Chapter 110

Shi Shuyu dismounted, glanced at them coldly, and said, “I am ordered to investigate the case. Open the door quickly. If you disobey the emperor’s order, you shall be executed.”

The two servants were even more terrified when they heard this. They shouted, “You bunch of thugs, how dare you forge the imperial edict? This is a capital crime!”

Shi Shuyu sneered when he heard this. He pulled out his horse whip and whipped one of the servants, shouting, “If you don’t open the door, I’ll break it open.”

The servant rolled on the ground and wailed in pain. The other servant was shocked and frightened, and asked tremblingly: “Your Majesty? Are you from the Great Yan Dynasty?”

Shi Shuyu looked at him coldly and said, “That’s right. We are here on the orders of Her Majesty the Queen to investigate corrupt officials. If you know what’s best for you, open the door quickly, otherwise don’t blame us for being rude.”

The servant turned pale upon hearing this. He knew the power of the Great Yan Dynasty, and that they were not good people. He trembled and said, “But…but this is the territory of the Qing Dynasty…”

Shi Shuyu sneered and said, “The Qing Dynasty? It will soon become history. Now, open the door for me!”

Following his order, the soldiers of the White Horse Army quickly took action. They broke down the gate, rushed into the house, and began a vigorous house-raiding operation. The two servants stood there in a daze, watching their master’s house being raided and arrested, their hearts filled with endless fear and despair.

In this house-raiding operation, the White Horse Army led by Shi Shuyu showed amazing efficiency and combat effectiveness. They quickly surrounded the families involved in the purchase of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and searched and arrested them one by one. And those children who originally enjoyed wealth and glory, now fled everywhere like dogs that had lost their homes, trying to avoid this disaster.

However, they still could not escape the fate. Under the iron hoof of the White Horse Army, they were arrested one by one and waited for the punishment of the law. Emperor Qianlong sat in the hall, watching all this happen silently, with an indescribable complex emotion in his heart.

He knew that this house-confiscation operation was not only a blow to the corrupt officials in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but also a heavy blow to the Qing Dynasty. He understood that his kingdom was already shaky and could collapse at any time. However, Li Qingge, this seemingly gentle woman, possessed the power and determination to overthrow the Qing Dynasty.

He sighed inwardly, but he could do nothing. He knew that he could no longer stop all this from happening, and could only silently wait for fate to decide. In this torrent of history, he might just be an insignificant passerby, and Li Qingge was the real ruler.

Humph, you said this is the territory of the Qing Dynasty? “Shi Shuyu’s mouth curled up with a sneer, and the voice was like a biting cold wind in winter, coldly penetrating the air, “It won’t be long before this land, which once belonged to the Qing Dynasty, will change hands and become the territory of our Great Yan Dynasty.” His eyes flashed with unquestionable firmness, which was an absolute confidence in the future, and also an indifference to the fact that everything before his eyes was about to become the past.

He waved his hand gently, with irresistible majesty in his gesture, and ordered: “Come on, break down the door and rush in!” As his words fell, a group of soldiers in blood-red uniforms responded quickly. They marched in unison and with great momentum, like an unstoppable torrent, rushing straight towards the seemingly solid but crumbling gate of the house.

At this time, deep in the courtyard, the head of the Uya clan, Uya Haiwang, was dining with his two sons and four grandsons around a carved pear wood table. The table was filled with exquisite dishes, and the gold and silver utensils sparkled brightly in the sun, but they did not dispel the haze in Uya Haiwang’s heart. Since Emperor Qianlong began to severely confiscate the Ministry of Internal Affairs, although the Uya clan had not been affected for the time being because they had been promoted in their early years and were the mother’s family of the late emperor, the silver they had embezzled over the years was like a heavy yoke, which made him restless and unable to sleep day and night.

Over the past month, Wu Yahai’s face has become increasingly thinner, his eye sockets are sunken, and his eyes are full of worry and anxiety. He gently used the chopsticks in his hand to stir the rice in the bowl, but he hardly tasted a bite. Seeing this, the eldest son smiled contemptuously and said, “Father, why are you so worried? Our Wu Ya family is a royal family, and the emperor also has Wu Ya blood flowing in his body. Even if we are really found out, the emperor will not take harsh measures against us because of the kindness of the late Empress Xiao Gongren.”

The second son followed closely and echoed, “Yes, Father, we, the Uya clan, have been freed from the bond slavery for more than 40 years. Now in the eyes of outsiders, we are proper bannermen. Who would want to delve into the old accounts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs? Moreover, much of the evidence has been destroyed by us, so you can rest assured.”

Wu Yahai frowned upon hearing this, sighed, and said helplessly, “You are still young and don’t understand the interests involved. The emperor usually lives a luxurious life and spends money like water. He is unaware of the loss of money. Therefore, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will never let go of any advantage it can take when purchasing. But the situation is different now. The south has been occupied by the Great Yan Dynasty. The financial resources in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have been lost, and the treasury is empty. The emperor has to start increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, and carefully check the accounts. In this way, the various shortcomings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are exposed.”

His words revealed deep worry, and he continued, “You all know the emperor’s temperament to some extent. When he is happy, he can praise you to the sky, and once he is dissatisfied, he can trample you into the dust. Now that the affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been exposed, once the emperor gets angry, he will pursue you relentlessly. It will be difficult to get through this.”

When the eldest son heard this, a trace of indignation flashed across his face, and he said, “This is all the fault of Queen Da Yan. She has been fighting with Da Qing endlessly, causing the court’s finances to be empty. Otherwise, how could we encounter such a disaster?”

Wu Yahai shook his head, his voice filled with helplessness: “It’s useless to complain, and it’s useless to resent. The Great Yan Dynasty has become a powerful force, and the emperor can do nothing about it, let alone us? But you don’t have to worry too much. We have been separated from the bannermen for more than 40 years, and have established a complex network of relationships through marriage. Even if things really break out, the emperor will not exterminate us…”

Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside the door. The butler ran in in a panic, his face pale and panting: “Master, it’s not good, there are soldiers outside the door…”

“Officers and soldiers?” Wu Yahai’s face turned pale in an instant, like a piece of white paper, without any blood. Could it be that the emperor really found out about Wu Ya? An indescribable fear surged in his heart, and that fear was like ice, freezing his blood in an instant.

“What’s going on? Where did the soldiers come from? Are they the palace guards?” the eldest son asked anxiously, his voice trembling a little.

The butler shook his head, his voice filled with fear: “No, they are wearing very strange clothes, and they don’t have braids. They are an army wearing bloody uniforms.”

“A bloody army without braids? This…” Wu Yahai and his children and grandchildren looked at each other, their hearts filled with doubt and fear. Since the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, it has issued a strict order to shave the head. If you keep your hair, you lose your head, and if you keep your head, you lose your hair. Now that the Qing Dynasty has been established in the Central Plains for nearly a hundred years, how could there be an army without braids?

“Let’s go and see what’s going on.” Wu Yahai suppressed the fear in his heart and tried to calm himself down. He stood up and walked out of the restaurant with his children and grandchildren, through the winding corridors, and came to the front hall.

At this time, Shi Shuyu had led the White Horse Army to break into the house. They passed through the courtyards and came to the main hall. Along the way, they saw towering pavilions and towers, with carved beams and painted rafters, and magnificent gold and jade, which showed the style and luxury of the Wuya family. However, behind this luxury, there was unspeakable fear and anxiety.

Shi Shuyu’s eyes swept across the people in the hall, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth. His eyes revealed an irresistible majesty and power, as if he could see through all hypocrisy and disguise. He slowly spoke, with a bit of sarcasm in his voice: “Wu Yahaiwang, do you admit your guilt?”

Wu Yahai was shocked when he heard this, but he still pretended to be calm on the surface. He bowed and asked, “What do you mean, sir? My Wu Ya family is a descendant of the Qing Dynasty. We have always been loyal. What crime have we committed?”

Shi Shuyu sneered and said, “Loyal? Humph, you embezzled money and enriched yourselves, and you still claim to be loyal? Today, I am following the order of the Queen of Dayan to confiscate your property and arrest you!”

As he finished speaking, a group of soldiers in blood-red uniforms quickly stepped forward and surrounded Wu Yahaiwang and his children and grandchildren. Their eyes revealed a cold murderous intent, as if they would tear these people into pieces at any time.

Seeing this, Wu Yahai was filled with a desperate fear. He knew that he could no longer escape. He took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and then slowly said, “Sir, we are willing to hand over all our property and money, just ask you to let us live.”

However, Shi Shuyu just looked at him coldly, then waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to take them away. His voice revealed an irresistible majesty: “The silver you embezzled is the blood and sweat of the people, and you must return it in full. As for your life and death, it depends on the decision of the Queen of Dayan.”

As the soldiers approached, Wu Yahaiwang and his children and grandchildren were escorted out one by one. Their eyes were filled with fear and despair, as if they were pushed into an endless abyss. Shi Shuyu stood there, watching all this coldly, his heart full of expectations and determination for the future. He knew that the future of the Great Yan Dynasty would be even more glorious and brilliant.

Walking into the magnificent main hall, Li Qingge seemed to have traveled through time and space, back to that prosperous and complicated era. The decoration in the main hall is simple yet luxurious, and every detail reveals the owner’s dignity and taste. The chairs are all carefully carved from the finest red sandalwood and huanghuali wood. The wood is delicate, the texture is clear, and it exudes a faint fragrance that makes people involuntarily indulge in it. These woods have been high-end goods exclusively used by the nobility since ancient times, especially Hainan huanghuali and small-leaf red sandalwood, which are almost exclusively enjoyed by the royal family and clansmen, symbolizing supreme glory and status.

However, Li Qingge sneered in her heart. The Wuya clan, a family that once enjoyed great glory because of the birth of a queen mother, now dared to openly use these expensive woods. It was really audacious. She couldn’t help but think that although the Wuya clan was related to the royal family, they had a bad relationship with the previous emperor and were not particularly favored. Now, they were so ostentatious, which was undoubtedly a way to their own death.

After a while, the curtain of the inner room was gently lifted, and Wu Yahaiwang and his family slowly walked out. When Wu Yahaiwang saw Shi Shuyu, he showed a look of surprise on his face. He obviously did not expect that the Great Yan Army Marshal would suddenly visit him. He quickly adjusted his mood, put on a smile and asked: “Where did you come from? And whose orders did you follow?”

Shi Shuyu replied coldly: “I am the Grand Marshal of the Dayan Army. I have come here on the orders of Her Majesty the Queen to recover the stolen money.” His voice was low and powerful, revealing unquestionable majesty.

“Queen of Great Yan?” Wu Yahai’s face suddenly changed when he heard this. He was shocked and angry. “Great Qing and Great Yan are two different countries. How dare you abuse your power? Aren’t you afraid that the Emperor of Great Qing will blame you and destroy the peace between the two countries?”

Shi Shuyu sneered, his eyes revealing disdain and ridicule: “Your Great Qing is about to perish, what peace are you still talking about? Wu Ya took advantage of the power of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to embezzle countless silver and money from the palace. I have been ordered to come and collect the money. Anyone who dares to stop me will be killed without mercy!”

Before he finished speaking, Shi Shuyu shouted loudly: “Lock them all up!” His voice was like thunder, shaking the entire main hall.

Although the Uya clan was a descendant of the Qing dynasty, they were not descendants of the Yan dynasty. Although they had produced many queens and queen mothers, in Li Qingge’s eyes, anyone who dared to take advantage of the people would be punished. The White Horse Army moved as fast as lightning. By the time Uya Haiwang and his children and grandchildren reacted, their hands had been tightly handcuffed with silver handcuffs.

Wu Yahai shouted angrily: “You are too presumptuous! We, the Wuya family, are bannermen, and the emperor has our blood in his veins. How dare you treat us like this?” His voice was full of anger and unwillingness, but more of fear and helplessness.

Shi Shuyu said expressionlessly: “No matter how many merits your family has made or how close your relationship with the emperor is, corruption is a crime and crimes must be punished, and even the emperor is no exception.” His voice was calm and firm, revealing an unquestionable sense of justice.

After saying that, he took out the little red book he carried with him. This was the evidence that Li Qingge had secretly recorded when he sent someone to Beijing to investigate. Those clan members and corrupt officials who were just sitting there doing nothing had no precautions because no one knew that the Queen of Great Yan and the Emperor of Great Qing were biological father and daughter, and they didn’t know that the Queen of Great Yan would control the Great Qing. Their crimes of corruption were all investigated clearly by Li Qingge and recorded in this little red book.

Li Qingge knew that the Imperial Household Department was a major corruption-stricken area, so he ordered people to closely monitor these families who had left their bannermen status. Their actions could not escape Li Qingge’s eyes. Shi Shuyu looked at the records in the little red book and sneered: “What a great Uya family, several generations have served the royal family for more than a hundred years, but they actually embezzled no less than 10 million taels of silver. They are really good servants of the Aisin-Gioro family!”

Hearing the number “10 million taels”, Wu Yahai’s face turned pale instantly, as if all his strength had been drained away. He screamed: “You are talking nonsense! Where did the 10 million taels of silver come from? Even if we sell our whole family, it is not worth this amount!” His voice was full of despair and unwillingness.

“Don’t cry until you see the coffin!” Shi Shuyu didn’t want to waste any more time talking to him and directly ordered a search of the house. “Come here, search carefully! Don’t miss a single spot even if you dig three feet deep!” His voice revealed unquestionable majesty and determination.

The White Horse Army said that house raiding was their specialty. They searched everywhere like locusts, leaving no corner untouched. Soon, boxes of gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and banknotes and pawn certificates were all presented to Shi Shuyu. These riches piled up like mountains, dazzling the eyes.

The deputy general reported: “Marshal, not counting antiques, calligraphy and paintings, land and shops, etc., the gold and silver alone amount to more than 2.4 million taels.” His voice revealed shock and disbelief.

“More than two million four hundred thousand?” Shi Shuyu said sarcastically, “It’s enough to build a royal mausoleum for the Emperor of Qing.” His voice revealed deep contempt for Uya’s corruption.

The construction of the imperial mausoleum was the top priority of the dynasty, and each one cost a huge amount of money. However, no matter how extravagant it was, the average construction expenditure was only a little over two million taels. Wu Yahai was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he screamed: “This is the money that our Wu Ya clan has saved after years of hard work. It is not stolen money!” His voice was full of fear and unwillingness. Shi Shuyu sneered: “You are bannermen, you can’t make money by doing business, you can only make a living by collecting rent from shops and fields. How can you save so much money? Even if there are really two million taels of money from several generations of operation, it should be the sum of all assets. How can there be so much liquid cash? With two million taels of liquid cash, the assets must be more than ten million!” His voice revealed a deep insight and exposure of the Wu Ya family’s corruption.

Liquid cash and total assets are different. Just like in the stock market of the past, there were only a handful of companies with a market value of 100 billion that could take out 10 billion in cash at once. The amount of liquid cash can also be used to reversely infer the total assets of a family or company. In ancient times, wealthy and powerful families knew that eggs should not be put in one basket, so they would buy separate properties to spread the risk. Land, shops, jewelry, antiques, and cash each accounted for a part. The amount of cash can also roughly infer the total wealth of a family.

Li Qingge once told Shi Shuyu these principles. Shi Shuyu flexibly applied this knowledge during the house search process, and almost always got it right based on the cash flow. It can be seen that house search is a technical job, and professional things must be done by professionals.

At this time, Wu Yahaiwang’s eldest son was so anxious that he almost cried: “This is the hard-earned money of our ancestors, you can’t take it away!” They struggled desperately to break free, but the handcuffs were made of pure steel and were extremely hard. How could they be easily broken? Before they could pounce on them, they were held down by the White Horse Army on both sides.

Shi Shuyu couldn’t help laughing as if he heard a joke: “To glorify the embezzled money as hard-earned money, this level of shamelessness is really unmatched! Someone come and teach these people a lesson!” His voice revealed deep contempt and anger for Uya’s corruption.

Upon hearing this order, several White Horse soldiers attacked at the same time, swinging their palms and hitting Wu Yahaiwang and others in the face. With a series of firecracker-like sounds, Wu Yahaiwang and others’ faces suddenly swelled up as if they had been kicked “beyond recognition”, and they had to use Tang Bohu’s “Return My Pretty Fist” to heal. They were beaten so hard that their mouths and noses bled, and they cried and shouted that they wanted to see the emperor.

However, Shi Shuyu sneered: “Her Majesty the Queen personally issued the order to search the house. It would be useless even if the Emperor came, let alone the Emperor. You have to continue searching and hurry up. We have to rush to the next house later.” His voice revealed unquestionable majesty and determination.

Following Shi Shuyu’s order, the White Horse Army responded. Like the devils in hell, they opened secret rooms and compartments one by one and took out the money hidden by the Wuya family. Those gold and silver treasures shone brightly in the sun, but they could no longer illuminate the future of the Wuya family. Their glory and honor completely collapsed at this moment.

Until the deepest part of the cesspool was searched with disgust by everyone, and finally even the gold hidden in the filth was ruthlessly looted out, the faces of those who were once arrogant finally showed despair. Their eyes were empty, as if all the vitality had been taken away, leaving only endless gloom and despair. At this moment, the hearts of the Wuya family were like being pressed by a huge stone weighing a thousand pounds, so depressed that they could hardly breathe. In their hearts, there was only one thought echoing: It’s over, it’s really over this time, all the glory and wealth have disappeared like smoke, and can never be saved.

The team of confiscators poured into the Uya family’s mansion like a tide, leaving no corner untouched. The exquisite porcelain, precious calligraphy and paintings, and shining jewels were all registered one by one and then taken away without mercy. And all this was just the beginning. Afterwards, the families of the Imperial Household Department, such as the Gaojia family and the Jinjia family, who were promoted to the rank of the highest rank, were also confiscated one after another like dominoes. The former glory and wealth vanished overnight, leaving nothing behind.

When all the accounts were summarized and presented to Qianlong, his eyes instantly widened, as if they were about to break through the limits of his eye sockets and burst out. He breathed heavily, his lips trembled constantly, and his voice was filled with incredible shock: “Six hundred and eighty million taels of silver? Oh my God, how can there be so much? This… This is simply an astronomical figure!”

Qianlong originally thought that the last house-confiscation operation had shown him what true wealth was, and that it was already the limit. He had never thought that the White Horse Army sent by Li Qingge could actually find such astonishing wealth from these seemingly drained families. This more than 600 million, equivalent to 20 times the national fiscal revenue, was a figure he could never have imagined in his dreams.

“These slaves actually embezzled so much of my money!” Qianlong’s face was terribly gloomy, like a rag that was stepped on and almost torn. His voice also became hoarse, as if it was squeezed out from the depths of his throat, “Are these accounts wrong? I… I can’t believe it!”

Li Qingge stood aside, her face as calm as water, as if she had expected all this. She replied calmly: “The White Horse Army is a professional team of confiscating property. Your Majesty does not need to doubt their experience and ability. During the Great Yan period, they were the ones who confiscated land and cracked down on landlords and gentry. This time, they will not make any mistakes either.”

Qianlong was so angry that his breathing became rapid, as if there was a fire burning in his chest that would burst out at any time. Li Yu, who was standing next to him, was so frightened by Qianlong’s appearance that his face turned pale and his whole body trembled. He wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. He knew that Qianlong’s current appearance was too terrible, and countless people would die again this time.

Li Qingge seemed not to feel Qianlong’s anger. She said calmly, “We have copied everything that needs to be copied. Now it depends on how Your Majesty will deal with it. Whether to kill or keep it all depends on Your Majesty’s words.”

“Discipline them?” Qianlong roared, “How else can I punish them? They have embezzled so much of my money that even a hundred deaths would not be enough!” His eyes flashed with fierce murderous intent, as if he wanted to swallow up the whole world, “Li Yu, pass on my order. Anyone who participated in corruption will have their property confiscated and their family exterminated, regardless of gender, age or status. No one will be spared! Anyone who embezzles more than one million taels will be cut into pieces by three thousand cuts. If one cut is less, the executioner will be beheaded!”

Qianlong’s voice echoed in the empty palace, carrying unquestionable majesty. This time, he finally showed the majesty of the emperor who could kill millions of people when he was angry, making those who once thought they could get away with it feel unprecedented fear.

Li Qingge listened to Qianlong’s roar, but her heart was not too disturbed. She thought for a while and said, “Let’s not talk about other families first, but the Uya family can be spared. The adult males will be beheaded as a warning to others; the rest will be exiled to Beihai and will never be allowed to return to Beijing. This way, it can deter everyone and preserve the Uya family’s bloodline.”

“Your Majesty, this…” Li Yu looked at Qianlong in embarrassment, not knowing what to do. He knew that Qianlong had always had a special feeling for the Uya clan, after all, his biological mother was also from the Uya clan. However, this corruption case was too big, and if it was not severely punished, it would be difficult to convince the public.

Qianlong looked at Li Qingge and could not help but sigh in his heart. He thought that Li Qingge pleaded for Uya because he thought that the biological mother of the late emperor was also from Uya and that he also had Uya blood in his body. He thought that Li Qingge valued family affection, which was a good thing. After all, if he was kind to Uya today, he would not be too harsh on Aisin-Gioro when he took over the Qing Dynasty in the future.

So he nodded and said, “Let’s do as Queen Da Yan wishes. Spare the lives of Wu Ya’s family members and execute everyone else. This way, we can both demonstrate my mercy and deter others.”

However, Qianlong did not know that the reason why Li Qingge was soft-hearted was not because of Concubine De, but because of another person of Concubine De, Wuya Zhaohui. Zhaohui was a famous general of the Qianlong Dynasty, the grandson of Concubine De, and the general who had recovered the most territory in China in history. He led the Qing army in bloody battles in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains many times, and finally recovered more than one million square kilometers of territory in the northwest. His achievements will be passed down through the ages.

Li Qingge thought of General Zhaohui’s great military exploits and his efforts for the Qing Dynasty, and she couldn’t help but feel a little respect for him. She knew that General Zhaohui died last year due to a recurrence of his old injuries. If the entire Uya clan was killed at this time, wouldn’t it make the meritorious officials feel disheartened? Considering the kindness of General Zhaohui in defending nearly one-sixth of the land of China, his descendants must also be preserved.

Although Qianlong showed leniency to the Uya clan and did not massacre the entire clan, Uya Haiwang and others who were sentenced to be beheaded and thrown into the market still cursed Qianlong for being mean and cruel before they died. Their curses, like sharp blades, pierced Qianlong’s heart and made him even more angry.

When Qianlong heard these insults, he was furious. He felt that these people were really ungrateful and didn’t know the good people. Wu Yashi had embezzled tens of millions of taels of silver from me. I was very merciful by not exterminating your entire clan. You still dare to scold me. You are really courting death!
Qianlong was furious, and the consequences were serious. He originally wanted to severely punish Uya, but because he had already issued an order to exile Uya’s family, it was not convenient to change his order overnight. However, he really couldn’t swallow this breath. So, he ordered to cancel General Zhaohui’s qualification to enjoy the imperial temple, and moved his tablet out of the imperial temple.

Being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple was the highest honor for an ancient official. There was no higher honor than this. The Qing Dynasty had very strict requirements for the qualifications for being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Even a prince with an iron hat might not be able to get this honor. It was even more difficult for a Han official to get this honor. Throughout the more than 200 years of the Qing Dynasty, only Zhang Tingyu, a senior official of three dynasties, was enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

During his lifetime, General Zhaohui made great efforts for the country’s territorial sovereignty, integrity and unity. It was only natural that he deserved to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. However, he never expected that the actions of his descendants would cause him to be insulted after his death and lose the highest honor he had gained from his life of fighting.

However, good and bad things always come with each other. After Li Qingge took over the Qing Dynasty and unified the north and the south, he thought of General Zhaohui’s merits and ordered him to be enshrined in his own imperial temple. General Zhaohui lost the imperial temple of Qianlong, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, but got a ride on the throne of the founding emperor of the Yan Dynasty. The ups and downs of his life after his death are also very rare.

Later, many successive generations of the Great Yan Dynasty did not allow a second Manchu to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. General Zhao Hui thus became the only Manchu to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the Great Yan Dynasty, and his fame and honor were thus eternally praised.

In the previous dynasty, Emperor Qianlong had launched a series of storms against corruption in the Imperial Household Department. In the harem, unprecedented changes occurred due to the gathering of the Empress Dowager, Concubine Ling, and Princess Hejing.

One afternoon, the sun shone through the clouds and onto the golden tiles of the Forbidden City, flashing a dazzling light. Qianlong and Li Qingge were discussing the process of abdicating the throne in the imperial study, preparing to complete the last step of the handover. Li Qingge was as cunning as a fox and was well versed in modern publicity and marketing. She used various tricks to make Qianlong agree to her request in a daze.

However, there were two things that Qianlong was very tough on. One of them was how to deal with Heshen after abdication. Heshen, a minister who was once powerful, had now become a thorn in Qianlong’s heart. He was corrupt, took bribes, formed cliques for personal gain, and committed heinous crimes. Qianlong knew that if he did not deal with him, he would have a hard time explaining it to the world.

However, Heshen was promoted by him after all, and he had done a lot for him. Qianlong also had an inseparable feeling for Heshen. He hesitated, not knowing what to do. But Li Qingge seemed to see through his mind and said lightly: “Your Majesty, you should make your own decision on the issue of Heshen. No matter what you choose, I will respect your choice.”

Qianlong couldn’t help but sigh as he listened to Li Qingge’s words. He knew that Li Qingge was giving him a way out and a chance to handle the problem himself. He looked at Li Qingge gratefully, then took a deep breath and said, “Okay, I will handle Heshen’s problem myself. But I hope you can give me some time to think about it.”

Li Qingge nodded to show her understanding. She knew that Qianlong needed time to accept this reality and to deal with his emotions. So, she said no more and just stayed quietly beside Qianlong, waiting for his decision.

Li Qingge, a woman with determination and wisdom, has always hated corruption. In her eyes, those who take bribes and pervert the law are like termites that corrode the body of the country and must be severely punished. And Heshen, the number one corrupt official who is famous in the court and the country, naturally became a cancer that must be removed in her heart.

If Heshen’s crime was really convicted based on the amount of money he embezzled, even if he was skinned alive with three thousand knives, the world would probably think it was too lenient. Li Qingge thought to herself that in this chaotic world, only severe punishment could deter everyone and restore order in the court. She decided to first rectify the corrupt officials and landlords in the Qing court, and then gradually implement the laws of Dayan in order to eradicate the source of corruption.

However, this was not an easy task. Although the laws of Dayan were modeled after modern laws, emphasizing less killing, cautious killing, and abstinence from killing, and had abolished those cruel corporal punishments, in Li Qingge’s opinion, for a corrupt official like Heshen, just one death would be too easy for him. Moreover, in Qianlong’s eyes, Heshen was not only a minister, but also his happy pill, a friend who could comfort him when he was upset, and even a relative.

Qianlong, the emperor who won the battle for the throne among nine princes, was not stupid, but extremely sober. He was not completely unaware of Heshen’s corruption, but most of the money Heshen embezzled was given to him as a filial gift, allowing him to enjoy unprecedented happiness. Heshen’s understanding of Qianlong was almost to the point of telepathy. In many things, Heshen had already quietly handled them before Qianlong even opened his mouth. This kind of tacit understanding and flattery was something Qianlong could not get from other ministers, even his children and concubines.

Now, the new emperor is about to take the throne, and Qianlong is about to abdicate and become the emperor emeritus. Naturally, he does not want to see Heshen die. On the one hand, he really can’t bear to part with this person with whom he has deep feelings; on the other hand, he also hopes to have someone to accompany him in his later years so that he will not be too lonely.

Li Qingge knew Qianlong’s thoughts and understood Heshen’s position in Qianlong’s heart. She frowned, thought for a long time, and finally nodded, deciding to give Heshen a chance to reform. “Okay, I will spare Heshen’s life, but even if he is spared the death penalty, he cannot escape the punishment of living. All the money he embezzled will be confiscated, and he must help me fight corruption and make meritorious contributions.” Although her voice was cold, it revealed a hint of determination that was not easy to detect.

Speaking of Heshen, Li Qingge’s thoughts drifted back to her past life, and the movie “Cat and Mouse Game” came to her mind. The protagonist Frank in the movie, a big liar who was good at forging checks and disguising himself, had left a deep impression on her. Although Frank once gave the FBI a headache, he eventually became an anti-fraud expert with his expertise and designed anti-counterfeiting checks for banks, which became the standard for major banks around the world.

Everything in the world is born and dies, flowers bloom and fall, things turn to the opposite extreme, and fortune and misfortune are interdependent. Li Qingge knows that if the dragon slayer cannot resist the temptation of success, he may eventually become a new evil dragon; conversely, the evil dragon may also become a new dragon slayer. Although fraud and anti-fraud are contradictory, they are unified and can be transformed into each other. The key lies in how to use them.

The Qianlong Dynasty was undoubtedly the most corrupt period in ancient times. The corrupt officials were huge, intertwined, and colluded with each other, forming an impenetrable network. Although Li Qingge was extremely powerful, it was difficult for him to completely eliminate this network in a short period of time. Since the formal method was difficult to deal with, it was better to take a different approach and fight poison with poison, and let Heshen, the most powerful corrupt official, deal with the corrupt officials. After all, the person who knows corrupt officials best must be a more powerful corrupt official. Fighting corruption with corruption may have unexpected results.

However, in addition to the issue of Heshen, there was another thing that gave Li Qingge a headache, which was the matter of the title of honor after Qianlong abdicated. The title of honor was a title of respect given to elders by the new emperor after he ascended the throne, usually given to the empress dowager or the grand empress dowager. Qianlong wanted to choose a beautiful title for himself, which made Li Qingge very unhappy.

“I will choose the characters for the title myself,” Qianlong said as if it was a matter of course.

“Why?” Li Qingge snorted coldly, his tone revealing dissatisfaction.

“As the Supreme Emperor, what’s wrong with me choosing a nice title for myself?” Qianlong did not seem to think that his request was excessive.

Li Qingge looked at his behavior and felt even more dissatisfied: “Oh, he was forced to abdicate and become the emperor, but he still acted so arrogantly. He is really shameless.”

“You——” Qianlong was choked by her words and was speechless.

“History has always shown that the titles of Grand Emperor and Empress Dowager have been bestowed upon the elders by the younger generations. How can one recommend oneself?” Li Qingge pointed out Qianlong’s mistake mercilessly.