When it comes to the "puppet" emperors in history, many people think of Liu Ying, the Emperor of Han Hui, and Liu Xie, the Emperor of Han Xian, but few people can think of the Guangxu Emperor. Guangxu (1871 – 1908) was the eleventh emperor of the Qing Dynasty, reigning for thirty-four years and serving as a puppet emperor for thirty-four years.
Guangxu meets a strong woman, and this woman is her aunt Cixi. Cixi was tough and fierce, and Guangxu was cowardly and timid, so he had been suppressed by Cixi and had no chance to turn over.
Originally, he could have changed his predicament and successfully turned himself around, but between his hands, Cixi imprisoned him and hunted down and killed the reformers, and the change ended in failure.
It can be said that Guangxu rebelled against Cixi, but the ending was not ideal, and Guangxu still could not fight Cixi. Guangxu was Cixi's "marionette", and cixi asked Guangxu to do what he wanted guangxu to do.
Guangxu is a man who has lost his freedom, he does not even have basic freedom of marital love, and his marital love is arranged by Cixi.
In order to effectively control Guangxu, Cixi promised her niece Yehenara (i.e. Empress Longyu) to Guangxu and became Guangxu's empress.
Empress Longyu was Guangxu's cousin, a few years older than him, under the control of Cixi, the two staged a "sister-brother love", there was no feeling between the two, no love, but was forced by Cixi to walk together, can such a marriage be happy?
On the night of Guangxu's big wedding, he looked at his cousin and wife, Guangxu cried, and his heart was full of mixed feelings, which was very unpleasant. Guangxu did not love Empress Longyu, and the woman he loved was Concubine Zhen.
According to the "National News preparation", "But Princess Zhen was well-behaved and pleasing to the people, worked in Hanmo, was good at chess, and served the emperor around the day, eating and drinking with the emperor, and Emperor Dezong was particularly fond of her." ”
Zhenfei has an open personality, likes Western learning, and is active in thought, which is obviously different from traditional women like Empress Longyu. When Guangxu implemented the "Peng shu change method", ZhenFei approved with both hands and put forward many unique insights.
Although Zhenfei's various behaviors were deeply favored by Guangxu, she invisibly offended Empress Longyu, and she also offended Cixi. Guangxu often accompanied Princess Zhen, so she snubbed Empress Longyu, and she was naturally unconvinced, so she went to her aunt Cixi for help.
The elbows would not turn outward, and Cixi naturally wanted to help Empress Longyu and rectify Zhenfei. Cixi punished Zhenfei for various reasons by belittling her and courting her. Guangxu looked in his eyes and hurt in his heart, and he pleaded with Cixi, but Cixi did not pay any attention to him.
Guangxu couldn't even protect his beloved woman, which showed how incompetent he was! In the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu (1900 AD), the Eight-Nation Alliance attacked the capital, Cixi ran away with Guangxu, and before leaving, Cixi ordered Zhenfei to be stuffed into a well and killed her.
When several eunuchs received the order, they drowned Zhenfei while she was still in the well, at the age of twenty-four. A year later, Guangxu returned to the Forbidden City, and he hurriedly ordered the body of Zhenfei to be recovered.
Zhenfei had been soaking in the water for a year, and it was already unrecognizable, Guangxu saw this Zhenfei and couldn't help but think of the lively and jumping Zhenfei, he had mixed feelings and was overwhelmed.
Guangxu caressed Zhenfei's body, leaving sad tears, and suddenly he touched a small doll of the ragdoll, which Guangxu had given her, and Zhenfei had been carrying it with her.
Guangxu saw this little doll seeing things and thinking about people, and a beautiful smile of Zhenfei appeared in front of his eyes, he was out of control, he lost his voice and cried, and the tears vented his sadness. Guangxu was a tragic emperor and an infatuated emperor, but he met Cixi.
References: "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", "The Second Year of the Qing Palace", "National News", etc