bayedsolid Chapter 251 Imperial Tomb
Chapter 251 Imperial Tomb
"Your Majesty!" Uncle Fu rushed in and bowed.
"Uncle Fu! What do you think of my dragon robe?" Shen Lian waved his hand, turned around and asked.
"Good, good! Majestic and imposing, much better looking than the dragon robes of the Qing Dynasty!" Uncle Fu praised repeatedly.
"Hmm! I think it's pretty good too!" Shen Lian was somewhat proud, after all, he designed the dragon robe himself.
"Uncle Fu, what brings you to the palace today? Have you finished searching the inner city?"
"Not yet, Your Majesty! We've only raided a few princely residences; the rest are still underway."
"So? How much silver have you embezzled so far?" Shen Lian asked, nodding.
"We have over 86 million taels of silver in cash, and more than 300 cartloads of antiques and treasures. Their value is currently incalculable!" Uncle Fu said happily.
"Good, good! You've worked hard! Once the entire confiscation is complete, I will reward you handsomely." Upon hearing that there were more than 80 million taels of silver, Shen Lian nodded in satisfaction.
This is just from confiscating part of the Prince's mansion, and he already has so much revenue. It seems like hundreds of millions of taels of silver is no problem. Add to that the jewelry and antiques, and he's truly struck it rich now.
"Your Majesty, there's something I almost forgot! Dezi and the others don't want to come to the capital; they insist on going to guard the tomb for the Master." Uncle Fu had almost forgotten about what he came for.
“Hey! Uncle Dezi and the others have a deep relationship with the old man, so let them have their way! We still have more than a thousand acres of land back in our hometown! Give it all to them, and if it's not enough, you can buy some more.”
"Let's pay for the construction of houses for them, and then let them guard the old man's tomb!"
Shen Lian shook his head helplessly! He had originally planned to move all the people from Shenjiazhuang to the capital and settle them in the imperial estate.
Anyway, my own estate needs someone to manage it. In the future, most of the food my family eats will come from the estate, so I can feel more at ease with them around.
Now that they've chosen to guard their father's tomb, let them be! We'll just have to take good care of their descendants then.
"By the way, do you know how the Manchu Qing dynasty's tomb guards were dealt with?" The mention of tomb guards reminded Shen Lian of the Eastern and Western Tombs of the Qing dynasty. A considerable number of Manchu Qing troops were stationed there.
"Your Majesty, I don't know about that!" Uncle Fu was busy taking over the properties of the Imperial Household Department and searching the inner city, so he had no idea about these things.
"Xiao De Zhang, go and invite Mr. Wang and Uncle Dao Wu over!" Shen Lian called out.
After Xiao Dezhang left, Shen Lian discussed his father's funeral and the search of the inner city with Uncle Fu.
"Uncle Fu, I heard that when Heshen's house was raided, they didn't take everything. There's still a treasure trove that they haven't found. When you raid Prince Gong's Mansion this time, search carefully; you might find something great."
"Legend has it that there are hidden walls inside his treasure vault, with passageways leading directly underground. Have someone carefully search for it."
In 2008, the Prince Gong Mansion underwent a large-scale renovation. It is said that a hidden wall was discovered in the treasure pavilion, leading to the discovery of Heshen's underground treasure vault.
Rumors circulated online that hundreds of millions of taels of gold and silver, along with countless treasures, had been discovered. Shen Lian didn't believe it was hundreds of millions of taels; even the Qing Dynasty wouldn't have that much gold and silver for him to plunder. Besides, Emperor Jiaqing had indeed confiscated hundreds of millions of taels; it was impossible for him to have hidden so much more.
But this wasn't just a rumor; there must be something inside. Now that he had the chance, he wanted to know exactly what was in the cellar.
"Yes! I'll arrange for people to search thoroughly right away and find this treasure!" Since Shen Lian had explained in such detail, Uncle Fu certainly wouldn't let it go.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" At this moment, Wang Kaiyun and Shen Daowu were brought in.
"Please don't stand on ceremony, both of you! Have a seat!" Shen Lian waved his hand.
The two men quickly thanked him and bowed to Uncle Fu before sitting down. Although they were both important officials in the court, they were well aware of Uncle Fu's status in the Shen family and dared not be negligent in the slightest.
"Well, the reason I called you here is to discuss the matter of the Manchu imperial tombs!" Shen Lian picked up his teacup and took a sip.
Wang Kaiyun's heart skipped a beat. Was his emperor so desperate for money that he was trying to plunder the Qing imperial tombs?
“Your Majesty, every legitimate dynasty that overthrew the previous one actively protected the imperial tombs of the previous dynasty in order to win back the hearts of the people!” Wang Kaiyun hurriedly stood up and said.
"Mr. Wang, don't worry, I know about these things!" Shen Lian waved his hand.
"Given the harm that barbaric Manchu race has done to our Chinese civilization, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to dig them all up and grind their bones to dust. But we are civilized people, so we won't bother with these wild boar hides!"
"However, preferential treatment is impossible!"
"Now that we have overthrown the Qing Dynasty, these troops guarding the tombs must be disbanded immediately. To prevent the tomb guards from stealing from the tombs, Uncle Fu, you should immediately send people to collect all the precious artifacts from the Qing imperial tombs."
Shen Lian knew that these imperial tombs still contained many treasures; the sacrificial items in the emperors' and empresses' ancestral halls were all precious. He didn't want these tomb keepers to steal them all.
It should be noted that the imperial tombs of the Manchu Qing dynasty were almost completely looted in later generations. Apart from some looting by warlords, the rest was almost entirely done by the tomb keepers.
"The Qing Dynasty imperial tombs don't need to take up so much space anymore! For those who are willing to stay and continue guarding the tombs, the court will allocate land for them to cultivate the land outside the imperial tombs."
“Those buildings are also a kind of heritage, so they should be well maintained! The imperial court should set up a department to organize the tomb keepers to patrol and maintain the tombs on a daily basis. In the future, the imperial tombs should be open to the public and people should be allowed to visit them.”
“The ancient trees over there are towering and overgrown with weeds, which is not conducive to future patrols and theft prevention! Let’s cut down all those big trees around here! It will be perfect for the tomb keepers to cultivate the land.”
"This capital city has been ruined by these Manchus, so we need to carry out large-scale construction projects, which will definitely require a lot of timber. This timber will come in handy!"
Wang Kaiyun opened his mouth but didn't speak. As long as they didn't dig up graves, what was wrong with cutting some wood? It would save the imperial court a lot of money.
"Alright! It's decided then. Uncle Daowu, send a regiment of soldiers to assist Uncle Fu and the others in seizing it immediately."
"Mr. Wang, you should come up with a plan first. Send some people to help them settle these tomb keepers!" Seeing that none of them objected, Shen Lian said directly.
"As for the imperial tombs of the Zhu family, they should be treated the same way. They should be open to the public, allowing their descendants to pay their respects!"
"As you command!" The three men rose, bowed, and then left together.
Having dealt with a troublesome matter and gained access to a considerable amount of treasure, Shen Lian felt quite pleased. He abandoned his official duties and rose to head towards the inner palace!
The Kunning Palace was bustling with activity as three women excitedly tried on clothes. No woman dislikes new clothes, not even the Empress or the Imperial Concubine.