My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 132 Rebellion at the Council of Ministers
"Uncle Ten has never been interested in vying for power. However, Uncle Eight is good at winning people's hearts, so he has always been close to Uncle Eight."

"Therefore, if my nephew can persuade my tenth uncle, and if my eighth uncle really wants to unite many banner chiefs to convene a meeting of ministers and princes, then on this issue, we must first prevent them from forcing the Khan to agree to let my tenth uncle go to the border."

"And my nephew can also help my tenth uncle, so that he won't be taken advantage of. This will also benefit my eighth uncle in the future."

"Regardless of the circumstances, Uncle Ba's pressure on Father Khan to agree to send Uncle Shi to the border will only exacerbate the conflict between Father Khan and Uncle Ba."

"And at that time, Khan Ama will no longer be forced to jump into the pit that Uncle Ba dug for him."

After Hongli said this, the thirteenth prince shook his head with a smile: "It's good that you have this intention, but don't waste your energy. With your tenth uncle's brain, even if your eighth uncle instigated him to directly lead the Mongol Eight Banners to rebel, he wouldn't realize that your eighth uncle was using him."

When Hongli thought about how the Tenth Prince had acted in this matter in history, he did not look down on the Tenth Prince as much as the Thirteenth Prince did, and replied: "That's not necessarily true. People change. Uncle Ten has experienced so many things, so he can't be completely unchanged."

“My nephew still wants to give it a try, since he can’t lose anything anyway.”

Hongli looked at the thirteenth prince earnestly and replied.

Thirteenth Brother nodded: "You can try. If you can really get Tenth Brother to refuse, Fourth Brother won't have to make things difficult for him and add another charge of mistreating his brother. But that's probably going to be hard!"

"Tenth Brother always listens to Eighth Brother. He's the kind of person who would be willing to be sold out by Eighth Brother."

The thirteenth prince emphasized again how much the tenth prince listened to the eighth prince.

This has clearly become his fixed perception of Lao Shi.

Hongli could not change the thirteenth prince's preconceived notion, and only said with a smile: "I don't think so. Maybe the tenth uncle will not listen to the eighth uncle this time. As long as he knows that what he did was also for the good of the eighth uncle."

"I don't know where you got your confidence, but if you can't convince your tenth uncle, don't get angry! Getting angry for your tenth uncle is not a good thing."

The thirteenth prince smiled and reached out to tap Hongli's forehead.

Hongli smiled as well. He understood that what the thirteenth prince meant was that it would be a loss for him to get angry with a fool.

Next.

Hongli then explained his plans to Yongzheng again.

After hearing this, Yongzheng smiled and said, "It's fine if you're willing to give it a try, but your tenth uncle is the kind of person who always does whatever your eighth uncle says. Even your maternal grandfather couldn't stop him from serving your eighth uncle back then. So, you should be prepared to be scolded by him instead of being able to persuade him."

"Of course, it would be great if you could persuade me."

"In that case, if your eighth uncle really wants to convene a meeting of your third uncle and the other ministers to discuss state affairs, as long as your tenth uncle doesn't take the initiative to ask for the worship of the Living Buddha, I can continue to refuse."

"But if your tenth uncle takes the initiative to request it, I really can't refuse: firstly, there's no reason; secondly, the Mongols will complain that I deliberately refused to send a member of the royal family of high status; and thirdly, your tenth uncle is also one of the councilors, and he is the councilor who holds the position of commander of the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner!"

"I currently have no reason to strip your tenth uncle of his position as commander of the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner."

Emperor Yongzheng shook his head and smiled again at this point.

He laughed at himself for actually having a fantasy about Hongli persuading the Tenth Prince, a fantasy that in the future, he wouldn't have to rely on the Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fobiao in Rehe to forcibly dissuade the Tenth Prince from leaving the pass, thus preventing him from going to Mongolia and even taking away the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Plain Yellow Banner from the Tenth Prince.

But Yongzheng could guess that if he used this method, given the tenth prince's stubborn temper, he would definitely cause a huge scene, and then he would have no choice but to imprison the tenth prince, which would undoubtedly exacerbate the internal conflicts among the imperial clansmen and nobles.

After all, the tenth prince came from an extremely noble family, second only to the former crown prince, Yinreng.

However, on the other hand, if the tenth prince hadn't been so difficult to persuade, Yongzheng wouldn't have imagined that Hongli could actually convince him.

He even considered trying to persuade Lao Shi himself, as he wasn't the type to be stingy with offering benefits to win over his brothers.

Even the sixteenth prince born to a Han Chinese woman could get a free title of "Iron-Capped King" just because he was close to him. As long as the tenth prince could be won over, he wouldn't be stingy.

But he knew that the tenth prince didn't like him, so it was better for Hongli to persuade him than for him to do so.

Otherwise, he wouldn't still be at this point, not having gone to persuade Lao Shi.

Hongli knew that persuading the tenth prince was very important, as it would allow Yongzheng to eliminate the threat posed by the eighth prince at a lower cost, thus avoiding damage to the very foundation of his rule while consolidating power. That's why he decided to give it a try.

of course!

More importantly, the tenth prince's performance in this matter was indeed unexpected by everyone.

Even the eighth brother, who spent every day with the tenth brother, didn't expect it.

Therefore, in history, the Eighth Prince was so angry that he advocated for the confinement of the Tenth Prince and the removal of his military command during the meeting of the Prime Ministers and Ministers. He acted very harshly, but was reprimanded by Emperor Yongzheng for intentionally giving him the unsightly reputation of being harsh on his brothers.

The next day.

After asking Yongzheng for half a day's leave, Hongli went to the Tenth Prince's residence with new bait.

The tenth prince has recently become obsessed with fishing, and has competed with almost all the princes and ministers in the capital.

Because of the musk bait that Hongli gave him, his fishing results improved significantly, changing the situation where he could only watch his myna bird win big.

"Fifteenth brother, your fishing skills are far from good enough. You're not even half as good as your tenth brother right now. You need to practice more!"

On this day, the tenth prince took the initiative to invite the fifteenth prince, Yunwu, to his residence to compete in fishing. As expected, the tenth prince won again by a large margin. He was quite happy and patted the fifteenth prince on the shoulder, saying something.

The fifteenth prince, Yunwu, smiled faintly. As Yunlu's elder brother from the same mother, he knew that it was more appropriate for him to rely on Yunlu's connections to get closer to Yongzheng, rather than having much contact with the tenth prince.

If it weren't for Lao Shi having heard from somewhere that he was quite good at fishing and insisting on having a fishing competition with him, he really wouldn't have come.

Therefore, Yunwu could not argue with the tenth prince now, and had to find a reason to make up for the loss in this competition, and arranged to compete again next time. He simply admitted defeat and left the Prince Dun's mansion.

Even after the fifteenth brother left, the tenth brother's interest in fishing remained undiminished, and he started fishing again.

"Tenth Brother, you can't just fish all day. You should do more for our Great Qing Dynasty. That way, you'll be worthy of your noble birth."

When Lao Ba came to see Lao Shi at some point, he couldn't help but try to persuade Lao Shi to go fishing again.

Although the tenth brother was somewhat unhappy, he felt that the eighth brother was advising him for the sake of the Qing Dynasty, so he explained, "Eighth brother, you are right, but I don't know what I can do. Fishing is at least better than drinking and gambling, so don't worry about me."

“You’re my brother, how could I not worry about you?”

Lao Ba said with a smile.

The tenth brother was somewhat moved after hearing this, and smiled slightly.

Then, the Eighth Prince put a hand on the Tenth Prince's shoulder: "You must go to pay homage to the Living Buddha. When the Council of Princes and Ministers meets, you must take the initiative to request to go. This is not difficult, but it is very important to our Great Qing. No one is more suitable than you."

Without a second thought, the tenth brother agreed: "Don't worry, Eighth Brother! I'll definitely volunteer to go to Mongolia myself!"

"That's good. I'll head back now. You don't need to see me off."

Lao Ba then turned and left.

The tenth prince, meanwhile, stared intently at the surface of the small lake in his own palace. Having waited quite a while without seeing the buoy sink, he couldn't help but reach out and pat his own round head.
"Damn it, why haven't they taken the bait yet? Have these fish gotten too clever? Can't the bait Hongli gave them fool them anymore?"

"Master!"

At this moment, Wen Can, the eunuch beside the tenth prince, came over.

Upon seeing this, Lao Shi cursed, "You little bastard, can't you see I'm fishing?!"

"The Fourth Prince requests an audience, saying he wants to bring you bait."

Wen Shen replied.

"Hongli has sent new bait?" The tenth prince immediately stood up and hurriedly ordered, "Quickly, invite him over!"

"Nephew greets his tenth uncle."

Not long after, Hongli arrived with the eunuch Li Yu and others, and bowed deeply to the tenth prince.

"No need, no need."

The tenth prince hurried over to Hongli's side, asking repeatedly, "Where's the new bait you brought?"

Hongli had Li Yu bring it over, and said with a smile, "I've improved it with some spices, and even the most cunning deep-sea fish can't resist the temptation of this."

"Really? Then I'll have to give it a try."

As soon as Lao Shi finished speaking, he told him to quickly use new bait to create a feeding area.

Not long after, Lao Shi pulled up a big fish, which made him so happy that his round face got even fatter.

Then, Lao Shi pulled up several more big fish in succession.

The tenth prince was overjoyed and said to Hongli, "Hongli, your new bait is really good. I feel that with this new bait, no prince or minister in the capital will dare to compare with me."

Hongli just smiled and said that as long as his tenth uncle was happy, that was all that mattered. He added that it was because his tenth uncle liked fishing that he had taken leave specifically to come here after getting new bait.

Therefore, the tenth prince invited Hongli to stay for dinner and asked him, "Tell me, what brings your tenth uncle here?"

Hongli was slightly taken aback. He realized that this tenth prince wasn't so stupid after all. He still understood the most basic common sense and knew the principle that one shouldn't visit a temple without a reason.

So Hongli went straight to the point and asked his tenth brother, "Tenth Uncle, they all say that you are going to go beyond the Great Wall to pay homage to the Living Buddha, contact the Eight Banners of Mongolia and various tribes outside the Great Wall, prepare for a rebellion, and force Father Khan to make Third Brother the Crown Prince. Is that true?"

Hongli chose to directly address what Yongzheng was worried about.

The tenth prince was stunned and lost most of his courage. Even someone as carefree as him knew, after decades of participating in the struggle for the throne, that such a thing was no joke.

"Who did you listen to?"

The tenth brother asked.

Hongli smiled and said, "Many people say that. After all, the Living Buddha is revered by the various Mongol tribes. And you, Tenth Uncle, are of noble status. When you go to pay homage to the Living Buddha, you can also try to win the support of the new Living Buddha. Wouldn't that make such a great thing possible?"

"I had no such idea! It was just that my pheasant told me to go, saying it was for the sake of the Qing Dynasty."

The tenth brother immediately denied it.

Hongli asked, "So, Uncle Ba has this idea?"

"That's impossible, absolutely impossible! Myna isn't that kind of person!"

Old Ten quickly waved his hand.

Hongli then said, "Tenth Uncle, regardless of whether Eighth Uncle thinks that way or not, you shouldn't go! This way, you can avoid Eighth Uncle being misunderstood. If you really go, it will not only harm you, but also Eighth Uncle! And it will disrupt the Qing Dynasty!"

The tenth brother began to think about it seriously.

After thinking for a while, Lao Shi nodded and said, "You're right. For the sake of the Qing Dynasty and for the sake of Ba Ge, I shouldn't have gone."

“That’s right. Although it is appropriate for members of the imperial family to go and pay homage to the Living Buddha for the sake of the Qing Dynasty, and to use the Living Buddha to control the Mongol tribes, it is not suitable for you to go!”

“If we really want the Mongol tribes to think that our royal family values ​​the Living Buddha, we can send two members of the royal family. That would be equivalent to sending you alone.”

Hongli then persuaded the tenth prince.

The eleventh brother slapped his knee and said, "That's right!"

"Then when the time comes, if Father asks if you, Uncle Ten, are going, it's best to refuse. Otherwise, it won't be good for Uncle Eight, Uncle Ten, or the Qing Dynasty."

Hongli said.

Old Shi nodded.

Not long after Hongli made arrangements with the tenth prince, the eighth prince, Yinzhi, along with the third prince, Yinzhi, and others, jointly submitted a memorial requesting an immediate meeting of the council of princes and ministers.

Yongzheng looked at the Eighth Prince and others and asked, "Do you really want to hold a meeting of princes and ministers?"

"Fourth Brother, we are acting in accordance with ancestral customs, please grant us permission."

Lao Ba bowed in response.

With a stern face, Yongzheng thought that he had only been on the throne for less than three years and had not yet completely seized control of the banners. In order to avoid chaos within the Eight Banners while implementing the new policies, he had no choice but to nod: "Alright, I agree to your terms. Let's begin!"

Thus, on the first day of the third month of the second year of Yongzheng's reign.

Emperor Yongzheng convened a meeting of princes and ministers inside the Qianqing Gate.

Hongli, as one of the banner lords, also attended the meeting.

At the meeting, the eighth prince first challenged Yongzheng, saying, "Fourth brother, I have discussed with several princes and ministers and we believe that the matter of offering sacrifices to the Living Buddha should be handled by the tenth brother!"

Emperor Yongzheng then asked, "Which princes and ministers have advocated for this?"

At this moment, Manduhu, Sunu, and Baotai stepped forward and said, "We hereby propose this."

Yongzheng was not surprised that the three men stepped forward, but he was surprised that the tenth prince did not.

Yongzheng asked his tenth brother, "Tenth brother, what about yourself?"

The tenth prince replied, "I refuse!"

The eighth brother was greatly surprised and looked at the tenth brother: "Tenth brother, didn't you say you were going?"

The tenth brother feigned pain and reached behind him:

"My brother, my stomach hurt last night and I went to the toilet several times. I still haven't finished today. I feel terrible and I don't think I can go."

"Your Majesty, Fourth Brother, I need to relieve myself again. Please grant me permission!"

It seems that because he rejected Lao Ba for the first time, Lao Shi didn't want to face Lao Ba anymore, so he found an excuse to leave.

Upon seeing this, Yongzheng deliberately frowned: "Since you are not feeling well, why didn't you report it beforehand? Why did you have to behave so improperly in front of the palace at this time? Do you think the Council of Princes and Ministers is a child's play? With your negligence and rudeness, how can you manage the affairs of the banner? I have decided to dismiss you from your post as Commander of the Plain Yellow Banner and give it to my fifteenth brother!"

"Whatever, just let me relieve myself!"

Old Ten, touching his buttocks and frowning, replied.

Upon seeing this, Yongzheng immediately waved his hand.

So, the tenth prince walked out with a distressed expression, and as he exited through the Qianqing Gate, he deliberately winked at Hongli, who was standing at the end of the flag lord's position.

Meanwhile, Yongzheng couldn't help but subtly raise the corners of his mouth and glance at Hongli, giving him a silent nod.

At this moment, Hongli did not notice that Yongzheng was looking at him.

He was looking at Lao Ba when he saw that Lao Ba's face was as black as ink.

(End of this chapter)