vrcanaries Chapter 135 The Fourth Prince, Yinzhen
Chapter 135 The Fourth Prince, Yinzhen
The Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty
At this time, Yinzhen had just ascended the throne, but he never expected that his thirteenth brother would die young.
He wanted to make it up to him properly, but while he could make the compensation, his thirteenth brother's health was also a priority!
I refuse to believe that, after extensively consulting physicians throughout the land, none of them have been able to cure my thirteenth brother! As for those administrative duties, I will take on as many as I can myself!
Those officials are just doing nothing. My brother and I have done all the work, so they have it much easier!
No, they all need to be busy for me! Let the thirteenth brother have it easy!
……
Back to the live broadcast room.
"Now that we've talked about the thirteenth prince, let's move on to the fourth prince, Yinzhen. His birth mother and adoptive mother don't need much introduction, as we mentioned them when we talked about the fourteenth prince."
"When Yinzhen was six years old, he went to the Imperial Study with a group of princes to study. As mentioned earlier, Emperor Kangxi taught the princes how to respect their teachers."
"But among all the princes, Yinzhen showed a different aspect, namely, respect for teachers. This is a positive term; he had a good relationship with the two professors' teachers."
"But compared to saying that Yongzheng's personality was capricious, I think that the fourth prince was indeed sensitive and thoughtful, which may be related to his adoption in childhood. But it cannot be denied that he was loyal and righteous, and had clear likes and dislikes."
"For example, Gu Badai, a teacher who had a good relationship with Yinzhen, was rather rigid and upright. As the saying goes, too much rigidity leads to breakage, and such a person would not be able to get along well with others in the officialdom."
"Just like how Emperor Kangxi once dismissed him from office for acting without regard for dignity, Gu Badai continued to act the same way despite being punished and ostracized."
"As an aside, there is a very interesting characteristic of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns: whatever the father likes, he dislikes. So, Gu Badai, whom Kangxi did not like much, was actually very much liked by Yinzhen."
Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty: ...
A spoiled brat from the Tang Dynasty: Hahahaha, you just love doing the opposite, don't you!
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: I also love to contradict my dad, hahaha!
……
"Especially after Gu Badai's death, the family almost couldn't afford the funeral. It was Yinzhen who paid for it and restored Gu Badai's official title after he ascended the throne, adding the title of Grand Tutor."
"Not only that, but Yinzhen also built a mausoleum for him and wrote the inscription for the tombstone, so it can be said that the fourth prince is a good person to get along with."
"Speaking of which, the fourth prince once had a rather fierce conflict with the second prince, Yinreng, and the second prince kicked the fourth prince unconscious on the steps."
"The fourth brother explained that he was being polite at the time, but he didn't expect the second brother to act recklessly, and his failure to comply led to the conflict."
"However, judging from his later care for Yinreng, the conflict here should not be too serious. Otherwise, given his petty nature, he would have had to find a way to get back at him."
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: Ha!? This kid can still show his emotions, and he can still be impulsive! Hahahaha!
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: I thought this kid was a man of restraint!
Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty (speechless): ...What, can't he be allowed to show his emotions?!
……
"However, compared to other princes, Yinzhen had a shortcoming. As a Manchu prince, he was not skilled in riding and archery, so there seems to be no record of the fourth prince's military career in the Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty."
“Especially in the ‘Draft History of the Qing Dynasty: Annals of Emperor Kangxi,’ the eldest and third princes were both granted the title of Prince of the Second Rank for their military achievements. Some people even asked whether other princes should be granted titles, but Kangxi said that the fourth prince was rash and impulsive… My mind is made up.”
"However, even the most perfect person has shortcomings. Even if someone is skilled in both literature and martial arts, does that mean they have no other weaknesses? So in my opinion, this is not a particularly serious flaw."
"I just don't know where the rumors that Emperor Yongzheng was highly skilled in martial arts came from?"
Zhu Houzhao, the number one mischievous child of the Ming Dynasty: Hahahaha, could he have posted this himself? Hahahaha!
Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty: It's still better than the one upstairs! He fell into the water and died of illness!
General Judy, the Northern Expeditionary Army: ? ? ?
Zhu Houzhao, the number one troublemaker of the Ming Dynasty: What the hell?!
……
"Since Yinzhen was not good at martial arts, he focused on literature. For example, when Kangxi took the princes to the border, the fourth prince wrote a poem: 'One man stands on the northern border, and the border troops are silenced for thousands of miles.'"
"In short, Yinzhen seized every opportunity to write poems praising Kangxi. Whether Kangxi was going to a sacrificial ceremony or to Wutai Mountain to worship Buddha, the fourth prince wrote poems for him."
"I think that Emperor Qianlong's love for writing poetry must be a result of his father's genes."
The Fourth Prince of the Qing Dynasty: ...
"Not only did the fourth prince curry favor with his father, he also actively worked to improve his relationship with his brothers. For example, when the fourth prince and the eighth prince were granted the title of Beile, their residences were right next to each other."
"Then the crown prince was deposed for the first time. The fourth prince and the eldest prince went to supervise the second prince. As mentioned before, the eldest prince acted stupidly and abused the second prince, and blocked the second prince from appealing for justice."
"The fourth brother realized something was wrong, and since the eldest brother was also telling him to do it, he refused to respond to the eldest brother's request and instead asked the ninth brother: 'Ninth brother, I'm stupid and don't know what to do!'"
"Until the Ninth Prince said it seemed appropriate to report it, the Fourth Prince got the answer he wanted and ran to Kangxi to report the eldest prince's foolishness."
"Later, Emperor Kangxi also praised the fourth prince, saying: 'When Yinreng was imprisoned earlier... only the fourth prince had extraordinary character and was deeply aware of righteousness... This shows that the fourth prince made the right move.'"
A gossip blogger from the Song Dynasty commented: "This fourth brother is really persistent! No wonder he was able to turn the tide!"
A Tang Dynasty official: Their political abilities are on completely different levels!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty not only won his father's praise and saw off his eldest son, but also gained the gratitude of the second son, Yinreng! He was simply playing dumb to outsmart others!
……
"Thus, the fourth prince also came into Kangxi's view. According to the 'Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty,' Kangxi once again commented: 'The fourth prince... loves me... and is truly filial.' Then, the following year, he was granted the title of Prince by Kangxi."
"Moreover, after this incident of deposing the crown prince, he also gained two allies: one was the thirteenth prince, who was once a member of the crown prince's faction, and the other was Nian Gengyao, who would fight for the fourth prince in the future."
"Moreover, the atmosphere in the officialdom during Kangxi's later years was actually quite lax. Kangxi then entrusted this matter to Yinzhen, whose strict adherence to the law and rigorous handling of affairs further enhanced Kangxi's opinion of him."
"Especially compared to the other princes' factions, impulsiveness, and recklessness, the fourth prince stands out as quite different."
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: You're only successful because of the contrast with your peers, huh?! Hahahaha!
A farming expert from the Tang Dynasty: This old man is also unpredictable, no wonder they say serving a ruler is like serving a tiger!
A spoiled brat from the Song Dynasty: You used to say that he was capricious, but now you're praising your own son as a filial son?
Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty: ...