"Let me tell you, sir, since you have saved millions of taels of silver for the national treasury, you have become the emperor's favorite and confidant..."
"No matter how well you do the disaster relief work here in Taiyuan Prefecture, you will only get some good reputation, without any actual benefits..."
"As a high official of the imperial court, you should focus your main energy on the heavy court affairs. What you said to me, sir, is this true?"
If Zhang Tong's words were meaningful, the shrewd He Shen could not discern the deep meaning in his words.
However, He Shen did not answer the question because it was difficult to answer and it was very difficult...
On He Shen's side, after hearing this, he just cupped his hands and said lightly: "Eunuch Zhang, what you said is absolutely true. I have learned a lesson."
"I also asked Eunuch Zhang to go back and report to the emperor, saying that I will definitely return to the capital within the next two days."
While speaking, Zhang Tong, the eunuch's supervisor, had already stood up, bowed his hands to Heshen in return, and said: "Master Heshen, we have already informed you of the emperor's verbal decree..."
"The Emperor still needs our services, and we don't dare to delay. I'll take my leave now. We'll see you in the capital."
With that said, Zhang Tong didn't wait for He Shen to persuade him to stay. He touched his sleeves and turned to leave.
"Eunuch Zhang is leaving now? Don't you want to have a meal in the mansion?"
While speaking, He Shen winked at He Er. After seeing a reluctant look on He Er's face, He Shen saw this and glared at He Er again.
Seeing He Shen's attitude, He Er had no choice but to walk to Zhang Tong's side, hold Zhang Tong's hand, and persuade He Shen to stay together: "Yes, Eunuch Zhang, just have a meal here before leaving. Bar."
Between the sleeves of the handle, a banknote worth ten thousand taels had been stuffed into Zhang Tong's hand.
the other side!
After Zhang Tong held hands, he took a peek at the amount of the banknote in his hand. The next second, his face was filled with a sincere smile...
Immediately afterwards, Zhang Tong turned around and said to He Shen: "Oh, it's not that our family doesn't want to have a light meal here, it's just that the emperor cannot do without our family's service..."
"To be honest, over the years, our family has been traveling day and night in order to deliver edicts to the emperor. We cannot delay a meal. Please forgive me, sir."
"………………"
After hearing this, He Shen nodded, sighed, and said with admiration: "I admire Eunuch Zhang for his loyalty to the emperor. No wonder the emperor has been waiting for me all these years..."
"I don't know, what happened in the capital in the past few months since I left the capital?
When Zhang Tong heard this, he nodded, seemed to remember something, patted his forehead, laughed exaggeratedly, and said.
"Kekeke, oh, look at our family's memory. In the past few days since we were away from you, something has indeed happened in the court."
"Not long ago, the emperor planned to build a pure gold silk tower to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday. However, due to the southern tour in the past few years, the household department was empty and the treasury was out of money..."
"The senior officials in the imperial court came together to dissuade the emperor. They also said that the emperor's two southern tours had already wasted people and money, resulting in a emptiness in the national treasury..."
"These nonsense things have ruined the emperor's temper. These days, the emperor is unhappy about this matter."
Having said this, Zhang Tong glanced at Heshen and said with a smile: "However, Mr. Heshen, you always do things that are in line with the emperor's wishes, and your financial management skills are the best in the world..."
"We are trying to figure it out. The emperor is urging you to return to the capital at this time. It seems that he is still thinking about building a pure gold silk tower, and I want you to give me some advice."
He Shen nodded and said with a smile: "Thank you very much, father-in-law for your advice."
………
He Shen politely sent Zhang Tong away, returned to the hall, and said to He Er: "This eunuch Zhang Tong is really interesting. We won't suffer any loss if we exchange 10,000 taels of silver for an important piece of news. "
He Er, on the other hand, looked heartbroken and replied: "Hmph, after we return to the capital, we can find out this news by just asking anyone. Why do we need to spend ten thousand taels of silver..."
"Almost everyone of these half-crippled eunuchs behaves like this when they meet others. Why do you have to be polite to them, sir?"
While speaking, He Er muttered softly: "Ten thousand taels of silver is really cheap for that old eunuch named Zhang Tong..."
Hearing this, He Shen couldn't help laughing and scolded: "You are really a miser. Some news cannot be described by a lot of money, especially this kind of news."
Although He Shen had a smile on his face, there was a hint of contemplation in his eyes, thinking about something...
"…………"
night!
In the study, He Shen was preparing a memorial to be submitted to Emperor Qianlong after returning to Beijing.
There are two copies of the memorial.
The first memorial was He Shen's report to Emperor Qianlong on the current situation of Taiyuan Mansion and what he had done. In fact, in the final analysis, this was just a request for credit.
Since ancient times, throughout the dynasties, disaster relief has always been one of the easiest errands to be greedy for money.
It can be said that there are very few people like He Shen who can not be greedy for money, and can control others not to be greedy for money, and solve droughts and locust plagues cleanly and without leaving any consequences. For this, I have to take credit for it. That's normal.
The first person to ask for credit was naturally He Shen, and the second person to ask for credit, He Shen wrote, was Liu An...
"…………"
As for the second memorial, Heshen supported Emperor Qianlong, celebrated the birthday of the Queen Mother, and erected a golden pagoda...
This is a great opportunity to please Emperor Qianlong, and the people on Heshen's side will naturally not miss it.
As for the concerns that there was no money in the Ministry of Revenue and the national treasury, erecting a gold pagoda would waste people and money, He Shen had already thought about it for a period of time and had a countermeasure, so he was not worried.
In fact, even if there is no countermeasure, for his own benefit, He Shen will still firmly support Emperor Qianlong in celebrating the birthday of his mother, the current Queen Mother...
There is a saying that people in official circles say and people in the private sector also say, that is, "the butt determines the head."
Nowadays, for He Shen, Emperor Qianlong is his biggest backer and the source of his power.
Therefore, for Heshen now, nothing is more important than pleasing Emperor Qianlong...
Although this idea is somewhat villainous, it is indeed He Shen's most sincere idea.
Just as He Shen had just finished writing the first memorial, and then when he was writing the second memorial, He Er pushed in the door and reported to He Shen: "Master, Liu An from Taiyuan Prefecture is here."
He Shen frowned subconsciously when he heard this, raised his head and asked, "What is he here for?"
Kazuji shook his head and said, "I don't know, but he didn't come empty-handed."
He Shen nodded and said, "That's it, that's all, let Liu An come over and see me."
He Er heard the words and took the order. After a while, he led Liu An to the inside of the study...
………
After Liu An entered the study, before he could salute He Shen, He Shen stopped him and waved his hand.
He Shen said in a calm tone: "There is no need to be so polite. How many times have I told you that when you take off your official uniform and meet everyone, these official etiquettes can be avoided if possible..."
When Liu An heard this, he smiled and said: "My lord, you are broad-minded and don't stick to trivial matters. However, we, the lower-level officials who are directly under you, cannot break the rules..."
"About this, please forgive me, sir, because it is good for everyone to abide by the rules."
"…………"
He Shen smiled and shook his head, feeling sorry for Liu An's obedience to the rules. He pointed to the chair next to him and said, "Forget it, sit down first and then talk."
After Liu An sat down, he cupped his hands and reported to He Shenhui: "Sir, you are inviting country squires, clan elders, businessmen, and local officials to the restaurant for this dinner. The lower officials have already made arrangements..."
He Shen nodded when he heard this, raised the memorial in his hand, and then said.
"For some small matters, just look at the arrangements. I trust your ability. By the way, the cost of this money will be borne by me."
"Thank you for your trust, sir. However, our local government should be responsible for the money spent on hosting banquets."
"We should be here in Taiyuan Mansion to see you off, Sir..."
"..."
He Shen smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll leave this matter to you..."
Hearing what Heshen said, Liu An was moved: "Sir, you are really the reborn parents of our Taiyuan local officials. This little thing we do is nothing..."
He was interrupted by He Shen just in the middle of his disgusting words: "After these days of getting along with each other, you and I can be considered familiar..."
"You don't have to be polite here and waste your time..."
"Don't talk nonsense. I called you here today because I have important matters to give you."
"…………"
Upon hearing this, Liu An immediately sat upright, with a serious look on his face, and immediately replied: "What's the matter? Please give me your instructions."
He Shen said sincerely: "On my side, because of the urgent recruitment of the emperor, I will go back tonight..."
"Everything in Taiyuan Prefecture, including drought and locust disaster relief, will be handled by you from now on."
"Now, the drought and locust plague are about to be eliminated, and the people's settlement is going smoothly. Things are going well in Taiyuan..."
"After I return, you must pay close attention to all of this. Don't let it end in an anticlimax..."
Hearing this, Liu An said seriously: "My lord is teaching you that your subordinates must follow your lord's teachings carefully and they will not let you down."
He Shen nodded, and then handed the memorial he had just written to Liu An and said, "This is a request for merit written by me. What do you think of it if you take a look?"
When Liu An heard this, he respectfully took the application form and opened it. His heart was suddenly filled with surprise and excitement!
