My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 387 Establishing the system of designating an heir apparent: Qianlong's tough style differs from Yongzheng's!
Hongli put away his folding fan, tapped it in his palm, and pretended to be deep in thought.

"Judging from the situation when Khanmafa was in power, it is not advisable to make the eldest son the crown prince too early, as it may easily lead to him becoming arrogant and spoiled."

"I will follow the example of what my father did when he was in power, and secretly establish him as emperor first, and then publicly establish him when the time is right."

Upon hearing this, Yunli, Zhang Tingyu, and the others all slightly shifted their eyes.

"Whoo!"

But they didn't say much, they just bowed and agreed.

"After establishing an empress, shouldn't we also establish a crown prince?"

The Nine Ministers' Chamber.

After receiving the imperial edict from the Grand Council to establish an empress, Wei Tingzhen, the Minister of Rites, couldn't help but ask the other nine ministers of the Nine Ministers' Office in the Forbidden City a question.

Minister of War Gao Qi said, "The sooner a crown prince is established, the better. Moreover, the establishment should be made public to avoid instability in the court due to the unclear succession."

"You should think about where Yue Zhongqi will be assigned after he goes to the capital."

At this moment, Minister Man Xiande of the Ministry of Justice chuckled and made a joke at Gao Qi's words.

Gao Qi shut his mouth as a result, and his expression became somewhat gloomy.

He had to admit that Xiande's reminder was correct.

What he should be more worried about now is that Hongli's reinstatement of Yue Zhongqi to the capital with the title of Minister suggests that he intends to transfer Yue Zhongqi to the position of Minister of War, replacing him, the current Minister of War.

Otherwise, Yue Zhongqi would not have been allowed to join the banner.

Gao Qi had actually been feeling extremely uneasy these past few days.

He truly hadn't expected that the new emperor, Hongli, had already decided to send Zhang Guangsi to pacify the Miao people, which was why he had offended the emperor now.

"This humble servant receives the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude!"

More than a month later, Zhang Guangsi, who had been temporarily appointed Governor-General of Huguang, received an imperial edict appointing him as Minister to Pacify the Miao Region.

Zhang Guangsi's face was filled with excitement.

Because he knew his chance to make a name for himself had arrived!

It's important to know that for the past ten years or so, he has spent most of his time interacting with the Miao people in Southwest China, and he is very familiar with the local customs and terrain of Guizhou and other parts of Southwest China.

Zhang Guangsi had long been looking forward to returning to the southwest to investigate and settle the Miao affairs.

Unlike most officials who become less willing to get involved in the Miao affairs in the southwest as things get worse, Zhang Guangsi became increasingly eager to get involved as the Miao situation deteriorated.

Because he was confident that he could make a great contribution through this matter, thus becoming a prominent minister and even making a name for himself in history!

"An urgent message from the Military Affairs Office is required to be opened and read by Your Excellency personally."

Then, the messenger also urgently delivered a document prepared by Hongli to Zhang Guangsi.

Zhang Guangsi hurriedly opened the urgent message in front of the messenger.

However, after briefly glancing at the urgent message, Zhang Guangsi immediately showed a look of shock.

Because this urgent message contained a plan prepared by Hongli for him to promote technologies such as terraced fields!

Zhang Guangsi quickly understood the intention behind this.

"This is the master's will."

The messenger also whispered something at that moment.

Zhang Guangsi was even more invigorated.

For him, this document, coming from the Emperor, was naturally more extraordinary than one coming from a Grand Councilor!
Zhang Guangsi pursed his lips, wishing he could fly to the southwest immediately.

Because he knew that the newly enthroned ruler was also very concerned about this matter.

If he does well, he is destined to be noticed by his new master in the future!

That night, Zhang Guangsi did not summon his concubine to his bedchamber. Instead, he stayed up all night reading the document, took notes, and prepared to write a reflection before sending it back to the capital in the form of a secret memorial.

He wanted Hongli to know that he had not dared to slack off on this matter.

But the more he looked, the more shocked he became, and he exclaimed to himself, "The master is the one who has done the greatest good!"

At this moment, Hongli was reading a secret report from an official in Miao territory.

General Ha Yuansheng, who was in charge of suppressing the Miao rebellion, submitted a memorial impeaching Zhang Zhao, saying that Zhang Zhao had secretly sent him a letter instructing him to slander Ortai, and also impeached Deputy General Dong Fang for forming a faction with Zhang Zhao.

When Hongli saw the contents of the secret report, he understood perfectly that Ha Yuansheng was taking advantage of Zhang Zhao's imprisonment to kick him while he was down.

Thus, Hongli could see that there was already discord among the generals in the Miao region.

Under such circumstances, it is naturally impossible to win a war.

What angered Hongli even more was that Zhang Zhao had been interfering in Miao affairs all along.

"This person must be killed."

Therefore, Emperor Hongli issued a vermilion edict ordering Ha Yuansheng to clearly report back, implying that Ha Yuansheng should use public channels to expose Zhang Zhao's crimes of interfering in local military affairs and framing court officials.

This means that Hongli wanted to put Zhang Zhao to death!

Because Zhang Zhao's behavior, if not weighed, would be nothing more than a thousand pounds – a heinous crime of treason and deceiving the emperor.

After all, this was instructing local military commanders through illegal channels, and even if there were no signs of rebellion, it was absolutely unacceptable.

Of course, Zhang Zhao isn't the only one doing this.

Many high-ranking officials in the capital preferred to govern through private letters. As early as the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng used private letters to urge local governors to follow his instructions during his reforms.

Because although Zhang Juzheng was the Grand Secretary, he was not the real prime minister and had no right to directly command these governors and viceroys.

The same was true for the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, even when Emperor Yongzheng was a prince, or when Emperor Hongli was a prince, they used private letters to instruct local officials to do things.

However, when the emperor needed to get rid of this person, he could expose the matter and have him executed.

After reading the secret memorial, Hongli saw the Ministry of Rites' decision on the time to establish an empress, and requested that Ortai, the Grand Secretary of the Hall of Preserving Harmony, be the chief envoy and Qingfu, the Minister of Revenue, be the deputy envoy.

Emperor Qianlong approved it with a vermilion edict.

"I have heard that Heaven and Earth are in their proper places, and thus they have been able to provide shelter and support."

"The sun and moon are in harmony with the heavens, signifying the continuous and ever-growing nature of the heavens."

……

"The Empress Dowager, of the Fuca clan, is from a distinguished family in Zhongxiang. She was chosen as the Empress Dowager in the early years of the Emperor's marriage ceremony. Her reputation spread throughout Hezhou. She is gentle, respectful and elegant... Now, by the benevolent decree of the Emperor Emeritus, with the golden book and precious seal, you are hereby established as Empress."

Therefore, not long after, Lady Fucha knelt down and listened to the edict, and received the imperial seal from Ortai and Qingfu.

Fuheng was also overjoyed to see Fucha made empress.

Most of the other princes were also very pleased about this.

Since the position of empress was fixed, in this era that valued rule by rites, it meant that the fate of the world was already decided.

However, Gao Qi, the Minister of War, was not particularly pleased.

Because he had already learned through his own people that Ha Yuansheng had sent a secret report to the capital.

After all, he was the Minister of War, so it was easy for him to place his own people in the postal and military stations across the country.

Gao Qi became even more panicked as a result.

Because he could guess that Ha Yuansheng's secret report was most likely related to Zhang Zhao and him.

To protect his career, he came to Ma Qi's place.

Now that Fucha has become Empress, Ma Qi's status has naturally risen as well, and he has become the Empress's uncle.

And Ma Qi was Gao Qi's benefactor back then.

Therefore, in Gao Qi's view, only Ma Qi could save him.

"Please, Your Excellency, save me!"

Upon seeing Ma Qi, Gao Qi knelt down and tearfully recounted his grievances.

After hearing this, Ma Qi helped him up and said, "This matter is also difficult for me! I can only give you the evidence that Ortai tried to use me to murder Yue Zhongqi and implicate Zhang Tingyu. You can take this to see Ortai and ask him to plead with the master to keep your official position. At the same time, you can also ask Ortai to persuade the master to learn from the good policies of the Ming Dynasty and establish a crown prince as soon as possible to secure the country!"

Gao Qi slightly opened his eyes; he hadn't expected Ma Qi to ask him to do this.

But Gao Qi knew he wouldn't dare do it.

However, he agreed anyway, just to obtain evidence of Ortai's crimes.

After obtaining this evidence, Gao Qi met with Ortai and told him about it.

Upon hearing this, Ortai hurriedly came to see Hongli.

"Damn slave!"

Upon seeing Hongli, Ortai immediately bowed his head and begged for forgiveness, and told Hongli about the old factional struggle in which he had conspired with Ma Qi to murder Zhang Tingyu and Yue Zhongqi.

Hongli frowned upon hearing this.

This kind of factional strife in the court is what gives him the biggest headache.

But it is indeed difficult to eliminate.

Because there are no factions within the party, all sorts of strange things happen.

Many people will do anything for a few positions.

How to handle these matters is a true test for an emperor.

Killing them all would be clean, but it would also disrupt the normal operation of the imperial court.

Therefore, Hongli knew that he needed to assess the situation and be mindful of the methods and approaches, but he also couldn't be short-tempered or lack tolerance.

Hongli only asked Gao Qi, "Where is the evidence?"

Gao Qi then handed the evidence of the crime to Hongli.

Hongli handed the evidence to Li Yu without even looking at it, and then asked Gao Qi, "Where is the evidence?"

Gao Qi was taken aback.

"I'm asking you where the evidence is?"

Hongli asked again.

Gao Qi then realized what was happening, hurriedly knelt on the ground, sweat beading on his forehead, and kowtowed, saying, "Master, have mercy!"

Ortai was also greatly alarmed and stared at Hongli.

(End of this chapter)