My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 410 The new emperor is even more shrewd than the retired emperor!
Within the lush greenery of the Old Summer Palace, clusters of white magnolia blossoms are in full bloom.

After Zhang Tingyu left, Hongli paced back and forth under a row of magnolia trees.

He then summoned Lai Bao from the Sticky Rod Office: "There is a scholar named Zhu Quan. I need to know all about his situation and whereabouts, and at the same time, I cannot allow any accidents to happen to him."

"Whoo!"

After responding, Lai Bao quickly disappeared into the lush greenery of the Yuanmingyuan.

Zhang Tingyu, who had just emerged from the dense shade, touched the memorial he hadn't sent out in his sleeve after returning to his sedan chair.

That was a memorial requesting to resign again.

However, when Hongli tore up the letter, he was too embarrassed to take out the memorial again.

After all, even the emperor trusted him so much.

If he continues to be obtuse, all that awaits him is thunderous wrath and an imperial decree banning him from entering the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Similarly, his later slip of the tongue, "the scholars of the South," was not just a matter of being severely reprimanded.

However, he still felt a lingering fear when he thought about it.

He had thought that the retired emperor was already quite perceptive, but it turned out that the new emperor was even more perceptive and directly expressed in this way that during the reign of the holy emperor, there were no virtuous people among the common people, only lowly people who were not qualified to be officials in terms of talent and virtue.

This arrogance sent chills down Zhang Tingyu's spine.

However, Hongli did not actually tear up the letter. Instead, he tore off a blank piece of paper and threw it into Li Yu's hand.

However, when Zhang Tingyu, who had been keeping his head down, looked up, he could only see Li Yu's tightly clenched hands.

Even so, the only signal that Hongli was willing to reveal to the outside world for the time being was that he had torn up the letter that involved Zhang Tingyu's dignity.

Because he really didn't want to create unnecessary trouble and cause the bureaucratic group, which preferred infighting, to become completely unbalanced.

Sure enough, not long after, Hongli received a memorial impeaching Zhang Tingyu for plotting to form a faction.

The person who submitted the memorial was Li Hui, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief.

Hongli didn't need to investigate to guess that this person must be an official who was affiliated with Ortai.

Since Hongli had already torn up the letter, he directly wrote in vermilion ink on the person's memorial: "I have investigated and found that it is all fabricated."

That's right!

Emperor Hongli was fearless.

Even though Liu Tongxun had already presented that letter in front of many people, Hongli could still say without any pressure that it was completely fabricated.

He reasoned that the Qing Dynasty officials dared not argue with him.

Who can blame the emperor for being able to do whatever he wants during the Qing Dynasty?
"Neither let one succeed and the other fail, nor let both sides suffer heavy losses."

After approving the memorial, Emperor Hongli muttered this to himself.

This was his fundamental principle in dealing with the Hubei and Zhangye parties.

After Li Hui's memorial was issued, Ortai learned of the outcome and frowned, saying, "I told you before, what you're doing is completely useless!"

Li Hui nodded dejectedly: "You are right, Your Excellency!"

"Don't hang your head, don't lose face, just like Zhang Tongcheng!"

"They still get hung up on these trivial matters every day, and when they get frustrated, they act like they've lost their souls."

"If all the officials of my Great Qing Dynasty looked so lifeless, what kind of Celestial Empire would I be?"

Ortai suddenly began to reprimand Li Hui in a serious tone, while also complaining that these officials, and even Zhang Tingyu, were not as proactive in practical reforms as he was.

Li Hui's spirits lifted, and he quickly replied, "I am willing to follow Your Excellency's teachings!"

……

"I have already followed Your Excellency's instructions and sent letters to the scholars in the South."

Zhang Residence.

Zhu Quan was reporting to Zhang Tingyu what Zhang Tingyu had asked him to do.

Zhang Tingyu nodded after hearing this and looked outside.

Zhu Quan then left the Zhang residence and returned to his rented place in the city.

That's right. Although Zhu Quan was Zhang Tingyu's retainer, he basically didn't stay in Zhang Tingyu's guest room.

Because even when he lives outside, he has people to serve him, and he can act like a master.

At this moment, the outside was already overcast and drizzling.

Zhang Tingyu's son, Zhang Ruo'ai, walked towards Zhang Tingyu's study.

Zhang Tingyu suddenly felt a chill, so he instructed his son Zhang Ruo'ai, who had just arrived, "Have them prepare a backup charcoal fire."

"Whoo!"

"Fire!" "Fire!"

Just as Zhang Ruo'ai gave her an answer, shouts rang out from outside.

"The main courtyard is on fire, sir!"

suddenly!

Zhang Tingyu's servant ran towards him at this moment, shouting in a great panic.

Zhang Tingyu himself looked towards the main courtyard and saw thick smoke billowing into the sky, with a furious golden dragon devouring the eaves.

Zhang Tingyu's face darkened upon seeing this.

Zhang Ruo'ai looked panicked: "What should we do, Father? There are many imperial gifts in the main courtyard!"

"It's alright, I've already had the imperial gifts moved into the brick warehouse."

But Zhang Tingyu calmly replied at this moment.

Zhang Ruo'ai breathed a slight sigh of relief after hearing this: "Fortunately, Father is indeed meticulous and cautious."

Zhang Tingyu sighed deeply: "The higher you climb, the colder it gets. How dare I be careless!"

"But what good would it do for those who want to abolish the fire tax and return it to the public, even if they burned my whole family to death?"

"How can I possibly stop His Majesty from doing what he is unwilling to do!"

"Or do they think that the Emperor will grant their wish because he wants to use me, and because he knows how difficult it is to uphold the principle of returning the fire tax to the public treasury?"

Zhang Ruo'ai was quite surprised after hearing this: "Does Father mean that someone deliberately set fire to our house to burn us to death?"

"It's hard to tell!"

"But if so, then it definitely wasn't set by the Ortai people?"

"He is definitely the one who least wants me to die!"

Zhang Tingyu then said, "Ortai may be rough, but he wouldn't be so stupid, much less so ignorant and narrow-minded!"

……

……

"That's Zhang Tongcheng's bestowed garden!"

"Who the hell dares to be so bold!"

"Quickly prepare the sedan chair, no, bring the horse. I need to go and see if Zhang Tongcheng is alright."

When Ortai saw thick smoke rising from the direction of Chenghuai Garden, he was so frightened that he felt as if his own house was on fire and shouted in panic.

In the eighth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, after the establishment of the Grand Council, the emperor granted Chenghuai Garden to Zhang Tingyu so that he could guard the garden.

Therefore, starting in the eighth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, Zhang Tingyu moved into Chenghuai Garden with his household servants and advisors who were in charge of various affairs.

As a Grand Councilor, Ortai also received his own bestowed garden.

Moreover, the gardens bestowed upon the ministers were all close together, and none of them were very large.

Therefore, Ortai was able to immediately see the situation at Zhang Tingyu's Chenghuai Garden.

In reality, the imperial garden was equivalent to public housing issued by the emperor.

If Zhang Tingyu were to retire one day, this garden would have to be taken back.

"May Heaven protect him, Zhang Tongcheng must not be harmed!"

"Otherwise, the court officials will pin this mess on me, Ortai!"

Ortai jogged towards Chenghuai Garden with small, hurried steps, his face filled with tension and unease.

While Ortai was tense and uneasy, in a secluded courtyard in the outer city, a thin man dressed in a black cloth robe and drinking coarse tea looked at the faint firelight in the direction of Chenghuai Garden and smiled slightly.

"Mr. Ziwa's actions have left Zhang Tongcheng with no choice but to resign or ask the new emperor to abolish the fire tax and return it to the public."

The woman with bound feet sitting opposite the thin man smiled brightly at him and mentioned Zhang Tingyu and Emperor Hongli.

The thin man, whom the woman with bound feet called Mr. Ziwa, took a sip of coarse tea and handed it to her, who accepted it.

"Zhang Tongcheng should have already resigned from his official post!"

“Since he has refused to help us with this matter, it means that he no longer wants to stay in the position of chief Grand Councilor. After all, he is different from Ortai. He is not keen on power during his lifetime, but cares more about the honor after his death!”

"Luo Qiu, you absolutely must not let Zhu Quan live. Zhang Tongcheng has been sitting firmly in the court for so many years, and he is extremely cunning. He may have already sold Zhu Quan to the emperor, or the emperor may already know about Zhu Quan."

Mr. Ziwa looked at the woman with bound feet named Luoqiu with a very serious expression and said...

"Luo Qiu understands!"

"Don't worry, Zhu Quan won't live past tonight."

(End of this chapter)