Chapter 56 Chapter 56 Successors
Both brothers disliked coffee. Qianlong remembered that Yonglian, the greedy cat, wanted to drink it, so he asked someone to send the remaining half pot of brewed coffee to the depths of the cave.
The coffee beans will be given as rewards to Zhang Tingyu and others.
The young boys deep in the cave had just finished their dinner and were about to go back to their rooms for a nap. When they saw the young eunuch bringing them coffee, Yonglian asked his friends to try it together.
Yonglian thought that Khan Ama was really stingy. There were so many people in the deep cave, but he only gave half a pot of wine.
Mingrui, Erdeng'e and the three Mongolian children did not have a chance to drink. Yonghuang, Yonglian, Hongzhou and Yongbi each had a small cup.
Hongzhou's face wrinkled with bitterness. "It's even worse than ginseng tea."
Yongbi tasted it and said, "It's bitter when it first hits your mouth, but after you swallow it, it has a sweet aftertaste."
"It's bitter and a little sour." Yonghuang said, "I don't think this is suitable for drinking, but for use as a spice."
Yonglian didn't say anything, so Yonghuang asked him, "What do you think?"
"It's okay. If it really can refresh the mind, I can tolerate the bitterness." Yonglian said.
The aroma of coffee depends on two factors: the beans and the roasting process. Current roasting techniques are still relatively rudimentary, and the beans don't have the aroma of later generations' coffee.
Yonglian didn't take a nap and ran to Jiuzhou Qingyan to find Qianlong.
Hong Zhou, who had just finished his dinner with Emperor Qianlong, saw Yonglian coming. He asked with a smile, "Is the coffee good?"
Yonglian nodded.
Hong Zhou was shocked and turned to Qianlong in the room and said, "Brother, your son actually said that coffee is delicious."
Qianlong laughed and said, "Could it be that you, the brat, came to me because you haven't had enough to drink?"
Hong Zhou laughed heartily and patted Yong Lian on the head. "Hurry up! If you're any later, your Khan-father will have given the coffee beans to the Grand Council."
He left after he finished speaking. Yonglian ran into the house and said, "Khan Ama, we can also grow coffee."
"I just discussed this with your fifth uncle. It's not cost-effective," Qianlong said. "In a place where we can grow coffee, it's better to grow grain."
He gestured for Yonglian to sit down and said, "If you like to drink, I will send people to Java to buy it from the Dutch."
Yonglian said, "Our Great Qing must have its own coffee. This coffee tree is suitable for growing in rainy, humid and hot mountainous areas. My son thinks it can be grown in Yunnan. That place is not suitable for growing grain anyway, and the mountainous land is useless anyway."
"But who will we sell the coffee to?" Qianlong asked.
"Sell it to the surrounding vassal states!" Yonglian said, "For example, Luzon, Ryukyu, and Siam. Those foreigners will definitely want to promote coffee in these countries, which will inevitably squeeze out the tea market. Why don't we promote it first? Whether buying coffee or tea, they should give priority to buying from the Qing Dynasty."
Qianlong seemed to be thinking about something
Yonglian smiled with his eyes crooked. "We should take advantage of our advantages. We are all neighbors and under the protection of the Qing Dynasty. Isn't trading with the Qing Dynasty more secure than trading with foreigners? How can the great Celestial Empire cheat them?"
"Of course not. The Qing Dynasty has always had trade relations with Southeast Asia and has always been honest." Qianlong said.
"That's it. They trust us so much, why should we give up this opportunity to make money?" Yonglian said, moving closer to Qianlong. "Annan and Yunnan have similar climates. Maybe Annan is also suitable for growing coffee. When the time comes, we can follow the Westerners and open a company in Annan."
Qianlong patted his son's bald forehead and said, "You have so many clever ideas. The Annan court is not stupid."
"Of course we won't go as far as the foreigners. We will naturally pay taxes to their court. Of course, if their court is willing to participate, we welcome it. It is better for rich brothers to make money together than to let foreigners take advantage." Yonglian said.
Qianlong stared at his son for a while and said, "I thought you liked foreign things, but now it seems that you want to block their financial resources."
"That's not the case," Yonglian said. "They have their own ways of making money. They've already taken over such a wonderful place like the New World. What else do they want?"
Qianlong thought about it and agreed.
Yonglian yawned after he finished speaking. Qianlong glanced at him and said, "Isn't coffee supposed to refresh your mind? Why are you still sleepy?"
Yonglian gestured with two fingers and said, "My son only drank this little, it's not enough."
Qianlong asked the waiter to make a pot of tea, but Yonglian shook his head and said, "No need. Please give us some beans for tomorrow morning."
Qianlong gave half of the remaining beans to the depths of the cave and the other half to the Grand Council.
When Zhang Tingyu and others heard that it was the legendary black wine, they immediately asked someone to cook it and taste it.
On a summer afternoon, everyone in the Grand Council was drowsy, but after drinking coffee, they became energetic, as if they had endless energy.
E'ertai and Li Wei volunteered to work overtime for an hour.
Ortai had often felt weak since last year, but unexpectedly drinking this black wine had a miraculous effect.
The next day, Ortai happily told Qianlong about this matter and thanked the emperor for his reward.
After hearing this, Emperor Qianlong said, "Now that you have experienced the wonders of coffee, you will certainly support the Qing Dynasty in planting this tree. I believe this type of coffee is best grown in Yunnan, where the E family is most familiar. Why not send your son, E Rong'an, to promote its cultivation?"
Ortai: “…”
E Rong'an, the eldest son of E'ertai, was currently serving as the official in charge of recording daily records. Emperor Qianlong still held him in high esteem, so why was he suddenly sent to Yunnan to grow coffee?
Zhang Tingyu, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but feel sympathy for Ortai. This suppression came unexpectedly.
Ortai was stunned for a moment, but could only agree on behalf of his son.
Qianlong called E Rong'an and told him his idea, which was not only to promote the cultivation in Yunnan, but also to learn baking from foreigners.
This is no easy task. Establishing the entire coffee industry chain will take at least two to three years. It requires both a deep understanding of Yunnan's topography and a strong local presence, with the ability to communicate effectively with the local chieftains and gentry.
E Rongan is indeed a very suitable candidate.
At first, E Rong'an didn't understand why the emperor attached so much importance to this matter, until Qianlong said the final step, selling it to various vassal states and using this as an opportunity to sign trade treaties with these countries.
E Rong'an was cheered up at this. This matter was indeed important. The emperor let him go because he trusted him.
Ortai and Zhang Tingyu understood Qianlong's thinking and both sighed in their hearts that this was a very clever move. It could deter those who wanted to curry favor with Ortai, but at the same time it did not waste talent and could still be used if necessary.
After E Rongan went to Yunnan, there was another wave of people clinging to the E Party.
The Manchu officials felt a bit leaderless for a while, and everyone couldn't help but think of Nianqin, who was sent to the local area to supervise the officials and gentry to work and pay taxes. They originally thought that he could succeed Ortai, but now it seems a bit uncertain.
After two years, Nianqin's reputation in the court reached its worst.
If the gentry were dissatisfied with the new policies, then the officials from all over the country had complaints against Nianqin himself.
Nianqin had a strange personality, was unkind, and was not willing to listen to other people's opinions. There was a constant stream of memorials impeaching Nianqin.
Qianlong wanted to recall Nianqin back to Beijing several times, but he finally restrained himself.
Neqin had many shortcomings, but he was a noble man. It was impossible to expect him to collude with local officials to deceive his master.
Although the implementation of the unified service and tax payment system for officials and gentry was not smooth, Nianqin discovered many malpractices in local government offices along the way and also reported some local officials.
Qianlong gradually figured out how to use this person. He couldn't let him preside over local government affairs, nor could he keep him in the court for a long time, so he just sent him as an imperial envoy from time to time.
Nianqin returned to Beijing in April to report on his work. Several provinces in the north had successively implemented the policy of requiring officials and gentry to serve and pay taxes together. The next step was the tough nut to crack.
When Nianqin set out again, Qianlong also wrote secret decrees to the governors of several southern provinces, asking them to make preparations early to avoid unrest among the gentry.
Since Nianqin was unable to succeed Ortai as the leader of the Manchu officials, the Manchu officials began to look for their next target. Shuhede and Yin Jishan were both Manchu officials of good backgrounds.
Shuhede's grandfather was Xu Yuanmeng, an important official during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, and Yin Jishan's father was Yin Tai, an important official during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng.
Both men rose to prominence during the Yongzheng Emperor's reign and were rapidly promoted after the Qianlong Emperor ascended the throne. Even if they could not serve in the Grand Council, they would surely become high-ranking officials in the local government.
Qianlong was also very optimistic about these two people, but he did not have much contact with them and was worried that they were not loyal enough, so he felt that he had to test them further.
Compared with the two of them, Qianlong trusted Yongchang, Celeng and the brothers of the Fucha family more. He was about the same age as these people. He had dealt with them during the Yongzheng period and had close connections with them. They were both monarchs and ministers, as well as brothers.
But among these people, Yongchang and Celeng had read too little and could not even understand Chinese.
When Emperor Qianlong examined Erdeng'e's academic performance, he often asked him to supervise his father Yongchang in learning Chinese characters.
In other families, parents watch their children study hard, but in Dong E's family, the son watches his father study hard.
However, Yongchang's learning progress was very slow. Although the emperor hoped that he could learn to read as soon as possible, he did not criticize him harshly and was still willing to approve his memorials in Manchu.
Moreover, Yongchang's uncle was somewhat literate, so every time he wrote a memorial, Yongchang could ask his uncle for help.
Erdeng'e was very tired, so he took advantage of the break after dinner to fill up the literacy cards with the corresponding Chinese characters.
Yonglian saw it and said with a smile, "When you finish writing it, have the book editing office print a few copies and send one set to Master Celeng and Master Aligun as well."
Although Celeng and Aligun both came from prominent families, their education level was really poor. No wonder Nianqin was promoted early on, as his literacy alone was superior to his brothers.
Erdeng'e felt a little embarrassed after hearing this, "My handwriting is not good."
"It doesn't matter whether it looks good or not, as long as it is written correctly. It would be better to add phonetic notation with fanqie." Yonglian felt that Erdeng'e's job was really not easy, so he volunteered to help, which was also a contribution to literacy.
The so-called fanqie method is to take the initial consonant of the upper character and the final vowel of the lower character. For example, the character "黄" can be marked as Huawangqie.
Yongchang and his friends could speak some Chinese, so it might be easier for them to remember the characters by looking at the pinyin.
Yonghuang and Mingrui also wanted to help. The phonetic notation method of fanqie had existed for a long time, and they learned it when they first entered the Shangshufang.
The four young men divided the work and began writing the Thousand Character Classic on flashcards, complete with Manchu script and phonetic notation. Yonghuang's handwriting was the best, so Yonglian had him write a long example. Then, each of them was assigned 250 characters, writing about ten per day. The task was completed in less than a month.
Erden'e was touched that the Second Prince was willing to use up some of his rest time for his father's sake. If his father still couldn't learn Chinese characters, he would be too embarrassed to see the Second Prince.
When he returned home in the evening, Mingrui told his uncle about their new plan.
Fu Heng smiled and said, "Rest on time, and your uncle will help you write."
Mingrui thought about it and decided that his uncle’s handwriting was better than his own, so it would be okay to let his uncle write it.
But he didn't expect that his uncle was so efficient. He wrote 250 sheets in one night and completed all his tasks.
The next day, Mingrui handed Yonglian over two hundred flashcards and said, "My uncle worked until the fourth watch to finish writing these."
"Uncle, why are you so anxious?" Yonglian frowned and flipped through a thick stack of literacy cards, with neat handwriting and clear markings.
"My uncle is like this. Once he has something to do, he won't sleep."
Yonglian couldn't help but think of Fuheng's later years when he led troops, often traveling during the day and writing reports at night, which was extremely difficult. Khan Ama knew him too well and even sent people to report on his food, clothing, and daily life, for fear that he would work himself sick.
Yonglian warned Mingrui: "...This is not a good habit. You can't learn from him."
Before he finished speaking, Qianlong walked in and said, "If I don't learn from him, should I learn from you? Even the most important things won't interfere with my sleep."
Several people paid their respects to Qianlong. Qianlong took the literacy card from Yonglian's hand and looked at it. He was very satisfied with Fuheng's serious attitude.
I would feel relieved if Mingrui could be half as diligent and serious as Fuheng in the future.
But this kid Yonglian is lazy himself and doesn't let Mingrui learn well. If the emperor and his ministers become lazy together in the future, what will the court do?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
