My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 438 The new Emperor Qianlong's ambitions are too great; even princes and nobles cannot stop him!

Upon hearing Hongli's words, Xu Ben was extremely surprised. He never expected that he would become the second Han Chinese official to enter the Grand Council after Zhu Shi during the Qianlong era.

Although he was an assistant, he was still part of the Grand Council.

But despite his surprise, Xu Ben couldn't feel happy.

He knew that he was brought into the Grand Council because the emperor supported his strategy of actively expanding the economy by trading with Korea and Japan outside the Great Wall.

His advocacy for developing maritime trade and making money from Korea and Japan is clearly a far cry from his previous stance of only hoping that the court would be frugal and not greedy.

But there was nothing he could do.

If he doesn't do this, the Xu family will eventually run out of money.

After all, the Xu family's main product is Chinese cabbage, and so much Chinese cabbage can only be sold to areas that desperately need it.

However, his actions disappointed the court officials who still advocated for frugality and a focus on saving money.

In particular, his unexpected entry into the Grand Council has only fueled the jealousy and resentment of those court officials who were disappointed in him.

But for Xu Ben, that was no longer important.

He could only sigh inwardly at how powerful the current emperor was at turning enemies into friends.

Therefore, even though he wasn't very happy, he still had to put on an excited face and immediately kowtowed to thank the emperor for his grace.

Hongli was very pleased with himself.

While he cannot immediately change the stance of the entire bureaucratic group, he can still change the attitudes of individual bureaucrats.

Next, Xu Benye actually discussed with the Grand Councilors the matter of developing maritime trade in Northeast China.

Emperor Hongli was also involved.

However, this strategy is quite ambitious, involving military, diplomatic, and tax policies.

For example, the first thing to do is to get North Korea to vacate several natural harbors suitable for building.

Secondly, Japan is currently in a period of national isolation, and Chinese merchants going to Japan are essentially engaging in illegal smuggling trade.

The Qing Dynasty couldn't destroy these two countries in one fell swoop.

In short, this is not something that can be accomplished overnight.

However, Hongli still put Xu Ben in charge of this matter.

One reason is that it is related to the interests of his family.

Secondly, Xu was originally a Han Chinese from the south, and he was not part of the same system as many wealthy families outside the Great Wall, which made Hongli feel more at ease.

Xu Ben was not the only bureaucrat influenced by Hongli to undergo changes.

Hao Yulin, having now discovered a large gold mine in Taiwan, is now hoping that the emperor will send him to mine again.

He's now just waiting for another chance like this, so he can rise through the ranks and gain official positions through mining.

As it turned out, he actually got his wish.

Emperor Hongli sent him to contact Ryukyu and cooperate with the Ryukyu royal court to develop phosphate mines.

Because Ryukyu is rich in phosphate mines.

The Qing Dynasty is now dividing up land for reclamation and promoting new agricultural technologies, and it desperately needs phosphate mines to make fertilizer.

In addition, Hongli was worried that Ryukyu would eventually fall to Japan, so he decided to exploit Ryukyu's resources first and take this opportunity to station troops in Ryukyu in preparation for attacking Japan in the future.

Upon receiving this imperial decree, Hao Yulin was excited and eager to get started.

Now, when Hongli tells him that Ryukyu is rich in phosphate, he naturally believes it and immediately sends his navy to make contact with Ryukyu.

While Hao Yulin was sending his navy to make contact with Ryukyu, Fu Hui had already entered the capital and met with Hongli.

"Your humble servant greets Fourth Brother with best wishes!"

Jiuzhou Qingyan Hall.

After Hongli performed the grand salute to Fu Hui, he raised his hand and said with a smile.

Then, Hongli smiled at Fu Hui and said, "You've lost some weight."

Fu Hui smiled sheepishly and inquired about the situation of the retired Emperor Yongzheng and the retired Empress.

After Hongli answered all the questions, he also asked about Hongzhou's situation.

Afterwards, Fu Hui expressed his gratitude as usual, thanking Hongli for promoting him to Beizi.

"Get up. You've had a trip to Jiangnan; I'm sure you've broadened your horizons considerably," Hongli said, raising his hand.

After thanking the emperor, Fu Hui stood up and replied, "It is also thanks to Fourth Brother's support for me and Fifth Brother in the court, otherwise I am afraid I would have slunk back to the capital long ago."

"I already know about Jiang Guopeng's matter, and you also mentioned the matter of those scholars in your memorials."

"It's inevitable that they'll be dissatisfied when the court wants to divide their land, but they already blocked their own path during the Ming Dynasty, so nothing they do now will make a difference."

"This is what they mean by 'Heaven's sins can be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins cannot be escaped.'"

Hongli then shared his thoughts on the matter.

Fu Hui bowed her head and said, "Fourth Brother is right."

Then, Fu Hui took the initiative to ask Hongli, "I heard that Uncle Jiu is to be ordered to visit foreign lands?"

Hongli frowned slightly: "Someone wants you to plead for Uncle Jiu?"

"My tenth uncle told me."

Fu Hui nodded.

Hongli rubbed his face dryly: "If Ninth Uncle stays in China any longer, he'll die."

Fu Hui was slightly startled, somewhat confused about the meaning behind Hongli's words.

But now he is completely convinced that his fourth brother, the emperor, is very wise, and that what he says cannot be said casually.

Therefore, Fu Hui had to take these words seriously, even though he didn't understand why Lao Jiu would die if he stayed in China.

Therefore, Fu Hui thought about it carefully, and he couldn't help but think that if Lao Jiu were to die, there was only one person who could do it.

And this person was none other than the Emperor's fourth brother, who was smiling at him right in front of him.

A chill suddenly ran down Fu Hui's spine, and he simply bowed and said, "Your subject understands."

"I know that your tenth uncle sent you to plead for him, which puts you in a difficult position."

"Or rather, Uncle Shi himself is also in a difficult situation."

"But it's difficult for me too, so let's all do our best."

Hongli got up and walked to Fu Hui's side, patted Fu Hui on the shoulder, and said earnestly.

Then, Hongli walked with his hands behind his back towards the palace wall where a map of the world was hung, and looked at the map: "Perhaps if I don't insist on putting the people first, then only the people will suffer."

"Or perhaps, if I hadn't adhered to some of my principles, such as expanding territory and solving some problems for future generations, the people might not have been in such a difficult situation for the time being."

Hongli turned to look at Fu Hui and said these words.

He unconsciously spoke these heartfelt words to Fu Hui.

In other words, he understood that if the ruling class wanted to live a good life and the emperor could achieve great things, then the common people had to suffer.
For the ruling class to have an easy life and for the common people to not suffer, the emperor had to humble himself, refrain from pursuing grand ambitions, and simply listen to the ruling class's false praise of himself as a sage and benevolent ruler.

Anyway, we should avoid mentioning the words of those in positions of authority.

When history is compiled in the future, no matter how incompetent the emperor was, he will be praised as much as possible.

Even a new regime that overthrows its own dynasty will give the former emperor some dignity, try to cover up his mistakes, and honor his achievements.

“But Eighth Brother, actually, it’s really too difficult for someone who is already awake to pretend to be asleep.”

However, Hongli couldn't bring himself to lie, so he said the same thing to Fu Hui again.

If anyone truly wanted the Qing Dynasty to fall, it was that person.

Because no one understands better than the current Hongli (Emperor Qianlong) what kind of catastrophe this land will suffer if the Qing Dynasty declines.

But it was precisely because he understood this that he wanted to make sure the Qing Dynasty still had the capacity to do something.

Fu Hui pursed her lips, looking like she was listening intently.

Although the fifteen-year-old could not understand what Hongli said, he tried his best to remember it because Hongli held great authority in his heart.

Especially after this trip to Jiangnan.

The less he understood what Hongli was saying, the more he cared about it and the more he wanted to figure out the reasons behind it. He also increasingly admitted that his understanding was far inferior to that of his fourth brother, the emperor.

At this point, Fu Hui could only smile and comfort Hongli, saying, "Fu Hui thinks that with Fourth Brother, no matter how difficult the matter is, it is not difficult."

Hongli suddenly chuckled in surprise, then put his hands on his hips and continued looking at the map: "You're right! It just takes a few years. In a few years, everyone in the Qing Dynasty will become like Xu Ben!"

(End of this chapter)