The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 245 Long-Term Planning
Because of ample supplies, the fourteenth prince commanded an army of over 100,000 men and won a moderate victory in Qinghai, capturing more than 300 Dzungar people.

Emperor Kangxi was in a good mood and specially invited Yinwu to play chess with him.

Yinwu wasn't stupid; he deliberately lost three games in a row, which made Kangxi laugh out loud. "Little Fifteenth Prince, you still need to learn from your father more!"

Learn more, the old Manchu people in Beijing pronounce it as: 多誵 (xiáo) dīngr.

"Alas, Father's chess skills are too high. Even if I study for another fifty years, I still can't catch up!" Yinwu pretended to be anxious about losing, scratching his ears and cheeks.

Emperor Kangxi was overjoyed and said with a smile, "My son is truly filial!"

Upon hearing this, Yinwu instantly understood that Kangxi actually knew he had deliberately lost in order to amuse his father!

Back then, when the Empress Dowager celebrated her birthday, Emperor Kangxi dressed up in colorful clothes and entertained his mother in front of everyone, simply to amuse his stepmother.

The deceased Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager Chongqing, Qianlong's biological mother, were both truly wise!
While the mother and son were chatting, Empress Dowager Chongqing asked Emperor Qianlong to build a temple.

While Emperor Qianlong allocated funds to repair the temple, he also replaced all the eunuchs and palace maids who served his mother!
From then on, Empress Dowager Chongqing no longer cared about anything else and just enjoyed herself!
Under imperial power, only one person is allowed to make decisions, and even one's own mother must step aside!

Similarly, after Empress Dowager Dou died, Empress Dowager Wang, who had just begun to enjoy her time as the Empress Dowager, was taken away by Emperor Wu of Han.

After winning five games in a row, Emperor Kangxi was pleased and began to take notice of Yinwu's personal life.

After Kangxi finished his rambling, it was time for dinner.

Therefore, Yinwu was allowed to stay and dine with Emperor Kangxi.

Emperor Kangxi had a habit of drinking a few cups of deer blood during meals.

The reality of having many children and many blessings led Emperor Kangxi to firmly believe that deer blood was highly beneficial.

"Deer blood is a good thing. Give a cup to the Fifteenth Prince." Kangxi drank a cup of deer blood, hoping that Yinwu would enjoy it with goodwill.

Yinwu disliked drinking deer blood, but with Kangxi watching him closely, he had no choice but to steel himself and drink the deer blood in one gulp.

Sure enough, after drinking the deer blood, Yinwu felt a warm sensation in his lower abdomen.

The imperial meals at Changchun Garden were much less oily and heavy than those in the palace, and included more vegetables.

However, because the dish was covered for too long, all the vegetables placed on Yinwu's plate turned severely yellow.

Yinwu forced himself to eat about half full, and when Kangxi put down his chopsticks, he quickly followed suit.

After the meal, Kangxi wanted to play chess with Yinwu.

With a pained expression, Yinwu said, "Father, I'm not afraid of offending your ears, but I'm thinking about women."

Emperor Kangxi was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Deer blood works! Get out of here!"

Upon returning to the villa, Yinwu immediately pressed down Qinshu's hand.

In the morning, Yinwu was pleased to find that Qinshu, having lost her voice from shouting, was hiding shyly in her room, too ashamed to see anyone.

Today was a day off, and Yinwu thought he could relax for a day, but he was invited away by the fourth prince.

Upon entering, Yinwu was shocked to find the fourth prince looking dejected and sighing deeply.

"Fourth Brother, what happened?" A sense of foreboding rose in Yinwu's heart.

"Alas, Baifu is dead. My heart is ripped in half." The fourth brother sighed as he recounted Baifu's many endearing qualities.

Yinwu breathed a sigh of relief. So that's how it is!

The fourth brother used to be exceptionally outgoing and talkative.

Later, after being reprimanded many times, the fourth prince became taciturn. Others probably didn't know, but Yinwu knew that the fourth prince had developed a habit: when no one was in the room, he liked to secretly tell Baifu or Zaohua his innermost thoughts.

In modern times, many people would rather keep a dog by their side than visit relatives or make friends.

A well-trained dog is extremely loyal!

When income is low, it's easy to encounter disdain or betrayal when visiting relatives or making friends.

In fact, even Yinwu himself, after being promoted to vice president, lost contact with most of his former friends.

Because when Yinwu was down on his luck, he suddenly realized that it was better to raise a good dog than to make fair-weather friends!
Before long, the thirteenth prince arrived.

Upon hearing that Baifu had died, the thirteenth prince sighed, "He must be given a proper burial."

The fourth brother nodded repeatedly and said, "Thirteenth brother, you really understand what I'm thinking. To be honest, that's exactly what I was thinking!"

For the next hour or so, the fourth brother and his two younger brothers carefully and earnestly discussed Baifu's funeral arrangements.

After everything was settled, the fourth brother felt much better and stopped sighing.

Now that the three brothers had come together, it was inevitable that they would talk about the war in the Northwest.

The fourth prince asked the thirteenth prince, "Thirteenth brother, do you think Yinzhen can win? You know, he has never led troops before."

When Yinwu heard the name Yinzhen, he sighed inwardly. After all, there was only one dragon throne.

The fourth brother has reached the point where he addresses the fourteenth brother by his first name. Clearly, fratricide is inevitable in the future!

The thirteenth brother had never led troops before, but he had spent a lot of time with soldiers, so his military knowledge was definitely much better than the fourth brother's.

However, the thirteenth prince knew in his heart that once the fourteenth prince won the battle, his momentum for succeeding to the throne would definitely increase greatly.

This is what the fourth brother is most worried about!

"Fourth Brother, in my humble opinion, Fourteenth Brother cannot achieve a swift victory." The Thirteenth Brother spoke eloquently, summarizing the Fourteenth Brother's five victories and five defeats in military strategy.

Yinwu picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and glanced at the thirteenth prince without making a sound.

The thirteenth brother was like a mind reader to the fourth brother, covering all the possible outcomes of the Northwest victory or defeat. He was thorough and left no room for error.

Yinwu could see that the fourth prince was extremely conflicted. He was afraid that the fourteenth prince would achieve extraordinary feats, thus increasing his chances of seizing the throne, but he was also worried that the fourteenth prince would suffer a great loss and squander the Qing Dynasty's wealth.

It should be noted that the imperial court's hundreds of thousands of Eight Banner soldiers and Green Standard Army soldiers in Shaanxi and Gansu were all elite troops who were good at fighting.

If these people were to die in battle, the Qing Dynasty might very well perish!

"Fifteenth Brother, you've fought against the Dzungars before and are quite familiar with their tactics. Do you think you can win in the Northwest?" The fourth brother stared intently at Yinwu's face, clearly eager to hear his opinion.

The thirteenth prince glanced at Yinwu. Although he wasn't in Changchun Garden, he knew an undeniable fact: Emperor Kangxi consulted with Yinwu every day about the war situation at the front.

"Fourth Brother, in my humble opinion, as long as there is sufficient food and supplies, Fourteenth Brother will almost certainly win!"

The thirteenth prince didn't care about military power; his analysis of five victories and five defeats was purely for comfort.

Yinwu was different; he needed to establish himself in the mind of the fourth prince as a master strategist with unwavering judgment.

Since ancient times, the fact that royalty has commanded the military has always been a glaringly controversial attribute.

Yinwu's goal has never changed; it has always been to seize military power. However, the best time to obtain military power could only be after the disastrous defeat at Hetongbo.

At that time, Nian Gengyao and the thirteenth prince were no longer alive, Yue Zhongqi was imprisoned, and the fourth prince could only rely on Yinwu to lead troops into battle and vent his anger!
As for the fact that every household of the Eight Banners in the capital was in mourning, what did that have to do with Yinwu?

P.S.: I didn't get back until 4 AM, it's even later, sorry!
(End of this chapter)