In the original novel, Kangxi knew Wu Sidao. Not only Kangxi knew about it, but the eldest elder brother, third elder brother, and eighth elder brother also knew that there was a gentleman named Wu Sidao in the fourth son's house. As for the TV series, Kangxi and Wu Sidao never met. He may know Wu Sidao's existence, but he doesn't know his details. After all, Wu Sidao was a person with a serious status. He was the master hired by Yongzheng for Hongshi and Hongli. It is no small matter for the emperor's grandson to become a disciple. How could it not be known?
First, let’s briefly introduce Wu Sidao’s resume:
Wu Sidao was a talented scholar in Wuxi and the judge of Jiangsu Provincial Examination. Because he failed in the examination, he went around to find out the inside story. When he learned that both the chief examiner and the deputy examiner were corrupt officials, he was furious and gathered more than 400 failed candidates and rushed into the Nanjing Gongyuan with the statue of the God of Wealth. Satirize the examiner who only cares about money and has no way of being a saint. After that, he went everywhere to publicize the corruption and bribery of the examiner, making this scandal known to everyone in the world. Then he ran away...
Because he could not be caught as the main culprit, the governor of Jiangnan was demoted two levels in succession, and the chief and deputy examiners were dismissed and never used again. The lawsuit went all the way to Kangxi's court, and even Mingzhu and Suo'etu were implicated. All the officials involved in the case hated Wu Sidao and demanded that he be dealt with severely! Kangxi ostensibly wanted Wu Sidao, but privately praised Wu Sidao's deeds to his son and praised him for daring to expose the shady secrets of scientific research. Therefore, Wu Sidao's name was not only known to Kangxi, but also to his brothers.
Ten years later, due to the death of the Queen Mother and the general amnesty, Wu Sidao's wanted order was lifted. And because of a coincidence, he ended up living in Yongzheng's house.
Yongzheng was not in the capital at that time and was still providing disaster relief in the south of the Yangtze River. After returning to the capital, the eldest brother and the third brother happened to come to visit. The eldest son and the third child just met Wu Sidao. The third elder brother originally wanted to make friends with Wu Sidao through literature and compete with each other for their literary talents, but he was impressed by Wu Sidao's literary talents. I couldn't help but sigh: Sure enough, Zuo Yuxing and Zhao Taiming really failed you back then. (The corrupt examiner who failed Wu Sidao)
The eldest brother Yinti also said to Yongzheng from the side: I have never seen the third child meet an opponent, but today my eyes are opened!
When the third elder brother Yinzhi left, he held Wu Sidao's hand and said: I really should recommend you to take the exam. It's a pity that you are disabled. Come to my house when you have time. There are many great scholars in my place, and everyone talks and laughs. (Want to poach Yongzheng's corner)
Yongzheng was impatient at that time. He was afraid that the boss and the third child would get entangled with other things again, so he hurriedly said: "Do the two brothers have anything else to do?" If nothing happens, come back next time. The boss and the third child were ordered to be kicked out.
According to the content in the novel, we can know that the eldest brother and the third brother had heard of Wu Sidao's name in their early years, and were impressed by his talent after meeting him in person. The third child wanted to take Wu Sidao as his own, but Wu Sidao politely refused.
As for Kangxi, he also met Wu Sidao in the original work. (The only time)
The time was after Nian Gengyao's bloodbath in Jiangxia Town, when Kangxi paid a private visit to Yongzheng's palace incognito. At that time, Yongzheng and Wu Sidao were chatting about interesting things about Li Wei's official position in the Lion Garden in the palace. Kangxi suddenly visited and joined the conversation between Yongzheng and Wu Sidao.
Kangxi's think tank Fang Bao expressed some of his opinions on Li Wei's appointment as an official. Wu Sidao was very disapproving after hearing this, so he retorted lightly. Kangxi stared at Wu Sidao and felt that this person was unusual, so he asked: What is your name?
Wu Sidao frankly told Kangxi that he was Wu Sidao. When Kangxi heard this name, he suddenly realized that you were the student who made trouble in Nanwei back then! I had read your article "Discussing the Examination of the Chief Examiner of Nanwei" written by you back then. It was very literary. I didn't expect that it would now be at the fourth son's house. Before Kangxi left, he also asked Wu Sidao to serve Yongzheng well.
It can also be known from this that Kangxi also knew the details of Wu Sidao in the original work, but he had never met the real person. After seeing it, he didn't show much surprise. After all, it is not a shameful thing for my elder brother to have a Qingke and a think tank under his sect. There was Wu Sidao in Yongzheng's mansion, and Wang Jingqi in Lao Ba's mansion. It was not unusual for Kangxi for his elder brother to recruit talented people for himself.
Kangxi’s disapproval of Wu Sidao was actually quite normal. Because Kangxi himself was a person with a high IQ, ordinary think tanks simply could not catch his eye. Moreover, Wu Sidao usually lived in seclusion and stayed in Yongzheng's palace, never leaving the front door or taking a single step forward. Even if Kangxi, Lao Da, Lao San and Lao Ba knew about Wu Sidao's existence, they just regarded him as an ordinary scholar. They didn't know how capable this man was. Many of Wu Sidao's schemes were only known to him and Yong Zheng, not even the Thirteenth Master.
So the existence of Wu Sidao is not a secret at all, and it cannot be a secret. Many people know him, but they don't know how capable he is. Even Yongzheng didn't know how powerful Wu Sidao was. Later, he was amazed by his talent and had the idea of ??killing him.