The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 224 What Use Are You?

On the way to Rehe, Yinyou only brought Nian Guanyin.

Because the fourth child brought Nian Haitang with him, and Nian Haitang said that she was very lonely and didn’t even have anyone to talk to.

Before going to Rehe this time, Kangxi specifically ordered that the princes and nobles under his command must ride horses.

On the contrary, the accompanying Han officials were allowed to ride in cars.

Yinyou was in a very bad situation. His daily clothes had three layers inside and three layers outside. Not only was it very sweaty, but he had to wear them.

On the imperial road, the huge team stirred up yellow sand, which was flying all over the sky.

As a result, Yinyou's nose and mouth were full of sand.

Fortunately, Yinyou was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, and clean water for rinsing mouth and washing face was always available.

There are ten palaces on the way from the capital to Rehe, and the journey takes a full ten days.

After arriving at the Rehe Palace, the cool breeze from the valley made me feel refreshed all over!

After arriving in Rehe, the first thing Kangxi did was not to summon the Mongolian princes, but to send a stone of new rice seeds to Li Xu and ordered Li Xu to try double-season continuous cropping in Suzhou.

As we all know, there are Kangxi's experimental fields on the west side of Changchun Garden and in Fengze Garden in the Forbidden City.

In an agriculture-based society, good rice seeds that can increase production are the lifeline that determines the survival of the Qing Dynasty.

Kangxi had taught this truth to his princes and ministers more than once.

Yinyou, who had always been by Kangxi's side, knew the whole process of Kangxi's discovery of the imperial rice seeds in detail.

In June five years ago, in the experimental field of Fengze Garden, as the rice had just begun to ear, Kangxi went to observe the situation.

As a result, Kangxi suddenly found a rice plant that was taller than the others and had full seeds, so he collected it as seeds.

After several years of hard experimentation, Emperor Kangxi personally cultivated a new rice variety called "Imperial Rice".

This imperial rice is slightly red in color and has long grains, a fragrant aroma and rich flavor. It has a short growing period and is suitable for growing in the north.

As the saying goes, if Suzhou and Lake Tai are prosperous, the whole world will be prosperous.

Kangxi decided to promote and trial planting in Suzhou in the south of the Yangtze River.

As the saying goes, without agriculture there is no stability.

In any case, as long as grain production can be increased, the common people and cattle and horses will suffer less hunger. Cattle and horses can barely fill their stomachs and will not become refugees.

At the end of the pre-Ming Dynasty, there was a severe famine throughout the country, which led to an uprising of refugees and was one of the main reasons for the collapse of the Ming Dynasty.

After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, it fully learned the profound lessons of the previous Ming Dynasty.

During the years when Yinyou was in power, Kangxi exempted taxes and levies in disaster-stricken areas as many as eight times, benefiting more than a hundred counties.

Working in the palace is actually no different from working in Changchun Garden.

There was no morning court session. Kangxi would sleep with his beautiful wife every day until he woke up naturally.

As for Yinyou, he still shared a duty room with Zhang Tingyu.

Zhang Tingyu was busy writing the summary, while Yinyou took the small seal with "Got it" and stamped it on the greeting letter one by one.

In fact, it was only when Zhang Tingyu wrote the summary that he truly mastered the power of the prime minister.

However, Yinyou was very content. He was in charge of the guards in front of the emperor, the Imperial Household Department in the palace, and the Infantry Yamen in the capital. His power was already enormous.

If Kangxi allowed Yinyou to participate in handling military and national affairs, Yinyou's actual power would far exceed that of the deposed crown prince.

Generally speaking, the ministers in front of the emperor were required to sit on duty near the main gate of the imperial palace, waiting to introduce important officials to Kangxi.

After all, Yinyou was different. He could sit in the duty room with peace of mind, drinking tea and handling the affairs in front of the emperor.

There were so many letters of greeting that Yinyou was getting annoyed. Wei Zhu came in and announced that the former Shangshu Wang Hongxu had arrived, and Kangxi ordered Yinyou to introduce him personally.

When the crown prince was deposed, Wang Hongxu, a Han minister, jumped up and down to help the eighth prince become the crown prince.

If a more powerful ruler had taken power, all of Wang Hongxu's family would have been killed long ago.

Kangxi did not kill Wang Hongxu, but simply dismissed him from office and sent him back to his hometown.

Who would have thought that Wang Hongxu had a big trick up his sleeve and came to Rehe to meet Kangxi with hundreds of volumes of the revised "History of Ming Dynasty".

It was the early summer of the 53rd year of Kangxi's reign when "History of Ming Dynasty" was officially completed. Kangxi was naturally very happy.

Yinyou naturally guessed what Wang Hongxu was thinking. Wasn't he hoping to make a comeback by taking advantage of the opportunity of completing the "History of Ming Dynasty"?
Some people read a lot of books, but they don’t understand the general trend.

Kangxi was becoming increasingly disgusted with the growing strength of the Eighth Prince's party.

Wang Hongxu chose this critical juncture to regain power. Would Kangxi agree?
Seeing Yinyou personally come out to introduce him, Wang Hongxu was overjoyed. He quickly bowed to the ground and said very humbly: "I am the retired old Wang Hongxu, meeting Prince Yu!"

"Get up." Yinyou and Wang Hongxu had no friendship and were in a hostile state, so it was natural that he would not give him a good look.

Yinyou led Wang Hongxu into Kangxi's inner study.

As soon as he entered the room, Wang Hongxu knelt down, prostrated himself on the ground, and said in a trembling voice: "It is the great honor of this old minister to see the emperor again!"

Yinyou sneered secretly. In order to get an official position, Wang Hongxu even gave up his reputation.

After all, Yinyou was not a censor, and they were in the imperial palace. If the rules were enforced too strictly, everyone would feel uncomfortable.

Therefore, Yinyu did not scold Wang Hongxu harshly, accusing him of being disrespectful in front of the emperor. "Your son Yinyu, respectfully wishes the emperor good health."

"Let's get up."

Wang Hongxu had already retired and had no power, so even if he was rude, Kangxi would not care too much.

Yinyou was still young and wanted to continue to be in power for a few decades, so naturally he had to be courteous.

"The history of Ming Dynasty is very well compiled..." Kangxi praised Wang Hongxu with a smile on his face.

Wang Hongxu was very happy at first, but after listening for a long time, he did not hear the result he wanted.

Yinyou, who was standing aside, secretly found it funny. Not killing you was already a good deed for your ancestors. And yet you still want to get out and continue to be a high-ranking official?

After praising the history of the Ming Dynasty, Kangxi changed the subject and began to ask in detail about the rice varieties and per-acre yield in Huating County.

Because the Wang brothers were high-ranking officials, it was very convenient for them to take advantage of the disaster to carry out land annexation. It is said that the Wang family owned tens of thousands of acres of fertile land.

"This..." Wang Hongxu was so anxious that he was sweating. He was good at reading and repairing books, but he knew nothing about farming.

Kangxi could not help but frown and said coldly: "My Qing Dynasty is based on agriculture. You only know how to compile history, what's the use of that?"

Developing agricultural production is the foundation for the Qing Dynasty to maintain its rule. What's the use of someone who can only edit books?

This is a very vicious statement, almost the same as Qianlong's calling Ji Yun a jester!

Wang Hongxu realized something was wrong and quickly knelt down to apologize.

Kangxi waved his hand and sighed, "Kneel down!" and gently let Wang Hongxu go.

On the way to lead Wang Hongxu out, Yinyou thought to himself, if the fourth prince was still in power, Wang Hongxu would have been imprisoned and tried for his crimes!
In the afternoon, Zhao Hongxie, the governor of Zhili, came to Rehe to meet Kangxi.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, there was only a Governor of Zhili but no Governor-General of Zhili, and the scope of their powers was almost identical.

Zhao Hongxie is the second son of Zhao Liangdong, a famous general in Hexi. Since he became an official, he has never left Zhili and is considered a well-known local tyrant in the capital.

"I, the governor of Zhili, Zhao Hongxie, respectfully wish you the best!"

"Stand up." Kangxi trusted Zhao Hongxie very much, so his attitude was naturally gentle. "Come here, please give me a seat and serve me tea!"

Yinyou was still standing, and Zhao Hongxie was not stupid, so how could he dare to act rashly?

Zhao Hongxie tried his best to refuse, but Yinyu saw Kangxi's true intention and took the initiative to interrupt and said, "Zhao Zhongcheng, Khan Ama often praises you as a loyal minister. Khan Ama asked you to sit down, so you should sit down. Why say more?"

"Liang Gong, please sit down, have some tea to moisten your throat, and we will talk slowly." After Kangxi said this, Zhao Hongxie leaned forward and sat on the brocade stool.

It is worth mentioning that Zhao Hongxie’s courtesy name is also Lianggong.

However, Zhao Lianggong's fate was more than ten times worse than Nian Lianggong's.
After discussing the government affairs of Zhili, Kangxi said with emotion: "Your father had unparalleled military achievements, but unfortunately, he was too upright in character. I am old now, and thinking about the past, I feel quite sorry for Xihua."

Zhao Liangdong, whose courtesy name was Qingzhi and pseudonym was Xihua, was the first hero in the capture of Kunming. Emperor Kangxi generally called him Zhao Xihua.

Zhao Hongxie quickly knelt down, prostrated himself, and said, "If it weren't for the emperor's kindness, how could my family have the honor we have today?"

It was also a coincidence that Yinyou knew the background of this matter.

Zhao Liangdong is good at fighting, but he doesn't understand the ways of the world and often offends people.

Among Zhao Liangdong's superiors, except Zhang Yong, he has no good relationship with any of them.

Moreover, when Zhao Liangdong met Emperor Kangxi several times, he always complained to him, which made Kangxi dislike his nagging and stubbornness.

However, to be honest, Zhao Liangdong's being idle did not affect Kangxi's reliance on his sons at all.

Among Zhao Liangdong's five sons, Zhao Hongxie and his brother Zhao Hongcan were both powerful provincial governors.

At the end of the meeting, Kangxi gave Zhao Hongxie several bottles of wine and a good horse.

When Yinwei returned to the villa, he heard that Nian Haitang had come and was talking with Nian Guanyin.

Yinyou couldn't help but purse his lips and smile. Since Nian Haitang was here, the fourth brother would definitely follow after finishing his official duties.

"Wulin, tell the kitchen to prepare two tables of excellent food."

"Whoo."

When it was getting dark, as expected, the fourth brother really came with Su Peisheng.

However, unexpectedly, the Thirteenth Brother was actually dressed in eunuch’s clothes and followed the Fourth Brother in.

In the inner study, after Yinyu dismissed all outsiders, he deliberately lowered his voice and said, "Rehe is surrounded by spies. I'm afraid it's not appropriate, right?"

The fourth brother smiled and said nothing.

The Thirteenth Brother, however, lay down in a chair without a care, spread his arms and legs, and then explained: "It is precisely because of the danger that I want to mix with the Fourth Brother's team."

Yinyou understood as soon as he heard it, because Kangxi was in the palace, the entire area around Rehe was under martial law.

"The Wanshou Festival is coming soon. I heard that the eighth brother prepared two Saker Falcons." The fourth brother was also worried that there might be eavesdroppers, so he only revealed a little.

How could Yinyou not understand that the fourth brother was planning to take advantage of the eighth brother's gift!

"The Thirteenth Brother will be responsible for the secret actions, and you will assist from the side. Is that okay?" The Fourth Brother looked at Yinyou confidently. This good brother had never let him down.

The fourth brother has made the decision, and the thirteenth brother has also arrived. How could Yinyou have any opinion?
"Everything is up to your command, Fourth Brother!" Yinyou was both a minister in front of the emperor and the temporary governor of Rehe. If he did not cooperate, the Thirteenth Prince would not be able to kill the eagle sent by the Eighth Prince.

(End of this chapter)