The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 255 A Litter of Cubs
Just one month later, the palace issued an edict that Yinwu would no longer manage the Imperial Household Department, and the sixteenth prince would take over.

Yinwu relinquished a position to his sixteenth brother, but even though the brothers were of one mind, it did not expand Yinwu's power.

The arrangement made for the sixteenth prince precisely proves that Kangxi was not senile!
Even if Emperor Kangxi favored Yinzhi, he would still be wary of several possible moves. Therefore, as long as Emperor Kangxi remained vigilant, Yinzhi would have no chance to raise an army and turn the tide.

Historically, the fourteenth prince, on his way back to the capital, learned of the fourth prince's ascension to the throne. He immediately wanted to return to Xining, intending to command over 100,000 troops to oppose the fourth prince.

However, to the utter surprise of the fourteenth prince, his trusted confidants collectively opposed his return to Xining to raise an army.

The reason is actually very simple: everyone's family members are all in Beijing.

In addition, the power to appoint and dismiss local governors and viceroys, as well as the power to allocate grain and funds, were all controlled by the imperial court.

To put it bluntly, the fourteenth prince was merely a general who was ordered to lead the expedition; he was not a military governor who was in charge of everything.

At that time, Nian Gengyao, the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, had already ordered the border to be sealed off, prohibiting the transport of even a single grain of grain to Xining.

The fourteenth prince really raised an army, but before the Northwest army even reached the gates of Xi'an, his own stomach was already rumbling with hunger!
Yinwu is still very young, only twenty-six years old this year, or 28 in the traditional Chinese age reckoning.

As long as Yinwu could endure the loneliness, even if he waited until the thirteenth year of Yongzheng's reign, he would still not be forty years old.

Sima Zhongda and Tokugawa shogunate in history endured for decades and had the last laugh; that's truly remarkable!

"Don't be impatient, you'll have your turn to serve sooner or later!" Yinwu earnestly advised the eighteenth prince.

Old Eighteen smiled and said softly, "Brother, why am I in such a hurry? My father's right hand is completely useless, and he's already sixty-five years old this year."

Yinwu understood perfectly well that the eighteenth prince's unspoken meaning was: how many more years could Kangxi live?

On that day, an urgent report came from Zhangjiakou that the Russian envoy, Izmailov, and his delegation had arrived outside the pass.

Because Ma Qi had dealt with the Russians, Kangxi summoned Ma Qi and Yinwu together to the Qingxi Study.

"Ma Qi, go and tell the Russian envoy that if he wishes to have an audience with His Majesty, he must kneel and kowtow three times and kowtow nine times. If he does not agree, then he shall not be allowed to enter the country even half a step." Kangxi placed great importance on the etiquette of meeting the emperor and would not back down in the slightest.

"Yes, sir." Upon returning to the cabinet, Ma Qi was no longer the arrogant man he once was, and appeared unusually submissive.

Machi, who had once served as an envoy to Russia, secretly received many benefits from the Russians, and it was Izmailov who bribed him.

The Russians were clearly prepared, deliberately sending Izmailov, who had a good relationship with Maqi, on a long journey to the Qing Dynasty.

"Fifteenth Prince, you will be in charge of the negotiations with the Russians," Kangxi said in a deep voice. "Our Great Qing has everything, and trade with the Russians is actually optional. However, the Russians have secretly sold a lot of firearms to the Dzungars, which is no small matter."

"Your Majesty, the Russians are deliberately refusing to sell cannons to the Dzungars because they harbor a wolfish ambition to seize the Dzungar tribe!" Yinwu analyzed. "If we don't agree to trade with the Russians, I'm afraid they might desperately sell the cannons to Tsewang Arabtan, which would be a big problem!"

With the current national strength of the Qing Dynasty, it certainly cannot destroy the vast Russian Kingdom.

Faced with the enormous threat from the Dzungars, even if Yinwu did not want to trade with the Russians, he had to appease the Tsar first.

You have to eat food one bite at a time; you can't rush things!
First, eliminate the Dzungars, then cut off the Russians' eastward advance. This strategic order cannot be wrong!
Ma Qi happily went to Zhangjiakou, while Yinwu remained in the capital, waiting for the Russian envoy to ask him to negotiate.

Emperor Kangxi drew a line for Yinwu, allowing him to have no taboos except for not completely breaking off relations.

In reality, this was because Emperor Kangxi felt that the Qing Dynasty had suffered a loss after signing the Treaty of Nerchinsk.

Originally, Kangxi's idea was to relinquish the territorial claims to Outer Northeast in exchange for the Russians ceasing their covert support of the Dzungars. However, the Russians proved to be inherently untrustworthy; they not only reaped enormous benefits from Outer Northeast but also secretly supported the Dzungars!
In this way, the Qing Dynasty lost vast territories and failed to gain an absolute advantage over the Dzungars. No matter how you look at it, it suffered a great loss.

Yinwu deliberately reminded Kangxi: "The Russians are cunning and deceitful, and they treat trust as worthless; you must never trust them!"

The fourteenth prince was waging war in the northwest, and Kangxi was indeed somewhat hesitant, fearing that he might anger the Russians and cause them to sell cannons to the Dzungars.

"Father, leave this matter to your son. I dare not say anything else, but I can guarantee that the Russians will not be allowed to take advantage of our Great Qing." Yinwu added, "If the negotiations break down, I dare to guarantee it with my title of Prince."

Yinwu truly didn't care for the so-called title of Prince of the Second Rank, which was only valid for three years.

If the negotiations break down and Yinwu loses his title, the fourth prince will actually trust him even more in the future.

If the Russians were subdued in the negotiations, it would be extremely beneficial to the development of the Qing Dynasty and even the entire East Asia region.

As long as Yinwu presides over the negotiations, no matter what the outcome, he will be the ultimate winner!
After finishing his shift, Yinwu did not return to the Prince's Mansion, but went to Liao's Silk Shop.

In the backyard of the silk shop, Yinwu saw Cao Jiashi holding Xiao Fuxiu in her arms.

Yinwu took Xiao Fuxiu from Cao Jiashi's hands and affectionately kissed his little face.

It's quite interesting, really. Ever since Cao Jia had an affair with Yinwu, she has had sons one after another.

To date, Lady Cao has given birth to four sons for Yinwu: the eldest son, Fupeng; Fucong; Fuzhang; and Fuxiu, who is less than one year old.

"Narsu is really tough!" Yinwu couldn't help but laugh.

Cao Jia's pretty face couldn't help but burn. She had been having affairs with other men and had become quite adept at it, even fathering four sons with them.

Narsu, paralyzed on his bed, had a crown that was completely green with envy, but he pretended to be oblivious to it all.

Seriously, Narsu is really tough. He's been dragging this out for so many years and he still hasn't died.

Yinwu carefully examined Xiao Fuxiu's appearance and couldn't help but sigh, "Of the four sons, he is probably the most like me! If Father Khan saw him, he would definitely like him."

Cao Jia felt extremely ashamed, but it was too late to hide the fact that Kangxi already knew about their affair.

Back then, Emperor Kangxi even personally bestowed a nickname upon Fu Peng.

No one outside knows about this, but Narsu is sure he can guess the truth.

Yinwu played with Xiaofuxiu for a long time, making the little guy giggle.

After the father and son had finished arguing, Yinwu got up to leave, but Cao Jia grabbed his sleeve.

"My lord, I have something important to tell you." Cao Jia clung to Yinwu's sleeve, refusing to let go.

Tears welled up in Cao Jia's eyes.

Yinwu instantly understood that his son's mother also needed a man's love!

As the saying goes, "Thirty is like a wolf, forty is like a tiger," and this is certainly true!

(End of this chapter)