My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 185 Rectifying the Jiangnan Gentry
Hongli, who was in the East Study, grinned to himself at this.

The third prince, Yunzhi, did not disappoint him. As expected, in order to prove that he had no intention of supporting Hongxi, he chose to slap himself in the face and offend Manduhu.

Hongli knew that in this way, Yongzheng could naturally use the opportunity to reduce the number of Manchu protectors.

Even if the princes and ministers who sympathized with Manduhu were dissatisfied with this, half of that dissatisfaction would be directed at the third prince.

Even Hongli had to admit that the ruling class of the Qing Dynasty was a makeshift organization.

Princes and nobles, though of noble status, knowledgeable, and accomplished, are mostly weak-willed, short-sighted, and cowardly.

That's why the third brother couldn't help but be frightened by himself.

The third prince poured out his grievances against the sixteenth prince and Yongzheng to the emperor, and how the third prince tried to defend himself. Hongli didn't listen much; he was only reviewing the memorials that Yongzheng had given him.

The memorials that Hongli is currently handling mainly come from the Jiangnan region.

Because his cronies were mainly assigned to official positions in these places.

Emperor Yongzheng also intended to teach him how to handle affairs from Jiangnan.

At this time, Hongli received a memorial from Li Wei, the governor of Jiangsu.

Currently, the land tax system has been implemented nationwide, and Jiangsu is no exception.

Therefore, in his memorial to the throne, Li Wei accused Lu Jinxian, the educational commissioner of Jiangnan, of instigating Jiangnan scholars to secretly obstruct the new policies, and deliberately slandered Li Wei for mistreating the gentry and bullying men and women in Jiangnan.

Hongli, in the tone of Emperor Yongzheng, comforted Li Wei in the draft comments and ordered the Ministry of Personnel to dismiss Lu Jinxian from his post, arrest him, and bring him to the capital for questioning by the Censorate.

In this situation, he would naturally choose to support Li Wei.

Emperor Yongzheng naturally adopted Hongli's comments.

As a result, Lu Jinxian received an imperial edict a month later, ordering him to be dismissed from his post and questioned.

Lu Jinxian was not convinced by this, and when he bid farewell to Li Wei and other Jiangsu colleagues and gentry, he said to Li Wei:

"Governor, the discovery of the female corpse that was raped and murdered in your yamen is an irrefutable fact! How can you say that I am slandering you? It is also true that you displayed the gentry who owed taxes in shackles, as evidenced by your own notice. How can that be me slandering you?"

“My advisor Li Long has already confessed that he was responsible for the female corpse. You still have the scholars pin this on my academy. What is this if not slander?”

"In our Great Qing Dynasty, if gentry default on taxes, they are punished the same as ordinary people. This is an established practice since the beginning of the dynasty. So, your claim that I mistreat gentry is utter nonsense!"

Li Wei smiled and asked Lu Jinxian a question in return.

Lu Jinxian chuckled coldly, "But Li Long is your advisor. The fact that you chose an unscrupulous advisor shows that you are also unscrupulous! Gentry who default on taxes should be punished along with the common people. Although there were precedents in the early days of the dynasty, the Holy Emperor instructed us to educate the people, and we should prioritize respecting scholars. What you are doing goes against the principles of education!"

"Do you dare say these words to the Emperor?"

Li Wei asked Lu Jinxian a question.

Lu Jinxian remained silent and did not answer, but walked out in silence.

"Professor Lu, you are a wise and virtuous minister, we admire you!"

At this moment, a local gentryman stepped forward and bowed to Lu Jinxian.

Li Wei looked at the gentry: "Who are you?"

"My name is Zhao Wenpu, formerly a Hanlin Academy Reader."

Zhao Wenpu stroked his beard and replied sternly.

Li Wei waved his hand: "To presume to discuss the dismissal of officials by the imperial court and to decide the wise and foolish on behalf of the emperor is a heinous crime. Arrest him immediately and await the imperial decree for punishment!"

"Whoo!"

Huang Guotai, a battalion commander under Li Wei, responded and led his troops toward Zhao Wenpu.

Zhao Wenpu's son, Zhao Cheng, a student, was the first to step forward and stop them: "My father was appointed as a Hanlin scholar by the late emperor. How dare you stop him?"

Pfft!

Huang Guotai, however, drew his sword and plunged it into Zhao Cheng's abdomen, saying, "In our Great Qing, there is no reason why a Hanlin scholar cannot be arrested. Obstructing the governor's exercise of power is treason, and he shall be executed without mercy!"

Zhao Cheng stared at Huang Guotai in astonishment, spitting out blood.

Zhao Wenpu also looked at Huang Guotai in astonishment.

"Although he is a battalion commander under my command, he is a Manchu, so I cannot control him if he kills you. I can only control him if he disobeys my orders."

Li Wei replied calmly.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenpu finally gritted his teeth and knelt down: "Please, Governor, have mercy. I misspoke and almost spoke on behalf of the Emperor. I had no intention of overstepping the imperial law!"

"It's too late to say that!"

"Take it first, and if anyone will be granted leniency, it will be the Emperor."

Li Wei replied.

Zhao Wenbo was eventually arrested and imprisoned by Huang Guotai and his troops.

Li Wei then looked at the officials and gentry present and asked, "Is there anyone else who would presume to dismiss officials or decide the wise and foolish on behalf of the emperor?"

Li Wei then asked Lu Jinxian, who was still standing there in a daze, "Lu Jinxian, do you think you are a virtuous minister?"

Lu Jinxian's face was as black as iron, and he remained silent for a long time. Finally, he could only cup his hands and say, "Whether one is virtuous or not depends entirely on the wise ruler's keen observation!"

"very good!"

"You're quite sensible."

Li Wei nodded.

Then, Li Wei looked at the officials and gentry present: "Is there anyone else who wants to speak?"

"We will only obey the imperial edict delivered by the governor!"

The officials and gentry responded in this way.

Li Wei smiled upon seeing this.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Wenpu couldn't help but shake his head inwardly, sighing that in the Qing Dynasty, Jiangnan was truly a place where everyone was silent, and the gentry were as lowly as dogs, not daring to utter a single word!

Even a governor who rose through the ranks by donation could abuse his imperial power to bully the gentry in Jiangnan, to the point that these gentry could only swallow their anger when military officers killed officials.

When Zhao Wenpu saw the tragic state of his son's death, he was overcome with grief and tears streamed down his face.

He knew very well that in the Ming Dynasty, let alone a retired Hanlin scholar like himself, even an ordinary student or a courtesan from Qinhuai could comment on which officials in the court were virtuous and which were wicked. But in the Qing Dynasty, he had only made a comment on Lu Jinxian, yet he ended up like this.

"This dynasty is so suffocating; it is far inferior to the former Ming dynasty!"

Zhao Wenpu couldn't help but internally accuse Zhao Wenpu in this way.

……

……

"Our dynasty is based on the Eight Banners. Although it gained the support of powerful Han families to seize the country, the sword is in the hands of the Eight Banners. So we don't need to care about what people say. We will continue to import large quantities of foreign copper! Anyone who claims that this will attract Japanese pirates will be severely punished on the grounds that they are colluding with Japanese pirates to intimidate the court and the people of Zhejiang and plot to cause chaos!"

While reviewing memorials in the East Study, Emperor Qianlong also reviewed a memorial from Fahai, the governor of Zhejiang.

In his memorial, Fahai mentioned that the gentry and wealthy families in Zhejiang opposed the government's large-scale purchase of foreign copper, saying that it would attract Japanese pirates.

Emperor Qianlong made such a comment in the memorial.

He knew that buying too much foreign copper would harm the interests of the gentry and wealthy families, and would prevent them from exploiting the common people.

Therefore, instead of ordering Fahai to reduce the scale of foreign copper purchases, Hongli, in the tone of a Manchu ruler, instructed Fahai, a Manchu official from a noble family, to ignore such public opinion and threats.

Hongli believed that Fahai, as a member of the Eight Banners aristocracy, although he was also a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), well-versed in Confucian classics, and a master of contemporary essays and poetry, was not of the same social class as the Zhejiang gentry. Moreover, he had always been concerned about the country and would know what to do.

However, not all Manchu nobles truly cared about the Qing Dynasty's fate just because they were beneficiaries of its interests; many were only concerned with their own personal gains and losses.

While Hongli was reviewing memorials in the East Study and listening to Yongzheng question Manduhu about his disrespect towards his sixteenth uncle, Manduhu felt no remorse for his lack of propriety and ethics, only endless anger at his third brother for betraying him.

"Now that things have come to this, I dare not hide it. It was indeed because I was dissatisfied with Prince Zhuang that I spat at him behind his back."

"But that's because he has no brotherly affection for Yinzhi and is too hostile towards him, which makes me despise him!"

"Your subject has never been disrespectful to you. You cannot take everything Prince Cheng said seriously. Besides, if he hadn't tried to cover it up for me, I would have admitted it directly when Hongli asked me. I wouldn't have been forced to lie and deny it!"

Manduhu knelt down before Yongzheng and explained in this way.

At this moment, Yongzheng looked up at Manduhu and asked, "What do you mean by having no brotherly affection? What do you mean by being overly hostile to Yinzhi?"

"Did Yunsi do things out of brotherhood?"

"Old Sixteen was merely exposing his insidious schemes truthfully, and it was precisely in order to change him!"

"Not only do you not feel guilty for not exposing his faults like the Sixteenth Prince, but you also resent the Sixteenth Prince and have acted disrespectfully towards him, a prince!"

"Manduhu, are you truly confused, or do you simply not realize that what Yunsi did was wrong?"

After Yongzheng asked this question, Manduhu pursed his lips and then bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, I was truly confused. It's not that I thought Yinzhi did nothing wrong. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

"Now that you have realized your guilt, I hereby issue an edict to the Imperial Clan Court to deal with you. You may leave now."

Emperor Yongzheng gave only this one instruction.

"Whoo!"

Manduhu then withdrew, and as he did so, he glanced at Yunzhi with a complicated expression.

At this moment, Yongzheng also looked at Yunzhi: "Third brother, I am very pleased that you were able to expose this matter in time. You should do the same in the future."

"Your Majesty, I will heed Your Majesty's instructions. Please rest assured."

Yunzhi replied immediately.

Yongzheng nodded, and then dismissed Yunzhi as well.

Subsequently, the Imperial Clan Court impeached Prince Zhuang, Yunlu, for his disrespect and violation of etiquette, accusing him of repeated serious crimes and showing no remorse. The court also recommended that he be stripped of his title of Beile, imprisoned within high walls, and removed from his position as Zuo Ling.

Emperor Yongzheng then issued an edict stating that although the Manduhu was mediocre, despicable, treacherous, and deceitful, considering that he was unaware of his true intentions, he was to be leniently released from confinement. He was to be stripped of his title of Dorobele and granted the title of Zhenguo Gong. All his banners were to be withdrawn, with the banner banners to be given to Prince Bao, Hongli, and two banner banners to be given to Beizi Hongzhou. The rest were to be moved into the public treasury, whereby he was to be allowed to attend to him daily so that he could learn about his temperament.

When Hongli learned of the final outcome of Yongzheng's handling of the Manchu Protectorate, he was still quite surprised.

Because he did not expect that Yongzheng would not imprison Manduhu, but would allow Manduhu to have attendants around him every day.

However, after careful consideration, Hongli understood that Yongzheng was using the incident of Yunzhi offending Manduhu to give Manduhu a chance to prove himself.

Emperor Yongzheng's aim in cracking down on the imperial clan was always to strengthen imperial power, not to exterminate them.

As long as Manduhu, the emperor's cousin, was at odds with Yunzhi, Yongzheng did not care whether he had been a member of the Eighth Prince's faction in the past, and would give him the opportunity to serve.

In any case, Hongli achieved his goal of increasing the share of Zuo Ling (military commanders).

But this time he was awarded the rank of captain of the bondservant class.

Although the bondservants of the banner officers were of lower status than those of the banner officers and did not primarily undertake military or administrative tasks, they were able to run businesses for their masters because they mainly served the emperor and princes privately. They were able to leave the capital to do business for their masters in various places without having to undertake tasks assigned by the court. Women of these women did not have to participate in the court's selection process and could be directly selected by their masters.

Hongli is currently planning to do some business, and he does need some bondservants.

of course!

After he moved into Langrun Garden, he did need more women from bondservant families to do cleaning and chores. In addition, Nara Minxuan was pregnant and needed more maids to serve her.

He felt that Yongzheng must have taken these factors into consideration before bestowing the Manchu Protectorate's banner captaincy upon him, and at the same time, granting Hongzhou two banner captaincies from among the Manchu Protectorate's banner captaincies.

The next day, the chief eunuch Li Yu brought the bondservant captains who originally belonged to the Manchu Protectorate to see Hongli.

Princes and nobles did not have many bondservant captains. Even a prince of high status like Prince Cheng, Yunzhi, only had a little over a hundred bondservant captains.

Therefore, Hongli only received about ninety bondservants from Manduhu.

These ninety-odd people were all in family units, essentially domestic slaves, and there were a total of nine families.

When Hongli saw them, he saw that they, men and women, young and old, were all kneeling before him.

"Make them all raise their heads."

It was summer, and although Langrun Garden was cooler than the palace, it was still quite hot under the blazing sun. Hongli, fanning himself with a folding fan, looked at the bondservants kneeling in the shade of the trees and gave them an order.

The wrappers all raised their heads.

Then, Hongli instructed: "Those with gray hair and those under the age of twelve are exempt from service. They need not come to perform their duties. Give each of them three dou of rice and let them go home."

"Whoo!"

As a result, the number of bondservants present decreased by nearly 20%.

Hongli then asked if anyone was studying or practicing martial arts. After finding out, he rewarded these people and ordered them to go back and continue studying and practicing martial arts.

Subsequently, Hongli compiled a list of those who had already studied and practiced martial arts and acquired some skills, and ordered them to serve him.

This was because some of the sons of these bondservants voluntarily became eunuchs in order to change their personal and family circumstances.

Hongli then selected two eunuchs to serve as eunuchs, and arranged for them and several bondservant girls to serve in Li Gelao Hutong. He also ordered Li Yu to return all the household slaves that Hongxi had left in Li Gelao Hutong to their former indentures and dismiss them as commoners.

Hongxi's household servants were naturally inferior to his bondservants with clear origins, so he didn't trust them and dismissed them all.

This was a unique feature of the Qing Dynasty: the more someone knew about you and had a clear background, the more qualified you were to be a servant; otherwise, you could only become a free citizen who had to fend for yourself.

Fortunately, with the implementation of the national policy of merging land tax and poll tax, free citizens do not have to pay poll tax as long as they do not own their own land. Therefore, the survival pressure for free citizens is much lower than before.

Of the remaining servants, Hongli selected five girls who seemed to be of good character and assigned them to serve some of the trial-marriage princesses in Langrun Garden.

With the addition of five people, Langrun Garden became more lively, and Hongli naturally lived a more comfortable life and had more energy to do great things.

After meeting these bondservants, he instructed Li Yu: "Select a few capable bondservants from among those who are loyal and competent, and have them investigate Lu Jinxian, the former educational commissioner of Jiangnan, to find out whose people he is working for."

(End of this chapter)