Chapter 132: The beloved son Kangxi was used to going on tours. He did not...
Kangxi was used to going on tours. He was not an emperor used to sitting in the Forbidden City. Every few years, he would go out for a walk, take a look, or go on a southern tour, or inspect the fortifications of the Yongding River, or go to Rehe and other places to meet with Mongolian princes.
He had been to Guihua City before when he personally led an expedition against Galdan. It was just a small city. At that time, the only decent places there were a few Lama temples and a few scattered shops. The rest were large tracts of grassland for raising cattle and sheep. There was nothing special about it.
Counting the years, he had not set foot in that area for almost nine or ten years since he pacified Galdan.
According to memorials from several parties, Guihua is doing very well now, more prosperous than before, with many businesses gathering here, and it is quite like Zhangjiakou. We might as well go and take a look to see if what they say is true.
The Mongolian princes and nobles of Khalkha in the northern desert can be met at this opportunity to build some ties with them and take a look at the fourth princess whom they haven't seen for a long time.
It won't work this year. I've already decided to go on a southern tour, and there's not enough time. The area has just been hit by a snowstorm, and it will take several months to recover. So I'll go next year.
Kangxi thought about it and asked someone to record the preparations for the inspection of Guihua area. He wrote a letter to the fourth princess, encouraging her and telling her about the preparations for Guihua next year, leaving her some time to prepare for the reception.
After writing this in Manchu, he remembered the fourth princess's daughter, who was probably three years old. So he added a sentence at the end, asking if the little princess was okay.
After putting down the imperial brush, the eunuch who served him with pen and ink carefully put the letter away, and when the ink was slightly dry, he put it in a box.
The chief eunuch Liang Jiugong let the imperial teahouse staff in at the right time and brought a white porcelain Sancai cup of Biluochun. The weather was getting warmer, and this kind of tea was more refreshing.
Kangxi took the tea and took a sip, then he thought of the Fourth Princess and the Little Princess, and naturally thought of the Fourth Princess's childhood.
He could not remember what the fourth girl looked like when she was little. When there were many children, it was hard to remember such a quiet and inconspicuous child. It seemed that she had grown up without anyone noticing. She was quite worry-free.
Kangxi put down the teacup and stopped thinking about it. He picked up another memorial and continued to review it.
As the day of the southern tour approached, the affairs of the palace were arranged, and the eldest and third princes were asked to look after some errands and write back in time.
Emperor Kangxi only brought Crown Prince Yinreng and the 13th Prince Yinxiang with him on this southern tour. Before leaving the palace, Kangxi specially summoned the 13th Prince.
Among the young princes, the Thirteenth Prince was his favorite. He was born with a handsome appearance, was good at writing and poetry, was skilled in riding and shooting, and always hit the target. He was also reliable in handling affairs.
Such talents can make good assistants in the future.
Emperor Kangxi sat cross-legged and looked at the Thirteenth Prince who was paying his respects with a smile.
"Okay, sit down. Are you getting along well with Zhao Jia?"
The Thirteenth Prince had just gotten married, and his first wife was Zhaojia, the daughter of the Minister of War, Ma'erhan, appointed by Kangxi.
When the 13th prince heard Kangxi ask this, he smiled and said, "My father, the wife is beautiful and intelligent, and we are in perfect harmony."
"That's good." Kangxi said, "Zhaojia's father, Maerhan, is a capable man. When you have free time, you can interact more with the Yue family."
The Thirteenth Prince agreed with a smile.
Kangxi knew what he meant. Malhan was a capable man who had accompanied Soetu on diplomatic missions to Russia and made outstanding achievements. His family had had many contacts with Soetu's confidants.
Although Khan Ama executed Soetu, for the sake of the prince, the other ministers and clansmen who were close to Soetu were not implicated. Now that this marriage was arranged, he could take the opportunity to build friendships with these people, which could also be regarded as consolidating the prince's power.
After a few words of casual conversation, Kangxi mentioned the southern tour: "You are smart and alert. Please pay more attention to the prince during the southern tour. He is proud by nature. The officials in the south may be impatient when speaking, so you will have to explain things to him."
"Please rest assured, Khan Ama, I will definitely keep an eye on my second brother." The Thirteenth Prince said, "Besides, my second brother has grown up a lot now. When he goes out, everyone will praise his good manners."
Kangxi laughed and said, "That's good. I was always worried that he would be depressed because of that criminal."
The Thirteenth Prince also laughed: "That's all in the past. In Second Brother's heart, no matter who it is, no one can surpass Khan Ama."
Is it really over?
When passing through Dezhou during the southern tour, the Thirteenth Prince, who was accompanying the Crown Prince, glanced at the Crown Prince's face and felt a pang in his heart.
The prince pursed his lips tightly, looking obviously unhappy.
A year before Soetu was purged, it was also here that the crown prince became seriously ill and unable to walk, so Kangxi returned to the palace and sent Soetu here to take care of him.
Who would have thought that it would be the last tender moment.
The prince suddenly lowered the curtain of the sedan chair and snorted coldly: "This weather is really terrible."
The Thirteenth Prince, who was sitting in the sedan chair, didn't dare to breathe, and echoed perfunctorily: "It is a bit gloomy."
After a moment of silence, the prince continued, "I still don't understand. He was in such a hurry to see me that he rode his horse to the middle gate. Is that such a big mistake? He was obviously worried about me!"
The Thirteenth Prince frowned and looked bitter. "Stop talking, please stop talking, my second brother." People were standing around the sedan chair, and Khan Ama was still in front!
But he kept saying, "Yinxiang, have you figured it out? Tell me what the reason is."
The Thirteenth Prince could only bite the bullet and said softly, "Maybe I was too anxious, but I broke the rules after all."
He pretended to be busy and opened the curtain of the sedan chair: "Hey, is it raining?"
When thunder sounded, it really started to rain.
The imperial guards on horseback came to the sedan chair and announced, "Your Majesty has seen that it is raining and is worried that the Crown Prince will get wet, so he has ordered us to stay in front and ask the Crown Prince to come over later."
There happened to be a long pavilion on a high place facing the river in front, which was surrounded inside and outside and served as a place for the emperor to rest temporarily.
As soon as the prince walked into the pavilion, Kangxi asked with concern: "Did you get wet in the rain? Are your boots wet? Ask them to change them for you. I have already ordered them to cook ginger soup. You can have a big bowl of it later to dispel the cold and avoid getting sick."
Hearing Khan Ama's words, the prince's anger disappeared immediately. He just walked over and held out his boots for him to see: "It seems to be a little wet, but it's okay. Khan Ama, you didn't get wet, did you?"
"It didn't get wet, Baocheng, don't worry." Kangxi replied with a smile.
The continuous rain curtain fell on the eaves of the pavilion, stirring up a layer of smoke.
"When you were little, about four or five years old, you were very afraid of rain and thunder at night. At that time, I always took you to sleep with me." Kangxi said while looking at the rain.
The prince said, "Yes, I remember."
"In the blink of an eye, you have grown up so big. Rain and thunder can't scare you anymore." Kangxi turned his head to look at him. "You have grown up, but I have white hair. I always hope that you can grow up quickly and share my worries."
The prince smiled, but in his heart he was thinking, if he really grew up and could completely relieve Khan Ama's worries, wouldn't he be worried? Not necessarily.
He then just lowered his head and said, "This is my wish as well."
Kangxi said: "During the Khalkha disaster, the fourth princess handled it properly and won the hearts of the people. She is very responsible, willing to take responsibility, handled it properly, and knew the priorities..."
Then he gave examples of several specific countermeasures used by the four princesses.
As the prince listened, he gradually became anxious.
What does this mean? Instead of saying that she handled the disaster properly, isn't she bringing up old matters and making veiled accusations that his previous response to the imperial court when the river flooded was inappropriate?
"You are the crown prince, and none of your brothers and sisters can surpass you, so you should do things better." After speaking for a while, Kangxi said earnestly, "You can learn from the fourth girl's ideas. When there are similar things in the future and you are asked for advice in the court, you can answer beautifully and let everyone know that you have such strategies. After all, as the crown prince, you have to set an example. This is for your own good."
Over the years, the prince would subconsciously feel irritated whenever he heard the words "for your own good".
"I understand." The prince said, "Before you asked me to learn martial arts and archery from my elder brother, and now I want to learn from the princess who married out, so I will learn everything. Anyway, I should be proficient in everything. I promise not to embarrass you."
Kangxi's face darkened: "We were talking in a nice way, why are you speaking so harshly?"
The Thirteenth Prince behind him gently pulled the Prince's sleeve. But the Prince slapped him back and scolded him, "Stop pulling and tugging."
The force was so great that the Thirteenth Prince staggered.
The prince looked at Kangxi and said, "It's nothing special. I just want to learn from you. I think the rain has eased a little. I'm worried that you might get squeezed. I'll go to the front and take a look."
Having said that, he walked out on his own.
Kangxi was furious and anxious, and turned around and scolded the eunuchs: "You are dead people, can't you follow me with an umbrella?"
The eunuchs were so frightened that they immediately picked up their umbrellas and ran after him to hold an umbrella for the prince.
Before Kangxi had time to curse, the Thirteenth Prince immediately took an umbrella and walked out: "Khan Ama, I'm going to see my second brother."
Then slip away immediately.
…… ……
There was a lot of mist and rain during the southern tour, but it was sunny in Guihua City.
The frozen ground gradually melted, and the cattle and sheep were driven by the shepherds to chase the new tender grass.
Muxue visited the Khalkha territory along the post road, inquired in detail about the losses in each banner along the way, and supervised the distribution of disaster relief food and wages to each banner.
The heavy snow during the winter did bring some losses to Mobei. Fortunately, the damage was dealt with promptly and properly, and the losses were still within controllable range, not as serious as the severe snow disasters in the past, which caused "eight or nine out of ten sheep, horses and camels died" and "less than nine tents of bannermen survived."
After finishing her busy work and returning to the princess's mansion, she received news that the Emperor was planning to tour the country next year.
Mu Xue started to have a headache again. When a big leader came to inspect, the local authorities would definitely have to go through a lot of preparations.
She carefully read the letter from Kangxi, and when she saw him asking whether she and the little princess were well, she curled the corners of her mouth.
In fact, they should be touched that Emperor Kangxi, who was busy with all kinds of affairs, still took the time to ask them if they were well.
But... she didn't feel anything special.
Maybe it’s because I didn’t have it when I needed it, and I don’t need it now.
She looked at the letter, slightly distracted.
He stretched out a small hand and quickly grabbed the letter paper.
"The letter paper is broken, which makes mother unhappy." Little Princess stretched out her hand to Muxue, "Okay, Sasa, mother will hug you."
The little girl, whose hair had just grown, had her soft hair tied into two small tufts on her forehead. She looked at her with bright eyes and wanted to be hugged.
Mu Xue's heart softened.
She bent down slightly, picked up the little princess, and her nose was filled with a faint scent of milk.
"Okay, mommy, give me a hug, and let's take off."
She probably bounced the little princess up, and she immediately laughed and hugged her neck tightly: "I missed you so much."
"I miss you too, baby." Mu Xue kissed her little face.
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