My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 248: The Prince is rewarded with double salary, and Fucha gives birth to a son!

Hongli then proceeded to have the Cao family's daughter review the numerous books that had been copied and presented to him.

Furthermore, Hongli taught them to list important and sensitive content in the form of tables and mind maps, and to mark them in the original book for easy reference by readers.

Two days later, as expected, Hongli selected a batch of books that he had reviewed and listed, including important and sensitive content, and sent them to the capital.

Inside the Kyushu Qingyan Hall.

Upon seeing these books and manuscripts, Yongzheng immediately picked up the top manuscript and began to read it.

Upon seeing this, Yongzheng's eyes immediately lit up.

Subsequently, Emperor Yongzheng personally went to find the original book and read it.

"I entered public service for the sake of the world, not for the sake of the ruler; for the sake of the people, not for the sake of one family."

When Emperor Yongzheng saw such words in Huang Zongxi's "On the Origin of Ministers," he couldn't help but snort and say, "They dare to say that! But how many of them are worthy of saying that they are acting for the sake of the world and not for their own sake? They are nothing more than using the name of the world to do rebellious things!"

Although Emperor Yongzheng was angry, he did not intend to do anything to Huang Zongxi, because he knew that such people could not be dealt with all at once, and that punishing them indiscriminately would only make him, the emperor, appear to be afraid of their opinions, which would also affect the prestige of the monarch.

Therefore, Yongzheng then specifically looked at Huang Zongxi's other sayings according to the mind map of Huang Zongxi's notes provided by Hongli.

"Now that the killing has receded, the people of the world are filled with gratitude and compassion; the Emperor's benevolence and virtue are profound, saving us from the current calamities of war and averting the suffering to come. Scholars and officials are all playing music in the lecture halls. This is the most precious thing at this time."

"Now the Holy Emperor sees through everything, even the most obscure matters, so that the affairs of the farmers and villagers can be communicated to the higher authorities. Does this mean that the fundamental principles of morality and social order are thus strengthened?"

Therefore, Yongzheng also drew upon Huang Zongxi's evaluation of Emperor Kangxi in "Letter to Xu Qianxue" and "Biography of Zhou Jiefu".

Therefore, Yongzheng revealed a look of disdain and sneered, "So, you do know fear after all. Good! But I am not a young emperor who ascended the throne. Your pretense will have no effect on me!"

The more Emperor Yongzheng read it, the more interesting it became.

After all, these were things he had never seen.

"Emperor Yizong was not unaware that the Donglin faction were virtuous men, but he doubted them because the people they relied on were not pure virtuous men; he was also unaware that those who attacked the Donglin faction were petty men, but he employed them because he could control the Donglin faction. In the end, all the virtuous men left, and only the petty men remained. This is why Emperor Yizong lost his country; it was the harm caused by his advocacy of peace."

Next, following the map provided by Hongli, Yongzheng found Huang Zongxi's evaluation of Chongzhen in Huang Zongxi's "Ming Confucian Scholars' Cases".

"Did Emperor Chongzhen lose his country because he didn't fully utilize the Donglin faction?"

Emperor Yongzheng asked a question about this, and immediately slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, "That's pure nonsense!"

This time, he couldn't resist.

But Yongzheng quickly calmed down and ordered, "Summon Prince Yi!"

When Prince Yi, the thirteenth prince, arrived, Yongzheng pointed to a pile of books and manuscripts in front of him and said, "These are some good things that Hongli had sent back to the capital. Take a look at them too."

"is it?"

The thirteenth prince asked a question and then picked up the book "Cases of Ming Confucian Scholars".

Seeing this, Yongzheng handed the reading guide given to him by Hongli to the thirteenth prince: "Refer to this when reading."

"Whoo!"

The thirteenth prince also started reading, and after reading it, he frowned: "If the scholars of Jiangnan really believed this kind of argument, wouldn't they really think that their partisan attacks were the right thing to do?"

Yongzheng nodded: "So, Hongli's idea of ​​settling debts with books is really good. If we don't take the opportunity to confiscate these books, we won't know that the literati in Jiangnan are using all sorts of private histories and books to confuse right and wrong and to promote their factions." "Yes, if they can analyze the affairs of the Ming Dynasty in this way today, they will analyze our Great Qing in the same way in the future, and our Great Qing will also suffer from the harm of factions."

The thirteenth prince echoed this sentiment, then looked at Yongzheng and said very seriously.

Yongzheng got up and walked around the room, his brows furrowed as he appeared to be deep in thought.

Then, Yongzheng said: "In his secret memorial, Hongli proposed that the court should give a unified conclusion on the analysis of the reasons for the fall of the Ming Dynasty and even on the evaluation of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. In the future, a history textbook should be compiled based on this, so that scholars throughout the country can only use this historical theory to express their views. In this way, we can avoid treacherous people from confusing right and wrong and disturbing people's hearts."

"Fourth Brother, Hongli's idea is excellent, especially for us Manchus. When reading Han history books, we should only accept the officially designated historical viewpoints!"

"Otherwise, if the Manchus were to believe, like the scholars of Jiangnan, that Emperor Chongzhen's downfall was due to his failure to properly employ the Donglin scholars, then who knows what terrible consequences might ensue in the future!"

The thirteenth prince replied.

Yongzheng smiled and said, "This is a good idea, and it shows that he has always kept the fate of the Qing Dynasty in his heart."

Therefore, Emperor Yongzheng said: "Issue an imperial decree that Hongli has rendered meritorious service in quelling the scandal of the theft and sale of imperial property in Jiangnan. He shall be rewarded with double the salary of a prince! His request to be granted the title of bondservant Jincan Shiyi shall be approved."

When Hongli submitted his memorial to Yongzheng, he did indeed request that the Jin family, the niece of the old lady Li of the Cao family, be granted to him as bondservants of the Prince's Mansion.

Now that Hongli has resolved the Cao family's deficit and forced many gentry in Jiangnan to have their books and articles confiscated or presented, Yongzheng would naturally not be so reluctant to spare even a single bondservant.

As a result, Hongli was granted the title of bondservant to three families in the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign.

At this time, in the Imperial Textile Bureau, the Cao family's daughters were sitting behind their desks in Hongli's study, just like students in a private school, reviewing the books and manuscripts that had been copied or presented to them, as Hongli had requested.

Hongli never imagined that one day he would have a girl from the Cao family doing this kind of writing work for him.

However, he was quite satisfied with the girls' ability and attitude in reviewing information, because they were able to quickly identify all sorts of key details.

Sui Hede also followed Hongli's wishes and paid the back wages owed to the artisans of the Jiangning Textile Bureau.

The artisans of the weaving bureau were quite surprised, but also very happy. As a result, many of them became much more enthusiastic and respectful towards the new weaving official when they met Sui Hede.

Sui Hede also said to the foremen of these craftsmen:

"You should not only be grateful to me, but also to His Majesty and Fourth Prince. It was His Majesty who was determined to reform, and it was Fourth Prince who repeatedly insisted that the deficit be covered first, no matter how difficult, so that your wages would be paid first."

"Of course, you shouldn't blame the Cao family too much. The Cao family's current predicament is certainly related to the incompetence of the current head of the Cao family, but the reason why the Weaving Bureau is in debt and even your wages are owed and deducted is because the Cao family's servants colluded with the gentry. They stole and sold off imperial property, which caused the Weaving Bureau to suffer serious losses."

Sui Hede's words caused the lower-level artisans of the Textile Bureau to transfer their resentment over the years of unpaid wages and deductions onto the Cao family's servants and the gentry of Jiangnan.

"The Emperor and Fourth Prince above are naturally benevolent and love the people. The Manchu lords of the Cao family are just like Master Sui. After all, they are the Emperor and Fourth Prince's bondservants. It is impossible for them not to care for us for the sake of the Qing Dynasty. It is the servants and gentry below who are despicable!"

"That's right. It's one thing to sell the best silks and brocades from the Weaving Bureau, but they actually hid the profits, leaving us with unpaid wages as well."

Hongli also learned about the comments made by the lower-level artisans of the Weaving Bureau from Sui Hede, but he just smiled at them.

With Princess Fucha about to give birth, and the confiscation of the Cao family's property and the clearing of the deficits basically completed, Hongli officially set off to return to Beijing on June 17th of the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign.

However, Hongli did not live to see Princess Fucha give birth; she gave birth to a son during his journey back to the capital.

Emperor Yongzheng even learned of this news before Hongli, and he was very pleased, ordering, "Su Peisheng, send someone by express courier to tell Hongli about this. This boy has another son. He is truly a blessed prince!"

(End of this chapter)