When it comes to the figures of the last years of the Qing Dynasty, everyone may think of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Although her actions were condemned by later generations, the most puzzling thing is why the rulers did not try to regain power from Cixi when the Qing dynasty was about to fall.
After all, in the two thousand years of feudal rule, with the exception of Wu Zetian, almost all those in power were men, and the Empress Dowager Cixi, as the only "harem ruler", had an unusual status.
How did she rule for 47 years by means and make Li Hongzhang and others work for her willingly? This is mainly due to the fact that she has taken three ways, thus establishing an unshakable authority.
Cixi chose Emperor Tongzhi as her biological son, which made Emperor Tongzhi in awe of her, although the relationship between mother and son was not harmonious, but Emperor Tongzhi did not dare to rebel against Cixi because of his timidity.
Since Emperor Tongzhi is her biological son, Cixi will naturally not poison him, and as long as Emperor Tongzhi exists, Cixi will not be threatened for the time being and will be able to continue to control the government.
After the death of Emperor Tongzhi, the Empress Dowager Cixi showed extraordinary strategy. The succession of feudal thrones usually followed blood relations, and the Tongzhi Emperor had no heirs, which made the selection of a successor to the throne crucial.
Cixi chose the young Guangxu Emperor, firstly because his young age made it easier to control, and secondly, because he was the same generation as the Tongzhi Emperor, Cixi could continue to participate in the affairs of the court as the empress dowager.
However, this situation naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of many ministers, who wrote to express their opposition.
By handing Guangxu over to the Empress Dowager Ci'an, Cixi succeeded in winning Ci'an's support, making the voice of the court and the central government support her louder and louder, and thus realizing her ambition for power.
After Emperor Tongzhi ascended the throne, because he was young, he could not hand over the affairs of the country to a child, and the Empress Dowager Cixi could not directly ascend to the Jinluan Palace, so how to ensure that her power was not restricted by the emperor became the core of her plan.
She united the Empress Dowager Ci'an and Prince Gong, and with the help of a clever coup d'état, she pocketed most of the power of the court. But that's not the ultimate goal she's pursuing, and her ambitions go far beyond that.
Emperor Tongzhi was too young to rule the country alone, which provided an excellent excuse for Cixi, she ordered someone to set up a beaded curtain on the Jinluan Palace, and she sat behind the curtain, and the emperor was in front.
In this way, the power of Emperor Tongzhi was almost completely deprived, and the real person in power was naturally the Empress Dowager Cixi, who was hiding behind the curtain.
Although the ministers of the court were dissatisfied with this, the Empress Dowager Cixi, who had already taken over the power, did not care about their opinions at all. Cixi, who holds a lot of power, has become the real helmsman of the Qing Dynasty.
Even after the death of Emperor Tongzhi and the accession of Emperor Guangxu to the throne, the Empress Dowager Cixi still self-righteously listened to the government behind the bead curtain, firmly grasped the control of the government, and did not have the slightest idea of returning power to the emperor.
It can be seen that Cixi is not looking for Mingjun, she just needs a puppet who can obey her command and be used by her. And just relying on mastering the government is not enough to ensure that Cixi can enjoy a peaceful life, and the princes led by Prince Gong also have a lot of power.
Cixi knew that although she had cooperated with Prince Gong, for her, Prince Gong's existence was always a potential threat. Prince Gong was a man with a strong desire for power, and he always adopted a strict policy of repression against the new forces in the region.
However, these suppressed forces gave Cixi a chance to attract powerful figures like Zeng Guopan and others into her camp. Prince Gong's behavior had already made the people around him dissatisfied, and Cixi used a combination of grace and power to disintegrate his power step by step, and finally included it in her sphere of influence.
It turned out that Prince Gong's power gradually dispersed, which not only provoked many people, but also triggered the suppression of the court. His power was disintegrated, and he himself became the target of everyone's attacks, and the spearheads of all sides pointed at him, resulting in a significant decline in his status and influence.
In this way, he can no longer pose a threat to those in power. The phenomenon of feudal division is nothing new in any dynasty, and how to solve this problem is a top priority for every emperor in power.
The reason why Prince Gong is different is that his opponent is not the young emperor sitting on the throne, but the Empress Dowager Cixi, a female streamer who really controls the government as the empress dowager.
In three ways, Cixi continued to expand her power, making the emperor on the throne her puppet, with little real power in her hands. Even Emperor Guangxu's reform was suppressed by Cixi because he had no real power, and his ideas failed to materialize.
At first, they did not realize the importance of revolt, but by the time Cixi had fully seized real power, revolt had become useless.
In her later years, Cixi was extravagant and depleted the state treasury, resulting in a shortage of military salaries and bringing substantial harm to the country. Even so, no one in the court can compete with her. Cixi was in charge of the Qing Dynasty for 47 years, during which the Qing Dynasty gradually declined, which was not only due to the changes of the times, but also inseparable from Cixi's intervention.
The First Sino-Japanese Naval War became a permanent pain, and the signing of unequal treaties such as the "Xinchou Treaty" determined the final demise of the Qing Dynasty.
Cixi's life was undoubtedly fraught with controversy. She was a harem woman who excelled in power struggles and eventually took control of the Qing Dynasty. However, her selfishness and consideration for her own personal enjoyment put the future of the entire country in jeopardy.
By the time she realized the seriousness of the problem, it was too late. Although Cixi has a strong ability, it is still worth pondering whether her ability is really used for the construction of the country and whether she uses power for personal gain.
Although he committed many evil deeds during his reign, he barely maintained the dignity and prestige of the Qing Dynasty, and as for other achievements, it seems that they do not exist. ”