My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 194 Gifts to the Zuo Ling, Becoming the Great Banner Master!
At this moment, Hongli saw the confusion in the fourteenth prince's eyes.

But he knew that although the fourteenth prince was also very power-hungry, he was a warmonger who was determined to expand his territory.

The biggest similarity between him and Emperor Kangxi was that they both wished they could immediately wipe out the Dzungar Khanate, which was constantly provoking them in the northwest.

of course!

This is also a common point between the fourteenth prince and Hongli.

Adhering to the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences.

Hongli then continued his usual empty promises to his fourteenth son, saying, "You are right, but in my opinion, this 'Capital News' may very well become an aid to stabilizing the Dzungars in the future."

Upon hearing this, the fourteenth prince's brow unfurrowed, and he chuckled amiably, "You might as well say that the new policy will help stabilize the market!"

"Is not it?"

Hongli simply asked the fourteenth prince a question in return.

The fourteenth prince's face darkened: "But if it weren't for you, Hongli, I'm afraid this new policy would hardly be of any help?"

Hongli then asked, "Why does my fourteenth uncle think so?"

"I've already found out that the Manchu people's willingness to settle and cultivate the land is related to the fertilizer you provided that aids their growth."

"In addition, the merging of land tax and the reduction of the number of cavalry did not make the livelihood of the banner people more difficult, which is also related to your suggestion to the Emperor to release a large amount of the collected money back out."

"Including the fertilizer plant you built, which has greatly improved the livelihood of the banner people under your banner's command."

“Hongli, it is because of you that the Emperor’s fourth brother did not let his new policies become oppressive policies.”

After saying this, the fourteenth prince put his hands behind his back and sighed softly.

Hongli smiled, then looked at the fourteenth prince with a serious expression.

The fourteenth prince looked at him with a solemn expression.

"Uncle Fourteen, let me have a few words from the bottom of my heart."

Hongli suddenly spoke up.

The fourteenth prince nodded.

Then, Hongli deliberately gritted his teeth and said, "Nephew wishes he could pacify the Dzungars and conquer the Russian Kingdom as soon as possible!"

The fourteenth prince was slightly taken aback.

"Because with the Dzungars around, the Russians can keep taking advantage of our Great Qing. If we don't cripple the Russians, they will always harbor the ambition to nibble away at our Great Qing territory!"

“My nephew has already received their threats: a blunt knife used to slaughter our border people, and a map of the Qing Dynasty that doesn’t even exist in Shengjing!”

At this point in Hongli's story, the fourteenth prince frowned: "Is that so?"

Hongli nodded: "Of course, I have always kept these two gifts in my study. If you don't believe me, you can come with me to take a look."

Having had contact with Russians and managed military affairs, the fourteenth prince had no doubts and nodded, saying, "I believe you!"

Moreover, at this moment, the fourteenth prince looked at Hongli with an appreciative expression.

He was very pleased to see that Hongli had such ambition.

However, because of this, the fourteenth prince sighed.

Hongli then asked his fourteenth brother, "Why is your fourteenth uncle sighing?"

In his memory, the arrogant fourteenth prince never sighed and always confronted anyone he disliked directly, including his father and his own brother.

But the fourteenth prince waved his hand with a smile at this moment: "It's better not to say it, it's better not to say it!"

The fourteenth prince then put his hands on Hongli's shoulders and said very seriously, "Hongli, your fourteenth uncle also wants to say something from the bottom of his heart. Your fourteenth uncle has already failed once, and I cannot fail again because I support you!"

Hongli understood what his fourteenth uncle meant, and said directly, "Fourteenth Uncle, you will definitely have the title of Iron-Cap Prince in the future, I said it!"

The fourteenth prince smiled.

Because of his fourteenth brother's statement, Hongli took the initiative to ask him, "Uncle Fourteen, please tell your nephew the truth, have they contacted you?"

If we were to talk about Kangxi's sons, who had the highest prestige among the Manchus and Mongols, it would undoubtedly be the fourteenth prince.

This was because Emperor Kangxi had explicitly instructed the Mongol tribes and the hereditary commanders of the Eight Banners outside the Great Wall that during the period when the Fourteenth Prince was stationed in the Northwest, he should be treated the same as he was. He also allocated a large sum of money from the imperial treasury to allow the Fourteenth Prince to personally offer sacrifices and condolences to the Eight Banners officers and soldiers who died in battle in the Northwest.

Therefore, whether it was the various Mongol tribes or the Solon and Jurchen people outside the Great Wall, even if they had some grievances against the Qing Dynasty, they always held the Fourteenth Prince in high esteem.

Even the Manchu and Han bannermen within the Great Wall held the Fourteenth Prince in high esteem.

This was not only because the Fourteenth Prince had indeed won a battle outside the Great Wall, but mainly because, with the support of Emperor Kangxi, the Fourteenth Prince had indeed accumulated great prestige among the Eight Banners by personally offering sacrifices, privately providing relief, and actively recommending and promoting middle and lower-ranking Eight Banner military officers.

Of course, the Fourteenth Prince's overly upright character also indirectly contributed to his extremely high approval rating among the lower and middle-class Eight Banners.

After all, he genuinely refused to promote relatives and cronies like Longkodo to important positions in the military, instead choosing people based solely on their military achievements and special skills, regardless of their background.

This kind of fair leadership may dislike the upper aristocracy, but it is indeed easy to win the hearts of the middle and lower classes.

Therefore, Emperor Yongzheng and his cronies were always wary of the fourteenth prince.

If it weren't for the fact that the Fourteenth Prince, under Hongli's influence, showed support for him, and that the Thirteenth Prince also supported him, and that Yongzheng himself genuinely wanted to strengthen military preparedness, Yongzheng might not have agreed to let the Fourteenth Prince train officers at the military academy. Even Hongli himself worried that those who opposed the new policies would approach the Fourteenth Prince, who had considerable influence in the Manchu and Mongol regions.

Therefore, it was at this time that Hongli asked about the fourteenth prince.

After hearing this, the fourteenth uncle took out a piece of paper from his sleeve: "It is true, as you know, the last character of my name on my imperial genealogy was originally '祯', not '禵'."

"Unfortunately, the pronunciation of this character '祯' is similar to the last character in Fourth Brother's name. In addition, our Manchu script has always been written using sound (similar to later pinyin), so characters with the same pronunciation are written with the same character."

"Therefore, someone sent me a note saying that the late emperor passed the throne to Yinzhen, not Yinzhen. It was just that Longkodo was audacious and reckless, and forged a fake Chinese edict by imitating the late emperor's handwriting."

Upon hearing this, Hongli gasped in astonishment: "The person who wrote this note has a very deep purpose!"

The fourteenth prince nodded: "I didn't originally intend to tell anyone about this, but since you asked, I'll tell you. Anyway, I never thought that this note would really cause chaos within my Great Qing!"

then.

The fourteenth prince smiled and said, "You can give this to the fourth brother so that he knows that what he has done has made his enemies wish that our Great Qing would be thrown into chaos because of this."

"Fourteenth Uncle, where did you get this note?"

Hongli asked.

The fourteenth prince said, "I don't know either. I found him in my office at the military academy, and he happened to be tucked inside the official documents I was reviewing. Many officials and students come to my office every day, and I don't know who tucked it in when I wasn't looking. I can only be sure that he is a member of the imperial family or a member of an Eight Banners family."

Hongli nodded after hearing this: "Logically speaking, the Qing Dynasty also belongs to them, yet they wish the Qing Dynasty would perish just because they oppose the new policies!"

He couldn't help but think of the incident during the Ming Dynasty when Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, had his memorial to the Qing Dynasty on peace negotiations taken out of his study and leaked to the outside world.

Now, the situation that happened to Lao Shisi is exactly the opposite of that of Chen Xinjia. Someone slipped a note into his office, which is the office where he is on duty.

"The question now is whether only Uncle Fourteen saw it, or if someone else saw it."

Hongli said.

The fourteenth brother said, "It doesn't matter whether anyone knows or not. The tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease. As long as someone wants to make a fuss about this, they can continue to make a fuss about it. The key is whether your fourteenth uncle is willing to believe it, and whether your fourth brother will take this matter seriously."

Hongli nodded.

Then, Hongli bowed to his fourteenth brother: "Thank you for telling me this, Uncle Fourteen. Your willingness to speak of this today is proof of your loyalty."

The fourteenth prince smiled faintly, then suddenly instructed Hongli very seriously: "Just don't forget the ambition you mentioned to me!"

Hongli nodded and said very solemnly, "Your nephew would not dare to fail you!"

For the fourteenth prince, his biggest obsession now is the pacification of the Dzungars.

Even if he can't achieve this directly, but can achieve it indirectly, it's still worthwhile for him.

What the fourteenth prince found rare was that Hongli shared his ideals, so he didn't hide anything from Hongli and genuinely cared for his nephew. He then suddenly asked Hongli with a smile:

"You must have had a very tough time lately, right?"

Hongli was indeed busier than before, mainly because the fertilizer factory had not yet gotten on track, and he often had to personally select Manchus and bondservants.

When asked by his fourteenth brother, Hongli smiled and said, "It's alright. I am deeply grateful for your care, Uncle Fourteen."

"It's almost time for dinner. I asked your fourteenth aunt to prepare some good dishes. Come with me to the backyard."

The fourteenth son then went to the backyard.

Hongli followed.

In his memory, the fourteenth prince rarely invited people to stay for a meal after they came to visit him at home.

After all, he was always arrogant and only treated those with real skills with enthusiasm. In his eyes, many of his brothers and nephews did not have any real skills.

This meant that while he was highly respected among the lower and middle ranks of the Eight Banners and many capable princes and ministers respected him, many other princes and ministers also felt that he was very unapproachable.

The fact that the Fourteenth Prince invited him to dinner shows that he truly respects Hongli and genuinely believes that he is the one who can save the Qing Dynasty in the future, rather than just acting out of self-interest.

But the fourteenth prince led him to the courtyard where his concubine, Lady Shushu Gioro, lived.

Hongli had long heard that the fourteenth prince favored his concubine, Shushu Gioro.

In the Qing Dynasty, in order to prevent the primary consort from becoming too powerful, the secondary consorts also held a high position.

Therefore, Hongli still paid great respects to Shushu Gioro and addressed her as "Fourteenth Aunt".

Shushu Jueluo also gave him some gifts, which were nothing more than gold ingots printed with auspicious words.

After Hongli expressed his gratitude and accepted the gift, he dined with the fourteenth prince and even drank a few cups with him.

After having a few drinks, the fourteenth prince revealed his true purpose in inviting Hongli to dine at the Prince's residence, saying, "Of all the banner lords and leaders in the entire Qing Dynasty, only you, Hongli, care about the difficulties of the lower-level banner people. Therefore, I have decided to hand over my own banner to you!"

Hongli was stunned and stood there in shock after hearing this.

It should be noted that the fourteenth prince had quite a few lieutenants, many of whom were fierce warriors who had come to him from the northwest, and many of them were seasoned Solon people.

If this were given to him, his strength would be no less than that of many great banner lords.

(End of this chapter)