My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 301 Ordered by Imperial Decree to Humiliate a Corrupt Scholar, the Scholar Kneels Before the Imperial Decree in Tears!

After hearing the imperial decree, Yin Tai's forehead veins bulged, and his breathing became heavy, like that of an old horse carrying a heavy load.

Clearly, Yongzheng's decree was a blatant insult to him, a dignified Confucian official.

At this moment, Hongli said, "Yin Tai, receive the imperial decree."

“You are a learned scholar of Manchuria, well-versed in the classics, and know that loyalty is the foremost principle of propriety. Surely you wouldn’t refuse even an imperial decree.”

After Hongli finished speaking, it seemed like a long time passed before Yin Tai finally replied, "This servant dares not!"

then.

Yin Tai then stood up and knelt down before Madam Xu.

Xu immediately stepped back, indicating her refusal.

However, the palace maids that Hongli brought were ordered to step forward and restrain Xu, forcing her to accept Yin Tai's gift of thanks.

"Your humble servant, Yin Tai, is hereby ordered to thank Madam!"

Yin Tai then spoke, his lips trembling.

Angry!

At the same time, there was also endless grievance.

because……

Emperor Yongzheng's request was too much of a rip-off to him.

Furthermore, in his imperial edict, Yongzheng just belittled him to nothing, saying that he had previously valued him only because of his son.

This hurt Yoon Tae, who was very concerned about his image.

So, after he finished speaking, his two old eyes turned as red as if they had been smeared with blood, and tears welled up in his eyes like a vast ocean.

And Emperor Yongzheng was just such a man.

Their tone can change at any moment, and they can be extremely sarcastic at any time.

At this time, he was already very dissatisfied with Yin Tai, so he naturally attributed the reason why he had given Yin Tai important positions in the past to his son Yin Jishan. He felt that Yin Tai was no longer capable of being trusted, so he greatly belittled Yin Tai in the imperial edict.

After seeing Yin Tai do this, Hongli felt relieved and went back to report the decree.

It was a special arrangement by Emperor Yongzheng to have Hongli deliver the imperial edict the following day.

Hongli knew that Yongzheng was giving him a chance to perform.

Therefore, after seeing Yin Tai do this and receiving the imperial decree, Hongli personally helped Yin Tai up: "You should understand why Father Khan did this. You must not make the same mistake again!"

Yin Tai bowed and said, "This servant understands, thank you for the reminder, Fourth Master!"

Hongli then instructed Zhang Qilin, the eunuch accompanying him:

"Bring out the imperial robes bestowed upon Lady Xu, and have the ladies of noble birth selected by imperial decree come to congratulate her!"

"Whoo!"

As a result, many Manchu noblewomen who had come with the imperial decree came up to congratulate Xu, who had changed into her official robes.

The scene became incredibly lively.

That very evening, these noblewomen were even ordered to invite an opera troupe to offer their congratulations.

Hongli returned to the palace ahead of time, reported back, and told Yongzheng about Yin Tai's predicament.

Emperor Yongzheng was very pleased to hear this, and asked Hongli, "Do you think what I did was appropriate?"

In my opinion, that's not quite appropriate.

Hongli replied.

Upon hearing this, Yongzheng frowned.

Knowing that Yongzheng cared about others' opinions, Hongli immediately finished speaking, saying, "It should be a far-sighted plan, and it's something that should be done!"

"This is also what I admire most about Father: he never asks whether he can do something, but whether he should do it."

“If it were Uncle Ba, he would naturally feel that it is wrong to humiliate a mere Confucian official like this, especially one from our Great Qing Dynasty.”

Upon hearing this, Yongzheng's eyes lit up.

"But for Father, as long as it benefits the Qing Dynasty, he will do it even if it means humiliating a mere Confucian official or causing the world to complain. This was true of the land tax reform, the conversion of native chieftains to centrally appointed officials, and even the abolition of the lowly status."

Hongli knew that Yongzheng's actions not only humiliated Yin Tai, but also the entire Confucian scholar community.

After all, it's quite a feat to expect an elderly Confucian scholar to kneel and express gratitude to his concubine.

This was undoubtedly a great disgrace to the entire Confucian community.

Emperor Yongzheng was an emperor of the Qing Dynasty; this would have been possible if he had lived in the Song Dynasty or the late Ming Dynasty.

Petitions had long since flown into the Forbidden City like snowflakes.

At the same time, there must have been quite a few memorials from officials resigning.

Even in the Qing Dynasty, many officials considered Yongzheng's actions to be extremely willful and cruel! After all, most Qing Dynasty officials were not incapable of expressing their anger, but rather dared not speak out.

But it's strange.

Emperor Yongzheng was clearly an emperor who cared a lot about what others thought of him, yet he had a penchant for doing these unexpectedly harsh things.

Hongli, because Yongzheng cared about others' opinions, expressed his support through his words.

At the same time, he spoke very sincerely.

After all, he could understand the deeper meaning behind Yongzheng's actions. He knew that no matter how much he tried to be lenient and accommodating, he would not gain the gratitude of the Confucian officials. It was better to use various harsh methods, or rather, ruthless methods.

"I knew you would understand me!"

At this point, Yongzheng smiled and said, "To rectify the court, we must first identify who the enemy is, acknowledge the existence of contradictions, and understand that one's stance is difficult to change."

"Hongli!"

"You've given Ama even more confidence to stand up to them!"

Emperor Yongzheng sighed.

Hongli didn't say much, but simply cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "Father, you've worked hard!"

Yongzheng smiled slightly, then waved his hand: "Go, the reform of the Eight Banners schools cannot be delayed."

"Whoo!"

Hongli's main task now is to complete the reform of the Eight Banners' official schools. As Yongzheng demanded, not only should the uneducated Eight Banners children be dismissed, but they should also be exiled to the area beyond the Great Wall to farm.

When Hongli, accompanied by Yin Jishan and Sun Jiagan, announced this imperial edict to the students of the Eight Banners official schools, many of the Eight Banners students were in an uproar that very day.

"We just didn't study hard enough, so they want us to go farm! Is that reasonable?"

"My father fought alongside the emperor, shedding so much blood and making so many contributions, all so that one day I could live a good life without having to study hard!"

"Indeed, the Han people are indeed good at reading, but can they compare to us Manchus who have shed blood and sweat for the Qing Dynasty for generations?!"

"It's all because of that bastard child born to that little maid Yin Jishan! It was because he wanted to change the ancestral rules that the master believed him."

"That's right! Because of him, Mr. Zideng (Yin Tai) was humiliated, and Mr. Wanghe (Fu De) is about to be executed. He is a despicable scoundrel who flatters his master, is disloyal and unfilial, and doesn't care about our lives!"

Many of the Manchu bannermen's sons who knew they would inevitably be eliminated and forced to farm complained, and since they dared not directly blame Yongzheng and Hongli, they blamed Yin Jishan instead.

While the students of the Eight Banners were very dissatisfied with this reform, Yin Tai, after receiving the imperial decree, specially summoned his principal wife, Lady Irgen Gioro, and said, "Lady Xu should no longer live!"

Upon hearing this, Lady Irgen Gioro was greatly surprised: "Master, what are you saying?"

"She should have left this world before she passed the imperial examination!"

Yin Tai said coldly, his face grim.

Even Lady Irgen Gioro couldn't help but speak up for Lady Xu, saying, "But Lady Xu has always been very disciplined, my lord. Please forgive my bluntness, but you are too harsh on Lady Xu. The servants also have grievances. They all feel that if Lady Xu is treated like this after giving birth to a boy, then how can she be considered loyal and dutiful to the household? So, it's not just that Jishan feels sorry for his birth mother, but I also ask my lord to reconsider and please don't say anything about selling Lady Xu."

“What Jishan said last night wasn’t wrong. If we really sold Xu Shi, it would ruin our family’s reputation.”

"The imperial court still considers merit when dealing with criminal officials, so families should also be fair in rewarding and punishing meritorious servants, otherwise the family business will be unstable!"

At this point, Lady Irgen Gioro curtsied to Yin Tai and said, "Please reconsider, sir!"

"I know, but now I understand that the reason I was at odds with Jishan and angered the masters was because she was still alive after Jishan passed the imperial examination!"

"As long as she lives, she will be the perfect pawn for that rebellious son Jishan to use his master to deceive him! And Jishan happens to be the only one with any potential!"

"Furthermore, I will absolutely not allow two wives to exist in my household, absolutely not!"

Yin Tai spoke with a stern face, saying, "Therefore, you don't really need to let her die immediately. Just wait until she falls ill, and have the doctor in the manor use some methods. In this way, no one will know, and outsiders will just think that she died of illness. Even the master won't be able to say much!"

"Besides, our master has already achieved his goal of intimidating the Confucian scholars, so he won't really care about the death of a noblewoman!"

"This……"

Irgen Gioro hesitated.

Seeing this, Yin Tai gave her a cold look: "Even you won't listen to me anymore?"

"I don't dare!"

"I'm going out!"

"Where is the master going? Will he return for dinner?"

"If I don't come back for a meal, Mr. Wanghe will be executed because of me. How can I sit idly by and do nothing!"

After saying this, Yin Tai left his house and headed towards the Daqing Gate.

Because he planned to save his close friend and fellow student, Fu De.

He didn't want Fu De to be executed because of him.

"Your humble servant Yin Tai begs Your Majesty for mercy and to spare Fu De's life. Fu De's misfortune was all because of your humble servant's attempt to spy on the court. If Your Majesty wishes to punish someone, please punish your humble servant instead!"

(End of this chapter)