My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 343 Yongzheng was moved by Hongli's filial piety and the Consort Xi took care of the new prince!
After the arrival of midsummer, Emperor Yongzheng went to the Yuanmingyuan Garden.

Hongli returned to the Grand Council from the Yuanmingyuan, which naturally took him some time.

By the time he finally saw Marseille, it was late at night, but a cool breeze suddenly blew in.

Hongli did not rush to the Military Affairs Office, but instead read the contents of the urgent message brought by Marseille by candlelight in the square outside Longzong Gate.

The urgent memorial was jointly submitted by Ortai, Celing, and Yue Zhongqi, and its content was indeed about Kobdo's great victory.

"Return to the Old Summer Palace immediately!"

Hongli then mounted his horse and headed towards the Yuanmingyuan.

When Hongli left, Yongzheng was actually not asleep.

He is pretending to sleep!

In fact, he hadn't been able to close his eyes for two consecutive days.

As he himself told his trusted ministers in a secret memorial, his illness during this period was characterized by frequent sleepless nights, which is what later generations referred to as severe insomnia.

So when he heard Su Peisheng's footsteps outside, he asked impatiently, "What is it? Can't you go and report to Hongli first?!"

"Reporting to Master, it is Fourth Master who has arrived."

"He said the initial battle in the Northwest was a resounding victory, with over ten thousand killed!"

Su Peisheng then said, "This servant congratulates Master! Congratulations, Master!"

At this point, Yongzheng fell silent.

"Light the lamps."

After a while...

Yongzheng then lay back down and grinned.

Afterwards, Yongzheng felt relieved and, having not slept for several days, began to yawn involuntarily.

When Hongli arrived, he only saw Fu Hui and Su Peisheng waiting there, while Yongzheng was asleep with his eyes closed in the bright yellow candlelight.

"Fourth Brother, Father just fell asleep not long ago."

Fu Hui then whispered to him.

Hongli was slightly taken aback, then he understood.

But he knew that it was not the right time for him to leave.

Because Yongzheng was a very detail-oriented person, and he also cared about how others felt about him.

Moreover, no father doesn't want his son to be filial, especially in this era, and especially for a high-ranking emperor.

Therefore, Hongli decided that since he was young and could endure hardship, he had to show his filial piety, so he said, "Then I will wait first."

Su Peisheng wisely refrained from offering any advice.

Fortunately, Emperor Yongzheng needed to get up in the middle of the night, so Hongli didn't stay up for long. When the sky outside was still dark blue, Yongzheng opened his eyes because he felt his bladder was bloated.

When Yongzheng opened his eyes, he saw Hongli standing to his side, while Fu Hui was slumped on a stool.

This immediately reminded him of what had happened the night before, and he realized why the two men were waiting in front of him.

Because of his deep-seated lack of love and sensitivity, Yongzheng's eyes immediately welled up with tears.

Especially when he saw that Fu Hui couldn't stay awake any longer and had fallen asleep on the stool, and Hongli was still standing in front of him with a calm gaze, he couldn't help but smile slightly at Hongli.

What a wonderful son!

I'm willing to wait here as long as I can to hear the good news sooner!

But at the same time, he also glared fiercely at Su Peisheng.

Su Peisheng immediately knelt down: "This servant deserves to die!"

"Have you been waiting for a long time?"

Yongzheng gritted his teeth, got out of bed, and walked unsteadily toward Hongli, asking him a question in a soft voice with concern.

When Hongli heard Yongzheng's kind yet somewhat apologetic inquiry, he knew that his performance this time had been very successful!
After winking, Hongli immediately knelt down: "Father, as long as it's to report something joyous, it's worth waiting for you no matter how long!"

"Get up!"

Yongzheng smiled and said something, then went to relieve himself before returning. Despite his drowsiness, he said to him, "Let me see the memorial."

Hongli then handed the memorial to Yongzheng.

After reading it, Yongzheng said, "It seems that your plan has indeed worked wonders!"

Hongli replied, "It's mainly thanks to Father's blessing!"

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's stay here with your eighth brother tonight and catch up on some sleep."

"You shouldn't take sleep for granted just because you're young."

As Yongzheng spoke, he said to Su Peisheng, "Send someone to your Fourth Prince's residence to tell him that he will not be returning tonight."

"Whoo!"

Fu Hui had also woken up by this time.

Hongli then went with him to his green gauze-draped wardrobe.

After the three of them had gone to sleep, Yongzheng suddenly smiled at Hongli and Fuhui and said, "I just had a dream. I dreamt that I was meeting with the Mongol tribes at the Rehe Palace and receiving the prisoners."

“Ama will have this day.”

Hongli then replied with a smile.

At this moment, Yongzheng sighed and said, "I am in poor health and not as fit as the late emperor, so I cannot go to Rehe. It is up to you."

After saying that, Yongzheng did not say anything more.

Fu Hui smiled at Hongli.

Hongli also smiled.

The next day.

Emperor Yongzheng also invited Hongli to have breakfast with him and Fu Hui. He suddenly said to Fu Hui, "When you stay with me, you are always trembling with fear, afraid that I will eat you too."

Fu Hui was startled and immediately knelt down: "Your subject is in awe of Father's divine might!"

“But you are physically weak, and it’s not good for you to live in fear all the time.”

"Therefore, I have decided that you will go and live with your mother, Consort Xi, and have her take care of you. What do you think?"

As Yongzheng spoke, he inquired about Fu Hui. Upon hearing this, Fu Hui could not hide his joy. After glancing at Hongli, he kowtowed and said, "Your subject is willing. Thank you, Father Emperor, for your grace!"

"Don't be too naughty, or you'll annoy your mother, Consort Xi."

Emperor Yongzheng gave instructions.

Fu Hui said, "I promise I won't!"

Hongli smiled slightly to himself.

He knew why Fu Hui was happy, not only because Consort Xi was kind and gentle, but also because she was his birth mother!
In this way, he would have an additional connection with the son left behind by Consort Nian.

For Hongli, the fact that Fu Hui was going to live with his birth mother instead of with Yongzheng was a positive sign.

This would reduce the doubts of many princes and ministers outside, making them think that Yongzheng might have the intention of cultivating Fu Hui.

Now, Yongzheng suddenly ordered Fu Hui to live with Consort Xi instead of living with him.

This can naturally reduce the number of complicated thoughts in many people's minds.

Hongli himself could feel much more at ease.

Because, in many cases, the core of power is itself a sensitive area.

Even if Fu Hui himself had no particular thoughts, and even if Yongzheng himself had no particular thoughts, as long as Fu Hui got too close to Yongzheng, there would be people with ulterior motives who would use Fu Hui to their advantage.

Hongli also felt that Yongzheng did this ostensibly out of consideration for Fuhui's mental health, but it might be related to his filial piety shown last night and his recent performance as regent.

This proves that his performance last night was indeed worthwhile!

The initial victory in the Northwest greatly boosted the confidence of many in the Qing court, and the anxiety caused by the lack of news for a long time was greatly reduced.

First of all, the four Grand Councilors are now much more relaxed, and when Hongli is not around, they can finally start chatting and laughing.

Secondly, the Manchu people in the capital were less uneasy and became more daring in borrowing and buying on credit, which made the capital's consumer market more active.

War is also a significant factor in whether an economy is doing well or poorly, especially for military organizations like the Eight Banners.

Shortly after the initial victory in the Northwest, the case of Yue Zhongqi's eldest grandson, Yue Jun, being kidnapped also began to yield results.

After a rigorous investigation, the Ministry of Justice discovered that it was the gentry Wu Yikang who was responsible. The Yuan family knew that the Wu family was colluding with bandits, but they were unaware that the Wu family had actually kidnapped Yue Jun. They simply did not report the Wu family's collusion with bandits to the authorities.

Wu Yikang did this because he also believed that governing the country with Confucianism was the right way, and he resented Yue Zhongqi, a Han general, for betraying the Confucian scholars. He intended to force Yue Zhongqi to resign or become upset and make mistakes in command.

However, Wu Yikang, as a prominent local gentry in Sichuan, was not truly left to sit idly by and wait for his doom.

In the Northwest, Shi Yunzhuo, the deputy general of the Western Route Army appointed by Emperor Yongzheng, came to Yue Zhongqi after learning that the matter was related to Confucian scholars and gentry. He advised Yue Zhongqi, "General, please forgive my impertinence, but we are Han Chinese and cannot follow the example of the Manchus."

Please speak frankly.

Yue Zhongqi was somewhat confused, but since Shi Yunzhuo was the deputy general appointed by Emperor Yongzheng and had the authority to submit secret memorials to monitor him, he politely asked him about it.

Shi Yunzhuo then continued, "We cannot allow the court to execute Confucian officials because of military officials!"

Yue Zhongqi frowned slightly after hearing this: "So, what you mean is?"

"Please, General, submit a memorial to plead for the Wu family, so that the court will not have to kill the Confucian official out of consideration for your feelings!"

Shi Yunzhuo knelt down on one knee and said.

Yue Zhongqi took a deep breath.

Shi Yunzhuo said, "I know that it is outrageous for them to kidnap Ling Sunlang and threaten you! But please think carefully, General. Whether we Han generals are traitors or heroes does not depend on how the emperor sees us, but on how the Confucian scholars among the Han people of the world see us!"

"You may be able to ignore this because of your outstanding military achievements in this life, but can your descendants ignore it as well?"

"If you were a Manchu, you would not need to follow these Han Chinese rules, and you could even request permission to execute these Confucian officials who have offended you to vent your anger."

"But you are not. You are a Han Chinese. Our Han people take Confucianism as their foundation. You cannot disregard the rules of our ancestors and treat Confucian scholars with respect!"

After Shi Yunzhuo finished speaking eloquently, Yue Zhongqi fell silent, and finally said, "You're right, then I'll submit a memorial."

Therefore, after Yue Zhongqi won his first victory in the Northwest, he submitted a memorial to the emperor, speaking well of his enemy.

He also hoped that the conflict with the Confucian scholars caused by Zeng Jing's instigation of him to rebel could be resolved.

Military Affairs Office.

"Hengchen, want a bowl of milk?"

The initial battle in the Northwest was a success, so on this day, Marseille brought over two bowls of milk with great interest and took the initiative to ask Zhang Tingyu about it.

Zhang Tingyu smiled and waved his hand, saying he wasn't used to the taste.

Marseille had no choice but to ask Jiang Tingxi.

Jiang Tingxi picked up his teacup and said with a smile, "I'll drink tea."

Marseille was then forced to ask Furdan, who had always been unfriendly to him, "Do you want a drink?"

Fu Erdan accepted it.

After Fu'erdan took it, Marsai said with a smile, "Why should we be so formal? Logically speaking, we are both Manchu officials. You are a descendant of the five founding ministers, and I, Mafa, am at least a first-class duke and a grand secretary. In terms of family background, who is inferior to whom? Besides, we are both ministers that Galdan Tsering said he feared the most!"

"I am not as good as you, I don't have a silver tongue!"

Fu Erdan replied with a smile.

Marseille suddenly said seriously, "It's not that I'm good with words, it's just that Fourth Master is indeed wise!"

"If it weren't for Fourth Master's ingenious plan and his overcoming of all opposition, would we have achieved this initial victory?"

Marseille spread his hands and looked at Zhang Tingyu and Jiang Tingxi as he spoke.

What are you saying about me?

Hongli walked in with a smile.

Marse quickly put down his bowl, knelt down, and said with a smile, "Greetings, Fourth Master! This servant says that Fourth Master is truly wise!"

In addition, the three Grand Councilors also knelt down: "Greetings, Your Highness!"

"Everyone, get up."

After speaking, Hongli walked to the nanmu chair with a golden brocade cushion and asked, "Let's report."

"Yue Zhongqi submitted a memorial to plead for the Wu family, saying that the whole thing was caused by jealousy because he had received too much imperial favor, so he asked the court to be lenient and end the conflict."

Marseille sang.

Hongli frowned upon hearing this.

Then, Marseille added, "In addition, Shi Yunzhuo sent a secret memorial impeaching Yue Zhongqi, saying that Yue Zhongqi said in private, 'How can the court be allowed to punish Confucian scholars for the sake of military men?'"

(End of this chapter)