My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 171 Taking Action Against the Eighth Prince
"The matter of reducing the number of vests was something I thought of based on what Prince Lian had said at a meeting of princes and ministers in the past, when he mentioned that if the court wanted to implement new policies, it should reduce redundant expenses."

Furthermore, before Hongli returned to the capital, when Yongzheng held court at the palace gates, he did mention to the princes and ministers the recent decision to reduce the number of equestrian vests.

"I think that now that our Great Qing has been in the Central Plains for nearly a hundred years, the people's hearts are at peace, and there is no need for the inner court and princes in the capital to still have so many disguises."

"We should cut more and use the saved expenses to add more armor to the Eight Banners soldiers in the border provinces."

"After all, the amount of money and grain used by the Inner Palace Commanders and Inner Palace Supervisors during the thirty-five years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign was only over 300,000 taels, but now it has increased to over 700,000 taels!"

"I think that with the amount of tax revenue the country pays, it is not a sustainable solution to support these non-regular soldiers and useless people, whose numbers are increasing year by year without end."

"To defend the interior, we must first secure the exterior. In the capital, having an extra cavalryman is just a waste of money and supplies, but on the border, having an extra cavalryman allows the commander to have a clear understanding of the enemy situation in the surrounding area."

"Which is more important is self-evident."

At this point, Emperor Yongzheng specifically mentioned the Eighth Prince: "Prince Lian!"

After leaving the court, the Eighth Prince looked slightly melancholy.

"What do you think? Are you happy, feeling that I have finally granted your wish and we are discussing the reduction?"

Yongzheng spoke first, with a slight smile on his face.

Then, all the princes and ministers looked at the eighth prince, their expressions complicated.

After pondering for a while, Lao Ba seemed to have made up his mind, and simply cupped his hands and said:

"This is His Majesty's virtue of saving money and strengthening the army. I, your humble servant, cannot claim credit for it. However, since His Majesty intends to reduce expenses, I will naturally support it. Strengthening the power of our Great Qing is also my duty."

"well said!"

Yongzheng praised him and then said, "After the hearing, you should think of a way to reduce the number of soldiers and report it to me."

"Your subject obeys the decree!"

Lao Ba responded and took a deep breath.

The princes and ministers present looked even more flustered.

Even among Yongzheng's own "Fourth Prince Party," many began to look uneasy.

Because the number of pseudonyms they use is also related to their interests.

After all, the reduction of each vest means the reduction of a Beijing-based official position, which is considered a "staunch" source of income.

The eighth prince never expected that Emperor Yongzheng would actually cut unnecessary expenses.

But in reality, he was just talking at the Council of Ministers meeting.

But he now understands that when Yongzheng asked him to reduce the number of employees, it was actually to make him bear the wrath of those who would suffer losses in the process of the reform.

The Eighth Prince himself noticed the way these princes and ministers looked at him.

However, Lao Ba has no choice but to face this matter head-on.

The princes and ministers then began to discuss this matter extensively.

……

……

"This is something that could offend people. How do you think Uncle Ba will cut the payout?"

That very evening, Hongli learned of this matter from Nara Minxuan.

Nara Minxuan smiled and said, "This servant thinks that Prince Lian probably won't seriously cut back, because no matter how much he cuts back, he won't satisfy everyone, and Prince Lian doesn't want to bear the infamy of offending people!"

Hongli nodded.

He knew that Nara Minxuan had brought this up with him simply because it was related to his interests.

Because he himself was a prince with a military command.

People from the same social class might come to him for advice.

The lower-ranking officers would come to him to ask about the situation, and even those officers whose interests had been harmed would come to him, the banner lord, to complain.

Unfortunately, reform is such a headache; we have to face the cries of some and the complaints of others.

In particular, this reform adjusts the existing distribution of the pie rather than making the pie bigger.

Following this, the Eighth Prince, in accordance with Yongzheng's requirements, drafted a reduction plan.

After seeing his reduction strategy, Emperor Yongzheng summoned him.

"In your memorial, you stated that, apart from the captains of the Imperial Household Department, each captain should only have twenty-four men. Therefore, the captains of the Imperial Household Department should also be reduced in the same way. Thus, only the captains of the Imperial Household Department should be reduced."

“But, Eighth Prince, you should know that the number of people under the various banners of the Imperial Household Department is much larger than before. If we really reduce the number of armored men according to the proportion of the banners’ banners, I’m afraid it will not be able to be implemented.”

After summoning the Eighth Prince, Emperor Yongzheng also brought up the strategy of reducing the Eighth Prince's number.

He truly hadn't expected that the Eighth Prince's downsizing strategy would only reduce the number of Zuo Ling (military officers) in the Imperial Household Department.

The Zuo Ling of the Imperial Household Department was the emperor's direct Zuo Ling.

Emperor Yongzheng would naturally not agree to only stripping his own robes.

of course!

Even if Emperor Yongzheng were willing, his household servants would not be.

However, Yongzheng did not get angry; instead, he had a good talk with the Eighth Prince.

The Eighth Prince also knew that Yongzheng would not agree.

His real intention was to use this method to persuade Yongzheng to abandon the reductions, so that Yongzheng could not use the reductions as an excuse to make things difficult for him.

Therefore, after Yongzheng said this, the Eighth Prince only said with certainty: "Your Majesty thinks it is feasible, because among the bannermen under my own Zuo Ling Tubahai, I only asked one horse armor for every six or seven people. Afterwards, none of the bannermen under that Zuo Ling were unwilling to do it."

"is it?"

Yongzheng asked with a cold smile. The Eighth Prince bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not conceal anything from you!"

"you!"

Yongzheng suddenly stood up, dusted off his sleeves, and pointed at the Eighth Prince.

The Eighth Prince was not intimidated by Yongzheng's sudden ferocious expression; he simply knelt down at that moment.

In the end, Yongzheng withdrew his hand and said calmly:
"Alright, then go and have a meeting with the Sixteenth Prince, Lai Bao, Chang Ming, and Li Yanxi, and then submit your report!"

"Whoo!"

After accepting the offer, the Eighth Prince took his leave and departed from the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

then.

The Eighth Prince went to the Cabinet and delivered an imperial edict, ordering the Sixteenth Prince, Lai Bao, Chang Ming, and Li Yanxi to come to the Prince Lian's residence the next day to discuss the matter with him.

The sixteenth prince is now a prince in charge of the Ministry of War and the Imperial Household Department.

Lai Bao, Chang Ming, and Li Yanxi are now all ministers in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

It is understandable that Yongzheng would now ask them to discuss this matter as well.

After all, the reduction of vests is indeed a matter for the Ministry of War, and it also involves the Imperial Household Department.

Of course, these people were also Yongzheng's confidants and belonged to the core of the "Fourth Prince Party".

Yongzheng sent the Eighth Prince to discuss these matters with him so that the Eighth Prince would know that even if he, the emperor, was willing to reduce the number of eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department, his subordinates would not be.

This imperial decree was issued the day after Hongli returned to the capital.

Therefore, Hongli soon learned about this matter.

Moreover, when Hongli was preparing to go to the Imperial Household Department's workshop to see the carriage that Hongzhou had made for him, the sixteenth prince came to him about this matter.

Ever since the sixteenth prince benefited from Hongli's reminder last time, he believed that Hongli understood better than him how to deal with these troublesome matters of the court.

So, when the sixteenth prince met Hongli, he told him about this matter and said to Hongli, "You help your sixteenth uncle make a decision on what to do about this."

Hongli then asked the sixteenth prince, "What do you think is the reason why Father Khan suddenly proposed reducing the number of vests?"

The sixteenth old man thought for a moment and said, "It is only in front of you, Hongli, that your sixteenth uncle will speak frankly."

Hongli smiled slightly.

At this moment, the sixteenth brother spoke up, saying, "I think Fourth Brother wants to give Eighth Brother another chance, so that Eighth Brother will be willing to do his best for Fourth Brother, especially those thankless tasks. But Eighth Brother is clearly still unwilling to do things for Fourth Brother and is still going against Fourth Brother's wishes!"

"Sixteenth Uncle is right. If Eighth Uncle doesn't go against Father Khan's wishes, then there's no need for Sixteenth Uncle and others to discuss this with Eighth Uncle."

Hongli nodded, and secretly admitted that although the sixteenth prince did not have much political wisdom, he did have some.

At this moment, the sixteenth brother sighed and said, "That eighth brother is really something! He knows that the fourth brother doesn't like him, but he still comes against the fourth brother's wishes, as if he can't wait for the fourth brother to kill him and get a bad reputation!"

Hongli smiled and said, "We don't need to worry about what Eighth Uncle thinks. The key thing now is what Sixteenth Uncle himself thinks."

"Of course I hope that the brothers won't be so at odds, and I especially don't want my fourth brother to do anything drastic to my eighth brother in the future."

The sixteenth prince looked solemnly at Hongli and said, "I believe you, Hongli, are not willing either."

"In any case, the Eighth Brother treated you, Hongli, very well, especially when you were a child. Your Fourth Brother was strict with his family and you were going to be punished. It was the Eighth Brother who persuaded your Fourth Brother to forgive you and thus spared you a lot of punishment."

Hongli nodded: "Sixteenth Uncle is right. However, what the Khan Father cannot tolerate most about Eighth Uncle is that Eighth Uncle does not follow his wishes and only cares about his own reputation for benevolence, disregarding the Emperor's likes and dislikes. Therefore, if Sixteenth Uncle really wants to protect Eighth Uncle, he should not support Eighth Uncle, but should oppose him, even to the point that it would be best if they were almost enemies!"

"how to say?"

The sixteenth prince looked at Hongli with great interest.

Hongli smiled and said, "That's why Father is at ease and reassured. He's relieved that Eighth Uncle's virtue and benevolence haven't confused all the princes and ministers, making them only respect Eighth Uncle and not him, the Emperor!"

"Especially for Uncle Sixteen, who is Khan's own brother, the more he despises Uncle Eight, the more Khan will trust Uncle Eight!"

"For example, in this round of cuts to vests, no matter what strategy Uncle Ba proposes, Uncle Sixteen should oppose it and point out that it is hypocritical, perfunctory, and has ulterior motives."

"In this way, although Uncle Ba and his men may harbor resentment towards Uncle Shi Liu, Father Khan will not, and may even trust Uncle Ba."

"Therefore, if Sixteenth Uncle truly wants to protect Eighth Uncle and prevent Father from becoming irreconcilable with Eighth Uncle, then he should consider himself the villain!"

After hearing this, the sixteenth prince looked like he was thinking seriously.

Snapped!
The sixteenth prince slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "That's absolutely right! The biggest problem with the eighth brother is that he's unwilling to offend princes and ministers. If that's the case, then we'll just have to take the initiative to offend him!"

"Someone has to be the villain; we can't let Fourth Brother be the only villain!"

"Hongli, your words are truly enlightening!"

The sixteenth prince then patted Hongli's arm, sighed, and then left.

When Prince Lian, the eighth prince, summoned the sixteenth prince, Lai Bao, Chang Ming, and Li Yanxi to his residence to discuss reducing the number of vests, the eighth prince first proposed the original plan, which was to reduce only the number of vests belonging to the Imperial Household Department.

"Humph!"

But as soon as the Eighth Prince finished speaking, the Sixteenth Prince stood up with an angry expression: "Eighth Brother, if you want to be a wise prince, there's no need to choose to make the Fourth Prince suffer, is there?"

Lao Ba's expression changed immediately.

He never expected that the usually amiable Sixteenth Brother would suddenly say such a thing to him.

"I'm wronged! I didn't mean to wrong His Majesty, Fourth Brother! Sixteenth Brother, don't talk nonsense!"

Lao Ba immediately denied it.

The sixteenth prince continued with a cold laugh, "Simply cutting the number of uniforms in the Imperial Household Department, isn't that a disservice to Fourth Brother?"

"By doing this, you're practically trying to make Fourth Brother hate you!"

"Aren't you hoping that Fourth Brother will want to kill you because of this, so that you'll be remembered as a cruel fratricide?!"

(End of this chapter)