My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 308: Yongzheng's Notes - Hongli's Sayings Greatly Benefited Him!

"pity!"

Hongli only sighed slightly.

"What's a pity?"

Yongzheng picked up the snuff bottle, sniffed it, and then continued reading the memorials.

"If they had committed suicide when the Ming Dynasty fell, they would have been honored with the reputation of being loyal martyrs. Our Great Qing would have erected a monument for them, built a shrine for them, and treated their descendants well."

"But what does this mean now?"

"The fact that they chose to commit suicide after becoming officials in the Qing Dynasty shows the inherent contradictions within them."

"At the same time, this shows that the fundamental contradiction in the development of things and the essence of the process prescribed by this fundamental contradiction will not be eliminated until the process is completed."

"However, in the process of the development of things, the situation is different at each stage of development."

“At the beginning of our Great Qing Dynasty’s entry into the Central Plains, what the world needed was peace. Therefore, at that time, the contradictions between the court and the families or even individuals of the bureaucrats were no longer the main contradictions. But now that peace has lasted for too long, this contradiction has become prominent again.”

After Hongli finished speaking, he noticed that Yongzheng was staring at him intently.

Upon seeing this, Hongli asked, "Father, is there a problem with what I said?"

"No problem, it's just that it was said too well."

Yongzheng smiled.

"However, your style of speaking is too much like mine, even more so than mine!"

Then, Yongzheng turned around, changed to a different ink brush, took out a sheet of white paper, and wrote as he said, "Truly worthy of being my son!"

"Wait, you just said that the contradiction won't end until the process is complete?"

"It will not be eliminated."

Hongli was speechless and chuckled.

He would never admit that he dared to mock the high-ranking officials and landlords who had submitted to the Qing Dynasty at the end of the Ming Dynasty because he knew Yongzheng's personality.

of course!

Historically, Emperor Qianlong was actually just as harsh as Emperor Yongzheng, and perhaps even more so.

After all, in history, Emperor Qianlong directly compiled the "Biographies of Traitorous Officials" to satirize the former Ming dynasty officials and landlords who had made great contributions to his Qing dynasty.

It's true that bosses all love PUA (Pick-Up Artist) tactics.

However, Hongli did not expect that Yongzheng would take seriously the words he quoted from later generations.

"That's true. The Qing Dynasty is not fundamentally different from the previous dynasty. The contradictions have not been eliminated, and factions still exist. It's just that we don't know when this process will be completed."

Yongzheng then turned to Hongli and said, "But because of this, you can think this way in your heart, but you can't say it out loud!"

"As a member of the imperial family, we still need to win over these people and show them the proper etiquette. The reason why our Great Qing was able to conquer the world is because we made good use of the former Ming officials who surrendered, especially Emperor Taizong."

"Therefore, even if they are hypocritical, they are still pillars of the court, and the government still needs them to govern the people and promote education."

"Their easy end to their own lives, their abandonment of responsibility for the world, and their despair like that of walking corpses are not conducive to the long-term stability of our Great Qing."

Hongli naturally understood what Yongzheng meant. It was simply that one should not be naive in politics and should not make friends with others based on personal likes and dislikes. One can have clear likes and dislikes in one's heart, but one should not really believe in the Confucian doctrine. One should govern the country with virtue.

"My son, please remember this!"

Hongli deliberately acted as if he was very receptive to instruction, so that Yongzheng could feel the satisfaction of teaching his son.

No matter how smart a person is, they shouldn't appear too smart.

Emperor Yongzheng was very pleased to see that Hongli humbly accepted his reminder. He felt that his fourth prince was not only extremely intelligent, but also remarkably lacked arrogance and stubbornness.

Therefore, Yongzheng became even more convinced that he had made the right decision to appoint Hongli as "Prince Regent" at such a young age.

But Emperor Yongzheng also placed even greater hopes on Hongli.

Therefore, Yongzheng then spoke frankly to Hongli: "Your ceremony to confer the title of your secondary consort is imminent. According to custom, a small banquet should be held. At that time, invite more famous scholars, especially those from Jiangnan, and make good use of them."

"Whoo!"

Hongli understood that Yongzheng wanted to see his ability to unite the people.

After meeting with Emperor Yongzheng, Hongli went to the Grand Secretariat.

At present, Emperor Yongzheng has not yet established the Grand Council, and the Grand Secretariat remains the daily central authority of the empire.

Even a prince like him, who serves as a councilor, still needs to go to the cabinet on a regular basis.

As Hongli walked toward the cabinet, he happened to see the thirteenth prince also walking toward the cabinet.

Hongli then greeted the thirteenth prince.

The thirteenth prince had bad knees, so Emperor Yongzheng granted him special permission to ride in a palanquin within the Forbidden City.

However, after meeting Hongli, the thirteenth prince did not ride in a sedan chair again, but chose to walk.

Hongli hurriedly advised the thirteenth prince to continue riding in the carriage.

He didn't want Yongzheng to think he was arrogant and didn't respect the thirteenth prince.

The thirteenth prince refused, saying, "It's not because of you. I just want to walk around and stretch my knees. Anyway, it's only a few steps from here to the Cabinet!"

Hongli didn't stop him anymore, and sighed inwardly. This thirteenth uncle was already a hereditary prince, yet he was still so cautious. He didn't have any of the "daredevil thirteenth prince" qualities of the Kangxi era.

“Hongli, I think you should understand why your fourth brother did this.”

When the thirteenth prince went to the cabinet with Hongli, he also took the initiative to chat with Hongli.

Hongli smiled slightly: "Thirteenth Uncle is right."

“Now, there are many people who want to be Gu Xiancheng and Qian Qianyi of our Great Qing Dynasty. There are also such people among the Manchus, so we have no choice but to do this.”

"And Fourth Brother is doing all this for you! If he's ruthless now, you won't have to be so ruthless in the future!"

The thirteenth prince spoke again.

Hongli nodded, grateful that the thirteenth prince had taken the initiative to enlighten him. He then deliberately slowed his pace.

"Moreover, since your father cannot rely on ethnicity to determine trust levels, then he can only do as you have done: assume the worst about them, and then use a more sophisticated system to select the talents worthy of being given important positions."

"Therefore, your father has already decided to appoint Yue Zhongqi as the Grand General, and also plans to establish a separate office to directly decide on major military affairs, so that more trustworthy Han officials can participate in central military affairs."

"On the one hand, give greater power to certain Han Chinese, and on the other hand, impose stricter control over the entire Han gentry!"

Because the thirteenth prince walked very slowly and his knees were not greatly affected, he was able to reveal more secrets to Hongli.

Hongli deliberately feigned surprise.

But he wasn't surprised, because he remembered that Yue Zhongqi was indeed the first non-Manchu general to be appointed as Grand General.

After the establishment of the Grand Council, Emperor Yongzheng began to involve more Han Chinese officials in central decision-making, such as Zhang Tingyu and Jiang Tingxi. He also allowed Zhang Tingyu to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

As the thirteenth prince said, Yongzheng was both more ruthless towards the Han gentry and gave some Han officials greater power and higher status.

"Thank you, Uncle Thirteen. I understand a lot now."

Hongli said something about this.

The thirteenth prince smiled as well.

Not long after, the two entered the cabinet.

When Princes and ministers such as Yunlu, Yunli, and Maqi saw that Hongli and the thirteenth prince had arrived at the cabinet, they all stood up and bowed.

After exchanging greetings, Ma Qi, the Grand Secretary of the Hall of Preserving Harmony who led the cabinet, spoke first: "I have just received news that Grand Secretary Fu Ning'an has passed away in office, and Zhang Yongsheng, the retired Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, also passed away on the 27th of last month."

Hongli, Yunxiang, and other ministers of the Council of State looked at each other in bewilderment after hearing this.

"Another official or gentry member has suddenly passed away."

Yunlu frowned and said something.

Hongli said, "Fu Ning'an must really be ill, right?"

Ma Qi nodded: "What Fourth Master said is true, but he also died in office at this time, which inevitably caused controversy."

"My father has instructed me to handle this matter, and to invite many prominent Han officials to the celebratory banquet for the investiture of the secondary consort, as a gesture of appeasement."

Seeing that the ministers of the Council of State were also worried about this matter, Hongli told them what Yongzheng had told him.

Upon hearing this, all the ministers and councilors beamed with pride.

"Your master is wise!"

At this moment, Longkodo slammed a memorial in Marseille's face and retorted.

Then, Longkodo laughed and said, "Only Fourth Master is most suitable to do this!"

After the match where the memorial was presented, Mal couldn't help but glare at Longkodo a few times.

Indeed, not long afterward, Hongli had his chief secretary, Yuzhu, invite many Han officials to his residence, especially those from Jiangnan who were in the capital.

At the banquet, Hongli was very approachable to these Han officials. He also enlightened these Han landowners who felt that the current Qing emperor did not care about them but only sought the well-being of the common people. He said, "You should take a long-term view of many things. Although the court is now a bit strict in its governance, Father is doing this in order to bring more lasting peace to the world."

"In the long run?"

Who wants to look at things from a long-term perspective?

However, in the banquet hall, taking advantage of the large number of people and the fact that no one was paying attention to him, and after drinking a few cups of wine, Cheng Rusi, the Chamberlain, spoke with a cold smile to his friend and fellow townsman Wang Tingyang, who was sitting at the same table with him, after Hongli said that.

"In the past, we Han gentry chose the Qing Dynasty not for long-term benefits, but because we hoped that the Qing Dynasty could, like the former Yuan Dynasty, take over the taxes and levies of all merchants and let us, the gentry, live a truly feudal and inactive life!"

After saying that, Cheng Rusi gave a cold laugh.

After saying this, he couldn't help but pour himself another glass of wine, because he suddenly realized that although he and his fellow Han gentry had chosen the Qing Dynasty, things had not gone as planned, and the Manchu Qing was not the same as the former Yuan Dynasty.

Wang Tingyang frowned slightly, waved his hand to stop Cheng Rusi from speaking, and looked at the child behind Hongli who was already able to sit alone at the banquet, asking, "Is that Fourth Master's eldest son?"

"That's right, he might just be like the late emperor's eldest son!"

Cheng Rusi said offhand.

Wang Tingyang couldn't help but glare at him again: "Watch your step, this is right under the emperor's nose!"

Hongli also noticed that many officials below were whispering among themselves, and some were even grinning to themselves.

He knew that many Han officials from wealthy landowning families, like himself, disliked listening to empty rhetoric from their superiors.

He also knew that these Han officials certainly had no intention of compromising themselves for the long-term stability of the Qing Dynasty. They were probably secretly thinking that if they, as scholars and officials, had truly followed the teachings of the sages and established lasting peace for all generations, then the Qing Dynasty would never have existed.

Therefore, after making some polite remarks, Hongli decided to go straight for the big move, saying, "It is precisely for the sake of long-term peace that after the court has agreed on the border with the Russian Kingdom, the Khan is ready to agree to open the border for trade. The Imperial Household Department under my jurisdiction will also select three to five households from each province to be imperial merchants, representing the court in trade with the Russian Kingdom, and will naturally enjoy the existing imperial merchant treatment of the Ministry of Revenue."

At this point in Hongli's speech, Cheng Rusi's expression turned solemn.

Wang Tingyang's eyes also became complicated.

These Han officials, who came from wealthy landowning families, all had families involved in commerce, so they naturally knew the enormous benefits involved.

Seeing that everyone was taking it seriously, Hongli continued with a smile, "Of course, the most important thing in choosing which families to become imperial merchants is their loyalty to our Great Qing!"

At this moment, Wang Tingyang stood up: "Fourth Prince! Your subject, Wang Tingyang, Vice Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, has something to say!"

Are you asking how to prove one's loyalty?

Hongli asked.

Wang Tingyang replied, "Your Highness has misunderstood. I do not value great profits; I value loyalty and righteousness more, and I wish to emulate the virtues of the ancient gentlemen!"

"Moreover, Your Majesty is so devoted to the long-term stability of the country, and I am naturally deeply grateful. Therefore, I dare not protect my fellow villagers."

"Therefore, I expose Cheng Rusi's arrogance, rudeness, hypocrisy, cunning, disrespect towards the late emperor and the princes and grandsons, and his slander against the Han gentry."

"He actually said that back then, many of the Han Chinese scholars and officials submitted to the Qing Dynasty because they hoped that the Qing Dynasty could take over the taxes and merchants of the former Yuan Dynasty, rather than for the sake of peace in the world, or because the destiny of the Qing Dynasty was on our side."

He also said that the grandson of the emperor, Yonglin, might be just like the late emperor's eldest son!

No sooner had Wang Tingyang finished speaking than Yongzheng walked into the hall without anyone noticing: "Cheng Rusi, have you wasted all your education? What has the imperial family done to deserve such slander from you?!"

(End of this chapter)