My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 279: With Prince Bao in power, the upright officials are filled with fear!
Hongli's angry shout sent a chill down Chuck's spine.

At this moment, Hongli took the tea from Cao Xueqin, who was serving in the outer study, took a sip, and said:

"Prince Cheng has already reported that your father, when he was the chief examiner of the provincial examination, set questions that revealed his resentment and satirized current events."

"Therefore, the Khan has already issued a secret edict, sending officials to search and confiscate your father's books and writings."

Upon hearing this, Chuck's face turned ashen: "How is this possible?"

"Do you think I have the time to joke with you like this? Does your Cha family have the right to be the subject of my jokes?"

Hongli asked with a stern face.

Chuck immediately prostrated himself on the ground: "Fourth Master, please forgive me. It's not that I don't trust you, but I don't believe that Prince Cheng would expose my father?"

Why wouldn't he expose your father?

Hongli looked down at Chuck with a cold and stern gaze.

Chuck said, "Now that things have come to this, I dare not hide anything from Your Highness any longer!"

"Although my father was promoted to Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and then concurrently held the title of Vice Minister by the Emperor's brother-in-law Longkodo, and was the chief examiner of Jiangxi, it was also through the introduction of Longkodo's people."

"But in fact, my father also had a close relationship with Prince Cheng in secret. No matter what, Prince Cheng should not have exposed my father!"

Hongli was slightly taken aback after hearing this.

"So, your father was hedging his bets, having dealings with both Longkodo and Prince Cheng?"

Hongli asked.

Chuck replied, "Fourth Master, in fact, all of us Han gentry are betting on both sides, and we all have only one goal."

"What purpose?"

Hongli asked.

Chuck thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and replied, "To achieve the goal of governing the country with Confucianism."

"how to say?"

Hongli asked.

Chuck knew that Hongli was telling him about his father being accused because he wanted to save his entire clan, so he was willing to tell him this secret edict that could not be revealed. So he continued to tell him the truth.

"Many of us Han Chinese Confucian scholars, after summarizing the lessons of the Ming Dynasty's demise, believe that the great evil of the world lies in the fact that those in power are not Confucian gentlemen!"

"If the Donglin scholars had not lost power back then, and the emperor had been a true Confucian scholar, the Ming Dynasty would not have fallen apart."

"Moreover, this principle is not only agreed upon by us Han Chinese Confucian scholars, but also by many Manchu and Mongol banner families who are well-versed in Confucian classics!"

"They all believed that only true gentlemen who respected Confucianism and the Way were qualified to assist in governing the central government, and that members of the imperial family, nobles, and bondservants should not participate in state affairs."

Upon hearing this, Hongli's expression changed slightly, but he was not greatly disturbed. He was well aware that Sinicized Manchu and Mongol nobles would tend to be conservative.

"Therefore, in order to prevent the Qing Dynasty from repeating the mistakes of the Ming Dynasty, we not only flirted with the imperial family and nobles, but also formed factions with powerful aristocratic families to manipulate power."

"But the ultimate goal is to achieve a political system where no one who is not highly ranked in the imperial examinations can become a Hanlin scholar, and no one who is not a Hanlin scholar can hold a position of power."

After Chuck's reply, Hongli naturally understood that these people wanted to turn the Qing Dynasty into a second Ming Dynasty in its later stages, and perhaps even that wouldn't be enough, requiring additional modifications.

After hearing this, Hongli turned and looked at Cao Xueqin: "Did you understand?"

Cao Xueqin shook his head slightly: "Fourth Master, this servant does not quite understand."

"Read fewer storybooks in the future, especially the ones on the bottom shelf of my study. I told you not to read them, but you still sneakily read them anyway. Reading too many will affect your development, do you understand?"

Hongli said to Cao Xueqin in an annoyed tone.

Cao Xueqin immediately looked at Hongli in astonishment, his face flushed, and said, "Did Master already know?"

"Is there anything else I don't know?"

Hongli asked in a cold voice.

"Slave, slave..."

Hongli then said to Cao Xueqin, "You said you didn't understand very well, but it seems you do understand some of it. Tell me what you understand."

"Whoo!"

"In my humble opinion, their aim is not to prevent the Qing Dynasty from repeating the mistakes of the Ming Dynasty, but to ensure that from now on, all other pursuits will be considered inferior except for those who are highly accomplished in their studies, to the point that even the emperor cannot break this rule."

"In their view, only those who came from the Hanlin Academy could become ministers, and only those who came from the imperial examinations could become officials. This was to ensure fairness and justice. Those who gained power because they were bondservants of the emperor or because of their military achievements were considered to be close to the emperor's favor."

Cao Xueqin replied.

Hongli nodded and smiled after hearing this: "Then what is it that you don't understand?"

"Your Highness, what I don't understand is that Buddhism has the saying 'lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot,' so why do these Confucian scholars arbitrarily believe that those who are not from the imperial examination system cannot be officials, and those who are not from the Hanlin Academy cannot govern, thus cutting off their path to making greater contributions to the country?" "Doesn't that mean that only those from the imperial examination system are gentlemen, and only those from the Hanlin Academy are virtuous and talented?"

"Yan Song was a Hanlin scholar during the Hongzhi era, yet he was still a treacherous minister?"

Cao Xueqin answered seriously.

As a young man, he had no scruples.

Hongli asked him to speak, so he told him his thoughts in detail.

Hongli did not comment on Cao Xueqin's answer, but looked at Chak: "Whether you believe it or not, the fact is that Prince Cheng did report your father. If you want to save your Cha family, you have to tell me that you knew about the matter of summoning prostitutes to the Ministry of Rites."

"Your Majesty understands, Your Majesty is aware!"

Chuck said last time.

Hongli smiled after hearing this: "Then you should know what to do."

"I understand!"

"To express our deep gratitude to Fourth Master, we are determined to assist you in managing the Ministry of Rites and to win over the corrupt officials!"

After Chuck answered, he kowtowed again.

Hongli then had Chak leave the palace.

He then returned to the inner courtyard of the Prince's Palace.

Chuck's words made him realize that the contradictions he faced as head of the Ministry of Rites were indeed different from those he faced when he was head of the Court of Colonial Affairs.

The Mongol princes in the Court of Colonial Affairs sought greater autonomy.

The Han Chinese scholar-officials in the Ministry of Rites sought to restore the civil service system and to gain greater power, to the point that it could limit or even undermine imperial power.

As for the former, when he was in charge of the Lifan Yuan (Court of Colonial Affairs), he represented the central court, which naturally put him in opposition to the Mongol princes who sought to expand local autonomy.

As for the latter, he is currently in charge of the Ministry of Rites, representing the interests of the imperial family, princes, and the future emperor, and is in opposition to the Han scholar-officials who want to dominate the power of the scholar-officials.

It was naturally not easy to persuade Han Chinese scholars and officials to abandon such a view.

Therefore, it will undoubtedly be full of challenges for him to gain a foothold in the Ministry of Rites and make a name for himself.

However, having been carefully nurtured by two generations of emperors for so many years, and with the knowledge he gained from later generations, he had no fear.

When he returned to Ping An Residence in the inner courtyard of the Prince's Mansion, he saw his primary consort, Lady Fucha, leading a girl.

This girl is Maria, the daughter of Langk.

Hongli saw that she had thick chestnut hair, big and bright eyes like the blue ocean, a high nose bridge, and a tight dress that accentuated her slender waist, making her bulging tiger head seem about to jump out.

Therefore, Hongli couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "As expected, the Rakshasa girls are all quite beautiful and have very attractive figures."

"Fourth Master, what should we do with her?"

Fucha then asked Hongli about it.

Hongli said, "Let her live in the same courtyard as Xianghong, and let Xianghong teach her Chinese."

Xianghong was the skinny horse that Hongxi gave him in the past, and now she has also moved into the Prince's mansion.

Thin horses are usually trained in many skills and arts from a young age, which is why Hongli had Xianghong teach Maria.

"Whoo!"

"Yes, Fourth Master, I know Chinese."

Then Mary spoke.

Princess Fucha couldn't help but smile.

After hearing this, Hongli said, "Then you teach her a foreign language. If you teach her well, you will be allowed to teach me!"

After saying this, Hongli smiled and went to Yourou's courtyard that very evening.

Because it was Nian Yirou's special day, she also sent a gift.

When Hongli arrived at Nian Yirou's courtyard, he first saw Nian Zhu.

Nianzhu blushed immediately, turned her back, and turned her large buttocks towards him.

Hongli became even more infatuated and embraced her from behind, his hands exploring her groin area.

Nianzhu trembled and her body went limp, but she still mustered her courage to ask, "Fourth Master, have you forgotten who my father is?"

(End of this chapter)