After a joyous New Year celebration, Emperor Kangxi took advantage of the fact that all his relatives and ministers were in the capital to accomplish a major feat.
He wants to send reinforcements to Fuzhou.
Fuzhou is a place where the remnants of the previous dynasty are most likely to thrive and where anti-Qing and pro-Ming forces can flourish.
The Eight Banners army was stationed in various places, except for three places where only Han Eight Banners were stationed, without the addition of Manchus and Mongols.
It was clearly a port city located by the sea, so it should have been garrisoned by the Manchu Eight Banners. However, the Manchus were skilled in cavalry warfare but not in leading troops on the water. Eight out of ten Manchus suffered from seasickness and simply could not withstand it.
The military officers in the court were dumbfounded. They knew the weaknesses of the garrison in Fuzhou, but they were inherently disadvantaged and would vomit as soon as they boarded the ship. They had the will to serve their country but were powerless to do anything about it.
As the leading military general, Tong Guogang, amidst great anticipation, introduced Orondai.
Orondai, a middle-aged man, was suddenly thrown out of the capital by his own father, and he was filled with unbelievable despair.
Fortunately, Tong Ruita went with him to oversee things, so he wasn't left to travel far away alone in a pitiful state.
The Tong family has produced two people; how could other military families not send their sons and disciples?
The Fuca, Ulanara, and Dong'e clans each sent their elite members to respond to Emperor Kangxi's decree.
They also wanted promising descendants of their clan to rise through the ranks and establish their power base in the capital. However, Fuzhou was known for its fierce and unruly people; there were few law-abiding citizens, but quite a few local bandits. They feared that the spineless ones would be defeated there. It would be better to seize the opportunity, thoroughly govern Fuzhou, return with a great achievement, and incidentally, make Emperor Kangxi stop holding onto their past transgressions.
Emperor Kangxi was very satisfied with the performance of the court officials who did not hold back.
He knew that there were still many loyal subjects who were loyal to him and to the Qing Dynasty. Every family has a few bad apples; he figured he'd just turn a blind eye.
If the ministers knew what Kangxi was thinking, they would have to kneel on the ground and weep.
In the past, when there were troublesome children in their family, why wasn't Kangxi so magnanimous? He used to punish them severely, even to the point of implicating their entire family—it wasn't a joke.
Fortunately, both the emperor and his ministers were two-faced and kept a low profile. With Kangxi's strong leadership and the Tong family's firm support, the order to reinforce troops in Fuzhou was issued smoothly.
Not only that, Kangxi also ordered Tong Ruita to bring a group of skilled swimmers from the firearms battalion in the capital, along with cannons and firearms, to prevent the reinforcements from being intercepted instead.
Having witnessed the devastating power of firearms, Kangxi was inexplicably brainwashed and no longer ignored this aspect, but instead invested heavily in it.
What made Emperor Kangxi change his mind and favor firearms was not only the immense destructive power of the red-coated cannons, but also the fact that the Tong brothers, Qinian and Ruita, were so easy for him to manage. As long as the money and personnel were sufficient, Kangxi didn't have to worry about anything else.
It was so easy and effective, how could Emperor Kangxi not be biased?
In any case, with such a powerful weapon in the hands of his trusted confidants, Kangxi had nothing to worry about.
Tong Guozhu was already used to his two sons always coming home and the other going on a long trip. He didn't care at all. With a beloved grandson in the family, his sons' status had plummeted.
Ever since Tong Guozhu's wife recovered, Tong Guozhu has been living a very comfortable retirement. He has both fame and fortune; all his hard work in his life has been less rewarding than raising a few good children.
Some unambitious, spoiled young men looked on with envy at Tong Guozhu's life. Unexpectedly, this sparked their renewed interest in educating their children.
They may lack ability themselves, but they can make their children capable. Filial piety is paramount; once their children succeed, won't they live even better lives? Just thinking about it makes life wonderful.
The old playboys all picked up their sticks and clubs, and the number of young playboys in the capital suddenly decreased significantly, bringing a much cleaner atmosphere.
After all, the old playboy had been a scoundrel for many years and knew his limits; he was much more sensible than the hot-blooded and impulsive young playboys.
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