In May of the 30th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Galdan, under the pretext of pursuing the Khalkha, led 30,000 troops southward from Lake Kuleng along the western foothills of the Greater Khingan Mountains, with his army aimed at Beijing.
The imperial court ordered Alani, the Minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs, to lead troops to resist, but they suffered a defeat at the Urhui River. Taking advantage of the situation, the Dzungar army advanced south to the Ujumchin region.
Upon hearing of the defeat, Yinzhi, as the eldest son of the emperor, once again petitioned to be the vanguard and fight the enemy, his heart filled with fervor.
Emperor Kangxi was very pleased with this, so he placed him next to the steady Prince Yu, Fuquan.
"Very well, I hereby appoint you as the vanguard of the right wing army and send you to fight on the front lines."
Emperor Kangxi granted Yinzhi's request on the spot and offered a few words of encouragement.
"These are all your uncles and elders, Yinzhi. You should learn from them properly." He then gestured for Yinzhi to bow to them.
At Kangxi's prompting, Yinzhi bowed to his uncles and elders, saying, "Yinzhi greets all my uncles and elders."
The princes returned the gifts in return.
The princes had a good impression of Yinzhi. They didn't like effeminate Han Chinese; they preferred men with courage and spirit like Yinzhi.
Moreover, Yinzhi was a prince, and going to the battlefield was a way for him to gain prestige. He didn't need to personally fight on the battlefield; he could stay in the rear.
It is evident that Yinzhi's own request to go to the front lines to fight the enemy left a very good impression on the princes.
Emperor Kangxi was also very pleased, feeling as if his son had grown up.
Nalan Mingzhu was also present, smiling like everyone else, but inwardly he was very happy. The eldest prince did a good job; he truly deserved to be the emperor's eldest son.
In early July, the imperial court dispatched 100,000 troops, adopting a strategy of divided advance and combined attack. Prince Yu, Fuquan, was appointed as the General of Pacification and led the left flank, while Prince Gong, Changning, was appointed as the General of Anbei and led the right flank, launching attacks from Gubeikou and Xifengkou respectively. The generals of Shengjing and Jilin were also ordered to send troops westward to coordinate with the main force.
Emperor Kangxi personally led troops to Boluohetun to supervise the army, while Prince Gong advanced to Ujumqin. The Qing army was short of food and supplies and was in dire straits. They encountered the Dzungar army, suffered a defeat, and retreated south.
When the news reached the capital, it was discovered that the Ministry of Revenue's reserves had already been taken away with the army in early July, leaving the granaries completely empty.
Upon learning of this news, the Crown Prince summoned officials from the Ministry of Revenue and cabinet ministers in the capital.
The final decision was to transfer grain from local areas, starting with the granaries in Shuntian Prefecture and Baoding. However, Minister of Revenue Ke Erkun informed the Crown Prince that the reserves in these two places were not even enough for the army's daily needs.
Songgotu assisted His Highness the Crown Prince in overseeing the state. As close advisors to the Emperor, everyone knew how much importance the Emperor attached to this matter. Moreover, the Crown Prince's ability to handle it well not only earned him the Emperor's approval but also demonstrated his competence.
The ministers will also look at the Crown Prince with new respect, after all, the 16-year-old Crown Prince is not yet married, and without marriage, he is not considered an adult.
After the ministers left, Songgotu and the Crown Prince were still discussing countermeasures.
At the Irgen Gioro residence, the First Princess's husband, Amar Korkun, was quite cheerful. After exchanging words with his eldest son in the study for a while, they each returned to their respective wives' quarters.
Emperor Kangxi had wanted to eliminate Galdan for many years, and Korkun, the Minister of Revenue and a close advisor to Kangxi, was certainly aware of this.
The Irgen Gioro family also started stockpiling grain three years ago. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, they did not buy grain from outside and used all their own grain.
Speaking of this, Korkun is proud. His eldest son passed the imperial examination at the age of 23, and he did so through the real examination. Very few Manchus passed the imperial examination, but there were quite a few martial arts scholars and martial arts graduates.
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