My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 260 Emperor Yongzheng was overjoyed, and Hongli's prestige greatly increased!
“Celeng has been stripped of his title and imprisoned, so it’s impossible for him to replace Longkodo.”

"And now, the reason why the Fourth Prince, who was in charge of managing the Court of Colonial Affairs, did not support replacing Longkodo has undoubtedly been found: it is because he could not accept that the Mongol princes of the northern deserts were not loyal enough to the Chinese court!"

"The same goes for China's Bogda Khan!"

"He cared more about the loss of power than the benefits of land and trade."

Missionary Bardomin replied.

Bang!
Langk slammed his fist on the table and gritted his teeth.

His face was full of disappointment.

But he couldn't really stop negotiating.

Because his Rakshasa Kingdom truly needs stability from the East.

"How could this Fourth Prince know about our secret contacts with Mongolian princes?"

In response, Langk frowned and asked another question.

He was shocked that Hongli knew they were secretly contacting Mongol princes.

Baduoming said, "He even claimed to have letters as evidence, but Celing admitted it so readily that he didn't produce them."

"That's not important. What's important is that he actually knew we were secretly in contact with Mongol princes, and that some Mongol princes were paying tribute to us!"

"This fourth prince had clearly planted spies everywhere long ago."

"Whether he truly desires peace or not, his wisdom and prudence have made it even more difficult for my Rakshasa Kingdom to gain any advantage in the upcoming negotiations!"

Langke replied.

At the same time, he had to admit that this fourth prince was just as cunning as the Russians.

This also reminded him of the "Beijing News" that gave him a headache.

Bardomin then chuckled and said, "That depends on how much your country needs peace in the East."

Meanwhile, on the Qing Dynasty's side...

Because Yongzheng decided not to replace Longkodo, he only wrote an imperial edict in red ink to allow Longkodo to atone for his crimes by performing meritorious service, and chose to let him off lightly.

This reassured Longkodo considerably, and he said to the Mongol princes with a determined look, "I know you hate me, but the Holy Lord is wise, so even if you use the matter of secretly possessing the imperial genealogy against me, or even falsely accuse me of treason, the Holy Lord will not easily believe it!"

Hongli was also very pleased about this.

After all, this means that he still changed the course of history.

During the negotiations, the tough-minded Longkodo was not replaced.

at the same time.

The ministers who accompanied Longkodo, including Tulichen, were thus relieved of much of the pressure. They were no longer worried about angering Yongzheng because the negotiations had not progressed and dared not take a hard line.

It is worth noting that historically, because Longkodo was arrested and imprisoned during the discussion, Tulichen and others chose to remain silent and shut up, no longer daring to express a strong stance. This led to Tsering, who was the chief negotiator at the time, easily making huge concessions during the negotiations.

Therefore, it's truly a positive change that Longkodo didn't go to jail this time.

Meanwhile, Hongxi also received an imperial edict criticizing him for being careless in handling matters and for disregarding the dignity of the state out of jealousy towards Hongli.

Bang!

In response, Hongxi smashed a porcelain vase in front of him on the ground, scattering countless shards of jade.

At the same time, he sneered: "Father actually said that I was careless in handling matters, and even said that I was jealous of Hongli?"

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

"Fortunately, the Emperor wasn't too angry with you. At least, he probably just thought that you only disagreed with the Fourth Prince's decisions in the Court of Colonial Affairs, rather than that you didn't support the Fourth Prince's succession to the throne. So, he only gave you such a trivial charge."

Wang Tingcheng then began to persuade Hongxi.

Hongxi nodded: "You're right!"

"But being reprimanded by the Emperor is definitely not a good thing!"

"The emperor does not easily praise or criticize anyone. Now that my father has issued an edict to reprimand me, it will also affect how the princes and officials view me!"

Hongxi gritted his teeth in response.

then.

Hongxi smiled sadly and said, "In addition, it seems that the Emperor is not dissatisfied with Hongli's performance in the Court of Colonial Affairs. On the contrary, he is very satisfied, which is why he ultimately chose to follow the original decision of the Court of Colonial Affairs."

"Perhaps it's because the Fourth Prince is indeed exceptionally intelligent!" "Even in adversity, he can turn the tide."

"For example, this time, he actually found out that the Mongolian princes in the northern deserts were not subservient enough to the court and were too obsequious to the Russian Kingdom, and even paid tribute to the country, to support himself, instead of proving whether he could manage the Court of Colonial Affairs properly."

"He has undoubtedly truly grasped the emperor's focus on the power of the court!"

"More importantly, the Fourth Prince was clearly aware of this beforehand and had planted spies in advance. He knew about this, which is why he dared to say such a thing, forcing Celing to admit it."

Wang Tingcheng replied.

Hongxi glared at Wang Tingcheng.

Then, Hongxi sighed again: "I have to admit, you're right!"

"Hongli's talent and wisdom are indeed extraordinary. Rather than saying I am jealous of him, I would say I admire him. Back when we were doing famine relief together in the capital, I could tell that he was not as simple as he seemed."

"But as time went by, the more talented he became, the less I could feel happy about him, the less happy I could feel at all!"

"After all, I, Aisin-Gioro Hongxi, was the late emperor's most favored grandson! The whole world has witnessed this!"

……

……

"Tell me, is Hongxi unwilling to see Hongli offend the Mongol princes because he supports Hongli, or does he himself harbor ambitions to seize the throne?"

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

After the meeting of princes and ministers, Emperor Yongzheng also mentioned Hongxi privately to his thirteenth son, Yunxiang.

The thirteenth prince looked like he was thinking seriously: "I've also been thinking about this, but I think the former is more likely, because even if he's stupid, he should know that the throne is not going to come to him no matter what, so he wouldn't still be so hopeless!"

The thirteenth prince remembered Hongxi as intelligent and sensible, so he didn't doubt Hongxi much and was more willing to believe the former.

In fact, Emperor Yongzheng did not really suspect Hongxi of having designs on the throne.

Otherwise, Emperor Yongzheng would not have been so fond of Hongxi in history, allowing him to call him "Imperial Father" and making Hongxi the first nephew in history to be granted the title of Prince.

Even Hongli himself hadn't expected Hongxi to have such thoughts.

Therefore, in history, at the beginning of his reign, Emperor Qianlong treated Hongxi very well in order to ease the intensified conflicts among the imperial clan during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng.

Hongli only realized that Hongxi had such thoughts after he learned that Hongxi hoped for his early death.

Therefore, even the smartest person can miscalculate.

If it weren't for the irrefutable facts, no one would believe that such illogical things could happen.

But reality is sometimes more absurd than fiction.

Let’s get back to the topic.

Although Yongzheng still harbored some doubts about Hongxi, he was indeed more inclined to believe what the thirteenth prince said, and simply said, "Sometimes it's easy to be blinded by greed."

"Fourth Brother is right, but even so, he can't cause any trouble."

"Now, there are many important things to do, and the court cannot be unstable. Therefore, in my opinion, even if he really has this intention, it is best for us to pretend we don't know anything. We would rather leave it to Hongli to handle in the future than do anything to Hongxi now."

“He is, after all, the eldest son of the second brother. Now our reform has already displeased the Han gentry, and the negotiations have displeased the Mongol princes. If we stir up trouble within our Manchu community, I fear that the remnants of the eighth brother’s faction will cause trouble again.”

The thirteenth brother said.

Yongzheng nodded.

The thirteenth prince suddenly laughed and said, "Hongli's performance this time was quite good, which undoubtedly shows that he has indeed acquired the practical ability to govern a region."

"Yes, he can use all sorts of means to ensure that his resolutions are passed and implemented. This time, it's impossible not to acknowledge his practical ability to manage the ministry."

"More importantly, he was indeed seriously handling the affairs of the vassal states, which is why he learned that the Mongol princes were making private agreements and both sides were paying tribute. After this incident, the court officials and the Mongol princes probably could no longer question the handling of the vassal states."

Yongzheng replied.

The thirteenth prince smiled and said to Yongzheng, "There's something I haven't told Fourth Brother yet. Hongli has submitted a memorial, pleading for Celeng in the name of the Court of Colonial Affairs!"

As he spoke, the thirteenth prince took out the memorial he had hidden in his sleeve and gave it to Yongzheng.

Emperor Yongzheng was even more pleased: "I was just waiting for him to plead for Celing!"

While Yongzheng was reviewing the memorials, the thirteenth prince spoke up, saying, "Fourth brother, it's time to let Hongli take charge of the practical administration of a ministry."

(End of this chapter)