Spring has passed and autumn has come; two more years have gone by.
In the past two years, under Kangxi's deliberate cultivation, Yinzhen has become the unspoken choice for crown prince in the court, but no one has dared to expose this fact.
Yinzhen himself was not in a hurry, and he never got too close to any of the court officials. In any case, he would remain very distant from the officials in the court next year.
Emperor Kangxi was very pleased with this.
Of course, this does not mean that Yinzhen did not have his own people; he did, but he simply did not need them to speak up for the time being.
He needs virtuous and capable people to serve him in the future, to govern the country and ensure its stability, not to engage in factional struggles.
Meanwhile, Yinzhen was not idle either.
Over the years, his private business empire has grown increasingly larger. He built a fleet of ships and maintained an army on the islands capable of fighting with muskets and cannons.
This army usually traveled between countries as a merchant caravan, earning a lot of money and gathering as much intelligence as possible.
Yinzhen looked at the contents of the letter and remained silent for a long time.
When Tong Cheng'er saw that no one had come to eat after the meal was ordered, she went to the study. She saw Yinzhen staring blankly at a letter and said, "What are you looking at? You're so engrossed that you didn't even notice I came."
Yinzhen had nothing to hide from Tong Cheng'er and showed her the letter in his hand.
"Take a look at this."
Tong Cheng'er took the letter and began to read it.
Then his eyes widened: "The East India Company?"
Her tone was overly surprised, yet tinged with a hint of familiarity: "Cheng'er is no stranger to the East India Company?"
Tong Cheng'er paused for a moment, then nodded: "It's not exactly unfamiliar."
She couldn't remember the specific year from her junior high school history class. The junior high school history class's introduction to the Qing Dynasty was rather general, so she didn't connect the East India Company with the Kangxi era.
In fact, the East India Company had already existed for about a hundred years by this time.
"The East India Company was extremely ambitious and skilled at plundering and colonizing, and is a notorious organization in later history books."
In fact, the land beneath their feet was also the target of the East India Company, but the target was too large, and they dared not act rashly.
The letter indicated that the East India Company had spies in many parts of the Qing Dynasty, and that this land was rich and the East India Company would not let go of such a large "piece of meat".
What are you planning to do?
Tell Kangxi?
But how he knew that is hard to explain.
If we don't tell him and let him keep quiet, Yinzhen will definitely not be able to tolerate his country being coveted.
It seems like there's a problem no matter what you do.
"This matter absolutely cannot be kept secret, but I need to think carefully about how to explain it to Father Emperor."
Three days later, Yinzhen went to the Qianqing Palace with a memorial.
"Father, I have something important to report."
Kangxi: "What is it?"
Yinzhen handed over the carefully considered memorial.
The memorial stated that while on official business, Yinzhen discovered that foreigners were inquiring about matters concerning the Qing Dynasty. Suspecting something was amiss, he investigated further and eventually uncovered an organization called the "East India Company."
This organization has been around for nearly a century. Over the years, it has plundered the lands of other countries, leaving behind a legacy of misery and suffering, with local people becoming slaves...
“Father, the East India Company has been plundering everywhere with its outstanding navigation technology. Now they are gathering information about the Qing Dynasty from all over the country. I think this matter is not simple. The Qing Dynasty is strong and powerful, but it cannot be allowed to be spied on. I think we should send people to investigate. If the East India Company has ambitions against the Qing Dynasty, we should let them see the power of the Qing Dynasty.”
Kangxi only saw the contents of Yinzhen's memorial. If it was true, then the East India Company was indeed hateful.
But Emperor Kangxi did not believe that such an organization truly existed.
To plunder across the oceans and colonize countless territories sounds like a fantasy.
Emperor Kangxi did not believe that such an organization truly existed, and even if it did, he would not have made such alarmist claims.
However, Yinzhen was a son he valued, and his proposal was well-intentioned, so it's not unreasonable to investigate this matter further.
"In that case, I'll leave this matter to you to investigate."
"yes."
As I came out of the Qianqing Palace, I happened to run into the First Prince.
After giving up his ambition for the throne, the eldest prince became much more straightforward. When he saw Yinzhen, he would greet him with a smile and say, "Fourth brother has gone to see Father Emperor."
Yinzhen said, "Elder brother also needs to see Father Emperor."
The eldest prince shook his head: "No."
As soon as he said it wasn't Yinzhen, he understood. He probably just came out of the Imperial Study, and his son must have gotten into trouble.
"Brother, do you have time? Why don't we have a meal together?"
The eldest prince looked at him strangely: "You're going back to the manor to dine with your wife?"
Yinzhen looked surprised: "Brother, what makes you say that?"
The eldest prince said bluntly, "Didn't everyone say that you must have dinner with the Fujin (wife)?"
Yinzhen shook his head and chuckled, wondering who had spread the rumor.
He was unwilling to socialize, so he said he had to go back to the mansion to have dinner with his wife, otherwise he wouldn't enjoy the food. In the end, rumors spread that he couldn't eat without his wife by his side.
Later, this rumor even reached the ears of Emperor Kangxi, who had to explain it to him at length.
"My older brother is making fun of me too."
The eldest prince smiled and said, "Alright, let's eat together. Let's go to your Wangyue Tower, and we can save on the cost of the meal."
"Big brother, you've got a good plan."
Yinzhen didn't like drinking outside, but the eldest prince did. During the time he was imprisoned by Kangxi, he was filled with sorrow and could only relieve his distress by drinking. He was so happy that he couldn't live without alcohol.
Yinzhen's affection for the eldest prince was also known, and there were no bad habits at the dinner table. The two of them, one drinking and eating, and the other just eating, were quite harmonious.
After the meal, Yinzhen asked the eldest prince, "Brother, are you really willing to stay in the Ministry of War for the rest of your life?"
The Ministry of War itself isn't scary; what's scary is dealing with trivial and mundane matters every day.
He loved fighting on the battlefield; if he could, he would never be content with that!
"What do you mean by that, Fourth Brother?"
"I have discovered an organization that harbors malicious intentions and is very likely to harm the Qing Dynasty. Father Emperor has already ordered me to investigate. If the investigation confirms the truth, then we will inevitably have to fight a tough battle, and it will be a long one."
The eldest prince's eyes lit up immediately: "What does Fourth Brother mean by that?"
Yinzhen smiled and said, "Brother, don't be too happy yet. We haven't verified it! Besides, this battle requires good swimming skills and the ability to fight on water. Brother's heroic bearing on horseback is undoubtedly excellent, but what about on the water?"
The skills required on water are different from those on land; nobody knows the specifics of the techniques.
The eldest prince was also puzzled as to why they still had to fight on the water.
But as long as there's a war to fight, it's better than being stuck in the Ministry of War reading documents all day long.
"What does Fourth Brother want me to do?"
It's hard to say about military strategy. He hasn't tried naval warfare before, but there's always a first time for everything. The best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Once you understand one thing, you understand everything. He just needs to learn.
Yinzhen said, "If possible, I hope that my elder brother can lead people to investigate."
The eldest prince was silent for a moment: "I need to think about it."
Yinzhen said, "Of course, but time is of the essence, elder brother should consider it quickly."
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