My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 392 Even Emperor Qianlong had to be a tough guy, beheading people to make a list!

Hongli took the three secret memorials in his hands and waved them at the court officials below the steps.

The morning sunlight shone on the three swaying melodies, illuminating them with dappled light.

The Minister of Justice, Xiande, and the Commander-in-Chief, Li Xi, looked at the three particularly glaring secret memorials, their eyes momentarily filled with confusion.

The emperor's sudden and clear stance had truly surprised them.

Hongli put the three secret reports back on the table.

Then he leaned back and glanced at the princes and ministers who were participating in the court proceedings.

Seeing the surprised expressions on the faces of some princes and ministers, he slightly raised the corners of his mouth, but quickly suppressed it and resumed his solemn expression.

"For a subject, the most important thing is not to try to guess the emperor's intentions or be a petty person, but to be wholeheartedly devoted to the country and the people. This is true loyalty to the king!"

"Wang Shijun is undoubtedly a villain. In order to guess and cater to the emperor's wishes, he did not hesitate to abuse and harm the people, collude with the gentry, and deceive the emperor!"

"And those of you who speak up for Wang Shijun, aren't you just trying to figure me out, which is why you say these things to protect Wang Shijun? Otherwise, you wouldn't be here sophistrying for Wang Shijun when you can't produce any concrete evidence!"

After Hongli's stern reprimand, Xiande and Li Xi had no choice but to prostrate themselves on the ground, kowtowing and saying, "Your servants know their crimes!"

"Get up first."

Instead of punishing high-ranking officials for their words during court sessions, which would have effectively blocked his own channels of communication, Emperor Hongli made this remark first.

Xiande and Li Xi both stood up.

And then...

Hongli continued to express his opinion on Wang Shijun's excessive execution: "Of course, it is true that Wang Shijun has incurred the resentment of some powerful families because of his investigation into the hidden fields; but if he really has incurred the resentment of powerful families, then they should not remain silent and only let Cao Yishi speak out."

"in addition."

At this moment, Hongli stood up and looked down at the princes and ministers.

"No matter how you put it!"

Then, Hongli shouted sternly and stated with a stern face:

"Wang Shijun should not have treated the people like dirt, deceived the court and me, and turned the new policies into oppressive ones. It is no exaggeration to say that he harbored evil intentions and deliberately ruined the court's grand plan!"

The princes and ministers were all jolted awake, their expressions becoming even more serious.

"The draft decree shall first dismiss Wang Shijun from his post, arrest him, and bring him to the capital for severe investigation and prosecution; Tian Wenjing, who deceived the authorities earlier, shall also be dealt with."

Hongli said this.

"Please forgive me, Master!"

At this moment, Ma Lantai, the Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard, First-Class Marquis, and Minister of State Affairs, suddenly interrupted.

Hongli then stared at him: "Speak!"

Ma Lantai then prostrated himself on the ground, saying, "Tian Wenjing and Wang Shijun are both old ministers trusted by the Emperor Emeritus. Especially Tian Wenjing. If Your Majesty punishes these two severely, it will damage the harmony between father and son and harm the Emperor Emeritus's virtue!"

"Therefore, your humble servant suggests that Tian Wenjing and Wang Shijun not be severely punished!"

"I second the proposal!"

"My slave seconded the motion!"

Subsequently, several ministers also left the court.

Hongli's face darkened.

He had to admit that in officialdom, truly loyal ministers were few and far between; most officials had one or two cronies of their own.

Tian Wenjing and Wang Shijun were no exception.

Many of these former officials from the Yongzheng era also understood the principle that everyone prospers or suffers together.

Therefore, when it came to dealing with a few of them, they would still invoke the name of Emperor Yongzheng, using filial piety to demand that Hongli compromise and make concessions.

Hongli glanced at the crowd and asked, "Is there anyone else who thinks so?"

Hongli's words surprised all the princes and ministers.

At this moment, Ma Lantai's brows relaxed, and a subtle, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He understood that even the emperor couldn't disregard filial piety.

As former officials of the Yongzheng era, they need not worry too much about the emperor, who has suddenly changed his attitude, punishing them too harshly.

Like Li Xi, Xiande, and other former officials and associates of the Yongzheng Emperor, Ma Lantai did not expect that Hongli would investigate the facts and expose what Wang Shijun had done. It was not like the Yongzheng Emperor in his later years, who only asked about the achievements of the new policies and did not ask about their authenticity.

Now, he only hopes that this emperor, who actually pursues true justice, will be lenient towards them—the former officials who committed the crime of deceiving the emperor in Yongzheng's later years—out of respect for the retired emperor.

"It is precisely for the sake of filial piety that Wang Shijun and Tian Wenjing, who committed crimes of deceiving the emperor, should be severely punished!"

Prince Guo, Yunli, knew that as an elder of the imperial clan, he had to stand up and demonstrate the power of the imperial clan, and could not allow the officials to use the matter of filial piety to prevent Hongli from exercising his power.

Therefore, Yunli stepped forward and spoke, continuing to bow to Hongli, saying, "Your Majesty! Wang Shijun and Tian Wenjing concealed the truth from the Retired Emperor. If you do not punish these two on behalf of the Retired Emperor, you will undoubtedly be seen as unwilling to uphold the Retired Emperor's dignity, which would be unfilial!"

"Prince Guo is right!"

Yunlu immediately stepped forward and echoed Yunli's sentiments.

Fu Peng then stepped forward and said, "I second that! The ministers have no right, nor should they, use the retired emperor as a shield to teach the new master how to do things!"

"Ministers must always remember to follow the Emperor's etiquette!"

"How to conform to filial piety is also determined by the emperor!"

"Officials must not disrupt the established order by protecting their colleagues for the sake of the party!"

Hongli nodded slightly. He was gratified that the members of the imperial family who were involved in court affairs could work together and stand on his side at this time, preventing these officials who used Yongzheng as a shield from using filial piety to restrict their exercise of power.

This made him realize that the royal family was an indispensable force in checking and balancing the bureaucratic group.

Those members of the imperial clan who were wise should naturally know that standing with the emperor at this time and preventing officials from trampling on imperial laws and regulations to protect their cronies was the best way to revitalize the country.

of course!

Sometimes, members of the imperial family and officials would join forces to oppose the emperor.

That would undoubtedly be terrible and would exacerbate the infighting within the court.

Therefore, Hongli would seek to unite the imperial clan through struggle, thereby ensuring that only the imperial clan remained around him.

"What Prince Guo and Prince Ping said is very good!"

At this moment, Hongli praised, saying, "Leaving aside the punishment for those who deceived me, even if it were for the purpose of punishing those who deceived the Emperor Emeritus, out of filial piety, this matter cannot be left uninvestigated! It cannot be left unpunished!"

"Tian Wenjing and Wang Shijun should be arrested and brought to the Ministry of Justice in Beijing for trial. Tian Wenjing may be given a reduced sentence for his merits, but Wang Shijun should be sentenced to death."

Emperor Hongli made the final decision on this matter.

Grand Secretary Zhu Shi then submitted a memorial, saying, “Your Majesty, in the present day, many officials in the country use the empty name of land reclamation to actually harm the people. I request that the policy be updated and that the order for officials to measure and reclaim land be stopped, so as to adapt to the changing situation. We should wait until it is time to measure and reclaim land again before discussing it.”

Hongli understood perfectly what Zhu Shi meant.

Currently, there are too many officials who over-executive, and the emperor doesn't have many young officials he can trust.

Many of the governors and viceroys who held real power in the provinces were former officials of the Yongzheng Emperor.

Moreover, many of these governors and viceroys had already become corrupt or deliberately degenerate due to the decline of Yongzheng's energy in his later years and the fact that he had been in the provinces for too long. They were no longer the ambitious officials who needed to prove themselves.

Therefore, the new emperor should not be impatient for quick results or try to accomplish new things by relying on the old guard; he should first exercise restraint.

This is similar to pulling back your fist before throwing a new punch.

"allow!"

"An imperial edict was issued to halt the surveying of fields and the reclamation of wasteland."

"Governors and viceroys shall no longer use this as a performance evaluation method for officials who are close to the people."

Emperor Hongli then adopted Zhu Shi's suggestion.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

After discussing a few other matters, Hongli announced the adjournment of the court.

However, shortly after Hongli left the court, he received a memorial from the Grand Council, in which Prince Ning, Hongjiao, impeached Hongchun.

"Hongjiao reported that Hongjing told him that Hongchun had been bribed by Cao Yishi and, before the abdication of the Emperor Emeritus, had spoken to the Emperor Emeritus, which enabled Cao Yishi to be transferred from the position of Attendant Censor to the position of Censor in Shandong?"

"Did Hongjiao already know about Cao Yishi's impeachment of Wang Shijun before he suddenly mentioned Cao Yishi at this time?"

"If so, how did he know about this beforehand? I only made Cao Yishi's memorial impeaching Wang Shijun public during today's court session!"

Hongli frowned at this and inquired about Yunli and Zhang Tingyu, the rotating Grand Councilors who had been summoned to the Hall of Diligent Governance and Appreciation of the Worthy.

The more Hongli asked, the sterner his tone became.

Because this involves a leak of secrets, a serious leak of secrets!
At the same time, it also involves the continued infighting and mutual attacks among members of the royal family.

"Cao Yishi leaked the secret himself."

“He told everyone he met that he had submitted a secret memorial impeaching Wang Shijun.”

Zhang Tingyu then replied.

Hongli was stunned after hearing this.

Then, Hongli frowned and looked at Zhang Tingyu, looking completely puzzled: "Why did he do this?"

"If a ruler is not discreet, he will lose his ministers; if a minister is not discreet, he will lose his life!"

"Do you think he wouldn't understand this principle?!"

Hongli gritted his teeth. "He was probably afraid that Your Majesty would side with Wang Shijun. After all, Wang Shijun has always presented himself as a capable minister in front of the emperor. So he spread the word among the court and the public first, hoping to win the sympathy of the scholars who dislike Wang Shijun for his false reporting and burdening the people."

"It can be said that what he wanted was to gain a reputation for not being afraid of powerful officials, even if it meant dying for it."

Yunli replied.

Hongli stared at Xiang Yunli: "So, he's afraid I'm not upright enough?"

"Exactly!"

"Because he himself was not a very honest person."

After Yunli answered, he added, "Therefore, Hongjiao must also know about Cao Yishi's matter, and took the opportunity to reveal Cao Yishi's contact with Hongchun before the Emperor Emeritus abdicated, with the aim of avenging Hongxi! Hongjiao and Hongxi have always had a good relationship!"

"The bureaucrats of the world are all such a headache!"

"These members of the royal family are the same; they're a real headache!"

Hongli said this in an annoyed tone, and then let out a long sigh.

"Since Cao Yishi offered bribes first and then leaked information, he should be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for punishment!"

"As for Hongjiao, Hongjing, and Hongchun, all of them were reprimanded by imperial decree. Not only did they not try to get their fathers and brothers released after they were imprisoned, but they also took pleasure in it and stirred up trouble!"

"They are unfilial and disrespectful to their elders, ostracizing each other and failing to do good! They are not the way to maintain harmony among relatives and clans, which is beneficial to the long-term stability and peace of the nation!"

After pondering for a moment, Hongli looked up at Yunli and the other Grand Councilors and presented his decree on how to handle the situation.

Needless to say, Cao Yishi was not expected. What the Grand Councilors, including Yunli, did not expect was that Hongli would demand that Hongjiao, Hongjing, and Hongchun be reprimanded together, saying that they were unfilial and disrespectful to their brothers, and even elevating the importance of kinship and harmony to the long-term stability of the country.

While the others were fine, Yunli couldn't help but tear up after hearing this.

As an elder member of the clan, he naturally hoped that the next generation of the clan could live in harmony.

"His Majesty is indeed exceptionally insightful. He understands the importance of harmony within the imperial clan and knows how to proceed step by step. Therefore, after demanding an investigation into the reasons for the Fourteenth Prince's confinement, he has now reprimanded the younger generation, intending to show that he hopes the imperial clan can live in harmony."

That evening, Yunli met Yunlu and mentioned the matter to him.

After hearing this, Yunlu nodded: "In that case, we should submit a memorial to plead for the Fourteenth Brother, requesting that his confinement be lifted and his title restored."

"That is the proper way, but this is a matter that can only be decided by the Emperor himself; neither the imperial family nor the ministers can make the decision directly."

Yunli said.

Yunlu was quite surprised upon hearing this: "Why is that?"

"Whether it's members of the imperial family or ministers, pleading for the Fourteenth Prince and other members of the imperial family who have committed crimes is suspected of sowing discord between the emperor and his sons!"

"The only thing we members of the imperial clan can do is to request an imperial decree to resign our position as military advisors, so that the emperor can more easily make decisions on his own without being hindered by us members of the imperial clan."

"After all, if we were in the Grand Council, and the Emperor were to show leniency to a member of the imperial clan who had committed a crime, the ministers would not need to speak up for Fourth Brother because the relationship between the Emperor and his subjects was already established. As members of the imperial clan, how could we not speak up for Fourth Brother because he was the elder of the imperial family, and ask the Emperor to consult Fourth Brother first?"

After Yunli said this, Yunlu nodded: "The Emperor is now governing with integrity and fairness, combining leniency and severity, and he also emphasizes subtle and pervasive influence. We, as his uncles, should not hinder him too much, but rather let him perform his duties better."

"Exactly!"

"There's no need to be like the Eighth Brother back then, who initially tried to hinder the Fourth Brother."

Yunli said.

"Seventeenth Brother is right."

"I plan to submit my resignation from the Military Affairs Office tomorrow."

"me too."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

The next day, Hongli received memorials from Yunli and Yunlu requesting to resign from their positions in the Grand Council.

This greatly surprised Hongli.

He wouldn't have been able to expel the two from the Grand Council unless they had resigned voluntarily.

After all, the two were imperial uncles.

After receiving the memorial, Hongli summoned the two men and asked them why they were unwilling to continue assisting him in the Grand Council.

Yunli naturally claimed that he was physically weak and could not bear too much political responsibility. Moreover, the country was at peace and there were no major internal or external affairs. The Miao people had a reliable minister to pacify them, so he requested permission not to concurrently serve in the Grand Council.

Yunlu argued that his talents were limited and he was not suited to work in the Grand Council, as staying there would only make things worse.

Hongli agreed upon hearing this, and wrote in imperial edict, "I will grant your request and bestow upon each of you 20,000 taels of silver as a token of my appreciation for your hard work." This was a subtle way of expressing his satisfaction with the two men's voluntary resignation from their positions in the Grand Council.

When Fu Peng saw that Yunli and Yunlu had voluntarily resigned from their positions in the Grand Council and received a reward for it, he also wisely requested to resign from his position in the Grand Council, citing the recurrence of injuries sustained during the battle against the Dzungar Khanate and the defense of Kobdo.

Emperor Qianlong still granted the request with a vermilion edict and bestowed upon him 10,000 taels of silver as a reward for his hard work.

In this way, the Grand Council, as the central authority, would no longer have any members of the imperial family.

Imperial power was undoubtedly strengthened as a result.

Because this way, Hongli no longer needed to show consideration for a certain Grand Councilor just because they were a member of the imperial family.

The Grand Councilors who participated in decision-making at the central level were all lackeys or even lower-ranking officials who had passed the imperial examinations.

However, members of the imperial family still held other positions outside of the Grand Council in order to provide checks and balances and supervision.

However, Zhu Shi, an official in the Grand Council, was different; he also held the position of the emperor's tutor.

Fortunately, Zhu Shi is now old and ailing, and is often unable to participate in the Grand Council meetings. Therefore, Hongli allowed him to only assist the Grand Council members, giving him more freedom, and to come to the Grand Council when he was able to.

More than a month later, Wang Shijun was escorted to the capital.

The three judicial departments were therefore ordered to conduct a joint trial of Wang Shijun.

Wang Shijun was initially quite surprised by the result of being taken to the capital.

But now that he has arrived in the capital, he has accepted reality and figured out the reasons along the way, realizing that he and his superiors have been tricked by Hongli.

to this end.

During his interrogation, Wang Shijun refused to answer questions directly and only requested an audience with the emperor.

Minister of Justice Li Wei glanced at Minister Man Xiande, and seeing that he remained silent, said coldly, "His Majesty is not someone you can see as easily as you wish!"

"You, Li Wei, are nothing but a person who came from a humble background. What right do you have to judge me? Only the Emperor can judge me!"

"I refuse to answer any questions without seeing the Emperor!"

Wang Shijun retorted to Li Wei's reply.

Since Wang Shijun was the governor-general, Li Wei and the other officials in charge of the three judicial departments could not directly use torture, so they reported it to Hongli.

"Considering that he is a former official employed by the retired emperor, I will grant his request and listen to his defense."

Hongli responded with a remark, and at the Qin Zheng Gate, he chose to personally interrogate Wang Shijun, still accompanied by the heads of the three judicial departments.

When Hongli met Wang Shijun, he saw that Wang had a broad face, narrow eyes, dark skin, and an air of solemnity. He guessed that this was because Wang had been a governor who ruled the country for too long.

Hongli first asked in a cold voice, "Speak, why do you want to see me?"

"Your Majesty, I would like to inform you that there is a growing trend of reversing verdicts in the local areas, with people believing that all memorials should negate the policies of the retired emperor."

"That's how things are with the Miao people."

"Now, the policies I have implemented in Shandong and Henan are the same; some people even say that any policy that overturns the Emperor Emeritus's policies is a good proposal, and when this is spread throughout the land, everyone is shocked!"

Wang Shijun replied in a deep voice.

Hongli was about to show leniency to the criminal members of the imperial family, but Wang Shijun's words naturally stopped him from doing so, as he was dissatisfied with Wang Shijun's correction of Yongzheng's reforms.

This made Hongli blush on the spot: "I think you are not criticizing the ministers for overturning the verdict, but criticizing me for overturning the verdict."

"Your Majesty, I dare not! But this is indeed not in the best interest of Your Majesty's filial piety. Has Your Majesty considered how to face the Retired Emperor?"

Wang Shijun kowtowed and asked.

"presumptuous!"

Snapped!
Hongli slammed his hand on the table and stood up, shouting, "I have been taught by the court since childhood, and my actions have always been in accordance with the wishes of the Emperor Emeritus. On the contrary, it is you who are constantly stirring up trouble here!"

"How dare you sow discord between me and the Emperor Emeritus here!"

At this point, Hongli solemnly declared, "In my opinion, such a heinous villain need no further discussion. Drag him out and execute him!"

"The Emperor Emeritus was a man of iron will and a tough guy, and so am I!"

Xiande, Li Wei, and the other two chief judicial officers all raised their heads at this moment.

Hongli coldly asked, "Are you all going to plead for this traitor? Anyone who pleads for him shall accept the death penalty!"

Upon hearing this, Li Wei first cupped his hands and said, "Your subject dares not!"

"This servant deserves to die!"

But then, Xiande suddenly stepped forward, knelt before Hongli, and said something while biting his cheeks so hard they were bulging.

Hongli looked at him in astonishment, while clenching his fists.

"Then I will grant your wish!"

then.

Hongli flicked his sleeves, turned and left: "Remove Xiande's official hat and escort him to the execution ground!"

“If we trace his lineage back three generations, we can see that his family, which was once a family of high-ranking officials, became traitors who manipulated the emperor through the imperial examinations. There must be a reason for this!”

(End of this chapter)