If you want to find some examples from history to illustrate the true form of the royal family, then Yi_, the father of Emperor Guangxu in the late Qing Dynasty, is a typical example. This model reflects not royal luxury and authority, but power. The emperor's father spent his entire life avoiding the ravages of power, and in the end he seemed to be winning. But after his death, the omnipresent power still did not let go of him.
A bolt from the blue, my son became the emperor.
Yi_, the seventh son of Emperor Daoguang and the younger brother of Prince Gong Yi_, was famous for his handling of foreign affairs in the same year. In a sense, the entire politics of Tongzhi and Guangxu were dominated by the two brothers who adhered to the imperial edict of the Empress Dowager Cixi. In fact, as early as the death of Emperor Xianfeng in Rehe, Yi_ participated in the "Xinyou Coup" planned by Cixi and personally went to Luanheyang, clearing the way for Cixi to "listen to politics" later.
After Cixi took control of the court, she once attached great importance to and relied on Yi_. In the third year of Tongzhi, Yi_ was "conferred the title of Crown Prince". In the eleventh year of Tongzhi, he was promoted to the king of wine. Cixi also put her in charge of the flag camp and green camp in the capital, thereby handing over the responsibility for security at the emperor's feet to her brother-in-law.
However, this period of mutual trust and trust between Yi_ and Cixi soon ended with the mysterious death of Cixi's son, Emperor Tongzhi.
When the Empress Dowager Cixi was still in her infancy, she could handle government affairs on behalf of her son in the name of "listening to politics behind the scenes." But after the death of Emperor Tongzhi, if Pu, one of the descendants of the clan, was selected as the successor of Emperor Tongzhi without any descendants, then she would become the "Queen Mother". Although she has a high status, interfering in politics is obviously not her ancestor's business.
Then, there is only one choice before Cixi, which is to "replace the brother with the brother" and select a young man from the clan and the close relatives of Emperor Tongzhi as the heir of her husband Emperor Xianfeng to inherit this Great system. In this way, the Empress Dowager Cixi is still the Empress Dowager Cixi, and she can preview political affairs like the Empress Dowager Cixi until the young emperor reaches adulthood.
The new emperor chosen by Cixi was Yi_'s second son Zai_, who was only four years old at the time and was an alcoholic prince.
The father and son of Yi_ in the Qing Dynasty were Zaixun and Zaifeng.
On the evening of December 5, the thirteenth year of Tongzhi, the day Tongzhi passed away, Cixi suddenly summoned the Minister of Military Affairs and the princes and ministers including Yi_ in the mourning hall, saying that he had important government affairs to discuss with everyone. "discuss". In fact, Yi_'s son Zai_ was proclaimed the new emperor.
Cixi’s decision shocked Yi_, and she cried and fainted on the spot. Why was Yi_ so scared when I heard that my son was going to be the emperor? On the one hand, he believed that Empress Dowager Cixi had crossed a line. She has no heir to Emperor Tongzhi, which will inevitably cause endless troubles in the future. Maybe she would harm her son. In addition, the most important point is that according to his understanding of Cixi, it is not a good thing for his son to become emperor at such a young age, and it is likely to bring disaster.
Since the dry coal particles were out of range
After Yi_ was carried into the palace in the middle of the night, he "relapsed and walked a few steps" out of fear, so he discussed with his wife and submitted it to Cixi Resigned.
After receiving Yi_'s resignation, Cixi allowed her to submit her resignation and relieved Yi_ of the imperial edict, but it was obvious that her throne may be "hereditary and useless". Even after receiving such a small favor, Yi_ was still worried and resigned again, but she did not get Cixi's approval.
Yi_ and his wife resigned from various official positions and lived a peaceful life in Beijing. Fei Xingjian's "Modern Celebrity Biography" said that the couple "have lived here for more than a year, and they do not accept closed-door guests."
However, God is not as good as man. In the 10th year of Guangxu's reign, on the 13th day of the third lunar month, Empress Dowager Cixi launched the "Shen Jia Yi Jing" activity, and major officials from the Military Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office achieved large-scale blood exchanges. Shi Duo began to take charge of the military department, while Erhe, Zhang, and Zhang became the new military advisors
People commented on Cixi's new personnel arrangements: "The central government is good at managing horses, and Bupleurum is used instead of reeds." The implication is that Unfortunately, the management capabilities of these new ministers are far inferior to those of their predecessors.
Perhaps due to the pressure of public opinion, Cixi had to move out the drunkard prince Yi_ who was "hiding in the city" and let him control his cardinal remotely.
Even if she comes out again, Yi_ always lives in great fear, fearing that her indiscretion will arouse Cixi's suspicion.
Several things recorded by Wang Zhao in "Fangjiayuan Miscellaneous Song Chronicle" can well explain Yi_'s caution and low profile after coming out of the mountain.
In May of the twelfth year of Guangxu, Yi_ was ordered to go to Haikou with Li Hongzhang to inspect the navies of Tianjin, Lushun and Yantai. For this grand ceremony, Cixi specially gave An Xing a sedan chair. But not only did he not dare to ride, he also insisted that Li Li, the famous man, go to the military parade with Cixi. After leaving Beijing, every time I met with local officials, I would order Li to meet me. The reason why Yi_ did this is obvious, which is to avoid the suspicion of exceeding his authority and not to create anything that would cause Cixi to punish him.
In addition, Yi_ is also very frugal in life. Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili and minister of Beiyang, who had a good personal relationship with Yi_, accumulated astonishing wealth by handling foreign affairs. In order to win over court officials, Li Hongzhang often gave his company shares to high-ranking officials and dignitaries. This practice was generally accepted by the rulers of the dynasty. But Yi_ resolutely refused and became the only censor who refused Li Hongzhang's bribe.
Today, the Lama Temple in the center of Beijing is the palace of Yi_. According to He Degang, the head of the government department who inspected the project in the palace, at that time, the Yi_ family's "house had two corridors and the floor was full of briquettes. It was not enough to live frugally."
The General Office of the Navy was also responsible for the Summer Palace.
Many times, Yi_ can only "hide his hands" behind his back when he comes back, but he is also the prime minister of a very important government department, the Navy Yamen newly established in the eleventh year of Guangxu. Thanks to the efforts of Li Hongzhang and others, by the 14th year of Guangxu's reign, the Beiyang Navy, led by the two armored warships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, finally became an army and became the most important maritime armed force in the Far East.
On the other hand, Empress Dowager Cixi's increasing suspicion of Yi_ determined that the Navy Yamen General's Mansion, which held sharp weapons, could never achieve great success. Therefore, the Navy Yamen became a transfer station for allocating gardening funds.
According to data, from Yi_'s gardening work to Prince Yi_'s death, the total cost of the entire Summer Palace project was 3.2575 million yuan.
Although Yi_ was very satisfied with the Empress Dowager Cixi, she never forgot to eliminate this woman's doubts about herself. But judging from the actual results, it does not seem obvious that the Empress Dowager Cixi still tried to "kill all emperors".
Tells the story of Li being defamed because of accusations that Li had taken bribes. Once, when he visited the sick Cixi, Cixi said angrily: "I'm too arrogant. Why do you care about me?" This sentence scared Yi_ and couldn't sleep for several days.
Thirteen years after Guangxu, Yi_ was recuperating at home due to the deterioration of his condition. Chen Yiyi revealed in "Modern Celebrities Biography" that "Cixi" sent miracle doctors to take turns to check, and all the medicines were given by the court. Add a little poison and the king becomes more and more dangerous. "If what Chen Jiao said is true, then Yi_ was poisoned to death by Cixi.
In the 22nd year of Guangxu, a minister named Yingnian, who was said to be proficient in Feng Shui, met Cixi and said: Chun There is a ginkgo tree in the cemetery of Prince Yi_, which is more than ten feet tall and has several acres of shade. According to the geographical location, such a large tree can only be found in the imperial mausoleum. In addition, the word "white" for ginkgo is added to ". The word "king" is very detrimental to the royal family. Therefore, Ying Nian suggested cutting down the tree immediately.
When Cixi heard this, she immediately ordered: "I order you to cut it down, so that I don't have to sue." He did. "This "he" is Yi_'s son, Guangxu, the emperor at the time.
Because it involved the Supreme Emperor, although the Ministry of Internal Affairs received Cixi's imperial edict, it did not dare to act rashly. Someone finally told the news Emperor Guangxu. Guangxu immediately said sternly: "If you dare to chop down this tree, please chop off my head first! "
This stalemate lasted for more than a month. One morning, when Guangxu abdicated, he suddenly heard someone in the palace reporting that the Queen Mother and people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Li Mingming had gone to Huang Chunling to cut down trees. Guangxu quickly led people out of the city and tried to Stop cutting down trees. But when you get to Hongshan Pass, you will cry. It turns out that when you walk here, you can see the elegant ginkgo trees, but when you walk here, you can’t see them anymore! After it was chopped down, hundreds of people continued to chop down the tree roots. The ministers present told the emperor that the Queen Mother had chopped it down three times with an axe, and then ordered everyone to do it. Under the Queen Mother's example, they never disobeyed orders and had to cut down the tree. Trees. In desperation, Emperor Guangxu walked around his father’s grave three times, “stomping his feet and wiping his tears. "
The prescient Yi_ eventually died on the hospital bed because of his shrewdness. But he could not control the fate of his son Guangxu. Of course, Yi_ knew the tragic life of Emperor Guangxu on that day.