My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 131 Emperor Hongli's Imperial Education

Hongli didn't go over to greet him, he just glanced at the other person.

Because Zhao Hui is not yet a high-ranking official, nor is he the emperor.

If he were to suddenly contact the other party now, it would only cause unnecessary trouble.

After sending Fu Pengjin to the military academy, Hongli went to see the fourteenth prince and they took a walk around the academy together.

Seeing the fourteenth prince earnestly gesturing with various sand tables and maps, and listening to his plans for cultivating generals, Hongli had to admit that the fourteenth prince was genuinely interested in cultivating generals.

After touring the military academy, Hongli returned to the palace.

The academic workload assigned to him by Emperor Yongzheng was too heavy!
Therefore, he cannot stay outside for too long.

However, when Hongli returned to the palace, he saw the Eighth Prince, the Third Prince, and the Tenth Prince leaving through the Donghua Gate and heading north towards the Guanglu Temple, talking as they walked.

Without letting them notice him, Hongli hid inside the Donghua Gate.

But he couldn't help but be curious about what the eighth, third, and tenth brothers were talking about.

This inevitably aroused his vigilance.

Because the eighth brother rarely got close to the third brother.

The tenth brother rarely got close to the third brother.

They had conflicts in their early years.

That's because back then, when the eldest prince and the second prince were the main figures vying for the throne, the third prince belonged to the second prince's camp, while the eighth prince belonged to the eldest prince's camp.

The third prince accused the eldest prince of witchcraft, which directly led to the eldest prince being imprisoned.

Because the Eighth Prince's adoptive mother was the mother of the First Prince, the First Prince chose to help the Eighth Prince after losing power. It can be said that the Eighth Prince inherited the power of the First Prince.

But now, the eighth brother is indeed trying to win over the third brother and also the fifth brother.

Especially the third child!

Because of the third brother's expression of dissatisfaction with the thirteenth brother, the eighth brother realized that the third brother was also extremely dissatisfied with the current situation.

Moreover, he had also heard that the failure of the third and fifth princes in trading rice and the resulting losses were related to the obstruction by Yongzheng and the thirteenth prince.

So, the eighth brother seized the opportunity to get in touch with the third brother.

Today, the Eighth Prince even brought the Tenth Prince to meet with the Third Prince, intending to discuss the matter of convening a council of ministers that the Eighth Prince had always wanted to discuss.

For the Eighth Prince, the Emperor Yongzheng's actions of weakening his faction and constantly harming the interests of powerful officials and bureaucrats had reached a point where he had no choice but to retaliate.

Moreover, what he was waiting for was the opportunity for more and more powerful officials and bureaucrats to become dissatisfied with Yongzheng, so that he could instigate more powerful officials and bureaucrats to unite and launch a counterattack against Emperor Yongzheng.

The powerful officials and nobles whom the Eighth Prince mainly instigated were his brothers and nephews, followed by Manchu nobles and ministers. Together they were princes and ministers.

These princes and ministers were either banner chiefs or hereditary leaders, representing the upper echelons of the Eight Banners nobility and also wielding considerable military power.

If we use the Western definition of feudalism, then many of these princes and ministers would be feudal lords in the true sense.

The Eight Banners people and their bondservants, as well as the properties owned by these bannermen and bondservants, were all their private property.

However, the emperor was the largest feudal lord among them, controlling only the Upper Three Banners and their bondservants.

Therefore, at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the emperor's imperial power was limited by the Council of Princes and Ministers, which was composed of princes and ministers. In fact, the decision to establish an emperor was made by the Council of Princes and Ministers.

The fact that Shunzhi was able to become the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty after entering the Central Plains at the age of only six was due to the decision made by the Council of Princes and Ministers, a result of compromise among the powerful princes and ministers at the time.

Now, the Eighth Prince is also planning to limit or even suppress Yongzheng's power through the Council of Princes and Ministers.

However, as mentioned earlier, in order to strengthen imperial power and weaken the power of the banner lords, Kangxi forcibly incorporated his sons into the Lower Five Banners as lords, and through various means, made his sons the most powerful banner lords within a few decades.

Kangxi, through the father-son relationship, strengthened his control over the various banners, thus achieving his goal of consolidating imperial power.

Therefore, the first thing Lao Ba needs to do now is to win over his brothers and nephews.

After all, his brothers and nephews are the current banner leaders.

As the elder brother of Emperor Yongzheng, the third son held considerable power in the banner system. Especially after the eldest and second sons were imprisoned and removed from their banner units, the third son could be considered the most powerful member of the royal family in the banner system!
Therefore, it was impossible for the eighth brother not to try to win over the third brother at this time.

The third prince was indeed dissatisfied with the status quo, and even somewhat dissatisfied with Yongzheng, especially after he was beaten by the fourteenth prince. So he still openly accepted the eighth prince's attempts to win him over.

The reason it's described as "on the surface" is because the third brother is very good at concealing his true thoughts and is extremely tactful. Until the very last moment, no one knows what his true attitude is, and he himself may not even know.

Historically, he had cooperated with both the second and fourteenth princes, kept a low profile, and had a group of scholars advocate for him. He also actively expressed his opinions on military and political affairs.

However, he also did many foolish things, such as shaving his head during the mourning period for his mother, which offended the emperor who was then in favor of him. It was a losing proposition.

Therefore, no one can say for sure what the third brother is thinking. All we can say for now is that he has openly accepted the eighth brother's offer of a hand.

"Third brother, in my opinion, this council of ministers is absolutely necessary."

"If we don't open up soon, our Great Qing Dynasty is doomed!"

When mentioning the convening of the Council of Princes and Ministers, the Eighth Prince first emphasized the importance of holding such a meeting.

The third prince nodded in agreement: "It is an ancestral rule that major decisions should be made by the Council of Princes and Ministers, and even the Emperor cannot prevent the convening of the Council of Princes and Ministers!"

"However, once the Council of Princes and Ministers is convened, it means that they will be challenging the current emperor and overturning some of his decisions."

"I wonder, what exactly does Eighth Brother intend to get the Emperor to accept through the Council of Princes and Ministers?"

The third brother stopped and turned to look at the eighth brother.

The eighth brother smiled and said, "I didn't want to persuade my brothers and nephews to join me in asking the fourth brother to convene a council of ministers. It's just that the fourth brother has been acting too arbitrarily lately! And his actions on some matters do not take the big picture into consideration and even violate ancestral teachings!"

"Therefore, I had no choice but to do it."

"In my opinion, there are three important matters that should be discussed at the moment:"

"The first matter concerns the memorial service for the Living Buddha Jebtsundamba Khutuktu. A member of the imperial family must be sent to conduct the service, and only the tenth brother is truly suitable! After all, he is of the highest status, but the fourth brother has consistently refused."

"Secondly, there is the matter of Hongshi's lack of a title. Hongshi is currently the eldest prince, yet he has never been granted a title, which is truly contrary to etiquette and will cause criticism from the people. This is not conducive to the emperor's virtue, nor is it beneficial to the stability of the Qing Dynasty."

"But Fourth Brother acted too willfully in this matter. It's unacceptable to refuse to grant a title to the eldest son based on personal likes and dislikes!"

"The third issue is the 'equalization of land tax and poll tax,' which harms the interests of the gentry. The foundation of our Great Qing Dynasty rests half on the Eight Banners and half on the Han gentry."

"If Fourth Brother continues to implement such a policy that offends the gentry, he will undoubtedly lose the support of the Han gentry. In that case, how can we Manchus rule over the Han people who outnumber us?"

"Third Brother, do you think these three major policies should be decided as soon as possible?"

After speaking, the eighth brother looked at the third brother. The third brother, upon hearing this, did not immediately respond, but instead looked at the tenth brother, who was also present: "What does the tenth brother think about this?"

"I think the myna bird is right!"

Without thinking, Lao Shi replied with this sentence.

Lao Ba simply smiled slightly.

The third brother smiled faintly, and then asked the eighth brother:

"But even if I agree to convene a meeting of the Council of Princes and Ministers, is Eighth Brother confident that he can persuade the Emperor to compromise?"

“I am confident, that’s why I dared to ask you this, Third Brother.”

"I dare not hide it from you, Third Brother. Now, Fifth Brother, as well as my cousins ​​Manduhu, Sunu, and Baotai, all have a lot of grievances about Fourth Brother's killing of Orondai and Arsona last time. They have also told me that as long as Third Brother has no objection, they will jointly advocate for a meeting of ministers to demand that Fourth Brother make changes!"

“Those who support Fourth Brother are none other than the Thirteenth and Sixteenth Princes, plus the Fourteenth Prince and Hongli, while Seventh Brother and Twelfth Brother have always been indifferent to affairs, Ninth Brother is under house arrest, and Hongxi cannot enter the capital without imperial decree.”

"Furthermore, Fifth Brother also said that as long as Third Brother agrees, he will also support him."

"Therefore, as long as Third Brother also supports me in asking Fourth Brother to send Tenth Brother to welcome the Living Buddha at the Council of Princes and Ministers, grant Hongshi a title and banner, abolish the land tax system, and deal with Li Weijun."

"Then on our side, we will have the support of the seven banner leaders: Third Brother, Little Brother, Tenth Brother, Fifth Brother, Cousin Manduhu, Sunu, and Cousin Baotai. The four brothers, Thirteenth, Sixteenth, Fourteenth, and Hongli will only have five banner leaders."

After the eighth brother said that, the third brother nodded: "Alright then!"

Then, the third brother cupped his hands to the eighth brother and said, "Please ask the eighth brother to issue a petition to gather all the princes and ministers of the Council of State to jointly submit a memorial to the Emperor and convene a meeting of the princes and ministers of the Council of State."

"I am willing to dedicate myself to the future of the Qing Dynasty! I would gladly give my life for it!"

Lao Ba replied.

Now that his third brother has chosen to support him, he feels greatly encouraged and is full of energy when he returns.

For him, the fact that the third prince was on his side meant that at the Council of Princes and Ministers, it would be seven banner lords against five banner lords.

The advantage is definitely in my hands!

Therefore, Lao Ba is very confident now.

He could almost see Yongzheng at the council of princes and ministers, helplessly agreeing to let the tenth prince leave the capital, even granting Hongshi a noble title and abolishing the land tax reform.

"How furious Fourth Brother will be then!"

The eighth prince, unable to hide his excitement, looked up at the tall mansion wall and smiled.

Even the Eighth Prince was curious about how Hongli would react when he saw Yongzheng being suppressed by these princes and ministers.

He thought that Hongli would definitely be very angry, shocked, and even resentful that they, the ministers of the Council of State, would choose to support Hongshi instead of him.

He was somewhat looking forward to it, hoping to see Hongli's astonished expression at the Council of Princes and Ministers.

This gave him a sense of control over the court!
He suddenly realized that sometimes one doesn't have to be an emperor to control the world. As long as one is good at managing yin and yang and maneuvering strategically, even if one is not the emperor, one can become an uncrowned emperor, or even the true ruler of the world!

Therefore, the Eighth Prince wanted to use this to comfort Hongli when he discovered his failure in the future, and to encourage Hongli to learn from him and follow his path.

He believed that, emotionally, he admired Hongli more!
He felt that Hongli was the only one who could truly inherit his wisdom, and that it was a mistake for Yongzheng to have the thirteenth prince teach Hongli instead of him!

……

……

"Thirteenth Uncle, do you think that Eighth Uncle, Third Uncle, and Tenth Uncle might be plotting something together?"

After returning to the palace, Hongli told the thirteenth prince, who was going to give him a lesson, what he had seen, and even asked the thirteenth prince about it.

The thirteenth prince replied nonchalantly, "Their conspiracy is at most to gather people together for a council of princes and ministers to force your father to make some concessions. There's nothing to be afraid of."

“Hongli, remember this: if you don’t have the courage to fight to the death, don’t expect others to accommodate you. In this arena of power, it’s not about who has more popular support, but about who dares to fight and how many people can fight for you.”

"Your eighth uncle probably still wants to pull in others, just like he did when he was fighting for the throne, to force your father to back down, just like he wanted the late emperor to make him the heir. But I'm afraid he still doesn't have the ability to overturn the table."

The thirteenth brother laughed as he spoke, seemingly recalling scenes from the past.

Hongli nodded and then asked, "Then, Uncle Thirteen, on what matter do you think they will make Father Khan concede?"

"It's nothing more than the current new policies, and possibly the recent matter concerning the tenth prince."

The thirteenth brother replied with a disdainful smile.

"Tenth Uncle?"

Hongli looked at the thirteenth prince.

"That's right!"

"The idea of ​​the Eighth Brother is to send the Tenth Prince to Mongolia to pay homage to the Living Buddha and appease the various Mongolian tribes. He also wants his confidants to go with him. This is undoubtedly an attempt to incite the Mongolian Eight Banners to support the Tenth Prince, who has a noble status, and thus support him as well."

“But your father did not agree, because your father wanted the twelfth and seventeenth sons to go.”

After the thirteenth prince spoke, Hongli thought of the historical event where the Living Buddha, revered by the Mongols, passed away in the first year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign after returning from a trip to Beijing to pay homage to the Kangxi Emperor.

So……

In the second year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, the tenth prince was ordered by the emperor to present an official seal and edict to the Living Buddha.

However, the tenth prince feigned illness and could not travel. Soon after, when he reached the vicinity of Zhangjiakou, he claimed that he had been summoned back by imperial decree and thus remained in Zhangjiakou.

Ultimately, the tenth prince was imprisoned by the eighth prince for this crime, and Yongzheng also reprimanded the eighth prince, saying that he had left him with a bad reputation for mistreating his brothers.

This made Hongli realize...

Historically, in this matter, the Tenth Prince probably hadn't realized the Eighth Prince's intentions at first. However, when he arrived near Zhangjiakou and saw the behavior of his entourage, he may have become aware of it.

The tenth prince, who did not want to rely on the support of the Mongol Eight Banners to oppose the central government, did not go to Mongolia again.

Even later, when the tenth prince was in Zhangjiakou, he wrote a memorial to Emperor Yongzheng under the pretense of illness, beginning it with "Emperor Yongzheng the New Emperor," which led to Yongzheng rebuking him for disrespect. It is estimated that this was intentional.

Even if the tenth prince, who is nearly forty, is careless, he wouldn't make a mistake in this matter. Moreover, even if he were careless and made such a basic mistake, he shouldn't have made it at this time, but rather when he submitted the memorial earlier.

Thinking about it this way, Hongli felt that Yun might have been advised by someone, or he might have realized something on his own and successfully saved himself, avoiding a worse fate in the future.

Hongli thought that since the Tenth Prince had been influenced by others in history and refused to cooperate with the Eighth Prince, he might be able to prevent the Tenth Prince from being used by the Eighth Prince and becoming a pawn in the Eighth Prince's fight against the new policies.

So Hongli said to his thirteenth brother, "Thirteenth Uncle, do you think I should try to persuade my tenth uncle to refuse to go to the memorial service for the Living Buddha?"

(End of this chapter)