Rebirth: I'm a Daddy's Darling in the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 152 You want to protect what you want, so why should others pay the price?

Just as Yinzhen had thought, after all that Yinreng had said, the last sentence was the key: as the ruler of the Manchu Empire, how could Kangxi want the safety of his country to be in the hands of the Han people?

"From your perspective, Father, this idea is indeed not wrong. But I want to ask you, Father, have you thought about the future? Now the foreigners are more backward than our Great Qing, but what about the future? You personally witnessed the power of the mortar and cannon when you personally led the campaign against Galdan. We are stagnant now, but they are moving forward together. Do you think our bows and arrows and the Eight Banners cavalry will be able to withstand their fire when they come with muskets and cannons? When they kill and burn, will they distinguish between Manchus and Hans? What will we do then? Cede territory and pay reparations? Sign various unequal treaties? Or let them trample on us?"

Although Yinzhuo had never personally witnessed Mudu, he had seen that period of history in various documents. He knew that if things were allowed to develop as they were, their descendants would inevitably end up like this. From Kangxi's perspective, it was not wrong for him to want to protect the fruits of his ancestors' labor. However, as the saying goes, if you want to protect your family property, why should tens of millions of Chinese people have to pay the price for you?

In fact, Kangxi was probably aware of the consequences that Yinzhuo mentioned, but as Yinzhuo said, his vision was too narrow. Although the Manchus had ruled the Central Plains for decades, their thinking was still stuck in the past. Their so-called family, country, and world were only the family, country, and world of the Manchus. When they thought about things and did things, they first considered maximizing the interests of the Manchus, rather than whether the matter was beneficial to the country.

Yinzuo remembered seeing a sentence online that said, "Of the twelve emperors of the Qing Dynasty, only Yongzheng can be called the emperor of this country, not the emperor of the Qing Dynasty." Therefore, Yinzuo has been firmly hoping that he will ascend the throne in the future. Of course, he is not great. Yinzhen is his older brother and has a closer relationship with him. It is also an important factor that makes it easier for him to curry favor with the emperor in the future.

You might wonder, since Yinzhuo himself was good in every way and favored by Emperor Kangxi, why didn't he try to compete for the throne? Actually, it's easy to understand. He was a lazy bum. In his view, if he didn't become emperor, he would be subject to others and might not have a good life. But if he became emperor, not only would he be subject to others, but he would definitely not have a good life. For Yinzhuo, being emperor was a miserable job. Just the daily court sessions alone could kill him.

Getting back to the point, after hearing Yinzhi's words, Kangxi frowned even more deeply. Yinreng stood aside, remaining silent. Yinzhi looked at his father, then at his brother, and finally could only sigh helplessly. He then made up his mind, closed his eyes, and spoke directly to his father.

"Father, I don't care anyway, I'm determined to have this son. At worst, you can give me the Ministry of Works and let him work under me. I'll keep an eye on him for you. I think we don't need guns and cannons, but we must have them. Do you remember what I told you before? Dignity is only on the edge of the sword, and truth is only within the range of cannons. Anyway, I've already spoken to you. When we get to Shengjing, I'll go and pick him up. When we return to the capital, I'll take them back with me."

Good heavens, what do you mean by "you've already informed me"? So you're saying that you're determined to do it regardless of whether I agree or not? If you're so capable, why did you even ask me?

Yinzhuo's words, which challenged Kangxi's authority, really angered Kangxi. He looked around but couldn't find anything suitable, so he grabbed the chess box on the table and threw it at Yinzhuo!

"You worthless wretch! It seems I've spoiled you too much, which has made you so disrespectful to your sovereign. Guards, drag this scoundrel away and give him twenty heavy lashes."

In the past, if Emperor Kangxi had thrown the chess box at Yinzhi, he would have dodged to the side. But today, he didn't move, taking the blow head-on. The chess box was made of white jade; the feeling of it hitting his forehead was unimaginable. Yinzhi felt his mind go blank for a moment, then everything went black, and he lost consciousness. His last thought before fainting was, "At the very least, I'll get a concussion. Will I be spared the twenty strokes of the cane? If not, does it mean the beating won't hurt when I'm unconscious..."

As soon as Yinzuo finished speaking, Yinreng knew that this matter was over. Seeing Yinzuo being hit on the head with a chess box by his father and falling to the ground with a thud, Yinreng's face turned pale. He quickly walked to Yinzuo's side, squatted down, and wanted to help him up, but he didn't dare to move him. He could only look at Kangxi on the bed.

"Father...look..."

Although Kangxi was very angry, he held back when he threw the box. He thought that Yinzhuo would dodge immediately as he had done every time he was about to hit him before. But to his surprise, Yinzhuo didn't dodge this time. Not only did he not dodge, but his head didn't even tilt. So when Yinzhuo fell down, not only did Yinreng get scared, but Kangxi was also quite frightened.

"Liang Jiu-gong, quickly summon the imperial physicians, and call all the accompanying physicians. Hurry, you must hurry... Yinreng, don't move him yet, his forehead wound is still bleeding. Quickly get a thick handkerchief to press on the wound. Yinzuo, can you hear your father? Yinzuo..."

Yinzhuo was unconscious, so it would be a miracle if he could hear anything. Kangxi squatted down beside him and called his name a few times, but when he didn't respond at all, his expression changed. He raised his hand to check Yinzhuo's breathing under his nose, and then put his hand on his chest to feel his heartbeat. Only then did the string that had been pounding in his heart finally relax a little. At this moment, he didn't care about his imperial image anymore. He grabbed Yinzhuo's hand and sat down on the ground next to him!

Physician Wang, along with a group of other imperial physicians, was dragged over by Liang Jiugong and his guards. Upon entering, they were greeted by a horrifying scene: Prince Zhao was lying on the ground covered in blood, with His Majesty and the Crown Prince sitting and squatting on either side of him, their faces grim. This familiar formula, this familiar taste—good heavens, it's definitely going to be another family-friendly game of Candy Crush.

"Physician Wang, come quickly and take a look at him..."

To be honest, Physician Wang didn't want to go over, but he had no choice. When Yinreng saw Physician Wang coming over, he quickly made way for him. Physician Wang squatted down and examined Yinreng. His brows were so furrowed that they could have trapped a fly.

"Your Majesty, as you know, the inside of the human head is the most mysterious and unpredictable place. This old minister is not very knowledgeable and can only treat the wound on Prince Zhao's forehead for now. As for the specific situation and how to treat it, we can only wait until Prince Zhao wakes up and decide based on his symptoms."

Upon hearing this, Kangxi felt a pang of anxiety. This was tantamount to telling him that Yinzhuo could only resign himself to fate.

"Alright, all of you come here. I'm entrusting Yinzhu to you. You must ensure he wakes up safely, otherwise..."