My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 96 Hongli Manipulates Manchu and Han Officials!

"Secretly appointing a crown prince?"

Zhu Shi frowned.

Hongli nodded and explained the meaning of secretly establishing an heir.

"Only in this way can Father Khan feel at ease in establishing an heir, and only then can I feel at ease as a prince."

Then, Hongli said something else.

"Fourth Prince, your insight is brilliant!"

Zhu Shi immediately bowed to Hongli.

He was clearly aware of the benefits of Hongli's suggestion.

At this time, Zhu Shi said to Hongli: "But I have heard that Grand Secretary Wang intends to directly request the imperial decree to establish an heir, and recommends you, the Fourth Prince, as the heir apparent, saying that this is the late emperor's last wish."

"Wang Tan has always been very concerned about the matter of choosing an heir!"

"Hamafa once issued a decree to severely reprimand him for this, but he still hasn't changed!"

Hongli frowned, feeling displeased.

He knew that Wang Yan was not helping him, but harming him.

He even felt that Wang Yan's actions were not genuine support for him, but rather a deliberate attempt to flatter him to his detriment, a tactic he had learned from Tong Guowei!
Otherwise, even Zhu Shi wouldn't have known that he wanted to support him as the crown prince.

in contrast.

Those who truly supported him, like Zhu Shi, were much more cautious.

Therefore, before submitting the memorial, he would specifically ask himself for his opinion.

Before that...

Zhu Shi, for example, only discussed it with a few close friends.

Unlike Wang Yan, who, before even submitting his memorial, made it public knowledge as if he was afraid that Yongzheng wouldn't know who he was supporting.

Therefore, Hongli had reason to suspect that Wang Yan was imitating Tong Guowei, possibly with the aim of making Yongzheng suspicious of him, while the deeper motive was dissatisfaction with Yongzheng's reforms.

If Wang Yan's actions are harming him, then Hongshi will benefit.

Wang Yan's support for Hongshi only shows that Hongshi made him greater political promises.

Otherwise, Wang Yan wouldn't have supported Hongshi and flattered him to the point of ruin, even though he knew Hongshi was unpopular and had no prestige.

After Hongli said this, Zhu Shi nodded as if he understood, and couldn't help but smile.

He also had to admit that Wang Yan, like his ancestor Wang Xijue, was particularly concerned about the matter of choosing an heir.

Now, Wang Yan had originally planned to return to his hometown last year.

He was utterly disheartened when he learned that the throne would be passed to his fourth son, instead of the former crown prince Yinreng, whom he had been mentoring.

In addition, he thought that the court would become more turbulent after the fourth prince ascended the throne, so he planned to return to his hometown to avoid trouble.

However, after learning that Consort De had not clashed with the fourth prince and that Hongli had performed exceptionally well before and after Kangxi's death, he harbored the idea of ​​gaining more political resources.

However, Yongzheng's series of reforms, especially the recent abolition of the Han people's status as inferior, made him even more certain that Yongzheng's ruling style was indeed very different from Kangxi's, and that he intentionally suppressed Han gentry and improved the situation of Han commoners.

Hongli's loyalty to Yongzheng, even to the point of truthfully reporting the enormous wealth given to him by Yintang, made him realize that it would be difficult to expect a prince with such a strong sense of self-will to change Yongzheng's national policies after he became emperor.

Furthermore, he had learned through Wang Hongxu of the Eighth Prince's faction that Hongshi had expressed his support to Prince Lian, Yinzhi, for making decisions on major court policies through a joint discussion among the Eight Banners leaders.

Although Wang Yan was merely a Han Chinese scholar-official, even if the Qing Dynasty decided on major policies through a system of joint deliberation by the banner chiefs of the Eight Banners, he would not have been able to participate in the decision-making process.

However, Wang Tan understood that this also limited imperial power and indirectly ensured that the privileges of large nobles and landowners would not be arbitrarily encroached upon by the emperor.

After all, the interests of large landowners and high-ranking officials were aligned, regardless of whether they were Manchu, Han, or Mongol.

natural!

Wang Yan also supported limiting imperial power and disliked the idea of ​​the emperor ruling alone.

Because he did not want the emperor to have strong power to promote reforms.

Therefore, Wang Yan accepted Yinzhi's offer of support through Wang Hongxu and decided to support Hongshi, paving the way for Hongshi's future.

Therefore, he openly declared that he would promote the establishment of a crown prince and support Hongli.

"Tell Prince Lian to rest assured that I have long intended to return to my hometown. I would rather be dismissed from my post than fail to persuade His Majesty to establish an heir!"

That night, Wang Yan spoke to Wang Hongxu, who had come to see him on behalf of the Eighth Prince, Yinzhi.

Wang Hongxu nodded and cupped his hands to Wang Yan: "Your Excellency's righteousness is admirable. However, Eighth Prince's intention is that we must not mention the Third Prince. His Majesty must think that we are only trying to curry favor with the Fourth Prince."

"I know!"

"This concerns whether the gentry of Jiangnan can restore the legacy left by our ancestors and whether the lazy people can continue to exist. How can we be careless?"

Wang Yan nodded, glanced at Wang Hongxu, and spoke a few words from his heart to him, a fellow member of the Jiangnan gentry. Wang Hongxu then relayed Wang Yan's words to Yinzhi.

After that, Yinzhi found an opportunity to tell Hongshi, and said to Hongshi with a smile: "Hongshi, you see, with your eighth uncle's help, many Manchu and Han officials are now starting to work for you. Even Wang Tan, the former teacher of the former crown prince, is now trying to flatter Hongli to death for you."

Hongshi was also deeply moved and quickly bowed to Yinzhi, saying, "Thank you, Eighth Uncle! Please accept my bow!"

Yinzhi quickly helped him up, smiling as he said, "There's no need for that. Your Eighth Uncle is doing this for the future of our Great Qing, not just for you. But what I like most about you is your gentle and polite manner, treating all officials with respect. You should continue to be like that in the future!"

"Uncle, rest assured. Since I said I was willing to govern together with all my uncles and banner chiefs, I will not go back on my word. Besides, I know that I am of mediocre talent and intelligence, so I naturally need to rely more on princes and ministers like you, Uncle."

Hongshi replied with a smile.

Yinzhi nodded: "Eighth Uncle believes, and the other princes and dukes also believe and are willing to believe. Because of this, when Wang Tan submits his memorial to establish an heir in the court, Orondai and the others will represent the Manchu princes and ministers to echo him, making your path easier."

"Ok!"

Hongshi nodded, and couldn't help but clap his hands and grin.

Yinzhi also put his hands behind his back, looking relaxed.

He even recalled the scene where the ministers had jointly petitioned Kangxi to make him the crown prince, which angered Kangxi.

Even now, when he thinks about it, he still feels embarrassed, upset, and angry...

Since then, he has known that the emperor's true intentions are not to value those who have the most support from the ministers, but rather to be more wary of them.

He believed that after many Manchu and Han officials urged Yongzheng to immediately confirm Hongli as the crown prince, Yongzheng would definitely begin to be suspicious of Hongli.

Because he knew his fourth brother very well, and knew that Yongzheng's ambition to control power was no less than that of Kangxi!

Yinzhi had already begun to imagine the awkward and passive situation that Hongli would face, just like him.

He couldn't help but grin, thinking to himself, "Hongli, don't blame your Eighth Uncle. Blame it on your own excellence and your father's unpopular reforms."

Let’s talk about it.

After meeting Hongli, Zhu Shi relayed Hongli's message to Zhang Tingyu and Fang Bao.

"Secretly appointing a crown prince?"

Fang Bao couldn't help but ask a question.

Zhu Shi nodded: "It was indeed a secret selection of an heir."

"Wonderful!"

"The Fourth Prince is indeed wise and insightful. He clearly understands His Majesty very well, which is why he has produced such a brilliant work."

Zhang Tingyu couldn't help but chuckle and give a big thumbs up.

then.

Zhang Tingyu looked at Fang Bao: "Brother Linggao, it's fortunate that you advised the late emperor to look after the imperial grandson! Otherwise, we might not be able to see such a calm and wise prince today!"

Fang Bao nodded as well: "It is indeed a great strategy and great wisdom! It is remarkable that he could think of it at his age."

Then, Fang Bao looked at Zhu Shi and Zhang Tingyu and said, "Then let's submit a memorial in this way, instead of directly requesting that the Fourth Prince be made the Crown Prince, we should only request that the Crown Prince be made secretly?"

Zhu Shi and Zhang Tingyu nodded.

……

……

"That's right, we can only support the secret designation of an heir!"

"Fourteenth Uncle, Twenty-first Uncle, thank you for asking me about my views on the matter of the Crown Prince. And this is my opinion."

“Even if you support your nephew in your hearts, you can’t say it directly. Otherwise, your nephew won’t appreciate it and will only think that you are harming him.”

The news that Wang Yan wanted to discuss the succession spread like wildfire, even reaching the fourteenth and twenty-first princes. They both came to see Hongli at the same time, and Hongli then conveyed his thoughts to them.

Hongli even spoke very resolutely and seriously, implying that if the fourteenth and twenty-first princes did not listen to him, he would become their enemy.

The fourteenth prince nodded: "Alright, then I'll listen to you. Anyway, I haven't been paying much attention to this matter. I just heard that people have been talking about it lately, so I came to talk to you about it."

"me too."

The old man nodded at 21.

The fourteenth prince thought for a moment, then suddenly said:

“However, Hongli, you are right to do this, so as to avoid your fourth brother’s suspicion. I know him well. If he were to openly declare at this time that he wants to make you his heir, it would be because he has ill intentions.”

Hongli smiled and said, "It's good that Fourteenth Uncle understands."

Yinxi then understood somewhat and said, "In that case, if anyone dares to loudly proclaim their support for Hongli's ascension, I'll give them a good beating!"

(End of this chapter)