Chapter 241 Live Broadcast from the Sky 21

In short, starting with the Jiangnan corruption scandal, the Qing Dynasty had basically completed its internal purge and its economy began to develop rapidly.

Today, with politics and economics developing in tandem, a solid foundation has been laid for the Qing Dynasty, and the signs of a prosperous era are beginning to emerge.

It was at this time, on the 31st day of the 12th month of the second year of Yongzheng's reign, at the end of the year, that Yongzheng officially conferred the title of Crown Prince upon Honghui and converted the Yongqin Prince's Mansion, where they originally lived, into the Yonghe Palace, which he bestowed upon Honghui.

The eldest daughter, Burhe, was promoted to Princess Gulun Wenjia, and the second daughter, Galudai, was promoted to Princess Gulun Minjia.

Both daughters received titles and honors, but all of Honghui's other sons remained bald princes, demonstrating Yongzheng's favoritism towards Honghui.

Of course, many people believe that this was the "legitimate son complex" that Yongzheng was infected by Kangxi, and that the Chengtai Emperor, who later ascended the throne, also had this complex. It can be said that the three generations of the family were of the same lineage.

However, I do not agree with this statement. Whether it was Kangxi, Yongzheng, or Chengtai, the three emperors had different reasons for favoring their eldest sons.

Emperor Kangxi favored Yinreng, partly because he was the "legitimate son," not just because of his first wife, Empress Xiaochengren. In the political climate of the time, the "legitimate son" signified legitimacy, and appointing him as crown prince was largely a political decision aimed at consolidating the empire. The bond between Kangxi and Yinreng, however, developed during their later years of upbringing.

But Yongzheng treated Emperor Chengtai and our little Honghui differently. Honghui was Yongzheng's first child, anticipated by Yongzheng even before birth, and raised by Yongzheng after birth. Such treatment was not given to Yongzheng's later sons.

When the crown prince was being appointed, Yongzheng already held immense power. His choice of Honghui was entirely due to his genuine emotional preference for him. Of course, another reason was that Yongzheng was aware of his own health condition, and appointing him early was also a way to pave the way for his son's future.

In short, from beginning to end, Honghui was Yongzheng's first choice.

Emperor Chengtai's feelings for Yongming were more of an emotional attachment; he tried to replicate the kindness Emperor Yongzheng had shown him onto Yongming, but Yongming clearly failed to live up to his expectations.

After reading Honghui's diary, everyone probably knows that Emperor Chengtai eventually realized that Yongming was not fit to be the crown prince. However, because of his lingering feelings, he could not bring himself to depose the crown prince. It was Prince Chun, Yinyou, who finally woke him up with a scolding, which also brought our Seventeenth Prince to tears.

Many people believe that it was only at this point, after learning that Emperor Chengtai had made the decision to depose the crown prince, that he and Yinli truly accepted Yongzheng's departure.

Just as Emperor Chengtai wrote in his diary, he devoted his entire life to being Emperor Chengtai, all so that one day he could return to being his father, Honghui.

Of the three generations, only the father-son relationship between Yongzheng and Honghui is truly touching. As Yinreng looked at the related records displayed on the sky, he felt nothing but envy through those words.

He thought that if he could go to that world, even if he couldn't participate, just watching would make him very happy.

"Truth lies only within the range of cannons, and dignity lies only on the edge of a sword." In the third year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, the Qing Dynasty, brimming with martial prowess, embarked on a path of territorial expansion.

It all started with a military exercise.

At this time, the Qing Dynasty's enemy, the Dzungar Khanate, came to the capital to investigate the new emperor's abilities. They happened to encounter the successful development of firearms. In order to test the power of the firearms and to deter the world, the Qing Dynasty launched its first military exercise.

The first military exercise invited envoys from various Mongol tribes and the Dzungar Khanate. Infantry and cavalry took turns on the field, and the muskets and cannons directly terrified all the foreign tribes present. This scene was also filmed in the TV series "Yongzheng Dynasty." It's said that the production team used realistic weapon models from that era, creating a one-to-one replica. I'll show you some examples…

"Well said!"

In the Han Palace, Liu Che cheered loudly upon hearing the words from the sky, and Li Shimin in the Taiji Hall was no less enthusiastic.

Not only the two of them, but the entire Qin Dynasty, brimming with martial spirit, cheered loudly, and were particularly interested in the earth-shattering firearms shown in the released video.

"Firearms, I want them!"

And so, another round of fierce competition and relentless spending of donations appeared on the screen.

Thank you all for your generous donations! You're all so excited today. Do you all really like Emperor Yongzheng that much? Well, I'm really excited too, so I'll just say it all in one go.

The military exercise wasn't even over when Lobsang Danjin, the leader of Qinghai, rebelled, making him the perfect target for the weapons test.

At the end of May in the third year of Yongzheng's reign, Prince Xun, Yunzhen, successfully quelled the rebellion. In June, Prince Xun submitted a memorial stating that the Dzungar garrison had secretly invaded Tibet. Yongzheng, citing the reason that "if it is not swiftly suppressed, it will surely become a great scourge to Mongolia in the future and cause hidden worries for China," ordered troops to be dispatched to suppress it. In late August, Yunzhen captured the Dzungars and took the Dzungar leader, Tsewang Arabtan, prisoner.

Thus, the Dzungar Khanate, which had long plagued the Qing Dynasty, was completely wiped out, and Yunzhen was given the title of "Great General King".

Meanwhile, under the orders of Emperor Yongzheng, Prince Zhi, Yinzhi, secretly stationed his troops and ample firearms on the border of Tsarist Russia, revealing his claws to this neighbor who was eyeing him covetously, always harboring ill intentions and harassing him, and secretly supporting the Dzungar Khanate.

Prince Zhi didn't wage war; he simply guarded the border and conducted some military exercises there. He would fire a couple of cannon shots every now and then, which infuriated Peter the Great.

However, because Tsarist Russia was also in a bad situation at the time, its military forces were all invested in the struggle for the Black Sea outlet, and it had neither the manpower nor the resources to fight against the Qing Dynasty.

Helpless, he could only increase his support for the Dzungars, hoping they would tie down the Qing Dynasty. The outcome, as we all know, was predictable.

Meanwhile, Peter the Great secretly dispatched more people to search for gold mines in Qing China. Yes, Tsarist Russia was short of money, extremely short of money, so it had long coveted the gold mines within Qing territory.

When Yunzhi intercepted this information, he couldn't stand it. It was his own gold mine. Whether they knew about it or not, it was theirs to keep. How could he let outsiders covet it? So Yunzhi began "practicing" at the border even more frequently.

At the same time, the message was sent back to Beijing, exposing Tsarist Russia's wolfish ambitions to the light of day.

Does this tactic seem familiar? It's exactly the same as when Yongzheng sent Yunzhen to subdue Qinghai and attack the Dzungar Khanate. They first established a legitimate reason for the attack, and then sent troops.

The court officials worried that sending troops to Russia at this time would be too much of a burden on the Qing Dynasty, and they all tried to dissuade Yongzheng. However, Yongzheng's true intention was not to fight Russia.

Emperor Yongzheng was not the kind of person who would think he was the best in the world just because he had achieved a little success, and would become so arrogant that he lost his mind. From beginning to end, his goal was to force Tsarist Russia to negotiate peace, or more precisely, to force Tsarist Russia to "cede territory and pay reparations".

The reason he didn't say it directly was also to use the opportunity to identify and discipline officials. Therefore, given Yongzheng's shrewdness, don't mistake him for a weak and easily bullied person.