Grand Secretary Heshen possessed a keen intuition. He immediately sensed that this Ninth-Rank academic official who had taken the initiative to pay the Crime Redemption Silver held tremendous potential—the power to galvanize local officials across the country to follow suit. After all, the power of a role model is infinite. If a mere Ninth-Rank minor official could contribute a thousand taels, how could those Fourth or Fifth-Rank officials justify contributing nothing? They certainly couldn’t afford to look worse than a Ninth-Rank official.
As the "organizer" of the Crime Redemption Silver, Heshen was desperate to secure funds to cover the massive imperial deficit. Without hesitation, he presented the list to the Old Ancestor. "Master," he said, his voice brimming with excitement, "even a minor Ninth-Rank official is willing to contribute a thousand taels of Crime Redemption Silver out of his own pocket. I believe his sincerity and loyalty put even the Governors and Governors-General to shame."
"What did you say? A Ninth-Rank official?" The Old Ancestor had not caught it the first time; Heshen’s list was so long it had made him drowsy. Now fully awake and intrigued by this peculiar occurrence, he delightedly picked up his cracked magnifying glass to examine the list. By golly, it really was a Ninth-Rank academic official.
Chapter 71