Two Pools of Muddy Water

  Long Hui nodded in satisfaction, took another look at the three of them, but his gaze lingered on Yong Jing for a moment. Then he stepped forward and gently patted Yong Xiang's head, saying softly: "Yong Xiang, it's getting late now, you should go back and rest early, remember not to run around everywhere again, got it?"

  "Yes, I know." Yong Yao saw that the Emperor was not punishing him, but instead was gently reminding him, and his tension and worry instantly dissipated. As a result, his reckless nature took advantage of the opportunity to reveal itself again, and without thinking, he blurted out what was on his mind: "Imperial Father, I heard Third Brother say that you're going to take him to Mulan... can you also take me along?"

  Long Hui raised an eyebrow slightly after hearing Tian Ting, glanced at Yongzhang who was still lowering his head, and then asked with profound meaning: "How about it, does Yongyuan also want to go to Mulanqiu together with me?"

  Yongzhao looked at the emperor and did not refuse with harsh words, but instead asked about his thoughts. With a clear conscience, he enthusiastically waved his small fist and said: "The emperor has always taught me that we Manchu people conquered the world on horseback, so I have been determined to become a 'Batulu' of our great Qing dynasty since then. Although I am still young now and cannot expand the territory for the emperor, I am confident that I will not be inferior to any brave warrior in our great Qing."

  "Haha, well said." Long Yitian looked at Yong Yu with a smile in his eyes, and once again used his large palm to rub his small head, encouraging him without reservation: "You have such high aspirations, that's great, but you must know that any brave warrior is not something that can be accomplished overnight, it requires enduring a lot of hardship. Do you think you're really up for it?"

  "Of course I can!" Yong Yao's eyes were filled with a firm gaze, and he replied without hesitation: "Because I am the son of the Emperor, my surname is Aixinjueluo!"

  Long Huan's faint, gentle smile was full of meaning as he finally opened his golden mouth to respond to Yong Yao's request: "Alright, next time we go to Mulan, I'll take you with me. Don't disappoint me then."

  Yong Yao never thought that his Majesty would really agree, and he was overjoyed and hurriedly paid his respects to thank him. Even the ice and snow on the ground that had not yet melted were ignored: "Your son thanks Your Majesty for your kindness."

  However, Yong Yao didn't notice it, but that doesn't mean Long Yintian didn't see it. When Yong Yao was about to kneel down, he directly stretched out his hand and pulled Yong Yao's arm, not letting him actually kneel down.

  Then, he directly ordered the small eunuch who had been serving by Yong Yao's side to have him take a warm bath with hot water and then have dinner after returning to his brother's place.

  As for Yong Yao, although he still had some reluctance to leave, he still listened and left the school grounds, heading towards his own residence.

  Yongzhao and Yongyan standing beside them saw all the interactions between Long Yitian and Yongyu, but what they thought in their hearts was completely different.

  Yongzhao was still immersed in the feeling he had just experienced. On the one hand, he did hope that Emperor Ama would like Yongyu, after all they were both born to Consort Chun and were naturally closer than the other princes; but on the other hand, he didn't want Emperor Ama to pay too much attention to Yongyu, after all he was also a prince and had his own selfish desires, and he still hoped that Emperor Ama would pay more attention to himself.

  Although Yong Yi's face didn't show anything, in reality he had already started to feel a sense of crisis in his heart. Because both Yong Zhao and Yong Ruo were born to the pure empress, if they both gained the favor of the emperor, then his position would be awkward.

  If he performs too outstandingly, he will definitely cause unnecessary trouble. But if he deliberately hides his clumsiness, he fears that even his own mother will not be noticed. As for how to deal with it in the future, he thinks it's time to think carefully about it.

  Returned to the Yangxin Hall for dinner, Long Yitian came to the Imperial Study again, picked up the homework submitted by Yongzhao and Yongjin today, and carefully reviewed it. He also used a red pen to make some comments on the side.

  Although he had studied for a considerable period of time, Yongzhao did not make much progress in political affairs. This may also be related to his gentle and introverted personality as well as the education he received earlier.

  He always adheres to the rules and etiquette, and many things only see the surface without discovering the deeper things hidden behind. So often he doesn't quite understand the vermilion comments written by Long Yitian.

  Long Yintian occasionally also intentionally pointed out Yongzhang, but the effect was not very good, it seems that Yongzhang really is not a material that can be mixed in the official circle.

  Yong Yin's insight into political affairs is much stronger than Yong Zhuo's, and he occasionally puts forward some very pertinent opinions, even with some unique insights. However, Long Yintian was not entirely satisfied with Yong Yin's performance during this period.

  Because it's obvious that Yongying is intentionally holding back, in other words, Yongying doesn't want to overshadow Yongzhuang and doesn't want to be the one standing out, so naturally he wants to hide his abilities; but on the other hand, Yongying also can't appear too mediocre, so at critical moments he will still make some subtle displays.

  Actually, Long Yitian was not dissatisfied with Yongyan's way of doing things. On the contrary, he appreciated Yongyan's approach, but he didn't want Yongyan to bring this idea into politics, which would still affect his judgment of Yongyan's abilities. Most importantly, he didn't want to see Yongyan being reserved in front of him, after all, they were father and son, with the closest blood relationship.

  He looked at Yongjin's handwriting again, and Long Yintian still didn't do anything. He just left a few ambiguous comments with a red pen at the end, because some words might be ordinary between father and son in an ordinary family, but in their imperial family, they couldn't be spoken directly. So he had to use other ways to express himself, otherwise, he would never get the result he wanted.

  On the second day, in the early morning, all the ministers had different opinions on the war between Da and Xiao Jinchuan, but the Manchu officials were unanimous on one point, that is, they did not want Yue Zhongqi to be the commander-in-chief.

  Although Yue Zhongqi was a very talented general, he was after all a Han minister. Moreover, leading the army in battle is different from local governance and cannot be taken lightly; even slight mistakes can lead to endless troubles.

  Longyin Tian did not oppose the suggestions of these Manchu officials this time, and also adopted some of the articles proposed by those imperial clan ministers one by one. The various ministers also had no major objections to the issue of Fu Heng leading the army. This result not only made the imperial clan side quite satisfied but also allowed Longyin Tian's previous arrangements to be implemented.

  These royal courtiers felt relieved after this battle, and most of them thought that the emperor's actions in the past few days were probably another impulsive move driven by his emotions.

  After all, this emperor often has a seizure or two from time to time, and everyone has seen it before. Moreover, the words that came out of the imperial prince's place also confirmed these things, so afterwards, everyone naturally didn't think about other places, and the small storms that had been happening recently were unexpectedly resolved in this way.

  Apart from this, Long Yitian also issued an edict after the early morning court session, which completely stirred up the waters of the harem: Jin Wei was promoted to be a lady-in-waiting for Ling Jun, and still resided in the side hall of Yan Xi Palace.

  The news that the Empress's maid, Rong Mama, was punished by the Emperor and the palace maids of Kun Ning Palace were investigated had been heard by many concubines. The Empress had always been favored by the Emperor, so everyone enjoyed watching her show. But with this edict, people immediately became vigilant, and all eyes turned to Commandery Lord's wife.

  Wei Zifu rose from a palace maid to the position of Zhaoyi, all within less than a year. This rate of promotion was almost unprecedented. With such a formidable opponent around, the other consorts naturally shifted their target and secretly plotted to suppress Zhaoyi.

  Fortunately, Lady Ling had just miscarried, and all parties also had a buffer period. If Lady Ling were to be promoted to the position of Fei again, everyone's days would probably become unbearable.

  The empress dowager's face changed immediately after hearing this edict, because it made her think of Consort Yu again, who was beside Emperor Yongzheng.

  At that time, she was oppressed and calculated by the Empress Dowager everywhere. If it weren't for the people around her being very cautious and herself enduring humiliation, her child wouldn't have been able to be born safely amidst all the difficulties, and there wouldn't be the current Emperor Qianlong today.

  Fortunately, after the heart-to-heart talk with Xu, the Empress Dowager calmed down a bit. After all, Consort Ling was just a consort, and it wasn't worth getting angry over her. It was better to observe for now, if she was sensible, the Empress Dowager would turn a blind eye; if not, it wouldn't be difficult to deal with her later, just like how she had dealt with that woman from the Gao family before.

  In the twelfth month of the thirteenth year of Qianlong, Fu Heng arrived at the Jinquan military camp and brought an imperial edict to dismiss Nunke and Zhang Guangsi for their mistakes in military affairs. He ordered Nunke to hand over the seal of the commander-in-chief to Fu Heng, who would replace him; Zhang Guangsi was executed according to military law in front of the army, while Nunke was taken directly by E'ertai to Beijing to be punished.

  Soon, Fu Heng took a series of actions. First, he identified and punished the enemy's internal spies, then personally inspected the terrain, rectified military discipline, gathered the brave generals in the camp to summarize the experiences and lessons learned since the start of the war, and soon formulated new tactics. Within a month, they won several brilliant battles.

  However, Fu Heng, although thousands of miles away, had every word and action, every move reported back to the capital in secret reports by those stationed at the front lines. Therefore, Long Yitian, even sitting safely within the Forbidden City, was able to grasp the situation on the front lines as if it were right before his eyes.

  In the second month of the 14th year of Qianlong, Fu Heng led his army deep into the Greater and Lesser Gold Rivers. Yue Zhongqi coordinated with the surrounding troops to respond, and the rebels' main force was annihilated in a pincer movement. Tushelanke surrendered, and the tusi of the Greater Gold River, Sharooben, took advantage of the chaos to escape.

  In March, Fu Heng, Yue Zhongqi and two deputy generals divided their troops into four routes to gradually encircle and annihilate the remaining rebel forces. By the end of the month, Sha Luo Bao led his men in surrendering. Nian Gengyao died suddenly from illness on the way back after escorting the captives.

  In April, the Qing army thoroughly pacified the large and small Jinchuan areas, with over 20,000 casualties and more than 10,000 rebels captured. The campaign lasted for over a year and cost over 30 million taels of silver.

  Fu Heng was ordered to return to the capital, and was specially granted the title of Gong Zhongyong. Yue Zhongqi was granted the title of third-class duke and the position of Minister of War, and was also restored as the Provincial Military Commander of Sichuan. In addition, a Han Chinese secretly followed the army back to Beijing under escort.

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