The Qing Dynasty was the last feudal dynasty in history and the most powerful dynasty in history, with monarchical power surpassing any previous dynasty. Although the imperial power of the Qing Dynasty was highly concentrated, there were still many powerful ministers who controlled the government, such as Aobai, Suo Etu and others, and the emergence of these courtiers had a very important impact on the Qing Dynasty. In particular, during the Qianlong period, the powerful minister He Yan, during the few years when Qianlong was the emperor of the Taishang, he was once jokingly called the "Second Emperor" by the Wen and Wu officials.
He Yan was probably the last powerful courtier in history to have a huge influence on the government, and the subsequent Mu Zhang'a and Rong Lu were completely incomparable with him in this regard. During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, He Yan had begun to take charge of the imperial government, and successively served as the foreman of the military aircraft, the chief university scholar of the cabinet, the Shangshu of the Li Fan Yuan, and dozens of important positions such as the Household Department, the Punishment Department, and the Official Shangshu. After Qianlong ceded the throne to Jiaqing, Hezhen's power reached its peak, and even to a certain extent imprisoned qianlong and Jiaqing's personal freedom.
The Qianlong Emperor lived to a high life expectancy of 89 years, and in his later years it was inevitable that the phenomenon of slacking off the government occurred, and he became more and more dependent on he and Yan in handling the government. However, Qianlong's desire for power did not fade with age, and even after he ceded the throne to Jiaqing, he still did not really delegate power to Jiaqing, but continued to control the government through Hezhen. It was precisely because of this that Hezhen had the opportunity to take advantage of and toy with both Qianlong and Jiaqing.
When Qianlong ascended to the throne in his later years, his body was not as old as before, so he had Jiaqing and Hezhen stand on either side of him, and ordered Hezhen to be responsible for playing the newspaper and conveying the edict, while Jiaqing, although he was an emperor, could only sit on the cold bench next to him. At this time, He yan was almost equivalent to the regent, and the things that the ministers played needed to be told to He Yan first, and then it was up to He Yan to decide whether he needed to play it and report it to Qianlong. Similarly, every decision made by Qianlong would be first informed of Hezhen, and then communicated to the chancellor by Hezhen.
Relying on Qianlong's trust, He Yan controlled the government, excluded dissidents, and amassed countless wealth, even Jiaqing did not pay attention to it. It can be imagined that in the years when Qianlong was emperor, how high the anger in Jiaqing's heart was, I am afraid that only he knew in his heart.
Once, Jiaqing couldn't help it, and he asked Hezhen, can you spend all your greedy money in your lifetime? He Yan only said 2 points, leaving Jiaqing dumbfounded. He Yan said that although he was greedy for a lot of money, he was also helpless. First of all, although he is greedy for more money, this money is not his own, but is prepared for the emperor, otherwise where will he get the money to go to Jiangnan for a cruise? The second point is that if you are an official in the DPRK, it is inevitable that you will be sent to, if there is no silver, who is willing to do things for yourself in a down-to-earth manner?
Although Jia Qingming knew that He Yan was messing around, he could not say anything to refute it. Because although the Qing Dynasty during the Qianlong period was strong and powerful, the income of the imperial court in the last years of Qianlong was already much worse than before, and Qianlong had always spent money in a big way, never knowing what to save, and the silver in the treasury was not enough, and it was indeed necessary to ask for money from Hezhen's hands. As for the second point he said, having money and doing things well has indeed become the norm in the official field of the Qing Dynasty.
However, although Jiaqing could not find a reason to refute Hezhen, it did not mean that he did not remember hating Hezhen in his heart.
In the first month of the fourth year of Jiaqing, the Qianlong Emperor, who ruled the Qing Dynasty for 63 years and 4 months, died, and Jiaqing ordered He yan to preside over the funeral of the Qianlong Emperor. However, when he had just buried the old emperor, he was executed by the new Emperor Jiaqing, who already had real power. From the time Qianlong died to the execution of Hezhen, it was only 15 days in between, and a generation of powerful ministers and Yan ended their lives, and the huge family property he left behind became Jiaqing's bag.
He Yan controlled the government for decades, and won the trust of the Qianlong Emperor, took the opportunity to covet a large amount of silver, it is said that after He Yan was raided, he accumulated 800 million taels of silver, which is equivalent to the financial revenue of the Qing Dynasty for more than ten years. However, not all of this money was actually obtained by Hezhen, and some of it was not "earned" by using his position. When he was an official in the DPRK, he not only controlled important departments such as the household department, the official department, and the punishment department, but also operated 75 pawnshops, more than 300 money houses, and even had business dealings with the British East India Company and the Guangdong Thirteen Elements.
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial court's tax revenue was only 70 million taels per year, and Hezhen accumulated a huge wealth of up to 800 million taels of silver by virtue of his power and position in his hands, which was almost equivalent to the sum of the taxes of the Qing Dynasty in 15 years. However, what He Yan did was to make wedding dresses for others, and the huge wealth he accumulated in his life was finally cheapened jiaqing in vain, so after he died, the folk left a well-known 8 words: He Yan fell, jiaqing was fed.