The Daoguang succession has been decided, and Kangqian's regeneration is useless
If Daoguang passed the throne to Prince Gong, would the direction of the Qing Dynasty change? Most readers will be of the opinion that Yixun's ability is far greater than that of Xianfeng, and therefore the fate of the country will be changed as a result.
Some people privately believe that Yixun's ability is similar to Xianfeng, but it is impossible to clearly judge how strong it is. As for whether Yixun's succession to the throne can rewrite the fate of the Qing Dynasty, in fact, this possibility is not very likely.
It can even be said that with the situation at that time, even if the three generations of heroes of Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong ascended the throne again, it would be useless. How much legacy did Daoguang leave to Xianfeng?
Jiaqing reigned for twenty-five years, and the Jiangshan Sheji left to Daoguang cannot be said to be a mess, but it still retains a trace of prosperity. At least judging from the political situation and economic situation in Jiaqing's later years, there has not been a major crisis in the country.
According to the report of the household department at the beginning of Daoguang's succession, the number of silver in the national treasury is still as high as 30 million taels, although this level is not as high as the average of 50 million taels of the Qianlong Dynasty, but at least it is the same as that of the Yongzheng Dynasty.
The only problem is that after Jiaqing's death, the three problems of governance, land annexation, and the livelihood of the Eight Banners were more serious.
To use an inappropriate analogy, if we consider the Qing Dynasty as a company, then when Emperor Daoguang took over, the company was still profitable, but internal problems, especially personnel problems, needed to be solved urgently.
If handled properly, the company has the potential to return to the top of its grandfather's time. However, during the three decades of Emperor Daoguang's reign, apart from quelling the Zhang Ge rebellion in Xinjiang, there were few political achievements to boast about.
He tried to rectify the rule of officials and reform the Cao Yun, but these reforms were ultimately unsuccessful. The First Opium War, which could have been won, was hesitant and forward-looking, and signed the "Treaty of Nanjing", which humiliated the country.
After the defeat, he failed to take effective measures, which led to the gradual decline of the company. By the end of his reign, corruption within the company had worsened, and the economy had deteriorated.
In addition, the Western powers are eyeing the company and constantly exerting pressure on the company in an attempt to expand its interests in China. Emperor Daoguang's most tangled problem was to choose ** people, he hesitated between the fourth son of the emperor and the sixth son of the emperor, and it was not until his death that the fourth son of the emperor was finally determined to be the first person.
From the issue of succession, we can see the character characteristics of Emperor Daoguang: lack of assertiveness, suffering from gains and losses, and being conservative and stubborn.
In the first month of the thirtieth year of Daoguang, Emperor Daoguang died, and when the new emperor Xianfeng ascended the throne, the household department comprehensively reported the national financial situation, but found that there were only 1.87 million taels left in the accounts of the silver treasury, which was not enough to pay wages.
Although there were other contradictions in the Qing Dynasty at this time, the main problem was finance, as long as the whole country worked together to tighten their belts, life would always be better. After all, when Kangxi ascended the throne, the national treasury was still negative, didn't he survive it?
What is Emperor Xianfeng's personal ability? In general, the evaluation of Emperor Xianfeng is not high, and the negative evaluation is mainly concentrated in his later years, especially after the outbreak of the Second Opium War after the invasion of Beijing by the British and French forces, Xianfeng resolutely "hunted north" regardless of the survival of the country.
During his stay in Rehe, Emperor Xianfeng showed unprecedented despair and indulged in wine all day long. In terms of the arrangement of future affairs, Emperor Xianfeng was also not thoughtful, which led to the occurrence of the Xinyou coup d'état and the later curtain of Cixi's reign in the two palaces.
But it cannot be denied that Emperor Xianfeng was still very effective at the beginning of his succession, he eliminated the traitor Mu Zhang'a, hired a large number of capable ministers, and widely accepted advice in order to prosper in the Qing Dynasty.
At the beginning of Emperor Xianfeng's succession, the Taiping Rebellion broke out rapidly, and the Taiping army occupied a vast area south of the Yangtze River in a short period of time, posing a major threat to the Qing court. The scale and influence of the Taiping Rebellion far exceeded that of the White Lotus Rebellion, and Emperor Xianfeng originally planned to live on hard life, but he was powerless in the face of such a crisis.
Fortunately, God favored the Qing Dynasty, and the appearance of Zeng Guofan brought hope to the Qing court. However, the financial difficulties left the Qing army helpless, and the taxes in Jiangnan fell into the hands of the Taiping army.
This situation has never occurred since the Qing army entered the customs. Think about the ten great martial arts of the Qianlong Dynasty, if there is no strong economic foundation as support, how can it be realized? Dealing with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has exhausted Xianfeng, but the overall situation is still weak and strong.
This is somewhat similar to the rebellion of the three feudatories of the Kangxi Dynasty.
During Xianfeng's reign, China faced a situation of internal and external troubles, which was an unprecedented challenge of the times. Although Yixun tried to solve the problem, the result was not ideal, and no one could change the situation.
After Xianfeng's death, the political situation changed. The exclusion of Yixun from the core was a serious mistake that eventually led to the Xinyou coup.
After Empress Dowager Cixi and Yixun came to power, they changed Xianfeng's policy of re-Manchu and suppressed Han, and reused the Han bureaucracy such as Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Li Hongzhang. Although this policy was highly effective in suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the imperial court paid a huge price for it.
The political system has undergone profound changes, and part of the imperial power has been deprived. The financial, military, personnel, and judicial powers of the imperial court were constantly eroded, and the power of local governors became more and more powerful.
Many believe that the fall of the Qing Dynasty was due to the Xinhai Revolution, but in fact, the main reason was that after the death of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the contradictions between the local governors and the imperial court, and between the Manchu and Han groups, deepened and gradually antagonized.
If the local governor insisted on maintaining the imperial court, it is debatable whether the Xinhai Revolution could be victorious, and even in the face of Yuan Shikai, it is difficult to say that it will definitely pass. If Yixun succeeded to the Qing Dynasty, although he had the ability to defeat Xianfeng, he would not be able to prevent the outbreak of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, and it would be difficult to solve the problem in a short time.
In other words, Yixun will also face a situation where the governor and the governor will divide power, and the local powerful faction will grow. If Yixin succeeded to the throne, perhaps the outbreak of the Second Opium War could be avoided, and thus more time and energy could be spent on solving the problems of the Taiping Army.
However, judging from Yixun's performance in power, it seems that his abilities are on par with those of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and may even be inferior to her.
Some people may disagree with this view, perhaps because they do not have a deep understanding of Cixi as a person. In fact, the Qing Dynasty in that environment could no longer be reversed by any emperor in power, and at best it could only prolong the time of its demise, because no force could stop the progress of society and the evolution of the times.