Chapter 95: The 95th Day of Wanting to Die

Cold sweat broke out on Yin Zhuo's forehead.

I never expected that tobacco would appear at this time.

He was definitely not mistaken. Because of the environment he grew up in, Yin Zhuo was exposed to a lot of secondhand smoke.

When he put these together with the vegetables, his attention was only on the broccoli and he didn't notice the existence of the tobacco at all.

He took it out and examined it; it was in pretty good condition.

When Kangxi came over, he saw Xiaoliu holding a handful of dry, weed-like things and sniffing them under his nose.

Then he saw Xiaoliu turned his head and sneezed: "Ha--"

Yin Zhuo put the things back and sniffed.

It's a bit cold.

Kangxi's face darkened in an instant: "Hurry up and put on your clothes!"

What on earth could make Xiaoliu so anxious?

After hearing what was said, the young eunuch finally dared to take action. He quickly put on the Sixth Prince's coat, cloak, and boots.

Yin Zhuo straightened his clothes and sniffed: "Your Majesty, I am sorry for being rude."

Kangxi came over, took him to sit on a chair, and then poured him a cup of tea with his own hands: "Don't worry."

After saying that, the cup was stuffed into his hands to warm them.

Yin Zhuo held the hot cup in his hands, feeling the warmth on his body, and sighed comfortably: "My Emperor..."

[Ah, how can I put it? I knew that those people would not dare to send Fushou, but when I saw that there were cigarettes in the gifts from the foreigners, I still responded. ]

Kangxi was silent. What is Fushou?

It sounds like a lucky name. Could it be some kind of auspicious treasure?

Is that why Xiaoliu is so excited?

But Kangxi felt something was wrong, because there was no joy on Xiaoliu's face, only fear. His pale face just now left a deep impression on him.

Xiaoliu would not care so much about his image for some auspicious treasure. You know, he doesn't even care about the auspicious koi in the pond of the Yu Garden, so how could he care about the things sent by foreigners.

Xiaoliu was thinking of ways to make money from foreigners, and now Xiaoliu said that the industrial revolution on the foreign side has just emerged, and the development speed cannot be that fast.

So is it the tobacco that is the problem?

Kangxi had also issued orders to control the tobacco issue, but there was nothing that could be done as this was a situation that had existed since they entered the Pass.

Tobacco was introduced during the Ming Dynasty.

To put it bluntly, Kangxi also smoked...

But in order to set an example, he quit smoking, and of course he succeeded, but the effect was minimal.

There are also many officials who smoke.

Especially in the Jiangnan region, when he went on a southern tour, the ministers following him could not put down their cigarettes, and it was useless for Kangxi to reprimand them.

It's just addictive.

Yin Zhuo only knew about the history of the late Qing Dynasty when people were harmed by the addictive drug, and he had no idea what the situation was like now.

He put down his teacup, took out a handful of cigarettes, and said to Kangxi, "Your Majesty, you don't smoke, do you?"

Yin Zhuo narrowed his eyes. Why would these foreigners offer tobacco to the emperor for no reason?

As far as he knew, Kangxi didn't seem to have any bad habits.

[In my impression, the Emperor has always been a diligent and people-loving person. Smoking and drinking are really not associated with him. Don't tell me that my fantasy is shattered now. The Emperor is a heavy smoker? ]

Yin Zhuo was confused. He really didn't understand.

Kangxi felt even more embarrassed because he not only smoked and drank when he was young.

But he really quit.

Now the poem about quitting drinking is still engraved on the porcelain vase in the house, but he doesn't want Xiaoliu to see it now because his image has been completely shattered.

He didn't know how to start the conversation. He didn't want to destroy the lofty image of himself in Xiaoliu's heart. He wondered if Xiaoliu would be disappointed if she knew he was such a person.

As an emperor, Kangxi was really a little confused at this moment.

He never felt so helpless even when he was with his concubines. This was an emotion that Ama did not dare to face when he was questioned by his son.

He noticed that something was wrong with Xiaoliu's mood, but he didn't know how to respond.

He didn't want to lie, but these two conflicting emotions were colliding with each other, making him unable to speak. He could only look at Xiaoliu helplessly with a pitiful look in his eyes.

Yin Zhuo was also stunned. Why did the Emperor suddenly show such an aggrieved and pitiful expression?

Didn’t he ask the Emperor whether he smoked?

Yin Zhuo tilted his head.

[If the Emperor doesn't tell me... I'll think about it carefully. I don't believe that Fushou suddenly became popular in the late Qing Dynasty. There must have been some tricks in the early days. The foreigners made a lot of money from this thing. This was the root cause of the Qing Dynasty's demise. I must do something.]

Kangxi's face turned pale. Here it comes, the answer he had been waiting for for a long time has finally come.

The source of the Qing Dynasty's demise was something called Fushou.

Yes, he was talking about how such a small number of foreigners were able to break open the door of the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty had a large population, so there was always a way to deal with it.

It seems that they are planning an internal and external conspiracy, first using this thing called Fushou to drain the Qing Dynasty of its money, and then think of other ways.

Okay, okay.

But now is not the time to talk about that. He has more urgent things to deal with, which is to deal with Xiaoliu's problem first.

For the future of the Qing Dynasty, he had to say, "Xiao Liu, the emperor used to drink and smoke, but now he has changed. The emperor can't use these cigarettes. Smoking is not good. The emperor is the emperor, so he should set an example for the people of the world."

Yin Zhuo was really furious: "Not only do you smoke, you also drink alcohol?"

Kangxi panicked when he heard this. Xiaoliu's expression seemed a little strange.

He quickly said, "No, I have quit drinking. Look, there is a poem about quitting drinking written on it to remind me."

Yin Zhuo was stunned on the spot, the cigarettes in his hand scattered on the ground. He tried to hold it in for a moment, but he couldn't help it. He frowned and asked, "Is the smoking situation serious?"

Kangxi pursed his lips and nodded: "It's getting more and more serious."

He did not say that the death rate was due to the fact that the smoking rate not only did not decrease due to the existence of the smoking ban, but instead had a sharp upward trend.

Yin Zhuo was a little anxious: "Your Majesty! These are all tricks of the foreigners!"

He no longer thought about the story of the Kowloon heir-seizing incident; he just wanted to tell them the story of the destruction of opium at Humen.

【Now it is cigarettes, the addiction level is low, and when some people seek higher stimulation in the future, they will really fall into the trap of foreigners. Fu Shou is not only expensive, but most importantly, it is mixed in cigarettes, making people addicted after one inhalation. Most importantly, it will not only cause a family to break up and die because they cannot afford Fu Shou, but more importantly, once you smoke it, it will be a lifelong thing. You will become skinny and lose your ability to work because of your addiction to the pleasure of Fu Shou. Everything started with this Fu Shou. As long as you stop, your bones will feel like being bitten by ants. Many people will have abscesses on their faces, turning into a half-human, half-ghost appearance. Now countless people have lost their lives because of these people who steal and suck. It is really hateful. 】

Kangxi became serious.

This thing is too scary.

One puff can ruin your life...

How can there be something so poisonous? It seems impossible to quit...

It's simply incomparable to ordinary cigarettes.

Now he looked at the cigarettes wrapped in the expensive box with displeasure. What did those foreigners want to do by giving him these things?

Could it be that he wanted to harm the king of this country and make him an unkind and unjust person?

You know, if he had used that Fushou, the entire Qing Dynasty would have been doomed.

Even now that he is in control of the Qing Dynasty, things are in a state of chaos.

Moreover, Kangxi considered himself to be a very self-disciplined person, otherwise he would not have quit drinking and smoking so easily.

According to what Xiaoliu said, he probably couldn't bear it either.

The most important thing is that he did not endanger himself alone, but endangered a family and the entire Qing Dynasty.

Kangxi knew without a doubt what extreme things a person could do when he had no money but had a very expensive addiction.

Now in the Qing Dynasty, there is only the White Lotus Sect and the bandits that appear from time to time, causing chaos.

But if this thing were to enter the world, I wouldn’t dare to think about it.

If officials are threatened because of this...

Wait, Kangxi didn’t dare to think any further. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the foreigners were cunning and scheming.

"Come here, bring back all the foreigners who sent gifts to me."

It is said that Kangxi had been very respectful to foreigners before, but now he wanted to tear them into pieces.

As a country of etiquette, they want to show their great power, so they treat foreigners preferentially, otherwise they would not let them sell American ginseng to cheat people out of money. They trust their foreign friends, but in the end, their foreign friends stab them in the back.

Kangxi was so angry that he laughed.

Thinking about what the emperor himself did...

Wouldn't those foreigners secretly laugh at him?

Kangxi's face twisted. This is really possible. Okay, okay, let's do it this way, right?

Yin Zhuo saw that the emperor's face was not right, and thought that his reaction had frightened him, so he quickly said: "Your Majesty, calm down, I am just curious, why did you call the foreigners over?"

Kangxi said deliberately with a dark face: "Who doesn't know that I have given up smoking? What do those foreigners mean when they blatantly send me cigarettes?"

Kangxi waved his arms and said in a stern voice: "Won't this make the whole world laugh at me? Then my ban on smoking has become a blank sheet of paper. I think those foreigners are harboring evil intentions!"

Kangxi was very angry.

Yin Zhuo almost clapped his hands and said it was good.

[What the Emperor said is so right. The foreigners are ruthless and cruel. They are already planning. They have already started their colonization plan. We in the Qing Dynasty should not suffer any more.]

Colonial plan?

Kangxi heard another new word.

He was really puzzled. There weren't that many foreigners, so how could they cause so many troubles?

At this moment, Kangxi truly understood what Xiaoliu meant when he said that those who fall behind will be beaten.

Colonization, colonization, it doesn't sound like a good word.

He was really getting anxious.

Now Kangxi was really receiving waves of shocks and felt a little depressed.

The burden I carry is too heavy.

He took a deep breath and said, "Xiao Liu, come with me to question them later. I don't believe they don't know about the smoking ban. This is a challenge to my authority."

Yin Zhuo nodded: "Okay."

Kangxi planned to use this as a pretext to punish those arrogant foreigners.

At the same time, Kangxi was weighed down with so many things on his mind and felt a little heavy-hearted. He wanted to know how people in that era, when Xiaoliu was there, survived.

He said tentatively: "Xiao Liu, the emperor wants to improve the living standards of the people, but he is a little confused. What should he do? In other words, now there is a maritime ban, and at the same time, bird boats are being built. At the same time, we want to increase the rice production, and the textile machines that improve the quality of life of the people, ban women from foot binding, and build schools seem to be piled up. I want to solve them completely, but I don’t know where to start…"

Kangxi sighed as he spoke. He was really confused.

Yin Zhuo blinked his eyes. "Your Majesty, handle them simultaneously, but don't grab a certain thing and solve it all at once. For example, set a five-year plan and set targets for each aspect within these five years. Make a summary and plan every five years. In this way, if you take one step at a time, I believe that within a few five years, these issues will be completely resolved, and there may even be unexpected gains."

[Hahaha, I finally have the chance to talk about the five-year plan. I was so worried about the Emperor before, he really had no idea.]

Kangxi raised his eyebrows. It seemed that Xiaoliu had learned this five-year plan. He clicked his tongue and said that what Xiaoliu said made a lot of sense.

This way he wouldn't be so anxious. He could just set a five-year goal first, and then all officials would work together towards this goal during these five years.

Officials are now evaluated every three years anyway, so it would be better to change it directly to five years. Those who complete the task will be rewarded, and those who fail to complete the task will be punished.

Kangxi laughed out loud: "Hahahaha, that's great. Young people like you have a quick mind."

Kangxi excitedly grabbed Xiaoliu's bald head and rubbed it a few times.

He was very emotional: "Xiao Liu has really grown up and grown taller. You can now see my eyebrows and eyes. When you were born, you were only as long as my arm. You were like a little kitten..."

Kangxi talked a lot about what happened when Xiaoliu was a child.

Yin Zhuo listened carefully.

He also felt very guilty. If only he had come earlier, it would have been better. What a pity.

【In history, Xiaoliu died at the age of five. What a pity. 】

Kangxi's eyes were filled with sadness. Xiaoliu said that he was supposed to die at the age of five, but now he lived to be fifteen. This might be the blessing given to him by God.

Let Xiaoliu rescue them, let them be sober and motivated to do something for the Qing Dynasty, and reduce the sorrow and tears of this land.

"It's good to grow up. When you grow up, you can help me with some government affairs."

Kangxi said with emotion.

Who knew that Yin Zhuo's expression changed immediately.

[What a horror story! Hiring child labor is illegal. If I had known this before, I would have called the police to arrest you.]

Yin Zhuo snorted twice, and Kangxi couldn't help laughing: "What are you thinking? You don't want to work for me? Then I will take back your reward."

Kangxi's threatening way.

Who knew that Xiaoliu would just throw it away. He waved his hand and said, "Take it back if you want. I can't stand having to go to court at five in the morning."

[This is simply not something a human should do.]

What do people do?

Kangxi inexplicably understood what this meant?

What Xiaoliu meant was that this is not something a human can do, right?

Kangxi and Xiaoliu are waiting for the foreigners to come, but it will take time to catch them.

After the guards reported it, Kangxi said impatiently: "After catching them, put them in jail first."

There has never been a foreigner imprisoned in that prison, so this is a good opportunity to open everyone's eyes. It would be best if there was a big fuss outside because of this matter.

He was just about to catch some "traitors".

He just didn't believe that those foreigners could thrive in the capital without connections.

At this time, Kangxi also asked people to take out the things in the box one by one, so that Xiaoliu could see if there were any other strange things.

Yin Zhuo checked carefully and indeed did not see Fu Shou.

But think about it, the foreigners would not dare to put Fu Shou in blatantly. You know, everything the emperor uses must be tried out by someone beforehand.

If Kangxi really noticed something was wrong, the lives of those foreigners would be in danger.

"Okay, I just want a pocket watch. Father, please have someone fry the broccoli today. I want to eat some."

Yin Zhuo said coquettishly.

She also blinked and hugged Kangxi's arm to act cute.

Kangxi was worried when he saw that he was only thinking about eating. It seemed that there was nothing strange, otherwise Xiaoliu would not be so careless.

"Okay, whatever you want to eat, I'll have the kitchen prepare it for you."

Kangxi had no choice, but the topic was changed and he found his future development goals. Kangxi was no longer as nervous as he had been in the morning.

Yin Zhuo knew that Kangxi would agree, so he ran away: "Father, have I prepared the things I asked someone to prepare before lunch break? If there is still time, you can use the soap and shower gel in the evening."

Kangxi didn't care much about these, but Xiaoliu was very positive, so he responded: "Okay, I will give you the night pearl in my private storehouse when the time comes."

After saying this, he was looking forward to Xiaoliu's reaction, but he just nodded and left impatiently. It was obvious that this night pearl had no appeal to him at all.

[I miss the flashlight. The night-light pearl is not as bright as the light bulbs from the 1980s.]

Well, he is a pragmatist. The night pearl is very heavy and cannot be placed in the bedroom, otherwise it will affect his sleep. He cannot have any light when sleeping.

It's just so hypocritical and petty.

After Xiaoliu left, Kangxi's face turned cold. He glanced at the messy study and ordered in a cold voice, "Invite all the princes and princesses here."