An emperor and six sons-a failed contender for the throne.
Xuanzong of Qing Dynasty (Daoguang) had three sons and nine sons before his death. The eldest son died in April of the 11th year of Daoguang, and the second and third sons were young. On June 9th, 11th year of Daoguang, the third empress of Emperor Xiaozong of Xuanzong gave birth to her fourth son, Yi You, who was later called Emperor Wenzong of Qing Dynasty (Xianfeng). If you were in the Ming Dynasty, the rule of "standing up without standing up, standing up without establishing a sage" had already doomed the eldest son's future emperor status, but even in the Qing Dynasty, which was dominated by establishing a sage, Yi Kuang's eldest son's position gave him the most favorable position among the competitors for the throne. On November 21st, the 12th year of Daoguang, Jing Guifei, second only to the queen in the harem, gave birth to her sixth son Yi Xin.
On the ninth day of the first month of the twentieth year of Daoguang, the 33-year-old queen died, and Daoguang personally named her "Xiao". After the filial piety, Emperor Daoguang did not stand again, so Yixin's biological mother became the imperial concubine of the first person in the Sixth Palace, and the young Yiyi was entrusted to the care of the imperial concubine. In some people's eyes, the balance of the throne began to tilt towards Yixin.
However, Yi Yi and Yi Xin, who were raised by a mother, are still ignorant children, and the rights pursued by adults have not brought them any influence at the moment. Perhaps they are about the same age (the fifth son of the emperor is the heir to Dunshire, and the seventh son of the emperor is too young), or perhaps they lack other friends because they are in a lonely court, and the two brothers are very close. According to the draft of Qing history, "(Wang) and literate Sect were in the study, engaged in military affairs, and * * * made 28 guns 18 knife. Xuanzong gave him a name. The gun said "Dihua cooperated" and the knife said "Bao Hua Xuanwei". He gave Yi Xin a Bai Hong knife. " This shows the close relationship between the two, and Xuanzong is also pleased with this.
The tree wants to be quiet, but the wind will not stop. Yi Yin and Yi Xin haven't thought of competing for the throne, but their teachers Du Shoutian and Zhuo Tianbing have launched a silent but fierce struggle in the dark. Zhuo, who was close to CreditEase, served as a college student for a long time before his death. He was "in charge of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Industry, giving flowers and feathers" and posthumous title was "literate", which showed that he was a very talented and moral minister. However, the Draft of Qing History often contained his figure in the meetings hosted by Gui, but he was "controversial from time to time and was not liked by users". And pro-Yi Du Shoutian, although in a lower position (only from the second grade at this time), served as the master of the study. ), but in dealing with things and understanding Xuanzong's mind, it is much better than Zhuo Tian Bing. According to historical records, two things had an important influence on Xuanzong's decision on his successor. One of them said in the Draft of Qing History: "Literati entered school at the age of six, and he must take the right path, after more than ten years. In his later years, Xuanzong had not yet decided to take literate Sect as his virtue to spread the great cause. The school hunted Nanyuan, and the princes followed. Prince Gong got the most birds, but literate Sect missed one shot. When asked, he said,' When spring comes, birds and animals breed and can't bear to hurt lives.' Xuanzong said,' This is the word of the true monarch!' The establishment of the reserve is closely determined, and it is also assisted by the field. "Secondly, from unofficial history's notebook" Qing Anecdotes ",it is said that" during the Daoguang period, Xuanzong was ill, and he called the second prince one day to reserve a place. The two princes each asked the teacher for instructions, and Zhuo () taught the public king. If you have any questions above, you should know everything and say everything. Du Fu said that Emperor Xianfeng said,' Brother is like the old government, and his knowledge is not as good as that of Sixth Master. There's only one way. If the emperor says that he is old and ill, he will arrive soon, and his brother just cries on the ground to show his sincerity. "The so-called emperor is happy, that is to say, the four sons of the emperor are all people of benevolence and filial piety, and the storage position is decided." In the twenty-sixth year of Daoguang, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty set up a storage box.
Look at the above two things, Yi Yi has to rely on Du Shoutian's strength (Du Shoutian relies on reading Xuanzong's heart, and to be honest, it is not the so-called "right way"). The two things give people a feeling similar to Xelloss and Cao Zhi in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Brothers are all heirs by Machiavellian tactics. Although they are all right, people often take the blame for their younger brothers. The second thing has already explained that Yi Yi is not as good as Yi Xin in current politics, and the merger of the two things embodies the combination of Yi Xin and Wen Wu. On the other hand, although Zhuo did not win the throne with Yixin, Yixin learned Zhuo's practical ability to manage government affairs because of his long-term management of Beijing and Yin. Because Yixin is under 15 years old and still a child, he didn't fully understand the impact of the success or failure of this competition on his life. However, Jackson Yee's one-and-a-half-year-old brother Jackson Yee fully understands the mystery, and the experience brought by years of tempering is better than talent and intelligence. In addition, there is no evidence that the brotherhood between Yiyi and Yixin was greatly damaged in the process of competing for the throne.
In the twenty-eighth year of Daoguang, Yixin (should be under sixteen, so young ...) married Gui Liang's daughter; Later, Empress Ci 'an's "Shiwen Zongyin House" should be later than this. Yi Xin's marriage with Gui Liang's daughter had a great influence on his later diplomatic career and the establishment of the so-called "Gong Wang School".
In the 30th year of Daoguang (1February 25th, 850), in the early morning of the 14th month of the first month, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was seriously ill. He summoned Zong Ling of Zongren House to kill Quan, imperial envoys Zai Yuan, Duan Hua and Monk's Cave, ministers of the Ministry of War, Cezanne, He Rulin, Chen Fuen and Ji Zhichang, the minister in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to announce the imperial edict. But Xuanzong did not give up the six sons of Emperor Yixin in the end. On his deathbed, he left a piece of Zhu Yu's "Six sons of Emperor Yixin as Prince", which is really rare. On that day, Xuanzong collapsed in the Shende Hall of Yuanmingyuan.
The youngest minister of military and political affairs-Prince Er Gong
In the 30th year of Daoguang (1March 9th, 850), Yi Kuang, who was under the age of 19, acceded to the throne, and the following year was changed to the first year of Xianfeng. The noble princess is a noble lady; Zhao Qiu, the third brother, was made king of the county, and Yi Xin, the younger brother, was made prince Gong (in April of Xianfeng two years, he was still walking in the imperial palace), and all the other brothers were king of the county. At present, Jackson Yee is too young to be the ruler of China, but in the Qing Dynasty, the emperor who succeeded him was not too young.
Perhaps it was the precocity of the children of the royal family, or the sense of political responsibility that drove the young emperor to show the boldness of vision that a ruler should have (and most of them were probably taught by Du Shoutian). The Biography of Du Shoutian in the Draft of the History of Qing Dynasty said: "A minister who advances and retreats must consult before he moves." )。 On the one hand, Lin Zexu, known as the first sage of Daoguang when Yi Kuang came back from the dead, ordered him to go to Guangxi with the title of Governor of Guangxi to suppress the newly emerging Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement (unfortunately, Lin Zexu did not go to Guangxi to die halfway, and if Lin Wenzhong lived for another three years, I am afraid the two shows could not be separated from Guangdong and Guangxi); On the other hand, after only nine months on the throne, Hou Yi dismissed Zhang Mu, the chief military minister appointed by Xuanzong, on the charge of "harming Germany and the country", and never used it again. Zhang Mu's options in Daoguang were tilted for a while. He formed a "Mu Party", and even his proteges spread all over China and abroad. Most celebrities have been quoted, which is a great disaster for the country. Yiyi's decisive disposal has made all righteous people in the world happy, and Yiyi's position has also been stabilized.
Jackson Yee is determined to seek governance, which requires an administrative team that also wants to cheer up. After Zhang Mu, Xianfeng appointed Cezanne and Qi Juanzao as the foremen's military ministers, but these old ministers soon proved that they were not that kind of talents. With the development of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the situation of Manchu became worse and worse. In the third year of Xianfeng, Taiping Army and Li gradually approached both capital city. Emperor Xianfeng, who had been completely disappointed with Qi Juanzao, thought of his younger brother, who was twenty years older than him, and was wholeheartedly devoted to Prince Gong. At this moment, Jackson Yee obviously doesn't think that the deterioration of the situation is due to his lack of ambition and talent. In his view, the reason is that the military aircraft and the rulers have failed themselves.
Xianfeng three years in September (October, September said from the Qing Dynasty drafted the biography of Prince Gong), Yixin was ordered to walk in the military. This is the third prince who has served as the Minister of Military Affairs since the establishment of the Ministry of War in the seventh year of Yongzheng (the first was Prince Yun Xiang of Yixian, but Yun Xiang died in less than one year; The second prince Yong Xun has only just entered the plane for ten months). At this moment, Yixin has just turned 20 and is a newcomer to the military department. But his status as a prince made Qi Juanzao have to hold back and give in. Since then, with the acquiescence and support of Xianfeng, Yixin quickly became the de facto chief military minister. After a while, Qi Juanzao took a sick leave in Xianfeng for four years and officially became an official in November (Qi Juanzao was excluded by Duan Hua and Su Shun out of distrust of Xianfeng). Yixin became the official foreman of the military minister. At this point, all the ministers of the Ministry of War of Daoguang Dynasty were replaced and a brand-new administrative team was established.
There are few detailed records about Yixin's work in this period. Among them, The Outline of China History says: "Yixin worked for two years and did nothing", but it turns out that the situation of Manchu in this period did not continue to deteriorate. On the contrary, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which had developed rapidly before, suffered several considerable setbacks at this stage; Of course, the inexperienced Yixin is unlikely to be the protagonist of this change, but Yixin's performance during his tenure should be quite excellent (during which he served as Du Tong and You He successively). ), otherwise the Prince Gong, who had high hopes in the last years of Xianfeng, would not exist. In the North China War Zone, which was considered the most important by the imperial court, the Taiping Army "swept the north" under the command of Li, and journey to the south plundered and slaughtered the whole city of Cangzhou, so the "hairy thief" of the headquarters was soon in a desperate situation. By the beginning of the fifth year of Xianfeng, it was completely annihilated, and it was also "destroyed by Jifu, giving priority to Syrian troops". Xiang defeated Lin and Zeng Tianyang of Taiping Army in Xiangtan, and Taiping Army was forced to retreat from all parts of Hunan. As a result, Xiang, who settled his hometown and sent troops to other provinces, began to become an important armed force in the Qing Dynasty (this fact shows that he did not belong to that kind of Manchu aristocrat).
In July of the fifth year of Xianfeng, one-hearted biological mother (Jing) was seriously ill. Later, the imperial concubine Taifei was honored as the Empress Kangci, and the Empress Dowager fell ill on the ninth day of July. On July 20th, Xianfeng "stopped military ministers, imperial edicts, and generals, and went to the imperial palace to study." "A Brief History of the Qing Dynasty" described this matter as "Emperor Xianfeng was expelled from the military department with his heart on trumped-up charges". Why did Yi Yi and Yi Xin break up? Mr. Levin quoted Wang Kaiyun's "Qi Xiang Story" in the historical novel "The Complete Story of Cixi", and made an analysis and explanation. Excerpts are as follows. (paragraph a is included in Qi Xiang's story; Paragraph B is the analysis made by Mr. Levin. )
A general is too sick. If the king saves the province, the emperor will also save it. One day, the imperial concubine woke up and went to meet her. The palace supervisor told her not to shake her hand in surprise. Seeing the shadow in front of the bed, the princess thought it was a tribute to the king and asked, "why are you still here?" Everything I have is yours! His temperament is not easy to know, so don't be suspicious. " The emperor knew his mistake and called it "E Niang". Toffee felt stunned and looked back, still lying inward without saying a word. There has been speculation since then, but Wang doesn't know.
B Wanchun Garden, one of the three gardens in Yuanmingyuan, was originally named Qichun Garden. During the Daoguang period, filial piety and the empress dowager were respected here. Wenzong acceded to the throne and was honored as a living spring by Princess Kangci. This is because Wenzong respects Kang Ci with Xuanzong and regards illness as a greeting, just like parents and children. All this is a reward for parenting. However, it is biased to see a passage that Kang Ci mistook a scholar for a respectful king, and he suspects that it started with Kang Ci.
A Another day, I went to ask about my safety, but I met Gong Wang, walked out of it and asked about my illness. Wang knelt down and sobbed, "I'm finished!" " I'm waiting for the title. Go to Dan and say, "Oh, oh!" Wang Zhijun seized this opportunity, so he ordered a book release ceremony.
B this record of kangci shall not be given the title of empress dowager, and he will die unsatisfied. "Oh, oh!" For the time being, it was noncommittal, and King Gong thought that literate admired had agreed. This may be a misunderstanding, but sometimes it is inevitable that Gong Wang will act impulsively and recklessly, so he is regarded as "arrogant", and it is because of this character that he will have a disagreement with Cixi in the future. ..... As for "information", it usually means to convey information orally.
A company invited the queen mother with a gift, but refused to go to war. According to the above honorific title, it ordered the king to leave the military plane and enter the study, reducing the funeral ceremony of the queen mother, which was called testamentary edict reduction. Since then, the king has been with the kings!
B "Lian" refers to the Ritual Department. Filial piety to the Empress Dowager should be performed by the Ritual Department, and all ceremonies should be made clear. Although it was not the intention of the literati, the emperor refused to respect the queen mother's throne, which became a big joke and had to be played. King Gong's "decree" started with misunderstanding and ended with compulsion, so literate Sect naturally felt annoyed.
Due to the lack of other relevant historical materials, and Mr. Levin's analysis is quite accurate, so I quote the above words here. Xianfeng's sending you away was called "unwarranted" by later generations, and its injustice is well known.
In July of the fifth year of Xianfeng, Yixin was dismissed. In February and March of the following year, the Taiping Army broke camp in Jiangbei and in Jiangnan in May. In February and 10 of the same year, the Ma Fu case in Guangxi and the Yarrow incident in Guangdong occurred one after another, and the second Opium War broke out, and the Qing court was temporarily caught between inside and outside. The defeat of the two camps lies in the lack of combat effectiveness, and the Taiping army is eager to lift the blockade of Nanjing; The reason why the Second Opium War broke out was that Britain and France could move their military forces to China after the Crimean War, thus further opening up the China market. The above things will not change because of the will or records of the Qing emperor. If Xianfeng can postpone the recall of Yixin for one year and then use the failure of military diplomacy as an excuse, the reason is sufficient. CreditEase narrowly escaped this responsibility, so after the situation deteriorated again, some officials began to miss the 23-year-old former prime minister, and some of them began to complain about Emperor Xianfeng.
Xianfeng stopped paying tribute to the prince, but took over as the minister of military foreman with Gu Ming, a university student and co-organizer. "Jin Wuying Hall is a university student, managing the household department and serving as the master of the study." . Wen Qing is also an omnipotent minister. He served as minister of military affairs many times during Daoguang years. At this critical moment, he advocated "if you want to do great things in the world, you should reuse the Han people", actively supported Zeng Guofan and Xiang, and promoted Hu Linyi, Yuan Jiasan, Luo, and. "The Draft of Qing History" said: "Wen is sincere in the overall situation, ... Duan Hua and Su Shun are afraid of their solemnity when they use things gradually." Wen Qing died after many years in office. After that, Peng succeeded the foreman as the minister of military aircraft. In the meantime, due to the gradual favor of the imperial clan, the center was divided into two factions, Peng and Su, both of which were led by the governor (Peng relied heavily on He Guiqing, Wu Shi and Chun, Zhang and others; Taking Guo Songtao as the curtain, recommending Zeng Zuopenghu and other people outside Hunan is like a party struggle between Liu and Li in the Tang Dynasty. In this case, is the situation not bad? If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had not been in constant civil strife at the same time, the rule of the Qing Dynasty might have ended. On the other hand, Britain and China didn't fight against each other in order to cooperate with the people. They launched a series of conflicts with the Qing army in Guangdong.
Perhaps it is to win the support of Gui Liang, who is in charge of diplomatic negotiations, or to miss the brotherhood of the past. In May of the seventh year of Xianfeng, Prince Gong was appointed commander-in-chief by Yi Kui. According to unofficial history's records, Xianfeng asked Prince Gong to govern the tomb of the Queen Mother, and Su Shun repeatedly criticized Prince Gong in the name of opposing poetry and resentment, which made the relationship between Hou Yi and Yixin never recover.
The three imperial envoys acted cheaply, and the plenipotentiary was ordered to "supervise the lottery" in a crisis.
In the seventh year of Xianfeng (1857 65438+February 29th) 1 1 month14th, the British and French allied forces attacked Guangzhou and captured all the city officials.
In the eighth year of Xianfeng (1May 20, 858), on the eighth day of April, the Allied Keda Castle; Gui Liang, a university student in Tengger, and Hua Shana, a Manchu official, were forced to negotiate with the representatives of Britain and France under extremely unfavorable circumstances. On June 26th, the Sino-British Tianjin Treaty was signed, and on the 27th, the Sino-French Tianjin Treaty was signed.
On May 25th, the ninth year of Xianfeng (1June 25th, 859), Monks and Monks led the troops to defeat the Dagu Allied Forces.
In the tenth year of Xianfeng (1860, August 2 1), on the fifth day of July, the allied forces broke the Qin-Sang Department in Dagu; On the fourth day of August (1September, 8), the allied forces defeated the monks again in Zhangjiawan; On the seventh day of August (2 1 September), the allied forces once again attacked the monks' department of Bali Bridge in Tongzhou, and there were no more soldiers in the area of Gyeonggi in Manchu Dynasty.
On the eighth day of August in Xianfeng ten years (September 22nd), Peng was forced to step down because of the failure of He Guiqing and others in Jiangnan in February of that year, and the successor of the foreman's military minister has taken refuge; Su Shun, Zai Yuan, Wang En and Zheng Qinwang basically controlled state affairs. They fled to Jehol (Chengde) in the name of "sitting in Beijing" and "preparing for the governor's personal expedition". At the same time, Yi Xin was appointed as a "special envoy to stay in Beijing, to supervise and discuss the bureau, to act honestly and to be an imperial envoy" to stay in Beijing to deal with the aftermath. Judging from previous events at home and abroad, the so-called "acting as a cheap plenipotentiary" is actually a means for Su Shun to crowd out Yixin, and this position puts Prince Gong in a dangerous and unpredictable situation.
On the third day of August in the tenth year of Xianfeng (/kloc-September/July), Prince Yi, the China negotiator, ordered the detention of 38 British and French negotiators headed by him, and then executed 26 of them through Xianfeng's order (this is also the reason why the allied forces burned the Yuanmingyuan, and most China history books did not record that the British and French negotiators were killed by China). The materials used here are from The History of China in the Late Qing Dynasty (Cambridge). Yi Xin, the China negotiator who stayed in Beijing under the control of the allied forces, had to be careful that he would be retaliated. Even if they are not executed or imprisoned, they will not be tolerated as long as they are insulted by "foreigners". In view of the example of Ying Senior (in 1858, Ying Senior was sentenced to death as a negotiator on the charge of "returning to Beijing without authorization"), it is impossible to quit his job and escape. At this moment, Yixin will undoubtedly get into trouble, and push the chaos to his own Su Shun gang. According to another record, Yixin went out of the city and hid in Changxindian after the Allies entered the city, and refused (actually did not dare) to negotiate directly with them. Finally, under the condition that the so-called "mediator"-Russian Minister Igenechev was willing to take himself as a hostage to ensure Yi Xin's personal safety, Yi Xin returned to Beijing to start negotiations with the invaders with the assistance of Gui Liang and Wen Xiang (but Yi Xin rejected the suggestion that Igenechev should be taken as a hostage to ensure his own safety).
Yixin himself once described the situation at that time: "Before Dayu was defeated, he could still suppress and caress; After the big sale fails, you can caress but not suppress it. When foreign troops enter the city and there is nothing to rely on to defend, repression will also hurt caress and hurt. ..... (so I have to) handle it conveniently. " In this case, the so-called negotiation is nothing more than letting the big countries get what they want. No matter who negotiates, there will never be a very different result. In addition, Xianfeng, who was hiding in Jehol, ordered Yixin to "withdraw troops at all levels as soon as possible. Once Yi Tusi entered the city, he had to stay and sign the contract before leaving, in order to save the overall situation, and there was no delay. At this time, the weather is not cold. If the barbarian can leave early, I can go back to the funeral to appease people. " In September, the treaty was reached, and Yixin played in the office of the remonstrator. It was not easy for Xianfeng to take "Prince Gong" as the way to run an official. I deeply understand your difficulty and there is no room for discussion. "To forgive the younger brother is a scapegoat.
In this process, the powerful and advanced invaders undoubtedly gave Yixin a great shock. Yixin changed from the original "rational exclusion school" (in the eighth year of Xianfeng, Yixin advocated refusing to sign the Tianjin General Agreement, and then "Jiang 'an trade is very harmful and should be prepared as soon as possible" advocated active preparation). 1February 10 (1861.20), Xianfeng approved the establishment of the "Prime Minister's Office" proposed by Prince Gong Yixin, Gui Liang, a great scholar in Wenhua Temple, and Wen Xiang, a military affairs minister, nine days ago, and was in charge of all foreign affairs. At this point, the "Wang Gong School" began to control the diplomacy of the Qing Dynasty for a quarter of a century. In addition, since Russia gains the most and harms China the most, it has become a creditable foreign policy to rule Russia first and then Britain and France. At the same time, Yi Xin's thought and diplomatic demeanor of "learning from foreigners" were undoubtedly greatly appreciated by foreigners. Therefore, at the banquet to celebrate the signing of the contract, Yi Xin was treated by foreigners and asked other governors to kneel down to meet him. For this reason, Yi Xin was named "Ghost Six". Soon, a rumor that Yixin will replace Yiyi rebellion began to spread in the capital, and Yixin was in an awkward position. Although there is no evidence, combined with the situation at that time, it is likely that Su Shun, who is hiding in Jehol and at odds with CreditEase, is making rumors behind his back.
Xin you coup
In the spring of the 11th year of Xianfeng, in order to avoid living in the same city as "barbarians", Yi Yin, who was stranded in Jehol, collapsed because of his unrestrained life. On July 16, Yi Kun was seriously ill, so he left two testamentary edicts. First, he made Zai Chun, the eldest son of the emperor, a prince. Second, eight ministers, including Su Shun, co-director of the Ministry of Commerce, Zai Yuan, Duan Hua, Jing Shou, Mihm, Kuangyuan, Du Han and Jiao Youying, were appointed to "praise all government affairs". The above eight people are also called "King Zanzheng".
In the 11th year of Xianfeng (186 1 August 22nd), on the morning of July 17th, Emperor Wenzong of the Qing Dynasty fell dead in the East Warm Pavilion of chengde mountain resort Tobacco Museum.
Prince Gong Yixin, who stayed in Beijing, soon got the news of the death of Emperor Xianfeng and the contents of the testamentary edict. Apart from the news of his brother's death, Yixin was very shocked by the list of "ministers who care about life", which was both reasonable and unexpected. He had no idea that when he was in danger, he was completely excluded from the new power center by his brother. Not only Yi Xin himself, but also Wen Xiang, the military affairs minister, showed that he rejected the whole "Gong Wang School" (Wen Xiang's qualifications in the military department are roughly the same as those of Kuang Yuan, which is better than Jiao Youying; Xianfeng ranked third among the five ministers of the Ministry of War in the eleventh year, ahead of Du Han and Jiao Youying. But at present, she is the only one who has lost the election. In this case, CreditEase had to make a choice between compromise and resistance.
If you choose to compromise, if you are lucky, Yixin can continue to be the "foreign minister" in the new era (the foreign minister suppressed by the Prime Minister will have a hard time, as can be seen from the example of former Japanese foreign minister Tanaka), but this possibility is very small, because all ministers who care about life are incomparable and those who are not very consolidated, and you can't sit back and watch the various departments have their own teams to share power with him, especially those who are greedy and arbitrary. Therefore, in the case of "the situation is not easy to handle" at that time, it was easy for Su Shun and others to find fault, remove Yixin from office and let him go back to his residence to provide for the elderly. For Yixin, who was full of heroism at that time, it was obviously unacceptable to provide for the aged from the age of 30. After all, he has seen the hope of winning the world. After years of injustice, Yixin is unwilling to accept such a tragic future. Yixin resolutely embarked on the road of the war of resistance for himself and for supporting his own people.
The mantle of writers in Qing dynasty was suspected because of the failure in the later period of rule. He didn't trust Zeng Guofan, who commanded the army in Jiangnan, Yi Xin, who stayed in Beijing to handle foreign affairs, and finally he didn't fully trust Su Shun, who praised all government affairs behind him. In order to maintain the relative balance of power, on his deathbed, Yi Yin gave the Empress Dowager Cixi (Empress Ci 'an) and the Empress Yi (Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Dowager Cixi) two seals, but obviously they were not used as souvenirs. So after the death of Emperor Wenzong of the Qing Dynasty, the ministers of Gu Ming agreed to use the imperial edict and the first and second seals of the imperial court as the documents issued by the two queens (representing the little emperor Zai Chun) after examination, which formed a situation of "supporting the government with the curtain and giving consideration to both", which made the power of the eight ministers of Gu Ming (including work efficiency) much lower than that of the four ministers of Gu Ming during the reign of Kangxi.
Empress dowager cixi has a strong desire for power, and her experience of reading the throne of literate Sect during her serious illness gave her the ability to interfere in government affairs; The minister in charge of Gu's life was on guard against Empress Dowager Cixi, which greatly deepened the bad feelings between the two sides. On the other hand, Su Shun, whose power is increasing day by day, showed an arrogant attitude in front of Cixi and was deeply jealous of Cixi. At the suggestion of Empress Dowager Cixi, the Empress Dowager Cixi's palace secretly issued an imperial edict to recruit Yi Xin, the only Prince Gong who has the power to fight against the life minister, to go to Jehol to "discuss major issues".
At the same time, Yi Xin, who was in Beijing, asked to go to Zigong in Jehol to find out the truth of the new regime. On the one hand, Su Shun and other Jehol ministers have no reason to dismiss Yixin as a reasonable passbook; On the other hand, he was too confident in his own strength, thinking that Yixin could not stand any storms even when he came to Jehol, so he approved Yixin to visit Zigong in Jehol.
On the first day of August in the 11th year of Xianfeng (186 1 September 5, 2008), Yixin arrived in Jehol. After knocking on Zigong in Lian Po Capital Temple, he was immediately summoned by the Empress Dowager. During the meeting, the two sides obviously reached a tacit understanding, overthrowing the existing system of "taking care of ministers" and replacing it with a new system of "two palaces hanging over the curtain and respecting Wang Bingzheng". Judging from the subsequent results, Su Shun and others did not know the contents of the meeting. In order not to arouse the suspicion of Su Shun and others, Yixin didn't meet the Empress Dowager Palace alone until he returned to Beijing. The secret traffic between the two sides was transferred by the wife of Yi Xuan, the king of Chun County (the sister of Cixi). CreditEase's attack on Minister Gu Ming began on a large scale. On the sixth day of August, the director of Shandong Daojian of Douchayuan invited the Empress Dowager of the two palaces to "declare that the Empress Dowager has the right to manage domestic and foreign affairs for the time being, and the left and right shall not interfere. Shu Ren's heart is full of awe, and officials dare not bully him. ""More importantly, one or two people are sent among the governors to help him with everything. ". At the same time, Sheng Bao, who is in charge of "Imperial envoys to suppress bandits in Henan and Anhui", and Tan Tingxiang, governor of Shandong, also signed a letter "Please pay tribute to the Queen Mother", which set an example for courtiers to pay tribute to the Queen Mother.
On the seventh day of August, Yixin rushed back to Beijing, called the etiquette in Beijing to make arrangements, and waited for everyone to return to Beijing from Jehol.
Judging from the situation at that time, Yixin's "Gong Wang School" had great advantages in Beijing. First of all, before Minister Gu Ming officially returned to Beijing to handle affairs, Yixin was a "plenipotentiary imperial envoy" who stayed in the capital and had absolute authority in Beijing. Wen Xiang, the chief cadre of Gongwangpai, actually mastered the Beijing garrison (the current step army is responsible for the end in Jehol, and Wen Xiang, as the left-wing company commander, once held the post); In Beijing, Gui Liang, a college student from Wenhua Temple, is a devoted father-in-law, Jia Zhen, a college student from Wuyingdian, is a devoted teacher, and Zhou Zupei, a college student from Tijen Museum, has forged a deep hatred with Su Shun, a full-time college student, because he was excluded from the co-organizer. The former ministers Qi Juanzao and Weng Xincun (who were also teachers of one mind) who "returned with a bright hope" were also "at odds with each other", and Peng, the former military commander, hated it even more. In Beijing, these people have many courtiers and followers, so they have formed a powerful encirclement network for Su Shun and Gu Ming. Because of Zai Yuan's previous actions, foreign forces naturally stood on the opposite side.
On the one hand, Lin Qinqin and Shengbao, the military commanders around Gyeonggi, were dissatisfied with Su Shun's claim to reuse Zeng Guofan and other Han ministers; On the other hand, because Su Shun and others escaped on their own in August of the tenth year of Xianfeng, they left their defeated selves behind and held a grudge, so they also stood on the side of Prince Gong.
In Jehol, the strength of the two sides is just the opposite. The strength of the "Wang Gong School" and its supporters is limited to a group of secretaries headed by the foreman's military aircraft and Cao, as well as the respected but not powerful alcohol county king; The other important military and political posts are in the hands of Minister Gu Ming. Su Shun and other ministers in charge of life first handed Sheng Bao and Tan Tingxiang to the Ministry for discussion on the grounds that yellow folding was used at the funeral. Playing "The Curtain of Two Palaces" for Dong caused quite a storm. Empress Dowager Cixi knew that it could not be implemented immediately after receiving the invitation of Dong to "hang two palace curtains to assist the prince", so she left the passbook in the middle and did not send it, while Minister Gu ordered Dong to be severely punished as an example to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Therefore, she asked to dispose of the passbook.
After deliberation, the Empress Dowager issued a decree with clear instructions, and agreed to Dong's decree of "Prince Fu Bi plus One Master". Minister Gu Ming was very angry about this. At present, he insists on promulgating an imperial edict, refuting it on the grounds that the ancestral system had no gift from the empress dowager, while Jiao Youying drafted a stern imperial edict, accusing Dong Zhe of "it is definitely wrong to play for the empress dowager to temporarily govern the state affairs". "What is the sincerity of this proposal?" It is especially not feasible to play! The queen mother in the palace could not tolerate the minister ordering him to rewrite the imperial edict against his will. As a result, there was a dispute between the two sides. Su Shun and others were "furious and thought it impossible", saying that "the minister who cherishes his life and assists the young master can't obey the queen mother. It is redundant to ask the queen mother to look at the passbook!" Finally, the little emperor Zai Chun was so frightened that he was incontinent and cried to stop. The next day, Minister Gu ordered him to stop work and refused to open the handed-out folder to put pressure on the Queen Mother. Only the nominally powerful Empress Dowager was forced to submit to the minister, copying the throne of Dong and the imperial edict drafted by Jiao Youying.
Minister Gu Ming won the conflict, but their arrogance turned public opinion in the opposite direction, and most pro-nobles also stood on the side of the Queen Mother and King Gong. However, some ministers regarded the opponent's temporary low-key as a permanent surrender, greatly relaxing their vigilance (in this period, the counterattack was only to appoint the dissatisfied Prince Yu to "wear the seal of the minister in the guards" to contain it). Taking advantage of Minister Gu Ming's slackness, the Empress Dowager Miyamiya skillfully removed Su Shun, Zai Yuan and Duan Hua from their positions as infantry commanders, marshals, guides and alternate local officials in Shangyu, weakening Minister Gu Ming's influence in the Imperial Palace.
In the 11th year of Xianfeng (1861126), on September 23rd, the empress dowager of the two palaces and her young emperor Zai Chun left Jehol for Beijing. In order to lead the people to kneel at Donghuamen to meet the spiritual pivot of Emperor Xianfeng, the Empresses of the two palaces, together with the young Emperor Zai Chun, and seven ministers, including Zai Yuan and Duanhua, returned to the front lane first; Su Shun and Yi Xuan, king of Jiuxian County, and other relatives escorted the coffin of Emperor Xianfeng. Under this arrangement, Su Shun, the soul of Gu Ming ministers, temporarily left the Central Committee, which eventually led to fatal consequences.
In the 11th year of Xianfeng (1861131), on September 28th, the empress dowager of the two palaces arrived at Nanshicao Palace in the northwest of Shunyi County with the young emperor Zai Chun and seven ministers including Zai Yuan and Duan Hua. Prince Gong was bent on receiving the coachman here and was summoned by the Empress Dowager. And the political center returned to Beijing from Jehol.
On September 29th, after Empress Dowager Cixi arrived in Beijing, she summoned Yi Xin in Dongnuange and hall of mental cultivation again, but Zai Yuan, Duan Hua and others didn't make any interference, and they didn't have due vigilance.
On September 30th (165438+10.2), the imperial court sent special personnel to invite Gui Liang, Jia Zhen, Zhou Zupei, military affairs minister and left assistant minister Wen Xiang to meet with Prince Gong Yixin, but Zai Yuan and others failed to stop them. The Empress Dowager of the Imperial Palace wept bitterly in hall of mental cultivation Dongnuange.