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Although few emperors in the last years of the Qing Dynasty had a good ending, those who were miserable to the extent of Guangxu were indeed full of emotions. When he was young, the Guangxu Emperor was hastily put on the throne, and then began his life under the control of Empress Dowager Cixi. Whether it is feelings or work, Guangxu rarely has a proud time. Most of the time, Guangxu is like a puppet who is led by a string and cannot have his own thoughts. Sadly, even the funeral after Guangxu's death was held in a hurry, without the dignity of an emperor to speak of.
In 1874, Tongzhi, Xianfeng's only son, died. Tongzhi's death not only meant the severance of the Xianfeng line, but also because the Qing Dynasty fell into the embarrassment of not being able to determine the number of candidates to inherit the throne. Therefore, less than two hours after Tongzhi's death, even Tongzhi's mother, Empress Dowager Cixi, was most concerned about the holding of her son's funeral, but about who should be chosen as the heir in order to maximize her own interests.
In terms of blood relations, Zai Xiang's (Guangxu) father was Xianfeng's brother, and Zai Xiang's mother was the sister of Empress Dowager Cixi, and no one was closer than Zai Xiang and Empress Dowager Cixi. In terms of age, Zai Xiang was only four years old at that time, what is the concept of four years old? Just give a sugar and maybe you can change the grade of the jade seal in his hand! Therefore, for such a candidate, Cixi could not be more satisfied.
So, within a few days, Zai Xiang, who was only four years old, ascended the throne and was known as the Guangxu Emperor. Because Guangxu was too young, he could only decide the major affairs of the country by adopting the method of the empress dowager bowing to the curtain and listening to the government. The emperor's will is called "edict", the will of the empress dowager is called "Yi will", before the emperor's big wedding, all the power in the court is in the hands of the empress dowager, and the Guangxu Emperor is a pawn that is controlled.
In fact, from childhood to adulthood, the Guangxu Emperor not only did not get any opportunity to make a big fist in the court, but even the final funeral was handled very hastily, and it did not have the specifications and forms that the funerals of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty should have. So why is that? Even if Guangxu is not Cixi's own son, is he also the official emperor of the Qing Dynasty? Why isn't there a big deal?
In fact, the reason may be because the death of the Guangxu Emperor is not normal, he died suddenly! In 2008, after five years of research and discussion, experts confirmed that the Guangxu Emperor had been given arsenic through the identification of a strand of hair left by the Guangxu Emperor. With this conclusion, we can know why the Guangxu Emperor was hastily buried after his death. After all, in any case, the way Guangxu died was not glorious, from the perspective of the country of the Qing Dynasty at that time, an emperor was actually poisoned to death, so how bad was the security awareness around the emperor? From a personal point of view, Cixi probably didn't want people to know the real reason for the death of the Guangxu Emperor!
Because, in the case of Guangxu's death, there was a candidate for the culprit: first, naturally, cixi, and second, Yuan Shikai. In Guangxu's "Chongling Transmission Letters" by The Living Official Yun Yuding, there is such a record: When the empress dowager was ill for several days, there was a saying that the emperor heard the empress dowager's illness and had joy. The empress dowager said angrily, "I can't die first." The gist of this passage is: At that time, Cixi was ill and had diarrhea for many days, and someone told Cixi that Guangxu had joy after learning that Cixi was sick. Cixi was furious when she heard this: I can't die before you (Guangxu)!
From this record, it can be seen that the resentment between the emperor and the empress dowager at that time was already very deep and could not be alleviated, and under such circumstances, some people provoked it, which made Cixi angry. As a powerful ruler, how could Cixi tolerate the Guangxu Emperor taking power after his death? Therefore, Cixi took the initiative to "end" Guangxu first.
However, the reasons for Yuan Shikai's poisoning of Guangxu are also sufficient. Guangxu has never had a good look for Yuan Shikai, and it can even be said that he is deeply disgusted. If Cixi had died before the Guangxu Emperor, then Guangxu would have most likely come to power, and what awaited Yuan Shikai would have been a great danger. Moreover, Cixi herself did not have a good feeling for Guangxu, even if Yuan Shikai took a shot at Guangxu, Cixi estimated that she would not punish her own confidants, but would choose to hide it for Yuan Shikai.
Of course, these are just the speculations of posterity! Regarding the real reason for Guangxu's death, except for the parties, outsiders will never know!