My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 439 Emperor Qianlong arranges for his own princes, and the families of his consorts are blessed!
Xu Ben spent the entire day discussing matters with the Grand Council ministers at the Grand Council, and only returned to his residence in Beijing when the sun began to melt into gold at sunset.

He has now reached a basic agreement with the Grand Councilors to reclaim the territory that now belongs to North Hamgyong Province of North Korea, but which formerly belonged to the former Tieling Guard of the Ming Dynasty.

Because this area has suitable locations for a port.

But when Xu Bengang returned home, his servant came to report: "Mr. Ziwa has sent a letter requesting an audience."

Xu Ben knew that this Mr. Ziwa, although he was just an ordinary retired scholar, was quite wealthy and had a wide network of connections. He always acted in a low-key manner, pursued frugality, was approachable, and was charitable. He was appreciated by poor scholars and was happy to help the powerful and wealthy solve their problems. Many powerful and wealthy people were able to get out of their predicaments because of him.

Xu didn't want to offend such a person, so he immediately went to see him.

"Mr. Ziwa, what advice do you have for me?"

Xu Ben asked about this Mr. Ziwa.

Mr. Ziwa smiled and said, "I have come to protect the whole family of Baozhongtang."

Xu Ben was greatly alarmed: "What do you mean by that, Mr. Ziwa?"

"The great Western scholar Ai Chengli has asked me to inform Your Excellency that your proposal to promote trade outside the Great Wall to facilitate trade with Korea and Japan has greatly displeased the Russian governor in Nerchinsk, the border guards outside the Great Wall, and the powerful families in Korea."

"If the Grand Secretary insists on doing this, he must be prepared to give up his family and property outside the Great Wall."

Mr. Ziwa bowed slightly, revealing a patch on his back.

It was obvious that with his attire, he would hardly be noticed even if he walked down the street, and that he would have contact with the powerful and influential.

Bang!
Xu Ben slammed his hand on the table, his face flushed, and stood up, saying, "Then let them wipe out our whole family!"

Mr. Ziwa bowed again and said, “Please don’t be angry. I know that if you don’t do this, your family will have a hard time in the area outside the pass. After all, there are too many people and too much expense. Moreover, you are not good at fishing and hunting. But if you don’t make a profit through commerce, you can make a living by farming. It’s just that life will be a little harder.”

"I also come from a prominent family, but now I farm and live a simple life, which I find quite unique."

Mr. Ziwa even used himself as an example.

Xu Ben chuckled and said, "This is not just a matter of whether my humble household can live a hard life. The Emperor would not want my humble household to truly live a life of poverty and contentment outside the Great Wall. You should understand that."

Mr. Ziwa nodded: "I understand, so they may not only be trying to exterminate your family."

Xu Ben's expression grew even more serious upon hearing this: "Who else?"

"Your Excellency must have already guessed it."

Mr. Ziwa smiled and looked at Xu Ben.

Xu Ben frowned: "They're incredibly audacious!"

"Soon, rumors will appear in the areas outside the Great Wall and in the capital."

"I am only here to kindly convey this message to Your Excellency."

After saying this, Mr. Ziwa took his leave.

Xu Benze stood there for a long time.

He did not choose to report Mr. Ziwa's thoughts after seeing him.

Because he was not a purely loyal subject.

He didn't want to completely offend the entire bureaucratic and scholar-official class.

But Mr. Ziwa's words made him think deeply, and he made a decision as a result.

"Xu Benshang submitted a memorial saying that he has suddenly fallen seriously ill, so he requested to resign and return to his parents' home. You are to go and see him for me and find out how serious his illness is?"

Hongli soon received Xu Ben's memorial requesting to resign due to illness. He then summoned his three older sons and asked them to visit Xu Ben on his behalf.

Sending princes to visit ministers was a precedent established during the Kangxi era.

Now, Hongli has also sent his three sons, which can be seen as a way of showing his high regard for Xu Ben.

His high regard for Xu Ben was not based on Xu Ben himself, but on what Xu Ben was doing.

As for why three sons were sent out...

The reason, of course, was that he did not want to favor one son over the other, so he let his three older sons go instead of giving all the opportunities to be in the spotlight to one son.

"Whoo!"

After the third son responded, he took his leave dejectedly. Although they were older, they were still minors and not very interested in this opportunity to put on a political show. They just felt that Hongli's arrangement was taking up their already limited playtime.

After all, Qing Dynasty princes generally didn't have much time for entertainment after the age of five.

Hongli simply smiled slightly upon seeing this.

He did not demand that his sons also have political ambitions.

Therefore, he did not reprimand the three for not taking this political task seriously.

Upon seeing his sons, Hongli thought of their mother, and for a moment, he felt romantic feelings for her.

So Hongli instructed the eunuchs around him, "Tonight, I will choose a concubine."

The eunuch Li Yu then brought over the tray for choosing the nameplates.

Hongli chose to summon his cousin, Consort Zhe.

After Hongli ascended the throne, Gahari Fucha was only given the title of concubine for the time being.

Although she had given birth to a child, she was not the Prince Consort of the Prince's residence, so she was only a concubine for the time being.

Lady Gao, who also gave birth to a son, was a secondary consort, which placed her one rank higher than Lady Hui, and thus she became Consort Hui.

Hongli's current desire to favor his cousin is related to his current strategy of developing maritime trade in Northeast China.

Although the Gahari Fuca family were originally from the Plain Yellow Banner, they were also large landowners who owned a lot of land outside the Great Wall.

This is related to the fact that their family had been managing estates outside the Great Wall for the emperor as bondservants as early as the time of Nurhaci.

Gradually, the Gahari Fucha clan also took this opportunity to annex a large amount of land outside the Great Wall.

This is similar to how some servants in the interior of China made their fortunes by working as managers for large landowners and then trading in tenancy rights.

Often, high land rents stem from this layered exploitation.

The landlord himself might not charge much, but the second landlords who sublet the land after obtaining perpetual tenancy rights would have to add rent to the landlord's rent in order to profit from it. This process of adding rent at each level would eventually raise the price.

The estates owned and managed by bondservants like the Gahari Fucha clan outside the Great Wall were quite large.

Now that Hongli wants to develop the Northeast maritime trade, he naturally needs the support of these large landowners outside the Great Wall.

Since his cousin was a member of the Gaharifucha clan, he became even more interested in getting to know her during this time.

When Hongli saw his cousin, Consort Zhe, he pulled her into his arms and teasingly asked, "Cousin, did you miss me?"

"My cousin is thinking about her cousin all the time."

Consort Zhe nestled in Hongli's arms, smiling sweetly.

Hongli gently laid Consort Zhe down: "How much do you want to?"

"I dream of my cousin every night."

Consort Zhe closed her eyes and replied with a grin.

Upon hearing this, Hongli wished he could merge into Consort Zhe's body.

This caused Hongli to wake up unusually late the next day, and he didn't start reading the memorials until 3:45 AM.

"The Shuntian Prefecture reports that there are rumors circulating that Consort Zhe brings misfortune to her parents' families. The sudden appearance of such rumors is undoubtedly related to the Northeast maritime trade!"

“This is a blatant threat to me against the lives of the entire Gahari Fucha clan.”

"I'm afraid it has already threatened the Xu family, after all, Xu Ben himself has also submitted a memorial requesting to resign from his official post to recuperate."

However, while reviewing the memorials, Hongli quickly came across one concerning the Shuntian Prefecture. He then summoned the Grand Councilors and, with a stern face, began to discuss the matter.

Ortai, who had already returned to the capital, chimed in, saying, "What Your Majesty says is true. Someone doesn't want the court to develop maritime trade in the Northeast. The only reason they dare to make such a threat is that they must have a powerful force that can protect them. This force is most likely the Russian Kingdom. The Russian Kingdom must have already promised to protect them as long as they flee to the Russian Kingdom."

"After all, developing maritime trade in the Northeast would be more conducive to the Qing Dynasty's immigration and border defense, and further expansion to the north of the disputed territory in the future."

After Ortai said this, Hongli rubbed his forehead: "The fact that the imperial concubines' families and the entire families of the Grand Councilors can be used as a threat shows how bad it is not to make the neighboring countries completely fear us!"

(End of this chapter)