Upon hearing this, Le Shu wondered, "Does she resemble Yinzhen?"
She didn't think so.
Seeing her confusion, Kangxi continued, "You are uneasy but not afraid of me. You have no reverence for imperial power. I have only recently discovered this, and neither does the Fourth Prince."
Having reigned for decades, Emperor Kangxi realized that it was the emperor who truly revered imperial power.
Imperial power is a sword that can kill anyone—enemies, villains, friends, relatives, and even oneself.
Because they lack reverence, they act boldly.
The Qing Dynasty is doing very well now, and Kangxi knows that, but he still feels it is not appropriate because Yinzhen is taking too many risks.
Yinzhen and Yue Shu were walking a proven and correct path, but from Kangxi's perspective, what they were doing was comparable to what the First Emperor had done—opening up a new path.
Were the things that the First Emperor did right?
From the perspective of a Qing Dynasty emperor, this was correct; the Qin Dynasty's policies were followed by successive dynasties, and this was what the First Emperor left to posterity.
But what was the result?
The Qin Dynasty only lasted for two generations. Although Hu Hai's incompetence was partly to blame, the Qin Dynasty did have many problems. Any new "thing" inevitably carries uncertainty; what is good for future generations may not be good for those in power at the time.
Even if Fusu ascends the throne, he may not be able to turn the tide; the problems of the Qin Dynasty are very complex.
The First Emperor paved the way for Liu Bang, who inherited the First Emperor's political legacy.
The Qing Dynasty is developing very well now, without a doubt, but Kangxi is afraid! The emergence of new things makes him vaguely feel that something is going crazy, and he is afraid that the Qing Dynasty will be destroyed by the madness hidden behind it.
After a moment of silence, Yue Shu asked, "Does Father Emperor think I have done something wrong?"
What she really wanted to ask was, was Yinzhen not doing a good enough job?
Emperor Kangxi shook his head: "I'm afraid you'll ruin the legacy of our ancestors."
Le Shu then said something very audacious: "Father, since the Qin Dynasty, no dynasty has lasted more than three hundred years. The ancestral foundation you mentioned will eventually be destroyed. Rights should be equal to obligations. The dynastic system guarantees the absolute power of the emperor, but it does not clearly define obligations."
Such rights cannot be fully guaranteed by the Confucian concept of "ruler and subject" or "father and son." The emperor's wisdom or lack thereof determines whether the government can be efficient and the people can live in peace and prosperity during his reign.
When a foolish ruler seizes imperial power, that power faces the inevitable cycle of destruction and rebirth. As the saying goes, wealth doesn't last three generations. The constant shifting of power means that imperial power, given the lack of clearly defined obligations, cannot last forever.
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