My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 292 Political Discussion in the Hall of Mental Cultivation: Hongli Causes a Major Change in Yongzheng!

"Father, from my perspective, it is naturally better to maintain the prefecture-county system."

Hongli answered Yongzheng's question without hesitation.

Yongzheng looked up, a look of surprise on his face: "Standard?"

"Yes, Father, the issue of stance is a fundamental one, closely linked to personal identity, and also the foundation of governance methodology and epistemology of the world."

"Therefore, the issue of stance is the core of the struggle among various governing philosophies in the court, rather than a weighing of advantages and disadvantages, or a definition of right and wrong."

Hongli continued to answer, his expression serious and earnest.

"You're right."

"It seems that you and Lu Shengnan are not on the same side."

Emperor Yongzheng nodded thoughtfully.

Hongli grinned.

then.

Emperor Yongzheng then gave Lu Shengnan's "Commentary on Reading the Zizhi Tongjian" to Hongli:
"Take a look at Lu Shengnan's 'Reading the Zizhi Tongjian'. First, read the section where he discusses the feudal system and the prefecture-county system, and then share your understanding."

"Whoo!"

Hongli then began to read it.

After reading it, Hongli said to Yongzheng: "In my humble opinion, this is a conclusion that only trusts rational knowledge, and it is a kind of idealistic and absurd theory."

"Rational understanding?"

"Yes, he did not combine his practical experience with his own intuitive understanding, or he selectively ignored or even disregarded practical experience, and arbitrarily concluded that the county system was inferior to the feudal system."

"But if he had practiced in local areas like Liu Zongyuan, perhaps he wouldn't have had such a misconception."

Hongli meant that Lu Shengnan was impractical and relied on what he read in books to draw conclusions that he thought were correct.

"Liu Zongyuan?"

Yongzheng asked again.

Hongli continued, “Yes, Liu Zongyuan lived in the Tang Dynasty after the An Lushan Rebellion, when local warlords were growing powerful, which was similar to the implementation of the feudal system. Liu Zongyuan had also served as an official in the local area, so through his experience, he concluded that the Qin Dynasty was not destroyed by the prefectures and counties, but by the resentment of the people, which was very different from the views of many literati.”

“Lu Shengnan only served as a Beijing official in the Qing Dynasty and never experienced the suffering of feudalism. Therefore, he only rationally believed that the prefecture-county system was inferior to the feudal system. This was a bookish view based on reason, and he did not respect the reality of experience.”

"If Father had sent him to live as an autonomous feudal citizen in the northern Mongolia where his uncle lived for a period of time, he might have a different understanding."

After Hongli said this, Yongzheng was greatly inspired and looked at Hongli with a bright gaze: "That is indeed insightful. If what you say is true, his views are indeed just theoretical."

Then, Yongzheng said, "Yesterday you told me that things are developing, and to understand their principles, one must know their internal contradictions. After seeing Cheng Shengnan's arrogant and absurd arguments, I thought about it carefully and felt that the contradiction between him and me in our understanding of feudalism and the prefecture-county system is a concrete manifestation of the contradiction between me and these Han gentry who cannot govern together."

"And you just said that the issue of stance is the fundamental issue and the core issue of the struggle. This means that if I want Lu Shengnan to realize his mistakes, I must first change his stance."

"You mentioned that he did not value practical, intuitive understanding and suggested that he go to live in a feudal autonomous territory. That's a good idea. Your argument about the contradictions in practice is quite insightful, like a skilled butcher dissecting an ox. It makes me ignore your age, your experience, and your status, and choose to believe you."

Emperor Yongzheng laughed when he said this.

Hongli then cupped his hands and said, "Your subject is merely using mathematical analysis to dissect the principles of governance, and does not wish to utter a single deceitful word to Father."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongzheng nodded: "I must personally interrogate Lu Shengnan and persuade him to change his stance and realize that he should not stand against the country and its people!"

Hongli smiled slightly.

He knew that Yongzheng cared about his reputation and enjoyed explanations and debates. Therefore, even though he disagreed with Lu Shengnan's theories and realized that Lu Shengnan's position was different from his own, he did not intend to physically eliminate Lu Shengnan.

In other words, although Emperor Yongzheng was ruthless, he still had a bottom line: he could not punish someone without first educating them.

This is naturally different from the historical Qianlong Emperor.

If it were Emperor Qianlong, he wouldn't have said much to people who weren't on his side; he would have simply used their household registration records to create a list of them.

As for Hongli himself, he preferred the Qianlong model because it avoided internal strife.

After all, persuading others takes a lot of effort; it would be much better to just do the screening.

Moreover, as an emperor wielding absolute power, he should be doing greater things. Therefore, even if education is necessary, it should be a large-scale, universal education, broadening the selection pool rather than trying to persuade a specific individual. However, Hongli did not intend to stop Yongzheng, because if Yongzheng was not allowed to put it into practice, he would not gain a clearer, more intuitive understanding.

As the saying goes, one cannot teach another person by teaching them; one must teach them by teaching them through experience.

"Now that you are the Prince Regent, come with me to the Qianqing Gate to participate in the deliberation of state affairs."

At this moment, Yongzheng got up.

"Whoo!"

Hongli then came to Qianqing Gate with Yongzheng.

Upon arriving at the Qianqing Gate, Hongli saw Prince Yi, Yunxiang, Prince Zhuang, Yunlu, and other ministers of state already waiting there.

But Hongli noticed that these people did not show any surprise at his appearance.

He knew that this was because of the fire at the Ministry of Rites last night, which made these people realize that his presence must be related to the fire.

Since Yongzheng was there, Hongli naturally couldn't greet these people. He simply went to the court seat that Longkodo had given up and stood there before joining the others in paying their respects to Yongzheng.

After taking his seat on the throne, Yongzheng asked, "Have you all heard about the fire at the Ministry of Rites yesterday?"

"I heard that when I came this morning, I could still see smoke and dust."

Prince Zhuang, Yunlu, spoke first.

Yongzheng then asked, "What do you think about this?"

When Yongzheng asked him this question, Hongli secretly glanced at him and saw that Yongzheng's face darkened again.

Hongli couldn't help but chuckle to himself, thinking that Yongzheng was clearly fishing for him. Knowing that he was the mastermind behind the fire at the Ministry of Rites, he still asked the ministers what they thought, undoubtedly wanting to see if any of them shared his governing philosophy.

At this moment, Minister of State Affairs and Minister of War Cha Bina stepped forward and said, "This humble servant believes that the killing of Confucian scholars was too severe, which is why Heaven wanted to warn our Great Qing, and thus ordered the fourth prince to take charge of the Ministry of Rites and such an unfortunate event occurred!"

But to Hongli's surprise, some ministers still fell for the trick.

"Too much killing?"

When Hongli heard Yongzheng's words, he noticed that Yongzheng did not immediately show his joy or anger, and couldn't help but think to himself that Yongzheng was also very good at acting.

"Your Majesty, the Henan scholars who boycotted the exams, the Zhejiang gentry who resisted taxes, and the Grand Censor Cai Ting who fabricated funds to frame ministers have all been executed! Indeed, the killings were excessive, which is why Heaven sent down this calamity, and specifically placed it in the Ministry of Rites. This is because the Fourth Prince is currently in charge of the Ministry of Rites, and he is Your Majesty's most trusted prince. Therefore, nothing less would be sufficient to warn us!"

Chabina added.

Upon hearing this, Yongzheng asked coldly, "From what you're saying, if I don't reflect on my actions, I'll take the life of the fourth prince next time?"

Chabina was speechless for a moment.

Then, the councilor Manduhu stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I do not know whether the warning from Heaven is related to the excessive killing of Confucian scholars. However, I believe that the warning from Heaven is because the fourth prince, Prince Bao, Hongli, has neglected the learning of the sages and has been too focused on practical matters, which has aroused the dissatisfaction of Heaven.”

"What do you mean?"

Yongzheng looked at Manduhu and asked in a deep voice.

Hongli also looked at Manduhu, his eyes filled with vigilance.

Manduhu replied neither servilely nor arrogantly, "The reason is obvious: the prosperity of a nation lies in upholding virtue, not in achieving merit. This is the way of Heaven!"

"You might as well just say that the problem lies in how I educate the princes, or even in how I treat the imperial family!"

Yongzheng rolled his eyes at Manduhu.

Manduhu bowed his head heavily: "That is precisely what I meant!"

"Yintang and Yinsi are imprisoned, Baotai has been demoted, Prince Cheng has been forced to commit suicide, and now Yanxin is also imprisoned awaiting punishment! It is clear that Heaven does not want Hongli to suffer the same fate in the future!"

Yongzheng stood up abruptly, looked at him, and sneered, "I knew you would see this fire as an act of God!"

Little did they know, this was man-made!

"Bring up Songzhu, the Daoist nun Wang, and Captain Fifty-Seven!"

(End of this chapter)