A country full of loopholes
By the time the emperor returned to Beijing, it was already late October, and the weather had grown quite cold. The various furs and other items he had brought back were perfect for gifts and awards. Actually, it was a bit late to give these things away at this time of year if they were urgently needed to keep warm. The more affluent families in Beijing had already begun buying winter clothing for their entire families in the fall, and now they were all starting to put them on.
Shujia distributed the gifts and sent additional portions south to several of Yinreng's teachers. When Xiong Cilü and the others were in Beijing, they were too close and overly attentive, often giving the impression of utilitarianism. Now that they were retired, they felt less apprehensive about providing more support. Even if others knew about it, it would be on good terms, so Shujia didn't hesitate to let them know.
After returning to the palace, the rules of gender discrimination gave Shujia some time to go home and rest as usual, and she went to Ningshou Palace again with full energy.
In Ningshou Palace, the Empress Dowager was delighted that her family was reunited. The old lady looked at the Crown Princess, dressed in a brand new scarlet brocade jacket embroidered with multicolored argenté fur. Her sleeves revealed a pair of slender white hands, adorned with gold bracelets, two or three jewel-encrusted gold rings on her fingers, and earrings adorned with oriental pearls. She wore a rather elaborate headpiece, a small row of tassels dangling from the opening of her headpiece across her smooth, round forehead. She looked truly dignified and dazzling.
The Empress Dowager was a person who could not hold back on her words. She was visually stimulated and immediately spoke out the point: "You look much younger this way! I can't believe I'm going to show you my daughter-in-law right now."
Shujia greeted everyone and smiled as she sat opposite the Empress Dowager: "Grandma, Hongxi's wife has been chosen. She is Gegentana (of the Wulianghai Zilmo clan) from the Third Princess's family."
If someone else had said that, the Empress Dowager might have been mocking the Crown Princess for pretending to be young even though she was about to marry her son-in-law. However, since it came from the Empress Dowager's mouth, she took it as a compliment. Listen to the Empress Dowager and let it go. Don't worry about it.
One must not get too carried away; once relaxed, problems arise. If it were someone else, the Crown Princess would have already reacted. The Empress Dowager had said "that's it," but Hongxi's legitimate wife had already been chosen, so it certainly wasn't Hongxi she was referring to.
As expected, the Empress Dowager said to Concubine Tong very proudly, "Look, she couldn't guess it." After showing off, she revealed the answer to Shujia, "Hongxi has a wife, and you can't forget Hongdan!"
Concubine Tong smiled bitterly. How could you blurt out what the emperor had just said when he paid his respects? That's right, you're looking for a wife for the crown prince. That's the crown princess' daughter-in-law, so you have to tell her. What's the big deal that you've already said the key points in your first sentence?
Seeing Shujia's surprised expression, Concubine Tong felt extremely sympathetic: "It must be very hard to pretend to be frightened by the Empress Dowager in front of her?" Hongxi's marriage was obviously settled, and it was Hongdan's turn. How could he not have thought of it?
Shujia hadn't expected that his son was only in junior high school, and had started school very early. Dating was considered puppy love, so was he already planning to get married?
Originally, there was no rush. It was true that Hongdan's marriage should be on Kangxi's agenda, but it wasn't urgent enough to mention it today. However, while chatting with the Empress Dowager, this old lady, who was fond of going off on a tangent, went from Princess Duanjing to Gegentana, from Gegentana to Hongxi, and from Hongxi's marriage to how the emperor's grandchildren were all grown up, and now it was Hongdan's turn.
Kangxi quickly stopped talking and said, "Please pay more attention. If there are any children you like, please call them over to take a look."
The Empress Dowager took notice.
Concubine Tong tried to smooth things over, saying, "Grandfather, the Crown Princess has just returned. Please ask her to catch her breath first."
Shujia was filled with emotion. From the time she first met the old lady to the time they were finally arranged to marry, it had taken her more than five or six years. Now, was it her turn to worry about her son? He was still a child.
Hearing Concubine Tong's words, Shujia said, "That's right, Grandpa, this matter is not urgent today. I haven't seen you for several months, don't you miss me? And you mention that kid Hongdan again."
The Empress Dowager was somewhat unable to handle such a complicated situation. Her first sentence was to comfort the Crown Princess: "I miss you too." The next sentence was to explain the situation: "Don't I care about Hongdan as much as the Emperor does?" She still couldn't let go of Hongdan's affairs: "Hongdan is not a child anymore..." In fact, she really wanted to gossip about Hongdan's affairs.
The concubines smiled knowingly and came forward to smooth things over.
The Empress Dowager was disturbed by this and forgot her previous confusion. She asked with a smile, "It's more comfortable outside. Does Hongxi want to see his wife?"
Living like the Empress Dowager was a blessing. While the Empress Dowager was enjoying herself, the concubines from the palace arrived. After greeting each other and quickly taking their seats, the Empress Dowager forgot about Hongxi's topic and began to care about the Fourteenth Concubine, who was pregnant.
The Fourteenth Concubine's due date was December, and this year, the Fourteenth Prince had traveled without her, leaving her to rest and nurture her pregnancy in the capital. Shujia hadn't seen her for a while and inquired about her with concern. Wherever the Empress Dowager and the Crown Princess were, there were always other people around. The Crown Princess noticed that the Tenth Concubine's belly was bulging, and asked how she was doing.
For a moment, Ningshou Palace was extremely lively.
In this lively scene, compared to the Empress Dowager's carefree attitude, the hearts of the people in the room were in turmoil.
Shujia was absolutely paramount in her son's future marriage. Kangxi's standards for a daughter-in-law couldn't be ugly or have an awkward personality—they were pretty good, right? And the most important rule was absolutely no close-kin marriage! This was a particularly perplexing question for the Manchu clans, as eight out of ten had intermarried into the imperial family. Five generations of direct descent and three generations of collateral descent—that's what the marriage law stipulated, right?
The Crown Princess didn't consider her own family at all, so others subconsciously thought: Is there anyone suitable on my side?
This wasn't because the concubines were overly ambitious; it was simply a subconscious thought. It's like buying a lottery ticket. Looking at one or more tickets about to be cashed, and the announcement of the draw, do you think, "I wish I could win!" Then comes a rational analysis of the possibility and feasibility.
The wives came a little later and were unaware of the situation.
This meeting between three generations of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law continued in this way until dinner time, when everyone left one after another.
——————————————————————————————————————————
If there is one thing that Shujia finds most appealing about coming back this time, it is that she can reconnect with her sons.
This time, the Crown Princess returned to the palace and encountered another tear-jerking scene - little Hongzhao showed his mother a confused look, and after a while of reaction, he called out softly: "Mother~"
Shujia sat on the kang, holding Hongzao in her arms, Hongchen in one arm, and Honggui in the other, trying to forget that she had gone to school and acted more and more like a handsome boy, circling around her mother. Hongtong had been out for a while and was in a good mood. He put on his brotherly style and reached out to grab Honggui's collar and pulled him back: "Where are your manners? Come here and stand still!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Hong Dan said, "Have you two had enough of the trouble?!"
It’s so lively.
Shujia finally calmed her sons down. After all four of them, except for the two younger ones, lined up, she said, "Finally, everyone's back."
The Crown Prince, who had been watching from the sidelines since the Crown Princess returned, finally spoke up: "Yes, they're back. They have to go to school tomorrow. After dinner, they should review their lessons."
As they spoke, Zhao Guoshi and the others had already summarized the situation of the Crown Prince and his wife in the past few months since they left the capital. There was no emergency, so they would report it after dinner. None of them were major events, just trivial family matters, except that the family had become a little richer.
Yinreng listened for a while but didn't hear anything interesting. He waved his hand and said, "It's really peaceful. Peace is good!"
"Why are you sighing again?"
"You don't understand, there are so many troubles up there. If there's no peace in this family, we won't be able to live."
"When there are many people, there are many things to do. With so many people in the world, it is normal to have many things to do."
Yinreng waved his hands and said: "Severe drought, poor harvest, famine, people gathering in the mountains, Miao people causing chaos, corruption... I want to kill people." After saying this, he made a gesture.
Shujia glanced at him and said, "What's the point of being so anxious? Khan Ama knows what's going on, right?"
Yinreng curled his lips. "Yes, I have an idea." He was playing it safe. He said, rather unkindly, that he had a certain air of old age. So much for his comments.
Shujia raised her eyebrows and said, "I'm going to Ningshou Palace today. According to the Empress Dowager, I have to start worrying about Hongdan's important affairs."
Yinreng's attention was drawn to this: "I know about this too. I was right next to you when you mentioned it earlier. We're not in a rush about this. Hongdan is still young after all. Our relationship took a while to develop."
"Then—let's see first?"
Yinreng also meant the same thing. Unless the candidate was too intolerable, he would have no choice but to accept it: "Don't tell Hongdan about this for now. As for others - I think that Khan Ama just mentioned it casually today, and the news has already spread throughout the capital. It doesn't matter whether it is said or not, so there is no need to spread it around."
"Okay. By the way, I've been so busy since I got engaged that I haven't had time to talk to Hongxi. I don't think he's that enthusiastic about his cousin. It's not okay for the relationship to cool before we even start living together."
Yinreng didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You really care about your wife."
"That's right. I'm doing well, and I want everyone else to be comfortable too."
Hongxi was brought in just like that. In the Duanyi Palace, Shujia did not sit in the main hall, but sat on the kang on the south edge of the east side room, while Hongxi sat on a chair on the ground floor.
Hongxi was confused by Shujia's words: "Don't you like Gegentana very much?" Let me clarify, he doesn't know the name of his future wife yet.
Even the Crown Princess didn't know about it at first. When she returned from Jiangnan, she met her niece and casually asked for her name. At that time, Gegentana hadn't yet confirmed that she was her daughter-in-law, so she couldn't go around saying the girl's name. Even though she was about to burst out laughing at the name - Gegentana is Mongolian, which means "bright pearl" - she had to keep it to herself.
After Gegentana pointed Hongxi to her, the imperial carriage left. Shujia was surrounded by all kinds of people and couldn't find a chance to introduce Hongxi to her alone. Of course, this was also because Hongxi was not her biological son. If it was Hongdan, she might have been unable to sleep in the middle of the night and brought her son over to introduce him.
Shujia immediately added, "She is Princess Duanjing's daughter, your future wife."
Hongxi was a little embarrassed. He was too well-read to admit that he didn't think she was pretty enough, so his liking for her was discounted. He hesitated for a while before using the theory of a gentleman to prevaricate, finally saying, "Marry a virtuous woman and treat her with respect."
Shujia gave him an unceremonious look, since Yinreng couldn't see anyway! "Nonsense! A wife is equal to you! She is one with you, so she is your guest?"
"...My son hasn't seen her much yet, and doesn't know her well enough to say whether he likes her or not."
"Whatever kind of wife you want, you will have her - as long as you teach her well." Shujia paused, "If you want a wife you like, it depends on you."
Hongxi thought to himself, I’ve already given you a not-so-cute one, how can I still like her?
"Princess Duanjing wants a well-behaved daughter. She teaches her. I've seen that Gegentana is doing a good job as a daughter. I want a sensible daughter-in-law. I'll teach her. I think I can do it. If you want a satisfactory daughter-in-law, you have to do it yourself. If you praise her, she will be happy, and your family will be harmonious in the future. If you neglect her, she will become dull, and you won't have to complain about the ambiguity in your family in the future. Do you understand?"
Hongxi felt a little dizzy and blinked several times. He said reflexively, "My son understands the lesson." Then he began to think about the reason behind it a little slowly, but he was still confused.
Shujia thought to herself, "You little thing, at least half of this is because the girl isn't pretty enough." She said tactfully, "I don't mean to lecture you about this. It's just a mother-son conversation. It's like planting flowers; you have to cultivate them. Even the best flowers and trees will wither in a few days if you don't water and fertilize them. Ordinary flowers and plants, with careful care, will flourish, even with lovely green leaves. Treat her the way you want your wife to be treated. You're the original couple, destined to spend your lives together. Give it a try."
Hong Xi agreed with hesitation, but he was still wondering: If I treat her nicely, will she become more pleasing to me?
——————————————————————————————————————————
Shujia could only do so much. Even when Hongxi was young, because Li Jiashi had to take care of Hongyang, Shujia took care of Hongxi more, and Hongxi was willing to be closer to his mother. Regarding her biological son's marriage, there was only so much a mother could say.
The rest depends on fate. The Crown Princess will start to participate in the Crown Prince's selection of a wife.
From the third day on, Ningshou Palace was unusually bustling. The next day, Kangxi paid his respects to the Empress Dowager again. After a few private conversations between mother and son, Kangxi and the imperial court departed for Changchun Garden on the third day to conduct business, leaving the palace to the old lady and her group of women to toss and turn.
The Empress Dowager had experience in this matter and did not publicly announce it, saying that she was going to do something. She just said that it was the New Year and everyone in the palace was busy, so no one was there to play with her. So she went to find someone outside the palace to play with her and cheer her up.
Whenever a prince was about to get married, this was the usual procedure, and the powerful officials in the capital had long understood it. Wasn't this just the old lady looking for a bride for her grandson? Huh? No! Even the Seventeenth Prince had a wife, and the Empress Dowager no longer had any grandsons about to get married.
I slapped my forehead! How could I have forgotten about the biggest fish in ten years?! The crown prince is almost here.
The air in the capital began to surge.
Because of her experience, the Queen Mother only calls a few girls at a time, and they are not shown consecutively. There are also some options in the middle to confuse the audience.
The noble ladies in the capital were flipping through their little notebooks. On the first day, there were Tong Guowei's granddaughter Longkodo's daughter Tong Jia, Alinga's great-niece Qingfu's daughter Niuhulu, and Ma Sika's granddaughter and niece of the Twelfth Concubine Fu Cha.
A few days later, the Crown Princess was diagnosed with pregnancy. Mrs. Shi's wife, Xiluo Te, came to see her daughter. Seeing that she was happy, the Empress Dowager asked her to bring her granddaughter to talk.
Then, girls of similar age, such as the niece of the Third Lady and the great-niece of Empress Renxiao, were allowed to enter the palace.
Everyone scratched their heads, unable to figure out who would ultimately be chosen. Some, considering their own family circumstances, aspired to the position of future empress. More pragmatically, the emperor's grandchildren were already grown up, and the crown prince's younger brother was only two years younger. Furthermore, the children of the imperial families in the capital were almost grown up. These were all good targets.
But they didn't know that the most anxious person was the Crown Princess.
When Shujia heard the Empress Dowager say she wanted to summon the Shi family's daughters, her face instantly turned pale. Inbreeding resulted in no deformities, but plenty of infertility. The Empress Dowager and Shunzhi were close relatives, yet they had no children; her aunt, Consort Jing, was also a close relative of Shunzhi, yet they also had no children; and Kangxi and the two Tong sisters were close relatives, yet they both had only one child, and it died shortly after birth.
If they really wanted to have a relative's child to live with their son, and if they couldn't produce one, the concubine would have to bear the child. How would she deal with that? One Uriankhai Zilmo was enough to give her a headache. That child was a political tragedy. Shujia didn't want another one like that.
As for Hongxi's marriage, she didn't need to fight tooth and nail to stop it. To be frank, after all, they were not her biological children, and there was still a difference between them and her biological children, especially when doing something risky.
Yinreng was just as he was about to have another child when Shujia asked him, "I've seen a few girls recently. They're all pretty and have good personalities," and she listed each of their families. "What do you think?"
Yinreng raised an eyebrow. Did Shujia want to choose her daughter-in-law herself? Did the Shi family have a suitable girl? Well, I haven't heard of any outstanding women among the Hesheli clan.
"Then go and talk to him! Let's talk about it first..." Shujia didn't care anymore and walked forward to pull Yinzhi's sleeve, acting like a rogue.
Yinreng pulled out his other arm, raised his index finger, and placed it on Shujia's lips: "I remember that Fu Dali and Qingde both had daughters?" This was not good. Two generations of empresses in one family only happened during the reigns of Taizong and Shizu. Times are different now!
Shujia was anxious and tilted her head: "How can this be possible?!" Before Yinreng could say anything, Shujia quickly added, "Everything else is fine, but there is one thing: don't choose from relatives."
Yinreng was a little surprised, but also very relieved: "In my opinion, I would rather marry your niece, but it depends on what Khan Ama thinks."
Shujia was relieved, but Yinreng was unsure? That was good.
Shujia was satisfied that her son would not marry a close relative, and Yinreng was satisfied that his wife was sensible. Yinreng thought for a moment and then repeated his speculation: "It can't be Mongolia. They have enough grace there." As the crown prince, the future emperor, he understood this very well.
"The remaining ones are just a few families," Shujia continued. If they weren't from the Mongolian or Shi families, their blood relationship wouldn't be that close. There was no point in being too particular at this point.
Yinreng looked at Shujia seriously, making sure that she had no dissatisfaction with him for not agreeing to marry her niece: "It's still too early for the next big selection, don't waste your energy, you are still healthy. It's not us who are anxious about this, it's them." His sons are all crown princes, and in a sense, it doesn't matter whose daughter he marries.
Shujia thought about it and agreed. She was too nervous when she first heard the news and didn't understand the situation clearly. Yinreng, on the other hand, understood it first. She smiled and said, "Alright, tomorrow is the hundredth day of Fourth Brother's wife's son, so I'll go to her place and relax for a day. Remember," she reached out and tapped Yinreng's nose, "Khan Amashu has no intention of sending Fudali's maid over. If there's any sign of that, you must stop her! Absolutely."
"I know."
————————————————————————————————————————
Yinreng, however, had no chance to do this yet, as he and Kangxi still had to deal with the various messes in the government. Yinreng had complained to Shujia several times about the bad times, famines, banditry, and so on, but that was just general talk. The actual situation was much worse than that.
The most vexing issue is the economy, which is linked to politics and public security. On one side, there is widespread misery, while on the other, there is excessive gluttony.
The Crown Princess, with her sharp time traveler wit, privately told the Crown Prince: "Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were too hungry; Yang Jian and Li Yuan were too full."
A thin layer of sweat broke out on Hongdan's back: "Mother, who are Chen Sheng and Wu Guang? Hong Miao? You overestimate them." Fortunately, due to the special system, the probability of infighting among the ruling class is pitifully small.
The sharp-tongued princess was silenced for a moment: "I know who you are talking about, right? I can only recite..." The gift list and the network of relationships among wealthy families, she used her unique skill of twisting the subject, "Do you really want to turn Song Jiang into Chen Sheng or Wu Guang before you worry?" Classmate Song Jiang was recruited.
Hongdan was quite clear-headed. Even his father couldn't have such a conversation. He quietly ran to the study and drew circles on the paper with a pen, making the paper black with circles. "My mother is the most annoying thing. She always finishes her sentences halfway."
Hongdan’s mother: I only know the first half. The lowest level of officials I know is the inspector general, because they bribe our family every year.
The day after their conversation, Kangxi, with a flourish of his pen, first exempted taxes for twenty-one affected counties, then for another fifteen. Subsequently, he exempted taxes for many more affected areas. Hongdan breathed a sigh of relief. The Qing Dynasty wasn't the tyrannical Qin Dynasty. Nothing was wrong! The Red Miao and the bandits, they only numbered a few hundred or so. If we wiped them out now, next year's harvest would improve, and people's living standards would rise, so naturally, no one would turn to thieves.
Then he followed his father and grandfather to play in the newly built garden of his fourth uncle with peace of mind.
It was not until the next day when a spring thunder struck that Taisun began to take more seriously the reality that he was about to take over a mess - but that is a story for later.
Now, the ones who need to worry are mainly Kangxi and Yinreng.
The Crown Princess attended the 100th-day banquet for the Fourth Lady's son, and was once again treated as a distinguished guest. This time, however, the Fourth Lady's respect for the Crown Princess was tinged with warmth and gratitude. Originally, after Honghui's death, she had thought that life would be over, as she was the legitimate wife. After some persuasion, she refocused her goals, and now, with the current situation, her mood has naturally changed.
The sisters-in-law chatted and laughed among themselves. Soon, the wife of Prince Jian arrived, followed by Shuyi, adding to the excitement. Everyone looked at the little prince once, saying many auspicious words and giving him many goodies. Among the wives, Cao Jiashi's face was exceptionally bright, almost glowing, and she looked at the baby with a particularly gentle expression.
When there are many women, there are many things to say. The Third Lady said, "Look at how much the Ping Wang family likes children."
Ning Hui was a bit concerned about Cao Jiashi: "Who among us doesn't like children?" She then said to Cao Jiashi, "Try harder and have one too."
Cao Jia said shyly, "I already have one."
What good news! It was the baby’s hundredth day, and the news spread like wildfire.
Within a day or two, Kangxi knew everything - Nersu looked like a silly father, and Kangxi couldn't help asking, and Nersu told him proudly.
Kangxi smiled as he dismissed Nersu, his expression now etched with worry. He opened Cao Yin's letter of greeting and, with urgency, instructed: "Fill the deficit quickly!" Earlier this year, Kangxi had returned from Jiangnan to find the situation dire. A while ago, Cao Yin had come to Beijing to pay his respects, and Kangxi had asked Cao Yin and Li Xu to report their deficits. Cao Yin reported 1.9 million taels. Kangxi thought, Zhang Lin, a contraband salt seller, could manage over 1.6 million taels. You... I've given you a lucrative position as an official salt dealer, so this should be okay, right?
Your daughter is doing well, you should do well too! If you keep doing this, I won't be able to protect you.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince, reminded of Cao Yin by this news, asked Qingde for details: "Enough of the small talk. I just want to get a clear idea. What's the situation with the Third Weaving Factory?"
Qingde went to check it out despite himself, and his expression looked a little strange when he reported the accounts to Yinreng.
"What exactly happened?" Yinreng just wanted a result.
Qingde said, "Sun Wencheng is not a bad guy. As for Cao and Li, I really don't know what they are thinking! The salt administration is also full of tricks, and they dare to take over!"
Then he spoke on Yinreng's behalf, "They're probably really senile. He's capable of doing errands for the Emperor, but he's a complete mess when it comes to money..." His expression grew even more bizarre. "Cao Yin, oddly enough, is indeed respectful in his duties and has some skills. But his skills aren't about money. Whenever he's on a errand involving money, even if he doesn't run into a loss, he can't pay a penny."
Cao Yin once applied to purchase copper bars for minting coins, but the profit was small. The weaving industry was in deficit. The salt administration is still in deficit.
It's weird.
"And Li Xu. Cao Yin was at least respectful, but as for Li Xu... I won't gossip about him. After all, they are the emperor's men."
"I know." Yinreng sighed. From now on, I just need to tell them not to touch my money! Damn! I have to give my father face!
The Supreme Father and his son, though their hearts were bitter as the bitter yellow lotus, still celebrated the New Year with joy. With the Mongol tribes coming to pay tribute, the imperial court could not lose its composure.
The princesses came, of course. However, after several months of deliberation, upon arriving in Beijing, they heard that the imperial harem was repeatedly visiting Manchu women, and that the Crown Princess was forbidding her niece from interfering. They calmed down, believing the Big Boss had no such intentions. If they truly wanted their daughters to live well, they might as well visit the various royal palaces in the capital, or perhaps the Crown Prince's other sons.
The daughter of the Shi family was not considered, but to avoid public complaints, the Crown Princess now had to appease her family: "Mother, this is what I mean. We can't take all the good things for ourselves."
Xiluo Te couldn't understand it, but since her husband and daughter had spoken, she could only say, "Your father meant the same thing. I don't quite understand it, but it's nothing..."
"You'll know later."
Seeing her daughter pretending to be mysterious, Xiluo sighed and looked at Shujia softly: "You have grown up." Since her daughter and her husband have reached an agreement, it shows that the idea is right, so she will... say nothing.
"Mother, is it true that the third girl is pregnant?"
Xiluo Te smiled and said, "She finally made it. Uh, don't just focus on her. You also have to be careful here. There are a lot of things to do right now. Don't tire yourself out..."
Shujia listened with a smile: "Don't worry, mother. I won't be on a southern tour next year. I won't worry about anything until the baby is born."
——————————————————————————————————————————
The Crown Princess did not worry, but her son made his heart tremble with worry in the spring of the 47th year of Kangxi's reign.
The 47th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign was an uneasy year. At the beginning of spring, an antisocial case known as the "Dalanshan Case" surfaced.
You may not be familiar with the Dalanshan Case, but what if we change the name to "Prince Zhu San Case"? In the first month of the lunar year, someone openly claimed to be the remnant of the previous dynasty, and Emperor Kangxi was almost mad to death.
"The great Chu rises, Chen Sheng is king" Chen Sheng and Wu Guang came out? Hong Dan's face turned pale.
"Bang!" The old man was pounding the table.
"That Prince Zhu San died during the time of the previous emperor!" Kangxi said this with certainty, and because he was in the Palace of Heavenly Purity with his grandson standing next to him, what he said was particularly violent. When the Qing army entered the pass, they talked about holding a funeral for Chongzhen while beheading Chongzhen's son. Later, they marched south and killed all the princes of Lu and Gui.
So the old man concluded: "You didn't even pick a living person when you pretended to be dead! And you still want to fool me!"
“When a nation’s people begin to reminisce about past rulers, it’s not necessarily because the former rulers were good, but rather because the current rulers are terrible and people no longer want to be associated with them.” — The Crown Princess pondered silently.
The author has something to say:
During the more than 40 years of Kangxi's reign, the actual situation of the country had become quite bad. No wonder the Fourth Master had to be tough despite the pressure before taking office.
Seriously speaking, the salt administration that Cao and Li inherited was also a burden. The administration itself was flawed, but the two men's abilities were also quite limited. In the 50th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, after Cao Yin's death, Emperor Kangxi ordered Li Chenchang to cover Cao Yin's deficits in the salt administration. Li Chenchang fulfilled his mission perfectly, and was rewarded by Emperor Kangxi with two more years of concurrent salt administration.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
