My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 306: The Empress is Twice Pregnant, and the Emperor Has a New Heir!

Yongzheng did not speak, but looked at the assembled princes, ministers and nine ministers and said: “Tell me, is what Hongli said right or wrong?”

Yunxiang then stepped forward: "Fourth Brother, Hongli is not wrong. The Eight Banners need to be disciplined, but after the discipline, they should be appeased. We cannot rely on them to realize on their own that they are still in a relationship with the Qing Dynasty. Someone needs to make them understand."

"And the most suitable person is a prince who is of high renown and of advanced age."

"In my humble opinion, it would be better to directly establish the Fourth Prince as the Crown Prince!"

"This will reassure our people, so even if today's crackdown is ten times stricter, there will be no problem."

Longkodo spoke at this time.

Emperor Yongzheng frowned slightly after hearing this.

Hongli also gave Longkodo a meaningful look.

He felt that Longkodo had fallen back into his gambling addiction, and that he was gambling based on a sense of unease.

The bravery and decisiveness displayed by Yongzheng should have made Longkodo, a nobleman of the Eight Banners, even more fearful.

Although Longkodo, in his current position, would not oppose Yongzheng, he would seek out a prince favored by the emperor as his protector, under the pretext of considering the emperor's best interests.

The protector was naturally Hongli himself.

And he had no choice.

However, he had to be the first minister to dare to stand up and request the imperial decree to officially establish Hongli as the crown prince.

But Hongli would not show any sign of being led by the nose by a Manchu noble like Longkodo at this moment. Instead, he immediately said, "Father, I request that Longkodo be executed!"

Longkodo was speechless.

Hongli secretly glared at him with hatred.

idiot!

I'm saving you!
Whether Longkodo understood or not, Yongzheng clearly understood Hongli's thoughts and nodded with satisfaction: "Why execute him?"

"Because he is making unfounded remarks about establishing an heir, which will make the world think that Father is not long for the future. His intentions are truly sinister!"

Hongli replied.

Longkodo immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, please understand. This servant does not know why Fourth Master said that. This servant is truly just offering a sincere suggestion based on the current situation. The Qing Dynasty has a Crown Prince, which should make people feel more at ease!"

"Uncle, you're right, get up."

Emperor Yongzheng displayed unprecedented magnanimity.

Then, Yongzheng looked at Hongli and said, "I grant your request."

Longkodo's mouth dropped open.

Seeing his pale face, Yongzheng chuckled to himself and added to Hongli, "I grant your request and order you to comfort the families of the bannermen who were executed. I will also give you 200,000 taels of silver to distribute as sacrificial money."

Longkodo breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he lost this hand of all-in betting, he didn't lose too badly.

"My son, I accept the decree!"

Hongli was overjoyed.

In the end, Yongzheng granted his request to appease the people and even generously provided him with a sum of money for this purpose. This was far more beneficial than simply obtaining the empty title of Crown Prince!
Hongli then went to the Imperial Household Department with his guards to collect his silver.

Meanwhile, in the capital city...

As the bodies of the Manchus were carried back, many Manchu families wept bitterly.

Gradually, the sound of weeping could be heard everywhere in the capital city.

When Hongli brought 200,000 taels of silver to appease these Eight Banner families, many of them had already begun to hang white banners.

Hongli had to admit that Yongzheng's purge had put many Manchu families in mourning.

As a result, Hongli deliberately wore a somber expression, as if he too found the outcome difficult to accept.

As he walked in the setting sun, he cast a forlorn and pitying glance at these Manchu families.

of course!

Hongli had to admit that Yongzheng's purge this time was indeed too harsh. Wielding the sword to purge disloyal people from among his own people was something many emperors dared not do.

However, in Hongli's view, although many Eight Banner families wore mourning clothes this time, it was different from the historical event of the Battle of Hetongbo in the ninth year of Yongzheng's reign, which resulted in all Eight Banner families wearing mourning clothes.

Firstly, most of the Manchus who died this time were unambitious and unhelpful members of the Eight Banners. Generally, such members of the Eight Banners were not well-liked at home and kept adding to their family's debts.

Even if family members cry, it's only their immediate family members who cry.

Secondly, the number of Manchus who died this time was still less than that in the Battle of Tongbo, so it did not have a significant impact on the foundation.

Thirdly, the more than 4,500 bannermen who died in the Battle of Tongbo were basically the pillars of each of the Eight Banners families, so the impact on the entire Eight Banners was truly crippling.

In general, this purge was a true purge in the literal sense, and it was beneficial to the entire Eight Banners, enabling it to revitalize itself.

Emperor Hongli, who was ordered to comfort the families of the Eight Banners, first visited Yin Tai's house.

Yin Jishan was released and allowed to return home by imperial decree from Emperor Yongzheng because of his filial piety.

Therefore, when Hongli came to Yin Tai's house again, he saw that Lady Irgen Gioro and Lady Xu had already cried their eyes red.

Yin Jishan and Yin Tai's other sons only looked sorrowful, but Xu Shi looked sickly and almost needed her maid to support her when she knelt down with the others to pay respects to her fourth son.

Yin Tai's body had been stitched up and placed in a coffin. Hongli then went to Yin Tai's spirit tablet and bowed to Yin Tai's coffin.

Then, Hongli helped up Lady Irgen Gioro and Lady Xu, and at the same time asked the rest of the Yin family to stand up.

"I know you are very sad right now, but it is what it is, so please accept my condolences."

"No one wanted things to develop to this point, and neither your master nor I wanted to see this happen."

"Your master sent me to visit you so that you would know that the law is the law and sentiment is sentiment. No matter what, you are all Manchus, your master's own servants!"

"Although some of your family members have broken the law this time, done things that disrespected the master, lost their loyalty, and kept threatening the master, forcing the master to maintain his loyalty to the Qing Dynasty and the Eight Banners, he had no choice but to punish them severely, but this does not mean that the master will abandon you."

"I hope you will all reflect on yourselves and know that whatever the will of the Lord is, you must obey whether you understand it or not, and you must not go against the Lord. If you do not understand the Lord's will, you should also feel that it is not the Lord's problem, but your own problem, that you do not have enough understanding."

"Because you are different from the Han people who are registered as civilians, you are the servants of your masters, and you can only have one stance, which is the stance of your masters!"

"Therefore, whether you are just a lowly Goshha or become a Hanlin scholar and rise to the rank of Grand Secretary, you can only be grateful and dedicated. Your master will not mistreat his own people!"

"Therefore, don't be too sad, and don't complain, otherwise it would be truly outrageous."

Then, Hongli comforted them and had the silver brought up: "This is five hundred taels of silver, given to your family as sacrificial money. This is enough to show the master's kindness, so you must not do anything to offend the master."

"Your humble servants kowtow in gratitude for Your Majesty's divine grace!"

After speaking, Hongli specifically called Yin Tai's wife, Lady Irgen Gioro, Lady Xu, and Yin Jishan closer, asking Lady Xu, "How is your wife's illness now?"

Madam Xu replied, "Thank you for your concern, Fourth Master. My illness has improved considerably thanks to the medical care and treatment arranged by my elder sister and others."

Hongli then looked at Lady Irgen Gioro and said with a smile, "I have long heard of the kindness and virtue of the principal wife. Yin Jishan's virtue is also due to the principal wife's education."

"Fourth Master, you flatter me!"

Yiergenjueluo bowed in thanks.

Hongli then said, "I hope that you and Xu will both enjoy long and healthy lives, and that Yin Tai's sons will all fulfill their filial duties to their mother."

"Thank you for your kind words, Fourth Master."

The Yiergenjueluo clan and others expressed their gratitude once again.

However, at the same time, Lady Irgen Gioro also understood the meaning behind Hongli's words, so she did not sleep well that night. She only summoned her most trusted dowry maid, Zheng, and asked, "Did you understand the meaning behind Fourth Prince's words today?"

"This servant also feels that something is wrong. Why did Fourth Master specifically bring you and Madam Xu up?"

Zheng nodded.

Yiergenjueluo said, "I guess Fourth Master has guessed something, so he is warning us that if Xu Shi dies too early, it may be the time when Xu Shi and I die together."

"So, stop giving Madam Xu more medicine and focus on treating her illness. After all, the master is no longer here."

"Whoo!"

After visiting the Yin family, Hongli went on to visit other Eight Banner families.

This deeply moved the families of the Eight Banners. Even those whose families had not been harmed during the purge were touched by Hongli's benevolent act.

After being comforted by Hongli, their resentment towards Yongzheng greatly diminished. They felt that their master had no choice in doing so, or even if they had resentment, they were willing to endure it for Hongli's sake, thinking that as long as they could wait until Hongli ascended the throne, things would be fine.

"Your son comforted several families today, and they all expressed their understanding of what Father did and admitted that their fathers and brothers had indeed wronged their master."

The next day, Hongli also reported the situation of the consolation to Yongzheng.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongzheng smiled and nodded, saying, "My son, you've worked hard!"

"Your son has not suffered at all; it is Father who has truly suffered!"

“I have seen the immense pressure that Father is under.”

Hongli replied with a very solemn expression.

Yongzheng's eyes reddened, and he opened his heart to Hongli, saying, "I just don't know how Heaven sees it, since you don't have many brothers to begin with."

Hongli knew that Yongzheng suspected that his small number of offspring was related to his excessive killings.

“Father, you can’t think like that. Emperor Renzong of Song was revered by scholars all over the world as a benevolent and sage ruler. He should have been blessed by Heaven, but he had no children who reached adulthood. So if Heaven has feelings, it’s hard to say where those feelings are.”

Hongli replied.

Yongzheng nodded.

Just then, Su Peisheng strode in, beaming with joy, and said, "Great news, Your Majesty! Her Majesty the Empress has come to report that Consort Guo is pregnant!"

Yongzheng was immediately taken aback.

Hongli was the first to react, and bowed to Yongzheng, laughing loudly, "Your subject congratulates Father!"

Only then did Yongzheng grin with joy: "Congratulations to you, congratulations to you!"

"Finally, I will have a new imperial heir!"

Then, Yongzheng sighed.

As soon as Yongzheng finished speaking, Zhang Qilin, the deputy chief eunuch, came over and said, "Your Majesty is overjoyed! The Empress has sent someone to report that Consort An has also been diagnosed with pregnancy today!"

"Another pregnancy?"

"Heaven has indeed not wronged me, Yinzhen!"

(End of this chapter)