Yinreng continued his economic pitch, but he noticed Emperor Kangxi rubbing his temples. Yinreng immediately stopped.
"Imperial Father, are you silently reprimanding me?"
Kangxi looked up, bewildered. "I have not said a word."
"You are thinking that my focus on commerce and profit is petty, beneath the dignity of the Crown Prince," Yinreng accused.
"I am not," Kangxi defended himself. Years ago, he might have agreed. However, observing the sheer capital required to manifest Yinreng's "miracles"—from hybrid rice to cement highways—had forcibly altered Kangxi's worldview. A nation could not achieve supremacy on morality alone; it required immense, liquid wealth.
"The aristocracy despises merchants," Yinreng argued pragmatically. "They complain about the 'stink of copper.' But copper has no scent. Without wealth, how does the state fund infrastructure? My toll road proposal is purely logical. The cement roads are built for the people, but heavy commercial wagons cause immense friction and structural degradation. Over time, the roads will fracture. The toll is not extortion; it is a mandatory maintenance fund."
Kangxi smiled faintly. "I understand your logic. I am not reprimanding you. However, your toll proposal is fundamentally unviable."
Yinreng frowned. "Because of reputation? Because it sounds like banditry? Imperial Father, bandits extort money through violence for personal gratification. State tolls exchange security and infrastructure for a fee, reinvesting the capital into the empire. Furthermore, stationed guards at toll gates naturally suppress local banditry."
Kangxi lowered his head, trying to suppress a laugh.
Yinreng bristled. 'Analysis: He is mocking my proposition. Why?' "Imperial Father!"
Kangxi cleared his throat. "Yinreng, are you unaware that the Qing Dynasty 'already' has an extensive toll system?"
Yinreng froze.
[System: Alert. Historical cross-referencing confirms toll systems have existed since the Qin and Han Dynasties.]
Yinreng internally cursed his historical blind spot.
Kangxi elaborated gently. "Land routes have passes; waterways have customs checkpoints. The Grand Canal alone has over ten major toll stations. It is an ancient practice."
'Information gap identified. Adjusting strategy.' Yinreng pivoted quickly. "Then we simply upgrade the existing system for the new cement roads to increase revenue."
"Impossible," Kangxi countered, his tone turning serious. "The system is flawed. Yes, tolls apply to heavy luggage and commercial carts. However, anyone holding an official post or an academic degree—scholars and officials—is legally exempt from all tolls."
Yinreng instantly saw the economic loophole. "The merchant class."
"Exactly," Kangxi nodded. "Merchants routinely hire scholars to travel with their caravans. The scholar provides a legal shield against the toll, and the merchant covers the scholar's travel expenses. It is a mutually beneficial, entirely legal method of tax evasion.
"Furthermore," Kangxi continued, detailing the corruption, "the guards at these checkpoints hold absolute authority over passage. If the state fee is one mace of silver, corrupt guards demand two. They extort the peasantry who lack the power to resist. Last year, extortion on the Jiangnan canal led to fatalities. I am currently strategizing how to abolish or heavily reform these checkpoints. I cannot authorize you to build new ones."
Yinreng sighed. 'Without a modernized, digitized surveillance system, grassroots corruption is inevitable. Human greed overrides policy.' "If domestic taxation is unviable," Yinreng murmured, planting a new strategic seed, "we must exploit external markets. Lifting the maritime trade ban would be infinitely profitable. We export our goods and extract foreign silver. I have read that Japan possesses massive, unmined silver reserves."
Kangxi's eyes narrowed in deep contemplation.
Observation: The concept of maritime imperialism has been successfully implanted. Yinreng knew not to push further. Kangxi was a progressive monarch who studied Western science; given time, he would process the macroeconomic benefits of global trade.
Yinreng smoothly shifted back to his primary objective. "Regardless of tolls or ships, the commercialization of the daily necessities and the utilization of silage solve our immediate financial deficits. Therefore, the Southern Tour is fully funded."
Kangxi smiled wickedly. "I will issue the edict for the Southern Tour. But I never said I was taking 'you'."
Yinreng's eyes widened.
"You are the Crown Prince," Kangxi stated. "While I inspect the south, you will remain in the capital and act as Regent."
'Regency. Endless memorials. Absolute confinement.' Yinreng turned and bolted from the Imperial Study.
Kangxi pointed at the retreating figure, complaining to Head Eunuch Liang Jiugong. "Look at him! Utterly undisciplined."
"He is only ten, Your Majesty," Liang Jiugong smiled diplomatically.
"When I was his age, I was a year away from marriage!" Kangxi scoffed. "Go tell him that if he drafts a flawless, comprehensive memorial detailing his commercial proposals, I will take him."
Before Liang Jiugong could move, Eunuch Xiao Zhuzi crept back into the room, kneeling and pressing his forehead to the floor. "Your Majesty... His Highness ordered me to inform you that he is currently en route to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility to inform the Grand Empress Dowager that you are 'burning bridges after crossing the river.'"
Kangxi was speechless.
'He weaponized the Empress Dowager.' Furious but amused, Kangxi had no choice but to follow. If he didn't, the Empress Dowager would summon him anyway.
***
The Golden Cage
When Kangxi arrived, Yinreng was already clinging to his great-grandmother. "I solved his financial crisis, and now he intends to abandon me and force me to work! He is burning bridges!"
The Grand Empress Dowager nodded in firm agreement, pointing an accusing finger at the Emperor. "Burning bridges. Unacceptable."
Kangxi rubbed his temples. He ordered Yinreng to wait outside so he could speak privately with his grandmother. Once the boy left, the Dowager sighed heavily.
"Emperor, take him with you," she advised. "You know Yinreng's psychological profile. He craves freedom, new environments, and the vitality of the outside world. If not for his imperial blood, he would have been a wandering merchant. The royal family is a cage to him."
Kangxi remained silent. It was a perfectly accurate assessment.
"You were forced to mature rapidly," the Dowager said, her voice laced with ancient grief. "When your father, Emperor Shunzhi, abandoned the throne, you were burdened with the survival of the Qing Dynasty as a mere child. You studied until you spat blood. I failed to give you a childhood. I wish to correct that failure through Yinreng. Let him grow slowly. He has you to shield him from the storm."
"But he is the Crown Prince. He must eventually rule," Kangxi argued.
"You are only thirty," she countered smoothly. "You have decades left. Why rush his maturity?"
She paused, her eyes sharpening. "I know you plan to introduce the Eldest Prince, Yinzhi, into the court to temper him. Are you perhaps worried that if Yinzhi gains military or political power, Yinreng will feel threatened?"
Kangxi did not answer. He had indeed been watching Yinreng's complete lack of reaction to Yinzhi's recent political maneuvering in the academy. He had hoped competition would ignite Yinreng's ambition.
"Emperor," the Dowager laughed softly. "Do you truly believe Yinreng cares?"
The realization hit Kangxi like a physical blow.
Analysis of Yinreng's Behavior: Yinreng only exerts effort toward things he finds interesting (engineering, science) or things that grant him leverage (funding). He despises administrative duties.
If Yinzhi accumulated enough power to challenge the position of Crown Prince, Yinreng would not fight back. Yinreng would view it as a deliverance. He would gladly hand the title over to escape the confinement of the imperial court.
The title of Crown Prince was not a prize to Yinreng; it was a shackle. It was the only thing preventing his son from vanishing into the world.
A sudden, suffocating panic gripped Kangxi's chest. If he pushed too hard, he would lose his heir entirely.
Kangxi stepped out of the palace doors. Yinreng was standing there, his eyes bright with expectation. "Did you agree?"
Kangxi looked at the boy who held the empire's future in his head but wanted nothing to do with its throne.
"Yes," Kangxi said gruffly, swatting the back of Yinreng's head. "I agreed."
Yinreng threw his arms up in victory. "Long live the Emperor!"
Kangxi sighed. 'He is my son. I have no choice but to endure him.'