In the past few years, as a TV series called "Iron Teeth, Bronze Teeth Ji Xiaolan" was widely spread in China, people became more and more interested in the relationship between Qianlong, Heshen and Ji Xiaolan.

During the Qing Dynasty, there was a corrupt official who was notorious for his large amount of embezzled money and his prominent status. He was the favorite minister Heshen during the reign of Qianlong. In the past few years, with the TV series "Iron Teeth, Bronze Teeth Ji Xiaolan" being widely spread in China, people became more and more interested in the relationship between Qianlong, Heshen and Ji Xiaolan.

So, in history, why could Heshen be tolerated to embezzle property so wantonly during Qianlong's reign? After Jiaqing came to power, why did Heshen be executed in just half a month? And after He Shen died, what happened to Ji Xiaolan?

He has great power and is deeply favored.

Heshen was born on July 1, 1750. He held the red flag in Manchuria and was a minister in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. During his tenure, he won the favor of Emperor Qianlong because of his shrewdness and ability. He had a very high official position and a prominent status. During his tenure, he even used his position to seek personal gain and amass money to obtain economic benefits.

Although everyone in the world knew that He Shen was a corrupt official, no one could change his extremely popular status in front of Emperor Qianlong.

Many people will wonder how an ignorant, cunning, scheming, and sycophantic greedy person like He Shen was able to serve for so long in front of Emperor Qianlong and maintain such a high status. What about those with prominent status?

In fact, things are far from that simple. Although He Shen has a side of flattery and excessive corruption, his ability to govern the country is actually very strong.

Just think about it, as one of the monarchs who created the " Kangxi and Qianlong ", how could Qianlong easily let a corrupt person who only knew how to flatter others become an important powerful minister in the middle of the Qing Dynasty? How could trust him so much?

He Shen was born into a well-established Manchu family. His father was an official and had a certain social status. But unfortunately, He Shen lost his parents very early. Thanks to the care of an old servant Ding and his father's concubine, he and his younger brother He Lin were able to grow up.

Heshen knew the poverty of his family and the difficulties of his family, so he always studied hard. With his own efforts, he was admitted to the Xianning Palace Official School. There, He Shen continued to study hard and mastered four languages: Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan, which laid a solid foundation for his further development in the future.

In addition to his good language skills, Heshen also has a strong literary background. He is knowledgeable and knowledgeable. Once Qianlong quoted " Hu Si Chu Xun" in "The Analects of Confucius". No one present at the time understood what it meant. Only He Shen quickly gave the correct explanation.

pointed out that this sentence is a metaphor for evil people escaping or failing to do their duty, and the person in charge should be held responsible. In addition, He Shen is good at observing words and emotions, good at communication, and has outstanding work ability. A visiting envoy from the UK once spoke highly of his ability.

Heshen was also good at financial management. During Qianlong's reign, he fought for many years and went to the south of the Yangtze River six times, which left the national treasury empty. Qianlong handed over the task of financial management to Heshen, and Heshen quickly made the treasury have a surplus through various means.

He Shen can also write poetry. Emperor Qianlong was arty and liked to write poetry. He often asked He Shen to write poems. He Shen was good at figuring out the king's psychology and wrote many poems, which were very popular with Qianlong. After Heshen's death, his nephew compiled the poems of Heshen and Helin together and became "Jia Le Tang Poetry Collection ", which was passed down to later generations.

It can be seen from the above that He Shen is by no means a corrupt official who only knows how to form a party and act according to the prevailing circumstances. He is also a social elite with great talents. Our TV series is too facial-facial in portraying the character Heshen, instead of portraying the most vivid and vivid character image.

Of course, corruption, bending the law, and crazily amassing money are also labels that cannot be removed from He Shen. He formed a clique for personal gain and collected a large amount of property. He also manipulated the imperial examination system and took bribes from scholars, causing serious damage to the fairness of the imperial examination system.

In addition, Heshen also engaged in industry and commerce, opened a pawn shop, and had trade relations with the then famous British East India Company and Guangdong Thirteenth Bank. eventually became a generation of powerful ministers with overwhelming power and wealth.

Since the real He Shen in history is far from the He Shen in our impression, does the real Ji Xiaolan in history completely match the image of the articulate, humorous and talented man in our inherent impression? Is he really capable of competing with the powerful minister He Shen many times?

Talented, but thin,

Ji Xiaolan, whose name is Ji Yun, whose courtesy name is Xiaolan. A famous official and writer in the Qing Dynasty, he passed the Jinshi examination in the 19th year of Qianlong's reign and embarked on an official career. Because of his rich knowledge, he once served as the chief editor of "Siku Quanshu".

In the TV series, Qianlong trusted Ji Xiaolan very much, cherished his talents and entrusted him with important responsibilities. However, the historical relationship between and is not just that simple.

During the Qianlong period, Yin Zhuangtu, a cabinet scholar, came to remonstrate. However, in his later years, Qianlong was addicted to pleasure and could not listen at all. The ministers proposed to have Yin Zhuangtu beheaded. Ji Xiaolan defended Yin Zhuangtu, but Qianlong was furious and said to Ji Xiaolan: "I think you are excellent in literature, so I sent Siku Shu to you, but it was just to promote excellence and store it. Why are you so arrogant?" Talking about state affairs! "

Ji Xiaolan, who has always regarded himself as a talented person, couldn't help but feel like a wake-up call when he heard this. It turned out that he had worked hard for so many years to share the emperor's worries and benefit the people. The emperor never really regarded himself as one of his own.

It turns out that the emperor has always regarded himself as a talented artist such as a prostitute and an actress, and has never regarded himself as a minister who can participate in the management of national affairs and participate in state affairs.

Such words are undoubtedly sharp and ruthless. He made Ji Xiaolan finally understand his position in the emperor's heart. also made Ji Xiaolan better able to understand some of the thoughts and feelings of the ancients.

Just like Sima Qian back then, he was castrated simply because he defended Li Ling. The emperors used literati and trusted their talents, but never really regarded them as important ministers.

Moreover, during Ji Xiaolan's political career, he also encountered risks and crises again and again. The " text prison " during the Qianlong period was so powerful that many talented literati lost their heads, and most of those who saved their lives were sent to the frontiers. As the chief editor of Siku Quanshu, Ji Xiaolan was also assigned to Urumqi, Xinjiang.

It can be seen that he and He Shen, a powerful minister who was deeply trusted by the emperor, were not on the same level in terms of status and power.

The depressing political career made Ji Xiaolan spend more time on the creation of literary works in his later years. He created a book " Yuewei Thatched Cottage Notes ". This book mainly records stories of foxes, ghosts and ghosts, and "Liao Zhai" "Zhiyi" is quite similar.

criticizes ethics and praises the hard work and kindness of the lower class working people. has high literary value.

There is an important reason why Qianlong does not like Ji Xiaolan, that is, Ji Xiaolan is too ugly, short-sighted, and has the problem of stuttering , which is very different from Ji Xiaolan in the TV series. People only think that Ji Xiaolan is as carefree and articulate as in the TV series. Who would have thought that the real Ji Xiaolan is completely the opposite?

In addition, Ji Xiaolan, as a representative of scholar-bureaucrats, often shows the literati feelings and character he pursues. How could Qianlong, who was autocratic by nature and created a literary prison, allow a Confucian scholar to recite those enlightened and fair thoughts in front of him every day?

Naturally, due to these many reasons, Qianlong did not like Ji Xiaolan very much during his reign. Instead, he only took a fancy to his literary talent and let him take charge of the compilation of "Sikuquanshu". As for important state affairs, I don’t want Ji Xiaolan to do them. And He Shen, who was handsome and capable, became the most appreciated talent by Emperor Qianlong.

Great corruption collapsed, and the talented man died a good death

However, the situation changed. With the death of Qianlong and Emperor Jiaqing taking charge, Heshen's good days finally came to an end.

During Qianlong's reign, Heshen was appreciated by Qianlong for his outstanding talents. Heshen made important contributions to Qianlong's consolidation of imperial power, balancing the forces in the DPRK, and maintaining the rule of the Qing court.

Moreover, by using Heshen, Qianlong could better promote the growth of fiscal revenue, enrich the national treasury, and satisfy his own selfish desires for enjoyment. Therefore, it was impossible for Qianlong not to love Heshen. Even if knew the fact that he was corrupt and perverting the law, Qianlong did not take any measures.

However, Emperor Jiaqing was different. When Emperor Jiaqing first came to the throne, Emperor Qianlong was still the Supreme Emperor. At that time, Emperor Qianlong and He Shen held great power. People at that time even called Heshen the second emperor, and the Supreme Emperor Qianlong was called the great emperor. However, the real Emperor Jiaqing had no imperial power. This made Jiaqing full of resentment towards Heshen.

After Qianlong's death, Emperor Jiaqing finally waited until it was time for him to take charge. He immediately raised the butcher's knife against Heshen, who had great achievements and was extremely wealthy. Jiaqing announced He Shen's twenty charges, and then ordered He Shen's house to be searched.

After the house was ransacked, everyone was shocked by He Shen's wealth. A total of 800 million taels. You must know that the annual tax revenue of the Qing court during the Qianlong period was only 70 million taels. The property Heshen hid was equivalent to the income of the Qing government for fifteen years at that time. This incident caused a sensation at the time, and everyone at the time said, "He Shen fell, and Jiaqing was full."

Regarding Heshen's treatment, the court initially decided to execute Lingchi. Later, after suggestions from Princess Gu Lun and Xiao, Liu Yong and others, considering Heshen's contribution, finally granted Heshen the use of white silk in his own home. suicide.

Heshen, a generation of great greed, fell. Before his death, Heshen was in prison, thinking about his life, and wrote two desperate poems. Then he tied up a white silk ribbon and rushed to hell.

After Heshen's death, Ji Xiaolan's situation improved somewhat compared to that during the Qianlong period. Jiaqing did not pay as much attention to appearance as Qianlong. He believed that Ji Xiaolan was quite talented and it would be a waste just to study books, so he began to make efforts to reuse him. He, who had been depressed before, could finally play his role in the political arena.

When Ji Xiaolan had her eightieth birthday, Emperor Jiaqing sent people to celebrate his birthday. Friends, guests, and relatives gathered together to celebrate Ji Xiaolan's birthday. Ji Xiaolan worked hard for most of her life, but could finally get the emperor's favor in her old age. couldn't help but smile at this time.

Emperor Jiaqing first named Ji Xiaolan the Prince Shaobao, and then ordered him to manage the Imperial College.

Unfortunately, because Ji Xiaolan was old, she died of illness shortly after taking office. Emperor Jiaqing felt extremely sorry. He gave 500 pieces of platinum to pay for the funeral, and personally wrote memorial inscriptions and inscriptions, and gave him the posthumous title "Wenda".

These two famous officials of the Qing Dynasty did not fight and dispute for decades as shown in the TV series. But one is driving wildly on the road of highly concentrated power and highly accumulated wealth, while the other is cautiously writing books in the midst of wandering to save his own life and dare not speak out more. In the end, the two people with came to completely different endings.

Looking back at the lives of Heshen and Ji Xiaolan, two important officials of the Qing Dynasty. We can't help but sigh secretly: He Shen was so powerful during the Qianlong period that no one could match him, and he had a very high starting point, but after Qianlong's death, he ended up committing suicide;

Ji Xiaolan was not able to participate in important national affairs because of her ugly appearance. It was bleak and experienced many ups and downs, but he always maintained an open-minded attitude, worked steadily and accumulated accumulated experience, but was finally reused and he spent his old age peacefully.

Everyone’s life trajectory is different. Some are ordinary, while others are passionate. Some people become famous at a young age, while others become famous with great maturity. What each of us has to do, is nothing more than to live according to our own lifestyle.

Don't be happy with things, don't be sad with yourself, know honor and disgrace, know right from wrong, keep a calm and peaceful heart, keep your own pace in the ups and downs of the world, look for those things that truly belong to you.

That’s it, that’s good!

Reference:

1. Ji Xiaolan was not reused in his life because Emperor Qianlong thought he was "ugly in appearance" - "Legend of China"

2. Ji Xiaolan: an actor in front of Qianlong's imperial court - "Study Expo"

3. What are the corrupt officials and gentry? Ability ——"Wonderful Museum"