Celeng wanted to be rebellious, but after seeing the powerful artillery of the Qing Dynasty, he dared not be so arrogant. Hearing what Yinzuo said, he stood up and saluted Kangxi.
"Your Majesty, perhaps I didn't express myself clearly enough before. I came here on my father's orders to ask for your assistance. This winter, the grasslands are experiencing heavy snowfall..."
Although everyone knew each other's attitude, they still had to pretend to be nice to each other. In order to appease the Junggar tribe and prevent them from taking desperate measures, Kangxi finally agreed to lend them 30,000 shi of grain.
Perhaps they were anxious to return and tell Tsewang Arabtan what they had seen and heard in the Qing Dynasty, or they were really anxious to transport the grain back to resolve the tribal crisis. After getting the grain, Tsereng and others did not want to stay here for a moment, as if someone was chasing them. After hurriedly packing up their things and saying goodbye to Kangxi, they took their men to escort the grain back.
It seemed that the matter had come to an end, but everything seemed to have just begun. Just as in history, the current Kangxi did have the intention to deal with the Dzungar tribe.
"Yinzhen, what do you think about the Junggar tribe coming to borrow grain?"
Although he was called out suddenly, Yinzhen was not at all flustered. He stood up and bowed to Kangxi.
"Khan Ama, I believe now is the best time for the Qing Dynasty to use military force against Dzungar."
The Junggar tribe was currently suffering from a lack of food and clothing due to the heavy snow. Many of their war horses would likely have frozen to death after this winter. If they wanted to recover their combat effectiveness, they would have to wait until the next spring when everything revived. This gave the Qing Dynasty ample time to prepare. They only needed to take advantage of this time to transport food, fodder, men and horses, and then catch them off guard when the weather warmed up next year.
None of Kangxi's sons was an easy-going person. What Yinzhen could figure out, they could naturally think of as well. After Kangxi pondered for a while, he seemed to have finally made up his mind. He raised his eyes, glanced at his sons, and spoke.
"Okay, then we'll take his life while he's sick. Yinzhen, who do you think should be sent on this expedition?"
Yin Zuo would know the answer to this question, is there any need to ask? Of course it’s his little Fourteenth Prince. You know, in history, wasn’t it at this time that Fourteenth Princes led the troops to war?
Yinzhen felt someone pulling his arm, and when he turned around, he saw Yinzuo beside him constantly giving him hints with his eyes. And standing in the direction he was looking was his other annoying brother.
"In reply to Khan Ama, I think if we were to choose among our brothers to go to war, then the eldest brother, the tenth brother, the thirteenth brother, and the fourteenth brother would all be good candidates. Firstly, they are all quite skilled, and secondly, they have previous experience fighting in Japan. I think they would be able to handle the grasslands. As for how to choose, it is ultimately up to you, Khan Ama, to decide."
Well, this statement was flawless and no one would be offended. Upon hearing this, Yinzuo curled his lips at his fourth brother to express his contempt, then sat back down next to Kangxi, looking at his father and waiting for him to speak.
Yinzhen is now forty years old. Although he is in good health and has no problem wielding swords and guns, he is still at that age. Kangxi thought about the three of us and finally decided to give his two younger sons a chance. After all, he is almost thirty years old, and it is not good to always have the title of Beile on his head.
As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war. With the previous experience of fighting against Japan, the court was able to prepare supplies easily this time. Less than a month after Kangxi issued the order, everything was ready. In mid-November, on the 13th and 14th, Kangxi led the army to the northern desert.
"Alas, Thirteen and Fourteen, now that they're gone, I'm afraid they won't be back for a year or two. It's true that childhood was better. Although life in the Shangshufang was hard, there weren't so many worries back then. We could have fun however we wanted during the ten-day holiday. Look at us now, it's so hard for us brothers to get together..."
Who says it isn't? Yin Zuo looked through the glass at the snowflakes drifting outside the pavilion, then turned to look at Yin Yu, who was slumped on the recliner beside him. He raised his leg and kicked him to lie down, then sighed helplessly.
"Yes, otherwise, our ancestors would say, 'Don't cherish your golden clothes, but cherish your youth.' So, we should pick the flowers when they are ready. Xiao Shi, hurry up and get ready. De Xi, go get ready. Let's go back to the capital and have some fun..."
Although the saying "picking flowers when they are ready to be picked, rather than waiting until there are no flowers left to pluck empty branches" is true, Yinzuo ultimately failed to take Yin? out of the gate of Changchun Garden. There was no need to ask, as one could tell from the man standing at the door of Shufengxuan in the wind and snow that they could not get out today.
"Don't be angry, Your Highness. It's for your own good that His Majesty doesn't let you go out. Look, it's snowing so heavily today. The snow is so thick on the ground that it's unsafe for both cars and people to walk on it. If you're really bored, why don't I take you and Prince Qu to the greenhouse to have a look? The servants in the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been tending to a group of flowers and plants, and they've been blooming beautifully lately..."
Yinzuo was not the kind of person who didn't know what was good for him. Since Liang Jiugong had said this, they had to give him some face. Seeing Yinzuo nod, Liang Jiugong hurriedly called a young eunuch behind him and asked him to take people to clear the road from Shufengxuan to the greenhouse first. He led Yinzuo, and Yin? followed slowly behind.
It is indeed as Liang Jiugong said, the flowers in the greenhouse have bloomed well recently, but the varieties are inevitably too monotonous. After Yinzuo took a walk around it, he lost interest in it.
"Eunuch Liang, let's go back. There's nothing to see here. It's novel that roses can bloom in winter, but it's not very interesting to see this one variety."
Coming with high hopes but leaving disappointed made Yinzuo feel a little depressed for the next few days. It is said that having a wealthy family is good, and now the benefits of having money are shown.
In order to make his son happy, Kangxi went to great lengths. Not only did he ask Liang Jiugong to take people back to the Forbidden City to move a lot of everlasting flowers from his private warehouse, he also sent someone to the Imperial Household Department to instruct them to quickly make a few pots of flowers that Yinzuo liked, and then sent them together with those moved from his private warehouse to Yinzuo's Shufengxuan.
"Wow, Khan Ama is really generous. Look at all the varieties here: magnolia, Buddha's hand, plum blossom, peach blossom, hibiscus... There's white jade, tourmaline, various gemstones, and beeswax. Together, they're worth a fortune. Sixth brother, I think this Buddha's hand is pretty good..."
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