I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 160 Yinzhen returns, Hongli suffers

Song Shen glanced at the emperors and generals below and saw that their expressions were strange, some speechless, some sarcastic, some gloating, and some angry.

There was no fluctuation in his heart.

Such is the nature of the ruling class.

After everyone had finished whispering, Song Shen spoke calmly:
"Now I want to ask everyone, what do you think of Qianlong?"

"Was my previous assessment of him wrong?"

Emperor Yongzheng Yinzhen, who was nearly fifty years old, was the first to speak.

He gritted his teeth, his face full of gloom and anger, but he tried his best to control his emotions in front of this group of people, and his face was a little distorted.

"If what you said is true, then your evaluation is absolutely correct. It is me who misjudged the person..."

"Hongli has always known how to act cute and please others. When the Emperor was still alive, he loved him very much. He is fifteen years old this year. He has always been very sensible in front of everyone since he was a child. He is also very smart. Even I and the Emperor did not realize that his true nature is like this!"

"This boy is arrogant, selfish, and stubborn. I invited the best teacher in the world to teach him, and he turned out to be such a good emperor! He is so good!"

It was obvious from the way Yinzhen pronounced his words that he was trying hard to suppress his anger. The three words "good emperor" seemed to be thrown out of his mouth one by one and hit the ground. It took a lot of effort for him to restrain himself from going berserk on the spot.

Song Shen spread his hands:

"Besides him, do you have any other choice?"

Thanks to the massive amount of modern dramas about pigtails and harems, even though Song Shen has not studied Qing history in depth, he has learned a lot about it, intentionally or unintentionally, in the era of information explosion. In addition, the later the time, the richer the historical materials, so he knows a lot about the Qing Dynasty, especially the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties.

He combed his hair slowly back:
"If you ask me, the so-called secret succession system may seem to be able to avoid fratricide and factional disputes, but in fact, if it was used during the Kangxi Emperor's reign when the nine sons were vying for the throne, it might have worked, but when it came to you and during the Qianlong Emperor's reign, it was just a waste of time."

"Because you and Qianlong didn't have many sons to choose from when passing on the throne."

"Kangxi had nine sons with different abilities, specialties and backgrounds, but among your sons, only two could compete for the throne, the third son Hongshi and the fourth son Hongli."

"I can tell you that your third son offended you in the fourth year of Yongzheng's reign. In a rage, you adopted him to Prince Lian Yinsi. He died of depression the following year after being expelled from the clan. Thus, Hongli's only strong competitor was eliminated. You had no choice but him."

"It's even more ridiculous after he ascended the throne. Think about it, he lived to be eighty or ninety years old. How many sons did he outlive? This guy was really too long-lived. In the end, he didn't have many choices. His favorite legitimate son died young, and the queen also died young. When it was time to pass the throne, he chose his fifteenth son, but by then his son was already nearly forty years old."

“So you don’t have a choice.”

"Even if you know the ending, can you still find someone more suitable than him?"

"For the other students here who think this system is good, either they themselves or their children have probably experienced the scene of brothers fighting against each other. But to be honest, if someone is ambitious enough, they can still take the throne without secretly appointing a crown prince; if they are not ambitious enough, even if the selected person ascends the throne, the table will be overturned by others."

"For details of the former, please refer to Li Shimin and Zhu Di. As for the latter... Li Jiancheng, Zhu Yunwen, and Zhu Qizhen, aren't they all the same?"

Yinzhen was silenced for a full minute by this smooth combination of moves.

He had few children. So far he had nine sons, five of whom died young. If we count Hongshi, who Song Shen said would die in two years, the number of deaths would be six.

Among the remaining sons, there was one who was still in swaddling clothes, but he was the son of Nian Gengyao's sister, Concubine Nian. No matter whether the child could grow up smoothly or not, he could not pass the throne to that child.

and so……

Only two of us?
It's not that he doesn't want to consider Hongshi who is still alive, but if this fool could offend him to the point of being adopted by the eighth brother, the matter must be extremely serious.

How can a person who can't judge the situation, a fool who can do such a thing, hold on to the throne after inheriting it?

The remaining ones are the fourth son Hongli and the fifth son Hongzhou. The former is the Emperor Qianlong mentioned by Song Shen, and he really doesn't want to choose the latter.

The fifth child has been naughty since childhood and is extremely unstable in doing things. Not only does he not study hard, but the biggest problem is that he has always been Hongli's follower and always follows Hongli's lead in everything. What's the difference between choosing him and choosing the fourth child?
This guy has no ability at all, and now he displays a temper even worse than the fourth brother after he became emperor. Yinzhen has been beaten and scolded, but it is of no use. If he is allowed to ascend the throne, the Qing Dynasty may not even last until Hongli comes to power.

Yinzhen's head was throbbing with pain.

Mr. Song was right, he had no choice except Hongli.

It is now winter of the third year of Yongzheng's reign.

From the age of Hongli's accession to the throne, it can be inferred that he would die around the thirteenth year of Yongzheng's reign. Even if he tried every possible way to have a child right now, what could he raise in less than ten years? Among the nine sons now, only Hongli was a good person. Yinzhen did not expect to raise a hero like his father who ascended the throne at the age of eight and could govern the country properly.

Even if we take a step back, even if he could, there is still Hongli ahead of him.

This boy has been keeping a low profile. He already had such means when he ascended the throne at the age of 24. Can the young master really intimidate him?

Or, it is unknown whether there will be an even more horrific scene of fratricide.

Even though Yinzhen could be cruel to his brothers, it did not mean that he was willing to use the same method on his own children.

There was nothing he could do.

At this moment.

Other people in the classroom also realized what kind of situation Yinzhen was in.

As they were all emperors, and Song Shen regarded Yinzhen as the most highly regarded emperor of the Qing Dynasty, they could not help but temporarily put aside their prejudices against other races and show a little empathy.

Li Shimin sighed and murmured in a voice that Song Shen couldn't hear:
"Alas, this..."

"To be honest, I don't know if Cheng Qian can take over the business after he ascends the throne."

"You all say that Zhinu did a good job as Emperor Gaozong of Tang and was a ruler who maintained the status quo. But if Li Longji had not succeeded him, the Tang Dynasty would have been ruled by the Wu family."

"He's well-reviewed and still this is the case. Cheng Qian was abandoned very early in history. I wonder if he can be better than him."

Ying Zheng answered him without moving his lips:
"I have also heard them talk a lot about your Li family. Be content. Although your sons are not as good as Zhu Biao, they seem to be not too bad in character and ability. If your queen had not died, Li Chengqian would not have made such a fuss. Li Tai is a well-read and ruthless man, so he would not have been a bad person to take the throne. There is no need to mention Li Zhi. At least after he took over, the Tang Dynasty did not have any chaos. He was a ruler who maintained the status quo."

"Look at my son... Tsk, Fusu is a stubborn ass. He has only grown more thoughtful and smart recently while helping me handle government affairs. Otherwise, I would have to reconsider who to pass the throne to!"

Both of them are failures as fathers.

They did not discuss it openly. Firstly, they did not want Zhu Yuanzhang, the only one who knew how to raise a son, to feel too proud after hearing it. Secondly, because of the so-called system rules, Song Shen could not be allowed to hear these things.

But even if Zhu Yuanzhang didn't hear it, it wouldn't stop him from asking for trouble.

Old Zhu looked at Yinzhen, then at Song Shen on the stage, and said in a low voice that Song Shen could not hear:
"It hasn't happened yet, you still have plenty of time to think about it, why are you worrying so much?"

"Although I hate your damn Qing Dynasty, to be honest, you are a good emperor. It's a pity that you gave birth to such a son... Speaking of which, Qianlong was a warmongerer who made the people miserable and corrupt officials everywhere, but he was indeed a smart man with great skills." "Just having brains is enough. He should be young now, right? Can he still turn things around?"

"There is really no other way. When we get back, we should teach him well, just like we did with Biao'er. No matter what, we should tell him not to think of himself as an emperor every day. The head is determined by the buttocks. If a person who has never suffered a little hardship is born and runs comfortably all the way to the throne, how can he understand the suffering of the people?"

When Yinzhen heard this, his eyes, which had been filled with depression and anger just now, paused, and then slowly brightened.

He thought about it carefully for a moment, and asked in confusion:

"Zhu... uh, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, you were the most hostile to me just now. I understand. After all, the Qing Dynasty inherited the Ming Dynasty and is still a foreign race. You were born in the late Yuan Dynasty, so it is normal for you to dislike the Qing Dynasty."

"But why are you helping me now?"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, not paying much attention to his carefully worded question, and just said loudly:

"Mr. Song said you were a good emperor, and he also told us about what you did. We don't help everyone. If you change someone from the Qing Dynasty, such as your son Qianlong, do you think we would care about him?"

"Whether they are foreigners or not, I don't really care. For example, Li Er is definitely not a pure Han Chinese. There were the Five Barbarians who invaded China, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Liao, Jin, Xia and Yuan dynasties. Foreigners have been coming and going in the Central Plains for so many years. No one dares to say that their family is of pure Han blood, and I don't dare to pat my chest to guarantee it."

"But as for Han people, as long as they truly believe that they are Han people, then they are Han people."

"Of course, we know that you can't possibly consider yourself a Han Chinese, but since you are willing to consider the tens of millions of Han Chinese people, and do things like the land tax system that offend those sour Confucian scholars, rectify corrupt officials, and restore order to the country, and treat the Han Chinese well, then as you said, you are indeed a good emperor for the people."

"When a dynasty prospers, the people suffer; when a dynasty perishes, the people also suffer. I am not going to hide it. I myself was born a peasant. No matter what dynasty it is, I am happy when the people live well."

"In this place, there are emperors and generals from every dynasty. No matter whether we like this person or not, as long as he is willing to do practical things for the people and bear the infamy for doing good for the country, then that's good. The same goes for you."

"I'm telling you, when you go back, you'll do this and that..."

…………

The third year of Yongzheng’s reign, the twelfth month.

The flying eaves, brackets and glazed tiles of the Forbidden City were covered with a thick layer of snow, and the sky was filled with white snow.

The guards outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation were on high alert, not even a fly could fly in, and the world's top medical experts from the Imperial Medical Bureau rushed in like flowing water.

If it were any other time, any slight disturbance in the palace would have spread the news secretly throughout the harem, let alone such a big commotion in the Yangxin Palace.

But today is different.

Su Peisheng didn't dare to leak out any news. The guards standing outside the Palace of Tranquil Longevity didn't leave at all. The people from the Imperial Medical Bureau were kept under close watch by the Blood Droppers from the Emperor's Sticky Rod Department the whole time. No matter how loose their mouths were, they couldn't leak out a single word under this level of blockade. They didn't even tell the Queen.

The imperial doctors went in one by one, and came out shaking their heads after a moment - they could not see any problems with the emperor's body. At most, he was exhausted as usual, but his breathing was steady and his pulse was strong, so he would not faint suddenly.

"Doctor Li, still not working?"

At the entrance of the Yangxin Palace, Su Peisheng looked at the tenth imperial physician who came out today, with some despair in his eyes.

The old doctor's face was filled with similar despair as Su Peisheng's, with his entire family in danger, and he smiled bitterly:
"It's because I'm not a good doctor... I can't tell, and I can't prescribe a prescription. The first few people should be the same as me. If you insist, I can only give them some ginseng soup and some nourishing medicine. There's really nothing I can do for the rest."

Su Peisheng was speechless.

As the two were looking at each other, there was a slight commotion not far away, which attracted their attention.

Doctor Li saw that the situation was not right and quickly said goodbye:

"Eunuch Su, shall I wait in the side hall?"

With the blockade so tight, it is absolutely impossible to let them go back to the Imperial Medical Bureau. The imperial doctors who were invited earlier have all stayed in the side hall on the other side of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, which is the warm room. I think the imperial doctors there are already discussing with sweat dripping down their cheeks.

Su Peisheng agreed casually, asked a guard to take him there, and then hurried to the place where the riot occurred.

When he got closer, he realized that the person was familiar and not easy to offend.

"Fourth Prince, why are you here at this time?"

No matter how anxious he was, as the deeply trusted assistant to the president of the Qing Group, Su Peisheng managed his facial expressions very well.

As usual, he looked at the Fourth Prince in front of him gently and politely, asking him with his eyes why he came here.

The fourth prince Hongli wore a melon-shaped hat with velvet on it and did not hold an umbrella. He held a food box in his hand, which he tightly protected in his cloak. His head, face and body were covered with snowflakes. He showed a corner of the food box to Su Peisheng and smiled innocently.

"Eunuch Su, it's been cold recently. I heard that Khan Ama has had a sore throat for a while, so I asked someone to make loquat and pear soup. It was simmered for several hours and sent over quickly. I wonder if Khan Ama is ready to drink the soup now?"

Su Peisheng:......

What a coincidence! It’s neither too early nor too late, but you come to deliver the soup at this perfect time!

He put on a formal smile and replied:

"Your Majesty, he..."

The words were not finished.

Hearing hurried footsteps behind him, Su Peisheng turned around and found that it was his disciple Xiao Xiazi, whom he had asked to stay in the hall.

Xiao Xiazi no longer cared about etiquette and rushed to his master's ear and whispered:

"Master, the Emperor asked the Fourth Prince to come in and talk... His tone was very bad."

Su Peisheng:......

He felt that he had been silent more today than in the past ten days combined.

Glancing at the Fourth Prince with pity in his eyes, Su Peisheng smiled and said:
"The Emperor wants you to come in and talk, Fourth Prince, please?"

Hongli suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

He wanted to leave, but...

The way behind him had been quietly blocked by several guards.

(End of this chapter)