Women in the palace are lonely. After Little Treasure could walk and talk, he often came to Consort Hui's palace to keep her company, giving her the joy of playing with her grandchild.
Although Emperor Kangxi would visit Chuxiu Palace every month, Consort Hui and Consort Rong were both a few years older than him and had long since stopped serving him in bed. They only received his favor but not his affection.
When Yinzhi went to the battlefield, Consort Hui was not too worried. Yinzhi's martial arts skills were well-known among the princes, and with Nalan Mingzhu by his side, she felt at ease. Sending the fan to the First Princess was just a reminder, hoping that the household would remain stable while Yinzhi was away fighting.
While the inner palace enjoyed a year of peace, things were not so good on Kangxi's side, as the Qing army suffered repeated defeats.
On the first day of the eighth lunar month, they decisively defeated the Dzungar army's "camel city," and then the infantry charged in from the front while the cavalry attacked from the left and right, killing and wounding a great many Dzungar soldiers.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Galdan resorted to a delaying tactic, sending envoys to the Qing army to sue for peace. He then led his troops across the Shalamulun River at night to retreat north, burning wild grass along the way to slow down the pursuing Qing cavalry. Fuquan fell for the trap, allowing Galdan to escape.
During this period, Yinzhi, young and impetuous, went to pursue Galdan's fleeing soldiers. He disobeyed General Fuquan's order not to cross the Gazi River, resulting in the annihilation of his cavalry and his capture by Galdan's cavalry. He later escaped when Galdan was off guard.
When Nalan Mingzhu learned of this, he stopped Yinzhi and pointed out that it was during a fierce battle with Galdan's deserters at the Gazi River that the entire army was wiped out, and he himself had fallen into the river.
The two offenses of disobeying orders and being captured were removed, which, although leading to the annihilation of a group of men, was much better than the previous two offenses.
Yinzhi did as he was told, but the matter remained in his heart.
Nalan Mingzhu believed that Yinzhi's escape was due to Galdan's deliberate release. After all, Galdan was currently weak and needed time to recuperate. Killing Kangxi's eldest son would easily provoke Kangxi's anger and the anger of the Eight Banners, which would boost the morale of the Qing army and would not benefit him.
Since Galdan had released Yinzhi, he wouldn't make a fuss about it anymore, which is why he felt comfortable letting Yinzhi keep it a secret.
"Father, your entire army has been wiped out."
When Kangxi saw his son dressed in tattered clothes, he hurriedly asked him about it. He was displeased to learn that the entire team had been wiped out, but he did not scold his son too much when he saw his son's miserable state. He encouraged him a few times and believed his son's story.
However, he was also punished; he couldn't lead a team and could only be a member of the vanguard battalion, which basically meant his son was made a common soldier.
However, Kangxi was also dissatisfied with Fuquan, who not only let Galdan go, but also gave the wrong order to Yinzhi to chase after the deserter.
Kangxi believed that Fuquan should bear the main responsibility for the annihilation of a small team, and that he had failed to properly restrain Yinzhi.
In fact, Kangxi's actions were somewhat unreasonable. After all, Yinzhi was a favored prince, and even his uncle couldn't stop him.
After all, one's own child is always the best; human nature is always biased.
In the tenth month of the 30th year of the Kangxi reign, Fuquan sent a vice minister and others to deliver a message to Galdan. More than a month had passed without their return. Fuquan estimated that Galdan had already fled beyond the border. Moreover, the army's food supplies were insufficient again and could only last for a few more days. Therefore, Fuquan took it upon himself to order the army to return.
The troops returned to Emperor Kangxi's camp. Emperor Kangxi was very dissatisfied with Fuquan's unauthorized withdrawal and decided to return to the capital first before discussing his punishment. Emperor Kangxi returned to the capital first, while Fuquan and others remained behind.
Fuquan then submitted the intelligence gathered on Galdan's movements to Emperor Kangxi for review. The traitor had indeed crossed the border and confessed to his crimes. Emperor Kangxi immediately ordered Fuquan to return to the capital.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
