My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 360: Emperor Qianlong Gains Great Profits from Spending Money; Reforms Enter Deep Water Zone!

At this moment, the image of Crown Prince Hongli was particularly majestic in the eyes of the Eight Banners people!

Because not only was Emperor Qianlong a brilliant strategist, he was also very compassionate towards his soldiers and never stingy with money.

Although, in fact, the money came from Emperor Yongzheng.

In addition, since Hongli came from a later era, the arrogance that was hard to hide in a Celestial Dragon was not so obvious, and he acted very naturally and enthusiastically in showing kindness to those below him.

Therefore, no Manchu person doubted Hongli's sincerity and benevolence.

As Hongli walked through the alleys, many people who secretly peeked out from behind the doors to see his back were truly moved to tears.

It can be said that if Hongli had rallied a group of Manchus to fight to the death with him, many of them would have chosen to follow him without hesitation.

Emperor Yongzheng gave him 500,000 taels of silver to comfort the wounded and injured bannermen, which can be said to have been a way to consolidate his position as the crown prince within the Eight Banners.

Hongli naturally believed in Dexiang's loyalty at this moment, and personally helped him up, saying, "Please get up, sir."

"Thank you, Prince!"

Dexiang then stood up and glanced at the saddle that his father, himself, and his son had ridden on, seemingly having a real urge to return to the battlefield.

When serving in the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, soldiers were required to provide their own horses and equipment.

Therefore, the armor and weapons of many Eight Banner households were passed down from father to son or brother to brother, just like the titles and military equipment.

"Prince!"

But at that moment, an old woman suddenly knelt down.

This old woman was Dexiang's wife, surnamed Niohuru, and she was the aunt and niece of Niohuru Changbao, whom Hongli had visited before.

Therefore, the old woman felt more the cruelty of war, and suddenly knelt down and pleaded, "We don't want money, we only hope that the Crown Prince can ask His Majesty to allow us to leave the banner and become commoners."

Dexiang's brother, Deji, also knelt down at this moment: "My sister-in-law is right. Two members of our family have already died in battle for the court, and now another one has been wounded. Could we ask the court to show mercy and allow us to leave the banner and become civilians?"

Hongli was slightly taken aback.

Meanwhile, during this period, Emperor Yongzheng was reforming the banner system, reorganizing the Eight Banners, and promoting the policy of allowing bannermen to become ordinary citizens.

However, the policy of allowing people to use the banners was specifically aimed at the Han Chinese banners.

Because the Han Chinese army made up the largest proportion of the Manchu population, nearly half of them.

Even though Yongzheng wanted to become the emperor of China, he was unwilling to easily reduce the number of Manchu Eight Banners so that he would have enough power to counter the power of Han officials and gentry.

Because the number of Manchu Eight Banners was not large to begin with, and many of them were drawn from ethnic groups such as the Solon from outside the Great Wall.

However, many Manchu nobles also wanted to be removed from the banner system and become commoners, and were unwilling to remain banner people.

Being a Manchu was not only subject to many restrictions, but also meant being sent to the battlefield to fight for your life.

This was naturally very bad for the Manchu bannermen who were already afraid of insecurity and the inability to enjoy peaceful days.

Therefore, although many Manchus were nobles, they were not as prestigious as those who were registered as commoners.

This is similar to how many military nobles in the Ming Dynasty would try every means to become civilian gentry.

Moreover, only about one-tenth of the Manchu Eight Banners actually had official positions and guaranteed salaries.

Most of the Manchus not only had no jobs or guaranteed land, but much of the land allocated to them was also taken over by the Manchu lords, princes, and other powerful nobles.

These Manchu bannermen were forced to work for the banner lords, princes, and other nobles.

In addition, due to occupational restrictions, even those Manchu bannermen with jobs and stable incomes did not have a good life and most of them lived a meager existence.

Many Manchu girls were still unmarried at the age of thirty.

Because they couldn't afford a dowry.

Many men also choose not to marry.

Because we simply can't support one more person.

This resulted in the Manchu Eight Banners, despite belonging to the aristocratic class, having only a little over two million people by the end of the Qing Dynasty. It did not lead to a large population increase and can be considered a deliberate reduction in the birth rate.

Lao She's novel "Under the Red Banner" mentions how impoverished his family was when his father was a guard of the Red Banner Army.

The famous storyteller Lian Kuoru also recalled how hard his family's life was, and even though his family belonged to the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner, one of the Upper Three Banners, they still had a hard time.

Therefore, whether they wanted a peaceful and stable life or to improve their situation and gain more freedom, many members of the Manchu Eight Banners wished they could immediately become Han Chinese. But the imperial court refused to allow it.

At this time, Dexiang's wife and brother, relying on their family's considerable contributions to the Qing Dynasty and seeing the benevolence of Crown Prince Hongli, took the initiative to plead for help.

Hongli then asked, "Are you unwilling to be loyal to the Qing Dynasty?"

"It's not that we, your servants, are unwilling to be loyal to the Qing Dynasty!"

“The servants just don’t want the family line to end because of another war, which would add to the number of widows.”

"Even as subjects of the Great Qing, we, your humble servants, will remain loyal to the Great Qing. Whether we are farming and paying land taxes or engaging in commerce and paying commercial taxes, we are willing to do so!"

Deji began to defend himself.

The Manchu people in other courtyards in the alley also chimed in when they heard this.

Dexiang was naturally furious upon seeing this: "What are you doing!"

Dexiang then knelt down: "Master, please forgive me!"

"Your Highness, we Manchus are also capable of paying taxes and serving our country!"

“Your Highness, Uncle Deji is right. Our ancestors and descendants shed blood for the Qing Dynasty. Why can’t we live peacefully like the Han people?”

"Your Highness, please tell the master that we can also leave the banner and serve as commoners, just like the Han Bannermen!"

But at this moment, the Manchu households kneeling in the courtyard and the entire alleyway, from east to west and north to south, were stirred up by Deji's plea and began to appeal.

"quiet!"

Upon seeing this, Xi Liang, the heir apparent of Prince Shuncheng and commander of the Manchu Plain Red Banner, immediately shouted and apologized to Hongli, saying, "Your Highness, please forgive me!"

Hongli waved his hand and said, "It's alright!"

“Tell them their demands, and I will inform Khan Ama.”

After giving this vague reply, Hongli left, citing the need to comfort the other wounded and injured bannermen.

However, some Manchu banner households still asked him to leave their banner households and become ordinary citizens.

After comforting these banner households, Hongli informed Yongzheng of the matter.

"In the end, it's because the world has been at peace for too long, and most of the Manchu Eight Banners nobles don't want to risk their lives on the battlefield anymore."

"Furthermore, the wars now waged against the Dzungar Khanate are far less profitable than the campaigns that marched into the interior of China in the past."

Hongli also told Yongzheng about the reasons he had analyzed.

The air inside the Yuanmingyuan Garden was already filled with the fragrance of osmanthus.

At this moment, Yongzheng stopped under an osmanthus tree, nodded, and chuckled, saying, "If everyone wants to be a commoner, who will be a bannerman? Who will defend the country and guard the borders?"

"I think they don't want to be commoners, they want to be nobles. For that reason, they don't even want to be meritorious nobles!"

Yongzheng's tone became stern.

"This cannot be agreed to, not even if you become the emperor in the future!"

"The lessons of the Ming Dynasty are still fresh in our minds. The Manchu and Mongol Eight Banners, and even the Liaodong artillery-training Han troops who joined the banners before entering the pass, could not leave the banners and had to be ready to fight at any time!"

"If the imperial court relies solely on the Green Standard Army, which is mainly composed of recruits, to fight, sooner or later it will end up like the late Ming Dynasty, where civil officials will have complete control over the affairs of the country. Even the border troops, which are capable of fighting, will become one with the military generals because they are related to these civil officials!"

"Even if it's easy for the emperor to kill individual officials, he cannot force the majority of officials to act according to his will!"

“The noble families of the Eight Banners must be able to check and balance each other with the officials and gentry at any time. Only in this way can the emperor do his job.”

Emperor Yongzheng patiently explained the reasons to Hongli.

Hongli understood that Yongzheng was afraid that the complaints of these lower-ranking bannermen would affect his will.

Therefore, Hongli simply cupped his hands and said, "Your subject will remember your teachings, Father! However, even if the court does not agree to them, they will resist the court's intentions by refusing to marry or marry women, thus leading to the demise of the Eight Banners."

"That means forgetting your ancestors!"

"To avoid becoming a Manchu bannerman and to disregard the bravery of our ancestors, he has severed his own lineage; this is disloyal, unfilial, and utterly rebellious, and he must be severely punished!"

Emperor Yongzheng then sternly set the tone.

(End of this chapter)