Uncle and sister-in-law break up
On the first day of July in the third year of Tongzhi (1864), Prince Yizhen of Shuo went to the palace of Longfu Temple to pray to the Xianfeng Spiritual Seat: Jinling has been restored, please rest assured under the Nine Springs. On the same day, Yi Bi discussed with the military ministers how to discuss merits and rewards, and the court was filled with joy.
After the coup d'état of Xin You, Yi Bi took charge of the Military Aircraft Department, although there was no military aircraft minister to charge the front line, but the central dispatch was indispensable. After Shi Da's expulsion from the Tianjing Incident, the Qing army and the Taiping army fought fiercely in Anhui. Katsuho was incompetent at the front, and Yi Bi decisively used the monk Greenqin to help, captured zhang Lexing, the leader of the Twist Army, and then conquered Luzhou. He also dispatched Li Hongzhang's Huai Army to Shanghai to form a foreign gun brigade to open up the battlefield in southern Jiangsu. At the same time, Zuo Zongtang was the governor of Zhejiang, running Zhejiang and attacking the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom; Luo Bingzhang presided over Sichuan, besieging Shi Dakaibu and suppressing him at the Dadu River. The overall strategic deployment of the Tongzhi Dynasty was obviously better than that of the Xianfeng Dynasty.
△ "Two Hundred Years of the Military Aircraft Department", published by Yuelu Book Club
Click on the link below to purchase
In the face of an increasingly better situation, there is one person who is worried, and this is Wu Tingdong. He feared that after the victory, the monarchs and courtiers would be proud of the victory and the misfortune would arise. On the fourth day of Kefu Jinling, he went to the stage to remind the monarchs and courtiers to "benefit and respect". Cixi, be respectful to Yi Bi; Yi Bi, be afraid of Cixi, but can these two people do it?
After four years of Tongzhi, watching the war subside and the situation stabilize, Cixi began to strike at Yi Qi.
Cixi was a woman who paid great attention to detail and was quite sensitive to power. Yi Bi presided over the government for a long time, and then won the war against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and for a while he was complimented as a "virtuous minister" like the Duke of Zhou, and inevitably began to swell, and he also began to neglect etiquette, forgetting Wu Tingdong's reminder and being "afraid" of Cixi.
When the princes and ministers entered the inner court, they needed to go through the eunuch in charge to declare the will, and Yi Bi often did not wait for the eunuch to pass on the will, and then went straight inside. In the Yangxin Hall, the empress dowager of the two palaces bowed the curtain to listen to the government, and as usual, Cixi asked first, and Yi Bi answered later. After a long time, Yi Bi became impatient, and sometimes when Cixi asked, he pretended not to hear and did not answer, and sometimes he deliberately answered loudly. Cixi, who has a sensitive personality and a tough personality, begins to develop dissatisfaction with Yi Bi.
Yikes
The blow to Yi Bi is induced by the small character Cai Shouqi. Cai Shouqi was a native of Dehua, Jiangxi, who had been a scholar in the Daoguang Examination for 20 years, and had served as an editor in the Hanlin Academy, and had once been a deputy in the Shengbao Army. After returning to the Capital Division, Cai Shouqi served as a living official, and took advantage of the opportunity of serving in the palace to spy on the grievances in the palace and ponder Cixi's intentions.
On February 24, 2004 of the Tongzhi Dynasty, Cai Shouqi impeached Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guoquan, and after the fold was handed over, it was left unpublished. Cai Shouqi was a stone thrower to ask for directions, and Zeng Guofan handled foreign affairs and had close contacts with Yi Bi, and was regarded as a henchman of Yi Bi. Cixi was also quite uneasy about Yi Bi's relationship with the local power governors, "Xiangxiang is a prosperous one, and it is especially taboo." Xiangxiang yimen, Zeng Guofan also.
Cai Shouqi accurately captured Cixi's thoughts, and first asked for directions by impeaching Zeng Guofan. After the fold was handed over, Cixi stayed in the middle, indirectly indicating her support for Cai Shouqi. On the fourth day of March, Cai Shouqi again impeached Yi Bi, calling him "greedy, arrogant, favoritism, and power grabs", and suggested that Yi Bi return to the imperial court, return home for the elderly, and find a suitable prince to assist the government. Cai Shouqi's political sense of smell is quite sensitive, and his courage is large enough, and the timing of the attack is so good. After the fold is handed over, it is left in the middle.
On the fifth day of the first month of March, Yi Bi leisurely entered the palace. On this day, Cixi was already ready to clean up the little uncle, and she suddenly said to Yi Bi, "Someone impeached you." And took out the fold and shook it. Not wanting Yi Bi to be unfazed at all, he asked, "Who?" Cixi said, "Cai Shouqi." Yi Bi listened to it and lost his voice: "Cai Shouqi is not a good person." After the two uncles and sisters-in-law quarreled, Yi Bi left angrily.
Cixi looked at the little uncle so bullish, and immediately summoned the university scholar Zhou Zupei and others in, crying and complaining that Prince Gong had gained power and could no longer control him, and wanted to punish him. Zhou Zupei and others were caught in the middle, embarrassed left and right, and it was not easy to make a clear statement, so they had to persuade Cixi. When Cixi saw that these old ministers did not express their attitude, she cried again: "You should recite the kindness of the former emperor, do not fear Prince Gong, Prince Gong's sins cannot be punished, and it is advisable to discuss it quickly." Zhou Zupei had no choice but to prostrate his head desperately: "This matter can only be decided by the two palaces, and the ministers do not dare to say much." Cixi was disappointed, "What's the use of this for you?" When the emperor grows up and is pro-government, won't you feel too careless not to go? Zhou Zupei was also an old traitor, so he kicked the ball to the others and suggested that Cixi go to Wu Ren for consultation. Wu Ren was a Mongolian Zhenghongqi man, from an ordinary background, according to whom he claimed to be a "Servant of the Mongol Lineage". At the age of twenty-five, Wu Ren was admitted to the Imperial Examination, and after that he served in the Hanlin Academy for a long time. He studied Cheng Zhu Lixue for many years and practiced it all his life, which is regarded as the "study of physical and mental life". Zeng Guofan, who also believed in science, had a very good relationship with Wu Ren, and followed the example of Wu Ren, writing down and reflecting on his own mistakes and mistakes every day. Zeng Guofan had done enough in the practice of science, such as his habit of snoozing, he scolded himself for "doing nothing, shameful." Seeing that his colleagues had accepted beautiful concubines, he was secretly envious in his heart, and then reflected and scolded himself for being a "real beast".
In the Xianfeng Dynasty, faced with the financial constraints caused by the war with the Taiping Army, Wu Ren shangsong proposed a countermeasure. In the recital, Wu Ren believed that the emperor should do enough moral kung fu, and even more should adhere to Yao Shun's ambition, "Si Shu's performance can be second and right". Xian Feng looked at Wu Ren's recital and couldn't help but get angry from it, this moral kung fu is done enough, can he get silver as a military salary? Can you train a million soldiers? Can you cross the battlefield? As a result, Xian Feng developed a bad feeling towards the disciples of Theory, and once asked Wu Tingdong: "Why is the scholar of Zhu so pedantic?" Xian Feng then asked Wu Tingdong how he saw Zeng Guofan and Wu Ren. Wu Tingdong commented that Zeng Guofan was "excited" and Wu Ren was "pedantic", and these two words were portrayed in three points.
Xianfeng did not like Wu Ren, so he sent him to the remote Yeerqiang. After a six-month trek, Wu Renfang arrived. When passing by Yi Shui on the way, he thought about the grandeur of Jing Ke's farewell to the King of Qin here, and he couldn't help but feel a thousand emotions, and his sorrow came from it, and he actually wanted to go to the house. In Yarkand, Wu Ren continued to practice his own theoretical ideas, waiting for the opportunity to re-emerge from the mountain. In the meantime, some people here have saved their lives to protect Wu Ren, please reuse it, and Xianfeng will not pay attention to it.
Unexpectedly, in the war with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a group of science students who were despised by Xian Feng handed over excellent results. The outstanding military achievements made by Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi, Luo Zenan and other Cheng Zhu disciples made people stunned at the time, so the concept of contempt for science changed.
In the early years of Tongzhi, Cheng Zhu Lixue was regarded as a full school, and everyone in Lixue went in and out of the court, and Wu Ren was also greatly used, and was elected as the master of Tongzhi, in charge of the Hanlin Academy, and promoted to a scholar of Wenyuange University. The fact that Wu Ren was not of great use in the first thirty years of the reign of Wu Ren, but was in full swing in the Tongzhi Dynasty, was both a manifestation of the revival of science and the result of political changes and political operations.
After Xianfeng fled from The jingshi to Rehe, Wu Renzheng served as a waiter in the Shengjing Household Department, and successively accused SuShun. When Prince Shi Duo of Li asked the empress dowager of the two palaces to bow down to the government, Wu Ren also actively expressed his support. After the empress dowager of the two palaces bowed to the government, this naturally became political capital. In addition, Both Wu Ren and Cixi's confidant Zhou Zupei were from Henan Shangcheng, and the two had a close relationship and "had a family friendship." With Zhou Zupei behind the help, Wu Ren was naturally included in the imperial master's candidate. After Wu Ren was elected as the emperor, he immediately dedicated the deeds of the emperors he had compiled, and the empress dowager of the two palaces gave the book the title of "Qixin Jinjian". The book was placed in the Hongde Hall where Tongzhi was reading, and was explained by Wu Ren.
As a master of science, Wu Ren had a strong moral purity. As soon as he took charge of the Hanlin Academy, he formulated the "Rules and Regulations of the Hanlin Academy", requiring the Hanlins to write a diary every day, record their daily words and deeds and reading experience, and evaluate them by themselves. Although Wu Ren was an official and held a high position, he had strict morals and lived a simple life. Wu Ren once organized a "chaff eating meeting" to show that he was thinking of danger in times of peace and remembering bitterness and sweetness. Zhou Zupei kicked the ball to Wu Ren this time, and he had his own reason. On the one hand, Wu Ren had long been prejudiced against Prince Gong, who was focused on foreign affairs, and dared to take the lead; on the other hand, Cixi had always favored Wu Ren and regarded him as a confidant, and now was the opportunity for Wu Ren to perform.
On the sixth day of the first month of March, Wu Ren and Zhou Zupei asked Cai Shouqi in the cabinet whether there was any evidence for what he had played. Although Cai Shouqi was bold, he was not cautious enough. When questioned, he helplessly said that the four major crimes of Prince Gong impeached were all rumors and had no evidence. Although there is no solid evidence, it is not helpless, and there is still a precedent in history for the three words "unnecessary".
On March 7, Wu Ren said that although Cai Shouqi's impeachment was unfounded, it was not necessarily unexplained, and please reduce Prince Gong's power. Cixi immediately presented the edict that had been prepared, in which prince Gong Yishi was accused of arrogance and arrogance, and was dismissed from all offices. The edict presented by Cixi was full of typos and a variety of diseases. In the short hundreds of words of the edict, there were twelve typos, which were edited and revised by Wu Ren and Zhou Zupei, and were not handed over to the Military Aircraft Department, but issued by the cabinet.
Cixi's move was to use force to raise the status of the cabinet and suppress the military aircraft department. Since the establishment of the Military Aircraft Division, the cabinet has honor but no real power, and is like a puppet; it has a big name but no benefit, and it is like a companion. Cixi's issuance of the edict directly through the cabinet this time was both to win over the cabinet scholars and to warn the henchmen of the Military Aircraft Department.
After Yi Bi was expelled from the military aircraft department, the format of the court mail also changed, and the original opening words of "the king of the parliament and the military aircraft minister sent by word" were changed to "the military aircraft minister sent by the word". After Ting's sending to the south, Zeng Guofan saw that the format of Ting's mail had changed, immediately judged that the center had undergone a great change, and predicted that Yi Bi "if it were not for the great change in life and death, it would be expelled and would not be related to the Privy Council."
At this time, there were few people in the military aircraft department, and Li Tang asked Zeng Guofan to be transferred to the military aircraft department, but Cixi did not agree, was this not to help Yi Bi to bring foreign aid?
Statue of Zeng Guofan
Prince Gong was expelled from the military plane, and the ministers did not dare to speak, in the end this was the contradiction between the little uncle and the sister-in-law. Outsiders are not good at interjecting, but their own families can speak. On the eighth day of the first month, Yi Bi's elder brother Yi Xi the Prince of Yi Stood Up to help his brother speak, believing that there was no practical basis for impeaching Yi Bi and that the princes and ministers should be asked to hold a meeting together before deciding.
Yi Xi is the fifth son of Daoguang, funny by nature, and has no great ambitions. Old Wu Yiyi, who did not ask about the world' affairs, also came out to help Lao Liu stand, and Cixi did not look good, lest she arouse the anger of the people within the imperial family, so she invited the military ministers Wen Xiang, Li Tangjie, and Cao Yuying to use the woman's kung fu to list the things that Yi Bi bumped into herself.
Wen Xiang and the others had dealt with Prince Gong for many years and knew his temper. When Prince Gong was at the military plane, a man sat proudly on the kang, and some subordinates came to pay their respects, but he did not return the salute, which was quite arrogant. Bao Zheng believed that he: "People are very intelligent, but they grow up in the deep palace, and they do not know the sufferings of the people." When things are difficult, we have to host a few of us. ”
This time, the two uncles and sisters-in-law fell out for a small matter, which affected the country's major politics, and the military ministers could only be peacemakers, first echoing Cixi, scolding Yi Bi together, and then playing a round game together, thinking that Yi Bi's habits were too deep, and they did not know the inspection point, and although they rushed, they did not have a heart. After enlightenment, Cixi promised that the princes and ministers would discuss Yi Bi's mistakes together and then make a decision on punishment. After Li Tangjie returned home that day, he wiped the sweat on his head and wrote a note in his diary: "There seems to be a turnaround." ”
The old Prince Yizhen was supervising the construction in The Tanglin Tomb, and rushed back to the Beijing Division on the thirteenth, and saw that there was a lot of noise in the palace compound. Although Yi Zhen was also dissatisfied with the power of the sixth brother Yi Bi, at this time, for the sake of the overall situation, he also ran to Cixi to intercede, believing that as long as Prince Gong was deeply reflected and realized his mistakes, he could "make him reform himself and see the after-effects."
On the fourteenth day, the princes and ministers gathered together and held a meeting to discuss, and there were more than seventy people who supported Prince Gong. Seeing that public opinion was biased in favor of Prince Gong, the old master Wu Ren saw the wind and steered the rudder, and shouted that he wanted to give Prince Gong a chance. The next day, Cixi summoned the Minister of Military Aircraft alone for consultation. Wen Xiang helped Prince Gong speak, and his words were earnest. Li Hongzhang wrote in a letter to Zeng Guofan: "Gong Di seems to be able to be restored gradually, but the suspicion with Gen Xiang (Wu Ren) is deepening. ”
Li
On the sixteenth day, the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces ordered Prince Gong to remain in charge of the Prime Minister's Office, but had not yet resumed his position in the Military Aircraft Department. Li Tangjie believed that the turnaround would soon come, and Prince Gong would continue to take charge of the Military Aircraft Department. For Wen Xiang, who reconciled the relationship between his uncle and sister-in-law this time, Li Tangjie admired him so much that he praised Wen Xiang in his diary for being able to take care of the overall situation, and called him "the minister of sheji, my teacher, my teacher!" ”
Not wanting to suddenly have variables at this time, there were too many people who helped Prince Gong say good things in Cixi's ear, and Cixi began to be unhappy again. It dragged on until April 13, when Cixi summoned the Military Aircraft Minister Bao Zheng and asked for his opinion. The People of Baoxun were intelligent, humorous, and able to speak, and coaxed Cixi to be happy, and ordered that day, and tomorrow Yi Bi would be allowed to enter the military aircraft. Bao Feng's set of kung fu made Li Tangjie equally admire the five bodies, and he greatly worshipped it in his diary.
On April 14, the edict came out, and Prince Gong was still walking on the military aircraft, but there was no name for the king of the council, as a sign of repression. The political turmoil that lasted for thirty-nine days ended. The edict also says: "Prince Gong of this day, when summoned by Xie En, wept bitterly on the ground, and could not bear it." "Prince Gong wept bitterly, is it grievance, is it sadness, or is it unfair? At this time, he should have remembered Wu Tingdong's reminder that he should be "afraid" of Cixi.
After this blow, Prince Gong's sharp edge was frustrated, his power was greatly reduced, and he became more and more cautious. As for Cai Shouqi, the instigator of this storm, because the impeachment matter was found to be unsubstantiated, he was demoted to a second level. Cai Shouqi suddenly became famous, causing the poisonous tongue Li Ciming to "envy and envy and hate", scolding him for "no scholarly behavior, especially villains". Cai Shouqi attacked Zeng Guofan first, and then Prince Gong, and When Cixi announced Yi Bi's guilt, he had the word "zhi dang", although he did not directly name him, but obviously referred to Zeng Guofan, after which Zeng Guofan was feared.
As a result of this storm, Cixi showed her excellent political means, first removing Yi Bi from her post as a demonstration, and then reinstating her office to show her kindness, and all the princes and ministers respected her. After that, Cixi was able to call the wind and rain and order the courtiers for decades, which was actually caused by this storm.
In this dispute between uncles and sisters-in-law, the military aircraft minister all sided with Yi Bi, and even Li Tangjie helped Yi Bi speak, which also made Cixi feel the need to install her own people and horses in the military aircraft department. Just in November, li tangjie, the minister of military aircraft, fell ill and died, and there was a vacancy in the minister of military aircraft, and Cixi selected Li Hongzao to join the military aircraft department.
This article is excerpted from Yuelu Book Society's "Two Hundred Years of the Military Aircraft Department", the original title is "Uncle and Sister-in-Law Break", by Yuan Canxing.
Limited time discount, grab a quick purchase
👇