My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 357 Emperor Qianlong was a good older brother; his younger brother and sister-in-law both loved him!
Hongli immediately put down the seal in his hand, clapped his hands, glanced at Yitonga, and then lowered his head and smiled.

Hongzhou's performance was exactly what he expected.

He knew very well how shrewd and daring his fifth brother was.

All I can say is, hehe! Yongzheng has really kicked a hornet's nest now.

The key point is that even though this iron plate belonged to one of his only two adult princes, he still couldn't lift it directly.

"Go to the accounting office and withdraw 50,000 taels of silver in promissory notes. Send them to the Prince He's residence as a gift from my brother and sister-in-law to supplement their household expenses."

Hongzhou was fined, leaving his family without income.

As the elder brother of the crown prince, he naturally had to provide some financial assistance to show his benevolence and kindness.

As for how Yongzheng would view this, Hongli was not worried.

He has a solution.

Now that he is the Crown Prince, if he is overly cautious and doesn't even dare to send some silver when his younger brother is penalized, it will disappoint Yongzheng, and not just Yongzheng.

Therefore, when Hongli gave Hongzhou money, he did so openly and generously, without any intention of hiding it.

Hongzhou's primary wife, Lady Wuzhaku, held the silver contract for 50,000 taels of silver and was at a loss for words.

Unlike Hongli, Hongzhou did not care about making a living, nor did he manage any businesses. He was only engrossed in developing various tools in the Imperial Workshop, drawing blueprints in his study, and purchasing many novelties. Therefore, his expenses were actually greater than Hongli's, but his income was not as high as Hongli's.

The salary deduction still had an impact on him.

During the Qing Dynasty, a prince's annual salary was 5,000 taels of silver and 5,000 bushels of rice, totaling between 8,000 and 9,000 taels of silver.

But now, Hongli directly gave him 50,000 taels of silver, which is equivalent to giving Hongzhou several years' worth of the annual salary of a prince in advance.

Therefore, the punishment that Hongzhou received was even less significant.

"No wonder Fifth Master often said that the Crown Prince treated him very well. Now that I think about it, it is indeed true!"

"Fifth Master has always been quick-tempered and easily angered. With such a good brother as the emperor, I'm afraid that no matter how many people Fifth Master offends in the future, he won't be afraid."

Wu Zhaku then chuckled and told Zhangjia, the concubine of Hongzhou, about this during a late-night conversation.

Since Hongzhou wasn't home, the young and lively girls simply slept in the same bed to alleviate their loneliness.

Zhangjia echoed, "Sister is right. I heard that when Third Master was still alive, it was Fourth Master who protected Fifth Master. Naturally, their relationship was different."

"I have already sent a letter home to Fifth Master to inform him of this matter, so that he will not worry about not having enough money."

After Wu Zhaku finished speaking, he patted Zhangjia's hand and said, "Go to sleep."

The fact that Hongli sent money to Hongzhou was also deliberately leaked by Hongli.

Soon enough, all the princes and ministers in the capital learned of this matter.

"Fifth Master acted arbitrarily, and the Deputy Commander was indeed wrong; but the Crown Prince's gift of silver to Fifth Master was truly a benevolent act!"

After learning of this matter, Sun Jiagan, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy and concurrently the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, expressed his opinion to Fu Min, the Minister of Personnel.

Fu Min put down her teacup and said with a smile, "You're right. The Crown Prince didn't deliberately refrain from doing things that a gentleman should do because of some fears. This shows that he is wise and decisive, unlike those who are indecisive or timid!"

"Yes, to be honest, I really didn't expect that the matter of establishing a crown prince would go so smoothly! As a result, the Qing Dynasty was able to establish its foundation so easily!"

"Now that I think about it carefully, the reason is that the Crown Prince has already established his own power. Whether it is His Majesty or the officials, they can only ensure the safety of the country and the people by respecting him as the Crown Prince."

Sun Jiagan said with deep respect.

Hongli did indeed establish his own power, but he did not become arrogant because of it.

Hongli was well aware that his ability to create a situation where Yongzheng had no choice but to make him the crown prince was also related to the realities of the Yongzheng era, as well as to Emperor Yongzheng and other princes and ministers.

Therefore, when Hongli came to pay his respects to Yongzheng that day, he took the initiative to tell Yongzheng about the subsidies he had given to Hongzhou. "You're quite generous!"

"What a great brother!"

Although Yongzheng was pleased that Hongli had told him about it on his own initiative, Hongzhou's actions had ultimately gone against his wishes, so he still spoke coldly about Hongli.

Then, Yongzheng asked Hongli very sternly: "Do you know how serious a mistake your fifth brother has made? He killed a Manchu deputy commander-in-chief! A deputy commander-in-chief from the Eight Banners nobility!"

"My son knows."

"But who allowed that deputy commander to disobey orders?"

"Besides, on another note, didn't you punish him, Father?"

Hongli was very astute; if Yongzheng couldn't even do anything about Hongzhou, then he certainly couldn't do anything about him either.

In any case, Yongzheng was not so foolish as to not know that it would be far more reliable to hand over the Qing dynasty to him than to Hongzhou.

Therefore, Hongli answered Yongzheng directly and respectfully.

Bang!
But Hongli's words really offended Yongzheng, causing Yongzheng to slam his fist on the table and stand up: "Then you can't be so lenient with him and let him not take this kind of mistake seriously!"

“Your subject did not show leniency. Your subject neither pleaded for him nor defended him. He only sent some money afterward.”

"Isn't it right for an elder brother to give his younger brother some silver?"

"Besides, Father has already punished him, and I believe he already understands his mistake!"

Emperor Hongli argued forcefully based on reason.

"you!"

Yongzheng raised his hand.

Seeing the anger blazing in Yongzheng's eyes, Hongli knew it was all bark and no bite, so he did not kneel to beg for forgiveness, but instead bowed and answered:

"To tell you the truth, Father, do you not wish for me and my fifth brother to be friendly and respectful to each other? Do you really wish for me and my fifth brother to be enemies?"

Emperor Yongzheng was speechless after Hongli's retort and had to lower his hand.

"Furthermore, I am the Crown Prince. A Crown Prince cannot neglect his duties and must be kind to his brothers!"

“My fifth brother is going on a business trip and he has to do such violent things. I can’t do anything about it.”

Hongli pursed his lips as he spoke.

Yongzheng sneered, "You think you've been wronged?"

"Your son tells you from the bottom of his heart, Father, that he truly desires your support; otherwise, he would not have taken the initiative to ask you to promote his rank!"

This time, Hongli actually knelt down and expressed his attitude in a righteous manner.

Emperor Yongzheng was no simple man either, and he retorted to Hongli: "Are you truly willing to see him excel? Then why did you try to entice him to focus on the Imperial Workshops? Hmph, you're still too green to try and play these tricks on me!"

Yongzheng raised the corners of his mouth smugly, thinking he had seen through Hongli.

Hongli thought to himself, "This Yongzheng really knows everything."

However, Hongli never dared to underestimate Yongzheng, so he had already prepared a set of excuses and knew how to respond to Yongzheng's questions.

"Why don't you speak?"

At this point, Yongzheng spoke up again.

(End of this chapter)