novelaction Chapter 177: Dethroned Prince?
Chapter 177: Dethroned Prince?
Chapter 177: Dethroning the Crown Prince?
Everything in the capital is peaceful, at least many people don't feel any sense of crisis. After the emperor left, many people played more crazily and became bolder.
But on the grassland, people felt differently. The biggest turning point of the situation was that the emperor suddenly found Master Dejia, who had disappeared for many years, on the third day after entering the grassland. The large army settled on the grassland that night. Not only that, some people also saw Master Dejia being invited to the imperial tent by the guards around the emperor.
I don’t know what the emperor said to Master Nedgar in the imperial tent, but when everyone got up the next day, they could clearly feel the emperor’s impatience and dislike for the prince.
What shocked everyone next was that the emperor began to find fault with the prince endlessly. Of course, Prince Zhi was not spared either. However, compared with the emperor's previous infinite doting on the prince, the emperor suddenly changed his attitude, which made everyone terrified.
Of course, this was the case for the majority, while some, such as Prince Zhi and Prince Lian, were actually ecstatic. They finally saw that the Emperor was dissatisfied with the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince's position was unstable, so their long-term calculations were very promising.
The emperor first broke the tradition of having Crown Prince Yinreng represent him in hosting a banquet for Mongolian princes and nobles, and instead asked the eighth prince Yinsi to attend on his behalf.
Then the task of inspecting the camp and protecting the emperor was given to Prince Zhi. On the contrary, Yinreng, as the crown prince, had to stay by the emperor's side all the time. He had no power and was more like a mascot.
Another incident happened in the middle. Just like in the previous life, the Eighteenth Prince contracted mumps. However, compared to the previous life, this time it happened earlier. The Eighteenth Prince was only four years old and still a little baby.
Because of the relationship between the Fifteenth Prince and the Sixteenth Prince, the Crown Prince sent medicinal materials and imperial physicians as soon as possible, and he also visited them in person. Because the disease was discovered early and the right medicine was prescribed, the Eighteenth Prince's condition was soon under control.
Yinreng breathed a sigh of relief after returning to his tent. The fuse of the incident of deposing the crown prince in his previous life was gone. He thought that this time, whatever the emperor's father wanted to do or say would be delayed for a while, right?
But he underestimated an emperor's obsession with the throne. Even if the Eighteenth Prince had not passed away, what was supposed to happen would still have happened.
On the way back to Beijing, when passing by the Rehe Palace, the Fourteenth Prince Yinzhen colluded with the Eighth Prince Yinsi to forge a so-called "Crown Prince's Handwritten Letter" and, under the guise of Crown Prince Yinreng, "ordered" Soetu, who was originally stationed in Beijing, to lead his troops to surround Kangxi's Rehe Palace. At the same time, the Prince of Zhi directly broke into the emperor's tent under the pretext of protecting the emperor and clearing the court of corrupt officials. This instantly made the whole situation tense.
To make matters worse, that very evening, Master Dejia offered the emperor a longevity elixir and a horoscope, predicting he would remain emperor for another forty years. Of course, this news remained secret, known only to Kangxi and his trusted confidant, Liang Jiugong. However, it was Master Dejia's words that proved to be the final straw, forcing Kangxi, who had initially softened his heart upon discovering the forged "Crown Prince's Edict," to dethrone Yinreng.
He still has forty years left in his life as emperor, so whether he has a crown prince or not will not be too important to him or to the country in the next twenty or thirty years.
However, it was also because Kangxi's reasoning this time was not quite legitimate enough, or in other words, the prince had no other tricks except this false abdication.
In addition, Kangxi himself knew that this time the dethronement of the crown prince was due to his own selfish motives. It was purely because he did not want anyone to covet the throne under his butt. Therefore, the tone of the imperial edict deposing the crown prince this time was mild. There were no comments such as the so-called unrighteous and unfilial, shameless, violent, arrogant and unruly in previous lives. The only reason given was lack of ability, nothing else.
It can be said that this time the dethronement of the crown prince was like playing house, like a farce, but because of Yinreng's active cooperation, although everyone was a little confused, the dethronement of the crown prince went on smoothly as usual.
In August of the 42nd year of the Kangxi reign, the imperial edict to depose the crown prince was issued from Rehe. After being promulgated, it circulated throughout the country. Soon the entire capital knew this information. Those who were interested immediately severed their ties with the crown prince's lineage, and those who wanted to follow in the footsteps of the emperor quickly turned to the names of other princes.
Among them, the most visitors came from the Prince of Zhi's Mansion and the Prince of Cheng's Mansion. Of course, there were also people from the Prince of Yong's Mansion who sent letters to test the waters, but the Fourth Lady rejected them all and the door of the mansion was kept closed. Such a clear attitude made those who originally wanted to join the Prince of Yong's family consider other princes instead.
As for the residence of Prince Lian, some people also came, and they were all literati, headed by He Chuo's He family. The aristocratic families in Jiangnan also came to Yinsi.
Guo Luoluo also played a significant role. She opened the door to the mansion, was very good at handling affairs, and was very friendly to those who came to seek refuge. She also accepted all those who came and offered her help.
In addition, Yinsi himself had a smooth character and never offended anyone, and with the support of the Tong family behind him, Lian Beizi's reputation for wisdom and virtue soon spread throughout the capital.
Did Prince Zhi know that Yinsi was trying to win over people's hearts? Of course he knew, he discovered it during his tour of the frontier, but what did he know? Yinsi hadn't turned against him yet, and even openly supported him as his brother. If he turned around and attacked Yinsi's power now, what would his followers think?
Therefore, the Prince of Zhi must not only not offend Yinsi, but also needs to increase his efforts to win over the other party. After the second prince was deposed, the emperor should soon appoint another prince. This is a critical moment, how can he be allowed to act willfully?
For a time, the capital was as lively as the New Year. Many people began to take action to choose the prince they would follow, leaving only the royalists indifferent.
Of course, there were also neutral princes, such as Prince Yong, Prince Heng, Chun Beizi, Min Beile, and Dun Beile. They ignored the solicitation of Prince Zhi, Prince Cheng, and Lian Beizi, and only followed the emperor and carried out his orders. This made Kangxi feel a little relieved that he had chosen more sons because he had deposed the crown prince.
With a wave of his hand, ten days after returning to Beijing, the Qianqing Palace issued an imperial edict, conferring the title of Prince Heshuo Limi on Yinreng and awarding him a prince's mansion. At the same time, it also directly designated Hongye as the crown prince and Hongchang as the Beizi.
The positions of Prince Yong and Prince Heng remained unchanged, but they were rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold. Chun Beizi was directly promoted to Beile, and became Chun Beile. The ninth and tenth princes were also promoted to a higher level, and became Princes.
The imperial edict sent shockwaves through the capital. What did the emperor mean by this? Wasn't the crown prince deposed? But why had the deposed crown prince become Prince Limi, the only prince among all the other princes to hold that title? Even more shocking was the title of "Prince with a double character," a title usually reserved for iron-hat princes.
Even more surprising was that the three previously favored princes not only received no promotion in title, but also received none of the ten thousand taels of gold reward. Instantly, everyone understood the emperor's stance. Although he had abolished the crown prince, he had no intention of appointing another one. Furthermore, judging by the current titles, Prince Limi still had the best chance of winning.
Now, those who had originally betrayed Yinreng regretted it, but it was easy to get out, but it was difficult to get in again. After this incident, Yinreng became more determined in his original idea. Only a few people who were loyal to him stayed by his side, and he no longer accepted the rest.