My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 288 The Empress and Consort Xi's Joy, and the Generous Reward for Crown Prince Hongli! (Two Chapters Combined)

In the bright and clean hall, after Yongzheng finished speaking, he looked at Cai Ting kneeling on the dark blue floor tiles.

His eyes were as cold as knives!

Cai Ting's red hat was trembling slightly.

He never expected that Yongzheng would say such an absurd thing, that he would rather give power to Hongli than trust them, the scholars and officials who had passed the imperial examinations!

He only realized what was going on after Yongzheng mentioned Wang Jingzeng.

But what he couldn't understand was why Wang Jingzeng, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites who was also a member of the Hanlin Academy, would betray him and secretly report this matter to Emperor Yongzheng!

But he didn't have time to ask any more questions, because Yongzheng had already issued an edict to behead him.

Although he was a Han Chinese, he was also a Manchu, specifically a member of the Plain White Banner, and was a servant of the emperor.

Therefore, when Yongzheng killed him, he could bypass the three judicial departments' deliberation process and go through a complicated procedure, leaving Cai Ting with no dignity whatsoever.

After all, as the emperor's servant, if he could rise through the ranks at lightning speed, he could also die at the same lightning speed.

"My lord, have mercy! My lord, have mercy!"

"The lackey is bewitched and has forgotten that he is first and foremost a servant of his master, and only secondly a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations."

After Cai Ting realized what was happening, he immediately banged his head on the ground.

Yongzheng ignored Cai Ting and only chuckled coldly.

He didn't understand why Cai Ting had forgotten that he was promoted so quickly because he was a member of the Plain White Banner, and only knew that he was a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations and was proud of it!
Is it because I've read too many books and am nostalgic for the era when Hanlin scholars held absolute power?

At that moment, the guards from the Infantry Commander's Office, who were receiving imperial orders at various gates of the palace, came over and dragged Cai Ting out.

Shortly thereafter, Cai Ting was taken to the Infantry Commander's Office and ordered to kneel at the execution ground of the Criminal Division of the Infantry Commander's Office.

Then, the executioner raised his sword.

Cai Ting himself began to tremble at this moment, his lips pursed and tears streaming down his face.

He still doesn't understand why Wang Jingzeng, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and an ally, would betray him.

So, trembling with fear, he couldn't help but look up and shout, "Wang Jingzeng, you're not human! You betrayed your friends! You bastard! Waaah!"

After being scolded.

He started sobbing and wailing, and his shaking became even more violent.

Swish!
Cai Ting only stopped trembling after the knife fell.

At the same time, a blood-stained human head rolled to the ground.

The officers from the Infantry Commander's Office retrieved his head, combined it with the body, and placed it in the morgue, waiting for his family to claim it.

Because he was a Manchu official, he was not publicly executed, but was executed at the Infantry Commander's Office, which was considered to give him some dignity.

Just like Nian Gengyao, who was also forced to commit suicide in prison.

At the same time, Emperor Yongzheng issued an edict to have Cai Ting dragged out and executed immediately.

With a livid face, Yongzheng looked at Yin Tai, his expression revealing disappointment: "I originally wanted you to join the cabinet in the future, but you have done something terrible. You actually followed Cai Ting to undermine Hongli and tried to make the Qing Dynasty governed by only Hanlin scholars."

"Have you wasted all your reading? You're even reminiscing about the era of the Hanlin Academy governing the country!"

"Do you know that in the Ming Dynasty, when scholars from the Hanlin Academy ruled the country, a Manchu like you was only fit to be a military man at best!"

Emperor Yongzheng's words left Yin Tai speechless.

But Yongzheng was right; the ancestors of the Aisin Gioro family in the Ming Dynasty were only able to become Dragon and Tiger Generals.

"Yet you went so far as to frame Sertu, who is also a Manchu! By doing this, you are making everyone in the Manchu ranks suspicious of each other, and thus undermining the foundation of the Qing Dynasty. You are incredibly stupid!"

Emperor Yongzheng gave Yin Tai a very harsh reprimand.

Yin Tai simply kowtowed and confessed his guilt: "This servant deserves to die!"

Cai Ting was suddenly ordered to be beheaded by Emperor Yongzheng, leaving him in a state of utter confusion, his teeth chattering.

What he regrets most is that when the so-called stolen silver belonging to Sertu was seized, he was afraid that Sertu would claim that he had framed him, so he did not have anyone remove the seal on the box containing the stolen silver. As a result, he only found out now that the box containing the stolen silver was actually full of stones!
Yin Tai couldn't help but curse Sertu in his heart for being so cunning, deliberately trying to harm him.

"By imperial decree, Yin Tai is found to be muddle-headed, corrupt, and incompetent in his duties, and should be severely punished. However, considering his advanced age, he is hereby dismissed from his post and placed in retirement, never to be employed again!"

After issuing an edict to punish Yin Tai, Yongzheng looked at Lu Shengnan.

For this, Yongzheng frowned.

He knew very well that the purpose of the Manchu-Han unity he and the Qing emperors like Kangxi advocated was not to get Manchu and Han officials to unite against imperial power, but to make all Manchu and Han officials submit to them, the emperors!

But in reality, these Manchu and Han officials actively formed factions to oppose his will, and even resorted to despicable means such as framing ministers of their own clan.

Of course, if Hongli were the emperor and saw this scene, he wouldn't be surprised.

He would explain it using the saying, "Whether you're close or not depends on your social class."

However, Yongzheng couldn't help but ask Lu Shengnan, "Why are you, a Han official, getting involved in this?"

Lu Shengnan pursed his lips and replied, "Your Majesty, my purpose in offering this advice is not to frame Sertu, but to clarify my principles and rectify the administration of the state!"

"Mingchendao, is it the rightful administration of the country?"

"Who do you think you are? The affairs of my Great Qing Dynasty are not for someone like you to correct!"

"You're just trying to gain fame and reputation!"

Emperor Yongzheng angrily pointed at Lu Shengnan and said.

"Your Majesty, I only want to ask, are you really not worried that the Fourth Prince might make some serious mistake that is beyond repair during his tenure as Minister of State?"

"When the time comes, will you cover for him like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, forcing the whole world to cover for him, or will you dare to give Fourth Master a just punishment?!"

Lu Shengnan actually turned the tables and questioned Yongzheng directly.

Yongzheng's face turned red.

For a moment, Yongzheng was at a loss for words.

But after thinking for a moment, Yongzheng still spoke up: "Aren't there many members of the Qing imperial family and nobility who have been punished for poor performance or even for corruption and bribery?"

"But if Fourth Prince really reveals his shortcomings and the world sees that he is not good at handling things, then people will look down on him, and Your Majesty will be embarrassed to pass the throne to him. What will Your Majesty do then? Will you choose another virtuous person as the crown prince?"

Lu Shengnan continued to ask.

Yongzheng said, "Those who receive the Mandate of Heaven in our Great Qing have always been virtuous men."

"But Your Majesty has few children! And you are getting old!"

Lu Shengnan suddenly replied with a resounding voice.

Upon hearing this, Yongzheng widened his eyes and looked at Lu Shengnan.

Lu Shengnan simply lowered his head and continued, "You have no choice but Fourth Master! So you can't let Fourth Master's weaknesses be exposed too early!"

It is said that the Qing Dynasty has had very few emperors since it entered the Central Plains.

First, Emperor Shunzhi's reign was short-lived, and before he assumed personal rule, Dorgon was in power, making it an era of shared rule by the nobility.

The one who truly laid the foundation for the current Qing Dynasty's autocratic monarchy was Emperor Kangxi, who reigned for sixty-one years.

In order to weaken the power of the banner lords, Emperor Kangxi heavily relied on his brothers, nephews and other members of the imperial clan during his reign. This led to a tripartite rule where members of the imperial clan, along with the Eight Banners nobles and Han officials and gentry, held power in the court.

The reason Kangxi was able to continue doing this was because, in addition to his brothers being quite capable, he also had many sons, so he was able to use the method of raising gu (a type of insect) to help strengthen Kangxi's imperial power.

After Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, he continued this system, allowing his brothers Yinzhi and Yinxiang to assist in governing. Later in history, he also sent Hongli and Hongzhou out of the palace to gain experience.

However, as Lu Shengnan said, Yongzheng did not have the same advantage as Kangxi. He had too few sons, especially fewer adult sons.

Then, Yongzheng also adopted one of his children out.

Therefore, Lu Shengnan's words left Yongzheng speechless.

It could even be said that Lu Shengnan found the best reason to oppose giving Hongli practical political experience, and forced Yongzheng to raise Hongli only as a mascot who lived deep in the harem and only studied classics and history.

At the same time, Lu Shengnan's words seemed to have reopened Yongzheng's biggest wound.

This hurt him even more than being called a tyrant!
Thus, Yongzheng could only suppress his anger and could not vent it.

Because he indeed had few children, which he could not deny.

Yongzheng's breathing became rapid and his face turned pale.

Subsequently, Emperor Yongzheng covered his head with both hands and almost fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Su Peisheng quickly helped him up: "Master!"

Lu Shengnan also raised his head, looking at Yongzheng with a surprised and concerned expression: "Your Majesty?"

Then, Lu Shengnan kowtowed again, saying, "Your subject deserves to die!"

"You do deserve to die!"

Su Peisheng's support helped Yongzheng regain some of his strength.

Then Yongzheng raised his trembling hand and pointed at Lu Shengnan: "Throw him, throw him into the Ministry of Justice's death row, and sentence him to death!"

……

……

Ministry of Rites.

Hongli already knew about Cai Ting, Yin Tai, and Lu Shengnan's lawsuit against Sairtu at the palace gate.

He also knew that Cai Ting had instructed Wang Jing to fabricate a document to slander Sertu in order to deny the existence of the erudite scholars' examination.

Because Wang Jing has now sided with him.

Even the idea of ​​having Wang Jing instruct the Sertu family servants, whom he had bribed, to use stones to fake stolen silver was his own.

"Fourth Master, Cai Ting has been beheaded, Yin Tai has been dismissed from his post and is now living in seclusion, and Lu Shengnan has been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's death row."

Shortly afterward, Wang Jingzeng reported the results of the Seltu cheating case to Hongli.

Hongli nodded after hearing this: "Very good. You have made a great contribution this time, ensuring the smooth running of the erudite scholars examination." Hongli then began to read the article.

The articles he read were all research articles that he had asked Wang Jing to organize people to write.

These articles are all academic articles that are waiting to be selected and published in the "Journal of Imperial University of Peking".

Just at this moment.

Hongli saw an article analyzing the upbringing of Ming Dynasty princes, which focused on the drawbacks of only providing princes with Confucian education and keeping them secluded in the inner palace to maintain their mystique.

The article argues that by only providing princes with Confucian education and keeping them confined to the inner palace without practical political experience, thus maintaining their mystique, the princes who become emperors in the future will not actually enhance their ruling prestige, but will instead be more easily looked down upon by officials.

This would lead to the emperor being perceived as an incompetent ruler raised by women, lacking insight, and easily trusting his close advisors, which would further fuel the doubts of the entire bureaucracy regarding his ability to rule.

to this end.

The article also cites examples of officials who, after the prince became emperor, denounced imperial edicts unfavorable to their own faction as forged edicts by their eunuchs.

"This article is excellent. Publish it in a journal and reward the author handsomely!"

After reading it, Hongli gave Wang Jingzeng instructions.

"Whoo!"

Wang Jingzeng quickly agreed.

Emperor Qianlong was able to see these articles, all of which were written by talented scholars organized by Wang Jingzeng according to his needs.

Since the authors all used pseudonyms, Hongli then asked, "Who is the author's real name?"

Wang Jingzeng immediately replied: "Liu Tongxun, the Hanlin Compiler currently working in the Southern Study."

Hongli was slightly stunned after hearing this, then waved for Wang Jingzeng to leave.

Not long after, Liu Tongxun received a ticket for a reward of three hundred taels of silver from Wang Jingzeng and returned to the Hanlin Academy in high spirits.

On his way to the Hanlin Academy, he passed by Prince Bao's mansion and couldn't help but glance at it, and even bowed to the gate of Prince Bao's mansion.

Because Emperor Qianlong rewarded him with three hundred taels of silver by publishing his article in the "Journal of the Imperial University of Peking".

For Liu Tongxun, who was only a Hanlin scholar, this was a considerable sum of money, enough for him to rent a better place in the capital.

Huang You, who was also a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, saw Liu Tongxun return in high spirits and asked him with a smile, "Did you receive a reward from the Fourth Master?"

Since receiving a reward for one's writing was not a shameful thing, Liu Tongxun smiled and nodded.

"I also received a sum of money the other day."

Huang You replied with a smile, his expression equally radiant.

After hearing this, Liu Tongxun asked Huang You what article he had written.

After replying, Huang You said, "The 'Journal of the Imperial University of Peking' is just like the Imperial University of Peking itself, and it was authorized by the Emperor to be run by the Fourth Prince. The fact that we receive a reward for submitting articles to the 'Journal of the Imperial University of Peking' can be considered a gift from the Emperor."

"Yes!"

“In the past, it was officials and gentry who asked us to write these essays. Now it’s the Fourth Prince who is asking us to write articles on behalf of the court. And writing articles for the court is undoubtedly more in line with the way of the sages!”

Liu Tongxun agreed and sat down behind his desk to begin writing a letter home.

Because he planned to send some of the money home.

As a Hanlin official with a meager income, he often needs his family to send him money to help him out while he is in the capital.

But now, because Hongli started the "Journal of the Imperial University of Peking" and paid the writers who contributed articles to the journal, he was finally able to support his family.

Liu Tongxun's eyes reddened at the thought that he could finally help his family.

The purpose of Hongli in establishing the "Journal of the Imperial University of Peking" was to seize the voice of the gentry in the scholar-official community!
The specific operation involved bribing a group of high-ranking civil officials and scholars, getting them to write articles that aligned with their own views, and thus guiding the so-called public opinion of the literati into a public opinion that served their own purposes.

Even if you can't guide people successfully right away, you can still create different voices.

Because most people were illiterate in this era, public opinion among scholars often became the mainstream public opinion.

This has led to the fact that, among the common people, especially in the south, the Donglin ideology has been the mainstream from the late Ming Dynasty to the present.

Historically, the Qing Dynasty rulers, upon recognizing this problem, only resorted to severe literary inquisitions to suppress this mainstream ideology. As a result, although the people no longer possessed Donglin thought, they also became hollow and numb.

In Gong Zizhen's words, "It is truly lamentable that all horses are silent," and most literati only indulged in philology.

Hongli did not want the Qing Dynasty to become lifeless and lack the vitality to expand its influence abroad after he became emperor, which would be detrimental to his ability to become a more arrogant and domineering world emperor in the future.

After all, he had no intention of following in the footsteps of Emperor Qianlong in history, merely settling down on stabilizing the borders and becoming a conservative emperor.

Therefore, Hongli did not intend to merely restrict thought, but rather to guide it.

In short, when Hongli was in charge of the Ministry of Rites, besides taking advantage of the weakness of the Han gentry and causing them to develop mutual distrust with the Manchu princes and nobles, he still used money to divide the Han gentry and win over some of them.

In addition to spending money to have high-ranking civil officials and scholars act as his mouthpieces, Emperor Qianlong also spent money to have a large number of impoverished scholars from lower classes solve their food and clothing problems by copying books.

Anyway, it's all about spending money, and he'll do that too! In fact, he plans to be even better at it than Emperor Qianlong in history.

Moreover, since he was not yet emperor, and Yongzheng was still building up his wealth, he was actually somewhat restrained in his spending.

Once Yongzheng had amassed enough wealth for him and he became emperor, Hongli planned to spend even more money and accomplish even greater things!
Otherwise, he wouldn't have led Hongzhou and Fuheng down those paths.

As a result, not all civil officials and scholars opposed Hongli's management of the Ministry of Rites, nor did they deny his practical ability to manage the Ministry of Rites. They also could not say that the unified compilation of historical and theoretical textbooks was bad.

The reason why Emperor Qianlong founded the "Journal of the Imperial University of Peking" was to inspire people by revising and unifying historical theories.

After all, one is obligated to those who feed them and accept their gifts.

More and more civil officials and scholars began to praise Hongli for his virtue, benevolence, and skill in governing.

"Teacher, many scholars say that since the Fourth Prince took charge of the Ministry, although he had to follow the imperial decree to establish the erudite scholars' course in preparation for compiling unified historical and theoretical textbooks in order to suppress the scholars' speech, he also treated scholars with respect and benevolence, and took the initiative to run periodicals in order to support scholars under the guise of copying articles from books."

"Therefore, it is clear that many scholars and literati do not oppose the Fourth Prince's management of the Ministry, and even support him."

After accompanying Zeng Jing to the capital, Zeng Jing's disciple Zhang Xi told Zeng Jing about the rumors he had heard about Hongli recently.

Zeng Jing simply said, "It seems that this Fourth Prince is indeed no ordinary person. It's just a pity that there are too many hypocrites among the Han Chinese officials and scholars, which is why they are so easily bought off by a few favors from him!"

"The teacher is right; there are too few true gentlemen like the teacher!"

Zhang Xi echoed this sentiment.

Zeng Jing said, "Of course, this is also because barbarians are in power, which allows hypocritical, cunning, and petty people to run rampant!"

……

……

The Forbidden City, Yongshou Palace.

"Nowadays, many scholars say that the Fourth Prince is a wise prince. He not only provides great assistance to poor scholars, but also takes care of their dignity and righteousness without directly bestowing favors. Therefore, many scholars can be satisfied with both being grateful to the emperor and the Fourth Prince."

The Empress and Consort Xi also learned from Chen Shishun about Hongli's reputation among Han gentry, and they were quite pleased to see this and smiled.

"So, you're saying that since your Fourth Master is in charge of the Ministry of Rites, no civil official says he's not managing it well, and no one supports your Fourth Master in managing the Ministry of Rites?"

The Empress then took the initiative to ask.

Chen Shishun continued with a smile, "Your Majesty is wise! Now, anyone who says that the Fourth Prince is not managing the Ministry of Rites well, or anyone who does not support the Fourth Prince in managing the Ministry of Rites, will offend many scholars in the capital."

"That's good. It seems that not all of them are bastards like Lu Shengnan, who used the emperor's offspring as an excuse to prevent Hongli from gaining experience in the Ministry of Rites."

The Empress then spoke of this, and then smiled at the Imperial Noble Consort Xi, saying, "According to the rules, after Hongli has gained experience in the Ministry of Rites, he can be granted the title of Prince Regent and help the Emperor with more affairs."

The Imperial Noble Consort Xi smiled and agreed, "That's right. It's all thanks to Your Majesty's excellent guidance that he can now share more of the Emperor's burdens!"

……

……

After being confronted by Lu Shengnan about the lack of offspring, Yongzheng quickly recovered and also saw the article in the "Journal of the Imperial University of Peking".

Liu Tongxun's article on whether princes should undergo practical political experience and whether they should maintain their mystique was also seen by Emperor Yongzheng.

By the dim candlelight, Yongzheng felt much better after reading it.

of course!

As a prince who successfully seized the throne during the Kangxi era, Yongzheng was not unaware that a centralized emperor in an autocratic dynasty was more powerful as a figurehead or as someone with practical political experience.

But after seeing Liu Tongxun's articles that aligned with his views, he at least felt that he was not alone in his beliefs, and that not all scholars and intellectuals were against him.

This made Yongzheng, who cared a lot about the opinions of others, quite comfortable.

Therefore, Yongzheng summoned Hongli that very night and asked, "Who is the author of the essay discussing the education of the former Ming princes?"

"Father, he is Liu Tongxun, the editor who works in your Southern Study."

Hongli responded to this.

He knew that Yongzheng would notice Liu Tongxun.

After hearing this, Yongzheng nodded: "It seems that not all Han officials only want to oppose me!"

"The journal you run, the Imperial University of Peking, is quite good. It has allowed me to hear different voices and is also beneficial for your management of the Ministry of Rites."

At this moment, Yongzheng, who was in a much better mood, began to affirm Hongli.

Hongli quickly clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "Father, you flatter me!"

Yongzheng then said, “The Complete Collection of Ancient and Modern Books has been printed, with nineteen copies on cotton paper. I will bestow two copies upon you, one for your use in your palace and the other for your use in Xian’an Palace, to help you establish the Imperial University of Peking, because I intend to use Xian’an Palace as the place for you to set up the university within the palace.”

"Now that I've thought about it, I think you were right. To break the monopoly of Han scholars and officials on education, the court should establish more official schools."

"Therefore, I have decided to give Xian'an Palace to you. After you have established the Imperial University of Peking, you will also be required to establish the Xian'an Palace Official School in Xian'an Palace to train the children of the Upper Three Banners and outstanding students from the Jingshan Official School, so that they can be sent to the Imperial University of Peking that you will establish."

Yongzheng then continued speaking.

Hongli was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Your subject accepts the decree and thanks you!"

The Complete Collection of Ancient and Modern Books is a large-scale encyclopedia in the Qing Dynasty, second only to the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries. And those printed on cotton paper are naturally even more precious!
The key point is that he was able to obtain two ministries, take charge of Xian'an Palace, and be allowed to establish a university in Xian'an Palace, which was undoubtedly a privilege that only the crown prince could enjoy.

(End of this chapter)