As the ultimate symbol of feudal empire, the Qing Dynasty has always been hotly discussed by later generations, although it is not long ago, and the mysteries that remain in history are relatively rare. However, even so, we still can't get a complete picture of the entire dynasty, after all, time is like a cloth that hides the truth, and this applies to almost all past events.
In 1616 AD, the Jurchen leader Nurhachi established Houjin and gradually emerged in the northeast region. The Ming court was aware of the possible threat, but the edifice was about to collapse and was unable to solve the immediate crisis.
In the case of the Ming court's "rule by inaction", the rise of the Jurchens became an unstoppable trend. There was not much time left for the Ming court, and perhaps even Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang could not have predicted that his dynasty would be defeated at the hands of the ethnic minorities outside the Guan.
In 1636 AD, Nurhachi's son Huang Taiji changed the name of the country to the Qing Dynasty, eight years later, the Ming general Wu Sangui stationed in Shanhaiguan surrendered to the Qing Dynasty due to the disaster of red face, and then Dolgon led the Qing army into the customs, and Chinese history entered a new chapter.
In the next twenty years, the Qing Dynasty pacified the Dashun, Daxi, Nanming and other regimes, and completed the unification of the whole country, but all this, Huang Taiji failed to see with his own eyes.
He died on the eve of the entry of the Qing army, therefore, he was not the first emperor after the entry of the Qing army.
After Shunzhi, the three emperors of the Qing Dynasty - Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong, ruled for nearly 140 years, creating a prosperous Kangqian era and reaching the peak of the feudal imperial system.
However, the next step was a downward slide that fell prey to the Western powers. In the long history of the Qing Dynasty, the power of women cannot be ignored, and who can become the emperor's favorite concubine is also a question they racked their brains to ponder.
However, the tragedy of the competition for favor is frequently staged. Yongzheng's favorite concubine disappeared for seven years before it was discovered, and Qianlong was furious when he learned of this and ordered a group of ** to be killed. Although the Kangqian era is often seen as the achievement of Kangxi and Qianlong, in fact, Yongzheng also contributed to it, although his short reign led to a lower sense of presence.
When we look back on the history of nearly a century, we will find that the key figure in the prosperous era of Kangqian was not Kangxi or Qianlong, but Yongzheng. In the later period of Kangxi's reign, the giant ship of the Qing Empire had deviated from its course and was in danger of sinking at any time, especially the incident of the nine sons seizing the heirs almost hurt the foundation of the Qing Dynasty.
The Qing Empire, which was about to collapse, needed a monarch who could turn the tide, and luckily Yongzheng won in the end, and he was undoubtedly a brilliant captain who successfully put the giant ship back on the right course.
In the 13 years of Yongzheng's rule, the Qing Dynasty regained its vitality, and the treasury that was originally depleted by Kangxi was also replenished, and this is exactly what Qianlong was able to proudly declare that the Qing Dynasty was the pillar of the world.
Therefore, at any time, having a good father can make your life smoother.
Kangxi is not Yongzheng's good father, if he is good, there will be no tragedy of nine sons seizing the heir. As for why Yongzheng was able to win in the end, the answer is complicated, and there are even historical sources that he is not in the right position, in order to prove that he is orthodox, he added the word "Zheng" to the year name.
Yongzheng was an outstanding emperor who devoted himself wholeheartedly to his work in the front and to creating enemies in the latter. In the history books, he left a record of more than 20 concubines.
If you add the idea of temporary rise, then Yongzheng's harem is definitely an astonishing number. Among these many concubines, Ma Changzai is undoubtedly a tragic figure.
Ma Changzai is inconspicuous among the many concubines in Yongzheng, and her low background makes her have no advantage in competing for favor. However, the world is impermanent, and after the death of Yongzheng's favored concubine, Ma Changzai was favored by him and became his favorite person.
Yongzheng even took the initiative to promote her from Ma Promise to Ma Changzai.
In the following year, Ma Changzai experienced the happiness of life and was often favored by the emperor. However, fate did not favor her, and just as she was immersed in the joy of being favored, the emperor's most beloved younger brother, the thirteenth master Yinxiang, died, which brought a huge blow to the emperor, and he then fell ill and was dying for a time.
Due to the emperor's poor health, he could not summon the concubines to sleep, and Ma Changzai's status was not high, which made the other concubines feel red, so they united to target Ma Changzai, and even did not let her serve in front of the bed.
The emperor's illness lasted for more than half a year, and Ma Chang thought that after the emperor got better, he would summon her again, making those concubines feel lost.
Ma Changzai's grace seems to have been forgotten by Yongzheng, and he never came back until the emperor's death. In the lonely palace, Ma Changzai could no longer feel the warmth, until the end of her life, Qianlong's year had come to thirty-three years, and she had been lonely for nearly forty years.
Ma Changzai's death did not cause any waves in the palace.
According to the tradition of the imperial palace, the concubines of the first emperor were placed in the Tamura funeral palace after their death, and then a solemn memorial ceremony was held and buried. Ma Changzai was buried here after her death, but because she had been neglected in the deep palace for a long time, her colored coffin was forgotten in Tamura for seven years.
And the concubines who have the same fate as Ma Changzai are also counted in Tamura. In the fortieth year of Qianlong, Emperor Qianlong accidentally learned about the situation of the Tiancun Funeral Palace, although he was not familiar with Ma Changzai, but perhaps when he was a child, Ma Changzai once hugged him.
However, what happened to her after her death was so tragic that Emperor Qianlong was angry. He could not tolerate this kind of contempt for the royal family and challenge the dignity of the emperor.
Under the stern orders of Emperor Qianlong, a thorough investigation of the matter was conducted. The angry Qianlong Emperor carried out a large-scale execution of the ** involved in the matter. After this incident, Ma Changzai's gorgeous coffin was moved into the Tailing Concubine Garden, and was finally buried in the underground palace, fulfilling her wish to be buried in the ground.
In the depths of the palace, there are countless women like Ma Changzai, and their tragic fate seems to be sounding the death knell for the feudal monarchy, because it was a tragedy of the times.