My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 134: Emperor Yongzheng deals with the imperial clan, and Hongli receives a generous reward!

Sitting at the end of the table, just like the other banner leaders such as Yunyou and Yuntao, Hongli, who was simply watching the show as a member of the ruling party, couldn't help but chuckle at this sight.

He knew that the third brother wouldn't let the eighth brother do as he pleased, and would easily choose to betray the eighth brother for some other reason.

As long as the price offered by Emperor Yongzheng is high enough!

For the third brother, selling the eighth brother is nothing.

After all, the third brother is the kind of person who is meticulous about small things but very flexible about big things.

However, Hongli had no idea what price Yongzheng had offered his third son.
In his view, it is very likely that it is Lao Ba's current position, or it may be combined with some other plans, such as letting Lao Ba take a bigger share of Lao Ba's command positions after Lao Ba falls from power.

Although Emperor Kangxi distributed "family property" to his sons during his lifetime, namely, Zuo Ling and Bao Yi Zuo Ling.

However, this does not mean that the new emperor, Yongzheng, could not carry out "secondary distribution".

Because the third brother rebelled, the fifth brother followed suit, and then continued to emphasize the proper relationships between ruler and subject, father and son. It can be said that he was very flexible in applying the rules of etiquette and did not just blindly follow the book.

But Lao Ba's face was already ashen and cold as ice.

The fact that Lao Shi suddenly changed his mind and stabbed him in the back was enough to enrage him.

The third brother did the same thing, which made the eighth brother extremely disappointed in his brothers' moral depravity!
Lao Ba didn't know what to say about this.

He only regretted that his ninth brother was not there.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be facing all these troubling matters alone in the imperial court.

Simultaneously.

Lao Ba was also very depressed.

What frustrated him was that he had been advocating for the overall interests of these princes and ministers, and had taken the lead in demanding that Yongzheng convene a council of princes and ministers.

result……

His third brother betrayed him, his fifth brother knelt down readily, and his tenth brother, whom he didn't know how Hongli had persuaded, preferred to embarrass himself at the Council of Princes and Ministers rather than fight alongside him again.

What angered the eighth prince even more was that the seventh prince, the twelfth prince, and Prince Ping were still pretending to be stupid, as if this matter had nothing to do with them. In particular, his twelfth brother was actually dozing off at this moment!
This is a council of ministers!

As the twelfth prince, the commander of the Bordered Yellow Banner, he was completely indifferent to his right to participate in government affairs and did not consider himself a minister of the Council of State at all.

Old Eight closed his eyes and sighed.

He had to admit that the reason his fourth brother was able to repeatedly and successfully seize the power of the Eight Banners nobles was that many of them were actively giving up power and were indifferent to politics!
In his memory, the twelfth brother was a prime example, having been slacking off ever since his fourth brother took over.

Because the twelfth prince, who held the power of the Plain White Banner and the Plain Yellow Banner at the time, did not fight for the throne for himself, but rather surrendered and cooperated, choosing to quickly accept the fact that Yongzheng was the emperor.

In the end, he only received the title of Prince of the Second Rank because of a change of heart on Yongzheng's part.

The eighth brother doesn't understand the twelfth brother, but in fact, the twelfth brother doesn't understand the eighth brother either.

In his view, fighting over these things was pointless. After all, a person lives for a hundred years and then dies. It's better to live a leisurely life and enjoy every day. As long as he didn't want to be emperor, it didn't matter who was emperor.

The twelfth prince even harbored resentment towards the eighth prince, blaming him for stirring up trouble by insisting on holding a council of ministers that hadn't been held in years, forcing him to get up early and suffer while listening to his brothers argue.

Wouldn't it be better to let Kangxi make all major military and political decisions directly in the Southern Study, just like during the Kangxi era?

The key issue is that the internal conflicts among his brothers have escalated, to the point that he's worried about how to deal with them in the future and whether he'll still be able to happily go to his brothers' houses for meals.

Therefore, the twelfth prince appreciated the tenth prince's feigned illness to refuse earlier, and because he guessed that this might be thanks to Hongli, he also silently gave Hongli a thumbs up in his heart.

"Third Brother, Fifth Brother, why are you suddenly saying this? Didn't you support Eighth Brother?"

Manduhu, Baotai, and Sunu, the three staunch supporters of the Eighth Prince, were also quite shocked at this moment. The strong-willed Baotai even couldn't help but question the Third and Fifth Princes.

The third brother was somewhat displeased by Baotai's way of speaking to him:
"Baotai, my affairs are none of your business!"

Baotai was speechless on the spot and could only turn around and directly advise Yongzheng: "Your Majesty, Fourth Brother, although Third Brother and Fifth Brother suddenly changed their minds, it does not mean that Hongshi should not be granted a title! If you still want the Eight Banners princes and ministers, as well as the Han and Mongol ministers, to support you, you should listen to Eighth Brother and grant Hongshi a title, because this is the consensus of the world!"

"How can something advocated by only a few of you kings and ministers be considered a public opinion?"

"Besides, I am the one who represents all the people, and only I have the right to speak on public opinion!"

Yongzheng answered coldly.

Baotai glanced at the Eighth Prince, who remained silent, and had no choice but to continue asking Yongzheng himself: "Your Majesty, Fourth Brother, do you really want to force the Eight Banners nobles to fight you to the death?!"

Yongzheng sneered: "So you're saying that if I don't listen to you, they'll rebel?"

"At least, many loyal ministers would rather die for their ancestors' country than let it perish in the hands of a new ruler!"

Bao Tai replied in a deep voice.

Upon seeing this from behind, Hongli couldn't help but sigh slightly.

"Aisin-Gioro Baotai!"

Yongzheng suddenly shouted.

"Don't think that just because the late Emperor was lenient with you, I will be too. And stop trying to scare me with these words! What kind of scare tactics haven't I heard? Do you think I'll be scared away by your words?"

"I'm giving you a chance. You can leave now and rally your people to purge the court of corrupt officials!"

Yongzheng pointed at Baotai, his face full of anger.

When the Eighth Prince saw Baotai standing up to Yongzheng so firmly, he was quite impressed. But at the same time, he felt even more distressed because he still had too few people supporting him.

For a moment, the eighth brother couldn't help but look at the seventh and twelfth brothers: "Seventh brother, twelfth brother, are you not as good as your cousin Baotai?"

"Reporting for duty at Northwest Pond!"

At that moment, the voice of Marseille, the Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard, came from outside.

Yongzheng immediately looked over.

Lao Ba didn't say anything more.

The seventh brother then shut his mouth, which was about to speak and explain.

The twelfth prince was still dozing off. "Your Majesty, a great victory has been achieved in the Northwest!"

“Nian Gengyao reported that Yue Zhongqi’s troops had reached Qinghai and captured three prisoners, including Albutan Wenbu. The successful army reached the rebel stronghold. Lobsang Danjin fled, but his mother, Altai Katun, was captured. The rebellion in Qinghai has been quelled.”

When Marseille delivered his report and sent the urgent message to Emperor Yongzheng, the assembled princes and ministers were greatly excited.

Even the twelfth son, who had been dozing off, opened his eyes.

At this moment, the seventh brother couldn't help but say to him, "It's finally a draw!"

"Yes, we can finally live in peace."

The twelfth brother replied with a smile.

After reading the report, Emperor Yongzheng beamed with joy: "The rebellion in Qinghai in the Northwest has finally been quelled, and a portion of the army can now be withdrawn."

talking.

Yongzheng looked at the seventh and twelfth princes: "Seventh brother, twelfth brother, answer the question that the eighth prince just asked you and tell him your opinion."

“Your Majesty, I naturally share the same view. If you say he shouldn’t be granted a title, then he certainly shouldn’t be granted a title.”

The seventh brother smiled and replied.

The twelfth prince nodded in agreement: "Yes, we have heard about Hongshi's character. As Fourth Brother said, he is usually a bit rash. It is indeed not good to confer a title too early."

“Yes, Hongshi still needs more experience. He is not as insightful as Hongxi and Hongli, who were praised by the late emperor. It is indeed not good to grant him a title too early.”

“That’s right, this is a good thing for Hongshi, it’s the good intention of the Khan.”

……

Other centrist ministers echoed this sentiment.

no way.

The army led by Nian Gengyao has won a great victory.

These soldiers were mainly from the Han Army's Green Standard Army.

These Han Chinese Green Standard Army soldiers naturally didn't recognize the princes and nobles of the Eight Banners, nor did they recognize the gentry; they only recognized money.

The emperor himself was the one who could mobilize the Qing Dynasty's financial resources the most.

Therefore, the pacification of Qinghai means that the emperor now has a fresh army and is no longer afraid of internal strife among the Eight Banners nobles. He can quickly unite with the Green Standard Army to eliminate dissidents.

This means the emperor has gained an absolute advantage.

Naturally, the centrists, who only wanted to be ministers of the ruling party, could no longer remain silent and had to take a stand.

After all, when the emperor has absolute power, silence can be seen as a sign of not supporting him.

Emperor Yongzheng was quite satisfied to see that even the centrists, such as the seventh and twelfth princes, dared not remain neutral any longer.

Hongli couldn't help but sigh that Nian Gengyao's report came at just the right time, giving Yongzheng more confidence to suppress the princes and ministers who were discussing state affairs.

"Manduhu, Baotai, Sunu, do you still insist on granting Hongshi a title?"

At this point, Yongzheng asked about Manduhu, Baotai, and Sunu, who had remained silent until now.

Manduhu then spoke up: "Your subject is foolish and lacks a deep understanding of etiquette and law. Whether Hongshi should be granted a title is up to the sovereign and father, not to your subjects!"

Manduhu then knelt down: "Your Majesty, I beg you to punish me!"

Yongzheng nodded with satisfaction.

Botai and Sunu remained silent.

Yongzheng was also watching the two of them the whole time.

"Your Majesty, Fourth Brother, I would like to reiterate that if you think I am wrong, I am willing to accept any punishment."

Bao Tai, however, still refused to compromise.

Sunu echoed, "So it is!"

"By imperial decree, Bao Tai is hereby stripped of his title and imprisoned for failing to observe mourning rites during the mourning period. His title shall be transferred to his nephew Guang Ning!"

"By imperial decree, Sunupeng has been found guilty of treachery, sowing discord among the clans, spreading falsehoods and violating the law, and inciting unrest. He is hereby stripped of his title and exiled to the Right Guard of Shanxi. His subordinate officers are hereby recalled and given to Hongli. Only the officer in charge of Yifu remains. If you do not remain quiet and self-disciplined after you arrive there, and continue to scheme and plot, we will send messengers to the capital to bring you to justice according to the law!"

At this moment, Emperor Yongzheng issued a new decree.

Both of them complied with the imperial decree.

Hongli secretly admired this, praising that Yongzheng would still crack down on dissidents. He stripped Baotai of his personal title, but at the same time retained the title of Prince Yu and the Zuo Ling (military command) for his nephew.

This would undoubtedly make the collateral branches of other banner lords eager for their patriarch to commit a crime, and they might even take the initiative to expose him, since the emperor would then bestow titles upon the collateral branches.

This is a conspiracy!

No noble in the Eight Banners could withstand such an open conspiracy!
He had to admit that Yongzheng was truly gifted in internal power struggles, always coming up with brilliant ideas, including letting his trusted brother inherit the title of Prince Zhuang, and later adopting his own son to disqualify him from becoming the heir apparent.

Sometimes, emperors seize power without even needing a knife.

Yongzheng treated Sunu in the same way.

But he was even more ruthless than Baotai, simply removing all the Zuo-ling (military commanders) of the Sunu clan! He thus gained a great advantage, and his persuasion of the Eleventh Prince wasn't in vain.

Yongzheng was even harsher on Sunu, simply because Sunu was a more distant relative and angered him more, so he directly removed Sunu from his command position, but did not punish his brothers and nephews.

Yongzheng did this intentionally to make his brothers and nephews understand that if they wanted to regain their position as banner leaders, they would have to show even greater sincerity to the emperor.

For example, Hongli himself has now become a greater banner lord by obtaining the Zuo Ling of Sunu because he did something for Yongzheng!
After dealing with Baotai and Sunu, Yongzheng asked the Eighth Prince, "Eighth Prince, do you still want to insist on your own ideas?"

The eighth prince then raised his head and gave a bitter laugh: "Your Majesty, Fourth Brother, you've won!"

(End of this chapter)