Yin Zhi didn't want to die, but faced with danger, he was so frightened that he couldn't move his legs properly.
"Take good care of my mother for me!" Yin Zhi roared as he faced death.
His bodyguards, with all their might, fired several arrows at the bear. Another bodyguard took the opportunity to drag Yinzhi backward.
At this point, they didn't care about manners; even if they had to crawl, as long as no one died, it was fine.
"Third brother, you should take care of Consort Rong yourself." Yinreng stood in front of Yinzhi like a hero.
Yin Zhi wept bitterly, "Second brother, you must leave! You are the crown prince, don't fight against this fool. Your life is far more important than mine."
“I’m here too.” Yinti came from the other direction.
Two gunshots rang out, and the acrid smell of gunpowder spread from all directions.
The enormous bear, its body slumped backward with a heavy thud. It was dead.
Both gunshot wounds were fatal; he was beyond dead.
Still in a state of shock, Yin Zhi said with his eyes closed, "Brother, you must stop the Crown Prince. Our lives combined are no match for his. If something happens to the Crown Prince, none of us will be safe."
Even as he faced death, Yinzhi still retained some of the shrewdness and resourcefulness characteristic of a prince.
He knew that if he died, Emperor Kangxi would treat Consort Rong and Princess Rongxian well. If the Crown Prince got into trouble because of this, he wouldn't be implicated and beheaded, but his life would be over.
A prince destined to be out of favor and with no future is better off dead.
Yinti was furious at the words Yinzhi instinctively uttered.
He kicked the bear's massive body in frustration: "Get up, sir. The bear is dead, don't lie there pretending to be dead. I really saved you for nothing."
Yin Zhi shook his head, refusing to listen: "Big brother, don't lie to me. I didn't hear second brother's voice. My second brother!"
"What are you howling about? I heard the sound of muskets from afar and rushed over immediately. Why are you using muskets?" Kangxi, who was hurrying over with a large entourage, arrived with his voice before he did.
When he stopped and saw the brothers Yinti and Yinreng standing next to the bear's corpse, he was terrified.
"Baocheng, Baoqing, come here to me quickly!" Kangxi shouted urgently.
Yinzhi, covered in mud and still crawling on the ground, was completely ignored by Kangxi.
Yinti chuckled self-deprecatingly. Although his imperial father loved him dearly, he always put the crown prince before him.
Oh well, he's not the best, but he's not the worst either. At least the third brother is still lying on the ground with his butt sticking up, and nobody cares about him.
"Father, my third brother accidentally encountered a bear. My eldest brother and I were nearby and rushed over immediately. My third brother suffered some minor injuries, but thankfully it's nothing serious," Yinreng reported to Kangxi, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
Looking at his dashing and composed demeanor with a smile, Emperor Kangxi proudly said to the Chahar Prince beside him, "Look, this is my crown prince, how outstanding he is."
Prince Chahar, seated atop his tall horse, immediately noticed the two gunshot wounds on the bear. Connecting this to the muskets in the hands of Yinreng and Yinti, he sincerely praised, “His Highness the Crown Prince, personally trained by His Majesty, is naturally exceptional. I just saw it; the Crown Prince’s shot was extremely accurate, killing with a single blow—truly superb marksmanship. Moreover, this musket seems even smaller and more refined than the one I last saw.”
Emperor Kangxi smiled smugly, his mustache bristling: "The Qing Dynasty is full of talented people, and the Tong family accounts for a significant portion of them. Under the reforms of the Tong brothers, the firearms battalion has become even more formidable. Prince Chahar, you may not know, but when I defeated Galdan, the cannons provided by the firearms battalion laid a solid foundation for our victory over the Dzungars."
Chahar chuckled; how could he not know? The Qing army's cannons roared, shaking the ground three miles away. Their cattle and sheep were so frightened they couldn't sleep for several nights. The meat they had painstakingly fattened up began to shrivel at a visible rate.
"Your Majesty is a man of destiny, so it's only natural that you have many talented people under your command. Besides, the Tong family is your maternal uncle's family, so they will certainly assist you." Prince Chahar was quite the flatterer.
Yinti gently stroked the handle of the musket. After Tong Ruita took over, the firearms battalion rose to prominence and received much more attention in the army than before.
After today's incident, the Emperor has once again witnessed that the power of firearms is more than a hundred times greater than that of bows and arrows. Upon returning, he will likely allocate more funds to the firearms battalion.
Thinking about Tong Ruita's doting love for Tong Wanyan, which was so deep that it was almost obsessive, Yinti felt a bit of a headache.
Lying on the ground, Yin Zhi finally came to his senses.
With the help of the guards, he stood up: "Second Brother, you're alright! That's wonderful!"
Unaware of the background, Emperor Kangxi was moved by Yinzhi's concern for Yinreng.
In fact, Yinzhi was just afraid that something would happen to Yinreng, which would cause Kangxi to take his anger out on him.
Yinzhi, taking advantage of the situation, bowed deeply to Kangxi: "I have caused my father, second brother, and eldest brother to worry about me. Fortunately, my second brother, the Crown Prince, and eldest brother came this time, otherwise my life would really be lying on the grasslands."
"You are my son, blessed with good fortune. You are not allowed to say anything unlucky. Alright, it's getting late. This prey of yours is substantial enough." Kangxi decided to include the bear as prey for Yinreng and his two brothers.
That makes sense; without Yinzhi, Yinreng and Yinti would never have encountered the bear.
Dragging the enormous bear out of the forest, unsurprisingly, the leader was Yinreng.
This wasn't because Kangxi was biased; in fact, Yinreng had the most prey. Although Yinti had quite a few, he still had two fewer prey than Yinreng.
Perhaps if time were prolonged, Yinqi might be able to turn the tables and become the leader, but there is no "maybe".
Yinti was convinced of this and had no objection whatsoever.
The greatest satisfaction for everyone is that both Emperor Kangxi and his son Yinreng are satisfied.
Yinzhen joined Yinqi and the others midway, so he did not immediately learn of Yinreng's heroic act of shooting the bear.
When he saw the bear carcass on display, he ran nervously to Yinreng's side.
"Second Brother, are you alright?" Yinzhen tugged at Yinreng's sleeve, wishing he could tear his clothes off right there to see if he was injured.
The scene was bloody. After handing over their prey, Tong Wanyan and the other women moved to other tents, unaware of what had happened.
Otherwise, Yinreng would have to face more than just Yinzhen.
“Baocheng is fine. Yinzhen, why are you only asking about Baocheng?” Kangxi’s words sounded like curiosity, but in fact, they were an inquiry.
If Yinzhen (the Yongzheng Emperor) were to favor Yinreng (the Yongzheng Emperor) while disregarding his other brothers, Kangxi would still be displeased.
Yinzhen frankly said, "Among my brothers, only my second brother is equipped with a musket, right? This musket was given to my second brother by Father Emperor for self-defense when we traveled!"
If Yinzhen didn't mention it, Kangxi would almost forget about it.
Yinreng looked at Kangxi with a puzzled expression.
The musket he carried was obtained through official channels, but what about Yinti's?
Kangxi felt extremely guilty, as the musket that Yinti possessed was also a gift from him.
Unlike giving Yinreng the musket in front of everyone, Yinti's musket was given to him secretly.
"Ahem, I'm testing your observation skills. Not bad, very meticulous." Kangxi patted Yinzhen on the shoulder, praising him seriously.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
