My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 349: Qianlong Always Wins, Yongzheng, Doubting Himself, Has a New Mission!

When Hongli asked this question, Yongzheng simply smiled knowingly.

"Come, accompany me to see your thirteenth uncle!"

Yongzheng suddenly stood up and said.

"Whoo!"

Hongli then followed Yongzheng to the garden bestowed upon the thirteenth prince.

When he arrived, because Yongzheng had not informed him, the thirteenth prince was still pushing his wheelchair and walking towards the desk where a piece of Ge ware porcelain was placed.

"Did you know that Galdan Tsering almost wiped out the entire elite Eight Banners army we sent!"

After meeting the thirteenth prince, Yongzheng spoke to him and gave him the memorials from Celing and Yue Zhongqi.

After carefully reading it, the thirteenth prince's expression also became solemn.

"This man is a great talent!"

The thirteenth prince also said this.

Yongzheng nodded: "This is a formidable figure!"

Then, the thirteenth prince looked at Hongli very solemnly, and then said to Yongzheng, "Fortunately, the fourth brother and Hongli are not simple people either. He probably won't become a great ruler who enters the Central Plains!"

Hongli was pleased to hear what the thirteenth prince said.

After all, this means that the thirteenth prince also highly recognizes his military capabilities.

But he still humbly said, "Uncle Thirteen, you flatter me. How could I possibly compare to Father?"

Emperor Yongzheng nodded secretly.

Then, Yongzheng said, "I came to see you not to hear you praise him."

"Isn't Fourth Brother here to show off how outstanding your son is?"

The thirteenth prince asked.

"I didn't!"

"I am not that kind of vulgar person!"

Yongzheng looked at the thirteenth prince and replied with a half-smile.

Seeing this, Hongli slightly curled his lips, thinking to himself that Yongzheng would be much more relaxed in front of the thirteenth prince.

The thirteenth prince asked, "Why is that?"

Yongzheng said, "I'm telling you this, Galdan Tsering is in his prime, ambitious, and quite cunning. We should be even more cautious in dealing with him, lest he really cause trouble for our Qing Dynasty in the future!"

Hongli could tell that Yongzheng was worried that Galdan Tsering would become the second Nurhaci or even Huang Taiji, but he just didn't say it so directly.

He found it somewhat amusing.

He didn't expect that by letting Yongzheng know in advance how powerful the current ruler of the Dzungar Khanate was, Yongzheng would become even more vigilant about the possibility of an external force creating a second Qing Dynasty.

but……

This is a perfectly normal mentality for rulers.

What rulers of all dynasties feared most was that someone would follow in their footsteps.

The Qing Dynasty was no exception!

What they feared most was the emergence of a second Qing Dynasty, and only secondarily was the reappearance of Li Zicheng within the Qing Dynasty.

How can we prevent the emergence of a second Qing Dynasty?
That is, to be even tougher on foreign powers!
If you encounter a trend like this, then go all out to destroy it.

This includes people from their own hometown.

of course!

The situation was special in the late Qing Dynasty.

Because at that time, the Qing government was indeed no match for the Westerners, and the Westerners later changed their strategy, focusing on cooperation and abandoning the idea of ​​eliminating the Qing Dynasty.

On the other hand, precisely because we must be ruthless to outsiders, we cannot be merciful to our own people either.

After all, being merciful means that collecting taxes and mobilizing manpower will be difficult, which will affect the ability to wage war.

The thirteenth prince clearly understood what Yongzheng was worried about, so he pondered for a while before saying:

"What Fourth Brother is worried about is that, in the end, it would be best to unify the Dzungar Khanate and prevent them from establishing their own Khan. It would also be best to send ministers and troops to them."

Yongzheng then looked at Hongli and asked, "What do you think?"

"Your subject thinks this is very true. Dzungar should only be a place name. A general's office should also be set up in Ili, and also in Khalkha."

Hongli replied at this time.

The thirteenth prince suddenly said, "But there aren't enough Manchus to keep an eye on everything."

"Expansion means sending the Han Bannermen to the outside of the Great Wall to observe the Mongol princes, and sending the Mongol Bannermen to the inside of the Great Wall to observe the Han gentry. It doesn't have to be the Manchu Bannermen. With various ethnic groups living together, even if another Galdan Tsering emerges, it will be difficult to unify the local forces!"

Hongli replied.

"We fear we cannot afford to support so many Manchus."

The thirteenth brother spoke again.

Hongli then said, "Those who are not fit to serve in the army can be dismissed and released from the register to become commoners."

Since Yongzheng wanted to be a citizen of China, he spoke frankly and suggested that Yongzheng change the management of the Manchu bannermen to a dynamic management system.

Let those who want to pay blood tax pay blood tax, and those who want to pay money tax pay money tax.

Historically, after the Qianlong Emperor, many Manchus voluntarily applied to leave the Manchu banner system.

The reason was also that they were unwilling to go to the battlefield.

Then, as the Manchu population grew larger, the Manchu household status often became a constraint rather than a good thing.

Therefore, many non-aristocratic bannermen from the lower classes who passed the imperial examinations or became high-ranking officials took the initiative to apply to leave the banner system.

This is somewhat similar to the military households in the Ming Dynasty; the further one progressed, the less they wanted to become military households.

Fortunately, the Qing emperors always prioritized the use of Manchus, so the middle and upper-class Manchu families did not leave the Manchu ranks on a large scale. In addition, the prohibition of intermarriage between Manchus and civilians also prevented the complete merging of the Eight Banners military group and the scholar-official bureaucratic group.

"Those in power must have made a great contribution to accomplish such a task!"

The thirteenth brother then spoke.

Yongzheng nodded solemnly: "Do not spread this outside for now. Let's wait until the Northwest campaign is over before discussing it, and then see when I am fully recovered."

As Yongzheng spoke, he began to tremble all over, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Amma!"

Upon seeing this, Hongli quickly helped Yongzheng lie down on the couch where the thirteenth prince usually lay, and summoned the accompanying imperial physician.

Yongzheng's condition stabilized after half an hour.

However, he did not let Hongli stay there any longer, but urged him to go back and deal with government affairs as soon as possible.

Therefore, Hongli left the thirteenth prince's place ahead of time. Only when the thirteenth prince was by his side did Yongzheng say, "When I received the memorials from Celing and Yue Zhongqi today, I was thinking about whether I should abdicate early."

"Is it because Fourth Brother thinks Hongli is just too outstanding that he has this idea?"

The thirteenth prince asked.

Yongzheng nodded: "But this kid has just given me a new problem!"

Galdan Tsering was unaware that Hongli, Yongzheng, and the thirteenth prince had already planned to reform the Eight Banners system because of him.

At this moment, Galdan Tsering was also furious because Hongli had failed to achieve his military ambitions several times after taking over the reins of government. He said, "It's a pity that the Eight Banners in the capital are now as solid as an iron barrel under his control, otherwise I really want to kill him directly!"

"Although we can't kill him, we're not entirely without a chance to defeat him."

"Since his two armies are heading north, we should avoid their strength and attack their weakness. We should use Yili as a lure and head south to attack Koshetu, cutting off their supply lines and forcing them to defeat without being defeated!"

Da Ce Ling Dun Dun Duo Bu has come up with a new plan.

Galdan Tsering chuckled coldly: "I had the same thought."

With that, Galdan Tsering stood up and said, "There is no time to lose. Apart from the troops under Liumamut luring the Qing army to Ili here, we should head south immediately and attack Koshetu again!"

……

……

Military Affairs Office.

"map!"

Hongli called out, and Zhao Hui, the military secretary, laid out a map of the Dzungar Khanate in the northwest on the table, pointing to the location of Koshetu on the map:

"Here, we must have Yue Zhongqi send troops back to reinforce, and have the Northern Route Army follow up, so that we can find an opportunity to fight a decisive battle in Koshetu and Turpan!"

Ortai, who had already returned to Beijing, came over to take a look and asked:

"Master, what are those closed lines above?"

"After you go down, I'll have Hengchen explain the contour lines to you."

After Hongli answered, he said, "Galdan Tsering is no simple man. He may very well use his capital Ili as bait to seize our supply lines. This is the only way he can win next."

Hongli then recounted his thoughts after studying the picture for several days.

Marseille couldn't help but laugh and said, "How could this servant not have thought of that?"

"Fourth Master is truly amazing!"

"Even if Galdan Tsering is powerful, can he be more powerful than our Fourth Master?"

Ortai and Fuerdan both rolled their eyes at him, the chief Grand Councilor.

At this moment, Zhang Tingyu and Jiang Tingxi exchanged a smile.

In fact, after discovering that the main force of the Dzungar army had withdrawn, Yue Zhongqi and Celeng did not continue their advance, greedy for a small victory against the Mamut tribe and the city of Ili behind them. Instead, they immediately retreated and continued to move south together in a mutually supportive manner.

Both men were renowned generals of their time, and their tactical command was generally competent. They wouldn't be greedy for merit or act rashly. Moreover, the Fourth Prince kept reminding them in the imperial edicts sent to the Northwest.

When Yue Zhongqi was withdrawing from Koshetu, he received an imperial edict ordering him to return and reinforce Koshetu.

This pleased Yue Zhongqi, who found himself in agreement with Hongli, and also allowed him to further develop his plans to return to Koshetu.

On the one hand, he ordered Deputy General Shi Yunzhuo to lead his troops directly to Koshetu, and on the other hand, he ordered Ji Chengbin to go to Turpan to block the eastward advance of the Dzungar army.

He himself led the main force to attack Urumqi, staging a siege of Wei to rescue Zhao.

Because the Northwest is too big!

In addition, this is Galdan Tsering's home ground.

Therefore, it is difficult to know where the main force of the Dzungar army went after it disappeared from Chahanhada.

The only plausible explanation is that his plan to annihilate the Qing army's northern route in Chahanhada failed, so he would definitely go south to hide, preparing to attack Koshetu at any time and cut off the Qing army's supply lines.

At this point, Yue Zhongqi naturally couldn't rely on just one type of support strategy, so he adopted three:

One option is to go directly to Koshetu for rescue;

One option is to guard the gate of Koshetu in Turpan;

One option is to conduct a strategic rescue operation in Urumqi.

These three scenarios refer to: Galdan's main force has arrived at Koshetu, is approaching Koshetu, and is on its way to Koshetu.

It can be said that Yue Zhongqi was indeed very skilled in military tactics and had a wealth of experience in conquering nomadic empires.

Of all these, Shi Yunzhuo's mission is naturally the safest and most valuable.

Because he wouldn't have to go to Turpan to fend off the potential main force of the Dzungars, nor would he have to risk attacking Urumqi; he only needed to reach Koshetu as required. If he did encounter the main force of the Dzungars attacking Koshetu, he could even gain merit by directly rescuing them. Therefore, Shi Yunzhuo had no reason to refuse.

Moreover, Yue Zhongqi has now received an imperial edict to aid Koshetu.

However, Shi Yunzhuo deliberately arrived a few days late, compared to the time Yue Zhongqi had set for him to arrive in Koshetu.

“I am the only Han general in the court who can replace Yue Zhongqi. If Yue Zhongqi were to surround and annihilate the Dzungar army because of the timely rescue of Koshetu, how could I ever become a general in the future?”

Shi Yunzhuo muttered to himself as he decided to rest for a few more nights on the road.

However, after reaching Turpan, General Chala's troops, led by Ji Chengbin, chose to flee back.

The reason was that after arriving in Turpan, he only cared about drinking, spending money and having fun with local women, and did not make any preliminary military defense preparations. When he learned that the main force of the Dzungar Khanate was really coming, he chose to flee directly.

Ji Chengbin thus realized that he had lost the initiative to block the Dzungar army in Turpan. After ordering the arrest of Chala, he had no choice but to follow Yue Zhongqi's main force and prepare to fight for Urumqi with Yue Zhongqi.

Thus.

Galdan Tsering's army swiftly crossed Turpan and arrived at Koshetu.

At this time, Koshetu had not yet received Shi Yunzhuo's arrival.

Fortunately, Hongli had already sent the right wing of the Eight Banners Firearms Battalion to Koshetu, and with the left wing of the Firearms Battalion stationed there, Galdan Tsering was unable to capture Koshetu when he led the main force directly.

But Galdan Tsering now has no better option than to capture Koshetu.

because……

He traveled for a month from Yili to Chahanhada, but after the plan to annihilate the Qing army on the northern route in Chahanhada failed, he traveled for nearly two more months and arrived there at the end of August in the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign, only to have the plan fail again.

Therefore, his troops are now exhausted and their morale is greatly reduced, so it is impossible for him to have the energy to make the long journey back.

Furthermore, for the Northwest, temperatures would plummet after August, greatly increasing the risk of forced marches. Even though the Dzungar army was mainly composed of cavalry, they dared not take the risk, especially when morale was low.

"We must capture Koshetu! Otherwise, we will be utterly defeated before the Qing army even arrives!"

Da Tsering Dondrup then spoke to Galdan Tsering in a very desolate tone.

Galdan Tsering said with a bitter face, "But Koshetu has clearly increased its troops, which means that Hongli knew about Koshetu's importance all along!"

"But we have no other choice. We can't just wait for the two Qing armies to arrive. If we really go back now, I'm afraid we'll freeze to death on the way before we even reach Yili!"

"This is what Da Tsering Dondrup said."

Galdan Tsering nodded: "Then let's fight. In front of this fourth prince who is in charge of the country, we can only fight with all our might. We can't expect to win with any tricks."

Da Tsering Dondrup realized that Galdan Tsering was very frustrated, but he didn't know how to comfort him.

Because he also felt that what Galdan Tsering said was true.

Fu Peng, the garrison commander of Koshetu, soon discovered that the Dzungar army was attacking Koshetu with great effort.

The casualties of his left and right flank artillery battalions began to increase, with five guard officers killed in action.

"Why haven't General Ningyuan's reinforcements arrived yet?"

After personally taking to the battlefield and fighting, Fucha Fuqing, covered in blood, came to Fupeng and asked him about it.

Fu Peng shook his head with a sullen face.

Upon hearing this, Fucha Fuqing clenched his fist and sighed, "Alas!"

However, three days later, Shi Yunzhuo's reinforcements arrived.

Galdan Tsering knew it was impossible to capture Koshetu, so he had no choice but to announce a retreat.

However, Tsering's northern cavalry arrived here just as he was about to retreat, and together with the Qing army defending the city, they began to launch a joint attack on the Dzungar army.

The Dzungar army suffered heavy losses as a result, losing more than 10,000 men.

The Qing army's victory over the Dzungars once again brought great joy to the court and the public.

One day in October of the eighth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign.

After reporting this matter to Hongli, the chief Grand Councilor Marseille laughed and said, "Fortunately, the Fourth Prince thought of setting up reserve troops in Koshetu, which enabled this victory."

"Why didn't this servant think of that before?"

"As expected, no one can beat Fourth Master!"

After Marseille said that, Hongli simply smiled slightly.

However, Turpan was already in the hands of the Dzungars.

Therefore, Galdan Tsering and Da Tsering Dondub, along with their remaining troops, successfully retreated towards Urumqi.

After a brief smile, Hongli's expression turned cold.

"Shi Yunzhuo arrived at Koshetu a day late as ordered, which increased the losses of the Eight Banners Firearms Battalion; then, Yue Zhongqi did not send troops to watch over Turpan in advance, allowing the defeated Dzungar troops to escape smoothly, and he went to attack Urumqi himself."

"This victory was not perfect!"

"In large-scale military operations, military discipline must be strict!"

"Dismiss Shi Yunzhuo from his post and arrest him and bring him to the capital; in addition, we must send someone to investigate the reasons for the fall of Turpan."

After Hongli said this, Ortai spoke first: "What Fourth Master says is right. This servant requests that the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, Chalang'a, be sent to investigate."

Hongli glanced at Ortai: "Can he handle it? As the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, he can't even get the families of high-ranking officials in his jurisdiction kidnapped."

"Your Highness, please forgive me. I did not recommend him for personal reasons. I recommended him because I knew he might be dissatisfied with Yue Zhongqi. This way, we can avoid the suspicion that sending other high-ranking officials would be protecting Yue Zhongqi."

Ortai replied.

After thinking for a moment, Hongli instructed, "Have Fupeng investigate this matter with him!"

"Whoo!"

then.

Fu Peng and Cha Lang'a then received orders to go to Yue Zhongqi's camp to investigate the fall of Turpan.

At the same time, Fucha Fuqing also received an imperial decree to lead a squad of firearms battalion guards to arrest Shi Yunzhuo and bring him to the capital.

Upon receiving the imperial edict, Shi Yunzhuo's Adam's apple bobbed violently several times.

But he did not shout that he was wronged; he simply knelt down and said, "This guilty subject accepts the imperial decree!"

Because he knew that he had not arrived at Koshetu by the time Yue Zhongqi had given him.

This is a very serious mistake in military terms, even more serious than embezzling military funds.

After all, this has a greater impact on the outcome of the war.

However, Shih Yun-cho did not think he would be executed, and even believed that he could be reinstated, after all, he was the only Green Camp general who could replace and check Yueh Chung-chi!
He believed that both Emperor Yongzheng and the Fourth Prince Hongli would be lenient towards him, and that many Manchu nobles would speak on his behalf rather than stand by and watch Yue Zhongqi become the only one in power.

However, Fucha Fuqing did not have a good impression of Shi Yunzhuo, after all, Shi Yunzhuo's selfishness caused him to lose several loyal and brave subordinates.

"I will definitely persuade Fourth Master to kill you!"

Fucha Fuqing coldly remarked to Shi Yunzhuo after arresting him.

Shi Yunzhuo simply said, "This is not my fault! The main force of the Dzungars had been hiding in the Turpan area, but Yue Zhongqi was cowardly and insisted on going north with the Northern Route Army, which is why I was unable to return to Koshetu in time!"

Shi Yunzhuo then stated the reason he had already prepared.

"is it?"

"You are Fourth Master's brother-in-law, how could I dare to lie to you! If Yue Zhongqi had listened to me and gone to Turpan, how could the Dzungar army have come to Koshetu!"

After saying this, Shi Yunzhuo secretly smiled as Fucha Fuqing looked away.

Although Fucha Fuqing was of noble status, his official rank was not high, so he was unaware of the specific facts. Therefore, he couldn't help but say, "If it's true, I will also impeach Yue Zhongqi! He has betrayed the Fourth Prince's trust in him!"

"How could it not be true! Didn't you personally witness that the main force of the Dzungars attacked Koshetu? The tens of thousands of heads are proof enough!"

Shi Yunzhuo said calmly.

Fucha Fuqing said, "But you have indeed violated military discipline!"

Shi Yunzhuo remained silent after hearing this.

Meanwhile, Yue Zhongqi's main force of the western route army was stationed in an ancient city not far from Urumqi.

Before Fu Peng and Cha Lang'a arrived, Ji Chengbin brought the Manchu man Cha La to Yue Zhongqi and reported to him: "He deserted in the face of battle, causing the fall of Turpan. I had no choice but to come to the commander-in-chief!"

Yue Zhongqi glanced at Chala and said, "Untie him!"

This surprised both Ji Chengbin and Cha La.

"General Chala is a veteran of the state; he is not someone we can deal with."

Yue Zhongqi said this.

After hearing this, Chala was taken aback, but then laughed and said smugly, "Yue Zhongqi, no wonder you became a great general. You really know the rules."

"You may leave. I will apologize to the court for this matter."

Yue Zhongqi chose to tolerate him, gave a bitter laugh, and then frowned and said.

"But!"

Bang!
"It's nothing!"

Yue Zhongqi suddenly shouted and slammed his hand on the table.

Ji Chengbin swallowed the words that were about to come out and could only cup his hands and say, "Yes, sir!"

He only realized later that Yue Zhongqi was afraid that others would say he was using the opportunity to eliminate dissidents in the army.

After arriving in the ancient city, Fu Peng and Cha Lang'a began to investigate the matter. After questioning Yue Zhongqi, they learned that it was Admiral Ji Chengbin's troops who were responsible for going to Turpan, and that Yue Zhongqi had indeed sent troops to Turpan.

Fu Peng and Cha Lang A Bian interrogated Ji Chengbin.

Ji Chengbin replied that it was because Chala, whom he had sent to Turpan as reinforcements, fled without a fight.

The two then raised the issue of investigation again.

Cha Laze replied, “We are all Manchus. The two imperial envoys should not believe the words of a Han Chinese. This matter is clearly Ji Chengbin’s deliberate attempt to frame me! He was the one who was cowardly and retreated at the first sign of the enemy, forcing me to retreat as well. His general Cao Xiang was the first to flee!”

After hearing this, the two had no choice but to inquire with the soldiers below and even with the survivors of the Emin Khoja tribe in Turpan. They learned that the responsibility for this incident was mainly due to Chala's flight upon hearing of the enemy, and that Ji Chengbin's withdrawal was a last resort.

But on the night after the investigation was completed, Chalanga said to Fupeng alone: ​​"Chalanga is one of our bannermen after all. It's not good to blame him. And this matter is also Ji Chengbin's fault. Why did he send Chalanga as the vanguard? He made a poor choice of people."

"That's not how it works. If we don't send them, people will say we're not giving our Manchu generals a chance and only allowing Han generals to make contributions; if we do send them, people will say we're using the wrong people."

"His crime, no matter how you look at it, is simply a matter of misjudging people and failing to immediately rectify the military discipline of Chala Zhengfa!"

Fu Peng said.

"But this is also the idea of ​​Ortai, the Grand Secretary of the Military Affairs Bureau, so that Yue Zhongqi can be protected."

Chalang A replied.

After listening, Fu Peng thought for a moment and said, "Alright, let's just say that Ji Chengbin and Cao Xiang were cowards who failed to defend their position!"

……

……

"Fourth Master, Ji Chengbin and Cao Xiang deserve to be executed!"

Military Affairs Office.

When Hongli questioned these Grand Councilors about the investigation results...

Ortai made his statement first.

"Don't rush to express your opinion. Fu Peng also gave me a separate secret report, saying that Chalanga hinted to him to pin all the blame on Ji Chengbin, and that this was your idea, Ortai!"

Hongli suddenly spoke up.

(End of this chapter)