If Daoguang passes the throne to Yi Emperor's sixth son Yi, will the Qing Dynasty rise to life to usher in the ZTE situation? This issue has always been controversial by later generations, and most believe that if Yi succeeds to the throne, it should rewrite the fate of the Qing Dynasty. However, from the author's point of view, I am afraid that it may not be, but it can be seen from the following aspects.
First, whether the Daoguang Emperor chose Xianfeng to succeed to the throne or not looked away
The reason why Xianfeng was able to inherit the throne was related to the strategy of his teacher Du Shoutian, whose methods were quite suspected of being victorious. But this does not mean that the Daoguang Emperor was completely deceived, his motive for choosing Xianfeng was basically correct, and he also followed the basic principles of the Qing Dynasty emperors lixian and lichang.
At the beginning of Xianfeng's succession, there were indeed some political achievements, but these achievements were often deliberately neglected because of his failures. For example, when he succeeded to the throne, he severely cracked down on the "Mu Party" headed by Mu Zhang'a, straightened out the discipline, and had a lot of vigor for reform and innovation.
If there had been no Taiping Rebellion and the outbreak of the Second Opium War, then the Xianfeng Emperor would have become a Shoucheng Emperor like his father and grandfather. During the eleven years of the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor, internal and external troubles were continuous, and although the Daoguang Emperor saved a lifetime, he left behind a ruined family foundation, and the national treasury silver once hit a new low.
There were two main problems faced by the Xianfeng period, the first of which was the Taiping Rebellion. Initially, due to poor repression, the city was abandoned, which was related to his reluctance to reuse Han Chen, especially the Xiang army group dominated by Zeng Guofan. But after the Battle of Anqing, the situation changed. In the Xianfeng Decade, after Zeng Guofan was promoted to the governor of Liangjiang, the strategy of the Xianfeng Emperor towards the Han people also underwent a fundamental change. It can be said that at this time, the destruction of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is just around the corner.
However, when the Zhengda Xianfeng Emperor saw hope, the Anglo-French coalition launched the Second Opium War, which made the Xianfeng Emperor completely lose confidence, disregard the ancestral Jiangshan Sheji, and flee to Rehe for refuge. During his more than a year in Rehe, the Xianfeng Emperor indulged himself and compared himself to "a Le Dao person", which had a sense of inopportunity.
It can be said that the Xianfeng Emperor did not have much fault in suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the only thing was that the Han people were used too late. His mistake was in dealing with foreign affairs, that is, in the face of the misconduct of aggression by the Anglo-French coalition forces.
Second, Yi's personal ability and character defects
Prince Gong Yi was basically idle in the early xianfeng period, and it was not until the British and French forces entered the capital that Xianfeng was appointed as the minister of parliament. From the diplomatic point of view, Yi is indeed better than XianFeng, and even foreigners have a high evaluation of him.
But one thing must be explained, Yi Yihe is the heavy responsibility entrusted to him by Xianfeng, from the national level, only success is allowed and not failure, Yi must do his best, because this is a matter of national survival, as well as the Love Xinjue Luo family's Jiangshan Sheji.
In terms of ingenuity, Yi Ben was above the Xianfeng Emperor, especially in handling foreign affairs. With his efforts, the Treaty of Beijing was signed, and the Qing Dynasty survived a catastrophe. Yi's fame also soared as a result, and he also formed his own political power.
After the death of the Xianfeng Emperor, Empress Dowager Lianggong and Yi launched a coup d'état of Xin You, eliminating the eight ministers of Gu Ming and forming a political system in which the empress dowager draped the curtain and the prince assisted the government. During this period, the power of Yi reached its peak, and the government, the chief military aircraft minister, the prime minister of state affairs, the zongrenfu zongling, the minister in charge of the interior, the lingshen machine battalion, the inspector of all the affairs of the Hongde Hall, and the political, diplomatic, military, and imperial affairs were all grasped.
However, at this time, Yi's character flaws were also exposed at this time, and he sometimes did not even pay attention to the little emperor in his power, even showing disrespect to the empress dowager of the two palaces. As a ruler, this is a great ill and lays the foundation for the day. First, he was suppressed by Cixi and forced to remove him from the post of military minister, and then there was the "Jiashen Yishu" and was completely idle.
Third, deep-rooted ideological concepts
According to Yi's talent and management ability, he is indeed brilliant and can be called the most talented prince in the late Qing Dynasty. It can be said that without Yi, it is impossible to have a situation of Tongzhi ZTE.
In view of the defeat of the two Opium Wars, the Qing Dynasty was painfully determined and launched the Foreign Affairs Movement of "Mastering Yi Long Skills to Control Yi", and Yi was the main leader of the Foreign Affairs Movement. However, when we look at the foreign affairs movement, we will also find that Yi's "self-improvement" is mainly concentrated in the two aspects of "military training" and "making weapons", and has not carried out any innovation from the source, that is, the "system".
In the final analysis, Yi represents the feudal autocratic clique, and under that historical condition, he cannot and does not dare to touch the red line of the system. This is also the fundamental reason why the foreign affairs movement ultimately failed.
After the Sino-Japanese War, the Guangxu Emperor was completely awakened and put forward the idea of changing the law and strengthening himself, that is, "Changing the Law of Wushu", trying to start from the reform of the "ancestral system" such as the official system. The Sino-Japanese War did not wake up Yi, he only supported the Penghu Reform Law to a certain extent, and on the issue of the system, he still held the same opposition attitude as the members of the post-party. He despised some of the new ideas of Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao and vigorously resisted them.
Yi may have been suppressed several times by Empress Dowager Cixi and began to become a promiseless promise, and in the later stages of his life, it can be clearly seen that he was depressed and achieved nothing.
It is conceivable that if the Daoguang Emperor passed the throne to Yi, it would most likely be stronger than the Xianfeng Emperor. This can be seen in his suppression of the Taiping Rebellion and his diplomacy with the great powers. But to say that he can bring the Qing back to life and extend the life expectancy is not necessarily, and it can even be said that Yi may not be as old and spicy as Cixi in politics, so has a city government.