The incumbent Viceroy of Liangjiang had no permanent official holding the post; instead, Fusong, the Governor of Jiangsu, was acting as interim.
Acting as interim meant he was a temporary proxy.
This acting Viceroy was the very man who, upon learning a year prior that an investigation team was heading to Zhejiang to audit the treasury, had worked through the night to organize his men to "fill the granaries to the brim." Everyone in the officialdom of Jiangsu and Zhejiang knew of this, but the Qianlong Emperor, far away in the Capital, remained oblivious. Had he known, he would never have been so pleased as to appoint a corrupt official like Fusong to act as Viceroy of Liangjiang. The old man was simply too aged—deaf and blind to the reality on the ground—allowing officials in various provinces to conspire and deceive him for years on end.
Chapter 62