My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 437 How good was Emperor Qianlong at ruling? Even the Fourteenth Prince admired him!

"Has any of you seen my walnuts?"

Not long after the meeting, which had been held to discuss cooperation with the imperial court in expanding the second road leading to the northwest, the Shanxi governor, Liu Tongxun, stopped the Shanxi officials and asked them a question. At the same time, his eyes fell on the tea table where he had just placed the walnuts.

On the coffee table, there were only empty teacups.

The officials looked at each other.

Clap!

Zhao Hui then smashed the two walnuts in his hands with both palms and began to eat them.

Liu Tongxun looked over after hearing the noise.

Although the grain route to the Northwest mainly went through Henan, military intelligence was transmitted through Shanxi.

After all, the Shanxi direction is faster.

Historically, when Empress Dowager Cixi went on her western hunt, she first went to Xi'an from Shanxi, and only on her return journey did she travel through Henan.

Because it's faster to go through Shanxi, saving more than half a month of travel time.

After the official road to Henan was expanded, the road to Shanxi naturally needed to be expanded as a backup.

"It's quite delicious, Your Excellency."

Where did you buy it?

Zhao Hui then turned around with a smile and asked.

Liu Tongxun paused for a moment, then replied, "That's what I was told by the doctor; I used it to treat headaches and calm my nerves by turning it in my hand."

Zhao Hui exclaimed "Ah!" and then spread out a handful of broken walnut shells: "I'm so sorry, I thought they were fresh, so I assumed that you had bought some new walnuts and hadn't finished them, so I was just playing with them in my hand."

"It doesn't matter."

Liu Tongxun gave an awkward smile.

He was always frugal and naturally couldn't bear to buy antique walnuts to play with.

Zhao Hui said, "I'll give you a nice pair tomorrow."

"No need!"

Liu Tongxun smiled and declined.

Zhao Hui smiled awkwardly and nodded, while giving Liu Tongxun a look of admiration: "This humble official takes his leave."

That night.

Zhao Hui then informed Hongli of this matter in secret.

While he did have the desire to eat Liu Tongxun's walnuts, he also knew that Hongli's instruction to cultivate a good relationship with Liu Tongxun was not merely about managing the relationship, but rather about helping the emperor understand and test Liu Tongxun.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so foolish as to eat Liu Tongxun's walnuts right there in the room.

However, the way he tried to understand and test Liu Tongxun unconsciously led him to think about food, which was indeed due to his personal habits.

Upon seeing Zhao Hui's memorial, Hongli couldn't help but chuckle. At the same time, he was completely at ease with Liu Tongxun, knowing that the road to Jianshan would not encounter the same kind of trouble as in Henan.

Meanwhile, the project in Henan has also progressed smoothly.

Although the Ministry of Revenue only provided half of the project funds to the Henan region, and the details of the losses could not be verified, the homes of a number of former Henan officials were confiscated to fund the project.

Therefore, there is no longer any need to worry about insufficient funds and resources for road expansion in Henan.

The officials who implemented this policy also became more honest and dared not forcibly collect money from the people to complete the project in order to embezzle project funds.

However, in essence, it is still the same group of bureaucrats carrying out the work.

However, those bureaucrats became probationary officials, and they were the ones whose homes were confiscated.

However, they are now using their own wealth and personal energy to implement this new policy for Qianlong, and they cannot complain. They must also be more proactive in implementing and supervising the current officials.

The reason is simple: if they don't take initiative, they will lose more than just their family fortune.

And Yunti is still able to stay in Henan to oversee all of this.

He was deeply moved and impressed by Hongli's trust and support.

In particular, after learning that Hongli blamed the Dzungars for falsely accusing him of treason, and seeing that most of the officials were still the same ones from Henan, he had to admit that his nephew was truly a born emperor!

But sometimes, when Yunti dreamt of his past as a Grand General, being granted the privilege of hosting banquets for princes and ministers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and meeting with Mongol princes on behalf of the emperor in Rehe, and of engaging in various power struggles for the throne, he couldn't help but mutter to himself after waking up:
"If Hongchun were as outstanding as him, would everything be different?"

"But how could that be? That unfilial son not only lacks such wisdom, but he also lacks the integrity to wish for his father to be imprisoned for life until death!"

"That unfilial son, I should have let him die on his mother's belly back then!"

Yunti grew angrier the more he thought about it.

Fortunately, the deafening shouts outside pulled him out of his anger and regret.

That was the sound of migrant workers getting up early to work.

On the vast construction site, the sky was still a dark blue, dotted with stars, but the migrant workers had already begun their work.

Emperor Qianlong paid them quite well, giving them a full eight fen of silver per day, which meant they could earn about two to two and a half liang of silver per month.

Logically, they shouldn't have to work so hard.

But there was no way around it; the temptations near the construction site were too great!
Under the guidance of the Imperial Household Department and with the cooperation of local officials, brothels, casinos, and opera troupes sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

Not to mention restaurants and hotels.

Many hot-blooded young men couldn't resist the calls of "Master," the allure of the dice-shaking, and the sweet shouts of the famous female performer on stage.

Therefore, many of them don't have much money left by the end of the month.

Xin Youmai is a typical example.

He had just come out of a brothel last night, clutching his back, when he opened his purse and saw that it was empty. He closed his eyes and sighed, almost dropping the purse on the ground.

Today, after working all day and earning eight cents, he decided to start saving money so he could go back and ask his older brother to help him find a wife.

Therefore, he decided to skip dinner and eat it tomorrow.

Anyway, he only sleeps at night and doesn't do any work, and it's not like he's never been hungry before; he's gone hungry for two or three days at a time.

But as he passed a casino, he felt a nagging urge, especially when he heard someone shout that they had won. He turned around and thought, "Let me try one more time and see if I can win back everything I've lost before!"

……

"Open another one!"

"The master's intention is to earn back everything they've earned and saved."

"Therefore, the casino games need to be fresh and diverse. Just implement the methods from the casinos in the capital that I taught you. I guarantee that those laborers will be willing to work for the Qing Dynasty for the rest of their lives!"

Rongwu, an imperial censor from the Imperial Household Department who came to Henan specifically to inspect the commercial situation, expressed his views to a royal merchant from the Imperial Household Department who was in charge of running a casino before leaving Kaifeng, Henan with Ortai.

The imperial merchant readily agreed, stating that he would raise funds from the local area to open another casino in one of the unopened towns along the route.

For this reason, most of the money that Hongli spent on expanding the road returned to Hongli's inner treasury and the Ministry of Revenue's silver treasury through the properties and taxes under the name of the Imperial Household Department.

When Emperor Qianlong held court at the palace gates, he would specifically ask the Minister of Revenue and the Grand Minister of the Imperial Household Department to report on this situation, in order to shut these ministers up and let them know what "work relief in lieu of relief" meant during the Qianlong era.

After hearing the financial report at the imperial gate that day, Hongli asked Xu Ben, the Grand Secretary and Minister of Works who had previously opposed his large-scale infrastructure construction, "Minister Xu, most of the court's money has now been returned. What are your thoughts on this?"

"Your Majesty, I have come to realize that righteousness and profit can coexist."

"I was so naive before that I almost misled Your Majesty. I deserve to die!"

"I have been thinking about this recently. It is not unreasonable for the court to seek profit, as long as it is for the sake of the people's well-being and the prosperity of the country. It is still a just act."

Xu Ben replied to this question in court.

Hongli nodded in satisfaction after hearing this. He noticed that Xu Ben's attitude had indeed changed drastically after his clan was exiled, so he took the initiative to ask him with concern: "Have you been communicating with your family lately? How are they doing after they arrived beyond the Great Wall? Have Li Fu and the others given your family the land they are entitled to?"

"Your Majesty's concern is deeply appreciated by my entire family. Thanks to Your Majesty's blessing, I was able to communicate with them and learned that my family members are all well and safe outside the Great Wall. They have also received the land they deserve, although the land they received is more suitable for growing Chinese cabbage."

"After discussing with my family, I believe that we can make a huge profit by selling the surplus cabbages to Korea and Japan, which will also bring peace to the people outside the Great Wall and improve relations with foreign vassal states."

"Therefore, I request Your Majesty to issue an edict to discuss the matter of promoting commerce in the Northeast beyond the Great Wall."

After Xu Benzhao reported this, Hongli nodded and said, "It is rare that you are still willing to serve the country. Then you can come to the Grand Council to assist in the matter and discuss it with the Grand Council ministers."

(End of this chapter)