The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 246 Sichuan is a treasure land
At noon, when Yinwu entered the room, he found that Kangxi's study was filled with foreign missionaries.

The officials that Yinwu knew very well, such as Bai Jin, Lei Xiaoen, and Du Demei, were all dressed in the standard attire of Qing Dynasty officials, complete with official hats, peacock feathers, embroidered robes, and court beads.

Among them, the Frenchman Joachim Bouvet was not only the tutor of the deposed crown prince, but also served as Kangxi's special envoy, making a special trip back to France to meet Louis XIV.

"Your subject, Yinwu, respectfully wishes Your Majesty good health."

"Get up."

"Thank you, Mother God, for your grace."

"Little Fifteen, go and see what that is?" Kangxi raised his left hand and pointed with a smile to the long table next to him.

Yinwu walked to the long table, took a closer look, and wow, the entire long table was almost covered by a huge map, and the map was called "Complete Map of the Empire".

Others may not understand, but Yinwu knew in his heart that the political and military significance of it was extraordinary!

As of February of the 58th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the "Complete Map of the Empire" was actually the pinnacle of global geography. It was not only the best map of Asia at the time, but also better and more accurate than any European map of that era.

It is no exaggeration to say that with the assistance of the "Complete Map of the Empire", whether it was for military operations in the Northwest or the Northeast, it had a miraculous effect, like adding wings to a tiger.

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a divine map!" Yinwu pretended to study the panoramic map, occasionally letting out "sincere" exclamations of amazement.

Yinwu walked back to Kangxi's side, knelt down decisively, and said with great joy: "The Holy Emperor's regency has created an astonishing miracle that is unprecedented and will never be repeated. Your subject congratulates Your Majesty!"

Before Kangxi could speak, Yinwu added, "Li Shimin's military campaigns are like a blind man riding a blind horse; he can only guess. Father, sitting comfortably in the capital, can decide victories from a thousand miles away. Your Majesty, I admire you greatly..."

Yinwu's flattery flowed like a never-ending river, making Kangxi unable to contain his delight, and his smug smile was impossible to hide.

"Little Fifteen, how should we reward Bai Jin and the others?" Kangxi was in a very good mood.

"Father, if we promote them to higher ranks, grant them houses and land, they will surely work even harder for our Great Qing." Yinwu understood foreigners very well; verbal rewards were definitely not enough. Only by giving them tangible benefits would the foreigners be happy.

"Very well, each person will be promoted three ranks, granted a residence, and given a thousand mu of land." Kangxi appeared exceptionally generous.

However, instead of immediately expressing his gratitude, Bouvet knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, could the promotion and the bestowal of a residence be replaced with the construction of a new Church of the Saviour?"

"The Church of the Savior..." Kangxi knew the power of religion and seemed somewhat hesitant.

However, since Bai Jin and his men had just made a great contribution, Kangxi was too embarrassed to directly reject them, so he turned to look at Yinwu.

"Little Fifteen, what do you think?" Kangxi deliberately kicked the ball into Yinwu's arms.

Yinwu, understanding the implication, said, "Father, there are more priests than believers in the Church of the Savior. If it is too empty, it will not look good. In my opinion, how about we promote them by three ranks, grant each of them a house, and a thousand acres of fertile land?"

Before Bouvet could offer any explanation, Kangxi decisively made his decision: "Granted!" The decision was final.

Having spent many years in the Qing Dynasty, Bai Jin deeply understood the power of imperial pronouncements and dared not argue further.

Emperor Kangxi knew very well that the Church of the Saviour, located at the entrance of the Silkworm Pond in the northern part of the city, was actually the cathedral of the Diocese of Beijing of the Roman Catholic Church.

Even though Emperor Kangxi had a good impression of foreign missionaries, he was also very wary of their extensive construction of churches.

Therefore, in the entire capital region, there is only one Church of the Saviour so far.

Emperor Kangxi, deeply influenced by Confucianism, naturally harbored a high degree of vigilance towards foreign missionaries.

To be honest, before the Opium War opened up the country, the Salvation Halls in various parts of the Qing Dynasty were often forcibly demolished by the government under various pretexts.

However, the foreign missionaries were truly persistent. The government would demolish the old church one day, and a few years later, they would find ways to build a new one, and so on, over and over again.

After dismissing Bai Jin and the others, Kangxi asked Yinwu with a smile, "How is the deer blood?"

Yinwu gave a knowing sly smile that only men would understand, and whispered, "My constitution is far inferior to yours, how could I dare to drink deer blood every day?"

Having received a subtle compliment from Yinzhi, Kangxi was in an extremely pleasant mood. Regardless of the era, praising a man's bravery is bound to make anyone happy.

After finishing his shift, since he had a day off the next day, Yinwu took a carriage and went straight back to the Prince's Mansion.

Just as Yinwu changed into his casual clothes, Wulin came in and whispered, "Your Highness, Tulichen has arrived."

"Please invite him to the inner study for tea."

"Whoo."

Normally, to avoid suspicion, Yinwu would not receive important court officials in his palace.

However, Emperor Kangxi already knew that Tulichen was Yinwu's man.

Currently, among Yinwu's followers, only Tulichen holds the highest rank of official.

"Your humble servant Tulichen wishes you good health, Master."

"sit down."

"Thank you, Master."

After Tulichen was seated, Yinwu ordered tea to be served.

"Your Majesty, I've heard that Wang Yiqing, the eldest son of Wang Zhongtang, is rallying the censors everywhere, intending to petition for the reinstatement of the prince in Xian'an Palace as the crown prince," Tu Lichen whispered, reporting a new development.

Yinwu picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and said calmly, "Don't concern yourself with their affairs, just don't get involved."

"My lord, you have already given instructions that I may only submit memorials to the emperor alone, and not jointly with anyone. I have kept this in mind and have never dared to forget it." Tulichen stood up and explained in a serious tone.

"Well, to tell you the truth, they will not succeed. All the censors involved will come to a bad end."

Since Tulichen was definitely one of their own, Yinwu gave a meaningful hint.

“Master, I have always been a loner and don’t even have a disciple.”

Yinwu nodded and smiled, saying, "Your qualifications are still shallow. It will take time before you can take charge of a department. Do you understand?"

Tulichen smiled and said, "A few years ago, I was just a lowly sixth-rank official. Now that I have suddenly risen to such a high position, I am filled with trepidation. How dare I look down on others?"

Tulichen truly obeyed Yinwu's orders in all actions, which greatly pleased Yinwu.

"The triennial capital inspection is about to begin. Do you have a place you'd like to go to?" Yinwu, who was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, could easily find Tulichen a better post.

"This servant will obey all orders from Master." Tulichen's attitude was extremely upright. As a loyal dog under Yinwu, he had to follow Yinwu's lead in everything.

"How about going to serve in another region?" Yinwu knew Tulichen's temperament; if he didn't speak, Tulichen certainly wouldn't dare to make any demands.

Tulichen is currently a second-rank official with a red hat, and if he were to be appointed to a post outside the capital, he would at least be a provincial governor.

"This servant will obey your will."

"Yes, there's a vacancy for the Governor of Sichuan. I'll try my best to help you get it." Yinwu never made definitive statements; even for things that were already decided, he habitually left room for maneuver.

The governors of Shaanxi and Gansu were both on the front lines, making their positions extremely sensitive.

Sichuan is primarily focused on defense and is currently free from war, yet it is one of the main provinces supplying food to the Northwest Army.

To put it bluntly, as long as Sichuan is under our control, we can restrain the Fourteenth Prince with our left hand and also hinder Nian Gengyao with our right hand, achieving two goals at once!

P.S.: I didn't sober up until 5 a.m., it was even later, sorry.

(End of this chapter)