My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 24: Intimidating Civil Officials and Household Slaves

Hongli only felt a heaviness and warmth in his hand, and then he saw the white puppy in his arms suddenly shiver, and gave Yongzheng a resentful look.

Hongli couldn't help but smile at this.

"It's so cold and snowing so heavily, I thought it would take a while before you came out of the garden to do your business, but I didn't expect you to come back from outside the city so soon."

"I'm still very proactive! I didn't let my father down!"

At this time, Yongzheng sat up straight, lifted the curtain and looked outside.

"This is the first mission your Khan has assigned you. You must do your best to save as many people as possible."

"Do you know, Hongli?"

Yongzheng immediately turned around and gave Hongli instructions very seriously.

Hongli nodded solemnly: "Son, I know. I promise to make sure that as few people die of starvation and freezing as possible this winter."

"very good!"

Yongzheng then asked Hongli: "Is there anything difficult?"

Hongli then told the Ministry of Revenue that it had not allocated grain according to the actual amount.

Yongzheng's expression turned grim after hearing this: "He even dares to cut off the rations of the starving people!"

"For this reason, I have no choice but to think of another way. I have already discussed it with Big Brother Hongxi, and I would like to ask Father for his consideration."

Hongli knew that Yongzheng was a teacher and liked to teach people how to do things. Otherwise, he would not have come to wait for him on this snowy day. Wasn't he just trying to teach him some lessons?
What's more, Yongzheng himself was quite supportive of reforms and admired those who dared to reform.

So, he took the initiative to bring it up at this time.

Yongzheng nodded: "Tell me about it."

Hongli then told Yongzheng his thoughts.

After hearing this, Yongzheng began to think about it very seriously.

Yongzheng then said to Hongli, "It's great that you're willing to solve a problem after discovering it, even at the cost of seeking change. But can you first do this... and then this...? What do you think?"

"Father, you are absolutely right. I have taken note of this and will discuss it with Big Brother Hongxi."

Hongli said with a smile.

Yongzheng himself smiled with satisfaction and said: "Don't tell Hongxi that it was me who proposed it. Just say that you thought of it yourself."

Hongli nodded.

"Sui Hede!"

At this time, Yongzheng called out.

Not long after, a slightly plump man came into the car: "Master, please give your orders."

Yongzheng then pointed at the man and said to Hongli, "Let him serve you, so that you can do things more easily."

"Thank you, Ama."

Hongli did not refuse.

"I won't keep you any longer. Go and do your work first. Do you want to rest in the garden or at the government office tonight?"

Yongzheng became concerned about Hongli's next stay.

"My eldest brother gave his son a house, and the servants are all ready. It's in Li Ge Lao Hutong. I'll go there to rest. It will be more convenient for me to do things this way."

Hongli replied.

After hearing this, Yongzheng nodded and said nothing more.

Hongli also got off the car and immediately took Sui Hede and others to the government office.

He had heard of Sui Hede.

Because in history, it was this person, not Li Wei, who raided the Cao family in Jiangning.

This person was an official who succeeded the Cao family as the Jiangning Weaving Supervisor during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng. Naturally, he was Yongzheng's most trusted and trusted servant.

On the way to the government office, Sui Hede acted very attentive in front of Hongli.

Whenever Hongli was walking on the road, he would take the initiative to hold up Hongli's robe for fear that Hongli's clothes would get stuck to the dirty snow and mud on the ground. He would also smile and flatter Hongli from time to time, and take the initiative to tell Hongli that he had several friends who were working in Shuntian Prefecture and could also help Hongli with things as long as Hongli gave the order.

Hongli just laughed it off, neither refusing nor showing any sign of being very happy.

This forced Sui Hede to be more careful with his words for a while, but he became more respectful in his behavior.

After arriving at the government office, Hongli went to the granary under the government office's management.

Besides a chief officer, Shuntian Prefecture also had three assistant officers.

One was the Shuntian Prefecture Chancellor, a fourth-rank official, in charge of education and examinations.

One was the Shuntian Prefecture Zhizhong, a fifth-rank official, in charge of finances and grain, and the other was the Shuntian Prefecture Tongpan, a sixth-rank official, in charge of litigation, public security, and miscellaneous affairs.

Among them, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture was generally a Han Chinese.

The Tongpan of Shuntian Prefecture was usually held by a Manchu.

Now, the person who came to report to Hongli on the food relief situation was naturally the governor of Shuntian Prefecture.

The current governor of Shuntian Prefecture is named Yu Deli, and he was a Jinshi in the 33rd year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi.

Yu Deli didn't know Hongli's background, so he wanted to test him. So when he saw Hongli coming here, he took the account book in his hands and said to Hongli:

"Your Excellency, Fourth Prince, this is the Ministry of Revenue's grain allocation account book. Please review it. If there are no questions, please sign to release the grain."

After taking the account book, Hongli went to Yu Deli's duty room and sat in Yu Deli's former seat. He put the account book on the desk and took a pen.

Seeing this, Sui Hede rushed to Hongli and started grinding ink for him. When Hongli raised his hand to take a piece of paper, Sui Hede took out a piece of paper and placed his hands in front of Hongli. Hongli smiled and said, "Master, please use it."

Hongli smiled faintly, thinking that there was a reason why Sui Hede was able to replace the Cao family in charge of the Jiangning Weaving Factory in history.

Hongli then picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote many Arabic numerals on the yellowed blank paper.

At the same time, Hongli noticed that Yu Deli looked a little uneasy, so he asked, "Is it really 20,000 dan of grain?"

"To reply to Fourth Prince, it is indeed 20,000 shi."

Yu Deli replied with a smile.

Hongli smiled and said, "I don't believe it. I need to examine it carefully."

"My brother is very cautious, so he should check the grain. But the hungry people outside are crying out for relief. How can we check all the grain?"

"And unfortunately, the abacus in the government office broke, and we haven't had time to replace it yet."

Yu Deli replied with a smile.

"I know this is urgent."

"But don't rush!"

Hongli, while calculating the numbers in the account book on paper, said, "Besides, I can do the calculations quickly without an abacus. Haven't you heard that your Fourth Prince has won the emperor's favor with his mathematical skills?"

Yu Deli opened his mouth slightly.

He knew it of course, but he never thought that Hongli could quickly calculate complicated numbers without an abacus.

"Your account is wrong. There is a difference of 6,785 dan compared to the 20,000 dan of grain reported by Shuntian Prefecture."

"Yu Zhizhong, do you admit it or not?"

Hongli quickly finished counting the grain recorded in the account book in his hand and looked at Yu Deli.

Yu Deli couldn't help but sweat on his forehead, thinking to himself, "It's amazing! How did the Fourth Prince calculate the amount we secretly withheld so accurately?"

Sui Hede also stopped grinding the ink and stood there in a daze.

Snapped!
Hongli suddenly slammed the gavel and shouted, "Do you insist that I send someone to buy a new abacus and find someone to calculate the accounts before you admit that you want to cheat me? Then when we check the accounts later, you can say that I tacitly agreed to the trick?!"

Sui Hede couldn't help but shudder.

Yu Deli slumped to his knees and kowtowed profusely, "Fourth Prince, please spare my life. I don't know if the grain was lost in the account books, but since you said so, it means that the clerks did indeed embezzle the food for famine relief. I am willing to lead them in re-establishing the records!"

"Then we'll weigh and re-register while distributing the grain!"

Hongli gave an order at this time.

Then, Hongli looked at Sui Hede and said, "Didn't you say that you have a few friends in Shuntian Prefecture?"

Sui Hede said with a wry smile, "It's their blessing that my prince wants to use them. But my friends don't have much ability. If they ruin my prince's plans, then that would be my fault."

"Skills are acquired through practice. Call them all over and have them supervise the weighing of the grain. Then you keep an eye on them!"

Hongli ordered.

"Whoo!"

Sui Hede couldn't help but smile with an expression that was uglier than crying, but he had no choice but to agree and go.

After a while, Sui Hede called together several of his friends who were working in Shuntian Prefecture, explained the matter, and then bowed and begged:

"Brothers, we are all brothers who have fought together on the battlefield, slept with people in brothels, and bet on people in casinos. Please keep a close eye on him for me. This Fourth Prince is not a simple master. If something goes wrong, I, a servant in the Fourth Master's mansion, may not live long."

"Afterwards, Sui will definitely reward you handsomely!"

"Don't worry, we are all brothers. We will never let those clerks have any chance to play dirty tricks!"

"That's right, a spit and a nail. If I betray your brother and let the Fourth Master's Mansion take your brother Sui's life, I will die with you!"

These people expressed their opinions one after another.

(End of this chapter)