Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

"Feiyanggu's army of 50,000 suffered a defeat and dared to conceal it! He even went so far as to attack the Han capital on his own initiative! Now, trapped in an isolated city, he has finally come to me for help!"

"150,000 soldiers were wiped out in less than two months! Traitorous traitors! Traitorous traitors..."

At this moment, Li Dequan dared not look at Kangxi's face and lowered his head even further!

The eldest prince suffered such a huge defeat, losing 120,000 to 130,000 men. This was a defeat that Kangxi had never experienced since he ascended the throne!

Even since Nurhaci, the founder of the Taizu dynasty, although there have been times of defeat,

But never before has it been such a one-sided and crushing defeat!

How could the ever-proud Emperor Kangxi not be furious!

Just moments ago, he was thinking that his life's achievements were approaching those of the founding emperor, but in the end, he suffered such a crushing defeat!

How can he be called a great emperor of all time?

This is a complete disgrace in his later years!

Kangxi gritted his teeth and instructed Li Dequan:

"Go and summon the ministers of the Southern Study, Tong Guowei, Ma Qi, Gao Shiqi, and others, and also summon Crown Prince Yinreng!"

Emperor Kangxi, having experienced much in his life, was able to control his emotions even as he was consumed by rage.

While instructing Li Dequan to call people over to discuss the matter, he also read through the memorial from beginning to end once more.

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

Only Crown Prince Yinreng arrived last.

He was sweating profusely and running along, looking extremely flustered and embarrassed, and he dared not look directly at Kangxi.

He was enjoying some tenderness with his stepmother when this old geezer sent someone to wake him up so late.

What a miserable life I've been as the crown prince! Who in the world can be a crown prince for decades!

I live in constant fear, afraid that the old man might suddenly have a fit and lash out at me.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty!"

Yinreng respectfully bowed to Kangxi, but secretly glanced at Kangxi's ashen and ugly face, and inwardly groaned.

I've never seen the old man look so upset. I wonder what happened this time, and I might get caught in the crossfire again.

At this moment, Kangxi had no mind to observe Yinreng's subtle actions. He simply tossed the memorial in his hand to him silently, gesturing for him to look at it.

Yinreng carefully opened the memorial and quickly looked at it against the light in the hall.

His expression shifted rapidly:

"This...this..."

Yinreng was secretly pleased at this moment, as his eldest brother Yinti and eighth brother Yinsi had always been strong contenders for the position of crown prince.

The two men had been plotting behind his back, trying to usurp his position as crown prince.

The eldest son, Yinti, in particular, openly displayed his hostility, frequently complaining about him to the old man.

Last time, his secret of selling official positions was exposed, which caused him to be severely reprimanded by the old man for several days.

Now look what happened, such a huge defeat!

This time, Yinqi has absolutely no hope of ascending to the throne!

Not to mention the old man's deep disappointment in him, even the families of those deceased generals and soldiers would no longer be willing to support his ascension to power.

The crown prince, afraid of laughing out loud, tried to think of things that would make him sad, and his face showed great shock and grief.

Kangxi stared coldly at Yinreng and asked:

"Yinreng, I have read the memorial. Yinti is arrogant, impetuous, eager for quick success and instant benefits, lacks strategy, and is ineffective in battle, which led to a disastrous defeat at the front and the loss of soldiers."

"Now we only have 20,000 troops left, besieged by the Han army in Jizhou City, their lives hanging by a thread! You are the Crown Prince, tell me, what should we do now?"

Kangxi directly blamed the failure on Yinti, and he did not believe Yinti's report about how brave the Han soldiers were and how powerful the Han general Jia Jing was!

He had fought against the Han army before, and he knew their situation very well!

This is nothing more than Yinqi shifting responsibility and finding excuses to absolve himself of guilt!

No matter how powerful the Han army is, it is not an excuse for your crushing defeat!

The crushing defeat was definitely caused by Yinqi's stubbornness and arrogance on the battlefield!

They even dared to conceal military intelligence and act on their own initiative; they deserve to die!

One incompetent general can lead to the downfall of an entire army!

It's a pity that such talented generals as Fei Yanggu were wasted!

Yinreng was momentarily taken aback by Kangxi's question.

He had just used up too much energy with his stepmother, and his mind wasn't quite clear yet, so he could only say what he had in mind:

"This... Father Emperor, Your Majesty is wise and decisive, and has your own plan!"

Kangxi gave Yinreng a disapproving look and said coldly:

"I have my own ideas. What I'm asking now is, what are your ideas?"

Kangxi's face darkened, and a nameless anger rose within him.

Even at this point, the Crown Prince himself is still spouting useless excuses!

Such a crushing defeat at the front is a major event concerning the very foundation of the Qing Dynasty!

He, the crown prince, acted as if nothing was wrong, showing no regard for the country's interests whatsoever.

How could someone like that be fit to be the crown prince of the Qing Dynasty?

Am I to hand over the Qing Dynasty to such a person after my death?

Yinreng sensed Kangxi's displeasure and, trembling, prostrated himself on the ground and replied:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is indeed true that my elder brother acted inappropriately... he was greedy for merit and acted rashly... and failed Your Majesty's expectations..."

Sweating profusely, Yinreng racked his brains for words, unsure of what Kangxi wanted to hear.

Being the crown prince is really too difficult for him!

When he was young, he wanted to make a difference and put forward his own political views, but he was secretly ostracized and suppressed by his father. Soetu was also imprisoned and punished.

Now he hides his ignorance and indulging in sensual pleasures, only thinking about protecting himself and succeeding to the throne peacefully, which makes the old man displeased.

How can I possibly please him? This prince is acting so pathetic!

"Yinti is certainly guilty. What I'm asking you now is what to do next?"

Kangxi let out another cold snort, which made Yinreng tremble.

"Yes, yes, yes, now that our elder brother is trapped in this isolated city, we should send troops to his aid, to his aid..."