In November of the 61st year of Kangxi, the Qing Emperor who had been on the throne for the longest time (although Qianlong actually held power for 63 years, he was on the throne for 60 years) - Kangxi Emperor died of illness in Changchun Garden, and the fourth son of the emperor Yinzhen inherited the throne in accordance with the edict of Emperor Kangxi.
But there have always been several theories about Yongzheng's succession:
Yongzheng inherited the throne after poisoning his father Emperor Kangxi;
Yongzheng tampered with Kangxi's edict of succession and robbed the throne given by his fourteenth brother Yinyu;
Yongzheng inherited the throne in accordance with Kangxi's edict, after all, Kangxi took a fancy to Yongzheng's fourth son, Hongli.
The reason why so many people suspect that Yongzheng's throne is not justified is because after Yongzheng ascended the throne, the enemies of his nine kings have not been completely eliminated, at least in the past few years, they are still saying bad things about Yongzheng everywhere, until the eighth son of the emperor Yinyu and the ninth son of the emperor Yinyu were imprisoned and died, and the dispute between the nine kings was completely over;
Another reason is that after Yongzheng succeeded to the throne, the performance of his biological mother Empress Wu Yashi of Xiaogongren was too incredible; It stands to reason that he should be very happy, after all, he finally stayed up and became the queen mother; But: Wu Yashi was not only unhappy, but opposed Yongzheng everywhere, and even directly questioned her son's throne as Yongzheng's biological mother.
The biological mother is still like this, how can other people believe that Kangxi really passed the throne to Yongzheng?
However, there are still many doubts about Yongzheng's claim that he inherited the throne through improper means; It can also be said that if we delve into what Yongzheng did before he succeeded to the throne, we may not suspect that Yongzheng snatched the throne.
Yongzheng's biological mother Wu Yashi was born in Baoyi, and before giving birth to Yongzheng, she was the palace maid in the palace of Empress Xiaoyiren (before the position of the noble concubine and the imperial concubine), and gave birth to the fourth son of the emperor after being favored by Kangxi.
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, there was a rule: the biological mother was not allowed to raise her prince in person, so Kangxi ordered Empress Xiaoyiren to raise Yongzheng.
Empress Xiao Yiren was born very noble, and she has multiple identities:
Kangxi's biological mother, Empress Xiao Kangzhang's niece.
The daughter of Kangxi's uncle Tong Guowei.
Kangxi's cousin.
The sister of the infantry commander Roncodo.
The Tong Jia clan rose due to Kangxi's succession to the throne as emperor, and Kangxi's uncles Tong Guogang and Tong Guowei took the Tong Jia clan to officially join the ranks of the Manchurian nobles.
In addition, it is Kangxi's cousin, and the relationship between the two is still very good.
Xiao Yiren was named a concubine in the following year, and four years later was named an imperial concubine to oversee the affairs of the six palaces, although there is no queen's title, but she has the real power of the queen; When she was seriously ill, she was named queen by Kangxi.
Yongzheng can have such a noble adoptive mother, which is naturally different from other princes;
Empress Xiao Yiren never gave birth to a prince, although she gave birth to a princess, but died early; Therefore, Empress Xiao Yiren poured all her maternal love into her adopted son Yongzheng.
As the saying goes, "Kindness is not as good as raising grace", precisely because Yongzheng was raised by Empress Xiaoyiren, Yongzheng was very grateful to his adoptive mother, and even praised Empress Xiaoyiren after ascending the throne; Of course, Yongzheng can have such a noble adoptive mother, which does bring him benefits:
The most obvious one is Yongzheng's uncle Long Keduo, one of the key figures who helped Yongzheng ascend to the throne; In many film and television dramas, Yongzheng directly called Long Keduo his uncle, which was because of his adoptive mother.
Although Yongzheng's biological mother Wu Yashi did not raise her son personally, she climbed to the position of Concubine De step by step.
Kangxi has always attached importance to the education of princes, so Yongzheng has received a very good education since he was a child; The subjects studied are not limited to Manchu and Mongolian Chinese, the Four Books and the Five Classics, and Kung Fu of Riding and Archery, but also mathematics, medicine, and scientific knowledge.
It was under such a strict education that Yongzheng was shaped into a civil and military all-rounder. When he was only 19 years old, he followed his father Kangxi to fight against Galdan, Kangxi put Yongzheng in charge of the Red Flag Camp, and it was from this opportunity that Yongzheng really got the training of military camp life.
In order to hone Yongzheng's administrative talents, Kangxi also gave Yongzheng some tasks to complete from time to time, such as going to the temporary palace to worship Empress Xiaozhuang Wen.
Two years later, Yongzheng was named Baylor.
After having the title, Yongzheng officially began to participate in the affairs of the court
Follow my father to inspect the project of Yongding River and check whether the quality is qualified?
Accompanied his father to Wutai Mountain, toured Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the south, and accepted the projects of the Yellow River and the Huai River.
In the process of slow accumulation, Yongzheng not only learned the cultural knowledge needed to govern the world in the future, but also accumulated a lot of experience, and gradually improved his status in the court; It also made a lot of foreshadowing and conditions for him to compete for the reserve in the future.
The forty-seventh year of Kangxi was a turning point for the princes who participated in the Nine Kings to seize the throne:
The crown prince Yinren was deposed, the position of the prince was vacant, and the older princes began to be ready to fight for the throne; In particular, the eldest son of the emperor born to Concubine Hui Nala and the eighth son of the emperor born to Concubine Wei are the most obvious.
Yinchu is the eldest son, and it is inevitable that he will have fantasies: the father and the emperor will abolish the son-in-law, so he should not be the eldest son.
Yinxi constantly befriended the courtiers, and his prestige in the court was very high; There are the ninth son of the emperor Yinyu, the fourth son of the emperor Yinyu, and the fourteenth son of the emperor Yinyu, and there are many followers, and Yinyu thinks that the position of the prince is bound to be obtained.
As everyone knows, it is precisely because Yinchu and Yinzhen have become the first birds that they have been banned by Kangxi.
Compared with them, Yongzheng is still relatively introverted, and it can be said that Yongzheng has not officially participated in the Nine Kings at this time.
Yongzheng actually understands very well in his heart that the contradiction between his father and the crown prince is not new, and there have been clues many years ago; However, the father has always been soft-hearted, taking care of the relationship between father and son, even if he abolished Yinren's position as the prince in anger, he will restore Yinren's position as the prince again after a period of time.
And Yongzheng is very self-aware, among the brothers, Yongzheng is an unknown one, and he does not stand out; Even if Yinren's position as the crown prince is abolished, it will not be his turn.
One point is also crucial, Kangxi abolished Yinren's position as the crown prince before returning to Beijing, and Yongzheng did not follow him, but stayed in the capital to do things; If you weren't involved in this dispute from the beginning, why get involved?
Therefore, Yongzheng reconciled his attitude towards the abolition of the prince, and did two things to gain Kangxi's favor: first of all, Yongzheng showed great filial piety, asked his father to take care of his body, and could consider the abolition of the prince from the perspective of the overall situation, and what are the consequences of considering the abolition of the prince?
In addition, unlike other gloating princes, on the premise of protecting themselves, they pleaded for the abolished prince as much as possible, and said a few good words for the abolished prince.
For example: In September of the 47th year of Kangxi, Kangxi and his entourage returned to the capital, and Kangxi immediately ordered the deposed prince to be detained in Xian'an Palace, so that the emperor's eldest son Yinzhen, the fourth son of the emperor Yinzhen, and the ninth son of the emperor Yinzhen took care of Yinren together; Kangxi personally came to write the notice of the abolished prince, and after writing the notice, Kangxi asked Yinfu and others to show the notice to the abolished prince, and Yinren glanced at the notice and said:
My crown prince was originally given by my father, and since my father said that it would be abolished, why should I sue the heavens? ”
Yinren originally hoped that Yinren would be completely given up and that he would have a good chance to ascend to the throne, so he told his father what Yinren said about the great rebellion, Kangxi was very angry when he heard it: "Whether you can be the king of a country is God's arrangement, how can the abolished prince not tell God now?" Yinren is talking nonsense like this, no matter what he says in the future, you don't have to tell me. ”
Yinren told Yinren what his father said, and Yinren said very aggrievedly: "If I say that I am not anything else, I can admit it, but if I want to kill my husband, I must not recognize it, I really didn't do this, and I will never have such thoughts; I hope that the eldest brother will help me play according to the facts. ”
Yinren obeyed the order and did not help Yinren play; But the ninth son of the emperor, Yinyu and Yongzheng, felt that this matter was not trivial, and if they did not play their father, it would be very inappropriate.
So no matter how Yinren objected to the blocking, Yongzheng still transferred Yinren's words to his father. In fact, the reason why Kangxi hated Yinren and abolished Yinren's position as prince was because Kangxi suspected that Yinren wanted to murder him.
Hearing Yinren defend himself like this, Kangxi felt that he might really have wronged Yinren, so he asked people to remove the shackles on Yinren's hands and feet, and changed his attitude towards Yinren, which was much more relaxed than before.
Obviously, if Yongzheng obviously goes to help abolish the prince, he will inevitably be enemies with the eighth son of the emperor Yinren and the eldest son of the emperor Yinzhen and others, in order to avoid getting into trouble for himself, Yongzheng tried his best to grasp the degree as much as possible, so as not to let them think that they were with the prince Yinren.
There is one thing that Yongzheng has done very well: even if he understands what Yinzhen and Yinzheng are doing, he will not take the initiative to report it to his father. Regarding the two competing for the position of prince, Yongzheng maintained a neutral attitude.
Yongzheng's conciliatory attitude towards the abolition of the prince made Kangxi very satisfied, and praised him for "understanding the righteousness". And because Yongzheng did not participate in the struggle for the crown, he left a very good impression on his father. Compared with Yongzheng, the reputation of Yinzhen and Yinzheng has been greatly damaged.
In the second year of the abolition of the crown prince, Yongzheng was named the prince together with the third son Yinzhi and the fifth son Yinqi; It can be said that Yongzheng has gained tangible benefits in the matter of abolishing the prince
Although Kangxi reinstated Yinren as the crown prince, because Yinren was still difficult to become a big weapon, Kangxi abolished Yinren's position as the prince again in October of Kangxi 51, and then did not recover, and spent the second half of his life in the forbidden place.
The two abolished princes, Yinchu and Yinxu competed for the prince, which made Kangxi physically and mentally exhausted, so he decreed that no one was allowed to discuss the matter of the crown prince again.
However, Yongzheng at this time is no longer the Yongzheng of the past, after all, in the forty-eighth year of Kangxi, Yongzheng has been named a prince. The status has been improved, and with it, the ambition has also increased, and he has officially joined the Nine Kings to win the heir.
However, Yongzheng is very secretive, and he has made a set of plans and plans for himself to compete for the position of the prince. And Yongzheng's plan to compete for the crown prince was formulated by a crony named Dai Duo to help formulate it together:
Dai Duo believed that since the emperor had deposed the crown prince again, it was unlikely that he would be reinstated again; If any prince can deal with it flexibly, he will be able to sit on the throne; The most important thing at the moment is to make the emperor trust and pamper him, and to deal with the relationship with his brothers.
Another point is very important: it is necessary to quietly and secretly contact hundreds of officials, cultivate their own descendants, and arrange these descendants to various important positions, so that it is much easier to lay a good foundation first, and then win the heirs.
According to Dai Duo's suggestion, Yongzheng was in full swing to carry out his own suggestions, and everything was centered on his father Kangxi, and he tried every means to please his father, so since Kangxi abolished the prince, Yongzheng showed his filial piety:
1. As long as it is something that the father and emperor have given it, it will be completed without compromise;
2. Invite your father to the Old Summer Palace or summer resort to enjoy the joy of teasing your grandson, such as Hongli, which Yongzheng specially arranged for his father Kangxi to see; Kangxi fell in love with this extraordinary child when he saw Hongli for the first time, and brought Hongli into the palace to raise him personally.
3. Try to have a good relationship with your brothers as much as possible and don't worry your father; Even if Yongzheng is disgusted with the third son of the emperor Yinzhi and the eighth son of the emperor Yinzhi who are competing with him for the position of the crown prince, on the surface, they still treat them like brothers and sisters, and will never dismantle their platform.
While currying favor with his father, Yongzheng also took the step of befriending the court officials as soon as possible, and even surrendered his identity in order to tie up with a certain important minister. Under Yongzheng's years of operation, a small group centered on himself has been formed, including:
Nian Qianyao. Roncodo.
Marzikha. The thirteenth son of the emperor, Yinxiang and others.
Although the number is not large, they are all in one top ten, and often go in and out of Jiuqing and other places, lobbying other ** to follow Yongzheng to win the heir; What people didn't expect was that Yongzheng actually pulled Kangxi's confidant Li Guangdi into his camp.
And we all know the result of history: Yongzheng succeeded to the throne as emperor.
Let's take a look at several theories about Yongzheng's succession:
Yongzheng poisoned his father, Emperor Kangxi, and then ascended to the throne.
It is said that Yongzheng gave Kangxi a bowl of ginseng soup, and Kangxi died soon after drinking the ginseng soup. But Kangxi never consumed ginseng easily; And Kangxi has a cold and fever, if he drinks ginseng soup, wouldn't it be the wrong medicine?
Yongzheng has always been thoughtful, how could he make such a mistake?
Yongzheng tampered with the edict and robbed the throne of the fourteenth brother.
It is said that Kangxi wrote in his edict that "the fourteenth son of the throne", and Yongzheng directly changed it to "the fourth son", so it was logical to inherit the throne. I believe that those who say this must not understand Kangxi's habits, Kangxi calls the princes "the third son of the emperor Yinzhi" or "the third elder brother Yinzhi". Especially in something as important as the edict, a certain prince will not be called "fourth or fourteenth son" at will.
What's more, in addition to Chinese, there will also be Manchu edicts, Chinese can be changed, how to change Manchu?
After Yongzheng ascended the throne and became emperor, he still faced many problems, and the most difficult thing was nothing more than the old enemies of his nine kings and his biological mother, Empress Xiaogongren, so Yongzheng's accession to the throne did not mean the end of the nine kings.
After Yongzheng really sits on the throne, it will be over among the nine kings.
Although Yongzheng participated in the Nine Kings to win the heir relatively late, he knows how to plan very well:
Do not make a head bird.
Be an "idle prince" and let others believe that he has no intention of taking the heir at all;
Be filial to your parents. Secretly cultivate your own lineage.
Make a well-thought-out plan to win the heir.
Make the most of your excellent son.
Through a series of preparations, it is only natural for Yongzheng to ascend the throne.