My father-in-law is Kangxi

Chapter 1816: Tiger Hunting

The Ninth Prince asked a question and then dropped the matter.

With so many brothers, how can we all get along?
Not everyone is as popular as he is.

He had long discovered that the brothers above rarely formed groups and most of them worked alone.

Even if some people were close when they were in the palace in their early years, it would be difficult for them to be as close as they were when they were children after they left the palace and started their own businesses.

He is the only one among his brothers who has such a close relationship with the Tenth Prince.

The Tenth Prince was eating pork jerky, thinking about the gossip about the Thirteenth Prince that had been going on for the past two months.

At the beginning, there was a suspicion of flattery; but after the hunting last month, there was a suspicion of belittlement.

There is no smoke without fire.

Is the Thirteenth Prince suspicious of the Eighth Prince?

The Tenth Prince thought about it and let the matter go, since it had nothing to do with him anyway.

After the city gate opened, the carriage headed towards Haidian.

At a quarter to the morning, everyone was already waiting outside the main palace gate of Changchun Garden.

When the imperial carriage came out, everyone got on their horses and carriages and headed for Nanyuan in a mighty procession.

In the Ninth Prince's carriage, only he and the Tenth Prince were left.

The Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince both changed their horses.

The Ninth Prince lifted the carriage curtain and looked out.

The Thirteenth Prince was riding side by side with the Seventh Prince, and the two brothers were talking about something.

Next to the Fourth Prince was the Eighth Prince.

The horses of the eldest prince and the third prince were next to the imperial carriage, and they served in front of the emperor.

"Fifth brother is taking the bus..."

The Ninth Prince turned around and said to the Tenth Prince, "Regain your energy. It's rare that the Fifth Prince also has a competitive spirit."

The Tenth Prince said, "Fifth Brother is not afraid of others in riding and shooting!"

The Ninth Prince nodded.

My hope that my fifth brother would no longer be able to run a horse was dashed.

But it doesn’t matter. As long as I persist, second to last is fine.

Changchun Garden is more than fifty miles away from Nanyuan Weichang.

At noon, the group arrived at the enclosure.

When the Ninth Prince got off the carriage, his legs were numb.

The enclosure covers a large area. They used a quarter of it last time. This time they should go to the south.

There is a Nanhai Lake over there, which covers a vast area and the ice is now frozen solid.

To the southeast of Nanhaizi is the Xinggong Deer Park, where many female deer are raised.

The Ninth Prince said to the Tenth Prince, "Let's go to the Deer Park later. I'm thinking of picking a few female deer!"

The Tenth Prince naturally had no objection.

At this moment, a royal guard came over and said, "Ninth Master, Tenth Master, the Emperor has ordered you all to come to the Eagle Release Tower to see him."

The Ninth and Tenth Princes listened with their hands lowered.

The Ninth Prince asked, "Isn't the hunting event tomorrow? Has the time been changed?"

The guard shook his head and said, "I don't know either."

He came to pass on a message to the princes, and the Thirteenth Prince was following behind him, so he apologized and went to the Thirteenth Prince's side.

The Ninth Prince was a little worried. He looked at the Tenth Prince and said, "Could it be that Khan Ama has nothing better to do and wants to test everyone's standing archery?"

If that were to happen, I wouldn't be able to hide my shortcomings and it would be embarrassing.

The Tenth Prince couldn't guess it either, and said, "Don't worry, Ninth Brother, even if we have to perform archery, we won't call everyone to the stage, there are still guards here."

The emperor also cares about his reputation and will not let the ninth brother go on stage.

The Ninth Prince hurriedly ordered He Yuzhu, "Go and bring the food. Other things are fine, but you need a pot."

Everyone arrived at the palace at noon and settled down. It was almost the beginning of the afternoon, and there was only half an hour left until noon.

He Yuzhu went away as requested.

After a while, the lunch box was brought over. In it was a dish of stewed venison tendons with radish, and the rest were just braised venison and stir-fried venison.

The two brothers had lunch with the soup pot, and then it was almost time.

The two men dressed warmly and rode to the Falconry Tower.

The Thirteenth Prince had already arrived and was talking to a young guard with an excited look on his face.

He was a prince who had never left the palace. He had often accompanied the emperor on his journey in recent years and was familiar with all the inner-class guards.

Seeing the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince arrive, the Thirteenth Prince came forward to greet them.

"Ninth brother, tenth brother, Khan Ama sent us here to watch the tiger hunting!"

The Ninth Prince dismounted and said, "There is a tiger in Nanyuan? Why didn't I hear about it last time?"

The Thirteenth Prince said, "They were brought here from Mulan Paddock and kept separately. We are going to release two of them today!"

The Ninth Prince was moved by what he heard and said, "Hunting tigers is good, hunting tigers is good!"

The last time I saw a live tiger was in Rehe in the 39th year, when the guards and imperial guards cleared out the wild beasts near the palace.

I wonder if I can get some tiger bones...

The recipe for tiger bone wine at home is good. Everyone who has used it says it’s good. It’s a good opportunity to make some more and keep it in stock.

At this moment, the Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince also arrived.

The Fifth Prince looked at the high falconry platform and said, "There are no wild ducks in winter, what are you hunting here for?"

It is the falconry platform, and it corresponds to a large pond in the south, where there are often flocks of birds in spring and autumn.

If you release a Saker Falcon here, you can witness it hunting birds.

It is so cold today that all the water bodies are frozen solid and birds are scarce.

The Thirteenth Prince then talked about the tiger hunting incident.

After hearing this, the Fifth Prince's eyes lit up and he said, "Is this the Tiger Spear Battalion hunting tigers? I wonder if this will lead to our downfall..."

Which man has not thought about fighting tigers and leopards?

The Ninth Prince looked at the Fifth Prince and said, "Fifth Brother, please don't come along and cause trouble. Not only will you not be able to help, but you will also be a hindrance and delay several combat forces to protect you."

She looked thin in September, but after winter came, she seemed to gain weight again and her belly became bigger.

The Fifth Prince glared at the Ninth Prince and said, "You are underestimating me, aren't you? If you want to hunt a tiger, why are you hiding..."

At this point, he looked at the other brothers and asked, "Except for my eldest brother and me, who among you has ever used a tiger spear?"

The tiger spear is a long weapon, eight feet and four inches long, and most people are not used to wielding it.

The princes were in the study, and apart from learning bows and arrows, they also learned swords, and nothing else.

Seeing that no one objected, the Fifth Prince said to the Ninth Prince, "Hmph, wait until my brother comes to an end, and I'll let you see how powerful he is."

The Ninth Prince said, "Don't even think about it today. Khan Ama won't let you suffer this fate. It's New Year's Day, and that would make things difficult for the Empress Dowager."

The Fifth Prince was ready to fight, but after hearing this and thinking about it, he felt a little disappointed.

The Ninth Prince couldn't bear it anymore and said, "If you want to hunt tigers, then we can take some people to Miyun. There are tigers in the mountains over there..."

The Fifth Prince shook his head and said, "It's too far..."

The court has a rule that without an imperial decree, royal family members cannot leave the capital.

If you go for a walk outside the capital, it is not against the rules. If you go beyond a hundred miles, you have to ask for permission.

As the sound of horse hooves rang out, a group of people came closer and closer.

The Holy Chariot has arrived.

Several princes who had not yet appeared were all riding horses and accompanying Kangxi.

The princes hurried forward to greet them.

The eldest prince, the third prince, the fourth prince, and the eighth prince had already dismounted from their horses and stepped aside.

Kangxi was in a very good mood. He dismounted from his horse, waved his hand to call for the princes and guards to go up to the eagle-releasing platform.

A throne had already been set up on the stage.

"Ouch..."

From afar, two tiger roars were heard.

Everyone looked over.

The guards were pulling two carts with cast iron cages on them.

The Ninth Prince was a little excited when he saw it.

The tiger is coming.

The reason why it was towed by manpower instead of horses was because horses could not reach a live tiger and the roar of a tiger would scare the horses.

The tiger cage was transported from Mulan Paddock using an ox cart.

The Thirteenth Prince was standing below the Ninth Prince, also very excited. He looked carefully and said, "The cages are the same size, and the tigers are one big and one small. They are a pair of tigers!"

As the Ninth Prince listened, he inexplicably thought of his own pig farm in Baiwang Mountain.

This pair of tigers can be kept to have cubs. It would be a pity to kill them directly.

There are a total of 600 soldiers in the Tiger Spear Battalion. Today, 300 of them followed the guards to Nanyuan and are all here.

It is said that you can watch tiger hunting, but in fact the reserved tiger hunting area is a full mile away from the eagle-releasing platform.

The son of a wealthy family is not allowed to sit in the hall, let alone the emperor.

The mile-long area from the hunting ground to the imperial court was not vacant, and several layers of manpower were deployed to defend it.

Next to the emperor were the guards of the Qianqing Palace.

After the Qianqing Palace guards, there are the outer guards.

Behind the outer guards were the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Bird Gun Battalion and the Shanpu Battalion.

Since they were going to hunt tigers and look at the tiger's power, they would naturally not release two sick tigers.

When the cast iron cage containing the tiger was lowered, everyone held their breath.

The Ninth Prince's palms began to sweat as he watched.

How do I release this?
If the tiger runs towards the person the moment he is released, how can he resist?

I’m afraid even rescue with muskets won’t be in time.

Looking at the tiger spearmen standing a few feet away from the tiger fence, the Ninth Prince could only admire them.

This is different from hunting a tiger on horseback.

This is a face-to-face fight with a tiger. If you are not careful, you will either die or be injured.

Kangxi sat high up, also looking at the tiger in the cage.

Even if the king of beasts becomes a trapped beast, he will only be pitiful and embarrassed.

He turned his head, looked at the eldest prince, and then looked at his other sons.

When the eldest prince saw this, he remembered Mingzhu's words.

Mingzhu said it clearly, it is okay to keep a low profile, but you also have to show off your talents appropriately, otherwise you will be looked down upon.

There is a world of difference between a prestigious eldest son of the emperor and a non-prestigious eldest son of the emperor.

Neither too light nor too heavy a portion is good.

Even if he doesn't confront the crown prince head-on, he can't really become an ordinary prince.

In that case, those who want to please the prince will come after him.

The eldest prince stepped out and said, "Father Khan, your son requests your permission to go and hunt tigers!"

The Fifth Prince was eager to try, and when he saw the First Prince come out, he followed behind and said, "Khan Ama, your son also asks for permission!"

Seeing that Kangxi did not refuse immediately, the Third Prince and the Thirteenth Prince also stood up one after another.

Kangxi looked at the few people, then looked at the tiger in the cage in the distance, his expression unclear.

"How dare you treat tiger hunting as a joke!"

The eldest prince said: "With Khan Ama's Tiger Spear Battalion here, my son is not afraid!"

The third prince said, "I wish to emulate Khan Ama and hunt tigers and bears to enhance the royal power."

The Fifth Prince said, "One hundred men hunt two tigers. My son is not afraid of tigers, but he is afraid that he will not be able to get a position in front of the tigers."

There are three hundred officers and soldiers in the Tiger Spear Battalion, one hundred are at the tiger hunting ground, and two hundred are on standby outside the ground.

The Fifth Prince's worries are not groundless.

The Thirteenth Prince said, "Although my son has hunted tigers before, he only had a musket. I also want to try the tiger spear..."

Everyone has their own confidence and ideas.

Kangxi looked at his other sons again...

(End of this chapter)