My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 115: The Factions of the Former Ming Dynasty Have Emerged!

The third and fifth brothers remained silent, their lips pursed.

Not long after, the two left the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and it was not appropriate to discuss these matters further.

After the two officials who had been subdued came out, they all looked up.

"Third Brother!"

"Prince Cheng!"

"Third Master!"

"Five brothers!"

"Prince Heng!"

"Fifth Master!"

At this moment, these people also called out to the two of them one after another.

The two simply shook their heads and left with helpless expressions.

Before long, Yongzheng also came out and, looking at Baotai, Sunu, and the others who had not yet left, questioned them: "Are you still not willing to leave?"

"Your Majesty should follow the example of the late Emperor and forgive Orondai!"

Bao Tai then shouted.

Sunu, a follower of Western religion, added, "That's right. Orondai is guilty, and should be handed over to God. He was a meritorious official of the Qing Dynasty. If the Emperor kills him, it will damage your own virtue!"

"You, you're a clique!"

Emperor Yongzheng was so angry that he became incoherent, and then put his hands on his hips and said, "I never thought that the factionalism that plagued the former Ming officials would be contracted by you so quickly!"

"How many years has our Great Qing Eight Banners been in the Central Plains?"

"How did you all become so willing to disregard my dignity as your sovereign and father for the sake of Orondai, a man whose evil deeds could not be atoned even if he were killed ten times over?"

Yongzheng flicked his sleeves and angrily pointed at the princes and ministers who had not yet left with the thirteenth prince.

"I'm telling you this now: if you don't respect me, your sovereign and father, then I won't respect you either!"

"If a ruler treats his subjects like dirt, then his subjects will treat his ruler like an enemy. This saying can also be reversed: If you treat me like dirt, then I will treat you like an enemy!"

Yongzheng spoke again in a cold tone.

"Summon Chakdan, the commander of the Plain Yellow Banner Guard, to lead five hundred guards to the Qianqing Gate!"

Yongzheng then took out the golden token from his sleeve and handed it to Su Peisheng.

"Whoo!"

Su Peisheng turned pale upon hearing this, but as a servant, he dared not say anything more. He simply accepted the golden token and left after giving a nod.

Baotai and Sunu looked up at Yongzheng, their faces ashen.

At this moment, Bao Tai looked up at Yongzheng and asked, "Your Majesty, Fourth Brother, are you going to kill us all too?"

"Don't think I wouldn't dare!"

The resolute and unyielding Yongzheng shouted.

After hearing this, the princes and ministers, including Bao Tai, looked at each other in bewilderment.

At this moment, Prime Minister Wang Yinzhi, Yinxiang, Maqi, and Longkodo arrived.

Upon seeing this, Yongzheng asked the four men, "Are you also here to force me to abdicate?"

"I don't dare!"

"We have come to persuade the princes and ministers to leave."

The four men knelt down and replied.

"Eighth brother, you take Ma Qi and Longkodo to persuade them. Thirteenth brother, you come with me."

Yongzheng gave an order at this time.

Lao Ba bowed and replied, "Yes, sir!"

The thirteenth prince then followed Yongzheng through the inner right gate and headed towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"So, is Lao Ba involved in this?"

As soon as Yongzheng entered, he asked about the thirteenth prince in a deep voice.

The thirteenth prince said, "We checked, but there's nothing there!"

"Aside from some of them being misled by their advisors, most of the king's ministers came voluntarily!"

"Whether Orondai should be killed or not is not important to them, but whether Orondai can be killed is very important to them, because the previous imprisonment of Lao Jiu and the killing of Wang Yan have already made them uneasy."

"Furthermore, the previous land distribution to the proletarian bannermen made it impossible for them to exploit the proletarian bannermen. In addition, the low-interest loans from banks and the fact that you exposed the flaws of copper coins in advance have also disrupted their plans to get rich."

Yongzheng chuckled: "It's not surprising that they're after the new policies, but this time, it's wise of the Eighth Prince not to participate. He's improved!"

“You know that myna bird never sticks out and is never the first to act. Besides, it can’t compete for the top position now, so it’s more than happy to sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight.”

“However, Fourth Brother, in the current situation, it doesn’t really matter whether Eighth Brother is involved or not. They don’t necessarily want Eighth Brother to be the emperor to be satisfied, but they may really be unable to tolerate the new policies,” Thirteenth Brother added.

Yongzheng replied, "I know, but without the Eighth Prince's involvement, the Tenth, Twelfth, and Fourteenth Princes will all sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight, which will allow us to kill Orondai and Arsona!"

The thirteenth prince nodded, understanding Yongzheng's meaning.

Since Emperor Kangxi dismantled the power of the Eight Banners lords and distributed much of it to his sons, it is no longer entirely under Emperor Yongzheng's control. The tenth, twelfth, and fourteenth princes hold real military power.

Because the tenth prince held the Plain Yellow Banner, one of the three upper banners, he was the commander of the Plain Yellow Banner.

Although the twelfth prince was no longer the commander of the Plain White Banner, but became the Manchu Protector-General and commander of the banner in the first year of Yongzheng's reign, he was still the commander of the Bordered Yellow Banner.

Many of Lao Sisi's former subordinates still serve as commanders and officers in the Vanguard Battalion and the Guard Battalion.

But as long as Yongzheng doesn't touch the eighth prince, the tenth, twelfth, and fourteenth princes won't have to offend the emperor for the sake of Orondai and Arsona.

If it were Lao Ba, they might have said something, since Lao Ba is their own brother and their bottom line.

of course!

History has shown that even when Emperor Yongzheng imprisoned the tenth prince, the twelfth and fourteenth princes still did not turn against him.

Finally, even when Yongzheng reprimanded the twelfth and fourteenth princes, they still did not turn against him.

This ultimately emboldened Emperor Yongzheng to imprison and kill his eighth and ninth sons as well.

However, Yongzheng is still testing the limits of his brothers who are not in his camp, and naturally he is still somewhat wary of them.

Now, what puts Yongzheng at ease is that his brothers, especially the eighth prince, are even more timid than before. They no longer dare to confront him head-on or cause trouble behind his back. It seems that as long as the fire doesn't reach him, he can tolerate it.

At this moment, Yongzheng said to the thirteenth prince, "It seems that Hongli understands his eighth uncle, which is why he suggested that I eliminate his supporters first."

Upon hearing this, the thirteenth prince was greatly alarmed, a chill running down his spine: "Is this related to Hongli?"

"I can't say for sure. I originally had this intention, and he just hit the nail on the head."

Yongzheng replied.

The thirteenth son was slightly taken aback, thinking to himself, "So this father and son had been planning this all along!"

……

……

"You should all go back. You must prioritize the greater good of the relationship between the emperor and his subjects, and the fate of our Great Qing Dynasty!"

At this moment, outside the Qianqing Gate, after the Eighth Prince had persuaded them, and with Chardan arriving with five hundred guards, Baotai and the others still stood up: "Very well, it's not good to die for the Emperor and put him in an unjust position. We will listen to Prince Lian."

So these people got up and left.

Orondai and Arsona were subsequently ordered by the Ministry of Justice to be executed for their incorrigible crimes, serious violations of national discipline, and deceiving the emperor.

Emperor Yongzheng approved it.

Orondai and Arsona were then taken to the execution ground.

"No, this can't be right. How could the Emperor possibly kill me?"

Orondai was extremely upset when he was taken to the execution ground.

Arsona cried out in bewilderment, “I only accepted some money, and I didn’t make a fuss about the copper coins! Your Majesty, why are you killing me? I’m your cousin! Waaah! Empress Dowager Renshou is my aunt! Your Majesty! Waaah!”

"Eighth Master, Eighth Master, why won't you speak up for your servant!"

"Your Majesty, look! The Emperor wants to kill me! Even the Eighth Prince doesn't dare to stand up for me! Waaah!"

Orondai also shouted loudly at the execution ground.

The executioner couldn't bear to listen any longer and had to have their mouths gagged.

At noon, two steel knives fell, and the heads of the two men rolled to the ground, blood gushing out.

Zunhua, Jingling.

Hongli was unaware of what had happened in the capital. After arriving at Jingling, he first met the ninth prince, Yintang.

When Hongli saw that Yinzhen's face was covered in stubble and his clothes were so dirty that the rank badges were no longer visible, he couldn't help but frown and bow, saying, "Nephew greets Ninth Uncle!"

The Ninth Prince, Yin Tang, smiled faintly: "No need, I didn't expect it to be you!"

Hongli could tell that the Ninth Prince harbored resentment towards him.

But Hongli didn't care about that, and only asked the Ninth Prince, "Is Ninth Uncle doing well guarding the tomb here?"

"Thanks to you and your father, everything is very good."

The Ninth Prince replied, then asked Hongli, "Hongli, if your Ninth Uncle is not mistaken, Yongzheng knew about the money I gave you, right? You were the one who told him that."

"Uncle Jiu is right."

Hongli readily admitted it.

Upon hearing this, Lao Jiu stood up, his eyes wide: "Why did you do this?"

(End of this chapter)