My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 356 Qianlong's influence was so great that even Yongzheng couldn't compare!
Hongli listened to the edict with a solemn expression, showing no sign of impatience.

This made the officials in charge of delivering the imperial edict and seal secretly admire him, and they became even more convinced that Hongli was a truly virtuous and unparalleled crown prince!
After all, when they thought about what the crown prince had done during his time as a prince, they couldn't help but feel a deep respect for him.

After receiving the investiture, Hongli came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony again to thank Emperor Yongzheng for his favor.

Emperor Yongzheng, following proper etiquette, ordered him to go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to report to the ancestors.

Hongli naturally obeyed the imperial decree.

At this point, Hongli officially became the Crown Prince of the Qing Dynasty.

The crown prince, whose name has been declared to Heaven and Earth and to the ancestors, cannot be easily deposed, otherwise it would cause great damage to the emperor's prestige.

It was indeed not easy for Yongzheng to make this decision.

On the same day, Emperor Yongzheng issued an edict to re-select officials from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to be responsible for instructing the Crown Prince.

Not long after, Emperor Yongzheng issued an edict to officially confer titles upon the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince's concubines, as was customary.

In May of the tenth year of Yongzheng's reign, Yongzheng issued another decree, ordering Hongli to move to Yuqing Palace, which was designated as the Eastern Palace. He also ordered princes and ministers to pay homage to the Crown Prince the day after the move.

On a day in May, Hongli moved to Yuqing Palace with his family.

The renovation of Yuqing Palace had begun six months ago, and by the time Hongli moved in, the renovation was already complete and the palace had been ventilated for a long time.

Emperor Hongli followed the renovation process almost the entire time.

During this process, he did not allow the officials in charge of the renovation of the Imperial Household Department to use harmful substances such as cinnabar.

The color red, which was commonly used in palaces, was replaced with red flowers under the pretext of benefiting the people.

"Congratulations, Your Highness! May the foundation of the nation remain stable!"

After Hongli moved to Yuqing Palace, the princes and ministers came to pay their respects to him by imperial decree and performed the grand ceremony.

Among them were familiar faces like Hongxi and Hongchun, whom he used to see often.

As Hongli sat upright in the main hall, looking at this scene under the blue sky, he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

He couldn't help but think that if he could really ascend the throne and become emperor in the future, wouldn't it be even more exciting to receive the homage of princes and ministers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony?

"waived!"

At this moment, Hongli raised his hand.

"waived!"

"waived!"

As soon as the eunuch shouted, the guards below also shouted, one after another, appearing from near to far outside the quiet hall.

"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

At this moment, the princes and ministers rose to their feet as if clouds were being lifted.

With the arrival of midsummer, Emperor Yongzheng also went to the Yuanmingyuan Garden, and even the Grand Councilors went to the Grand Councilors' Office in the Yuanmingyuan Garden to work.

Therefore, after receiving the congratulations from the princes and ministers, Hongli and his family members also obtained the imperial decree and continued to live in Langrun Garden.

However, whether in Yuqing Palace or Langrun Garden, it was easier for Hongli and Lady Fucha to see Yonglian when they entered the palace.

This gave Yong-rin, who couldn't live with her parents, many more opportunities to see them.

After being formally appointed as the Crown Prince, Hongli began to promote phonetic notation and compile a common dictionary.

Because Hongli demonstrated a serious attitude towards work and a keen interest in practical reforms, he moved Yongzheng and was granted the privilege of selecting officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, which were subordinate officials of the Eastern Palace.

But what he was going to do involved improving the literacy rate of the people and weakening the control of the gentry over the common people in the local area.

Hongli was naturally quite cautious in choosing the official to do this for him, and did not act rashly. He only let Liu Tongxun, whom he trusted, secretly select the official for him.

While Hongli was selecting officials for his Eastern Palace, Hongzhou had already arrived in the Northwest and begun investigating Celeng's embezzlement of military funds.

This was Hongzhou's first business trip outside the capital, and he was naturally quite curious about the scenery he saw after leaving the capital.

Along the way, there was a feast for the eyes.

"Fifth Master, look, this is Keshetu. The aquatic plants are much more abundant than in previous years."

"Because the blood of a large number of Dzungar soldiers and the blood of our Qing soldiers nourished this place."

"But, if it weren't for the Crown Prince having Prince Ping lead the firearms battalion here in advance to nourish the blood here, there would only be more sons of our Great Qing!"

As Hongzhou stood on the hillside near Keshetu, looking at the lush green grass so dense that he couldn't see the horses' hooves, Dingshou, the Qing general beside him, began to introduce Keshetu to him.

His words did not conceal his respect for Hongli.

Hongzhou could also tell.

That's right!

He could see from these northwestern generals and even Mongol princes how much they respected his fourth brother.

He often heard them talk about how his fourth brother had strategized and made both Russia and the Dzungars suffer heavy losses, greatly improving the situation of ordinary Mongolian herders. He heard more of these stories than he did in the capital.

"Fourth Brother's reputation is truly widespread!"

During the investigation, Hongzhou also expressed his admiration for generals such as Dingshou.

After Hongzhou sighed, he saw several Mongols driving a flock of sheep toward him.

“The people on the grasslands already know that you are the prince’s younger brother, and they are willing to offer you their fattest sheep.”

"They also hope that you, Fifth Master, can clear the name of the Prince Consort, because it was through the Prince Consort that they received the Crown Prince's assistance when facing the invasion of the Russian Kingdom, and also gained the opportunity to take revenge on the Russian Kingdom!"

"Furthermore, the reason they were able to stop the Dzungar invasion this time was because the prince consort led them to victory and drove the Dzungars away."

Ding Shou pointed to the Mongols who were bowing to Hong Zhou and explained.

Hongzhou nodded. He had to admit that his fourth brother had truly brought blessings to the people here, earning their gratitude—a level he could never reach. Following this, based on clues provided by Wu Ge, the governor of Shaanxi, Hongzhou met with the deputy commander-in-chief, A-San, in Kobdo, the one who had exposed the matter.

"You really didn't receive the full amount of money and provisions?"

Hongzhou asked.

Ah San said, "This servant dares not lie to Fifth Master, this servant truly has not received it."

Upon hearing this, Hongzhou said, "Then take me to the granary. I want to inspect it myself."

Upon hearing this, Ah San turned pale and immediately knelt down, saying, "Fifth Master surely understands that sending you to investigate this matter is the master's intention!"

"You don't need to tell me that!"

Hongzhou replied coldly, his hands behind his back.

Ah San said, "Since Fifth Master knows this, he should understand that the master wants to use Fifth Master to demote the Imperial Son-in-Law so that he can be stripped of his position as Grand General! Because the Imperial Son-in-Law is now too deeply tied to the Crown Prince!"

Hongzhou looked at A-San: "You're obviously talking nonsense! How could Khan A-Ma use his own son to do such a despicable thing? What kind of person do you take my Khan A-Ma?"

Ah San immediately looked up in astonishment.

"Admiral Song Zhijin!"

Hongzhou looked at Song Zhijin, the Shaanxi Provincial Commander who had come all the way from Shaanxi to protect him and obey his orders, and was appointed by Governor Wu Ge: "Take control of him! If he dares to resist, behead him on the spot!"

"Fifth Master, please forgive this servant for being unable to obey your orders!"

Song Zhijin, who came from the Han Banner Army but was in charge of the Shaanxi Green Standard Army, chose to disobey orders at this time.

Hongzhou looked at him in astonishment: "What do you mean?"

"Fifth Master, you cannot do anything to betray your master, much less harm the loyal officials of the court!"

Song Zhijin gritted his teeth, then mustered his courage and spoke.

The Indian man kneeling on the ground couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

Hongzhou then sneered, "It seems you've left me with no way out!"

The two did not answer, but objected in their hearts, even though they had clearly given you directions.

Hongzhou suddenly shook his head: "No, I still have a way out: death!"

Hongzhou then took out one of his favorite flintlock pistols from his sleeve, loaded it with cardboard ammunition and cleared the barrel, and fired a shot directly at the back of the Indian man's head.

boom!
The Indian man's head exploded on the spot, and he collapsed to the ground.

Song Zhijin and the officers present were all greatly surprised.

Hongzhou pointed the still-smoking pistol at Song Zhijin: "Would you like to taste this self-made pistol too?"

"Fifth Master is incredibly brave! This servant is willing to obey all of Fifth Master's orders!"

"Then go and check the granaries here immediately!"

"Whoo!"

Song Zhijin hurried off, muttering to himself, "What exactly is Fifth Master up to? Is he unwilling to follow Master's wishes, or does he truly not understand Master's deeper meaning?"

The Shaanxi governor, Wu Ge, soon learned of Hong Zhou's actions through people sent back by Song Zhijin.

Wu Ge's face turned red with embarrassment, and his goatee trembled uncontrollably.

"Fifth Master, you are really, really rude!"

After holding it in for a long time, Wu Ge finally said this through gritted teeth, and slammed his hand on the table, making a loud banging sound.

"Ah San is the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Manchuria! Not some nobody!"

Then, Wu Ge emphasized again.

"Please calm down, sir. Shouldn't we now have Song Zhijin find a way to stop Fifth Master, or at least prevent him from submitting a memorial to the court that is detrimental to us?"

Wu Ge's aides hurriedly asked.

Wu Ge shook his head after hearing this: "If Fifth Master is impolite, how can we, as servants, be impolite? Let's submit a secret report to our master first and ask for his instructions."

Military Affairs Office.

“A deputy commander was killed without warning.”

"What exactly is Hongzhou trying to do?"

"What exactly is he trying to pull!"

When Emperor Yongzheng learned of this, he asked about it with a stern face, and then slammed his fist on the table!

Bang!
The Grand Councilors present all lowered their heads even further.

Ortai then quickly replied, "According to Song Zhijin, Fifth Master is right; he still faces death. It seems he would rather die than let the prince consort's name be cleared!"

Emperor Yongzheng, whose face flushed red and then turned pale, stared wide-eyed at the news, but soon nodded.

Then, he waved his hand helplessly: "Fine! If he wants to clear his uncle's name, let him do it!"

"On his first official business trip, he brazenly killed a deputy commander. I don't know what to say to him! Doesn't he think about what the officials of the country will think of him? He should be fined half a year's salary!"

Then Yongzheng started complaining again.

Ortai and Zhang Tingyu both sighed slightly. They knew that Yongzheng would punish Hongzhou so lightly because there was nothing he could do. There were only two adult princes left, and Yongzheng, who was getting older and weaker, did not dare to push them too hard.

"Your Highness, news has come from the Northwest that Fifth Prince has brazenly killed Ah San, the Deputy Commander of the Manchu Bordered White Banner. Furthermore, I have learned that His Majesty has punished him with a six-month salary deduction for this!"

While Hongli was stamping a calligraphy copybook in his outer study, Yitonga came in and handed him a secret letter.

(End of this chapter)