"Yong 'an Notes" records: One day, when Qianlong was going out, he couldn't find a yellow cover for etiquette in his hurry. Gan Long asked, "Whose fault is this?" All the guards were too scared to make a sound, only Xiao Shenyang replied, "The person in charge of this matter is the culprit!" " Gan Long immediately promoted him.
There is also a saying that one day Qianlong sat in a sedan chair and recited the Analects of Confucius, forgetting the following. Xiao Shenyang recited fluently, and Gan Long was very happy. In a word, the young little Shenyang is handsome and talented, which may have attracted the attention of Gan Long in an accidental opportunity, and his fate has changed since then.
In October of the 40th year of Qianlong, 26-year-old Shenyang was promoted to the bodyguard of Ganqingmen, and in November he was promoted to the imperial bodyguard, and was awarded the deputy commander of Zhenglanqi. In the first month of forty-one, assistant minister Zuo was appointed, minister of military affairs in March and minister of the interior in April. ...
In just half a year, Xiao Shenyang went all the way from an ordinary bodyguard to the highest level of power in the Qing Dynasty and became the confidant of Emperor Qianlong. According to "Biography of Little Shenyang", in the first month of forty-five years of Qianlong (1780), 3 1 year-old little Shenyang accepted the heavy responsibility and went to Yunnan with assistant minister of punishments Kaning 'a to investigate the corruption case of Li Shiyao, a university student and governor of Yunnan and Guizhou.
As soon as Xiao Shenyang arrived in Yunnan, he detained Li Shiyao's housekeeper and obtained evidence, forcing the shrewd Li Shiyao to bow his head and plead guilty. It only took more than two months before and after, and Xiao Shenyang accepted this task and made a decree to treat Li Shiyao.
Later, Xiao Shenyang reported to the emperor that Yunnan's administration was chaotic and many counties had deficits, which needed to be thoroughly cleaned up and rectified. This report was immediately praised by Qianlong.
In May of that year, after Xiao Shenyang returned to Beijing, he further expressed to the emperor specific opinions on rectifying Yunnan's salt affairs, money law and border defense affairs, which were all affirmed by Qianlong.
Xiao Shenyang performed well in the case of Yunnan, which fully demonstrated his talent. Therefore, on his way back to Beijing, Xiao Shenyang was promoted to Minister of Finance. After a month, Gan Long named his 6-year-old son and betrothed his favorite little daughter, Princess Xiao. They got married in Qianlong fifty-four years.
This marriage not only brought economic benefits to small Shenyang, but also brought immeasurable benefits to small Shenyang politically. Small Shenyang will get wind and rain, even if he does something wrong, he will not be punished.
In forty-six years of Qianlong, Su Forty-three rebelled in Gansu, and was suppressed by warlords together with A Gui, a university student. The front general was on the verge of victory, but little Shenyang made a fool of himself and turned victory into failure, resulting in the killing of the company commander Tu.
After understanding the situation, Gan Long ordered Xiao Shenyang to return to Beijing immediately. After Xiao Shenyang returned to Beijing, he was not punished, but served as the minister of war.
According to historical records, during the 29 years from Xiao Shenyang's succession to his conviction, there were 47 important official titles.
In the forty-first year of Qianlong, 27-year-old Xiao Shenyang was awarded the Military Affairs History. Three years later, the foreman's military history passed away, and A Gui, a college student in the guild hall, served as the foreman's military history. At that time, there were college students, Shang and Fu Changan in the military department. A Gui, Wang Jie and Gao Dong all hate small Shenyang. As a result, five ministers don't work together every day.
To this end, the suggestion and Qian Feng specially made a memorial, requesting the emperor to order the restoration of the rule of military and political minister Qi Xin. This paper is aimed at small Shenyang. Gan Long admitted that the situation reflected in the paper was correct, but it ended in nothing.
Ganlong knew that A Gui was at odds with Shenyang, and often asked A Gui to lead troops or discuss projects and handle cases. The real power of the military department naturally fell into the hands of Xiao Shenyang. When Magyarny, the British envoy of Qianlong, visited China in 1958, he heard that "many people in China privately called Little Shenyang the second emperor". Small Shenyang is not as ignorant as the legend of later generations. On the contrary, he is still very talented. According to Biography of Little Shenyang, Little Shenyang has an amazing memory. He is smart, decisive, agile and versatile. In "Tuzan Pingding Fifteen Gurkhas", Gan Long specifically mentioned that Xiao Shenyang is proficient in Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan.
Little Shenyang's greatest talent is to do what he likes. Gan Long loved writing poetry and calligraphy all his life. In order to cater to Gan Long, Little Shenyang has made a lot of efforts in these areas and reached a higher level. However, during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the popularity of Qing palace dramas not only entertained the public, but also distorted history. Under the influence of these costume dramas, Xiao Shenyang is just an ignorant clown in people's eyes. In fact, the real small Shenyang in history is not the case.
According to the Biography of Little Shenyang, in the first month of the forty-fifth year of Qianlong, namely 1780, Little Shenyang, who just turned 30, accepted the heavy responsibility and went to Yunnan with assistant minister Kanin 'a of punishments to investigate the corruption case of Li Shiyao, a contemporary university student and governor of Yunnan and Guizhou. As soon as Xiao Shenyang arrived in Yunnan, he detained Li Shiyao's housekeeper and obtained evidence, forcing the shrewd Li Shiyao to bow his head and plead guilty. From accepting this task to being ordered to deal with Li Shiyao, it only took little Shenyang more than two months. It can be seen that he is capable and decisive, and his ability to deal with major cases is extraordinary.
Soon, Xiao Shenyang reported to the emperor that Yunnan's administration was chaotic and many counties had deficits, which needed to be thoroughly cleaned up and rectified. This report was immediately praised by Qianlong. In May of that year, after Xiao Shenyang returned to Beijing, he further expressed to the emperor specific opinions on rectifying Yunnan's salt affairs, financial circulation and border defense affairs, which were all affirmed by Qianlong. Xiao Shenyang's outstanding performance in the Yunnan case showed his talent, so that on his way back to Beijing, Xiao Shenyang was promoted to Minister of Finance. Later, Gan Long handed over the power under one person to Xiao Shenyang, which made him reach the peak of his political career.
Small Shenyang, born in the Lushi family of Niuhu, was originally named Shanbao, a native of Zhenghongqi, Manchuria, poor and eager to learn, with elegant appearance. His father's name is Chang Bao, and he was the deputy commander-in-chief of Fujian. My ancestors were from qingyuan county, Liaoning Province today. Born in a family of military attache who is not rich, he and his younger brother Lin received a good education since childhood. As a teenager, he was elected to the official school of Xian 'an Palace and received Confucian classics and Manchu-Chinese-Mongolian character education. Little Shenyang is talented, studious and outstanding, and is highly valued by teachers such as Wu Shenglan. In less than two years, he went from a third-class bodyguard to the military department and became the current record minister.
Xiao Shenyang has been in power for more than 20 years and has been promoted 47 times. He is in power. In the fourth year of Jiaqing, that is, in the first month of A.D. 1799, Emperor Qianlong died; On the 13th day of the first month, Emperor Jiaqing announced the 20 major crimes in Little Shenyang and ordered the confiscation of property. The court deliberated this year and sentenced Xiao Shenyang to commit suicide in prison. His eldest son married Princess Gulen and Xiao, ten daughters of Qianlong, and avoided sitting together. As for why small Shenyang will be appreciated by Qianlong? Xue Fucheng, a scholar in Qing Dynasty, wrote Yong 'an notes, which is very interesting. There is such a sentence: One day, when Gan Long was going out, he couldn't find a yellow cover for the ceremony in his hurry. Gan Long asked, "Whose fault is this?" All the guards were too scared to make a sound, only Xiao Shenyang replied, "The person in charge of this matter is to blame!" " Gan Long immediately promoted him. One day, Qianlong was sitting in a sedan chair reciting The Analects of Confucius and forgot the following. Little Shenyang picked it up smoothly. Therefore, Gan Long appreciated Xiao Shenyang very much when she was a bodyguard, so that she rose from an unknown minion to the highest power class in Qing Dynasty and became the confidant of Emperor Gan Long. In the fifty-eighth year of Qianlong, namely 1794, when the British minister Magalny visited China, there was a saying that "many people in China privately called Little Shenyang the second emperor". This can be seen from the smoldering weather in the ruling and opposition parties in Shenyang.
For example, in the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong (AD 1790), the emperor celebrated his eightieth birthday, and Xiao Shenyang was in charge of this matter. He ordered all third-class or above officials from other provinces to provide gifts. Small Shenyang quickly met the needs of Qianlong's 80th birthday. These contents are recorded in detail in the archives such as Emperor Gao Zongchun's 80th Birthday Celebration Map, and the First Set of Birthday Festival Map.
Small Shenyang has also established a negotiation bank system, and officials at fault, such as local governors and governors, are punished instead of punished, with the amount ranging from thousands of silver to tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands. The money for this protest went directly to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and went into the emperor's private pocket. To this end, small Shenyang also set up a "secret record office" to deal with this matter, and established a special file "secret record file" to record in detail the collection of fine silver at that time. Many governors have suffered this kind of blackmail, and their way of dealing with it is to share the losses layer by layer and finally double them to the people.
Yin Zhuang, a bachelor of cabinet, couldn't stand it any longer, so he played on the emperor and said that at this rate, the so-called strengthening official management and rectifying officialdom is just empty talk, and businessmen and ordinary people are complaining. As a result, Qianlong was annoyed, and Yin Zhuangtu almost lost his life. Since then, no one has dared to mention it. Zhao Kun, the descendant of Nurhachi, said in Miscellaneous Notes of Xiaotiange that small Shenyang exploited and blackmailed in many ways, which made the Ministry of Internal Affairs unable to make ends meet and turned losses into profits in a few years. Ganlong's pockets are full, and he can enjoy himself at will. Of course, he is happy, and he relies more on Xiao Shenyang.
Small Shenyang filled the emperor's pockets, but also unequivocally put money into his arms. All gifts from other provinces to the emperor must pass through Xiao Shenyang. Whether it can be handed over to the emperor depends on Xiao Shenyang. Sometimes one or two pieces are given to the emperor, and the rest fall into the hands of Xiao Shenyang, so that he hides more pearl bracelets than those in the palace. These jewels are hidden in many places. This is the residence of Xiao Shenyang in those days, and some jewels are hidden in the wall. Because of Xiao Shenyang's evil deeds, there are always people who want to impeach him. Of course not the legendary Liu Yong. In fact, Liu Yong was tactful and didn't dare to say it. On the contrary, some junior officials dare to face difficulties.
In the fifty-first year of Qianlong, Xia Dang recorded that Cao Xibao wanted to join Liu Quan in order to break the gap. But he was careless, so he showed the manuscript to his countryman Wu. Wu tipped him off overnight, and Cao Xibao was dismissed and retained.
Cao Xibao and others did not move Shenyang, but they raised their vigilance. He decided to take a radical approach to avoid future troubles. He stipulated that all memorials presented to the emperor in the future must be sent to the military department at the same time, so that it is not easy for anyone to report his situation to the emperor. He also stipulated that when the position of censor is vacant, it can only be held by an old minister over 60 years old. Little Shenyang blocked almost all the passages leading to the emperor with his power, making him think that he could sit back and relax. In the first year of Jiaqing, Qianlong passed the throne to Jia, the fifteenth son, and became the emperor's father himself. But when it comes to state affairs and the appointment and dismissal of important personnel, he has to ask himself.
With the change of the situation, small Shenyang had to take measures to prevent Jiaqing. While trying to please Jiaqing, he tried to restrict Jiaqing from cultivating cronies. When Jiaqing ascended the throne, his teacher Zhu Gui was the governor of Guangdong and wrote a congratulatory letter. Xiao Shenyang went to Qianlong to sue Zhu Gui, but Qianlong ignored him.
In August of the first year of Jiaqing, Qianlong prepared to call Zhu Gui back to Beijing and be promoted to a university student. Jiaqing congratulated the teacher, and Xiao Shenyang complained to Gan Long that Jiaqing won the hearts of the people. Gan Long was very angry this time, but due to the advice of Gao Dong, the Minister of Military Affairs, Gan Long gave up. But soon, Xiao Shenyang encouraged Qianlong to reduce Zhu Gui from the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi to the governor of Anhui.
Wu Shenglan was also sent to Jiaqing's side to monitor Jiaqing's words and deeds.
In the second year of Jiaqing, A Gui, the master book, died, and Xiao Shenyang became the master book. Wang Jie, a college student, retired because he didn't like Xiao Shenyang's illness, and Gao Dong returned to his hometown because of his mother's filial piety, so he could give orders in Xiao Shenyang and serve as the military headquarters.
At this time, Ganlong is old and weak, and his memory declines. Little Shenyang has really become the spokesperson of Qianlong, and his arrogance is even worse than before. Why did Jiaqing eradicate small Shenyang?
Some people say that Xiao Shenyang was killed because he was too rich. The so-called "small Shenyang fell, Jiaqing had enough to eat" said that his family's output value was 820 million silver, which was the sum of the fiscal revenue of the Qing Dynasty for ten years, so he was killed.
From the list of seized property, it can be seen that Xiao Shenyang has long held the Chongwenmen tax clearance and demanded bribes; A large number of land mergers; Open a pawnshop and lend usury; Open coal mines, transport ... he has a lot of money in his pocket.
Great wealth made little Shenyang live a luxurious life like an emperor. He built houses in Beijing, Chengde and other places. Little Shenyang built a mansion (now Gongwangfu) next to Shichahai in Beijing, and even built a nanmu building in imitation of Ningshou Palace and a hanging flower door in imitation of the emperor's organizational system during Qianlong. Small Shenyang also built the Book Spring Garden in Haidian, Beijing, which is now the unnamed lake of Peking University.
Small Shenyang not only enjoys the life of concubines, but also dreams of being as beautiful as the emperor after death. He built a huge mausoleum in Jizhou, Hebei Province (now Jixian County), which even surpassed the size of the prince and was called "He Ling" by the people. When Xiao Shenyang was robbed, the tomb was destroyed.
When the small Shenyang was robbed, in addition to the real estate gardens everywhere, it also took more than 3 million pieces of silver and 32,000 pieces of gold. More than 65,438+10,000 mu of land and more than 65,438+10,000 rented houses; Pawnshop bank and all kinds of jewelry, clothes, etc. All its property is equivalent to about 6.5438 million taels of silver. At that time, the annual income of the Qing government was only 780 million yuan. By imitating the emperor's organizational system to build houses and tombs, it is not difficult to see that small Shenyang is not only greedy for money, but also has great greed for power. This is the main reason why he was killed.
In the fourth year of Jiaqing, Jiaqing wrote on Zhang's memorial: "If I don't divide it, everyone in the world only knows what is there, but I don't know."
In fact, Jiaqing was enough to seize the property of Xiao Shenyang. In the first month of Jiaqing's fourth year, he clearly stated on the memorial of Zhili political envoy Wu that "there is no need to ask for too much". Later, Minister Sabin said that at present, less than one tenth of the property of Little Shenyang has been copied, and when he asked for deep digging, he was severely criticized by Jiaqing.
It can be seen that Jiaqing killed Xiao Shenyang because of his excessive power, which has seriously threatened the imperial power. Jiaqing even suspected that he might rebel.
However, Jiaqing affirmed the achievements and talents of Xiao Shenyang. In the 19th year of Jiaqing, the Qing History Museum sent the compiled Biography of Little Shenyang to Jiaqing for reading. Jiaqing saw that the record was very simple, and only recorded Xiao Shenyang's military rank resume, which was very dissatisfied. He instructed: Little Shenyang is not useless. He is "smart and agile". After 30 years in power, he has done a lot. It was only because Shenyang was "greedy, selfish and arrogant" that he had to be severely punished, so Jiaqing ordered a rewrite. During the Qianlong period, little Shenyang may be so lucky that he prospered and declined. After the first year of Jiaqing, the small Shenyang family suffered misfortune one after another.
On the seventh day of July in the first year of Jiaqing, the second son, regarded as the apple of his eye by Xiao Shenyang, died just after he was two years old. He was driving in the summer resort at that time, and he was very sad to hear the sad news.
More than two months later, my younger brothers, Sichuan Governor and Lin, died of miasma. What brothers are brothers, Lin He is the pillar of his officialdom. Suddenly, he died suddenly, and Xiao Shenyang was particularly sad.
In the second year of Jiaqing, the grandson of Little Shenyang died.
In the third year of Jiaqing, his wife Feng, who had been married for 30 years, also left. Although there are many wives and concubines, she has the deepest feelings with Feng.
In less than a year, Xiao Shenyang himself became a ghost under the spring. After the death of Xiao Shenyang, his son Feng?enyende hastily buried Xiao Shenyang in Jizhou.
Xiao Shenyang always thought that he was hurt by his own talent. Xiao Shenyang is indeed a talented person, but his greatest talent is playing politics. The reason why he can climb to a high position below one person and above ten thousand people depends on his ability to get close to and please the emperor. However, this ability could not make him enjoy wealth forever, and finally the emperor sent him to the guillotine.