Chapter 97: The 97th Day of Wanting to Die

Kangxi said with a cold face: "Investigate strictly and register all of them, including those who sell cigarettes. If anything happens to them, I will not forgive them."

Everyone looked at each other and realized that the emperor was serious about this.

Is Fushou really that scary?

What kind of intentions did those foreigners have in mind when they came to the Qing Dynasty? It seems that their purpose is not pure at all.

Yinreng received the order and went out.

The others also left one by one. Before leaving, Kangxi distributed the things given by the foreigners to them.

"Some worthless stuff. Soon the Qing Dynasty will surely be more powerful than the foreigners."

Kangxi felt a little jealous when he saw those novel gadgets. The purity of their colored glass was so high that it could transmit light and attract people. There was not a single impurity in it.

It doesn’t matter. Kangxi is not jealous at all. His son Xiaoliu is also very capable.

After sending a few children off, Kangxi sat in a chair in a daze, and after a while he took out the map of the imperial court.

He rubbed his fingers along the border line, wondering what a mess it was out there.

Originally he thought that those foreigners would stay put, but now it seems impossible, as those foreigners have already started to implement their colonization plans.

colonial……

Kangxi felt that he was still too charitable.

He rubbed his head and felt a terrible headache.

Liang Jiugong came over and gave him a massage when he saw him: "Your Majesty, you should also take care of yourself from time to time and don't work too hard."

Although Liang Jiugong was punished by Kangxi last time, he became more down-to-earth in doing things, which is why he has remained standing.

Kangxi was used to using him.

Kangxi frowned, then opened his eyes and sat down: "No, my prince has not grown up yet, and my brothers have not grown up yet. The Qing Dynasty still depends on me to support it."

Liang Jiugong felt a lump in his throat when he heard what Kangxi said. Life was really not easy for their emperor.

Liang Jiugong pressed for a while, and then Kangxi waved his hand and let him go.

He continued to call people over.

It is imperative to ban smoking.

The ministers who were summoned were all confused as to what the emperor was planning to do.

They saw several princes just went out.

And the princess also came to Yu's study, so I felt that this time it was about something big.

They were all a little nervous.

"You often deal with foreign businessmen. Have they given you any new things?"

Kangxi was not feeling well at the moment and was in no mood to exchange pleasantries with them, so he went straight to the point.

Several ministers knelt down when asked directly.

"Your Majesty, I dare not, I have not..."

Even if they did, they wouldn't dare admit it. The news that the emperor had caused a big fuss in the Imperial Household Department and the Kitchen over a few eggs had spread everywhere.

The news of the Ministry of Revenue borrowing money has also spread. Now the emperor really cannot tolerate a grain of sand in his eyes.

If they dare to admit it, they can forget about the hat.

Kangxi knew they would deny it, so he pushed the cigarette box on the shore.

"Look what they gave me?"

Kangxi's tone was very calm, as if he was talking about something unimportant.

This temporarily calmed everyone down.

"What is this?"

The minister in front was shaking with his hands holding the cigarette box, for fear of opening it and seeing some evidence.

Just the act of opening the box made him sweat.

Fortunately, it wasn't. He wiped the sweat from his forehead in fear and said with a pale face: "Your Majesty, these cigarettes were sent by foreign merchants? Then they should be arrested."

Everyone knew that the emperor had quit smoking, but they still dared to send it to the emperor's desk so blatantly.

The emperor is not like them. They don’t have the willpower to quit smoking, but the emperor is not an ordinary person. He has terrifying self-discipline.

He quit smoking and drinking just by saying so, and even wrote a poem about quitting drinking to motivate himself. He is nothing like those people who have no willpower.

Kangxi was shocked by the righteousness of his words, but remained calm.

Suddenly he laughed: "Is Master Liu greedy?"

He just saw Lord Liu lick his lips and pecked them a few times uncomfortably.

When Lord Liu was called out, he knelt down and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, I didn't. I am also trying hard to quit smoking."

Kangxi pointed to the cigarettes generously and said, "It doesn't matter. I don't need them. They were originally intended to be given to you as a reward."

Everyone was stunned again. After standing up for a while, they knelt down again to express their gratitude.

I always feel that there is a cool breeze blowing when the emperor says this.

It's not a good thing.

"I have already shown my sincerity. It is up to you. I want to ask you something else..."

Kangxi hesitated to speak.

Everyone looked at each other nervously, wondering what that other thing was.

Kangxi pounded his arm in a pretentious manner: "You also know that I am old, and I also want to seek the way to immortality like the First Emperor..."

As soon as this was said, everyone immediately started to stop it.

"Your Majesty, the way to immortality is all a lie. You can't believe it."

"Your Majesty is the son of a true dragon and already has an immortal body. There is no need for you to seek the way to immortality."

"Yes, Your Majesty, you are the Son of Heaven."

The ministers felt that things were getting out of hand. The emperor actually had the idea of ​​seeking immortality and enlightenment. This was a big shock to the entire court.

It is also bad news for the entire Qing Dynasty.

Many emperors in history became incompetent and tyrannical because of this law.

Although Kangxi had many shortcomings, he was much better than most emperors in history. At least he had been diligent over the years and had not indulged in alcohol and sex. This was also something that his ministers admired about him.

Emperor Kangxi had an incredibly strong self-discipline.

Not only is he self-disciplined, he also cares a lot about the education of his brothers.

Not only were they themselves not as good as Emperor Kangxi, but the children at home were spoiled by their wives and mothers, so it was impossible for them to compare with those princes who were both talented in literature and martial arts.

No one could accept Kangxi's way of education.

When they heard this, they were all amazed.

They studied hard for so many years, but they still didn't manage to read and memorize every article 120 times.

But this was what Kangxi required of his sons, and he even required them to get up at yin hour and attend court with them.

That's why I'm so scared when I hear that the Emperor is seeking immortality.

There was no famous city in the Qing Dynasty for many years, and the only one who could convince the public was Emperor Kangxi.

If Kangxi had ignored the Qing Dynasty, the court would have become a headless fly, and gang strife would probably have directly led to the demise of the Qing Dynasty.

Who made Kangxi have so many sons?

And each of them is extraordinary. If they continue to fight, the ministers in the court will not have enough to share. Let alone discussing state affairs every day, they will just quarrel for three days and three nights.

The ministers were still trying to persuade him earnestly: "Your Majesty, you should learn from the end of the First Emperor. Xu Fu deceived the First Emperor. There is no other immortal in the world except you. You are the only emperor."

But don't think about anything else. They just want to be obedient little brothers and follow Kangxi to avoid death.

But if Kangxi went astray, they would have to live with their heads hanging on their shoulders every day.

Seeing that they were all frightened, Kangxi felt relieved. It seemed that they did not eat the infuriating Fushou, otherwise they would not have reacted like this.

But as they were the focus of Kangxi's observation, he would not let them leave like this.

Kangxi snorted: "You are deceiving me."

The ministers were sweating profusely, bowed their heads and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, I dare not, I really did not do it."

Everyone was trying to explain themselves, but Kangxi picked up the newly placed jade walnut on the table, spun it around twice, and then said quietly: "The foreigners said that they gave you something called Fushou. It is said that if you eat that thing, you can go to heaven and forget the troubles of the world."

The ministers became helpless one by one.

How could the emperor know such things?

They had just received news that this stuff was more powerful than tobacco, and they heard about it while visiting the garden.

It's totally unbelievable, but now the Emperor knows about it, so it's probably true.

But the ministers were not fools, and the foreigners did not dare to give it to them directly, so this thing appeared in some brothels and theaters.

It did not spread widely.

Only a very small number.

When Kangxi saw their expressions, he knew that they must know the inside story.

He imitated Xiaoliu's sly tone and said, "You still say you didn't lie to me, but look at your face, it's pale with fear."

After saying this, Kangxi's face changed: "Come here, put them all in jail! Interrogate them severely!"

"I want these gluttons to die!"

Kangxi threw the jade walnut in his hand at them fiercely.

He just didn't believe that these people didn't realize that there was something fishy about that thing!

It's ridiculous that he was pretending to encourage himself just now.

The ministers did not expect Kangxi to be so cruel. He wanted to kill them.

They were all so scared that they peed their pants and cried out that it was injustice.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent. I really don't know what that is."

"Your Majesty, I have followed you for so many years, do you still not trust me?"

Kangxi really took action, and the ministers were delighted.

"emperor……"

The emperor is changing his mind.

Kangxi pointed to the cigarette on the ground and said, "Give them this to the prison, watch them and let them smoke it all."

Don’t you like smoking?

Have a good smoke before you die.

The ministers had not yet wiped away the joy on their faces when they heard the bad news, and their expressions became strange.

They wanted to shout, but the guards covered their mouths and took them away.

There was a lot of noise in Yu's study, and people from all departments were being called, so for a moment no one had the heart to work.

I knew the emperor was going to make trouble, but this is too unreasonable. It's bad enough that he just arrested the foreigners who gave gifts and sent them to jail, but now he's also locking up the officials.

Doesn’t this give everyone a reason?

But everyone thought so, and no one dared to ask.

Nalan Mingzhu was almost going crazy with anxiety. Not only could he not contact the eldest prince, but now he couldn't figure out the emperor's thoughts.

The emperor had met with Suo Etu and Tong Guowei, but had forgotten about him, as if he had deliberately ignored him.

This time someone came to him to inquire about the news, but he had no information.

The emperor has cleared out all the spies in the palace.

Has the emperor been possessed by a snake?

It's getting more and more weird...

Is this something Kangxi could do?

They no longer know whether they should give gifts on birthdays. What if the gifts they give are not to their liking? Will they suffer the same fate as them?

Ouch, that’s really worrying.

As it did not affect us, everyone's mood was relatively stable.

But soon Kangxi called another group of people.

They immediately lost their composure. Is it too late to ask for leave now?

Although they knew that they might not be arrested like the previous group of people, they believed that with so many ministers in the court, if the emperor arrested them all, it would mean that he no longer wanted to be emperor.

Although the emperor has the most say, they are complementary to each other.

The emperor cannot live without them, and they cannot live without the emperor.

Most of the people who went there this time returned safely, but one or two were thrown into jail.

But those who returned still carried rewards from Kangxi.

They were all dizzy. The emperor asked them a strange question and asked them to answer it. They didn't know why the two men were captured. As a result, they heard that the emperor rewarded them and released them.

Only when they sat down in the yamen did they come to their senses. Did this mean that they had passed the Emperor's test?

They couldn't help but touch their necks. Fortunately, they were able to survive.

Some timid officials even cried while holding their rewards.

This is like a close call with death.

If the emperor's previous outbursts did not leave any impression on them, this one certainly left a shadow on them.

The emperor is so scary.

This group of people came back, and the next group was called away by Liang Jiugong.

Some of the people whose names were called were so timid that their legs went weak and they were carried over by the eunuchs.

I was so embarrassed when I came back.

"Wuwuwu, it's so scary. I'm back. I'm back alive. The emperor even gave me a reward..."

At this moment he was crying and laughing, with mixed feelings.

Those who came back felt relieved of their psychological burden, but those who were not called looked pale.

They are like fish in a frying pan, suffering greatly.

I want to be called as soon as possible, but I am afraid that I will not be able to come back if I go.

"Sir, I am feeling unwell and would like to take leave to go home."

One official couldn't stand it anymore.

But before his superiors could speak, the waiting eunuchs began to pass on the message with a smile: "Pass on the emperor's order. The ministers who have been summoned can leave the court on their own. Those who have not been summoned please wait here for a while. The kitchen will provide meals for everyone."

At this moment, this oral order spread to all government offices.

What does the emperor mean?

He has to meet with all the officials of the current dynasty overnight?

Of course, it was Kangxi himself who summoned the ministers and asked them to come to the study for an audience.

Naturally, there were princes and princesses in other places to share the work for him.