As the world knows, the only person the Shunzhi Emperor loved deeply in this life was Concubine Dong. Concubine Dong gave birth to a son for Shunzhi, but unfortunately died a few months later, on the 24th day of the first month of the following year (February 25, 1658), so she did not leave him any heirs.
The Shunzhi Emperor had eight sons in his lifetime, and by the time he was dying of serious illness, the eldest son and the fourth son had already died prematurely. Therefore, for the Shunzhi Emperor, choosing the crown prince was a difficult problem.
At that time, the second son Fuquan was the only choice for the position of crown prince, because he was not only intelligent in his mind, but also from the Shunzhi Emperor's favorite Dong Efei family. Therefore, Fuquan was the favorite son of the Shunzhi Emperor, but why did the Shunzhi Emperor later pass the throne to his third son Xuan Ye?
According to historical records, the Shunzhi Emperor at the beginning really wanted to pass the throne to Fuquan. However, Empress Xiaozhuang advocated passing the throne to her third son Xuan Ye, because Xuan Ye grew up around her, was very intelligent, and very likable. The Shunzhi Emperor respected his mother very much, so he also considered her opinion, and in the face of the heir to the throne, for a time, the Shunzhi Emperor was undecided.
Before the Shunzhi Emperor died, he went to ask the German missionary John Tang for advice. John Tang was a very important person of the Shunzhi Emperor in the court, and his opinion was highly valued by the Shunzhi Emperor. John Tang's opinion was that Xuan Ye should be made crown prince, because at that time a disease called smallpox was prevalent in the imperial palace, and once this disease was suffered, it was difficult to survive. However, Xuan Ye escaped from this disease and had antibodies to smallpox.
Fu Quan did not have this disease, because he was still young at that time, it was very likely that he would get smallpox in the future, and if he could not survive smoothly, it would cause a competition for the throne. This was something that the Shunzhi Emperor did not want to see, and after considering Tang Ruowang's opinion, he summoned Fuquan and Xuan Ye to him.
The Shunzhi Emperor asked the two children a question: "What are your ambitions in the future?" Fuquan replied, "May you be a wise king." Xuan Ye replied, "Willing to emulate the Father Emperor." The Shunzhi Emperor was surprised to find that Fuquan did not have ambitions to become emperor, and he also knew that Xuan Ye had great ambitions. In the end, the Shunzhi Emperor made up his mind to establish Xuanye as his heir.
After the death of the Shunzhi Emperor, Xuan Ye took the throne and was known as the Kangxi Emperor. Kangxi had a very good relationship with Fuquan, and he made Fuquan the Prince of Heshuoyu and allowed him to participate in the government. At this time, Kangxi's purpose was to disperse the power of worship above the court. After Kangxi eliminated Aobai, he further unified the forces above the court.
At this time, Fuquan was very aware of the times, and he returned all his power to Kangxi. Even as rivals who had competed for the throne, Kangxi was very fond of Fuquan, and the two were as close as brothers in ordinary people's families. Like Kangxi, Fuquan was very filial to his grandmother, Empress Xiaozhuang.
In the twenty-seventh year of the Kangxi Dynasty, the leader of the Dzungar tribe, Gardan, relied on his strong power and colluded with Tsarist Russia to create a split. In the twenty-ninth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1690), he invaded Inner Mongolia again. When the news reached the imperial court, Kangxi decided to fight back against Gardan and ordered Fu Quan to be the general of Fuyuan and leave Gubeikou. In the end, it was unexpected, attacked and unprepared, and the enemy army fled in a daze, and the Erut army was defeated.
Kaldan later bowed his head and conceded defeat, sent someone to plead guilty, and expressed his willingness to withdraw from the border and obey the fall. After Kangxi learned of this, although he agreed to Gardan's request, he still asked Fuquan not to take it lightly and pay attention to strengthening his precautions.
Later, Fu Quan sent a message to Gardan, but he did not return for more than a month, and he estimated that Gardan had already fled the border, and at that time, there was not enough food and grass in the army to maintain for a few days. Who knew that Kangxi was very dissatisfied with this, and after Fuquan returned to the capital, the Kangxi Emperor accused Fuquan of not obeying the order and doing his own thing.
Fu Quan did not argue, he said with tears: ''What do I say!' ''All have been sinned.'' Wang And his ministers and others discussed Fu quan's mistake and should take away the title, and the Kangxi Emperor, considering Fu Quan's exploits in defeating Erut, did not take away his title, but instead fined him for three years, removed the three zo lords, and abolished the parliamentary power.
From then on, Fuquan began to indulge in literature and painting. When Kangxi went to the south to play, because he had not met Fuquan for several months, he even wrote a poem "Prince Houmi Yu": "Farewell to the front of the Calyx Building, it has been more than spring and summer." Pingming hangs brocade cables, and the sun is twilight and the tree fish. Wu Yue was in the past, and the rivers and lakes were like each other. Pay attention to strange things, and the next month's letter is sparse."
In the forty-second year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Fuquan fell ill and the Kangxi Emperor visited his palace in person. Later, when the Kangxi Emperor went out on a tour, he learned that Fuquan's condition had worsened, and specially ordered the princes to accompany him back to the capital to see.
When Fu Quan was dying, he did something very excessive, and Fu Quan asked Kangxi to depose the crown prince and make Yin Yu the crown prince. The matter of the crown prince cannot be brought to the surface. However, Fuquan said it to Kangxi, which was enough to prove the friendship between the two brothers.
On June 24, 42, The Kangxi Dynasty, Fu Quan died of illness at the age of fifty. When Kangxi heard this, he was devastated and wept bitterly. He was ordered to build a tomb and a monument for Fuquan at Huanghua Mountain, stipulating that in addition to the perennial sacrifices, there would be additional sacrifices. He also specially ordered the painter to paint a portrait for the Kangxi Emperor and Fuquan to sit together under the shade of tong, showing the meaning of brotherhood and old age.
Kangxi once praised Fu Quan for his "constitutional and gentle disposition", and Fu Quan used his life to prove his promise of "willing to be a virtuous king", which was admired by posterity.
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 219, Liechuan VI, King V (Sons of Emperor Taizong, Sons of The Ancestors)