My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 351 Yongzheng: His achievements are too great, he should be made crown prince!

The three men were all greatly alarmed when they heard the imperial edict.

However, this is not surprising.

Shi Yunzhuo thought that the emperor would be reluctant to kill him and would use him to counterbalance Yue Zhongqi.

Chalanga and Chala believed that the emperor would not kill the two Han generals for being wrongly accused.

Little did he know that what Hongli valued now was the morale of the Northwest army.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! His Majesty couldn't possibly not understand why I did this!"

Shi Yunzhuo began muttering to himself, his face alternating between red and white.

Then, Shi Yunzhuo shouted at the prison door, "I want to see His Majesty! I want to see His Majesty!"

The people from the Ministry of Justice naturally ignored him.

As a result, Chala looked at Chalanga in panic at the Infantry Commander's office: "What should we do? The master is really going to cut off my head and expel my whole family from the register!"

"Isn't it just Turpan?"

"Isn't it just letting some people from the Dzungar Khanate escape?"

"Isn't it just slandering two Han generals?"

“Our Nara clan is also one of the old clans of the Eight Banners, so why can the Aisin Gioro clan be so heartless?”

"Please say something!"

Chala cried out to Chalang.

Charanga gave a dejected, bitter laugh: "What can I say?"

"Should I really blame the master, or blame myself? Blame myself for starting to deceive the master, or blame myself for becoming so afraid of death and becoming a laughingstock among the Han people?"

"Azure sky, yellow flowers on the ground, a strong west wind. Wild geese fly south. Who has painted the frost-covered forest at dawn? It is always the tears of those who are parting."

Suddenly, Chalanga stood up, raised his pinky finger, and began to hum "The Romance of the Western Chamber" towards the dark, impenetrable prison cell door.

At this moment, the Minister of Justice, Shu Hai, walked over and said coldly, "You can even sing the erotic songs of the Han people now. No wonder you've become worse than the Han people!"

"It's still better than you, a mere servant girl!"

Chalanga suddenly stopped singing and instead, with a stern face, retorted to Fahai.

Fahai's expression changed as well: "Say one more word?"

"Is not it?"

"Besides your master, who else considers you a member of the Tongjia clan?"

Charanga made no attempt to hide his contempt for Fahai.

Within the Eight Banners group, which was a military organization, social status was particularly important, including the identity of each person's mother.

Because Fahai was born to a maid, he was often ridiculed among the Eight Banners nobility.

Even Fahai's half-brothers didn't treat him as a brother.

But the more this was the case, the more Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Yongzheng preferred to use him.

"Inform the executioner that when he examines Chalanga later, he must not cut him off with a single stroke!"

Fahai therefore gave the instructions.

Upon hearing this, Chalanga shouted, "You little brat, you're using your position to settle personal scores!"

Fahai continued to mock, "What a fool! Knowing that Fourth Master's strategic planning is so powerful that he has repeatedly defeated Galdan Tsering, you still tried to deceive everyone. Even if it weren't for Ortai, even the master couldn't protect a fool like you!"

Chalanga's breathing became heavy, but he didn't say anything more. He was then beheaded along with Chala.

He was stabbed twice more, and only screamed for a short while.

Chala, on the other hand, had his head chopped off without hesitation.

When Shi Yunzhuo was beheaded, he was in tears, saying, "I don't understand, I really don't understand!"

When his head rolled to the ground, he stopped crying and stopped saying he didn't understand.

……

"There's nothing I don't understand!"

"During his time as regent, Fourth Master thwarted Galdan Tsering's plots time and time again, winning two consecutive victories. This not only earned him the respect of both the Northwest armies, but also allowed him to take advantage of the fact that the fool Chalanga was serving as the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi to do Yue Zhongqi a great favor."

"In addition, there's the favor he did for the Heshuo Efu in the past!"

"It can be said that the two armies in the Northwest are now willing to follow Fourth Master's lead and will not question any of his decisions." "So, at this moment, is Fourth Master afraid that Yue Zhongqi might have ulterior motives, or is he afraid of someone who might disrupt the morale of the Western Route Army?"

When Ortai met with Yilibu, he also mentioned why Hongli had decided to execute Shi Yunzhuo, Chalanga, and Chala.

Irebu nodded in agreement.

Ortai continued to instruct, "After you go to the Northwest, you must understand that you are going to the Fourth Master's territory. Do not be on bad terms with the Fourth Master's people. Also, tell Zhang Guangsi this."

"Whoo!"

May of the ninth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign.

Yilibu arrived near Urumqi and met Yue Zhongqi.

The reason Yue Zhongqi was near Urumqi was because he had adopted the strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" last year, and had advanced towards Urumqi. He eventually reached the ancient city, and as the weather warmed up, he came directly to the vicinity of Urumqi to monitor Da Tsering Dondub in Urumqi.

Galdan Tsering and Da Tsering Dundobu, taking advantage of their cavalry superiority and home ground advantage, withdrew to Urumqi first.

Yue Zhongqi's main force had to retreat after learning that Turpan had failed to stop the main force of the Dzungar army, which delayed them for some time. They only stopped temporarily in the ancient city after learning that Koshetu was safe and sound, and have been staying there ever since.

The reason why Yue Zhongqi's main force of the Western Route Army stayed in Gucheng was because Gucheng was close to Urumqi, which would allow them to reach Urumqi more quickly and catch up with the remnants of the Dzungar army who were likely to retreat to Urumqi for rest and reorganization.

However, in May of the ninth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, Galdan Tsering, the Khan of the Dzungar Khanate, only allowed his Grand Taiji, Grand Tsering Dundub, to lead his troops to remain in Urumqi, while he himself withdrew to Ili first.

Therefore, when Yue Zhongqi led the Western Route Army to Urumqi, only the remnants of Da Tsering Dondub's troops remained there.

Da Tsering Dondrup no longer has the strength to leave the city alone and fight a decisive battle against Yue Zhongqi's western army; he can only defend the city.

As for Yue Zhongqi, the war had been going on for two whole years, from May of the seventh year of Yongzheng's reign to May of the ninth year. The Qing court's national strength had been overdrawn to the point that it could no longer sustain itself and needed a period of recuperation. Therefore, he had no choice but to order a strong attack on Urumqi instead of besieging the city and trapping the enemy.

Historically, the Dzungar War during the Yongzheng reign lasted from the ninth year of Yongzheng's reign until the eleventh year.

Historically, after Yongzheng decided to launch a campaign against the Dzungars in February of the seventh year of his reign, he fell for Galdan Tsering's delaying tactics and was delayed for a year and a half until the ninth year of his reign when he finally launched the campaign.

Yilibu, the deputy general of the Western Route Army, no longer hindered Yue Zhongqi. Instead, he volunteered to lead the Eight Banners troops and, after a bloody battle, captured Urumqi in June of the ninth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, thus proving that not all the Bannermen were cowards.

After the Western Route Army captured Urumqi, Da Tsering Dondub was also captured.

Then, after resting for half a month in the ninth year of Yongzheng's reign, the Western Route Army marched into Yili in July of the same year, where it joined forces with the Northern Route Army of Celing and besieged the city of Yili.

Although Galdan Tsering re-extracted soldiers after returning to Ili and had his Swedish artillery officers retrain the gunners, he attempted to defend Ili by relying on the better cannons he had imported from the West and the increased number of soldiers.

However, after holding out for two months, he was forced to sue for peace and surrender, offering to hand over Lobsang Danjin and Zaisang Mamut, who had instigated him to provoke the Qing Dynasty.

"The people's strength is already overburdened, and the grain reserves are almost depleted. Winter is approaching, and if we attack the Yili area again next year, it will be another huge expense. It would be better to allow them to surrender."

"We still need to save some silver to use as rewards for the army."

When Hongli inquired about this with Yongzheng, Yongzheng expressed his attitude.

Hongli also said, “What Father says is true, but it is not enough to just let Galdan Tsering hand over the scapegoat. We must empty his treasury to prevent him from easily regaining power. In addition, we must bring back the group of Swedes who trained his artillery.”

"That makes sense, let's do it that way."

Yongzheng replied with a smile.

"Whoo!"

As a result, Hongli ordered the Grand Council to draft an edict approving Galdan Tsering's surrender, but the edict required him to hand over all the wealth in the treasury.

The Dzungar Khanate monopolized the trade routes between the Western Regions and China, accumulating considerable wealth.

Even if the Qing Dynasty was not yet at the best time to destroy the Dzungar Khanate, it still needed to obtain some benefits from the Dzungar Khanate.

The group of Swedish artillery instructors captured by Galdan Tseren was the reason why the Dzungars were superior to the Qing Dynasty in artillery.

Hongli naturally demanded that he hand it over.

In order to preserve his country, Galdan Tsering naturally did not refuse and formally accepted the investiture from the Qing Dynasty, becoming the Khan of a vassal state under the Qing Dynasty. In accordance with custom, he sent his eldest son, Lama Darza, to Beijing to walk through the Qianqing Gate, just like the sons of Khalkha and other Mongol princes.

Thus, the Qing Dynasty's war against the Dzungars ended in the winter of the ninth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign.

At this time, Yongzheng's health had recovered considerably, and he ended Hongli's position as regent.

"Both the court and the public agree that this great victory in the Northwest was due to the skillful planning of the Fourth Prince, Hongli. Therefore, some people say that it would be better to let the Fourth Prince sit on the throne, especially in the Northwest army, where this voice is particularly loud!"

Hongli's successful campaign against the Dzungars during his regency was a great achievement, and it also made him seem to have gained prestige in the court and among the people that was no less than that of Emperor Yongzheng.

After Hongchun returned from a trip to the Northwest to reward the troops, as was customary for the Qing Dynasty, he spoke to Yongzheng about Hongli's current influence.

After hearing this, Yongzheng simply nodded and said, "I understand. You may leave."

"Whoo!"

After Hongchun stepped down, Yongzheng came to the thirteenth prince, Yunxiang, and said, "It seems that it is no longer possible to not establish Hongli as the crown prince."

(End of this chapter)