My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 197 Prince Bao's outstanding performance in the new policies

Yunli was a diligent member of the royal family.

The thirteenth prince had recommended him to Emperor Yongzheng on several occasions.

Later, Emperor Yongzheng greatly appreciated and gave important positions to his seventeenth brother.

On his deathbed, Emperor Yongzheng appointed the seventeenth prince as one of Emperor Qianlong's regents.

Therefore, although he was always in poor health, after taking on the concurrent post of Manchu and Han commander of the Bordered Blue Banner, he still often went to the countryside to check on the banner affairs in the garrison areas outside the city and to understand the situation of the lower-level banner people outside the city.

only……

As Yunli walked through the rugged, rocky countryside, he was deeply moved to tears when he saw that the lives of the bannermen under Hongli's command had greatly improved and that they all showed great respect for Hongli.

Because he could sense how insightful, virtuous, cautious, and diligent Hongli was, which was why he could so quietly improve the lives of the bannermen under his rule and gain their support.

This made him willing to believe that if Hongli were to become the emperor of the Qing Dynasty in the future, he would surely be a wise and benevolent ruler who could make the lives of the lower-class banner people of the Qing Dynasty better and make the Qing Dynasty more prosperous!

As Yunli continued his journey toward the Bordered Blue Banner, he saw some Banner people planting trees in front of and behind their thatched huts.

Yunli then asked a Manchu man, "What kind of tree is this?"

"Your Highness, I plan to plant more peach and apricot trees so that we can harvest some fresh fruit next year. If they grow well, we can offer some to our master as a token of our appreciation."

After the Manchu man introduced Yunli's identity to the person beside him, he answered truthfully.

Yunli nodded, then smiled and said to Irgen Gioro Chunshan, the retired official of the Bordered Blue Banner, who was accompanying him, "They are now willing to plant fruit trees."

"Fourth Master is virtuous. He allows us, the servants of the Banner Commanders, to earn money by working in the fertilizer factory and selling charcoal, even if we are poor. More importantly, Fourth Master also had Fifth Master make a clay stove through the Imperial Workshop. After using the honeycomb charcoal made by Fourth Master, it is very energy-efficient when burning coal."

"So now many families are willing to burn coal, and therefore are also willing to plant fruit trees that do not need to be cut down."

Irgen Gioro Chunshan replied.

Yunli nodded: "Is it the kind of stove with mud inside and those cylindrical coal piles that I saw in the single-person house before?"

"Exactly!"

Yunli clapped his hands and laughed, "Excellent!"

Then, Yunli glanced at the desolate mountain village and said:
"Perhaps, in the future, when the Manchu households here plant tens of thousands of fruit trees, there will be no worry that this place will not be lush and verdant, and that no village houses will be visible!"

……

……

"If we can really make the areas where the Manchus of Zhili live in more forests and lush, then the soil and water will be easier to conserve."

"In this way, floods will occur less frequently, the fields of Han people downstream will be less eroded, and the imperial court will spend less money on river management and disaster relief in Zhili every year. The money can then be used to widen the post roads and make transportation more convenient."

When Yunli returned to Beijing, he reported the matter to the Thirteenth Prince, who was in charge of all the affairs of the Eight Banners. When he mentioned that many Bannermen had spontaneously planted fruit trees, as well as mulberry, elm, willow and other trees, the Thirteenth Prince expressed his feelings.

Yunli nodded and smiled, saying, "But this phenomenon only exists in Hongli's banner commanderies. Most banner territories have a problem even with firewood, let alone planting fruit trees."

The thirteenth prince said, "But this is a good start."

“Thirteenth Brother is right. Most importantly, it was Hongli who took the initiative to improve the lives of the Manchus!”

After speaking, Yunli looked at the thirteenth prince with a solemn expression.

The thirteenth prince nodded in agreement: "But we can't let Hongli suffer alone. I suggest to the fourth brother that you be transferred to the position of commander of the Upper Three Banners. First, promote Hongli's methods in the Upper Three Banners, set up factories for the banner people to work in, solve the banner people's livelihood problem, and at the same time promote new methods of burning coal and applying fertilizer."

Yunli thought for a moment and said, "Then it would be best to promote it to the Han people as well, so that more people will buy fertilizer and coal."

"That's natural. The Ministry of Revenue will do that. You should go see Hongli first and ask him for advice. In any case, your improvement of the affairs of the Upper Three Banners will be good for him in the future."

"it is good!"

Yunli responded and said to the thirteenth prince with great emotion:

"Hongli is a blessing to our Great Qing!"

"Because the Khan is truly protecting him from heaven. You should already know that two of his princesses are pregnant. This shows how much the Khan's spirit in heaven favors him."

The thirteenth brother said with a smile.

Yunli nodded: "That's right. I reckon he'll be just like Father Khan was back then, with many children and much happiness, so that our Great Qing will also have many children and much happiness."

In the sweltering heat of midsummer, the incessant chirping of cicadas makes one's mouth dry and one's body feel parched.

Fortunately, Hongli has no shortage of fresh fruits and vegetables to cool him down in the summer.

At this moment, he and Zhao Jia Ziqing were enjoying the newly arrived watermelon, and while eating, they were also enjoying the gentle breeze fanned by the maid with a round fan.

The reason he is staying with Zhao Jia Ziqing now is because he needs to take her to see the thirteenth prince later.

Since the thirteenth prince had sent someone to invite him to have some drinks later, Hongli naturally couldn't refuse. Moreover, knowing that the thirteenth prince and his wife wanted to take the opportunity to see Zhao Jia Ziqing, he planned to go with Zhao Jia Ziqing when the sun wasn't so scorching.

Furthermore, Emperor Yongzheng also bestowed upon the thirteenth prince a garden attached to the Yuanmingyuan, named Jiaohui Garden, so that the ailing thirteenth prince could conveniently escape the summer heat and recuperate.

Therefore, Hongli didn't have to travel very far to see the thirteenth prince.

"Fourth Master, this watermelon is so sweet!" Zhao Jia Ziqing said to Hongli after taking a bite.

"After all, they were carefully selected by the staff."

As Hongli spoke, he reminded Zhao Jia Ziqing, "Don't be greedy, lest your spleen and stomach can't handle it."

"Ok!"

Zhao Jia Ziqing nodded obediently.

At this moment, Hongli was chatting with Zhaojia Ziqing and asked her, "I heard that your father once served as an imperial censor?"

Zhao Jia Ziqing nodded: "My late father served as the military grain supervisor, but later he encountered barbarian tribes robbing grain."

Hongli nodded: "Your father was a martyr who died for the public good. Your thirteenth aunt raised you brothers and sisters to adulthood, which can be considered as raising you on behalf of the court."

"My aunt and uncle always treated the servants as their own children."

Zhaojia Ziqing replied.

Hongli knew that if it weren't for the strict rules of the Manchu people, which required all eligible women, regardless of their status, to enter the palace to participate in the selection of imperial concubines, and the fact that Zhaojia Ziqing entered the palace to participate in the selection of imperial concubines just when the thirteenth prince was being neglected by Kangxi, Zhaojia Ziqing would still only be an official's wife.

"No wonder Uncle Thirteen and Aunt Thirteen are always so frugal. It seems they have quite a few people to support. You probably haven't seen them in a long time, have you?"

When Hongli saw that Zhao Jia Ziqing's eyes were a little red, he smiled and said, "Let's not talk about this. When you were a child, what did you usually do when you lived with your thirteenth aunt?"

Zhao Jia Ziqing replied, "Besides reading and writing, I practice riding and archery. I even practice with muskets!"

Hongli knew that Manchu women could indeed learn Han culture and horsemanship and archery just like men. However, after hearing Zhaojia Ziqing mention that she had practiced with muskets, he became interested and had someone bring him the self-propelled musket that the Sixteenth Prince had given him, so that she could practice it in the garden.

Zhao Jia Ziqing, on the other hand, performed the demonstration quite skillfully.

"Very good, hereby award two auspicious gold ingots!"

As Hongli spoke, he had Li Yu fetch two gold ingots for her.

"Thank you for the reward, Fourth Master!"

Zhao Jia Ziqing was overjoyed and almost jumped up, her eyes shining as she looked at the gold ingot in her hand.

"I didn't expect you to know this."

Hongli knew that Zhaojia Ziqing's father had died early and was very honest and upright, and that the family of the thirteenth prince who raised her had not lived well in Kangxi's later years, so she had not received much monthly allowance since childhood and was very concerned about money.

But Hongli did not look down on her because of this, he just smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to be able to operate this self-propelled musket."

Zhao Jia Ziqing replied, "When I was a child, I practiced this kind of self-propelled flintlock at my aunt's house. She said it was made by a Han man surnamed Dai. I even had ideas for improvement, but I never had the chance after entering the palace."

"Now you have a chance. If you can really improve, I will reward you handsomely."

Hongli smiled and said that he thought it would be good to give the women around him some things to do, so that they wouldn't be idle in the backyard and would spend too much time trying to win his favor.

Upon hearing Hongli's words, Zhao Jia Ziqing was very excited and immediately curtsied, saying, "Yes, sir!"

After the sun sets in the west.

Hongli then brought Zhaojia Ziqing to the Thirteenth Prince's Jiaohui Garden.

When the thirteenth prince and his wife saw the two of them, they were naturally all smiles. The thirteenth prince's wife even started wiping the corners of her eyes as she smiled.

So, the thirteenth prince asked his wife to take Zhao Jia Ziqing to the back garden to meet her cousins ​​whom she had spent every day with since childhood.

Hongli then followed the thirteenth prince to his study.

“I am very happy that Fourth Brother can let Ziqing go to your side. This child has been with me and your Thirteenth Aunt for many years, almost like our own child.”

"But she didn't have many good days with us either."

After bringing Hongli to his study, the thirteenth prince also mentioned Zhao Jia Ziqing.

Hongli understood what the thirteenth prince meant, and solemnly promised, "Uncle Thirteen, rest assured, I will treat her well."

The thirteenth prince nodded and smiled, then took out a land deed from his horse-hoof sleeve and placed it in front of Hongli: "I have a farmland in the Manshui River area, with more than 30,000 mu of irrigated fields. Now that she has become your woman, you can accept it on her behalf as a dowry from your thirteenth aunt and me."

Hongli was taken aback by this, which made him have to admit that the thirteenth prince was really good to Zhao Jia Ziqing. He truly lived up to his reputation as a loyal and affectionate thirteenth prince.

Hongli accepted it.

Then, the thirteenth prince brought up matters concerning the banner: "Your seventeenth uncle told me that you are highly respected in the Bordered Blue Banner, and your banner people are very grateful to you."

“The Manchus are the foundation of our Great Qing Dynasty, and my nephew is also doing this for the sake of the Great Qing Dynasty.”

Hongli replied.

The thirteenth prince suddenly asked Hongli, "Do you think that Yinxi's handling of the *Jingshi Xinbao* was also for the sake of the Qing Dynasty?"

Hongli was slightly taken aback, but then nodded solemnly: "Of course! If we don't occupy the battleground of public opinion, the enemy will!"

(End of this chapter)