My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 150 Yongzheng Instructs Hongli on Handling Practical Politics

After withdrawing his gaze, Hongli sat back down on the soft couch.

The current East Warm Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation was not yet the place where the two empress dowagers held court during the Tongzhi reign, so it was not expanded and was not as luxurious as it is seen in later generations.

Inside the entire warm pavilion, there was only one row of soft couches by the window, with two low tables on the couches.

In addition, in the center of the warm pavilion, there is a soft couch covered with a bright yellow cushion.

This soft couch in the center is where the emperor sits when he occasionally comes here. Hongli, of course, cannot sit here; he can only sit on the soft couch by the window.

Outside the window is an osmanthus tree.

Inside the window, on a low table were pen, ink, and white paper for drafting memorials; on another table were memorials to the emperor.

These memorials were all selected by Emperor Yongzheng and were given to Hongli to review.

Hongli glanced at the number of memorials.

Quite a lot!

He didn't even know if Emperor Yongzheng was asleep, yet he had selected so many memorials for him to review.

Surely they weren't all just official reports on greetings and the weather?

Hongli knew that Qing Dynasty officials, from the lowest-ranking postmaster to the highest-ranking governor-general, would all submit memorials to the emperor to pay their respects and report on the weather.

For example, if Your Majesty has a good appetite lately, it will be a matter to be reported to the emperor.

For Hongli, it would be simple to just pay his respects and report on the weather; what he was most worried about were memorials involving conflicts among multiple ethnic groups.

When he was studying under Emperor Kangxi, he knew how troublesome it was to deal with conflicts between multiple ethnic groups.

Because, in addition to the conflict between the Manchu and the common people, there are not only ethnic conflicts, but also class conflicts and even religious conflicts.

Hongli first picked up a memorial, and upon reading it, he saw that it was a memorial from Peng Zhenyi, the acting governor of Gansu, concerning the division of the new settlement areas for Han, Hui and Mongol people.

Hongli couldn't help but close his eyes.

He didn't expect that Yongzheng would immediately present him with difficulties.

It would be great to let him handle the memorials of greeting, and he could also find out which officials were actually servants of Yongzheng in his pre-imperial residence, and were hidden members of the Fourth Prince's faction.

No matter how difficult it was, he had to read it word by word, analyze it carefully, and then make his own judgment.

The issues concerning the Han, Hui, and Mongol peoples in Northwest China have always been quite thorny, and by the end of the Qing Dynasty, they would have become even more difficult to handle, potentially escalating into military problems.

But no matter how difficult it was to handle, the Qing court had no choice but to deal with it.

Unless the Qing government no longer wanted to control these areas and no longer wanted to limit the growth of the Mongols and other ethnic groups by dividing up fixed pastures.

Hongli did indeed need to be able to handle multi-ethnic issues, since he would have to face them sooner or later.

Hongli sometimes frowned, sometimes relaxed, and sometimes looked up at the window.

Reading memorials to the throne required more mental effort than reading references in later generations.

Because the latter at least has a logical chain, while the former includes both an official's explanation of the objective problem and the official's own subjective views and the subjective views of the officials involved in the problem.

Even though the central government has provided suggestions for handling the matter.

However, Hongli still had to distinguish between the loyal and the treacherous, and analyze whether the official's suggestion was appropriate. Even if the official's suggestion was appropriate, he still had to find fault with it as much as possible.

This way, he would appear less easily fooled than the person reviewing the memorials, thus forcing the official who submitted the memorial to be more cautious and diligent.

Therefore, Hongli did not rush to write his comments, but first read them carefully.

Fortunately, he had already studied with Emperor Kangxi beforehand, and had also served as a school leader for a period of time in his previous life. He could understand issues by reading documents, so he wasn't entirely without experience.

After reading, he took out a blank sheet of paper and recalculated and statistically analyzed the numerical data. He even made a table when necessary. He also outlined the events involved according to their causes, development, and outcomes, and pointed out the contradictions involved and what the main contradiction was.

In this way, Hongli quickly learned which imperial comment to make on a particular memorial.

at first……

Because he had not participated in handling memorials and documents for a long time, Hongli was still a bit rusty, but he gradually became more proficient. By the time Yongzheng came, he had already reviewed one-third of them.

When Yongzheng arrived, he saw Hongli diligently reviewing documents by candlelight by the window. He nodded in satisfaction and gestured for the palace maids and eunuchs to dispense with formalities and remain silent.

Yongzheng quietly walked over, stood behind Hongli, and watched for a long time, completely absorbed in the sight.

Because there is no more pleasing sight than seeing your own child doing something seriously.

Although Yongzheng arrived quietly, the astute Hongli still sensed the difference in the atmosphere inside the room and guessed that Yongzheng might have already arrived.

However, Hongli did not expose him, pretending not to notice, and continued to carefully review the memorials, deliberately frowning even more from time to time.

Yongzheng noticed that every time he frowned, he would raise the corner of his mouth, and he also secretly watched him intently.

Not long after, when Emperor Yongzheng saw Hongli handling a memorial about the migration of the wild barbarians across the Yellow River to the north, he couldn't help but stroke his beard and say, "It is indeed well thought out and quite far-sighted."

"The original memorial was mostly embellished. The Mongols were not willing to guarantee the northward migration of the Qinghai barbarians, so he did not mention it. Your ability to discern this from the original memorial shows your dedication and is quite remarkable."

Yongzheng then picked up Hongli's commentary and read it aloud: "The barbarians have always been greedy and cruel. When they migrate to Hebei, they will inevitably bully the Mongols and cause disputes. I also fear that the barbarians in Henan will follow suit and migrate north. Therefore, we should be cautious to ensure the livelihood of the Mongols."

"This matter shall be supervised by Governor Peng Zhenyi. He shall thoroughly investigate, make comprehensive plans, define the boundaries, find ways to restrain and prevent encroachment, and strictly order that no more crossings of the river shall be allowed, so as to ensure long-term stability. He shall carefully draft the regulations and submit them to the emperor. He shall not only consider the present situation but also prevent future troubles."

After silently reading it, Yongzheng placed the comment in front of Hongli and pointed to Peng Zhenyi's place with his index finger: "But it is still not thorough enough. Here should be added: even if he cannot go in person, he should send a reliable official to supervise."

"Those in power must consider the situation below. What if the governor is too busy?"

As Yongzheng spoke, he smiled and asked Hongli, who had already stood up.

Hongli cupped his hands in greeting: "Father is right!"

Yongzheng picked up the blank sheet of paper from Hongli's deduction process again and saw that Hongli had already integrated the proportions of the various peoples in the Northwest. He couldn't help but nod again: "It's rare that you noticed this!"

"But according to your statistics, the number of Han people who migrated from Sichuan and Shaanxi to Gansu is still not enough!"

After speaking, Yongzheng looked like he was thinking seriously and headed towards the main room where he handled government affairs. Only when he reached the door did he turn back and say to Hongli, "Continue reviewing."

"Whoo!"

Ma Jiayunjin then brought over a cup of tea.

Hongli took a sip of the drink and then continued reviewing the memorials.

After finishing his review, Hongli showed the review to Yongzheng.

Emperor Yongzheng pointed out several errors.

Hongli also wrote down the points he had pointed out and the way Yongzheng thought on a piece of white paper, intending to review them when he had some free time.

After learning about government affairs at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Hongli still went to practice riding and archery.

Being able to stretch his muscles and bones is also a good thing for him.

Both the sixteenth prince, Yunlu, and the twenty-first prince praised his horsemanship and archery skills for improving rapidly.

This made Hongli himself somewhat smug.

Hongli often heard the sixteenth prince mention the hunting trip to the Mulan Hunting Ground in Rehe during the reign of the late emperor.

He also knew that the sixteenth brother had once killed a tiger with a tiger-shaped spear while hunting.

This made him want to wait until autumn to go hunting in Rehe.

However, since we are still in mourning, large-scale hunting activities cannot be held.

Moreover, he knew that even after the mourning period ended, Yongzheng would not engage in large-scale hunting activities. This was because Yongzheng focused more on domestic affairs, his health was indeed not very good, and he was particularly diligent in his duties, so he would not have much time or energy to do other things.

Unlike Emperor Kangxi, who used Rehe as a place for alliances among various Mongol tribes and military exercises under the guise of hunting, Emperor Yongzheng preferred to cultivate land in Rehe and relocate proletarian bannermen there to reclaim wasteland.

In Yongzheng's eyes, it was a real pity that such fertile land in Rehe was not used for developing agriculture, but only for hunting!

Therefore, Hongli could only keep this idea buried in his heart for the time being.

However, that evening, Hongli still met with Fobiao, the military governor of Rehe, and Suben, the general manager of Rehe, in his outer study.

Hongli chose to meet these two officials first from among the many who sent him invitations, for two reasons:

Firstly, as one of the banner lords, he also had his own captains sent there to reclaim wasteland, so he naturally needed to pay attention to the reclamation situation of his captains there.
Secondly, since Fo Biao is Zhao Hui's father, he also wants to learn more about Fo Biao for Zhao Hui's sake.

Fo Biao and Su Ben were overjoyed that Hongli was willing to meet them.

"How many acres of land have been reclaimed in Rehe now?"

Hongli first inquired about the development of Rehe from the Buddha's perspective.

Fo Biao replied, "Fourth Master, more than 120 hectares have been reclaimed and planted with wheat."

Hongli nodded and smiled: "That's good. It seems that Rehe will have a bumper harvest in April or May."

"Fourth Master is right. Taking advantage of the current slack season, I have organized the soldiers to dig two irrigation canals. Even if there is insufficient rainfall this spring, we don't need to worry about irrigation."

The Buddha returned.

"well done!"

Hongli affirmed Fobiao's statement and then asked Suben, the Rehe General in charge of Rehe Mongol affairs: "A large amount of official land in Rehe has been converted into military farms, shrinking the grazing area for Mongols. Are the Mongols now complaining a lot?"

Su Ben chuckled and said, "Yes, there are, but we can all understand the court. Although there are fewer places to graze, we can still make ends meet."

"Today in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, considering the need to address the shortage of firewood and charcoal caused by the increase in the population of various ethnic groups in Rehe, the Khan has agreed to my proposal that the banner leaders of the Mongol banners and the banner leaders of the Manchu and Han banners can contract the mines in Rehe to Han merchants. When that happens, those of you Mongols who are having difficulty making a living can go to the mines to make a living. Just wait for the imperial decree."

Hongli knew that the Mongols were indeed facing difficulties in making a living.

This was mainly because the Qing government implemented the League and Banner system, which restricted the Mongol tribes to grazing in fixed areas, and then continuously seized their grazing land in the name of the government.

This has led to a significant number of Mongolians now selling their children.

However, the Qing court won over the upper-class Mongolian nobles by promoting living Buddhas and through marriage alliances, rendering any resentment from the lower-class Mongols towards the Qing dynasty futile.

However, if the Qing government wanted long-term stability, it could not truly ignore the resentment of the common people at the bottom of society, because it was uncertain when the resentment would reach a critical point and lead to a major upheaval.

Therefore, at this moment, Hongli mentioned to Suben his opinion on the issue of the survival of the Mongols that he had discussed at the Hall of Mental Cultivation that day, and asked Suben to take this good news back first so that the Mongols in Rehe could behave themselves.

"Whoo!"

Su Ben responded with tears in his eyes, and knelt down to kowtow: "On behalf of the people of Rehe Mongol Banner, this servant thanks Fourth Master for his kindness. May Fourth Master have a lifetime of good fortune and happiness! And we will certainly spread Fourth Master's kindness throughout the grasslands!"

(End of this chapter)