We all know that Heshen was the most corrupt official in the Qing Dynasty . Historical data records that his home "hidden more than 26,000 taels of gold in the walls, more than 6,000 taels of gold in the private vault, and more than 3 million taels of silver buried in the cellar." ”, and these gold and silver are only a small part of his many properties.
He Shen is a native of Zhenghong Banner in Manchuria. His original name was Niu Hulu Shanbao. He changed his name to He Shen after going to school. Due to the early death of his parents, Heshen did not live well in his early years, but he still relied on his own efforts to pass the official school. Later, with his handsome face and alert personality, he was able to get Feng Yinglian, the governor of Zhili, to marry his granddaughter to him. After that, Heshen also had a backer in the officialdom.
In the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong (1773 AD), the 23-year-old Heshen accidentally received an opportunity to appear in front of Emperor Qianlong. He relied on his talents to become an attendant of Emperor Qianlong's honor guard, and his official career improved thereafter. It started smoothly. He has successively served as the bodyguard of the Qianqing Gate, the imperial bodyguard, the deputy governor of Manchuria of Zhenglan Banner, the right minister of household affairs, the minister of military aircraft, the minister in charge of the internal affairs, the deputy governor of Manchuria with yellow flag, the vice president of the National History Museum, and the general manager of Manchuria. Ministry of Internal Affairs Officers and Soldiers Affairs of the Three Banners, Left Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Right Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Commander of the Infantry, Walking in Front of the Imperial Palace, Minister of the Bodyguard of Zhengbai Banner, President of Siku Quanshu Library, Minister of the Lifan Academy , Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy Academician of the Academy, Zhengbai Banner Manchurian Governor, President of the Qingzi Jingguan, Qingche Duwei Shimin, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Co-organizer of the University, Wenhua Palace University, etc.
Heshen had been an official for more than 20 years and had already mastered the officialdom. was extremely good at flattery and scheming. By the end of Qianlong's reign, he had monopolized power. Emperor Qianlong turned a blind eye to this and ignored He Shen's efforts to exclude dissidents and enrich his own pockets. This also indirectly led to He Shen becoming more and more lawless and greedy for countless amounts of money.
In the 60th year of Qianlong's reign (1795), Emperor Qianlong, who was still strong, insisted on abdicating the throne and established the emperor's fifteenth son Yongyan as emperor, which was Emperor Jiaqing. Although Emperor Qianlong abdicated, he only changed from ruling the world with the title of "Emperor" to ruling the world with the title of "Tai Shang Huang". Important affairs in the court were still decided by Emperor Qianlong. Therefore, during this period of time, He Shen still lived a life of fine clothing and fine food. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. On the third day of the fourth year of Jiaqing (February 7, 1799 AD), the eighty-nine-year-old Emperor Qianlong passed away. The first thing Emperor Jiaqing did after taking office was to issue an order to dismiss He Shen and imprison him. Emperor Qianlong died. Only fifteen days later, He Shen's home was confiscated and sentenced to death.
According to statistics, the value of the assets stolen from Heshen's family reached 800 million taels of silver, which was the Qing government's income for 15 years. Therefore, there is a popular saying among the people: "Heshen falls, Jiaqing is full". So what is Heshen’s 800 million taels of assets now?
One tael of silver in the Qing Dynasty weighed 37.3 grams. According to the current silver price of 4.43 yuan per gram, one tael of silver is equivalent to RMB 165.239. He Shen’s assets of 800 million taels are equivalent to nearly 132.2 billion yuan. This number does not count in today’s capital world. Exaggeration, according to the ranking of the 2022 Hurun Rich List, it can be ranked 86th in the world. However, it is not scientific to estimate Heshen's family property based on today's silver price. After all, the value of silver in the Qing Dynasty was higher than it is now.
We use rice as a reference. During the Qianlong period, the price of one stone of rice was about one and a half silver, and one stone of rice was equivalent to about 145 kilograms. Heshen's 800 million assets can buy more than 73.3 billion kilograms of rice. According to today's calculation, one kilogram of rice is about 3 yuan. , 800 million taels of silver is equivalent to about 220 billion yuan, which is almost double the value based on silver prices. It can already rank among the top 40 in the world.
There are many other calculation methods, but no matter which method is used, He Shen can be among the richest people in the world. It is a pity that money is an external possession in the end, and without the protection of Emperor Qianlong, Heshen cannot save his life no matter how much money he has. It can be said that Heshen's ending was doomed the moment he committed corruption.
