My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 188 Teaching a Lesson to the Royal Family
"Your Highness, what are you doing? We are delivering goods to Eunuch Li of Prince Bao's residence. It's probably inappropriate for you to search us like this."

Li Xingju, the second son of Li Wei who was in charge of escorting the goods, asked Hongsheng about it at this time.

Hong Sheng ignored Li Xingju, gritted his teeth, opened his folding fan, and fanned himself vigorously as he went ashore.

Upon seeing this, Li Yu walked over to Hong Sheng and said, "This servant greets the young master!"

Hong Sheng impatiently closed his folding fan and raised it slightly: "Get up."

"The young master's actions today should be explained to our fourth master."

Li Yu said with a smile.

"Humph!"

Hong Sheng blushed.

Then he chuckled and turned to leave.

It turned out that Hongli had long known that Lu Jinxian had a close relationship with Hongsheng, so he had people keep an eye on Hongsheng. He also knew that Hongsheng was planning to frame Li Wei, so he had Li Xingju capture the person who had been bribed by Hongsheng in advance, thus preventing Hongsheng's people from successfully switching people.

Not long after, Hongli also learned about this from Li Yu.

Therefore, Hongli only instructed Li Yu: "Tell the censor Liu Songling to act according to the plan and prepare a memorial impeaching the Crown Prince Hongsheng for trespassing on civilian ships and disturbing merchants. Once I give the order, it should be submitted to the Emperor immediately!"

"Whoo!"

Hongli now needs to see if Hongsheng knows whether he should apologize and explain himself to him.

If Hongsheng didn't have this awareness, he naturally wouldn't be polite to Hongsheng, but would instead impeach Hongsheng through his own censors.

Since he could see Yongzheng every day, he could deal with Hongsheng at any time as long as Hongsheng's memorial appeared.

However, Hongli did not intend to break ties with these members of the imperial clan unless absolutely necessary.

Therefore, he also instructed Li Yu to remind Hong Sheng if he saw him doing anything excessive. Li Yu then reminded Hong Sheng outside Xishuiguan.

However, Hongli also had to admit that many of the Manchu princes and nobles were truly selfish and had no intention of considering the Qing court. They even took the initiative to help the gentry in Jiangnan drive away capable officials like Li Wei for some benefits.

This is also the complexity of politics; it's always a matter of interdependence.

Hongli then went to the Yuanmingyuan to meet with Yongzheng.

At the same time, Hongli instructed his double-beaded hat ornament:

"Go and keep an eye on things outside Prince Cheng's residence and see where Hongsheng will go next."

"Whoo!"

Prince Cheng's Mansion.

Hong Sheng fanned himself vigorously with his folding fan, pacing back and forth in the room: "I can't go and explain to Hongli. If I do, it would mean that I admit I don't tolerate Li Wei and am dissatisfied with the new policies, rather than that I'm targeting Hongli!"

"In that case, I will make the Emperor's fourth uncle hate me!"

“What the young master says is absolutely right, but if you don’t go, it will seem that you don’t respect Prince Bao, and offending this man would not be good either!”

"It's better to offend Hongli than to offend the current emperor!"

"After all, the Emperor's fourth uncle has always been strict."

"So instead of explaining to Hongli, I might as well go directly to the palace and tell the Emperor's fourth uncle that I went to investigate because I heard that the goods Li Wei gave to Li Yu, the eunuch by Hongli's side, were opium, and the tax officials at Xishuiguan denied that they were opium, so I rashly boarded the ship to investigate in order to find out the truth!"

After saying that, Hongsheng closed his folding fan and tapped it in his hand: "That's how it's going to be!"

So, Hongsheng entered the palace.

After meeting Yongzheng, he explained to him, "I was worried that Li Wei and Prince Bao's men were really trading opium and would damage Prince Bao's reputation, so I dared to investigate myself."

“But that’s not how my men reported it. You, Hongsheng, have already bribed Li Wei’s men to frame him. I have evidence from the people you bribed.”

Yongzheng looked at Hongsheng and said coldly.

Hong Sheng felt a chill run down his spine, and at the same time, his face showed anger.

He wasn't Hongli, and he was closer to the center of power, so he didn't have a deep impression of things like the Sticky Rod Office.

So, after a short while, he looked at Yongzheng and asked seriously, "Fourth Uncle, have you been sending people to investigate your nephew in secret?"

Emperor Yongzheng was taken aback by Hongsheng's sudden question.

"If I don't send someone to investigate you, won't you keep me in the dark forever?"

Yongzheng then directly asked Hongsheng this question.

Hong Sheng pursed his lips.

Then he knelt down and said, "Since that is the case, I confess my guilt and beg my fourth uncle to punish me."

"I will have the Imperial Clan Court discuss and punish you!"

"But I am very disappointed in you for framing Li Wei and lying to me!"

"How I wish you members of the imperial family could be of one mind with me! But instead, you are all of one mind with those gentry in Jiangnan!"

At this point, Yongzheng flicked his sleeve and gave a cold laugh:
"It's simply because they were able to secretly share a considerable portion of the stolen taxes with you. But what use is all that silver to you if they drain the Qing Dynasty dry and cause its downfall?!"

Hongsheng did not answer.

Emperor Yongzheng was furious and shouted, "Answer me!"

"Your Majesty, I do not know how to reply. What you said is true. If the Qing Dynasty falls, no matter how much money we members of the imperial family give, it will be of no use."

"But how could the Qing Dynasty possibly perish just because it collected one million taels less in taxes from Jiangnan?"

"Your Majesty, I do not feel that the Qing Dynasty will perish just because Li Wei failed to implement the land tax reform in Jiangnan. I only truly feel at this moment that because of Li Wei, we have lost a lot of income, and the debts I owe can only continue to be owed."

“My nephew is a member of the imperial family, so the merchants who owe me money naturally wouldn’t dare to come to collect their debts. But I myself can’t bear the shame!”

"Moreover, if my nephew really continues to owe debts like this, or even resorts to forced purchases and seizures, then it will be no different from the land enclosure at the beginning of the dynasty. We will truly become bandits, making it even more difficult for the Manchus and Hans to get along, and the Qing Dynasty will be more likely to perish."

Hongsheng then kowtowed and said, "Please, Fourth Uncle, see the truth!"

Yongzheng frowned and looked at Hongsheng: "How can you be so insatiable? The late emperor bestowed so many estates upon you, and after I ascended the throne, I also gave you quite a few estates. Your Prince Cheng's Mansion also has a lot of property, yet it still can't satisfy your needs. You have to live beyond your means and borrow money to make ends meet!"

Hongsheng replied, "Fourth Uncle, please calm down. In fact, this is how all the noble families of the Eight Banners live."

"Is it right for everyone to live like this?" Yongzheng asked rhetorically.

Hongsheng did not reply.

Yongzheng didn't intend to say anything more, and only said to Hongsheng: "I don't care how much debt your Prince Cheng's Mansion has outside, you can sell your property to pay it off! But don't think you can stop Li Wei and the national policy of 'equalizing land tax and poll tax'!"

Then, Yongzheng waved for Hongsheng to leave.

After leaving Yongzheng's place, Hongsheng's face fell.

"Why is my cousin making such a long face?"

Hongli then walked over, saw him, and asked him this question.

Hongli addressed him as "cousin" out of family courtesy, but Hongsheng, as the heir apparent of a prince, still had to perform the national ceremony when he met Hongli.

Therefore, Hongsheng bowed to Hongli and said, "Your Highness, I am feeling a little unwell."

"You're not feeling well, yet you're allowed to go to the West Water Gate to inspect boats on behalf of the tax officials and stop my men's cargo?"

Hongli asked Hongsheng a question with a cold smile.

Hongsheng chose to go directly to see Yongzheng to explain the matter, rather than to see Hongli. Explaining to Hongli would undoubtedly have been a loss of face for Hongli.

Hongli naturally didn't need to be too polite to Hongsheng, so he didn't ask him to get up.

Hongsheng did not answer.

"answer me!"

Hongli then suddenly used his folding fan to knock off Hongsheng's official hat.

Hong Sheng gritted his teeth: "I'm sorry about this, but I'm not targeting you, I'm only targeting Li Wei."

"Just because you're targeting Li Wei, does that mean you can disregard me?"

Hongli reached out and grabbed Hongsheng's head, shaking it violently like he was holding the head of a roly-poly toy.

Hongsheng did not answer.

"I gave you a chance, but you're useless!"

Hongli gritted his teeth and uttered those words before leaving with a cold face.

After Hongli left, Hongsheng stood up and returned to the Prince Cheng's residence.

"Amma!"

When the third brother, Yunzhi, saw him return, he asked him, "What did your fourth uncle say?"

"Fourth Uncle already knew, and had been secretly investigating his son for a long time."

Hong Sheng replied.

Yunzhi took a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly: "He is indeed extremely insidious!"

"Why wasn't it Uncle Fourteen back then?"

"If it were Uncle Fourteen, why would things have come to this today?"

Hong Sheng suddenly asked Yun Zhi with a serious expression.

He had fought alongside the fourteenth prince in the Northwest and had even distinguished himself in battle, so he had a good relationship with the fourteenth prince. It was at this time that he asked the third prince why the fourteenth prince was not the emperor.

After Hong Sheng asked this question, Yun Zhi only snorted coldly: "Isn't it all your Eighth Uncle and Ninth Uncle's fault? They are too stupid and cowardly!"

Then, Yunzhi said to Hongsheng, "Since he has already sent people to keep an eye on you, you should be careful."

Hong Sheng nodded.

"You were right to secretly send people to keep an eye on Hongsheng! You really do know who your primary enemy is at all times."

The Old Summer Palace.

After Hongli arrived, Emperor Yongzheng said this to him.

After saying this, Yongzheng sighed deeply.

Hongli then asked, "What is Father lamenting?"

"What I lament is that there are very few imperial relatives who are truly willing to humble themselves for the sake of the Qing Dynasty!"

"I said with a sigh."

Hongli nodded, and then comforted Yongzheng.

It was indeed not Yongzheng who sent people to investigate Hongsheng, but Hongli.

However, Hongli had informed Yongzheng in advance about his investigation of Hongsheng, and Yongzheng exposed Hongsheng when Hongsheng explained to him that he had unauthorizedly investigated the goods that Li Wei's family had transported into the capital.

However, when Yongzheng asked Hongsheng about it, he did not tell Hongsheng that it was Hongli who told him. Therefore, Hongsheng only thought that Yongzheng was investigating him in secret, and did not know that it was Hongli who was investigating him in secret.

In any case, since Hongsheng chose to offend Hongli rather than admit from the beginning that he was only targeting Li Wei, then Hongli naturally did not need to be too polite to Hongsheng.

Following this, Hongli ordered the censor to impeach Hongsheng.

The Imperial Clan Court therefore impeached Hong Sheng for arrogance and numerous serious crimes, stripped him of his title, and requested that he be imprisoned within high walls.

Emperor Yongzheng issued a reply, stripping him of his title and demoting him to a lowly member of the imperial clan, ordering him to be confined to the Prince Cheng's residence.

But because of Hongsheng's matter, Yongzheng thought of the current situation of the imperial family and the Eight Banners nobles, and sighed again.

Seeing this, Hongli once again advised, "Father, don't be too disappointed. Don't you still have your thirteenth and sixteenth uncles who can understand you?"

“But it’s still too little. I thought your eighth uncle was bad enough, but I didn’t expect there to be someone even worse than your eighth uncle. At least your eighth uncle wouldn’t frame Li Wei for his own sake.”

Yongzheng suddenly said.

Hongli never expected that Yongzheng would think of the Eighth Prince again.

But he wasn't too surprised by this, after all, the two had once had genuine feelings for each other.

To Hongli's surprise, Yongzheng then said to him, "Go to the Imperial Clan Court on my behalf and visit your eighth uncle."

(End of this chapter)