Chapter 202 Interference in Internal Affairs
The matter caused quite a stir for over a month, until finally, on a cool summer morning, the young master "recovered."
Having endured the chaotic and noisy morning court sessions for too long, Yinzhen was suddenly relieved to see a figure in apricot-yellow robes standing below. Even the tedious and mundane tasks of the past few days were no longer handled with a solemn expression.
In fact, the ministers who were somewhat close to the emperor understood that the crown prince, who was always in good health and skilled in riding and archery, could not have been ill for more than a month, and the timing was so strange. He fell ill just as the confiscation of his property was about to begin, and now that this whole mess was finally coming to an end, the crown prince had just recovered by sheer coincidence.
Knowing is one thing, but who dares to speak out? The fathers, out of love for their sons, take all the blame upon themselves. What can they do but sing praises? The Emperor loves to hear that. Anyone who genuinely praises the Crown Prince in a memorial receives extra strokes of imperial approval.
Having just regained his freedom upon entering the court, Hongzhao was itching to do something. As he watched the huge sums of money confiscated from embezzled funds being continuously sent into the palace, he began to plot something else.
The Industrial Revolution is still at least thirty years away, and the Jenny is still quite some time away from being invented. It wouldn't be too late to operate it when I'm in power. Right now, with this money gleaming before my eyes, I'd rather use it for something else.
In the Imperial Study, Yinzhen was studying a thick ledger compiled by the Thirteenth Prince, unaware that Hongzhao, who had been sitting to the side, had quietly walked up to him.
"Father, I am pondering something, but I have not been able to come up with a solution. I hope that you can enlighten me."
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen looked at his son who had approached. He could now see that this child was the most decisive of all. He wouldn't bring up anything that wasn't plausible or reliable in front of him. Asking this question meant that he had probably thought it through carefully, so Yinzhen was quite at ease.
"Tell me about it."
Hongzhao did not speak directly, but instead reached out and took three things from his father's desk: an inkstone, a folding book, and a blank sheet of paper.
He first used this piece of paper to separate the inkstone and the folded paper, then pointed to the inkstone and the folded paper and spoke to his father in a serious tone.
“Father, look at how they’re arranged now. You can see that the inkstone and the folding paper aren’t touching each other. There’s a piece of paper between them. It’s like water and water don’t interfere with each other. Neither of them gets in the way.”
Seeing that Yinzhen's gaze was still fixed on the paper and he still didn't quite understand, Hongzhao reached out and took the paper, tearing it into several small pieces without any particular pattern. He scattered them among the folding paper and the inkstone, and said, "But suddenly one day, this paper fell apart due to various reasons, either internally or externally. The folding paper and the inkstone both know that as long as they consume others, they can expand again. Broken pieces of paper are much easier to swallow than whole pieces."
He placed the fragments one by one on the inkstone and the folding paper, leaving only a few scattered fragments in the middle.
“But as they eat, the paper in the middle gets less and less, and the inkstone and the folding paper get closer and closer. There are too many monks and not enough porridge, so they inevitably bump into each other. The folding paper has eaten so much paper that it has developed a big appetite and cannot be satisfied for a while. Father, do you think it will set its sights on the inkstone that is competing with it for food?”
In fact, Yinzhen understood what Hongzhao wanted to say halfway through the conversation. The three items in front of him were moving back and forth: the memorial was the Russian Empire, which had been making moves recently; the inkstone was the Qing Dynasty; and the few scraps of paper were the various Khanates of the divided Mongol Empire.
If the Qing Dynasty hadn't intervened with timely military action in the Dzungar conflict, Tsarist Russia would likely have rushed to send troops to take advantage of the situation.
Yinzhen wanted to reach out and pat Hongzhao on the head to encourage him. But when he reached out, he found that the child in front of him was no longer someone he could touch while sitting there with his hand outstretched. He was stunned for a moment, and before he could even sigh at how quickly time had passed, he suddenly found something prickly to the touch in his hand—"a spiky ball."
Hongzhao usually doesn't need a mind-reading device to understand his father's thoughts; he can immediately understand the meaning of a breath or a pause, and this time was no exception.
He was determined to eliminate all potential threats that could cause any rift between father and son, and there was no time to lose!
"I understand what you've said. You must have considered this matter before bringing it up today."
Just as Hongzhao understood his father, Yinzhen understood his son as well. As the saying goes, he wouldn't put something in front of him if it wasn't absolutely certain.
Hongzhao pursed his lips, revealing two shallow dimples, and nodded affirmatively at him—"Father is wise. Of course, nothing can be hidden from you. I do have some opinions."
"Everything should be traced back to its roots. If we talk about it, those Mongol Khanates were all empires conquered on horseback by our ancestors. No matter how you look at it, they are all part of the lineage of our Great Qing Dynasty. Even if they split and reunite, it has nothing to do with Tsarist Russia. It is an internal affair of our Mongolia."
He spoke gently and persuasively, guiding Ama onto his own path.
“Since it is an internal affair, there is no reason for others to interfere, and even less room for others to send troops to fight for it. General Zhaohui and Amur will be returning to the capital soon. It will be a time when the morale of the army and the people is soaring after their great victory over the Dzungars. I think that although we should not be too hasty, it is time for us to take action and make preparations.”
Yinzhen listened and nodded repeatedly, especially the part about domestic affairs, which he agreed with without a doubt.
Thinking five steps ahead for every step he takes—such foresight and strategic vision are truly admirable qualities that Hongzhao has learned so well. Compared to those old scoundrels who only know how to collect their salaries... well, they are simply incomparable to Hongzhao.
“Well said. Today, my son and I will discuss this thoroughly and reorganize the army. Our family’s internal affairs are naturally not to be interfered with by others!”
Yinzhen slammed his hand on the table and readily agreed. The constant flow of silver being delivered to the treasury gave Yinzhen considerable confidence. Even with this in hand, there was no reason for him to be timid or hesitant.
Hongzhao quickly stepped forward to agree, "That's what I think too. It's been a few years since we improved the musket last time, and I've been thinking about it a lot. I have some new ideas now. I'll take this opportunity to make one and try it out."
Yinzhen's eyes lit up after hearing this. He had thought the improved firearms were already quite advanced. Little did he know how many more surprises his son held for him.
He understood the foreshadowing Hongzhao had laid, and naturally he could also see the child's delicate thoughts. Yinzhen gently pinched the back of Hongzhao's neck, and then spoke with a slightly hoarse tone—"Hongzhao, listen, just do whatever you want to do, and whether you do it well or badly, your father will take responsibility for you."
“You are the crown prince nurtured with the resources of an entire nation, and your father is already proud of you enough.”
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