Chapter 14: The Fourteenth Day of Wanting to Die

Yin Zhuo continued to complain.

[Do you know what 40,000 poems mean? That’s more than 40,000 poems. Even if a person lives to be 100 years old, he only lives for more than 30,000 days in his life. One poem a day is not enough!!]

Yinzhen: !!! How much? !

Kangxi: ! ! Is it 40,000 poems? Or is it four poems?

Defei also blinked and was stunned. She didn't know if it was because of illness that her brain couldn't think straight, but she couldn't immediately react to how many 40,000 poems were.

Tana and Urina secretly took a breath of cool air.

They also took classes and learned poetry, but sometimes they couldn't remember a single poem during the day.

Wujina was suffering from the pain of memorizing poems when she suddenly heard her sixth brother say that her fourth brother's child, a man called Qianlong, had written 40,000 poems in his lifetime. She was so shocked that her little mouth opened wide.

Si Fujin wanted to laugh when he saw Yinzhen's ugly expression. What kind of crappy hobby do these two kids have?

One loves to write poetry, and the other loves to do his own funeral while alive.

Yin Zhuo was still thinking back to the many things that Qianlong had done.

【Not only that, he was also a seal stamping maniac. I still remember that Wang Xizhi's calligraphy had only 28 characters, and there were more than 200 seals in total, but Qianlong stamped more than 170. I heard that the seals he stamped not only did not appreciate in value, but actually depreciated. How could this not depreciate? Take Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, for example, there are only a few characters in total, and it is densely stamped with the same seals. 】

Kangxi's heart was bleeding. This was referring to the "Kuaixue Shiqing Tie", on which he also stamped his seal.

But as usual, he only stamped one, which meant that he had collected it.

How can we appreciate a painting with more than 170 identical stamps on it?

What a waste of resources!

Yinzhen was numb, his face was paralyzed and there was a hint of dullness on his face.

How did Hongli grow up? It is impossible that he would not care about his children. But how did he develop such a bad habit? What does it mean that he wants to stamp several stamps on good things when he sees them?

Kangxi shook his head, thinking that his grandson was really not good enough.

From ancient times to the present, I have never heard of any emperor who loved composing poetry so much, let alone liking to stamp seals.

Seals are symbols of status and are rarely used. Who would be like Hongli, who would print his seal on everything he liked? There is no need to print so many seals to declare sovereignty, right?

Xiaoliu is right about the fact that people are addicted to food.

But Kangxi also admired him. To be honest, it was rare to have such perseverance to write more than 40,000 poems.

He has only written a few hundred poems from his childhood to adulthood, not even a fraction of what he has written.

Kangxi remembered that Yinzhen's academic performance was considered excellent among his brothers, and his poetry writing level was not so bad as to be able to write only one or two poems.

But the fourth son gave birth to a poet and a seal-stamping addict, which made Kangxi suspicious of Yinzhen. Was the fourth son pretending to be knowledgeable before?

Kangxi couldn't help asking, "Old Fourth, do you have any valuable calligraphy or paintings in your study? I will go to your house to admire them in person someday."

He now suspected that the root of the problem lay with Yinzhen. Although the fourth brother always had a cold face, he might have this habit in private. Who could say for sure? Even Kangxi couldn't monitor them all the time.

Before Yinzhen could reply, Kangxi continued, "Have you written any poems recently? Although you are in charge of government affairs, you still need to learn."

Yin Zhuo immediately responded: "You can learn as long as you live."

Kangxi's eyes lit up: "Well said."

Yinzhen knew that the emperor was suspicious of him, but he really didn't have that hobby.

"The calligraphy and paintings I collected are all stored in boxes with great care. If Your Majesty wants to see them, I will bring them to the palace and give them to you."

Yin Zhuo moved his mouth.

[What do you mean? Why did the Emperor suddenly take a fancy to the collection of the fourth brother? But I want to see it too! They are all precious antiques, they must be real. ]

To put it bluntly, Yin Zhuo went to the Forbidden City just to see the antiques up close.

【Can you give me a copy? 】

Yin Zhuo looked at Yinzhen eagerly.

Yinzhen hesitated for a moment, and Yin Zhuo spoke up: "Fourth brother, do you have Xiaoliu's? I will definitely cherish her."

[I don’t even have a seal, so I definitely won’t stamp everywhere like Qianlong did.]

Kangxi suddenly thought of something and said quickly, "Since the fourth brother has sent it, then send it all over."

Anyway, it would be wasted if kept in the fourth master's house.

[Oh no, the Emperor is even more shameless than him! How can he ask for it? And even if he wants it, he can't take it all, right? ]

Yin Zhuo was stunned. He stared at Kangxi with wide eyes, as if he wanted to see a flower in him.

Kangxi felt a little uncomfortable, but he still said, "The fourth son doesn't know how to appreciate it. It's a waste to leave it there."

Yinzhen, who took the blame for Qianlong: …

He was really more wronged than Dou E, but the key point was that he couldn't say anything to refute it.

Yin Zhuo was the only one present who was shocked; everyone else was very calm.

[Am I the only one who has never seen good things? Look at my mother and the others, their faces didn't change when they heard this. Is this the emperor's right? ]

Kangxi said pitifully: "Although the emperor is the emperor, he is very poor. There is not much money in the national treasury."

Yin Zhuo nodded.

[It is true that he did not have much money. He only accumulated some wealth during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng. Emperor Qianlong was also very capable in the early years, but he spent almost all the money in the later years. The money in the national treasury was probably not as much as Heshen's. So, was Heshen the richest person in the Qing Dynasty? ]

Kangxi and Yinzhen looked at each other. Who is this Heshen?

[In the Ming Dynasty, there was Shen Wansan, and in the Qing Dynasty, there was Heshen. Both of them were extremely rich.]

Kangxi knew Shen Wansan. The money that Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty used to reward the three armies was all donated by Shen Wansan. Even now, some people still call him Shen the God of Wealth, but wealth always brings misfortune, especially when he was richer than the emperor, it was even more eye-catching.

Could it be that such a powerful God of Wealth also appeared in their Qing Dynasty?

The name Heshen sounds like he is from the Manchu ethnic group, but which banner was he from?

Yinzhen didn't know much about Heshen, maybe he wasn't even born yet.

[When the family was searched, about 200 million taels of silver were seized. The walls of the house were built with gold and silver bricks. Add in some treasures, antiques, and real estate, and the total was about 1.1 billion taels of silver. According to records, the national treasury during the Qianlong period was only about 70 million taels.]

How many?

Kangxi even suspected that he was hallucinating.

Is this more than 200 million taels of silver copied directly?

To be honest, Kangxi's heart was about to explode at this moment.

You have to know that when he ascended the throne, the national treasury had only more than 8 million taels of silver. It took so many years after he ascended the throne to slowly accumulate 20 million taels. Now it is even less than 20 million. This man named Heshen has more than 200 million taels of silver. It is simply like the God of Wealth descending to earth. He is too good at making money.

Yinzhen's paralyzed face finally showed cracks, more than 200 million taels of silver, and total assets of 1.1 billion taels...

This is richer than the entire Qing Dynasty today.

To be honest, although Yinzhen didn't know how much silver was in the national treasury, it was definitely not more than one-tenth of the 200 million silver.

Yinzhen rubbed his face, feeling dizzy from the impact of the huge number.

Wait, Xiaoliu just talked about house confiscation?

Could it be that Heshen committed some crime and was caught by Emperor Qianlong?

Such a wealthy businessman must have a huge industry.

[He is indeed the most corrupt official in the Qing Dynasty, but who made him favored by Emperor Qianlong? When he confiscated his property, Emperor Qianlong never thought that his good brother had embezzled so much money. ]

Corrupt official?

Is this still an official?

Kangxi began to understand a little bit. So, was all Heshen's money bribed?

His face turned a little blue. What he hated most was corruption, embezzlement and bribery.

As an official, he dared to accept such a large amount of bribes under the emperor's nose, so he was not qualified to be the emperor.

Heshen became rich, but the people certainly lived a harder life.

Kangxi concluded that Hongli was not qualified to be the emperor.

But he began to wonder how much corruption and bribery the people in the court had incurred.

For example, the military pay that is urgently needed now.

The national treasury was in short supply, and Kangxi narrowed his eyes, thinking that perhaps confiscating property was a good way to make money.

The sheep must be fattened before being killed.

Could it be that Emperor Qianlong thought the same way?

But this one is too fat.

Kangxi felt a little jealous. He was the most powerful person in the Qing Dynasty, but he had never seen so much silver in his life.

How to store all this silver has become a problem. Gold bricks and silver bricks, you can build a big house with all this gold and silver.

To be honest, after Yinzhen left the palace, many people offered him bribes, but now he feels a little regretful.

You can leave things alone, but you can collect the money.

Those officials who gave him money might be richer than he is.

Why not accept it?

I regret it so much.

Concubine De coughed. Bribery was very common in the palace.

This cough interrupted Yin Zhuo's thoughts. He quickly asked with concern: "Did mother take the medicine today?"

De Fei smiled and said, "I used it, but my throat is still itchy. But it will be better soon. Xiao Liu, don't worry, mother. Have you taken the medicine today?"

Yin Zhuo glanced away, not daring to meet E'niang's gaze.

Concubine De: ...

She just knew it.

"Eunuch Wang."

Eunuch Wang stepped forward and told the story again about Yin Zhuo sleeping for half the afternoon.

With so many people around, Yin Zhuo's face turned red with embarrassment.

[What's wrong with being lazy in bed? Just be lazy, I have nothing to do anyway. ]

Yin Zhuo thought directly.

Kangxi and Yinzhen still felt a little unsatisfied. Why didn't Xiaoliu continue talking? They wanted to hear more about Heshen.

How on earth was it possible to embezzle so much money right under the emperor's nose?

Kangxi mainly wanted to learn from relevant experience and then pick a fat sheep to slaughter.

Wouldn’t this solve the military pay problem?

Xiaoliu was really a lucky star, as he solved Kangxi’s urgent problem.

Let the fourth brother take charge of the house confiscation. After hearing the story of the 1.1 billion taels of silver, he should have a new concept of the amount of silver.

It can no longer be measured in ten thousand.

If Xiaoliu is really bored, then he can follow Laosi to search the house.

Find him something to do, maybe Xiaoliu won't want to die anymore.