Chapter 172 Will the Truth Hurt People (V)
It is said that Yongzheng was very afraid of heat because of a hidden illness he suffered when he was young. Since the third year of Yongzheng's reign, he basically lived in Yuanmingyuan. It was already the eighth month of the lunar calendar, and Yuanmingyuan was even cooler. After Prince Yi finished reading the new manifesto written by Huo Chong, a layer of fine sweat was already on his forehead.
Huo Chong had written a manifesto before he started his rebellion. Prince Yi had read it carefully. Overall, there was a sense of disapproval in this manifesto. Prince Yi felt that if it were not necessary to write a manifesto during a rebellion, Huo Chong would not have bothered to write it.
However, the words and sentences in the manifesto he saw this time were still in a calm style, without any fancy words, and the whole text exuded a sense of indifference. But Prince Yi felt his heart beating wildly. For him, a prince who had participated in the battle for the throne of the Nine Dragons, this manifesto was too terrible!
After putting down the manifesto, the eunuchs were seen carefully wiping the ink stains off the gold bricks. The surface of the gold bricks was extremely smooth and dense, so even if the high-quality ink with excellent infectivity fell on it, it could be wiped off.
But Prince Yi was a little dazed for a moment. What method could be used to completely wipe out the things mentioned in this manifesto after they were spread so widely?
"Thirteenth brother. What do you think?" Yongzheng was no longer furious at this time. He sat quietly in the chair, but his voice sounded a little weak.
Seeing Yongzheng like this, Prince Yi felt sad and immediately replied: "Your Majesty, a reward is offered in Shandong. Anyone who can cut off Huo Chong's head will be given a high position and generous salary by the court! We must make Huo Chong, the bastard, sleepless and restless!"
"Haha." Yongzheng suddenly laughed weakly, "What kind of reward do you think is worth the credit for killing Huo Chong?"
"A vacancy for a sixth-rank position. Two thousand taels of silver." Prince Yi casually gave the price. When he said this, Prince Yi couldn't really focus on this matter. The reason he said this was more because Prince Yi felt a little uneasy.
Huo Chong's manifesto did not curse Yongzheng, but instead used taboo words to directly write Aixinjueluo Xuanye (Kangxi) and Aixinjueluo Yinzhen (Yongzheng) at the beginning. This disrespect made Prince Yi furious.
Just calling the emperor by his first name was enough to punish the entire clan, not to mention the use of brackets to indicate it. But Huo Chong certainly didn't mind having this additional charge.
After the disrespect, Huo Chong revealed the internal affairs of the royal family. He started by saying, "Xuanye (Kangxi) is a barbarian, and his thinking is still based on the Tartar tradition. Xuanye (Kangxi) was worried that the prince would rebel, so he adopted the Tartar idea of nobles ruling the country, using the power-sharing technique to use other sons to restrain the prince Yinreng. Although Yinreng had no intention of rebelling, according to the Tartar tradition, as long as power shifted to the prince, the prince would be suspected of rebellion even if he had never thought of rebelling..."
The entire article revolves around the battle for the throne among the nine princes. It first mocks Kangxi's Tartar nature, which made him obsessed with power and led to various attacks on the crown prince. It also mocks Kangxi's Tartar nature, which made him depose the crown prince on a whim. After deposing the crown prince, it was realized that he was still Tartar in politics and was immature. The only way was to restore the crown prince.
Afterwards, Kangxi still considered the crown prince, but he destroyed the crown prince's prestige and the father-son relationship with his own hands. The selection of the crown prince was originally a farce for Kangxi to cover up his shame. But the straightforward Eighth Prince believed it, which forced Kangxi to punish the Eighth Prince to death. But he had to admit that the matter was beyond Kangxi's imagination.
After deposing the crown prince for the second time, Kangxi actually still wanted to give the crown prince a chance, at least to give the crown prince's son a chance. However, due to carelessness in his later years, he discussed with Fang Bao how to appoint a crown prince. Fang Bao did not think much about it and said "look at the holy grandson" in front of the young grandchildren.
This was heard by Yongzheng's son Hongli, who went home and told Yongzheng. Yongzheng, who had long been trying to seize the throne, knew that his father Kangxi had completely ignored Yongzheng, so he could only contact his uncle Longkodo and began to plan to kill Kangxi.
Kangxi was in good health at the time, and Hongxi, the son of the deposed crown prince, had been raised by Kangxi and was deeply loved by Kangxi. At this time, Hongxi had already reached adulthood, while the deposed crown prince Yinreng was terminally ill and was about to die. In just two or three years, once Yinreng died, Hongxi would be in his twenties. Naturally, he could pass on the throne to his grandson.
At that time, Yongzheng was almost fifty years old. How could he compare with Hongxi, who was in his prime ?
The reaction of Yongzheng's mother after Kangxi's death can also prove this...
Finally, Huo Chong came to a conclusion. The dispute between Yongzheng and the fourteenth son, and the so-called "fourteenth son changed to the fourth son", is completely unbelievable. However, all the circumstances point to one situation. Yongzheng may have felt a sense of responsibility for the Qing Dynasty and believed that only he could change the fate of the Qing Dynasty. So he colluded with his uncle Longkodo to poison Kangxi to death.
The reason why Yongzheng did this now was entirely due to his sense of mission and his deep love for the Qing Dynasty's foundation .
However, the barbarians have no national destiny for a hundred years, and Yongzheng's efforts to seize power by murdering his father are doomed to fail. Huo Chong advised Yongzheng to give up this idea and stop struggling. From coma to death, there is no pain. Why not take a shower and go to bed? Or in order to save some energy, don't take a shower and go to bed directly. Anyway, Yongzheng is destined to face a future of destruction.
“…Isn’t that a bit too little?”
In his fear, Prince Yi heard a little bit of Yongzheng's words behind him. He quickly collected his thoughts and replied, "Your Majesty, I was a little distracted. Please say it again."
"I mean, there is a vacancy for the sixth rank. Two thousand taels of reward is a bit too little, isn't it? After all, some people are as rebellious as Huo Chong, but they are serving as officials in the court and eating the court's salary! It would be better to remove these people's positions and use the money to reward those who can kill Huo Chong. Haha. Don't you think so?"
Yongzheng started out with a sneer, but by the end he was gritting his teeth, his hatred making Prince Yi shudder. But this hatred was not surprising, Prince Yi also suspected that someone among the officials must have colluded with Huo Chong. Otherwise, how could Huo Chong know so many secrets of the royal family.
Without waiting for Prince Yi to express his opinion, Yongzheng had already made a decision, "No matter if he is the eighth brother or not, let's start with him!"
Looking at his fourth brother's almost ferocious appearance, Prince Yi wanted to say something, his lips moved slightly, but in the end he said nothing.
On the eighth day of the ninth month of the fourth year of Yongzheng's reign, which was the day before the Double Ninth Festival, Yongzheng issued an edict: "I order you to go and pass my edict to Yinsi's wife, dismiss her as his wife, and send her back to her maternal family. I order his maternal family members to live in several other houses and keep them under strict surveillance. They are not allowed to communicate with each other. If anyone communicates with each other, the person who communicates will be executed, and no one in his maternal family will be pardoned. After you come back, pass this edict to Yinsi again. If he changes his ways and works sincerely, I will give him more grace. If he bears a grudge because of his wife's expulsion and deliberately refuses to leave on the pretext of illness, his wife will be executed and his son will also be punished severely."
The emperor gave the order, and the clan government immediately took action. After several years of continuous crackdowns, all the members of the Eighth Prince Party, which was formed based on interest relations, were killed by Yongzheng, and officials close to the Eighth Prince were also cracked down by Yongzheng, and no one dared to get close to the Eighth Prince. At this time, the emperor clearly wanted to deal a fatal blow to the Eighth Prince, and the clan government was completely following orders, and no one even sent a message to the Eighth Prince in advance.
After kneeling down to listen to the decree, the faces of Lao Ba and his wife turned pale. What surprised the eunuch was that Lao Ba and his wife only looked angry and sad, neither frightened nor desperate. The couple even kowtowed in courtesy to thank the emperor and completed the process of conveying the decree.
Although the Eighth Prince Yinsi was already a recognized dead tiger at this time, he himself did not have any mortal enemies. If he did, that person was sitting high on the throne and had no chance to come and kill the Eighth Prince himself. The eunuchs and guards who came to do the job and the people from the clan house were alert, but they did not use violence.
The leader said politely, "Your Majesty, that woman is no longer your wife. Please don't make things difficult for me and let me take this woman away."
But the wife of Lao Ba, with a pale face, pulled out a dagger from Lao Ba's waist. The people in the clan residence were shocked, and many of them drew their swords and knives as if they were facing a great enemy. Some of them were already holding weapons and were ready to rush forward.
But Prince Lian roared, "Are you going to rebel? I am still the prince now. If you take another step forward, I will kill you, you dogs and slaves!"
The Manchus conquered the world with martial arts, and the Qing princes had all received strict training in riding, archery and weapons. At this time, Lao Ba was really angry, and his whole body was filled with murderous aura, which frightened the clan officials who came to convey the imperial edict and took a few steps back unconsciously.
But the wife of Lao Ba raised a dagger and cut off a large lock of hair. She then reached out and grabbed the jade pendant on Lao Ba's waist and cut the silk rope on it. With a clang, the dagger was thrown to the ground. The clan officials and the messenger breathed a sigh of relief.
Putting the jade pendant in her arms, Lao Ba's wife took Lao Ba's hand, stuffed the strand of hair into Lao Ba's palm, and then closed Lao Ba's palm, allowing him to hold the hair tightly.
Although she knew this day would eventually come, the Eighth Old Lady bowed with tears in her eyes, "My Lord, I can no longer serve you. After I leave, please take care of yourself. After I return home, I will never marry again. You are still my Lord. Nothing will change."
Lao Ba tried to pull his wife up, but his limbs were weak and he could not stand steadily. His wife could not pull him up, and he fell to the ground instead. Lao Ba did not get up, but knelt on the ground and hugged his wife tightly, saying heartbreakingly: "You and I are husband and wife in this life, and in all the lives to come. Until the end of time, until the seas dry up and the rocks crumble, we will never leave each other."
Seeing the couple hugging each other tightly, although they were both crying, they were not afraid of death, and they did not blame each other. They were just sad for being separated abruptly. The people who came to the clan house and those who came to convey the imperial edict also put away their weapons. Some of them were so soft-hearted that they couldn't help but shed tears, turned their heads, and raised the back of their hands.
However, the clan officials were only servants of the emperor. And Prince Lian was already a dead tiger, so they could not sacrifice themselves for this dead tiger. The leader stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, since this girl is no longer your wife, she can no longer stay in your house. Please let us take her to get her clothes and go back to her parents' home."
Prince Lian wanted to stand up to stop them, but his wife held his arm tightly, "Your Highness, we knew we would be separated one day. Your Highness is a daughter, please don't let these servants make fun of you. We didn't do anything wrong, and if we quarrel with them, it will seem like we are guilty."
As she spoke, Fu Jin stood up and pulled Lao Ba up with great effort. She helped Lao Ba to tidy up his clothes and brush off the dirt on his body. After tidying herself up, Fu Jin saluted Lao Ba again. Then she turned around and walked towards the gate. As she walked, she said, "I think you have prepared the carriages and horses, right?"
"Hui Fu..." The official from the clan office abruptly stopped addressing him incorrectly, almost choking. After taking a breath, he said, "We have prepared the carriage. We can wait for you to get your clothes."
"No need. Someone will prepare it when I get home. No need to worry about it."
As they were talking, the eighth prince's concubine had already walked out of Prince Lian's mansion with the people from the clan house.
Watching his wife disappear outside the door, Lao Ba felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife. He looked down and saw his dagger on the ground not far away. He just wanted to pick it up and stab it into his chest. However, he still held back.
Yes, this day has finally come. If it were in the past, Lao Ba would have had to sit back and wait for Yongzheng to punish him. But things are different now. Lao Ba has found a tool to take revenge on Yongzheng.
The news that Huo Chong had annihilated 20,000 government troops outside the city of Jinan had reached Lao Ba, and Huo Chong did not disappoint Lao Ba. Yongzheng had already launched the final attack on Lao Ba, and Lao Ba also wanted to do one last thing before being imprisoned.
There were people in the court who absolutely did not agree with Yongzheng, and there were quite a few of them. Some of them still secretly contacted Lao Ba, and what prompted them to do so was not high positions and generous salaries, but the belief that they could never accept Yongzheng's tyranny and perverse behavior.
In fact, Lao Ba did not dare to completely trust them, but there was not much time left before Yongzheng issued the decree to confine him, and the intelligence exchange with Huo Chong that he had finally established could not be cut off. Even if Lao Ba was killed by Yongzheng, as long as this line was not broken, Huo Chong could kill the troops sent by Yongzheng to eliminate him and continue to avenge Lao Ba.
There is not much time left for Lao Ba.
The decree forcing the eighth prince to divorce his wife was not announced in the court, but was executed by the Imperial Clan Court. This was the emperor's family affair, and the ministers who knew how to protect themselves naturally would not inquire about it, so they didn't know about it.
The wife of the eighth master died in a dignified manner, without crying or making a scene, nor did she hang herself. Because she died peacefully, even those who saw a procession of carriages passing outside the eighth master's house would not have known that a tragedy had occurred in the house, where a couple was forcibly separated.
So when the ministers saw Prince Lian appearing in the court with a pale face, they were just curious as to why Prince Lian insisted on attending court despite his poor health. Although he would be ridiculed by Yongzheng if he asked for leave, would he not be ridiculed by Yongzheng if he insisted on attending court despite his illness?
Seeing the pale face of the Eighth Brother, Yongzheng knew that the final blow he launched had made the Eighth Brother feel heartbroken, and he felt very happy.
Before launching the attack, Yongzheng actually carefully considered how he could let Old Eight go. After thinking about it, there was only one way. That was for Old Eight to kneel down and plead guilty in the court. He confessed his crimes one by one to Yongzheng in front of all the civil and military officials in the court, dissecting his evil heart and rotten belly, so that all the civil and military officials in the court could see and hear clearly. It was not that Yongzheng was sarcastic and mean to treat Old Eight like this, but that Old Eight deserved it.
After clearing Yongzheng of these bad reputations, Lao Ba asked Yongzheng to kill him to set things right and uphold the law.
In that case, Yongzheng would spare the Eighth Brother's life and imprison him forever because he was his brother.
But this last chance had passed. Since the Eighth Prince still insisted on buzzing around the court like a green-headed fly and refused to die, Yongzheng could only let the Eighth Prince die.
Lao Ba thought he was smart, which was really a joke. Even the traitor Huo Chong could see it and pointed out bluntly that Lao Ba was a fool, a real fool!
But Lao Ba himself just didn't know. Yongzheng looked away, feeling relieved. If it weren't for that bad woman who supported Lao Ba from behind, giving him advice and suggestions, would Lao Ba have survived until now? Yongzheng would have caught him and killed him long ago.
Now that the bad woman has been driven out of the Aisin-Gioro family, it is really a relief to everyone.
After a bit of fun, Yongzheng began to face something that was extremely unpleasant. He glanced at the Minister of War Tong Jia Fahai, and saw the Minister of War Fahai stepped forward sensibly, bowed and said, "Your servant Fahai has something to report to the emperor."
"Speak." Yongzheng had already prepared himself mentally. Even though he already knew what Fahai was going to say, Yongzheng still felt very sad.
Fahai tells the story of the second military operation of the imperial court to eliminate Huo Chong, which ended in a great defeat. Of course, he did not mention the fact that the Jinan defenders took away the silver from the surrendered soldiers. Fahai only said that the Shandong Governor Chen Shiguan was incompetent, which led to the surrendered soldiers released by Huo Chong to mutiniate in Jinan City.
Although the mutiny was suppressed by the Jinan City garrison and the Qing army from Northern Zhili that arrived later, Chen Shiguan should be dismissed and imprisoned for betraying the emperor's grace.
One thing the ministers already knew at this time, but more ministers did not know about it. This was the second time the court sent troops to eliminate Huo Chong. The first time the court ordered to eliminate Huo Chong, the 6,000 official troops in Dengzhou Town were wiped out, and even the Dengzhou Town camp was flattened by Huo Chong, which shocked the court.
This time, the 20,000-man army went to suppress the rebellion. They were completely defeated by Huo Chong. According to the Minister of War, Fu Hai, the surrendered soldiers released by Huo Chong were killed by the Jinan defenders and the Qing army in northern Zhili. The 20,000 Qing army was completely annihilated again.
Even though he knew he had to observe the etiquette of a minister in the court, he could still hear low exclamations and sighs one after another, like a swarm of green-headed flies buzzing.
Yongzheng was annoyed by the noise of these flies. As soon as Fahai finished talking about dismissing Chen Shiguan from his post and putting him in prison, he immediately replied, "Approved!"
The officials immediately quieted down. It was obvious that killing the chicken had the effect of scaring the monkey.
Seeing that no one was interceding for Chen Shiguan, Fahai continued, "Your Majesty, the troops in Shandong, Henan, and Jiangsu are ill-equipped and unable to fight. Although there were many casualties this time, the military discipline was lax and a mutiny broke out. I beg Your Majesty not to provide compensation."
"Approved!" Yongzheng breathed a sigh of relief. This saved at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.
It must be said that the fact that the 20,000 soldiers died without compensation had a much smaller impact on the court officials than Chen Shiguan's dismissal and imprisonment. Chen Shiguan's imprisonment meant that if the officials committed the same crime, they would be punished in the same way. As for the life and death of the 20,000 soldiers, what did it have to do with the compensation and the court officials?
At this moment, Yongzheng turned to Prince Lian. Just by looking at Yongzheng's eyes, the ministers knew that the daily routine had begun again. Then Yongzheng asked, "Prince Lian, this villain Huo Chong has started to make up rumors again, but this time, if there were no ministers from the royal family in the court to make up the rumors for him, how could Huo Chong, a country craftsman, know about the affairs of the court? Do you know who helped Huo Chong make up these rumors?"
When Prince Lian heard this, he couldn't help but laugh bitterly, thinking it was ridiculous. For several years, Yongzheng had always wanted to frame him, and this time, Yongzheng wanted to frame him again. However, Yongzheng never thought that the so-called crime he pointed out was actually true.
The feelings of the ministers were different from those of Yongzheng and Prince Lian. When Yongzheng accused Prince Lian of colluding with thieves, the smart ministers understood that Yongzheng was really going to take action against Prince Lian.
