Upon hearing this, Lady Jue Luo immediately stood up and replied nervously, "The imperial concubines are prepared for the imperial family. Heng'er has no virtue or ability and dares not even dream of such a thing."
The Empress Dowager waved her hand, indicating that she should sit down and not be nervous. "Since Fuheng is the Empress's brother, he is also a member of the imperial family. I should be concerned about his marriage. I heard from the Emperor that Fuheng has already entered the palace and become a Blue-Lanyard Guard. As long as he is loyal to his duties, he will surely rise to a high position in the future."
Sitting to the side, Yu Ying said solemnly, "It is the duty of the Fucha clan to protect the royal family. Heng'er will do his best to protect the palace and the emperor!"
Nodding in satisfaction, the Empress Dowager smiled and replied, "Your Fucha family has produced generals and ministers for four generations. I have high hopes for you, especially Fuheng. This young man has extraordinary features and, given time, he will surely become a pillar of the nation. So you don't need to worry about his marriage; I will oversee it."
The Empress Dowager's concern for Fuheng's marriage filled Lady Jueluo with both joy and trepidation. She couldn't help but wonder what the Empress Dowager's true intentions were. Was she simply admiring Fuheng, or did she have another purpose?
She couldn't guess what the Empress Dowager was thinking, so she could only express her gratitude and stop interfering in her son's marriage, letting the Empress Dowager choose for him.
As Jue Luo had predicted, the Empress Dowager made this arrangement not only because Fu Heng was handsome and likable, but more importantly because of his family background.
Fuheng is the Empress's younger brother and a member of the Fucha family. As long as he is promoted and can win the Emperor's favor, the Emperor should not be too distant from the Empress because of Fuheng.
In fact, not only the Empress Dowager valued Fuheng, but Hongli himself also highly regarded him, not because of the Empress, but for long-term planning.
In the two years since Hongli ascended the throne, the court situation has temporarily stabilized. However, most of the officials in the court are veterans left over from the Yongzheng period. Grand Councilors Ortai and Zhang Tingyu are both veterans who have served in the Kangxi and Yongzheng reigns. Although they have rich experience, they secretly form cliques and engage in factionalism.
The two men, one Manchu and one Han, had been engaged in open and covert struggles for decades, which is why Hongli was determined to personally cultivate a loyal and patriotic minister.
This person must not only have real talent and learning, but also be of good character. Although the two Su brothers meet these two criteria, they are, after all, Han Chinese, and their family background makes it difficult to convince the public. The person that Hongli wants to choose must come from a prestigious family, so that if Hongli wants to promote someone in the future, the court officials will have no reason to object.
After careful observation, Emperor Qianlong concluded that Fuheng was indeed a promising talent.
Although the seedling is good, whether it can grow into a towering tree depends not only on Hongli's nurturing and guidance, but also on his own luck and talent.
For now, Fuheng will start as a bodyguard; his future depends on fate.
It is said that Su Jiafeng had been away from the capital for nearly a year. When he submitted a memorial to the emperor, he wrote a letter home, which Hongli then passed on to Yushan.
Yu Shan was overjoyed after reading the letter, because it said that her sister-in-law He Yun Ning was pregnant again and would probably give birth in August.
This is truly a joyous occasion!
On the other hand, she was often close to Hongli, but she had not been pregnant since giving birth to Yongzhang three years ago.
However, Hongli said that it was up to her whether she had children in the future, and she herself did not want to take any more medicine to regulate her body, so she didn't care about it and let nature take its course!
In the sweltering heat of May, people were restless and Miao bandits were rampant. Emperor Hongli ordered Su Jiafeng, the prefect of Guizhou, to lead troops to suppress the bandits. He Yunning was very worried because the Miao bandits lived in areas with miasma and treacherous terrain. She was afraid that something might happen to Su Jiafeng when he went to the front line.
However, Su Jiafeng was not afraid. In his view, the emperor appointed him as the prefect not so that he could travel around and enjoy the scenery, but so that he could bring benefits to the people of the region.
Nowadays, Miao bandits frequently harass the people. As the prefect, Su Jiafeng should relieve the people's worries and the emperor's worries, so as not to disappoint the emperor's expectations of him.
Moreover, his sister is still in the palace, so only by suppressing bandits and making meritorious contributions can he secure benefits for his sister.
His sister often paved the way for them, and he should do something for his sister to repay her kindness.
Jia Feng had made up his mind, so He Yun Ning stopped trying to stop him and silently prayed for him, hoping that he could quell the Miao bandits as soon as possible.
During the court session that day, the Minister of Revenue reported that Guangdong had numerous miscellaneous taxes, such as those on manure, cow bones, farm tools, and cotton strips. Yunnan also had many miscellaneous taxes, with taxes levied on daily necessities, fish, shrimp, fruits, and vegetables. In addition to the regular salt tax, an extra salt tax was levied, which was burdensome for the people and detrimental to their livelihood.
Emperor Hongli was shocked by this. "Taxation benefits the country and the people, but it must be based on law. These provinces dare to levy all sorts of taxes on their own in order to achieve performance targets, without considering the people at all. This is truly infuriating!"
Emperor Hongli immediately ordered the abolition of these exorbitant taxes and levies, and praised the Minister of Revenue for his concern for the people.
Although this matter benefited the people, it inadvertently offended several governors-general. The Minister of Revenue, fearing resentment, bowed and said:
"This servant dares not claim credit for it alone. In fact, this was a flaw discovered by Prince He, and this servant was only responsible for verifying it."
Hongzhou knew that this old fox would try to shift the blame onto him, but as a prince, he was not afraid of those governors at all.
Remembering his elder brother's instructions, Hongzhou took the opportunity to recommend Su Mingfeng, who had been promoted to Assistant Minister of Revenue, saying that it was Su Mingfeng who first discovered the problem.
Hongzhou kept praising Su Mingfeng for his meticulousness and thoughtfulness, showering him with compliments. Hongli then promoted Su Mingfeng to the rank of fifth-grade official, a senior official in the Ministry of Revenue.
Meanwhile, Su Jiafeng led troops to suppress bandits in Guizhou. The complex terrain was very unfavorable to the Qing army, which suffered several losses and its morale plummeted. Su Jiafeng knew that dragging things out would only increase the casualties of the Qing army, so he decided to offer a reward of one hundred taels of silver to find local Guizhou people who had fought in battles to clear the way.
With such a generous reward, brave men were sure to emerge. Soon, men whose families had been bullied by Miao bandits volunteered to join the Qing army and guide them.
This person is familiar with the terrain and can help the Qing army avoid key locations and launch a surprise counterattack against the Miao bandits.
With this person's help, the Qing army finally won a brilliant victory and their morale soared!
By October, the Miao bandits had been completely wiped out. Su Jiafeng had made a great contribution, and Hongli was in high spirits upon receiving the news. He rewarded Su Jiafeng with a thousand taels of silver and transferred him to Suzhou as the prefect.
Su Jiafeng grew up in Suzhou. Now he is able to return to his hometown with his wife and children to serve as an official. For him, this is a triumphant homecoming, full of glory!
As we all know, Suzhou is a prosperous area, and there are naturally more temptations to be an official here. Many honest officials, when they arrive here, will unconsciously develop greed when faced with the gold and silver jewelry offered by the surrounding merchants and officials.
Emperor Hongli sent Su Jiafeng here for two reasons: first, to comfort his homesickness, and second, to test him and see if he could resist the temptations of fame and fortune.
Su Yushan never interfered with Hongli's arrangements. She trusted every move Hongli made and believed that Jiafeng could withstand the test.
During the winter month, it snowed twice. Next month, Hongli's mourning period will be over. The Empress Dowager's intention is that next month should be the time to formally confer titles upon the concubines.
Hongli had no objections, except for one point: he wanted to promote Consort Chun to the rank of Imperial Noble Consort.
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's expression changed drastically, and she immediately refused, "I disagree! Emperor, I have already conceded twice; do not push your luck!"
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