Kangxi and Qianlong, who ruled China for 61 and 60 years respectively, were the first two longest-reigning emperors in Chinese history. Among them, Qianlong actually ruled for 64 years.
Although the number of their sons is considerable, 35 and 17 respectively, why did the disputes between the sons of the Kangxi Dynasty in the later years of the Kangxi Dynasty be in an uproar, but the Qianlong Dynasty was able to maintain harmony?
The core idea of the new copy is that both Kangxi and Qianlong's ancestors ruled for a long time, but their ways of inheriting the throne were very different.
Qianlong lived a long life, but his son died earlyAlthough Kangxi and Qianlong both ruled for more than 60 years, their ruling age and life expectancy were significantly different. Kangxi ascended the throne at the age of 8 and ruled for 40 years at the age of 69; Qianlong ascended the throne at the age of 25 and ruled for 64 years at the age of 89.
It is precisely because of Qianlong's longevity that he lived 20 years longer than Kangxi. Kangxi had 35 sons in his life, of which 24 were prologue teeth and 20 lived to adulthood; Qianlong had only 17 sons in his life, of which only 10 lived to adulthood.
Moreover, Kangxi's 20 sons all died after him, and the earliest of them was the deposed prince Yinren, who died in December of the second year of Yongzheng (January 1725) at the age of 51.
In Qianlong's long years, only four sons died after him, and he experienced countless moments of grief. Of his ten adult sons, the eldest son, Yonghuang, was the first to die, and he was severely reprimanded and scolded by his father Qianlong, who also deprived him of the qualifications to inherit the throne.
Yonghuang died of depression in the fifteenth year of Qianlong (1750) at the age of 23, which was the first time Qianlong experienced the pain of losing a child, when he was only 40 years old.
He could never have imagined that in the next 50 years, he would experience the loss of his son many times. Although Yonghuang died early, he allowed Qianlong to achieve a happy life in the same house for five generations.
Yonghuang's eldest great-grandson Zaixi died more than a year after Qianlong's wedding, and in this bloodline, Qianlong not only survived his eldest son Yonghuang, but also survived his eldest grandson Miande, who died in the fifty-first year of Qianlong (1786) at the age of 40.
Emperor Qianlong's longevity was amazing, and his sons and even grandchildren could not surpass his lifespan. Therefore, if you want to win the battle for the throne, you must survive Qianlong.
When Qianlong secretly canonized Jiaqing as crown prince, only seven of his sons were still alive, and several of them eventually died before Qianlong. This also made people realize that longevity is one of the important factors in the struggle for the throne.
Qianlong's life span was extremely long, so that in his later years, the only surviving princes were the eighth son Yongxuan, the eleventh son Yongxuan, the fifteenth son Jiaqing and the youngest son Yongxuan.
Therefore, the probability of Qianlong competing for the throne in his later years was much lower than that of Kangxi. Although most of Qianlong's sons are mediocre, Kangxi's sons are very good.
In addition to the old sons who were born later, his older sons have very high comprehensive qualities, all of them are both civil and military, and have the talent to stabilize the country. Especially the 9 sons who participated in Kangxi's struggle for the throne in his later years, including the eldest Yinren, the second abolished prince Yinren, the third Yinzhi, the fourth Yongzheng, the eighth Yinzhi, the ninth Yinyu, the tenth Yinxi, the thirteenth Yinxiang and the fourteenth Yinyu, are all full of talents.
1.Yinhe is the eldest son of Kangxi, handsome and chic, before the abolition of the prince, he was deeply favored by Kangxi, and he followed Kangxi many times to conquer the leader of the Dzungar tribe, Galdan, and made great achievements.
His ability to march and fight is outstanding. 2.Yinren, that is, the abolished prince, is the object of his father's half-life painstaking cultivation. When Kangxi went out to patrol or fight, he almost relied on him to supervise the country.
More than half of Kangxi's achievements in the medium term are due to him. However, Yinren indulged in pleasure in his later years, and his political power threatened Kangxi's imperial power, and he was eventually abolished as the crown prince.
3.Yinzhi is both civil and military, and can not only write books and speak, but also lead troops to fight. He once organized literati to revise encyclopedic books, and followed Kangxi to conquer Galdan, so he was named Prince Cheng.
It can be seen that Yinzhi has outstanding performance in both literature and martial arts.
Yongzheng, his outstanding talent, inherited the "Kangxi Prosperous Era" and the "Qianlong Prosperous Era", laying the foundation of national strength for Qianlong to create the "Qianlong Prosperous Era". He has been in power for thirteen years, and his achievements are remarkable, worthy of his throne.
The eighth elder brother Yinxi is Yongzheng's fierce rival for the throne. He is talented, gentle and delicate, and has a high profile. Yongzheng once commented on him, saying that his talent was not below him, and that he was the most talented and ethical person among all the ministers.
Nine elder brother Yinyu, who is smart by nature and good at business, is the richest of the Kangxi sons. He was also fluent in Russian and English, and even created his own script that combined Manchu and Latin, which shows his shrewdness.
Kangxi once asked him to take turns with Yongzheng and Yinzhi to supervise the country when he went out on patrol, which is enough to prove his ability. The three of them, each with their own talents, each with their own achievements, all have outstanding performance in their own fields.
However, only Yongzheng eventually ascended to the throne, which is also a testament to his talent and leadership.
Nine sons compete for the throne: the ability and ambition behind the throne Among Kangxi's sons, nine are involved in the struggle for the throne. They are the old ten Yinqi, the thirteenth Yinxiang, the fourteenth Yinyu, and the fifth son Yinqi, the seventh son Yinyou, the twelfth son Yinyi, the sixteenth son Yinlu, and the seventeenth son Yinli.
Each of these nine princes has their own backgrounds and talents, and their abilities also prove their ambition for the throne. Although Lao Shiyin's ability is weak, he is of noble birth, and his maternal grandfather is the fourth auxiliary minister in the early Kangxi period, and the matrilineal family has strong political power.
Although he was rude, he had a certain talent in managing the army and once commanded the army. The thirteenth Yinxiang is Yongzheng's right-hand man after he succeeds to the throne, and he is also Yongzheng's favorite and trusted younger brother.
He is very good at governing the country and managing money, and Yongzheng's brilliant achievements in the thirteen years of his reign are half of his credit, which also proves his ability. The old fourteenth Yinyu is Yongzheng's half-brother and his rival to inherit the throne.
In his later years in Kangxi, he replaced Kangxi's nephew Kaldan to conquer the rebellion of Alabutan, led the army to repel Arabutan, defended the ** region, and made great achievements in military affairs.
In addition to these three, the other princes are also very good. The fifth son Yinqi, the seventh son Yinyou, the twelfth son Yinyi, the sixteenth son Yinlu, and the seventeenth son Yinli all have their own advantages and talents.
However, there is only one throne, and there are so many excellent sons, so it will have to be fought for. After all, the more capable you are, the more ambitious you are. Therefore, these princes are working hard for the throne, and the efforts and abilities behind them also make them full of expectations and ambitions for the throne.
The number and quality of Qianlong's princes are inferior to Kangxi's princes. Among Qianlong's princes, only the fifth son of the emperor, Yongqi, the sixth son, Yongying, the eleventh son, and Jiaqing have outstanding abilities.
Among them, the fifth elder brother Yongqi is Qianlong's best prince, and the only one who can be compared with Qianlong's excellent uncle. Yongqi's talent is the same as Qianlong's Sanbo Yinzhi, both civil and military, and his ability is comprehensive.
He is good at painting and calligraphy, is proficient in many languages, and even wrote a work on astronomical algorithms called "Banana Tong Manuscript". Yongqi is not only outstanding in writing, but also outstanding in martial arts, and his riding and archery skills even surpass that of his father Qianlong.
What's even more rare is that Yongqi's conduct is very good and he is extremely filial to Qianlong. He once rushed into the fire to carry Qianlong out regardless of the danger, and was considered by Qianlong to be a sincere and filial person.
Qianlong once considered making Yongqi the crown prince.
Yongqi died young, and Emperor Qianlong has always been obsessed with him, and even on his 80th birthday, in front of Emperor Jiaqing, he praised Yongqi's outstanding talent to the British envoy Macartney, and even thought about making him the crown prince.
And Yongying is also the son of Qianlong who has outstanding ability, he is good at literature, works in poetry and painting, and has very high literary attainments, and is even responsible for the compilation of the "Siku Quanshu", which was highly valued in Qianlong's later years.
However, Yongying was passed on to his uncle Yinxi as a grandson when he was a child, so in terms of identity, he was actually Yinxi's heir, so he lost the right to inherit the throne.
Despite this, his talent and talent were still appreciated by Emperor Qianlong.
Although Yongying was Jiaqing's fierce rival to inherit the throne, he was talented, especially proficient in calligraphy, and Liu Yong, Weng Fanggang, and Tie Bao in the Qianlong period were known as the four famous calligraphers. In his later years, Qianlong attached great importance to Jiaqing and Yongqing, and because of the secret method of establishing a prince, it caused courtiers to speculate about the inheritance of Yongqing and Jiaqing.
However, Yong Ying was too weak and not good at riding and shooting, and was evaluated as soft and unbroken in the "Qing History Manuscript". After weighing, Qianlong chose Jiaqing. Jiaqing is indeed the longest-lived and capable person among Qianlong's many sons, his ability belongs to the weakened version of Yongqi, and his ability is balanced in all aspects, but there is nothing too outstanding and there are no obvious shortcomings.
After Yongqi's early death, Qianlong could only choose Jiaqing as his heir.
Most of Qianlong's other sons are shallow, such as Yongxuan, the eighth son of the emperor, who has been addicted to wine all his life, and once said after drinking: "The position of emperor is too hard for people to do, and I am more comfortable as a rich prince." ”
Although Yongxuan did not have grand ambitions, he inherited Qianlong's longevity genes and lived to the twelfth year of Daoguang (1832) at the age of 87, making him the longest-lived prince in the history of the Qing Dynasty.
And Qianlong's youngest son Yongxuan is even more famous for not loving the country and loving mansions, he once told his brother Jiaqing that he didn't want to be the emperor, he only hoped that Jiaqing would be able to get rid of the big ** and Shen after becoming the emperor, and give him Heshen's mansion, and he would be satisfied.
Therefore, except for Yongqi, Qianlong's other sons are difficult to compete with Jiaqing, plus most of them did not live long and died before Qianlong, and the remaining princes also lack great ambition and are destined to be unable to stage the drama of "nine sons seizing the heir".
Qianlong's secret method of establishing a prince and educating the prince successfully avoided the phenomenon of princes competing for the throne. In fact, Qianlong's sons did not compete for the throne, mainly due to Qianlong's adoption of the method of secretly establishing a prince.
Qianlong's father, Yongzheng, had experienced the painful experience of his brothers competing for the throne, so he created a secret way to establish a reserve, and Qianlong also followed this method. And Kangxi initially adopted the way of the Ming prince.
After Kangxi established his son-in-law Yinren as the crown prince, he carefully cultivated Yinren, and also cultivated the political ability of other sons, hoping that they could become good helpers to assist Yinren.
However, Kangxi ignored the mentality of his other sons, who did not aim to be good helpers, but eyed Yinren's position as the crown prince. Therefore, Kangxi's starting point was not realized, but instead cultivated a group of political enemies for Yinren.
Kangxi's cultivation method and establishment method led to the situation of competing for the throne in his later years. Yongzheng had personally experienced this kind of tragedy, so he learned a lesson after succeeding to the throne and adopted the secret method of establishing a prince with the name of the crown prince heir hidden behind the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque in advance.
Qianlong also adopted this method of secretly establishing a prince, hoping to effectively avoid the recurrence of the phenomenon of princes competing for the throne. Although the secret establishment of the prince is a key point, it is not the only point, and it is equally important for the cultivation and education of the princes.
For example, Qianlong finally secretly appointed Jiaqing as his heir, and at that time, the government and the opposition could guess that Qianlong's heir was a choice between Yongying and Jiaqing.
If Yongying is replaced by Qianlong's eighth uncle Yinxi, with his ability and character, he will definitely use all resources to fight for the throne.
Yongying's concept of the throne follows fate, and his body is full of strong Confucian sourness. Qianlong warned him many times to be generous and to have less dealings with corrupt Confucianism, but Yongying always went his own way, which showed that he was not ambitious.
The fundamental reason for this phenomenon lies in Kangxi's way of educating his sons. Before Kangxi, the emperors of all dynasties were all Ming princes, and there was rarely a phenomenon of sons competing for the throne.
Taking the Ming Dynasty as an example, although the Ming Dynasty has always established a crown prince, there has almost never been an incident in which the prince competes for the crown prince. This is because the princes of the Ming Dynasty only enjoyed the title and did not participate in the actual government affairs, while Kangxi let these princes "work in politics and lead teachers outside" and train them to become helpers in governing the country.
However, this approach led to an increase in the princes' desire for power and wealth, which led to contradictions. Eventually, these contradictions escalated into a struggle for the throne. Qianlong learned the lesson of Kangxi and did not let the sons take power too early, thus avoiding the phenomenon of the sons competing for the throne.
Kangxi was a loving father who was full of love for each of his sons and devoted himself to nurturing them, so his sons showed excellent talents. Some people even say that Kangxi's sons in his life are enough to support the candidates of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty.
However, when Kangxi and his sons passed away one after another, their children and grandchildren were not as good as the next generation and went into decline. In the middle and late Yongzheng period, when he gave the university scholar Ortai a reply, he once lamented that his sons were all middle-of-the-road talents, and his nephews also lacked outstanding talents.
This deep regret has been recognized by Heaven and the Emperor of the Ancestors, Emperor Kao Kangxi. Yongzheng had already discovered in his later years that there were not too many outstanding talents among his sons and nephews, and even his son Qianlong was not fully recognized in his opinion.
Therefore, by the Qianlong period, the quality of his sons was even inferior to that of the older generation. Their abilities are mediocre, and their ambitions are much worse than those of those with exceptional abilities.
This is also the main reason why Qianlong's sons did not compete for the throne: first, the number of princes was not as large as Kangxi; Secondly, the quality of the prince is not as good as Kangxi's sons; In the end, Qianlong adopted the method of secretly establishing a prince, and in terms of cultivating princes, he did not give too much power to the princes like Kangxi.
In general, Kangxi is an excellent father, and the children and nephews he has cultivated have shown excellent talents. However, his children and grandchildren are not as good as the next generation and are in decline.
This reminds us that the importance of family education is self-evident, and parents should focus on nurturing their children's talents and qualities, not just providing them with material conditions.