My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 376 The New Emperor's Promise to Yongzheng: Yongzheng Abdicates with Peace of Mind!
Hongli was deeply shaken.

He never expected that Yongzheng would abdicate directly because of this and pass the throne to him ahead of schedule!

However, Hongli soon figured out the reason.

Yongzheng did this simply because he knew his health was failing and that he had already thoroughly offended everyone in the ruling class, making it difficult to carry out any work. So, he had no other choice but to do this.

The fact that the Miao people would try the assassination even though they knew it would fail was undoubtedly the trigger that made Yongzheng make this decision.

The over-implementation of the policy of replacing local chieftains with centrally appointed officials, which made Emperor Yongzheng feel powerless, led him to make this decision.

Hongli was shocked and naturally very excited.

He is about to become the supreme ruler of this vast empire!
However, after feigning fear and declining three times, Hongli finally accepted the imperial edict that allowed Yongzheng to abdicate and for him to succeed to the throne.

However, in the following years, Hongli continued to serve Emperor Yongzheng.

Because he had only accepted the imperial edict from Emperor Yongzheng to abdicate and succeed him, but had not yet formally ascended the throne.

He naturally needed to continue staying by Yongzheng's side to demonstrate his loyalty and filial piety, while also keeping himself isolated from outside officials to avoid unnecessary complications during the power transition due to his absence from Yongzheng's side.

In addition, after receiving the imperial decree, Hongli instructed Hongzhou and Fuhui, who served alongside him at Yongzheng's side, to address him as they always had.

He didn't want to appear arrogant.

Therefore, even when Hongli encountered Zhang Tingyu and Ortai by Yongzheng's side, he still addressed them respectfully as "Zhongtang".

The edict that Emperor Yongzheng decided to abdicate in favor of Hongli was first announced to Hongli, and then to the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory.

Therefore, at this time, apart from Yunxiang, the Grand Councilors, the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Observatory, and even Hongli himself and the princes who served alongside Yongzheng, no one else knew about this matter.

Hongchun and Hongxi were unaware of this matter.

However, the two of them have been frequently inquiring about the emperor's well-being lately.

They claimed it was out of concern for Emperor Yongzheng's health.

Many of the other imperial nephews also did so more frequently than usual.

On the very evening of the day Hongli received the imperial decree, Hongchun and Hongxi happened to arrive at the Yuanmingyuan, where Yongzheng was now residing.

The two then exchanged greetings.

Hongchun then asked Hongxi, "Cousin, you must also know about Longkodo's arrest and imprisonment?"

Hongxi looked at Hongchun and asked, "You've heard about it too?"

Hongchun nodded and sighed, "Fourth Uncle is wise!"

talking.

Hongchun glanced at Hongxi stealing a look to see if Hongxi was angry.

Because he had always suspected that Hongxi was not a true member of Hongli's faction.

Hongchun saw that Hongxi indeed showed no anger.

Hongchun frowned at this and, wanting to test the waters further, continued, "Actually, I've always felt that the one who truly deserves to be called the late emperor's beloved grandson is you, my cousin!"

Hongxi naturally understood the meaning behind Hongchun's words.

But he just smiled and didn't say anything more.

However, when the two met Yongzheng, Hongxi immediately knelt down and said to Yongzheng, "Your Majesty, I have something to tell you so that you can be at ease."

After hearing this, Yongzheng asked, "What is it?"

When Emperor Yongzheng met with princes and ministers, Hongli, Hongzhou, and Fuhui would voluntarily return to a side room to avoid being suspected of eavesdropping.

Therefore, Hongli did not know what Hongxi wanted to tell Yongzheng; he only saw Hongxi kneeling down in front of Yongzheng inside the hall.

Hongxi then said to Yongzheng: "Your Majesty, I have a grievance against Prince Tai, Hongchun! He has claimed that I am the late Emperor's favored grandson and is deliberately trying to sow discord between me and Hongli in order to incite infighting within the imperial family! I beg Your Majesty to see the truth!"

Hongchun looked at Hongxi with a stunned expression.

At this moment, Yongzheng also looked at Hongchun: "Hongchun, is this true?"

Hongchun hurriedly knelt down: "Fourth Uncle, please forgive me. I have always admired my cousin Prince Li's talent, so I lost my composure and said those words. In fact, what I meant was that Prince Li is indeed one of the imperial grandsons who deserves to be called the late Emperor's beloved grandson!"

“You’re not wrong. I acknowledge Hongxi’s talent, and the late Emperor also acknowledged it himself.”

"But do you know why the late emperor, on his deathbed, still preferred to pass the throne to Hongli through me?"

At this point, Yongzheng looked at Hongxi and asked, "Hongxi, do you know why?"

Hongxi said, "It is all because the current Crown Prince is better at bringing benefits to the people, and this is the foundation of the Great Qing!"

"Good answer!"

“Your magnanimity and understanding are truly rare among your nephews.”

Emperor Yongzheng nodded in satisfaction and praised Hongxi.

then.

He then looked sternly at Hongchun: "But Hongchun has not only spoken inappropriately, but also harbored ulterior motives, attempting to sow discord between Hongxi and Hongchun. He should be stripped of his title!"

Hongchun immediately kowtowed, tears streaming down his face: "Fourth Uncle, please have mercy!"

"How can you expect me to show mercy?!"

Yongzheng suddenly shouted.

Snapped!
At the same time, he slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

Yongzheng then added, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You simply believe that this will keep Hongxi's ambitions for the throne alive!"

Hongchun quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I would never and would never dare to have such thoughts! I only said this out of respect for my cousin."

"I will trust you this once!"

Yongzheng replied directly, and then said, "I have already issued an edict to abdicate in favor of Hongli and let him ascend the throne. Since you do not have such intentions, you should be prepared to continue to assist the new emperor."

Hongxi was stunned, as if struck by lightning.

Hongchun, whose eyes were red and swollen, also opened his mouth wide.

Yongzheng then looked at Hongchun and said, "Instead of seeking my favor, you should seek the favor of the new emperor in the future. Even if you want your title restored, you should go to him for it. Of course, the premise is that you can really be a good person!"

Hongchun, as stiff as a robot, kowtowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty! Your nephew thanks Fourth Uncle for your guidance!"

Hongxi forced a smile, and before it faded, he replied, "Your subject will remember Your Majesty's instructions and wholeheartedly assist the new Emperor to repay the Emperor's grace and to comply with the will of the people of the Great Qing!"

"very good!"

Emperor Yongzheng was increasingly pleased and waved for the two men to leave.

When the two left the Old Summer Palace, they remained silent, as if their souls had been ripped out and they had become walking corpses.

Shortly after Hongchun returned, Hongzheng took the initiative to find him, wanting to ask him what further measures Yongzheng would take after Longkodo was arrested.

Hongchun then stated directly, "Fourth Uncle has already issued an edict to abdicate!"

……

...Abdicate?

Hongsheng was greatly alarmed after learning from Hongxi that Yongzheng intended to abdicate.

Hongjiao then asked, "To whom should I abdicate?"

Wang Tingcheng also looked over at Hongxi.

Hongxi suddenly roared, "What are you still asking? There's still a crown prince. If you're going to abdicate, why wouldn't you abdicate to the crown prince? Or would you abdicate to someone else?!"

Everyone fell silent.

In their memory, Hongxi rarely lost his temper and never yelled at anyone.

But this time, after Hongxi returned, he suddenly yelled at them.

This puzzled them.

Hongxi quickly realized his lapse in composure, shook his head in annoyance, and then bowed to Hongsheng, Hongjiao, and the others, saying, "Please forgive me, everyone! I'm really not in a good mood right now!"

"It's so hard to guess what the Emperor is thinking!"

Hongxi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

……

"I can't fathom the thoughts of some members of the imperial family. Why do they enjoy stirring up trouble and gloating over others' misfortunes?"

"If the Qing Dynasty is destroyed by them like this, what good will it do them?"

"Logically, they should be the ones who least want the Qing Dynasty to perish, but they are precisely the ones who love to destroy our Qing Dynasty the most."

After meeting Hongxi and Hongchun, Yongzheng, while Hongli was helping him walk by the lake, also mentioned with annoyance how he felt after meeting Hongxi and Hongchun and learning that Hongchun had instigated Hongxi.

Hongli smiled slightly.

He naturally understood that Yongzheng, a sensitive and meticulous person, actually had a strong desire for control. The closer someone was to him, the more high hopes he placed on them, hoping that they would be closer to a saint, and he could not tolerate any flaws in them.

Yinzhi and Hongshi were both severely punished by Emperor Yongzheng because they repeatedly failed to live up to the image of his eighth brother and eldest son.

Only the thirteenth prince consistently tried his best to meet Yongzheng's requirements, striving to perform perfectly in every aspect, thus earning Yongzheng's trust and favor.

Therefore, the poor performance of his nephew Hongchun would greatly annoy Yongzheng, leading to his dissatisfaction with the entire imperial clan.

Hongli, not wanting any setbacks in his succession, went along with Yongzheng and said with a worried expression, "Father is right. After I ascend the throne, I estimate the most difficult thing will be how to deal with these relatives who, although old, haven't grown much in awareness!"

"But I am not afraid!"

Hongli then looked at Yongzheng and replied with a resolute expression.

Although he wanted to express his empathy with Yongzheng, he couldn't show any fear, otherwise Yongzheng would be dissatisfied.

After all, Emperor Yongzheng had high expectations for his sons and nephews.

Emperor Yongzheng smiled and pointed to a hexagonal pavilion in front of him, saying, "Help me to sit down."

"Whoo!"

In fact, after the ninth year of his reign, Emperor Yongzheng needed the assistance of eunuchs to walk in the palace.

In his own words, "My legs are weak and I pant at the slightest movement."

Muscle strength and cardiopulmonary function have declined significantly.

Therefore, even when he goes out for a walk in his spare time, he is always supported by princes like Hongli.

After helping Yongzheng to sit down in the hexagonal pavilion in front, Hongli looked at the gently rippling lake.

Yongzheng also looked at the lake, and at the same time touched his abdomen and frowned.

Upon seeing this, Hongli asked, "Father, is your stomach hurting again? Should we summon the imperial physician?"

Yongzheng did not admit it, but said, "It's not that serious, I can bear it. Even if the imperial physicians see me, it won't help. It's just like what I said before."

Hongli realized that Yongzheng did not want to admit that his illness was too serious. The reason for this was that, on the eve of his abdication, he once again considered the throne.

Emperor Yongzheng did indeed have some emotional hesitation regarding his impending abdication.

The current performance of Hongchun and other members of the imperial clan has made him worry about whether the young Hongli can handle these issues.

So, at this moment, Yongzheng took the initiative to ask Hongli, "You say you're not afraid, but do you still want to fight them?"

Hongli understood that the struggle for succession within the imperial family during the Kangxi era had not been completely eliminated by Yongzheng's iron-fisted approach.

Internal conflicts within the imperial clan will remain a problem he will face as emperor.

Many members of the imperial family, and even some of the Eight Banner nobles who had kinship ties with them, were still not entirely convinced that the fourth branch of the family would inherit the throne, and some even looked down on the fourth branch.

This also existed in the Ming Dynasty. After Zhu Di successfully seized the throne, there were still princes and nobles who were dissatisfied with the four branches of the imperial family.

If one relies solely on the bureaucratic group, such problems can be ignored, because even if some members of the royal family are dissatisfied with or look down on the branch that inherited the throne, they cannot cause too much damage, and it is even more impossible for them to rise up in rebellion.

However, after learning from the lessons of the Ming Dynasty's demise, the Qing court relied on the imperial family to supervise and check the bureaucratic group.

Therefore, Hongli understood even more clearly that Yongzheng certainly hoped he would not be lazy in dealing with the problem of disloyalty or disobedience among the imperial clan, but he also did not want him to completely suppress the imperial clan or restrict them too severely.

Historically, when Hongli first became emperor, he was relatively simple-minded and advocated learning from Kangxi, emphasizing benevolence and leniency. Therefore, he mainly treated the imperial family members with forgiveness.

Those members of the imperial clan who were severely punished by Emperor Yongzheng were generally pardoned and shown favor by Emperor Qianlong at the beginning of his reign, in the hope that the imperial clan would accept him as the new emperor.

But as it turns out, this was useless; those who despised Yongzheng in their hearts would continue to despise him, Yongzheng's son.

The prejudice in people's hearts is a mountain.

This applies not only to the imperial family but also to the entire Eight Banners aristocracy.

At the same time, it is human nature to bully the weak and fear the strong. The more goodwill you show, the more people will think you are easy to bully.

Therefore, in history, the naive Emperor Qianlong, after being hurt by the imperial clan time and time again, eventually broke down and followed the example of Emperor Yongzheng, implementing a series of punishments exclusive to the imperial clan, including stripping them of their official rank, removing their yellow belts, changing their names, and imprisoning them until death.

It can be said that the historical Qianlong Emperor was not like Yongzheng, who emerged victorious in the brutal power struggle among the nine princes. Therefore, his initial performance in domestic affairs was far inferior to that of Yongzheng, and he had a naive belief that being too well-read would win over the people.

The current Hongli will naturally not repeat the mistakes of the historical Qianlong Emperor.

At that moment, he nodded and replied, "Your subject still wants to fight them!"

Yongzheng was slightly taken aback, looked at Hongli with surprise, smiled and asked, "Why do you want to fight?"

"Because unity is achieved through struggle, while unity is lost through concession."

"To be honest, as far back as I can remember, my uncles and brothers have never had a bad relationship with me. Even my eighth and ninth uncles have taken good care of me."

"However, what I want to fight for is not for personal feelings or old grudges, but for whether the imperial clan can truly unite as one, share the Emperor's heart, and share the nation's glory and shame!"

When Hongli answered in this way, Yongzheng's expression had already become solemn.

After a long while, Yongzheng sighed and said, "Unity is preserved through struggle, but perishes through concession. You have spoken to my heart!"

"I am relieved!"

"What are you worried about, Father?"

(End of this chapter)