The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 269 There are really people who are not afraid of death

On the day the fourteenth prince took his leave of the throne, all the imperial relatives, led by the third prince, waited outside the Meridian Gate, while officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital gathered outside the Zhengyang Gate.

Before the auspicious hour had arrived, Emperor Kangxi and his fourteenth son, Yinwu, stood in front of the Fengxian Hall.

The great events of the country are in the army and in the sacrifice.

The sacrificial sites of the Qing Dynasty were mainly divided into "five altars and seven temples". The five altars were, in order: the Temple of Heaven, the Temple of Earth, the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Moon, and the Temple of the God of Agriculture.

The seven temples are: the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Hall of Ancestral Worship, the Hall of Transmitting the Heart, the Hall of Longevity, the Hall of the Hall of Worship, the Temple of Literature, and the Temple of Emperors of Past Dynasties.

After Yongzheng ascended the throne, he killed the Eighth Prince and then took the opportunity to annex the Prince Lian's Mansion next to the Yong Prince's Mansion, and rebuilt it into the Yonghe Palace.

After the Qianlong reign, the Yonghe Temple was added to the seven temples, making it the "eight temples".

When the fourteenth prince led the army into battle, Emperor Kangxi personally paid homage at the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

When the fourteenth prince was about to leave Beijing, Kangxi led him, guided by Yinwu, the highest-ranking minister in the imperial court, to pay homage to the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty.

After entering the hall, Kangxi led his fourteenth son and Yinwu to pay their respects and offer incense to the ancestral tablets in turn.

As usual, Kangxi introduced the achievements of their ancestors to the fourteenth prince and Yinwu one by one.

Upon entering the inner hall, Kangxi suddenly stopped, stroked the memorial tablet of Empress Xiaocheng, and sighed, "Back then, if it weren't for her serving by my side, I would have found it difficult to remain in my position."

The fourteenth prince thought that Emperor Kangxi was missing his first wife, so he comforted him, saying, "Father, please take care of yourself!"

Yinwu knew what was going on, but Kangxi was very annoyed.

Because the old geezer Wang Yan actually submitted another memorial, requesting that Yinreng be reinstated as the crown prince!

After the second deposition of the crown prince, Emperor Kangxi issued a strict decree that anyone who dared to petition for the reinstatement of Yinreng would be executed immediately!

However, Wang Yan was fearless and repeatedly crossed Kangxi's line.

The fourteenth prince never bothered to study Kangxi's mindset, so his answer was naturally completely irrelevant.

However, Yinwu, who had always been by the emperor's side, kept his lips tightly shut and refused to say a single word, which instead attracted Kangxi's attention.

"Fifteenth Prince, please take some time to visit Wang Yan for me." Kangxi clearly harbored murderous intentions towards Wang Yan, but deliberately did not say it outright.

"Yes, sir." Yinwu deliberately lowered his head, pretending not to understand the subtext.

Based on Kangxi's understanding of Yinwu, he was certain that Yinwu understood his thoughts.

But Yinwu deliberately pretended to be stupid!

Even today, looking around the entire court, one sees nothing but important officials personally promoted by Emperor Kangxi.

However, faced with the stubborn and fearless Wang Yan, Kangxi thought long and hard and concluded that only Yinwu, that scoundrel, had a way to shut Wang Yan up completely.

In his later years, Emperor Kangxi prided himself on being a benevolent ruler and rarely dared to kill his ministers!

Yinwu sneered inwardly. If you don't want to get your hands dirty, then should I be the scapegoat?

In the past, Kangxi would have only needed to give a hint, and Yinwu would have understood and told Wang Tan to shut up.

Now, as Kangxi grows older, he refuses to relinquish power and even shows signs of suppressing Yinwu.

Under these circumstances, how could Yinwu possibly give in?
Since Emperor Kangxi did not bestow the throne upon Yinwu, why should Yinwu be used as a pawn by Emperor Kangxi?

After leaving the Fengxian Hall, Kangxi led his fourteenth son to stand on the steps of the Taihe Hall.

"Your Majesty, I respectfully wish you good health!" "Your humble servant respectfully wishes you good health!"

Amidst the cheers of the imperial relatives, the fourteenth prince not only did not step aside, but stood firmly behind Kangxi.

Standing not far away, Yinwu deliberately lowered his head to avoid letting anyone see the slight smile playing on his lips.

Faced with Kangxi's repeated exceptional promotions, did the Fourteenth Prince really think he was already the undisputed next crown prince?

Yinwu had reason to believe that the fourteenth prince had truly become arrogant!

Sigh, there's nothing we can do, the fourteenth prince's life has just been far too smooth!
People who are used to enjoying favorable circumstances will have their mentality collapse once they encounter major setbacks.

Therefore, the fourteenth prince in history had already given up his military power and returned to the capital alone to attend the funeral. He stubbornly refused to kneel before the fourth prince, the new emperor.

As the saying goes, when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

After the banquet, Emperor Kangxi took the fourteenth prince's hand and personally escorted him out of the Meridian Gate.

After Kangxi and the fourteenth prince bid farewell, Yinwu, the chief minister on duty, accompanied Kangxi back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Kangxi stepped down from the palanquin and called out directly, "Fifteenth Prince, I have something to ask you."

Yinwu, who was about to back down, had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow Kangxi into the study.

However, Kangxi deliberately left Yinwu waiting in the study.

By the time Kangxi changed his clothes and washed up, and stepped back into the study, Yinwu had been standing there for almost an hour.

"Tell me, how do you plan to persuade that old codger Wang Yan to shut up?" Kangxi pressed hard, giving Yinwu no room to maneuver.

For the emperor of a nation to use the term "old and immortal" to describe a high-ranking official of the court clearly reveals his desire for Wang Yan to be executed.

"Father, as you know, if Wang Yan were afraid of death, he wouldn't dare to disobey the imperial decree..." Yinwu was not afraid of angering Kangxi at all, and refused to help Kangxi kill Wang Yan.

"Speak, what do you want?" Kangxi said coldly, genuinely intending to negotiate with Yinwu.

However, Yinwu knew better than anyone that his title and official position were already at the pinnacle of his career, with no further rewards or promotions to be made.

"Father, I really want to go to Jiangnan to relax." Yinwu's attitude of not wanting to seize power and only wanting to live a carefree life made Kangxi feel somewhat powerless.

As an emperor who believed himself to be the only one who mattered, Kangxi controlled countless resources.

In other words, Kangxi wasn't afraid of Yinwu making demands, but he was afraid that Yinwu would try to back out.

Well, if it were an ordinary high-ranking official, killing him wouldn't be a big deal.

However, Wang Yan was not only the Crown Prince's tutor, but also taught the third and fourth princes, as well as many older princes.

According to the traditional Chinese hierarchy of Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher, if Kangxi truly killed Wang Yan, it would be tantamount to overturning the fundamental ethical principles.

When the Qing dynasty entered the Central Plains, it was clear that a minority had dominated the majority.

If the majority of people stop respecting the fundamental principles of ethics and morality, it will obviously do more harm than good for the long-term stability of the country.

Furthermore, Emperor Kangxi had said countless times in front of his important ministers that if the Imperial Tutor did not plot rebellion, he would not be executed!
Despite the many shameless things Emperor Kangxi did, there were certain rules of the game that prevented him from doing whatever he pleased, even as the emperor.

In short, looking around, Kangxi could only think of Yinwu, a shameless rogue with enough status, who had the ability to deal with Wang Yan, a stubborn and intractable obstacle.

“Consort Mi should have been promoted to Imperial Noble Consort long ago.” Kangxi didn’t mince words and offered a price that Yinwu could hardly refuse in front of him.

(End of this chapter)