My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 332 Hongli, blessed with many children, and Yongzheng establishes the Grand Council!

Although Hongli knew that Yongzheng intended for this son to inherit the throne, he felt that he could not rush to secretly designate Yonglian as the crown prince.

After all, from a metaphysical perspective, Yonglian's early death in history may have been due to his inability to bear too much good fortune.

But that's just the kind of person Yongzheng was; when he started to dote on someone, there was no limit.

Hongli didn't say much.

After deciding on Hongli's name, Yongzheng said, "You've lost weight. It seems that the increased workload lately has really been tough on you."

"The same goes for Amma."

Hongli replied.

Emperor Yongzheng sighed, “But even so, we cannot let our guard down. The books written by Lü Liuliang have already been copied and sent to the capital, and I am refuting them word by word.”

"After I finish refuting your criticisms, you must be the first person to read this book!"

"Understand how they bewitch people, and then understand how I will correct them."

"This way, you can have a clearer understanding of who shares your stance and who does not."

Emperor Yongzheng solemnly gave the order.

Hongli bowed very respectfully and said, "Your subject obeys."

Yongzheng smiled with satisfaction and continued writing furiously.

Upon seeing this, Hongli thought to himself, "It seems that Yongzheng truly loves debate and writing articles on political thought."

This would undoubtedly make "Huiqing Jushi," a columnist for the Beijing Daily, even more feared.

But Emperor Yongzheng was enjoying himself, and Emperor Hongli didn't say much.

Hongli simply did what he was supposed to do.

"The grain allowance should not be too high, so as to avoid the situation where people claim grain from multiple places and then cheat others out of it."

"However, the compensation for those killed in action or who die from severe injuries should be set as high as possible."

"Leaving aside the Green Standard Army, many of the Eight Banner soldiers are heavily indebted. They are afraid that if they die, their families will not be able to pay off their debts, so they dare not fight to the death. So let's set the pensions high enough to wipe out their debts and still have a surplus. In this way, they will be willing to die to earn pensions to pay off their debts."

On this day, as Emperor Hongli was ordered to host a banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony to entertain the Mongol princes, ministers, and envoys from various countries, he issued instructions to the Ministry of War regarding adjustments to provisions and pensions for the Chichi War.

Minister of War Erqi and Lu Zhenyang were both astonished upon hearing this, and became even more convinced that the Fourth Prince was indeed knowledgeable in military affairs and adept at making decisions.

Because few princes knew that within the Green Standard Army system, which was primarily composed of mercenaries, there were indeed professional soldiers who would enlist in multiple places to fraudulently obtain provisions, especially during wartime. They would first enlist in one battalion for a period of time, then take the opportunity to escape and enlist in another battalion.

Therefore, controlling the amount of provisions obtained by these rogue soldiers through deception is insufficient to cover the costs of their multiple conscriptions, in order to maintain the size of a military camp and prevent excessive casualties.

It is common knowledge that both the Eight Banners and even the Green Camp have high debt ratios.

Naturally, none of the officials in the Ministry of War objected, and they raised the pension and lowered the travel allowance.

When Hongli hosted a banquet for the Mongol princes and ministers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Erqi and Lu Zhenyang whispered among themselves to these princes and ministers about how shrewd and capable Hongli was.

This led Hongli to notice that when he brought his eldest son Yonglian out to meet the Mongol princes and ministers, the gazes of many Mongol princes and ministers towards him were filled with even more reverence.

When these people saw Yonglian in his swaddling clothes, they looked at Hongli as if he were a god, and performed a great bow to him with great reverence.

Because they realized that Hongli already had four sons, including his eldest legitimate son.

Hongli, the fourth prince, was only eighteen years old.

For those who believe in the saying "many children, many blessings," this is naturally the most convincing sign of divine will.

Hongli remained calm and gentle, and said with a smile: "Everyone, please rise. I am grateful for the grace of my father, allowing you all to celebrate my son in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. This is a blessing from heaven, a blessing that can only be found in a peaceful and prosperous era. Therefore, let us raise a toast to the peaceful and prosperous era created by our current holy emperor!"

"What you say is absolutely right, Fourth Master. But in my humble opinion, if our Great Qing can achieve long-term peace and stability, the credit for the future will belong to you, Fourth Master!"

At this point, Marseille also began to flatter Hongli.

Everyone echoed this sentiment, because they knew that Yongzheng's decision to have Hongli host a banquet for princes and ministers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony was practically a clear indication that he intended to pass the throne to Hongli.

"With Fourth Master around, there will be peace!"

"Respect to Fourth Master!"

Longkodo, after giving Marsai a disapproving look, couldn't help but loudly call out and raise his wine cup first. Then, the Mongol princes and ministers also raised their cups in a toast to Hongli.

Hongli then smiled and glanced at Longkodo, who was even more flamboyant than himself.

Gee!

Longkodo is suited for diplomacy, and now is also a good time to liven up the atmosphere, boost the confidence of the Mongolian princes attending the banquet, and let them see the confidence of the Qing Dynasty!
But at this moment, the Russian envoy to Beijing, Blek, ruined the atmosphere by loudly proclaiming, "But now, it seems your Fourth Prince has no intention of bringing peace!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Blake in astonishment and anger.

Bleke then walked over and bowed to Hongli, saying, "Your Excellency Fourth Prince, if you truly wish to bring peace to the Qing Dynasty, you should not have allowed Celing and Yue Zhongqi to lead a large army to attack the Dzungars. I have just received an imperial decree from our Emperor that if your country intends to invade the Dzungars, we will certainly intervene!"

"Order?"

Hongli asked.

Blake nodded: "That's right, I just received it too."

At this moment, Hongli noticed that many Mongol princes were changing color, and many ministers had begun to whisper among themselves.

Hongli then asked him, "Did you bring it with you?"

Blake nodded: "Of course I brought it."

"show me."

Hongli said this.

Blek did indeed take it out and gave it to Hongli.

After receiving the decree from the Tsar of the Rakshasa Kingdom, Hongli smiled slightly, then tore it open on the spot and threw it into the furnace.

"What kind of imperial edict is this, that it dares to threaten my Great Qing?"

"If you are not satisfied, you may request an imperial decree to allow your country to conquer my Great Qing!"

"But before your country launches this campaign, it would be best to negotiate with Persia, the Ottomans, Sweden, and other countries, because they have already made arrangements with our Great Qing. Once your country raises an army, they will surely lend a hand to our Great Qing!"

As he spoke, Hongli clapped his hands.

clap clap!

After a round of applause, several white men came out.

Brick, who was dumbfounded, opened his eyes even wider.

The Mongol princes and ministers present all looked over in silence.

“They were envoys I invited when I was in charge of the Ministry of Rites.”

Hongli said at this time.

At this point, the white men all said, "That's right, we are willing to stand with the Qing Dynasty through thick and thin!"

After hearing this, the Mongol princes and ministers became increasingly willing to believe what Longkodo had just said.

With Fourth Master around, peace will truly come!
……

……

"You did a good job on this!"

"However, this Brick has some impressive spies. He found out so quickly who our commander-in-chief is and how many armies we have dispatched."

The next day, Yongzheng praised Hongli's diplomatic skills, but then frowned and brought up the issue of military leaks.

Hongli nodded after hearing this: "It seems we must keep this a secret, otherwise it's hard to guarantee that our Great Qing will not suffer a defeat like that at Sarhu!"

Yongzheng then asked Hongli, "What are your thoughts on this?"

"It would be better to summon only a few ministers, gather them in one place, and secretly discuss military affairs and receive imperial edicts in person. Apart from these few ministers, no one else should be able to see the corresponding imperial edicts with imperial annotations!"

Yongzheng nodded repeatedly, and then said, "Then let's call it the Grand Council! Although setting up Grand Councilors cannot guarantee that all ministers are trustworthy, the emperor can still determine which ones are trustworthy."

(End of this chapter)