In 1862, the Qing Dynasty general Sheng Bao put his arms around the concubine of Chen Yucheng, the British king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but unexpectedly, Chen Yucheng Lingchi was executed in front of her. This move made Shengbao famous and prosperous. However, fate took a dramatic turn soon after, and he was given the gift of suicide because of this concubine.
Shengbao, whose full name is Gualjia Shengbao, is a Manchu man with a yellow flag, who was once born as a scholar and an official to the cabinet.
In 1861, after Xianfengxian went, the "Eight Ministers of Gu Ming" took control of the government, Cixi was dissatisfied, Shengbao sided with Cixi, and launched the "Xinyou Incident" to overthrow the eight ministers, and achieved outstanding achievements.
At the end of 1861, Chen Yucheng and his family were lured and captured by the Taiping rebel Miao Peilin and escorted to Shengbao's camp.
Shengbao, who had been defeated by Chen Yucheng more than 40 times, captured the enemy this time, showed his merits to the Qing court, and was ordered to escort Chen Yucheng to the capital for trial.
In June 1862, the escort team traveled to Yanjin, and Shengbao was instigated by the prince monk Lingqin, hated Chen Yucheng, and decided to execute him on the spot.
At the Yanjin Execution Ground, Sheng Bao put his arms around Chen Yucheng's concubine and actually executed Chen Yucheng Ling Chi in front of her. Cixi was not unduly punished for her merits, but Katsubo's good fortune did not last long.
On the issue of twisting the army, Katsuho insisted on military means and had disagreements with important ministers. The imperial court transferred him to Shaanxi to supervise military affairs and fought against Chaohui.
Sheng Bao's request to stay in Anhui was rejected and he was forced to go to Shaanxi to take up his post. On the way, he encountered a mutiny in the Black Flag Army, and his troops were damaged, causing dissatisfaction in the Qing court.
In order to regain momentum, Shengbao transferred Miao Peilin's troops to Shaanxi for reinforcements. However, his private behavior caused discontent in the Qing court, and Seng Lingqin was ordered to stop Miao Peilin's troops.
Katsuho's fortunes began to plummet.
During the Qing Dynasty, officialdom has always been known for its harshness, and the beating of "water dogs" is especially well-known. At this time, the whistleblowers submitted a piece of proclamation, portraying Shengbao as a person who was "arrogant and greedy, taking bribes, supporting the army and arsoning, and deceiving and misleading", and called on the Qing court to severely punish him.
The Qing court's dissatisfaction with Shengbao had long been pent-up, and his unauthorized mobilization of Miao Peilin's troops made matters worse. Eventually, Shengbao was arrested by the Qing court and sent to Beijing, where his wife and concubines and family property were confiscated.
Under the torture of torture, Shengbao gritted his teeth and insisted on unyielding, and only admitted the crime of "taking a concubine with the camp". And this "concubine" turned out to be Chen Yucheng's former concubine, but now she has become a plaything in the hands of Shengbao.
The situation was extremely unfavorable for Shengbao, but misfortune followed. Miao Peilin rebelled against the Qing court again, making Shengbao's crime even more serious. The Qing court believed that he was suffering from boils and was suspected of holding the court hostage, so they lost trust in him and directly sentenced him to death.
At this time, Cixi took into account Katsubo's previous merits and personally interceded for him. In order to preserve his whole body, Cixi proposed to commit suicide instead in order to preserve his dignity and honor.
After Shengbao learned the news that he was sentenced to death, he was filled with grief and indignation, and looked up to the sky and shouted: "I, Shengbao Hero I, I didn't expect to end up like this!" ”
This unfortunate experience has taught us that one's success depends not only on professional achievement, but also on maintaining the qualities of humility, prudence, self-discipline and integrity. Shengbao became famous, but quickly perished due to personal misconduct, which is a profound lesson.
The ancients said: "If virtue is not matched, there will be disaster!" "Only by having both ability and political integrity can we go further on the road of life.