The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 177 The Second Deposed Crown Prince (3)

As soon as the fire broke out in the palace, Kangxi became alert. Could it be that someone had set the fire intentionally?

When the fire grew more and more intense and could not be put out, Kangxi understood everything: the prince had taken action first from a place he least expected.

First pour oil on the palace and burn it, then let the soldiers cause chaos. As long as Kangxi is killed, the prince will definitely win!
After Kangxi figured out the prince's conspiracy, he immediately sent his trusted guard to find Yinyou and asked him to control the army and not to act rashly to avoid chaos.

However, the fire in the palace spread from one palace to five palaces, and the guards who were sent out never returned.

Kangxi was also a smart man. The more chaotic the situation was, the more he could not leave the palace.

As an old emperor who had the ability to capture Oboi when he was just a teenager, Kangxi knew better than anyone that the prince deliberately set the fire in the hope that he would escape from the palace and then be killed halfway.

On the contrary, as long as the palace gates are closed tightly, Kangxi has a large number of guards and soldiers around him, so he can at least hold out for a while, right?

Just when people were in panic, Wulin, protected by twenty fully armed Sauron knights, reached the east gate of the palace.

When Kangxi learned about it, he was overjoyed and quickly ordered people to use a large basket to hang Wulin on the palace wall.

In a critical moment, the palace gates would never be opened without permission. Kangxi was an old conspirator and it was impossible for him not to understand such a simple truth.

"The chief eunuch of Yu Beile's Mansion, your servant Wu Lin, respectfully greets His Majesty!"

"Get up!"

Although the situation was obviously extremely critical, Kangxi still sat upright on the dragon throne in his neatly dressed hat and robes, without showing the slightest sign of panic.

"Tell me, what's the situation outside?" Kangxi asked Wulin indifferently while playing with Yinyou's unique red waist badge.

Wu Lin knelt on the ground, kowtowed heavily, and said calmly: "Your Majesty, our prince ordered me to report that he has taken control of the vanguard camp..."

Wulin, who was extremely eloquent, vividly described the entire process of Yinyou killing Chaluhai and his guards and taking control of the vanguard camp.

When Kangxi heard that Charhai and his guards were wearing armor and came out to greet Yinyou, was there anything he didn't understand?
Chalhai is really an ungrateful person who can never be tamed!

Who is loyal and who is treacherous between Charhai and Yinyou? This crucial judgment question tests Kangxi's political wisdom.

During the time of war and chaos, what if Yinyou had killed Chaerhai without authorization and committed treason?
However, Kangxi quickly rejected this ridiculous idea!
The reason is actually not complicated. Yinyou and the fourth brother were both lone ministers. Even if they joined forces to kill Kangxi, they would not be able to ascend the throne.

Because the power held by the crown prince, the eighth prince and the banner kings is far greater than that of the fourth prince + Yinyou.

If Yinyou wanted to raise an army to rebel, he had to kill Kangxi, the crown prince and the eighth brother at the same time, and then have a decisive battle with the banner owners and kings in the capital, before he would have a chance of winning.

This is too difficult, almost impossible!

More importantly, the fourth brother in Beijing is only monitoring the third brother who is the regent, and he has no military power!
As an emperor who schemed against people's hearts every day, Kangxi understood better than anyone that if Yinyou really had this ability, it would not be unfair even if he was hacked to death!

Did Yinyou rebel just to help others?
Based on Kangxi's understanding of Yinyou, it was obvious that the Fifteenth Prince was not that stupid!

"Wulin, why didn't the Fifteenth Prince lead his troops to protect the emperor?" Kangxi had basically determined that Yinyou was a loyal minister, but he still habitually questioned Wulin carefully.

"Your Majesty, our master said that he can only temporarily control the Vanguard Battalion and prevent it from moving. If he takes the initiative to lead the troops out of the camp to protect you, there may be unexpected disasters." Wu Lin touched his head and further explained, "Your Majesty, our master also said that he only has fifty guards, and it is a fluke that he can control the Vanguard Battalion. As for the Cavalry Battalion and the Guard Battalion, they are too far away to take care of them."

After careful consideration, Kangxi was able to conclude that Yinyou was still loyal to him.

Even a fool knows that when daybreak comes, it will be easy to distinguish between friend and foe.

By that time, as long as the news that Kangxi was still alive reached all the armies, the rebels would surely be defeated!

Even during the chaos of the Eight Kings Rebellion, Sima Zhong, the well-known fool emperor, still had enormous influence.

What’s more, what about Kangxi, who had been in power for more than 40 years?

"Hengchen, what do you think?" Kangxi turned and asked Zhang Tingyu.

Zhang Tingyu was extremely meticulous and always did things flawlessly, never making any mistakes.

Kangxi brought Zhang Tingyu with him to listen to Wu Lin's report with one purpose: to find any possible loopholes!
"Your Majesty, I believe that the most urgent task is to help the Fifteenth Prince gain full control of the Vanguard Camp. As long as the Vanguard Camp is stable, the entire situation will be clear!" Zhang Tingyu is worthy of being the first confidential secretary of the Qing Dynasty. As soon as he opened his mouth, he pointed out the most critical link.

Kangxi felt relieved and made up his mind immediately.

"Minister Heng, draft the decree."

Zhang Tingyu quickly knelt down in front of a small table beside him, picked up a pen, and drafted an edict according to Kangxi's wishes.

After reading it, Kangxi did not change a single word. He took out the small seal from his waist, dipped it in cinnabar, and stamped it himself.

"Mr. Heng, I will give you 500 guards to escort you to the vanguard camp."

As soon as Kangxi said this, Zhang Tingyu immediately reminded him in a low voice: "Your Majesty, you are the emperor of the world, and you must have a lot of entourage around you."

"Hengchen, as long as the vanguard camp is not in chaos, the Qing Dynasty will still be mine. You take five hundred guards with you. As long as you see Little Fifteen, I will be at ease."

Kangxi was not Sima Zhong. He asked Zhang Tingyu to lead people to the vanguard camp to provide military support to Yinyou. This was the biggest overall situation at the moment and more important than anything else!

So, under the leadership of Wu Lin, Zhang Tingyu, accompanied by 500 guards, rushed to the vanguard camp. "An order!" Zhang Tingyu shouted sternly after entering the big tent.

Oh, all the officers in the tent, who doesn’t know that Zhang Tingyu stays by the emperor’s side every day?
Zhang Tingyu's appearance immediately reassured the generals in the tent who were still loyal to Kangxi!
Long drought meets rain!
Just five words are enough to express the great joy of the officers for surviving a desperate situation!
Zhang Tingyu, who stood in the middle, slowly unfolded the edict in his hand and read aloud: "Imperial edict, the fifteenth son of the emperor, Prince Yinyu, is ordered to control all the Eight Banners and Green Camp troops in Zhili. I specially grant the Ebilun sword, and those who cause rebellion from the prince down can be beheaded first and reported later. This is the imperial decree!"

"Your son Yinyu, I accept your order and thank you!"

After receiving the imperial edict, Yinyu stood in front of the commander's chair and asked the generals coldly, "Will you obey my military order?"

"Master Fifteen, if you have any orders, we servants will obey them!"

The overall situation had been decided. Even though there were some of Chaerhai's confidants among the officers, they did not dare to jump out.

At this time, the tent was filled with a foul smell of blood, because the officer who was shot down had turned into a headless corpse, still lying in a pool of blood in the tent.

That’s right, Yinyou did it on purpose!
At this critical moment, anyone who stands in the way will be killed, even if it's Buddha who stands in the way!
Those who obey me will prosper, and those who defy me will die. I will not show the slightest mercy!

In fact, if the prince had killed Kangxi, with the help of the Crown Princess and Cuiqing to speak up for him, Yinyou would not have lost his position as Prince of Peace and Happiness.

Kangxi's caution and hesitation also showed that he understood this.

However, instead of sending troops to protect the emperor, Yinyou took the initiative to tell Kangxi that he planned to control the vanguard camp on the spot until the situation stabilized.

As long as he can hold out until dawn and distinguish between friend and foe, Kangxi will surely win!

Yinyu, who offered absolute loyalty, gained Kangxi's absolute trust!
As for the crown prince, he should have been deposed long ago!
As long as the crown prince is not deposed, there will be no possibility for the eighth and fourth brothers to love and hate each other!

The prerequisite for the Nine Dragons to fight for the throne is that the crown prince is deposed!

To be honest, if Yinyou really wanted to remain rich and prosperous and be a carefree prince, he could just stay in the mansion honestly. Why would he have to work so hard for the fourth prince?
In history, Yinyou, because he was the prince's brother-in-law, was sent to guard the mausoleum for several years after the fourth prince ascended the throne.

Because Yinyou really guarded the mausoleum honestly and did not dare to say or move anything rashly, and the fourth prince did not treat him badly and later promoted him to Prince Yu.

Compared with the tragic fate of the third, eighth and ninth brothers, Yinyou had a good end thanks to the mediation of the sixteenth brother.

But then again, why should Yinyou follow the fourth prince just for the so-called good end of dying in bed of old age?
Kangxi was indeed a shrewd emperor. He sent the five hundred guards brought by Zhang Tingyu to help Yinyou a lot.

These five hundred guards were all Yinyou’s former subordinates.

Yinyu immediately ordered: "Everyone, call your guards to the outside of the tent."

After the generals did as they were told, Yinyou gave a decisive order with the force of a mountain pressing down on one's head, replacing all the guards around the lieutenants and assistant commanders with the guards brought by Zhang Tingyu.

This step is particularly critical.

No matter how many soldiers you have, the personal guards around you are all my people.

If you do something wrong, my people will chop you into meat paste before you even start to cause trouble.

Let me ask you, are you afraid?
After leading troops twice, Yinyou had gained a lot of experience.

He knew better than anyone that the guards of the Eight Banners officers were equivalent to the servants kept by the former Ming generals.

As long as we transfer the guards away and replace them with guards sent by Kangxi, we will have grasped the bull by the nose!

"Pass on my military order, light a fire and cook immediately. After the meal, feed the horses, put on your armor and rest on the spot!" Yinyou gave the order without hesitation.

"Whoo!"

All the officers in the tent obeyed the order obediently.

Anyone who dares to disobey will be greeted by the corpse lying inside the tent!
Hehe, in front of Yinwei, they were like three-year-old children, being played around in his hands, with no room for resistance at all.

After daybreak, Yinyou, wearing heavy armor, rode on a Ferghana horse and gave cold lectures to his generals.

"Everyone, I promise in public that no one will be held accountable for past mistakes. All the warriors who fought to the death with me to suppress the rebellion, those with titles, will be awarded the hereditary title of the third-class light cavalry captain. Those without titles will be awarded the hereditary title of cloud cavalry captain. In addition, the assistant commander will be awarded 5,000 taels of silver, and the assistant commander will be awarded 3,000 taels of silver." Yinyu did not talk about loyalty to the Qing Dynasty or loyalty to the current emperor, but only talked about personal gains and losses. "It is not easy to live in the capital. After the rebellion is suppressed, I will report to the Khan and Ama one by one, and reward those who have made contributions, each person will be given a seat in the six courtyards."

The third-class light cavalry commander was the title inherited by He Zhongtang, and was the third rank.

A hereditary title means that it can be passed down from generation to generation.

You have to know that the commander present is only of the third rank.

"The servants swear to follow the Fifteenth Master to quell the rebellion until death!"

"Counterinsurgency!"

"Counterinsurgency!"

Yinyu firmly believed that if there was a big reward, there would be brave men.

Just by looking at the generals on the scene, waving their arms and shouting wildly like a wolf that had been hungry for five days, Yinyu knew that the army's morale could be mobilized!
PS: Today’s monthly tickets exceed 7000, so there will be three updates!

(End of this chapter)