Chapter 240 Live Broadcast from the Sky (20)

How generous!

This was the unanimous opinion of everyone after hearing the rewards bestowed upon his brothers by Emperor Yongzheng in the heavenly realm.

Suddenly, all the princes felt a pang of envy for their past selves. As for the Fourth Prince, after seeing Yongzheng's attitude towards the Eighth Prince, Yinzhi thought the Fourth Prince was quite good; if he were in that situation, he could accept it too.

After ascending the throne, Emperor Yongzheng observed a genuine three-year mourning period for Emperor Kangxi. These three years can be considered a period of accumulation of strength for the Qing Dynasty. Under Yongzheng's leadership, the princes who had been promoted to the rank of Prince and Prince of the Second Rank began a relentless infighting, dragging all the ministers into it as well.

From the reorganization of the Eight Banners Army to the performance evaluation and promotion of officials, to the investigation and punishment by the Imperial Household Department, to the research on firearms, it can be said that every aspect was constantly being optimized, striving to build the Qing Dynasty into a hexagonal dynasty.

As a joke, Emperor Yongzheng was also used by many companies as a spiritual leader because of his practice of leading everyone in the "involution" (a form of internal competition and manipulation) to motivate their employees to engage in such competition.

The key issue is that businesses only learn from Yongzheng's rigid system of requiring employees to constantly contribute, but why don't they learn from his magnanimity? While he implemented such a system, the attitude of the officials at that time was truly excellent. Not only were there allowances for maintaining integrity, but salaries were also high, and merits wouldn't be stolen by others. Furthermore, there were clear regulations and channels for promotion and advancement. That's why people were willing to follow Yongzheng's example and implement such a system.

Of course, everyone needs to relax after being under pressure for so long. So, the first imperial concubine selection in the second year of Yongzheng's reign was held with exceptional grandeur after the mourning period ended.

It wasn't that Emperor Yongzheng wanted to make it so grand; it was entirely because the ministers treated this imperial concubine selection as a form of entertainment. The process wasn't difficult, and it was essentially a paid vacation. So, everyone just wanted it to be made even better and last even longer.

Moreover, if you look at the articles written by famous officials during that period, they all praise Yongzheng's hard work and hope that he can rest more for the sake of his offspring.

Haha, can everyone understand their subtext? It's a talent show; you pick a few favorites to have children with so you can take a break, and we officials can finally relax too! You can tell the officials have been working tirelessly for a long time and want a rest. Did Emperor Yongzheng also have this intention, which is why he allowed his subordinates to make this talent show so grand?

"No." Under the canopy, everyone shook their heads. They believed that after the canopy's explanation, they had gained some understanding of Emperor Yongzheng, and he did not seem to be someone who easily compromised or indulged in pleasure.

He did want his subordinates to relax, but whether that relaxation meant letting their guard down was another matter. It's important to understand that not everything is for the better; some self-proclaimed veteran officials, while wary of the new emperor Yongzheng, didn't truly approve of him and believed they could quietly plot without being discovered.

Thus, in September of the second year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, a cheating scandal occurred in Jiangnan, leading to a student riot that instantly attracted everyone's attention.

Emperor Yongzheng immediately appointed Prince Lian, Yinzhi, as Imperial Commissioner, with Prince Yu, Yintang, and Prince Yi, Yinxiang, as his assistants, to thoroughly investigate the matter. Note that here, Emperor Yongzheng granted the Eighth Prince a significant power, known as "acting first and reporting later."

This shows just how much Yongzheng trusted the Eighth Prince. Furthermore, by considering what happened later, we can see that everything was actually under Yongzheng's control.

The Fourth Prince had planned this all along, so when Yun Si arrived in Jiangnan, he easily found a person on him: the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Gali.

The familiar location and the familiar names—if you've carefully studied the records of Yongzheng's early investigations into corruption cases in Jiangnan, you'll find that Gali was one of those who slipped through the net. If Kangxi hadn't summoned him back, Yongzheng would have stripped Gali of his official position long ago.

So, how could someone on Yongzheng's blacklist possibly live a peaceful life? Not to mention, he was even bold enough to target the imperial examinations. Yongzheng naturally couldn't tolerate him, so he sent the Eighth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince.

These two younger brothers, who almost completely inherited his ideas and methods, stirred up another bloody storm when they arrived in Jiangnan. The small portion of the Jiangnan officialdom that Yongzheng hadn't had time to purge was completely eliminated by the actions of these two.

Meanwhile, the officials cultivated by Yongzheng during these three years were successfully promoted, and Jiangnan was now completely under Yongzheng's control. Hidden rebellious groups among the people were all reported and eliminated by the populace.

With Yongzheng's prestige in the Jiangnan region, anyone who dared to utter the phrase "overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming" would be tackled to the ground and sent to the authorities by those around him.

The common people aren't fools; don't they know whether they're living well or not? If anyone tries to disrupt their good days, they'll take action themselves without the court even needing to say a word.

"The people's hearts are with you." Kangxi looked at the image on the sky and couldn't help but feel envious. Rebellious groups were repeatedly suppressed but could not be stopped. Looking at the actions of the people in that time and space, he could only sigh that he himself had not done enough.

The princes' eyes gleamed with wonder; could they achieve such a future?

Friends, did you notice? I only mentioned the Eighth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince. But actually, Yongzheng sent three people. Where was our beloved Prince Yu, Yun Tang?

In fact, I would call this trip to Jiangnan the beginning of the Qing Dynasty's God of Wealth, the ninth son of Lao Jiu.

He came to Jiangnan under the guise of investigating a case, but in reality, he was there to complete the task assigned to him by Emperor Yongzheng: to completely transform Jiangnan, this money-making empire, into state-owned assets. Thus, the new Ninth Prince, who was in charge of confiscating property, appeared, and the Royal Trading Company emerged.

The royal trading companies that spanned the entire Qing Dynasty territory developed by cracking down on corrupt officials and unscrupulous wealthy merchants. Under the management of the Ninth Prince, not only did they not cost the national treasury a single penny, but they also added a huge amount of wealth to the Qing Dynasty.

This is why Qing Dynasty officials could receive such high salaries. This is why the administration remained clean and honest, with little corruption. This is why there was ample funding for the rapid development of firearms. This is why the Qing Dynasty had the capital and confidence to expand its territory in the future. It can be said that in this respect, the Ninth Prince, Yun Tang, made a tremendous contribution; to this day, he remains a "national businessman" admired by countless entrepreneurs.

"Am I that amazing?" Yin Tang couldn't help but laugh as the wind from the sky made him feel like he was floating.

"Ninth Brother, didn't you say that wasn't you?" the Tenth Brother couldn't help but complain.

"What do you know? That's not me now, can't it be me in the future?" Yin Tang said arrogantly. He was now full of confidence and felt that his future was even brighter.

Yin was speechless. Just now, when Tianmu mentioned Sijiu, you weren't like this at all. You've changed too quickly.

Yinzhen seemed to read his mind and silently rolled his eyes. If he could really become the God of Wealth, what did it matter if the fourth prince was the fourth prince? He didn't like the fourth prince right now. But he liked the Yongzheng Emperor in the sky. A true friend, a true friend indeed, he had good taste!

As Yinzhen was lost in thought, Kangxi suddenly called out to him.

"Ninth Brother".

"Your subject is here."

"You will be assigned to the Ministry of Revenue after this."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey your command."

Yinzhen obediently accepted the imperial decree and expressed his gratitude, but inwardly he was agitated. He suddenly realized that the emperor in power was Kangxi, not Yongzheng. Given his father's suspicious nature, even if he had the ability, he couldn't possibly achieve the great things described in the imperial edict.

The Emperor only saw the potential for profit; deep down, he looked down on his business dealings. Tsk, Yinzhen looked up at the sky, wishing he were in that time and space.