He cursed Ji Xiaolan under his breath twice, then the Grand Chancellor hurried to complete the task assigned by Qianlong.
Unlike Ji Xiaolan, a favored minister like a courtesan, the Grand Chancellor was a genuinely favored minister. The reason he became a favored minister, second only to the emperor, was his ability to divine the imperial will.
What is the imperial will?
Take the Li Shiyao case of Qianlong's forty-fifth year as an example.
Li Shiyao had been an official abroad for over twenty years, from Governor-General of Guangzhou to Viceroy of Huguang. He had privately made tribute to Qianlong more than 120 times, and each time his tribute items perfectly matched Qianlong's rustic aesthetic.
Therefore, when all the investigators suggested that the Grand Chancellor, as the imperial envoy, include the stern phrase "execute immediately" when convicting Li Shiyao, the Grand Chancellor only gave a sentence of "beheading pending imperial review."
What is divining the imperial will?
This is divining the imperial will.
Qianlong merely wanted to discipline Li Shiyao; he had no intention of killing him. If the imperial envoy, the Grand Chancellor, had sentenced Li Shiyao to "execution immediately," wouldn't that be causing trouble for Qianlong?
Therefore, even though the Grand Chancellor, who had always been at odds with Li Shiyao, did his best, he could only find that Li Shiyao had embezzled over 36,000 taels of silver. In the end, he could only sentence him to "beheading pending imperial review" according to the laws of the Great Qing.
The same principle applies here. Whether it's the rebel Zhu who occupied Yizhou, or Chen Tailai who occupied Jining, or the Eight Trigrams Sect with considerable influence in Cao County, since they blocked the Emperor's path to the south, they deserve to die.
And those commoners who, without the Emperor's permission, organized farmer associations and resisted grain and tax levies, making it impossible for Lord Fu to suppress the Eight Trigrams Sect, they also deserve to die.
But!
Just as a prostitute still wants to erect a memorial archway, the emperors of our Great Qing are all paragons of virtue, benevolent rulers who love their people like their own children. How could they utter such fierce and menacing words as "prioritize strict suppression and annihilation"?
Therefore, it becomes necessary to have a few fools with poor hearing who misinterpret the imperial will.
However, the crucial point is, who should be this fool with poor hearing?
Lord Fu's family is definitely out, and Ming Xing is definitely out. Then the most suitable candidate...
The Grand Chancellor chuckled, wrote a letter, summoned his personal guard, and instructed: "You go with the imperial messenger and deliver this letter to Grand Scholar Shuhude. Tell him to think about how Zhaohui pacified the Dzungars, and then think about what Li Shiyao did as Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu."
As the foremost Grand Scholar of the Yingwu Hall and the leading minister of the Grand Council, Agui felt his intelligence insulted.
How did Zhaohui pacify the Dzungars? Of course, by prioritizing strict suppression and annihilation, directly slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Dzungars and turning the Dzungar people into a place name.
What did Li Shiyao do as Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu? Of course, he did what the Emperor told him to do. Even when the Nine Ministers jointly interrogated him and believed Li Shiyao deserved death, even when the governors and viceroys of all provinces believed Li Shiyao deserved death, the Emperor could still use the excuse of "the quota for execution in the fall has been filled" to delay. The next year, Li Shiyao, with his third-rank peacock feather cap, acted as the Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu.
You, the Grand Chancellor, put these events together and asked this Grand Scholar to think?
What is there to think about? It's nothing more than outwardly complying with the Emperor's decree to "prioritize leniency and appeasement" to show imperial grace, while actually strictly implementing the policy of prioritizing suppression and annihilation. As long as this matter is handled well, even if everyone in the world demands that this Grand Scholar atone with his death, this Grand Scholar will still rise step by step.
If you can't even figure this out, do you think this Grand Scholar is like those silly netizens who read books without using their brains?
Pah!
After cursing Heshen's behavior of treating people as fools, Agui immediately rode from Tianjin to Dezhou. First, he paid his respects to Qianlong and once again deeply understood Qianlong's spirit of "prioritizing leniency and appeasement" and "empathizing with the people's livelihood." Then, he hurried to Jinan and found Mingxing, the Governor of Shandong.
Although Zhangjia Agui dared to curse Heshen behind his back, his attitude towards Fucha Mingxing was extremely friendly.
There was no other way. Agui was from the Bordered Blue Banner, one of the lower five banners, and was later promoted to the Bordered White Banner due to his merits. Therefore, cursing Heshen, who was from the lower five banners, behind his back was not a big deal. On the other hand, Fucha Mingxing was from the Plain Yellow Banner, which was pure and upright. In terms of official position, he might not be as high as Agui, the Grand Scholar of Yingwu Hall and Imperial Envoy, but in terms of the status of bannermen themselves, Mingxing was much higher than Agui.
Therefore, although Agui was the Imperial Envoy, he showed no arrogance in front of Mingxing, the Governor of Shandong. He even spoke very politely: "It's been a long time, Governor, you seem to have lost some weight?"
Mingxing was also polite and pushed a small box on the table towards Agui, saying: "I have caused such a big mess, and I have to trouble the Imperial Envoy. It's just a small token of my appreciation."
Agui chuckled and said, "Look, what do you mean by this? We both belong to the upper three banners, and we should help each other. A small matter like this is not worth you being so polite?"
Mingxing thought to himself, "I'm from the upper three banners, and you, who were promoted from the lower five banners, are also calling yourself from the upper three banners. Who are you talking to?"
After cursing in his heart and waiting for Agui's sleeve to brush past the table, and the small box on the tabletop disappeared, Mingxing continued, "May I know what the Emperor's intention is?"
Agui coughed and cupped his hands towards the temporary palace in Dezhou, saying, "His Majesty is benevolent towards the people and knows that the current chaos is mostly due to officials forcing the people to rebel. Therefore, he asks us to empathize with the people's difficult livelihood and prioritize leniency and appeasement. Thus, this Imperial Envoy is actually here to represent the people."
Upon hearing the words "officials forcing the people to rebel" and "representing the people," Mingxing recalled the shameful act of Wu Zude, Zhan Hongbo, and others abandoning him and fleeing when Chen Tailai rebelled.
Although these scoundrels sent a large amount of gold and silver afterwards, the psychological damage Mingxing suffered could not be compensated by any amount of gold and silver.
Mingxing said, "Speaking of which, the rebel Zhu started in Ningyang, which is under the jurisdiction of Yanzhou Prefecture, and then flowed to Mengyin, which is under the jurisdiction of Yizhou Prefecture. Chen Tailai raised his banner in Jining. This shows how much the people in these three places have suffered. As the Governor of Shandong, I am truly ashamed of His Majesty's trust."
Agui instantly understood the meaning of Mingxing's words and said, "These three places indeed need to be properly dealt with. However, that Chen Tailai..."
Mingxing asked doubtfully, "What about Chen Tailai?"
Agui said, "Chen Tailai is, after all, the Governor-General of Jining River Affairs, and it concerns the important matter of canal transport. Therefore, both the Grand Chancellor and this Imperial Envoy believe that appeasement should come first."
Mingxing was greatly displeased: "Appeasement first? Rebel Chen took up arms to revolt. If we appease him, how many people will follow suit? In my humble opinion, it would be better to suppress him directly and change canal transport to sea transport?"
Agui shook his head and said, "Appease first, then kill. For the millions of canal workers, it is best not to cause trouble. If the canal transport really falls into chaos, I fear that even the capital will be shaken."
At this point, Agui looked at Mingxing again and said, "Speaking of which, you must have someone under you who recognizes Chen Tailai, right?"
Seeing Mingxing nod in agreement, Agui continued, "Have someone under you go to Jining and tell Chen Tailai that His Majesty knows he was forced to raise the banner of rebellion. His Majesty is magnanimous, and as long as he is willing to surrender, his past actions can be overlooked."
...
At the Jining River Affairs Yamen, Chen Tailai looked at the personal guards of Kexun and Agui and sneered, "Overlooked? Do you really think this governor is an idiot?"
Kexun's and Agui's personal guards were immediately enraged. They had the intention to kill Chen Tailai on the spot, but they were currently on Chen Tailai's territory, and with only the two of them, could they contend with Chen Tailai's personal guards?
Forcing themselves to suppress their anger, Agui's personal guard said, "Since Governor Chen does not believe us, then let us speak plainly."
"According to the Grand Chancellor's intention, as long as you, Governor Chen, are willing to surrender, only you will be executed afterward, and one of your sons will be granted entry to the Imperial College. Including these soldiers under your command, the court will not kill anyone arbitrarily."
"If you, Governor Chen, are ungrateful, then it doesn't matter. Anyway, Grand Scholar Fu Heng has already led the firearms battalion to Caozhou, and Grand Scholar Agui is leading the firearms battalion to suppress the rebel Zhu. After suppressing the rebels Zhu and the Eight Trigrams Sect in Cao County, the two Grand Scholars will fully attack you, Governor Chen."
"Whether you live or die, whether only you die, or your entire family and these river guards die together, it is all in your hands, Governor Chen."
Chen Tailai looked at the confident Agui personal guard and could not understand why they were so sure that he would surrender.
Just based on their words of one person dies or the whole family dies?
If he surrendered with his troops now, even if Qianlong said he would spare his family, would he really do so? Even Wu Sangui, who had helped the Manchus enter the pass, was eventually driven to rebellion by Kangxi. Did Kangxi care that Wu Yingxiong was his brother-in-law?
Chen Tailai rubbed his bald head and let out a sinister laugh, shouting, "Do you believe these nonsensical words when you say them yourself? Even if Qianlong is willing to spare my family, what about these brothers under my command? Will Qianlong spare them? Who among you can guarantee that the old dog Qianlong will not seek revenge later?"
"Come, come, I'll tell you. Qianlong and the Grand Chancellor's plan is to first accept my surrender, and then break up and reorganize the troops under my command."
"In this way, the Shandong rebellion will have one less rebel faction, and the court can free its hands to slowly deal with the rebel Zhu in Yizhou and the Eight Trigrams Sect in Dan County."
"After the Shandong rebellion is completely quelled, Qianlong and the Grand Chancellor will find an excuse to kill me first, and then slaughter my entire family."
"And the brothers under my command will definitely be purged by Qianlong. However, they will have been broken up and reorganized. Even if they want to resist, no one can organize them. At that time, they will either be killed or exiled to Ningguta, one of these two outcomes."
"Otherwise, the resentment of the old dog Qianlong, who is blocked in Shandong and cannot move south, will not be vented!"
After Chen Tailai said this, the soldiers under Chen Tailai who had been somewhat moved completely came to their senses, and the faces of Kexun and Agui's personal guards also became extremely unsightly.
Both Kexun and Agui's personal guards only knew to follow orders to persuade Chen Tailai to surrender, and they had no idea about the subsequent plans of Qianlong and Heshen.
However, as long as one used their brain, they would know that the subsequent development of the situation would be a gradual purge, as Chen Tailai had said, at most it would only be a matter of time.
Chen Tailai looked at the silent Kexun and Agui's personal guards and sneered again, shouting, "Guards! Tie these two Tartars up tightly! And display their heads for all to see!"
"Tell the brothers, since we have decided to rebel against the Tartars, let's do it with great fanfare. Anyone who dares to be half-hearted and thinks of surrendering to the Tartars, don't blame this governor for turning against them!"