In the hundreds of years of the Qing Dynasty, the Kangxi Emperor reigned for 61 years, becoming the longest-reigning emperor of the Qing Dynasty. In fact, this was the result of his grandson Qianlong's humble concessions, who had reigned for 60 years to pass the throne to Yongyan in order to show respect for his grandfather. Jiaqing ascended the throne and became the new emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and Qianlong became the Emperor Taishang.
It is reasonable to say that Qianlong, who is already in his old age, has been in the past sixty years. Finally, I have retreated to the second line and can enjoy my old age. However, Qianlong was one of the emperors who achieved the ultimate in feudal centralization, and the emperors of successive dynasties did not like the fall of power. Therefore, the newly appointed Jiaqing Emperor not only had no power in his hands, but also showed no desire and no demand, and his life was as thin as ever.
Because at that time, in addition to him, Qianlong had other princes to choose from, and even though he had already ascended the throne, he was in danger of being deposed at any time. In order to let his father let down his guard against himself, the Jiaqing Emperor could be said to have worked hard. He devotes most of his energy to opera and is less enthusiastic about other things. I have to say that Qianlong also made a certain sense in choosing him as his successor. The first thing Jiaqing did after he ascended the throne had nothing to do with state affairs, and it was an extremely "absurd" act in the eyes of the world: he invited the most famous opera class in the capital to the palace and sang a great drama for 18 days.
Normally speaking, this should be the work of the emperor, who indulged in listening to drama without asking about political affairs after ascending the throne. Emperor Taishang not only did not depose him, but instead made Qianlong Longyan very happy. It can be said that Yongyan can become the final winner, in large part because he knows how to figure out the Sacred Heart. Qianlong's three most beloved sons in his life were his two sons Yonglian and Yongqi, born to Empress Fucha, and Yongqi, the five brothers we are most familiar with.
But these three teenagers died young, and the oldest Yongqi was only in his twenties. Qianlong lost three of his favorite successors, and then the 13-year-old Yongyan was secretly made crown prince. Yong yan was able to become the prince In addition to her mother Concubine Ling's deep favor from Qianlong, he himself was astute and intelligent from an early age, and he was diligent and studious. Therefore, such a child will not become a dimwitted monarch, and it is really helpless to watch the drama for 18 days after ascending the throne.
Because before Yongyan ascended the throne and after he became emperor, Qianlong repeatedly said that he still wanted to decide major events. Ostensibly daring not to offend his grandfather had to abdicate, but he was still the de facto ruler of the Qing Dynasty. The Yangxin Hall was the office of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, and Qianlong, who had already taken the throne, still worked in the Yangxin Hall. The newly appointed Jiaqing Emperor could only work in his original Yuqing Palace, without the slightest power in his hands.
Although the Jiaqing Emperor was compared with his father and grandfather, his political achievements may have been much worse. He himself was also of mediocre qualifications, and the most dazzling achievement of the emperor's career was to punish the corrupt officials and officials. Within the very short time of Qianlong's death, the Jiaqing Emperor raided Hezhen's home with lightning speed.
He can be said to have a deep hatred for Hezhen, because he was already 85 years old when Qianlong became emperor, and many things were conveyed to the outside world by Hezhen, and even in some things Qianlong only trusted Hezhen alone. Sometimes the holy will conveyed by Washun is his intention, to become a generation of powerful people who dare not provoke. At this time, He Yan can be said to have reached the peak of his life of forming a party for personal gain, and he acted arbitrarily in the dprk under the favor of Qianlong, and was even known as the "Second Emperor". He Yan turned the clouds and rain in the middle of the dynasty, and did not pay any attention to Jiaqing, who had just ascended to the throne.
Since his father was still there, the foundation of Jiaqing, who had just ascended the throne, was still stable. In the face of he yan's favorite courtier, he could only endure, after all, Qianlong was already 85 years old, and he had just succeeded to the throne, and he had time, and it was the wisest way to temporarily put up with it. Therefore, Jiaqing ostensibly behaved as a plaything, paralyzed and a minister. Let Qianlong and the ministers think that he is a new emperor who loves to listen to drama and does not learn any techniques. This is also the experience gained from the Kangxi Emperor's capture of Ao.
The reason why Jiaqing chose to watch drama as a pastime is also because he is really a "drama idiot", even after the late pro-government, he is still intoxicated with watching drama. As long as there are ministers who advise him to watch the drama in moderation, he will severely punish these ministers and even distribute them to the frontier. Moreover, he also likes to write plays and direct plays, and when the emperor is too busy, he also has to squeeze out spare time to study opera. Even more on holidays, I took the gorgeous stage and sang in the palace for several days.
But it is undeniable that the decline of the Qing Dynasty also began in Jiaqing. Although he implemented a series of policies to benefit the people and various internal reforms during his reign, his qualifications were limited, and the previous three generations of emperors were too good. Coming to Jiaqing brought the century-old prosperous Qing Dynasty into a period of "Jiadao's decline", and although it carried out a large-scale anti-corruption campaign against corruption, the corruption of Qing officials in the Jiaqing period became more and more serious. Various anti-Qing forces in the people were rampant during the Qianlong period, and even more enthusiastic during the Jiaqing period. But he also couldn't imagine that the centuries-old foundation of the Great Qing Dynasty would be so humiliating at the end of the year.