Chapter 74: The Qing Dynasty's Comprehensive Jade World

  In the sixth month of the forty-seventh year of Kangxi's reign, Kangxi took his sons on an inspection tour beyond the Great Wall, leaving Yinzong in charge as regent. Although some of the other princes who accompanied Kangxi to Rehe were dissatisfied with this arrangement, they could not think of a more suitable candidate. Among all the adult princes, only Eighth Prince Yunxian had shown no interest in the position and was instead eager to become a xianwang (a prince of the first rank), so he was left in charge as regent, which at least made the other princes feel more at ease.

  Moreover, because of Ya Ge, his ninth and tenth brothers also expressed no interest in that position. One is full of interest in business, and the other has a special fondness for pleasure. The ninth brother is fine, but the tenth brother's mother's status is very high, and without such a strong opponent, the princes are all very satisfied.

  Many brothers did not know about Yaqi's private small movements, so they didn't notice the exchange of eyes with Yongzheng when leaving the Forbidden City, and nodded slightly to the fourth Beile who was always cold-faced.

  The peach blossom eyes slightly closed, and Yin Yun discovered it, but he always took Ya Ge as the first to look at, so after listening to Ya Ge's analysis and knowing that he chose Yin Zan, although dissatisfied, he also agreed with Ya Ge's approach. As for the one standing next to him with a big and careless appearance, although this is actually a rough but delicate person, he was not willing to use his brain too much, and had long made up his mind to closely follow behind Ya Ge.

  Her eyes swept over the two brothers, and a hint of helplessness flashed in Yage's ink pupils.

  Historically, these two men had a very close relationship with Eighth Brother. Even for him, Yinxiang was given the name "Sesehei" by Yongzheng. As the son of Empress Xiaoshengxian's sister, Consort Wenxi, he was eventually stripped of his title and imprisoned in the capital until his death in the fifth year of Qianlong, when he was buried as a commoner with a pauper's funeral.

  Now he is the Eighth Prince, who has no intention of competing for that position and wants to keep a distance from these two princes, but somehow they love to follow him! The two princes who grew up in the Forbidden City since childhood are so fond of this elder brother, how can Ye Ge be unmoved.

  So Ya Ge took the two brothers under her wing, at least they could keep their wealth and glory for a lifetime, and not end up like those in history who were miserable and destitute.

  Although he was in the capital, things about Kangxi's side still kept coming to Yage's ears. After burning the paper note in his hand, he let out a deep sigh. The 18th brother, Yinreng, had died of pneumonia outside the Great Wall, and then the crown prince would be abolished.

  His eyes dimmed slightly, he took out a note and wrote down a few words in dragon flying phoenix dancing script, handed it to the black-clad man who suddenly appeared in the room, then left the study.

  All these years, he has been working hard to develop his own power and also closely monitoring the European side. He can't start reforming yet, but he is secretly preparing everything needed for reform.

  Yakka couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had acquired the skill of firearms expertise in the first world, although some craftsmanship was still lagging behind, at least the prototype of the handgun was already available, and in this regard, he was ahead of those capitalist countries.

  As for the Jenny spinning machine and steam engine that started the Industrial Revolution, Yago also managed to get the drawings. Although he was not a science student, he still had some understanding of these things, although he could not invent directly, but he understood some improvements.

  Everyone thought that the Eighth Prince was fighting for better status and more rights for the merchants because of his ninth brother, Yin Chen, but in fact, he was thinking of himself. Now, one-third of the business operations in the Qing Dynasty are basically under his control, and with modern financial concepts, Yage has a longer vision than the current businessmen, and the benefits and gains are also more.

  In fact, this is still the aftermath of Yajiao's control. To know that Heshen's confiscated property list in the late Qianlong period was 220 million taels of silver, but in fact his property was far more than that. Nowadays, the annual tax revenue of the Qing Dynasty is about 70-80 million taels of silver, and Yajiao's annual income is only slightly higher than this tax revenue.

  However, his income mainly comes from international trade. Using his identity as the Eighth Beile, he transported silk and porcelain to Europe to sell to royal family members, and then bought back some foreign goods that were scarce in the Qing dynasty. The difference in price was enough to make him rich. In addition, one-third of the commercial operations within the Qing dynasty are now under Yago's name, making his wealth comparable to that of a nation.

  These properties were not only unknown to the Aixinjueluo royal family, but also to Song Zhiwen. Yajiao's money was plentiful, but it was used up quickly. The study of firearms, the manufacture of steamships, and the improvement of steam engines all required a large amount of silver to be poured in.

  Now the property in Songgui's hands, including Ya Ge, was allocated by the Neiwufu when they left the palace and built their own mansion, as well as gifts from Kangxi and the Empress Dowager. Liang Guifei also handed over some of her private property to her son, but at that time, her family was punished and their property was confiscated, and she had been in the palace for many years, needing to curry favor with those above and below, and it was not easy to save a little.

  Originally, Ya Ge didn't want to, but facing the silently tearful eyes of Shang Liang's Imperial Concubine, he could only accept. This was a mother's intention; although she had no ability, for this son of hers, she truly gave her all.

  Kangxi and his entourage quickly returned from beyond the pass. On September 4th, at the Burhasu Palace, he formally issued an edict to abolish the crown prince. Upon hearing this news, Yago narrowed his eyes, stroking the ring on the tip of his left hand that no one else could see, and curled up the corner of his mouth.

  The arrangements made over the past twenty years are finally starting to take effect slowly.

  Because of the implication of Ya Ge and his own analysis, when Kangxi allowed the ministers to recommend a new crown prince candidate, Yin Zhen submitted a memorial requesting the reinstatement of the crown prince. However, the historical event where everyone jointly recommended the Eighth Beile did not occur, as this gentleman had already made it clear that he was not interested in that position at all, and would only have one legitimate wife, Fu Jin, without gaining more benefits but instead getting into trouble, who would still recommend him?

  The big brother Yin Zhen had been thoroughly scolded by Kangxi before and had lost all hope, the remaining brothers were just making small troubles below and hadn't formed a scale yet, and also had Yaguo secretly operating, this time Kangxi's restoration of the crown prince went very smoothly, without any waves.

  In the thirty-eighth year, Kangxi once again collectively enfeoffed his sons. In this enfeoffment, Yin Zhen and Yinzong were the biggest winners, one as Yong Prince, the other as Li Prince, far surpassing a group of princes and beile. People with discerning minds can also see some signs from these titles, think about the eldest prince's direct prince, and then think about the tenth prince's loyal prince.

  Not long after the heavy seal was added, Crown Prince Yinre submitted a memorial to respectfully request that Kangxi remove his position as crown prince again. The two fathers and sons discussed in the Qianqing Palace for one night, and finally Kangxi ordered the removal of Yinre's identity as crown prince, and was demoted to Prince Rong, and left the palace to build a mansion in the 39th year.

  The ministers on the court were caught off guard and couldn't do anything, as all imperial power was now concentrated in Kangxi's hands. The matter of the crown prince was a state affair, but also a family matter for the Aixinjueluo clan. Now that Yinreng had made it clear he didn't want to be the target anymore, what could they do? Songgotu had long been dealt with by Kangxi, and the Crown Prince's party couldn't rise again.

  At night, in a hot spring resort on Xiaotangshan, Yajiao and Yin Rui were soaking in the hot springs together, drinking wine.

  With a slightly pale face but bright eyes, Xuan Yu raised his wine glass to Ya Ge and said sincerely: "Eighth brother, this time I really need to thank you. For so many years, I was almost bewitched. If it wasn't for you waking me up, who knows what would have happened."

  Raising his wine glass lazily, he clinked it against Xuan'er's and said with a lazy smile: "It's no use unless you figure it out yourself, Second Brother. Otherwise, my words would be wasted."

  For the system's issued task of persuading the crown prince to abdicate, Ya Ge only had a try-it-out attitude, and unexpectedly succeeded in the end. Of course, this also has something to do with the crown princess. Although the relationship between the crown princess and the crown prince is not good, after all, when she married into the crown prince's Yuqing Palace, the crown prince was already deeply in love with Concubine Li Jia, but the crown prince still respected the crown princess very much.

  The crown prince was getting more and more confused, but the crown princess saw it clearly. Although the honor of being a crown princess brought many benefits to her and her family, if the crown prince were to be deposed again, the consequences would be disastrous. So after secretly contacting Ah Song, she resolutely helped him persuade her husband together.

  Yin Chen was after all raised by Kangxi himself, he just got confused for a moment. After Ya Ge and the Crown Prince's wife presented the facts in front of him, he made the best choice for himself. He voluntarily resigned as the Crown Prince, and he could still keep Kangxi's paternal love, and those few arrogant brothers didn't get any good results either.

  The emperor's position is important, but Yongzheng has an even more important existence. Whether it's his wives and children or the empress dowager who would rather sacrifice herself for him, they all hope he'll be fine because only if he's fine will they be fine too.

  And to compensate him, Kangxi directly awarded him the hereditary title of Iron Cap Prince. Fully showing that even if Yinreng was no longer the crown prince, his position in Kangxi's heart was irreplaceable!

  "Can't I see through it? If I don't wake up, I'll be doomed! " Yongzheng sneered coldly, "It's not just my brothers who are pulling the rug from under me, even Empress Dowager is becoming increasingly suspicious of me, and there's also the interference of the imperial in-laws... Eighth Brother, if I really could ascend to the throne, that would be a wonder!"

  Yinreng was the Crown Prince valued by Kangxi, although there were also package clothes born in his backyard, but he never got on stage. Knowing his weakness in female color, when Kangxi gave him a marriage, the beauty of Xiufu was also taken into consideration.

  The Crown Princess Gualgiya, although not a stunning beauty, has at least a warm and noble temperament that easily wins people over. Not to mention the several concubines, let alone the favored Li Jia Shi, even the least favored Lin Jia Shi would be considered a delicate and lovely young woman outside the palace.

  She smiled lightly and said faintly, "Second brother, you still haven't thought it through. What's good about being an emperor? It's neither free nor comfortable. We're fine the way we are now. Although we can't leave the capital at will, many things can be done on our own initiative."

  Yin Chen remained silent for a long time before speaking: "Eighth brother, do you really not care about the throne at all? Is Khan Ama just going to hand everything over to Fourth Brother like this, and you don't have any thoughts on the matter?"

  Author's note: Thanks to Tuhao Hongchen Ke for the torpedo, which left Tudou stunned for a whole day!

  There's also Yalun, Feiniao, Lost Cat and Emily's landmine, you guys are a waste of money!

  Originally wanted to write until Yongzheng's ascension, but it seems we'll have to wait for the next chapter.

  Regarding Crown Prince Yinreng, Tuber has always felt sorry for him. What's most regrettable is that Kangxi lived too long, and he couldn't wait any longer.

  Actually, sometimes taking a step back really makes the world a wider place. The relationship between him and Yongzheng was not bad, even if Yongzheng rose to power, he wouldn't be suspicious of him or anything else.

  When an excellent prince wants people to believe him, potatoes will believe he can do it.

  PS, regarding the next world, potatoes arranged for Tang Dynasty + princess marriage, but today a friend said that watching martial arts and history is not interesting.

  How is the arrangement of the Republic of China's plot? Of course, because it's stricter now, that part of history can't be changed much, so the potatoes can only play a little edge ball.

  Or modern idol dramas or Korean dramas?