History is the memory of things that have been said and done. —Carl Baker
The emperor of the Qing Dynasty was very different from previous dynasties in choosing an heir, and did not specify who was the crown prince before his death, and every prince had a chance. Daoguang had a total of 9 sons, the most capable of which was the sixth son of the emperor, Yixin, but in the end he passed the throne to Yixuan, the Xianfeng Emperor, which was very puzzling. Because whether it is physical fitness or literary talent and martial strategy to analyze, Yi Xuan is not as good as his younger brother Yi Xin.
XianFeng was also very sad in his life, his mother died when he was ten years old, and later he fell on a horse during a hunting shoot, although he saved his life, the wound on his leg was not healed, and he limped while walking. Considering the dignity of the emperor, on the first day of his ascension to the throne, Xianfeng said to his courtiers: "Before retreating to the dynasty, all the Aiqing must go first, and then leave last." "In addition, Xianfeng also has to live through smallpox, and it is a miracle that he can survive."
When the chancellor read out Daoguang's will and learned that he would become the new emperor's Xianfeng, he must have mixed feelings in his heart and thought that he had finally survived. However, he was happy too early, at this time the Qing Dynasty did not have the glory of the past, although it can not be said to be full of holes, but it is not so peaceful, accurately it is internal and external troubles. The following year, Hong Xiuquan led the Taiping Army south and occupied half of the country, until the moment XianFeng closed his eyes, he still failed to defeat the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom army.
As the strength of the Taiping Army gradually increased, the Eight Banner Soldiers, who had once made the Qing court proud, were defeated and were Hong Xiuquan's opponents. If this trend had been followed, the Qing Dynasty would not have been far from its demise, and after Xianfeng had painfully decided to think about it, he had to reuse Han courtiers such as Zeng Guofan and Hu Linyi, and first protect Jiangshan and then say that the rest was secondary.
In July 1861, XianFeng, who was in the Summer Resort of Chengde, fell ill, and he was not in good health, feeling that he could not survive this time, but he was very unwilling, after all, the biggest opponent Hong Xiuquan was still alive and well. Xian Feng lay on the hospital bed deeply helpless, Hong Xiuquan's three words had been wandering in his mind, he immediately summoned several ministers, leaving his last words, including the six words "Kefu Jinling King".
Jinling is also now Nanjing, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom regime, and the base camp of Hong Xiuquan. Since the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the pass, hanchen has never been fully trusted, let alone crowned Hanchen as king, and the Xianfeng Emperor at the time of his death, in order to boost the morale of his generals and defeat Hong Xiuquan as soon as possible, has not cared so much, as long as he can recover Jinling, whether Hanchen or Manchu is eligible to be crowned king.
Zeng Guofan, the commander of the Xiang Army, could not sleep excitedly when he learned that the emperor had actually spent so much blood, formulated a detailed battle plan, and commanded the Xiang army to launch a fierce attack on Jinling and take it at all costs. After several years of fierce fighting, Zeng Guofan finally attacked the city of Nanjing, and then immediately returned to the capital without stopping, with a very clear purpose, that is, to let the imperial court fulfill the promise made by Xianfeng before his death.
Zeng Guofan couldn't even take care of the saliva, and went directly into the palace to meet Empress Dowager Cixi, originally thinking that Cixi would definitely praise him first, and then make him king, but the result surprised him. Cixi said 7 words expressionlessly: "How many soldiers will be brought this time?" Listening to Cixi's words, Zeng Guofan was frightened and broke into a cold sweat, trembling and saying that he had only brought a few retinues and never mentioned the matter of the king.