Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 75: The Richest Man in the Qing Dynasty
On the third day of the first lunar month in the fourth year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong passed away, and Heshen was in charge of the funeral.
However, before Qianlong's coffin was buried, Guangxing wrote a letter to impeach Heshen. The next day, Jiaqing came to power and announced Heshen's twenty major crimes and sent him to prison. Liu Quan also colluded with Heshen and was imprisoned at the same time.
No prison is comfortable no matter where it is.
When Wu Chengjian was imprisoned in Guangzhou, he was considered an anomaly because someone had bribed him from top to bottom. But when it came to Heshen, he was in a very powerful position and no one dared to stand up for him even though he was the chief military minister and was imprisoned.
Wu Chengjian brought a basket and stuffed a silver ingot into the jailer's pocket. Because someone had already warned him, the jailer did not make things difficult for him. However, he kindly reminded him, "Young man, you know who is in there, don't you? How dare you come to visit at this time? Aren't you afraid of getting yourself into trouble?"
"I dare not offend the one who was the prime minister. I want to see his housekeeper." Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "I am not really here to visit him out of kindness, otherwise who would dare to do this for me? I was wrongly imprisoned in Guangzhou, and that bald guy deliberately came in to humiliate me. Now I naturally have to give him back in his own way! I have to take advantage of his imprisonment to humiliate him and take him back."
The jailer suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. Haha, don't kill him."
Following the jailer, Wu Chengjian went down the stairs. The cell was dark, damp, and even worse, cold. It was the first month of the lunar calendar in Beijing, so there was naturally no charcoal fire in the cell. The coldness was like the chill coming straight out of hell.
Although Wu Chengjian was wearing a sable fur coat worth thousands of gold, he couldn't help but shrink his head.
The torch in his hand illuminated the road under his feet. The cell was empty - not many people were qualified to live here during the first month of the year. There were only two people imprisoned at the moment.
Wu Chengjian saw a familiar figure. The man was huddled in a ball of straw and shivering. The jailer opened the door for him and then left.
Wu Chengjian put the torch in place and called out, "Mr. Quan."
A bald head rose from the straw, and in the light of the fire, he saw Wu Chengjian: "It's... it's you!"
Wu Chengjian carried the food box into the room, deliberately not looking at the next door, and squatted down in front of Liu Quan, saying, "We have known each other for a long time, and today I have come to see you off." As he spoke, he used the food box as a table and placed some wine and dishes.
The wine is Fenjiu, and the cup is just an ordinary porcelain cup.
"Mr. Wu! You are here to laugh at me, right?" Liu Quan said hatefully.
Wu Chengjian said: "If I say yes, will you feel better?"
Liu Quan was speechless for a moment.
Wu Chengjian said, "Come on, have a drink and warm yourself up. This place is so cold, it's really not suitable for human habitation."
Liu Quan was cold and hungry at the moment, and he could not resist the temptation of food and wine. He got up, picked up the cup and took a sip. The wine was warm in the food box, so it was warm wine. Once it entered his stomach, the warmth spread everywhere, making him feel like he was in heaven. Liu Quan would never have thought that a mere glass of wine could bring him such enjoyment.
Suddenly he remembered something, grabbed another cup, filled it, crawled over, stretched his hand over the prison post, and shouted, "Master, master, you also have a drink to warm yourself up."
Only then did Wu Chengjian turn his gaze to the next room.
It was an identical cell, cold, dank and damp. On the other side of the cell pillar, a man sat facing the wall, straight. Hearing Liu Quan's call, he was unmoved and did not turn around. He just waved his hand and said, "Drink it."
His voice was filled with death and despair, but not as panicked as Liu Quan's.
Liu Quan cried, "Master, Master, please just drink a glass. You haven't had a drop of water since you came here... How can I bear this?"
Heshen then turned around, and in the light of the fire, Wu Chengjian saw his face clearly. Compared to the last time they met, this man was much thinner. Although he was still handsome, he had many more white hairs on his temples.
"This is someone's treat for you, please drink it," said Heshen.
Liu Quan was sobbing.
Wu Chengjian took two steps forward and said, "Although you are a corrupt official, you are also a great figure in the modern world. It would be my honor to invite you to have a drink. Please."
Heshen glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, then turned his head away, not even bothering to say a word to Wu Chengjian.
Liu Quan became excited and poured the wine on Wu Chengjian: "Shut up! Shut up! Don't curse my master!"
Wu Chengjian couldn't dodge in time and was splashed in the face. Fortunately, it was good wine and not too hot, so it only added some wine aroma when it touched his face.
"I'm not wrong." Wu Chengjian was not angry either: "Isn't he a corrupt official? Moreover, he is the biggest corrupt official in history. What I said about him is not an insult."
"Nonsense! Nonsense!" Liu Quan said angrily, "My master...my master did it for the country, for the Qing Dynasty, for...for...for the Emperor Qianlong..."
He suddenly burst into tears: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! My master has served you all his life, and your body is still warm, how could... how could... Your Majesty, you can't do this!"
Suddenly He Shen turned around and whispered, "Shut up!"
Although he was already in prison, his authority was still there in Liu Quan's heart. After hearing this light shout, Liu Quan felt as if his neck was strangled and he became silent.
Wu Chengjian took another cup, poured another glass of wine, and handed it to the prison pillar, saying, "Master He, I came here today, firstly to end my relationship with Lord Quan, and secondly, I really want to see you for the last time. This glass of wine, Wu Chengjian toasts you."
Heshen was drinking with Liu Quan, so he didn't turn his head away. He raised his eyelids slightly and glanced at Wu Chengjian, but said nothing.
Wu Chengjian said, "I know that in your heart, I am not worthy of inviting you to drink this glass of wine. Wu is just a businessman. In the eyes of the Minister of Military Affairs, the Minister of Imperial Guards, and the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, what can I be? Not to mention a hawk or dog, I am probably not even an ant."
Liu Quan shouted from the side: "Since you know this, how dare you come and talk to my master? Go, go!"
He was so tired and hungry that he had no strength left, so he just had to shout to drive people away.
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "But, I have a secret."
He took two steps closer and said something in a vague voice. Liu Quan didn't understand, but Heshen turned around suddenly and said, "You...what did you say?"
Wu Chengjian said, "It's the one I heard with the adults."
"You mean you..."
"Yes." Wu Chengjian nodded: "I know history. So this time I came to see you, not to respect you, not to hate you, nor to pity you, but just to see... a person in history."
Heshen stared into Wu Chengjian's eyes in the firelight. Although he was about to die, his mind was surprisingly calm. His sharp gaze seemed to be able to instantly reveal the biggest secret in Wu Chengjian's heart.
He couldn't figure out what the point was in the other party telling him such a lie at this time, so he chose to believe it.
"History, history..." He Shen murmured, "So, do people have reincarnation?"
"I don't think so." Wu Chengjian said, "I think everyone's life is full of accidents. Because they are accidents, they are more worth cherishing."
"Accident... hehe, hehe..." Heshen smiled, but it didn't seem like he was laughing.
Wu Chengjian raised his glass again: "Have a drink with you, sir?"
He Shen actually reached out to take it and drank the wine: "The wine is OK, but the cup is too bad." He sighed softly: "In my life, I have poured good wine into a bad cup. I have the ability to save the country and the nation, but I have only wasted my time on a shabby thing. Since Jiaqing treats me like this, I am afraid that I will only be left with a bad name in the history books in the future!"
"Whether it is a bad cup or not is not the point for now." Wu Chengjian said, "But whether it is a good wine is also worth discussing."
Liu Quan said angrily: "Our master is of course... of course fine wine! Not only fine wine, but also unparalleled fine wine!"
"Really?" Wu Chengjian said, "In my opinion, it is beautiful, but unfortunately it is poisonous, and it is a poisonous substance that is unparalleled in the world."
"Shut up!" Liu Quan yelled, "You're talking nonsense! Although people outside are calling our master... a traitor, a corrupt official, I know that my master didn't make money just for himself, but for the country and the king! Without my master creating the system of negotiating the silver for crimes, cleaning up the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and reforming the Guangdong Customs, how could we pacify the Dzungars? How could we pacify the Hui people? How could we fight the Jinchuan War? The court had no money - did you know that the court had no money at that time?"
Wu Chengjian said: "Quan Gong is right. Lord He did have the motive of serving the country and the monarch when he amassed wealth. But what happened next? Not to mention his own corruption, the system of paying silver for crimes actually allowed corrupt officials to redeem their sins with money. After paying silver, they would no longer be punished by the law. In this way, what deterrence does the law have on corrupt officials? Corrupt officials even thought about embezzling more silver so that they could use it to pay the silver for crimes and be exempted from punishment in the future. So officials became more corrupt! The administration of officials was corrupted, the customs of the people were corrupted, and the foundation of the country was corrupted. Lord He, with your insight, can you not see that this system is tantamount to cutting out the flesh of your heart to heal the wounds of your hands and feet? Having skills but no principles is one of Lord He's biggest crimes."
Heshen, who had always been calm and composed, could not help himself after hearing this. He turned around with red eyes and said, "Big crime? Do you think this is what I want? The emperor wants to fight a war, he wants to repair the Old Summer Palace, he wants all kinds of antiques and treasures! All these need money! But the national treasury and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have no money. What should I do if there is no money? As a minister, I can only help him find ways to make money. If there were other ways to make money, do you think I would be willing to create a system of negotiating silver for crimes? No! At that time, in the Qing Dynasty, there was no other way to make money! What is there to say about having skills but no Tao? I am familiar with many books, don't I know what Tao is better than you? But I have no choice!"
"What is the Dao?" Wu Chengjian said, "When a country has Dao, it will not change, how strong it is! When a country has no Dao, it will not change until death, how strong it is! Lord He, you are well-read, so you don't need me to explain what these two sentences mean? The emperor does whatever he wants to do, whether it is good or bad, and you help him do it - what is this kind of behavior called in history? Lord He, you are the chief editor of the Siku Quanshu, you know better than me. Can a person who does evil to the emperor be considered a man of Dao? Being loyal to the emperor but not to the country is the second biggest sin of Lord He!"
The wine glass in Heshen's hand flew out of his hand, but Wu Chengjian avoided it this time. The glass hit the wall and broke into seven or eight pieces. It was obvious that he was so angry that he didn't care about his demeanor or his composure at all: "Wu Chengjian! Who do you think you are! I don't need you to judge how Heshen should do things! You are not qualified to judge!"
He then sneered, "I am unlucky now, I had expected it, but you are not much better! Although you slipped away from my hands and hid under those people's hands to survive - but those people are more greedy than me! You were in their hands, how did they get all the money that was dug out? Others were fooled by you, I know very well! Wu Chengjian, you said that I hollowed out the foundation of the Qing Dynasty, but the foundation of your Wu family was hollowed out by you! From now on, you are worthless!"
Wu Chengjian knew that he had touched the other party's sore spot and stimulated the other party's habits. Because he didn't want others to dig up his scars again, he turned the pain into an attack.
As expected, He Shen spoke more and more fluently, and he calmed down again while attacking the other party: "It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality! You are also a person who is used to living a life of luxury. Once you have no money, you will be worse off than dead! Even more, when you can no longer take out money, do you think those who are used to asking you for money will let you go? So, I am finished, but you are not much better than me!"
"No matter how bad it is, I am still alive." Wu Chengjian said, "As long as I am alive, I have money."
He Shen laughed and said, "Your life is temporarily saved, but where is your money?"
"My Lord." Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Your money is my money."
Heshen was stunned for a moment, then his face changed drastically, the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched, he wanted to say something, but couldn't.
Wu Chengjian said, "My Lord, you just said that in the Qing Dynasty, there is no better way to make money besides the system of negotiating silver for crimes. In fact, it is not true. You know it yourself, right? Maybe you didn't know those ways when the system of negotiating silver for crimes was just established, but now you already know it. This world has long passed the era of digging for food in the soil. There is a lot of money on the vast ocean - countless gold and countless silver, which are shipped from America every year. You know these now, and not only do you know them, but you have also established various corresponding trade routes in the country. This is your most amazing thing, and it is also what I, Wu Chengjian, admire you for! In your last few years, the most money you made was not corruption and abuse of power, but these businesses."
At this point, Wu Chengjian sighed: "Everyone in the world says that our Thirteen Hongs are the richest merchants in the world, but only Pan Youjie and I know that you, sir, are the real richest people in the Qing Dynasty!"
Heshen lowered his eyes to the ground, unable to speak.
"It's a pity that you found out too late. Even if you saw a wider world before other people in the Qing Dynasty, there is no turning back for you."
Wu Chengjian paused and said, "Your actions are behind the times, so that all your intelligence and wisdom can only be used to do things against the times. This is the third major sin - but this is not just your sin, but the sin of our entire country."
Heshen stood there in a daze for a long time, unable to come back to his senses.
Liu Quan became worried and called out tentatively, "Master? Master?"
Heshen's soul seemed to be called back, but he ignored Liu Quan and looked at Wu Chengjian. This time, he suddenly believed what Wu Chengjian had just said.
"So... am I really wrong?" He murmured, and then shed two lines of turbid tears. He glanced and saw that there seemed to be paper and pen in the food box, so he pointed.
Wu Chengjian handed over the paper, pen and ink. Heshen picked up the pen and dipped it in ink, but instead of writing on the paper, he wrote directly on the wall: "A hundred years is just a dream, twenty years of wasted effort. My ambition is hard to realize in the dark room, and my talent is a waste of my life. I don't think I will have much time left in my life, and I have failed the emperor's kindness."
After writing, the pen fell to the ground, and the ink splashed all over the cell.
Wu Chengjian knew that this was his last poem.
Coming out of prison and facing the night sky, Wu Chengjian breathed a sigh of relief.
The air in the prison was so bad that when I saw the night sky again, I felt refreshed instantly.
The imposing servant of the palace had been waiting there for some time. He pulled Wu Chengjian to a deserted place and said with a smile, "Official Hao, congratulations."
Wu Chengjian raised his eyebrows: "Oh?"
The palace servant smiled and said, "The emperor has just issued an order to raid Heshen's house. My master is leading the raid."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
The palace servant smiled and said, "My master said that when he met the emperor, the emperor mentioned you and said he would give you a good job. My master recommended you to be the clerk and recorder of this confiscation. The emperor has approved it."
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "That's really, really...Haha, I should congratulate myself."
"Yes, yes." The palace servant smiled and said, "Congratulations, congratulations."
In the first month of the fourth year of Jiaqing's reign, the emperor issued an edict, ordering Prince Yi Yongxuan, Prince Cheng Yongyan and others to be responsible for confiscating Heshen's property.
On the second day, the princes and ministers took out the list of confiscations, and found a total of more than 32,000 taels of gold hidden in the private vault and more than 3 million taels of silver hidden in the cellar. Sa Bintu, a minister of the Bordered White Banner, reported that this amount was less than one-tenth of Heshen's property.
The princes and ministers in charge of the search and confiscation were horrified and angry, and went to the palace to cry and complain. Emperor Jiaqing immediately issued an edict to reprimand them and dismissed Sa Bintu from his post and investigated him.
At the same time, an imperial decree was issued, allowing Heshen to commit suicide in prison.
On the same day, a gift from Wu Chengjian to Emperor Jiaqing was delivered to the Forbidden City.
Jiaqing was in a good mood because he had cleared away the roadblock of Heshen. After listening to E'luoli's report, he moved to the Imperial Garden, where he saw an ugly lump of iron.
Erluoli told Jiaqing that this was a steam engine, which had been shipped from the West for thousands of miles, and that one engine could do the work of ten people. Then he asked the young eunuch who had learned how to start a steam engine to tinker with it.
Jiaqing listened to the thumping sound and watched for a while, then he lost interest. He shook his head and said to Erluoli, "Tell Wu Chengjian to do his job honestly and avoid such strange and lewd things in the future. Don't offer them again. Useless things waste people's money and time."
Oroli hurriedly said yes.
The emperor passed away just like that. As for the iron lump, it was so ugly that it was cleared out of the imperial garden. No one knew where it ended up.
