Kangxi chatted with the eunuch. What can he talk about?

The power of the Qing emperor reached the peak of history. Sitting in the dragon chair, watching hundreds of millions of subjects crawling around on the ground, it is inevitable that they feel lonely at the top. The emperor is human, too. Even if he gives orders for a while, isn't it human nature to talk about his worries?

Who can the emperor talk to? Sure, talk to the people closest to you. Such a person must accompany the eunuchs around him day and night. The conversation between the emperor and the eunuch will not be recorded by historians. Fortunately, when Emperor Kangxi made an expedition to galdan, he sent one imperial edict after another to the eunuchs' consultation office, and the eunuchs were responsible for staying in the palace, which kept the topic he wanted to say.

These letters begin with "eunuch of ancient jade", but they don't follow the format of letters, so they are written casually. The content doesn't matter, it's all short things in parents, and there's nothing to talk about. It is more appropriate to say that it is a letter than a "decree". We take 17 letters written by Emperor Kangxi to consulting companies during his third expedition to galdan in 697 as an example to analyze what he talked with eunuchs.

Let's talk about the journey first.

Emperor Kangxi left Beijing until Ningxia and then returned. Every time he writes a letter, he tells the consulting company where he passes by and where he lives. For example, on February 28, it was written: "After the former arrived in Shu, it went to Beishuikou, then to Fuhe and Hequ, and paved around the fork." Four days later, he wrote: "Since crossing the river, I have been in Guli County, Shenmu County and other places, very close to Yulin."

Because this trip is to fight in the west, Emperor Kangxi's itinerary is sometimes semi-confidential. He will tell his advisers: "This doesn't need many people to know, but the concubine knows."

Second, chat.

Emperor Kangxi walked all the way and told the consultant about the weather. When I first arrived in Huailai, I wrote: "I feel very cold when I see the weather is different from that of Peking University." In Baode, I wrote: "On the first day, it snowed and the wind piled up on the roadside. Trolleys and sidewalks are very cheap. "

On the way back, the consultant worried that Kangxi was getting cold. In fact, the emperor was banned because he was neither cold nor cold. He replied, "It's ridiculous that you are afraid of the cold for me at home."

Third, talk about mood.

On this expedition, no one may know the mood of Emperor Kangxi better than the consulting company, including the military commanders around the emperor. Words such as "I am carefree and healthy", "I am very happy" and "I am refreshed" appear frequently. On the occasion of his triumph, he spoke his mind: "Thanks to the silent help of the Temple of Heaven and Earth, my life can be described as happy, rewarding and exhausting." He won't show such complacency in front of the minister.

On the way back to his funeral, he even joked: "I am in good health and my attendants are also in good health." It can be said that I am broad-minded and fat, so I went home. " Of course, when the emperor was in a bad mood, he resorted to pen and ink to tell his advisers, "I was bored in Ningxia."

Fourth, care about family affairs.

Emperor Kangxi is away, thinking about the queen mother, concubines and children in the palace, and often asking the consultants about them. For example, "De Fei is a little sick, but is everything all right now?" "My brother's rash must have healed." He also sent native products from the northwest, arranged consultants to pay tribute to the queen mother and reward concubines.

Emperor Kangxi nodded.

Fifth, talk about local conditions and customs.

Emperor Kangxi praised the white flour in the northwest and said many times, "There are all kinds of flavors, but white flour is the best." "There was plenty of food along the way, and white flour was better." He also had a special liking for a kind of white gourd, and took pains to introduce how to eat "hot water soaked slices" and sent people to the palace.

As an emperor, he paid attention to the folk customs of the places he passed, and basically held a positive attitude, describing them as "simple people's feelings", "simple people's feelings" and "people's hearts as old as ever". There is no dissatisfaction. In Shanxi, he especially doesn't understand the way of life in caves. He said, "It's ridiculous to live in a cave. Mountains don't build mountains, and roads don't build roads."

Sixth, talk about hunting.

Emperor Kangxi was a soldier and loved hunting. He had to show off his achievements on the way to the western expedition, and then to the consulting company afterwards. In Shanxi, he fished: "I fished on the boat. Hanoi is full of stone fish, which are delicious and inexhaustible. " In Ningxia, he hunted rabbits: "I went to Xingwuying on the 22nd, and rabbits were everywhere. I shot 3 10 rabbits. "

Seventh, talk about politics.

Drawing lessons from the Ming Dynasty, the Qing court never allowed eunuchs to participate in politics. However, during this trip, Emperor Kangxi repeatedly mentioned to the consulting company his process of handling political affairs. He heard from people in Crane that local officials had blocked the flood and flooded the village in order to prevent the royal road from getting muddy. He told the consulting company that he didn't believe it at first, only to find out that it really happened after personal investigation, and immediately instructed to open the dike and release water.

He also talked many times about fighting Gordan and his defection.

Emperor Kangxi's letter 17 was hardly written by the emperor if it was not a person who called himself "I".

The writing and tone of this letter is not the above command gesture, but the talk made by consulting business. These words, if told to his civil servants and military commanders, may destroy the boundary between monarch and minister and undermine the majesty of the emperor. In fact, Emperor Kangxi always despised eunuchs. He once bluntly said that eunuchs were "the meanest people, like insects and ants" and "only ordered them to run for sweeping the floor, smiling and never borrowing money".

In fact, in addition to governing the country, Emperor Kangxi needed a trusted eunuch to confide in him. The gossip between them can restore the emperor with flesh and blood and full image. Whenever you enter this chat situation, the emperor is no longer the only thrill, and the eunuch is no longer an ant. At this moment, they are equal.

Unfortunately, such conversations are recorded too little.