“He is Ortai’s eldest son.” As he spoke, Yinzhen’s expression softened.
In that dream, after the Thirteenth Prince passed away, the only loyal and capable Manchu official who could stay with him until the end was Ortai.
Before his death, he left a will that Zhang Tingyu and Ortai should be honored in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Unfortunately, Ortai's disciples later formed cliques and engaged in corrupt practices, which implicated him, and he was eventually removed from the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
Yinzhen had no intention of interfering in the affairs of his ministers after their deaths; he would bear the consequences of failing to properly educate his children—just as he had in his dream.
However, he still admired E Rong'an, and immediately said to Qian Shengyan, "That child loved martial arts when he was young, but he was also good at studying, I remember..."
He only realized this when he spoke that E Rong'an was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the eleventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, something he shouldn't have known at this time.
Yinzhen paused for a moment, then said, "I remember, his writing is also quite good."
"So..." Qian Shengyan thought for a moment, "Is he dark-skinned?"
Yinzhen: ?
Qian Shengyan then asked, "Is he dark-skinned and slightly taller than the eldest son of Lord Zhang Tingyu?"
Yinzhen: ...
Well, to be honest, he hadn't paid attention to any of that.
Including Zhang Tingyu's eldest son, Zhang Ruo'ai, who was indeed a talented person, but who was taller or shorter, who was fairer or darker, that's...
Seeing the troubled look on Yinzhen's face, Qian Shengyan didn't continue to make things difficult for him. She just wanted to ask Foerguochun properly when she saw him tomorrow!
Unexpectedly, Foerguochun was even more confused than Qian Shengyan when he heard the name Erong'an: "What An? Who is that?"
"...How many times has your father said he saw you talking to him?" Qian Shengyan was both amused and exasperated. "Don't you even know his name?"
"Was it that guard?" Folgochun thought for a moment. "My daughter didn't ask his name. He just happened to pick up Hongshan's things once, and then we ran into each other again, so he said a few words."
Qian Shengyan: ...
Yinzhen was even interested in playing matchmaker. The two hadn't even told each other their names, which was completely different from before. When "Zhang Qinglan" was mentioned, Ferguchun would blush.
Thinking of this person, Qian Shengyan asked a question, and Foerguochun frowned: "Mother, please don't mention him. The other day he wrote me a letter, saying that if it was really inconvenient for me, I could write a letter by hand and show it to my father, so that I could work hard with him..."
Qian Shengyan: ...
Qian Shengyan said realistically, "Then you might as well write a letter to your father and submit it to him. Maybe he will arrange the marriage directly."
“That’s right. Even without submitting a memorial, if I just spoke to Father Emperor and pleaded with him properly, he would definitely agree.” Folgochun rolled her eyes inelegantly. “But I just don’t want to. With Father Emperor like that, I don’t necessarily have to marry him. Why should I suffer like this?”
"That's it!" Qian Shengyan clapped her hands, beaming with joy. "My little Guoguo has really grown up. Come, let me give you something to do..."
It was Yinzhen who inspired her. After she became pregnant, Yinzhen said that he originally wanted to go to the manor in the suburbs of Beijing to soak in hot springs this winter, but now it is not possible to go.
Qian Shengyan suddenly remembered this village, the people she had met when she went to plant potatoes, and the little girl who had secretly peeked at her from behind a tree and shyly handed her a red fruit.
She had considered it before, but at that time, Yinzhen was a man of integrity and had to pretend to be a leisurely and wealthy man who was obsessed with farming, so she couldn't do anything that seemed to be for the sake of fame.
Since we're starting to do this kind of thing now, let's do it together.
"...Mother means that I should take on some of the work from the imperial merchants and let the women in the suburbs of the capital do it?" Folgochun's eyes widened.
Qian Shengyan tapped her slender fingers lightly on the small table: "That's the last target. For now... let's see what they can do, what the nearby villages produce, and then we can discuss other things."
“Okay, then I’ll go take a look.” Folgochun also became interested. She got up to say goodbye, but Qian Shengyan stopped her again: “Don’t go by yourself. Take more people with you. Be careful and come back soon.”
"Don't worry, Mother, I understand." After Folgo left in a flurry of activity, Qian Shengyan couldn't help but shake her head and sigh softly.
Although this era doesn't demand anything of girls, it seems that it's already good enough for them to be good wives and mothers and do diplomacy after marriage, but Qian Shengyan hopes that her daughter can have some career. If Ferguchun can do something to help girls, that would be great too.
As for imperial merchants, their main responsibilities were fivefold: first, to represent the imperial family and manage commerce monopolized by the court, such as copper and iron, salt, tea and horses, silk, fur, and silver casting; second, to manage the imperial assets in various regions, such as imperial shops in the capital and provinces, and ginseng cultivation in the Ussuri River region of Northeast China; third, to transport military supplies and equipment to the court during wartime and to undertake the production of munitions; fourth, to represent the Qing government in foreign trade affairs and manage port shipping and cargo on foreign ships; and fifth, to produce and supply various materials for the court, such as the Jiangning Textile Bureau of Cao Xueqin's family.
However, the Cao family's situation dates back to the Kangxi era. In the years since Yinzhen ascended the throne and managed the national treasury, the Cao family has moved to the capital and become an ordinary wealthy household, no longer the extremely rich family they once were.
In Qian Shengyan's opinion, Ferguchun didn't need to touch the foundations of those imperial merchants. He could just take on some jobs that women could do from them, whether it was spinning, cotton carding, or preparing military supplies. He could build a few factories and earn some personal income, which would be quite good.
"I hope it can be done." Qian Shengyan sighed, still struggling with whether she could make even a small change to history, when she heard that there was a heated argument ahead about whether to lift the sea ban.
Qian Shengyan never expected that Yinzhen... would actually intend to lift the sea ban...
Initially, the Qing government did not restrict maritime trade due to its need for copper. However, to prevent coastal residents from using maritime activities to supply anti-Qing forces (mainly the Ming-Zheng regime), it implemented a "border relocation and maritime ban," which was even stricter than that of the Ming dynasty. In June of the twelfth year of the Shunzhi reign, an order was issued that "no single sail is permitted to enter the sea in coastal provinces, and violators will be severely punished." It was not until the twenty-second year of the Kangxi reign, after the pacification of Taiwan, that the four major customs offices of Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang were established. However, just over thirty years later, the policy of fully opening the sea began to shrink. Faced with increasingly serious "pirate" activities and the potential threat of Western powers in the East Asian seas, on October 25th of the fifty-fifth year of the Kangxi reign, Kangxi summoned his ministers and raised the issue of the maritime ban. The following year, regulations were drafted, and the maritime ban in Southeast Asia was officially implemented.
Emperor Yongzheng lifted the maritime ban in several places in history, but by the mid-Qianlong period, the maritime ban was tightened, and the country was closed off from the outside world until the Opium War.
But judging from the arguments in the previous court, it seemed that Yinzhen intended to completely lift the maritime ban, no longer restricting trade with Southeast Asia and the West, and even planned to build a navy and large trading ships, ordering people to go to sea to do business...
Could it be that Yinzhen (the future Emperor Yongzheng) has also been possessed?!
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