My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 66: Dispute over the Title

The Fourteenth Prince, upon hearing what Empress Dowager Renshou said, looked at Hongli.

He didn't expect that even his mother admired Hongli and believed that Hongli was the real reason why her Khan father passed the throne to his fourth brother.

Hongli hurriedly stood up and saluted, then said solemnly, "Grandma, you're joking. I'm just thinking about my fourteenth uncle's future. Besides you and Khan Ama, no one cares more about my fourteenth uncle's future than me!"

Since Empress Dowager Renshou valued her youngest son the most, Hongli continued to direct everything he did towards the good of the fourteenth son.

"It's good that you have this heart."

Empress Dowager Renshou replied with a smile.

People are always willing to believe the results they subjectively want to hear.

The same goes for Empress Dowager Renshou.

Hongli said that he did it for the fourteenth prince, and Empress Dowager Renshou instinctively wanted to believe that he did it for the fourteenth prince.

of course!

Empress Dowager Renshou was also willing to pretend on the surface that she believed what Hongli said.

Because in her opinion, even if Hongli was telling lies, if he told them too many times, they would be no different from the truth.

Empress Dowager Renshou, who was well versed in the rules of survival within the royal family, understood this.

Therefore, the Empress Dowager Renshou not only chose to believe it, but also looked at the Fourteenth Prince and said, "Now that you are back, don't argue with your fourth brother. As Hongli said, only in this way can your fourth brother make you a prince and give you an iron hat."

"Well, my son will not make my mother worry!"

The Fourteenth Prince looked at Hongli in surprise again, then stood up respectfully and bowed to Empress Dowager Renshou, making his promise.

Empress Dowager Renshou smiled and nodded.

……

……

South Study.

The day after the Fourteenth Prince returned to Beijing, Yongzheng personally hosted a family banquet to entertain the Fourteenth Prince. Then, he discussed with Yinsi, Yinxiang and others about conferring corresponding titles on the Fourteenth Prince and other members of the royal family.

"I intend to confer the title of Duke of the Fourteenth County."

"I wonder what you think?"

Yongzheng spoke first and looked at everyone.

The prime ministers and ministers looked at each other in confusion.

Thirteenth Prince Yinxiang deliberately spoke first and looked at Yongzheng: "Fourth brother, Fourteenth Brother is your brother from the same mother. For the sake of the Empress Dowager and his respectful return to Beijing this time, wouldn't it be better to give him the title of Prince?"

Yongzheng smiled and said, "Your thoughts are similar to Hongli's."

"is it?"

Yinxiang smiled.

He knew that Yongzheng suddenly mentioned Hongli on purpose to let those who supported the fourteenth uncle hear it, and Hongli also cared about his fourteenth uncle very much.

So Yinxiang cooperated and made a cameo appearance.

Yongzheng nodded, looked at everyone and said, "You all know the temper of the Fourteenth Prince, so you must be wondering why he is so honest when he returns to the capital this time. The reason is that Hongli told the Empress Dowager that only if he behaves respectfully can I confer the title of Prince on the Fourteenth Prince."

"If that's the case, then why doesn't Fourth Brother make Fourteenth Brother a Prince?"

"I think no one would object to conferring the title of Prince upon Fourteenth Brother. Firstly, it would please the Queen Mother, as it involves the word 'filial piety', and no one would object. Secondly, it would also be a reward for his service in the northwest and for not causing trouble."

Yinxiang actually knew the reason, but pretended not to know and deliberately asked Yongzheng.

Yongzheng sighed and said, "How can one be given the title of Prince casually? A national title is more important than Mount Tai!"

Then, Yongzheng looked at Yinsi solemnly and said, "Moreover, I intend to let my eighth brother and your thirteenth brother become princes first. Firstly, you are the prime ministers, and secondly, if we talk about the merits of stabilizing the country after the death of the late emperor, it is your eighth brother and your thirteenth brother who have made the greatest contributions!"

"My dear brother, you have great merits and virtues, and now you are the chief minister. It is understandable that you can be granted the title of prince, but I don't need it. It would be better to give this title of prince to Old Fourteen."

"This way, the Queen Mother will be happy, and Hongli will be able to report to her, right?"

Yinxiang laughed when he said this.

Yongzheng waved his hand and said, "Who cares what Hongli does? As for the Empress Dowager, she's a sensible and wise queen, and she wouldn't really care about the princes or the dukes. I think that conferring the title of Duke of the Dukes on the Fourteenth Brother would be enough to ease her mind! More importantly, if your Thirteenth Brother doesn't become a prince, I won't be able to explain it to the people of the world!"

When Yongzheng said that it was difficult to explain to the people of the world, he actually meant that it was difficult to explain to the Fourth Prince's party and the former prince's followers who had followed him for a long time.

Because the Thirteenth Prince was once the old prince's staunch confidant, many of the old prince's people only believed in the Thirteenth Prince.

In addition, the Thirteenth Prince later secretly defected to Yongzheng and also belonged to the Fourth Prince's party.

Therefore, there are two mountains behind Yinxiang.

If Yinxiang was treated poorly, people from the two factions would be dissatisfied, and would become alienated from Yongzheng, affecting Yongzheng's base.

Therefore, in order to maintain the stability of the court, Yongzheng had to give Yinxiang the title of prince.

After all, as long as he treated Yinxiang well, he could stabilize both factions at the same time.

This is undoubtedly a very good political deal.

Yinxiang also understood the reason behind this, so after making a slight gesture, he didn't say anything else.

"Fourth brother is right. Thirteenth brother's achievements must not be buried no matter what. Otherwise, even if others don't mention it, I'm afraid that Sixteenth Brother and Hongxi will be unhappy."

"In my opinion, why not give my princehood to the Fourteenth Prince?"

"In terms of military achievements, I cannot compare to the Fourteenth Brother; even in terms of stabilizing people's hearts, I cannot compare to the Fourteenth Brother."

Yinsi smiled and spoke, but just as he said this, Yongzheng also reached out to interrupt him: "That's not appropriate. If you don't become a prince, the ninth and tenth brothers will be the first to have objections!"

"Ma Qi, don't you agree?"

Yongzheng also asked Ma Qi about this at this time.

Because everyone knows that apart from his ability to govern and his reputation among Manchu officials, Ma Qi is a die-hard supporter of the Eighth Prince's party.

Ma Qi didn't deny it, but stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is right. If the Eighth Prince is not made a king, people will indeed be uneasy. But in my humble opinion, can we make them all princes? This way, we don't have to worry about attracting attention by making too many princes at once, and it can also reduce financial expenses."

"You, Ma Qi, are loyal to your country, but your eighth and thirteenth brothers must become princes, otherwise it will be difficult to distinguish between the superior and the inferior."

"Because I still intend to repay my twelfth brother for his generosity that night."

Yongzheng said with a smile.

Then, Yongzheng looked at Longkodo and asked, "Uncle, what do you think?"

"I believe that the Emperor is wise, but this will embarrass the Fourth Prince."

Longkodo simply stood up and replied.

Yinxiang echoed, "Yes, Fourth Brother, what if the Empress Dowager asks why Hongli didn't give the title of Prince to Fourteenth Brother?"

"Then he'll handle it himself!"

"He brought it up himself, so he should explain it himself. We also need to make him understand that if he says something he can't keep it, don't make blind promises!"

Yongzheng said as he looked at everyone: "It's settled!"

"According to the custom of promoting clan members first upon ascending the throne, I am proposing to promote a number of clan members. Among them, my eighth and thirteenth brothers will be made princes, and my twelfth and fourteenth brothers will be made county princes."

"Also, Hongxi was also granted the title of Prince. This was Khan Ama's last wish. We must make Khan Ama's spirit happy in heaven, and also make those who still support my second brother more peaceful in the new dynasty."

"Whoo!"

(End of this chapter)