My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 370 How Ruthless is the Heavy Tax Collection? Bombarding the Prince!

"Wu Shitu, the Mongol Deputy Commander of the Plain Red Banner, is not in the same mood as you and harbors treacherous schemes. He is hereby dismissed from his post!"

In May of the eleventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, Hongzhou was on the city wall of the northern pass when he was reading the contents of a gazette and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Then, Hongzhou turned his back to the setting sun and descended the city wall.

at the same time.

Instead, a gyrfalcon soared into the sky towards the city wall, and after circling for a while, it headed far to the north.

A group of Solon sentries, riding out of the city, also headed in the direction the gyrfalcon had flown.

In the direction the gyrfalcon flew, a caravan was quietly entering a section of forest.

"It's a gyrfalcon!"

The caravan members soon spotted the gyrfalcon, and everyone gasped in alarm.

The caravan members were Han Chinese merchants who regularly traded outside the Great Wall.

Therefore, although they did not participate in the battle, they knew that the appearance of the gyrfalcon meant that their tracks had been discovered, and that scouts would soon come to ascertain their size.

They also knew that not all cavalrymen could tame gyrfalcons.

Those who can tame gyrfalcons are mostly Solon people and Jurchen people from outside the Great Wall, and these people are selected to join the elite battalions of the Eight Banners.

Generally speaking, these people only appear during large-scale field battles and are responsible for reconnaissance.

But now, inspired by Hongli, Yongzheng wanted to strengthen customs management and pioneered a system that used people who were originally tasked with major military operations to supervise customs, and he even used veterans who had been through many battles.

The caravan's owner, Fan Yudong, also turned grim.

"The imperial court is truly treating us like enemies, using the same tactics they used against the Dzungars. Is this really necessary?! What was the point of our Fan family's sacrifices for the Qing Dynasty back then?!"

"Master, what should we do now? Should we have the guards from our caravan kill them all?"

At this moment, Hou Tianzhu, the head of the Fan family's guards responsible for protecting the caravan, dismounted and ran over.

Fan Yudong said with a frustrated look, "How can we take them down? They are all battle-hardened elites. Is it even possible to take them down?"

suddenly!

With a whoosh, the sharp sound of an arrow piercing the air appeared to Fan Yudong's side.

"what!"

Hou Tianzhu screamed and covered his ears.

Behind him, an armor-piercing spike was embedded in a wild pine tree, the shaft still swaying and making a vibrating sound.

Fan Yudong himself was trembling uncontrollably, staring blankly at his surroundings.

But there wasn't a single person in sight.

Only the gyrfalcon continued to circle overhead, endlessly orbiting them.

This made it difficult for Fan Yudong's caravan to escape, as they couldn't find anyone to shoot the arrows.

Soon, Fan Yudong realized that the archer had shot his head servant in the ear as a warning, indicating that he could shoot any of them at any time.

Despite this, the servants accompanying these smuggling caravans were surprisingly well-armored.

But before the armor-piercing cones, and before the skilled archers of the State Taxation Bureau, they were nothing.

However, the reason these caravan servants dared to wear armor was not because they were unaware that armor was prohibited, but because these servants were actually hired by Mongol princes to serve in their caravans.

These caravans were actually collaborating with Mongol princes on smuggling, deliberately avoiding the passes and official trade routes in order to maximize their profits.

Fan Yudong had no choice but to bend his knees and kneel down: "We are members of the Fan family, who were appointed imperial merchants by the late emperor. We are here on business, so please, sirs, do us a favor."

……

……

"Since you are a royal merchant, why did you sneak out of the border and not use the checkpoints that the court allows you to travel?"

Guancheng.

Hongzhou turned his sleeves, turned his back to the row of burly Solon soldiers, and asked about Fan Yudong, who had been brought back.

Fan Yudong knew of the Fifth Prince's fearsome reputation, but he didn't expect to encounter him so soon, so he kept stammering:
"It was to take a shortcut; Prince Danjindorji said that route was shorter."

"Don't try to scare me with your talk of princes and dukes."

"I'm asking you, why did you sneak across the border?"

Hongzhou spoke in a deep voice, and then asked Fan Yudong another question.

Fan Yudong, his face deathly pale, muttered to himself, "Why did we sneak out of the border? Yes, why did we sneak out of the border?"

Are you asking me, or am I asking you?

Hongzhou continued to ask questions, but his tone grew increasingly cold.

Fan Yudong was so frightened that he immediately kowtowed: "Fifth Master, spare my life! Fifth Master, spare my life!" "I'm asking you why you secretly crossed the border?!"

Hongzhou raised his voice and picked up the pistol from the table.

Upon seeing this, Fan Yudong hurriedly cried out, "It was Prince Danjindorji who ordered us to sneak out and trade with the Russians!"

"You've been secretly carrying gunpowder, Su steel, grain, and a hundred self-propelled flintlock pistols. These are all prohibited items."

"Did he ask you to sell these to the Russians?"

Hongzhou gets angry when he talks about this. He never expected that the self-propelled muskets he had the craftsmen make at the Imperial Workshop would be sold abroad so soon.

Fan Yudong nodded: "Yes! Yes!"

Even so, you've got some nerve!

Hongzhou roared, then sneered, "However, this is your ancestral rule, but the imperial laws and regulations do not allow you to do this anymore!"

"Lock him up in the tax prison first!"

"Fucha Fuqing, bring your tax soldiers and come with me to see Prince Danjindorji!"

Not long after Hongzhou finished speaking, he led a large contingent of soldiers from the State Taxation Bureau to the location of Prince Danjindorji's royal tent.

Fucha Fuqing even led his cavalry here first.

But not long after, Fucha Fuqing returned and reported to Hongzhou: "Prince Danjindorji's camp gates are tightly closed, and he refuses to see our tax camp!"

"Does refusing to see someone mean you can simply refuse to meet them?"

Hongzhou asked a question coldly, then ordered them to continue.

Soon, he led the main force of the Northern Tax Camp to the location of Prince Danjindorji's royal tent.

"Our Prince is ill and unable to see Fifth Master. Please, Fifth Master, return home! There's no need to waste resources here!"

When Taiji Sonomchuiji, who was serving Prince Danjindorji, saw that Hongzhou had still brought the people from the State Taxation Bureau, he explained the reason again and personally invited Hongzhou aside to persuade him privately:
"Fifth Master, don't take some things too seriously. If you're willing, all the Mongol princes of the Tushetu Khanate are willing to serve you as their master, and we can also share the benefits!"

"There's no need to offend the Fan family; they can definitely become partners with us in making money!"

Hongzhou smiled and said, "I never take things seriously, because I'm just not a serious person!"

"Have the Han army artillerymen from the National Taxation Camp bring up their cannons and blast the damn camp gates! Then all the cavalry officers rush in and take control of the yurts, in preparation for ransacking them!"

The yurt is a Mongolian tent. The Mongolian princes in the northern deserts still migrated and lived in the same place, so they built yurts, set up camp walls and gates.

"slow!"

Just then, Celing's shout came from behind.

Upon seeing this, Hongzhou waved his hand, ordering the guards of the State Taxation Camp to disperse and allowing Ce Leng to come over.

Accompanying Tsering was the Minister stationed in Mongolia, Marseille.

After Celing arrived, Hongzhou asked, "Why did you stop me from enforcing the law, Uncle?"

"Fifth Prince, Danjin Dorji is a prince. You can't act so arrogantly. It would be safest to submit a memorial first."

Ce Ling advised.

At this moment, Taiji Sonomchuiji, who was standing next to Danjindorji, smiled coldly, as if he had expected that Tsering would come to stop him.

Hongzhou was only worried that by the time Yongzheng issued the decree, Danjin Dorji would have already transferred the wealth, so he just smiled and said, "The more domineering I am, the wiser Bogda Khan will be in choosing the crown prince! Isn't that right, Uncle?"

Celing was speechless after hearing this.

Marseille, who had come along, didn't dare to try to persuade him any further. He just smiled and said, "Fifth Master, how come I didn't think of that? This is how you persuade the Prince Consort to come here."

Sonam Chuiji's expression immediately changed.

Hongzhou also ordered the Han army artillerymen of the State Taxation Camp to bring up their light cannons and aim them at the camp gate.

Sonam Chuiji did not leave, but asked with a stern face, "Fifth Prince, did you really do that?"

Hongzhou smiled and asked, "What do you think?"

Sonamchuji didn't know how to deal with it. He hadn't expected Hongzhou to be so reckless, but he still refused to believe that Hongzhou was really so reckless as to dare to execute even Mongol princes like them. So he spread his arms and said, "Then bomb me first!"

The Han army artilleryman from the State Taxation Bureau who lit the fire looked at Hong Zhou.

Hongzhou then went directly to the gunner, snatched a piece of matchlock from the gunner's hand, and pointed the sparking end of the matchlock directly at the fire door.

Hissing sounds began from the fire door, and soon after, a loud bang followed, and a red tongue shot out. Sonom Chuiji had just opened his eyes when he was reduced to a pile of minced meat.

July of the eleventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign.

Capital.

As soon as Hongli entered the garden that day, preparing to participate in the court proceedings, Hongxi suddenly approached him. After greeting him, Hongxi whispered, "Have you heard? The Fifth Prince even killed Mongol princes in the northern deserts!"

(End of this chapter)