In November of the sixty-first year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the Kangxi Emperor, known for his extraordinary talents, died in Changchun Garden, and was succeeded by his fourth son, Yinzhen, the Yongzheng Emperor. Considering the forbearance and obscure attitude shown by Yinzhen, the fourth son of the emperor, in the incident of "Nine Sons Seizing the Succession", as well as the frequent deployment and strict preparation of the army on the night of his succession, other political enemies and later generations of scholars had deep doubts about his "legitimacy of succession".
Therefore, from the moment Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, he was surrounded by many waves of doubts, and these negative public ** had an impact on the stability of Yongzheng's imperial power for a while. In order to neutralize the negative public**, consolidate the foundation of his rule, and create a favorable environment for reforming the corrupt policy, the Yongzheng Emperor quickly began a fierce reckoning with his enemies who had usurped the throne in the past.
The third son of the emperor Yinzhi, the eighth son of the emperor Yinzhi, the ninth son of the emperor Yinyu, the tenth son of the emperor Yinyu, and even the fourteenth son of the emperor Yinyu, who is known as the "one mother compatriot", were all suppressed by Emperor Yongzheng to varying degrees. This led to the widespread belief of people at the time and in the future that he had committed the callous crime of "killing his brother and slaughtering his brother".
In the face of the criticism of the people at that time, Emperor Yongzheng personally compiled the "Mystery of the Great Righteous Jue" in the seventh year of Yongzheng to refute:
My original intention was to guide those who were stubborn and bring them back to the right path, so that together we could uphold justice among the kings and ministers at the court. And in the court, as long as I have the deep affection between me and my brother, I will be flawless, is not that my greatest wish? If you want to be harmed by a traitor now, so as to become a great rebel, how can you not care!
Compared to Yi and the others, their crimes were extremely serious, and they were judged by the Mandate of Heaven and the Crown, which led to their swift execution, unable to fulfill my original wish. After my death, his kingdom will fall, and his descendants will dieThis is a great misfortune for me, and all my subjects should understand my efforts for the country and the people, and now the traitor has added the crime of slaughtering my brother, and I neither admit nor accept it.
In other words, the problem is not that Emperor Yongzheng did not provide opportunities for Emperor Yinxi, the eighth son, but that these people behaved badly under Emperor Kangxi, especially under Emperor Yongzheng, who "disrupted the political order of the country, subverted social norms, and even cursed me in full view of the public, affecting the entire clan and society." All this caused him to feel great psychological pressure at the beginning of his ascension.
Despite this, Emperor Yongzheng still adopted a tolerant attitude towards them and continued to teach them, hoping that they would repent and rehabilitate."In the case of extreme helplessness, Emperor Yongzheng took the measure of "cutting down the knight and imprisoning them to preserve", because the anger and resentment in their hearts became more and more deep, and they acted recklessly with a poisonous and forbearant mentality, showing their reckless behavior."
From this point of view, the identification of his cruel image of "mutilating his siblings and killing his brothers and brothers" by people at that time and even by later generations is basically a false accusation. Perhaps only in this way can we truly embody the image of the Yongzheng Emperor's "thirteen years of reign, working hard day and night, and not indulging in worldly entertainment at all".
But is this really the case?
Yinyu, the ninth son of the emperor, was imprisoned in the yamen of the governor of Zhili on May 15 of the fourth year of Yongzheng, and died in the prison three and a half months later due to diarrheal diseases
The eighth son of the emperor, Yinxi, was imprisoned in the Zongren Mansion on the seventh day of the second month of the fourth year of Yongzheng, and died seven months later in the forbidden place because he "suffered from vomiting and did not eat". The time of his death is almost not much different from that of the ninth son of the emperor, Yinyu.
The death process of Yinyu and Yinyu was very rapid, the timing was extremely accidental, and their illnesses were very representative, it can be said that Yinzhen and Yinyu only died of illness
During the entire process from the illness to the death of the ninth son of the emperor, Emperor Yongzheng showed his sincere emotions.
From the "Qing Shilu Shizong Shilu", we can understand that when the eighth son of the emperor Yinyu and the ninth son of the emperor Yinyu fell ill, although Emperor Yongzheng had issued an order to "select famous doctors for treatment", after their deaths, Emperor Yongzheng showed an attitude of "full of contradictions and self-deception":
* is actually full of things. His deeds will be punished by heaven. Committed the crimes of the Heavenly Ancestor. But there is a shameful personality, and it is okay for that. has suffered the punishment of the underworld. From this we can see the retribution of good and evil. The impact of Jetru. Such a person is neither loyal nor filial, and behaves extremely badly and immorally. Although it is not subject to national laws. Nor can they escape the punishment of the Mandate of Heaven.
This practice was obviously dissatisfied with Yinyu, the ninth son of the emperor, so he chose to send a famous doctor to conduct ** for Yinyu, apparently to cover up something.
After the death of the ninth son of the emperor, Yinyu, Emperor Yongzheng showed unusual behavior.
After the death of the ninth son of the emperor, Emperor Yongzheng quickly gathered all the courtiers and issued an incredible edict, which included a sentence "Today, Seth Hei has been punished, and when I heard the report yesterday, I felt compassion." Now I want to make Aqina lenient."
In other words, the unfortunate death of the ninth son of the emperor, Yinyu, deeply saddened Emperor Yongzheng and made him feel guilty. Therefore, he thought of Yinxi, the eighth son of the emperor, who was also imprisoned in the Zongren Mansion, and planned to release him, and also planned to consult the opinions of the princes and ministers.
We do not know the true purpose of the Yongzheng Emperor and the detailed replies of the princes and ministers;However, in the near future, Yinxi, the eighth son of the emperor, who had the potential to obtain the magnanimity of the Yongzheng Emperor, suddenly suffered from vomiting. In just 10 days, his condition deteriorated dramatically, and he did not eat at all, which eventually led to his death.
After in-depth research by later generations of scholars, Emperor Yongzheng issued such an edict at this critical historical moment mainly for three reasons:
1. Successfully attracted the hidden "Eight Masters" forces and wiped them out;
2. Strive to create a positive image of yourself and provide a powerful cover for the poisoning that the eighth son of the emperor Yinxi is about to suffer;
3. After the death of the ninth son of the emperor, Emperor Yongzheng caused a wide range of negative ** because of the behavior of "poisoning the royal brothers", but by issuing an edict, the spread of these negative ** was effectively inhibited.
However, when a diary of the Qing Dynasty appeared in front of people's eyes, people really realized the true intention of Emperor Yongzheng to issue this edict, and only then did they really see the other side of Emperor Yongzheng.
The Diary of Jiachu describes in detail the circumstances of the captivity of Yinyu, the ninth son of the emperor.
Hu Guqing, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, wrote "Jiachu Diary". Although this diary details the "Manpi Case" of the Yongzheng Dynasty, it is also interspersed with descriptions of the circumstances of the two men while they were under house arrest, as it involves the political liquidation of the Yongzheng Emperor's eighth son Yinyu and the ninth emperor's son.
From the "Diary of Jiachu", we know that the ninth son of the emperor Yinyu was not unremorse and cautious on the way back to Beijing from the northwest ordered by Emperor Yongzheng, but was "bound by three iron locks and difficult to walk". The ** who was in charge of escorting Yinyu knew very well that the prince of the previous dynasty had lost power, he did not have any tolerance and insults, and completely lost the dignity of the royal family."
According to the instructions of Emperor Yongzheng, Li Fu, the governor of Zhili at that time, carried out the construction of three huts near the yamen on four walls, and "placed Yun Yu indoors, closed the front door, set up a bucket to ** food, and sent officers and soldiers to guard it". Since then, the three large houses built during the Kangxi period have all been demolished.
The height of these three huts is not as high as Yinyu's, and Yinyu, who is bound by shackles, cannot even stand, and can only hunch over day after day, living a difficult life. After living here for more than a year, his body gradually became emaciated. In this scorching summer, Yun Yu lost consciousness many times in such a depressing environment, holding iron locks and shackles. In addition, since there are no items in the room, Yinyu can only live in a stuffy, dark, and lonely environment.
On this point, we can find the corresponding evidence in the order issued by the Yongzheng Emperor to Li Fu, the governor of Zhili. Emperor Yongzheng made a clear request to Li Fu: "Except for low-cost food for transfer and farewell to others, all pens, ink, beds, tents, books, characters, a piece of ice and a piece of soup cannot be provided."
In such a captive environment, there was absolutely no reason for Emperor Yongzheng to go to great lengths to poison him, because he suffered from "diarrhea and death", which was an inevitable consequence of the high temperature environment and poor diet.
Ironically, just a few days before the death of the ninth emperor's son, Yinyu, the Yongzheng Emperor issued an edict requiring prisons everywhere to be "cleaned regularly."Once the disease appears, it must be immediately treated to ensure that the patient can "strictly prohibit" all personal affairs and not enter the official office".
We must completely eliminate "the damage of cold and heat to bones and muscles, so as to prevent the spread of disease". Emperor Yongzheng was full of benevolence when he treated his prisoners, but when he faced his own members of the imperial family, he behaved so coldly and ruthlessly. What the hell is going on?Regarding his cruel image of "mutilating his siblings and killing his brothers and slaughtering his brothers", have the current generation and even future generations ever had a wrong view?
From this point of view, after the death of the ninth son of the emperor, Emperor Yongzheng issued the will of the eighth son of the emperor Yinyu, although it was hypocritical on the surface, but in fact it was to cover up the truth that he was "not poisoned, but more vicious". At that time, this sentence was already the most common and authoritative word in the Manchu language. The sentence "I feel compassionate" now seems to be enough to make people feel creepy, and Yongzheng's brutal behavior can be seen from this.
Just as the description of the crime of "mutilating siblings" of Emperor Yongzheng in "The Foreign History of the Manchu Dynasty":
Yinzhen not only abolished the title of Aqina, but also reduced his place of origin and changed his name, which were Aqina and Seth Hei. Both of these names were "Aqina", or they were changed because they had no children to bury after their deaths. These two names are called pigs or dogs in Manchurian. Considering the physical disability of his younger brother Yinzhen, many people have concerns and have expressed their opinions after hearing it.
There is no need to elaborate on the historical contribution of the Yongzheng Emperor in "establishing the financial foundation of the Qing Dynasty and creating the starting point of the prosperous Qing Dynasty";Despite this, he carried out a ruthless reckoning with the "outrageous" behavior of his royal brothers, but still could not shake off his image as a brutal monarch. All dynasties since the Kangxi Dynasty have suffered the pain of the destruction of the country and the annihilation of the clan due to the mediocrity and incompetence of the ministers.
As a great monarch, he was able to handle the great affairs of the world, but he could not tolerate his brother;Even the emperor's beloved son and son can self-destruct their future in front of him, which is really sad!Even if the imperial power is the first and the rule is the foundation, such a brutal and cold-blooded act is intolerable to Renjun.