Volume 294 Biographies 81: Li Wei, Tian Wenjing, Xian De, Nuo Min, Chen Shishixia, Wang Shijun

列傳八十一

Biographies 81

李衛田文鏡憲德諾岷陳時夏王士俊

Li Wei, Tian Wenjing, Xian De, Nuo Min, Chen Shixia, and Wang Shijun

李衛，字又玠，江南銅山人。入貲為員外郎，補兵部。康熙五十八年，遷戶部郎中。世宗即位，授直隸驛傳道，未赴，改雲南鹽驛道。雍正二年，就遷布政使，命仍管鹽務。三年，擢浙江巡撫。四年，命兼理兩浙鹽政。疏言：「浙江戶口繁多，米不敷食。請撥鹽政歸公銀十萬，委員赴四川採運減糶，款歸司庫；有餘，以修理城垣。」衛整理鹽政，疏言：「諸場有給丁灘盪者，以丁入地，計畝徵收；無給丁灘盪者，暫令各丁如舊輸納。」又言：「浙省私販出沒，以海寧長安鎮為適中孔道，請設兵巡隘。」又言：「江南蘇、松、常、鎮四府例食浙鹽，鎮江接壤，淮鹽偷渡。請敕常鎮道及京口將軍標副將、城守參將等督飭將吏水陸巡緝。五年，奏修海寧、海鹽、蕭山、錢塘、仁和諸縣境海塘。

Li Wei, whose courtesy name was Youjie, came from Tongshan in Jiangnan. He bought his way into office as an outer court secretary and was posted to the Ministry of War. In the fifty-eighth year of the Kangxi reign, he was promoted to director in the Ministry of Revenue. When the Yongzheng Emperor came to the throne, Li Wei was appointed intendant of the Zhili courier route but never took up the post; he was reassigned instead to the Yunnan salt and courier route. In the second year of Yongzheng he was promoted on the spot to provincial administration commissioner and told to continue overseeing salt affairs. The following year he was raised to governor of Zhejiang. In the fourth year he was charged with managing salt policy for both Zhe provinces as well. He submitted a memorial stating that Zhejiang's population was large and that local rice supplies could not meet demand. He requested a transfer of one hundred thousand taels from salt revenues returned to the public account, with commissioners sent to Sichuan to buy and ship grain for sale at reduced prices, the proceeds to be remitted to the provincial treasury; and any surplus to be applied to repairing the city walls." Wei reorganized salt administration and reported that where salterns had assigned laborers on tidal flats and shoals, those laborers were registered as landholders and taxes were levied by the mu; where no such assignments existed, each laborer was temporarily left to pay dues as before." He also noted that illicit salt dealers in Zhejiang used Haining and Chang'an Town as a central corridor and asked that military patrol posts be established at strategic passes." He further reported that the four Jiangnan prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, and Zhenjiang normally consumed Zhejiang salt, but that Zhenjiang's proximity to Huai salt made smuggling across the border a persistent problem. He asked that the Changzhou-Zhenjiang circuit intendant, the deputy commander under the Jingkou general's banner, the garrison commandant, and others be ordered to supervise land and water patrols by their subordinates. In the fifth year he memorialized for the repair of sea dikes along the coasts of Haining, Haiyan, Xiaoshan, Qiantang, Renhe, and neighboring counties.

尋授浙江總督，管巡撫事。六年，奏言：「江、浙界上盜賊藏匿，浙省究出從盜，諮江南震澤縣捕治，竟以替身起解。案中諸盜，江南督臣範時繹留以待讞。今察出有舉人金士吉等徇庇，當請褫奪，並提江南所留諸盜窮究黨羽，剪除巢穴。」得旨嘉獎。溫、台接壤，瀕海有玉環山，港嶴平衍，土性肥饒。前總督滿保因地隔海汊，禁民開墾。衛遣吏按行其地，奏請設同知，置水陸營汛。招民墾田，於本年起科；設灶煎鹽，官為收賣；漁舟入海，給牌察驗；魚鹽徵稅，充諸項公用。衛經畫浙東諸縣水利：鄞縣大嵩港溉田數万畝，歲久淤淺，衛令疏濬，築塘設閘，開支河溉田。鎮海靈巖、大丘二鄉有浦口通海，舊有閘已圮，衛令修築。定海多曠土，衛令察丈清理。上虞瀕海潮汐沒民田，衛為奏請除額；縣有夏蓋湖，積淤多已成田，衛令察丈，許民承業昇科。

He was soon appointed governor-general of Zhejiang while continuing to handle the duties of the governorship. In the sixth year he reported that bandits were hiding along the Jiangsu-Zhejiang border, that Zhejiang had identified accomplices and asked Zhenze County in Jiangnan to arrest them, but that a stand-in had been sent up in place of the real culprit. The other bandits named in the case had been held back by Jiangnan governor Fan Shiyi pending final judgment. Investigation now revealed that licentiate Jin Shiji and others had shielded the criminals; their degrees should be revoked, and the bandits still held in Jiangnan should be brought forward so that their networks could be traced and their hideouts destroyed." The memorial received an edict of commendation. Where Wenzhou and Taizhou met along the coast stood Yuhuan Mountain, whose harbors and inlets were broad and level and whose soil was rich. The previous governor-general Manbao had forbidden cultivation there on the grounds that the land was cut off by sea channels. Wei dispatched officials to survey the area and memorialized for the appointment of a subprefect and the establishment of land and water garrisons. He encouraged settlers to open farmland, with land tax to begin the same year; established salterns for salt production, with the government buying and reselling the product; required fishing boats entering the open sea to carry passes for inspection; and devoted taxes on fish and salt to various public expenditures. Wei also planned waterworks across eastern Zhejiang: in Yin County the Dasong Harbor had long irrigated tens of thousands of mu of farmland but had silted up over the years; he ordered it dredged, dikes and sluice gates built, and branch canals opened to restore irrigation. In Zhenhai the townships of Lingyan and Daqiu had estuaries opening to the sea where old sluice gates had fallen into ruin; Wei ordered them rebuilt. Dinghai had extensive wasteland, which Wei ordered surveyed and brought under proper registration. Along the Shangyu coast tidal flooding had submerged farmland, and Wei memorialized to have the tax quota reduced; and where siltation at Xiagai Lake had turned much of the lakebed into arable land, he ordered a survey and allowed cultivators to register the land and begin paying tax.

上以江南多盜，時繹及巡撫陳時夏非戢盜之才，命蘇、松等七府五州盜案，令衛兼領，將吏聽節制。時議增築松江海塘，並以舊塘改土為石，上復以時繹未能董理，令衛勘議。衛詣勘，奏言：「松江海塘已築二千四百餘丈，未築者當令仿效海鹽舊塘，石塘后附築土塘，宜一例高厚，歲派員修治。」上從之，仍令衛會時繹、時夏董理。上以衛留心營務，江南軍政舉劾，復命衛會同考核。尋遣侍郎彭維新等如江南清察諸州縣積欠錢糧，亦令衛與聞。七年，加兵部尚書。入覲，遭母喪，命回任守制。尋復加太子少傅。江寧有張云如者，以符咒惑民，衛遣诇察，得其黨甘鳳池、陸同庵、蔡思濟、範龍友等私相煽誘狀。八年，衛令游擊馬空北往捕，時繹故與云如往還，與按察使馬世烆庇不遣，賄空北還禀衛。衛疏劾，上遣尚書李永昇會鞫，時繹奪官，世烆、空北皆坐譴，云如等論斬。九年，疏請改定蘇州府營製。

Because banditry was rampant in Jiangnan and the emperor judged that neither Fan Shiyi nor Governor Chen Shixia had the ability to suppress it, he placed bandit cases in the seven prefectures and five subprefectures of the Suzhou-Songjiang region under Wei's concurrent authority, with all military officers and officials subject to his command. Plans were also under discussion to extend the Songjiang sea dike and replace earthen sections with stone; the emperor again found Fan Shiyi incapable of supervising the project and ordered Wei to inspect the site and submit recommendations. Wei inspected the works and reported that more than twenty-four hundred zhang of the Songjiang sea dike had already been completed, that remaining sections should follow the model of the old Haiyan dike with an earthen embankment built behind the stone wall, that all sections should be of uniform height and thickness, and that officials should be assigned each year for maintenance." The emperor approved the plan and nevertheless directed Wei to work with Fan Shiyi and Chen Shixia in overseeing the project. Impressed by Wei's attention to military affairs, the emperor also ordered him to participate jointly in the assessment of promotions and demotions in Jiangnan military administration. Soon afterward Vice Minister Peng Weixin and others were dispatched to Jiangnan to audit accumulated tax and grain arrears in the prefectures and counties, and Wei was instructed to keep abreast of their work. In the seventh year he received the additional rank of Minister of War. While in the capital for an audience he was struck by his mother's death and was ordered to return to his post to observe the mourning period. He was soon given the additional title of Junior Tutor to the Heir Apparent. In Jiangning a man named Zhang Yunru was deluding the populace with charms and spells; Wei sent investigators who uncovered evidence that his associates Gan Fengchi, Lu Tong'an, Cai Siji, Fan Longyou, and others had been secretly recruiting followers. In the eighth year Wei ordered Colonel Ma Kongbei to arrest Zhang, but Fan Shiyi, who had long been on familiar terms with Zhang, joined Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Ma Shixuan in shielding him and refusing to hand him over, even bribing Kongbei to return with a false report. Wei memorialized to impeach them; the emperor sent Minister Li Yongsheng to conduct a joint investigation; Fan Shiyi was stripped of office, Ma Shixuan and Kongbei were both punished, and Zhang and his followers were sentenced to death. In the ninth year he memorialized for a revision of the Suzhou prefectural garrison organization.

衛在浙江五年，蒞政開敏，令行禁止。上以查嗣庭、汪景祺之獄，停浙江人鄉會試，衛以文告嚴督。逾年，與觀風整俗使王國棟疏言兩浙士子感恩悔過，士風丕變，乃命照舊鄉會試。上督責各直省清釐倉庫虧空、錢糧逋欠，衛召屬吏喻意，簿書、期會、吏事皆中程，民間亦無擾。

During his five years in Zhejiang, Wei governed with sharp efficiency, and his orders were obeyed and his prohibitions enforced. Because of the Zha Siting and Wang Jingqi cases, the emperor had suspended the provincial and metropolitan examinations for natives of Zhejiang, and Wei enforced the policy rigorously through official notices. A year later he joined Commissioner for Observing Customs and Reforming Mores Wang Guodong in reporting that scholars in both Zhe provinces had shown gratitude and repentance and that scholarly conduct had improved markedly, whereupon the emperor restored the provincial and metropolitan examinations. When the emperor pressed every province to clear deficits in granaries and treasuries and to recover tax and grain arrears, Wei summoned his subordinates to convey his expectations; records, deadlines, and administrative business all proceeded on schedule without disturbing the populace.

十年，召署刑部尚書，授直隸總督，命提督以下並受節制。十一年，疏劾步軍統領鄂爾奇壞法營私，紊制擾民。上為奪鄂爾奇官，命果親王及侍郎莽鵠立、海望按治，得實，請罪鄂爾奇。上以鄂爾奇為鄂爾泰弟，曲宥之；獎衛，命議敘。乾隆元年，命兼管直隸總河，裁營田觀察使，敕衛覈議。衛請以營田交諸州縣收管，分轄通永、霸易、天津、清河、大名五道，統率經理。下部如所議。二年，疏發誠親王府護衛庫克與安州民爭淤池，赴州囑託。上命治庫克罪，嘉衛執法秉公，賜四團龍補服。三年，疏劾總河硃藻貪劣，藻弟蘅挾制地方官，干預賑事。上命尚書訥親、孫嘉淦按治，奪藻官，並罪蘅如律。

In the tenth year he was summoned to serve as acting Minister of Justice and appointed governor-general of Zhili, with all officers from the provincial military commander downward placed under his command. In the eleventh year he memorialized to impeach Metropolitan Banner Garrison commander E'erqi for breaking the law for private gain, disrupting regulations, and harassing the populace. The emperor promptly stripped E'erqi of office and ordered Prince Guo together with Vice Ministers Mang Heli and Haiwang to investigate; the charges were substantiated and they recommended punishment. Because E'erqi was the younger brother of the powerful minister E'ertai, the emperor leniently excused him; but he rewarded Wei and ordered that his merits be considered for promotion. In the first year of the Qianlong reign he was placed in charge of the Zhili Grand Canal directorate as well, the office of garrison-field intendant was abolished, and Wei was instructed to deliberate on the reorganization. Wei proposed turning garrison fields over to the prefectures and counties for management, divided among the five circuits of Tongzhou-Yongding, Bazhou-Yizhou, Tianjin, Qinghe, and Daming for unified supervision. The relevant ministry approved his proposal. In the second year he exposed a guard of Prince Cheng's establishment named Kuke, who was disputing a silted pool with commoners in Anzhou and had gone to the prefectural yamen to pull strings. The emperor ordered Kuke punished, praised Wei for impartial enforcement of the law, and granted him four round-dragon supplementary robes. In the third year he memorialized to impeach Grand Canal Director Zhu Zao for corruption and misconduct, noting that Zhu's younger brother Heng had been coercing local officials and interfering in famine relief. The emperor ordered Ministers Neqin and Sun Jiagan to investigate; Zhu Zao was stripped of office and Heng was punished according to law.

衛在直隸六年，蒞政如在浙江時。屢奏請審正府縣疆界，改定營汛，增置將吏。衛尤長於治盜。盜匿山澤間，诇得其踪跡，遣將吏捕治，必盡得乃止。以是所部乃無盜。病作，乞解任，遣御醫診視。卒，賜祭葬，諡敏達。

During his six years in Zhili, Wei governed with the same energy he had shown in Zhejiang. He repeatedly memorialized to clarify prefectural and county boundaries, reorganize garrison posts, and add military officers. Wei was especially skilled at suppressing banditry. When bandits hid in mountains and marshes, he traced their movements through informants, sent officers to hunt them down, and did not rest until every last one had been captured. As a result, his jurisdiction became effectively free of bandits. When he fell ill he requested release from office, and the emperor sent an imperial physician to attend him. He died soon afterward; the court granted sacrificial rites and funeral honors, and gave him the posthumous title Mindá.

世宗在籓邸，知衛才，眷遇至厚，然察衛尚氣，屢教誡之。其在雲南，或有餽於衛，衛又令制「欽用」牌入儀仗。上諭之曰：「聞汝恃能放縱，操守亦不純。川馬骨董，俱當檢點。又制'欽用'牌，是不可以已乎？爾其謹慎，毋忽！」衛奏言：「受恩重，當不避嫌怨。」上又諭之曰：「不避嫌怨，與使氣凌人、驕慢無禮，判然兩途。汝宜勤修涵養，勉為全人，方不負知遇。」及赴浙江，時河決硃家海，上命中途與河道總督齊蘇勒議施工。衛見齊蘇勒，決口已合龍，議頗不相協。衛錄問答語以聞。會衛族弟懷謹等居鄉放縱，衛令淮徐道捕送拘禁，族人騰謗。衛疏言：「臣開罪範時繹，又與齊蘇勒不無芥蒂，皆臣本籍大吏，恐因家事心跡難明。」上諭之曰：「時繹不足論，齊蘇勒與有芥蒂，或汝禮貌疏慢所致，咎不在齊蘇勒。凡審事辨公私最為不易，向日於鄰里鄉黨間先存嫌怨，則又當別論。朕每言公中私、私中公，樞機正在於此。」及在直隸，上复諭之曰：「近有人謂卿任性使氣，動輒肆詈。丈夫立身行己，此等小節不能操持，尚何進德修業之可期？當時自檢點，從容涵養。」

While still a prince, the Yongzheng Emperor had recognized Wei's ability and favored him generously, yet he also saw that Wei was quick-tempered and admonished him repeatedly. While serving in Yunnan he had accepted gifts from others and had plaques reading "For Imperial Use" made for his ceremonial escort. The emperor admonished him: "I hear that you rely on your talents and act without restraint, and that your conduct is not altogether pure. The Sichuan horses and curios you have acquired should all be accounted for. And you have had 'For Imperial Use' plaques made again—can you not restrain yourself even in this? Be careful, and do not take this lightly!" Wei replied in a memorial: "Having received such great favor, I ought not to shrink from incurring resentment." The emperor responded: "Not shrinking from resentment is one thing; venting your temper, bullying others, and behaving with arrogant disrespect are quite another. You should work hard at self-cultivation and strive to become a complete person; only then will you justify the trust I have placed in you." When he departed for Zhejiang, the Yellow River had breached at Zhujiahai, and the emperor instructed him to confer en route with Canal Director Qi Sule on repair works. When Wei met Qi Sule, the breach had already been closed, but the two men could not agree on several points. Wei recorded their exchange verbatim and reported it to the throne. About this time Wei's clansman Huaijin and others had been behaving lawlessly in their home district; Wei ordered the Huai-Xu circuit intendant to arrest and detain them, provoking slander from kinsmen. Wei memorialized: "I have given offense to Fan Shiyi and have some friction with Qi Sule as well; both are senior officials from my native region, and I fear that family troubles may make my conduct appear suspect." The emperor replied: "Fan Shiyi is beneath notice. If you have friction with Qi Sule, it is likely because your manners toward him were careless and rude; the fault is not his. Distinguishing public duty from private interest in judgment is always difficult; where old resentments exist among neighbors and fellow villagers, that is another matter entirely. As I often say, the public contains the private and the private contains the public; the crucial point lies precisely in knowing where to draw the line." Later, while Wei was in Zhili, the emperor admonished him again: "I have lately heard that you are willful and quick-tempered and that you curse people freely. If a man cannot master even such small matters of conduct, how can he hope to advance in virtue or in his official career? Examine yourself constantly and cultivate calm forbearance."

高宗南巡，見西湖花神廟衛自範像並及其妻妾，號「湖山神位」，諭曰：「衛仰借皇考恩眷，任性驕縱，初非公正純臣。託名立廟，甚為可異！」命撤像毀之。

On his southern tour the Qianlong Emperor found at West Lake's Flower God Temple statues that Wei had commissioned of himself along with his wives and concubines, labeled "Spirit Seat of Lake and Hill." He remarked: "Wei traded on my father's favor, acted willfully and arrogantly, and was never an upright and incorruptible minister. To set up a temple in his own name is truly extraordinary!" He ordered the statues removed and destroyed.

田文鏡，漢軍正黃旗人。康熙二十二年，以監生授福建長樂縣丞，遷山西寧鄉知縣，再遷直隸易州知州。內擢吏部員外郎，歷郎中，授御史。五十五年，命巡視長蘆鹽政，疏言：「長蘆鹽引缺額五萬七千餘道，商人原先輸課，增復原引。自五十六年為始，在長清等縣運行。」得旨：「加引雖可增課，恐於商無益。」下九卿議行。山東巡撫覈定題覆如所議。尋擢內閣侍讀學士。雍正元年，命祭告華嶽。是歲山西災，年羹堯入覲，請賑。上諮巡撫德音，德音言無災。及文鏡還，入對，備言山西荒歉狀。上嘉其直言無隱，令往山西賑平定等諸州縣，即命署山西布政使。

Tian Wenjing was a member of the Han Banner of the Plain Yellow. In the twenty-second year of Kangxi he entered office through the Imperial Academy and was appointed assistant magistrate of Changle County in Fujian, later transferred to magistrate of Ningxiang in Shanxi, and then to prefect of Yizhou in Zhili. He was promoted within the capital to outer court secretary in the Ministry of Personnel, rose through the directorship, and was appointed censor. In the fifty-fifth year he was ordered to inspect the Changlu salt administration and reported that more than fifty-seven thousand salt certificates were in arrears, that merchants had already paid their duties, and that their original quotas should be restored. Distribution was to begin in the fifty-sixth year through Changqing and other counties." The memorial received an edict stating that although increasing salt quotas might raise revenue, it would likely harm the merchants." The proposal was referred to the Nine Ministers for deliberation. The governor of Shandong reviewed the matter and confirmed the decision in a memorial. He was soon promoted to Reader-in-Waiting of the Hanlin Academy. In the first year of Yongzheng he was commissioned to perform the sacrificial rites at Mount Hua. That year Shanxi was stricken by famine; Nian Gengyao came to court and requested relief funds. The emperor consulted Governor Deyin, who denied that any disaster had occurred. When Wenjing returned and was received in audience, he gave a detailed account of famine conditions in Shanxi. The emperor praised his frankness and dispatched him to Shanxi to administer relief in Pingding and other stricken prefectures and counties, appointing him acting provincial administration commissioner on the spot.

文鏡故有吏才，清釐積牘，剔除宿弊，吏治為一新。自是遂受世宗眷遇。二年，調河南，旋命署巡撫。疏請以陳、許、禹、鄭、陝、光六州升直隸州。尋命真除。文鏡希上指，以嚴厲刻深為治，督諸州縣清逋賦，闢荒田，期會促迫。諸州縣稍不中程，譴謫立至。尤惡科目儒緩，小忤意，輒劾罷。疏劾知州黃振國，知縣汪諴、邵言綸、關陳等。上遣侍郎海壽、史貽直往按，譴黜如文鏡奏。四年，李紱自廣西巡撫召授直隸總督，道開封，文鏡出迓。紱責文鏡不當有意蹂躪讀書人，文鏡密以聞，並謂紱與振國為同歲生，將為振國報復。紱入對，言振國、諴、言綸被論皆冤抑，知縣張球居官最劣，文鏡反縱不糾。上先入文鏡言，置不問。球先以盜案下部議，文鏡引咎論劾。是冬，御史謝濟世劾文鏡營私負國、貪虐不法，凡十事，仍及枉振國、言綸、諴，庇球諸事，與紱言悉合。上謂濟世與紱為黨，有意傾文鏡，下詔嚴詰，奪濟世官，遣從軍，振國、諴論死，戍言綸、陳於邊。振國故蔡珽屬吏，既罷官，以珽薦復起。及珽得罪，上益責紱、珽、濟世勾結黨援，擾國政，誣大臣，命斬振國。

Wenjing had always shown administrative talent; he cleared backlogged paperwork, eliminated longstanding abuses, and brought official governance to a new order. From that point he won the Yongzheng Emperor's sustained favor. In the second year he was transferred to Henan and soon appointed acting governor. He memorialized to elevate the six prefectures of Chen, Xu, Yu, Zheng, Shan, and Guang to directly controlled subprefectures. He soon received formal appointment to the post. Eager to please the emperor, Wenjing governed with harsh severity, pressing every prefecture and county to clear tax arrears, open wasteland, and meet deadlines under relentless pressure. Any prefecture or county that fell even slightly behind schedule faced immediate censure or demotion. He particularly despised the leisurely ways of degree-holding officials and would impeach and dismiss them for the slightest offense. He memorialized to impeach Prefect Huang Zhenguo and Magistrates Wang Yan, Shao Yinlun, Guan Chen, and others. The emperor sent Vice Ministers Hai Shou and Shi Yizhi to investigate; they confirmed Wenjing's charges and punished the officials accordingly. In the fourth year Li Fu was summoned from the Guangxi governorship to governor-general of Zhili; passing through Kaifeng, Wenjing went out to greet him. Li Fu rebuked Wenjing for deliberately persecuting men of learning; Wenjing secretly reported the exchange to the throne and suggested that Li Fu, a classmate of Huang Zhenguo's, intended to seek revenge on Huang's behalf. When Li Fu was received in audience he argued that Huang Zhenguo, Wang Yan, and Shao Yinlun had all been punished unjustly, while Magistrate Zhang Qiu, the worst official in the province, had been left untouched by Wenjing. The emperor, having already accepted Wenjing's account, took no action on Li Fu's charges. Zhang Qiu's robbery case had already been referred to the ministry for deliberation when Wenjing took blame upon himself and memorialized for his own impeachment. That winter Censor Xie Jishi impeached Wenjing on ten counts of corruption, cruelty, and disloyalty, including the wrongful punishment of Huang Zhenguo, Shao Yinlun, and Wang Yan and the protection of Zhang Qiu—charges that matched Li Fu's accusations in every particular. The emperor declared that Xie Jishi and Li Fu were factional allies seeking to destroy Wenjing; he issued a stern edict, stripped Xie of office and sent him to military service, sentenced Huang Zhenguo and Wang Yan to death, and exiled Shao Yinlun and Guan Chen to the frontier. Huang Zhenguo had once served under Cai Ting; after his dismissal he was restored to office on Cai's recommendation. When Cai Ting also fell from favor, the emperor further accused Li Fu, Cai, and Xie Jishi of forming a faction, disrupting government, and slandering loyal ministers, and ordered Huang Zhenguo executed.

文鏡疏請以河南丁銀均入地糧，紳衿富戶，不分等則，一例輸將，以雍正五年始。部議從之。五年，疏言黃河盛漲，險工迭出。宜暫用民力，每歲夏至後，將距堤一二里內村莊按戶出夫，工急搶護，事竟則散。若非計日可竣者，按名給工食。下部議行。尋授河南總督，加兵部尚書。文鏡初隸正藍旗，命抬入正黃旗。六年，上褒文鏡公正廉明，授河南山東總督，諭謂此特因人設官，不為定例。文鏡疏言：「兩省交界地易藏匪類，捕役越界，奸徒奪犯，每因拒劫，致成人命，彼界有司仍復徇庇。請嗣後越界捕盜，有縱奪徇庇者，許本省督撫移諮會劾。」上從之。文鏡先以河南漕船在衛輝水次受兌，道經直隸大名屬濬、滑、內黃三縣，隔省呼應不靈。請以三縣改歸河南。既，又以河南徵漕舊例，河北三府起運本色，餘皆徵折，在三府採買，偏重累民。請以儀封、考城及新改歸河南濬、滑、內黃等五縣增運本色。距水次最遠靈寶、閿鄉二縣，減辦米數，歸五縣徵輸。南陽、汝寧諸府，光、汝諸州，永寧、嵩、盧氏諸縣，皆以路遠停運，分撥五縣協濟，按道路遠近，石加五分至二錢三分各有差。又疏言：「山東倉庫虧空，挪新掩舊。請如河南交代例，知府、直隸州離任，所轄州縣倉庫，令接任官稽察，如有虧空，責償其半，方得赴新任。道員離任，所轄府、直隸州倉庫亦視此例。」又疏言：「山東錢糧積虧二百餘萬，雍正六年錢糧應屆全完之限，完不及五分，由於火耗太重、私派太多。請敕山東巡撫、布政使協同臣清察，期以半年參追禁革，毋瞻徇，毋容隱。」上皆用其議。七年，請設青州滿洲駐防兵，屯府北東陽城址，下議政王大臣議行。尋加太子太保。疏請以高唐、濮、東平、莒四州升直隸州，改濟寧直隸州降隸兗州府。

Wenjing memorialized to merge Henan's poll tax silver into the land tax, requiring gentry and wealthy households of every grade to pay at a uniform rate beginning in the fifth year of Yongzheng. The ministry approved the proposal. In the fifth year he reported that the Yellow River was in full flood and that emergency repairs were needed at one critical point after another. He proposed temporarily mobilizing civilian labor: each year after the summer solstice, villages within one or two li of the dike would supply laborers by household for emergency repairs, dispersing once the work was done. For projects that could not be finished within a fixed number of days, registered laborers were to receive wages. The proposal was referred to the ministry for approval and implementation. He was soon appointed governor-general of Henan with the additional rank of Minister of War. Wenjing had originally belonged to the Plain Blue Banner and was elevated to the Plain Yellow Banner. In the sixth year the emperor praised Wenjing as fair and incorruptible, appointed him governor-general of both Henan and Shandong, and noted that this joint appointment was made for the man alone and was not to become a permanent precedent. Wenjing reported that the borderlands between the two provinces were havens for criminals, that constables crossing provincial boundaries to make arrests were often resisted with fatal results, and that officials on the other side of the border routinely shielded the culprits. He asked that when cross-border arrests were obstructed or prisoners seized back through official collusion, the governor-general and governor of the pursuing province be permitted to lodge a joint impeachment by memorial." The emperor approved. Wenjing had earlier noted that Henan's grain transport boats received their quotas at the Weihui transshipment point and passed through Jun, Hua, and Neihuang counties in Zhili's Daming prefecture, where coordination across provincial boundaries was ineffective. He requested that the three counties be transferred to Henan's jurisdiction. He further noted that under Henan's old grain transport rules the three Hebei prefectures were required to ship grain in kind while other districts paid commuted taxes purchased locally, placing a disproportionate burden on the three prefectures. He proposed that Yifeng, Kaocheng, and the five counties now under Henan—including the newly transferred Jun, Hua, and Neihuang—take on additional shipments of grain in kind. Lingbao and Minxiang, the two counties farthest from the transshipment point, would reduce their grain quotas, with the shortfall made up by the five counties. The prefectures of Nanyang and Runing, the subprefectures of Guang and Ru, and the counties of Yongning, Song, and Lushi had all suspended transport because of distance; their quotas would be distributed among the five counties for mutual assistance, with surcharges ranging from five fen to two qian and three fen per shi depending on distance. He also reported that Shandong's granaries and treasuries were in deficit, with new receipts used to cover old shortfalls. He proposed following Henan's handover precedent: when a prefect or directly controlled subprefect left office, the incoming official would audit subordinate granaries and treasuries, and the outgoing official would be required to repay half of any deficit before taking up a new post. Circuit intendants leaving office would be subject to the same rule for the granaries and treasuries under their jurisdiction." He further reported that Shandong's accumulated tax and grain deficits exceeded two million taels, that less than half the sixth-year Yongzheng quota had been collected, and that the shortfall was due to excessive surcharges for melting fees and unauthorized levies. He asked that the Shandong governor and provincial administration commissioner assist him in a thorough audit to be completed within six months, with strict orders against favoritism or concealment." The emperor approved all of his proposals. In the seventh year he requested a Manchu garrison at Qingzhou, to be stationed at the site of Dongyang City north of the prefectural seat; the proposal was referred to the Deliberative Princes and Ministers for approval. He was soon given the additional title of Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. He memorialized to elevate the four prefectures of Gaotang, Pu, Dongping, and Ju to directly controlled subprefectures and to demote the directly controlled subprefecture of Jining to subordination under Yanzhou Prefecture.

旋命兼北河總督。是歲山東水災，河南亦被水，上命蠲免錢糧。文鏡奏今年河南被水州縣，收成雖不等，實未成災，士民踴躍輸將，特恩蠲免錢糧，請仍照額完兌。部議應如所請，上仍命文鏡確察歉收分數，照例蠲免，現兌正糧，作下年正供。九年，諭曰：「上年山東有水患，河南亦有數縣被水，朕以田文鏡自能料理，未別遣員治賑。近聞祥符、封丘等州縣民有鬻子女者。文鏡年老多病，為屬吏欺誑，不能撫綏安集，而但禁其鬻子女，是絕其生路也。豈為民父母者所忍言乎？」並令侍郎王國棟如河南治賑。文鏡以病乞休，命解任還京師。病痊，仍命回任。十年，復以病乞休，允之。旋卒，賜祭葬，諡端肅。命河南省城立專祠。又以河道總督王士俊疏請，祀河南賢良祠。

He was soon placed in charge of the North River directorate as well. That year Shandong was struck by floods and Henan was also inundated; the emperor ordered tax and grain remissions. Wenjing reported that although harvests in Henan's flooded districts were uneven, no true disaster had occurred and that the people were eager to pay their taxes; he asked that the special remission be withdrawn and full payment collected. The ministry agreed with his request, but the emperor nevertheless ordered Wenjing to ascertain the precise extent of crop failure, grant remissions according to precedent, and count grain already delivered as regular tax for the following year. In the ninth year the emperor remarked: "Last year Shandong suffered floods and several Henan counties were inundated as well; I assumed Tian Wenjing could handle matters himself and did not send separate relief officials. I have lately heard that people in Xiangfu, Fengqiu, and other districts are selling their children. Wenjing is old and ill, deceived by his subordinates, and unable to comfort and resettle the people; yet he merely forbids them to sell their children, which only cuts off their last means of survival. Is this what a parent to the people should do?" He also dispatched Vice Minister Wang Guodong to Henan to administer relief. Wenjing requested retirement on grounds of illness and was relieved of office and ordered back to the capital. When he recovered he was ordered to resume his post. In the tenth year he again requested retirement on grounds of illness, and this time his request was granted. He died soon afterward; the court granted sacrificial rites and funeral honors and gave him the posthumous title Duansu. A dedicated shrine was ordered erected for him in the Henan provincial capital. On the recommendation of Canal Director Wang Shijun he was also enshrined in the Henan Shrine of Worthy Officials.

高宗即位，尚書史貽直奏言士俊督開墾，開捐輸，累民滋甚。上諭曰：「河南自田文鏡為督撫，苛刻搜求，屬吏競為剝削，河南民重受其困。即如前年匿災不報，百姓流離，蒙皇考嚴飭，遣官賑恤，始得安全，此中外所共知者。」並命解士俊任，語詳士俊傳。乾隆五年，河南巡撫雅爾圖奏河南民怨田文鏡，不當入河南賢良祠。上諭曰：「鄂爾泰、田文鏡、李衛皆皇考所最稱許者，其實文鏡不及衛，衛又不及鄂爾泰，而彼時三人素不相合。雅爾圖見朕以衛祀賢良，借文鏡之應撤，明衛之不應入。當日王士俊奏請，奉皇考允行，今若撤出，是翻前案矣！」寢雅爾圖奏不行。

After the Qianlong Emperor succeeded, Minister Shi Yizhi reported that Shijun's supervision of land reclamation and opening of purchase contributions had imposed ever heavier burdens on the people. The emperor remarked: "Since Tian Wenjing governed Henan, his harsh exactions encouraged subordinate officials to compete in exploitation, and the people of Henan have suffered greatly. Only two years ago he concealed a famine and left the people to wander in destitution; it was not until my late father sternly rebuked him and sent relief officials that the people were saved—a fact known throughout the empire." He also ordered Shijun relieved of office; the full account appears in Shijun's biography. In the fifth year of Qianlong, Henan Governor Yargitu reported that the people of Henan still resented Tian Wenjing and that he should not remain in the Henan Shrine of Worthy Officials. The emperor replied: "E'ertai, Tian Wenjing, and Li Wei were all highly praised by my late father; in truth Wenjing was inferior to Wei, and Wei inferior to E'ertai, yet the three were never on good terms with one another. Yargitu, seeing that I had enshrined Li Wei in the Shrine of Worthy Officials, is using the argument that Wenjing should be removed to imply that Wei should not be there either. Wang Shijun's memorial was approved by my late father; to remove Wenjing now would be to overturn a settled decision!" Yargitu's memorial was shelved.

憲德，西魯特氏，尚書明安達禮孫也。父善，官頭等侍衛。憲德初以廕生授理籓院主事，再遷刑部郎中。雍正四年，授湖北按察使。時布政使張聖弼坐虧空論罪，憲德上官，聖弼詣謁，憲德下諸獄。疏聞，上獎其能執法。尋就遷巡撫。

Xian De, of the Xilute clan, was a grandson of Minister Ming'andali. His father Shan served as a first-rank imperial bodyguard. Xian De entered office through hereditary privilege as a clerk in the Court of Colonial Affairs and was later transferred to director in the Ministry of Justice. In the fourth year of Yongzheng he was appointed provincial surveillance commissioner of Hubei. At the time Provincial Administration Commissioner Zhang Shengbi had been convicted for fiscal deficits; when Xian De took up his post, Zhang came to pay a courtesy call and Xian De had him thrown into prison. He reported the action in a memorial, and the emperor commended his strict enforcement of the law. He was soon promoted to governor on the spot.

五年，調四川。張獻忠之亂，四川民幾盡。亂初定，吳三桂叛，其將吳之茂、王屏籓等入川，與我師久相持，民受其害，土曠人稀。康熙間，休養久，墾闢漸廣，經界未正，田糧多不實。巡撫馬會伯奏請清丈，以調湖北未行，上以諮憲德。憲德奏：「四川昔年人民稀少，田地荒蕪。及至底定，歸复祖業，從未經勘丈，故多所隱匿。歷年既久，人丁繁衍。奸猾之徒，以界畔無據，遂相爭訟。川省詞訟，為田土者十居七八，亦非勘丈無以判其曲直。」上复諮川陝總督岳鍾琪，奏與憲德略同，乃下九卿議行。遣給事中高維新、馬維翰，御史吳鳴虞、吳濤如四川，會同松茂、建昌、川東、永寧四道分往諸州縣丈量：維新永寧道，維翰建昌道，鳴虞松茂道，濤川東道。鳴虞先期示復明舊額，憲德阻止之。他道凡民間屋基、墳墓、界埂、水溝、園林皆不入勘丈，鳴虞獨不然，民驚擾，又需索丈費。憲德疏請罷鳴虞，維新事先竟，上令續勘松茂道。濤治事迂鈍，維翰事亦竟，憲德請以佐濤。萬縣民愬濤丈量不公，懸旗聚眾，墊江、忠州民亦以為言。維新松茂道事又竟，憲德又疏請罷濤，以維新、維翰分勘川東道。七年十一月，通省勘丈畢。舊冊載上、中、下田地都計二十三萬餘頃，丈得四十四萬餘頃，增出殆及半；而諸土司地納糧以石計，亦次第具報，視原額加增。戶部奏請視丈出田地照則徵糧，上諭曰：「從前隱瞞，科則止據實更定，毋追咎。至額糧稍重諸州縣，即比照就近適中科則核減，俾紓民力。」憲德奏：「各屬徵糧科則，輕重懸殊。原重通江諸縣，籥請減輕；原輕郫、灌、溫江三縣，亦據實呈請原增。臣等擬原重田地，令與接壤地方相等比照科算；原輕田地，亦應按則加增，不緻小民偏枯委曲。」於是成都、華陽、新津、郫、溫江、長壽諸縣俱增上則，灌縣增中則，綿州、綏寧改分上、中、下三則，江油增下則，潼川、屏山、雅州、名山、榮經、蘆山、峨眉、夾江、通江賦偏重，均視鄰縣量減，巴縣賦最輕，上田不及一分，以地瘠不增，他州縣皆仍舊則。其有丈見田少糧多，經原戶聲請，皆予開除。上命招他省民入川開墾丈增田畝，憲德奏請以丈增地畝分科則編字號，計數均分，戶給水田三十畝，或旱地五十畝；有餘丁，增水田十五畝或旱地二十五畝。丁多不能養贍，臨時酌增。或有多餘三五畝，亦一併給墾；畸零不成丘段者，酌量安置，給以照票，並牛種口糧，分年昇科。皆下部如所議行。

In the fifth year he was transferred to Sichuan. Zhang Xianzhong's rebellion had nearly depopulated Sichuan. Hardly had order been restored when Wu Sangui rebelled; his generals Wu Zhimao, Wang Pingfan, and others invaded Sichuan and fought our armies to a prolonged stalemate, leaving the land idle and the population sparse. During the Kangxi reign the province had slowly recovered and reclamation had expanded, but land boundaries had never been properly surveyed and tax registers remained largely inaccurate. Governor Ma Huibo had memorialized for a full land survey, but the project lapsed when he was transferred to Hubei; the emperor then consulted Xian De. Xian De reported: "In earlier times Sichuan's population was sparse and its fields lay waste. When order was restored, people reclaimed ancestral holdings that had never been surveyed, and much land was therefore concealed from the registers. Over the years the population has grown substantially. Unscrupulous parties, finding no clear boundary records, have taken to litigation against one another. Seven or eight out of ten lawsuits in the province concern land disputes, and without a proper survey there is no way to judge them fairly." The emperor also consulted Sichuan-Shaanxi Governor-General Yue Zhongqi, whose memorial largely agreed with Xian De's; the proposal was then referred to the Nine Ministers for approval. Supervising Secretaries Gao Weixin and Ma Weihan and Censors Wu Mingyu and Wu Tao were dispatched to Sichuan, where together with the four circuit intendants of Songmao, Jianchang, Chuandong, and Yongning they divided the prefectures and counties for survey: Weixin took Yongning Circuit, Weihan Jianchang, Mingyu Songmao, and Tao Chuandong. Mingyu announced in advance that the old tax quotas would be restored; Xian De blocked the announcement. On the other circuits civilian house foundations, graves, boundary ridges, ditches, and gardens were all excluded from the survey; Mingyu alone included them, alarming the populace and extorting survey fees. Xian De memorialized asking that Wu Mingyu be removed from office. Gao Weixin finished his assignment first, and the emperor ordered the survey of Songmao Circuit to continue. Wu Tao proved sluggish and inept in his work. When Ma Weihan also finished his assignment, Xian De asked that an assistant be sent to help Tao. The people of Wan County petitioned that Wu Tao's land survey was unfair, raised banners, and gathered in crowds. Residents of Dianjiang and Zhongzhou raised the same complaints. When Gao Weixin also finished the Songmao Circuit survey, Xian De memorialized again asking that Wu Tao be removed and that Gao Weixin and Ma Weihan divide the Chuandong Circuit survey between them. In the eleventh month of the seventh year, the province-wide land survey was completed. The old registers listed upper-, middle-, and lower-grade fields at a combined total of just over 230,000 qing, but the survey found just over 440,000 qing—an increase of nearly half. Reports on native chieftain lands, whose grain tax was reckoned by the shi, were also submitted in turn, each showing increases over the original quotas. The Board of Revenue memorialized that grain tax on newly surveyed land should be levied according to the standard rates. The emperor instructed: "Where land had been concealed in the past, rates shall be reset only on the basis of actual findings, without retrospective penalties. Where quotas remain somewhat heavy in certain prefectures and counties, reduce them by comparison with appropriate rates in nearby jurisdictions, so as to ease the people's burden." Xian De reported: "The grain-tax rates in the various jurisdictions vary enormously in severity. Counties such as Tongjiang, which had originally borne heavy rates, all petitioned for reductions; The three counties of Pi, Guan, and Wenjiang, which had originally borne light rates, also submitted truthful petitions asking that their rates be raised to the proper level. We propose that fields originally taxed at heavy rates be assessed by comparison with adjoining areas of comparable standing; Fields originally taxed at light rates should also be raised according to the standard rates, so that ordinary people do not suffer partial hardship and unfair treatment." Accordingly, Chengdu, Huayang, Xinjin, Pi, Wenjiang, and Changshou all had their rates raised to the upper grade; Guan County to the middle grade; Mianzhou and Suining were divided into upper, middle, and lower grades; Jiangyou was raised to the lower grade; Tongchuan, Pingshan, Yaozhou, Mingshan, Rongjing, Lushan, Emei, Jiajiang, and Tongjiang, where burdens were especially heavy, all received reductions measured against neighboring counties; Ba County bore the lightest burden, with upper-grade fields taxed at less than one fen, and because the land was barren its rates were not raised; all other prefectures and counties retained their old rates. Where the survey found less land than the registered grain quota and the original households petitioned, exemptions were granted in every case. The emperor ordered settlers from other provinces to be recruited into Sichuan to open and reclaim the newly surveyed land. Xian De memorialized that the added acreage should be divided by tax rate, numbered, counted, and evenly allotted, with each household receiving thirty mu of paddy fields or fifty mu of dry land; For each additional adult male in the household, another fifteen mu of paddy or twenty-five mu of dry land would be added. Where a household had many males but could not support them on the standard allotment, additional land would be granted as circumstances required. If there were surplus plots of three to five mu, those too would be granted for reclamation; Odd fragments too small to form whole plots would be allotted as appropriate, with certificates issued together with oxen, seed, and rations, and tax phased in over successive years. All of this was referred to the ministries for implementation as proposed.

八年，墊江、忠州民楊成勳等群聚為亂，署川陝總督查郎阿遣兵捕治，成勳自經死。獲其徒陳文魁、楊成祿等，得所為怨白，言禍起戊申年奉旨清丈，科派需索累民。查郎阿疏聞，諭曰：「四川清丈之議，始於馬會伯，而成於憲德。朕慎選科臣前往科理，誡以剔除積弊，安插善良，並非為加增賦稅而起。勘丈造冊，各官供應，皆令動帑支給，不使幾微煩擾我民。今年事竟，憲德具本代川民謝恩，謂通省士民，咸稱清理疆界，使強無兼併，弱無屈抑；又將田不敷糧之戶，悉予開除。疆界既已分明，額賦尤為公溥，朕以為經理得宜矣，豈意奸民嘯聚，竟以清丈苛虐為言？怨白稱奉旨清丈，豈憲德等但以清丈稱為奉旨，於前者奏請未曉諭於眾耶？陳文魁訴狀，並稱頌川省上司，是必憲德等沽譽幹名，何不將朕德意宣播，而乃蒙混含糊，使奸民得以藉口耶？憲德既稱通省士民歡呼感戴，何以尚有陳文魁等暗結邪黨、肆行誹謗？可見平日化導未週，董戒不力，令憲德將朕此旨刊布曉諭。」

In the eighth year, Yang Chengxun and others from Dianjiang and Zhongzhou gathered in rebellion. Acting Sichuan-Shaanxi Governor-General Cha Lang'a sent troops to capture and suppress them, and Chengxun hanged himself. His followers Chen Wenkui, Yang Chenglu, and others were captured, along with a grievance document blaming the unrest on the imperially ordered land survey of the wushen year and complaining that tax levies and extortion had crushed the people. Cha Lang'a reported the matter in a memorial. The emperor instructed: "The proposal for the Sichuan land survey originated with Ma Huibo and was carried through by Xian De. I carefully selected supervising censors to go and manage the work, instructing them to eliminate accumulated abuses and protect honest people. The survey was never undertaken to increase taxes. Survey work, register-making, and officials' supplies were all ordered paid from the treasury, so that the people would not be troubled in the slightest. When the work was completed this year, Xian De submitted a memorial on behalf of the people of Sichuan expressing gratitude, reporting that gentry and commoners throughout the province praised the clearing of boundaries, which kept the strong from encroaching and the weak from being oppressed; and that households whose land fell short of their grain quotas had all been exempted. Boundaries are now clear and tax quotas especially fair and generous. I thought the work had been managed properly—who would have expected wicked men to gather in rebellion and claim the survey was harsh and oppressive? The grievance document speaks of an imperially ordered survey. Did Xian De and his colleagues merely call it an imperial order without having made their earlier memorial clear to the public? Chen Wenkui's petition also praised the superiors of Sichuan. Xian De and his colleagues must have been courting reputation. Why did they not broadcast my benevolent intent instead of speaking vaguely and obscurely, giving wicked men a pretext? If Xian De claimed that gentry and commoners throughout the province shouted for joy and expressed gratitude, how can Chen Wenkui and others still be secretly forming factions and spreading slander? This shows that in ordinary times moral instruction was incomplete and supervision was lax. Order Xian De to publish and proclaim this edict of mine."

憲德撫四川七年，屢請更定州縣疆界，有所省置，收天全土司改流設州，併升雅州為府隸焉。憲德議開紫古礦廠，會兒斯堡生番入邊殺掠商民，上令封閉。憲德以川省米貴，請暫停商販。逾年歲稔，上令弛禁毋遏糴。初上官，以四川驛、鹽、茶三政皆屬按察使兼領，未足司稽覈，請增設驛鹽道專司其事，從之。及清丈事將竟，奏言鹽、茶積弊，請令清查地畝科道諸員兼司搜查。上諭曰：「川省鹽、茶既特設道員，自有責成，如不能勝任，當予參劾，別擇賢能。鹽、茶積弊，相沿已久，應從容清理，安可如此嚴急？奏請搜查，更屬謬妄。汝諸事料理過於促迫，不肯實心任事，於此奏畢見，後當深戒。」十一年，憲德奏鹽道曹源邠混發引目累商，諭曰：「鹽課引務，汝有督率之責。曹源邠果不法，當列款糾參。若止改撥不當，何難商酌更正。今但請敕部察議，將鹺政視如無涉，誠不知汝何意？朕甚鄙汝玷督撫統轄訓飭之任也！」

During seven years as governor of Sichuan, Xian De repeatedly requested revisions to prefectural and county boundaries, abolishing some jurisdictions and establishing others. He converted the Tianquan native chieftain territory to direct administration as a prefecture and promoted Yaozhou to a prefecture under its jurisdiction. Xian De proposed opening the Zigui mining works, but when raw Tibetans from Ersibao crossed the border to kill and plunder merchants, the emperor ordered the mines closed. Because rice in the province had grown expensive, Xian De requested a temporary ban on merchant sales. The following year brought a good harvest, and the emperor ordered the ban lifted so that grain purchases would not be obstructed. When he first took office, he found that the three administrations of courier posts, salt, and tea in Sichuan were all held concurrently by the provincial surveillance commissioner and were too much for proper audit. He requested a new courier-and-salt circuit intendant to manage them exclusively, and the request was approved. When the land survey was nearly complete, he memorialized that salt and tea administration had long-standing abuses and asked that the censors and circuit officials conducting the land survey also be charged with investigating them. The emperor instructed: "Sichuan's salt and tea already have specially appointed circuit officials who bear direct responsibility. If they cannot perform adequately, impeach them and select others of talent. Accumulated abuses in salt and tea have persisted for a long time and should be cleared at a measured pace. How can you propose something so harsh and urgent? Memorializing for searches is even more absurd. You handle everything too hastily and refuse to serve conscientiously. This memorial makes that fully clear. You must take this as a serious warning." In the eleventh year, Xian De reported that Salt Circuit Intendant Cao Yuanbin had confusedly issued salt certificates, burdening merchants. The emperor instructed: "Salt revenue and certificate affairs are your responsibility to supervise. If Cao Yuanbin is truly unlawful, itemize the charges and impeach him. If the problem is merely improper reassignment, what difficulty is there in consulting and correcting it? Now you merely ask for an imperial order directing the ministry to investigate, as though salt administration were none of your concern. What do you mean by this? I deeply despise you for disgracing the governor's duty of overall supervision and discipline!"

尋召還京，授工部尚書。十二年，調刑部，仍兼工部，署正紅旗滿洲都統。乾隆元年，命赴泰陵督工。五年，卒。子夢麟，自有傳。

He was soon recalled to the capital and appointed Minister of Works. In the twelfth year he was transferred to the Ministry of Justice while retaining the Ministry of Works, and served concurrently as acting banner general of the Plain Red Banner Manchus. In the first year of Qianlong he was ordered to Tailing to supervise construction work. He died in the fifth year. His son Menglin has his own biography.

諾岷，納喇氏，滿洲正藍旗人。先世居輝發。祖恩國泰，習漢書，天聰八年舉人，直秘書院，授禮部理事官，洊擢尚書。父那敏，官鑲黃旗滿洲都統。

Nuo Min, of the Nara clan, was a Manchu of the Plain Blue Banner. His ancestors came from Huifa. His grandfather Enguotai studied the Chinese classics, passed the provincial examination in the eighth year of Tiancong, served in the Grand Secretariat, was appointed a clerk in the Ministry of Rites, and rose repeatedly to ministerial rank. His father Namin served as banner general of the Bordered Yellow Banner Manchus.

諾岷，自筆帖式授戶部主事，再遷郎中。雍正元年，擢內閣學士，授山西巡撫。各直省徵賦，正供外舊有耗羨，數多寡無定。州縣以此供上官，給地方公用而私其餘；上官亦往往藉公用，檄州縣提解因以自私。康熙間，有議歸公者，聖祖慮官俸薄，有司失耗羨，虐取於民，地方公用無從取辦，寢其議不行。諾岷至山西，值歲屢歉，倉庫多虧空。諾岷察諸州縣虧空尤甚者，疏劾奪官，離任勒追；餘州縣通行調任，互察倉庫；並慮州縣不得其人，請敕部選賢能官發山西補用。二年，諾岷疏請將通省一歲所得耗銀提存司庫，以二十萬兩留補無著虧空，餘分給各官養廉。各官俸外復有養廉自此起。

Nuo Min entered office as a clerk and was appointed secretary in the Ministry of Revenue, then was promoted twice to director. In the first year of Yongzheng he was promoted to Grand Secretariat academician and appointed governor of Shanxi. In every province, grain tax collection beyond the regular quota had long included surcharges known as haoxian, with no fixed amount. Prefectures and counties used these funds to supply their superiors, cover local public expenses, and keep the remainder for themselves; Superiors also often used public expenses as a pretext, ordering prefectures and counties to remit funds and enriching themselves in the process. During the Kangxi reign a proposal was made to return the surcharges to the public treasury, but the Sage Ancestor feared that with official salaries so thin, officials deprived of haoxian would exploit the people while local public expenses would go unfunded, and he shelved the proposal. When Nuo Min arrived in Shanxi, repeated harvest failures had left many granaries in deficit. Nuo Min investigated prefectures and counties with especially severe deficits, impeached the officials involved, stripped them of office, and compelled repayment even after they left their posts; officials in the remaining prefectures and counties were rotated and exchanged so they could inspect one another's granaries; Fearing that prefectures and counties might not get suitable officials, he also requested an imperial order for the ministry to select capable men and dispatch them to Shanxi. In the second year Nuo Min memorialized that the province's annual haoxian silver should be remitted to the provincial treasury, with 200,000 taels retained to cover unaccounted deficits and the remainder distributed as integrity stipends to officials. Integrity stipends for officials beyond their regular salaries began with this reform.

布政使高成齡奏言：「直省錢糧向有耗羨，百姓既以奉公，即屬朝廷財賦。臣愚以為州縣耗羨銀兩，自當提解司庫，憑大吏酌量分給，均得養廉。且通省遇有不得已例外之費，即以是支應。至留補虧空，撫臣諾岷先經奏明，臣請敕下各直省督撫，俱如諾岷所奏，將通省一歲所得耗銀約計數目先行奏明，歲終將給發養廉、支應公費、留補虧空各若干一一陳奏，則不肖上司不得借名提解，自便其私。」上命總理事務王大臣九卿集議，議略謂提解火耗，非經常可久之道，請先於山西試行。上諭曰：「州縣火耗原非應有之項，因通省公費、各官養廉不得不取給於此。朕非不原天下州縣絲毫不取於民，而勢有所不能。州縣徵收火耗分送上司，州縣藉口而肆貪婪，上司瞻徇而為容隱，此從來之積弊所當削除者也。與其州縣存火耗以養上司，何如上司撥火耗以養州縣。至請先於山西試行，此言尤非。天下事惟有可行不可行兩端。譬如治病，漫以藥試之，鮮有能癒者。今以山西為試，朕不忍也。提解火耗，原一時權宜之計；將來虧空清楚，府庫充裕，有司皆知自好，各省火耗自漸輕以至於盡革，此朕之深原。各省能行者聽，不行者亦不強也。」自後各直省督撫以次奏請視山西成例提解耗羨，上以諾岷首發議，諭獎其通權達變，於國計民生均有裨益。上屢飭各省督察有司，耗羨既歸公，不得巧立名目，復有所取於民。給養廉，資公用，尚有所餘，當留備地方公事。河南耗羨餘款最多，特免地丁錢糧四十萬，即以所餘抵補。上諭謂此項出自民間，若公用充裕，仍當加恩本地官民，不令歸入公帑也。三年，諾岷以病乞假，命回旗調理。

Provincial Administration Commissioner Gao Chengling memorialized: "Provincial grain taxes have long included haoxian. Since the people pay them for public purposes, they belong to the court's revenue. I believe that prefectural and county haoxian silver should be remitted to the provincial treasury and distributed at the discretion of senior officials so that all may receive integrity stipends. Moreover, when the province faces unavoidable exceptional expenses, they can be met from this fund. As for retaining funds to cover deficits, Governor Nuo Min has already memorialized on this. I request an imperial order directing every provincial governor-general and governor to follow Nuo Min's proposal: first report the estimated annual haoxian total for the province, then at year's end report separately how much was distributed as integrity stipends, spent on public expenses, and retained to cover deficits, so that unworthy superiors cannot use remittance as a pretext for private gain." The emperor ordered the Prince of the First Rank overseeing affairs and the Nine Ministers to confer. Their deliberation broadly held that remitting surcharges was not a regular lasting policy and proposed a trial implementation first in Shanxi. The emperor instructed: "Prefectural and county surcharges were never a proper tax in themselves, but provincial public expenses and officials' integrity stipends had to be drawn from them, I would indeed wish that prefectures and counties throughout the empire took nothing at all from the people, but circumstances make that impossible. Prefectures and counties collected surcharges and sent portions to their superiors; local officials used this as a pretext for greed, while superiors looked the other way and covered it up. This longstanding abuse ought to be eliminated. Rather than letting prefectures and counties keep surcharges to support their superiors, it is far better for superiors to allocate surcharges to support prefectures and counties. As for proposing a trial first in Shanxi, that idea is especially wrong. Affairs under Heaven have only two alternatives: they are either feasible or they are not. It is like treating illness: casually testing remedies on patients rarely cures anyone. To make Shanxi a trial ground now is something I cannot bear. Remitting surcharges was originally meant as a temporary expedient; In time, when deficits are cleared, treasuries are ample, and officials know to improve themselves, provincial surcharges will naturally lighten until they are fully abolished. That is my deepest wish. Provinces that can implement the reform may do so; those that cannot will not be forced." Thereafter governors-general and governors of each province successively memorialized to remit haoxian following Shanxi's precedent. Because Nuo Min had first raised the proposal, the emperor commended his flexible adaptation, saying it benefited both state finance and the people's livelihood. The emperor repeatedly ordered the provinces to supervise their officials: since haoxian had returned to the public treasury, they must not devise new pretexts to extract more from the people. After paying integrity stipends and funding public expenses, any surplus should be retained for local public affairs. Henan's haoxian surplus was the largest, so land and poll taxes there were specially reduced by 400,000, offset by the surplus funds. The emperor instructed that since these funds came from the people, if public expenses were ample, the surplus should benefit local officials and people rather than being absorbed into the public treasury. In the third year Nuo Min requested sick leave and was ordered to return to his banner to recuperate.

初，貝子允禟以罪徙西寧，道出平定，太監李大成毆諸生，諾岷按讞，以大成方病，置未深究。上責諾岷瞻徇，命繼任巡撫伊都立覆讞，罪大成，奪諾岷官。十二年，卒。

Earlier, when Prince Yunsi was banished to Xining for his crimes and passed through Pingding, the eunuch Li Dacheng beat a licentiate. Nuo Min tried the case but, because Dacheng was ill, set it aside without a thorough investigation. The emperor rebuked Nuo Min for favoritism, ordered his successor Governor Yiduli to retry the case, punished Dacheng, and stripped Nuo Min of office. He died in the twelfth year.

陳時夏，字建長，雲南元謀人。康熙四十五年進士，考授內閣中書。三遷工部郎中，考選廣西道御史。雍正元年，授河南開歸道，仍帶御史銜。尋奏河北連年歉收，請發帑治賑，蠲免錢糧，上嘉允之。二年，遷湖北按察使，以在開歸道任封丘生員罷考，坐不能彈壓，奪官。三年，授直隸正定知府。四年，遷長蘆鹽運使，加布政使銜，署江蘇巡撫。疏陳蘇、松水利，請發帑興工。命副都統李淑德、原任山東巡撫陳世倌會勘，議先濬婁江，常熟福山塘、昭文白茆河、太倉七浦河、上海嘉定吳淞江、武進孟瀆、德胜新河、丹陽九曲河次第疏治。時夏复疏言江南錢糧，請視直隸、河南正耗統解布政使，督撫以下各給養廉，地方公事用耗銀報銷，從之。上知時夏有老母，命雲南督撫贈資斧，護至蘇州，复賜人葠。

Chen Shixia, whose courtesy name was Jianchang, came from Yuanmou in Yunnan. He passed the jinshi examination in the forty-fifth year of Kangxi and was appointed a secretary in the Grand Secretariat after examination. After three promotions to director in the Ministry of Works, he was examined and selected as censor of the Guangxi Circuit. In the first year of Yongzheng, he was appointed intendant of the Kaigui Circuit in Henan while retaining his censorial rank. He soon memorialized that Hebei had suffered successive crop failures, requesting treasury funds for relief work and remission of grain taxes, and the emperor praised and approved the proposal. In the second year he was transferred to provincial judge of Hubei, but because licentiates in Fengqiu had been barred from the examinations while he was intendant of the Kaigui Circuit, he was punished for failing to keep order and was stripped of his office. In the third year he was appointed prefect of Zhengding in Zhili. In the fourth year he was transferred to salt transport commissioner of Changlu, given the rank of provincial treasurer, and appointed acting governor of Jiangsu. He memorialized on water conservancy in the Suzhou and Songjiang region and requested treasury funds to launch the project. The emperor ordered Vice Commandant Li Shude and former Shandong governor Chen Shiguang to conduct a joint survey. They proposed dredging the Lou River first, then in turn clearing the Fushan Pond in Changshu, the Baimao River in Zhaowen, the Qipu River in Taicang, the Wusong River in Shanghai and Jiading, the Mengdu in Wujin, the Desheng New River, and the Jiuqu River in Danyang. Chen Shixia again memorialized on Jiangnan grain taxes, asking that principal and surcharge be remitted together to the provincial treasurer as in Zhili and Henan, that governors and all officials below them receive integrity-nourishment stipends, and that local official expenses be reimbursed from surcharge silver; the request was approved. Learning that Chen Shixia had an elderly mother, the emperor ordered the Yunnan governor-general and governor to provide traveling funds, escort her to Suzhou, and also sent ginseng as a gift.

六年，江蘇布政使張坦麟調山東，時夏以坦麟任內錢糧未清，疏請停赴新任；坦麟亦奏時夏令新任布政使趙向奎勒掯交代。上責時夏褊淺，才識不足，不能勝巡撫，命改署山東布政使，即以坦麟署江蘇巡撫。是時江蘇巡撫所屬七府五州，自康熙五十一年至雍正四年，積虧地丁錢糧至八百十三萬有奇，巡撫張楷請分年帶徵。及時夏至江蘇，催追促迫，民艱於輸納，事久未竟，上命時夏留江蘇會辦虧空。時夏請以舊欠均派新糧，分年徵收，上諭曰：「舊欠自有本人，捨此不追而均派新糧，是刁民因積欠而得利，良民因先輸而倍徵。從此人人效尤，誰復輸供正賦？且舊欠派入新糧，必致舊欠未完，新糧又欠。時夏因朕留之在蘇，乃欲藉此草率完結。命暫停徵比，交新任巡撫尹繼善清察。」上又遣侍郎彭維新等佐尹繼善察出積欠實一千萬有奇，上命以其中侵蝕、包攬四百數十萬分十年帶徵，民欠五百數十萬分二十年帶徵，並令視直隸、河南諸省已行例，每歲帶徵若干，次年免正賦若干。諭謂「蠲逋賦使頑戶偏蒙其澤，不若免新徵使眾民普受其惠也」。

In the sixth year, Jiangsu provincial treasurer Zhang Tanlin was transferred to Shandong. Chen Shixia, citing unsettled grain taxes from Zhang's tenure, memorialized asking that Zhang be prevented from taking up his new post; Zhang Tanlin also memorialized that Chen Shixia had ordered the newly appointed provincial treasurer Zhao Xiangkui to block the transfer of office. The emperor rebuked Chen Shixia as narrow-minded and lacking the talent and judgment needed for the governorship, ordered him transferred to act as Shandong provincial treasurer, and appointed Zhang Tanlin acting governor of Jiangsu. At that time the seven prefectures and five subprefectures under the Jiangsu governor had accumulated land-tax deficits of more than 8.13 million from the fifty-first year of Kangxi through the fourth year of Yongzheng, and Governor Zhang Kai requested that the arrears be collected over successive years. When Chen Shixia reached Jiangsu, his urgent demands for payment made collection hard for the people, and as the matter remained unresolved the emperor ordered Chen Shixia to stay in Jiangsu to help settle the deficit. Chen Shixia proposed spreading old arrears across new grain quotas and collecting them over successive years. The emperor instructed: "Old arrears belong to specific debtors. To abandon pursuit of those debts and instead spread them among new quotas is to let cunning people profit from accumulated debt while law-abiding people pay twice because they paid first. If everyone follows that example, who will still pay the regular taxes? Moreover, if old arrears are folded into new quotas, the old debts will remain unpaid and the new quotas will fall into arrears as well. Because I kept Chen Shixia in Suzhou, he wants to use this scheme to wrap the matter up carelessly. Suspend collection for the time being and turn the matter over to the new governor Yin Jishan for a thorough investigation." The emperor also sent Vice Minister Peng Weixin and others to assist Yin Jishan, and they found that accumulated arrears actually exceeded 10 million. The emperor ordered that embezzlement and collusion accounts of more than 4 million be collected over ten years and common people's arrears of more than 5 million over twenty years, following the precedent already applied in Zhili, Henan, and other provinces, whereby a set amount of arrears was collected each year and a corresponding amount of regular tax was remitted the next year. An edict declared: "Remitting overdue taxes lets stubborn defaulters alone enjoy the benefit, whereas exempting new collections allows the broad mass of people to share in the relief."

七年，尹繼善劾時夏所舉知縣蔡益仁貪黷不職，下部議，降調。八年，以母憂歸。十二年，詣京師，命以僉都御史銜授霸州營田觀察使。奏文安、大城兩縣界內修築橫堤，請於堤東南尚家村建閘，堤內濬河，引子牙河水溉田，仍於北岸多用涵洞，俾水得宣洩。乾隆二年，奏請用區田法，選屬吏租民地試行。皆從之。授內閣學士。三年，卒。

In the seventh year, Yin Jishan impeached Cai Yiren, a magistrate Chen Shixia had recommended, for corruption and dereliction of duty. The case was referred to the ministries for deliberation, and Chen Shixia was demoted and transferred. In the eighth year he returned home to observe mourning for his mother. In the twelfth year he went to the capital and was appointed colonization commissioner of Bazhou with the rank of vice censor-in-chief. He memorialized on building a transverse dike on the border between Wen'an and Ducheng counties, requesting a sluice gate at Shangjia Village southeast of the dike, dredging a canal within the dike to draw Ziya River water for irrigation, and installing many culverts on the north bank so the water could be released. In the second year of Qianlong he memorialized requesting use of the checkerboard-field method and selecting subordinate officials to rent civilian land for a trial run. All of these proposals were approved. He was appointed a grand secretary of the Grand Secretariat. In the third year he died.

王士俊，字灼三，貴州平越人。康熙六十年進士，改庶吉士。雍正元年，上特命以知州發河南待缺，除許州。田文鏡為巡撫，惡以科第起家者，有意督過之，士俊懼將及。文鏡增鹼地稅，民不堪，士俊具牒爭，冀以是劾罷邀名。布政使楊文乾奇士俊，曲護之。三年，文乾遷廣東巡撫，奏以士俊從。四年，題授肇高廉羅道。五年，署巡撫阿克敦察士俊所轄黃江廠稅虧稅銀千餘，疏劾。上諭之曰：「王士俊尚有用，小過猶可諒。當嚴飭令悛改。」尋召士俊詣京師。士俊髮黃江廠庫官為布政使官達索規禮，阿克敦即令官達按鞫。士俊請改員嚴訊，阿克敦令按察使方原瑛會鞫。士俊即以阿克敦、官達、方原瑛朋謀徇私，揭吏部奏聞。會文乾亦以他事劾阿克敦、官達，上命解官達、原瑛任，令總督孔毓珣及文乾會鞫，並令士俊署布政使。士俊行至曲江，聞命，還廣東上官。會文乾卒，上命傅泰署巡撫，復遣通政使留保等如廣東會鞫，阿克敦等皆坐譴。六年，實授廣東布政使。九年，擢湖北巡撫。

Wang Shijun, whose courtesy name was Zhuosan, came from Pingyue in Guizhou. He passed the jinshi examination in the sixtieth year of Kangxi and was appointed a Hanlin bachelor. In the first year of Yongzheng the emperor specially ordered him sent to Henan as a prefect awaiting appointment, and he was assigned to Xuzhou. Tian Wenjing was governor and disliked officials who had risen through the examinations; he deliberately looked for faults in them, and Wang Shijun feared he would be next. Tian Wenjing raised taxes on alkaline land until the people could no longer bear it. Wang Shijun submitted a detailed memorial disputing the policy, hoping to get Tian impeached and removed and thereby win a reputation. Provincial treasurer Yang Wenqian admired Wang Shijun and protected him. In the third year Yang Wenqian was transferred to governor of Guangdong and memorialized that Wang Shijun accompany him. In the fourth year he was appointed by imperial selection to the Zhaogao-Lian-Luo Circuit. In the fifth year, acting Governor Akedun investigated and found a deficit of more than a thousand taels in tax silver at the Huangjiang tax bureau under Wang Shijun's jurisdiction, and memorialized to impeach him. The emperor instructed him: "Wang Shijun is still useful, and minor faults may be forgiven. He should be sternly admonished and made to reform." Soon afterward Wang Shijun was summoned to the capital. Wang Shijun exposed that the Huangjiang bureau treasury official had been solicited for customary gifts by Guanda, an officer of the provincial treasurer. Akedun immediately ordered Guanda to conduct the investigation. Wang Shijun asked that other officials be assigned to conduct a rigorous inquiry, and Akedun ordered provincial judge Fang Yuanying to join the investigation. Wang Shijun then accused Akedun, Guanda, and Fang Yuanying of colluding in partiality and submitted the accusation to the Board of Personnel for report to the throne. At the same time Yang Wenqian also impeached Akedun and Guanda on other grounds. The emperor ordered Guanda and Fang Yuanying dismissed from office, directed Governor-General Kong Yuqian and Yang Wenqian to conduct a joint investigation, and appointed Wang Shijun acting provincial treasurer. Wang Shijun had reached Qujiang when he heard the order and returned to Guangdong to take up the higher post. Yang Wenqian then died. The emperor appointed Fu Tai acting governor and again sent Censorate Transfer Commissioner Liubao and others to Guangdong for a joint investigation, and Akedun and the others were all punished. In the sixth year he was formally appointed Guangdong provincial treasurer. In the ninth year he was promoted to governor of Hubei.

十年，文鏡解任還京師，擢士俊河東總督，兼河南巡撫。十一年，疏劾學政俞鴻圖納賄行私，命侍郎陳樹萱按鞫，得實，鴻圖坐斬。文鏡在河南督州縣開墾，士俊承其後，督促益加嚴，又令州縣勸民間捐輸。高宗即位，戶部尚書史貽直奏言：「河南地勢平衍，沃野千里，民性純樸，勤於稼穡，自來無土不耕，其不耕者大都斥鹵沙磧之區。臣聞河南各屬廣行開墾，一縣中有報開十頃、十數頃至數十頃者，積算無慮數千百頃，安得荒田如許之多？推求其故，不過督臣授意地方官多報開墾，屬吏迎合，指稱某處隙地若干、某處曠土若干，造冊申報。督臣據其冊籍，報多者超遷議敘，報少者嚴批申飭，或別尋事故，掛之彈章。地方官畏其權勢，冀得歡心，詎卹後日官民受累，以致報墾者紛紛。其實所報之地，非河灘沙礫之區，即山岡犖確之地；甚至墳墓之側，河堤所在，搜剔靡遺。目下行之，不過枉費民力，其害猶小；數年後按畝昇科，指斥鹵為膏腴，勘石田以上稅，小民將有鬻兒賣女以應輸將者。又如勸捐，乃不得已之策，今則郡縣官長，驅車郭門，手持簿籍，不論鹽當紳民，慰以好言，令其登寫，旋索貲鏹。地方官一年數換，則籍簿一年數更，不惟大拂民心，亦且有損國體。請敕廉明公正大臣前往清察。」上諭曰：「田文鏡為總督，苛削嚴厲，河南民重受其困。士俊接任，不能加意惠養，借墾地之虛名，成累民之實害。河南民風淳樸，竭蹶以從，甚屬可嘉。然先後遭苛政，其情亦至可愍矣！河南仍如舊例，止設巡撫。」以傅德代士俊。士俊至京師，命署兵部侍郎。

In the tenth year Tian Wenjing was relieved and returned to the capital, and Wang Shijun was promoted to governor-general east of the Yellow River with concurrent appointment as governor of Henan. In the eleventh year he memorialized impeaching Education Commissioner Yu Hongtu for taking bribes and showing favoritism. Vice Minister Chen Shuxuan was ordered to investigate, the charges were substantiated, and Yu Hongtu was sentenced to decapitation. Tian Wenjing had supervised the opening of wasteland in Henan's prefectures and counties. Wang Shijun succeeded him and pressed even harder, also ordering prefectures and counties to urge private donations from the people. When the Gaozong Emperor ascended the throne, Minister of Revenue Shi Yizhi memorialized: "Henan's terrain is flat and broad, its fertile fields stretch for a thousand li, and the people are simple, honest, and diligent in farming. From of old scarcely any land has gone uncultivated; what remains uncultivated is mostly saline, sandy, or stony waste. I hear that wasteland reclamation is being reported throughout Henan. In a single county some officials report ten qing opened, others a dozen or even dozens, which when totaled must amount to thousands upon thousands of qing. How can there be so much wasteland? The reason, on investigation, is simply that the governor-general signals local officials to over-report reclamation, and subordinates currying favor identify this vacant plot or that idle tract, compile registers, and submit reports. The governor-general, relying on these registers, recommends exceptional promotion for those who report much, severely criticizes those who report little, or finds other pretexts to include them in impeachment memorials. Local officials feared his power and sought to win his favor, heedless of the burden this would later impose on officials and people alike, with the result that reclamation reports proliferated. In fact the lands reported were either river-bank gravel flats or rugged hill country; even beside graves and on river dikes—no place was left unsearched. For the moment this merely wastes the people's labor, and the harm is still comparatively small; but in a few years, when taxes are raised acre by acre, saline wastes will be called fertile fields and stony plots taxed, and common people will have to sell sons and daughters to meet their payments. The same is true of urging donations, which is supposed to be a measure of last resort. Now prefectural and county chiefs drive their carriages to the city gates with ledgers in hand, addressing salt merchants, pawnshop owners, gentry, and commoners alike with soothing words, having them sign, and then immediately demanding payment. Local officials change several times a year, so the ledgers are replaced several times a year. This not only deeply offends popular sentiment but also damages the dignity of the state. I request that incorrupt and fair senior ministers be sent to investigate and clear up the matter." The emperor instructed: "When Tian Wenjing was governor-general, his harsh and severe exactions weighed heavily on the people of Henan. Wang Shijun, on taking over, failed to show greater care for the people and, under the false name of land reclamation, inflicted real harm upon them. The people of Henan are sincere and simple in character, and they exhausted themselves in compliance—this is very praiseworthy. Yet having suffered harsh governance in succession, their plight is truly pitiable! Henan shall remain as before, with only a governor appointed." Fu De replaced Wang Shijun. When Wang Shijun reached the capital, he was appointed acting vice minister of the Board of War.

乾隆元年，復命署四川巡撫。士俊在河南，上蔡知縣貴金馬奉檄開墾，迫縣民加報地畝錢糧，武生王作孚等詣縣辨訴。貴金馬以聚眾閧堂揭士俊，士俊諭定讞毋及開墾，妄坐作孚等勒減鹽價，擬斬。傅德疏劾，下部議，士俊當奪官，上命仍留任。

In the first year of Qianlong he was again appointed acting governor of Sichuan. While Wang Shijun was in Henan, Shangcai magistrate Gui Jinma, carrying out orders for land reclamation, forced county residents to inflate reported acreage and grain taxes. Military licentiate Wang Zuofu and others went to the county yamen to protest. Gui Jinma reported them for gathering a crowd and disrupting the yamen hall and impeached Wang Shijun. Wang Shijun directed that the verdict make no mention of land reclamation; he falsely charged Wang Zuofu and others with coercing reductions in the salt price and recommended decapitation. Fu De memorialized to impeach him. The ministries deliberated and found that Wang Shijun should be stripped of office, but the emperor ordered him retained in his post.

士俊密疏陳時政，略言：「近日條陳，惟在翻駁前案，甚有對眾揚言，只須將世宗時事翻案，即係好條陳。傳之天下，甚駭聽聞。」又言大學士不宜兼部，又言各部治事，私揣某省督撫正在褒嘉，其事宜準；某省督撫方被詰責，其事宜駁。不論事理當否，專以逢合為心。又言廷臣保舉，率多徇情，甚或藉以索賄。上覽奏，怒甚，發王大臣公閱。御史舒赫德因劾：「士俊姦頑刻薄，中外共知。其為河南總督，勒令州縣虛報墾荒，苦累小民。近日巡撫傅德論劾，外間傳說士俊已命逮治，皇上猶冀其改惡向善，曲賜矜全。乃士俊喪心病狂，妄發悖論，請明正其罪。」上召王、大臣、九卿等諭之曰：「從來為政之道，損益隨時，寬猛互濟。記曰：'張而不弛，文武弗能；弛而不張，文武弗為。 '堯因四岳之言而用鯀，鯀治水九載，績用弗成；至舜而後殛鯀。當日用鯀者堯，誅鯀者舜，豈得謂舜翻堯案乎？皇考即位之初，承聖祖深仁厚澤，休養生息，物熾而豐；皇考加意振飭，使紀綱整齊，此因勢利導之方，正繼志述事之善。迨雍正九年以來，人心已知法度，吏治已漸澄清，又未嘗不敦崇寬簡，相安樂易。朕纘承丕緒，泣奉遺詔，向後政務應從寬者悉從寬。凡用人行政，兢兢焉以皇考諴民育物之心為心，以皇考執兩用中之政為政。蓋皇祖、皇考與朕之心初無絲毫間別。今王士俊訾為翻駁前案，是誠何心？朕躬有闕失，惟恐諸臣不肯盡言；至事關皇考，而妄指前猷，謂有意更張，實朕所不忍聞。至謂大學士不宜兼部，大學士兼部正皇考成憲，士俊欲朕改之，是又導朕以翻案也，彼不過為大學士鄂爾泰而發。士俊河南墾荒，市興利之善名，行剝民之虐政，使敗露於皇考時，豈能寬宥？彼欲掩飾從前之罪，且中傷與己不合之人，其機詐不可勝詰。至謂部件題駁，懷挾私心，保舉徇情，夤緣賄囑，諸臣有則痛自湔除，無則益加黽勉，毋為士俊所訕笑，以全朕委任簡用之體可也。」解士俊任，逮下刑部，王大臣等會鞫，請用大不敬律擬斬立決，命改監候。二年，釋為民，遣還裡。

Wang Shijun submitted a confidential memorial on current affairs, stating in summary: "Recently memorials focus solely on overturning prior cases. Some even declare publicly that as long as one overturns matters from the Yongzheng reign, it counts as a good memorial. When such talk spreads throughout the empire, it is deeply shocking to hear." He also said that grand secretaries should not concurrently head ministries, and that when ministries handled affairs they privately guessed which provincial governor was being praised—matters concerning him should be approved; and which provincial governor was being rebuked—matters concerning him should be rejected. Regardless of whether the matter was right or wrong, they focused solely on currying favor. He also said that court ministers' recommendations were mostly partial, and some even used them to solicit bribes. The emperor read the memorial and was greatly angered, and circulated it for joint review by princes and ministers. Censor Shuhede seized the occasion to impeach: "Wang Shijun is treacherous, obstinate, and harsh—a fact known inside and outside the court. As governor-general of Henan, he forced prefectures and counties to falsely report wasteland reclamation and grievously burdened the common people. Recently Governor Fu De memorialized against him. Outside rumor has it that Wang Shijun was already ordered arrested, yet Your Majesty still hoped he would reform and showed generous forbearance. Yet Wang Shijun, in a frenzy of madness, rashly uttered perverse views. I request that his crime be clearly established and punished." The emperor summoned princes, ministers, the Nine Ministers, and others and instructed: "The way of governance from ancient times has been to adjust policies according to the times and balance leniency with severity. The Record says: 'Stretched but not relaxed—neither Wen nor Wu could achieve this; Relaxed but not stretched—neither Wen nor Wu would act thus. Yao, on account of the Four Peaks' words, employed Gun. Gun controlled the waters for nine years without success; Only under Shun was Gun executed. The one who used Gun was Yao, and the one who executed Gun was Shun—can we say that Shun overturned Yao's decision? When my late father first ascended the throne, he inherited the Sacred Ancestor's deep benevolence and generous grace, allowing the people to rest and multiply until goods flourished and grew abundant; my late father deliberately strengthened discipline so that laws and regulations were put in order. This was the method of guiding affairs according to circumstances and truly the excellence of continuing the prior will and fulfilling the prior undertaking. From the ninth year of Yongzheng onward, people's hearts already knew the law and official governance gradually clarified, yet he never failed to promote leniency and simplicity so that all could live at ease. I have succeeded to the great enterprise and, weeping, follow the deathbed edict: henceforth all governance that should be lenient shall be lenient. In all employment of men and administration, I anxiously take as my heart my late father's heart of comforting the people and nurturing creation, and as my policy his policy of holding to the mean. Truly the Sacred Ancestor, my late father, and I—our hearts have not differed in the slightest from the first. Now Wang Shijun denounces this as overturning prior cases—what truly is in his heart? If I personally have failings, I only fear that my ministers will not speak fully; When it touches upon my late father's policies, to claim deliberately that earlier plans were meant to be overturned is something I cannot bear to hear. His claim that grand secretaries should not concurrently head ministries is equally objectionable: concurrent ministry posts were my late father's established practice. Shijun wants me to change that as well—another attempt to lead me toward overturning settled policy—and his real target is Grand Secretary E'ertai. Shijun's Henan reclamation projects traded on a reputation for public benefit while imposing cruel exactions on the people; had his abuses been exposed in my father's reign, how could he have escaped punishment? He seeks to cover his past crimes and to slander those who oppose him; his schemes are too numerous to pursue to the end. As for his charges that ministries draft and reject memorials from private motives, that recommendations show favoritism, and that officials trade on connections and bribes—if any of you are guilty of such conduct, purge it at once; if not, strive all the harder, and do not give Shijun cause to mock you, so as to justify the trust I place in you." Shijun was dismissed and handed over to the Ministry of Justice; princes and ministers jointly tried him and recommended immediate execution under the statute of great disrespect; the sentence was commuted to imprisonment awaiting execution. In the second year he was released to commoner status and sent home.

六年，以爭佔甕安縣民羅氏墓地，縱僕毆民，民自經死，民子走京師叩閽。命副都御史仲永檀如貴州，會總督張廣泗鞫，得實，論罪如律。二十一年，卒。

In the sixth year he seized a grave plot belonging to the Luo family of Weng'an County, allowed his servants to beat the owners, and drove one man to hang himself; the victim's son fled to the capital to petition at the palace gates. Vice Censor-in-Chief Zhong Yongtan was dispatched to Guizhou to conduct a joint investigation with Governor-General Zhang Guangsi; the charges were substantiated and Shijun was sentenced according to law. He died in the twenty-first year.

論曰：世宗以綜覈名實督天下，肅吏治，嚴盜課，實倉庫，清逋賦，行勘丈，墾荒土，提耗羨，此其大端也。衛、文鏡受上眷最厚，衛以敏集事，文鏡以驕府怨；然當時謂衛、文鏡所部無盜賊，斯亦甚難能矣。勘丈激亂，四川為最著；耗羨歸公，山西為最先；田賦懸逋，江蘇為最鉅；開墾害民，河南為最劇。世宗親決庶政，不歸罪臣下，故諾岷蒙褒，而憲德不屍其咎；時夏才短，事未克竟，亦不深責也。士俊及高宗初政，絀而猶用，乃創翻案之說，欲以熒主聽，箝朝議。心險而術淺，其得譴宜哉。

The commentators observe that the Yongzheng Emperor governed the empire through rigorous verification of names and realities: he rectified official conduct, tightened bandit suppression, filled granaries and treasuries, cleared tax arrears, conducted land surveys, promoted reclamation, and remitted surcharges—these were the main lines of his policy. Li Wei and Tian Wenjing received the emperor's favor most generously: Wei was valued for his sharp efficiency, Wenjing for his energy but also feared for his arrogance; yet contemporaries said that their jurisdictions were effectively free of bandits, which was itself a remarkable achievement. Land surveys provoked unrest, most notably in Sichuan; surcharge remittance to the public treasury began in Shanxi; unpaid land tax arrears were largest in Jiangsu; and reclamation projects harmed the people most severely in Henan. Because the Yongzheng Emperor personally decided routine affairs and did not lay blame on his subordinates, Nuo Min was praised while Xian De escaped blame for the Sichuan survey; Chen Shixia's limited talent left his tasks unfinished, yet he too escaped severe blame. Wang Shijun, though demoted, remained in use at the start of the Qianlong reign; he invented the doctrine of overturning prior decisions, hoping to mislead the emperor and silence court debate. Treacherous in heart and shallow in method, he richly deserved the punishment he received.

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