Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Reorganization of Military Affairs
Uncle Thirteen's soul only sighed this way.
Yonglian didn't hear him say anything else until he finished the ceremony and left the cushion.
He didn't cry like Huang Mafa, probably because he had already known the news of Huang Mafa's death and was already sad.
I wonder if their other souls met in the underworld.
Khan Ama even had to be wary of the soul of the Emperor Mafa. If he knew that the soul of his thirteenth uncle also existed and could talk to him, who knows what he would think.
Yonglian then pretended that nothing had happened, at least for now, he didn't have to tell Khan Ama about this.
On the carriage back to Beijing, everyone was too tired to talk. Except for the diligent Emperor Qianlong who was still reviewing memorials, almost everyone else was catching up on sleep.
No one cared about the bumpy ride of the carriage at this moment. Even Yonghuang, who had difficulty falling asleep, fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up, it was already dark. I will stay outside for one more night and can return to the palace tomorrow.
Today, Emperor Qianlong took a sedan chair to visit the tomb of Prince Yixian. The imperial guards performed well, so Emperor Qianlong rewarded each of them with five taels of silver.
In the evening, in front of the kings and ministers, Qianlong also praised Zhili Governor Li Wei, saying that the arrangements along the way were very appropriate.
Li Wei had a bad temper and had conflicts with people like Ortai and Tian Wenjing.
Qianlong needed someone to share the power of the Hubei Party. Zhang Tingyu was too tight-lipped, and Nianqin was too young.
After returning to Beijing, he was going to reorganize the Grand Council, and he wanted to arrange Li Wei into it.
Anyway, Li Wei was old and had few friends in the court, so he couldn't cause any trouble. He just used his popularity among the people and his conflict with Ortai.
After arriving at the residence, Qianlong finished his current tasks, changed into casual clothes, and summoned Li Wei to play chess.
Yonghuang and Yonglian originally wanted to pay their respects to Khan Ama and go to bed early.
Qianlong remembered that the two brothers were not very good at playing chess, so he asked them to watch from the side.
Yonglian sat next to Khan Ama, and Yonghuang sat next to Li Wei.
Li Wei was introduced to the late emperor by Prince Yi in the past. Today, after paying homage to Prince Yi's tomb, Emperor Qianlong talked to Li Wei about Prince Yi.
Qianlong had a somewhat complicated impression of his thirteenth uncle. His thirteenth uncle was undoubtedly a very good person and had made great contributions to the court.
Uncle Thirteen has made great contributions to our current wealth.
Khan Ama was almost completely defenseless against his Thirteenth Uncle. Khan Ama would use anyone his Thirteenth Uncle said was useful, which made Qianlong very confused.
How can an emperor trust his subjects like this? Even if this person is his younger brother, it's not allowed!
No matter how good the relationship between Qianlong and his fifth brother was, he could not trust his fifth brother in that way.
But everyone around him, from the Khan and the Empress Dowager to the officials and eunuchs, would praise Thirteenth Uncle when he was mentioned.
Is he really the "perfect man of the universe"? Why doesn't he believe that such a perfect person exists in the world?
Qianlong once tried to have more contact with his uncle. At that time, he had already guessed that he was the crown prince. If Khan Ama walked ahead of his uncle, his uncle must be a minister of state. The earlier the contact, the better.
Khan Ama did not allow them to interact with outsiders, but this did not include uncles.
My fifth brother has a very good relationship with my thirteenth uncle.
Qianlong never expected that his Thirteenth Uncle would be so polite to him, as if he was deliberately keeping a distance from him.
Qianlong rationally understood his uncle's considerations. He had probably anticipated the principle of a new emperor and his own ministers, and he only wanted to assist the Khan, not the next generation. This was a very clever move by his uncle, a tactful one, a true example of how a man should act.
But emotionally, Qianlong was not very happy. Was he the kind of person who could not tolerate others?
Look at the ministers of state appointed to him by Khan Ama. He entrusted them with important tasks and respected them very much.
Qianlong never mentioned these ideas to anyone, but on the surface he was still very caring towards his uncle's sons.
When Li Wei mentioned the Thirteenth Master, tears welled up in his cloudy eyes again.
I recalled that the Thirteenth Master went to supervise the river works despite his illness. The Emperor also sent the imperial physician Liu Shengfang as an official from the Ministry of Revenue to accompany him throughout the process.
Yonglian noticed that Khan Ama secretly curled his lips when he heard this. Yonglian thought to himself, please don't curl your lips yet. While waiting for a bottle of Jinchuan, you sent a whole group of nannies to take care of your uncle.
Khan Ama is as kind to his subjects as the Emperor.
"What are you looking at me for? Watching chess." Qianlong tapped his son on the head with a chess piece. "You've been watching for so long. Have you learned anything?"
Yonglian: "I haven't learned it yet."
Qianlong: “…”
Li Wei smiled and said, "My dear brother, you are still young. Don't worry. Just watch others play a few more games and you will gradually get the hang of it."
Yonglian nodded and said to Khan Ama, "Then Khan Ama, when you play chess next time, ask me to watch you."
Qianlong: "...No one usually plays chess with me." He looked across at Li Wei. "Zhang Tingyu is too cautious and always gives me the handicap when we play chess. Old man Ortai is too serious, so I don't play with him. I only feel comfortable playing chess with Li Qing, but you don't come to the capital often, so I don't have the chance to play chess with you even if I want to."
Although Li Wei was the governor, he was very concerned about people's livelihood. He was either supervising river works or inspecting the farming conditions in the fields.
The emperor wanted to play chess with Li Wei, but Li Wei didn't want to play chess with the emperor. He thought it would be better to let officials who could please the emperor do this.
"I am deeply honored to receive such kindness from Your Majesty." Li Wei replied perfunctorily.
Qianlong thought that this person had a reason for being unpopular, so he asked, "I heard that Mr. Li has a stomachache?"
Li Wei said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I'm fine, but sometimes I get so busy that I don't have time to eat. I eat alternately, and this makes me suffer from stomachaches."
Qianlong frowned, "How can Li Qing be so careless about your health? You are almost fifty years old, how can you withstand such hardship?"
Li Wei was slightly stunned. Was the emperor subtly reminding him that it was time to retire?
He had expected this day to come, but it was too early as he was not even fifty.
However, a new emperor appoints new ministers. The emperor wants to implement benevolent policies, but may feel that he is too harsh in his administration.
He sighed inwardly and followed the emperor's words, "Yes, I also want to take good care of myself for a while."
He was trying to guess the emperor's thoughts for a moment, and the chess piece in his hand fell to a random place.
"Hey, you shouldn't go this way." Yonghuang couldn't help but remind him.
Li Wei came back to his senses and couldn't help but smile bitterly. He was so obsessed with officialdom that he was confused when he learned that he had to ask for resignation.
Yonglian said to his Khan Ama: "Don't regret your move!"
Yonglian guessed the same as Li Wei, and also thought that Khan Ama wanted Li Wei to go home to recuperate.
He remembered that Li Wei had died of illness while serving as the Governor-General of Zhili, perhaps in the early years of Emperor Qianlong's reign. Emperor Qianlong sent an imperial physician to visit him and, after his death, bestowed upon him the posthumous title of "Min Da," a gesture of kindness.
Why do you want people to retire so early?
Yonglian didn't think that his little butterfly wings had any influence on Li Wei.
But no matter why, since the emperor has this intention, I cannot show my dissatisfaction in front of my subjects.
Maybe Khan Ama was just testing Li Wei's attitude. Seeing that Li Wei was willing to listen to him, he gained more trust in him.
Even if he was really allowed to resign to recuperate, it would still be a good thing. Although the court would lose a good official, Li Wei could live longer. In case the court was short of people one day, Khan Ama would think of Li Wei again.
But the two of them never thought that Qianlong wanted Li Wei to join the Grand Council.
Qianlong laughed, "Right! No regrets after making a move!" He quickly surrounded Li Wei's chess pieces.
"After I return to the capital, I intend to reorganize the Grand Council. Zhang Tingyu and Ortai are old, and my Sixteenth Uncle is sloppy and can't be relied upon for many things. My Seventeenth Uncle is in poor health, so I want you to come back. Although the Grand Council has its paperwork, you don't have to run around everywhere, and you can recover your health."
Li Wei was stunned for a moment before he put down his chess piece and knelt down to resign. "I am old and incompetent, and I am afraid I cannot take on this important task."
"What are you talking about? You are one of Khan Ama's most trusted ministers. If you are not talented, wouldn't that mean Khan Ama is not good at employing people?" Qianlong said, "Yonghuang, quickly help Lord Li."
Yonghuang hurried to help Li Wei.
After the panic, Li Wei seemed to understand the emperor's intention of letting him join the Military Affairs Council.
He had no choice but to kneel down again to thank the emperor and accept his orders, expressing his willingness to share the emperor's worries.
Yonglian didn't know why Khan Ama made such an arrangement, but he was happy for Li Wei. He was also happy for the court, as the Grand Council had gained another capable official.
With him around, the power of the Grand Council was more dispersed, and perhaps there would have been no factional struggle between E and Zhang.
Huh? Perhaps this is Khan Ama's purpose.
But why didn’t Qianlong make such arrangements in history?
Historically, Qianlong wanted to rely on Neqin, but now Qianlong wants to send Neqin to the local area to investigate the issue of officials and gentry working and paying taxes together.
Haiwang is not well-known, so it has to be managed by a high-ranking official like Li Wei from the previous emperor's time.
After returning to Beijing, the ministers in charge of general affairs resigned first. Qianlong first encouraged Yunlu, Yunli and others, and then said that his talents and experience were limited, and that he needed to restore the Grand Council according to the old system of the previous emperor.
When the list from the Grand Council came out, it caused a huge uproar.
There were six people, Ortai was the head military councilor, and the others were Haiwang, Zhang Tingyu, Li Wei, Nayantai, and Bandi.
Two Manchus, two Han Chinese, and two Mongolians, very balanced.
Everyone had guessed this kind of trade-off, but what no one expected was that none of the six people were from the royal family.
Yunlu and Yunli were both ministers appointed by the late emperor!
"The current emperor seems to be treating the royal family well, but in reality... haven't Sixteenth and Seventeenth Uncles been diligent enough over the past year or so?"
In Zhengjiazhuang, Hongxi invited several brothers of the same generation as Hong to drink. After three rounds of drinks, Hongxi was a little drunk.
Hong Tao coughed lightly and said, "Big brother, please be careful with your words."
Hong Xi sighed, "I just feel sad for Uncle Sixteen and Uncle Seventeen."
Hong Tao said, "Although they haven't been appointed to the Military Affairs Council, their duties haven't been reduced at all! Isn't Sixteenth Uncle still in charge of the Imperial Clan Affairs Office and other matters?"
"That's different. Not allowing them to join the Military Affairs Council proves..."
Before he finished speaking, Hong Xiao stood up and said, "Brother Li Wang, brothers, I can't handle the wine anymore. I want to go back and rest first."
He is the youngest among those present. He didn't want to come today, but was dragged here by his elder brother Hongtao.
As expected, Prince Li started discussing some dangerous topics. He didn't want to participate.
Hongxi didn't keep him and asked the steward to send him off.
Hongtao looked at his brother and vaguely felt that he was not happy, so he stood up and said, "I will take him back."
"Hey, hey, hey, don't go. Hongxiao is already a teenager, is he really going to get lost?" Hongxi called him, "Let's keep drinking."
At Prince Li's Mansion, the nephews were complaining about their sixteenth and seventeenth uncles, while at Prince Zhuang's Mansion, Yunlu was humming a little tune and giving math problems to the students in the Shangshufang.
It’s just right that he is not allowed to join the Grand Council, as he has plenty of time to prepare lessons.
Math classes are held three times a day, and every time he teaches, he worries that the children have forgotten what they learned from the previous class.
A few days ago, I was delayed for a few days because of going to Tai Mausoleum. When I came back to class, Erden'e had indeed forgotten what I had taught last time.
Yonglian suggested that they could publish an exercise book so that they could do one or two exercises every day so that they would not forget what they learned in class.
Yunlu thought this was a good idea, and the exercise book could also be used by the young princes who would enter the Shangshufang in the future.
Qianlong wanted to know how Yunlu and Yunli felt about not being able to enter the Grand Council, but he didn't want to ask them in person, so he asked Hongzhou to go and see his two uncles.
Hong Zhou went to see his Seventeenth Uncle first. His Seventeenth Uncle was already in poor health, and he told him the truth, saying that he had wanted to resign as Prime Minister and go home to recuperate for a long time.
The Grand Council had to wait in the palace at dawn every day, and he couldn't stand it.
Hong Zhou also felt that Uncle Seventeen shouldn't be too tired, so he chatted with him for a few words and then went to see Uncle Sixteen.
The uncle and nephew were more familiar with each other. When Yunlu heard that Hongzhou had arrived, he asked him to go directly to the study.
"You've come just in time. Please help me check these problems."
Yunlu handed a stack of papers to Hongzhou.
Hong Zhou: “…What is this?”
"It's a workbook for the young princes in the Shangshufang." Yunlu said, "I plan to divide it into sixteen volumes, two volumes a year, and study for eight years, and I will be able to reach my current level."
Hong Zhou: “…”
Sixteenth uncle, if you have any grievances against your brother, just go to him. Why are you bothering the children? Sixteen volumes of math problems are enough to make him feel overwhelmed just by imagining them.
Hong Zhou was checking his calculations on the table, shedding tears of sympathy for his nephews. It's all your father's fault for being such a scoundrel.
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