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列傳一百二十四
Biography 124
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Lu Chao, styled Guangzhi, was a Han Chinese bannerman of the Bordered Yellow Banner. He bought his way into office as magistrate of Wuyi in Zhili. The county had long collected equalized corvée funds for official errands, yet whenever a duty arose corvée labor was still levied by neighborhood; Chao abolished the practice. He also turned surplus grain fees over to the public treasury and was notably zealous in catching thieves. In 1728, while delivering tribute silver to the capital, he was granted a special audience by the Yongzheng Emperor. He was promoted to prefect of Bozhou in Jiangnan, where he banned factional armed fights. He was next made prefect of Dongchang in Shandong. Governor-general Tian Wenjing had sent officers far and wide to investigate cases, and a great many Dongchang residents had been thrown into jail; on taking office, Chao reviewed the cases and released them all. When floods struck, he dredged the Grand Canal, built a long embankment around the city walls, and spent state funds on relief. The throne dispatched high officials to inspect the damage; only Dongchang emerged unscathed. In 1731 he was moved to grain transport intendant, then to the Nannu circuit in Henan. In 1732 he was appointed provincial judicial commissioner. In 1733 he was promoted to provincial treasurer.
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In 1734 he was elevated to governor of Fujian and awarded a peacock feather. In 1735, when the Qianlong Emperor took the throne, Chao reported that flood-hit districts had not technically qualified as disaster areas. The emperor replied: 'Even if the floods have not risen to the level of a declared disaster, you must still relieve the people with special care and keep the poor from losing their livelihoods.' In 1736 he asked to survey and remeasure civilian land in Jianyang. The emperor warned: 'Ordinary people fear land surveys as they fear fire and water. You began by trying to raise taxes, and now you propose exemptions to cover your mistakes, always hedging your bets—there is nothing in this that I can approve.' Soon after he memorialized to lower grain tax rates on garrison farms at Yong'an in Shaowu and Funing in Xiapu, and to exempt registered shortfall lands in Min, Houguan, and other counties. He also asked to reduce or waive the apportioned surplus adult-male tax in Pinghe, Yong'an, Qingliu, and other counties where land was scarce but households were numerous. He further proposed teaching sericulture to the people and dredging the canal around the provincial capital.
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三年，調浙江巡撫，兼鹽政。 奏請停仁和、海寧二縣草塘歲修銀，減嘉興屬七縣銀米十之二。 又奏陳鹽政諸事：請禁商人短秤； 飭州縣捕私鹽毋擾民； 毋捕肩挑小販； 鹽場徵課不得刑比。 上諭曰：「所奏各條皆是。 汝先過刻，茲乃事事以寬沽名。 過猶不及，汝其識之！」 尋請裁鹽場協辦鹽大使，改海寧草塘為石塘。 既，又請濬備塘河運石。 五年，上諭曰：「盧焯至浙江，沽名邀譽，舉鄉賢名宦，絡繹不絕。 海塘外已漲沙數十里，焯既請停草塘歲修，又請改建石塘。 心無定見，惟事揣摩，已彰明較著矣。」 六年，左都御史劉吳龍劾焯營私受賄，上解焯任，命總督德沛、副都統旺扎爾按治，事皆實，請奪官刑訊。 事連嘉湖道呂守曾、嘉興知府楊景震。 守曾已擢山西布政使，逮至浙江，自殺。 杭州民數百為焯訟冤，毀副都統廳前鼓亭。 德沛等以聞，上諭責辦理不妥。 七年，讞上，焯、景震皆坐不枉法贓，擬絞。 八年，焯以完贓減等，戍軍台。 十六年，上南巡，閱海塘，念焯勞，召還。
In 1738 he was transferred to Zhejiang as governor, with concurrent charge of the salt monopoly. He asked to suspend annual repair funds for earthen seawalls in Renhe and Haining and to cut grain and silver taxes in Jiaxing's seven subordinate counties by twenty percent. He also laid out salt-policy reforms: merchants must be forbidden to use short weights; prefectural and county officials must seize smuggled salt without harassing the populace; they must not arrest petty peddlers carrying salt on shoulder-poles; and salt-field tax collection must not rely on corporal punishment. The emperor replied: 'Every point in your memorial is sound. You used to be excessively harsh; now you court popularity by leniency on every issue. Excess is no better than deficiency—remember that!' Soon after he asked to abolish assistant salt commissioners at the salt fields and to rebuild Haining's earthen seawall in stone. He then asked to dredge the backup seawall canal to transport building stone. In 1740 the emperor said: 'Since Lu Chao arrived in Zhejiang he has been currying favor, nominating local worthies and celebrated officials in an endless stream. Sand had already built up for dozens of li beyond the seawall, yet Chao first asked to halt annual repairs to the earthen dike and then asked to rebuild it in stone. He has no settled judgment and only tries to guess what I want—this is already perfectly obvious.' In 1741 Left Censor-in-chief Liu Wulong accused Chao of corruption and bribery. The emperor removed him from office and ordered Governor-general Depè and Vice Banner Commander Wangzhar to investigate; every charge was proved, and they recommended stripping his rank and putting him to the question. The case also involved Jiahu circuit intendant Lü Shouzeng and Jiaxing prefect Yang Jingzhen. Shouzeng had already been promoted to Shanxi treasurer; when he was arrested and brought to Zhejiang, he committed suicide. Several hundred Hangzhou residents marched to plead Chao's innocence and tore down the drum pavilion before the vice banner commander's office. Depè reported the incident, and the emperor rebuked them for mishandling the case. In 1742 the final judgment was handed up: Chao and Jingzhen were both found guilty of taking bribes without perverting justice and were sentenced to death by strangulation. In 1743, because he had made full restitution, his sentence was reduced and he was exiled to garrison labor. In 1751, on a southern tour, the emperor inspected the seawall, remembered Chao's service, and recalled him.
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In 1755 he was made vice minister of the Court of State Ceremonial and served as acting governor of Xi'an in Shaanxi. In 1756 he was transferred to act as governor of Hubei, with Chen Hongmou slated to replace him. Before Hongmou arrived, the throne ordered grain from Guihua City shipped to supply the Jinchuan campaign and sent an urgent courier to inform Hongmou. Chao investigated and reported: 'Guihua City does produce grain, but the route is long and the cost prohibitive; Xi'an has grain in store—let that be issued first to feed the troops. He still asked to be punished for acting without authorization.' The emperor praised Chao for understanding the larger situation and acting appropriately, and confirmed him as governor of Hubei. In 1757 Xi'an treasurer Liu Zao presented himself at court and reported that while in Xi'an Chao had accepted local tribute goods but paid only token prices; and that after moving to Hubei he had tried to borrow from the provincial treasury but had been refused. The emperor accused Chao of betraying his favor, stripped his rank, and exiled him to Barkol. In 1761 he was recalled. He died in 1767.
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Tu Erbing'a, of the Tunggiya clan, was a Manchu bannerman of the Plain White Banner. He began as a clerk in the Board of Civil Appointments and rose through successive promotions to director. In 1738 he was appointed intendant of the Shaanxi-Gansu circuit. He was eventually promoted to provincial treasurer of Yunnan. In 1747 he was made governor. In 1750 Yongjia magistrate Yang Mao was found short in silver and grain; Tu Erbing'a ordered his successor to make good the deficit and closed the case. Governor-general Shuose memorialized against him; the emperor condemned Tu Erbing'a for covering up the case and showing favoritism, stripped his rank, had him brought to Beijing, and referred him to the Board of Punishments, which convicted him of custodial embezzlement and sentenced him to beheading, commuted after review. In 1752 the emperor ruled that Tu Erbing'a had not personally profited from the shortfall and released him from prison. He was appointed a vice director in the Board of Civil Appointments. Soon after he was made treasurer of Henan, transferred to Shandong, and then sent back to Henan.
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二十年，擢巡撫。 二十二年，上南巡，江蘇布政使夏邑彭家屏以病告家居，覲徐州行在，入對，言鄉縣被水。 上諮圖爾炳阿，圖爾炳阿奏收成至九分，上責圖爾炳阿文過。 圖爾炳阿又奏「去歲被水尚未成災」，上斥為怙惡不悛。 遣員外郎觀音保密察災狀得實，上奪圖爾炳阿官，髮烏里雅蘇台效力。 上發徐州，夏邑民張欽、劉元德詣行在訴知縣孫默諱災及治賑不實，上親鞫，元德言諸生段昌緒指使。 上復遣侍衛成林會圖爾炳阿至夏邑按治，於昌緒家得傳鈔吳三桂檄。 上諭曰：「圖爾炳阿察出逆檄，緝邪之功大，諱災之罪小。 且以如此梗不知化之民，而治其司牧者以罪，是不益長澆風乎？ 免圖爾炳阿罪，仍留巡撫任治賑。 圖爾炳阿若因有前此罪斥之旨，心存成見，或不釋然於災民，則是自取罪戾，亦不能逃朕洞鑑。」 尋家屏亦以藏禁書罪至死，圖爾炳阿仍以匿災下吏議，奪官，命留任。 逾數月，召詣京師，命往烏里雅蘇台治餉。
In 1755 he was promoted to governor. In 1757, on the emperor's southern tour, Jiangsu treasurer Peng Jiaping of Xiayi, who had retired on grounds of illness, came to the traveling palace at Xuzhou, was granted an audience, and reported flooding in his home district. The emperor asked Tu Erbing'a, who reported a harvest of ninety percent; the emperor rebuked him for whitewashing the situation. Tu Erbing'a then reported that 'last year's floods have not yet amounted to a disaster,' and the emperor denounced him as incorrigible. He sent Vice Director Guanyinbao to investigate in secret and confirmed the disaster. The emperor stripped Tu Erbing'a of his rank and sent him to serve at Uliastai. As the emperor left Xuzhou, Xiayi residents Zhang Qin and Liu Yuande came to the traveling palace to accuse Magistrate Sun Mo of concealing the disaster and bungling relief. The emperor questioned them personally, and Yuande said the student Duan Changxu had put them up to it. The emperor again sent Bodyguard Cheng Lin with Tu Erbing'a to investigate in Xiayi, where they found copied proclamations of Wu Sangui in Changxu's house. The emperor said: 'Tu Erbing'a uncovered the seditious proclamation; his merit in rooting out sedition is great, and his offense in concealing the disaster is small. And for subjects this stubborn and unreformed, to punish their magistrates instead—would that not only encourage moral decay? Tu Erbing'a was pardoned and kept in office as governor to oversee relief. If Tu Erbing'a, remembering my earlier rebuke, holds a grudge or takes out his resentment on the flood victims, he will bring punishment on himself—and he cannot escape my scrutiny.' Soon afterward Jiaping was also sentenced to death for hiding banned books; Tu Erbing'a was again referred to the courts for concealing the disaster, stripped of rank, but ordered to remain in office. Several months later he was summoned to Beijing and sent to Uliastai to manage supplies.
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二十八年，授貴州巡撫，二十九年，調湖南。 三十年，病作，遣醫往視。 卒。
In 1763 he was appointed governor of Guizhou; in 1764 he was transferred to Hunan. In 1765 he fell ill, and the throne sent a physician to see him. He died.
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阿思哈，薩克達氏，滿洲正黃旗人。 自官學生考授內閣中書，累遷刑部郎中，充軍機處章京。 乾隆十年，擢甘肅布政使。 十四年，擢江西巡撫。 疏言：「各營操演槍砲，須實子彈。 營馬應令騎兵自飼。 技藝以純熟得用為要，步法、架勢不必朝更夕改。」 上嘉其言得要。 旋調山西。 十六年，平陽旱，未親往撫卹，詔責之。 十七年，蒲、解等處复災，請以平陽富民捐款解河東道加賑。 上諭之曰：「賑濟蠲緩，重者數百萬，少亦數十萬，悉動正帑，從無顧惜。 富戶所捐幾何，貯庫助賑，殊非體制。 此端一開，則偏災之地，貧民既苦艱食，富戶又令出貲。 國家撫卹災黎，何忍出此？」 責阿思哈卑鄙錯謬，不勝巡撫任，召還，奪官。 尋授吏部員外郎。 二十年，命以布政使銜往準噶爾軍前經理糧運。 擢內閣學士。
Asiha, of the Sakda clan, was a Manchu bannerman of the Plain Yellow Banner. Having passed the examination from the Imperial Academy, he was appointed a secretary in the Grand Secretariat, rose through the Board of Punishments to director, and served as a clerk in the Grand Council. In 1745 he was promoted to provincial treasurer of Gansu. In 1749 he was made governor of Jiangxi. He memorialized: 'When garrisons drill with muskets and cannon, they must use live ammunition. Garrison horses should be fed by the cavalrymen themselves. Combat skill should be judged by practical mastery, not by constantly changing footwork and forms from day to day.' The emperor praised his advice as sound. He was soon transferred to Shanxi. In 1751 Pingyang suffered drought, but he did not go in person to comfort the people, and an imperial edict rebuked him. In 1752 Pu, Xie, and other districts were hit again; he asked wealthy households in Pingyang to donate funds to the Hedong circuit for supplemental relief. The emperor told him: 'Relief, tax remission, and deferments cost millions in the worst cases and hundreds of thousands in the least—all paid from the regular treasury without hesitation. What can wealthy donors really contribute? Storing private donations in the treasury for relief is entirely improper. Once that door is opened, in every partial disaster the poor already go hungry while the rich are pressed for money too. When the state relieves disaster victims, how can we stoop to such a scheme?' He condemned Asiha as mean and misguided, unfit to serve as governor, recalled him, and stripped his rank. He was soon appointed a vice director in the Board of Civil Appointments. In 1755 he was sent to the Zunghar front with treasurer's rank to manage grain supply. He was promoted to Grand Secretariat academician.
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In 1757 he was appointed acting governor of Jiangxi; on taking office he sorted out garrison land tenure and was soon confirmed in the post. Provincial education commissioner Xie Rongsheng impeached Asiha for extortion and corrupt levies. The emperor ordered Minister Liu Tongxun, Vice Minister Chang Jun, and others to investigate; the charges proved true and strangulation was recommended. In 1761 he was pardoned by edict and sent to serve at Urumqi with third-rank insignia. In 1763 he was assigned to Ili to assist in local administration.
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二十九年，授廣東巡撫，調河南。 三十年，疏言：「衛河運道淺阻，濬縣三官廟、老鸛嘴諸地砂礓挺據河心，重載尤艱浮送。 向於上、下游淺處建築草壩以束水勢。 詳考河形，夏秋水盛，無須草壩； 冬令源澀，草壩亦屬無益。 不如於上游先期蓄水，臨時開放。 飭府縣督河員於九月望後起，至漕船出境止，暫閉外河以上民渠，使水歸官渠，重運自可疏通。 鑿去砂礓，並集夫疏濬浮沙，以利漕運。」 又請借司庫閒款，委員分購河工料物，以除沿河州縣按畝派累，均報聞。
In 1764 he was made governor of Guangdong, then transferred to Henan. In 1765 he memorialized: 'The Wei River shipping route runs shallow and obstructed. At Sanguan Temple and Old Stork Beak in Jun County and elsewhere, hardpan ridges stand in mid-channel, making downstream transport of heavily laden boats especially arduous. Grass dams had previously been built at shallow stretches upstream and downstream to concentrate the current. A careful survey showed that in summer and autumn, when water is plentiful, grass dams serve no purpose; in winter, when the headwaters run low, they are useless as well. It would be better to impound water upstream in advance and release it as needed. He ordered prefectural, county, and river officials to begin after the fifteenth day of the ninth month and continue until the grain fleet had passed, temporarily closing private canals above the outer river so water would enter the official channel—enough to ease heavily laden shipping. Hardpan should be removed and labor mobilized to dredge silt, easing grain transport.' He also asked to borrow idle provincial funds and send agents to buy river materials in bulk, eliminating per-mu levies on counties along the route. Both proposals were approved.
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In 1769 he was promoted to governor-general of Yunnan and Guizhou. During the Burma campaign Asiha went from Tongbi Pass to the army at Manmu and reported shortages of grain and horses. The emperor accused him of shrinking from hardship, removed him from office, and assigned him to serve under the expedition commander with assistant commandant's rank. He was soon recalled as vice minister of the Board of Civil Appointments, but in audience he displeased the emperor, was stripped of rank, and exiled to Ili. In 1774 he was released and restored as a grand council clerk. He was promoted to left censor-in-chief. When Grand Secretary Suhede marched against Wang Lun, Asiha was ordered to accompany Imperial Son-in-Law Lawang Duo'erji at the head of the Elite and Firearms brigades. After the rebellion was suppressed, Lawang Duo'erji reported that Asiha had not joined a search north of the city for Wang Lun's remaining followers. Officials were ordered to investigate; he was stripped of rank but allowed to keep his post. In 1776 he served as acting minister of the Board of Civil Appointments, then was appointed grain transport governor-general. He died and was granted state funeral honors; his posthumous title was Zhuangke ('Steadfast and Reverent').
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When Asiha first governed Jiangxi, the emperor favored him unusually. When Guangxi governor Wei Zhezhi came to court, the emperor asked who among the provincial governors was the worst. Zhezhi took the blame himself. The emperor said: 'Never mind you for now—' Zhezhi named Asiha instead. At the time many considered that a remarkable act of candor.
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Gong Zhaolin, styled Bohou, was from Huaiyuan in Jiangnan. Starting as a presented scholar appointed Anlu subprefect in Hubei, he rose through successive posts to grain intendant of Shandong. In 1766 he was appointed provincial judge of Hunan. Hou Qilang, a commoner of Guiyang Prefecture, beat his cousin Yue Tian to death and bribed his elder brother Xue Tian to confess on his behalf. Prefect Zhang Hongsui sent up the verdict, but Governor Li Yinpei was suspicious and had Zhaolin conduct a detailed trial; the facts came out. After Yinpei was transferred to Fujian, Governor Chang Jun shielded Hongsui and impeached Zhaolin, citing Qilang's cry of injustice. Zhaolin also memorialized the throne. The emperor sent Vice Minister Qicheng'e with Governor-General Ding Chang to investigate; the case followed Zhaolin's findings; Zhaolin also uncovered Hongsui's gold purchases. After Qicheng'e reported this and arrests were made, it emerged that the gold was not a bribe but had been bought to oblige Yinpei and Hubei treasurer Hesheng'e and to make up a deficit for Wuling magistrate Feng Qizhe. Yinpei, Hesheng'e, Chang Jun, and Hongsui were all punished.
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In 1767 Zhaolin was transferred to provincial judge of Yunnan. In 1768 he became provincial treasurer and was promoted governor of Guangxi. When Yunnan's military camps needed saltpeter, the emperor ordered Zhaolin to arrange supply. He shipped over 77,000 jin of saltpeter stored in Guangxi to Bo'ai, then forwarded 200,000 jin of gunpowder from Guangxi arsenals. The emperor praised the effort. He was transferred to Hunan.
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三十五年，又調貴州。 桐梓縣民為亂，命速赴任，會湖廣總督吳達善捕治。 亂定，古州黨堆寨苗香要等為亂，复偕吳達善督兵捕誅之。 兆麟奏黨堆寨苗老呴以阻香要亂被殺，令即寨立廟以祀良苗，並將死義被旌及香要叛逆伏誅狀，譯苗語榜廟門，俾令警戒； 並請移駐將吏，建下江營土城，駐兵鎮撫。 是夏，兆麟奏請於鄰省湖南、四川、廣西買米運貴州糶濟。 至秋，豐收，復奏請停運。 上斥其冒昧，勗令詳慎。 兆麟復奏請簡發知府三員赴貴州，上以「此端一開，各省效尤，妨吏部選法； 且開幸進之門」，下旨嚴飭。 會貴州布政使觀音保入覲，訐兆麟粗率喜自誇，口給便捷，人號為「鐵嘴」。 上曰：「觀音保人已粗率，今尚以兆麟為粗率，則粗率更甚可知。」 諭兆麟猛省痛改。 尋詔詣京師，降補甘肅按察使。 三十六年，坐貴州任內失察廠員虧欠鉛斤，奪官。 四十一年，東巡，兆麟迎駕，詔與三品銜。 四十六年，卒。
In 1770 he was transferred again, to Guizhou. When commoners in Tongzi County rebelled, he was ordered to take post quickly and join Huguang governor-general Wu Dashan in suppressing them. After that rebellion was crushed, the Miao leader Xiangyao and others at Dangdui Stockade in Guzhou rose again; Zhaolin again joined Wu Dashan in leading troops to capture and execute them. Zhaolin reported that Elder Xu of Dangdui Stockade had been killed for opposing Xiangyao's revolt. He had a temple built at the stockade to honor loyal Miao and posted notices in Miao at its gate describing those honored for dying in loyalty and Xiangyao's rebellion and execution, as a warning; He also asked to redeploy officers, build an earthen fort at Xiajiang Camp, and garrison troops to keep order. That summer Zhaolin asked permission to buy grain in Hunan, Sichuan, and Guangxi and ship it to Guizhou for relief sales. By autumn the harvest was good and he asked to halt the shipments. The emperor rebuked his impulsiveness and urged greater care. Zhaolin then asked that three prefects be specially sent to Guizhou. The emperor warned: 'Open that door and every province will follow, undermining the Board's appointment system; and it opens a path for favor-seekers.' A stern edict followed.' When Guizhou treasurer Guanyinbao came to court, he accused Zhaolin of being brash and boastful, quick-tongued and glib; people called him 'Iron Mouth.' The emperor said: 'Guanyinbao is already a rough man; if even he finds Zhaolin crude, Zhaolin must be rougher still.' Zhaolin was told to take the warning to heart and mend his ways. He was soon summoned to the capital and demoted to provincial judge of Gansu. In 1771 he was stripped of rank for failing during his Guizhou tenure to detect lead shortages among factory clerks. During the emperor's 1776 eastern tour, Zhaolin met the procession and was granted third-rank insignia. He died in 1781.
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Yang Jingsu, styled Puyuan, was from Ganquan in Jiangnan and grandson of Grand Coordinator Jie. His father Zhu was garrison commander at Gubeikou. Jingsu was sickly, had no taste for classical scholarship, and was too poor to support himself. He bought his way into office as a county assistant magistrate and was assigned to Zhili river works. In 1738 he became assistant magistrate of Li County and rose through successive posts to prefect of Baoding. In 1753 he was appointed intendant of Ting-Zhang-Long circuit in Fujian. When Zhangpu commoner Cai Rongzu plotted rebellion, Jingsu led garrison troops to capture and execute him. He was transferred to Taiwan circuit. He fixed the boundaries of Han settlers' reclaimed land and the frontier between raw and acculturated aboriginal peoples. He removed lawless Han vagrants who worked as interpreters and replaced them with acculturated aborigines. He also banned timber gathering in the hills under the pretext of supplying warship repairs, a burden long imposed on the aborigines. In 1768 he was appointed provincial judge of Henan. In 1770 he became treasurer of Gansu and was transferred to Zhili. He was ordered to accompany Minister Qiu Yixiu on inspections of dikes and embankments. He was stripped of rank for failing to detect Xiong County magistrate Hu Xiying's embezzlement of disaster relief, but allowed to remain in office; restoration would come only after eight years without fault.
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In 1774 Wang Lun led a rebellion in Shouzhang; Grand Secretary Suhede took command against him. The emperor ordered Jingsu to supply transport for the army and hold the west bank of the river. The rebels lashed grain boats into a pontoon to cross the river. Jingsu, Brigadier Wan Chaoxing, Deputy Commander Ma'erdang'a, and others held them off and rallied local Muslims to support the army. They burned the bridge by night and kept the rebels from crossing. After the rebellion was crushed he was promoted governor of Shandong. He memorialized asking to compile and inspect baojia registers. In 1775 he asked that adjutants from the capital's Elite and Firearms brigades be sent to Shandong to train local garrisons. During the 1776 eastern tour the emperor inspected Linqing, where bridges had been destroyed and rebels had held ground. Jingsu described the fighting; the emperor praised his service and granted him a yellow jacket. The old canal at Songjiawa in Wenshang had silted up and standing water was flooding farmland. In 1777 he asked to dredge the old canal and cut two branch channels to restore flow to Nanyang and Zhaoyang lakes. The ministries approved.
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He was promoted to governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi, then in 1778 transferred to Fujian and Zhejiang. He memorialized: 'Western Zhejiang had a poor harvest. Governor-General Yang Tingzhang asked to draw 100,000 shi of grain from Taiwan's granaries for relief. Strong north winds would delay shipment. He proposed releasing 100,000 shi from granaries in Fuzhou, Funing, Xinghua, and Quanzhou and letting merchants haul it to Jiaxing and Huzhou for relief sales; Taiwan's granaries would later be restocked to replace the four prefectures' reserves.' The emperor approved and commended the plan. In 1779 he was transferred to Zhili. He recommended Yu Yijian as treasurer, but the emperor rebuked him because Yijian was the younger brother of Grand Secretary Minzhong. He died in the twelfth month and was posthumously named Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the usual mourning honors.
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In 1780 Governor-General Bayansan reported that Jingsu had been lax in integrity and that his troops had taken bribes and released bandits. Jiangnan governor-general Sazai found unpaid river and city-wall works and ordered Jingsu's family to complete them as a penalty. Fuk'anggan also reported that Jingsu had extorted over 60,000 in merchant levies in Guangdong and Guangxi; his son Zhao was ordered to repay within a fixed term. In 1789, citing slack Fujian governance, the emperor held the late Jingsu accountable and exiled his son Zhao to Ili. In 1794 Zhao was released and allowed to return.
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Min Eyuan, styled Shaoyi, was from Gui'an in Zhejiang. He passed the jinshi examination in 1745 and was appointed a secretary in the Board of Punishments. He was promoted to director and appointed Shandong provincial education commissioner. In 1762 he moved from education commissioner to provincial judge of Shandong, then transferred to Anhui. He became treasurer of Hubei and served successively in Guangxi and Jiangning. In 1776 he was transferred to governor of Anhui. In 1779 Yunnan-Guizhou governor-general Li Shiyao was convicted of corruption, a capital offense. The case went to the grand secretaries and Nine Ministers, who recommended immediate execution; The case was then sent to every provincial governor for comment; all endorsed the capital recommendation. Eyuan sensed that the emperor wished to spare Shiyao and alone memorialized: 'Shiyao has served on the frontiers with diligence and ability, and is respected throughout the bureaucracy. He asked that the precedents for rewarding diligence and ability be applied to grant him a measure of clemency.' The emperor agreed, and Shiyao was restored to office.
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In 1780 he was transferred to Jiangsu. In 1781 Gansu treasurer Wang Tanwang was convicted of inventing a disaster to claim relief funds; the case also implicated Eyuan's younger brother, sub-prefect Yuanyuan. The emperor rebuked Eyuan for covering up the affair and showing favoritism—he had known but not reported it. His rank insignia was reduced to third grade and his integrity stipend suspended. In 1783 his original rank insignia and integrity stipend were restored. In 1785 Jiangnan suffered drought. In May Eyuan reported that in the Huai, Xu, and Hai prefectures, if two or three inches of rain fell, farmers might still plant secondary crops. The emperor replied: 'Two or three inches of rain is not enough to soak the fields—how can anyone plant secondary crops? Local rainfall is a matter of the people's welfare. How can Eyuan blur the truth in his reports?' Soon after he asked to divert 100,000 shi of tribute grain, mill it, and use it for relief in the harder-hit Huai, Xu, and Hai districts. The plan was approved.
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In 1790 Gaoyou inspector Chen Yidao discovered that clerks had used forged seals to levy extra taxes; Prefect Wu Yin ignored it; when the report reached Eyuan, he too ignored it and merely forwarded it to the Board of Revenue. The emperor questioned Eyuan, who still shielded Yin and did not tell the truth. The emperor then sent Minister Qinggui and Vice Minister Wang Chang to investigate; Eyuan was condemned for deceit, stripped of rank, and arrested with his associates for trial by the Board of Punishments. Governor Fusong also accused Eyuan of receiving a report from Jurong magistrate Wang Guangbi exposing grain clerks' embezzlement, yet referring it only to Jiangning prefecture for review. The emperor condemned Eyuan for neglecting the people's welfare and bending the law out of favoritism, and ordered severe punishment. The verdict recommended immediate execution; the emperor commuted the sentence to imprisonment pending review. In 1791 he was released and sent home. He died in 1797.
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The historians comment: Law exists to uphold fairness in the realm. When a ruler already knows his ministers are unworthy yet bends the law to suit a passing mood of affection, anger, joy, or resentment, the consequences are grave. Chao, Asiha, and Jingsu were all convicted of corruption on solid evidence, yet were restored to office; Tu Erbing'a concealed a disaster even to the emperor's face, yet those who reported it were punished; Zhaolin was glib, Eyuan read the emperor's mind—only when they proved unfit for frontier rule were they finally removed. The Qianlong Emperor often said: 'I am not so weak and indulgent that I cannot enforce the law.' Enforcing the law is hard enough; mastering one's own passions is harder still.