My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 312 Rectification: The Direction of Qianlong's Struggle After Becoming Emperor!

"Capture the traitor Zhang Xi!"

Yue Zhongqi then gave the order.

"Whoo!"

Zhang Xi was stunned on the spot.

"Yue Zhongqi, you are unworthy of being a descendant of Yue Fei, yet you are so devoted to a barbarian ruler!"

Zhang Xi shouted this as he was being led away.

Yue Zhongqi ignored him.

Zhang Xi was on the verge of tears. As he was being led away, he looked wistfully at the sky and then at the Green Standard Army soldiers around him.

He couldn't understand why these Han Chinese officials and soldiers, from Yue Zhongqi to ordinary soldiers, didn't take the restoration of the Ming Dynasty as their mission.

Yue Zhongqi, as the commander-in-chief, refused to raise an army and was labeled a traitor. The other Han Chinese officers and soldiers were also indifferent to this and even mocked him as a madman in conversations with others.

Prince Bao's Palace.

"Your Majesty, we thank you. If it were not for your recommendation, we would not have had the opportunity to serve His Majesty."

"Get up, and be sure to do things sincerely and without deception."

"Your Majesty, we will keep this in mind."

As Hongli looked at the new imperial merchants who came to pay their respects, he sighed inwardly. The national consciousness of the Han people was really weak. As long as the Qing court was willing to give them benefits, they would kneel and continue to show respect.

Because these new imperial merchants all came from Han Chinese aristocratic families.

That's why he sighed like that.

Of course, Hongli knew that this was related to the fact that for thousands of years, Chinese civilization had governed the country using the concept of "all under heaven".

Since the concept is "all under heaven", it doesn't matter whether the ruler of the world is Han, Mongol, or Manchu.

The key question is whether those in power recognize this civilization and whether they are the most powerful and well-equipped people on this land.

Therefore, most Han Chinese people in the world felt that the restoration of the Ming Dynasty was just about restoring the Zhu family's rule, and had nothing to do with them, even though many of them were dissatisfied with the Qing Dynasty's oppressive policies.

This makes Hongli, who came from a later generation and had a sense of national and ethnic consciousness, somewhat different from most people today.

In fact, he was even somewhat similar to Zeng Jing, Zhang Xi, and a small number of Han Chinese scholar-officials who wanted to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming because they missed the Ming Dynasty.

Because these people were beginning to awaken to a sense of national consciousness, even though their national consciousness was still very immature and remained at the stage of merely restoring the Ming Dynasty rather than establishing a new country.

But his current identity is that of a prince of the Qing Dynasty, and he is very likely to become the emperor in the future.

Therefore, whether he should become the "ruler of the world" or the "head of state" is a choice that Hongli will have to face in the future.

The difference between the two is significant!
The ruler of the world is related to civilization, which means that he may not emphasize ethnicity, but he has the responsibility to expand Chinese civilization and thus improve the level of civilization in the world, so that all the barbarians in the world become part of China!
The head of state is associated with a social community involving geography and politics, which means that he needs to emphasize ethnicity and nationality, and has a responsibility to prioritize the interests of the country and the nation.

The former is more classical, limited by the understanding of ancient people, especially those in the pre-Qin period, who believed that the Central Plains was the whole world, hence the existence of the emperor and feudal lords.

The latter is a consciousness that will become widespread in modern times, and the more widespread it becomes, the closer the classical dynasty of the Qing Dynasty will come to an end.

Because the Qing Dynasty was a dynasty dominated by ethnic minorities.

If a country is governed by a family-run system, it can continue to survive.

For most people in the world, what difference does it make who they are "lackeys" to? As long as a gentleman doesn't go too far, it's fine.

If the Qing Dynasty were to truly become a nation, and if the people on this land were to regard this nation as their home and feel that they are part of this nation and have corresponding rights, then firstly, the emperor would have to treat the people as human beings and relinquish a great deal of power.

This will undoubtedly be met with resistance from the privileged class.

Unfortunately, the Qing Dynasty was a minority dynasty, so if the emperor did this, his own Manchu people would object, treating the Han people too much like human beings.

Secondly, Han Chinese high-ranking officials and large landowners would also oppose treating ordinary people too much like human beings.

Even if the emperor were willing, he would be sidelined by the ruling group, and it would be a combination of Manchu and Han power, plus Mongol princes and other officials.

The ruling group would rather have someone else act as a representative of imperial power, even if it's just a woman ruling from behind the curtain as an empress dowager, than truly remain loyal to the emperor himself.

Therefore, it seems that Hongli had no choice but to continue being the ruler of the world.

However, the development of civilization cannot be stopped by human power.

With the Qing Dynasty's contact with neighboring countries and its clashes with other civilizations, the concepts of nation and ethnicity inevitably began to emerge.

For example, in negotiations with Russia, the Qing Dynasty historically referred to itself as China in official treaties.

The reason for referring to itself as China is that some foreign countries, including Russia, do not recognize the Qing Dynasty as an independent, sovereign, and civilized country, but rather consider it a barbaric regime that seized the land from its original inhabitants.

In this way, they would have a just cause to attack the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, under these circumstances, the Qing Dynasty naturally had to deny that it was a barbaric regime that had seized control of China, but rather a legitimate regime supported by the Chinese people, and directly refer to itself as China. This meant that a clash occurred between the concepts of "all under heaven" and "nation."

When Western colonial powers invaded later, there would be even more such clashes.

Even Hongli himself couldn't stop it.

He knew that even if he became emperor, he could only helplessly watch as world civilization entered a new chapter, and as Chinese civilization followed suit.

But that doesn't mean he can't do anything.

He felt that after becoming emperor, he might have to switch back and forth between "ruler of the world" and "head of state" repeatedly, and be prepared to switch at any time.

On the one hand, as the ruler of the world, he popularized education, strengthened integration, improved the understanding of the grassroots people of all ethnic groups, and enhanced their power.

In this way, even if civilization enters a new era in the future, when changes are needed, conservatives will not dare to use external forces to recklessly suppress and slaughter ordinary people in order to uphold the old ways.

On the one hand, as the head of state, he enhanced his external influence, actively expanded, and developed production, making the total amount of resources of the Qing Dynasty more abundant, the total social wealth higher, and the economy gradually transformed into an inward-oriented one.

This makes the country's elites increasingly feel that it is not worthwhile to only exploit their own people, and they are more willing to regard their own people as compatriots.

In fact, this trend has already emerged in social development.

The current emperor, Yongzheng, has begun to downplay ethnic distinctions as the ruler of the land, reforming domestic affairs and laying the foundation for a population explosion.

At the same time, Emperor Yongzheng was also representing China as head of state in contact and negotiations with the West.

It can be said that the development of society is not subject to the will of any individual.

When Hongli becomes emperor, he will have to adapt to the times, instead of stubbornly refusing to make changes, which would only bring greater hidden dangers.

Now, according to Yongzheng's wishes, to reform the Imperial Household Department, he must treat Yongzheng as the head of state, regard the properties under the Imperial Household Department as Yongzheng's private property, and regard the properties controlled by the Ministry of Revenue as public property, thus separating public and private interests.

Because he had to reform the Imperial Household Department without affecting national revenue or increasing Yongzheng's private property through the embezzlement of public assets.

These new imperial merchants are new imperial merchants under the name of the Imperial Household Department, and will represent the Imperial Household Department to trade with merchants from the Russian Kingdom in the border towns.

The profits from this would undoubtedly flow only into the emperor's private treasury and into the Han Chinese aristocracy who held the status of imperial merchants.

If we don't count the tributes that these Han aristocratic families had to provide to Hongli and other princes and ministers in order to maintain their status.

It can be said that, according to the current distribution method, neither the Qing Dynasty nor its people will receive any benefit from the trade between the two countries.

This will undoubtedly make most people in the country lose interest in developing foreign trade.

But now is not the time to change the imperial merchant system. All he can do now is prevent the Imperial Household Department from embezzling public property that should belong to the state when it increases its surplus.

Therefore, when Hongli met these new imperial merchants, he didn't say much.

Shortly thereafter, three chief stewards of the Imperial Household Department sought an audience with him, all with the same purpose: to request that he take the lead in reforming the Imperial Household Department and to express their willingness to cooperate actively.

"I never expected that you lackeys would be so willing to reform the Imperial Household Department and share the burden of your master."

"They all seem to be good lackeys!"

“In that case, I will take you to see Khan and tell him about this matter.”

When Changming came to see Hongli and asked him to take the lead in reforming the Imperial Household Department, Hongli spoke with a smile.

Chang Ming laughed and said, "How dare we servants not keep our master's affairs in mind?"

"Let's go."

Hongli was thus forced to leave the palace.

"Whoo!"

Chang Ming responded.

After bringing Changming to meet Yongzheng, Hongli explained his purpose to the emperor.

Yongzheng also summoned Nian Xiyao, the head of the Imperial Household Department who was on duty: "In that case, tell me, how should we rectify this?"

At this moment, both Chang Ming and Nian Xiyao looked at Hongli.

At this moment, Yongzheng also looked at Hongli.

Hongli understood that the servants under the Imperial Household Department did not want to change, so they were only willing to cooperate with him to change, but had no initiative. However, Yongzheng wanted him to change, so he hoped that he would take the initiative.

Therefore, Hongli took the initiative to speak up at this moment, saying, "Your subject has thought about how to reform the Imperial Household Department, and the reform method, in summary, is three reforms and one strengthening."

What is meant by "three reforms and one strengthening"?

Emperor Yongzheng looked on with curiosity.

(End of this chapter)