Red envelopes are a long-standing custom in our country, and every time during the Chinese New Year, the elders will put coins in the red envelopes and give them to the younger generations, wishing them a safe and happy second half of the year. The red envelopes in the hands of the elders are the best memories of many children when they were young, which represents the most sincere wishes and love of the elders for them.
The meaning of the red envelope is too special, whether it is the elders or the younger generation, the aristocratic class or the commoner class all attach great importance to the red envelopes during the New Year's holidays, if any of the younger generations do not get the red envelopes of the elders, it means that he is not favored by the elders, and will be ridiculed and ridiculed by others.
During the period of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, there was such an accident of missing red envelopes, and Emperor Qianlong gave red envelopes to a large number of his descendants, but only one person was missing. The ministers were very puzzled, but Qianlong said meaninglessly: "What's the use of him asking for red envelopes?" ”
The real reason for the leakage of red envelopes has to start from the dispute over the establishment of the reserve during the Qianlong period. Emperor Qianlong has always been quite cautious about choosing an heir, all of which stemmed from the shadow of his childhood.
When he was young, his father, Emperor Yongzheng, was an important member of the Nine Sons to seize the heirs, and fought to the death with the rest of the brothers.
In order to avoid another fratricidal ** such as nine sons seizing the heir in later generations, Emperor Yongzheng had already set the rule that the Qing Dynasty would not set up a prince again. The emperor chose which heir, and put his name behind the plaque in the court, and when the emperor died, the rest of the people could take out the edict of succession.
Emperor Qianlong strictly followed his father's regulations, but he was still a little selfish in the selection of his heir. He is a concubine brother, if it weren't for the fact that Emperor Yongzheng had no sons-in-law and few heirs, this throne would not have been his turn at all, so he wanted to set up a legitimate queen's son-in-law as his heir.
Emperor Qianlong's wife, Empress Bai Yueguang Fucha, gave birth to two sons for him, and the names of these two sons-in-law were successively placed after the plaque of Zhengda Guangming. But they were really short-lived, and they died before they reached adulthood, and even Queen Fucha couldn't stand this blow and died.
Emperor Qianlong then set his sights on the son of the Twelve Elder Brothers, who was born to the Nala clan, but before the Twelve Elder Brothers reached adulthood, Queen Nala divorced his hair, which made Emperor Qianlong angry enough. Although he did not abolish her queenship, the future of the Twelfth Elder Brother can be regarded as a waste.
The queen's concubine couldn't count on it, so Emperor Qianlong could only set his eyes on his concubines, and he was originally optimistic about the fifth elder brother Yongqi. Yongqi is proficient in riding and archery, both civil and military, and is a perfect heir.
But like Empress Fucha's two sons, his life was short, and he died in his twenties, and the heirs favored by Emperor Qianlong were all wiped out.
After the death of the fifth elder brother Yongqi, Emperor Qianlong was not satisfied with his remaining sons, and the eldest was old, and he refused to reveal who was his chosen heir. This made the hearts of the people of the government and the opposition fluctuate, not only the sons of Emperor Qianlong fought openly and secretly, but even the ministers also went their own way, wanting to win a dragon merit.
Although Emperor Qianlong is old, he is still very effective in controlling the government, and he knows the turbulent dark tide in the court, but he is not satisfied with the rest of his sons, so he has been in the observation stage.
As time passed, the battle for the heir became more and more hot, and it had reached the point of affecting the situation of the court, and he had to make a decision as soon as possible. On the night of Chinese New Year's Eve in Qianlong's sixty years, the Qianlong Emperor finally announced his decision to the world, but the process was indeed ups and downs.
On this day of joy, Emperor Qianlong summoned all his descendants to the palace and prepared a sumptuous feast for them.
The people who came to this banquet were too complete, and the princes and grandchildren all had a hunch that perhaps Emperor Qianlong would choose his heir today, so they all actively behaved and wanted to leave a good impression on Emperor Qianlong.
For the courteous flattery of his children and grandchildren, Emperor Qianlong was also very excited, and kept talking and laughing, causing laughter and laughter in the hall. After the banquet was over, Emperor Qianlong waved his hand and asked the eunuchs to take out a few plates of rich red envelopes and distribute them to the princes and grandchildren present one by one.
This is the reward and wish of the elders to the younger generations, and they quickly knelt down to thank Emperor Qianlong. Among this group of excited princes and grandsons, there is one person who seems out of place, he is the fifteenth elder brother of Emperor Qianlong, Yongyan. Everyone present got the big red envelope given by Emperor Qianlong, but only Yongyan was empty-handed and extremely lonely.
The meaning of the red envelope is not ordinary, this represents the blessing and satisfaction of the elders to the younger generations, and the Qianlong Emperor did not give Yongyan a red envelope, doesn't it mean that he does not have the slightest care and love for this son? Looking at Yongyan who was empty-handed, this conjecture quickly spread among the ministers and clan members present.
Yongyan also realized this, and he stood in place embarrassed and frustrated. In normal times, his brothers might have comforted him, but at this time, it was the white-hot stage of the heir dispute, and there was one less opponent in Pingbai, so it was too late for them to be happy, so how could they afford to comfort him?
The princes and grandsons gloated, and the clans also had their own thoughts, and the eyes that looked at Yongyan were very wrong, and even the clans who were usually good friends with him lowered their eyes, not daring to look at him, let alone intercede for him. This made Yongyan desperate, and the world was cold and cold, nothing more than that.
Fortunately, among the people here, there are still a few clan elders who have nothing to do with the heir dispute and feel sorry for the juniors. Yongyan is usually cautious and cautious, they are very satisfied, and now Emperor Qianlong doesn't even give him a red envelope, doesn't it make him lose face in front of everyone?
They asked why Emperor Qianlong came? What everyone didn't expect was that Emperor Qianlong actually laughed and said, "What's the use of him asking for red envelopes?" I even have to leave this world to him, does he still need to snatch a few red envelopes with his brothers and nephews? ”
Everyone here, including Yongyan, was stunned, Yongyan, the only unlucky guy who didn't get the red envelope, was actually the real heir!
A red envelope tried out people's hearts and minds that the world is hot and cold, and Emperor Qianlong's trick is really high. Emperor Jiaqing was still in the loneliness of not being favored by his father one second, and was ridiculed and sarcastic, but the next second he became the prince of a country, and he was full of spirit.
However, at this time, he had already seen the faces of the people around him, and he did not dare to be proud and complacent and form a party for personal gain, which is probably the effect that Emperor Qianlong wanted.