"I don't know."

Kangxi's answer was simple and straightforward.

"Then let me tell you, in this military factory, not counting my son and the two hundred or so guards around him, there are a total of 976 Han Chinese craftsmen and their families. The Manchu craftsmen and their families, plus the 500 Eight Banner soldiers you transferred here, total 1,215 people!"

"There are only about 500 people here who can be called craftsmen. The rest are either doing odd jobs or working in logistics. Even the young children are busy studying and practicing calligraphy, or feeding the chickens and ducks."

Yinreng introduced the population composition of the military factory to Kangxi like a treasure trove.

"You spent the whole day in the factory yesterday. Did you see any Manchus picking on the Han people, or any Han people being hostile to the Manchus?"

Kangxi was silent.

“No…”

"You said that those who are not of my race must have different hearts. This is indeed true, and my son agrees."

"But my son thought this 'race' was some alien species living outside this continent, with strange-colored hair and black or white skin, not the descendants of Yan and Huang who have lived on this land for generations!"

Descendants of Yan and Huang?

Oh!

Kangxi frowned as he listened, a look of extreme disapproval emerging on his face.

"As the Crown Prince, don't you know how many rebellions have occurred in the Qing Dynasty over the years? Those Han people clearly do not recognize the rule of the Manchus, and they are constantly plotting to take back this country!"

"Haha...you're being shallow!"

Yinreng raised his lips to an extremely sarcastic smile, and before Kangxi could get angry, he continued,

"Looking through history books, almost every time a dynasty changed its name, it would clearly state these words—"

"Officials are forcing the people to rebel!"

After these four words were spoken, Kangxi fell silent.

He knew that Yinreng was right.

Every dynasty has accumulated many problems, and the people only start to rise up when they can no longer survive.

The atmosphere in the room began to become depressing.

After a long time, Kangxi took a deep breath.

"Yinreng, I don't think I've ever asked you directly what you really think about the throne."

"Finally..."

Yinreng thought to himself, and then answered without hesitation,

"I think the fact that I don't have children is the best answer to this question."

Kangxi's fingers tightened suddenly, and his voice couldn't help but tremble.

"So... your infertility is your..."

"You guessed right. I don't want my child to live in fear and fear like I do. But even though I've made it so obvious, I still can't dispel your suspicions."

Yinreng laughed at himself.

"Sometimes I really wonder, are we father and son, or enemies..."

Kangxi seemed not to have heard what he said next, and stared at Yinreng with burning eyes.

"So, it's you who doesn't want to have a baby, not that you can't?"

"You're overthinking it. Over the past decade, even if it's fake, I've already proven it..."

"you!"

The veins on Kangxi's forehead throbbed violently.

"Are you trying to piss me off to death?!"

"Isn't this a good thing for you?"

Yinreng glanced at him teasingly, then continued to talk to himself,

"If I had offspring, you'd be wary of me every day. You'd be tired, and so would I. Isn't this situation exactly what you want? You don't have to worry about me rebelling all day long. I've also helped you withstand so much pressure. You should be thanking me..."

"Asshole! How could you voluntarily end your family line like this? If this goes to hell, how will you ever face your ancestors, or your late mother?"

Yinreng rolled his eyes secretly.

"Let's not even talk about whether people can really see their ancestors after they die. Even if they do, they'll scold me. You have so many sons to carry on your family line, what are you afraid of? And speaking of mother, you should remember what she said to you before she died, right?"

Kangxi was stunned for a moment, and a gentle and weak figure appeared in his mind. However, no matter how hard he tried to recall it for a long time, he could not remember her face.

Kangxi felt a little disappointed and said in a bitter voice,

"Of course I remember... Your mother personally handed you over to me and asked me to raise you well."

"So my mother's wish was just for me to grow up safely, and now I have grown up safely."

“Wrong logic!”

Kangxi shouted angrily.

"Whatever you say is what it is. Anyway, the facts are already here."

Yinreng looked indifferent.

"Today, I'm going to be honest with you. I've never intended to succeed you as emperor in this life, and I have no interest in the chaos of the court. The only thing I'm interested in is these things in the factory. If you still plan to take me back to Beijing, then I have nothing to say..."

He stood up as he spoke.

"I can't possibly go to the court and flatter them as you think."

Kangxi looked at Yinreng's back as he left and sat there in silence for a long time.

Finally he sighed deeply.

During the period after Yinreng left, he kept trying to recall Hesheli's face, but no matter how hard he tried, Hesheli's face seemed to be covered with a thick fog. The more he thought about it, the thicker the fog became, and in the end he could not remember Hesheli's face.

So he told himself that Hesheli had been gone for too long, and it was not his fault that he had forgotten her!

But the guilt that grew stronger in my heart could not be dispelled.

Kangxi couldn't help but recall the time when Yinreng was just born and was held in his palm. At that time, he was just like Hesheli, hoping that Yinreng could live a healthy life.

At that time, he probably could not have imagined that today, more than 30 years later, the two father and son who were so close at the beginning would actually reach the point where they are suspicious of each other and wary of each other.

Even with the warning from his previous life, he still couldn't help but suspect Yinreng.

After the two had a frank chat, Kangxi stayed in Weihaiwei for another day and visited the nearby towns and villages to see the living conditions of the local people.

Then he left Weihaiwei with his guards.

He never mentioned bringing Yinreng back to Beijing again.

This made Yinreng feel greatly relieved.

If Kangxi insisted on bringing him back to Beijing, he really would have no way to resist.

This damn feudal dynasty...well, actually, living in the future, you would still have no control over your own destiny.

Yinreng couldn't help but feel a tingling sensation on his scalp when he recalled the scene where he had tricked people into buying fund stocks in the company.

Forget it, even though I don’t have freedom now, at least I’m not harming anyone.