The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 87 Reward You with a Badge
However, Kangxi's kindness was not rewarded.

Li Xu and Cao Yin, these two guys, were actually playing the ugly game of two-timing behind the scenes in an attempt to maintain their wealth and status forever.

Yinyou was like a blind man eating glutinous rice balls. He knew what was going on, but he just kept his mouth shut and would never tell anyone even if he was beaten to death.

As the saying goes, old trees have many roots and old people have many words. Just like the 18th-rate writer Da Sikong, he always talks in the same old way.

Once Kangxi was happy, he couldn't stop talking.

"Jiangnan is such a great place. Not only does it have picturesque scenery, but it also has many outstanding people." When Kangxi said this, he glanced at Yinyou subconsciously.

Yinyou pretended to be ignorant even though he knew the truth. He kept his mouth tightly shut but sneered in his heart.

I’m afraid there are countless beautiful women with stunning looks in Jiangnan, right?
After arguing for more than an hour, until the palace paid taxes and levies, Kangxi finally sent them away.

Since his father had returned to Beijing, Li Ding asked Yinyou for leave and went to accompany Li Xu.

Li Xu hadn't seen his son for a long time. While he was happy, he naturally wanted to ask about his recent situation.

"How did Xiao Shiwu treat you?"

Li Xu relied on Kangxi's favor and secretly got in touch with the eighth prince and the prince at the same time. It was obvious that he did not really take Yinyou, who was unable to inherit the throne, seriously.

"My father, Master Fifteen treats his son very well..."

Although Li Ding and Li Xu are father and son, his position is fundamentally different from Li Xu's.

Li Xu was a favorite of Kangxi, and he could play both sides.

However, if Yinyou fell, Li Ding would definitely be in trouble.

After listening to Li Ding's detailed description, Li Xu solemnly warned: "There are several bad debts in the salt business in Lianghuai this time. I am afraid it will be difficult for the Ministry of Revenue to write them off. I heard that Xiao Shiwu and the Fourth Prince have a close personal relationship?"

Yinyou and the fourth brother had a very good relationship, which was known to all the powerful people in the capital.

Li Ding had nothing to hide, so he said, "Father, our grandfather does have a good relationship with the Fourth Master. But the Fourth Master is a man who doesn't recognize his relatives, so I'm afraid it will be very difficult to make concessions."

There is nothing much to say. Even if they are as close as father and son, they have their own concerns due to their different fundamental interests.

Li Ding only told half the truth. What he didn't say was that with the fourth brother, as long as Yinyu gave a heads-up, any bad debt could be easily cleared.

Haha, Li Xu did all those bad things about favoring his youngest son Li Nai. Did he really think that Li Ding, who was far away in the capital, didn't know about it?

Ever since Li Ding became Yinyou's beloved daughter, the entire Li family's huge fortune was inherited by his younger brother Li Nai.

Li Xu's secret dealings with the Crown Prince and Old Eight were kept secret from Li Ding.

Yinyou and the fourth brother had a close relationship, and Li Ding kept it a secret.

However, no one expected that Li Xu's contempt for Yinwei would lead to an irreparable disaster.

That day, the fourth son found Yinyu at the Prince's Mansion and said directly: "The Lianghuai Salt Administration actually has 3 million taels of tax, and the whereabouts are unknown. Li Xu, that dog slave, is really greedy!"

Yinyou understood as soon as he heard it. Li Xu had a mess, but he didn't even come to him for help. Haha, then why was he still guardianship?

"Fourth brother, you also know that there is only a slight connection between Li Xu and me. To tell you the truth, he doesn't care about me, his so-called cousin, at all." As soon as Yinyu said this, the fourth brother was so angry that he slammed the table and cursed, "What a dog slave, he rebelled against him!"

Yinyou was just telling the truth without adding any exaggeration.

The so-called cousin, do you know him, but does he know you too?

The fourth brother's vigorous and decisive style was not exaggerated at all. The next day, he submitted a memorial, listing more than a dozen major crimes, and publicly impeached Li Xu's corruption and lawlessness.

Kangxi ignored the fourth brother and went to find Yinyou.

"Tell me, what's going on?" Kangxi looked at Yinyou in confusion, hoping to find a reasonable explanation from him.

Yinyu naturally knew the truth, but he pretended to be confused and said innocently, "My dear Khan, I don't know what happened."

Kangxi was almost amused by Yinyu. He raised his finger and pointed at Yinyu's nose, scolding: "No one knows a son better than his father. Why didn't you protect Li Xu?"

Yinyou nodded secretly. Kangxi was worthy of being Kangxi. He hit the essence of the matter in one sentence.

"My dear Khan, if my cousin Li Xu really encountered a difficult situation, shouldn't he have told me in advance?"

Yes, if the ward gets into trouble and doesn’t ask the guardian for help, who can we blame?

"This Li Xu has become more and more confused as he gets older. He is really not as capable as Cao Yin."

Yinyou suppressed his smile and kept his mouth tightly shut.

My dear father, because of your partiality, you have fallen into an information cocoon without knowing it, and you deserve to be deceived.

Under the supreme imperial power, the common principle among princes, ministers and bureaucrats was to report good news but not bad news, and to deceive superiors but not hide the truth from subordinates.

The following information, after being magnified or reduced layer by layer, was often false news when it reached Kangxi's desk. Kangxi also understood the malpractice, so the system of secret memorials came into being.

However, other things are easy to deal with. Would Li Xu dare to tell Kangxi that he and Cao Yin were secretly playing two games, hooking up with the crown prince on the left and the eighth brother on the right?
Differences in fundamental interests can cause even close relatives like father and son to go their separate ways. For example, this was the case with Li Xu and Li Ding, a father and son.

"Here, this is the Fourth Prince's question book, would you like to take a look?" Kangxi found the Fourth Prince's question book and gently pushed it to the edge of the table.

Yinyu not only did not take the memorial, but he said confidently: "My Lord Khan, I dare not do that."

Don't be ridiculous, can the prince just look at the question book casually?
Kangxi glared at Yinyu and scolded him, "I told you to look, so just look, and stop talking nonsense."

Okay, this is exactly what Yinyou wanted to hear.

Yinyou picked up the question book, pretended to read it three times, and then gently put the question book back to its original place.

"Have you finished reading it?" Kangxi had been in contact with Yinyou for quite some time and had some understanding of his character.

Kangxi was sure that Yinyou would not speak unless he asked.

Although Yinyu always speaks the truth and confronts his father, not like a filial son, his "duty-bound" character is indeed very satisfying.

In a nutshell, Yinyou is definitely not confused when it comes to major issues!
"My dear Khan, in my opinion, you can just keep him in the palace." Yinyou thought about it and decided to follow Kangxi's wishes.

Kangxi had already hinted very clearly that if Yinyou continued to play dumb, he would suffer the consequences.

"Liu Zhong? Then why did I call you here?" Kangxi was a little annoyed. Yinyou was an atypical bad boy, very bad in a very bad way.

Seeing that Kangxi was really irritated, Yinyu was not flustered at all, and said calmly: "Khan Ama, Fourth Brother is very serious about his work, and he is a guy who doesn't recognize his relatives. Even if I have a good relationship with Fourth Brother, I can't convince him to take back the memorial."

What a joke, Yinyou can easily manipulate the fourth prince to change his mind. What's the difference between this and the eighth prince being afraid of his wife?
Once the crown prince was deposed, more than 80% of the princes and ministers unanimously nominated the eighth prince as the new crown prince.

However, even if Kangxi openly acted like a hooligan, he did not want to follow the so-called public opinion of 80%.

There are three reasons: he pretended to be too virtuous and even became friends with the Manchu nobles; he was afraid of his wife like a tiger; and he had only one son, Hongwang.

In the royal family, the prince's cruelty and ruthlessness, as long as it is not directed against Kangxi, is a big plus.

For example, Yinyou quietly praised and killed Cheng Xiude, and Kangxi was not angry at all. Instead, he felt relieved.

As the new emperor, if he is not decisive in killing people and even acts like a hooligan, how can he intimidate the various banner leaders and Manchu nobles?

From the eight beile's collective political discussions during the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Qing Dynasty, to the four beile's equal status during the reign of Huang Taiji, to the Council of Princes and Ministers during the reign of Shunzhi, and finally to the cabinet in charge of government affairs during the reign of Kangxi.

The overall trend is that the power of the leaders of the lower five flags, both large and small, has been shrinking.

How can we allow the flag owners to sleep soundly beside my bed? Lao Ba is such a fool, he doesn't understand this principle at all!

Kangxi looked at Yinyu carefully and said coldly: "You just don't care about them?"

This is very heartbreaking, Yinyu must make his position clear. He can't just give up and leave the custody right after getting it, right?
"My dear Khan, the salt administration, which is the exclusive business of the imperial court, has caused such a huge loss. This is enough to prove that these two people are not capable people who are proficient in economics." Yinyu ignored the fact that Kangxi's face was gradually getting gloomy and continued to talk. "However, I think that Li Xu and Cao Yin should not be too indulgent. They should be slightly punished so that they know to restrain themselves and dare not stretch their hands too far."

Kangxi did not care about his ministers' corruption and bribery, so even if Yinyou made great efforts to combat corruption, it would be meaningless.

Yinyou's help to Li Xu and Cao Yin was a small criticism, which really showed his protective intentions. It was impossible for Kangxi not to hear it.

"If we send the Fourth Prince to rectify the Lianghuai Salt Administration, I'm afraid he will turn everything upside down!"

No one knows a son better than his father. How could Kangxi not know that the fourth son was unrecognizable to his relatives and had a mean and ungrateful character?

Suddenly, Kangxi had a brilliant idea. He waved his hand and said, "Selecting concubines is a major event for the court. You must not be careless. If you make a mistake, you will be fine. Kneel down."

Just as Yinyou walked to the door, Kangxi suddenly called him and said, "This is for you." He threw something over.

Without giving it any time to think, Yinyou quickly caught the thing that Kangxi threw to him. When he looked down, he found that it was a pure gold waist badge with four small seal characters written on it: Master of Tiyuan.

"You are the chief steward of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is not convenient for you to pass a badge through the Qianqing Gate. I will allow you to wait in front of the Qianqing Palace."

The fact that Kangxi called himself the Master of Tiyuan was not widely known, but the princes, the nobles and ministers of the Southern Study also knew about it.

If the boss got this badge, he would be overjoyed and express his gratitude and loyalty desperately.

Unexpectedly, Yinyou put the badge into his arms, bowed and said, "Thank you, Khan, for your grace." Then he walked away with a swagger.

Looking at Yinyou's free and easy back, Kangxi actually forgot to be angry.

Between father and son, there are always fake expressions of thanks, kneeling, and loyalty. Even if Yinyou was not tired, Kangxi, who had been in power for decades, had long been numb and insensitive!
The strict etiquette to maintain the imperial power must be maintained. However, too much is as bad as too little!

At this moment, Kangxi suddenly thought of his commoner confidant: Fang Bao Fang Fengjiu.

PS: This is the first update today. There are more than 6500 monthly tickets, so there will be at least three updates.

(End of this chapter)