Chapter 223: People’s Desire (VI)
The news about Huo Chong in the capital was somehow connected. Several Han Chinese middle and low-level officials who had once cooperated with Huo Chong and suddenly lost contact with him suddenly resumed contact with Huo Chong's intelligence network. The news from the capital was sent to Shandong through the lost and recovered channels.
The way to acquire information is by number of articles, each of which is a short article, quite in the style of Shishuo Xinyu. It can be seen that the literary skills of several officials are really extraordinary. Even Huo Chong couldn't help but take time out from his busy work every day to read these short articles.
The Spring Festival was over, and Huo Chong, who had just returned from his New Year's greetings tour, was looking at the short articles he had accumulated during this period. Since the fee was charged by the number of articles and no special intelligence was required, these officials seemed to have become accustomed to the transaction of exchanging money for regular articles.
While reading, the secretary came in to report that Gao Pang from the Ministry of Rites wanted to see him. Huo Chong asked Gao Pang to come in and pointed at the small articles, "Xiao Gao, if you are interested, you can read them. They are very interesting."
Gao Pang responded and said directly: "Governor, I will go to the grassroots level in a few days. I am really a little uneasy. Governor, think about what the people think and serve the people. This is easy to say, but I feel I don't know where to start."
"You have never farmed before, so I don't know if you can see things from a farmer's perspective. Let me ask you, what do you want if you were to farm?"
"Well... probably after the fall when I send my kids to school."
"So, the only thing farmers can think about is producing more food. The more immediate thoughts are what they need to do right now and what they can't do. The shorter thoughts are when to start today and what to eat."
Gao Pang quickly took out his notebook, turned to a page and looked at it, then lamented, "Sure enough, I have talked about it before."
“So, the reason why people’s joys and sorrows cannot be shared is not because people are different, but because the environments they live in are different.”
Gao Pang nodded repeatedly, and suddenly remembered something, "Why can't the governor be wrong?"
Huo Chong was amused by this question and burst out laughing. "Because I have to admit that what I think may not be right. After a long time, I have become thick-skinned and don't take myself seriously anymore."
Gao Pang couldn't help but smile bitterly. Ever since he consulted Master Chang Dao, Gao Pang learned that it was impossible for humans to master the Great Dao. However, he still needed constant reminders to remember it from time to time.
At this moment, someone rushed in and gave Huo Chong something. Huo Chong took it and looked at it, and couldn't help laughing, "Haha! Great!"
Gao Pang was very curious, but he didn't dare to ask. Then Huo Chong beckoned him, and Gao Pang hurried over, stood beside Huo Chong, and bent down to read. After reading only a few lines, he couldn't help but be shocked.
A sudden change occurred in the Qing Dynasty. While the Qing Dynasty was coordinating internally, Lao Ba secretly teamed up with Longkodo and other ministers who were continuously attacked by Yongzheng, and took Hongxi, the son of the deposed crown prince Yinreng, to Shengjing. In Shengjing, they announced that they would support Hongxi to succeed the throne.
Gao Pang was almost stuttering, "This... Governor, this is really brave!"
"Hehe!" Huo Chong exclaimed: "Of course. If not for this, how could Lao Ba survive!"
Gao Pang had finished reading this brief report, stood up straight, thought quickly, and asked in confusion, "But has no one in the Qing Dynasty thought of this?"
"They are just worried that the Fourteenth Prince and Hong Zhou are fighting for the throne. The Fourteenth Prince is not a straightforward person and always wants to become the emperor legitimately. This gives the Eighth Prince a chance." Huo Chong made a judgment.
At this time, the capital was in chaos, especially the Fourteenth Brother, who was so angry that he cursed the Eighth Brother for being unkind.
Just as Huo Chong said, although the Fourteenth Prince repeatedly said that they should unite for the sake of the Qing Dynasty, every time the Thirteenth Prince urged the Fourteenth Prince to submit a petition to the Queen Mother to allow Hong Zhou to ascend the throne, the Fourteenth Prince immediately felt something was wrong.
At this time, many people who wanted to curry favor with the emperor had gathered around him and fanned his flames. They said that as long as the queen mother gave the order, the fourteenth emperor would certainly become the emperor. They wanted the fourteenth emperor to tell the queen mother that he wanted to be the emperor.
As a result, the Fourteenth Prince discovered that he was unable to take the initiative to ask his mother for the throne.
This dragged on for a month. When the Eighth Bird suddenly disappeared, the Fourteenth Brother thought that the Thirteenth Brother had killed the Eighth Brother, so he blocked the Thirteenth Brother and interrogated him.
The officials who wanted to rely on the Fourteenth Prince to come to power and gain the credit of being the emperor's followers wanted the Fourteenth Prince to publicly announce that the Thirteenth Prince had murdered the Eighth Prince, so they wanted to attack the Thirteenth Prince.
This time, the Fourteenth Prince wanted to do it, but he sent people to ask the Eight Banners in Miyun Camp to obey his orders. Unexpectedly, Miyun Camp resisted with the excuse that "no orders will be accepted without the imperial edict."
Without the support of the Miyun Camp, the Fourteenth Brother also knew that it would be impossible for the Beijing Camp, managed solely by the Nine-Gate Admiral, to accomplish anything.
After all this trouble, after the New Year, they received the news that Lao Ba had supported Hong Xi in Shengjing. It turned out that Lao Ba was not afraid of the severe cold and took Hong Xi and others in the middle of winter, crossing the mountain roads and snow, and ran to Shengjing.
When the fourteenth brother was scolding the eighth brother, the fifth brother came again. The fourteenth brother had to see the brother who saved his life.
"Do you understand?" Lao Wu asked concisely.
Old Fourteen lowered his head in shame, "Got it."
"Anything else you want to say?"
"No!" said the Fourteenth Brother angrily. This anger was not directed at the Fifth Brother, but at the Eighth Brother.
"In that case, follow me to the palace to see the Queen Mother. If you have anything on your mind, just tell her directly."
Upon hearing that he was going to see his mother, Lao Shisi felt that this was the only way.
When they entered the palace, they saw that the Thirteenth Brother and Hong Zhou were already in front of the Queen Mother. The Fourteenth Brother and the Fifth Brother knelt down to pay their respects to the Queen Mother, and the Thirteenth Brother also knelt down with Hong Zhou before the Queen Mother again.
Old Thirteen said loudly: "Queen Dowager, if we cannot establish a new king immediately, the court will lose face! Those people do not take the Queen Dowager seriously, please issue an order to establish Hong Zhou as the king!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Hong Zhou started to cry. With red eyes he shouted, "Grand Empress Dowager, please issue an order. If the situation is like this, my father will also be uneasy in the underworld. If my grandfather knew that the situation had come to this, how sad he would be!"
The Queen Mother's eyes fell on Hong Zhou. Seeing the child in tears, she felt really distressed. She then moved her eyes to her beloved son, the Fourteenth Old Man, but there was something else mixed in with her pity.
The fifth brother immediately said, "Fourteenth brother, we Manchu men never hide anything. Why don't you tell the Queen Mother what you are thinking? If you had spoken earlier, I'm afraid this situation wouldn't have happened."
The fourteenth old man looked up at his mother guiltily. Thousands of words came to his mind, but he couldn't say them because of the strong feeling of shame.
While he was hesitating, he heard the Thirteenth Brother say, "The Queen Mother once said something to my Fourth Brother. Now I think back, the Queen Mother understood the greater good and knew that even if he got the throne, it would not be stable. If the younger brother succeeded the elder brother, it would only cause an uproar in the world. The Eighth Brother knew that he could not succeed the throne himself and had to use the name of Hongxi, so how could the Queen Mother not know that?"
After hearing this, the Queen Mother's expression changed several times.
At this time, Hong Zhou choked up and shouted, "Grandma, if my grandson becomes the emperor, I will definitely sign a royal seal with my fourteenth uncle, and he will be the iron-hat king, hereditary and unchangeable. If I disobey, it will be unacceptable to heaven."
Having said this, the Queen Mother looked at the Fourteenth Prince again. The Fourteenth Prince knew that this might be his last chance, and he opened his mouth to say "I want to be the Emperor". However, the words that should have been easy to say were stuck in his throat and could not be spoken.
There were too many reasons that prevented Old Fourteen from saying this. Not only was there a confrontation in the Miyun Camp, but even the Five Camps of the Eight Banners of Beijing and the Five Camps of the Eight Banners of Han under the Nine Gates Admiral had not been subdued by Old Fourteen in the past month. Although those people respected Old Fourteen very much, few of them really patted their chests and promised that they would support Old Fourteen as emperor through thick and thin.
The Fourteenth Prince has not had contact with the current imperial court for a long time, and everything is too far away from him.
If the fight for the throne fails this time... Every time he thought of this, the Fourteenth Prince felt as if a mountain was pressing on his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.
In the silence, Hong Zhou shouted again: "Grandma, if my grandson succeeds to the throne, I will immediately appoint Fourteenth Uncle as Prime Minister. This is all my grandson can do. I just hope you can put your mind at ease. I will never do anything bad to Fourteenth Uncle!"
Alas... The Queen Mother sighed. The Fourteenth Prince felt as if his heart had stopped beating. The moment that would decide his fate had finally come. Then he heard his mother ask, "Yinzhen, are you willing to assist Hong Zhou?"
"Empress Dowager, we are willing to assist Hong Zhou with our lives!" Old Thirteen immediately answered loudly.
"Queen Dowager, I am also willing to assist Hong Zhou together with the princes and ministers!" Lao Wu shouted.
Faced with the tremendous pressure created by his two older brothers, the Fourteenth Brother was completely speechless.
After another silence, Hong Zhou shouted loudly, "Grandma, I am willing to treat Uncle Fourteen well."
The Queen Mother sighed again and turned to Hong Zhou, "Hong Zhou, don't treat your uncles like your father did."
"Yes, Your Majesty! Your grandson will never harm your uncles." After Hong Zhou shouted this, he kowtowed respectfully to the Empress Dowager, no, it should be the Grand Empress Dowager, to express his gratitude.
On the 23rd day of the first lunar month in the sixth year of Yongzheng's reign, the Empress Dowager issued an edict that Yongzheng's son Hongzhou ascended the throne and became the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The reign was called Qianlong.
After Hong Zhou ascended the throne, the first thing he did was to declare the Hongxi regime in Shengjing illegal. Then he announced that his fourteenth uncle would be appointed as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet. At the same time, he announced that he would wipe out the traitor Huo Chong and avenge the late Emperor Yongzheng.
After all this turmoil, the Qing Dynasty was essentially divided into two parts, north and south, with Shanhaiguan as the boundary.
The Hongxi regime in Shengjing united the original Manchu and Mongolian forces, while the Hongzhou forces in the capital tried their best to maintain the system within the Great Wall.
Huo Chong himself was happy to see this situation. However, what made Huo Chong even more surprised was that the Mongolian Eight Banners were originally on the edge of Shandong, ready to invade again after the spring. Unexpectedly, this cavalry was transferred away. Although there was news that they were going to replace them with other cavalry to continue slaughtering the people of Shandong, this back and forth at least left Huo Chong with a few months of gap.
