Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

At this time, Emperor Daoguang also wanted to see how much silver the Qing Dynasty's treasury had actually accumulated.

Although a report submitted in the 25th year of the Jiaqing Emperor's reign stated that the Qing Dynasty's national treasury had recovered to over 32 million taels of silver, there were simply too many places to spend money.

Therefore, the first thing Emperor Daoguang wanted to see was the account books. After calculating, the Ministry of Revenue reported that the amount of silver deposited that year was 3337 million taels.

Although he didn't lack money at the moment, Daoguang still found it strange.

"If I really had that much silver, I wouldn't need to be frugal anymore, and I would be much more thrifty in my spending."

"Your Majesty, we will go and investigate ourselves."

"Go down. Once the inventory is complete in a few days, report back to me."

To be honest, the way silver is used in China is quite crude; they always use loose silver pieces.

Gold and silver are quite malleable, and they will melt when a certain proportion of other metals are added to lower their melting point.

Otherwise, Genghis Khan would not have used this method to execute the city lord of Otrar, who killed 499 of his merchants, Khair Khan.

Although there were silver coins imported from Europe, many of them were melted down.

The trouble lies in the fact that none of these powerful figures, gentry, or common people are easy to deal with.

Furthermore, within the imperial court, instances of embezzlement by those in charge are inevitable.

This wasn't the first or second time they'd stolen silver.

Back on the Daoguang side, he was still discussing military affairs with the instructors from Europe who were assisting with military affairs. He found that these people were indeed capable, and at least when recommending advisors, Solovyov had made good arrangements.

The few people in charge of handling foreign affairs at the ports—that is, those who assisted the Governor-General's Office, the Provincial Governor's Office, and the Guangdong Customs in dealing with foreigners in Guangzhou—were quite competent; at least they had some understanding of the accounts and customs procedures.

They also stated that serving the emperor naturally meant doing their utmost.

Europeans, when they put their heart into things, can generally be more reliable.

Unfortunately, the impression of the British was too bad under the Daoguang Emperor's rule, and the British always seemed to have some purpose when they came to the customs.

The French are a bit bureaucratic, but they get things done fairly well.

As these people answered, Emperor Daoguang assigned them positions in the Guangdong Customs and the Governor-General's Office, and then had the Ministry of Personnel conduct another assessment.

Just as these foreign officials were about to express their gratitude and leave, the Ministry of Revenue reported a major problem.

The amount of silver in the national treasury is not as much as the amount on the books; it is actually five million taels less.

"Why?"

"Your Majesty, this servant is also inspecting the items. If there is any missing silver, it seems..."

At that time, the Minister of Revenue was Yinghe, the one who built the mausoleum for Emperor Daoguang, but the project was so shoddy that it leaked and he almost got beheaded.

He was under immense pressure at that moment, and he was stammering to himself.

When Emperor Daoguang saw this, he was also anxious, since the money in the national treasury was also related to him.

Commonly known as, "My money!"

"What does it seem like?"

"Your Majesty," this servant replied, "I believe that a three-foot layer of ice doesn't form in a single day. Both Minister Huang and I were appointed by Your Majesty, and we have certainly been diligent and conscientious, daring not to slacken our efforts. Now, with five million taels of silver missing, it must be the result of years of embezzlement by those in charge. Officials of all ranks in the Ministry of Revenue, from the lowest to the lowest, including the clerks and guards, must change clothes before entering to conduct inspections. Under the old methods, this should have prevented any problems. It's unavoidable... unavoidable."

"Yinghe, you're such a difficult person."

“This servant is guilty, but there must be something fishy going on here.”

"Huang Yue, what do you have to say now?"

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, I share the same view as Lord Ying. If someone steals silver, they must have used some means. When we discussed this at the Ministry of Revenue, we couldn't help but feel that it was suspicious. Normally, security is very tight, and the Ministry of Revenue officials do not put the silver into the national treasury without inspection. If there is a shortage of silver, someone with expertise in criminal law must be sent to the treasury to check it."

Yinghe had already recounted the events leading up to this, making it easier for Huang Yue, the Han Dynasty's Minister of Works, to continue the story.

During the Jiaqing era, there were not only these two people serving as the Manchu and Han Ministers of Revenue; there were others who had held this position before them.

Cao Zhenyong, in particular, served as Minister of Revenue several times.

This place has been a key location, as it has seen several Grand Councilors stationed here.

According to European understanding, the prime minister automatically serves as the first finance minister, while the finance minister is actually the second in line.

Emperor Daoguang himself didn't realize that he was discussing customs matters with several foreign officials when he inadvertently exposed his family's dirty laundry.

Fortunately, they only had a superficial understanding of Mandarin, unlike Drouot who was already able to communicate, so only Nanmid, who was standing to the side, knew what had happened.

However, he was a missionary stationed in Beijing, so it wasn't a big deal. This kind of thing had happened before in the Qing Dynasty, and there were also cases of treasury robberies in Europe, but the methods were probably different.

Some foreigners even felt that the Qing Dynasty's Ministry of Revenue's management system, particularly in terms of the strictness of its treasury, surpassed that of Europe.

If they can still steal silver this way, what is their method?

Cao Zhenyong was bound to be questioned by Emperor Daoguang.

"Cao Zhenyong".

"The minister is here."

What do you think?

After all, Emperor Daoguang needed a reliable Grand Councilor to assist him, and his opinion was indeed very important.

"In my humble opinion, if silver can be stolen, there must be some unexpected way. When Lord Dong Gao was still alive, he also assisted in the Ministry of Revenue. At that time, some officials used inferior materials to pass off as superior ones. The two late emperors, Gaozong and Renzong, issued edicts to reprimand them. Now, among the officials, they know that the court has a method of inspection and dare not act recklessly. At this time, it should be found in the treasury or armory of the minor officials."

Cao Zhenyong's words have already pointed out the problem.

If officials had been falsifying documents in the past, Emperor Qianlong, being so petty, would have had the censors impeach them long ago.

Furthermore, Cao Zhenyong did not mention that officials have other ways to make money, and that officials do not usually go to the warehouse, so how could they possibly steal?
If someone is caught stealing, then some measures will naturally be taken.

This special method naturally involves openings in the human body.

Emperor Daoguang didn't think much of it at first, but the Grand Councilors, officials from the Ministry of Revenue, and a missionary named Nan Mide were all brainstorming.

The reason is simple: this is just too bizarre.

"Nan Mi De".

"The minister is here."

What do you think of this matter?

"Your Majesty, I am just a missionary. If I were to steal from the French treasury, I would just take what I could get and put it in my pocket. I could only steal a few gold and silver coins, not much more."

He said this, and Daoguang knew that foreigners' warehouse management was not as strict as that of the Qing Dynasty, so it was easy for them to steal.

"That's all, Your Majesty. This old minister has some clues." "Speak quickly!"

Cao Zhenyong had just thought of a rather interesting direction. If the national treasury hadn't been short of silver, he wouldn't have been so desperate. Considering this, he had no choice but to speak up.

"In my opinion, if silver has been stolen from the national treasury, it will naturally be found during the inventory check. The human body has seven orifices, including the five senses. The mouth, nose, and ears are not like Pigsy's ability to hide silver. If any silver has been stolen, it should be found in the anus."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Daoguang's expression darkened further.

However, Cao Zhenyong's idea did make sense.

When people use silver, they often cut up miscellaneous pieces of silver to make it more convenient to use.

Its good plasticity means that, if it continues like this, the anus... Although this place has a strong odor, it is big enough to hide silver.

"Since the problem lies in the anus, what is Cao Qing's plan?"

"It would be better to have the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review work together with the Shuntian Prefecture to thoroughly investigate the treasury and its troops. We will have a plan."

After all, they were just a group of warehouse soldiers, not officials, so it's understandable.

It shouldn't be too easy to check.

It was only a matter of time before China started using silver as its monetary base.

As for the news that came back when the Ministry of Justice went down to thoroughly investigate the case, it was enough to shock Emperor Daoguang.

Among these soldiers, those who have stretched their anus since childhood are all skilled in this art.

As they get older, they naturally become larger, more like a gOat.

Stuffing silver in there, a little at a time, is not a problem.

In the past, when it came to recovering debts owed to the national treasury, and dealing with those who had falsified documents, everything was done openly.

Such smelly tricks that puff up your own anus are hard to guard against; most people wouldn't think of them without using their brains.

Actually, Emperor Daoguang didn't have a very good temper either. By this time in the Qing Dynasty, only Emperor Jiaqing, the big, fat emperor, had a good temper and wouldn't kill entire families.

After reading the memorial, he slammed it on the table before the Ministry of Justice officials could reply.

"This is outrageous! These lackeys must be punished severely! Tell me, how should these lackeys be dealt with!"

"We believe that they should be executed immediately, directly at the execution ground. However, many have been executed, and there are quite a few soldiers in the armory who have done the same."

"Then we'll treat them as if they stole silver. Those who commit heinous crimes will be executed by slow slicing or beheading, while the rest will be sentenced to immediate beheading."

"Your Majesty, if that's the case, I'm afraid we can't eliminate the problem completely."

Because Emperor Daoguang was only forty years old at the time, he still had plenty of energy.

He has a short temper, and after hearing what Tojin said, he couldn't help but lose his temper and really wanted to eliminate the threat completely.

There's only one way, and it's rather brutal.

All the sons and grandsons of the eunuchs under the age of fifteen were castrated and forced to do menial work among the eunuchs, especially cleaning outside the imperial tombs and carrying chamber pots every day.

This only applied to those who wanted to make a big show of it; the rest were exiled to Ningguta to serve as slaves to the armored men.

The reason I didn't go to Yili is simple: the environment there is too good, it's not suitable for prisoners like me.

The rest of the family members were also exiled. At this time, it was still freezing cold in Ningguta, and many places had not yet recovered from the cold. These people would also suffer then.

As for those who were beheaded, cut in half at the waist, or subjected to slow slicing, their heads and buttocks would be displayed together at the execution ground so that everyone would know what heinous crime they had committed.

Emperor Daoguang was still somewhat indignant, stating that the silver in the national treasury was not for his personal use, as the emperor had his own private treasury, separate from the national treasury.

Wars on the frontier, the Yellow River about to burst its banks, floods, droughts, and locust plagues—all these require money.

For this reason, he himself lived frugally, not daring to eat an extra egg in a meal, patching the inside of his dragon robe, and reducing his rewards and allowances.

These soldiers were even more hateful than the "big rats" mentioned in the Book of Songs, and naturally they should be punished according to the law.

The imperial edict stated at length that these people had stolen silver, a heinous crime that could not be forgiven.

If it were any other day, they might have been sentenced to death with reprieve, or sent to Ningguta.

But when the country needs money, these things should naturally be punished severely, even to the point of having no descendants.

This accidental mishap resulted in the Ministry of Justice exceeding its annual beheading quota ahead of schedule.

At Caishikou, the onlookers from Beijing and the Manchu bannermen walking their birds all witnessed dead people and birds lying in the air, many of them cleaved in two. The scene was bloody and terrifying.

However, people were numb to the fact that these people had all been beheaded, and the silver they had stolen from the national treasury actually had little to do with the people of the capital.

In the future, matters such as repairing river embankments, disaster relief, and military operations will be relatively distant from the capital and will be used in other places outside the capital.

For example, Zhang Ge'er, who started causing trouble today from Kokand, gave Emperor Daoguang a real headache after reading the reports from the Ili General and the ministers in charge of various affairs in southern Xinjiang.

When Solovyov arrived with the Russian delegation, all the things he predicted came true in Kokand without exception.

Fortunately, Zhang Ge'er's first invasion was ineffective, and he was easily driven away by the Qing troops stationed in the southern border region, which were simply gathered by the minister in charge of the southern border affairs.

However, dealing with border troubles here requires a considerable amount of money, especially if it involves warfare.

Five million taels were stolen by the treasury guards, but they managed to stop the loss in time.

If we wait until the Opium War is over, another four million taels will be stolen, and we'll suffer a huge loss.

Previously, the Qing Dynasty had relatively strict controls, but by the late Jiaqing period and early Daoguang period, embezzlement by those in charge became quite rampant.

The execution of so many armory soldiers and the dismissal of a number of derelict and negligent officials served as a significant deterrent to the court and the public.

This time, the killing was carried out well, immediately intimidating those below. Even many officials, when submitting memorials, had to state that they were in their localities and would strictly investigate the matter, resolutely preventing problems such as theft of silver by treasury guards.

As for the soldiers who would be assigned to the warehouse, before they could even take up their posts, they would first have to check if the valley passage had been stretched too wide. Anyone with such marks would not be hired, let alone low-ranking soldiers. They would be sent directly to the Shuntian Prefecture government office for strict interrogation.

This made the Qing Dynasty's officialdom in the first year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign appear to be in a very aggressive state.

You have to understand, Emperor Daoguang was the kind of man who would kick his own son to death; he had a terrible temper, and at this moment, he was eager to make his mark.

When Cao Zhenyong saw that the emperor was so invigorated, he didn't just mention the emperor's petty faults about nitpicking to Daoguang. That would only reduce the emperor's workload, and then the people below would either conceal the truth or not submit memorials.

The new requirement for ministers is that they must have substance in their words, not just spend their days paying respects, but report on the local situation.
To address this, Emperor Daoguang and his Grand Councilors came up with a brilliant idea: to bring out all the nonsensical literary memorials from the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong reigns, indicating that while it was permissible to discuss the weather, mention the people's sentiments, and even rebel in various places, such negative examples should not be used as teaching materials.

Even so, the current situation of the Qing Dynasty is not optimistic.

Although it's impossible to steal all the silver, the national treasury will eventually be depleted due to the outflow of silver caused by British opium smuggling.

Fortunately, their business with Russia and France, as well as their relatives, was still conducted in accordance with Qing Dynasty rules at the request of the Russian Tsar and the French Empress Dowager. This allowed the silver to flow into the Qing Dynasty, and they could even take the goods back and act as middlemen to earn the price difference, and then sell them to Britain.

Why are British tariffs so high, forcing honest merchants to become smugglers? (End of Chapter)