pjbooks Chapter 124 Honest Man Yin Zhi
Chapter 124 Honest Man Yin Zhi
The struggle for imperial power and the killing of family members were things that Lin Ke felt were unavoidable and inescapable for someone in the royal family. So she sighed and continued.
"Next, let's talk about the third prince, Yinzhi. He was born in the sixteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. However, it is said that he suffered from a congenital speech disorder. There is a record that says: 'At the age of six, he still could not speak.'"
"This statement was made during the Yongzheng era, when the fourth and third princes had completely broken off relations. Although the fourth prince was known for his tendency to nitpick after ascending to the throne, this statement may not be entirely unfounded. There is also another statement: 'The king is dull-witted, so write a document to be presented to the emperor.'"
"Let's translate this. It roughly means, 'Oh, Third Brother, it's really hard to understand you. Why don't you write a memorial for me instead?'"
Lin Ke's sarcastic remarks infuriated Emperor Yongzheng, who was watching, but he couldn't do anything about it, which made him furious!
"So the third prince, Yinzhi, is very likely a stutterer or has a problem with his language expression. Perhaps because of this defect, he is outstanding in literature, calligraphy, and horsemanship. He is a very capable person on his own."
"For example, he has profound scientific knowledge, including geometry, astronomy and calendar systems, and even planned the construction of observatories in several provinces."
Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty: ...
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: I've noticed that Emperor Kangxi's sons all seem to be quite capable!
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: Our son is no worse than them!
Crown Prince Zhu Biao of the Ming Dynasty: ...
"In the thirty-second year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the Confucius Temple in Qufu had been restored. The Kangxi Emperor decided to send his third son, who was the most outstanding in learning among the princes, as the royal representative to perform the sacrificial ceremony. He also sent his fourth and eighth sons as his attendants."
"Which of these two lackeys wouldn't call him a heavyweight?"
Then, in the thirty-fifth year of Kangxi's reign, the third son went with his father, Emperor Kangxi, to conquer Galdan, just like the eldest son had gone.
"As we mentioned earlier, this battle was won, but the battle plan he chose was proposed by the third prince. This shows that the third prince, Yinzhi, has quite good military planning ability. He can be considered both a scholar and a warrior."
"Then two years later, the third prince, Yinzhi, was granted the title of Prince of the Second Rank, but his act of shaving his head angered Emperor Kangxi, so he only held the title of prince for a year."
"At that time, there was a tradition in Manchuria that one was not allowed to shave their head within 100 days of the death of a relative. In addition, because Kangxi had little experience with family affection since childhood, he valued this aspect of family affection very much. So, the third son really ran into a brick wall!"
"The most serious thing is that this guy shaved his head and that's been on Old Thirteen's little notebook forever. Humph, you insulted my mother. I'll tell my brother to deal with you!"
"Yinzhi offended the thirteenth prince, Yinxiang. What does that mean?! It means you also offended the fourth prince, Yinzhen. They are historically recognized as good brothers. You're in trouble. No wonder the third prince had a miserable time during the Yongzheng era."
Prince Yi of the Qing Dynasty, Yinxiang: My relationship with my fourth brother is quite good!
Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty: My dear younger brother!
A spoiled young master in the Tang Dynasty: He really has a stubborn head when he offends the future emperor's good brother!
An official from the Song Dynasty: It seems the third prince had a terrible time during the Yongzheng era!
……
"However, the third prince was still very much in Kangxi's favor. Even though he was stripped of his princely status, Kangxi would still take him out often, so the third prince had not fallen out of favor at this time."
"The timeline then goes to when the third brother reported the second brother for the Nightmare Town. The person involved in this matter who understands witchcraft—Bahanglong—was originally one of the third brother's men."
"As for the motive for the third brother's report, some people might speculate whether he wanted to kill the eldest brother, but based on his previous act of shaving his head, it seems that this person is incapable of scheming."
"Moreover, he also knew that this Bahanglong knew witchcraft, probably because he himself simply didn't believe it. After all, he studied sciences like geometry, so it's very likely that he was just a royalist."
"In short, regardless of what he was thinking, his success gave Kangxi a reason to restore the crown prince. After the crown prince's restoration, the third prince was rewarded for his contributions and was granted the title of Prince Cheng."
"From this point of view, it can be seen that Kangxi really favored his second son. He may have thought that his third son was quite simple and sincere."
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: Sincerity speaks for itself.
A spoiled brat in the Tang Dynasty: His favorite child is still the second son. Looking at it this way, the second son is quite happy. Even though he was deposed, he didn't suffer much.
"Here's a joke: After Yongzheng came to power, he developed a habit of revising historical records. According to the 'Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty,' Kangxi visited his fourth son's house eleven times in his later years, but visited his third son's house eighteen times. Given Yongzheng's habit, it's safe to say that he visited his fourth son's house more than eighteen times."
"Does this mean that Emperor Kangxi was particularly close to his third son in his later years? Could it be because his family's cook was so delicious?"
Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty: ...
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongzheng was furious. What do you mean by "small habits"?! Is this an insult to my household cook?!
And why should I, the Emperor, compare myself to the third prince?!
……
"Alas, Emperor Kangxi really loved to give people hope, but that's not what he actually wanted. In the later period, Kangxi had many scholars join the Third Prince's school, and their main task was to compile books. His works were mainly 'The Origins of Laws and Calendars' and 'The Complete Collection of Ancient and Modern Books'."
“And some of these scholars are officials from the Hanlin Academy, so wouldn’t the third prince not want this opportunity given to him by his father? Moreover, he is almost omnipotent and has a noble title. Since his two older brothers have lost their chance, he is naturally the eldest prince.”
"Traditionally speaking, isn't he the most likely prince?! Even though he may not have coveted the throne, the facts are clear: is he truly as indifferent as a chrysanthemum?"
"Moreover, Kangxi did more than just these things. For example, in the fifty-fifth year of Kangxi's reign, there was a man named Meng Guangzu who defrauded many officials in the name of the third son."
"When Kangxi learned that this person had committed fraud, his first reaction was not to hold the third prince accountable, but to say to the official in charge: 'You know the third prince's character. You must investigate carefully. Even if it is true, you must protect the third prince.'"
"For example, in the fifty-eighth year, the third prince asked his third brother to represent him in the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven. Such affection might have made the third prince think that his father would be willing to give him the position, but Kangxi himself probably just felt that the child was too honest, so he was more tolerant."
"After all, the third prince has very low social participation due to this language barrier, which means that he has virtually no chance of getting the throne."
A large fisherman said: "It seems he really loves children!"
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: With pain like that, it's no wonder his sons would overthink things.
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: On the surface, it offered hope, but in reality, it was despair!
Zhu Biao, the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty: His poor interpersonal relationships meant he was no longer a contender for the throne.
"Later, as we all know, the fourth prince became emperor. He was known for his magnanimity, and he also offended the thirteenth prince. So, as soon as Yongzheng came to power, he sent the third prince to guard the tomb of Emperor Kangxi."
"That's not all. The fourth brother kicked the third brother out of the 'Complete Collection of Ancient and Modern Books' that the third brother was compiling, and also disbanded some of his subordinates."
"Then, the fourth brother used an extortion case to warn the third brother, stripping him of his eldest son's status as heir. The third brother was completely stunned, not knowing when he had offended his fourth brother."
"Sigh, even I feel sorry for him. The third prince isn't very good at interpersonal relationships, which is why he did that thing by shaving his head. He probably didn't even think that his actions would make the thirteenth prince remember him for so long!"
"Moreover, in the fourth year of Yongzheng's reign, the fourth prince had already won over the eighth prince and was preparing to convict him. So the fourth prince asked the third prince: 'How should we convict our eighth brother?'"
"This sentence completely baffled the third brother, making him even more anxious since he was not good at interpersonal relationships. He hesitated for a moment, which was noted down in his little notebook by the fourth brother, the emperor who loved to ponder people."
"At that time, Yongzheng's face was so sour that the third prince did not dare to speak at all. In fact, he became more and more afraid after returning home and even submitted two memorials to apologize."
"Well, this memorial is really humble; you can't tell it was written by a prince at all."
"I failed to report the truth... which led Your Majesty to suspect that I am someone who has betrayed Your Majesty and defied Heaven..."
"And this is how Yongzheng replied: I read it with tears in my eyes and greatly admired it... However, the prince is originally good at lying and deceiving people... I was delighted to read it and felt extremely happy and grateful."
"Although I knew long ago that Yongzheng was sometimes particularly vengeful and had an unpredictable temper, it still felt a bit unfair to say this, especially since he himself had described his third brother as a coward."
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: This person is so petty! No wonder he's a descendant of the Jurchens!
Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty: Oh, your family is so generous, sending 400,000 taels of silver directly to Tumu Fortress!
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: You son of a bitch...! %...&