My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 290: Becoming the Provisional Emperor, Slaughtering Hanlin Scholars with an Iron Fist!
Hongli returned to the Ministry of Rites first.

By this time, the fire at the Ministry of Rites had been largely extinguished.

Indeed, neither Liu Tongxun nor Huang You, the two examiners, nor the Confucian scholars who participated in the erudite scholars examination were involved.

The exam papers and files were all intact.

A fire is enough to unsettle people and cause many to show signs of fear and unease.

Minister of Rites Sertu and other high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Rites, including Wei Tingzhen, also rushed to the Ministry of Rites at this time because of the fire.

Even as he arrived at the Ministry of Rites, Sertu couldn't help but sigh, "Fourth Master is right, he understands Han gentry better than I do!"

Snapped!
As he spoke, Sertu tapped the official hat of Shi Wenzhuo, the Right Vice Minister:
"Before I called you, you said that Fourth Master was being too cautious! Now you know, right?"

"It's not that Fourth Master is being overly cautious; it's that Fourth Master knows better than anyone how wicked the Han gentry are!"

Shi Wenzhuo quickly straightened his official hat, gave an awkward smile, and said nothing more.

Sertu became even more smug, while glancing at Wei Tingzhen.

Wei Tingzhen was also relieved that the examiners and candidates of the erudite scholars examination, as well as the Manchu and Han archives of the Ministry of Rites, were not affected.

Because he was actually worried that the fire would make people suspect that it was done by him, the Han Minister of Rites.

In response, Wei Tingzhen couldn't help but exclaim, "Fourth Master is truly wise and exceptionally talented!"

"Shouldn't you be disappointed?"

Upon hearing Wei Tingzhen's words, Sertu asked a sarcastic question.

Wei Tingzhen simply smiled and said, "If the erudite scholars' examination is truly greatly affected by this fire, it will only bring me harm, not benefit, so why would I be disappointed!"

Sertu didn't say anything more, but when he saw Hongli arrive, he walked up to him and said, "Fourth Master! This matter is most likely the work of Han gentry, and I'm afraid the mastermind is the Minister of the Ministry!"

Wei Tingzhen stood there, stunned.

"Bullshit!"

Hongli immediately reprimanded Sertu.

Then, Hongli reprimanded him again.

"If it were the Minister of the Ministry, he would know that we were heavily guarded and set up the examination center in the archives room. In that case, there would have been no fire at all."

"Furthermore, the inner city is mainly inhabited by Manchus and there is a curfew. At night, there are only guards from the Infantry Commander's Office inside the Great Qing Gate. Even if it was really done by Han gentry, there must have been Manchus involved as well."

Sertu had no choice but to shut up.

Wei Tingzhen breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time, her eyes were filled with respect as she looked at Hongli.

At this moment, Hongli instructed Sertu and Wei Tingzhen: "Sertu, go and appease the examiners and candidates of the erudite scholars examination; Wei Tingzhen, take some men to appease the officials on duty who were injured by the fire, and take stock of the losses and clean up the mess."

"Whoo!"

The two immediately responded.

Hongli did not say where he was going, but rode directly towards the left gate of Chang'an.

In May, the capital city is cool as if splashed with cold water, especially when riding a horse, it keeps one alert.

As soon as Hongli arrived at the Left Gate of Chang'an, he immediately noticed that Lai Bao from the Sticky Pole Office came up to greet him: "Fourth Master!"

"Have you found out where that Taoist nun escaped to?"

Hongli immediately reined in his horse and asked.

Lai Bao knelt on one knee and replied, "I went to the home of the Songzhu Pavilion Master!"

"Where is Aqitu, the Commander of the Nine Gates?"

Hongli asked again.

Azitu emerged from a group of armored men carrying torches and knelt on one knee, saying, "Your servant is here!"

Hongli took out his golden command token: "Kneel on the other leg too!"

Aqitu, with his sharp eyes, immediately knelt down as soon as Hongli finished speaking.

At this moment, Hongli ordered, "Take men to the residence of Songzhu immediately and arrest his entire family, especially that Daoist nun. We must see her alive or dead!"

"Whoo!"

"There's no time to lose, go now."

Hongli gave an order.

"Whoo!"

Azitu immediately stood up.

As he rose, Hongli instructed him again: "Remember, with the golden token and arrow, it is the emperor's decree. Anyone who dares to obstruct you or delay your arrest can be killed first and reported later! Don't drag things out and ruin the emperor's order! Otherwise, I will surely behead you first!"

Because Hongli held the golden token and command arrow, he spoke on behalf of Yongzheng and uttered harsh words. Upon hearing this, Aqitu felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly knelt down, saying, "This servant dares not!"

"Slave, please resign!"

Immediately, Azitu kowtowed, rose, and left, taking his vest with him, heading towards the dark, bottomless west.

At this moment, Hongli dismounted and sat down on the ground, leaning against the wall. He was slightly out of breath when he saw Aqitu and the others disappear into the darkness.

He rushed from the Prince's residence to the palace, and then from the palace to the Ministry of Rites. Only now has he been able to rest for a moment.

After resting, Hongli glanced at the three banner captains who were bound and detained there.

The captain avoided eye contact and lowered his head.

Hongli didn't say much to him, but then, with his guards, he followed the path that Aqitu and the others had taken.

Under the dark sky, only the moonlight, like water, revealed the outlines of the streets and alleys of the quiet and desolate capital city.

Because the Qing Dynasty implemented a curfew, from commoners to princes and nobles, no one was allowed to stroll around the streets after the curfew. Each neighborhood would also have barriers erected by the Infantry Commander's Office to prevent people from doing so.

Therefore, Azitu and his companions did not encounter any obstacles along the way.

Aqitu and his group followed this outline to Songzhu's house.

And Songzhu! He was a member of the Hesheli clan, a Manchu of the Bordered White Banner. He served as the Commander of the Plain Yellow Banner, and later as the Minister of Rites. He eventually rose to the position of Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall. After Yongzheng ascended the throne, he was appointed Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince. In the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign, he was dismissed from his post for protecting Beizi Sunu's borrowing of treasury silver.

When Aqitu arrived with his vest, the fences of the alley where the Songzhu family residence was located had already been opened by the guards of the Infantry Commander's Office.

Aqitu and the others could then enter the alley directly and head towards the Songzhu family residence.

Songzhu family only learned of the arrival of the infantry commander's cavalry after Aqitu and others entered the alley.

This caused Song Zhu's expression to change drastically, and his initial smugness vanished without a trace.

"what happened?"

Song Zhu hurriedly asked about this.

The Taoist nun, Wang, also looked surprised: "When I came, I didn't see anyone following me?"

"What you can see is definitely something that needs to be seen by you."

Song Zhu replied with a bitter laugh, "Perhaps the Fourth Master of the Ministry of Rites and the others are indeed very cautious, so cautious that they are still highly vigilant against us officials and gentry! In their eyes, we Manchu officials are not trustworthy at all."

At this point, Songzhu summoned his grandson, Suleng'e.

Suleng'e is Songzhu's most beloved grandson and a member of the Hanlin Academy, but his current official position is Censor.

One of the distinctive features of Emperor Yongzheng's reign was that he appointed Hanlin Academy officials to serve as censors and officials in charge of remonstrance.

This was something that Confucian officials like Cha Siting deeply resented.

They believed that Hanlin scholars, being of noble character and integrity, should not take on such positions that would offend people, as it would be detrimental to their reputation for integrity.

But Yongzheng's purpose was to ensure that Hanlin officials could not just cultivate their reputation through empty talk, but should dare to offend people and speak out, so that they would be worthy of being cultivated into ministers of state in the future.

In Yongzheng's view, a Hanlin official only had a reputation for integrity and no real significance.

Therefore, Cai Ting, who was beheaded, was the Left Censor-in-Chief before he was beheaded.

Yin Tai was also given the title of Left Censor-in-Chief.

However, for a specific Hanlin official, it would be very bad to make him a censor and accumulate political achievements by offending people.

After all, Confucianism advocates the doctrine of the mean, preferring to suffer some grievances rather than offend others or break off relations, and only wanting to become a high-ranking official in a peaceful and stable manner.

Because once the relationship is broken, you have to be more careful in your future actions and be wary of those you've offended using their weaknesses against you.

Therefore, no one wants to be in such an unstable political environment, and Su Leng'e also disliked Yongzheng's personnel management style.

After following Song Zhu's instructions, Su Leng'e first went to the front door and stretched out his hands to stop the people from the Infantry Commander's Office who were about to rush in: "What are you trying to do?"

Azitu replied, "We are ordered to apprehend the arsonist!"

“There are no traitors in our family. People from your Infantry Commandery should not be so presumptuous as to use some imperial decree to slander my family, a prestigious Grand Secretary’s residence!”

"If you want to break into my house, you'll have to kill me first, this remonstrating official who came from the Hanlin Academy!"

Su Leng'e replied sternly.

Azitu's face darkened upon hearing this.

Su Leng'e's lips curled into a slight, contemptuous sneer.

He believed that Azitu would not dare to rashly attack him, a Hanlin scholar and censor, as that would offend both the Hanlin and the two major systems of upright officials!
However, Hongli's instructions prompted Aqitu to give a wink to his subordinate.

Then, several arrows came flying in quick succession, and when Su Leng'e opened his eyes wide, he found himself with several sharp arrows stuck in his body.

Immediately afterwards, he was pushed down, and several feet stepped on his body and face, before they filed in through the bright gate of the Songzhu family.

(End of this chapter)