First, it is not wrong to say that he is scheming and able to win over people's hearts. He is the kind of person who can please ministers very well. When electing a prince, nine out of ten courtiers will choose him. Under today's electoral system, he would have been the leader long ago. His position in the harem was awkward, so he acted more cautiously and did not dare to say a word or take a step. At the same time, he was able to lower his stature for ministers from different backgrounds. Even Kangxi's second brother, Prince Yu Fuquan, who "willed to be a wise king", was full of praise.
But his ambition undoubtedly grew step by step. When the throne of the crown prince was secured in the beginning, he just wanted to live a stable life and be filial to his mother and concubine. But as Kangxi's fear of the prince deepened, his ambitions also expanded. But he forgot that the minister is not the same as the emperor, and the only one who can decide his fate is his father. The fact that he connected so many ministers undoubtedly made his father hate him. At this point, it would be better to say that he is a scheming person than a "single fool" who cannot even see his father's intentions. You know, for the sake of power, his father would give up even the prince he had raised for decades, let alone him? !
He is indeed a master at winning over people. Whether it was the son who was originally the pearl of the eldest brother's party, or Tong Guowei, Kangxi's uncle (the father of Yongzheng's adoptive mother), or Aling'a, the uncle of the tenth prince, they were all his loyal supporters. It is indeed a great way to combine so many different interest groups. And quite a few of these people never left him when he was down, which shows that it's not just for profit. It's just that the method was wrong, the conspiracy was just trivial, and his father never had him in his heart. In terms of trying to figure out the emperor's thoughts, he was probably no better than a three-year-old child.
Second, the possibility of the eagle killing incident being framed is extremely high. First of all, although Lao Ba is completely desperate and his mother has died, he still has Lao Ba's children and younger brothers to take care of. Not to mention anything else, he would never let down Lao Jiu, who carried poison with him and wanted to live and die with him. His behavior directly affects the future of these people. Even if he wants to die, he will not take everyone to death in this way.
There are many theories about this matter: (1) This is a conspiracy of other princes, in order to completely prevent the eighth prince from turning over, such as Yongzheng, the fourteenth prince, and even the third prince or the emperor Hongxi (deposed The eldest son of the crown prince); (2) This is a one-man show written, directed and performed by Lao Kang himself, which completely brought the Eight Lords Party to hell. Paving the way for future emperors.
Thirdly, the son Kangxi really liked in his life was probably the abandoned prince who was raised by his own hands. As for Lao Ba's experience, it was similar to that of other princes. It was not only Lao Ba who was patrolling outside the Great Wall, but also many other princes, and the title was even more uncertain. Because when the princes were divided again later, Lao Shi was granted the title of county prince. In the early days, Shisan was basically "inseparable" from Kangxi, and even offered sacrifices to Mount Tai. Of course, Kangxi probably had no dislike for Lao Ba at first, and Kangxi was also happy to be a loving father. It's just that the origin of Lao Ba's biological mother and the fact that Kangxi had no shortage of children when Lao Ba was born destined him not to receive much care. This can be seen from the way Kangxi's uncle treated his maid's son (the teacher of the 134th elder brother) Fahai who had already won the Jinshi. Kangxi probably looked down upon good concubines, otherwise he would not have said that Xin Zheku was born to a lowly woman.
Also, once Kangxi disliked someone, he would strip him naked and force him to run naked. After the deposed prince made him unhappy, he also scolded him very harshly, and was born to denounce his mother. In short, in the late Kangxi period, he was a weird old man who absolutely no longer cared about the feelings of others (especially his son). He didn't like anyone and everyone was trying to steal his beloved chair. The cruelty to Lao Ba is definitely not an individual case.