I Became Guangzhou's Richest Man After Heshen Fell from Power

My name is Zhou Yan, the most inconspicuous young servant in Heshen's household accounts office.

On the third day after I transmigrated, I learned two things: first, Heshen would fall from power in ten days; second, beneath the large rosewood desk in the southeast corner of the accounts office lay a secret ledger that even Heshen himself wouldn't dare make public.

While everyone else was busy pledging their loyalty to Heshen, I was memorizing every name, sum, and destination listed in the secret ledger.

On the tenth day, soldiers sealed off the estate. When I climbed over the back wall, I had three things tucked against me: three gold leaves, a forged travel permit, and the location of a stash of silver known only to me.

I headed south, traveling over two thousand li through Tianjin, Yangzhou, and Foshan, walking a knife's edge all the way to Guangzhou's Thirteen Hongs.

When I arrived, I discovered it was ten times more corrupt than Heshen's household.

When merchants tried to swindle me out of my goods, I used futures hedging to make them turn on one another. When the Guangdong Maritime Customs superintendent tried to hold up my ships, I wrote down the year, route, and charges under which his entire family would be exiled ten years later, without missing a single detail. He let me through on the spot.

The tea, porcelain, and silk routes opened up one by one. The East India Company, the Thirteen Hongs Guild, the Salt Administration, and the Grand Council: I took them on layer by layer.

While Jiaqing was still squabbling with his ministers over Heshen's estate, I had already bought my first residence on the Pearl River.

I paid for it with money Heshen had hidden away years ago.