My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 419 Qianlong was even more ruthless than Yongzheng, and Hongzhou was completely convinced!

"This servant is not wronged, it is Prince He who is wronged! It is our master who is wronged!"

Zhao Hongen burst into tears, covering his face.

As someone who had risen to the rank of governor-general, Zhao Hongen was the first to understand the true meaning behind Qianlong's actions.

So he began by giving a passionate speech.

“The Prince He, a brother of the master, could not possibly have become so bad in character. How could he have done such a despicable thing?”

"This servant has been blinded by greed and has actually framed Prince He, bringing shame upon his master. Even if this servant were to be torn to pieces, it would not be too much!"

then.

Zhao Hongen added that he even took the initiative to pin the blame for framing Prince He on himself.

"As long as you feel you haven't been wronged, that's enough."

"There is a saying among the Han people: 'A subject dies when his ruler is humiliated.' We Manchus should be even more particular about 'A slave dies when his master is humiliated.'"

“The Prince has been humiliated, so you servants must die!”

"So, you really have nothing to be wronged about."

"If you can understand this, you're not too confused."

With his hands behind his back, Delbu read aloud the words of the edict that Hongli had given him.

Zhao Hongen continued, "This servant understands! However, although we have committed heinous crimes, it was not something we could have done on our own. In fact, it was the Suzhou scholar Jiang Guopeng who instigated us. Please, Your Majesty, see the truth!"

"That's right!"

“He was a member of the Jiang family, a wealthy family in Suzhou. The woman was not actually raped and murdered by Prince He, but he raped and murdered her himself and deliberately left her at Prince He’s residence.”

"Although this servant deserves to die, I truly do not wish for anyone to deceive or trick my master!"

Fude, with a tearful face, echoed him.

Wu Zongxu, the Imperial Censor of Jiangnan Circuit, stared at the scene, his mouth agape, utterly speechless.

At this moment, Dai Erbu looked at Wu Zongxu: "Imperial Censor Wu, you are the chief imperial envoy, so speak."

"General Dai and I will report this matter truthfully."

"You all go to your cells and stay there!"

Wu Zongxu had no choice but to speak up.

"Whoo!"

The two then got up and were subsequently put in shackles.

After they were imprisoned, the two of them let out a long sigh.

"Our master really treats us like servants who can be killed at will!"

Fu De then burst into tears and sighed.

Zhao Hongen gave a bitter laugh: "Aren't we slaves?"

"We just didn't expect this new master to act this way, but we are indeed servants. Our families are all in the capital. If we don't want to implicate our families or affect our children's inheritance of titles and the benefits they can receive, then we should just accept it."

"I know!"

After hearing this, Fude said something, then gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, and slammed the wall several times, clearly unwilling to accept the feeling of being a slave in the Qing Dynasty.

Wu Zongxu also posted a notice to announce the contents of the imperial edict to the people.

When the people of Suzhou learned that Zhao Hongen and Fude had been arrested and imprisoned, they were indeed extremely surprised, and their attention shifted from the matter of Prince He Hongzhou raping and murdering a woman to the fact that the governor and the provincial governor were imprisoned at the same time.

"This must be true, otherwise the governor and the provincial governor wouldn't have taken it."

"It must be true. After all, even the governor was to be executed directly, which shows how angry the emperor is."

"Most likely. Prince He has no shortage of women, so he wouldn't be so lecherous. Otherwise, the Emperor wouldn't have killed his own servant so readily."

……

For a time, this became the talk of the town among the people of Suzhou.

Jiang Guopeng was also terrified upon hearing this news, and hurriedly went to his elder brother Jiang Guoxi: "Brother, what should we do? The emperor actually decided on the case before arresting people. Zhao Hongen and Fude will definitely betray us."

Jiang Guoxi clenched his fists: "What an overbearing emperor!"

As Jiang Guoxi spoke, he said to Jiang Guopeng, "Go and turn yourself in. Maybe you can save the lives of your entire clan. This is the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty with the Eight Banners. Heaven has no eyes, letting the world become the Qing Dynasty's world!" Jiang Guopeng was slightly lost in thought.

After Jiang Guoxi finished speaking, he bowed and left.

The Suzhou Textile Bureau and the temporary residence of Prince He.

Hongzhou has not gone out during this period, and he doesn't even dare to open the windows, staying hidden in the house.

Although he was not afraid of officials, he was afraid of the gossip and criticism from ordinary people.

Because, although he always pretended to be indifferent, he actually cared a lot about what others thought of him.

This is related to the influence of Emperor Yongzheng on him.

So, Hongzhou simply asked Fuhui, who was peering out of the attic window, "Is anyone else pointing this way?"

"No, the markets that were previously closed for strikes and protests have all reopened."

"Arresting a governor-general and a provincial governor is really effective."

After Fu Hui answered, she turned around and looked at Hong Zhou:
"Fifth Brother, I also went out to inquire quietly. Now the public opinion has changed. They say that a prince like you wouldn't be so greedy. They even laughed at the people who talked nonsense before. Although the people of Suzhou love to read newspapers and gossip, they are not so easily fooled."

Upon hearing this, Hongzhou suddenly stood up, opened another window, and peered out. Sure enough, although it was a bustling city with a constant flow of people, few looked up or stopped to point at his pavilion.

This made Hongzhou take a deep breath, and then he went back to his room and shook his arms.

Seeing how relaxed he looked, Fu Hui grinned as well.

At this moment, Hongzhou turned to look at Fuhui and said with a smile, "I have to say, Fourth Brother is truly a born emperor, a born ruler!"

Hongzhou's words left Fuhui stunned.

"I'm done!"

"Eighth Brother, I truly admire Fourth Brother!"

Hongzhou, however, became increasingly agitated and grabbed Fuhui's shoulders, shaking her vigorously a few times.

However, seeing that Fu Hui was somewhat bewildered, Hong Zhou explained his reasoning, saying, "Only Fourth Brother would be so reckless as to dare to take the lives of two servants to vent public anger."

Fukue simply smiled.

He didn't quite understand what Hongzhou was saying.

"Let's go and supervise the land distribution. Although the governor-general has been imprisoned, the land distribution must not be delayed. The court should appoint a new governor-general soon."

"I'm afraid that without the governor and viceroy, the two departments will be even more enthusiastic about the land redistribution."

Dengdeng!

As Hongzhou walked downstairs, he straightened his cuffs and spoke to Fuhui.

Fu Hui followed behind and went downstairs, saying, "Fifth Brother is right. The Provincial Treasurer and the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner probably both hope for an opportunity to concurrently serve as Governor."

After Hongzhou went out, he took another deep breath and squinted his eyes, saying, "That feels so good."

The officials accompanying him, including Fu Hui and the Suzhou Textile Commissioner, all smiled at this.

However, although the common people no longer pointed fingers, they still kept an eye on the local gentry in the Suzhou textile factory from the pavilions in the nearby gardens, and they still looked at Hongzhou and his group with sidelong glances.

"They're going to supervise the land redistribution, so the local prefectures and counties won't be able to put those fields under our names anymore!"

"I must also remind the prefectures and counties not to do anything underhanded, lest these nobles discover something and cause a scene in the capital, making it difficult for their elders to explain to the Emperor."

"That's right, all the elaborate plans we devised still proved utterly ineffective in front of the current emperor!"

"Yes, I've come to realize now that the Qianlong era was far more difficult than the Yongzheng era. Although the retired emperor was strict, he at least had some humanity and wouldn't truly treat people like dirt. But this Qianlong Emperor really doesn't treat people like humans!"

"This is also because when the retired emperor was in power, he took away the power of the banners, established the Grand Council, and fundamentally changed the system of rites. Otherwise, the current emperor would not be able to do whatever he wants by relying on the Eight Banners system!"

While the wealthy gentry of Suzhou were glancing sideways at him, they also talked about Hongzhou and the Qianlong Emperor Hongli behind him, all with helpless expressions.

"Prince He, Eighth Prince, the Zhou family's land was accumulated through generations of hard work. Now, because of one unworthy son, all of their land is to be divided up. I dare to ask, can the people's land really be so easily and casually taken away?"

"In that case, who would be willing to actively cultivate the land?"

"I'm afraid that families who own land will become even more hesitant to let the imperial court know how much land they own!"

Unlike the powerful gentry of Suzhou Prefecture who could only helplessly watch the imperial court divide the land of offending noble families, there were also young scholars from wealthy families who were full of passion and dissatisfied with this arbitrary seizure of private land. When Hongzhou and Fuhui came to supervise the land distribution, they took the initiative to meet with the two men, expressed their views, and asked them questions.

(End of this chapter)