My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 309 The investiture ceremony: The prestige that Emperor Yongzheng bestows upon his eldest grandson!

When everyone saw the icy-faced Emperor Yongzheng appear, except for Cheng Rusi, they all hurriedly knelt down and paid their respects to him.

Cheng Rusi stared at Wang Tingyang without saying a word.

Yongzheng also wanted to see his grandsons, and knowing that Hongli had hosted a banquet for many Han officials that day, he also wanted to see how these Han officials performed.

Therefore, Yongzheng came here incognito, and even Zhang Tingyu and Liu Tongxun, who were on duty in the Southern Study, did not know that he was coming.

But Yongzheng did not expect that as soon as he arrived, he heard Wang Tingyang expose Cheng Rusi and spread rumors that his eldest grandson was a figure like the First Prince Yinti.

And what kind of person is the eldest prince, Yunti?

Emperor Yongzheng knew this better than anyone else.

Although Wang Tingyang only gave a statement and could not provide any concrete evidence.

However, the status of Han gentry in the Qing Dynasty was not as high as before. As long as the emperor knew that Cheng Rusi might be disloyal and disobedient, it would be enough to kill him.

Therefore, Cheng Rusi's face gradually turned pale.

Hongli just sneered.

He didn't expect that the bait he threw out would work so quickly, and he certainly didn't expect that Yongzheng would appear at this time and happen to know about it.

But Hongli was not surprised by Yongzheng's sudden appearance.

After all, there was no place in the Qing Dynasty that the emperor couldn't go.

Hongli had to admit that it is said that wealth fosters conscience, while poverty breeds wicked schemes.

However, when faced with the struggle for interests, these wealthy Han officials were far more astute and decisive, and also far more ruthless and unscrupulous than the poor.

They are capable of betraying not only their country, but also the rope that strangles them, let alone their relatives and friends. Naturally, they cannot be considered truly united.

Although these Han officials were all educated in Confucianism, which emphasizes righteousness over profit, they had long since forgotten the words of the sages when faced with personal gain.

After a while, Cheng Rusi knelt on the ground with a pale face and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down and have mercy!"

As he spoke, Cheng Rusi trembled like a leaf.

He couldn't deny it, because if he didn't, according to Yongzheng's rules, his writings would be copied directly to see if he truly harbored rebellious intentions.

He couldn't guarantee that no one in his family had recorded anything sensitive in written books, so he had no choice but to plead guilty, at least to avoid implicating his family.

Yongzheng snorted and told everyone to stand up, but made Cheng Rusi continue to kneel.

Then, Yongzheng walked over to Yonglin, stretched out his arms to him, and asked with a pleading tone and a smile, "Let the Khan hug me?"

Yonglin walked towards Yongzheng.

Yongzheng then picked up Yonglin, and then looked at Cheng Rusi:

"Where did you get the idea that my eldest grandson is the same as Yunti?"

"My eldest grandson is someone I will definitely focus on nurturing in the future; how could he be a stupid person?!"

"Your Majesty, I deserve to die!"

boom!
As Cheng Rusi spoke, he slammed his head heavily to the ground.

"Take it!"

Emperor Yongzheng gave only this one instruction.

"Whoo!"

Cheng Rusi was then dragged away.

As Cheng Rusi was dragged away, she glanced at Wang Tingyang with a deathly pale face.

Wang Tingyang remained solemn.

"Your Majesty, I request that Your Majesty grant special permission to the Wang Tingyang family, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, to be the first imperial merchants allowed to trade with Russia at Erkou."

"Because I have already witnessed his loyalty to the court!"

Hongli replied. Yongzheng nodded: "Granted! Promote Wang Tingyang three ranks!"

Wang Tingyang immediately knelt down: "This servant thanks Your Majesty for your great favor."

"Change the three-level call to a two-level call!"

"It is appropriate to submit to their authority."

Emperor Yongzheng, with a stern face, changed his address and even gave a special explanation for the reason for the change.

Wang Tingyang felt a chill run down his spine, then kowtowed again: "Your Majesty, I know my crime and thank you for your mercy."

Hongli couldn't help but smile slightly.

Although Wang Tingyang is quite shameless, governing a country is not simply a matter of governing with virtue.

Therefore, at this time, Hongli immediately requested an imperial decree to bestow upon Wang Tingyang's family an immense fortune.

Seeing this, the Han officials present also began to feel eager to try their luck and obtain the status of an imperial merchant. As for how profitable the status of an imperial merchant was, just look at the Shanxi merchants who made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty.

However, they didn't dare to be as direct and impulsive as Wang Tingyang. Instead, they decided to go back and submit a secret report, so as not to expose their hypocrisy too obviously to the outside world.

Wang Tingyang was afraid that if he submitted a secret report upon returning, it would lack persuasiveness, which is why he immediately took the risk of exposing the truth.

After all, he was sitting right now with Cheng Rusi.

Emperor Qianlong had to admit that Han Chinese gentry were still quite easy to win over.

The solution is simple.

It's nothing more than offering even greater benefits.

Therefore, Hongli used the newly expanded cake of exclusive trade with Russia as bait to win over these Han gentry, making them both more dispersed in their power and more grateful to the court.

Even though many of them were Han Chinese gentry and wealthy families who could not become imperial merchants, they could still get a share of the profits by participating in a certain industry chain.

Hongli also stated that he would request the imperial decree to provide these new imperial merchants with low-interest loans, and would also request the imperial decree to grant them special permission to purchase official porcelain in Jingdezhen and official textiles from various weaving bureaus, under the guise of purchasing substandard products.

This made the Han gentry very grateful to Hongli, who felt that he was truly willing to think of them.

"As soon as the Fourth Prince took charge of the Imperial Household Department, he thought of adding more imperial merchants to benefit the people. He is truly wise and virtuous! The people of the world will surely be grateful for the Fourth Prince's kindness!"

When Wang Tingyang received the imperial merchant certificate from the Imperial Household Department and came to express his gratitude to Hongli, he also flattered Hongli in the same way.

Hongli simply smiled faintly at this.

It wasn't that he didn't want the imperial court to directly monopolize trade and prevent merchants from participating, but rather that he wanted to establish some kind of market exchange office so that the government could purchase goods and then sell them to the Rakshasa Kingdom.

But hasn't countless historical experiences proven that allowing court officials to manage everything will lead to the stagnation of everything?

It would be better if the government only collected taxes, and allowed merchants with connections to monopolize trade, which would also expand the base of influence.

Hongli then added, "I don't want you to feel grateful for my kindness, I only want you to feel grateful for the kindness of the Qing Dynasty!"

"What you say is true, Fourth Master. My great-grandfather chose to submit to the Qing Dynasty and be loyal to it. I would never dare to betray the Qing Dynasty, for to betray the Qing Dynasty would be to betray my ancestors."

Wang Tingyang then spoke with a fawning smile.

After hearing this, Hongli nodded.

Not long after, Hongli was summoned by Yongzheng again.

When Hongli arrived at the Yuanmingyuan to see Yongzheng, he saw that Yongzheng was clearly in a bad mood. Yongzheng said to him, "The income and expenditure accounts of the Imperial Household Department for the first half of this year have been released, and the deficit is even more severe than last year! If this continues, I can't possibly ask the Ministry of Revenue for money just to maintain the palace's expenses!"

“Those lackeys of the Imperial Household Department are involved in everything from textile manufacturing, porcelain, tea, salt and iron, to money shops and pawnshops. As a result, expenses are increasing and the cost of purchasing things is getting higher and higher.”

As Yongzheng spoke, he put his hands on his hips, and his breathing gradually became heavy.

Hongli could only sigh at this, as Yongzheng's demands on the Imperial Household Department were getting higher and higher. Before, he only asked the Imperial Household Department to make up for the deficit, but now he wanted the Imperial Household Department to increase its surplus.

Of course, Hongli believed that Yongzheng was not unaware of the drawbacks of the monopolistic government-run Imperial Household Department.

The reason why Yongzheng is acting so excited in front of him is simply because he hopes that this prince, who is in charge of the Imperial Household Department, will not think that he, as the emperor, is too extravagant, and that he will complain even more when he becomes the emperor in the future because he finds that the imperial treasury is not enough.

(End of this chapter)