth to her brother, she unfortunately died in childbirth, leaving only her brother and Lynn in the human world. Because his father was often busy with government affairs, the little Hezhen took on the responsibility of taking care of his younger brother, and the two brothers were brothers and sisters, and there were difficulties.
Heaven did not care for the two poor brothers here, although they were born in a family of eunuchs, but they received very little love. When He yan was nine years old, his father died of illness again. The family's grandmother and some relatives wanted to kick the brothers out of the house.
There was an old servant in the house who looked at the brothers and was really pitiful, so he tried his best to beg the old lady so that she would not be thrown out of the house. After this incident, He Yan vowed to become bigger and stronger to protect his brother.
Because he was a Manchu, he knew that he had to study the Four Books and Five Classics to obtain a meritorious name. After becoming an official, no one can bully the two brothers. Later, Hezhen studied hard and was gifted at a young age. He was fluent in four languages: Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian, and Tibetan.
He knows four languages and is familiar with the four books and five classics, which is especially liked by teachers. After that, He yan had to take the meritorious examination, and at first he was admitted to a small official. However, Hezhen's appearance was very handsome, so Feng Yinglian, the governor of Zhili at the time, especially liked him.
He married his granddaughter to He yan, and this time he was in a smooth step. After that, I took various exams, hoping to go up to the next level, but the results were not satisfactory. In the end, Feng Yinglian himself became a second-grade official, which was also the beginning of corruption.
Second, embark on the road of corruption
After he served as a waiter, he was honest and honest at first, and refused bribes to anyone. But as the days go on, they can't resist the temptation. In the end, Washun embarked on the path of corruption and tirelessly. He Yan was a very talented person, not only became a waiter himself, but also became the head of the Military Aircraft Department.
Once, the Qianlong Emperor asked He yan to investigate a corrupt official, but the corrupt official and his family did not say anything about torture. Finally, He Yan and a bureaucrat went to Yunnan to deal with the case. Just when everyone was helpless, Washu thought of another person.
He remembered that this man had a general manager by his side, and this general manager was not a hard bone. But with all the trust of this corrupt official, Hezhen threw him into prison. Before the torture was given, the man confessed.
He Yan's speed of handling the case was fast, and within a few days he returned to Beijing to return to the emperor for his life. The Qianlong Emperor admired Hezhen's decisive decision to kill and reinstated him to his post. All the property of the corrupt officials was investigated and punished, and part of it was handed over to the state treasury, and the other part was enriched.
Washu tasted the taste of money and began to expand continuously. It so happened that at this time his son was again chosen as a donkey, and at this time, he's status could not have been higher. At first, some people continued to flatter, and finally Hezhen lost himself.
But what the Qing Dynasty hated most was that keju took bribes and bought and sold people's lives, so these things were not touched. He was also afraid that things would develop to the point where he could not control it in the future, so he left himself a way back, which is where Hezhen is smart.
In the end, how far is it that Hezhen has money? It is said that the crown prince broke a vase that Qianlong loved, and the prince could only ask for help from Hezhen. Unexpectedly, He yan actually took out an identical vase from the room, so the emperor had it at that time, and he yan had it.
Third, Jiaqing's doubts, and finally death
He Yan's corruption is well known, and it has attracted the dissatisfaction of many people, among which the most honorable is Jiaqing, who was still the prince at that time. Once Jiaqing really couldn't hold back, so he asked Hezhen, "You are greedy for so much money, can you spend it all?" ”
If you ask any corrupt official about this, I am afraid that you will be frightened like dust, but I did not expect that He yan was very calm and said two reasons. These two reasons actually made the Jiaqing Emperor dumbfounded, and finally he could only walk away silently.
The first reason he said: The Qianlong Emperor had a good father, and after his father died, he left him a lot of property, including the military side, and qianlong did not have to worry about it. Saying that it is a prosperous qianlong is actually borrowing his father's light.
After Qianlong became emperor, although he also tried hard to govern, his favorite was tourism. Qianlong once went down to Jiangnan seven times, otherwise how could there be summer rain on the shore of Daming Lake. Every time he went down to Jiangnan, the imperial court suffered a huge loss, and the emperor had to eat and drink well on the way.
Slowly, the Qianlong Emperor's money ran out, but he also had to go down to Jiangnan. So who pays this money, naturally it is our peace. He Yan was a small mobile treasury, as long as the Qianlong Emperor was short of money, he would find He Yan to ask for it. This was also the reason why Qianlong allowed Hezhen to be corrupt, because the money he had collected had to be used for himself in the end. He also used Hezhen as a piggy bank, and this answer made JiaQingqi dumbfounded, but there was no reason to refute it.
Washu's second reason: As a courtier, doing things requires money. Although you don't need money and power anymore, you need money to guide you when you cooperate with others. So the palace is not a simple office place, there are all kinds of people here. This complex relationship needs to be done in various ways, otherwise you will have to suffer. Washu himself said that it was not that he wanted to prepare the money, but that the state and the government needed it. He now looks down on these things.
4. Summary
And the two reasons for yan, the Jiaqing Emperor jumped straight to his feet. But Jiaqing also knew that if it were not for the emperor letting him do something wrong, he would not dare to do so. So the root is in his own father,and it is useless to punish and punish. Jiaqing becoming emperor was the last thing He yan wanted to see, and Jiaqing already hated him to the bone. Therefore, within five days of the death of the Qianlong Emperor, the Jiaqing Emperor gave death to Hezhen. The first corrupt official of the Qing Dynasty fell in this way.