My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 247 Hongli amassed a large fortune, with a bright future ahead!
"This servant told them that Li Wei is a favorite of His Majesty and is also trusted by Prince Yi. Our Fourth Master should not provoke him."

"Furthermore, General He Tianpei of Jiangning is also a confidant of Longkodo, and Longkodo has always been a ruthless person. Even our Fourth Master would avoid him."

"Therefore, he couldn't and wouldn't be able to manage what was happening in Jiangnan. He never expected that a proposal to settle debts with books would turn out like this, resulting in so many deaths."

"Fourth Master originally thought that using books to settle debts would satisfy everyone, both the Emperor and the gentry of Jiangnan, so that they would be willing to show mercy in order to revitalize the cultural administration and that the gentry of Jiangnan would not have to suffer heavy losses to compensate for the imperial property."

"For this reason, our Fourth Master has already submitted a memorial to His Majesty to apologize, blaming himself for being young and naive, and for making this suggestion out of a moment of reluctance, which has led to bloodshed in Jiangnan and damage to the virtue of the Emperor."

"Therefore, our Fourth Master has decided to remain in the Imperial Textile Bureau to await punishment and will not see anyone again. Therefore, he will not come out to pay respects to the murdered scholars. Please understand."

Weaving Bureau.

After Li Wei forcefully suppressed the petitioning scholars.

Li Yu then truthfully reported to Hongli the contents of his private conversations with some gentry from Jiangnan.

Hongli lay half-reclined on a bamboo couch, flipping through "The Story of the Lamp" in his hand, and nodded: "Very good."

Li Zhenxia then handed her a cup of cold tea, her eyes wide open; she hadn't expected politics to be like this.

Hongli took the tea, took a sip, then poured it for Jin, who was also serving beside him, and handed the fan to Li Zhenxia.

Li Zhenxia tactfully stood aside and fanned Hongli.

At this moment, Hongli asked Li Yu, "What was their reaction?"

"They felt quite guilty, feeling that it was their own group that had failed Your Majesty's kindness and good intentions, which forced Your Majesty to apologize to His Majesty and deny their own guilt."

"They also said that they did not think that Your Highness was young and naive, but rather that you were virtuous, filial, and far-sighted, which is why you persuaded His Majesty to grant you mercy in the name of promoting civil administration. It's just that some of them didn't know how to appreciate it."

"Furthermore, they hate Li Wei and his ilk even more because of this. They feel that Li Wei is the one who made things develop to such a serious point today. They feel that it is one thing for Li Wei to be harsh on them, the gentry, but he also disregarded your reputation and ruthlessly suppressed the scholars who came to petition, forcing you to apologize to His Majesty and admit your rashness."

After Li Yu finished speaking, Hongli couldn't help but smile: "You answered very well. Go down and receive your reward."

"This servant thanks Fourth Master!"

After Li Yu left, Hongli took some dried fruit from a plate and started eating it while looking up at the ceiling, seemingly deep in thought.

Through Li Yu's retelling, he understood even more clearly that the more the gentry in Jiangnan were persecuted, the more obedient they became. Whether their intentions were genuine or not, at least on the surface they were still showing goodwill and loyalty to him, the fourth prince, and were not blaming him for all the trouble that had happened during his trip to Jiangnan.

Logically speaking, these people aren't fools. Even if they don't show themselves directly, they should be able to guess what's going on and know that their fourth prince is no pushover.

But it was already quite rare that these gentry from Jiangnan were willing to cooperate with his act.

of course!

Hongli knew that these gentry in Jiangnan had no choice but to show goodwill, given that Emperor Yongzheng was clearly a tough and resolute man. No matter what kind of emperor the future emperor, Hongli, would be, they had to do so first.

Even if they didn't believe that the future emperor would be kind to them, they had to deceive themselves into believing it and then try to please him.

Moreover, people are always instinctively filled with beautiful visions for the future and willing to believe that future leaders will be better.

The gentry of Jiangnan were no exception; they also loved to dream.

Just as they once fantasized that the Qing Dynasty would be as lenient as the Yuan Dynasty, and even more free than the Ming Dynasty in its later stages, at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty.

They also tend to believe that outside masters are better than their own.

However, reality was naturally not what they hoped for, but that didn't stop them from continuing to fantasize. After all, they couldn't actually start a revolution or a rebellion.

After all, that would require mobilizing the people and spending money to recruit soldiers.

Wouldn't that be selling out the Ming Dynasty for nothing?

Moreover, Hongli understood very well that what Han landlords were least willing to do was to mobilize the people and get them to stand up, because for them, that would be more dangerous than the destruction of the country and the extinction of their race!

This is also why the rulers of the Qing Dynasty dared to use their minority to oppress the majority with impunity.

The gentry were not fools; they understood the principles that the Qing rulers understood, but they had to pretend not to understand and deceive themselves.

Hongli then glanced down at the mountain of books already piled up in his study.

These are various precious books confiscated from the homes of gentry in Jiangnan.

From astronomy and geography to historical and institutional reflections, and then to metallurgy, agriculture, navigation, aquaculture, and medicine, there are all sorts of books, including rare books, ancient books, manuscripts, translations, and imperial edicts with imperial annotations from previous dynasties.

For Hongli, who would one day rule the Qing Dynasty, this was far more precious than ten million taels of silver.

Because this is civilization, the accumulation of thousands of years of Chinese civilization, and the foundation that once led the world's scientific and technological productivity.

Emperor Qianlong could either make the empire stronger and continue to lead the world by utilizing, popularizing, and promoting these ideas, or he could use his power to prohibit and destroy them, causing the empire to decline even faster.

For someone aspiring to become the most centralized emperor, beauty, money, and land might not be as alluring as the power to change the fate of generations of a civilization.

Of course, this was also Hongli's real weapon in controlling the aristocratic families.

After all, governing a country cannot be achieved through killing; killing is merely a temporary and unavoidable means.

Even Emperor Yongzheng never intended to carry out a mass killing; his toughness was mainly reflected in his insistence on implementing the new system.

Therefore, even someone like Zeng Jing was able to survive during his reign.

"Weren't many of your sisters in the Cao family educated?"

Suddenly, Hongli asked about Li Zhenxia.

Li Zhenxia widened her eyes again, her gaze filled with tears, and replied:
“That’s right, Fourth Master. Because the Cao family are also Manchus, they do not prohibit women from studying. Although they may not be considered learned, they have their own insights into literature, poetry, the works of various philosophers, and the miscellaneous studies of monks and Taoists.”

"I don't trust outsiders, so I have them come to my study under the guise of being my maids to select some books. I have them read private histories and scholars' notes first, and review the passages involving the emperors and ministers of the current and previous dynasties, and make notes on them."

"I will select some to send back to the capital to show the Khan."

"Whoo!"

At this moment, Jin couldn't help but laugh and say, "Fourth Master, my cousin can do this too."

Li Zhenxia nodded in agreement: "Sister Jin's knowledge goes without saying. Among all the sisters I know, she is the most learned!"

Hongli chuckled mischievously and picked up the book from his hand: "If you want the Jin family of Hangzhou to stay here, then you can continue reading this book with me tonight!"

The two blushed.

(End of this chapter)