The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 37: Growing Wings
"I am He Jin, the Deputy Director of the Donation Department. I greet you, Master Fifteen." After He Jin entered the room, he bowed deeply to the ground without hesitation.

"What do you want from me?" Yinyou deliberately didn't ask He Jin to stand up, but asked him the purpose of his visit directly.

"My Lord Fifteen, I want to tell you that the waters of the donation department are very deep and cannot be easily entered." He Jin paused deliberately, wanting to see Yinyou's attitude.

However, what He Jin did not expect was that Yinyou did not even look at him and completely ignored him.

He Jin wanted to keep the secret, but was turned down. He could only bend down and said carefully: "To be honest with you, Master Fifteen, the Manchu doctor Guan Bao in the Donation Department is actually the prince's man. The Han doctor Liu Lin is the Eighth Master's man."

Yinyou was a sensible man, and He Jin came here to show his loyalty.

However, Yinyu's attitude was very clear. He would not release the eagle until he saw the rabbit.

In the officialdom these days, it is difficult to gain trust unless your backers hold fatal evidence against you.

Therefore, most corruption cases in the Qing Dynasty officialdom were group cases, and a large number of people were caught at once.

"Please review the details of the Donation Office's income and expenditure over the past twenty years, Master Fifteen." He Jin gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and finally took a crucial step.

He Jin had been working in the Ministry of Revenue for more than 20 years but had never been promoted. The reason was that he had no strong backing.

However, the fourth son was very good at pretending to be a grandson. On the surface, he never formed a clique and was always a lone minister in Kangxi's mind.

Since He Jin failed to curry favor with the fourth prince, he set his sights on Yinyou.

The first four words that Yinyou thought of were: Records of All Officials.

The descriptions of officials in the old TV series "The Yongzheng Dynasty" are a bit exaggerated.

However, after a while, everyone knows each other's backgrounds.

He Jin did bring a great gift, allowing Yinyou to quickly find out the connections in the donation office.

Although Yinyou did not intend to steal the limelight from the fourth prince, how could a person in a higher position be completely without wings?
"Brother Shunqing, I live in the palace now, so it's not convenient for me to invite you to be my guest. But when I leave the palace and have my own residence in the future, you are welcome to come and watch the show anytime and anywhere." Yinyu not only called He Jin by his courtesy name affectionately, but also sent a clear signal of acceptance.

This means that from now on, He Jin will be Yinyou's man.

He Jin's whole body was refreshed, as if he had taken a reassurance pill. He bowed to the ground with joy and said loudly: "I, He Jin, swear to follow the Fifteenth Master until death."

Yinyu couldn't help but smile and said, "I don't need you to swear to death, just do your duty to each other."

As an old bureaucrat, Yinyou knew very well that in this world, 99.999% of the so-called swearing loyalty until death was unreliable.

Before Chai Rong died, Zhao Kuangyin was extremely loyal.

However, before Chai Rong's body was cold, Zhao Kuangyin directed and staged the Chenqiao Rebellion and usurped the Chai family's throne.

After sending He Jin away, Yinyu glanced at Li Ding who had been standing beside him and asked, "What do you think of this person?"

Li Ding bent down, thought for a moment, and whispered, "Sir, from my humble opinion, this man really lacks a backer."

Yinyu turned his head and looked at Yuzhu again. Yuzhu nodded repeatedly and said, "Master, He Jin has been in the Ministry of Revenue for more than 40 years, and he is still only a deputy minister. He really needs a strong backer to support him."

As the saying goes, there are many holes in something, but flattery never gets worn out.

Yinyu knew that Li Ding and Yuzhu wanted to please him. However, Yinyu was actually quite happy for He Jin, the first person to take the initiative to join his school. In a cannibalistic society like the Qing Dynasty, it was normal for the poor to live in the city and no one to care about them, while the rich to live in the mountains and have distant relatives.

If Yinyou didn't even have a younger brother to run errands for him, he would be completely defeated and out of the game.

After the fourth prince finished attending the imperial court session and left the palace and returned to the Ministry of Revenue, Yinyou took the initiative to go find him.

"Fourth brother, there is something I am undecided about, and I would like to ask for your advice." Yinyu had a smile on his face and patiently told him about He Jin's joining his sect.

After hearing this, the fourth elder looked at Yinyu deeply and said generously: "Since he has joined your school, I will find him some good jobs to do in the future. As long as he does a good job, I dare not say more, but it will be no problem to recommend him to be an inspector or a governor."

The fourth prince was the powerful prince in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. He attended the imperial court presided over by Kangxi himself almost every day. The promises he made must be reliable!

This is what Yinyu was waiting for. He quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Fourth Brother, for your help."

"Hey, you and I are close brothers, why do we need to be so falsely polite?" The fourth brother felt very comfortable, but deliberately complained about Yinyou.

Yinyu said sternly: "With you, my fourth brother, taking care of me, I am completely at ease. But I still have to thank you!"

As the saying goes, too much courtesy is never a problem.

In the past, Yinyou had served as a deputy leader for a long time.

Therefore, as to how to deal with the overbearing leader, Yinyou had already made sure that he had enough food and was stable.

There was naturally a profound meaning behind the fourth brother asking Yinyou to come to the Ministry of Revenue to help with his work.

However, no matter how things change, the fourth child also needs the support of wings.

Since the performance of Yinyu satisfied the Fourth Brother, he said without hesitation: "I feel that I have too many things to do recently. I am exhausted physically and mentally. I don't have the energy as before. I can't handle the work of the Qianfa Hall and the Supervision Office. Fifteenth brother, you are my only good brother, so I have to trouble you."

Yinyou knew in his heart that this was not a discussion but a decision, and he had no way of refusing.

"Fourth brother, it is my duty to share your worries." Yinyou accepted the new assignment without hesitation.

In the Ministry of Revenue, the most important departments are: the three treasuries and fourteen Qinglisi.

The three treasuries of the Ministry of Revenue, namely the Silver Treasury, the Satin and Silk Treasury, and the Pigment Treasury, have functions similar to those of the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance.

The Supervision Office, as the name suggests, is an internal control and supervisory department that supervises the work of the fourteen Qingli Si.

In the Ministry of Revenue, the Supervision Office may seem inconspicuous, but in fact, it shoulders the responsibilities of the Office of Correcting Malpractices, the Office of Combating Incompetence and the Inspection Office, and its status should not be underestimated.

Whatever Yinyou did, he did it without hiding from the Fourth Prince. This was the greatest loyalty!
The fourth brother gave Yinyu a good job, implying that he would not treat Yinyu unfairly.

Yinyou knew very well that with the fourth brother's personality, as long as he trusted you, he would be willing to give you real power.

For example, during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, the Thirteenth Prince was the de facto executive vice emperor and had authority over almost everything.

"Fourth brother, I plan to get along with them." Yinyu always spoke his mind in front of the fourth brother and never concealed anything.

The fourth brother was so smart that he understood immediately that Yinyou was planning to help him build up his influence in the Ministry of Revenue.

(End of this chapter)