Chapter 6 is all about elites

  Yongqing Palace, the Shaozhang official of the Zhan Shi Fu, Yan Tu, hastily reported this news to Crown Prince Yin Yi. Unexpectedly, Yin Yi didn't get angry after hearing it, but instead slightly curved his mouth and revealed a playful smile.

  Yan Tu was not valued in front of the Crown Prince, but last year's abolition of the Taizi caused a stir, and many of Yin Zhen's trusted followers were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. This created a large number of vacancies around Yin Zhen, who had just been reinstated. As a junior official, Yan Tu would not miss this opportunity. Seeing that Yin Zhen seemed a bit abnormal, Yan Tu carefully said: "Your Highness, the 14th brother has come up with this 'Nong Shu' at this time, could he have ulterior motives?"

  "Grandfather smiled and said, 'I'm just afraid he doesn't have any other intentions. Usually, I really haven't seen it, but the old fourteen actually has a big ambition too. It's good to have ambition. Grandfather is now just right to nourish his spirit and conserve his energy, without the energy to play with them.'"

  "Your Highness, how come I didn't understand what you just said?" Yan Tu blinked his eyes and asked with a puzzled expression.

  "You don't understand, just go and call Zhu Tianbao." Yongzheng smiled and turned into the study.

  Those who have not tasted the flavor of power can hardly understand the pain of losing it, the shame of being deposed, the helplessness and terror that haunt Yongzheng's mind all the time. In the several months of confinement, Yongzheng repeatedly reflected on why he was powerless to fight back against Kangxi's suppression, and the most fundamental reason is that he did not grasp enough military power. Military power is the foundation of one's career, the foundation of a country.

  "Hmph, what father-son affection, ruler-minister norms, are all nonsense. In the end, it's just one word: power! Aren't you afraid I'll take your power and usurp your position? I was really too naive before. What loyalty, kindness, honesty, and filial piety, in the face of power, none of them amount to anything."

  Yin Zhen was secretly delighted in his heart, when Zhu Tianbao walked in with a serious expression. After bowing and paying respects, he stood aside with his hands hanging down. This Zhu Tianbao, also known as Jiuru, was the son of Zhu Duwen, the Vice Minister of War, and a lecturer at the Eastern Palace. He was quite clever and good at guessing the intentions of those above him. After Yin Zhen's restoration to power, he had been quite appreciative of Zhu Tianbao. Seeing him come in, Yin Zhen smiled and said: "Jiuru, what do you think about this peasant petition?"

  Zhu Tianbao said solemnly, "Your Highness, the Emperor has always attached great importance to agriculture. This book on promoting agriculture is purely a gesture of flattery, but it contains fatal flaws and would be extremely difficult to implement."

  "Oh?" Yinreng's spirit lifted upon hearing this, as the crown prince, he would definitely be asked about this matter by Kangxi later on. If he could refute it, not only would he gain Kangxi's favor but also strike a blow to the Eighth Prince Party's momentum. He immediately said: "Speak quickly, what's going on."

  Zhu Tianbao said, "Your Highness, please consider this: our Qing dynasty has nearly 2,000 counties. If we were to add a farming official to each county as proposed in the 'Farming Encouragement Book', how many more officials would that be? Wouldn't that be piling snow on an already impoverished national treasury? The most fundamental issue is that if one can become an official just by studying agriculture, who would still be willing to study diligently through the cold window? If scholars' hearts are not stable, then the country will not be stable."

  It makes sense, and Yongzheng nodded slowly in agreement. However, at this moment, he couldn't suppress the newly-emerged Old Fourteenth with a single blow. Although impeaching him would gain Kangxi's approval, it wouldn't bring any substantial benefits to himself. On the other hand, supporting Fourteenth would be more beneficial! For now, propping up Fourteenth would temporarily drive a wedge between Eighth Brother's faction and accelerate their division. In the long run, the higher he was lifted, the harder he would fall. Given Fourteenth's foundation and connections, it would still be easy to destroy him.

  Yongzheng was about to speak, when another thought suddenly occurred to him. The Kangxi Emperor had always attached great importance to agriculture and had made great efforts in this area. If the 14th prince were to make a name for himself in agriculture, wouldn't that be putting the Kangxi Emperor to shame? How could the normally proud Kangxi Emperor bear it?

  "Jiuruo, find someone to praise me, desperately praising 'Chang Nong Shu', the first of its kind in history, unparalleled."

  Dongcheng District, Tie Shi Zi Hutong East Entrance, Prince Gong's Mansion.

  Yin Yun saw the imperial edict and was stunned. When did the 14th brother become so concerned about agriculture? If he could make some reasonable suggestions on military matters, that would be acceptable, but could this agricultural book really have been written by him? Moreover, at a time when all the other princes were cautiously observing the situation, why did the 14th prince suddenly come out with this?

  Thinking of this, Yin Zhen couldn't sit still and immediately rushed to the Eighth Beile's mansion on Chongwenmennei Street.

  Yin Zhen's mansion was adjacent to Eighth Brother Yin Xi's, and it didn't take long to walk over. When Yin Xi saw Yin Zhen hastily approaching, he quickly ushered him into the study, dismissed the servants, and only then did he smile and say: "What's going on that makes you look so gloomy?"

  Yun Dao said, "Didn't Eighth Brother see the news? Fourteenth is someone we've watched grow up since childhood. What are his hobbies and temperament? Don't you find this novel strange?"

  "What's so strange about that?" Yintang said slowly: "Fourteen has always lived in the palace, and spent a lot of time with the Emperor, maybe he was influenced by the Emperor, or maybe not."

  "For so many years, he has never shown any interest in agriculture in front of us." Yun Chen said with dissatisfaction, "Moreover, at this time, he made such a big deal out of it. What is he thinking? Why didn't he discuss it with us?"

  "Fourteenth brother has grown up......" Yin said with a sigh.

  "Eight Brother, Fourteenth won't be seeing you off in front of him, has he had other ideas?"

  His face turned stern, and he said in a deep voice: "Ninth brother, have you forgotten what we agreed on at the beginning? We four brothers, no matter who takes the throne, the other three must do their best to support him."

  "This isn't even a promotion yet." Yun Chen muttered in dissatisfaction.

  A trace of anger flashed across his face, but he quickly controlled his emotions and explained in a serious tone: "We four brothers, whoever has the ability will go up, but we can't tear each other down. If we do, no one will be able to make it, and others will benefit from our infighting. Do you understand? Besides, fourteen isn't someone who can't tolerate others."

  "Eight brother, I didn't mean it that way. It's just that we brothers have been struggling for so many years... thinking of this, my heart feels suffocated."

  " Ninth brother, I'm telling you this today. What belongs to me, I won't give up on. What doesn't belong to me, I, Yinxiang, will also fight with all my might for it. After so many years of hard work, how could I let it go to waste? Saying that, his tone changed and his voice became slightly lower. "Old nine, planning is done by people, but success is determined by heaven. With one more brother competing, we four brothers will have a greater chance of winning. You know that, right? Since deciding to take this path, I've never thought about leaving room for retreat. If we fail, what will be the outcome? The emperor's life is still in its prime, our road ahead is long, and all the schemes can only deceive people temporarily. If we drive out the fourteenth brother, how will others look at us? Will anyone still be willing to follow someone who can't even get along with his own brothers?"

  Finally, this sentence is extremely serious, and Yi Xun is not stupid either. He hastily said, "Eighth brother, I was momentarily confused, but I'm also not someone who can't distinguish between what's important and what's not. I really didn't mean anything else."

  "Alright, remember this, we four brothers, no matter who it is, as long as they're willing to fight, we'll all go all out to support them, helping them is the same as helping ourselves."

  Yonglie nodded, "Ba Ge, I will."

  For the next two days, whether it was the Eighth Master or the brothers of the Eight Masters' Party, they visited Yongzheng's Xiqi House frequently, like a revolving lantern, and even Crown Prince Yinreng came once.

  Yuan Zhen didn't think much of it at first, but as more and more came, he felt something was strange. After careful consideration, he finally understood that these brothers were not simple-minded people, and his own behavior of promoting the "Nong Shu" must have been misinterpreted by them as a manifestation of contending for the throne.

  Frequent visits to the door, this is to alienate oneself from the Party of Eight Lords and hope that the Party of Eight Lords can emerge from internal strife. The three die-hards of the Party of Eight Lords came to the door, one was to support themselves, and the other was also to show the ministers that the Party of Eight Lords suffered a setback, but did not retreat in defeat, we will not give up at this point.

  Yongzheng was quite at a loss, having only wanted to use this matter to achieve his goal of dividing the manor, but instead being used by them as an opportunity to push himself to the forefront. He wondered what Kangxi's current opinion of him was. Indeed, they were all elites, not letting go of any opportunity.