After Cixi's death, the secret room was revealed, and even the Empress Dowager Longyu was embarrassed
Through the fog of time, the legendary life of the Empress Dowager Cixi is fascinating and full of mysteries. As a key stewardship of Qing history, her influence transcended the boundaries of life and death.
When the dusty bedroom door was quietly opened, even her niece Empress Dowager Longyu was stunned, what kind of secret was hidden in it? Is it a hidden personal past, or is it the unsolved mystery of the dynastic power struggle?
Let's explore this dusty chapter of history.
At a time when the country was in turmoil, Cixi's luxurious life was rarely cared for. The depletion of finances and the frequent occurrence of military difficulties have become a grim reality known to the world. However, in the context of these turbulent times, the Forbidden City is like a hidden island of luxury, full of gold, silver, jewelry, and delicious food, reflecting the ruler's extravagant and luxurious life.
Today, it seems that the Empress Dowager Cixi was so extravagant and corrupt, but how many people dared to expose her inside story at that time? I'm afraid that only her cronies, attendants and eunuchs can get a glimpse of that extravagant scene.
For her, money ** does not seem to matter, and her behavior is becoming more and more wanton, confusing the interests of the country with personal enjoyment. Behind this, the dereliction of duty and silence in the palace wandered like a ghost, and no one dared to question the abolition of the government.
Emperor Tongzhi, known as the king on the dragon chair, is actually a doll under Cixi's scheme. His authority was quietly eroded by Cixi's cunning, and he became an innocent pawn in a power struggle.
Cixi's goal was clear: to secure her behind-the-scenes manipulation and ensure that the imperial succession would maintain her central position. She skillfully provoked the dispute between the princes, and the situation of the entire court changed, but Emperor Tongzhi stayed out of the matter and was powerless to control the overall situation.
The root cause of the decline and chaos of the Tongzhi Dynasty lies in the imbalance of the power structure. The nominal emperor was actually shrouded in the shadow of the queen mother, and her influence was never really weakened.
Emperor Tongzhi may have been aware of this power game and chose to avoid strife in exchange for a moment of peace on the limited throne. However, the storm did not subside with his departure, and the Empress Dowager Cixi had secretly arranged for a new puppet, Emperor Guangxu, to gradually consolidate her power in his name.
Empress Dowager Cixi, a figure shrouded in the shadow of history - under the haze of the defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War, the fate of the country is like walking on thin ice. At the source of the disaster, her decision-making played a key role.
Her support for the Boxers and her disregard for external threats combined to create this unprecedented catastrophe. Perhaps she tried to turn the tide with the help of the Boxers, but her short-sightedness and ignorance led to disastrous consequences.
Innocent people have fallen in the flames of war, their homes have been shattered, and their national strength has declined. As the supreme decision-maker, although Cixi did not have the original intention, the iron law of history made her bear the unavoidable responsibility.
The imprint of this defeat has been deeply rooted in the annals of history and cannot be erased.
The loss of treasury treasures, how can the Empress Dowager Longyu be left alone? How could she not know about the abuse of power and extravagance? As Cixi's confidant, she must have known such an insider.
After Cixi's death, how could the astonishing wealth in the secret room, including even the stolen national treasures, not be reminiscent of the shadow of the Empress Dowager Longyu? Behind the hidden great wealth, no one can do it alone.
This is not only Longyu's unspeakable secret, as a powerful figure in the empire, it is impossible for her to be unaware of it. Knowing it or not, her name has been deeply imprinted into this event.
This makes people question, in front of the powerful queen mother, how many people dare to disobey her will?
Diving into the undercurrents of history, the warning lights of power flicker: it weaves a glamorous illusion, but it also hides a terrifying truth. Empress Dowager Cixi's abuse of power left behind irreparable scars of the people and devastation of the country.
And how many of those cronies who have surrounded her have the courage to reveal the darkness behind it? Perhaps, only time will reveal those dusty secrets. But we can't stop there and blame the problem on a single person or a few words.
The tentacles of power extend into an endless chain of cause and effect, brewing unsolved storms. Perhaps to this day, there are still countless undiscovered historical secrets, waiting for us to go deep and reflect deeply.
Cixi's lust for power is like a boundless sea, unmatched, and her control of power has reached the extreme, and even the emperor has been reduced to a puppet of power. She was committed to consolidating her absolute authority, and any voice that dared to challenge was met with derogation or exile, leaving the entire court in silence, and no one dared to speak out.
Her ** is so domineering that even the royal family members and eunuchs inside and outside the palace dare not look directly, so they can only whisper and sigh secretly. Her extravagance and profligacy have become a stubborn disease that cannot be curbed, and such abuse of power and corruption has finally brewed a crisis that cannot be ignored.
Even the Empress Dowager Longyu, Cixi's closest relatives, obeyed her and religiously agreed. In the face of Cixi's abuse of power and profligacy, Longyu remained silent without a trace of doubt.
Their relationship seems to be connected, and Longyu even indirectly supports this behavior, which is like adding fuel to a burning flame. Under the ravages of power, no one could stop it, and Cixi's arbitrariness and extravagance swelled more and more, ruthlessly pushing the country and the people into the abyss of despair.
Under Cixi's tough rule, the court was corrupt, and powerful ministers competed for personal gain, focusing only on their own interests and ignoring the suffering of the people. They indulged in flattery for personal gain and turned a deaf ear to the plight of the people, leading to a deepening trust gap between the ** and the common people, while the people at the bottom struggled with heavy taxes and a difficult life.
The severe social contradictions originated from the deep rupture between the imperial court and the people, and the accumulated public grievances erupted into fierce resistance in some areas, but were ruthlessly suppressed by violence, and the vicious circle exacerbated social unrest, and the people's hearts gradually drifted away.
Empress Dowager Cixi's power and waste of resources, ignoring people's livelihood and disregard for the country's survival, this short-sighted way of governing is like an accelerator that pushes the social system into the abyss.
Perhaps this is the fault of her rule, which failed to protect the stability and harmony of the country.
As the top decision-maker in the late Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi's erroneous decisions left a heavy historical imprint. Whether it is the implementation of domestic and foreign policies, her short-sightedness has led to endless suffering for the country and the people.
With regard to international relations, Cixi connived at the radical actions of the Boxers, but failed to see through their extreme anti-Western tendencies, which directly led to the trauma of Beijing under the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance.
The fiasco of the First Sino-Japanese War was a profound lesson in her decision-making mistakes, and now the mottled traces left in the capital are like a silent indictment of that mediocre era.
Cixi was a staunch opponent of all change and social progress, and saw reformers as a potential threat to the Russian Party, and even the imperial elite could not escape her conservative accusations. Her blindness and ignorance suffocated the social vitality of the Qing Dynasty, causing it to decline step by step in the changing times.
The ironclad evidence of history reveals that it was Cixi's mediocrity and powerlessness that created this heavy chapter in history. Faced with the life and death of the country, her inability to cope directly led to the tragedy of the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
Empress Dowager Longyu, a key supporter around Cixi, was mired in chaos in the last days. As Cixi's trusted partner, she could not stay out of the situation, nor could she escape the responsibility of history.
In the face of Cixi's mediocrity and mistakes, she saw the country decline step by step, but her silence and inaction were like acquiescing in Cixi's ruthless squandering of the treasury, day after day, indifferent.
Her choice not only reflects her inability to change, but also cannot escape the blame.
The inaction of the Empress Dowager Longyu should not be ignored. As an important pillar of the imperial court, she could have used her influence to advise Cixi or to check and balance her power to prevent her from drifting away.
However, Longyu failed to act, and her silence and acquiescence allowed her to play a key role in the decline of the Qing Dynasty and the suffering of the people. Looking at this history, we must learn from it so that we don't repeat the tragedies of the past.
Conclusion: The world of power is intricate, especially in the shadow of the feudal monarchy, with endless secrets. During the years of the Forbidden City of the Empress Dowager Cixi, as the helmsman of the country, she held great power in her hands, and her every move touched people's hearts, and the mystery of her life was remarkable.