My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 116 Nian Gengyao's Weakness
Hongli walked over to a brazier in front of Lao Jiu, warmed his hands on it, and then said to Lao Jiu, "Uncle Jiu, how could you think that a few hundred thousand taels of silver would make your nephew choose not to tell Father Khan?"

The Ninth Prince was taken aback for a moment, then looked at Hongli with a serious expression: "It seems you have big ambitions."

How can a man not have lofty ambitions?

Hongli asked a question in return.

Old Nine sighed: "Fine, you're right, what you want is probably more than just this."

"That's right!"

Hongli replied.

Then, Hongli said to the Ninth Prince, "Actually, it's a good thing that you're staying here, Ninth Uncle. At least you can't communicate with outsiders, so you won't need to use those secret codes made up of Western characters."

The Ninth Prince was taken aback and looked at Hongli: "How did you know the secret code?"

"If you don't want others to know, you have to do nothing yourself."

Hongli naturally couldn't say that it was because, historically, after Emperor Yongzheng confiscated the Tenth Prince's house in the second year of his reign, he knew that the Ninth Prince had contacted the Tenth Prince in this way. So he just smiled and replied with that sentence, pretending to be profound.

But the more Lao Jiu listened, the more uneasy he felt.

Who betrayed me?

"You've been told all of this?"

The ninth brother cautiously inquired about Hongli.

Hongli smiled and replied, "I won't tell you."

The ninth prince gritted his teeth and asked Hongli, "Is it the tenth prince?"

"impossible!"

Old Nine then denied himself, and then asked, "Is it Sunu?"

Hongli laughed and said, "Ninth Uncle, if you keep asking, you'll end up revealing all your accomplices."

Snapped!
Old Nine immediately covered his mouth, looking regretful, thinking to himself, "I've lost my mind!"

“I told you, I won’t tell you.”

Hongli continued in reply.

At this moment, Lao Jiu laughed: "Did Yongzheng send you to offer sacrifices at the mausoleum for some other purpose?"

Hongli replied directly, "Ninth Uncle, you should show more respect to my father. Even if you don't consider others, you should at least consider the Empress Dowager Yi, right?"

"You little brat, how dare you threaten me!"

Old Nine's eyes widened again after hearing this.

Hongli said, "I dare not, but what I said is true."

Old Nine let out a heavy sigh: "Alright, Uncle Nine apologizes to you."

Then, the ninth prince waved to Hongli.

Hongli smiled slightly and continued, "Ninth Uncle, as your nephew just said, you should stay here and at least not communicate with outsiders. This will help you avoid being exposed in the future and losing your life because of it."

"So, I should thank the Emperor for confining me here?"

Old Nine also asked him with a smile.

Hongli took a cup of hot tea from Chen Shishun and took a sip: "Of course!"

After saying that, Hongli said, "According to Father's original plan, you were to go to Nian Gengyao in the Northwest."

Old Nine frowned upon hearing this.

"That's why the Empress Dowager didn't cause any trouble, and the concubines in the harem didn't embarrass Father Khan either, so Father Khan didn't do that either."

Hongli replied.

The Ninth Prince looked at Hongli and said with a smile, "So, the person I should actually thank is you?"

"No need to thank me, Uncle Jiu!"

“You’ve been very good to your nephew, so he should do some good deeds for you.”

Hongli replied.

"You're not being polite!"

Old Nine snorted.

Then, Lao Jiu sneered again: "But do you think that just because I'm imprisoned here and watched by your Khan's men, I'm really cut off from the outside world?"

"Of course not."

"Nephew is curious, does Uncle Jiu really have some secret way to contact Nian Gengyao?"

Hongli asked about the ninth prince.

Old Nine suddenly clenched his facial muscles: "Why do you suddenly think I have dealings with Nian Gengyao?!"

"Who exactly sent the message to Hongli?"

"Did the myna bird tell you something?"

Does he support Hongshi or you?

The more Lao Jiu thought about it, the more confused he became.

Because, if it weren't for his own people betraying him, he believed that no one would know that Nian Gengyao was still in contact with their Eighth Prince Party.

Hongli smiled: "Ninth Uncle, could you please not reveal all your accomplices?" "Does it make a difference whether I say it or not? You've already mentioned Nian Gengyao; do I have any secrets left to keep from you, Hongli?!"

Old Nine said excitedly.

Hongli waved his hand: "Please don't get excited, I'm just guessing."

"Stop talking nonsense! This is something you can't possibly guess!"

Old Nine said irritably.

But Hongli was indeed guessing.

Because all he knew was that when the Ninth Prince went to Nian Gengyao in the Northwest, Nian Gengyao not only did not punish the Ninth Prince as Yongzheng had intended, but also treated the Ninth Prince to good food and drink, and even watched as the Ninth Prince used a lot of money to bribe the generals in his camp.

This led many people in later generations to say that Nian Gengyao must have had some prior contact with the Ninth Prince, Yin Tang.

That's why Hongli asked that question on purpose just now.

That's why Lao Jiu confessed without being asked.

“Ninth Uncle, give me the private messages that Nian Gengyao contacted you. You don’t need them anymore.”

"It's better to use it as a pledge of loyalty, to secure a better future for yourself or your descendants, and also to have a secret code for translation."

"As the saying goes, the victor is king and the loser is a bandit, but another saying goes, each generation has its own affairs. If you leave something good for your nephew, he will be able to do more good deeds in the future."

"Please show some love to your nephew this time. It's not worth sacrificing your nephew's well-being for a mere servant like Nian Gengyao!"

Hongli then asked the Ninth Prince, "You agree, right?"

The Ninth Prince frowned slightly, then began to carefully examine Hongli's work.

Upon seeing this, Hongli asked, "Does my nephew have any writing on his face?"

"I'm looking at your shamelessness. When did you become so thick-skinned? You betrayed your Ninth Uncle and still expect him to continue to dote on you. You expect him to betray Nian Gengyao in front of you. I'm already being polite by not scolding you out."

Old Nine still spoke in a rather irritable tone.

Hongli stood up, his face suddenly turning serious: "Nephew has done everything he could; you can see for yourself."

Then, Hongli walked outside.

But after taking only a few steps, Hongli turned back and said, "Also, Father Khan asked his nephew to tell you that Consort Yi misses you very much!"

As he spoke, Hongli turned around again and walked towards his resting place.

"return!"

At this moment, Lao Jiu shouted again.

When Hongli turned around, he saw that the ninth prince had a letter filled with Latin and a notebook in his hand.

Hongli gave Chen Shishun a meaningful look.

Chen Shishun hurriedly took it.

Hongli also came over and said with a smile, "As expected, Ninth Uncle is a wise man!"

Old Nine scoffed, "What do you plan to do with this letter?"

“I didn’t plan to do anything with it. I just kept it so that I could present it to you when Father Khan needs it in the future. I also mentioned that Nian Gengyao had secretly sent a message to you, Ninth Uncle, but you did not reply.”

Hongli asked the Ninth Prince in a low voice, "Who was the one who relayed the message?"

Lao Jiu wrote three characters on the ground: "Deng Chengwei".

Hongli nodded, then beckoned to Chen Shishun, who went out and took a stack of books from the bundle of one of the accompanying eunuchs, handing them to Hongli.

Hongli then handed the books to the Ninth Prince: “I was afraid that you would be bored while guarding the tomb, so I specially had someone bring some books and documents about the situation in Southeast Asia and the West from Guangdong at a high price. They are all written by Westerners. Everyone says that you are good at Western languages, and I am ashamed of my own inferiority. So please translate them here when you have nothing to do.”

Old Nine took the books and asked suspiciously, "Why do you want me to translate these?"

“Nephew, naturally it’s to better understand the outside world. Compared to internal reforms and eliminating abuses, I’m more interested in expanding territory outside. Of course, it’s not limited to expanding territory, but also about earning other resources besides land.”

Hongli replied earnestly.

After hearing this, Lao Jiu nodded: "Okay, I promise you."

Then, the ninth prince asked Hongli, "How is the court now? Is your eighth uncle alright?"

"If my nephew is not mistaken, during the time I was away, there should have been some high-ranking officials and nobles who lost their heads."

"As for Uncle Ba, as you know, he won't stand up for anyone, nor will he get implicated because of anyone."

Hongli felt that since Yongzheng had listened to his advice to kill Wang Yan in the past, he would not spare the lives of some too arrogant and disloyal people for too long, but would be more decisive than in history, especially taking advantage of the period when he was not in the capital.

Because of this, Yongzheng wouldn't even need to give him a chance to win people's hearts by stopping the execution of certain people.

Therefore, Hongli answered in this way.

After Hongli answered with a smile, he left Lao Jiu's place. As he left, he glanced at the letter Nian Gengyao had given to Lao Jiu and smiled with considerable satisfaction.

He had to admit that his trip to Jingling was worthwhile, as he had actually obtained such a significant piece of leverage against Nian Gengyao.

Of course, he cannot use this as leverage to punish Nian Gengyao, because the court still cannot do without Nian Gengyao.

But having more leverage over someone is like having more control over their lifeline, which is always a good thing.

"My father gave me the order to act expediently, instructing the guards at the tomb to arrest a eunuch named Deng Chengwei!"

After Hongli came out, he gave this instruction.

(End of this chapter)