flstandardbreds Chapter 119 Crown Prince Yinreng
Chapter 119 Crown Prince Yinreng
Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty
Upon hearing this, Kangxi could no longer contain his anger, and Liang Jiugong, who was serving beside him, knelt down with his legs buckling.
Then, Kangxi's face turned ashen, and he slammed the memorials on the table to the ground, as if answering his own question: "I have always considered myself a strict father in educating these princes, and I have been especially meticulous in teaching Crown Prince Yinreng. How could this happen..."
..........
Lin Ke was well aware of the outcome of the struggle for the throne among the nine princes, so she simply shook her head and sighed for a moment before continuing:
"Let's start by talking about Crown Prince Yinreng. He was born in the thirteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. His mother, Empress Heseri, also died in childbirth on that day. Therefore, the Kangxi Emperor took on the role of both father and mother to this child and raised him."
"On the third day of the sixth month of the following year, the two-year-old Yinreng was named Crown Prince. However, when he was five years old, he unfortunately contracted smallpox, which was incurable at the time and was also contagious. Despite this, Kangxi wholeheartedly stayed by his son's side until Crown Prince Yinreng recovered."
"The reason why Kangxi did this was because he had contracted smallpox as a child. At that time, Emperor Shunzhi ordered his wet nurse to take him outside the palace to raise him. He was in a state of being unloved by his parents and was not brought into the palace until Shunzhi's death."
"So this incident involving Yinreng reminded him of his childhood, which is why he takes such good care of him. Perhaps he doesn't want his child to live like he did in his childhood, without any relatives or friends outside the palace."
"As an aside, the nickname 'Kangxi Kangmazi' also originated from this, because smallpox leaves scars after recovery."
Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty: ...
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: Oh my god, I'm dying of laughter! Kang Mazi, hahahahaha!
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: Hahaha, this is hilarious!
……
Lin Ke smiled slightly and continued, "Under the doting care and upbringing of Emperor Kangxi, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, and Yinreng's maternal uncle, Suo'etu."
"Young Yinreng was handsome and very skilled in learning, riding and archery, as well as calligraphy in both Manchu and Chinese. However, because things went too smoothly for the crown prince, he did not experience any setbacks or, in short, he did not suffer the harsh realities of society."
“Children who grow up in such an environment will more or less have some problems with their personality. For example, the young Yinreng was rather domineering and not humble. He would resort to violence at the slightest disagreement.”
"The Manchu-language imperial edict states that Crown Prince Yinreng once beat up Prince Ping and Prince Haishan, and even kicked the Fourth Prince Yinzhen unconscious on the steps."
"As for the other ministers and soldiers, they have also had this experience."
"Such an arrogant crown prince made the already dissatisfied military nobles even more dissatisfied, forming a force against the crown prince."
"When it comes to attracting hatred, Crown Prince Yinreng seems to be the first to be invincible throughout the country!"
Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty: !!!
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: Even our Biao'er didn't act like this!
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: Why is this Crown Prince so irritable!
……
"And Crown Prince Yinreng's personality, aside from the reasons why he hit people, may also be related to Kangxi."
"As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. How parents conduct themselves in daily life will influence what their children learn. Emperor Kangxi personally selected three teachers for the education of his princes: Tangbin (Grand Master of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices), Gengjie (Junior Grand Master of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices), and Dahata (Minister of Personnel)."
"However, being a prince's teacher is not as easy as one might imagine. On his first day in office, Kangxi deliberately set difficult questions for the three of them, as if in his mind they were just servants and his dignity was not to be taken into consideration. As a result, the crown prince followed suit and did not respect his teacher."
"Kangxi also stipulated that teachers must kneel before students before class to show the difference between the emperor and his subjects. What's even more outrageous is that when students are reciting, these three people must kneel down first, and they can only get up when the students finish reciting."
"In this way, it's not the princes who will be exhausted, but these teachers. Soon, some of them will fall ill, and others will be punished."
An old farmer from the Ming Dynasty: Although I haven't had much formal education, I still know how to respect scholars!
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: ...This is outrageous!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: How tragic!
……
"Among them, the most unfortunate was Xu Yuanmeng. He was a Manchu and became a Jinshi in the twelfth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. He was a learned man, fluent in Manchu, Han and Mongolian languages, and was later appointed by the Kangxi Emperor as the tutor of the princes."
Xu Yuanmeng, the unlucky fellow of the Qing Dynasty: ...How am I so unlucky!?
“In April of 1687, Emperor Kangxi taught his princes riding and archery at Yingtai in the Western Garden. He considered riding and archery to be a Manchu tradition, something that all Manchus had to know.”
"But Xu Yuanmeng was a civil official who was completely ignorant of martial arts. When Kangxi found out, he publicly scolded him for not being worthy of being a Manchu."
"Scholars are generally aloof and proud, so Xu Yuanmeng tried to defend himself, but Kangxi was furious. He ordered his men to pin him to the ground and beat him severely in front of everyone. That wasn't all. Kangxi ordered his family's property to be confiscated and his parents to be exiled to Heilongjiang as slaves."
"Afterwards, Kangxi sent imperial physicians to treat Xu Yuanmeng. Do you think he was trying to make amends after he had vented his anger?"
Lin Ke shook her head in denial, and continued, "Kangxi did this just so that Xu Yuanmeng would not delay the princes' studies and that he would have to attend classes as usual on this day. Poor Xu Yuanmeng knelt down in front of the palace gate with his injuries, and to make matters worse, it started to pour rain."
"Xu Yuanmeng kept crying and pleading that he was willing to go to Heilongjiang in place of his parents, begging the emperor for mercy. Perhaps heaven did not forsake people, and a guard took pity on him and relayed the message to Kangxi. Or perhaps because the prince still needed Xu Yuanmeng's education, Kangxi finally pardoned Xu Yuanmeng's family."
"But Xu Yuanmeng's tragedy did not end there. Twenty years later, in 1707, during his sixth southern tour, Emperor Kangxi tested the learning of the young princes accompanying him and found that they were rusty in their studies."
"Therefore, it was believed that Xu Yuanmeng had not been properly instructed, so the prince in charge of the capital was ordered to dismiss Xu Yuanmeng from his post and to have him flogged 30 times in front of everyone."
"A scholar, and a teacher of the prince, was actually ripped open under the supervision of his students. The humiliation he suffered was undoubtedly fatal to this old man who was over fifty years old."
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: ? ? Xu Yuanmeng didn't do anything wrong!
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: Let's just say that the Jurchens are no good!
Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty: ...
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: This is terrible, it seems like they've only caught him!