43. Chapter 43
"none"
The Crown Prince was inherently intelligent, having received the finest education since childhood, raised as a crown prince. Not only within the Forbidden City, but even across the world, he was considered exceptional.
If he were to build and manage the school, he would definitely be able to do it in an orderly manner.
However, the schools he built and managed were no different from Jingshan Official School and other famous academies.
It's completely different from what Qi You wants.
What the prince thought about was his own political achievements, just like Kangxi, to maintain the country and ensure its prosperity for generations to come.
What Qi You wants is to broaden people's knowledge, promote the comprehensive development of various science and technology, agriculture, and medicine, and improve the status of women.
In any society, if only men’s voices are heard and only men appear before the world, the so-called prosperous times are all nonsense.
How can we talk about progress if we can’t even do the most basic things?
This is the huge difference and distinction between the two people's ways of thinking. There is more than an insurmountable chasm between them.
Regarding the prince's idea, Qi You decided to keep his troops in place and wait and see what would happen.
Kangxi was still lost in thought when the eldest prince jumped out first. He glanced at the crown prince, his mouth almost curled up, and stepped forward and said, "Khan Ama, I plan to use all the money to build a school. I also want to build a management school."
The Crown Prince had long anticipated the eldest prince's actions, but he hadn't expected him to be so direct, jumping out in a furious counter-offensive. His face fell, and he said coldly, "I appreciate your kindness, brother. But the academy is different from other places. If you want to find a job as a teacher here, teaching people horseback riding, archery, and bowmanship, I'm not bad at it."
The eldest prince was stunned for a moment, realizing that the prince was indirectly criticizing him for his poor academic performance and calling him a mere brute who could only ride a horse and draw a bow. He clenched his fists in anger, stepped forward, and approached the prince, angrily demanding, "My Lord, what do you mean by that?"
The prince looked disdainful and asked calmly, "Brother, are you going to beat me up?"
Seeing the prince's aggressiveness, the eldest prince clenched his fists even tighter, his face flushed and he shouted angrily: "You!..."
Kangxi, who had been watching them expressionlessly, slammed the imperial desk and shouted, "Shut up, you bastards!"
The Crown Prince and the eldest prince came to their senses, quickly separated, and knelt down to apologize: "Khan Ama, please calm down, Khan Ama, please calm down!"
Qi You followed slowly and knelt beside him, looking at his nose and his heart, in silence.
Kangxi felt a tightness in his chest and closed his eyes weakly. After a while, he said in a deep voice, "Both of you, get out of here and stay in your room to reflect on your mistakes. When you have reflected well, you can come out again. You don't need to go to the Cining Palace to pay your respects later, and don't come out during the New Year or other festivals, so as not to upset your elders and embarrass yourself in front of the world!"
He looked up at Qi You, was slightly stunned, and said in a softer tone: "Seventh Brother, go back and change your clothes and tidy up. Look at your dusty and shabby appearance. It's unfilial to make the elders worry!"
The Crown Prince and the eldest prince hung their heads and responded sullenly. Qi You was scolded for being implicated, but he laughed at himself and left as if nothing had happened.
After leaving the East Warm Pavilion, the eldest prince flicked his sleeves and walked away with a dark face. The prince stared at his back for a moment with a gloomy look in his eyes, snorted lightly, and turned to look at Qi You, who was walking silently at the end.
After gazing Qi You up and down for a moment, the Crown Prince forced a smile and said, "Seventh Brother, I'm sorry. I didn't tell you beforehand before rushing to tell Khan Ama about my plan to build a school in Shunyi. It's because your idea is so good. As soon as I heard it, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was so excited that I couldn't help myself."
Qi You smiled and said, "I can understand how the Crown Prince feels. It's all for the sake of the school."
The prince breathed a sigh of relief and walked forward with Qi You. After a moment, he asked hesitantly, "Are you really not angry?"
Qi You laughed and said, "Why should I be angry?"
Seeing Qi You acting calmly and showing no emotion, the Crown Prince was a little undecided. He said hesitantly, "Building the school was your idea, but I volunteered to tell Khan Ama about it. Plus, with Big Brother interfering like that, it seems like I've really taken the credit from you. Seventh Brother, I remember your kindness, and I know you're not a petty person. I don't want to see us become estranged. Even if you really don't care, I have to explain it to you."
Qi You still smiled and said, "Brother Crown Prince, I understand how you feel. I'm really fine."
Qi You didn't lie, he understood it very well.
What a balance in the court, what a scheming emperor has.
The ups and downs of the prince's maternal relative, Soetu, were enough to make the prince feel uneasy, panic-stricken and suspicious.
In order to stabilize the court, Kangxi promoted Soetu to compete with Mingzhu and prevented any one family from becoming dominant.
Even if the prince understood these principles and saw them clearly, he still needed strong willpower and a calm mind to face this matter.
The prince was just a teenager, with an older brother above him and a group of brothers who had sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, each of them as fierce as a wolf or a tiger. Kangxi was still in his prime.
Now the prince is still studying like his other brothers, and he has nothing to do with the affairs of state.
The prince was anxious and wanted to show off.
Although he understood it, Qi You would not approve of his approach.
The prince heaved a long sigh and kept looking at Qi You, his expression silent.
At this time, the eldest prince who rushed to the front stood outside the Qianqing Gate, looking at them with a gloomy expression, and shouted: "Seventh Brother, please walk faster, I have something to tell you."
Qi You thought it was really lively. He said "Oh" and replied, "I can't walk fast. Big brother, please wait a moment."
The prince's anger came out again, but he looked around and didn't flare up in the end, so he walked out with Qi You.
The eldest prince glanced at the prince and pulled Qi You forward, "Let's go, the prince wants to go back to Yuqing Palace. He is not on the same path as us."
Qi You turned around, pretending not to notice the redness on the prince's face, and said goodbye with a smile: "Brother Prince, I'm going back first."
The prince nodded reluctantly at him, then turned and strode away.
The eldest prince snorted, his voice filled with regret. "Seventh Brother, don't let yourself be deceived. In the end, you're sold out and still have to help count the silver. The school was your idea. We agreed to contribute money and build a brotherly school together. But now, look... You treat others as brothers, but they may not treat you as a brother."
Qi You smiled and asked curiously, "Brother, do you want to build a school too?"
The eldest prince was stunned for a moment, then stiffened his neck and said, "Of course I want to go. It's such a good job, who wouldn't want to go? It's just like going to war to gain military merit. Anyone who doesn't go is stupid."
Qi You smiled and said, "Brother, you are really honest. However, this is not an easy job. It is easier said than done. Teaching and educating people is never an easy task."
"Don't try to bluff me." The eldest prince glanced at Qi You and said disdainfully, "How difficult can this be? Looking at Khan Ama's thoughts, he obviously agrees with the idea of building a school. As long as Khan Ama takes the lead, the people below will definitely follow suit. Money, teachers, no one will be short of money. Besides, there's no need to do things yourself, just tell the people below to do it. As long as it's roughly right, it won't be too bad."
Qi You chuckled. The eldest prince was quite rough but also meticulous, just too impatient. The general idea was not wrong, but the details were wrong, and then a slight mistake would lead to a huge error.
The eldest prince saw Qi You smiling, glanced at him sideways, stepped forward and chuckled, "Besides, we have you. You are such a good military advisor. Anyone who doesn't use you would be a fool. Seventh brother, did the prince try to win you over earlier? You must explain it clearly to your brother. We have always been good brothers. Don't let him fool you."
Qi You was always smiling, exchanging pleasantries with the eldest prince, but never answering. When they reached his courtyard, he pulled Qi You along, repeatedly reminding him, "Seventh Brother, you must remember this. I am only doing this for your own good and will never harm you."
"Brother, it's cold outside, come in quickly, you are still under house arrest." Qi You heard too much and was a little annoyed, so he smiled and stabbed him.
The eldest prince was furious and raised his hand to hit Qi You, threatening him: "Hey, look at you, little rascal, I will deal with you when the time comes!"
Qi You waved to the eldest prince, turned around and left slowly.
Compared to the Crown Prince, the eldest prince didn't have as many burdens and pressures. Although he seemed a bit reckless, he was more determined to go all out and would not hesitate or hesitate.
Of course, Qi You would not agree with the eldest prince's idea. He would definitely not be able to do this well, and he did not want to be involved in the fight between the two.
No matter who goes to Shunyi between the eldest prince and the crown prince, no matter what his original intention is, he will be classified into the camp of the two by people with ulterior motives.
However, the eldest prince's intervention actually helped Qi You.
What the outcome will be depends on what Kangxi decides.
Qi You has only one principle in doing things: set your sights on the goal. Even if something goes wrong along the way, he will overcome the thorns and twists and turns and continue running towards the goal unswervingly.
That evening, Qi You went to the Cining Palace to pay his respects. He had prepared himself mentally beforehand, but when he saw her haggard and almost exhausted appearance, he was still secretly shocked.
Kangxi's face looked bad to begin with, and after entering the Cining Palace, it seemed even more gloomy.
He forced a smile, walked forward and sat sideways on the edge of the couch, chatting with the Grand Empress Dowager. He said to Qi You, "You've been gone for so long, you must have been so busy that you've probably forgotten your Mongolian language. Come and talk to your Ukuma more often when you have time, so you can pick up your Mongolian language again."
The Empress Dowager looked at Qi You kindly and said, "Seventh Brother is a good boy. He hasn't forgotten Mongolian. By the way, the Crown Prince and the eldest brother also went to Shunyi. Have they returned?"
Kangxi smiled and said, "They're back too. The brothers even brought half a pig, saying they wanted to give Mama some extra food. Although they're naughty, they're really filial. I'll have to have dinner at Mama's place tonight. They said the pickled cabbage and pork hotpot is delicious and warming. I'll have the kitchen prepare it soon. We don't want those noisy and gluttonous kids to come and make trouble, so the three of us can just have a warm meal."
The Empress Dowager laughed and said, "They are all good children, very filial. I will have to taste them later."
Qi You sat aside and saw Kangxi briefly bring up the matter of the Crown Prince and the eldest prince being punished. Looking at the gloom between his eyebrows and the forced smile on his face, he felt quite emotional.
Sometimes Kangxi was the father first, then the emperor. Sometimes he was the emperor first, then the father.
At present, he is just a grandson who is in the care of his parents.
Switching back and forth so much, he must have felt dizzy.
That evening, the Empress Dowager ate a few more bites than usual. Kangxi was delighted to see this. As he left, he walked down the alley with a smile on his face, repeatedly admonishing Qi You: "You usually don't come to pay your respects to me often in Shunyi. Now that you've returned to the palace, you must come more often. The New Year is almost here, so put all your worries and thoughts aside for now and show your filial piety as a younger generation."
Qi You followed the rules, but Kangxi glanced at him and asked, "I didn't let your uncle give you the cow you bought earlier. It's still being raised on the farm at Prince Yu's mansion. Tell me, what do you want to do with the cow?"
"It's the arable land. There is a lack of oxen for farming in the farm, so the land cannot be plowed thoroughly and the harvest is poor." Qi You answered honestly.
"No other ideas?" Kangxi asked with a snort, as if smiling.
Qi You answered frankly: "I followed my second uncle to the horse farm. Seeing how big the farm was, I thought it would be no problem to raise a few cows as well."
"You brat!" Kangxi glared at Qi You when he saw his self-righteous expression. "I told you that you were definitely thinking about more than just the cows. Your second uncle was so stupid that he couldn't figure out what you were up to. And you, on the other hand, are actually thinking about the horse farm."
Qi You took a step back and said, "I didn't ask for a horse farm. I just figured that raising horses is the same as raising cattle, so I might as well raise a few more cows as well. It's not a big deal. Khan Ama, don't you agree?"
Kangxi was speechless for a moment, then said impatiently, "It's up to you, it's up to you. It's just a few cows, and it won't take much fodder or effort."
Qi You took a step forward and said with a smile, "Khan Ama, this cow has nothing to do with Shangsiyuan."
Kangxi was stunned for a moment and cursed: "We only have a few cows, you are so rare!"
Qi You never tests human nature. He sets the rules before doing anything to avoid unnecessary hassles later.
He looked up at Kangxi, a smile plastered across his face, and said, "Khan Ama, of course I don't care about them. I treat them like treasures. Most importantly, they belong to my second uncle's cows. If anything goes wrong, I'll have to compensate him. I'll sign a contract with my second uncle to rent the cows, and I'll also sign a foster care contract with Shang Siyuan. Khan Ama, don't worry, I won't take advantage of Shang Siyuan. I'll grow my own fodder, and there will be someone to take care of the cows. I'm just borrowing the land."
Kangxi frowned, looked Qi You up and down, and said, "According to what you said, you still have to carve out a piece of land from the horse farm?"
Qi You smiled and replied, "Borrowing, yes, borrowing. After all, it's Khan Ama's land. Lending it to Shang Siyuan to raise horses is the same as lending it to me to raise cattle, right?"
Kangxi suddenly laughed and scolded, "Don't try to fool me. What do you mean by 'my land'? I'm lending it to Shangsiyuan. You're just trying to usurp my rightful place. Well, those cows of yours are nothing. If you want to raise them, go find more and raise them together. You won't have to worry about it. Let Shangsiyuan take care of them. If the common people want to use cows to plow the land, they can rent them from Shangsiyuan. Just use them sparingly and we won't charge them too much."
Qi You sighed deeply inwardly. He could imagine all the situations that would happen in the future.
Kangxi had good ideas and he was wholeheartedly thinking about the people.
However, no matter how deep his understanding of his court and officials was, he still had illusions.
In fact, Kangxi was more of an idealist than Qiyou. He hoped that his officials would be governed by virtue rather than by sound systems and laws.
Otherwise, the salaries of Qing officials would not be so ridiculously low.
Kangxi took a few steps forward, pondered for a moment, then turned to Qi You and asked, "The Crown Prince previously proposed going to Shunyi to supervise the school. What do you think of his idea?"
Qi You lowered his eyes, then looked up after a moment, staring directly at Kangxi with his clear eyes, and asked, "What do you think, Khan Ama?"
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