Chapter 59 Hong Xi's Rebellion
Nianqin gave up his job as an official and gentry to collect taxes and went to Shanxi. Many people in the court found it strange and thought that a big case had happened in Shanxi.
More than a month passed and there was no movement in the court.
However, officials who had dealings with Shanxi merchants received news that Neqin had personally inspected several large coal mines in Shanxi. Some speculated that the court wanted to open factories in Shanxi.
The Jiangnan Manufacturing General Bureau has made a lot of money in the past two years, and the taxes it pays to the court every year are very considerable.
If you want to know where there are the most wealthy businessmen in China, one is Jiangnan and the other is Shanxi.
It’s just that those Shanxi merchants tend to stick together, so it’s not easy for the imperial court to cut flesh from them.
Qianlong, of course, understood this principle and had never before considered competing with Shanxi merchants for profits. But this time was different. He had a handle on the Shanxi merchants. Those who understood the situation would cooperate with the court, while those who didn't would wait for the court to condemn them.
The Shanxi merchants who were able to collude with Hongxi either had dealings with the deposed prince's family in the past, or were not well-informed. They only knew that the late emperor was quite favorable to Prince Li, so they wanted to find Prince Li as a backer.
Who would have thought that before he even started making money, he would be targeted by the emperor.
Qianlong was really patient. Until August, he did not reveal the matter of Prince Li to the other kings and ministers.
On the Wanshou Festival, Hongxi and his sons followed the royal family into the garden to pay their respects, presenting gifts as usual and sending Qianlong a goose-yellow sedan chair.
At first glance, there is nothing wrong with this gift. Anyone can use goose yellow, including the queen, concubines and even ordinary people.
But Qianlong immediately thought of the Kangxi Dynasty. Before the crown prince was deposed, in order to distinguish the clothes of the emperor and the crown prince, the crown prince often used goose yellow.
What do you mean? You haven't woken up from your dream of the Eastern Palace yet, so you don't want to sit in this sedan chair yourself, do you?
"Since this is a gift for me, why not just give me a bright yellow sedan chair?"
In the evening, Qianlong was still angry about this matter and walked back and forth in Changchun Xianguan.
Neither the Queen nor Niu Lun dared to respond, so Niu Lun stepped forward and said, "Khan Ama, don't look at his gift, look at the belt your daughter made for you."
Facing his daughter, Qianlong's expression softened slightly. "The belt you gave me has a beautiful color combination. Khan Ama likes it. I will use it tomorrow."
He looked at the queen again and said, "Our daughter has really grown up. She has learned needlework without us even noticing."
The Queen said, "Niulun's needlework is just to pass the time. Only because you favor your daughter do you not despise it."
"Well, that's not the case. Princesses don't need to do needlework to supplement the family income. Being able to sew two pieces of cloth together is good enough." Qianlong said as he sat down next to the empress. "The empress is clever and skilled in needlework. She hopes her daughter can be like you, right?"
The Queen pursed her lips and agreed. She herself was brought up with the concept of virtue and kindness, and received a lot of praise for it, so she subconsciously taught her daughter this way.
Qianlong said, "I used to be just like you. I've memorized everything since I was little, and I've been well-versed in classics and history. I'm skilled in archery and horseback riding, and I hope my sons will be like me." He sighed, "Now I understand. Everyone has their own strengths. There's no need to force things."
Speak of Cao Cao, and here he is. Yonghuang and Yonglian came in talking and laughing.
The two of them bowed to Ama and E'niang, and Niu Lun smiled and said, "Can I tell my brothers what Ganghan Ama said?"
Qianlong: "Please don't do that."
When Yonglian heard this, he said to Yonghuang, "Khan Ama must have been saying something bad about us just now."
"Then let's go back and ask Niu Lun quietly." Yonghuang said.
He lowered his voice a little, but Qianlong and the empress heard it clearly.
Qianlong pointed at his two sons and scolded them with a smile, "You two little bastards, you are getting more and more daring!"
The Queen and Niu Lun also laughed.
Yonghuang and Yonglian came here at this time just to see if Khan Ama was angry. In the afternoon, when Khan Ama saw the goose yellow sedan chair, his face visibly darkened.
It was when Yonglian saw this gift that he remembered the Hongxi rebellion.
It seemed like it was going to happen this year, but there is no movement at all now.
But Khan Ama was still in the mood to joke and seemed unaffected by the goose yellow sedan chair.
Without Niu Lun's words, Qianlong repeated what he had just said, "...but don't let yourselves down because of this. Talent is one thing, attitude is another."
Yonghuang and Yonglian immediately stood up and accepted the training.
Qianlong then asked Yonghuang and Yonglian, "Have your sixteenth and twenty-fourth uncles been coming to teach you on time recently?"
Yonglian nodded. "Sixteenth Uncle is not only on time, he also stays late. The exercises he gave us are getting harder and harder."
Qianlong: "You were the one who asked to learn mathematics. You must learn it no matter how difficult it is."
Yonglian obediently agreed, "Don't worry, Khan, I won't give up mathematics." He paused and said, "I heard from Leo that there's a man named Newton in England who wrote a book called 'Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy'. It's very famous in England. I want to read it."
"Newton." Qianlong thought for a moment, "I seem to have heard of this person's name before. He is from the Royal Society of Great Britain."
Yonglian's eyes widened. Khan Ama actually knew about the Royal Academy of Sciences.
"I'll ask the merchants to find out later," Qianlong said. "Pan Zhencheng is already on his way back home. It might be too late to rely on him to bring it back. I can only ask other foreign merchants to look for it."
Upon hearing this, Yonglian was surprised and asked, "Pan Zhencheng is coming back? Did he send you a letter?"
"I haven't seen his letter yet. I heard from the people at the Guangdong Customs that some foreign merchants encountered them in England." Qianlong said.
Yonglian hurriedly asked, "Are they doing well in England? Does England welcome our Qing merchant ships?"
Qianlong snorted: "It is their honor to do business with the Qing Dynasty."
Yonglian: “…”
"However, if we really want to trade with foreigners for a long time in the future, the court will definitely face a lot of trouble. Not to mention foreigners, even trading with these small countries around us will be a lot of trouble."
Qianlong then told a few people about a case recently reported by the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang. In the second year of the Qianlong reign, Chen Wusheng's merchant ship was carrying timber to Taiwan. According to the prior arrangement, it should have been exchanged for rice back to Xiamen. However, the ship's guards exchanged the rice for wheat and sold it in Luzon.
One of the escorts returned to the Qing dynasty and lied that the merchant ship had sunk due to a storm, putting all the blame on the ship's guarantors.
It was Luzon that discovered the matter first and arrested several ship escorts who were still trading in Luzon. These people confessed to the crime. The King of Luzon informed the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang about the case, and the Qing court learned about it.
Because the Qing Dynasty also gave preferential treatment to Luzon's merchant ships, and Luzon was a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty for many years, it was willing to help capture criminals and recover dirty silver.
"If it were the foreigners, they might not do this," said Qianlong.
Yonglian thought for a moment and said, "If we really want to officially start trade, we need to sign a contract in advance."
"The emperor is far away and they may not abide by the contract." In Qianlong's mind, the credibility of foreigners is zero.
"They dare not completely offend the Qing Dynasty for a little bit of profit." Yonglian said. The foreigners needed the Qing Dynasty market too much. Although smuggling was inevitable, they wanted the benefits of equal trade more than the profits from smuggling.
Niu Lun didn't know much about Western affairs, but after listening to the case that Khan Ama had just described, he said, "The King of Luzon is quite obedient."
Qianlong nodded and said, "I have sent someone to commend him."
"Coffee should also be grown in Luzon," Yonglian said. "Their climate is similar to that of Java."
"Is this what those Western painters told you?" Qianlong was curious.
Yonglian lied without blinking, "Yes! There are many Portuguese in Luzon."
Qianlong seemed to be thinking about something, and the next day he issued an order to the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, asking him to find out the attitude of the Luzon envoys towards foreigners.
Yonglian remembered that the historical Hongxi rebellion also implicated Prince Zhuang Yunlu, his fifth uncle Hongsheng, and his thirteenth uncle Hongchang and Hongtao.
But now these people are all busy with their own things. Hongtao took the merchant ship out to sea, Hongsheng and Hongchang followed their fifth uncle to make money, and a few days ago they even expanded their business to Guihua City. Sixteenth uncle came to give them math lessons as usual, and every day he was thinking of using various questions to stump them.
Just when Yonglian thought that the Hongxi Rebellion would not happen again, his sixteenth uncle was criticized by Khan Ama in front of all the civil and military officials in the court.
The cause was that Suzhou weaving master Hai Bao had purchased actors and actresses from Jiangnan at low prices, under the pretext of sending them to the imperial court. In fact, he kept them in the weaving house, where they were indulged in revelry and extravagance. Furthermore, Hai Bao had embezzled a considerable amount of money, and to cover up his crimes, he bribed Yunlu.
The Suzhou weaving factory belonged to the Imperial Household Department, but now it had hooked up with a powerful prince like Yunlu. How could Qianlong not be angry?
Fortunately, Yunlu was sensible and found that Qianlong was suspicious of Haibao, so he immediately confessed that Haibao had bribed him.
Qianlong was really impressed by his sixteenth uncle. He received double salary as a prince and income from other jobs, so why did he still want to make money?
Yunlu was not greedy for money, he was simply too embarrassed to refuse.
After being scolded in front of everyone, Yunlu resigned from all his official positions.
Qianlong snorted, "Everything else is fine, but if you even quit your job as a teacher in the Shangshufang, Yonglian will cry."
Yunlu thought of the admiring looks his two nephews gave him, and felt even more ashamed. He said hurriedly, "I have done such a foolish thing. I am ashamed to continue to be the teacher of Yonghuang and Yonglian."
"It's good that you know." Qianlong said, "If you do this again next time, I will scold you in front of Yonghuang and Yonglian."
Yunlu: "..."
In the end, Qianlong only cancelled Yunlu's double salary as a prince and dismissed him from his position as Minister of the Lifanyuan, while his other positions remained the same.
Not only did Qianlong criticize Yunlu, but even Yunli couldn't help complaining when he saw him, "I worry about my nephews, and now I have to worry about my brother."
He couldn't help coughing as he spoke, "It would be better to go downstairs and see Fourth Brother and Thirteenth Brother earlier."
"What are you talking about?" Yunlu said, "Without you, Hongchang and the others wouldn't have had such a good ending. Seventeenth brother, you know I'm prone to making mistakes sometimes. You must live a long life and remind me from time to time."
Yunli: “…” Who is the brother?
Yunlu said many good things to his seventeenth brother, "I was thinking of taking charge of the firearms with you, but I'm afraid the emperor doesn't trust me to interfere."
"Then you should concentrate on teaching the princes." Yunli said, "The more I understand firearms, the more I feel the importance of mathematics. Since we will be equipping soldiers with large numbers of firearms in the future, we must have people in the barracks who are proficient in mathematics and can calculate ranges. When Hongxi's matter is over next year, you can talk to the emperor and select some soldiers with a basic understanding of mathematics to learn this."
Yunlu agreed and let him teach, as this was what he was good at.
Just two days after Yunlu was scolded, Nianqin's memorial was delivered to the capital, which contained accusations that Hongxi had colluded with Shanxi merchants, and several witnesses were directly taken to the Ministry of Justice.
The Ministry of Justice also had another witness, the wizard who had told Hongxi's fortune.
Yunxi had already obtained his confession and was waiting for the Ministry of Justice to send the confessions of the other people, so that he could convict them.
Only after the evidence was conclusive did Yunxi ask Hongxi's sons to be questioned at the clan office.
He hoped that none of these nephews and grandchildren would be involved. Hongxi had many children, and if they were all expelled from the clan, the impact would be too widespread.
Fortunately, in the end, only Yongchen and Yonglin knew Hongxi's evil ambitions.
In less than ten days, the clan office collected all the evidence and went to Zhengjiazhuang to formally arrest Hong Xi.
At this time, Hongxi just thought that the matter in Shanxi had been exposed. When he arrived at the clan affairs office, he found out that Antai, who had told his fortune, had been arrested long ago.
On this day, Emperor Qianlong was testing the academic performance of his two sons, and Yunxi asked for a meeting.
Qianlong called him in directly, and Yunxi glanced at Yonghuang and Yonglian.
Yonglian immediately said, "Khan Ama, let's go play outside for a while."
Qianlong waved his hand and told them to go, but not to run too far, as the test was not over yet.
After the two men left, Yunxi said, "That traitor Hongxi wants to see the emperor."
Qianlong said without hesitation, "No."
Yunxi said, "He seems to be regretting it now, but it's too late."
Qianlong said, "It's not that Khan Ama and I didn't give him a chance, it's that he chose death himself." He thought for a moment and said, "I plan to change his name."
Yunxi thought to himself that they were indeed father and son, and they loved playing this trick. "Will you modify it yourself?"
Qianlong nodded and said, "He always regards himself as the eldest grandson and acts like a big brother in front of us. I will just change his name to Forty-six." He couldn't help laughing as he said this.
Yunxi also forced a laugh.
It was not until this time that many distant clan members heard that something had happened to Prince Li. Before they had time to discuss it, at the grand court meeting the next day, the clan office directly convicted Hongxi in front of all the civil and military officials.
When Yunxi read out the four questions that Hongxi asked the fortune teller, everyone was dumbfounded.
Not to mention that the emperor was already dissatisfied with Hongxi, even if the emperor and Hongxi were brothers, this was unbearable!
With these four issues in mind, even without pointing out Hongxi's purpose of colluding with Shanxi merchants, everyone would think of it as a rebellion.
Everyone thought Prince Li was crazy, and anyone with a normal mind would not have the courage to do such a thing.
No one dared to plead for Hongxi, not even a question.
No one was surprised to hear how Qianlong treated Hongxi.
Stripping of titles, confinement, expulsion from the household register, and name change—all officials who had served under the previous emperor were familiar with this process. However, unlike the previous emperor, when the previous emperor eliminated his brothers, he himself was furious. However, the current master's tone was remarkably calm, showing no sign of anger at all.
His attitude made everyone feel a chill in their spine.
Many members of the royal family began to recall whether they had behaved inappropriately in the past two years, and they would have to keep a low profile from now on.
Hongchang, Hongsheng and others were a little scared, and they were glad that they had not been hanging out with Hongxi in the past two years.
Such a big thing quickly spread throughout the palace.
Hongxi's wives, concubines, and children in Zhengjiazhuang were all taken into custody and taken to Jingshan one after another.
His grown-up daughters were all married to Mongolia, and Qianlong had no intention of implicating them.
But Hongxi still has some very young children and even grandchildren.
When the Queen Mother thought about these children being imprisoned, she couldn't help but chant Buddha's name.
She whispered to Concubine Yu in private: "If Hongxi had died early, his family would have had a better life. If he lived longer, the whole family would have suffered with him."
Concubine Yu nodded, "That's true, especially for those children who are still ignorant."
But even if they were the empress dowager or concubine, they dared not interfere in such matters.
In the evening, Qianlong came to pay his respects to the empress dowager. When he talked about this matter, he still looked aggrieved.
The Queen Mother gently advised him not to ruin his health by getting angry at such a crazy person.
Qianlong had actually calmed down a long time ago, and now he felt a sense of relief. However, he not only pretended to be wronged in front of his mother, but also complained to his two sons.
Not only does your Khan Ama have to worry about natural disasters such as floods and droughts everywhere, but he is also being schemed against by traitors like Hongxi. You two must not make your Khan Ama angry again.
Yonghuang was successfully pua and couldn't sleep that night. He was just worried about why he couldn't grow up and share the worries of Khan Ama.
Yonglian would not be fooled by Khan Ama. He would just sleep when he was tired and eat when he was tired. Khan Ama's ability to withstand pressure was unmatched by ordinary people, so he didn't need to worry about him.
What he was worried about now was another thing. The demand for coal in various places had increased greatly. If the steam engine was not developed, other industries would also be affected.
But he couldn't draw the blueprint of the steam engine directly. Yonglian thought for a few days and decided to go to the Taimiao to find Huang Mafa.
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