The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 216 No Gambling, No Future

Nian Gengyao was a provincial governor promoted by Emperor Kangxi himself. Kangxi naturally knew that apart from his love of bragging, there was no problem with Nian Gengyao's ability to lead troops.

However, Kangxi had already heard about the close relationship between Nian Gengyao and the Eighth Prince.

Kangxi even knew that Yinyou looked down on Nian Gengyao and had beaten him severely.

In essence, Yinyou and Nian Gengyao were not in the same group.

Therefore, when Yinyou recommended Nian Gengyao as the commander-in-chief, Kangxi did not think that it was to win people's hearts, but to select talents for the country.

The bad thing about the Eighth King was that more than 90% of the banner kings and Manchu nobles supported him to be the new king.

Kangxi reigned for more than fifty years, and most of the trusted ministers he cultivated overlapped with the Eighth Prince's party.

But these people are truly the backbone of the Qing Dynasty!

If Kangxi doesn't use them, there will be no one available!
"His talent still needs to be honed." Kangxi rejected the possibility of Nian Gengyao serving as the General of Fuyuan without hesitation.

After Nian Gengyao left, Yinyu bowed and said, "I want to take my twentieth sister to my house to stay for a few days. Please allow me to do so."

The princesses of the Qing Dynasty had almost no other use except to comfort Mongolia.

Kangxi said nonchalantly: "I know you love your sister, OK!"

As long as Yinyou loves his sister, it doesn’t matter how much he loves her. It doesn’t matter in the overall situation and it’s harmless!
"The Sixteenth Prince is not young anymore. I plan to let him manage the Cavalry Battalion. What do you think?" Kangxi asked casually.

Yinyu's heart trembled, and he quickly found an excuse to decline, whispering: "My father, my sixteenth brother has never led troops before, and he is a lazy person. I am afraid he can't stand the constraints of the military camp. In my opinion, it is better to order him to assist me in managing Chongwenmen together."

The Chongwenmen Supervisory Office collected taxes from the capital and was in charge of money.

In the Qing Dynasty, any job that could make money could not touch the sensitive heart of Kangxi!
The Cavalry Battalion was in charge of the city gates, and its nature was completely different.

"You can't treat the Sixteenth Prince too unfairly, so let him assist you in handling the affairs of the Three Banners of the Bordered White Banner?" Kangxi said it was a discussion, but in fact it was a decision.

So far, Yinyu has indeed had a lot of part-time jobs. For example, he manages the Imperial Household Department, the Infantry Office, and the three banners of the Bordered White Banner, all of which are powerful jobs with real power.

Letting the Sixteenth Prince take a share from Yinyou's pot not only gives him something to do, but also does not increase Yinyou's power. It can be said to be the best of both worlds!
Since Yinyou did not form a clique and had made many contributions to protecting the emperor, Kangxi had great trust in him.

"Whoo!"

Since Kangxi was willing to promote the Sixteenth Prince, Yinyou was naturally happy to see it happen.

To be honest, having too many part-time jobs is not a good thing!

Human energy is always limited.

It is better to focus on one area than to manage too many things.

"The Sixteenth Prince is not young anymore, it's time for him to get married. Here, this is the list of candidates for concubines, take a look!" Kangxi pushed a piece of paper across the table in front of Yinyu.

Yinyu picked up the piece of paper and saw that the first candidate was actually the fifth daughter of Manchu Prime Minister Wenda.

The second one also came from a prominent family and was the daughter of the Minister of Rites, He Shuose.

The first four candidate women all came from prominent family backgrounds, so they were naturally ignored by Yinyou.

The fifth lady was named Guo Luoluo, and her father was a capable official of the third rank.

The so-called third-rank official rank is just an idle person who enjoys the treatment of a third-rank official!

"My father, the sixteenth brother does not have a strong maternal family, so he should marry a woman from a low-class family, so as not to suffer a big loss when there are family disputes. I think Nengte's daughter is a good match."

When Yinyou was talking about the Sixteenth Old Man, he was actually reminding Kangxi that the maternal family of his legitimate wife Cuiqing had completely collapsed.

In fact, there was no need for Yinyou to remind him. Kangxi knew that Cuiqing's parents' home, that is, the parents' home of the deposed Crown Princess, was already deserted.

The emperor's most important duty is to maintain a balance of power in the court and prevent one party from dominating.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, with the exception of the twelfth prince, most of the princes' wives came from ordinary families.

Even the Shi family, the maternal family of the deposed Crown Princess, is not considered a top-notch powerful family.

The maternal family of the deposed crown prince was already very powerful, and with the addition of an extremely domineering wife's family, Kangxi would not dare to close his eyes and sleep even when lying in bed.

Kangxi knew Ma Qi very well and knew that he was a supporter of the Eighth Prince, so he betrothed his daughter to the Twelfth Prince.

As Kangxi expected, even though his daughter married the twelfth son, Ma Qi still supported the eighth son.

How could the fundamental interests of the family change because of the son-in-law?

"As the saying goes, an elder brother is like a father. The marriage of the sixteenth prince will be decided by you, his elder brother." Kangxi went with the flow and agreed to Yinyou's proposal.

Yinyou found it funny. If Kangxi really wanted to marry Wenda's daughter to the Sixteenth Prince, he could just arrange the marriage directly. Why would he bother asking him?
However, Yinyu had long been accustomed to Kangxi's position of both power and position! After coming out of Qingxi Book House, Yinyu did not go to keep Zhang Tingyu company, but went to the old place and picked up the fishing rod.

Daring to fish in Changchun Garden is a manifestation of status and power!
Not long after, the first-class guard Nalasan came up to Yinyu and whispered, "Prince Yu, I have encountered a very difficult problem. I can only ask for your help."

Yinyou knew in his heart that Narasan was actually making up an excuse on purpose in order to gain favor with him.

In the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty, asking someone to do something for you actually had several meanings.

As the saying goes, the first time is strange, the second time is familiar, and the third time we are good friends.

When you ask someone to do something for you and they get you a big reward, that lets the person in a higher position see your value and lays a solid foundation for continued interaction.

When doing business in the capital, even if you are an ordinary bannerman, as long as you are willing to spend money and use three to five connections, you can find the person who has the final say.

Nalashan, whose surname was Yehenara, was very famous for his magic and was Suksaha, an important official in the Shunzhi Dynasty.

Suksaha was very fertile and had eight sons. Nalashan's father was the eighth son, Suihe.

Within Manchuria, because the total population was too small, under normal circumstances, the families of those who lost the struggle would at most be exiled to Ningguta, and their entire clan would not be killed.

Therefore, after Oboi killed Suksaha, he did not continue to kill his eight sons.

Suksaha was originally Dorgon's confidant, but after Dorgon fell to his death, he was the first to betray Dorgon. He was truly notorious.

Therefore, after Kangxi took power, he did not make use of Suksaha's sons.

Coincidentally, Nalashan also had eight sons. Except for the eldest son who became a third-class guard due to his favor, the other seven sons were idle at home, all relying on Nalashan's charity.

When Longkodo served as a first-class guard, he became rich in a short period of time. In addition to his ability to extort money, his biological father was Tong Guowei, the uncle of the current emperor.

Because his ancestor had a big stain, Nalashan had been keeping a low profile and did not dare to sell out information to the emperor in exchange for considerable benefits.

However, in the capital of the Qing Dynasty, all officials who lived on salaries were poor.

Objectively speaking, before the fourth emperor came up with the system of maintaining integrity through silver, officials were forced to use the power in their hands to reap huge benefits.

Of course, the anti-corruption money is not a panacea, and most officials are still corrupt.

The disadvantage is that the fourth brother only gave benefits but was unable to effectively supervise the officials and force them not to engage in corruption or bribery.

In the Qing Dynasty, even a small county magistrate, except for having no military power, was a local emperor who could do whatever he wanted and his power was completely unrestricted.

"Just be frank and tell me what you want me to do." Yinyu's hand did not leave the fishing rod.

"I, your humble servant, would like to ask Your Majesty Prince Yu to give a heads-up to the people at the Chongwenmen Supervisory Office and let my son take on the job of monitoring the wine." Narashan was absolutely right; his face was thicker than the walls of Chongwenmen.

Being in charge of wine was considered a very prestigious job within the Chongwenmen Supervisory Office.

Let’s put it this way, the assistant committee member who holds decision-making power has a regular income of about five thousand taels a year.

If you are in charge of wine, hehe, if your annual income is less than 30,000 taels, then you have been holding this position in vain.

"Old Na, aren't you afraid that others will impeach you for having secret communications with the prince?" Yinyou smiled slightly and asked a soul-searching question.

Yes, you, Narashan, were originally a first-class guard in front of the emperor, but your own son made a fortune under Yinyou. How could the Eighth Brother and the others remain indifferent when they knew about it?
Narashan bent his waist and said, "To be honest with you, Prince Yu, I still have seven sons and one daughter, and they are all unmarried. I am really too poor to bear it!"

Yinyu understood instantly that Nalashan was not after money at all, but wanted to stand in his team.

No matter how important money is, can it be more important than your brain?

If Kangxi heard the news of the friendship between Nalashan and Yinyou, he would definitely not have a good ending.

However, Yinyou also understood Nalashan's thoughts. Kangxi was already over sixty years old. How many years did he have left to live?

Xie Jin, a great talent in the former Ming Dynasty, was too smart. He was not afraid of being killed and clearly stood on the side of the prince.

Naturally, Yinyu would not treat Narasan, who had taken the initiative to surrender to him, badly.

Yinyu smiled and said, "If your son wants to make a fortune, why does he need to work in the office I manage? The Guangzhou Customs Supervisory Office is still short of an assistant committee member who is also in charge of the Thirteen Hongs. I wonder if your son is willing to go and take up the post outside?"

Narasan thought about it and realized that the current Guangzhou Customs Supervisor was Baosheng, the son of Kangxi's confidant He Shiheng, and Baosheng was a well-known lone minister of the emperor's party.

"Thank you, Prince Yu, for your grace!" Narasan was overjoyed. His son followed the emperor's own confidant to make a fortune without any worries. He really followed the right person!
"Get up, don't let outsiders see you!"

Yinyou couldn't help but smile slightly. As Kangxi's days of decline came, his former trusted ministers would inevitably gradually choose sides in order to continue the family's prosperity and wealth.

The emperor is getting old, and the wealth of his descendants is still undecided. Anyone who really understands will take the opportunity to take a gamble!
Anyway, if you don't gamble, you will have no future. If you lose the bet, you can only blame your bad luck!
PS: I got home at almost 4 o'clock, didn't sleep, and updated at 6 o'clock. Oh, I have to go to work soon.

(End of this chapter)