My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 299 The Iron-Fisted Emperor Yongzheng Executes Corrupt Scholars!
"Damn slave!"

"I didn't expect this."

Yin Tai had no choice but to confess, since Hongli had already asked him that question.

Hongli chuckled coldly: "Do you really think you deserve to die, or are you forced to submit to me at this time?"

"This servant naturally feels he deserves to die!"

Yin Tai hurriedly replied.

"okay!"

Hongli didn't believe it, but he just waved his hand and didn't say anything more.

Because some things, even if said bluntly, are meaningless.

He knew very well that people like Yin Tai probably wanted to "overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming" even more than many Han gentry.

Of course, what they wanted to restore was not the Ming Dynasty under Zhu Yuanzhang, nor did they want to overthrow the Qing Dynasty under Kangxi in his later years.

Hongli had no intention of wasting words with Yin Tai, so he continued in a cold voice, issuing his warning:
"If it weren't for your advanced age and the fact that you are a rare scholar among the Manchus, I really wouldn't have planned to let you off so easily. But you must remember, your survival now, and even your honor and disgrace after death, all depend on how you treat your son!"

“Because it’s not just me who’s keeping an eye on this; Khan’s father is keeping an eye on it too.”

"Don't say you didn't predict what you said."

After giving Yin Tai a warning, Hongli had Yin Jishan help Yin Tai leave the place.

Often, political maneuvering in the imperial court focuses on seemingly insignificant matters.

Whether Yin Jishan's birth mother, Xu, could rise in status through her son's success in the imperial examinations seemed to be nothing more than a family matter for the Yin family.

However, it touches upon the foundation of the entire dynasty's rule and the very meaning of the implementation of the imperial examination system.

If people of low birth, or whose mothers are of low status, cannot become officials through the imperial examinations or other systems of selecting officials, thus making themselves and their mothers superior, then the effectiveness of the imperial examinations in stabilizing society will be greatly diminished, and naturally, it will also affect the foundation of the dynasty.

Because ensuring social mobility is very important.

Therefore, the principle of a mother gaining status through her son is a rule that any wise ruler must adhere to.

However, some vested interests want to solidify their social class to ensure the stability of their power.

Therefore, they demanded...

In politics, only members of the Hanlin Academy could govern and decide the future of the country.

According to the system of etiquette, no matter how noble a son born out of wedlock is, if his mother is a slave, then he can only be a slave.

In this way, the model of the Jin Dynasty could be gradually realized, in which powerful families monopolized everything, and etiquette could only exist among these powerful families, thus solidifying social classes.

This led to a conflict between the wise ruler and the vested interests.

That's why Hongli paid close attention to this matter and specially summoned Yin Tai to give him a lecture.

He knew that Yongzheng was also paying close attention to this matter, and would even observe whether he remained sensitive to it.

Not long after, Yongzheng also learned about Hongli's reprimand of Yin Tai. He then smiled and said to Hongli, "Your ability to see the big picture from small details is a skill that a ruler should possess. Sometimes, these small matters should not be taken lightly."

“Ama is right.”

Hongli echoed this sentiment.

Emperor Yongzheng then said, "I have read the memorials submitted by Yin Jishan and Sun Jiagan suggesting reforms to the Eight Banners official schools. There is only one rule that needs to be changed: those who fail to meet the standards in both Manchu and Han learning, as well as horsemanship and archery, should not only be dismissed but also exiled to Shengjing outside the Great Wall to farm. Those who refuse to go should be removed from the banner system. I will not support idlers!"

"Whoo!"

Hongli never expected that Yongzheng would find his, Yin Jishan's, and Sun Jiagan's reform of the Eight Banners' official schools too mild, and that he would be so harsh on those Eight Banners children who had not made any progress, even going so far as to exile them to the border regions to farm.

He thought that his direct expulsion of the children who had neglected their studies from the Eight Banners official schools was radical enough.

Because he also knew that Yongzheng liked radical reforms, and that he was all about decisive action, not leaving problems for future generations.

"How is the compilation of the unified history and theory textbooks going?"

At this point, Yongzheng asked Hongli about other matters.

This was a grand plan agreed upon by Yongzheng and Hongli, aimed at unifying the thoughts and consciousness of the people throughout the land.

To unify the thoughts and consciousness of all people, we must first unify their understanding of history.

Because the Chinese people of this era believe that governing the world requires learning from history.

There is basically no space for lateral reference.

Therefore, how we view history, especially the view of the previous dynasty, becomes particularly important.

The Qing emperors also attached great importance to this, which is why the History of Ming took a long time to compile.

Therefore, Emperor Yongzheng agreed with Hongli's understanding of history regarding the unification of the country.

Hongli is still the prince in charge of the Ministry of Rites, and naturally he is still in charge of compiling the history textbooks after the completion of the erudite scholars examination. "Father, the Ministry of Rites has almost completed the Ming Dynasty volume, which is compiled according to your requirements."

"For example, Huang Zunsu, a scholar from the Donglin Academy during the Ming Dynasty, secretly befriended eunuchs to spy on imperial secrets, disregarding imperial authority and the law."

"Gu Xiancheng interfered with the cabinet's recommendation process via private letters;"

"The Fushe Society monopolized the qualification for admission to the provincial examinations;"

"Ye Xianggao's reform of the tax policy included first increasing the tax-exempt land for gentry to 10,000 mu, which was intended to illustrate that the excessive power of gentry would worsen the country's fortunes."

"Your subject believes that it is much better to use such historical textbooks to teach the Eight Banners children and even students of the Imperial Academy who are of commoner status, rather than letting them learn about historical materials only through the leaders of the literati and themselves."

"At least, it will allow them to see a more scientific and different conclusion, which can also provide more correct guidance for people's hearts."

Hongli then answered.

Emperor Yongzheng nodded repeatedly and laughed, "In that case, it will be difficult for the scholars of the Ming Dynasty to wash away or cover up their shame!"

"That's exactly how it should be!"

"Once this volume is completed, bring it to me so that I can review it personally. Then, once the Xian'an Palace School and the Imperial University of Peking are established, use this textbook to teach history to the most outstanding members of the Eight Banners, so as to prevent them from being misled and to benefit the long-term prosperity of our Great Qing Dynasty."

"As for the study of classics and the way of governing the country, we will compile a book based on my annotations in the 'Commentary on the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government', so that these outstanding members of the Eight Banners can further study the classics and the way of governing the country."

"My son obeys the order!"

Emperor Qianlong's plan was to strictly control social sciences while allowing them to flourish in natural sciences.

Because the former is not yet suitable for free rein, after all, that would affect his ability to concentrate imperial power and accomplish great things in the future.

Who told him he hadn't yet experienced what it was like to be the most powerful emperor?
The purpose of promoting natural sciences is to improve productivity and strengthen dominance.

Moreover, temporarily increasing productivity can indirectly mask many of the drawbacks that would arise from his excessive dictatorship.

In general, Hongli wanted to be a Qing Dynasty version of Peter the Great, rather than the historically ambitious yet conservative and arrogant Qianlong Emperor.

In any case, now that he has become the historical Emperor Qianlong, he has to be a little different.

Hongli believed that Yongzheng also supported this approach, because although Yongzheng was not interested in military expansion, he was very motivated to improve internal productivity.

After all, like Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Yongzheng feared two things the most: one was that external forces would follow the same path of the Qing Dynasty's rise, and the other was that a large-scale peasant uprising like the one at the end of the Ming Dynasty would occur.

In reality, these two issues boil down to one thing: the imperial court lacked funds, thus hindering its ability to stabilize the people's livelihood and resist powerful enemies from the outside.

That's why Emperor Yongzheng went to great lengths to replenish the national treasury and increase tax revenue.

Developing natural sciences and improving productivity were exactly what Emperor Yongzheng wanted.

After Yongzheng gave this instruction to Hongli, the people from the Sticky Pole Office suddenly came to Yongzheng's place.

"Master, I just received news that Yin Tai punished Xu Shi with a cane today, and also angrily cursed Yin Jishan, saying that he was using his master to bully his father-in-law, and even said that he would sell Xu Shi off."

It turns out that Emperor Yongzheng had been keeping an eye on the Yin family with his own spies all along.

This can also be considered a characteristic of Emperor Yongzheng.

He pays special attention to many seemingly insignificant little things.

For example, he once paid special attention to the matter of Nian Gengyao's son being adopted by Longkodo.

Historically, Emperor Yongzheng was indeed furious when he learned that Yin Tai had scolded Yin Jishan at home for deceiving his father-in-law.

Even now, Yongzheng still blushes because of this.

At this moment, Hongli said with a stern face, "Father, this Yin Tai is really stubborn. I warned him, and almost told him outright that he was disrespecting Yin Jishan and tormenting Xu Shi, which was going against the authority of the royal family. But he actually went even further after returning home!"

"Didn't Yin Jishan already submit a memorial requesting an official title for his birth mother? Why hasn't the Ministry of Justice sent it yet!"

"How did Yin Tai know about the request for an official title in advance?"

Emperor Yongzheng frowned and ordered Su Peisheng to go to the Office of Transmission.

Hongli then said, "It's possible that the Office of Transmission is deliberately delaying. I heard that Fu De, the Left Transmission Officer of the Office of Transmission, is a classmate of Yin Tai."

Now that Yoon Tae is showing him such disrespect, he naturally won't be too polite to Yoon Tae and those associated with him.

Because Yin Jishan's memorial was not a confidential matter, it required departmental discussion so that the whole country would know about it. Therefore, it was sent to the Ming Dynasty and needed to go through the Office of Transmission.

With the position of Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs currently vacant, Fu Fude, a Manchu bannerman from the Hanlin Academy, naturally became the head of the Court of State Affairs.

Not long after, Su Peisheng returned and said, "Your Majesty, the Office of Transmission says that Yin Jishan's memorial requesting an official title is currently at the home of Fu De, the Left Vice Minister of Transmission. Fu De has already gone to the Qianqing Gate to apologize! He said that because he felt that this memorial was not in accordance with the rites of the Emperor, he took it home and showed it to Yin Tai!"

Upon hearing this, Yongzheng's face darkened: "What is the rites of a sage? The rites of a sage are based on loyalty to the emperor. He leaked memorials to dismissed officials and failed to deliver them to the cabinet in a timely manner as required by regulations, thus blocking the emperor's hearing. He has already violated the rites of a sage!"

"Take that pedantic scholar Fu De to the Infantry Commander's office and execute him on the spot!"

(End of this chapter)