Chapter 39: Yinreng: Your Majesty Is Wise and Discerning, Having His Own Stance

"Fei Yanggu's fifty‑thousand troops were defeated, yet they dared to conceal it! They even took it upon themselves to attack the Han's Shenjing! Only now, trapped in an isolated city, do they beg my aid!"

"One hundred fifty thousand soldiers were all dead or wounded in less than two months! Treacherous ministers and rebels! Treacherous ministers and rebels…"

Li Dequan at this moment dared not look at Kangxi's expression, and buried his head even lower!

The Crown Prince suffered such a massive defeat, losing twelve to thirteen thousand out of the one hundred fifty thousand troops; this is a failure Kangxi has never experienced since he took the throne!

Even since the founding emperor Nurhaci, although there have been defeats,

none have been as one‑sided a disaster as this time!

This makes the usually proud Kangxi unable not to be enraged!

He had just been thinking his lifetime achievements were close to those of the founding emperor, only to turn around and suffer such a disastrous defeat!

Can he still be called a timeless emperor?

This is simply a loss of his later virtue!

Kangxi clenched his teeth and ordered Li Dequan:

"Summon the Southern Study ministers Tong Guowei, Ma Qi, Gao Shiqi and others, and also call the Crown Prince Yinreng over!"

Kangxi, having experienced such matters, even though his anger flared now, could still restrain his emotions,

while ordering Li Dequan to summon people for discussion, he also read the memorial from beginning to end again.

A moment later, the Southern Study ministers Tong Guowei, Ma Qi, and Gao Shiqi arrived one after another.

Only the Crown Prince Yinreng arrived last,

his forehead beaded with sweat, he ran in a small trot, looking extremely flustered and embarrassed, and dared not meet Kangxi's gaze.

He had just been enjoying warmth with his little mother, when this damned old man called him so late.

Being a Crown Prince is miserable! There is no Crown Prince who lasts for decades!

Living in constant fear, he worries that the old man might one day burst out in displeasure at him.

"Your Majesty, I, your son, present myself!"

Yinreng respectfully saluted Kangxi, furtively glancing at Kangxi's sallow, terrible complexion, and silently lamented in his heart.

He had never seen the old man's expression so bad; he wondered what had happened, fearing he might again be caught like a fish in a pond.

Kangxi at this moment had no mind to observe Yinreng's small gestures; he silently tossed the memorial in his hand to him, indicating him to read.

Yinreng carefully opened the memorial and quickly scanned it under the hall's light.

His expression flickered for a moment:

"This… this…"

Yinreng actually felt a secret joy; his elder brother Yin Ti and eighth brother Yin Si had always been strong rivals for the Crown Prince position,

the two had been scheming behind the scenes to replace him as Crown Prince.

Especially the eldest, Yin Ti, who blatantly displayed his hostility, often accusing him of wrongdoing before the old man.

Last time he exposed his sale of offices, causing him to be severely reprimanded by the old man for several days.

Now, such a great defeat!

Yin Ti this time is completely hopeless of ascending.

Not only is the old man deeply disappointed in him, but even the families of the dead generals and soldiers would not support his rise.

The Crown Prince, fearing he might laugh out loud, tried to think of things that would sadden him, and outwardly displayed great shock and grief.

Kangxi stared coldly at Yinreng and asked:

"Yinreng, you have read the memorial; Yin Ti is reckless, impatient, short‑sighted, lacks strategy, and is ineffective in battle, leading to the front's disastrous defeat and the loss of soldiers."

"Now only twenty thousand troops remain, still besieged by the Han Army within Jizhou City, the dynasty's future in peril! You are the Crown Prince; tell me, at this point, what should be done!"

Kangxi directly blamed the failure on Yin Ti, refusing to believe the reports of the Han Army's bravery or how formidable General Jia Jing was!

He is not unfamiliar with the Han Army; he knows exactly their condition!

This is nothing but Yin Ti shifting responsibility, looking for an excuse to absolve himself!

No matter how powerful the Han Army is, it is not an excuse for such a crushing defeat!

It must be Yin Ti's obstinate arrogance on the battlefield that caused the disaster!

He still dares to conceal military information, act on his own, truly unworthy of life!

An incompetent commander brings ruin to the entire army!

What a waste of talents like Fei Yanggu and the other great generals!

Yinreng, hearing Kangxi's question, was momentarily at a loss,

having just expended too much energy with his little mother, his mind was sluggish, and he could only recite a set phrase:

"This… Your Majesty, Your Majesty is wise and discerning, and has his own stance!"

Kangxi, displeased, glanced at Yinreng and said coldly:

"I do have a stance; what I am asking now is, what stance do you have?"

Kangxi's expression turned sour, an unnamed fire rising in his heart,

my Crown Prince, even now, keeps giving me useless evasive words!

Such a massive defeat on the front line is a matter concerning the very foundation of the Great Qing!

He, this Crown Prince, behaves as if nothing matters, never considering the issue from the state's perspective.

A person like that, how can he bear the role of Qing's heir?

Do I, after a hundred years, intend to hand Qing over to someone like this?

Yinreng, feeling Kangxi's displeasure, crouched trembling on the ground and replied:

"Your Majesty, indeed this matter stems from my elder brother's improper conduct… his greed and rashness… which has let down Your Majesty's expectations…"

Yinreng, sweating profusely, rummaged for words in his mind, still unsure what Kangxi truly wishes to hear.

He, this crown prince, is truly such a pain!

In his youth, he wanted to make a mark and put forward his own political views, but the old man constantly sidelined and suppressed him behind the scenes, and Suo E Tu was also thrown into prison and punished.

Now he hides his ignorance and sticks to his clumsiness, indulges in sensual pleasures, only thinks about acting wisely to protect himself and peacefully inheriting the throne, yet the old man still finds him unsightly.

How on earth can I act to satisfy him? This crown prince is just far too spineless!

"Yin Ti is certainly guilty; what I ask you now is what we should do next?"

Kangxi gave another cold snort, frightening Yin Rong into a tremor:

"Right, right, right, now my elder brother is besieged in a solitary city; we should send troops to rescue, rescue..."