Emperor Qianlong made a bold move and treated Honghui without mercy!
In September of the fourth year of Qianlong (1739), Emperor Qianlong changed his image of "leniency and benevolence" in the past, and launched a crackdown and punishment on some royal relatives. The first to bear the brunt was Hongsheng, who served as the commander of the Manchurian capital and the commander of the firearms battalion of the Zhenghuang Banner, and was taken down on the grounds of "being in various places and acting shamelessly". In the edict to deal with Hongsheng, Emperor Qianlong conspired deeply and did not publicly find out his comrades, implying that the "friendship of relatives" did not want to be violent.
In October, more people reported to the emperor that Hongsheng and Prince Li Honghui and Prince Zhuang Yunlu had "formed a party for personal gain, had secret dealings, and wanted to do wrong", which caused Emperor Qianlong to be furious and ordered the Zongren Mansion to investigate thoroughly. The results of the investigation of the Zongren Mansion revealed that Honghui, Yunlu, Hongsheng and others "had private relationships and secret exchanges", and even the princes of the clan, such as Wang Hongjiao of Ning County, Beile Hongchang, Beizi Hongpu, and Zhenguo Gong Ninghe, etc., were headed by Honghui, and "the tail is not too big".
In the handling opinions, the Zongren Mansion suggested that the titles of Yunlu, Honghui, and Hongsheng should be removed and banned forever;The titles of Honghui, Hongchang, Hongpu, and Ninghe were removed, and they were reduced to idle clans and never used. However, the actual punishment is not severe, and most of them are just a lesson and allow for rehabilitation.
However, for Honghui, the leader of the "clan party case", Emperor Qianlong took unexpectedly harsh measures. At first, Honghui was only removed from the title of prince and placed under house arrest in the palace of Zhengjiazhuang in Changping. However, Honghui was accused of "having bad intentions and wanting to rebel", and Emperor Qianlong did not tolerate it, and personally issued an edict to reprimand Honghui, accusing him of "harboring different aspirations", and completely characterized him as "great rebellion".
On October 29, Honghui was escorted to Jingshan Donghuayuan and confined, and his wife and children were removed from the clan and sent to the palace of Jingshili County. Honghui's family had a bad fate, and they were strictly controlled, and they were only given the status of red belts. The Changping Palaces were taken over by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and all the servants and attendants in the palace were transferred to other places.
In the "Rebellion Case", Emperor Qianlong punished other princes of the clan relatively leniently, but he was extremely harsh on Honghui. Emperor Qianlong accused Honghui of being "violent, despicable, and rebellious", and even pursued him for setting up a private office in the palace of Zhengjiazhuang. After all the charges of Honghui were clear, Emperor Qianlong issued the final opinion on how to deal with it, confined him in Jingshan Donghua Garden, and renamed it "Forty-six", which was no different from death.
For Emperor Qianlong's extreme punishment of Honghui, history has left many questions. Perhaps, Emperor Qianlong regarded Honghui as the greatest threat to imperial power, and he must be completely overthrown to ensure the stability of his imperial power. This palace turmoil has become a little-known past in the history of the Qing Dynasty.
The article recounts in detail a thrilling case of conspiracy that occurred in the Qing court in the fourth year of Qianlong, involving Prince Li Honghui and his party members for personal gain, which eventually led to him being personally dealt with by Emperor Qianlong and given extremely severe punishment. Here I will make some comments on the content of the article and historical events.
First of all, the article introduces the reader to the conspiracy cases in this period of Qing Dynasty history through vivid descriptions, showing the tense atmosphere of the court at that time. Hongsheng, Hongsheng, Hongpu and others were accused of "forming a party for personal gain", and the interrogation process of the Zongren Mansion revealed the intrigue within the prince's clan. This kind of power struggle is not only a struggle between clans, but also a threat to imperial power, so Emperor Qianlong's handling of this matter is particularly cautious.
Secondly, the article reveals the extreme punishment of Emperor Qianlong to Prince Li Honghui. The reason why Emperor Qianlong treated Honghui so harshly may have stemmed from his concern about his "different ambitions". Emperor Qianlong's decisiveness and vigilance against intrigue led him to take decisive action to keep Honghui and his family under tight confinement to ensure that his imperial power was not threatened from within.
In addition, the article also mentions the details of Honghui's request to the "gods" for instructions on a series of important matters through sorcerers, which makes Emperor Qianlong's speculation about his "plot to usurp the throne" even more profound. Emperor Qianlong's accusation of Honghui not only stayed at forming a party for personal gain, but also revealed his deep understanding of Honghui's "ambition not to be a minister", which made Honghui a rebellious person in the Qing court.
Finally, the article also makes a proper evaluation of Emperor Qianlong's leniency towards other clan princes. Although the misdeeds of many people were exposed during the interrogation, most ended up being only slightly punished, and some were even recovered within a short period of time. This may reflect the fact that Emperor Qianlong adopted a relatively tolerant attitude in the struggle for power, reserving some leeway to maintain the unity of the imperial family.
In general, this article vividly presents the scene of Qianlong's four-year palace conspiracy by restoring the details of historical events. Emperor Qianlong's severe punishment of Prince Li Honghui showed his firm determination to rule, while the leniency of other princes of the clan showed Emperor Qianlong's flexible response to power schemes. This historical story is full of drama and evocative.
Disclaimer: The above content information is ** on the Internet, and the author of this article does not intend to target or insinuate any real country, political system, organization, race, or individual. The above content does not mean that the author of this article agrees with the laws, rules, opinions, behaviors in the article and is responsible for the authenticity of the relevant information. The author of this article is not responsible for any issues arising from the above or related issues, and does not assume any direct or indirect legal liability.
If the content of the article involves the content of the work, copyright**, infringement, rumors or other issues, please contact us to delete it. Finally, if you have any different thoughts about this event, please leave a message in the comment area to discuss!