Meanwhile, the army heading to Dzungar was divided into three routes. General Fuyuan, Prince Yu, and Yinti led the left wing army out of Gubeikou, General Anbei, Changtong, led the right wing army out of Xifengkou to meet the rebels, and Arni led his troops, together with the Manchu troops from Shengjing and Jilin and the Mongol troops from Khorchin, to attack the mouth of the Urhui River.
The three armies planned to converge on the Ujumqin grassland, with Emperor Kangxi leading his personal guards to garrison the Boluo River area, where he would control and direct the various armies.
However, the first battle was already a failure.
Fuquan and Yinti's left-wing army failed to cripple Galdan, allowing Galdan to take advantage of the victory, cross the Xilamulun River, and occupy Ulanbutong.
Before going into battle, Yinqi was full of bravado, pounding his chest loudly in front of Emperor Kangxi, but he ended up suffering a defeat.
He sat dejectedly to Kangxi's left: "Father, this time I was too eager for quick success."
Yinti showed a good attitude in admitting his mistakes, and Kangxi also doted on him.
He patted Yinti on the shoulder, looking helpless: "I summoned you here not because of Galdan. You have little experience in leading troops, but you have already done very well."
Yinti, who had been praised by Emperor Kangxi, smiled happily.
"Then what is it that Your Majesty is worried about? Is there anything else besides Galdan that could cause Your Majesty any concern?" Yinti earnestly wanted to share his father's worries.
However, Kangxi held back for a long time, only sighing repeatedly, without uttering a single word.
Just as Yinreng was getting anxious and frustrated, Kangxi finally managed to utter a few words: "Yinzhi is wicked."
Yinti had made all the necessary preparations, waiting to give the most accurate answer when Kangxi asked him.
However, he really didn't know what to say about Yin Zhi.
Yinzhi, this younger brother, although possessing considerable literary talent and displaying the demeanor of a Manchu warrior in horsemanship and archery, was also petty, vengeful, and acted with a mixture of arrogance and insecurity. He was truly difficult to evaluate.
"Father, didn't Third Brother only recently come out of confinement?" Yinti was unaware of the facts and dared not speak carelessly.
He had finally managed to change Kangxi's opinion of him, so he had to be very careful with his words now.
Upon hearing this, Kangxi's face darkened even more. He said, "Beauty can lead people astray."
Yinti nodded, indicating that he understood.
Besides being petty, Yinzhi also had another bad habit: he was fond of beautiful women.
As a young boy growing up, having just tasted meat, he naturally cannot give it up.
“My third brother is still young. He’ll be more sensible in a few years.” Yinti didn’t think being lecherous was a big problem.
Even if a prince of the royal family were to support a hundred or eighty women, he could afford it. At most, his reputation would be tarnished, and he would be remembered by later generations as a womanizer.
Kangxi frowned even more deeply: "He used the Crown Prince's name to deceive the Crown Prince's concubine, Li Jia's, younger sister."
"Hiss!" Yinti gasped. The third brother had some nerve; he'd gone too far.
“There must be some misunderstanding here. After all, Yinzhi is your son, Father Emperor. It shouldn’t be like this…” Yinti tried his best to speak well of Yinzhi, but he couldn’t come up with anything no matter how hard he tried.
Kangxi snorted coldly, knowing his own son best.
“What misunderstanding could there be? Even if it wasn’t intentional, it does seem like he was just going with the flow. The Crown Prince is managing state affairs on my behalf, so busy that he doesn’t even have time to eat. Yet he still has time to go after women. Fortunately, the Crown Prince is benevolent and has suppressed the matter, so that no one can laugh at me for not disciplining my son.”
Yinti nodded repeatedly, going against his conscience to agree with Kangxi's words: "The Crown Prince was personally raised by you, Father Emperor, so his mind is naturally extraordinary."
The more praise Emperor Kangxi gave Yinreng, the more pleased he became.
Yinti had to rack his brains to praise Yinreng in various ways, without repeating himself in any of them.
Yinreng, far away in the Forbidden City, sneezed several times in a row.
He put the pen aside and drank a glass of cold water: "It must be that the eldest brother is speaking ill of me to Father Emperor again. I wonder if Father Emperor's body can withstand the long journey."
Tong Wanyan, who was sitting next to him embroidering a purse, put down her needlework when she heard this.
“If Your Highness misses the Emperor, just send him a few more letters. I’m sure the Emperor misses you too.” Tong Wanyan recalled what had been recorded in the historical books.
In July of the 29th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, during the Kangxi Emperor's western expedition, Yinreng and the third prince Yinzhi visited the Kangxi Emperor at his temporary palace to check on him while he was ill. The crown prince was sent back to the capital due to his poor performance.
It's already early July, and Kangxi's health may already be showing some initial signs.
Yinreng blushed slightly, embarrassed: "I just wrote to Father about the Third Prince's matter. It hasn't been long, and the correspondence is too frequent. Doesn't that make me seem incapable of handling the overall situation and constantly dependent on Father? I'm here to share Father's burdens, how can I let Father worry!"
Yinreng was determined to do things perfectly, so that Kangxi would be proud to have a perfect successor.
However, while the royal family may be ruthless, they cannot truly be ruthless.
Tong Wanyan sat down next to Yinreng, let him rest his head on her lap, and gently massaged him.
"That's true. Your abilities are evident to all in the court, and the Emperor is certainly aware of them. But how many people know about your concerns for the Emperor, and how many would want the Emperor to know? The Emperor has personally gone to the front lines and heard that Galdan is a ruthless man. Swords on the battlefield have no eyes, so it's never wrong for you to show more concern. No one will complain about their children's concern; they'll only feel it's not enough."
Seeing that Yinreng seemed to be deep in thought, Tong Wanyan continued, "Besides, this is what Your Highness truly means. Ever since His Majesty left the capital, Your Highness has been thinking about His Majesty every day. Perhaps His Majesty is also worried that you are working hard alone in the court."
Every word she said touched Yinreng's heart, and he excitedly hugged Tong Wanyan and gave her a big kiss.
"I understand, Xiao Yan is truly my lucky star!"
Yinreng picked up his pen and quickly wrote a thick stack of letters.
He was nervous while writing, afraid that Kangxi would think he was indecisive.
At the same time, he felt a little shy. His letter was so sincere and heartfelt, it seemed that he had only shown such emotions when he was a child.
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