My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 91 Yongzheng's Crackdown on Imperial Princes and Nobles
Yinzhen stared at the imperial edict in his hand, his fingers trembling uncontrollably, his face turning as black as coal.

The words of admonition from Emperor Yongzheng in his edict felt like sharp blades piercing his chest.

This means that he gave the money to Yongzheng's sons, forcing Yongzheng to hand it over in order to obtain it, and causing his sons to harbor resentment towards Yongzheng as a result, which ultimately failed.

Because, according to Yongzheng, his sons were very good; they had all told him on their own initiative that the Ninth Prince had given them a lot of money.

Yinzhen knew that Yongzheng's sudden issuance of this edict reprimanding him was also a deliberate attempt to anger him and show him that he had not succeeded in sowing discord between his son and that his son was loyal and filial.

His actions were like a blind man lighting a lamp—a complete waste of time.

Therefore, a fire ignited in his heart, and he gritted his teeth: "Yongzheng!"

But he didn't make a loud sound.

Because he has now been imprisoned in Jingling by Emperor Yongzheng under the pretext of having him guard Emperor Kangxi's tomb.

The eunuchs guarding him and the guards outside were all Yongzheng's men.

Therefore, Yinzhen could only grit his teeth and whisper Yongzheng's name to express his dissatisfaction.

Because of this, Yinzhen felt even more frustrated when he saw the eunuchs staring at him from all sides.

Bang!
He slammed his fist on the wall of Jingling Palace, which had just been coated with cinnabar, and looking out at the dark sky, tears welled up in his eyes.

The cawing of crows outside made him cover his face and squat down to sob.

What frustrated him was not only that he became the first prince of the late emperor to be dealt with by Yongzheng, but also that he was imprisoned in the desolate and empty mausoleum, without any freedom or even anyone to talk to.

Loneliness and solitude are also a kind of prison!
Therefore, Yinzhen did not feel like he was guarding the tomb, but rather like he was imprisoned in a painful jail.

He refused to be served by the eunuchs sent by Emperor Yongzheng because he saw them as instruments of torture, and their words to him were like torture.

Soon after, he became disheveled and his body began to smell bad.

But these were only physical inconveniences for him. Now, this edict from Yongzheng caused him even more pain!
The key issue is that he can't go out yet and can't know why this is happening.

"Is it Hongli or Hongzhou? It can't be Hongshi. Are they really that loyal and filial to Yongzheng?"

Yin Tang was completely baffled.

Hongli's greatest informational advantage was that he knew that when Yongzheng started his reforms, he would push even his own brothers and sons to the brink of death.

Therefore, he dared not, nor would he, hinder Yongzheng's reforms.

Who told him to sit back and reap the benefits without sowing?
Therefore, he needed to show the utmost "loyalty" to Emperor Yongzheng at all times during Yongzheng's reign!
Therefore, when Lao Jiu gave him more than 500,000 taels of silver, he did not intend to keep it for himself.

After all, it's only a little over 500,000. What he's thinking about is the tens of millions of taels of silver he'll receive from Emperor Yongzheng in the future!

He remembers it clearly.

Historically, this occurred thirteen years after the Yongzheng Emperor's reforms.

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the reforms began to show results.

Therefore, the imperial court's annual revenue increased from more than 30 million taels at the end of the Kangxi era to more than 40 million taels at the beginning of the Qianlong era!

During the mid-Qianlong period, the annual revenue increased to more than 60 million taels!
Therefore, Emperor Qianlong had enough capital to squander.

To Hongli's delight, Yongzheng, like him, had a broad vision and didn't care about the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. He immediately returned it to him and Hongzhou.

This gives Hongli the capital to develop his own banner property.

“Take this five thousand taels of silver. Three thousand taels will be used to organize people to find blacksmiths and carpenters to make farm tools and plows, and two thousand taels will be used to buy seeds, spring famine grain, and cattle and horses from the Mongols.”

"I'll give you another thousand taels to recruit coal miners. You need to recruit those who know how to vent toxic gases and how to explore coal mines."

“I remember there is a book called Tiangong Kaiwu written by a Ming Dynasty person that records mining-related matters and talks about how to detoxify toxic gases. You can use this money to offer a reward to ask who can send you this book.”

Therefore, before the Imperial Household Department could set up a government-run money exchange, Hongli gave Ortai a sum of money to prepare for sending proletarian bannermen to Xinglonggou for land reclamation.

"Whoo!"

After Ortai responded, he accepted the ticket and was deeply moved.

He never expected that his fourth master would personally fund the development of banner products, instead of merely offering verbal support for reform like other banner lords, while allowing the lack of farm tools, seeds, and livestock provided to the banner people who were reclaiming wasteland.

Hongli then assigned his other two lieutenants.

Hongli used the money given to him by the Ninth Prince to support reforms, rather than to buy rare treasures, which pleased Yongzheng greatly.

This made Yongzheng, who was currently facing a lot of opposition and doubt, feel a little better.

That's right!

Emperor Yongzheng's decision to have his ninth son, Yinzhen, guard the Jingling Mausoleum was tantamount to imprisonment, which caused many princes and ministers who were already dissatisfied with the new policies to criticize him even more behind his back.

Yongzheng did not hold back and issued a series of decrees for punishment. Meanwhile, after instructing his three lieutenants on the task of reclaiming land in Xinglonggou at his private residence, Hongli prepared to return to the palace by carriage.

It was dusk, and the capital city, which had been scorching hot all day, was just beginning to cool down.

Under the pale blue sky, swallows emerge from the lush green shade of many trees, flitting among the gray walls and red tiles, preparing for their final busy work.

"Buy mulberries! Bring rock sugar flavored cherries! Juicy peaches! Sweet and crisp crabapples..."

In the Huguo Temple area, many vendors took advantage of the cool evening breeze to enthusiastically hawk their seasonal fruits.

Meanwhile, a large group of officials and constables became even more proactive in carrying out their duties, heading to various mansions and courtyards to drive out wealthy and powerful people on imperial orders.

Hongli then asked Li Yu to find out who they were driving away.

Soon, Li Yu brought back a message to him: "Fourth Master, according to the people in the Infantry Commander's Office, Prince Li has been ordered to move to Zhengjiazhuang because of his diplomatic blunders and unfounded remarks."

"Furthermore, Wu Erzhan, Sehengtu, Jingxi, and the grandsons and descendants of the late Prince An have all been ordered to relocate to Shengjing and have been removed from the imperial register, on the grounds that they have spread rumors, caused trouble, and acted arrogantly and lawlessly in the capital!"

Hongli knew that Prince Li was Hongxi, and that Prince An's family was the maternal family of the Eighth Prince's wife, so they were all part of the Eighth Prince's faction.

This further convinced him that Yongzheng's decision to have Yinzhen guard the imperial tombs was just the beginning, and that more and more powerful officials and nobles who were dissatisfied with his ruling direction would be purged one by one.

The former princeling faction and the Eighth Prince faction were not spared.

Just then, Hongli saw Hongxi's entourage approaching. Before and behind his entourage were many soldiers from the Infantry Commander's Office. One group had already stepped forward and begun clearing the street, driving away the merchants and civilians who were blocking the road.

Merchants and ordinary people alike hurried to avoid the area, and even the workers who were working for the Imperial Household Department along the street stopped what they were doing and looked over curiously.

"This is none of your business. Those who are going to do business should do business, and those who are going to work should do work!"

Officials from the Infantry Commander's Office also came over and shouted a few times to the merchants and commoners. When they arrived at Hongli's place, they saw that he also had an entourage, so they naturally did not forcibly drive him away. Instead, they bowed and greeted Hongli.

"Please make way, Your Highness! We are here on imperial orders to escort Prince Li out of the city!"

Hongli also stepped aside.

But at this moment, Hongxi's sedan chair had already arrived not far behind him.

Hongli noticed that he was lifting the sedan curtain and looking at him.

Hongli was at a loss for words, but the memory of the time he spent with Hongxi during the famine relief efforts in the sixty-first year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Hongxi remained silent.

As Hongxi's sedan chair was about to leave, Hongli bowed to him.

Hongxi's expression grew even more solemn, and he suddenly shouted at him, "Ask my fourth uncle for me when he's going to take my life!"

After shouting, Hongxi burst into laughter and turned his face toward the setting sun in the west.

Hongli returned to the palace and went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to pay his respects to Emperor Yongzheng.

But as soon as Hongli arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he saw the Eighth Prince leaving the hall.

"Greetings to Uncle Ba!"

Emperor Hongli hurriedly tied a cloth to pay his respects.

Old Eight's face was gloomy at this moment, and even under the setting sun, it appeared even more dull and yellow.

Only after seeing Hongli did the Eighth Prince manage a smile, and he helped him up, saying, "Get up!"

Then, Lao Ba left.

When Hongli met Yongzheng, Yongzheng said to him, "Have you met your eighth uncle?"

Hongli said "hmm".

“He came to plead for Prince An’s family, but I did not agree to his request.”

Yongzheng said.

Hongli knew that Yongzheng's sudden statement was to gauge his attitude.

"Rectifying the court and reforming abuses is not a matter of inviting guests to dinner; it cannot be done in a gentle and refined manner."

"I just don't know if Uncle Ba can understand you, Father."

At this moment, Hongli spoke up.

Emperor Yongzheng stopped writing, looked at Hongli with delight, and said with a smile, "It's enough that you understand me!"

(End of this chapter)