My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 388: Granting favor to the Empress's family, bestowing upon them the title of Grand Tutor, and bestowing upon them Han-style clothing and hats!
Hongli looked coldly at Gao Qi, his eyes sharp: "If there's no evidence, then why are you saying these things in front of me?"

“In the past, when I was attending to the ailing Emperor Emeritus, I heard many imperial edicts concerning you. The Emperor Emeritus believed that you were incompetent and neglected your duties. Now it seems that you have devoted all your energy to personal gain and deception!”

"Now that I have just ascended the throne, how can I allow someone as incompetent and selfish as you to set an example and cause delays in official business?"

"Send word to the Grand Council that Gao Qi be relieved of his post, pending further imperial decree! Ortai shall temporarily take charge of the affairs of the Ministry of War."

Hongli also gave Gao Qi a stern lecture, and even brought out the retired emperor.

of course!

Gao Qi naturally cannot seek confirmation from the retired emperor now.

Because the retired emperor had completely relinquished power and had no intention of meeting with foreign officials.

Then, Hongli announced the imperial edict to punish Gao Qi.

Gao Qi had no choice but to accept the decree.

Ortai also received the decree.

When the two left Hongli's place, they both remained silent.

After leaving, Gao Qi glanced in the direction of Changchun Immortal Hall.

Because he began to miss the Yongzheng era.

After all, although Emperor Yongzheng was strict and harsh, he at least respected the facts and wouldn't be so fickle.

After the two left, Hongli finally relaxed and looked at the evidence that Gao Qi had handed him regarding Ortai's alleged murder of Yue Zhongqi.

He did not intend to become emperor in the same way that Gao Qi and other bureaucrats did, but would always pay attention to and keep in control of the course of unexpected events created by some bureaucrats.

Gao Qi's act of threatening Ortai with evidence of Ortai's plot to murder Yue Zhongqi was essentially a violation of the rules from the outset. When Hongli needed to replace him as Minister of War with Yue Zhongqi, he dared to threaten Ortai, so Hongli could naturally also disregard the rules.

Moreover, Hongli was not Yongzheng. He did not follow the rules, had no psychological pressure, and would not doubt whether what he was doing was upright.

Because he is not a perfectionist.

of course!

It was not without significance that Hongli obtained this evidence of his crimes.

This is a powerful tool that he can use to deal with Ortai at any time.

If Ortai doesn't behave himself in the future...

Hongli himself was not a perfectionist, so he wouldn't naively believe that there really are perfect people in the world.

As the saying goes, the virtuous should be employed when the time is right, and the unvirtuous should be dismissed.

So, although he is very protective of Ortai now, it's not that he admires Ortai, but that he needs to protect Ortai right now.

But even after seeing the evidence, Hongli still frowned.

Because this evidence involves Maqi!

Hongli quickly guessed the complicated and unpredictable events behind this evidence.

Therefore, Hongli summoned Gao Qi again and asked him directly, "Did Ma Qi say anything to you?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Qi's eyes darted around, and his yellowed fingers, which were resting on the ground, began to tremble slightly.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Grand Secretary hopes that you will establish a Crown Prince as soon as possible."

Hongli frowned: "Did Ma Qi really say that?"

Gao Qi opened his eyes wide again.

Hongli suddenly turned around and looked at Hanlin official Kaitai: "There's no need to record the questions asked during this audience!"

"Whoo!"

Gao Qi's forehead was gradually beaded with sweat as he said, "I did say that."

Hongli nodded, then waved his hand: "You may leave."

Gao Qi then got up to take his leave, but his face was visibly pale.

"Master, what's wrong with you?"

When Gao Qi returned home, he looked ashen-faced. His wife, Madam Min, asked him a question upon seeing this.

"I'm afraid I'll have to find a way to protect your safety and wealth." Gao Qi said with a slight grin, and that night, he chose to sleep alone.

But the next day.

The Gao family then submitted a memorial to the imperial court, stating that Gao Qi had died suddenly at home the previous night.

After seeing this document, Hongli nodded slightly and said to the Grand Councilors, "He is a wise man. Grant him the title of Minister and a funeral for him."

"Whoo!"

Then, Hongli placed his hands on the imperial desk and straightened up.

suddenly!

A fragrant aroma of osmanthus wafted over, reminding Hongli that the Mid-Autumn Festival of the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign was approaching.

He hoped that on the Mid-Autumn Festival, a day of family reunion, relatives and even the emperor and his ministers could live in harmony and not truly distrust each other.

The various ruthless methods he used during this period were merely to instill a sense of awe in everyone, so that they would remain respectful and obedient.

But he knew that if he, as the emperor, wanted to achieve this, he would have to put in a lot of effort.

Whether it was the fact that most officials only wanted to give up on the reform of local chieftains and even wanted to use it to bring down Ortai, or Gao Qi wanted to keep his position as Minister of War and refused to comply with the emperor's will, these were all the measures he took.

This includes the current controversy surrounding the selection of the crown prince following the establishment of the empress.

Although Hongli had already made it clear to the Grand Councilors that he would establish an heir, he would do so secretly.

However, it was still difficult to avoid the fact that some ministers who were overly concerned with maintaining stability in the court had the idea of ​​establishing a crown prince and attempted to change the emperor's will.

Even Ma Qi, who is now the Empress's uncle, is more concerned about his grand-nephew becoming the Crown Prince as soon as possible, and has forgotten his past support for the Eighth Prince in his struggle against the Crown Prince.

To minimize the voices advocating for the establishment of an heir apparent, Hongli knew he had to start with the Empress's uncle.

"After I ascended the throne, the six palaces became even more harmonious. This is largely due to the Empress's kindness and diligence in the inner palace. Therefore, I wish to extend this favor to the Empress's family. Grand Secretary Ma Qi is her uncle. He has served two dynasties and made many contributions to the government. I propose to appoint him as Grand Tutor."

"Whoo!"

The Grand Councilors responded without any surprise.

It was undoubtedly a normal move to bestow favors upon the empress's family after she was established as empress.

But what the Grand Councilors didn't expect was that that very night, Hongli would personally select three sets of magnificent Han Chinese clothing from the Imperial Household Department and give them to the chief eunuch Chen Fu: "Personally deliver these three sets of Han Chinese clothing to the Grand Tutor and quietly tell him that I personally selected them. He cannot only follow Han etiquette when he is thinking about the matter of establishing an heir!"

"Whoo!"

Chen Fu's eyes widened slightly, clearly surprised by Hongli's favor, but he didn't dare to ask any questions. He simply accepted the Han Chinese clothing and went to the Fucha family.

Ma Qi soon saw the three sets of Han Chinese clothing sent by Chen Fu, and then heard Hongli's imperial edict.

This caused Ma Qi's old face to turn a deep purplish-red, and he began to pant heavily.

He understood, of course, that Hongli was reminding him that if he wanted to support Sinicization, he should support full Sinicization, and not just pick out Han Chinese systems that were beneficial to his own nobles and demand that the emperor follow them.

Pfft!

Immediately afterwards, Ma Qi suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

He quickly collapsed to the ground.

Ma Qi's nephews and nieces were all horrified when they saw this.

They didn't know why, after Chen Fu whispered a few words to Ma Qi, their elder from the Fucha family suddenly vomited blood and fainted.

Chen Fu was no longer so shocked, but he became more mindful of the boundaries between himself, a mere palace official, and these relatives of the emperor.

Therefore, Chen Fu did not say much, but instructed Ma Qi's nephews and nieces to help Ma Qi up quickly. He did not ask how Ma Qi was, but silently left the Fucha family.

Fu Heng, who was already old and had returned to the Fucha family, was the first to react and quickly helped Ma Qi up: "Uncle!"

Fucha Fuqing also realized what was happening and patted Fuheng on the shoulder: "Fuheng, go and fetch the imperial physician first."

Fuheng nodded and was about to leave when Ma Qi, who was being helped to sit on the ground by Fucha Fuqing, suddenly reached out and called out, "Wait!"

Fu Heng had no choice but to turn around.

"Remember this: from now on, our Fucha family can only achieve great deeds and establish merits; we must not attempt to change the political situation or try to influence the Emperor's mind!"

"If you're a relative of the mother-in-law, then be a good relative of the mother-in-law!"

(End of this chapter)