The swansong of the swansong

233 - Breaks the balance

Yinyou knew that European women of that era particularly disliked taking baths, and the only way they protected their teeth was to rinse their mouths with clean water. They could not afford expensive green salt.

Therefore, perfume and fans are must-have items for European aristocratic ladies.

You can't block out the unpleasant bad breath without covering your face with a fan!

However, don't laugh at foreigners.

According to what Concubine Mi let slip, when she was a child, she could only brush her teeth with clean water and willow twigs. Where did Wang Guozheng get so much money to buy green salt for cleaning teeth?

Personal hygiene is actually very easy to solve. In Yinyu's palace, there are many maids to serve, helping to brush teeth, scrub baths, and put scented tablets in mouth, so these are not a problem.

"Miss Henry, would you like to take a walk in the back garden together?" Yinyu took the initiative to invite her, which made Baron Henry extremely happy.

"Your Excellency Prince Yu, I'm honored..." Miss Henry smiled and stretched out her hand.

Under the gaze of Baron Henry, Yinyu took Miss Henry's hand and led her into the back garden.

When he arrived at Yinwei's territory, he gave orders without hesitation, asking Miss Henry to take care of her personal hygiene.

After several rounds of negotiations, Yinyu finally agreed to eight terms, giving the East India Company certain trade privileges in Guangzhou.

When Baron Henry left the capital, he returned with a full load. However, Miss Henry was not among his team returning south.

According to the agreement, Henry would have the chance to take her back next time when he came to the capital with steelmaking technicians, gunsmiths and artillerymen.

After all, it is rare to find a little foreign horse with a curvy figure that suits Yinyou's aesthetic taste!
Besides, the British at that time were very dishonest.

Keeping Miss Henry as a hostage can achieve multiple goals at one stroke.

As for a little girl, Yinyu was her first man. As long as he coaxed her patiently and was willing to spend money, Yinyu could get a lot of inside information about Europe from her.

In the future, even if Baron Henry broke the agreement, Yinyu would have the necessary backup plan.

Not long after Kangxi returned to Beijing, a major event occurred in the court: Manchu Prime Minister Wenda died!

Originally, there was a structure of two Manchus and two Han people in the cabinet.

Now, with Wenda's death, the old balance of the cabinet is about to be broken.

It is a fact known to everyone that Kangxi would definitely add a Manchu official to the cabinet.

As soon as Yinyou got off duty, he was called away by the fourth brother.

After the brothers met, the fourth brother looked at Yinyu deeply and said without hesitation: "Good brother, I want Ma Qi to return to the cabinet, you have to help me!"

Yinyou's eyes suddenly became clear. Ma Qi had indeed abandoned the eighth brother and secretly joined the fourth brother.

No wonder the fourth prince let Hongli marry Ma Qi’s niece, Fucha.

"Fourth brother, if I directly recommend Ma Qi, it will definitely not work. So, I can only help secretly. This way, the chances are much greater." For such a big thing, Yinyu could only support the fourth brother and could not oppose it.

However, I have to say something ugly first!
The fourth brother also knew that ever since the second dethronement of the crown prince, Kangxi had become extremely vigilant and would keep a close eye on anyone who had real power.

Moreover, based on the fourth brother's understanding of Kangxi, even if it was his recommendation, the result would definitely not be successful.

Oh, you actually reached into the cabinet, what do you want to do?
Kangxi must have had similar suspicions.

Even though the actual power of the cabinet is not as great as that in the early Ming Dynasty, it is, after all, a legitimate central government institution that cannot be coveted by anyone.

Thirteenth Brother, who had been sitting next to him without saying a word, suddenly whispered, "Fifteenth Brother, Fourth Brother means that it would be best if this matter can be done, but if it cannot be done, it is impossible to blame you. After all, the country belongs to the emperor now, and only he can make the decision."

Yinyu knew that the Thirteenth Prince was secretly protecting him with good intentions. However, helping Ma Qi to re-enter the cabinet was difficult for others, but not particularly difficult for him.

Because Yinyou and Zhang Tingyu now play chess with Kangxi every day.

After entering the 54th year of Kangxi's reign, his health condition began to deteriorate as his eating habits had not changed.

At this point, Kangxi's right hand was completely useless, and he could only rely entirely on his left hand to mark the questions.

"Fourth brother, as long as the person Eighth brother nominates is not Ma Qi, I am 90% sure that I can send him back to the cabinet." Yinyu knew that the fourth brother had planted a lot of nails around the eighth brother. Faced with such a big thing, it's time to use them!

The fourth brother was also a smart man. When he heard what Yinyou said, he immediately realized the great hope.

Although Yinyou did not say it explicitly, his meaning was very clear. Sending Ma Qi back to the cabinet required the cooperation of the Eighth Elder.

The fourth brother thought about it carefully and said, "From what I know, Ma Qi rarely shows up at the eighth brother's place now. It's impossible for the eighth brother not to be suspicious."

Yinyou understood immediately that the fourth brother was planning to use the secret clues he had planted with the eighth brother.

Yinyu was too lazy to ask who it was, nor did he want to ask.

The most important thing when brothers get along with each other is to maintain a sense of boundaries and to not interfere in matters that you shouldn't interfere in.

After discussing the matter of Ma Qi, Lao Shisan gave a detailed introduction to the results of his activities in the Miyun camp.

In a nutshell, Lao Shisan adopted the strategy of sowing widely and reaping little among the middle and lower-level officers in the Miyun camp.

No matter who it is, as long as the family is in trouble, Lao Shisan will generously lend money at zero interest.

You have to know that in this era without banks, the form of private lending is usury with compound interest, and the annual interest rate is ridiculously high.

The Thirteenth Brother took a lot of money given by the Fourth Brother and accompanied the grassroots soldiers, drinking, eating meat, visiting prostitutes, borrowing money, and doing everything together.

It is no exaggeration to say that there is a saying secretly circulating in the Miyun camp now: If you have any difficulties, find the Thirteenth Master!
People are all made of flesh and blood, and over time, a deep bond developed between the grassroots soldiers and Lao Shisan.

When it was Yinyu's turn, he took a sip of tea and said calmly, "So far, I have arranged all the personnel that Fourth Brother wanted to arrange."

Yinyu, who was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, did not dare to interfere in the appointments of officials in various departments and frontier officials. However, Yinyu could arrange the positions of minor officials below the fourth rank as he wished, without any trouble at all.

So, in history, Emperor Guangxu was really a brainless fool.

Even after Empress Dowager Cixi retired to the Summer Palace, she still held the power to appoint and dismiss second-rank officials.

However, Emperor Guangxu had been in power for ten years, but he did not cultivate a large number of middle and lower-level officials as his imperial party members. How stupid he was!
In the final analysis, Weng Tonghe, the imperial tutor whom Guangxu relied on very much, was just a nerd who didn't know how to seize power!
Historically, the civil and military officials who followed Li Erfeng to cause trouble at Xuanwu Gate were all middle and lower-level officials.

The fourth prince was a very pragmatic person. On the surface, he pretended to be an idle prince and a lone minister, so that Kangxi did not see any threat at all.

However, the fourth brother never stopped doing small tricks in private.

"Eighth brother knew that he had no hope, so he turned to support the one who manages the Ministry of War and came out to carry the banner!" The fourth brother was in great pain and hatred, and he even stopped calling him Fourteenth Brother.

The fourteenth prince's previous name was Yinzhen. Later, Kangxi inexplicably changed his name to Yinzhen.

The pronunciations of "Zhen" and "Zhen" are almost exactly the same!
No matter what others think, the fourth brother will never feel at ease!
Nowadays, for the sake of that chair, even brothers from the same mother have finally embarked on the path of formal hostility and fierce confrontation!
The Thirteenth Prince and Yinyou looked at each other, then quickly looked away.

To be honest, the more tense the relationship between the Fourth and Fourteenth Princes, the more beneficial it will be for Yinyou and the Thirteenth Prince to take power in the future!
Not only are the brothers unreliable, but they have become direct competitors. The fourth brother can only rely on Yinyou and the thirteenth brother!

In order to show his importance to Wen Da, Kangxi sent out the Twelfth Prince again and ordered him to preside over the funeral ceremony.

After hearing this, Yinyou couldn't help but smile. After eating Prince Xi's hat, it seemed that the twelfth prince would never be able to take it off again!

When playing chess with Kangxi, Kangxi suddenly asked Yinyu: "Someone recommended Kuixu to be the prime minister. You are in charge of the Ministry of Personnel. You can't just say something, right?"

Kuixu is the second son of Nalan Mingzhu and the younger brother of Nalan Xingde. This guy is a core member of the Eighth Master's Party with the character "八" engraved on his forehead.

"My Lord Khan, the selection of key ministers should be decided by Your Majesty Himself. It is not something I should interfere in." Yinyu retorted righteously.

Seeing that Yinyu was not buying his tricks, Kangxi turned around and asked Zhang Tingyu: "Minister Heng, I will forgive you for now. Can you speak freely now?"

Zhang Tingyu said calmly: "I think that we must select experienced and capable ministers to assist the emperor in presiding over the overall situation."

Yinyou deliberately lowered his head to avoid smiling, so as to avoid being discovered by Kangxi.

Under the instruction of his father Zhang Ying, Zhang Tingyu had already become an expert in cultivation. How could he possibly jump into the pit with his eyes closed?
However, judging from Kangxi's reaction, he was obviously also undecided.

PS: There will be more updates in the evening.

(End of this chapter)