My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 146 Li Wei was very moved

"For the sake of the Imperial Concubine's mother and Eighth Brother, accept it."

After admiring the generous gift for a while, Hongli went inside.

"Whoo!"

In Hongli's view, Nian Xiyao, the governor of Guangdong, was more astute than Nian Gengyao, knowing that at this time, it was more reliable to align with him, the fourth prince, than with the third prince.

However, this only made it clear that Nian Gengyao did not take him, the fourth prince, seriously.

Because, to this day, Nian Gengyao still hasn't sent a gift to his fourth son!

Hongli didn't think much of it. He simply took the hand warmer from Haitang, sat in the room, watched the first snow falling thicker and thicker in the courtyard, and listened to the bells ringing softly in the room.

Afterwards, Hongli got up and walked into the courtyard because he felt a little warm and the room was a bit stuffy.

Because he spends most of his time in class, he has very little time outdoors except for riding and archery.

Nara Minxuan, who was just about to go out to see the snow scene, hurriedly slipped back into the house when she saw Hongli come out. After returning to the house, she glanced at the bottled osmanthus syrup that she had left on the shelf.

The Empress asked her to give this osmanthus-scented dew to Hongli, but she hasn't found an opportunity to do so yet.

Recently, Consort Nian has repeatedly asked Emperor Yongzheng to send Hongli to Changchun Palace to accompany Fu Hui, making the Empress increasingly anxious to urge Nara Minxuan to act as a link between her and Hongli.

This put even more pressure on Nara Minxuan.

Today, the story of Hongli kneeling outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation to save a loyal minister quickly spread to everyone, and the Empress naturally put pressure on her again.

Nara Minxuan herself also developed respect for this Fourth Prince who dared to offend the emperor for the sake of loyalty.

Having grown up surrounded by stories of loyal ministers and virtuous men, she admired this behavior and believed it to be the conduct of a true gentleman.

Hongli, holding a hand warmer, was walking along the eaves, stopping and starting, watching the snow.

At the same time, he also pondered how many tenant farmers would choose to flee their land after the implementation of the land tax reform in Zhili region for a year, and whether this would lead to a large increase in the number of refugees in the capital, resulting in the tragic situation of countless people freezing and starving to death.

His thoughts drifted back to the horrific scene he witnessed outside the capital city when he and Hongxi were providing famine relief.

Snowy days are a perfect winter scene for princes and nobles to brew tea and enjoy plum blossoms, but for ordinary people, they are a matter of life and death.

His soul came from an ordinary family in later generations, so he was ultimately unable to settle for enjoying wealth and leisure.

As Hongli was frowning, he unexpectedly caught a glimpse of Nara Minxuan peeking out from behind the curtain.

Just as Hongli was about to speak, he saw Nara Minxuan standing in the snow, holding a box of osmanthus blossoms, smiling shyly: "This is what my aunt asked me to give to my cousin."

"You're so kind."

Hongli smiled and replied, then beckoned to Nara Minxuan to come over.

Nara Minxuan walked over and handed the osmanthus-scented dew in her hand to the smiling Begonia.

After receiving it, Haitang went back to her room.

Hongli, seeing Nara Minxuan standing beside him, took the initiative to ask her some questions: "I heard that my uncle has been transferred to Zhili as the Circuit Intendant?"

Nara Minxuan nodded with a smile: "Yes, Father was appointed as the Daotai before the New Year."

Hongli nodded and said nothing more.

Nara Minxuan realized that Hongli's sudden question was probably because he was also concerned about the people's conditions after the implementation of the land tax reform in Zhili, and she felt even more respect for this Fourth Prince.

But Hongli didn't ask any more questions, and she didn't say much either. Besides, her father wouldn't tell her anything about political affairs.

“When you have the chance to see your uncle by your mother’s side, tell him that if there is anything he needs my help with, he should just ask and not be too polite.”

Hongli gave a word of advice regarding this matter.

"Whoo!"

After bowing in response, Nara Minxuan said, "This servant thanks Fourth Master in advance."

After the first snow, there were continuous clear skies and bright sunshine. Before we knew it, it was December of the second year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign.

As Emperor Qianlong had predicted, the number of refugees in the capital increased significantly at the end of the year.

Fortunately, Emperor Yongzheng had made preparations in advance. He issued an edict to the Grand Canal Supervisor Qi Sule and the Deputy Grand Canal Supervisor Ji Zengyun to recruit laborers to repair and reinforce the river embankments in various places without delay. He also ordered the Ministry of Revenue to allocate 100 million copper coins.

This alleviated the famine problem that arose after a surge in the number of displaced people in a short period of time.

The decision to have the Ministry of Revenue prepare copper coins for the work-for-relief program was made by Emperor Yongzheng after Hongli reminded him that reforms that would increase the central government's financial resources could lead to further cash shortages among the people.

The government first implemented a work-for-relief program, allowing the court to gradually absorb these displaced people, such as by encouraging them to reclaim wasteland and recruiting them into the Green Standard Army.

Furthermore, because the population increased during prosperous times and taxes were never increased, the more land was added after the land tax was converted into poll tax, the lower the average poll tax would be, and the more enthusiastic the people were about reclaiming wasteland.

Some resourceful and daring people have already begun to voluntarily head north to reclaim wasteland.

Furthermore, Emperor Yongzheng issued an edict ordering the Bannermen without property in the capital to also go to Gu'an to cultivate land. He also set a quota for the Bannermen without property, allocating 200 hectares of wasteland and requiring them to complete the cultivation within the year. Otherwise, the commanders and deputy commanders in charge of this matter would be punished.

This vigorous land reclamation, even to the point of ordering Manchu bannermen to cultivate wasteland, was difficult for both the Manchu bannermen and Han Chinese landlords, who only wanted to maintain the serf economy, to accept.

Because tenants and farm servants are always more dependent on landlords than tenants and farm farmers, which allows landlords to exploit them more effectively.

However, the serf economy, as a form of production, was indeed not in line with Yongzheng's need to thoroughly promote the tenancy model in order to boost productivity and enhance national strength.

Therefore, such contradictions are bound to occur.

At the banquet hosted by Prince Yi to welcome Nian Gengyao, who was about to return to Xi'an, Nian Gengyao took the initiative to ask Hongli about this matter when he met him: "I wonder what Fourth Prince thinks about the Manchu people's land reclamation and development?" "Father said that it is to let the Manchu people be self-reliant, but in fact it is to solve the current predicament that the Manchu people cannot make a living by relying solely on their crops if they have no taxes. It can be said to be a wise idea to relieve the predicament of the Manchu government."

"I am completely convinced."

"I wonder what the General's opinion is on this?"

Hongli sneered inwardly; he hadn't expected Nian Gengyao to ask him such a foolish question.

Because it was impossible for him to contradict Yongzheng at this time and say that Yongzheng was wrong.

Nian Gengyao was not surprised by Hongli's answer, nor was he disappointed. He simply smiled and said, "This servant has no profound insight. It's just that His Majesty asked this servant to meet with the Grand Ministers and the central government officials to receive the imperial edict and issue the decree. That's how this servant learned about the matter. So I asked Fourth Master so that I could understand His Majesty's good intentions."

Hongli nodded; he knew about this.

Emperor Yongzheng did indeed issue an edict ordering Nian Gengyao, along with the Grand Ministers in charge of affairs and close ministers of the central government, to receive the imperial edict in person and issue the decree.

This is tantamount to making Nian Gengyao one of the ruling figures.

The reason given by Emperor Yongzheng was that Nian Gengyao had "an excellent memory, able to read aloud what I said; his writing was fluent and could convey my thoughts; moreover, he was upright and did not show favoritism."

This allowed Nian Gengyao to learn about many domestic affairs.

Hongli understood even more clearly that Yongzheng was intentionally making Nian Gengyao a central minister, and also intended to make him one of the future Grand Councilors after the establishment of the Grand Council.

However, all of this depends on Nian Gengyao's performance.

Hongli did not talk much with Nian Gengyao, although many people came to chat with him. Even the newly appointed Imperial Recorder Qian Mingshi personally came over to present Nian Gengyao with a poem, saying that it was to congratulate him on his achievements in pacifying the Northwest.

Qian Mingshi came from a family of gentry in Jiangnan and was a renowned scholar of the Qingliu school. However, due to his relationship with Nian Gengyao, who was born in the same year as him, he was recommended by Nian Gengyao to be the new official in charge of recording daily life.

Therefore, Qian Mingshi took the initiative to present a poem to Nian Gengyao as a way of expressing his gratitude for Nian Gengyao's introduction.

However, what Hongli found rather amusing was that Qian Mingshi, this renowned scholar from Jiangnan, still lacked political acumen and actually thought that being introduced by Nian Gengyao was a good thing.

of course!

Many princes and ministers remained clear-headed. Li Wei, the Provincial Governor of Zhili, and Fa Hai, the Education Commissioner of Jiangnan, who were about to leave the capital after their audience with the emperor, did not rush to curry favor with Nian Gengyao. Instead, when they saw Hongli chatting with Nian Gengyao for a few words and taking a walk in the garden of Prince Yi's mansion, they followed him and said, "Fourth Master!"

Hongli stopped and turned to look at Li Wei beside Fahai:

"Who is this?"

"Your subject, Li Wei, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Zhili, pays his respects to the Fourth Prince."

Li Wei immediately made a thousand.

Hongli was stunned on the spot, and after a while, he smiled and said:
"I've heard a little bit about it."

Fahai then asked, "Fourth Master, have you heard of Li Fangbo?"

Hongli said, "The late emperor mentioned it to me at Changchun Garden back then."

It's difficult for Hongli to say that Yongzheng mentioned it, so he can only say that Kangxi mentioned it. In any case, Kangxi is no longer alive, so there's no way to verify it.

After all, he couldn't very well say that he had heard of Li Wei in later generations and had even watched several TV series about Li Wei.

Upon hearing this, Li Wei was filled with excitement and said with great joy, "I never expected that someone like me, who came from a humble background through donation, would be known even to the late Emperor!"

"Your actions in the Ministry of Revenue, where you did not protect a prince, are not something known only to the late Emperor."

Hongli replied with a smile.

He had inquired about Li Wei in this lifetime and knew that Li Wei had served as a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue during the later years of Emperor Kangxi's reign, and had even clashed with Prince Cheng while in office.

That's why Hongli brought this up at this time.

Li Wei became even more emotional upon hearing this, and tears welled up in his eyes.

It's important to know that the real Li Wei wasn't born a beggar, but rather a wealthy man.

However, he was so eager to become an official that he spent a lot of money to become one through donation. After that, he didn't think about getting his money back, but instead genuinely worked for the country and its people. He seemed to be single-mindedly focused on advancement and making a name for himself.

Fahai was also pleased that Li Wei was known to the late emperor and many nobles.

Because in reality, Li Wei treated scholars with great respect. Although Fahai was a member of the Tong family and a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), he also had a good impression of Li Wei and became close friends with him.

"Fourth Master, I am about to go to Jiangnan, so I have come to ask for your advice. I wonder if you could give me some guidance on how I should conduct myself as an official when I go to Jiangnan?"

At this moment, Fahai also took the initiative to bow to Hongli and speak.

Hongli couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

He knew that Fahai was indicating that he wanted to side with him; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent a prince with no authority to govern him to teach him how to be an official.

It can be said that if Hongli wanted to use a few literati from Jiangnan and asked Fahai to recommend them in the name of the Governor of Jiangnan, Fahai would agree.

However, there were almost no people among the gentry in Jiangnan who took the initiative to seek out Hongli. It was at this time that Li Wei, who came from a wealthy family in Jiangnan, took the initiative to find him.

Strictly speaking, Li Wei was merely a wealthy household in Jiangnan, not a Jiangnan gentry.

Therefore, Hongli didn't have any Jiangnan literati he wanted to employ, so he couldn't very well ask Fahai to do this for him. He decided to help Fahai himself directly, and said with a smile:
"I don't have much to advise you. If you really want to please the Khan, after you go to Jiangnan, you can't just pay attention to the opinions of scholars, but also pay more attention to the people's sentiments. You can collect some folk songs under the pretext of understanding the literary style and social conditions of Jiangnan. These may reflect a lot of real people's sentiments."

The reason why Hongli said this was because he remembered that during this period in history, a folk song suddenly appeared in the south with the words "The emperor emerges from the mouth of the three rivers, and the battleground is Jiaxing and Huzhou" and spread widely, making it hard not to suspect that someone in the south was making a fuss.

(End of this chapter)