My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 341 Yongzheng's absolute trust made Hongli the most powerful crown prince!
Hongli came to tell Yongzheng the source of the rumors about his plan to force Yongzheng to abdicate.

The way he told Yongzheng was by informing him through the captured spies.

Faced with irrefutable facts, at least Yongzheng could further realize how cunning Ce Ling was.

"Why is Badomin kneeling with you?"

Yongzheng noticed Baduoming as soon as he looked up.

Hongli replied, "Because he is a spy for Galdan Tsering, spreading rumors that I intend to force the emperor to abdicate."

Yongzheng immediately frowned.

"Why bother with an announcement? Just kill him!"

Yongzheng said calmly.

"Whoo!"

After Hongli agreed, he turned around and gave Fuerdan, the Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard, a wink.

So the missionary Bardomin was lifted up by the guards.

As he was being lifted up, Baduoming shouted, "Your Majesty the Emperor, please forgive my crime! I repent for my ambition and greed, and I am willing to serve the Qing Dynasty wholeheartedly from now on!"

No one paid any attention to him.

As a missionary, he was supposed to be merely a channel for the emperor and his ministers to understand the West, and a medium for cultural exchange between China and the West.

But as he himself said, he harbored too much ambition and greed.

Like many powerful figures in his Western homeland, he coveted the resources of the East and wanted the East to suffer the same fate as the Indian subcontinent.

That's right!

Currently, Westerners do not believe that Eastern culture is indestructible.

Therefore, they supported the Russian Empire, the Dzungar Khanate, and later the Gurkhas.

Historically, Badomin bribed Maqi, the minister of the Russian Kingdom, in order to obtain the Qing Dynasty's bottom line for negotiations.

And Bardomin was indeed filled with regret at this point.

After all, if he hadn't taken on the role of a spy, he could have continued to work peacefully in the inner court, copying down a lot of important medical and other knowledge to take back to France, which would then be used by the West to treat and develop more people around the world by opening clinics.

Swish!
As the broadsword fell, Badoming's head fell to the ground in the blink of an eye.

The white head quickly turned red.

In the Qing Dynasty at that time, killing foreigners was naturally no big deal.

If you kill, you will kill.

"Matters of life and death must be handled with utmost care, and I dare not fail to inform my father beforehand."

Hongli was not entirely confident that Yongzheng could easily relinquish his supreme imperial power.

Even if he now acts in accordance with Yongzheng's ideals.

However, whether an ideal is realized through oneself or through others is still different.

Therefore, he allowed Yongzheng to make the decision on matters of life and death.

After all, only the emperor has the right to kill.

of course!

As mentioned earlier, he did this to further make Yongzheng understand that he should not fall for the enemy's tricks.

Fortunately, although Yongzheng was now ill and weak, he was not senile. He knew that he needed to show absolute trust in him in order to silence the demons and monsters inside and outside the court. That's why he said there was no need to report it, just behead him directly.

Hongli understood the implication and was quite impressed, so he politely replied with this statement.

For example, when he heard Yongzheng say that he wished he could seize the throne, he said that the emperor's power was ordained by heaven and that he dared not overstep his bounds.

Emperor Yongzheng was satisfied with Hongli's answers and nodded, saying, "The Dzungars have planted spies in the palace; their ambitions are not small, and they should not be underestimated!"

"You must remember this too!"

Emperor Yongzheng also gave some instructions to Hongxi and Hongchun.

Hongxi and Hongchun quickly bowed and said, "Yes, sir!"

Hongchun's expression was extremely complicated. He hadn't expected Yongzheng to trust Hongli so much, even expressing his desire for Hongli to seize the throne. This made him feel somewhat uneasy when he looked at Hongxi.

Because he was afraid that Hongxi would complain to Hongli that when Yongzheng asked how to view the rumors that Hongli was going to force the emperor to abdicate, he did not defend Hongli, but only said that he would obey Yongzheng's orders.

This clearly means that he was willing to help Yongzheng deal with Hongli.

Hongxi raised his eyebrows, his smug expression evident.

After all, he made the right bet!
Emperor Yongzheng trusted Hongli and was also very clear-headed. He was not so blinded by his lust for power that he no longer trusted even his most trusted son. Instead, he directly expressed his desire for Hongli to seize the throne and even asked Hongli not to report any spies he had discovered.

Hongxi thus regained his confidence.

He believed he was superior to people like Hongchun and wouldn't let others easily see his political intentions.

In this way, Hongli will have to re-examine him and feel guilty when he thinks about how he treated him before.

Indeed, Hongxi was already moved by his own magnanimity and wisdom.

His gaze toward Hongli was full of expectation, hoping that Hongli would feel guilty toward him and lower his guard.

But Hongli's eyes were filled with disdain as he looked at Hongxi and Hongchun!

Yes, I scoff!
This wasn't arrogance on his part, but rather because when he saw the two men with Yongzheng, he guessed why they had come and knew that they wanted to gain more political resources by performing in front of Yongzheng.

But Hongli knew that such magical tricks and deceptions were of little use to an ambitious and wise ruler like Yongzheng.

Because Emperor Yongzheng was a man who valued practical matters.

Rather than putting on a show of worldly wisdom and social skills in front of him, it's better to do something practical so that Yongzheng sees your value and grants you greater real power.

Therefore, it would be very difficult for Hongchun and even Hongxi to advance further on the path to power, or even to replace him as a prince and make Yongzheng focus his attention on them, his nephews.

Moreover, there is a huge difference in human relationships between princes and imperial nephews.

Although Hongxi was better at betting and understanding Yongzheng's thoughts, he could only gain a little more benefit in terms of treatment.

Therefore, even though Hongxi was the first among Yongzheng's princes and nephews to be granted the title of Prince, and is now one of only two in this generation to be granted the title of Prince, it is only an empty title of Prince.

The discovery of Baduoming, the spy, was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise for Hongli after these rumors spread.

Because he could use facts to convince Yongzheng and also tell the world that if there were any rumors in the future that he wanted to seize the throne, it was likely just a divisive tactic by the enemy!

Yongzheng understood the role of Baduoming, which is why he gave Hongchun and Hongxi special instructions at this time.

And Yongzheng himself became even more convinced that suspecting Hongli at this time was falling into the enemy's trap.

He didn't want Ce Ling to secretly mock him for being an idiot.

Therefore, Yongzheng also took the initiative to say to Hongli: "These days, I see that you have handled military affairs and other matters quite well."

"Not entirely. For example, recently Zhang Guangsi (Governor of Guizhou) suggested that there were 5,000 Miao soldiers recruited, but after the abolition of the hereditary chieftain system in Guizhou, they were no longer of any use. He requested that they be dismissed and registered as civilians. However, most of the Grand Councilors disagreed with my opinion."

When Hongli complained about this, he was letting Yongzheng know that the Grand Councilors were not on his side.

After hearing this, Yongzheng smiled and asked, "So what's your opinion?"

"Your subject believes that there are no useless soldiers, only useless generals. Since these five thousand Miao soldiers are good at fighting and have made great contributions in the reform of replacing native chieftains with imperial officials, they should continue to serve the court. This is better than just farming and paying taxes!"

Hongli replied.

Yongzheng nodded and said, "But where will the military pay come from? Guizhou already needs aid from all over the country, so it can't afford to support so many soldiers."

"Your subject has a way to support them without increasing the expenses of Guizhou!"

Hongli replied.

After thinking about it carefully, Yongzheng said, "Very well, then we'll organize them into a battalion of soldiers and transfer them to the capital. You'll be in direct command of them, and you'll be responsible for raising the money and provisions yourself!"

Hongli was very surprised to hear this. Although he knew that he didn't really have a choice, since he was the only adult prince he could trust, Yongzheng's political acumen still shocked him.

Because he was already acting as regent, giving him his own direct troops would be tantamount to openly telling the world that he could take over at any time.

It can be said that the more cautious and less reckless he was, the more willing and decisive Yongzheng became to give him.

“Father, this is not appropriate.”

"There's nothing wrong with it. I just want Galdan Tsering and the others to be unable to figure out my thoughts!"

(End of this chapter)