My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 337 A New Look for Emperor Qianlong's Rule: A Dramatic Change in Court Style!

Looking at Yuan Yingxing's expression, Cha Lang'a guessed the truth of the matter and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Fourth Master's 'Red and Black Book' system is really amazing!"

Of course, this forced Chalanga to admit that the Fourth Master truly treated all the gentry and commoners of the land as thieves.

He even had a vague feeling that the Fourth Prince, who was in charge of the country, did not actually intend to eliminate the gentry, but simply could not eliminate them at the moment. Therefore, he seized the opportunity to eliminate a few of the most heinous criminals first.

This made him feel sorry for these Han gentry, as they felt that their lives had indeed become increasingly difficult after the establishment of the Qing Dynasty.

And therefore...

Chalanga couldn't help but think of his own days as a Manchu nobleman.

He had to admit that his life as a Manchu nobleman was becoming increasingly difficult after the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains.

Many important official positions that originally belonged only to the Eight Banners nobles began to be occupied by Han people.

The key point is that what the current master said about rectifying the court is to make the lives of the banner people better and better. In fact, it mainly means making the lives of the middle and lower-class banner people better and better, so that many of them no longer have to depend on the Eight Banners nobles for their livelihood.

The Eight Banners nobles found it increasingly difficult to maintain their comfortable lives by exploiting the lower-class Bannermen.

Many lower-ranking Manchus only needed to be polite on the surface when they met their banner lords. They didn't have to worry about their pay being withheld by the banner lords, nor did they have to worry about being arbitrarily used by them.

In short, like many Manchu nobles, Chalanga deeply felt that the power of his Manchu noble family had been declining since the Manchus entered the Central Plains.

He still remembers that when his grandfather, Chahar, was in power, he dared to recognize only the banner lord of the Bordered White Banner as his master, without having to take the emperor to heart.

At that time, the Nara clan, an old Manchu family, considered the Aisin Gioro family to be merely a wealthier and more prestigious relative.

They were just a few individuals who were loyal to the Aisin Gioro family.

This person doesn't even have to be a direct descendant of the emperor!

But when it came to his father, he suddenly became a servant of a prince, and because the emperor was the prince's father, he had no choice but to be filial to this master's father.

By the time he took charge of the household, the Aisin Gioro clan had been stripped of their titles or imprisoned, and the Eight Banners Commandery had completely replaced the banner chiefs.

Therefore, his banner lord had no right to control him, and his only master was Emperor Yongzheng.

Therefore, he also felt that he had entered the country with a completely innocent reputation.

It was as if, once the emperor entered the pass, the whole world gradually became his alone.

However, Chalanga did not want to ask Yuan Yingxing, but asked him, "Do you Han gentry also feel that you let the Qing Dynasty enter the pass for nothing?"
Chalanga merely set aside his pride as a member of the Eight Banners nobility, and with a touch of sympathy and gentleness, said:
“But the eldest grandson of the bride’s family said that it was your Yuan family’s patriarch who wanted to see him, so he was sent there.”

Yuan Yingxing felt increasingly aggrieved and kowtowed again, saying, "Governor, please forgive me, my Yuan family is truly innocent! How could we dare to do something that would offend the appointed General!"

"Whether you're innocent or not, go to the Ministry of Justice and tell them."

After saying this, Chalanga got up and left, shaking his head and sighing as he went.

He was increasingly confused as to why he and other Manchu nobles and Han gentry like the Yuan family were treated like fish to be slaughtered.

The late emperor's advocacy of Manchu-Han unity meant that everyone should be the emperor's slave.

If that's the case, what were the ancestors of my family and the ancestors of the Yuan family fighting for when they conquered the Qing Dynasty?
But even though he didn't understand, he couldn't ask; he still had to report the matter truthfully.

then.

One month later, at the Yuqing Palace in the capital.

The chief Grand Councilor, Marseille, reported to Hongli: "The Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, Chalang A, urgently reported that Yue Jun has been found at the old residence of retired military officer Yuan Yingxing. This was due to the exposure by the gentry Wu Yikang, which enabled the officers and soldiers to find Yue Jun at the old residence of Yuan Yingxing."

"But according to Cha Lang'a, Yuan Yingxing has always claimed that he was innocent; he also revealed that the Wu family colluded with the mountain bandits, and that the real kidnapper of Yue Jun was the Wu family."

After Marseille finished speaking, Hongli smiled faintly and said, "It seems that the red and black book has worked."

"Then we shall search and confiscate the property of both families and their nine generations of relatives, and punish them according to the facts. The Censorate shall send an imperial censor and a probationary imperial censor to investigate!"

"The imperial court will neither wrong a local worthy nor let a notorious scoundrel go unpunished."

At this point, Hongli glanced at the Grand Councilors.

He noticed that these Grand Councilors were not very enthusiastic.

However, Hongli was fully aware of their reaction, knowing that they felt a sense of shared vulnerability. If the emperor could use this method to deal with the Han gentry in Sichuan, then he could use the same method to deal with them.

of course!

Hongli knew that they were just not very interested, but dared not express any dissatisfaction.

The reason is simple: from the fall of the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty's rule over the Central Plains, it was destined that imperial power would be infinitely strengthened.

Apart from the emperor, no one will live with a sense of security; they will all become numb and indifferent, leading to a state of utter silence.

As for why this is so?

The reasons behind this are difficult to explain!
Furthermore, as for the Manchu military nobles, Han Chinese high-ranking officials and landlords, and Mongol princes, did they regret letting the Qing Dynasty take over the Central Plains?

Hongli thought to himself, "I'm sure I'll feel some regret."

After all, if the emperor gets all the benefits while everyone else is treated like a servant, anyone would regret it.

I'm afraid that even the Manchus themselves wished they could overthrow the Qing Dynasty and didn't want another emperor to appear.

"Fourth Master is indeed strict yet benevolent!"

"If the gentry of the world knew this, they would surely be overjoyed, knowing that they are living in a prosperous era, and that as long as they are law-abiding and charitable, they will be treated fairly and politely by the court."

Marseille immediately flattered Hongli.

Hongli simply smiled and nodded: "Go and do it."

Marseille bowed his head and said, "Yes, sir!"

Hongli continued, "I have summoned you here today to discuss the peace negotiations with the Dzungar Khanate. What are your thoughts on this?"

That's right!

Galdan Tsering did indeed send an envoy, Telei, in March of the eighth year of the Yongzheng reign, presenting a memorial stating that he intended to send the traitor Lobsang Danjin, whom the Qing court had been demanding, to the Celestial Empire, but had temporarily suspended the mission upon hearing news of the advance of troops.

In his memorial, Galdan Tsering stated that if the Qing Dynasty would consider his foolishness and pardon his past actions, he would be willing to send Lobsang Danjin to the Qing Dynasty, meaning he hoped that the Qing Dynasty would stop its military campaign against the Dzungars.

Based on his own understanding, Hongli knew that Galdan Tsering was using this as a delaying tactic, rather than genuinely wanting to live in harmony with the Qing Dynasty.

Historically, Emperor Yongzheng believed Galdan Tsering's delaying tactics and ordered both armies to suspend their advance. He also summoned Generals Fu'erdan and Yue Zhongqi back to the capital to discuss the matter, which gave Galdan Tsering another opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

Meanwhile, Galdan Tsering took advantage of the absence of the commanders of the two armies to attack Koshetu, the Qing Dynasty's logistics base, and captured countless warhorses and camels.

Galdan Tsering exclaimed, "Yongzheng has fallen for his trap again!"

Emperor Yongzheng was once again slapped in the face.

Now that Hongli is overseeing the country, he will naturally not fall for such a trick again.

However, to show that he had no intention of acting arbitrarily, Hongli still symbolically asked the Grand Councilors for their opinions.

Marseille glanced back at Zhang Tingyu once more.

At this moment, Ortai decisively spoke first: "In my humble opinion, we should ignore it, because it is probably a delaying tactic. It is only right for them to offer the traitor Lobsang Danjin to the Celestial Dynasty, not to use it as a condition to coerce the court into not punishing us. Such behavior still shows their wolfish ambition to look down on our Celestial Dynasty!"

Zhang Tingyu glanced at Ortai, then continued, "I think so. Once the arrow is released, there is no turning back. Since the decision to punish Heaven has been made, we cannot change our orders in the morning and evening, thus damaging Heaven's majesty!"

Upon seeing this, Jiang Tingxi glanced at Fu Erdan and waited a moment before stepping forward and speaking, seeing that Fu Erdan remained silent:
"But those who follow the righteous path receive much help, while those who stray from it receive little. Since he desires peace, we cannot ignore him. Why not send the special envoy back and dispatch a high-ranking official to Dzungar to grant him fiefdoms and demarcate the borders, order him to send away any fugitives, and suspend our military advance for a year to observe the consequences?"

Fu Erdan said, "He has already lost his moral compass by defying the Celestial Empire. There's no need to wait and see what happens next. Since we want to attack him, we should attack him to the very end!"

Hongli couldn't help but think to himself that it was fortunate that in this life, the Grand Council had new hawkish figures like Ortai and Fuerdan.

Otherwise, if among the Grand Councilors, only Zhang Tingyu truly supports continuing the campaign, and Marseille is merely the emperor's mouthpiece, then even if he agrees to continue the campaign, Yongzheng might change his mind once he finds out.

Therefore, when Hongli saw that three of the Grand Councilors supported continuing the campaign, he immediately made the final decision: "That's right! The Dzungars harbored traitors first and then invaded the Celestial Empire. There is no room for negotiation. They either bind themselves and come to the capital to plead guilty, or they can wait for a great punitive expedition!"

"Fourth Master is wise!"

Marsai immediately knelt on the carpet, showing no anger at the fact that Ortai and others had spoken before him, the chief Grand Councilor.

(End of this chapter)