My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 153: Emperor Yongzheng's Attitude Changes Dramatically After He Rebukes Nian Gengyao!

Hongli left Prince Yi's residence with the precious sword given to him by Prince Yi.

The sword was heavy, and the tassels on the hilt swayed in the air.

He could sense that the thirteenth prince was truly prepared to give everything for Yongzheng in order to repay the kindness and favor bestowed upon him.

Therefore, the thirteenth prince began to explain to him what would happen after his death.

It gives one the feeling that the thirteenth prince is willing to risk his life for Emperor Yongzheng.

Hongli felt that he had not been wrong; both the eighth and thirteenth princes were wise princes.

However, he can only acknowledge now that the thirteenth prince is a wise king.

At this moment, Hongli drew his sword.

The three-foot-long sword gleamed with a sharp light.

suddenly!

The water droplets that lingered on it made one feel even colder.

Indeed, as soon as spring arrives, the rains in the capital increase, drizzling and washing over the red tiles, blue bricks, green willows, and green grass.

Hongli refused the umbrella offered by the guard, and instead mounted his horse with his sword and returned to the palace.

Upon returning to the palace and reaching Jingyun Gate, Hongli dismounted and at that moment saw Qian Mingshi, a Hanlin scholar, and Ge Jikong, the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, who were exiting Jingyun Gate.

"Greetings to Fourth Master!"

Hongli knew that these two were officials recommended by Nian Gengyao, so he simply nodded and said, "That's fine!"

Then, Hongli entered Jingyun Gate with a cold smile.

Now, Nian Gengyao's end is near, and those who depend on him will naturally not have any better days.

After meeting Yongzheng, Hongli reported back to him and also gave Yongzheng the anonymous denunciation: "Father, they really did target Uncle Thirteen. Nian Gengyao really gave them the guts."

Yongzheng immediately took the anonymous letter, glanced at it, put on a stern face, and said through gritted teeth, "That Nian Gengyao, he has truly forgotten who he is!"

Then, Yongzheng waved for Hongli to leave.

The following day, February 2nd of the third year of the Yongzheng reign, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau reported that an auspicious celestial phenomenon had occurred in the capital: the sun and moon were in conjunction, and the five planets were aligned, a rare and auspicious sign.

Therefore, the Prime Minister, Minister Wang, and others requested to ascend the hall to offer their congratulations.

Emperor Yongzheng then issued an edict: there was no need to hold a ceremony to receive congratulations in the palace. Instead, he ordered officials to be sent to offer sacrifices at the Jingling Mausoleum to announce the auspicious omen. At the same time, he only allowed officials to submit congratulatory memorials.

So, for the next month, Hongli could hear Yongzheng asking every day in the East Warm Pavilion if Nian Gengyao's congratulatory letter had arrived.

"My lord, Nian Gengyao's congratulatory letter has arrived."

this day.

Hongli finally heard that the eunuchs from the Inner Palace Affairs Office had delivered Nian Gengyao's congratulatory message to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

But not long after, Hongli heard Yongzheng slam the memorial to the ground with a loud thud:

"He wrote 'morning diligence and evening vigilance' as 'evening vigilance and morning diligence.' Nian Gengyao was not a careless person, yet he made such a mistake. It was clearly because he was arrogant about his achievements and showed disrespect!"

Hongli couldn't help but steal a glance.

He discovered that Yongzheng was furious and was writing furiously, clearly reprimanding Nian Gengyao, as if this mistake was unacceptable to him.

A month later, in April of the third year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign.

Emperor Yongzheng received reports from Li Wei, the governor of Jiangsu, and Fahai, the governor of Zhejiang, saying that a folk song had appeared in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which said, "The emperor emerges from the confluence of the three rivers, and Jiaxing and Huzhou become the battlefield."

Hongli chuckled inwardly, thinking that the rumor had indeed come true. However, thanks to his reminder, Fahai had also reported the matter to the emperor along with Li Wei, thus making an appearance before Yongzheng.

"What a magnificent emperor who emerged from the confluence of the three rivers, with Jiaxing and Huzhou as his battlefield."

"What do you think about this?"

Emperor Yongzheng summoned several prime ministers to his presence and also invited Qian Mingshi, the official in charge of recording daily life at the Southern Study, to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Prince Lian, the eighth son, spoke first: "This shows that his rebellious intentions are clear. Your subject requests the imperial decree to execute Nian Gengyao immediately!"

"Brother Ba is right, Fourth Brother. Nian Gengyao should be taken into custody immediately and executed as soon as possible. If this continues, he might really rebel!"

Prince Yi, the thirteenth prince, then joined in the conversation.

Longkodo chimed in, "This servant seconds it; Nian Gengyao should be executed!"

"This servant also agrees. We should strip him of his military power as soon as possible and escort him back to the capital."

Ma Qi echoed this sentiment.

These ministers in charge of the prime ministerial affairs seemed genuinely frightened by these two rumors from Jiangnan, and were truly afraid that Nian Gengyao would directly collude with the gentry of Jiangnan to rebel!

Therefore, everyone advocated for Nian Gengyao to be immediately taken into custody, or even killed.

Qian Mingshi, who was in charge of recording the daily activities, was trembling with fear as he listened. His pen trembled uncontrollably, and his face turned green.

He thought that he and Nian Gengyao were bold enough in targeting Prince Yi, but he did not expect that someone in the south was even bolder and wanted to create rumors to force Nian Gengyao to rebel!

But what Qian Mingshi didn't understand was why Yongzheng still allowed him to continue serving as the official in charge of recording the emperor's daily activities, letting him hear these things firsthand in front of the emperor. What exactly did this mean?

This made him start to think.

"Hongli!"

At this moment, Yongzheng called out towards the East Warm Pavilion.

Hongli had no choice but to immediately come from the East Warm Pavilion to the main room: "Your subject is here."

"What do you think should be done with Nian Gengyao?"

Yongzheng asked.

Hongli cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I believe we cannot conclude that Nian Gengyao will rebel based on a baseless rumor. He is already a member of the Upper Three Banners of Manchuria, and the favors bestowed upon him by Father are considerable. He wouldn't be so easily frightened by a few folk songs from Jiangnan that he would immediately raise an army in rebellion, and would doubt that Father will continue to trust him." "Furthermore, considering Eighth Brother and Consort Dun's mother, Father, we cannot punish Nian Gengyao for this. We should summon him to the capital and question him first!"

Hongli knew that Nian Gengyao would definitely be killed.

Putting everything else aside, just the fact that Nian Gengyao went against Yongzheng's will, refused to stand with Hongli, and instead supported Hongshi, and even targeted the thirteenth prince, meant that he was doomed.

Corruption, extravagance, and even arrogance are secondary issues; but choosing the wrong side, especially when explicitly instructed by Emperor Yongzheng, and deliberately choosing the wrong side, would truly warrant execution.

But Hongli knew better that Yongzheng liked to kill people slowly, like boiling a frog in water, and he liked to kill them while also destroying their spirit. Therefore, he would not kill them now, nor would he issue an order to arrest Nian Gengyao or punish him directly, like Kangxi forced Wu Sangui to rebel.

Therefore, Hongli deliberately spoke up for Nian Gengyao at this moment, just as Yongzheng had planned.

Qian Mingshi, the official in charge of recording the emperor's daily life, who was already pale, couldn't help but glance at Hongli with surprise in his eyes.

But Hongli knew that Yongzheng had summoned him and asked for his opinion so that he would put on a show of tolerance and magnanimity towards Nian Gengyao.

In fact, the sudden and aggressive demands from the Eighth Prince, the Thirteenth Prince, and other prime ministers for the execution of Nian Gengyao were also in cooperation with Yongzheng, leaving the opportunity to choose to believe Nian Gengyao to Yongzheng and Hongli, allowing Yongzheng and Hongli to demonstrate their imperial magnanimity in trusting Nian Gengyao.

After all, Yongzheng is the current emperor.

Hongli was very likely to become the future emperor.

At this point, Emperor Yongzheng nodded and said, "You are right. Nian Gengyao may betray me, but I cannot betray him!"

"My intention is to relieve Su Gengyao of his post as Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi and concurrently as General of Pacification, and to transfer him to the position of General of Hangzhou. Your brother-in-law Zhongqi will succeed him as Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi."

As he spoke, Yongzheng looked at the prime ministers and high-ranking officials and asked, "What do you think?"

At this moment, the thirteenth prince chimed in, "His roots are likely in Jiangnan, so why did Fourth Brother specifically transfer him to Hangzhou to be a general?"

"I want him to go to Hangzhou and prove himself to me!"

Yongzheng replied with a resolute gaze.

The thirteenth prince continued, "But what if Nian Gengyao really rebels? Countless people in Jiangnan would suffer terribly!"

"I believe that Nian Gengyao will not rebel. If he really wants to rebel, I believe that the people of Jiangnan will not support him!"

"Because my enemies will not be the people of Jiangnan!"

At this point, Yongzheng glanced at Hongli and then asked the thirteenth prince and other ministers, "Even if you are unwilling to believe in Nian Gengyao like I do, you should at least believe in the people of Jiangnan, right?"

Hongli discovered that the entire meeting of the Prime Ministers and Ministers seemed to be just the thirteenth prince arguing with Yongzheng, while Yongzheng was persuading these Prime Ministers and Ministers who were dissatisfied with Nian Gengyao, and he appeared to be a wise and sagacious ruler who had everything under control.

The thirteenth prince feigned helplessness and sighed, "Very well, I accept Fourth Brother's decision. Fourth Brother, you are right. At least the people of Jiangnan do not want Nian Gengyao to rebel. Let him go to Hangzhou, where he will come to his senses and live out his days in comfort and wealth."

"That is exactly the reason. I cannot be harsh on meritorious officials and leave them with an unsavory reputation."

"This spring, Nian Gengyao reported that the chieftains of Zagu and Dajinchuan in Sichuan were engaging in illegal activities. I knew that Nian Gengyao wanted to cause trouble for them and wanted to use this pretext to maintain his power as Grand General for a long time! If we keep him in the post of Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, there will inevitably be many troubles in Sichuan and Shaanxi. It would be better to use this opportunity to transfer him to Hangzhou!"

"In the edict, tell him the following: I think if you were to declare yourself emperor, it would be the will of Heaven, and I would be powerless to stop it; but if you refuse to do so, with you in command of my several thousand soldiers, you will not allow anyone at the confluence of the three rivers to declare themselves emperor!"

At this point, Yongzheng waved his hand and said, "It's settled then."

"Whoo!"

Therefore, on the Gengwu day of the fourth month of the third year of Yongzheng's reign, an imperial edict was issued to transfer Nian Gengyao to the position of General of Hangzhou.

When Nian Gengyao received this imperial edict, he was meeting with Mongol princes in the northwest.

He was quite pleased with himself amidst the clinking of glasses, even hoping to one day take control of the central government and oust Prince Yi from power.

That's right!

Because of Yongzheng's various sycophantic words and tolerance, he suddenly gained this confidence and felt that Yongzheng's favor towards him was no less than that of the thirteenth prince.

This made him think that he could use some means to gradually gain Yongzheng's favor and distance himself from the thirteenth prince.

Even though recently Emperor Yongzheng reprimanded him for ostracizing the thirteenth prince and criticized him for deliberately writing the wrong congratulatory message.

But he believed that this was all because the thirteenth prince was closer to Yongzheng in the capital and had been slandered, causing Yongzheng to have some opinions about him. He believed that everything would change once he entered the capital.

After all, he's the older brother-in-law.

He felt that if Yongzheng truly couldn't tolerate him being an enemy of the thirteenth prince, he wouldn't just give him a simple reprimand and criticism; he would deal with him directly.

He felt that Yongzheng was only putting on a show for the thirteenth prince.

When the newly appointed Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, Yue Zhongqi, came to announce the decree transferring him to the position of General of Hangzhou, Nian Gengyao seemed to wake from a dream, and the bowl of mare's milk he was holding to his lips lingered on his lips.

"Transferred to Hangzhou?"

Nian Gengyao asked in disbelief.

Yue Zhongqi said, "How dare I falsely convey the imperial edict?"

Nian Gengyao immediately returned to his private residence in the Northwest.

Not long after, his advisor and spokesperson for the gentry in Jiangnan, Wang Jingqi, came to see him: "A letter from Qian Hanlin in the capital explained the matter. Indeed, there is a folk song in Jiangnan that says the emperor will emerge from the mouth of the three rivers and the battlefield will be Jiaxing and Huzhou."

"Who the hell is so vicious!"

Nian Gengyao immediately slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

Wang Jingqi said, "It's hard to find out for a while. In any case, we just hope that you will really start a rebellion."

"Go on, how did it turn into me being sent to be the general of Hangzhou? Logically speaking, I shouldn't be going to Hangzhou at this time!"

Nian Gengyao gave instructions to Wang Jingqi.

Wang Jingqi handed the letter to Nian Gengyao: "Take a look for yourself. Originally, the Prime Minister and other ministers advocated taking you back to the capital for execution. Even Prince Lian had no choice but to do so to protect himself. However, the Fourth Prince Hongli spoke up for you, citing your merits and the fact that you are the Eighth Prince's uncle and Consort Dun's brother, and therefore advocated to trust you this time."

"Of course, the Emperor also said that he would rather you betray him than betray you, so he simply decided to send you to Hangzhou!"

Not long after Wang Jingqi finished speaking, Nian Gengyao also finished reading the letter. He placed the letter on the candle flame and watched it burn, sighing as he did so:
"His Majesty still trusts me!"

"I never expected that the Fourth Prince would be so magnanimous and kind, not resenting me for not being close to him, but instead speaking up for me! I, Nian, am ashamed!"

(End of this chapter)