At the end of the Shang Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, after experiencing the Battle of Makino, the economy was in a state of decline, and the society was in ruins waiting to be revived. At this time, King Wu of Zhou, as the leader of the new dynasty, died for a long time. In order to stabilize the political situation and consolidate the nascent political power, his brother Zhou Gongdan went to the front of the stage and became an auxiliary chancellor, assisting the young lord to become a king.
During his auxiliary reign, he quelled the rebellion of the Three Prisons and made rituals and music to help the Chinese people gradually move from the heavy ghosts of the Shang Dynasty to the heavy texts that paid attention to human life. The newborn Zhou Dynasty moved forward methodically during his auxiliary reign.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the same imperial power was weakened, and forces from all sides rose up and chased after it. However, the Han Xiandi Emperor, where the Orthodox Eastern Han Dynasty was located, had no land to defend and was extremely passive. Cao Cao, who had gained some influence on one side, honored the Son of Heaven to order the princes to gain moral initiative by welcoming Emperor Xian of Han. After all, unlike the Duke of Zhou, although Cao Cao's life did not change dynasties in the end, Cao Pi did not hesitate to depose Emperor Xian of Han and establish the State of Wei when he held the military power. Whether Cao Cao had the desire to subvert the Eastern Han dynasty is still unknown, perhaps forced by the reputation of "The King of Honor", even if there is, it cannot be put into action, but one thing is clear, for the Eastern Han regime, Cao Cao's assistance did not bring this declining dynasty back to life, on the contrary, it went farther and farther on the track of disintegration.
History entered the late Qing Dynasty, China's glory fell little by little, Daoguang ruled the period was faced with internal and external troubles, the signing of the Treaty of Nanking, the Treaty of Huangpu, the Treaty of Wangxia made China's southeast coastal gateway open, more seriously, Britain opened the door to China by war, and played a leading role in European countries. Since then, China has rarely had a peaceful day.
In addition to the successive wars, the choice of his heir also made the Daoguang Emperor difficult, and the heir Yiwei, who had been cultivated for many years, died suddenly at the age of twenty-three, and the choice of who to choose for the position of crown prince became a matter of concern for the Daoguang Emperor.
Among his heirs, there are three who are relatively suitable for age, the fourth prince, the fifth prince and the sixth prince. The personalities of these princes are hugely different, the fourth prince Yixuan has a relatively cautious personality, the fifth prince Yixuan is a big grin and a little reckless, and the sixth prince Yi is bold and vigorous, and in the state ruling institution centered on the emperor's throne at that time, the emperor's personality often has a huge impact on the direction of the national political situation. The already ill-fated court of the late Qing Dynasty could not tolerate sloppiness.
The Daoguang Emperor did not have the slightest good feeling for the reckless fifth prince, and even in order to eliminate the possibility of his ascension to the throne, in his later years, he directly passed the fifth prince out, but the remaining two candidates, until the time of his death, he did not make a choice from his heart. Although the relatively cautious fourth prince YiXuan was chosen to inherit the throne, there was also a posthumous photo of the prince in the small box showing the heir, that is, the sixth prince Yi was made the prince of Gong and made him an auxiliary government.
The double reward may have been an insurance for the Daoguang Emperor, hoping that the two brothers with very different personalities would jointly govern the Qing Dynasty in an orderly manner. But for the newly appointed Xianfeng Emperor, it was always uncomfortable, and the posthumous photo was always mixed with a little distrust of his father. Moreover, it is difficult for a mountain to tolerate two tigers, although there is a difference between the emperor and the prince, but in the process of the operation of the regime, the direction of power is ultimately uncertain for Xianfeng.
Despite this, after Xianfeng took the throne, the relationship between the two was still good. At that time, the political situation was complicated, the power of manchu and Han officials in the DPRK and China was long and thin, for the imperial family, government officials were outsiders after all, in the Qing Dynasty that loved Xinjueluo, the emperor still hoped that the imperial regime would hold the actual power, but for specific government affairs, the Xianfeng Emperor was not familiar with it, and he was cautious, and it was difficult to make up his mind after thinking about it, so he made an exception to let Prince Gong Yi enter the military plane and directly participate in the state decision-making.
For the prince to enter the military aircraft, the Qing Dynasty was explicitly forbidden, the purpose is to prevent the prince from sitting on the throne, returning to the state of the imperial power in the early Qing Dynasty. However, the political situation of internal and external difficulties had made the Xianfeng Emperor unable to think about it so much.
Prince Gong, who entered the military plane, was also walking on thin ice, very afraid that he would do a good job to the Lord, and the Xianfeng Emperor was also happy to be in this state, during that time, the two could be described as brothers and brothers gong. During Xianfeng's reign, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement broke out, and the whole country became a surging trend, in order to raise military salaries to suppress, Xianfeng had to take the order to order the whole country to donate silver, of course, in order to mobilize the enthusiasm of the people, the government will also use some officials as rewards. This practice of selling officials and knights was tantamount to taking chestnuts from the fire, but under the tight financial situation, the Xianfeng Emperor also had to do it.
Originally, the insult was enough to annoy him, and the Xianfeng Emperor learned that the officials of the household department had actually accepted bribes, and in a fit of rage, he wanted to remove all the officials of the household department and investigate them, at this time, Prince Gong Yi, who was well versed in the world, spoke up in the hope of leaving two or three officials in order to bring the members of the new household department. Although the Xianfeng Emperor was unhappy, considering the growth of the new officials in the household department, he granted this idea. As the new officials' term of office became longer, the Xianfeng Emperor still could not let go, and wanted to demote the two officials involved in the previous affairs, Yi again expressed opposition, and finally the Xianfeng Emperor compromised.
How this incident affected the relationship between the two brothers is not recorded in the historical records. But there are certainly some ripples that make the already delicate relationship.
In the fifth year of Xianfeng, there was really an apparent crisis in the relationship between the two.
The Xianfeng Emperor was very respectful of Concubine Jing, who had the grace of nurturing her, and often greeted her after she ascended the throne. But there is always an obstacle between the two, in ancient times, only the empress could enter the temple, the Xianfeng Emperor's birth mother Xiao Quancheng Empress Niu Hulu died early, the Xianfeng Emperor as his own Concubine Jing, very much hoped to be able to give herself the title of empress dowager after Xianfeng took the throne, but the emperor never made it clear, but after she took the throne, he gave her the title of imperial concubine.
By the time she was seriously ill, the question of the change of title had become his nightmare, and it could not be shelved. Yi, as his own son, went to cry to the Xianfeng Emperor, hoping to fulfill a wish of the concubine, and the Xianfeng Emperor verbally agreed to "um, um", but he did not give up his will.
Simply, in the military aircraft, with convenient power, Yi also thought that he had won the approval of his imperial brother, and soon handled the matter of sealing properly, everything was ready, and sent the emperor to give orders. At this time, the Xianfeng Emperor could be described as having a hard time riding a tiger, and in his psychology he did not really want to seal Princess Jing, but it was not easy to say, Yi Cao did it so quickly, there was no room for him to discuss. Anger is not either, nor is laughter, in short, the heart is very irritable.
Under pressure, she still sealed Princess Jing. However, when the final funeral was held, the expenses were still saved, and the newly sealed empress dowager was not allowed to enter the temple. Perhaps in his heart, he still cared specially about her mother's status as queen, and never wanted this title to fall by the wayside.
Soon after this, Yi was deposed from the military aircraft department, citing his impetuous personality and increasing arrogance, and sent him to continue his studies. However, there is no detailed explanation of how Prince Gong's behavior caused the emperor to make such an evaluation during his tenure as military chancellor, perhaps because he was forced to be crowned empress dowager and felt that his power was threatened?
Although Yi was deposed, the Xianfeng Emperor still had a headache about the handling of specific government affairs, so even if he was deposed, Yi did not worry too much, and his own value was obviously there. To his surprise, the Xianfeng Emperor quickly found new staff, and the courageous and neat Sushun and others were gradually promoted by the Xianfeng Emperor to become his ministers, a move that immediately marked the transfer of the power center of the Military Aircraft Department. It was this move that led to a complete break between the two brothers.
During the Second Opium War, foreign troops marched all the way to Beijing, and in order to avoid the tragic fate of the Chongzhen Emperor, the Xianfeng Emperor chose to move around the Yuanmingyuan, and fled until Rehe as the situation became critical. At this time, the Xianfeng Emperor remembered his younger brother Yi and ordered him and Guiliang and a group of others to stay in Beijing to negotiate with foreign coalition forces.
This practice not only shows Xianfeng's dependence on Yi, but also shows his distrust as an older brother who is relatively good in all aspects. Not long after fleeing to Rehe, depression and the climate were not very suitable, and the Xianfeng Emperor died. Since there was only one heir, the emperor's position was beyond reproach, but the matter of choosing a minister to take care of his life at the time of his death was criticized, because the prince was young, in order to ensure the stability of the Qing Dynasty, the Xianfeng Emperor led Sushun and a number of military ministers who trusted him to the bedside and painstakingly advised him. At the same time, two empresses were also arranged to each hold a seal. Only after discussion by the eight ministers of the two empresses was the decision to seal it.
There was no Yi in the selection of the orphans, which made Yi, who was in the capital handling foreign affairs, very sad and angry, and coupled with the fact that he had the power granted by the emperor in the capital during the special period, Yi had ideas about the future direction of the political situation. The empress dowagers of the two palaces were also worried about the arrogance of the eight ministers, and the three quickly formed a political alliance. As soon as a dozen eight people entered Beijing, they quickly enlisted others to impeach eight people and eliminated them in one fell swoop.
The monarch was young, eliminated Sushun and others, and the power naturally fell into the hands of Empress Dowager Lianggong and Prince Gong Yi. Faced with a difficult diplomatic situation, Yi deeply felt that the country was weak and deceived, and with the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, and a number of officials who advocated changing the law increased their influence in the central government. Li Hongzhang, who defeated the Taiping Army with new weapons, and others advocated the promotion of the foreign affairs movement. This coincides with the desire to get out of the predicament.
Soon, the foreign affairs movement represented by Prince Gong Yi in the central government and represented by Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang in the localities was rapidly launched.
Yi, who had an innovative vision, soon became the first person in power in the Military Aircraft Department, and even the phenomenon that Yi's orders became a common advocate of the Military Aircraft Department without modification. This made Empress Dowager Cixi, whose desire for power was gradually expanding, begin to be jealous. Many times, Xiao Yu's military plane did not have to listen to Prince Gong's advice in everything. However, the actual effect does not seem to be very obvious, and the scene of Yi Yi is still difficult to control.
Yi, who was already doing things with a big grin, did not seem to be very in awe of Empress Dowager Cixi, often preemptively stating his position before Cixi asked questions, and sometimes turning a deaf ear to Cixi's questions. This gradually bought hidden dangers for this "uncle and sister-in-law alliance" that was once unanimous to the outside world. Finally, in the fourth year of Tongzhi, Empress Dowager Cixi used the emperor's order to belittle Yi and order him to leave the military aircraft.
Despite many letters, Yi eventually returned to the central government. But when he received the edict of forgiveness, Yi still wept bitterly. It seems to be regretting, and it seems to be sad about the fate of the Great Qing, he once had a storm, but in an instant, he had already fallen behind, waiting for the empress dowager's forgiveness.
The Tongzhi Emperor, who had never held power, died very early, and the Guangxu Dynasty that followed was also controlled by Cixi at every turn. Yi, who had experienced being demoted from the Military Aircraft Department, also had to be respectful to the empress dowager, who was quite interested in power. But since we are in an eventful autumn, it is difficult not to make a mistake. Empress Dowager Cixi, who had long been suspicious of Yi, took advantage of China's failure in the Sino-French War to reduce all military ministers, including Yi, to the military aircraft department.
It is also difficult to understand that since the Yongzheng Emperor, the Military Aircraft Department has always been the center of power, and although the officials in it may not have large official positions, the actual power cannot be ignored. So-called: ''Ji Sun's worries are not in the shadows, but also within the Xiao Wall. It was his brother Yizhen who cixi used to bring down Yi.
After this, Yi was excluded from the political periphery for a long time, and only after the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War did he re-emerge from the mountains.
Although he was obtained the position of assistant minister through the coup, Yi was indispensable to the Jiangshan he wanted to save. As a young and wealthy man, he has always maintained a sense of concern for the direction of the political situation. Whether the prince, who is only one step away from the throne, has thought of replacing him, there is no record of it, and future generations are not allowed to speculate. What history should remember is Yi, who stayed alone in the capital to negotiate peace with foreign allied forces, Yi, who carried out the foreign affairs movement and shouted with his arms raised, and even more importantly, yi who was still sworn to defend to the death in the face of unprecedented changes in the twilight years.
Zhou Gonghu? Yi also supported a clear sky in Tongzhi ZTE. Cao Caohu? Yi also joined forces with the harem forces to completely break up the Xianfeng Emperor's arrangement.
The Slovaks have passed away, and for the predecessors, we should still maintain a sympathy of understanding and retain a historical warmth.
Reference: Yuan Canxing, "Two Hundred Years of the Military Aircraft Department"
Draft History of the Qing Dynasty