Lv Haifeng
In other words, the Xin You coup was a watershed in the Qing Dynasty. Since then, the world of the Ai XinJue Luo family has changed hands to the hands of Empress Dowager Cixi. However, as a relatively weak woman, how did she do it? There are two key factors. So, what's going on here? Let's go and investigate together.
First of all, let's first have a preliminary understanding of the basic situation of the coup d'état of Xin You. It was a palace coup that took place in 1861, after the death of the Xianfeng Emperor, by Empress Dowager Cixi herself. Because he overthrew the eight ministers who had absolute power at that time, and then monopolized all the rights of the Qing Dynasty. From then on, Empress Dowager Cixi began to assist Crown Prince Zaichun as emperor and the general regent of the dynasty.
However, in fact, the reason why Empress Dowager Cixi was able to successfully carry out the coup was actually closely related to two people, that is, two factors. The first factor was that she received strong assistance from Prince Gong. Of course, if we talk about the story of Prince Gong and Cixi, it is a long story. A large part of the reason why Prince Gong spared no effort to betray his family and help Empress Dowager Cixi ascend to the throne was because his relationship with Cixi was relatively warm. Another reason is because of his own political stakes.
Because, at that time, Prince Gong was not only not valued by the imperial court, but his brother Emperor Xianfeng was always full of suspicions about him. Therefore, he also urgently needs to obtain the corresponding rights to get rid of the predicament he is facing. But how should he get his rights? At this time, Empress Dowager Cixi happened to find him after the Xianfeng Emperor died of illness. As a result, the two hit it off, and Empress Dowager Cixi verbally gave Prince Gong a lot of power. Of course, in the early days after the success of the coup, Empress Dowager Cixi did indeed give Prince Gong great benefits and rights.
Secondly, the reason why Empress Dowager Cixi was able to successfully carry out a coup was also closely related to the factor of Empress Dowager Ci'an. At that time, if Empress Dowager Ci'an had not chosen to cooperate with Empress Dowager Cixi, then Empress Dowager Cixi's coup would have been absolutely unsuccessful. Even Empress Dowager Ci'an played a decisive role in the whole incident. At the same time, Empress Dowager Ci'an was also the "protector" of Empress Dowager Cixi. Once, because the Xianfeng Emperor gradually saw Empress Dowager Cixi's ambitions, he wanted to depose Empress Dowager Cixi. However, at this time, Empress Dowager Ci'an helped Empress Dowager Cixi say a good word, so that Cixi was not deposed in the end. So, what ability did Empress Dowager Ci'an have to make Emperor Xianfeng obey her? It turned out that Empress Dowager Ci'an's ability was actually no less than that of Empress Dowager Cixi. We can see this from her experience.
Empress Dowager Ci'an's experience is very remarkable: in February of the second year of Xianfeng, Ci'an was drafted into the palace, and in April she was made a concubine, in May she was made a concubine, in June she was proposed to be an empress, and in October she was officially made empress... Obviously, from February to October, in a little more than half a year, it was a miracle that Ci'an, who was only sixteen years old, had "soared to become an empress on a rocket". And what about Cixi, who was drafted into the palace at the same time as Ci'an? At that time, he was only a Lan Gui, and he was only crowned as a concubine two years later. Four years later, Cixi gave birth to the Tongzhi Emperor, and was only given the title of Concubine Yi. Empress Dowager Ci'an was only sixteen years old, and without giving birth to a son and a half daughter for the Xianfeng Emperor, she was able to sit firmly on the empress's throne and rule the harem, which indeed had an extraordinary ability.
Because of this, when her rights were also challenged by the Eight Ministers, she naturally remembered to join forces with Empress Dowager Cixi. Therefore, the Coup d'état launched by Empress Dowager Cixi was successful.
In short, what are the two most critical factors in the Coup d'état? One factor was Prince Gong, and the other factor was Empress Dowager Ci'an. (Lv Haifeng)