Heshen was a famous corrupt official during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Apart from his greedy nature, his way of dealing with people throughout his life can also be used as a reference. His four criteria for choosing friends are: first, to be close to people with similar backgrounds to him; second, to be close to the families of important ministers; third, to be close to officials who were punished by the king; and fourth, to be relatively mediocre officials. These four criteria can be said to be consistent with Shen's experience of human relations and sophistication outside the officialdom, and these four standards also made Heshen more and more powerful, and many officials were bribed by Heshen.

1. He Shen experienced ups and downs as a young boy

He Shen's parents both died early when he was young. He has seen all the ups and downs of the world since he was a child. In addition, he did not take the imperial examination before high school. He Shen's life became more difficult. After becoming an official, it was natural to form cliques in order to stabilize his power. He Shen looked for officials with similar backgrounds to him. They had the same three views that they had honed in life. Heshen pays close attention to this type of people. At the same time, Heshen grew up in a poor environment, which also created his greedy and smooth character.

2. Interacting with more than mediocre officials

He Shen’s nature makes it impossible for him to get along with the righteous people in the court. The righteous people have always been unable to agree with his actions. Yes, it was just because of Qianlong's love that they could not impeach Heshen. In order to increase his power, Heshen needed to win over many others, and some mediocre officials became his first choice. Mediocre officials did not have great ambitions. Although they did not have much power in their hands, they would serve as Heshen's eyes and ears help Heshen solve the problem.

As the saying goes, friends come from all over the world. Heshen became the most corrupt official in history not only because of Qianlong's liking for him, but also because of Heshen's own ability and character, which allowed him to deal with problems in the officialdom with ease. Most of his four ways to make friends are ways he uses to win people over. And they were all people who had interests linked to him. Although his method of forming cliques helped him become the richest man in the Qing Dynasty in a short period of time, he only made friends with a bunch of rabble. Naturally, no one really cared about him in the end. Loyal.