Chapter 181 Receiving the Coffin
Yin'e pressed the Ninth Prince for an explanation, but the Ninth Prince remained silent, keeping him in suspense. He only mysteriously told Yin'e that he would know in a while.
Yin'e tilted his head and glanced at the wooden box that the Ninth Prince had casually placed on the table. He nodded thoughtfully, having some guesses about what the Ninth Prince hadn't said.
Since the Ninth Prince intended to keep him in suspense and surprise him, revealing the mystery only when the time was right, Yin'e didn't press further. He simply watched the Ninth Prince shaking his head and laughing foolishly, seemingly oblivious to what he was so happy about.
At the end of August, the eldest prince, who had served as Fuquan's deputy general and had personally fought on the battlefield and made meritorious contributions, returned to the capital after accompanying the army led by Prince Yu, Fuquan, on their expedition against the Dzungars.
Galdan led the remnants of the Dzungar army back to Western Mongolia. On the fifteenth of August, he sent an envoy with a letter of surrender. The eldest prince then led a cavalry unit of one hundred men and traveled lightly back to the capital, instead of staying behind to slowly return with the tens of thousands of troops.
Emperor Kangxi was overjoyed to see the eldest prince return safely.
Because the eldest prince of the Dzungar Khanate had fought bravely on the battlefield and made great contributions, Emperor Kangxi was very pleased. After the eldest prince returned, he generously rewarded him.
Moreover, for several days after the eldest prince returned, Emperor Kangxi repeatedly summoned him to the Qianqing Palace. The father and son spent time alone together, talking intimately and sharing their innermost thoughts, and having a good chat about their father-son relationship.
Such favor and attention were previously only enjoyed by the crown prince.
It must be said that the eldest prince's rise to favor this time was due to a confluence of favorable circumstances: he had just distinguished himself in the war against the Dzungars with his own bravery, while his biggest rival, the crown prince, had just had a falling out with Kangxi, and the two had only recently made up, their relationship far from being restored to its former state.
When Emperor Kangxi fell ill with a fever at the front lines, the Crown Prince, who had rushed from the capital, was dismissive and indifferent. At the same time, the First Prince was accompanying Prince Yu, Fuquan, on a northward march beyond the Great Wall to conquer the Dzungar Khanate, enduring harsh weather conditions.
In comparison, the eldest prince naturally became the more caring son, completely overshadowing the crown prince.
Emperor Kangxi already liked his eldest son, the First Prince, and now he not only liked him but also valued and admired him, feeling that the First Prince was indeed worthy of being the Baturu of their Aisin Gioro family, possessing the courage of ten thousand men.
At this time, Kangxi and the Crown Prince had only recently reconciled, and there was still some awkwardness between them. They had not returned to their former intimacy, and there was still a rift between father and son that had not been fully healed.
The crucial point is that at this very moment, the eldest prince returned to the capital with his military achievements, and Emperor Kangxi was not only overjoyed but also showered the eldest prince with great favor.
By this time, the Crown Prince was already somewhat insecure, no longer certain that Kangxi would always stand by his side. Kangxi's newfound favor towards the First Prince naturally made the Crown Prince uneasy, and his already fragile mental state became unstable again.
In contrast to the Crown Prince, who was mentally broken, the First Prince, who had experienced war and seen blood on the battlefield, was more composed and sharp than before. He saw hope and a glimmer of light in Kangxi's attitude and the estrangement between Kangxi and the Crown Prince. He felt more and more confident in his chances of seizing the throne, and his ambition began to emerge.
With the Crown Prince's mindset unbalanced and the First Prince's ambitions soaring, the two are locked in a fierce struggle for the throne, their rivalry becoming as intense and volatile as boiling oil on a raging fire. Conflict could erupt at any moment, spiraling out of control and causing unrest that would become impossible to manage.
The First Prince and his entourage traveled back to the capital with minimal luggage, allowing them to travel at a remarkably fast pace. They were not only faster than the two large armies led by Prince Yu, Fuquan, and Prince Gong, Changning, but also faster than the convoy transporting Tong Guogang's coffin.
When the eldest prince returned to Beijing at the end of August, he informed Emperor Kangxi of the arrival time of Tong Guogang's coffin, saying that Tong Guogang's coffin would arrive in the capital about ten days later than his, around September 7th or 8th.
Tong Guogang died in battle, sacrificing his life for the Qing Dynasty's campaign against the Dzungars. Tong Guogang was also Emperor Kangxi's maternal uncle. Emperor Kangxi was deeply grieved by his death and ordered a grand funeral for Tong Guogang, granting him posthumous honors.
On September 6th, a scout from the procession transporting Tong Guogang's coffin rushed into the capital to report to Emperor Kangxi that Tong Guogang's coffin had arrived in the outskirts of the capital and that they could enter the city the next day to return to the Tong residence to hold Tong Guogang's funeral.
Upon receiving this message, Emperor Kangxi ordered his son-in-law, Shang Zhilong, and others to go to the outskirts of Beijing to receive Tong Guogang's coffin. He also decreed that the next day, September 7th, the day Tong Guogang's coffin would officially return to Beijing, the eldest prince, Yinti, would lead all the princes to go outside the city to personally welcome Tong Guogang's coffin.
In addition to bestowing upon Tong Guogang the great honor of welcoming the coffin back to the capital, Emperor Kangxi also granted the Tong family five thousand taels of silver, dispatched envoys to the Tong family to pay tribute to Tong Guogang, bestowed four altars for sacrifice, and posthumously honored Tong Guogang with the title "Loyal and Brave." Furthermore, he personally issued an imperial edict, saying, "Every time I think of this, I am filled with unbearable grief!"
The Tong family was the maternal clan of Emperor Kangxi, and Kangxi's birth mother, Empress Xiaokangzhang, passed away only two years after Kangxi ascended the throne. Kangxi did not have the opportunity to cultivate a mother-son relationship with Empress Xiaokangzhang, nor did he have the time to be filial to her. Therefore, he transferred this affection to the Tong family and took good care of them over the years.
This time, all the princes who were old enough to study in the Imperial Study, except for the Crown Prince, were all named by Emperor Kangxi. The First Prince, the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince, the Seventh Prince, the Eighth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and the Tenth Prince—a total of eight princes—will all go outside the city tomorrow to receive Tong Guogang's coffin, giving Tong Guogang and the Tong family the greatest respect.
Yin'e was neither concerned nor interested in the matter of Emperor Kangxi's promotion of the Tong family. What he was more concerned about was whether he could take the opportunity to stay outside the palace for a while after leaving the palace on September 7th, rather than immediately setting off back to the palace after sending Tong Guogang's coffin back to the Tong residence.
On the morning of September 7th, since he did not have to go to the Imperial Study for early morning study, Yin'e did not get up at Yin time, but slept for an extra hour. He did not get up from bed until Mao time (5 am), after stretching and yawning. After washing up, he went to the Qianqing Palace to meet with the other princes.
After leaving the third residence, Yin'e waited for a while and then saw the Ninth Prince rubbing his eyes as he walked out of the fourth residence, swaying as he approached him.
Although the sun had not yet risen by the time of Mao (5-7 AM), some light was already filtering through the thick clouds, casting a hazy glow on the dark night sky, making it appear whiter than the pitch-black night of Yin (3-5 AM).
Yawning, the Ninth Prince lazily complained, "Father is really making a fuss. It's just that Tong Guogang's coffin is going back to the capital, so why make such a big fuss? We have to go out of the city to welcome it, as if doing so will bring Tong Guogang back to life."
Hearing the Ninth Prince's complaints, Yin'e couldn't help but chuckle and said insincerely, "Ninth Brother, don't say that. Lord Tong Guogang is not only the Emperor's brother-in-law, but also a hero who sacrificed his life on the battlefield. It is appropriate for him to receive such treatment. We should not criticize him in private."
After a pause, Yin'e finally couldn't hold back and spoke the truth: "Thanks to Tong Guogang, we had the opportunity to leave the palace."
"For this reason alone, we should thank Lord Tong properly and take his funeral seriously. We cannot be too careless, otherwise wouldn't we be letting down the opportunity that Lord Tong fought for us?"
The Ninth Prince grunted and was easily persuaded by Yin'e: "That makes sense. If Father hadn't specifically asked us to leave the capital to welcome Tong Guogang's coffin, we wouldn't have had the chance to leave the palace."
"Tenth Brother, how do you think we'll get out of the city later?" The Ninth Prince turned to look at Yin'e, his delicate and beautiful eyes sparkling with anticipation and longing, his gaze eager to try. "Should we take a sedan chair or ride a horse? If I had a choice, I'd like to ride a horse."
Having studied in the Imperial Study for nearly a year, and having been taught horseback riding and archery by his madam for almost a year every day for an afternoon, the Ninth Prince's horsemanship was not particularly good, but as long as he wasn't galloping at full speed, he could easily ride his ponies, Red Chestnut or Floating Cloud, from the palace to the city gate.
“I also want to ride a horse.” Yin’e’s eyes were full of anticipation. “Seventh Brother said that the inner city is not very interesting, but the outer city is very lively, especially the area around Qianmen Street. There are rows of shops where you can buy things from all over the country. There’s nothing that we can’t think of that can’t be sold there.”
The capital city was also divided into an inner city and an outer city. After the Manchus entered the pass, the Han people who originally lived in the inner city were all moved to the outer city. Now the inner city was full of Manchu bannermen, and the inner city became the private domain of the Eight Banners.
Although the inner city houses hundreds of thousands of people, there are very few shops. It is usually quiet and peaceful. If you want to go shopping, you can't find any lively places in the inner city. If you want to go shopping, you have to go to the outer city. Only in the outer city can you truly feel the prosperity and flourishing of the capital city.
The Ninth Prince pursed his lips: "Let alone the outer city, it would be good enough if we could just take a stroll around the inner city. We've never even left the palace. We stay in the palace every day, with so much homework in the Imperial Study. We don't even have time to go for a walk in the Imperial Garden. What's the difference between us and country bumpkins?"
During the conversation, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince had already arrived at the Qianqing Palace.
After being led into the hall by the palace servants, Yin'e realized that he and the Ninth Prince were the last to arrive, and he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. After giving an awkward laugh, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince held hands and shrank to the back, using their brothers' tall figures as a fortress to shield them.
Kangxi did not comment on Yin'e and the Ninth Prince, who arrived last, but said to the First Prince: "Yinti, you lead your younger brothers out of the city to receive Tong Guogang's coffin. After sending the coffin to Tong's residence, lead them back to the palace. Keep a close eye on your younger brothers after leaving the palace, and make sure they do not get into any trouble on the way."
Emperor Kangxi couldn't help but worry about sending so many princes out of the palace at once, and gave the eldest prince a few more words of advice before he left.
"Don't worry, Father, I know what I'm doing. I will bring my brothers back safely and I won't let anything happen to them," the eldest prince replied loudly.
Because his relationship with Emperor Kangxi had become closer during this period, the eldest prince no longer referred to himself as "your subject" when facing Emperor Kangxi, but instead used the more casual but intimate term "son".
Emperor Kangxi trusted his eldest son, the First Prince, and nodded approvingly upon hearing his promise. Then, he sighed with a touch of sadness and said, "Go, go and welcome your maternal uncle home on my behalf, and escort him back to the Tong residence."
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