The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 209 Rough Waves
At the Banquet for a Thousand Old Men, including those who died on the way, a total of eight people died.

The families of these eight people were all settled one by one by Yinyu's use of both soft and hard tactics.

Making Kangxi feel proud and leaving no regrets before his death is the biggest court event at the moment!

As for the eight retired officials who were tortured to death, compared with Kangxi's great joy, they are simply not worth mentioning!
Unlike the officials who have always lived a life of luxury, the sixty-year-old people among the people can withstand the ordeal and not a single one died!
In order to maintain the dignity of the current emperor, Yinwei did a lot of things silently, not only making the family of the deceased shut up, but also preventing bad rumors from spreading in the capital.

How could Kangxi not love such a loyal and filial son?
However, Yinyou's efforts really paid off hugely.

Kangxi did not treat Yinyu badly. The 100,000 mu of imperial farmland he awarded this time were all top-quality irrigated land that produced more than three shi of wheat per mu. Counting Kangxi's previous rewards, Yinyu was now one of the few major landlords and bureaucrats in the entire Qing Dynasty.

At the end of June, Yinyou had another younger brother. The 22nd Yinhu was born safely. His biological mother was the concubine Sehetu.

Kangxi boasted with great pride: "I am over sixty years old and can still have a child. How about you?"

The facts are there, and Yinyou really has nothing to say.

Kangxi truly had many children, but Yinyu only had two daughters and one bastard son, Xiao Fupeng.

When it comes to fertility, there is really no comparison between Kangxi and Yinyou, father and son!
Seeing Yinyou was a little sad, Kangxi couldn't bear it, so he comforted him: "I asked someone to read your fortune, and you will definitely have children."

The Eighth Prince asked the sorcerer Zhang Mingde to read his fortune and spread the news of Wang Shangjiabai everywhere, which made Kangxi extremely disgusted!

Now, Kangxi openly asked someone to read Yinyou's fortune, and he felt justified in doing so.

Alas, where in the Qing Dynasty is there no double standard?
Since Yinyou took charge of the Ministry of Personnel, all officials above the third rank were reported to Kangxi for disposal, and there has never been any suspicion of inserting personal connections!
What Kangxi was most satisfied with was that Yinyou, despite holding tremendous power, never took advantage of his favor to become arrogant, nor did he form a clique for personal gain.

"The position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War is vacant, why not let Turichen take it?" Kangxi asked Yinyou casually.

Yinyou knew that if Kangxi really wanted to use Turichen, he could just issue an edict directly. Why would he bother discussing it with him?

Although both the Vice Minister of the Lifanyuan and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War are second-rank officials, their power differs greatly.

"Khan Father, Turichen was suddenly promoted from a sixth-rank minor official to a minister, which is already a special favor." Yinyou declined Kangxi's "good intention" on behalf of Turichen with extraordinary humility.

"Then let him go to the Censorate!" Seeing that Yinyou wanted to speak, Kangxi raised his arm and said, "I know what I am doing. No need to say more."

"Call Zhang Tingyu!"

Kangxi summoned Zhang Tingyu and ordered, "Hengchen, draft the edict. Tulichen, act as the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate."

In the Qing Dynasty, the Left Censor-in-Chief and the Vice Minister of the Lifanyuan were both high-ranking officials of the second rank.

However, the assistant minister is only a deputy after all, while the Manchu Left Censor-in-Chief is the head of the Censorate. How can they be compared?

Yinyou was already a prince with a salary of five percent, owned more than 100,000 acres of imperial farmland, and was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and the Infantry Yamen. There really was no more reward for him!

If Kangxi was the cold-blooded Qianlong, Yinyou would have been suppressed on the pretext of something.

Although Kangxi was a hooligan and played double standards, he was not a cold-blooded animal after all and was still a very emotional emperor.

Yinyou was Kangxi's biological son, loyal and filial, so Kangxi really couldn't bear to treat him badly.

After promoting Turichen, Yinyou will definitely be proud!
After having dinner with Kangxi, Yinyou left Changchun Garden in a carriage.

Generally speaking, whenever Yinyu came to Changchun Garden, he would choose to bring both a carriage and a sedan chair.

When he was not in a hurry, Yinyou would sit in a sedan chair and go to do his work.

If it was an urgent matter, Yinyou would have no choice even if the carriage was bumpy.

The next day was a day off. When Yinyou was sleeping with his beautiful daughter, the sixteenth and eighteenth brothers came together.

Since his two younger brothers had come, Yinyou washed up, put on only a cotton jacket, and came out.

As soon as they met, Lao Shiliu said, "Brother, take us to see the world?"

Yinyu was stunned for a moment, looked at Lao Shiliu with suspicion, and asked him casually: "What kind of world have you seen?"

Old Sixteen smiled slyly and said, "A small singing class has just opened in Shaanxi Lane. It is said that all the girls there are pretty."

Yinyou understood instantly that the Sixteenth Prince had really grown up and even knew how to visit that kind of place!

To be honest, in the Qing Dynasty, if a man didn't visit that kind of place, he would be considered a country bumpkin.

Old Sixteen is already twenty years old, and has never been to a brothel. It's really a bit hard to understand.

However, Old Eighteen is only fifteen years old in appearance, but actually thirteen. Isn't it a little too early for him to embrace a beautiful prostitute?
When the Eighteenth Brother saw that Yinyou was staring at him, how could he not understand what Yinyou was thinking?

"Brother, I'm just going along to join in the fun. I'm definitely not going to really touch them." After Eighteenth Brother's explanation, Sixteenth Brother became unhappy.

"According to you, I'm just a worthless person?" Old Sixteen glared at Old Eighteen unhappily.

The Eighteenth Brother bowed and kowtowed, and finally managed to coax the Sixteenth Brother into submission.

Yinyou really didn’t like visiting brothels, but his younger brothers were grown up, so it was better to encourage them than to block them!
"I can take you there for a walk, but you are only allowed to meet clean prostitutes, not married prostitutes!" Yinyu was mainly worried that his younger brothers would hang out in such places too much and get infected with a serious disease, which would be fatal at a time when there was no penicillin.

In the late Qing Dynasty, Prince Gong's son Zaicheng often took Emperor Tongzhi to visit brothels. As a result, Emperor Tongzhi died at a young age due to the double attack of smallpox and syphilis.

For this reason, Prince Gong often insulted Zai Cheng in front of everyone: "Why don't you die?"

Who would have thought that after meeting a prostitute once, Lao Shiba secretly told Yinyou that it was just so-so and he didn't want to go again!
However, from then on, Old Sixteen fell in love with visiting brothels and enjoying picking up prostitutes!

As the saying goes, a son is no longer under the control of his father.

Now that his younger brother has grown up, it is not convenient for Yinyou, the eldest brother, to be too controlling.

Anyway, since the Sixteenth Prince only dated prostitutes, Yinyou just let him do it. It’s not like he doesn’t have the money, right?
As a prince, although he has a bad reputation, he can live a very comfortable life!

That day, not long after Yinyou returned home from work, Tulichen came.

"Master, I heard that Wang Zhongtang contacted some officials and planned to petition to reinstate the crown prince as the heir apparent!"

Tulichen now understands very well who is supporting him so that he can maintain his position in the court.

Wang Zhongtang, also known as Wang Fan, Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion and Minister of Rites.

Turichen had only been in the ranks of high-ranking officials for a short time, and he was not yet clear about Wang Fan's background.

However, Yinyou knew that without the recommendation of the imperial tutor Xiong Cili, Wang Fan would not have been able to climb so quickly and become the prince's teacher.

All Han officials with political foresight liked to send their students to the crown prince. For example, Xu Jie arranged for Zhang Juzheng to sneak into Prince Yu's mansion as a lecturer, which was a manifestation of his foresight.

Xiong Cilü originally thought that by taking advantage of the deposed crown prince, he could make a fortune and benefit his descendants for generations.

Who would have thought that the deposed prince was spoiled by Kangxi and would never achieve anything great.

However, since Wang Fan had once been the teacher of the deposed crown prince, it was impossible for him to switch sides and he could only go down this path to the end!

"Yao Pu, listen carefully. I am a lone minister, and you must also be a lone minister. Otherwise, there will be no good end."

When it comes to major issues of right and wrong, you must never take the wrong side!
Even though Kangxi looks like a kind father now, Yinwei's mind is unusually clear!
Yinyou always reminded himself that the crown prince, who was raised by Kangxi himself, could be deposed and reinstated repeatedly and even imprisoned until death, so what kind of person was he?

This person must know how many bowls of rice he can eat. Otherwise, he will be punished by God!

Tulichen bent his waist and whispered, "Master, I understand. So, they asked me to sign the petition, but I declined."

Yinyu nodded and warned, "Remember, you must not co-sign a memorial with anyone. If you want to say something, just submit a secret memorial alone. Even if you say something wrong, Khan Ama will not embarrass you for my sake."

This has been made very clear. If Tulichen still doesn't understand, Yinyu has no choice.

"Master, I have always been a loner and would never form a clique!" Turichen said this, obviously he really understood what Yinyou meant.

Yinyu smiled and said, "You are different now. Anyone else would think that the memorial you submit is from me. That is why you must tell me before you submit it, so that I can be prepared."

Although Yinyou said it lightly, he was warning Tulichen that he would be responsible for any memorials that the emperor did not approve.

Yaopu, if you don't listen to my advice and you really suffer a great loss, don't blame me for not protecting you.

"Master, even the Emperor knows that I am your disciple. How dare I not be careful with my words and actions?" Turichen's heart suddenly trembled, and he really took Yinwei's warning to heart.

Wang Xun ran around and contacted many people in order to restore the crown prince.

Yinyou just watched from the sidelines and remained neutral.

However, the fourth brother could no longer sit still, so he called him and the thirteenth brother to go to Prince Yong's mansion.

"Fourth brother, Fifteenth brother was born relatively late, so he may not know some of the inside stories. You and I have witnessed with our own eyes all the extraordinary things that happened when the deposed crown prince was once favored by the most powerful people!"

Old Thirteen stretched out his body, leaned back in his chair, and spread his legs wide open.

How could he look like a proper prince with the dignified demeanor he should have?
He looks just like a street thug!

Yinyou knew in his heart that the Thirteenth Prince was actually very bitter after being completely rejected by Kangxi, but he just pretended to be indifferent on the surface.

In the famous drama “Knowing Your Destiny”, Gu Tingye also did not receive his father’s love. Under the stimulation of rebellious psychology, he simply pretended to be a playboy!
Seeing the fourth brother turned his head to look at him, Yinyu said calmly: "Fourth brother, if Wang Fan persists in his wrongdoings, he will be punished by heaven!"

Noticing that the fourth prince was staring at him without blinking, Yinyu had no choice but to explain further: "Yinreng has been deposed and then deposed, and then re-instated. His reputation has long been in disgrace. How can he have the face to return to the East Palace? Back then, after Crown Prince Liu Rong was deposed, he was killed by Cang Ying Zhidu. Haha, how dare he do this without the Emperor Jing's permission?"

The fourth brother’s knowledge is much deeper than Yinyou’s. How could he not understand these principles?
But the problem is that those involved are often confused, while those who are not involved can see things clearly!

The fourth brother is more worried than anyone else that the prince will enter the East Palace again!

Unlike the Thirteenth Prince who had been hanging around in the barracks, Yinyou was with Kangxi almost every day, and he obviously understood Kangxi's thoughts better.

After listening to Yinyu's explanation, the fourth brother was finally relieved and said with a smile: "I told you, Yinreng's desire to return to the East Palace is pure wishful thinking!"

But the Thirteenth Prince said: "Just because Yinreng has no chance doesn't mean that others have no chance either!"

The smile on the fourth brother's face froze for a moment, then returned to normal.

In the past, the fourth and eighth brothers were close brothers.

Now, only one person can sit on the throne. The closer the relationship was in the past, the deeper the hatred is now!
Everyone can understand that the enemy stabs you in the back.

However, being stabbed in the back by your closest relatives is truly heart-wrenching!

Not to mention the fourth brother, Yinyou had similar experiences before, and more than once.

A few days later, Yinyou was helping Kangxi stamp the red seal of "I understand" when Wei Zhu suddenly ran into the duty room in a panic and called Zhang Tingyu away.

At noon, Yinyou was hungry and was eating steamed buns when Wulin came up to him and whispered, "Sir, Wang Xun's disciples were exiled to Ningguta and became slaves with the armored men. The one who drafted the decree was Zhang Hengchen."

Yinyu himself did not like socializing. However, it was common for Wulin and Xiaojinzi to wander around the garden with candies, snacks and loose silver in their pockets and chat with acquaintances.

Over time, Yinyou built a network of personal connections among the lower-level eunuchs and palace maids.

In the old drama "The Young Emperor", when the eunuchs received their monthly salary, they had to pay protection money to Wu Liangfu.

After Wu Liangfu received the protection fee, he swallowed all the money and did not really protect everyone.

However, Yinyou was different. He stayed by Kangxi's side all day long.

If the critical moment really came, he could save a life even if he cursed loudly.

The reality is that Yinyou became more and more aware of the situation in Changchun Garden.

Even the fourth brother couldn't imagine how smart he is!

Wang Xun's disciples were demoted to Ningguta, which was a very clear warning signal.

However, Wang Fan still did not give up, and actually went into battle personally to persuade Kangxi in person to reinstate Yinreng as the crown prince.

When Yinyou saw Wang Fan enter Qingxi Study, he knew something was wrong and hid away in advance.

When Wei Zhu came to find Yinyou according to the emperor's order, he only saw Zhang Tingyu who did not dare to hide.

Zhang Tingyu knew better than anyone that being called in by Kangxi at this critical juncture would definitely not be a good thing.

However, after Zhang Tingyu entered the room, he was shocked to see that Lao Ba was kneeling beside Wang Xun.

For a moment, Zhang Tingyu’s head seemed ten times bigger!
A stubborn Wang Xuan is troublesome enough. If Lao Ba gets involved, things will get even worse!
In fact, when Yinyou deliberately slipped away, Zhang Tingyu also wanted to slip away.

However, Zhang Tingyu just thought about it and did not dare to actually escape.

"Eighth prince, Wang Xun said that Yinreng has reformed and should be reinstated as the crown prince. What do you think?" When Kangxi asked this, Zhang Tingyu felt a chill down his spine.

Prince Yu, Prince Yu, you escaped just in time!
(End of this chapter)