"Your Majesty, the Dzungar chieftain, Gordan, has fled in panic with his principal wife. This servant believes we should press our advantage and kill them in one fell swoop."
Emperor Kangxi laughed heartily upon hearing this: "Excellent!"
Emperor Kangxi was in a good mood and decided to personally go and take the head of Gordan.
No one dared to object to Kangxi's decision. As a result, the pursuit led them into a dense forest, where Kangxi and his pursuers got lost.
Emperor Kangxi was accompanied by his eldest son, the third son, and Yinzhen, along with a considerable number of pursuers. His safety was not a problem, but the problem was that if he couldn't get out, what he would eat would become an issue.
That evening, the eldest prince returned with his men to report: "Father, I have led my men to investigate, but we still haven't found a way out."
Kangxi remained relatively calm upon hearing this, though he was disappointed: "Rest first, we'll continue the search tomorrow."
First Prince: "Yes."
At this moment, Yinzhen spoke up: "Father, I see signs of prey activity in this dense forest. Please allow me to take some men to go hunting."
Upon hearing this, Kangxi realized his own hunger: "Alright, bring a few more people."
There was indeed prey in the dense forest. Yinzhen led his men to hunt, and returned half an hour later with a considerable amount of game.
Then they started a fire to roast the meat.
In the wilderness, with limited seasonings, the barbecue didn't taste particularly good, but the group was so exhausted that they couldn't bring themselves to complain.
After eating the barbecue, he began to rest. When he went to sleep that night, he heard mosquitoes buzzing in his ears and slept very restlessly.
When I woke up the next day, I only felt slightly relieved of my fatigue.
Food and water were plentiful in the dense forest, but the group still wanted to get out as soon as possible. Their plans to pursue Gordan had been shattered, and they were only thinking about getting out of there first.
But things didn't go as planned. They tried to get out, but ended up wandering in the dense forest for three whole days without finding a way out.
People outside were also anxious and sent several groups of people in to search, but they couldn't find it.
Of all the people left behind by Kangxi, only Prince Gong was capable of making decisions. With no other option, he had to secretly send a message to the capital to inform the Crown Prince of the news.
News eventually reached the capital that Emperor Kangxi was trapped in the dense forest and could not be found, along with his eldest, third, and fourth princes.
It was supposed to be a secret message, but how could it be so secret? Tong Cheng'er also received the news, and upon receiving it, she was stunned and unable to move.
She simply couldn't believe that something had happened to Yinzhen.
There wasn't much she could do but hope for his safety. Then Tong Cheng'er started to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist prayers. She had never believed in these things, but at that moment she really thought that if there really was a Buddha, he must bless Yinzhen to return safely.
Tong Cheng'er was in the capital practicing vegetarianism and chanting Buddhist scriptures. Yinzhen was indeed safe and sound, but he wasn't living a very good life. A group of grown men ate roasted meat every day. Although their lives were not in danger, they were really tired of eating roasted meat.
But we still couldn't get out.
Upon hearing the news, the Crown Prince in Yuqing Palace felt extremely conflicted. For a fleeting moment, he thought maliciously that it would be better if his father, the Emperor, were truly trapped in the dense forest and unable to escape.
Then he thought of how good Emperor Kangxi had been to him and couldn't help but despise himself.
Three more days passed, and attacking the Dzungars had become a secondary matter. The most important thing now was to find Emperor Kangxi.
The crown prince felt this wouldn't do and decided to go and see for himself.
Just after the Crown Prince left, Kangxi and his entourage finally emerged from the dense forest.
Emperor Kangxi was extremely ashamed and angry about being trapped, as it was a disgraceful thing for him.
With Kangxi's intervention, those outside breathed a sigh of relief. Prince Gong quickly reported the recent battle situation to Kangxi, noting that in just six days, the Dzungars had gained some breathing room.
Emperor Kangxi had no intention of letting the Dzungars go and decided to continue the attack.
The Crown Prince has not yet received the news and is rushing to Kangxi's side.
They arrived halfway there only to receive news that Kangxi had safely emerged from the dense forest.
When the Crown Prince heard the news, he couldn't tell whether he felt relieved or disappointed; in any case, his feelings were very complicated.
Just then, the Crown Prince received news that Kangxi and his entourage were trapped by the Dzungars, their supplies had been burned, and they urgently needed reinforcements.
The news that came was that the battle was extremely dangerous. If the supplies were not delivered in time, the battle was likely to be lost, and even Emperor Kangxi might lose his life on the battlefield.
Upon hearing this, the crown prince had a despicable thought for a moment.
Anyway, he couldn't help but despise himself afterward.
He quickly ordered his men to prepare provisions, but they did not follow his instructions, and the provisions were transported very slowly.
At the current rate of grain transport, it seems unlikely to arrive in time.
By the time the crown prince found out, it was too late.
The Crown Prince ordered the arrest of the person who had acted on his own initiative, but he was extremely nervous. He was conflicted; he wanted Kangxi to be safe, but he was also afraid of him being safe.
His inner thoughts were very complex.
When Emperor Kangxi learned of the Crown Prince's actions while he was at the front of the battle, he was deeply disappointed. No matter how you looked at it, the matter of the provisions was the Crown Prince's mistake. Even if you said that his subordinates acted on their own initiative, it was still the Crown Prince's fault for lax governance.
If he were truly trapped and could potentially lose his life on the battlefield, Kangxi would be unable to forgive him.
We can only think about dealing with it later.
Just as the crown prince was feeling uneasy, good news arrived: Gordan had been killed and the Dzungars had surrendered.
This good news was a bolt from the blue for the Crown Prince.
It turned out that there was no problem with the food supplies at the front line. The news that was released was just to deceive the Dzungars. What Kangxi did not expect was that it not only deceived the Dzungars, but also the crown prince he had carefully cultivated.
Kangxi felt an indescribable disappointment.
The crown prince himself knew he had done wrong. Although it was his subordinates who had made the mistake, no matter what, he, as the crown prince, could not escape responsibility.
The crown prince hurried to the front lines, hoping to offer an explanation and prevent the father-son relationship from being truly damaged.
Upon the Crown Prince's arrival, the first person he saw was the First Prince. The First Prince showed no kindness whatsoever to the Crown Prince. With the war raging on the front lines, if there had been a shortage of supplies, given the foolish actions of the Crown Prince's subordinate, he might have already lost his life. The two were already at odds, so naturally, there was no way he would be friendly to the Crown Prince now.
When Yinzhen saw the Crown Prince, his expression was indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger, but the Crown Prince clearly sensed Yinzhen's distance from him.
The Crown Prince entered Kangxi's tent and immediately knelt on the ground: "Father, I deserve to die. My men acted on their own and almost delayed the battle. I beg you to punish me, Father."
Emperor Kangxi also found out that the Crown Prince's order to send grain quickly was indeed an act of defiance by his subordinates. Even so, Emperor Kangxi was still uneasy. If it were true, it would have almost cost him his life!
"If you have made a mistake, do you know where you went wrong?"
"Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty to govern. I beg you to punish me."
After the Crown Prince finished speaking, he cried with snot and tears streaming down his face, which made Emperor Kangxi feel bad. He thought that the Crown Prince really did not mean it this time, so he let the matter go.
However, a knot remained in my heart.
The Crown Prince finally breathed a sigh of relief after leaving Kangxi's tent.
Being in the position of Crown Prince, one wrong step could lead to utter ruin, so he must be extremely cautious from now on!
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