Chapter 68 The 68th Day of Wanting to Die
Mr. Kang is really sick this time.
He felt a little embarrassed. They had relied on the shipyards left by the Ming Dynasty to defeat the Southern Ming navy. However, when the shipyards fell into the hands of the Qing Dynasty, not only did they fail to build more powerful ships, but they even regressed further.
Originally, we could build ships over 60 meters long, but in later times, we could only build ships over 20 meters long.
Kangxi closed his eyes deeply. He felt so weak that he didn't even have the strength to raise his hands.
When the filial son Yinreng saw that his father had woken up, he brought a cup of tea over and asked Kangxi to lean against him so that he could moisten his throat.
After Kangxi finished his tea, he held Yinreng's hand and leaned on him, shaking: "Baocheng, your father is in pain."
Yinreng supported the emperor and understood him very well, but now he could only comfort him: "Don't worry, emperor, everything will be fine."
Kangxi shook his head: "Do they think I'm old?"
Kangxi felt something was wrong in recent years. Ten years ago, the Qing Dynasty already had so many bird ships. However, such a long time had passed, and the shipyards allocated funds for shipbuilding every year, but no more news about the ships was heard.
Kangxi now understood that those people were just guilty.
The cost of building a ship is very high, not to mention the profits. But if the profits are stripped away layer by layer, less than one tenth of the money will be actually used for shipbuilding. Let alone building a 60-meter ship, even a 20-meter ship would be expensive.
"They just think I'm old..."
Kangxi could not accept that the Qing Dynasty he ruled was in such a terrible state.
The Imperial Kitchen, the Imperial Household Department, the Ministry of Revenue, the Shipyard...
Everyone is after his money...
As expected, now that life is peaceful, people start looking for trouble.
Kangxi wondered if those people had forgotten their own methods.
Kangxi was furious, and then he couldn't catch his breath and started coughing again: "Cough cough."
In order to show his filial piety, Yin Zhuo went to personally make medicine for Kangxi, and now his little face is black.
"Your Majesty, I am here. I will feel better after taking the medicine."
Yin Zhuo came over carefully, holding the jade porcelain bowl. When he looked up, he saw his second brother gently hugging Kangxi.
His movements paused for a moment, then he moved away slightly.
[Ah, I seem to have interrupted the time when this loving father and son were talking to each other. The second brother still has the emperor in his heart. Looking at what was said on the forum, I thought it was always the emperor's wishful thinking that couldn't warm the second brother's stinky stone. Oops, it hits! It turns out that it's a two-way flow! ]
Both Kangxi and Yinreng froze.
What's in this little guy's head?
Kangxi straightened up as if nothing had happened, then patted Yinreng on the shoulder.
Then he said to Yin Zhuo unhappily, "Come here quickly, what are you dawdling for?"
Yin Zhuo quickly said "oh" and brought the medicine over to hand it to Kangxi.
[The Emperor is so fierce. It seems that I am really being treated as a light bulb. My head is bald and it is so shiny.]
Kangxi took the medicine and glanced at him. What did Xiaoliu mean by the light bulb in his mouth? Anyway, it was definitely not a good thing to link him with Yinreng.
"Okay, go back now. I need to rest for a few days."
Kangxi was heartbroken.
Even hybrid rice didn't interest him.
Forget it, let's take Xiaoliu to Fengze Garden to recuperate. He can rest, but Xiaoliu has to move.
So Kangxi let Yinreng supervise the country and he took Xiaoliu away.
Yinreng was really speechless, and let him be the regent again.
To be honest, he was a little slow in speaking when the Emperor asked him questions, which allowed Yinzhen to seize the opportunity to go to Jiangnan to plant rice.
Otherwise he would be the one going.
Although he didn't know whether the emperor would agree, he really wanted to go out for a walk.
As a result, the emperor didn't even take him with him to live in Fengze Garden.
The person had already left, and there was no point in complaining. He could only take a few brothers to see Yinzhen, give him a few instructions, and then send him out of Beijing.
Kangxi's illness was serious. The originally dull court suddenly became boiling.
The emperor finally collapsed from exhaustion. If he didn't collapse, they would probably be the ones to collapse.
The entire capital city was made deserted by Kangxi and his son. If you want to know why, it was because the emperor had gone crazy and arrested many people and put them in jail.
Moreover, the person was still in ambush, but they raided his house.
Don't say it, although it's fun to watch the excitement during this period, my heart has always been uneasy.
Because you don't know if it will be your turn next.
It's really scary.
But don't judge a book by its cover. Those fathers-in-law are really rich. They can afford to buy a courtyard with four courtyards, and they even have wives outside.
Good guy, I knew they were playing tricks, but I didn't expect them to play so tricks.
What's even more terrifying is that not only is Kangxi powerful, but those princes and crown princes who have the potential to succeed the throne are also extremely powerful and ruthless.
They held their voices during court sessions these past few days, fearing that they might disturb the other princes.
If one of them were to ascend the throne in the future, there would be no point in living.
It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.
The salaries from the court were not enough to cover the expenses of their entire family. The emperor had no idea how hard their lives were.
But the emperor could not hold on any longer and collapsed from exhaustion. Now everyone felt relieved as they no longer had to attend court and could even have a rare good night's sleep.
As a result, as soon as he arrived at the yamen on duty, he heard that the emperor had sent the fourth prince to Jiangnan.
They said they were going to plant rice and asked all levels of local authorities to cooperate.
Everyone was confused. The emperor had not given up on his northern rice. That rice was not adapted to the southern seasons and could not be grown at all. Why didn't the emperor give up?
But the court officials who had been deceived several times were still worried. The more the emperor announced the purpose of the Fourth Prince's trip in such a high-profile manner, the more unbelievable they found it.
Moreover, after the emperor arranged this matter, he actually took the Sixth Prince to live in Fengze Garden.
Isn't this a case of trying to cover up one's own guilt?
The rice was grown in the Fengzeyuan experimental field.
Is the Emperor going to start checking the food supplies?
For a moment, everyone's scalps went numb and the back of their heads felt cold.
It would be bad if we checked the food supply.
But the time has come now, they cannot act rashly. If they are caught by the emperor, wouldn't they be courting death?
Therefore, the best way now is to remain calm and wait and see what happens.
But now the crown prince is in charge of the country, and they are used to it. With the crown prince in charge, they have more power. After all, the crown prince is too young and is just a mascot.
If it is not a particularly urgent matter, sometimes you can just say something on a memorial and it will be implemented.
This also gives everyone a chance to catch their breath.
But this time they were wrong. The prince, who usually looked gentle and smiled at everyone he met, actually joined forces with the eldest prince, the third prince, and the fifth prince.
The four brothers were in power together, and all their attempts to take advantage of the situation were rejected.
I felt so embarrassed for a moment.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has become too powerful. Without their support, he would never be able to sit firmly on the throne of Crown Prince.
Yinreng was not afraid. If it was lost, it was lost. It was not like he had lost things before. According to Xiaoliu, he had lost it twice.
So the worst that can happen is being imprisoned. Is there anything worse than that?
No, so now he just needs to go ahead and do it.
Kangxi was very pleased to see the four brothers working together in Fengze Garden.
Kangxi stroked Yin Zhuo's bald head and said to him, "Your fourth brother has left. It will be a month before he comes back."
Yin Zhuo was eating dried fruits. Hearing this, he nodded: "Yeah."
But Yin Zhuo didn't seem to care and slowed down his eating of the dried fruits.
[I forgot to see my fourth brother off. What a great opportunity to show off. I hope he won't forget me when he comes back. When he succeeds to the throne, remember to praise me in the history books.]
Kangxi glanced at him sideways, this brat had a really strange train of thought.
Is this the point?
As a younger brother, shouldn't you care about him?
How come this has become an opportunity for Xiaoliu to show off his reputation and gain a sense of presence?
Kangxi withdrew his hand and chased him out: "Go to the fields and take a look. You were not in good health during the Spring Festival, so I didn't take you to work in the fields."
Yin Zhuo was thinking the same thing. He grabbed another handful of dried fruits and then ran away.
When Kangxi saw him leave, his brows furrowed, hoping that Xiaoliu could find a solution.
But soon Yin Zhuo came back with a gloomy face. The land in Fengze Garden was bare and rice had not been planted yet.
It was no use for him to go, and he came back dejected and sad, so we had to wait again.
Oh, it's so annoying.
Kangxi was also surprised to see him coming back, and was also very upset when he heard the reasons given by Liang Jiugong.
He was in such a hurry that he forgot about it.
But there is also winter wheat planted over there. Forget it, let him rest.
Xiaoliu now has no strength to use.
Kangxi was still weak, but after sleeping for a while he felt more energetic. Looking at the little bald head lying beside the bed, his heart softened.
He touched Yin Zhuo's head, looked at the bed curtains and began to think about the shipyard.
The shipyard was not far from them, in Jilin City, which was close to the Songhua River and connected to the Heilongjiang River. It was mainly used to build battleships and navy. There was a port on the Songhua River, and when fighting with Tsarist Russia, they relied on the port to transport supplies to the front line.
But he never expected that the shipyard he was so proud of would become like that later.
They couldn't even build a 30-meter-long ship.
Wouldn't it be like sending your life for nothing if you board a boat that's over 20 meters long?
Xiaoliu is right. We can't complain if we are attacked. Without a ship, we have no ability to fight at sea.
Kangxi was not at peace during the time he was recuperating with Xiaoliu.
The main thing was that Xiaoliu was not obedient at all. He first took Wujina to fly kites for two days, and then called Yinzhen, Yinxiang and Yinzhen, who were on vacation, to come over and have fun for a whole day.
He had recovered from this illness a long time ago, but because of Xiaoliu's presence, he was forced to delay his rest for two more days.
But by this time the outside world was in chaos.
Because the court officials heard from the crown prince and princes who were in charge of the country that the emperor wanted to lift the maritime ban.
This idea is so rebellious.
So can the maritime ban be banned if it can be banned, and can it be lifted if it can be lifted?
This is no joke, this concerns the safety of coastal residents.
Some people had already begun to resist, and they wrote memorials after memorials impeaching Kangxi, citing classics and scriptures, just to prevent him from lifting the maritime ban.
Kangxi was still living in Fengze Garden and did not show up, so he sent someone to pass on the message.
When Yinreng received the secret order from the Emperor, his expression changed.
I didn’t expect the Emperor would say this. Was this Xiaoliu’s suggestion?
The Emperor knew very well that the shipyard was not functioning properly, and the person he sent was still working undercover there, intending to investigate thoroughly and then come back to report. However, the Emperor directly asked him to convey the news that the Qing Dynasty had warships.
In the Golden Throne Hall, the high seat was empty. Yinreng stood at the front and conveyed Kangxi's intention.
"My dear ministers, the emperor has seen your considerations. The emperor will let me convey his meaning here."
Yinreng paused, and the people who were arguing quieted down and looked at Yinreng in front of them.
Seeing that they had all calmed down, Yinreng directly released a landmine, which stunned everyone.
"The Emperor said that more than ten years ago, the Qing Dynasty already had fifty-three bird ships, each of which was more than sixty meters long and seven meters high, equipped with cannons. Back then, we relied on these two bird ships to repel the Southern Ming navy and recapture Ryukyu. More than ten years have passed, and the number of bird ships owned by our Qing Dynasty is definitely more than this, so there is no need to worry about the safety of coastal residents, because there will be naval forces stationed in various ports."
After Yinreng finished speaking, everyone in the court fell silent.
They knew the power of the bird ship.
but……
The people below turned pale and said nothing. They just looked at each other. No one broke the silence.
When we first fought against Tsarist Russia, there were not so many bird ships.
Everyone thought of the emperor's ruthless and drastic measures in dealing with the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department, and their throats tightened with fear.
Some people who were unaware of the situation were relieved.
Fortunately, the Qing Dynasty still had the military capability to protect the stability of the coastal residents.
What are you afraid of? Just lift the maritime ban.
But they are all smart people and they can see that there is something wrong with some people's expressions. Why do their faces turn pale in an instant?
Anyone who is attentive and attentive can notice the subtlety in it.
Those people are more or less connected with the shipyard.
They were very scared. Since the emperor said so, he must have evidence.
No wonder he hasn't shown up in the past few days and even went to Fengze Garden, saying he was recuperating, but actually he was asking people to find evidence.
This evidence is easy to find. If you have the account book, you have the evidence.
The Minister of the Navy was even more pale, because a maritime ban was implemented before the 22nd year of Kangxi, but the people opposed it, so four docks were opened along the coast in the 23rd year of Kangxi.
However, Kangxi also had requirements that the transport capacity of ships going out to sea should not exceed 500 dan, and the amount of gunpowder loaded should not exceed 20 jin. Private shipyards were not allowed to exist, and shipbuilding overseas was not allowed. The shipyards were completely controlled by the court.
It was then controlled by the Minister of Shipbuilding and the Governor-General of Grain Transport.
In recent years, the ships they built have become smaller and smaller, but because Kangxi did not like maritime transportation, they did not mention this.
Who would have thought that Kangxi would take the initiative to lift the maritime ban, which meant that it was not just a matter of opening more ports, but lifting all of them.
If we check the accounts, won't that be the end of it?
Yes, I'll give you the money.
Yes, make up the money, and then you can pass the blame to the emperor.
Kangxi felt heavy-hearted these days as he listened to Xiaoliu talk about the ship.
The happier Xiaoliu was, the more depressed he became. He had no idea how much of a shock this kid had brought to him.
It turns out that this is all my own pot.
Kangxi had a terrible headache.
Since it is his cause, let him resolve it.
He was wrong, but the Shipping Administration and the Director-General of the Grand Canal were even more despicable. They took so much money every year but built small boats to fool themselves.
hateful.
Yin Zhuo was so bored that he could hardly stay any longer.
He also met with Yinsi and Yin'er several times in the past few days to discuss with them how to protect themselves at sea to avoid getting sick.
Both of them listened very seriously, and they started to learn English from foreigners and spoke it pretty well.
It was the fact that Lao Shi didn't follow them that made Yin Zhuo feel a little strange.
There are only two people left in the Audio-visual Triangle.
Yin'e was begging his mother to let him go to sea with his eighth and ninth brothers, but his mother refused to agree.
Yin'e had no choice but to deal with E'niang first before he could act with his eighth and ninth brothers.
The night before Kangxi went to court, he had a chat with Xiaoliu.
"Xiao Liu, I plan to lift the maritime ban. Although four ports were opened at the beginning, I feel that since Lao Ba and Lao Jiu are going overseas, the navy of the Qing Dynasty is not strong enough. We need to lift the maritime ban to train their strength. If something happens to Lao Ba and Lao Jiu, we can still take care of them here."
Yin Zhuo moved his mouth but said nothing.
【Ah? The Emperor lifted the maritime ban for the sake of the Eighth and Ninth Sons? As expected, the son was the one who made Kangxi change his mind. But what's the use of just lifting the maritime ban? I haven't seen what the ships look like now. I only know about the legendary 60-meter ships from historical records, but seeing is believing. Maybe they have shrunk now. What if Xianfeng is unlucky and is exposed after being attacked? Moreover, the important thing is the ship. We should pay attention to letting a hundred flowers bloom. At this time, the Emperor strictly prohibited private shipbuilding. This will not go far. You should know that the ships of the Song and Ming dynasties were far ahead of the world level. Why did they fall behind in the Qing Dynasty? Shipbuilding cannot be completely controlled by the court.】
Kangxi originally had no such idea, but since Xiaoliu said so, he was also shaken.
"Xiao Liu, what do you think of me revoking your shipbuilding privileges?"
Kangxi raised his head. These words touched Yin Zhuo's heart.
"Your Majesty is wise. Let the wealthy people build ships. Then we can hold a shipbuilding competition to see whose ship can sail farther, sail more steadily, and has higher combat effectiveness. Then we can select the winners and award them honors."
Yin Zhuo's calculations were clacking. Isn't this a routine?
Isn't this motivation?
Wouldn't this encourage those people to take the initiative to start producing higher quality ships?
Yin Zhuo really thinks that his bald head fits his personality very well because he is so smart.
It is normal for a smart person to have no hair on his head.
Kangxi's eyes lit up and he thought it was feasible.
As for slapping himself in the face, just slap him, after all, he was wrong.
Therefore, on the first day after Kangxi came out of retreat to recuperate, he directly issued the relevant decree.
First, the maritime ban was lifted, and then a big warning was released, allowing private shipbuilding, but it required official review, and ships that did not meet the quality standards had to be sent back for rebuilding.
This caused chaos in the classroom.
Yinreng and Yinzhi were both annoyed. Didn’t the Emperor say that things should be done step by step?
How did they suddenly end up with a dead end, and set a precedent for private shipbuilding?
I wonder what Xiaoliu said again?
If you two have any ideas, why don't you discuss them with them first so that they won't be at a loss as to what to do.
The argument lasted for a whole morning in the court, and ended with the Minister of Shipbuilding being imprisoned.
The Governor of Grand Canal is not in the capital, so it will take time to catch them.
At the same time, Yinzhen also left the capital.
He was going to Jilin City to investigate corruption in the shipyard.
As soon as the imperial edict was issued, everyone had a thought that this was exactly what the emperor was planning.
They are going to search the house again. The eldest prince must be familiar with the process.
I didn't expect that confiscating property could become a skill.
But people did not accept this all at once, and it caused a lot of protest.
There were many people who tried to tease him, but Kangxi remained unmoved.
Go ahead and curse me, curse me all you want.
Kangxi followed Yin Zhuo's practice of having people post tips everywhere and posted the benefits of lifting the maritime ban.
Many scholars were already somewhat dissatisfied with Kangxi's recent behavior, believing that he was cold-blooded, cruel, and unjust in harming people who had made great contributions.
They also like to meddle in other people's affairs, even interfering in women's foot binding, and they thoroughly criticize those who like women with bound feet.
They also prevented the next generation of girls from binding their feet, and their attitude in promoting the policy was extremely bad.
If you ignore public opinion, you are wasting your time on ethics.
The scholar was furious and wrote several sarcastic poems criticizing Kangxi from head to toe.
But Kangxi ignored them.
I asked someone to investigate privately, and as expected, it turned out that the money was bought by someone with vested interests.
If it had been before, Kangxi would have been furious, but not now.
Just like what Xiaoliu said these two days, reform is about touching upon interests and then distributing the benefits equally to people all over the world.
But soon Kangxi's approach gained more support because he allowed overseas business.
This is a huge temptation for businessmen.
But Kangxi was also well prepared. He established a customs minister to strictly control the materials entering and leaving the border and conduct thorough inspections.
Anyone who violates the interests of the court will be thrown into jail, and serious offenders will be killed without mercy.
Those entering the country must be reviewed and approved to avoid causing disasters.
Just like the addictive anesthetic mentioned by Xiaoliu, those sinister foreigners relied on this trick to paralyze the Qing Dynasty, which led to the outflow of silver. The common people suffered greatly and suffered terribly.
It's an addictive thing.
So, absolutely don't touch it.
Because the policy had just been promulgated, Kangxi was busy for several days and finally came up with the rules.
We can go to sea soon.
Once all parties have arrived, we will be able to witness history and lift the maritime ban.
Yin Zhuo has been staying by Kangxi's side recently, and from time to time he would come up with a few small ideas, which Kangxi also adopted.
Yin Zhuo seemed a little flattered.
Mr. Kang really trusts him too much, and he can't stand it.
So Yin Zhuo slipped away.
He wanted to go find Xiao Shisi. He missed him very much as he hadn't cared about his studies for so many days.
As Zhang Ying was muttering to himself, he saw a familiar figure appear in the Shangshufang, raising his hand to make a report.
Zhang Ying: ...
He was really confused, and always felt that the Sixth Prince was a little magical.
It seemed that he was also involved in the maritime ban and shipbuilding issues. The emperor issued a series of notices after returning from a trip to Fengze Garden.
There are fewer and fewer people attending court in the Golden Throne Hall.
But their work efficiency has improved, and they were afraid that the emperor would be unhappy and replace them again.
He was a little anxious. As a Han official, he had no status. If he displeased the emperor again, he would have no way out.
The only time I feel relaxed is when I'm teaching these guys.
But Zhang Ying recently felt that this job was not easy, because the emperor was so shrewd, which meant that his children were also extraordinary.
Except for the Sixth Prince who looks silly with a stupid expression written all over his face, the rest of the princes are very thoughtful.
Sometimes he can't see clearly.
For example, the Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince, at such a young age, were already discussing going out to sea to hunt for treasure.
This is simply unthinkable.
The emperor actually agreed. He was stunned when he heard the news during break.
Zhang Ying collected his thoughts, sighed at the Sixth Prince standing at the door, and then said quietly, "Come in."
Yin Zhuo sat next to Yin Zhen, then picked up his homework and began to check it.
[I have been so busy these past few days, have you been lazy, little Fourteen? I am such a good brother, thinking about Fourteen even when I am so busy. I hope Fourteen will not let me down.]
Yinzhen was so angry that his teeth were itching. Why didn't Sixth Brother believe him?
Sixth brother himself doesn't come to the Shangshufang anymore!
You still have the nerve to care about him.
Humph, Yinzhen was very unconvinced.
But Yinzhen still had something on his mind; he was a little worried about his fourth brother.
I don't know how my fourth brother is doing.
Yin Zhuo frowned as he checked his homework, then endured until noon and said to him, "Do you think your sixth brother can no longer operate?"
Yinzhen:?
Others:?
[This trick of Xiao Shisi is what I left behind. I write big characters on purpose to take up more space, and then try to write less.]
Yinxiang never expected that the seemingly silent Fourteenth Little Boy would actually do such a thing and even resorted to trickery in order to write less.
Yinzhen's face flushed red, and he snatched back his big words, and grumbled back, "No, it's just that big."
"Hmph, then why is this one written so small?"
[Tsk, how could I have such a stupid brother? He is so stupid. He didn't inherit any of my intelligence. I can even help the emperor with his plans.]
The princes looked at each other secretly and found that it was indeed the sixth brother who proposed to lift the maritime ban.
Everything that happened in the court reached their ears.
E'niang had asked them to find out what was going on, and now their guess had been confirmed.
It was done by Sixth Brother.
But the emperor is too obedient.
He was reluctant before and opened four ports very stingily, but ended up limiting the size of ships going out to sea and the firepower reserve. Now he is regretting it for the sake of his sixth brother?
Xiaoliu and Huang Ama are the true love.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
