The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 251 Vicious Attack

Emperor Kangxi mastered the art of ruling by manipulating differing opinions to the extreme, with only one goal: to prevent any one side from becoming too powerful.

The seventh prince was in charge of the Plain Yellow Banner, the twelfth prince was in charge of the Plain Blue Banner, and the fourth prince didn't care much.

However, the fact that the tenth prince was put in charge of the Plain White Banner proves that Kangxi deliberately did not kill the eighth prince outright, actually to prevent the fourth prince and Yinwu from taking risks.

Today, anyone with even a slight understanding of the political situation knows that the only adult princes qualified to inherit the throne are the third, fourth, and fourteenth princes.

However, the fourteenth prince himself didn't have much power; it was the eighth prince who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

As for the fourth son, very few people believe he has a chance to become emperor!

Because, of all the cards that the fourth prince has revealed on the surface, there is no one else besides Yinwu!

Everyone, including the third prince, the eighth prince, and Consort De, only saw Yinwu standing in the open, while ignoring the thirteenth prince, Nian Gengyao, Longkodo, and Zhang Tingyu.

It is generally believed that only when Emperor Kangxi was alive could Yinzhi (the Yongzheng Emperor) use his power to command his officials.

If the mountain collapses, without cultivating a large number of private princes, Yinwu will be taken down by the Eighth Prince in the blink of an eye!

This is the same principle as if, as soon as Emperor Qianlong closed his eyes, the Grand Secretary was immediately hung from the roof beam!

Yinwu's difficulty was that he could not cultivate his own power base under the watchful eye of Emperor Kangxi, this cunning old fox.

As the saying goes, strength is strength when it is concentrated, and weakness is strength when it is divided.

Kangxi's decision to appoint the Fourteenth Prince as Grand General was a brilliant move, effectively splitting the Eighth Prince's faction in two with a mere gesture.

Is it the same for the Eighth Prince to become emperor himself and for him to support the Fourteenth Prince to become emperor?

"Fourth Brother, in my opinion, we should not act rashly. We should just observe the situation!" Yinwu was worried that the fourth brother might lose his composure, so he gave him a special reminder.

“The current emperor has been in power for nearly sixty years. The entire Qing Dynasty is filled with imperialists. We are not much stronger than him.” The thirteenth prince picked up a crabapple, took a big bite, and mumbled, “The fifteenth brother is right. It’s better to stay still than to make a move.”

"Someone, please summon Fu Nai to discuss matters!"

Because this matter is of great importance and cannot be overlooked, the fourth prince would like to hear the opinions of his trusted advisors again.

The fourth prince, the thirteenth prince, and Yinwu would first hold a small meeting of the three of them, and then invite Fu Nai over to supplement any shortcomings. This had become an established rule of procedure in the Yong Prince's Mansion.

Fu Nai narrowed his eyes, stroked his beard, and said, "My lord, I believe that the best course of action is to remain unchanged in the face of all changes."

Four people attended the meeting, and three of them agreed. So the fourth person adopted everyone's opinion and simply observed from the sidelines, refusing to get involved.

A few days later, Emperor Kangxi issued an edict, ordering the third prince to lead all the princes to greet Princess Heshuo Chunxi and her consort at the main gate of Changchun Garden, as they were returning to the capital.

Princess Chunxi of the First Rank was originally the daughter of Prince Gong, Changning, but was taken back to the palace by Emperor Kangxi to be raised.

According to the palace's ranking system, Princess Heshuo Chunxi was the true eldest princess of the dynasty.

Before Princess Heshuo Chunxi entered the palace, all the princes in the palace had died young.

Perhaps it was fate, but after she entered the palace, not only were the eldest and second princes born one after another, but they all grew up healthy.

Therefore, Emperor Kangxi always regarded Princess Chunxi as his lucky star and favored her immensely.

When Princess Chunxi married Bandi, her dowry exceeded the regulations by more than three times.

The people in the Imperial Household Department were almost speechless with astonishment, thinking it was a mistake by Emperor Kangxi, and quickly submitted a memorial to verify it.

As a result, Emperor Kangxi, with a stroke of his pen, actually increased the dowry by another 30%.

In an instant, all the powerful and influential people in the capital knew that the eldest princess was exceptionally favored!
Outside the gate of Changchun Garden, the princes, led by the third prince, stood in a row, all silently waiting for Chunxi's arrival.

In formal settings, among princes, the one with the higher rank is respected.

As luck would have it, Prince Dun, the tenth prince, was standing in front of Yinwu, and Prince Beile, the eighth prince, was standing behind him, leaving him sandwiched in the middle.

Whenever the Eighth Prince saw Yinwu, he felt uneasy.

The Eighth Prince was truly caught off guard by Yinwu's sudden emergence!
If there were a way to undo mistakes, the Eighth Prince would rather offend the Fourteenth Prince than not bring Yinwu into his fold.

Consider this: Yinwu, who was in charge of the Imperial Guards and the Eight Banners Infantry, could not be overstated in terms of importance.

Alas, it's a pity that the Eighth Prince didn't think much of Yinwu, this insignificant prince, at all. He didn't even try to win him over, and the number of times he even met him was very few.

The consequences of the Eighth Prince's misjudgment, allowing Yinwu to slip through his fingers, were extremely serious.

So much so that when the Eighth Prince and his comrades privately discussed raising an army, they unanimously agreed that if they wanted to cause trouble at Xuanwu Gate, they had to eliminate Yinwu first.

Yinwu stood quietly behind the tenth prince, completely unaware that the eighth prince was staring at his back.

When Chunxi got married in the 29th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Yinwu had not yet been born.

Therefore, the siblings not only had no relationship, but had never even met.

After standing for a full hour, Chunxi's carriage finally appeared in front of Changchun Garden.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Prince Consort Bandi not only dismounted ahead of time but also stood guard beside the dismounting bench. When the carriage curtain was lifted, a graceful and elegant woman in full regalia, supported by Bandi, stood steadily on the ground and walked towards the princes with a smile on her face.

Upon seeing this, the third brother bowed first and said respectfully, "Your younger brother, Yinzhi, is here by imperial decree to welcome eldest sister back to the capital!"

Immediately, all the princes followed suit and bowed in greeting.

Accompanied by the third prince, he introduced each of the princes to Chunxi one by one.

"Big sister, this is the fourth brother!"

"This is the fifth one!"

"This is the seventh brother..."

"This is the fifteenth son."

"Your younger brother, Yinwu, greets elder sister!" Yinwu bowed with a smile on his face.

Just then, the third son said seemingly casually, "Alas, nowadays, Father Khan dotes on the fifteenth son the most!"

Yinwu sneered inwardly. The third prince really hadn't changed his ways and loved to do bad things like sowing discord.

"Fifteenth Brother, I've heard from the distant Mongolian outposts that you are now the most powerful king in the world, holding absolute authority in the capital!" Chunxi smiled, but her words were like knives, viciously stabbing into Yinwu's chest.

Yinwu stopped smiling and said calmly, "Eldest sister has come from afar; you must be very tired!"

The answer seemed completely irrelevant, yet it delivered a resolute counterattack.

Once a sister is married, she's like water spilled from a cup; it's best for her to mind her own business and not interfere in family matters!

Chunxi gave Yinwu a deep look, but didn't continue stabbing him, and kept walking forward.

After meeting Chunxi, Emperor Kangxi was extremely pleased and offered her a seat.

As they were chatting, Chunxi joked, "Father, whenever I see my fifteenth brother and the others, I can't help but think of Prince Yu, Dodo. Prince Yu made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty's conquest of the Central Plains!"

Upon hearing this, the fourth prince couldn't help but turn to look at Yinwu, his eyes filled with worry.

On the surface, Chunxi only mentioned Dodo. In reality, the story of the three brothers Dorgon, Dodo and Ajige colluding to wreak havoc on the court is only a little over seventy years old.

Coincidentally, Yinwu, the sixteenth prince, and the eighteenth prince were also three brothers born of the same mother.

Chunxi's words were no longer a metaphor; they were practically pointing fingers at the three brothers, Yinwu, and accused them of harboring rebellious intentions!
The Eighth Prince pursed his lips, stared at Yinwu's back one last time, and then looked away.

Since I can't have you, I'll destroy you to avoid getting in the way of important matters!
The tenth brother secretly rejoiced. "Little fifteen, you've finally met your match?"
Old Nine sighed. What a pity, he didn't have a feather fan. Otherwise, if he had unfolded his folding fan and gently waved it, wouldn't he have been like Zhuge Liang reborn?

The fifth prince moved his lips, wanting to say something for Yinwu, but the words caught in his throat and he swallowed them back.

The twelfth prince looked at Yinwu with worry, but he had no intention of defending Yinwu.

Previously, the twelfth prince did indeed owe Yinwu a favor. However, faced with matters of great importance, the twelfth prince could only choose to remain indifferent and observe.

After all, the twelfth prince had just tasted the sweetness of power and was unlikely to easily give up real banner power for the sake of Yinwu.

The fourth prince was extremely anxious, but he understood even more clearly that the more subtle the attack, the more likely anyone could speak up for Yinwu, except for him!
Yinwu kept his mouth shut, deliberately remaining silent, showing no intention of defending himself.

When it comes to matters of the Qing Dynasty, the worst thing is to take it personally and assume it applies to you.

Unless Chunxi names someone specifically, Yinwu is unlikely to retaliate without provoking trouble.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, the eighteenth prince burst out of the crowd, knelt before Emperor Kangxi, and loudly proclaimed, "Father, I am over twenty years old, yet I have never been given a position. I humbly beg you to grant me a high-ranking and powerful post, so that I may experience the life of a powerful minister!"

The fourth prince secretly gave a thumbs up, thinking that Yinwu hadn't spoiled the eighteenth prince for nothing!
The three Dorgon brothers were able to manipulate the court, mainly by holding all the power of the government, the banners, and the military!
In contrast, the three brothers, Yinwu, together only numbered a few Niru.

Moreover, although Yinwu held great power, he had no cronies to support him; everything depended on Kangxi's trust.

To put it bluntly, if Kangxi had ordered Yinwu to step down at 3 o'clock, it would have been absolutely impossible for him to wait until 3:15.

The sixteenth prince originally wanted to stand up and say a few words of justice for Yinwu.

However, the twelfth brother, who was standing in front of the sixteenth brother, took the opportunity to turn to the side and secretly grabbed the sixteenth brother's right hand.

Sixteenth Brother was suddenly startled and immediately realized something terrible: Eighth Brother and the others probably wished he would stand up and speak up too.
Once the sixteenth prince also stepped forward, the eighteenth prince's powerful defense would not only have no effect, but would also easily trigger Kangxi's sensitive nerves.

Do you three brothers really want to emulate Dorgon's three brothers?

At this moment, the sixteenth brother was grateful to the twelfth brother from the bottom of his heart. If it weren't for the twelfth brother's timely intervention, he would have made an irreparable mistake!

Yinwu looked at the eighteenth prince with great appreciation. Under his careful guidance, the boy's knowledge and decisiveness had improved significantly, making him far more capable than the ignorant boy he once was!

Although the eighteenth prince didn't say much, every word he uttered struck a chord with Emperor Kangxi.

Your Majesty, after you bring down Yinwu, who will benefit the most? You should think this through carefully!
P.S.: I have some free time today, so this is the first of three updates. Please give me some encouragement with your monthly tickets! Brothers, let's keep our spirits up!
(End of this chapter)