Meanwhile, the Eighth Prince, Ninth Prince, Tenth Prince, Thirteenth Prince, and Fourteenth Prince had already arrived in Mongolia. After passing through the Ordos region, they headed east back to the capital. Judging by the days, they might be able to return before the Ban Jin Festival.
The Crown Prince continued to govern the country under Kangxi's guidance, while the Prince of Zhi was idle at home due to the lack of war. The Third Prince was busy with another imperial decree from Kangxi to "compile the History of Ming". The Fifth Prince was recuperating from illness, and the Seventh Prince, due to leg problems, was raised by Kangxi as a prince with no job. Among the adult princes, only the Fourth Prince was capable of being employed.
On this day, Emperor Kangxi summoned the Fourth Prince to the Qianqing Palace. When the Fourth Prince arrived, he only heard Emperor Kangxi coughing, so he paused, thought for a moment, and then followed Liang Jiugong inside.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty! May Your Majesty be blessed with ten thousand years of happiness and peace!" The Fourth Prince patted his sleeves, bowed, and stood up with his head bowed to the side.
"Wait a moment, let me finish reading this memorial before we talk." Kangxi held the memorial in one hand, while his other hand was clenched into a fist to cover his cough.
The Fourth Prince glanced at Liang Jiugong, who immediately gave a wink to the palace maid standing to the side.
"Father, the autumn air is crisp and dry. You could drink some chrysanthemum and monk fruit tea to relieve your cough," the Fourth Prince said, seeing that Kangxi's cough persisted.
The young palace maid who had been ordered to go out and serve tea had already brought in a cup of tea to soothe the heat and calm the mind. She slowly walked to Emperor Kangxi's table and placed it within his reach but out of his reach.
"This is an old ailment of mine; I cough every autumn. Yinzhen, I summoned you here today because I have a very important matter for you to handle." Kangxi closed the memorial, gave Liang Jiugong a wink, and the latter understood, waving to the palace maids standing at the four corners of the palace. He then followed them out.
Seeing this, the Fourth Prince knew that what Kangxi was about to say to him must be extremely confidential, otherwise even Liang Jiugong would have left.
"Father, please speak. Your son will certainly share your burdens!" The Fourth Prince nodded and said to Kangxi.
"Sit down. There are no outsiders present. We are still father and son!" Kangxi waved his hand at the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince agreed and immediately sat down in the chair at the head of the imperial table.
"Do you know whether the national treasury is full or not?" Kangxi asked, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"Your Majesty, I am unaware that under your rule, the people are now living in peace and prosperity, and the national treasury receives no less than several million taels of silver every year." The Fourth Prince has been in charge of the Ministry of Revenue for some time, but he does not directly manage the department that controls money, so he can only give a general overview of the national treasury.
“But every year floods and droughts occur frequently, and the national treasury often receives more silver than it spends. I originally intended to prepare for war, but I found that there seems to be some problem with the national treasury’s silver. Do you remember the matter of borrowing silver?” Kangxi picked up his teacup, took a sip of chrysanthemum tea, and said.
"Your subject naturally remembers. Father Emperor, out of consideration for his officials, allowed them to borrow silver from the national treasury, with each person not exceeding one hundred taels per year." The Fourth Prince naturally remembered this event that occurred in the mid-Kangxi period.
At that time, Emperor Kangxi's campaigns to quell the Three Feudatories rebellion, conquer Taiwan, and wage several wars against the Dzungars had depleted the national treasury, naturally exhausting the salaries of all officials. Many officials couldn't even support their families, leading some to resign and become merchants. Kangxi then allowed officials to borrow silver from the court to temporarily alleviate their urgent needs. Unexpectedly, this borrowing continued for over a decade. Many took this measure by the court for granted, thinking that since it was the court's money, they might as well borrow it. To this day, Kangxi has never demanded a penny back, so even those without any financial difficulties frequently borrowed money from the national treasury.
"But now many people not only don't repay their debts, they're even borrowing money from the national treasury. I want you to do something for me. Do you know what it is?" Kangxi said. Actually, he chose the Fourth Prince to do this because the Fourth Prince had never borrowed a single penny from the national treasury. This surprised Kangxi quite a bit, because even the Prince of Zhi and the Crown Prince had borrowed money, as did the other princes, but only the Fourth Prince, Yinzhen, had never borrowed money.
"Father, do you want me to go and collect the money from those who borrowed it?" The Fourth Prince hadn't expected Kangxi to entrust him with such a task, and he was secretly pleased, yet also felt a great deal of pressure. Borrowing money is easy, getting it back is difficult. Although it was their money that they borrowed, returning it was only right, but often the law couldn't overcome human sentiment.
This is a serious matter that could offend many people. If handled well, it could lead to the recovery of the silver borrowed from the imperial court and the rectification of the legal system; if handled poorly, it could escalate into a major incident.
"Good, are you willing to do it?" Kangxi knew that this son of his was always cold and indifferent, known as the "cold-faced prince." He wanted to use the Fourth Prince's indifference to recover that huge debt for the national treasury.
"Your subject is willing to share the burden for Father Emperor, but I would like to do this with my seventh brother. I wonder if Father Emperor has given his permission?" The Fourth Prince saw that the Seventh Prince had nothing to do and was staying idle in the Prince's Mansion.
"Yinyou? He has difficulty walking, I'm afraid he can't fulfill his duties~" Kangxi was very dissatisfied with the birth of this son, and immediately became dissatisfied with Consort Cheng, Daijia, and consequently showed less care for the Seventh Prince than the other princes.
"Father, Seventh Brother's leg injury is not a problem, but it does not prevent him from sharing your burdens. The reason I mentioned Seventh Brother is because this is a major matter for the court, and I am afraid I cannot handle it alone. I definitely need to find some capable helpers. Currently, besides Seventh Brother, Third Brother is busy compiling history books on imperial orders, Fifth Prince is still ill, and the others have not yet returned." Fourth Prince saw that Seventh Brother was always impartial and straightforward, so he had a good impression of him. However, the latter had always refused to join the Hegemon faction.
"Let me think about it, Yinyou, Yinyou~" Kangxi searched for the name. He admitted that he had neglected this son. His leg disability was not his fault.
"Alright, then Yinyou will assist you in handling this matter. Remember, the sooner the better!" Kangxi decided to give the seventh prince a chance.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Please summon the imperial physician. I suspect Your Majesty has some minor throat ailment. Please have the imperial physician come and take a look." The Fourth Prince was worried because he noticed that Kangxi was coughing constantly and his complexion was slightly pale while he was talking to him.
"It's nothing serious, it's just an old ailment." A warm feeling appeared in Kangxi's eyes. He had seen the Fourth Prince's filial piety since they found the skilled doctor in Jinan. Although Kangxi's headache was not completely cured, it had improved a lot under the skilled doctor's acupuncture.
"Why not let the skilled physician take a look? I believe that although he is a country bumpkin, his solo dedication to medical practice surpasses even some of the imperial physicians." Ever since the Fourth Prince recommended the skilled physician to Emperor Kangxi, their relationship had been subtly evolving. Although they didn't meet often, they always spoke highly of each other.
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