On October 30 of the 17th year of Kangxi (1678), Yinzhen, the fourth son of Emperor Kangxi, was born. This is the Yongzheng Emperor in later history.
However, Yongzheng's biological mother Wu Yashi's background and status at this time can be said to be very humble.
In the official history books of the Qing Dynasty, it is only recorded that she is the daughter of the powerful leader of the army, but there is no mention of the fact that her grandfather Eshen served as the head of the imperial dining room, of course, the purpose of this is precisely to cover up the humble origin of her family. In fact, when Yongzheng was born, she was just an ordinary palace maid, or Wu Ya, who was born in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and her background and status were not much stronger than the eighth elder brother Yinxi's biological mother, Concubine Wei, who was born in Xin Zheku, and it was purely "fifty steps and a hundred steps".
It is precisely because of this that according to the harem system of the Qing Dynasty, the Wu Ya clan is not qualified to raise the prince. So, under the arrangement of Emperor Kangxi, the young Yongzheng was immediately handed over by Kangxi to be raised by Empress Tong Jia, who was still a concubine.
From this time on, Yongzheng became the adopted son of Empress Tong Jia, and Empress Tong Jiashi took good care of Yongzheng in her childhood, and her relationship with Yongzheng was extremely deep, so that after ascending the throne, Yongzheng continued to emphasize that his feelings for his adoptive mother Empress Tong Jia even exceeded that of his biological mother Wu Yashi.
"Giving birth is not as great as nurturing grace. ”
on the Internet).
At the same time, the Tong Jia family, where Empress Tong Jia is located, is one of the "four major relatives families" during the Kangxi Dynasty, and many members of the family also have extremely high power and status in the court, and more importantly, Emperor Kangxi's biological mother, Empress Xiaohuizhang, Tong Jia, is also from this family.
Therefore, in such a situation, many people believe that it is precisely because Kangxi passed Yongzheng to the filial piety Empress Tong Jiashi as an adopted son that Yongzheng finally achieved "corner overtaking" in the fierce "nine sons to seize the heir", and realized "changing his life against the sky" under extremely unfavorable circumstances and conditions, and finally inherited the unification.
However, this is just wishful thinking.
Throughout the entire process of "nine sons seizing the heir", Yongzheng himself received support from the Tong Jia family, only Long Keduo was the only one, and he himself repeatedly emphasized his relationship with the Empress Tong Jia after ascending the throne and tried his best to win over the entire Tong Jia family, more for the needs of political rule.
on the Internet).
The Tong Jia family, together with the Hesheri family where Suo Etu is located, the Yehenara family where Nalan Mingzhu and Nalan Yuxu are located, and the Niu Hulu family where Kubilong and Alinga are located, are known as the "four major relatives families" during the Kangxi Dynasty.
These "four major relatives family" not only established close ties with Emperor Kangxi through political marriage, but also had members of the family who held important positions in the court and held absolute power, and then constantly defended their family's status.
Among the "four families", the Tong Jia family is undoubtedly a well-deserved "first relative family".
On the one hand, the Tong Jia family has a deeper kinship with Emperor Kangxi.
As mentioned above, Kangxi's biological mother was originally from the Tong Jia family. Moreover, in the harem of Emperor Kangxi, in addition to his third queen, that is, Empress Tong Jiashi of Xiaoyiren, Emperor Kangxi's favorite concubine Tong Jiashi in his later years, was also born in the Tong Jia family.
Therefore, this kind of multiple marriage relationship is beyond the reach of several other major foreign families.
on the Internet).
On the other hand, there are many members of the Tong Jia family, who are in a high position above the court, and their family influence spans the Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong dynasties, especially during the Kangxi Dynasty, the Tong Jia family has a large number of officials in the court, and its influence is long-standing, and it is also a unique existence.
Among them, there are Kangxi's two uncles, Tong Guogang, Tong Guowei, and Kangxi's cousins such as Long Keduo and Oro Dai.
Emperor Kangxi's maternal uncle Tong Guogang was regarded as a "hero" during the Kangxi Dynasty. In the twenty-ninth year of Kangxi (1690), in the fierce battle of Ulan Butong between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungar Khanate, Tong Guogang rushed into the ground and was unfortunately shot and died, and the Kangxi Emperor held a state funeral for him to pay tribute.
Tong Guogang's sons are also in high positions. Oro Dai also served as the minister of the guard, Fahai, as the teacher of the thirteenth elder brother Yinxiang and the fourteenth elder brother Yinyu, trained two Kangxi princes who can be called "civil and military all-rounders", and Kuadai was also reused during the Yongzheng Dynasty.
Emperor Kangxi's other maternal uncle, Tong Guowei, was the official to the Minister of the Guard, and the two concubines of Emperor Kangxi mentioned above, namely Empress Tong Jiashi of Xiaoyiren and Concubine Tong Jiashi of Emperor Huihui, were all his daughters.
Among his sons, the most famous is Long Keduo, an important minister in the last years of the Kangxi Dynasty and the early years of the Yongzheng Dynasty. And his other son, Qingfu, also held important positions in the court during the Yongzheng Dynasty and the early years of the Qianlong Dynasty.
on the Internet).
However, in "Nine Sons Seize the Inheritance", the entire Tong Jia family is basically "one-sided" and all on the side of the eighth elder brother Yinxi. Especially in the forty-seventh year of Kangxi (1708), after Emperor Kangxi deposed Yinren's crown prince for the first time on the grounds that "the prince is not good and his deeds are not filial", the Tong Jia family headed by Tong Guowei was very active.
Of course, Tong Guowei and others' support for Eighth Elder Brother Yinxi can be said to be both "for the public" and "for the private".
Yu Gong", among all the princes of Emperor Kangxi, the eighth elder brother Yinxi is recognized as gifted and intelligent, shrewd**, which even Emperor Yongzheng, who ascended the throne in the future, deeply admired.
"Yinxi is a smart person**, only wealthy, and I know that he can do great things. ”"In private", it is Tong Guowei's "hatred of the house and Wu". The reason is that Tong Guowei believes that in the "Battle of Ulan Butong" in the 29th year of Kangxi (1690), the death of his eldest brother Tong Guogang is inseparable from Suo Etu's failure to report his knowledge and unfavorable support, and even thinks that Suo Etu has the suspicion of "killing people with a knife" and excluding dissidents, so he is full of disgust for Suo Etu and the prince Yinren who he supports and supports.
However, at this time, Kangxi already had the idea of reinstating Yinren as the crown prince, and severely suppressed the "Eight Masters Party" where the eighth elder brother Yinren belonged. In such a situation, Tong Guowei, who had already been to the office, returned to the court without hesitation, expressing his strong dissatisfaction and **, not only collaborating with Ma Qi to secretly arrange and connect to resist Kangxi's decision to reinstate Prince Yinren, but also in front of Kangxi, he coerced Kangxi with "guilt and self-punishment", which caused huge pressure and burden on Kangxi, making Kangxi extremely angry in his heart, and then severely reprimanded him.
on the Internet).
In addition to Tong Guowei, there is also a very active member of the Tong Jia family, which is Oro Dai.
During this period, in order to make the decision to reinstate Yinren more grounded, Kangxi convened a group of important ministers in the court to hold a special imperial meeting, and the core personnel who participated in the meeting included the Minister of the Guard, Alinga, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Oro Dai, the head of the Hanlin Academy, Nalan Yuxu, and the head of the Ministry of Households, Wang Hongxu and others.
At the meeting, Kangxi put forward the idea of wanting to reinstate Yinren, but as a result, Oro Dai and Alinga, Kuo Xu, etc. also put forward resolute ** and opposition, and strongly supported the eighth elder brother Yinren, so that Kangxi's plan to build a ** foundation completely failed.
on the Internet).
It should also be mentioned here that at this time, Long Keduo did not choose to stand with other members of the Tong Jia family to support Eighth Elder Brother Yinxi, of course, he did not choose to support Yongzheng. At this time, Long Keduo chose absolute neutrality, and at the same time maintained absolute loyalty to Emperor Kangxi, and then won Kangxi's trust and was reused.
It can be seen that although Yongzheng, as the adopted son of the Empress Tong Jia, seems to have a closer relationship with the entire Tong Jia family, in fact, Yongzheng did not get the favor and support of the Tong Jia family during the entire "Nine Sons Seize the Inheritance", on the contrary, including Tong Guowei, Oro Dai and other members of the Tong Jia family who have absolute prestige and power, chose to support Yongzheng's political enemy, the eighth elder brother Yinxi.
on the Internet).
If it is said that among all the Kangxi princes, the one who has the closest relationship with Long Keduo is really Yongzheng. The reason for this is that not only Yongzheng was raised by the filial piety Empress Tong Jia of the Tong Jia family, but even Yongzheng's son Hongli, who later became Emperor Qianlong, was also raised by members of the Tong Jia family.
In the 60th year of Kangxi (1721), Emperor Kangxi took the ten-year-old Hongli to the palace, personally tutored and cultivated, and arranged two concubines to help raise and take care of them, including the daughter of Tong Guowei mentioned above, the sister of Empress Xiaoyiren Tong Jiashi, and the sister of Long Keduo's sister.
It is precisely because both generations have a nurturing relationship with the Tong Jia family that the "uncle and nephew" relationship between Yongzheng and Long Keduo is even more justified.
on the Internet).
However, if it is simply because of such a "unwarranted" kinship, it is indeed very far-fetched to judge Long Keduo's "motive" for supporting Yongzheng, and if this is really the case, then where will other members of the Tong Jia family, including Tong Guowei, Orodai, Fahai, etc., be placed?
Therefore, between Yongzheng and Long Keduo, even if there is a bond of "family affection", it is not the core and fundamental, the most important reason is political interests.
In "Nine Sons Seize the Inheritance", Yongzheng has always adopted the strategy of "fighting is not fighting, not fighting is fighting", so except for the thirteenth elder brother Yinxiang and Nian Qianyao's family and other very few supporters, there is no other foreign aid force. Correspondingly, the other two favorites to win the heir, the eighth elder brother Yinyu and the fourteenth elder brother Yinyu, have many supporters and supporters, including powerful forces such as the Alinga family, the Yuxu family and Long Keduo's cousin Oro Dai.
Therefore, in such a situation, Long Keduo can only ensure the maximization of political interests by choosing the relatively unpopular Yongzheng, and the facts have also proved that Yongzheng at the beginning of his accession to the throne favored Long Keduo, and his powerful position can even be said to be second only to Yongzheng and the thirteenth elder brother Yinxiang.
Therefore, Long Keduo chose to support Yongzheng at the last moment, and then became the "first meritorious minister" of Yongzheng's smooth ascension to the throne, not because of the nurturing relationship between Yongzheng and Empress Tong Jia.
on the Internet).
Historically, after Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, it can be said that he entered the palace for a year, and the "deeds" of Emperor Kangxi's personal guidance and training were on his lips, especially in the early days of his succession.
What the facts are, it is impossible to verify, but if you think about it carefully, there must be a lot of exaggeration, and the reason why Emperor Qianlong still wants to publicize Kangxi's love for him with such fanfare is not to recall his grandfather, but to prove the "legitimacy" of his throne.
This is to correct the name of Yongzheng, and at the same time, it is also to correct the name of Emperor Qianlong himself.
on the Internet).
Of course, after Yongzheng ascended the throne, the purpose of "gratitude" for "gratitude" to "gratitude" for Empress Tong Jiashi of filial piety is the same.
First of all, Yongzheng wants to elevate his origin.
During the Qing Dynasty, what was very important was the origin of the prince, that is, the so-called "son is more precious than mother", however, this was a great disadvantage for Yongzheng.
Among all the Kangxi princes who participated in the "Nine Sons Seize the Inheritance", the biological mother of the abolished prince Yinren is Kangxi's wife, the Empress Hesheri of filial piety, and the biological mother of the tenth elder brother, Wen Guifei Niu Hulu, all of which are higher than Yongzheng's biological mother Concubine Wu Ya in terms of status and rank. According to the order of the "four concubines" of "Hui Yi Derong", the biological mother of the eldest brother Yinchu, Hui Fei Nala, and the biological mother of the ninth elder brother Yinyu, Yifei Guo Luoluo, are also ranked before Yongzheng's biological mother Wu Ya.
Moreover, the Wuya family, where Yongzheng's biological mother belongs, is very humble in itself, and it was not until Kangxi was in his later years that he was lifted out of the Baoyi banner, which is an out-and-out "black history" for a prince who is determined to compete for the throne.
Therefore, Yongzheng repeatedly emphasized the affection of Empress Tong Jia's family for him, in fact, in order to show the "mother-son" relationship between him and Empress Tong Jia, all of which are based on his noble background and status, to achieve his "counterattack" of "son to mother", so as to elevate his own background and ensure the "legitimacy" of the succession to the throne.
on the Internet).
Secondly, the relationship between Yongzheng and his biological mother Wu Yashi is indeed very bad.
It stands to reason that if the son becomes the emperor, as a mother, he can sit in the position of the queen mother by virtue of "the mother is more precious than the son", and then "the mother of the world".
However, after Yongzheng's biological mother Wu Yashi ascended the throne, she showed more dissatisfaction and resistance. Wu Yashi not only refused Yongzheng's worship in public, so that Yongzheng could not come to the stage, and even prepared to be martyred for Kangxi.
"Determined to be martyred, not to drink or eat. ”After that, Yongzheng continued to refuse to give him the emblem of the queen mother, so that until his death, the queen mother's canonization ceremony was not held.
In fact, the tense relationship between Yongzheng and his biological mother Wu Yashi is due to the separation of mother and son since childhood and the estranged relationship, on the other hand, Wu Yashi cares for the fourteenth elder brother Yinyu who he personally raised, and Yongzheng and Yinyu are political enemies of each other, which directly led to the concentrated venting of all the dissatisfaction in Wu Ya's heart after seeing Yongzheng ascend the throne.
So in such a situation, Yongzheng is also using his relationship with the Empress Tong Jiashi of Xiaoyiren to cover up the "family ugliness" between him and his biological mother Wu Yashi, and it is also to calm down the ** outlet and show his filial piety.
on the Internet).
Again, it is to win over the Tong Jia family.
For his political enemies and brothers, Yongzheng's methods are very cruel, of course, for the courtiers who have supported other princes in the "Nine Sons to Seize the Inheritance", Yongzheng's approach is also very decisive. Even though the two have passed away, Yongzheng still refuses to let go of the two, and changes his tombstone to "The Tomb of the Violent and Greedy A Ling'a" and "The Tomb of the Disloyal, Unfilial, Insidious, Gentle and Gentle Xu" to show humiliation.
In contrast, the members of the Tong Jia family were much luckier.
In addition to Long Keduo becoming the prime minister, Tong Guogang and Tong Guowei, the two deceased Tong family members, were posthumously presented by Yongzheng as Taifu, and Oro Dai, Fahai, Kua Dai and other people also continued to be entrusted with reuse, and they were not affected by the entire family in the "Nine Sons to Seize the Inheritance", which supported the eighth elder brother Yinxi.
The reason why Yongzheng is like this is not only to thank Empress Tong Jia's nurturing feelings and Long Keduo's support, but also to win over the Tong Jia family, and then obtain its support and maintain the stability of the political situation.
on the Internet).
However, with the gradual stabilization of Yongzheng's throne, Yongzheng did not emphasize the relationship between him and Empress Tong Jia as before, and at the same time, Yongzheng did not show mercy to the entire Tong Jia family.
In the fourth year of Yongzheng (1726), Yongzheng issued an order to execute Oro Dai, and at the same time was angry with Tong Guogang, who had been dead for many years.
"With the affection of the heart and the heart, it is righteous and excited, willing to endure hardships. People are like this, Kou Xi is enough? Only loyalty and bravery, and both truth! ”A year later, in the fifth year of Yongzheng (1727), Long Keduo was convicted of "Forty-one Deadly Sins", and then was imprisoned by Yongzheng to death.
At this point, the entire Tong Jia family has been completely excluded from the core of power, and it can no longer regain the family prosperity of the year.
on the Internet).
Compare with Yongzheng, who is from a humble background and has had the experience of "foster care".
Although he was arranged by Kangxi to be raised by his eldest brother Yinchu's biological mother, Concubine Hui, due to the humble background of his mother's family, Yinzhen was always the son of Concubine Wei, so much so that later, under the anger of the "Killing Eagle Incident", he scolded Yinxu for being "born of Xinzheku", which shows that Emperor Kangxi still attaches great importance to the relationship between "birth" and "raising". Similarly, Yongzheng, who was raised by Empress Tong Jia, did not be able to change his origin.
on the Internet).
However, after the eldest elder brother Yinren was ordered by Kangxi to cut down the sect and seize the title and be imprisoned for life because of the prince Yinren of "Nightmare Town", the Yehenala family of his adoptive mother, Concubine Hui, almost invested all their political resources in the eighth elder brother Yinren, especially Nalan Yuxu, which can be described as contributing people, money, and efforts. On the other hand, Yongzheng's side, the Tong Jia family where his adoptive mother, Empress Xiao Yiren, belonged to Tong Jia's family, did not choose to support him, but on the contrary, he also supported his political opponent Eighth Elder Brother Yinyu and later Fourteenth Elder Brother Yinyu.
It can be seen that although Empress Tong Jiashi of Xiaoyiren took good care of Yongzheng and cultivated carefully, this is only at the level of life, and there are no actual political resources.
on the Internet).
After Yongzheng ascended the throne, he repeatedly emphasized his deep relationship with Empress Tong Jia, in addition to being grateful for more than ten years of nurturing kindness, but also to elevate his own background, make up for the "shortcomings" of his mother's humble background, and then increase the "legitimacy" of his ascension to the throne and maintain the stability of the throne.
Therefore, for Yongzheng, the filial piety Empress Tong Jiashi, the nominal significance and effectiveness of being a "foster mother" are far greater than the resources and help she actually receives.