My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 391 Making Good Use of the Secret Reporting System: Qianlong's Thunderous Strike!
Hongli took the memorial handed to him by Yunli and walked around on the carpet while reading it.

The Grand Councilors all kept their heads down, their bodies turning in sync with the movement of Hongli's feet.

This memorial was submitted by Cao Yishi, the Supervising Censor of Shandong Province.

At this moment, Zhu Shi, the co-minister of the Grand Council, also bowed and reported, "Cao Yishi is my student."

Hongli nodded.

A short while later, Hongli walked to a table with a plate of pastries, picked up a piece of osmanthus cake, and was about to put it in his mouth when he suddenly stopped because he saw the last word.

What are your thoughts on this?

Then, Hongli asked this question.

Yunli replied first: "Cao Yishi is an imperial censor, and he certainly has the right to speak on matters based on hearsay, but we cannot arrest a high-ranking official of the court based solely on his one-sided account! Listening to both sides will lead to clarity, while listening to only one side will lead to obscurity. We should first try to find out the truth."

"As Seventeenth Brother said, it's best to get to the bottom of this."

Yunlu then echoed this sentiment.

Ortai spoke up before Zhang Tingyu could, saying, "Wang Shijun is a governor who came from a scholarly background. Such an official is different from Tian Wenjing and would be highly regarded by the literati. Therefore, it is not advisable to openly send people to investigate him, lest we alert him and give him time and opportunity to collude with local gentry to cover up the truth."

Zhang Tingyu echoed, "Just as E Zhongtang said! Coincidentally, Li Wei is about to go to the capital to serve as the Minister of Justice, and Fu De, the Governor of Henan, is about to be transferred to Jiangsu. A new governor should be appointed. We can send a reliable official to serve as the Governor of Henan and secretly investigate this matter."

"very good!"

Who do you think is the most suitable candidate?

Hongli affirmed Zhang Tingyu's suggestion and then inquired about the other Grand Councilors.

Ortai then suggested, "This servant recommends Rongshou, the Prefect of Fengtian Prefecture, as suitable."

Hongli did not respond, but looked at Fu'erdan: "Who do you think is suitable?"

"This servant believes that Wu Yingfen, the governor of Hubei, is suitable."

Fu Erdan then replied.

Hongli then nodded: "Wu Yingfen is indeed more suitable. He comes from a scholarly background, and if Cao Yishi's report is true, it will not arouse the suspicion of Wang Shijun, who also comes from a scholarly background."

"Your master is wise!"

Fu Erdan replied.

Emperor Hongli then made the final decision: "Issue an imperial edict to appoint Wu Yingfen as the governor of Henan."

"According to the order!"

Hongli then sent a secret report to Yue Zhongqi, instructing him to secretly investigate whether Cao Yishi's report about Wang Shijun was true during his journey to the capital.

Because even Emperor Hongli did not completely trust the Grand Councilors.

This doesn't mean that Hongli truly believed these Grand Councilors lacked genuine talent; rather, as an emperor, he needed to maintain a constant state of skepticism.

Therefore, Hongli secretly sent Yue Zhongqi, a military general, to investigate as well, which served as an additional source of information.

The biggest taboo in managing a vast empire is having too few sources of information, which leads to information blockage.

However, Wu Yingfen's transfer to the position of Governor of Henan did not alert Wang Shijun.

He was now addressing local officials, including the Governor of Henan, Fude, saying, "This year's performance evaluation will be the same as in previous years, based on who reported the amount of reclaimed land! Because I have received definite information that the new master is also diligent and strict in governing, and will not tolerate any laziness or inaction from you or me!"

"Whoo!"

Wang Shijun then sat down and laughed, took a sip of tea, and said, "But you should also remember to continue to warn the gentry in your respective territories not to speak recklessly or post random notices. Sometimes, playing dumb is the real skill, and it will benefit everyone!"

Fu De then laughed and said, "The governor is right! However, please rest assured, the gentry are all very clever. Why would they do something that would lose money? They are all praising you, saying that you are the greatest wise minister of all time!"

Wang Shijun smiled and said, "It's good that you know what's good for you!"

"Chief, I've heard you're getting a promotion?"

Fu De then asked about Wang Shijun. The governor-general and the provincial governor were not superior and subordinate to each other, but rather they were both imperial envoys dispatched by the central government to supervise each other.

Therefore, Fude did not address himself as a subordinate in front of Wang Shijun, but because his power was not as great as that of the governor, he still addressed Wang Shijun as "you" (formal).

Upon hearing this, Wang Shijun's smile vanished, and he looked at Fude: "Really? Where did you hear that, Your Excellency?"

"Naturally, it was my relatives and friends in the capital who said that the current emperor also knows that you are a capable official, just like Li Wei."

"Now that even Li Wei has been transferred to the capital to serve as the Minister of Justice, you will also be promoted to the capital sooner or later."

Ford replied with a smile.

Wang Shijun simply smiled and said, "As long as you report enough land reclamation figures, I won't be the only one getting promoted! For example, you, Fu Zhongcheng, aren't you about to become the governor of that gentle and wealthy Jiangnan region?"

"I'll understand later!"

Fu De smiled slightly at this moment.

At this moment, the censor Cao Yishi stepped forward and said, "But if this continues, I'm afraid it will only make the taxes in Shandong and Henan heavier, and more people will be displaced. After all, you and I both know that there are not enough wastelands to cultivate."

"Cao Yishi!"

Wang Shijun suddenly slammed his teacup down on the table: "Is this something you should be worried about? You should be worried about whether you've reported enough, and whether the master will be dissatisfied! As for the people, what difference does it make where they live?"

Cao Yishi took a deep breath, but did not argue. He simply bowed and said, "Yes!"

Wang Shijun, with a gloomy expression, picked up his teacup again, took a sip, and said, "The new governor of Henan, Lord Wu, is about to take office, and Lord Yue, who is going to the capital to take up his post, will also pass through our Henan and Shandong provinces. The grain transport commissioner must make preparations for receiving him!"

"Whoo!"

The grain transport officials from Henan and Shandong also responded at this moment.

After Wu Yingfen and Yue Zhongqi arrived in Henan and Shandong, they verbally agreed to pretend to be oblivious because of the hospitality and gifts they received from the local governments.

However, both of them still sent secret reports to Hongli, conveying the facts about the Henan and Shandong regions.

However, to Hongli's surprise, he first received a secret memorial from Fude impeaching Wang Shijun, stating that Wang Shijun had over-reported land reclamation and burdened the people with excessive taxes during his tenure as governor of Henan, and that there were many hidden land plots in Henan Province, requesting a special imperial edict to exempt them all.

After receiving the memorial, Hongli pondered it for half a day and finally decided not to make a fuss. Only after receiving the secret memorials from Yue Zhongqi and Wu Yingfen did he issue an edict to summon Daqi and discuss the matter during his audience with the emperor.

"Cao Yishi impeached Wang Shijun for falsely reporting the amount of reclaimed land, causing harm to the people and deceiving the emperor. Today, let's discuss this in the court: did Wang Shijun actually commit fraud and deceive the people?"

However, when he was listening to the emperor's instructions, Hongli only presented Cao Yishi's memorial impeaching Wang Shijun.

Minister of Justice Xiande stepped forward first: "Your Majesty, Wang Shijun would never engage in deception, harm the people, or deceive the emperor. He has only incurred the resentment of the literati! Cao Yishi, seeking fame and fortune, deliberately attacks officials who are diligent in their duties to curry favor with the gentry. His intentions are sinister. Please investigate thoroughly!"

“Wang Shijun’s investigations are rigorous, and his land surveys and reclamation are overly meticulous, which is why he is not tolerated by local officials and gentry. We beg Your Majesty to see the truth!”

Li Xi, the commander of the Han Army of the Plain Red Banner, echoed this sentiment.

Grand Secretary Zhu Shi then argued forcefully, saying, "But it is clear that the capital has seen a large increase in refugees from Shandong and Henan. I also saw what Cao Yishi said on my way to the capital. The tax collection in Shandong and Henan is even more severe than in neighboring provinces. Wang Shijun can hardly be said to be diligent in serving the country. On the contrary, he is willing to damage the virtue of the retired emperor for his own career advancement, and now he is even going to damage the virtue of the emperor!"

"Why should Mr. Zhu defend his students? Who can be sure that those refugees came to the capital to seek food because they had nowhere else to go? Isn't it because the population is growing and they have no choice but to come to the capital to make a living?"

"As for the excessive collection of taxes, it's just that Wang Shijun is more proactive in pursuing taxes that wealthy households have concealed."

Minister of Justice Xiande smiled coldly. He was certain that the new emperor would have the same governing style as Yongzheng, and would be more concerned about whether local governors would severely crack down on powerful gentry. So he asked Zhu Shi a question at this moment.

Zhu Shi couldn't help but blush.

Li Xi couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He hadn't expected Zhu Shi to stand up and do the opposite of the emperor's original intention. He actually cared about the common people like that fool Cao Yishi.

In his view, what is more important than conforming to the emperor's will when dealing with ordinary people?
As for the problem that this resulted in local gentry benefiting from land annexation in order to cater to the emperor's preference for harshness and quick success, it was not important at all in the face of satisfying the emperor. As powerful people, who really wanted to suppress land annexation?

However, he clearly misunderstood Hongli.

Hongli was unwilling to seek unity through compromise, but that did not mean he was willing to be used as a pawn in power struggles and to be treated like a fool.

Therefore, Hongli spoke up at this moment: "It is indeed true that the number of refugees in the capital has increased, and it is also true that Wang Shijun falsely reported the burden on the people and deceived the emperor, because I have received three secret memorials here, all of which impeach Wang Shijun!"

(End of this chapter)