My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 369 A new child has been born into the harem, and a promise has been made to the Iron-Capped Prince!
Emperor Yongzheng was very satisfied with Hongli's actions of uniting the majority and suppressing the minority.

This gave him a feeling that the roles of offense and defense had shifted.

Because now even the posts appearing in the capital are mostly praising him, and sometimes he even receives letters from Manchu children praising him from Hongli.

This greatly comforted Yongzheng's fragile heart and made him even more convinced that Hongli was truly very suitable to succeed him to the throne.

Furthermore, he became even more determined to build up a greater fortune for Hongli, and increasingly felt that Hongli was worthy of his efforts to accumulate a greater fortune.

"Seventeenth Brother, how is the establishment of the National Taxation Bureau going?"

At this point, Yongzheng asked Yunli about the establishment of the National Taxation Bureau.

Yunli immediately replied, "Three thousand soldiers have been organized and are planned to be set up as the Northern Camp to be responsible for the inspection and collection of customs duties on the northern border trade."

"The best soldiers selected were the most skilled horsemen and archers, including elite cavalry, Solon soldiers, and Han artillerymen, all of whom had distinguished themselves in the northwest."

"Your Majesty, I think: First, we must let all the Manchus in the world know that only by first establishing military merit and proving their loyalty to the court can they become tax collectors; second, whether it is collecting border trade tariffs or maritime trade tariffs, we will be facing vicious and stubborn bandits, and only by having the best soldiers can we quickly wipe them out and restore the order of commerce."

"Ordinary Manchus need to go to various border regions for training before they can take on this job."

"The Southern Camp also plans to be set up in this way, but some will be selected from the Eight Banners Navy, some Solon soldiers who can use gyrfalcons, and some infantrymen who are good at climbing ladders and mountain terrain from the Green Standard Army Han soldiers who have been raised to the banners."

"In short, they must be veterans who have made military achievements and fought in many battles. This way, they can be trusted and can also inspire soldiers to fight to the death on the battlefield."

"The officers and soldiers of both battalions are all subject to a three-year term and are rotated regularly. Those who have made meritorious contributions will be promoted to the personal guard battalion or the guard battalion, while those who have made mistakes will be demoted or punished."

Yunli did this because he advocated prioritizing military merit, and because Hongli had suggested that the soldiers in charge of tax administration should be as elite as possible.

Emperor Yongzheng also agreed with this.

After all, one of his purposes in establishing the National Tax Bureau was to motivate the Manchus to pay their blood taxes, rather than simply to increase fiscal revenue and strengthen trade management by enhancing customs control.

Moreover, the latter two do indeed require a strong military to achieve.

Zhang Tingyu and Ortai both slightly raised their eyes after hearing this.

They could already imagine the troubles that the Mongol princes, officials, and wealthy families along the border and the coast would face next.

Fu Erdan pursed his lips slightly as well.

However, he didn't think too much about it. He was just happy that his Eight Banners descendants had indeed had more opportunities. But with this, he still had to urge his descendants to practice their skills diligently, instead of just taking the imperial examination route like the Han people.

“Very good. Now that the Northern Camp has been established, let’s start training. After we’ve become familiar with the training, we’ll go to patrol the border and inspect the tax administration. Let Hongzhou, who has been to the north before, take charge.”

At this point, Yongzheng nodded and said.

"Whoo!"

After Hongzhou brazenly murdered Deputy Commander-in-Chief Asan, he returned to the capital at the end of the year after investigating border trade.

After returning to the capital, Hongzhou continued to interact with Hongli as usual.

Emperor Hongli often invited him to Yuqing Palace to discuss various mechanical manufacturing matters.

During this period, Hongli was able to get a large number of posters appearing in the capital and Henan, which was also related to the fact that he and Hongzhou improved the printing technology to the stage of spiral pressing ink, instead of just relying on traditional copying and engraving.

After learning that he was going to the north to inspect the border trade, Hongzhou immediately came to see Hongli and told him about it. He frowned and said, "Fourth brother, could you also help me talk to Father Khan and ask him not to assign me any other tasks? I really only want to work in the Imperial Workshop."

"I'll try my best, but I reckon you'll have to wait until your two younger brothers grow up before you can have your wish fulfilled."

Hongli was very astute and knew that Hongzhou was saying this to reassure him and to show that he had no intention of competing with him for the throne, which was why he deliberately acted as if he had no ambition.

He answered in accordance with Hongzhou's wishes, letting Hongzhou know that even if he became emperor in the future, he would still use members of the imperial clan, and that members of the imperial clan should continue to do their work.

Because he was very clear that although Hongzhou seemed cynical and unwilling to compete for the throne, he was not entirely without political desires and aspirations.

Otherwise, the only thing Hongzhou asked of Hongli before his death would not have been to be granted a hereditary princeship, nor would he have expressed his dissatisfaction with Hongli's suspicion of him and other members of the imperial clan.

However, because Emperor Qianlong valued titles and honors, he did not grant Hongzhou the title of "Iron-Cap Prince" on his deathbed, but only allowed his lineage to inherit the title of Prince for another term. After seeing Hongli say this with a smile, Hongzhou's eyelids widened slightly, and then he sighed: "Fu Hui is not in good health, his other younger brother is only four years old, and Consort Qian's mother is pregnant again, and we don't know if it will be a brother or a sister."

Previously, two concubines in the Yongzheng Emperor's harem who became pregnant in the summer of the sixth year of his reign gave birth to a son and a daughter, respectively.

Although not all of them were princes, Yongzheng was still very happy, and he promoted two of his concubines to higher ranks, since he didn't have any daughters.

It is worth mentioning that both of Emperor Yongzheng's sons and daughters are still alive and healthy.

This is related to the fact that Hongli developed many new medicines and popularized some safety knowledge, which made the infant mortality rate of the royal family much lower, even though it was difficult to avoid fever and unexpected situations.

As Hongzhou mentioned, Consort Qian, née Liu, became pregnant again last year.

This made Emperor Yongzheng very happy.

This means that even after a serious illness, he could still get his concubines pregnant.

However, Emperor Yongzheng was already quite old. Apart from Fu Hui, even if the other princes began to appear, or even if they did not die young, it would still take more than ten years for them to grow up.

Fu Hui indeed has a poor natural foundation, so he reads books slowly, and he hasn't even learned riding and archery yet, which is an exception.

Therefore, Yongzheng still couldn't rely on him and could only rely on Hongli and Hongzhou.

Now, Hongzhou's sigh is naturally an expression of agreement with Hongli's words.

After Hongzhou sighed like that, he raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

Hongli knew why he was smiling; it was simply because he felt he could continue to be a reckless and unruly prince.

However, Hongli still hoped that Hongzhou could do more to help Yongzheng accumulate a more abundant fortune for him, so he instructed him:
“However, Fifth Brother, since Father has put you in charge of the Northern Garrison of the National Tax Bureau to collect customs duties, you must do your best. No matter how Father treats Thirteenth Uncle, I will treat you the same way.”

Hongzhou's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he then hummed in agreement, revealing an excited expression.

Hongli smiled, implying that if Hongzhou performed well, he would grant him the title of "Iron-Cap Prince".

Hongzhou was very fond of his primary wife, and basically all of his children were born to her.

Hongzhou began to care about the hereditary nature of his title after he had a primary wife and a child with her.

"Lingchi?"

"Beheading?"

Along with the imperial decree ordering Hongzhou to take charge of the national tax camp and go to the north to investigate and collect border taxes, the final decree regarding the punishment of Sheng Mingkun and Yu Hongtu was also issued.

Upon receiving this imperial decree, both Sheng Mingkun and Yu Hongtu turned pale.

Although they already knew that this matter had reached the Emperor's court, and given Yongzheng's strictness, he would not let them off easily.

However, they still found it difficult to accept the final decision.

When the two were escorted to the capital for their execution, even some high-ranking officials in the capital found the outcome difficult to accept.

When Man Hanlin Kaitai passed by and saw Sheng Mingkun being executed by dismemberment and Yu Hongtu being beheaded, he exclaimed, "A prince who dares to spend money is truly terrifying!"

"Fifth Master, this servant dares to speak frankly, but what is certain now is that once the imperial court truly controls border trade, it will be a terrible thing!"

"What the Crown Prince is doing right now is a case in point."

"Therefore, in my humble opinion, you should consider the future of the Prince's Mansion more carefully when you take the National Taxation Camp to the Northwest this time."

When Hongzhou was leaving the capital, his father-in-law, Wushitu, also gave him his advice because of recent events.

Hongzhou nodded: "Then for the sake of the Prince's Mansion's future, we can only ask Father-in-law to wait and confess his sins to Father Khan!"

(End of this chapter)