My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 176 Hongli Changes Ma Qi's Mind

Ma Qi kowtowed very devoutly: "This servant understands that this is His Majesty's boundless imperial grace to our Fucha family! Only by serving diligently can we repay even a fraction of this imperial grace."

“I know that although you, Ma Qi, once favored the Eighth Prince, you are capable and have prestige among the Manchu and Han ministers. Your brothers, nephews, students, and old friends have all achieved outstanding political achievements in the court.”

"Therefore, I treat you as a pillar of the nation, and I hope that you will serve as a pillar for Hongli in the future, and not use old age and illness as an excuse to shirk your responsibilities."

Yongzheng seemed to like playing his cards openly, so even with Ma Qi, he almost explicitly told him what to do next.

The example of Nian Gengyao also makes it clear to Ma Qi today that although Yongzheng played his cards openly, it does not mean that he was a truly virtuous and benevolent ruler who was not ruthless.

Because, while emperors like Yongzheng were virtuous, when they became harsh and tyrannical, they were no less so than many other tyrannical and harsh emperors in history.

Therefore, Ma Qi did not dare to be perfunctory and solemnly kowtowed: "This servant will remember the holy instructions and dare not make the slightest mistake!"

"Very good! I knew you wouldn't let me down."

After saying this with a smile, Yongzheng issued an imperial edict to bestow upon Ma Qi a robe embroidered with four dragon motifs.

This is the high-level treatment that Nian Gengyao and Longkodo once enjoyed.

Ma Qi naturally understood the deeper meaning behind Yongzheng's actions.

Therefore, after returning home, he sent someone to summon Empress Fucha's second brother, Fucha Fuqing, to his study.

Through his own efforts, Fucha Fuqing has become a palace guard.

However, even after four years as a palace guard, he has not yet been promoted to the rank of third-class guard.

This led to some complaints about his uncle, Mazi, who felt that his uncle was deliberately suppressing his chances of promotion and was instead languishing in the position of minister.

He was even more grateful to Yongzheng, because Yongzheng had betrothed his sister to Hongli as his primary consort. Therefore, he was somewhat misunderstanding of his uncle.

Because Emperor Yongzheng made his sister the primary consort of the fourth prince, Hongli.

In his view, this was indeed an act of great imperial grace.

Therefore, when Fu Qing met Ma Qi, although he respectfully greeted him, he wasn't particularly enthusiastic.

Ma Qi saw through this and said, "Although you are my nephew and have been in the position of Blue Feather Guard for four years, you should have been promoted long ago. But often, it's better to be promoted at the right time than to be promoted early. Being promoted later is not necessarily a bad thing, especially in these unpredictable times."

“I was afraid you would get involved in the partisan struggle too early, so I didn’t promote you so quickly.”

"Because even I myself intentionally conceal my ignorance and folly."

"You're right."

Fu Qing replied, seemingly understanding Ma Qi's good intentions.

Ma Qi then said, "His Majesty saw me today."

Fu Qing raised his head after hearing this.

"He told me to be a pillar of support for Fourth Master."

Ma Qi replied.

Fu Qing's eyes widened at this, and he said with great joy, "I never imagined that His Majesty cares about Fourth Master to such an extent!"

Ma Qi then asked with a smile, "What do you think about this?"

"In my humble opinion, I should not follow the example of Nian Gengyao."

Fu Qing replied.

Ma Qi nodded in satisfaction: "Then you should pay your respects to this Fourth Master when you have time."

"Whoo!"

“An envoy from the Russian Kingdom sent his nephew to say that he wanted to see you, and also the Fourth Master.”

Fu Qing then brought up something else.

Ma Qi frowned upon hearing this: "Why bring me up?"

"I think it's about negotiating the border. They want to see you first, and then see Fourth Master."

"For this reason, they also asked their nephew to prepare a generous gift for you."

Fu Qing replied.

Thinking of the events of the Kangxi era, Ma Qi finally said, "Let's accept the gift for now."

Fu Qing was slightly surprised, but still replied, "Yes, sir!"

But just as Fu Qing left, his son Fu De came and said, "First-class Marquis Wu Ge has come to see me."

Upon hearing this, Ma Qi hurriedly ordered the central gate to be opened to welcome them.

Although Wu Ge was only a first-class marquis, he was still the younger brother of the current empress, and his daughter was a princess by Hongli's side.

Therefore, although Mazi was the chief minister, he still chose the highest level of welcoming ceremony.

Although he and Wu Ge had known each other for a long time.

When Wu Ge met Ma Qi, he said, "I came to see you for no other reason than that Fourth Master asked someone to give you something."

"What is it?"

Ma Qi asked with a smile.

Wu Ge then handed Ma Qi a simple map drawn by Hongli: "This is what Fourth Master asked me to give you."

Ma Qi took it with both hands and examined it carefully.

Upon seeing this, he was so shocked that he lost eight-tenths of his courage.

Then, Ma Qi cupped his hands and said, "Please tell Fourth Master that this servant dares not disobey his wishes and will do his utmost to fulfill them, even at the cost of his life!"

After Wu Ge left, Ma Qi immediately sent someone to call Fu Qing back and told him, "Return the generous gifts to these treacherous and despicable Rakshasa people immediately!"

Fu Qing looked surprised.

"Go!"

"Whoo!"

Fu Qing didn't ask any further questions and had no choice but to agree.

Ma Qi immediately returned to his study and submitted a secret memorial to Emperor Yongzheng, directly stating that the Russian Empire had bribed him.

When Yongzheng learned of this, he summoned the thirteenth prince and said to him, "It seems that the Russian Kingdom has great ambitions to nibble away at our borders. They have even gone to great lengths to win over the officials of our Great Qing Dynasty and start from within our Great Qing."

"To have such an insatiable person beside my bed is no blessing for my Great Qing!"

The thirteenth prince was not surprised and sighed. Yongzheng nodded in agreement.

"We have to tolerate Longkodo's factionalism and corruption for a while longer."

"He knows best how to deal with the Russians. Besides, Tulichen can no longer stay in the local area. He went to the Volga River area to comfort the Torgut tribe. He knows how to make things difficult for the Russians!"

The thirteenth prince then looked at Yongzheng and said.

Yongzheng nodded in agreement: "Alright, you can speak to him privately and tell him that in a few days you will try to get an imperial decree to reinstate his position as Grand Tutor, and also have him request an imperial decree to promote Tulichen back to the capital to serve as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War."

"Whoo!"

"Hopefully, this Rakshasa Kingdom won't cause Hongli any trouble in the future."

Yongzheng said something.

In front of the thirteenth prince, he almost explicitly stated that he would pass the throne to Hongli.

After hearing this, the thirteenth prince smiled and said, "I hope it is Hongli who will cause trouble for this Russian country, so that the Qing Dynasty's offensive and defensive positions can be reversed!"

"Then we must continue to reform our internal affairs so that the Qing Dynasty can reach even greater heights in the future!"

……

……

Yuqing Palace, Outer Study.

The Russian envoys were shocked and disappointed when they saw that Maqi had returned their generous gifts.

"Didn't you say that this Grand Secretary has been deliberately tarnishing his reputation and that his integrity is not what it used to be? Why then does he refuse to accept the gift?"

Envoy Raguginsky inquired about Qian Mingshi, the advisor he had recently hired at great expense.

Qian Mingshi has been dismissed from his post because he was a member of the party.

However, the shrewd Russian envoy, Lagudinsky, saw the value in his past role as a recorder of the emperor's daily activities. So, through a minor official at the guild hall, he secretly hired him at a high price, ostensibly to introduce him to the customs and culture of the Qing Dynasty, but in reality to serve as a secret advisor for his group.

After Lagujinski said this to Qian Mingshi, Qian Mingshi couldn't help but frown and say, "I don't know why this happened either. I think someone influenced Ma Qi."

"Then who is this person?"

"Raguginsky asked."

Qian Mingshi said, "Only three people can have such power."

"Those three people?"

"Raguginsky asked."

"One is the Emperor himself, another is Prince Yi of the current dynasty, and the third is the Fourth Prince Hongli, who, though not in the name of Crown Prince, has the power of one!"

Qian Mingshi replied.

Laguzinsky nodded and fell into deep thought.

Qian Mingshi also actively analyzed the situation, saying, "This matter cannot be directly addressed to the Emperor, as it would make it seem as if your country covets this eastern land. If you contact Prince Yi, you might not be able to keep any secrets from the Emperor. It would be better to contact Hongli directly!"

"Because, whether or not the Fourth Prince is willing to accept the gift, it will determine the Qing Dynasty's attitude toward border affairs in the future."

Qian Mingshi explained his reasons.

Lagudinsky agreed, adding with a smile, "If the fourth prince is willing to accept gifts and doesn't show any greed for land, that would naturally be the best outcome."

then.

Laguchinsky then used his connections at the Huitongguan to find Li Yu, the eunuch serving Emperor Qianlong.

On that same day, when Hongli returned from his political training at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Li Yu said to him, "Fourth Master, the wealthy merchant Wu Xiaozhong came to see me today when I was going home. He said that the envoy from the Russian Kingdom intends to present you with nine large pearls, but only requests to see you alone."

"What kind of class do you think you are, to even dare to meet me?"

Hongli chuckled coldly and glanced at the box of pearls that Li Yu handed him: "Send it to the Censorate!"

"Whoo!"

On the day.

The Censorate impeached the Ministry of Rites' Huitongguan, accusing it of having traitors colluding with foreign powers, and requested an imperial decree for a thorough investigation and strict management.

Emperor Yongzheng was furious and ordered the arrest of officials from the Ministry of Rites' Huitongguan (a type of official residence). He also dispatched 500 guards to surround the residence of the Russian envoys at the Huitongguan.

Lagujinsky was furious, but he sneered and said, "It seems that this Fourth Prince is very unwilling to maintain a friendship with us in private. Then we can only use the second option. We must make it clear to him that the consequence of offending my Rakshasa Kingdom is that the land they occupy will never be peaceful!"

After Hongli finished learning horsemanship and archery from Yunxi that day, Sui Hede, an official from the Imperial Household Department, came to see him and handed him a box: "Fourth Master! Someone asked me to deliver something to you, but I didn't dare to open it!"

Hongli then asked, "Who is it?"

Sui Hede replied, "I don't know. I just saw someone leave this outside my door when I was leaving. It had a note on it that said it was for you. I couldn't hide it."

"Open!"

Upon hearing this, Hongli instructed Li Yu to take the box and open it.

As a result, Hongli found in the box a map of the Qing Dynasty that did not include places like Shengjing, and a blunt knife with a chipped edge.

Upon seeing this, Hongli's face immediately darkened.

He did not expect that the Russian envoy would directly threaten him, saying that if he did not help him to define the border, the Russians would take advantage of him in the future when he became emperor, and might even take measures to erase the territory they occupied. In that case, even if he took it back, he would still suffer heavy losses.

Because this blunt knife with a chipped edge is clearly the knife that the Russians used when they wiped out the Qing dynasty's subjects in the area that Emperor Kangxi ceded.

Li Yu's face also turned pale, and he looked at Sui Hede and shouted, "Sui Hede, how dare you!"

Sui Hede, who had been bowing his head, looked up in surprise. Seeing that Hongli's expression was not right, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying:

"Your Highness, please forgive me. This servant does not know what is in this box, but I have no choice but to tell you the truth!"

"Get up."

"I know it has nothing to do with you."

Hongli said with a stern face.

"Thank you, Fourth Master!"

Then, Hongli returned to the prince's quarters and handed the box to Haitang: "Put this in your study. I want to see it every day so that I will not forget the humiliation of today!"

"Whoo!"

(End of this chapter)