Chapter 203 Honghui's Diary 3

The 47th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign was truly a significant turning point.

It seems that even Emperor Chengtai didn't expect that his father would be the one to ultimately ascend the throne.

Emperor Kangxi was truly sharp-tongued.

So the secret passage between Yonghe Temple and the neighboring Prince Lian's Mansion existed so long ago!

[The four of them conspired to deceive everyone; I get so excited thinking about the story after Yongzheng ascended the throne.]

History books only record the events that happened at the time, but the joys and sorrows hidden behind those events are not so obvious. However, through the Honghui Diary displayed at this moment, everyone can have a different perspective on history.

Just then, the people sent by the royal family and the Academy of Sciences finally arrived. But the number of viewers in the live stream had already exceeded one million, so they couldn't just turn it off whenever they wanted. They could only remain still and watch the changes in the diary on the wall.

[On the first day of the twelfth month of the forty-seventh year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, my father was named Crown Prince. I thought my eighth uncle would be a little sad, but he hugged me and laughed through his tears.]

[On the fifth day of the third month of the forty-eighth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign... the Imperial Grandfather passed away.]

[On the first day of the second month of the first year of Yongzheng's reign, this was the first year that Father Emperor changed the reign title. My uncles and aunts were all working very hard, and I also wanted to grow up quickly so that I could share Father Emperor's burdens.]

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the second year of Yongzheng's reign, the mourning period was officially lifted in the palace, and the Emperor began the selection of consorts at the request of the officials.

I find it a bit strange; Father Emperor seems somewhat interested, but not very enthusiastic.

Actually, ever since Father Emperor ascended the throne, I've noticed that he doesn't seem as happy as he appears. I always have this fear of losing Father Emperor; maybe it's because I haven't had much schoolwork lately, and I can't help but overthink things.

[I had heard about the recent conferment of titles in the palace on the 21st day of the 12th month of the second year of Yongzheng's reign. But I didn't expect Consort Geng to be in such a hurry and treat Hongzhou that way. Hongzhou is a sensible and good child. It's alright, I will always protect him. From now on, Hongzhou will be the Prince of Jingren Palace.]

[On the 31st day of the 12th month of the second year of Yongzheng's reign, I became the Crown Prince. My father, the Emperor, transformed my former Prince's residence into the Yonghe Palace and bestowed it upon me.]

I am very happy, but also under a lot of pressure. I will work hard and live up to Father Emperor's expectations.

...

In fact, Emperor Chengtai had noticed something was wrong with Yongzheng a long time ago, but he was too young to investigate further.

I imagine that when Emperor Chengtai later looked back at his diary, he would have felt deep regret, regretting that he had missed the opportunity to learn about his father's health.

[I feel like I need to go back and tell Xiao Honghui that you did not disappoint our expectations, and that you later became a truly excellent emperor.]

The comments section was flooded with all sorts of opinions. Soon, the following diary entries stirred their emotions. A few short numbers allowed them to witness the rise of the Qing Dynasty.

On the ninth day of the third month of the third year of the Yongzheng reign, the Dzungar Khanate came to court, attempting to incite unrest within the imperial court.

[The dagger and gems from the Dzungar Khanate, dated March 12th of the third year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, are quite nice. Once we defeat the Dzungars, I'll give them all to my younger siblings to play with. My second uncle is really something, managing to extract so much money from the Dzungars. I really like the warm jade that my brother Hongxi gave me, but unfortunately, he's joined the navy, and I haven't seen him since.]

The military exercise on April 11th of the third year of Yongzheng's reign went smoothly, and the Mongol tribes seemed to have become much more docile.

The eldest prince of the Dzungar Khanate also seemed eager to submit, but it was too late. With unrest in Qinghai, it was time to let the world see the Qing Dynasty's new firearms.

On the first day of the fifth month of the third year of the Yongzheng reign, the fourteenth uncle led troops to quell a rebellion in Qinghai.

On the 34th day of the fifth month of the third year of the Yongzheng reign, the uncle successfully quelled the rebellion.

On the fifth day of the sixth month of the third year of the Yongzheng reign, the Dzungar garrison secretly invaded Tibet. The fourteenth uncle petitioned the emperor to attack the Dzungar, and the emperor granted his request.

[On the 21st day of the eighth month of the third year of the Yongzheng reign, the 14th Prince successfully subdued the Dzungar Khanate and captured its leader, Tsewang Arabtan, alive. He truly deserved to be called the "Great General Prince" appointed by his father, the Emperor.]

...

Honghui's diary became increasingly concise, revealing less and less of his personal emotions. However, it always touched upon major events in the court, events even those recorded in historical texts. Yet, everyone read it intently, not wanting to miss a single word. It felt as if they were growing up alongside Honghui, witnessing history together.

On the twelfth day of the ninth month of the third year of Yongzheng's reign, a banquet was prepared for my fourteenth uncle at the Yuanmingyuan Garden, but he insisted on being lazy and brought me along to the banquet.

Don't they know how much trouble I cause?! It's one thing for Father Emperor to push things onto me, but why is Fourteenth Uncle doing the same? I'm the Crown Prince, not a laborer!

The news of what happened to Hongyun at the palace banquet yesterday, September 13th of the third year of Yongzheng's reign, has reached me, and I am a little worried about him.

It's not that no one has warned me that my younger brothers have grown up and might covet my position as crown prince.

My father said he believes I can be a good crown prince.

Therefore, I am the crown prince, and I fear nothing.

The more capable my brothers are, the better. Come help me out as soon as possible; I'm exhausted! Why does Father Emperor still have time to listen to opera?!

On the twelfth day of the tenth month of the third year of Yongzheng's reign, the Emperor decided to send my seventeenth uncle and me as envoys to Russia for peace talks.

This is a trial, and I know that Father Emperor is trying to strengthen my chances of becoming Crown Prince.

I know there will be many dangers along the way, and not everyone wants me, the crown prince, to have a safe and secure existence. But I am not afraid. I will not let my father down, and I will become the crown prince he envisions for me.

On the eighth day of the eleventh month of the third year of Yongzheng's reign, this was either the seventh or eighth assassination attempt I had encountered. It turns out so many people wanted me dead.

I increasingly wanted to reach the border as soon as possible to complete the peace talks with Tsarist Russia. I don't know why, but after leaving, I felt uneasy and wanted to return to see my father as soon as possible.

The peace talks progressed smoothly on the first day of the twelfth month of the third year of the Yongzheng reign.

It's hard for things not to go smoothly, after all, my uncle's cannons weren't fired for nothing.

The Russian delegation turned pale, but my uncle always managed to find a reason to fire his cannons: good weather, a good mood, smooth progress in the peace talks, etc. I think it was mainly because my uncle wanted to show off. Well, I also wanted to show off, after all, truth only exists within the range of cannons.

On the way back on the eleventh day of the twelfth month of the third year of Yongzheng's reign, I received a secret letter from my father, the Emperor. Someone was planning a rebellion. We rushed back as fast as we could. Although everything in the letter was under control, I don't know why I felt very uneasy.

On the 17th day of the 12th month of the third year of Yongzheng's reign, he dealt with the assassins lying in ambush on the road and returned home weary from his journey, just as everything came to an end.

Watching Tong Guowei's final outburst, I felt uneasy. What did he mean? Was the Emperor's health truly failing?

Although my father's explanation made a lot of sense, I still couldn't control my panic. I couldn't help but grab his sleeve like I did when I was a child, afraid that he would disappear at any moment.

Why did the Emperor lose his sense of taste and smell on the second day of the twelfth lunar month in the fourth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign?

What exactly is the medicine that Physician Wang is using? Why won't Father Emperor tell me? What is he hiding?

[In the fourth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign... the sea ban was lifted, but it was still unknown what medicine the Emperor was taking.]

...

[In the fifth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign... corn and sweet potatoes began to be promoted. It's still unknown what medicine the Emperor was taking.]

...

In the sixth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign... Ninth Uncle returned to the country with a large amount of gold and silver. It's still unknown what medicine the Emperor was taking, but perhaps it truly was a miraculous elixir.

...

[In the seventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign... the Fourteenth Prince led another expedition to the Northwest. It's still unknown what medicine the Emperor was taking. But the Emperor has always been healthy; has he been cured?]