My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 399: The reign title is officially changed, and the Qianlong reign begins with diligent governance!
After Hongli said that, Yue Zhongqi suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

At the same time, he was also glad that he hadn't lied, and deliberately acted like an honest official from a military background.

Hongli then crossed his hands in front of his abdomen and continued to ask Yue Zhongqi with a smile, "So who took your money and who didn't?"

"Only Zhang Zhongtang did not accept it."

Yue Zhongqi's answer caused Hongli's smile to freeze instantly.

It was common practice in officialdom for officials outside the capital and newly reinstated officials to pay homage to guests and give money.

Because in the Qing Dynasty, all officials could submit secret memorials directly to the emperor, and no single official could complete many tasks on their own.

Therefore, all officials in the world have the legitimate right to harm other officials.

Naturally, every bureaucrat needs to be polite to other bureaucrats on the surface, send gifts in advance, and get acquainted with them.

Excluding dissidents should not be done openly.

Especially bureaucrats in key central positions.

As the emperor, Hongli had to tacitly approve of this situation where officials outwardly treated each other harmoniously and exchanged gifts.

He simply asked that individual bureaucrats not hide anything from him and to be absolutely loyal.

Especially officials like Yue Zhongqi.

Therefore, he had the people from the Sticky Rod Office keep an eye on Yue Zhongqi's visits and gift-giving yesterday, and also to give Yue Zhongqi a little shock.

Yue Zhongqi's performance just now made Hongli naturally willing to believe his answer.

Ortai did indeed accept Yue Zhongqi's money to show that he no longer intended to be Yue Zhongqi's enemy, but was willing to get along well with Yue Zhongqi, who had become the Minister of War.

Zhang Tingyu's refusal of Yue Zhongqi's money was to avoid suspicion and to show that he had not formed a faction with Yue Zhongqi. His previous recommendation of Yue Zhongqi and his speaking up for Yue Zhongqi were purely for public good, not for personal gain, and certainly not because Yue Zhongqi was Han Chinese.

It can be said that both Ortai and Zhang Tingyu made their respective choices that most satisfied the emperor.

Because Yue Zhongqi had shown sufficient loyalty, Hongli continued with a smile and asked, "Having just taken office as an official in the capital, you have already spent tens of thousands of taels of silver! Have you borrowed any?"

"There is a loan of nine thousand taels."

Yue Zhongqi replied.

Hongli nodded, then ordered: "Give my soldiers 10,000 taels of silver from the Imperial Household Department to settle their accounts, and also grant them the Yuanmingyuan and the Forbidden City the privilege of riding horses!"

When Yue Zhongqi was impeached by Zhang Guangsi, he was also accused of embezzling military funds, and was fined a considerable amount of silver as a result.

Although this time Yue Zhongqi was not fined as heavily as he was in the past, with a penalty of 700,000 taels of silver, his financial situation still deteriorated significantly.

Emperor Qianlong bestowed upon him 10,000 taels of silver for financial support, which was a great favor to him and relieved his immediate financial crisis, allowing him to focus more on his official duties without being distracted by family financial matters.

Being able to ride horses in the Yuanmingyuan and the Forbidden City was naturally a great privilege bestowed by the emperor upon a veteran general like him who was over fifty years old.

therefore!

When Hongli suddenly gave this order, Yue Zhongqi's eyes widened, and he kowtowed again to express his gratitude.

Hongli smiled slightly and dismissed Yue Zhongqi, saying, "The affairs of the Ministry of War are of utmost importance and require our utmost attention. Therefore, we will submit a memorial in person if there are any matters to report in the future."

"We will strictly follow the sacred teachings!"

"Your servant kneels in greeting!"

However, after Yue Zhongqi stepped back and rode his horse out of the garden gate, he did not rush to leave Yuanmingyuan. Instead, he couldn't help but look back at the main gate of Yuanmingyuan.

Then, Yue Zhongqi couldn't help but smile.

When Yue Zhongqi's cousin Yue Zhonghuang, who served as a guard at the Qianqing Gate, saw him like this outside the garden, he couldn't help but ask, "How did your audience with the Emperor go, elder brother?"

"I feel even more strongly that the current master's power and influence are preordained, inspiring both respect and awe!"

Yue Zhongqi then rode off first.

Yue Zhonghuang also rode over, but was even more surprised by Yue Zhongqi's words: "Brother, were you rewarded with riding a horse in the Yuanmingyuan?"

"And there's horseback riding in the Forbidden City."

Yue Zhongqi replied with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Yue Zhonghuang was also happy for Yue Zhongqi: "Our master really values ​​our elder brother!"

Then, Yue Zhongqi continued, "But why does elder brother also feel that the master is even more formidable because of this?"

"Nature is awe-inspiring!"

"Who wouldn't fear a wise and all-knowing ruler who can deceive no one?"

"You must be extremely careful while serving in the palace, and you must not break the rules!"

"Our master is even more shrewd than the Emperor Emeritus. You must not underestimate him just because he treats our Yue family so well!"

"Remember?"

Yue Zhongqi then gave Yue Zhonghuang some advice. However, Yue Zhongqi noticed that Yue Zhonghuang still looked completely bewildered, so he could only sigh and say, "Never mind, when you reach my position, you will understand the true power of our current master."

After meeting Yue Zhongqi, Hongli began to read the memorials.

There were still many memorials to the throne.

They're available from various channels.

Hongli asked Cao Lu to light incense to help him stay alert and to delay his dinner by 35 minutes.

He planned to approve it a little longer.

It was unacceptable for the emperor of the Qing Dynasty to be lazy in governing.

After all, with great power comes great responsibility.

If he doesn't approve more today, there will be even more unresolved government affairs piling up later.

If he were to hold court at the palace gates, he would have fewer opportunities to discuss military and political affairs with princes and ministers, which would make him appear as an emperor who was not diligent in his duties.

Hongli, who had no intention of slacking off, naturally did not want the princes and ministers to think that he was not diligent enough, and thus also to slack off in military and political affairs.

As Hongli read the memorials, he reached his hand to the charcoal stove, feeling the warmth of the fire reaching his palm.

After lighting the incense, Cao Lu brewed some hot tea and stood quietly to the side, watching intently as the young emperor focused on reviewing the memorials.

Jin Yuchai kept grinding ink to prevent it from solidifying, so that the young emperor could use a vermilion brush to draft his corrections on paper during breaks from reading the memorials.

The hot tea is West Lake Longjing.

Unlike Emperor Yongzheng, who preferred Pu'er tea, Emperor Hongli preferred Longjing tea.

The aroma of tea had already spread before Hongli, and the cinnabar ink made from safflower had become increasingly thick.

After reading a memorial, Hongli picked up a vermilion brush first.

Jin Yuchai saw this and brought out a piece of paper.

The paper was pure white and flawless, reserved for imperial use.

But when Hongli was about to write, he stopped writing and did not put down a single word.

Because, though his stroke of the pen may seem effortless, it carries the weight of a divine edict that will determine the fate of many.

Therefore, Hongli had to be cautious.

Jin Yufeng and Cao Lu noticed Hongli's serious demeanor and understood the situation, which made them even more respectful towards him.

But Hongli didn't write a single word. After a long while, he wrote only three words on the memorial: "Understood."

It means: I have read it, but I will not reply.

This was something that both Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Yongzheng had taught him: in certain matters, especially when there was mutual accusation, one should not easily express one's imperial stance, but rather use this "read but not reply" method more often.

Hongli (Emperor Qianlong) still likes to use it this way now.

For some memorials, Emperor Qianlong would not even issue a direct imperial edict, but he would read them first and then have a face-to-face meeting with the person who submitted the memorial.

These ministers are called Grand Councilors.

Emperor Hongli would also read through the memorials of the Grand Councilors the day before.

This meant that when the Grand Councilors presented some urgent matters the next day, he was not completely unprepared.

"This servant requests that all people in the world avoid using the emperor's name. At the same time, this servant also requests that all candidates participating in the special imperial examination avoid using the emperor's name. This servant dares to request that an imperial decree be issued to change 'Hongli' to 'Hongli' all at once."

The following day, Ortai reported to Hongli that he had avoided using the emperor's name.

How to avoid using one's imperial name was a very important matter in this era, as it involved the writing rules in the imperial examinations and officialdom.

Emperor Qianlong had already anticipated this, and thus stated directly: "While all dynasties that governed the country with propriety were required to pay attention to taboos, taboos are ultimately just minor details and have nothing to do with the greater good. Therefore, we cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater and make things inconvenient for the people."

"By imperial decree, the characters 'Hongli' need not be avoided from now on. Simply omit a stroke as a sign of respect. The last stroke of 'Hong' should be omitted, and the 'grain' in 'Li' should be written as 'wood'."

"According to the order!"

The intention that Hongli made to make things convenient for the people was naturally a way of further conveying to the officials that he would regard the people of the world as the foundation of the Qing Dynasty.

After all, the march of time was about to enter the first year of the Qianlong reign, ushering in the true Qianlong era.

Hongli also hoped that his Qianlong reign would truly be more prosperous.

And indeed, the first month of the lunar calendar arrived shortly after Emperor Qianlong issued this decree.

The era name was officially changed.

On the first day of the first year of the Qianlong reign, Hongli also received silver dollars and copper coins from the first year of the Qianlong reign.

As Emperor Qianlong stroked the newly minted silver and copper coins, a slight smile played on his lips as he gazed intently at the rising sun above the beast-head sculptures outside the palace.

(End of this chapter)