The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 345: Qianlong's arrival

In the Qing Dynasty, in the capital, I, Emperor Qianlong, was laughing heartily in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, because the Jiarong area was finally completely pacified, and the battles of Jinchuan and Dajinchuan were over.

In the first month of this year, Garya, the last stronghold of the Dajinchuan chieftain Sonomu, was captured, and Sonomu tied himself up and surrendered.

In February, the news reached Beijing. Emperor Qianlong was extremely disgusted with Sonom and was afraid that if he escaped, it would bring instability to the Jiarong area again. So he ordered Agui to execute Sonom by slow slicing in Chengdu.

In March, Agui executed Sonom by slow slicing in Chengdu and killed all his family members, regardless of gender, age or status.

In May, the Qing Dynasty established five settlements in the Jiarong area, namely Maogong, Zhanggu, Fubian, Suijing and Chonghua, stationed troops to cultivate the land, abolished the chieftains, replaced them with itinerant officials, and added the Chengdu General of the Eight Banners to specifically suppress the southwest.

The army then returned, stopping and resting along the way, and finally returned to Beijing in September.

However, Qianlong was happy for a while, then he sighed heavily, damn, more than 60 million taels of silver!

There are only about 30,000 or 40,000 able-bodied rioters in the entire Jiarong area. Even if we use money to destroy them, more than 1,000 or 2,000 taels per person is enough to buy out their entire families.

The officials below were really too greedy and dared to take any money. Qianlong himself estimated that at least 20% to 30% of the military pay went directly into the pockets of officials at all levels.

Well, he still underestimated it. As for the ethics of the Qing Dynasty officials, at least half of them were corrupt.

"Zhizhai!" Qianlong called Heshen beside him affectionately.

At this time, He Daren's status had begun to soar rapidly, because he was the best at guessing Qianlong's thoughts, and therefore his words and actions were most in line with Qianlong's wishes.

"In this world, those who truly serve are always a minority. Since I ascended the throne, I have been most concerned about rectifying the administration of officials, but these corrupt officials are always being killed and cannot be completely eliminated. What can I do?"

It sounds a bit strange, right? Qianlong actually talked about rectifying the administration of officials with Heshen, one of the biggest corrupt officials in history.

Well, that's not right, because when Emperor Qianlong first used Heshen, he actually wanted to use him as a cruel official and wanted Heshen to stop the increasingly corrupt officialdom.

I have to say, this is really a kind of black humor.

Heshen was a very smart man. He knew that he was able to ascend to the throne because of the leak of secrets by his personal eunuch Gao Congyun last year, which dealt a heavy blow to the emperor's confidence.

As a result, the emperor now no longer trusts the eunuchs in the deep palace, nor the Han ministers around him. Even people like Gao Congyun and Yu Minzhong can betray him. In Qianlong's view, all Han people in the world are not trustworthy.

Therefore, Qianlong trusted the Manchus around him more and more. Over the past year, not only Heshen was promoted, but also quite a number of young Manchus were promoted. Now it depends on who can do the job well and gain more favor.

But Heshen did not respond immediately. He knew that so much silver was spent in the Jinchuan Campaign, and there must be corruption from top to bottom.

But this kind of corruption is not the kind where one person takes millions of taels of silver, but the whole line is rotten, and it is caused by at least thousands of officials who are involved in it, one by one and another.

If you really want to investigate, not only will you not find many corrupt officials, but you may also offend a lot of people.

Because the war has been won, one victory can cover up a hundred faults. If you investigate the faults of the meritorious officials now, it might be considered that the emperor wants to treat the meritorious officials poorly. By then, you won't find many corrupt officials, but will get yourself into trouble.

Smart people and adults would not do such a thing as going against all the officials in the world. Only fools like Deng Chenchang would be willing to do it.

He looked up quietly and saw that there was indeed a slightly confused look in the emperor's eyes. Heshen was very glad that he had not responded just now. Now there is still room for turning the situation around.

So he whispered softly in front of Qianlong: “Your Majesty, General, the Minister of the Interior is still loyal to the country.

"I have heard that the Grand Secretary braved the arrows and stones and charged into the front lines many times, contributing greatly to the victory over Sonom. Many of our other bannermen also appreciate the grace of His Majesty and are repaying it without fear of swords."

Heshen naturally knew who was the most important in Qianlong's heart, so he deliberately said good things about him first. Sure enough, when Qianlong heard that Heshen also praised Fu Kang'an, he couldn't help but show joy on his face.

"But this world, after all, belongs to us bannermen. Those Han officials are just housekeepers, storekeepers, and guards. They are in high positions, so it is inevitable that they will take advantage of the situation and disregard the grace of the emperor."

"Be careful what you say!" Upon hearing Heshen say this, Emperor Qianlong's eyes suddenly became fierce. "My Great Qing Dynasty is one with the Manchus and the Han people. You are my close minister and confidant. How can you have such thoughts?"

Heshen knelt down with a thud, without any preparation. His eyes turned red and tears rolled down.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. I have been taught by you day and night, so I naturally know the importance of the unity of Manchus and Han people. But I really feel sorry for you!"

As I was talking to the adult, I was already in tears and sobbing, and I looked even more miserable than he himself.

"Your Majesty, in order to unite the Manchus and the Han, has shown unparalleled kindness to those Han ministers, yet these people are still unsatisfied and collude with each other. Your servant... wuwuwu, your servant wishes to kill these heartless people with his own hands."

The collusion between the upper and lower levels that Heshen mentioned refers to the incident last year where Gao Yuncong, the eunuch who was like Emperor Qianlong's personal secretary, leaked all of Emperor Qianlong's personality, preferences, and his usual evaluation of ministers to foreign officials.

This incident is not well-known in history, but it had a huge impact on Qianlong.

It dealt a heavy blow to Qianlong's self-confidence. When he thought that even the people around him didn't see through him, Qianlong, who claimed to be the greatest emperor of all time, felt a chill all over his body. He began to realize that he was not as great as he had imagined.

After this blow, Qianlong, who had been willing to maintain a tough style in all aspects of official administration, completely withered.

He lost the will to continue fighting against the entire bureaucratic group and began to seek psychological comfort in martial arts, intending to leave a good reputation after his death.

The idea of the Ten Complete Martial Arts began to emerge after this severe blow.

Emperor Qianlong, who was very concerned about his reputation, did not want to talk about this matter because it was too embarrassing. Therefore, even though Heshen was crying, he only vaguely explained the connection between the upper and lower parts.

However, these words really touched Qianlong's heart. If it weren't for the fact that so many years of being the supreme ruler had tempered Qianlong's mind, he would have wanted to shed a few tears with Heshen.

In Qianlong's view, he felt really aggrieved. He felt that he had done nothing wrong to his ministers, but he ended up being betrayed like this.

But when Heshen saw that Qianlong was about to be emo, he immediately changed the subject.

"Your Majesty, please do not be saddened by these penny-wise men. We, the servants of the Eight Banners, are still dedicated to our work and loyal to our country.

Although the battle of Jinchuan cost a lot, it ultimately brought stability to the southwest and deterred some ambitious people in Resa, so the money was well spent.

As for the national treasury that was embezzled by those reckless individuals, I will make them spit it all out!"

Huh, Qianlong looked at Heshen in surprise. This is tens of millions of taels. How is it possible for him to spit it all out?
However, thinking that Heshen always avoided exaggeration, Qianlong asked him to explain in detail how to make these people return the embezzled money. Heshen only needed to look at Qianlong's expression to know that he had made the right bet again. The emperor was telling him that a lot of military funds had been embezzled during the Jinchuan Campaign, but in fact, he was not talking about the embezzlement itself.

Haha, it would be strange if there were officials in my Qing Dynasty who were not corrupt.

So what the emperor really cares about is money.

The battles in Jinchuan cost more than 60 million taels, emptying more than half of the national treasury. However, the emperor still wanted to go to the south of the Yangtze River again to take another look at this misty water town, and the cost was not small.

At the same time, the situation in Annan was becoming increasingly unsettled. It was said that the river immortal Mo Wu had already conquered most of Jiaozhi.

He is a remnant of the former Ming Dynasty. If he is allowed to get close to Guangdong and Guangxi, God knows how much trouble he will cause. Therefore, he must be punished. Even if he is not destroyed, he must be prevented from taking control of Jiaozhi.

To put it mildly, these two issues cannot be resolved without at least 30 million taels of silver. If they cannot be resolved quickly, it is not impossible that the cost will be almost the same as that of the Jinchuan Islands.

"I have read in the Book of Han that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, in order to defeat the Xiongnu in the north and eliminate a major threat to the country, established a ransom for the dead to replenish the national treasury.

In order to ensure the eternal security of the Qing Dynasty, His Majesty had to fight wars in the south and the north and suppress the rebellious forces, even if it meant bearing the infamy. The money he spent was far more than what the Han Dynasty spent.

Therefore, I ask His Majesty to follow the system of the previous Han Dynasty and set up a redemption silver system, allowing officials throughout the country to pay fines and be exempted from punishment. In this way, the money they have worked hard to embezzle will naturally return to the national treasury, and the people will not be charged a single cent, while the national finances will be sufficient.

The system of redemption silver, which led to the complete collapse of the Qing Dynasty's officialdom, was proposed by Heshen about three years later in 1778, and then implemented in 1780.

But in this time and space, Mo Zibu posed too great a threat to the Qing Dynasty in Annan.

Moreover, Qianlong also felt from the war against Burma that Mo Zibu's combat effectiveness was higher than that of the White Elephant King. Therefore, Qianlong believed that dealing with Mo Zibu would probably not be much easier than fighting against the Jinchuan brothers.

We can definitely win, but we cannot rely on the Eight Banners alone. We must mobilize the cannon fodder of the Green Camp, and if we mobilize the Green Camp, we will have to spend money like water.

Therefore, at this time, while Qianlong was thinking about not leaving any worries for his descendants, he also knew that he had to make a lot of money.

But Qianlong, who had been pretending to be a sage and benevolent ruler for decades, still had some dignity. He looked at Heshen and asked:

"After Emperor Wu of Han paid for the ransom of his deceased father, his reputation was not very good. Although I am not a virtuous person, I do not want to follow his example and let the world think that I am competing with the people for profit."

He Shen prostrated himself on the ground again and said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to express your opinion. Leave this matter to me. I will do my best to ensure that Your Majesty will not lack money for his use."

If I am guilty, it is because I misunderstood His Majesty's will and committed corruption and abuse of power. It has nothing to do with Your Majesty."

Qianlong was satisfied, but Heshen still had to take all the blame, so he waved his hand and asked Heshen to stand up.

As long as he didn't leave a bad reputation, Qianlong didn't care whether he really didn't take a penny from the people.

Our Qing Dynasty is vast, how can everyone live a life of luxury? Isn't it normal for some people to live a hard life?
My Qing Dynasty has had three wise emperors who have distributed the tax burden according to the amount of land used and never increased taxes. They have brought so many benefits to the people of the world. Now that we are in trouble, what's wrong with asking you, the penniless people, to contribute some money?
Now is the time for you to serve the court and the king.

In October, Lord He, who had finally embarked on his destined path in history, began to take off. Qianlong appointed him as the Minister of Military Affairs, the Minister in Charge of the Imperial Household Department, the Commander-in-Chief of the Bordered Blue Banner, and other positions, and began to prepare for making money.

In this time and space, I, King Mo, can be said to be your benefactor.

If it weren't for my King Mo's turmoil, according to the course of history, Your Excellency's career would have suffered considerable setbacks, and it would not have been until 1779 that it began to prosper.

Also in October, the army that had conquered the Jinchuan region returned to Beijing, and Emperor Qianlong personally went to the southern suburbs of the capital to welcome them.

In this battle, the Qing Dynasty lost 60 million taels of silver, more than 2,000 Eight Banner soldiers were killed, tens of thousands of Green Camp soldiers were killed, and tens of thousands of civilians were lost. It can be said that the loss was extremely tragic.

But on the other hand, the Qing Dynasty killed all those who disobeyed the imperial court in the entire Jiarong region and eradicated them completely, which greatly intimidated the upper-class nobles such as the chieftains in the Qingtang Plateau and the southwest who had separatist tendencies.

Historically, until the founding of New China, the remaining chieftains in this area still paid tribute to the capital according to the system, and still benefited greatly from the two wars against the Qing Dynasty.

At the same time, the Qing Dynasty was not completely without gain. The intermittent battles of Jinchuan for thirty years trained a group of extremely brave local soldiers and Green Camp soldiers in the Jiarong area who were good at plateau combat.

Thirteen years later, Fukang'an, Hailancha, Zhu Shedou and others launched a counterattack against the Gurkhas on the plateau. The main force that crossed the remote snow-capped mountains and rushed thousands of miles to Kathmandu were the local soldiers and Green Camp soldiers who participated in this battle.

Eighteen years later, Jiaqing was nearly stabbed to death at Shenwu Gate by Chen De, a cook who was fired from the Imperial Household Department. In the beginning, the people who risked their lives to block the knife for Jiaqing and prevented him from becoming a laughing stock were Jiaqing's brother-in-law Lawangdorji and two Jiarong Tibetans who were promoted for their merits.

After personally welcoming him outside the city, Emperor Qianlong held a banquet in the Ziguang Pavilion, conferred the title of third-class Jiayong man on Fu Kang'an, and gave him twelve rolls of satin and five hundred taels of silver. The rest of the officers and generals were also rewarded.

Agui, Fukang'an, Hailancha and others were even given the treatment of being honored with images in the Purple Light Pavilion.

At this time, Le Vieu and Nguyen Van Hue in the south sent petitions one after another, and the envoy of the Later Le Dynasty, Vu Chen Shao, had also arrived in the capital, but Qianlong still forbeared and did not speak out.

Because the army had just returned to Beijing, it was impossible to move out without resting for a year or two.

At the same time, most of the artillery in various places was in the hands of the banner army, and Mo Zibu, who was leading the expedition this time, was also famous for his large number of guns and cannons. Qianlong also needed to transport the artillery to Guangdong in advance for preparation.

Therefore, Qianlong completely ignored the pleas of Le Vieu and Nguyen Van Hue, and only sent people to appease them secretly. He even did not stop Mo Zi Bu's tin mine trade privileges, intending to paralyze Mo Zi Bu.

In mid-October, Emperor Qianlong ordered the Manchu minister, Yonggui, a member of the Plain White Banner and the Manchu Minister of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of War, to go south to Guangzhou to take up the post of Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and to exchange Li Shiyao, whom he believed to have connections with Mo Zibu.

He also replaced Zhong Yin with Yin Jishan's son Qing Gui as the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and carried out a large-scale reorganization of the Fujian and Zhejiang navy, ready to cooperate with Guangdong and Guangxi in combat at any time.

At the end of October, just over ten days after Fu Kang'an arrived home, Emperor Qianlong ordered him to take up the post of General of Heilongjiang, which was entirely aimed at the Solon people.

At the same time, Qianlong ordered the Ili General, Yiletu, a member of the Plain White Banner, to transfer 2,000 Xibai musketeers (Xibe) stationed in Ili and 2,000 cavalry stationed in Ili to secretly go to Huguang for training and to adapt to the local climate.

In the same month, Petrus, the governor of the Dutch East India Company who was like the King of Batavia, died and was succeeded by Jeremias.

Although Petrus was greedy, he had prestige in Batavia that no one else had and was the ballast of the Dutch East India Company in Java.

After his death, the remaining ones were unable to completely win the support of the people, the open and covert struggles became more intense, and chaos descended upon the entire Nanyang.

(End of this chapter)