My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 184 Yunzhi was truly frightened by Hongli

Manduhu stood there, stunned.

When Hongli asked this question, he really didn't know how to answer.

At this moment, the third prince, Yunzhi, suddenly spoke up and smiled at Hongli, saying:
"You've misunderstood. Your uncle just had a flying insect in his mouth and had to spit it out. He didn't spit on your sixteenth uncle!"

Hongli never expected that his third son would cover for Manduhu.

This displeased him.

At least, Prince Bao had already asked the Manchu Protector whether he was spitting on the Sixteenth Prince.

That means that he, Prince Bao, has been confirmed to be the Manchu Protector-General who is now spitting on the Sixteenth Prince.

Therefore, the third brother, who was traveling with the Manduhu, should not deny what he had already decided in front of him.

After all, he was also a prince of the Qing Dynasty, and the prince with the best chance of inheriting the throne.

The third brother's actions undoubtedly showed a lack of sincerity towards him, indicating that he did not truly submit to him from the bottom of his heart. This is why he subconsciously protected Manduhu and called a deer a horse in front of him.

Logically, if one is to call a deer a horse, then one should be the one calling a deer a horse.

Therefore, Hongli simply nodded: "Is that so? It seems that I have indeed misunderstood."

Upon seeing this, Manduhu also echoed the fabricated story, saying, "That's right, I just got a flying insect in my mouth. You've really misunderstood."

Hongli nodded again and looked at his third brother: "Third Uncle, I just remembered something. I wonder if you could spare a moment to talk to me?"

The third brother naturally couldn't refuse, so he said to Manduhu, "In that case, you should go first."

Manduhu nodded and exchanged greetings with Hongli.

After Manduhu left, Hongli and the third brother went to the base of a large tree.

The third brother spoke first: "Speak, what is it?"

"It is like this, Third Uncle, I have recently heard that you have told outsiders that Hongxi was the most favored grandson of the emperor when Khanma was alive. Is this true?"

Hongli deliberately frowned and asked about the third son.

Although Hongli's tone was gentle, his question was like a bolt of lightning striking the third son from the sky, making him tremble.

The third brother's face turned deathly pale: "When did I say that?"

"Really? So Uncle San didn't say that?"

Hongli feigned surprise and asked a question.

The third brother waved his hand with a bitter laugh: "When did I say that?"

"Then I can rest assured, nephew."

Hongli clapped his hands and laughed, then said, "I was worried that my third uncle would have to support my eldest brother Hongxi as a prince in the future."

Hongli's words were like a thunderclap in the third prince's ears.

"That's simply impossible!"

The third brother quickly denied it, his breathing becoming somewhat heavy.

Seeing that his third son's forehead was starting to sweat, Hongli felt quite pleased and said with a smile:
“I am naturally willing to believe what you say, Uncle, but if this gets to Father’s ears, it might make him suspicious.”

"If Third Uncle really wants Father Khan to stop being suspicious, he should prove himself with actions instead of letting others slander him like this!"

The third brother looked at Hongli with a surprised expression, his facial muscles twitching slightly.

"Is Third Uncle going to follow Eighth Uncle's example?"

Hongli then asked the third son another question.

The third brother finally nodded: "I know what to do."

Then, the third brother explained to Hongli, "I was just trying to smooth things over. I didn't think that much about it. It wasn't directed at you, Hongli!"

"Nephew would never dare to blame his third uncle."

Hongli bowed with his hands clasped, wearing a humble smile.

But the third brother sensed a hidden dagger in Hongli's smile and had to politely say, "I know you were thinking of me and that's why you reminded me. Thank you!"

Then, the third brother left.

Hongli couldn't help but chuckle as he watched his third son wipe his sweat with a handkerchief.

He knew that the third prince was not the eighth prince. Although he was both literate and martial, and his talents were outstanding among Kangxi's princes, he was always very flexible about his bottom line. He would not stubbornly insist on something just for the sake of face. He would never hesitate to admit defeat when he needed to, and he would never put himself in danger.

Therefore, Hongli took the initiative to verbally warn the third prince, warning him not to let Yongzheng worry that he wanted to support Hongxi as emperor, and thus want to put him to death.

That's right!

Although the third prince was flexible in his principles and did not have the same principles as the eighth prince, he was, after all, Yongzheng's elder brother. After the eldest and second princes were imprisoned, he was the only prince with real power and an uncle of the emperor. He was also a powerful assistant to the former crown prince and had a close relationship with Hongxi, the son of the former crown prince.

Therefore, what Yongzheng was most worried about regarding his third son was that he would use his noble status in the imperial family to support Hongxi in seizing the throne.

After all, the Qing Dynasty had a tradition of having members of the imperial clan and banner chiefs discuss the selection of a new emperor.

Because of this distrust, Emperor Yongzheng also suppressed his third son to some extent in history.

of course!

Although the third prince was flexible in his bottom line, he was not very politically astute. In terms of self-preservation, he was much worse than the fifth and twelfth princes, which is why Yongzheng always found fault with him.

Such acts include soliciting bribes from officials, showing disrespect at appropriate funerals, and manipulating public opinion and prices.

At the same time, the third prince never seemed to understand why Yongzheng was wary of him, so he even argued with the thirteenth prince during Yongzheng's reign, which made Yongzheng's distrust of him even more pronounced after the thirteenth prince's death.

Even Emperor Qianlong himself was more worried about his third son after the thirteenth son's death. As a result, he did not release the imprisoned third son after ascending the throne, and buried him with the rites due to a prince when he died.

The way Qianlong treated his third son was completely opposite in nature to his treatment of other criminal members of the imperial clan, which was aimed at easing conflicts among the clan.

After Hongli asked this question, the third prince finally understood why Hongli and Yongzheng were wary of him.

This forced him to make a firm decision to change.

However, after the third brother left the Yuanmingyuan, he saw that the Protector-General was still waiting for him outside.

Seeing this, the third brother still politely smiled and said, "Didn't I tell you to go back first?"

Manduhu was waiting outside for the third prince because he wanted to know what Hongli had said to him alone.

Now, when the third prince asked him this, Manduhu bowed and replied, "Naturally, it is to thank Prince Xie Cheng for saving the fourth prince just now!"

"Not worth mentioning!"

The third brother waved his hand and replied.

Manduhu then asked, "Then what did the Fourth Prince say to Prince Cheng?"

The third brother smiled and said, "What can I say? I just heard that I have Qiu Shizhou's 'Red Cliff Painting' and I'd like to borrow it for appreciation. You know, Hongli has always loved famous paintings and calligraphy." Manduhu nodded, thinking that Hongli might use the opportunity of whether or not he believed what the third brother had just said to force him to part with his beloved painting.

Upon returning, the third son instructed his son, Hongsheng, "Invite Xie Jishi from the Censorate!"

"Whoo!"

After leaving with the third prince, Hongli came to Yongzheng to pay his respects.

By this time, Yongzheng had finished his discussion with the Sixteenth Prince and agreed to let him set up a military agricultural settlement to make up for the losses suffered by the Eight Banners' wealthy families in the "Fourth Prince Party" during the reduction of the cavalry, thus preventing the Sixteenth Prince from offending his people when he was in charge of the Ministry of War.

"Your son greets Father!"

Upon meeting Yongzheng, Hongli was immediately asked by Yongzheng, "You also met your third uncle and your cousin?"

Hongli nodded: "I did run into him, and I even caught my uncle spitting on my sixteenth uncle behind his back."

Upon hearing this, Yongzheng raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then what did you do back then?!"

"Your subject naturally asked your uncle directly."

Hongli replied solemnly.

Yongzheng nodded in satisfaction, then scratched his brow and asked, "What did he say?"

"My third uncle explained for him, saying that my cousin did not spit on my sixteenth uncle. It was just that a flying insect suddenly got into my cousin's mouth, so he had no choice but to spit backward."

After speaking, Hongli looked at Yongzheng and placed his hands on his waistband.

At this point, Yongzheng straightened up and chuckled, "Prince Cheng is blatantly lying! How did you answer him?"

"Your son spoke with your third uncle alone."

Hongli answered truthfully.

"How did the talks go?"

Upon hearing this, Yongzheng raised an eyebrow and looked at Hongli with curiosity.

"Your subject asked him if he would prefer to preside over the Council of Princes and Ministers in the future, and use this opportunity to support his elder brother Hongxi."

At this point, Yongzheng's gloomy face immediately brightened, and he pointed at him with a smile, saying, "You! Aren't you afraid of scaring your third uncle to death?"

"No, because my third uncle has always valued his life."

Hongli looked at Yongzheng with a serious expression and replied.

Yongzheng nodded: "Even so, his willingness to lie to you in order to protect Manduhu makes one worry about the future. Will he be threatened and do something hypocritical, and actually support Hongxi?"

"In my humble opinion, whether it is my third uncle, the Manchu Protector, or my elder brother Hongxi, the fundamental reason why they threaten the safety of the country is that they have a considerable number of Zuo Ling (military commanders)."

Hongli then interjected.

In his view, the fact that the third brother and other banner leaders had their own banners was equivalent to the board members of a large company in later generations having their own shares. What the chairman feared was that these people had too many shares, which would hinder the chairman from exercising his power.

The same was true in the Qing Dynasty. Banner lords possessed too many banners, which also affected the emperor's exercise of power.

"The Eight Banners should further implement the system of appointing officials by the court and placing them under the management of a special government office, so that the princes and ministers of the Council of State should no longer exist."

At this point, Hongli further expressed his own views.

Of course, he knew that Yongzheng thought the same way, which is why he boldly proposed strengthening imperial power at this time.

Yongzheng smiled and said, "I think so too, but those banner chiefs have too many banner commanders, so it's not good to directly reduce their banner commanders, otherwise it's easy to cause trouble."

“What Father says is true, but we can gradually reduce the number of banners and banners, first concentrating the banners and banners under our own people, and then setting up special government offices to centrally manage all the banners and banners, and putting the power to appoint the leaders and cavalry officers of each banner in the hands of the court.”

"In this way, a banner lord needs permission from the relevant government office to move his own troops."

Hongli then brought up Yongzheng's later idea of ​​reforming the banner system.

Upon hearing this, Yongzheng suddenly asked Hongli with a serious expression, "Do you want the Zuo Ling (military command) held by your third uncle and cousin?"

Hongli nodded without any attempt to hide it, and then cupped his hands in a gesture of feigned helplessness and admiration: "That's right! As expected, you can't hide what I'm thinking from you, Father!"

Yongzheng raised his eyebrows smugly: "Your little tricks can't fool me, but at least you understand this and have no arrogance, so you choose not to hide any thoughts from me."

"While my third uncle and paternal uncle do not have any deep-seated hatred towards me, and even if my third uncle might become an ally of my elder brother Hongxi, that is a very small and controllable possibility. However, I am indeed targeting them because I feel that leaving the Zuo Ling (military command) in their hands is a waste of the Eight Banners population of our Great Qing!"

Hongli further elaborated on his thoughts.

Yongzheng nodded: "Continue!"

"Whoo!"

"They only care about the infighting in the court, their own little bit of dignity, and the grudges between their brothers and nephews, but they never think about solving the problems of their own banner commanders, such as the high debt of their subordinate banner people, their difficult livelihood, and the large number of banner people fleeing to become slaves!"

“As banner lords and lords, they cannot use the power to employ their banner people without using that power to do practical things and resolve the hidden dangers that will lead to the decline of the Qing Dynasty in the future. Moreover, when the emperor is trying to solve these problems, they cannot hinder the emperor, deliberately fail to act, or even outwardly comply but inwardly defy him.”

Hongli then continued speaking.

The Eight Banners system of the Qing Dynasty and the military household system of the Ming Dynasty were quite similar. In essence, they both separated the groups that were specifically responsible for military tasks in the empire into independent households. However, these groups were not only responsible for fighting, but also had functions such as managing land and training talents.

However, the bannermen under the Eight Banners system had more privileges in the judiciary. In addition, only bannermen could become maternal relatives and had a higher status than ordinary people.

Therefore, if the Eight Banners system were to collapse step by step, it would be similar to the gradual collapse of the Garrison system. At that time, the entire empire's military tasks would have to be accomplished by recruiting soldiers, and it would be even more dependent on the economically stronger southern financial groups.

Imperial nobles will also find it difficult to play a leading role in the military.

The consequence of this is that centralized power is weakened, and the military strength of the entire empire will be much weaker than before. This is because capital never pursues the strength of the country, but rather the ability to maximize its own interests by using the country. Moreover, it is willing to sell the country in order to maximize its interests, since they can even sell the rope that strangles them when the price is right.

Hongli wanted to expand the country when he became emperor, so he naturally wouldn't sit idly by and watch the military collapse.

Yongzheng was very satisfied with Hongli's idea of ​​strengthening imperial power, and turned to him and said: "You are right. If the banner people are controlled by these unambitious people, it will only make the ancestral country and society more and more corrupt. The more the banner power is dispersed, the more the entire Eight Banners nobles will be more enthusiastic about living a life of debauchery."

"If I'm not mistaken, Third Uncle will retract his stance simply to prove that he has no intention of supporting Hongxi as emperor. He will also have his men impeach Uncle Manduhu for insulting Sixteenth Uncle! He will take back the lie he told me and slap himself in the face!"

Hongli said solemnly.

Yongzheng smiled and said, "Then I will wait for this memorial to come."

The next day.

Yongzheng received a memorial from Xie Jishi, the censor of Zhejiang Circuit, impeaching Beile Manduhu for his disrespect towards Prince Zhuang, Yunlu, and for his reckless and disorderly conduct. The memorial also mentioned that he had heard about it from Prince Cheng, hence his memorial.

Emperor Yongzheng then summoned his third son, Yunzhi, and Manduhu to the Hall of Diligent Governance and Appreciation of the Virtuous in the Yuanmingyuan Garden again, and asked them about the matter.

Manduhu looked at the third brother in astonishment. He did not expect that the third brother, who had initially defended him in front of Hongli, would now impeach him by asking the censor to bring the matter to the emperor's attention.

"Prince Cheng, is what Xie Jishi reported true?"

At this point, Yongzheng also inquired about the third son.

The third brother lowered his head: "This is indeed true. The Manduhu spat at Prince Zhuang and said a lot of things that slandered Prince Zhuang and Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)