The Kangxi Emperor ascended the throne in 1661 and died in 1722 at the age of 68, reigning for 61 years, making him the longest reigning emperor in Chinese history. Therefore, there were many famous courtiers in the Kangxi Dynasty, most of whom we are more familiar with, such as Shu bilong, Nalan Mingzhu, Suo Ertu, Soni, Aobai, Zhang Tingyu and so on. But to discuss who among these courtiers was the Kangxi Emperor's "confidant", it was li guangdi.
In many film and television interpretations, the relationship between the Kangxi Emperor and Li Guangdi is very close, in the TV series "Kangxi Dynasty", Kangxi once intended to marry his favorite daughter Lan Qi'er to Li Guangdi, but in the end things did not work out, Lan Qi'er married Gardan. Of course, Lan Qi'er is a fictional character, which does not actually exist, but kangxi attaches great importance to Li Guangdi, but it is true, and there are historical facts to prove it.
Li Guangdi was born in 1642, of the Quanzhou Furen clan in Fujian Province, and was more than a teenager older than Kangxi, and it was impossible to marry Kangxi's daughter. It was only Li Guangdi who achieved outstanding results in his life, helped Kangxi pacify San Francisco, elected Shi Lang, inspected the Yellow River, controlled floods, and viceroyed Shuntian Xuezheng, etc. Kangxi once personally praised him as "a very good official and excellent in talent and character", and after the year of Hua Jia, Li Guangdi was honored with the position.
Li Guangdi, who was a scholar of Wenyuange University, participated in the important events of the Kangxi Dynasty many times during his lifetime, and also summoned Li Guangdi for consultation when Kangxi deposed the crown prince. As the leader of the Han Dynasty and the elder of the Kangxi Dynasty, Li Guangdi was always able to advise Kangxi, which made Kangxi very excited. Kangxi was very affectionate and attached to the old minister, and when Li Guangshang wrote to ask for retirement, Kangxi hesitated.
On the one hand, Li Guangdi was indeed old, white-haired, faltering, and from the forty-ninth year of kangxi (1711), his health was deteriorating, he suffered from diseases, and he could not cure the root cause by taking medicine; on the other hand, he was reluctant to let the old minister leave, and none of the sons around him were at ease, although he and Li Guangdi were monarchs, they were "friends with each other", and Li Guangdi could give him great comfort.
So Kangxi arranged many high-level treatment for Li Guangdi, rewarded him with countless supplements, and expressed his idea of being old and not tolerating the departure of his old subjects, so Li Guangdi had to reluctantly stay. In the fifty-second year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Li Guangdi also participated in the banquet of the Thousand Sorrows held by Kangxi, and Kangxi ordered him to sit at his side to show his honor. At this time, Li Guangdi was 73 years old, and because of fatigue, his illness worsened after the banquet.
Li Guangdi later wrote again to Kangxi to request retirement, mentioning that he was "more than a rare year old, hernias were frequent, praying to return to the countryside, raising children and grandchildren, and decaying through the years." Kangxi couldn't help but be impressed after reading it, and asked Li Guangdi to chat with him: How many grandchildren do you have? Li Guangdi replied that there were 13, and Kangxi listened to it, remembering that his second deposed crown prince and the princes were actively competing for the throne, and could not help but sigh:
"Subordinates can be shi shi shi, can stop it, old age to the government, hug children and grandchildren, Jude has a good swim and self-adaptation." He who has been diligent for the king has lived a life without rest, and the descendants of the fallen are ten times greater than Ru, but none of them are like this. "This means that you who are courtiers can be out of the army if you want to, you can resign if you don't want to do it, and it is fun to go home and hold your grandchildren when you are old, but I can't do it as an emperor!"
Kangxi has such a sigh that can be understood, as an emperor, he is probably under 10 times more pressure than Li Guangdi. In the end, Kangxi still agreed to Li Guangdi's return to his hometown, and Li Guangdi returned to the capital two years after returning to his hometown to see Kangxi and was ordered to review the materials. Fifty-five years after Kangxi, Li Guangdi died of illness, and Kangxi was very sad and ordered a generous gift. In his later years, Kangxi had always envied Li Guangdi, lamenting that as a monarch, he could not leisurely "hold his children and get grandchildren".