"But the king of the world, won the name of the deceased"——Xin Abandoned Disease
Turning the title page of the history of the Qing Dynasty, we can see many famous heroes in history, who have bowed down to the country and the people, spared no effort, dedicated their lives to protecting national security, the people at dawn, and defended the territory of the motherland, and are heroes worthy of eternal remembrance and reverence by the country and the people. However, it is not difficult to find that the ending of these people is strikingly similar, that is, these heroes who have served the country all their lives are generally not allowed to die well.
The historical figure I want to talk about today is a fierce general during the Yongzheng period and a courtier that Yongzheng has always wanted to win over--Nian Qianyao. General Nian Qianyao, like most ministers who have worked hard all their lives and achieved fame and success, has a glorious life, immeasurable merit, and is deeply loved by the people and soldiers, but in the end he cannot end well.
In the end, Nian Qianyao couldn't understand why Yongzheng wanted to cure himself of the death penalty, because he felt that his contribution to the Qing Dynasty was incomparable, and without him, the territory of the Qing Dynasty would be difficult to complete, let alone have a peaceful and prosperous world.
In the face of such a powerful god who defended his family and defended the country, why did Yongzheng want to cure this national hero's capital crime? What did Nian Qianyao do to make Yongzheng so angry? What is the young general in prison clinging to and refuses to admit his mistake? Let's take a look!
The historical merits of General Nian Qianyao
Nian Qianyao was born into an aristocratic family and was able to write and fight. In his early years, he was a mid-level soldier and was initially a civilian official. Later, Nian Qianyao was also very talented in fighting, so he embarked on the road of marching and fighting. In the historical whirlpool of the Nine Sons of the Kangxi Dynasty, Yongzheng was able to sit on the emperor's throne and Nian Qianyao's help was inseparable. At that time, the ninth son took the concubine, Yongzheng was actually not dominant, but Yongzheng was also the luckiest thing he did very right, that is, when he was still the prince, he married Nian Qianyao's sister, so Nian Qianyao must do his best to help his brother-in-law seize the throne.
During the Yongzheng period, Nian Qianyao fought in Dzungar, quelled the war in the northwest, and then went to Qinghai and returned from victory. Such a great achievement can be said to have shocked the court, and Yongzheng personally thanked Nian Qianyao and called him a benefactor. In addition, Yongzheng also stressed that he and thousands of people of the Great Qing Dynasty should thank Nian Qianyao, and it can be said that during yongzheng's reign, Nian Qianyao's merits were unparalleled.
Meritorious service to the Lord leads to misfortune
Generally speaking, a king who can have such a "divine general" as Nian Tangyao should be very precious if he has obtained the most precious treasure. But why did Yongzheng later become so angry with Nian Qianyao and bent on killing him?
According to relevant historical records, in the early years of Yongzheng, Nian Qianyao went out to pacify Qinghai, and after several battles, General Nian easily won the war. During this period, Yongzheng had just ascended the throne, and Nian Qianyao had made such a military achievement for the Qing Dynasty, and Yongzheng was very happy, so even if Nian Qianyao returned from the war, his attitude towards the emperor was somewhat arrogant, and even bold enough to not perform the courtesy of a monarch, Yongzheng still tolerated this.
In fact, it is not difficult to open the history books of the Qing Dynasty and find that Yongzheng tolerates Nian Tangyao more than once. It may also be Yongzheng's repeated tolerance, which makes Nian Qianyao more and more arrogant, pampered and arrogant. In the courtroom, Nian Qianyao had repeatedly directly insulted other ministers, and his attitude was extremely arrogant and misbehaving.
Therefore, many ministers became more and more dissatisfied with Nian Qianyao, and later, Nian Qianyao's behavior became more excessive, and some officials went up to the emperor to say that Nian Qianyao was high in the folk, and some officials played Yongzheng, so that the emperor was wary of Nian Qianyao's possible disobedience. Not only that, during the northwestern conquest of Nian Qianyao, General Nian won the battle, and Yongzheng was very happy and planned to personally go to the front line to comfort the hard-working soldiers. When Yongzheng arrived at the front line, the weather was already very hot. He saw that the soldiers were still wearing thick uniforms, and he was very unbearable, so he persuaded them to take them off to show his compassion for the soldiers.
But after Yongzheng's order was issued, the soldiers at the bottom did not seem to hear it, and none of the soldiers were willing to take off their uniforms. At this time, Nian Qianyao saw the situation and walked up, he did not notice anything abnormal about the emperor, but only ordered the soldiers to take off their military uniforms to relieve the heat, and the soldiers immediately did as they heard Nian Qianyao's order. Yongzheng was very upset when he saw all this, and he was more and more worried that this over-credited young general would pose a threat to his power.
After returning to the palace, Yongzheng began to think about this matter, and he was very afraid of Nian Qianyao's rebellion. Thinking about how to win the Nian Tang Yao in one fell swoop. Other courtiers also hated Nian Qianyao for many years, and wrote to the emperor to punish Nian Qianyao to avoid future troubles. Soon, Yongzheng strategized and successfully imprisoned Nian Qianyao.
A nightmare after success
All along, the Yongzheng Emperor was very fond of Nian Qianyao. Even if he rudely charged the emperor several times, Yongzheng did not bother with him. Nian Qianyao always thought that the emperor favored him, and no matter what he did, Yongzheng would not punish him. Because their own merit is unmatched.
At this moment, Nian Qianyao, who was imprisoned, still felt that the emperor would not punish him to death. He recalled everything he had done for Yongzheng and for Daqing in his life, and thought that the emperor would not kill the benefactor he thought was Daqing. He always felt that he would be locked up for a few days at most, and when the emperor's anger subsided, he would release him.
So as usual, he still didn't feel that he was wrong, and he never admitted it. He waited quietly for news that the Emperor had ordered his release.
This time, however, he was utterly wrong. Instead of waiting for his holy will to be released, on January 13, 1729, he waited for the bad news that he had ordered his holy will to be executed. A heroic figure who worked tirelessly for the Yongzheng Emperor and the Qing Dynasty ended his life in this way.
summary:
After reading Nian Tangyao's life, it is inevitable that people will feel sad. In his early years, He was able to write and fight, and at a young age, he made countless military achievements, conquering Jungar, pacifying Qinghai, and sending troops to the northwest... He won the love of the court and the people, and what a beautiful scenery he was. The middle-aged Nian Tangyao became famous and had a heavy army, and was the emperor's favorite. However, just like this heroic figure who thought that he had unlimited scenery and dedicated his life to the country, he was ordered to die by the emperor, and the end was inevitably too tragic.
In fact, if you think about it, Nian Qianyao's ending is inseparable from his own arrogance and lack of sense of crisis. In the face of Yongzheng's repeated tolerance, he did not appreciate it, but instead pampered and proud, more and more blind, and even repeatedly neglected the Yongzheng Emperor, who was the king of a country. The high-ranking lord would have made those in power jealous, and Nian Qianyao was not only immodest, but also arrogant, which laid the groundwork for his tragic end. But General Nian's contribution to the Qing Dynasty and the territory he guarded were indelible, and in any case, he was always a great hero at this point.
Reference: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty. Lectionary 82 "The Late Festival of Historical Celebrities"