Viewers who often watch "The Legend of Zhen Huan" should have an impression of a line of Emperor Yongzheng's handling of Nian Qianyao: "Remove the position of governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi last year, and Yue Zhongqi will concurrently serve it." ”
Nian Qianyao was born as a clothed slave, and in fact he was the emperor's "house slave".
After getting the weight, he made many military exploits, gradually swelled, and did not take anyone seriously.
Such a situation was naturally not tolerated by the suspicious Yongzheng, and Yongzheng quickly took him away.
But Nian Qianyao's vacant position can't be topped by no one, this person is Yue Zhongqi.
Yue Zhongqi is different from Nian Qianyao, he has a prominent family background, and he is still an old minister left in the Kangxi Dynasty.
But his ending is no better than that of Nian Qianyao.
In the tenth year of Yongzheng, Yue Zhongqi was detained for the crime of misleading the country and sentenced to death.
But the amazing thing is that Yongzheng didn't really kill him, but left him a way to live.
What happened in the meantime?
Yue Zhongqi was born in a family of famous generals and is the twenty-first grandson of Yue Fei.
His father, Yue Shenglong, who was the governor of Sichuan, was deeply appreciated and reused by Kangxi.
Yue Zhongqi has been good at writing and martial arts since he was a child, not only studying very hard, but also showing outstanding military talent.
It is said that when he was twenty years old, he was dignified and burly, and he liked to use two copper hammers, and the weight of these two copper hammers combined reached hundreds of catties, and ordinary people couldn't hold them at all.
Originally, the family bought him an alternate acquaintance, but Yue Zhongqi thought that let him serve as a civil servant, and his ambitions would have nowhere to play, so he asked Kangxi to give him a military position, so that he could have the opportunity to display his talents and serve the court.
In this way, Yue Zhongqi got the position of guerrilla general, and his rank was equivalent to that of Congsanpin.
This grade is not low, which means that Yue Zhongqi's starting point itself is very superior.
At this time, Yue Zhongqi finally found a suitable field for himself, and made great achievements in his career.
His first exploit was achieved under extremely difficult conditions, and Kangxi greatly appreciated his performance.
In the 56th year of Kangxi, the Dzungar Great Khan colluded with Tsarist Russia, revealing wolf ambitions and attempting to annex the Qinghai-Tibet region.
At first, Kangxi sent the governor of Huguang, Errente, but Errente was defeated and the whole army was annihilated, and the situation was extremely critical.
After learning a lesson, Kangxi sent two large armies to move forward separately, and Yue Zhongqi was appointed as the general of the Guguan Battalion in Zhili.
Eventually, the rebellion was completely put down, and Yue Zhongqi was promoted to governor of Sichuan for his outstanding performance.
And this year's Yue Zhongqi is only thirty-five years old, and he has already equaled the most important position in his father's life.
In addition to promoting his official position, Kangxi Longyan Dayue also rewarded Yue Zhongqi with peacock feathers.
In the Qing Dynasty, the peacock feather was the highest honor and a symbol of extreme wealth and prominence.
It is said that once the son of heaven is a courtier, the new emperor will inevitably use his own people when he ascends the throne.
But after the death of Emperor Kangxi, Yongzheng still reused Yue Zhongqi.
After that, Yue Zhongqi made great contributions in the process of quelling the rebellion of Luobzang Danjin in Qinghai, implementing the "reform of the land and returning to the stream", and attacking the nomadic land of the Gar tribe, Ili, and was rewarded by Yongzheng.
In the third year of Yongzheng, a major event happened in the government and the opposition, which had a great impact on Yue Zhongqi's official career.
This incident is that Nian Qianyao was given to death by Yongzheng because of the suspicion of meritorious and high shock.
Nian Qianyao, who enjoys great military exploits, is no longer as good as before, and his arrogance has attracted the dissatisfaction of many officials.
The officials spoke one after another, asking Yongzheng to surrender to Nian Qianyao, which also fell into the arms of Yongzheng, who had already had a gap with Nian Qianyao, so from the beginning of the "He Watch Incident", Yongzheng began to secretly rectify Nian Qianyao's plan.
Before that, Yue Zhongqi had gradually mastered the military power of the northwest provinces, laying a good foundation for Yongzheng to eradicate Nian Qianyao.
When it comes to the process of really bringing down Nian Qianyao, it is inseparable from a person who can be called Nian Qianyao's sworn enemy.
This person was Cai Ting, who was the governor of Sichuan at the time.
The conflict between Cai Ting and Nian Qianyao became increasingly intense, and the pampered and arrogant Nian Qianyao sued Cai Ting from Yongzheng.
Cai Ting immediately got into the prisoner car and was escorted to the capital, where Yongzheng personally interrogated.
But this interrogation has a deep meaning, Yongzheng's real intention is not to blame Cai Ting, but to tell him to bite Nian Qianyao to death.
Sure enough, when it was time to take care of Nian Qianyao, Cai Ting put together all the public and private grievances and bitten out a lot of Nian Qianyao's crimes.
With a valid reason, it becomes much easier to deal with Nian Qianyao's affairs.
On December 11, the third year of Yongzheng, Nian Qianyao was given death by Yongzheng.
As soon as Nian Qianyao died, Yue Zhongqi naturally obtained the military power that originally belonged to Nian Qianyao and appointed him as the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi.
Cai Ting, who was originally treated by Nian Qianyao**, was also reinstated by the acquittal officer.
It's just that this Cai Ting is not a good stubble, and after overthrowing Nian Qianyao, he wanted to bring down Yue Zhongqi.
In front of Yongzheng, he kept writing to ** Yue Zhongqi and said all the bad things about the other party.
In front of Yue Zhongqi, he pretended to be very friendly, and he didn't see the slightest hostility.
In the fifth year of Yongzheng, when Yue Zhongqi went to Beijing to report on his work, Cai Ting also warmly entertained him, which made Yue Zhongqi very grateful.
This kind of villainous behavior in front of the face and behind the back directly caused Yongzheng's dissatisfaction.
Cai Ting was first dismissed, and then involved in the plot of forming a party for personal gain, and was finally sentenced to beheading.
Nian Qianyao and Cai Ting were knocked down one after another, and the final beneficiary became Yue Zhongqi.
It's just that when the moon is full, it will be lost, and when people reach their peak, they will soon usher in a fall.
Yue Zhongqi's "bad luck" is also coming.
In the tenth year of Yongzheng, the Junggar Ministry led a small army to attack again, and Yue Zhongqi was ordered to quell the rebellion.
This was not originally a fatal matter, and it was not a tricky task for a veteran like Yue Zhongqi, who had been in a hundred battles, but there was an unexpected fork in the process.
In Yue Zhongqi's deployment, he ordered his subordinates to lead the army to pursue, and then ordered another road of men and horses to cut off the opponent's retreat, if everything went well, he could wipe out this part of the attacking men and horses.
But the strange thing is that Yue Zhongqi sent his subordinate Shi Yunzhuo, who cut off the opponent's retreat, and I don't know why he set off a day late, resulting in the final release of the enemy.
At this time, Yongzheng was furious and arrested Yue Zhongqi back to the military department to try the crime.
This trial lasted two years, and Yue Zhongqi was finally sentenced to beheading.
Beheading is a special punishment in the Ming and Qing dynasties, which means that the death penalty is not carried out for the time being, and it needs to wait until the autumn trial to review, that is, it is not certain whether the prisoner is dead or alive.
But in comparison, this is also a serious crime for Yue Zhongqi.
Originally, it was just a small battle, and Yue Zhongqi did not bear the main responsibility in this mistake, why did Yongzheng make such a big move and severely punish Yue Zhongqi?
You must know that Yongzheng is good at using the art of the emperor, and the decisions he makes are far from being as simple as they seem on the surface.
There is a substantial reason behind the severe punishment of Yue Zhongqi, that is, the contradictions between the Manchu and Han courtiers have intensified to a certain extent.
In response to Yue Zhongqi's mistake this time, the most powerful person in Yue Zhongqi was Ortai, who was a scholar of the Ministry of War at the time.
Ortai was inlaid with a blue flag for Manchuria and was one of the representatives of the Manchu aristocracy at that time.
The contradiction between him and Yue Zhongqi is essentially a reflection of the contradiction between the Manchu and Han courtiers.
So how did Ortai and Yue Zhongqi have such a strong contradiction?
First of all, Yue Zhongqi himself is in the position, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi is undoubtedly a fat poor, and whoever falls into his hands will attract the jealousy and suspicion of his colleagues around him.
Secondly, the personal grievances between Ortai and Yue Zhongqi are not a day or two.
As early as when the two of them jointly tried the Wumeng Tusi nuisance incident in Yunnan, there were some disputes because of different opinions, and Ortai also wrote to Yongzheng, revealing his dissatisfaction with Yue Zhongqi every word.
Seeing that Yue Zhongqi was delaying the military plane, Ortai naturally wanted to seize the opportunity and bite it hard.
He first wrote a book, ** Yue Zhongqi "dereliction of duty and deep responsibility for the grace of God", and then secretly told Yue Zhongqi that he was suspected of rebellion.
Ortai said that Yue Zhongqi had moved troops and horses without authorization to raise food and wages, which showed that he was not subservient.
For the suspicious Yongzheng, Ortai's twists and turns undoubtedly touched the most sensitive string in his heart.
In this way, under the pressure of Ortai and other Manchu courtiers, Yue Zhongqi's original small negligence turned into a big sin, and finally got the result of beheading the prisoner.
It's just that for Yue Zhongqi's character, Yongzheng himself is very trusting.
Originally, the result of the trial of Yue Zhongqi by the Ministry of War was very severe, not to behead the prisoner, but to execute the sentence.
Such a result did not leave even a trace of vitality for Yue Zhongqi.
But Yongzheng did not agree, but changed to behead the prisoner.
Yongzheng's meaning should be to give face to the Manchu courtiers at the same time, and leave a way for Yue Zhongqi to live, so as not to really do things to the end.
Maybe Yongzheng's decision also took into account the factors that had already dealt with Nian Qianyao with a thunderous wrist before.
Yue Zhongqi and Nian Qianyao are also meritorious ministers, having already killed Nian Qianyao, and then killing Yue Zhongqi, wouldn't it make the emperor leave a reputation for treating meritorious heroes badly and hiding all the birds?
In short, although Yue Zhongqi was condemned and fined more than 700,000 taels of silver, fortunately, his life was safe.
In this way, Yue Zhongqi stayed in prison until the second year of Qianlong's ascension to the throne, and finally waited for the day he was released.
In the second year of Qianlong, Yue Zhongqi was released.
Perhaps he deeply felt the strictness and ruthlessness of the Yongzheng Emperor, the relationship between the emperor and the courtiers was too tense, and Qianlong implemented a relatively relaxed policy after ascending the throne.
He not only released the clan relatives who had been convicted of serious crimes in the previous dynasty, but also treated the old ministers of the former dynasty leniently, including Yue Zhongqi.
After being released from prison, Yue Zhongqi resumed his identity as a commoner, returned to his hometown in Sichuan, and lived the life of an ordinary person.
This state of affairs lasted until the thirteenth year of Qianlong.
In this year, the Qing court was busy dealing with the suppression of the rebellion in Dajinchuan, and after investing a lot of financial resources and troops, there has been no significant progress in the war ahead.
Qianlong, who was distraught, thought of Yue Zhongqi, who had been shelved by him for a long time.
At this time, Yue Zhongqi was sixty-two years old, but he was experienced and capable, and he was a trustworthy general.
After consulting with his ministers, Qianlong reactivated Yue Zhongqi and appointed him as the governor of Sichuan, and worked with his relatives to quell the rebellion.
Under Yue Zhongqi's orderly scheduling, the Jinchuan Rebellion was quickly quelled.
In this process, Yue Zhongqi also decisively wrote the truth about Qianlong's front line and got rid of his relatives who had no military ability.
He was at odds with Zhang Guangsi, and he always restrained each other when using troops, resulting in delays in military aircraft.
In fact, Qianlong also had the intention of getting rid of his relatives, as the queen mother's relatives, he had long been a force that Qianlong was afraid of, and Yue Zhongqi's ** came at the right time.
Since then, Qianlong has more trust in Yue Zhongqi's ability and personality, and entrusts him with more military affairs.
In this process, Yue Zhongqi can be described as conscientious and loyal, and never slack off in order to repay the emperor's kindness.
However, due to old age and frailty, and being in a state of marching and fighting for a long time, Yue Zhongqi's health deteriorated.
In the nineteenth year of Qianlong, Yue Zhongqi died of illness on the way back to the dynasty to quell the rebellion at the age of sixty-eight.
After Yue Zhongqi died, Emperor Qianlong gave him the nickname "Xiangqin".
The meaning of this nickname is to praise Yue Zhongqi for being open-minded and helpful, which shows that in Qianlong's heart, Yue Zhongqi's personality and conduct are very recognized.
Yue Zhongqi and Qianlong's belated "monarch and minister acquaintance" past is also talked about by many people.
In fact, until now, there are still many people who question whether Yue Zhongqi is a loyal minister or a traitor, judging from some details, there is no doubt that Yue Zhongqi is completely loyal to the Qing court.
Previously, there was a young man named Zeng Jing, who had a deep-rooted anti-Qing and restoration of vision, and after he fell in love with Yue Zhongqi's identity as Yue Fei's descendant, he openly instigated Yue Zhongqi to rebel.
For such a thing, Yongzheng is ignorant on the surface, but he is very attentive behind the scenes.
But this Zeng Jing's fate was taken down by Yue Zhongqi himself and sent to Yongzheng for questioning.
Yue Zhongqi's behavior has shown that he does not want to be tainted with the infamy of being a rebel and a thief.
As the only Han general, Yue Zhongqi didn't have such an opportunity, but he didn't think about it.
Compared with Nian Qianyao, who has an impetuous and arrogant temperament, his temperament is more stable and trustworthy.
After succeeding Nian Qianyao as the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, his words and deeds were not excessive.
This is also the fundamental reason why he was able to survive from Yongzheng's hands after all and was reused by Qianlong again.
In his later years, he can be regarded as a good beginning and a good end, and he has done his best to die.
Looking back on Yue Zhongqi's life, he has experienced three generations of emperors of the Qing Dynasty, and his life has been full of ups and downs.
After the extreme glory and prominence, he ushered in a sharp turn in prison and almost lost his life.
There are quite complex reasons for this, including the intricate battles of the previous dynasty and Yongzheng's deep suspicions.
But his inner desire to be loyal to the court has never changed.
When Qianlong recalled him, he still maintained the ambition of the year.
In his later years, Yue Zhongqi was still busy quelling the rebellion, and was committed to maintaining the stability of the Qing court and giving the people a good living environment.
After quelling the rebellion, Yue Zhongqi attached great importance to the work of pacifying the local people.
As a descendant of Yue Fei, he, like his ancestor Yue Fei, has been insisting on serving the country with loyalty all his life.
Such a figure is worthy of the respect and admiration of future generations.
Young Writers" :* Yue Zhongqi behind the war in the northwest.
Journal of Qinghai University for Nationalities: A Discussion on the Life of Yue Zhongqi.