Qing Meng Rao Yao Chi (Empress Xiaoxian and others) 76 Feng Yun (Part 2)

  "De Lu, why don't you go out for a horse ride?" It's rare to have a few days of leisure time, and Hong Li and Fu Heng are also restless.

  "You guys go ahead, I promised Wei Xing that I would play Buko with him." De Lu shook his head.

  Su Weixing was a schoolmaster sent by Yue Zhongqi to be beside Hongli, and he got along well with Delu. After hearing this, Hongli nodded slightly, "Then we'll go ourselves."

  An outstanding commander is not just a brave warrior who only knows how to fight wars. Moreover, Yue Zhongqi was more than just a border general.

  The more you observe and understand Yue Zhongqi, the more you can feel his talent and loyalty to the emperor and the country, which is different from ordinary officials and nobles. His military achievements are brilliant, from suppressing the three tribes of Goro Ke in Kangxi 30 years, to pacifying Yangtang in Kangxi 61 years, to pacifying the outer borders of Sichuan in Yongzheng 1 year, including the nine tribes of Guo Mi and the Shuai Su tribe on the border of Zhuanglang, and then pacifying Wumeng and Zhenyong Tusi in Yongzheng 4 years. He steadily guarded the western regions and made outstanding contributions to maintaining the stability of the Qing dynasty's borders.

  In addition to his martial prowess, Yue Zhongqi also lived up to the emperor's expectations. During his successive appointments as Governor of Gansu and Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, he made outstanding achievements in local governance, promoting new policies tailored to local conditions, and making arrangements for the benefit of the people. In the third year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, to promote economic development and facilitate the livelihoods of herdsmen, he petitioned to restore trade between Hezhou and Songpan; opened a new market in Xining outside the Great Wall; to eliminate the root causes of conflicts between the Tusi of Sichuan, Jinquan, Woji, and other tribes, he ordered the return of the Mei Tongge tribe, which had been given to Woji by Nian Gengyao, to Jinquan, and gave the Longbao San Ge Di area to Woji, allowing the tribes to coexist peacefully; for convenient governance, he petitioned to have the distant Changdu Outer Luolongzong, Chawa, Zuogang, Sangga, Chuizong, and other tribes under the jurisdiction of the Lama Temple. He also transferred the territories of Muzhang, Qizonglarp, Weixi, and others, which were previously under the jurisdiction of Batang in Sichuan, to the nearby Zhongdian in Yunnan. In the following years, Yongzheng 4-6, he focused on reforming the taxation system, converting Tusi to regular administrative units, establishing prefectures and counties, building water conservancy projects, irrigating farmland... which undoubtedly further promoted the development of politics, economy, culture, and agriculture in Sichuan and Shaanxi.

  Since the Qing dynasty, emperors have always been very cautious about military power. Most of those who led troops into battle were princes and dukes from the imperial family. After Yongzheng ascended to the throne, he faced the difficulty of having no capable generals, and had no choice but to reuse Nian Gengyao. However, the final result was also extremely bad, earning a reputation for being "cruel and ruthless"... Unlike Nian Gengyao's arrogance and haughtiness, Yue Zhongqi was exceptionally talented, wholeheartedly serving the country and people, doing practical things, with a humble style, which is truly rare.

  If he had any doubts about the Emperor's re-appointment of Yue Zhongqi, Hongli had now completely replaced them with admiration for Yue and respect for the Emperor's courage in delegating power. "If all Qing generals were like this, what worry would there be that the Qing dynasty would not prosper?"

  It's said that although the emperor's rule was strict, at first it couldn't be avoided that people like Nian Gengyao and Long Kodo appeared, who were ungrateful for the emperor's kindness. However, people like E'ertai, Li Wei, Yue Zhongqi... He Shixu still had practical abilities. Thinking back to when I thought Emperor Ma was ruling with ease, Hongli became depressed and vigilant, deeply afraid that he would be deceived by superficial appearances again, so when doing things, he paid more attention to facts and investigation, and his flashy personality also became more cautious and down-to-earth.

  Fu Heng smiled upon hearing this, but didn't respond. Over the past two years, the Fourth Prince had changed for the better, becoming more stable and mature. As long as this good change continued... he was confident that the Fourth Prince would grow into an outstanding ruler in the future. With a wise ruler, how could there be worries about incompetent ministers or the decline of the Qing dynasty?

  They didn't know that they were here to gain a deeper understanding of the Shaanxi situation and to learn about Yue Zhongqi, this three-time prime minister's character. Yunzhu was also talking to her father Li Rongbao at home about Yue Zhongqi, saying: "Minister Yue can quell rebellions on horseback and govern the world on foot, I hope they can learn something from General Yue."

  "You're not worried!" The son was going to the battlefield for the first time, and Gualjiasi was still a little worried.

  "Don't worry, Mother. With General Yue around, they will definitely be fine." Yunzhu smiled lightly. She told Fu Heng to have Hongli follow Yue Zhongji closely and learn from him, not only because of Yue's exceptional talent, but also because she didn't want such a loyal and capable minister to be demoted due to unfounded rumors.

  At the beginning of the year, Jingzhou had a scholar named Zeng Jing who sent his apprentice Zhang Xi to persuade Yue Zhongqi to rebel. Yue Zhongqi pretended to agree and tricked them into making a confession, then turned around and captured the two, triggering the Lv Liuliang case. Yunzhu only remembered after hearing about this that when she checked Qing history in modern times, there was indeed such a thing. After the incident, Yongzheng rewarded Yue Zhongqi for his loyalty and continued to entrust him with important tasks, granting him the title of Ningyuan General and Lesser Protector, ordering him to lead the Western Route Army to attack the rebel forces of the Dzungar Khanate, but had already secretly begun to suspect him. A few years later, he found a small mistake and demoted Yue Zhongqi to a commoner. It wasn't until about twenty years later that he was reinstated due to military needs.

  There is such a person, not only the blessing of the Qing Dynasty, but also the blessing of the Fuca family. Yunzhu regrets that he cannot emerge as an outstanding general in both the Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties, so that the rise of the Fuca family will not be so eye-catching and taboo.

  This time the expedition to Junggar was not like in history, when the emperor ordered the ministers to discuss it, the university scholar Zhu Shi, the left imperial censor Shen Jinsi, and the deputy commander-in-chief Da Fu were all opposed. On the contrary, everyone's will became one, and Yongzheng easily dispatched 9,000 soldiers from the Eight Banners of Beijing, 8,800 soldiers from Fengtian and other places, with Basai as the deputy general, Prince Sicheng of the first rank Xibo holding the seal of General Zhenwu, Chen Tai, Gun Tai, Shi Liha, Dai Hao, Da Fu, and Jueluo Hailan as advisors.

  Yun Zhu thought that if he wanted to make a meritorious achievement, he couldn't let this expedition be in vain due to Galdan's trickery. He presented the captured leader of the Qinghai rebels, Lobzang Danjin, to Emperor Yongzheng, who then ordered the army to halt its advance and summoned Yue Zhongqi and Fu Heng to come to the capital to discuss military affairs. Later, he also sent the main force back. Dragging on until the tenth year of Yongzheng's reign, due to Fu Heng's rash advance, the Qing army's northern route suffered a great defeat at the hands of the Dzungars.

  In the middle of the year, before the court meeting, she secretly had her uncle send an analysis of the possibilities combined with history to Ma Qi and Li Rongbao. During the court meeting, she listed out the possible problems that might arise - of course, Fu Er Dan's sudden advance was impossible to say, but it could be said that Alashan might spread false information or pretend to compromise with the imperial court in order to gain time for war preparations... It was very reasonable to express these concerns from the perspective of the Fucha family's roots in the military.

  Yongzheng had long been aware of the hiding of Lobzang Danjin in Junggar, and he repeatedly sent envoys to demand his surrender. Ce Wang Araptan also sent an envoy to request peace talks, but after a prolonged discussion, no decision was made. After Ce Wang Araptan's death, his son Galdan Tseren repeatedly invaded the borders... patience was exhausted. Ma Qi's conjecture coincided with Junggar's repeated and vacillating treacherous psychology, seeing that the court had firmly decided to fight this war, he was confident of victory, and determined not to return without defeating Junggar. After discussing various possible problems and countermeasures with many generals, the army set out in high spirits.

  He was very satisfied with the support and performance of the Fuca family, thinking that the Fuca family was a prestigious surname clan with a good foundation. However, since Ma Qi had grown old and Li Rongbao was not interested in politics, he decided to put Fu Heng and Fu Qing into the two main armies to train the young generation of the Fuca family, so they could become Emperor Qianlong's trusted ministers in the future. As a result, Fu Heng followed Emperor Qianlong to the Western Route Army under the command of Yue Zhongqi; Fu Qing was also transferred to the Northern Route Army under the command of Fu Erdan.

  "Madam, don't worry. Not to mention that the imperial court has mobilized all its troops this time, but even at home, everything has been arranged and prepared for them... If things still can't be done, it's only because of fate, or rather, they were born with bad luck." Li Rongbao said calmly, "Being born into a family like ours, unless one is mediocre and tolerant, going to the battlefield is an inevitable thing."

  Guarjia was speechless. She is also a straightforward person, how could she not know that worrying is useless, it's just that as a mother, she can't help but be concerned about her children.

  "Why don't I go with Mother to Xiyun Temple to burn incense?"

  "Alright, this is a good idea. Let's call Yinlan (Fu Qing's wife) to go together." Guwalgiya thought this was not bad, "When is it good?"

  Yunzhu smiled and said: "Anyway, it's not going to work today. I'll go tell the Empress first."

  ……

  Gua Lijia and Li Rongbao exchanged a glance, Ah, once the daughter gets married, she becomes someone else's!

  "Let's go, in a few more days the army will set out and we should also get ready." Hong Li took a few sips of water from his specially made Manchu canteen with the cloud pearl, then carefully put it away.

  This leather pouch often reminds him of the wonderful memories of watching fireworks with Yunzhu on top of Duixiu Mountain on New Year's Eve, making him feel as if he has a kind of longing for her from afar while she waits warmly at home for his return. It also makes him remember the hardships and struggles before the imperial ancestors rose to power outside the pass.

  "Yes." Fu Heng had become numb to someone's occasional teeth-grinding behavior, and if he wasn't afraid of being robbed, he really wanted to show off the nourishing fruit his sister secretly gave him in front of that person.

  Thinking of his sister's worry that he would be left with internal injuries if he didn't recover well from the wounds on the battlefield, Fu Heng felt warmth in his heart. His sister still loved him the most, her brother-in-law... you still have to work hard.

  It seems that having naive ideas is not unique to Hongli after all.

  One in front and one behind, the two rushed back to the military camp.

  "I've seen the Fourth Prince before." Hong Chang, Hong Xuan and several others saw Hong Li and Fu Heng rushing over from a distance, and they went forward to pay their respects. Hong Chang smiled and said, "The Fourth Prince is in high spirits."

  "Hmm, I went for a run with Chun and He, the new policy of Governor Yue is being implemented quite well, especially the land reform, it's based on the actual situation of this place." Hongli threw the reins to the guard in front, squinting at these few people, "Where are you headed?"

  "Just learned from General Da Jiangjun about the route to Tibet, let's see what can be done." Hong Xuan replied with a big smile, but his heart was slightly on guard. This Fourth Prince seemed not just a bookworm prince after all. If he came here to familiarize himself with military affairs and also took the initiative to understand the specific situation of Yue Zongdu's new policy in Sichuan... it seemed that from now on, he should keep a distance from Li Honghui and Hong Chang. His Ama had just barely let him out, he didn't want to easily get trapped again. Having the merit of the dragon was good, but one also needed to have a life to lead!"

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