The Kangxi Emperor ascended the throne at the age of 8 and pro-government at the age of 14, reigning for 61 years, making him the longest-reigning emperor in Chinese history. He was the defender of a unified multi-ethnic state, laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty, and created a great situation of Kangqian's prosperity, and some scholars respected him as "the first emperor of all ages". In addition, the Kangxi Emperor had many heirs, 24 brothers were all talented, of which 9 participated in the struggle for the throne.
However, he only completely banned the Eight Brothers, and even said that he was a false benevolence and false righteousness, and he was angry when he saw it. So, what's going on here? What did Brother Baba do that would make his father so disgusted?
In 1712, Kangxi's eldest son, Crown Prince Yinrong, was deposed, which was the second time he had been deposed as crown prince, and there was no day to turn around. After this news spread, the "Eight Kings Party" congratulated the Eight Brothers one after another, believing that he would become the ideal candidate for the prince. And these moves also made Yin Yu a little fluttery.
In the eyes of Brother Eight, his father and emperor re-established the eldest brother as the crown prince three years ago, which was a wrong choice in itself. However, he himself was angered because he was recommended by the ministers to take the throne of the crown prince. Now, the prince has been deposed again, and his bad luck should also come to an end, and it will certainly not be far from the day when he turns over.
Looking forward to being reused, wanting to keep the clouds open to see the moon and get reborn, the eight brothers, do not know which tendon is not right, since they ran to the old father of Kangxi in a daze, pretending to ask: "If everyone continues to elect me as the prince, what should I do?" Then he pretended to be annoyed and said, "I'd rather be sick." "It means telling my father that if someone wants to elect me as the prince, I will pretend to be sick so as not to sponsor me again."
In other words, the bitter melodrama of the Eight Brothers, which is self-directed and self-acting, is really difficult to understand, and this stupid move really has a fight with the Big Brother. Just as the so-called, not a family, not into a door, this Huifei Na Lashi really brought out are "talents". It was this move of Lao Ba that made Kangxi see his hypocrisy, so he did not fight a blow.
Looking at Brother Baba's fake appearance and wanting to say that he would return the favor, Kangxi was very angry, and on the spot he was a fierce criticism: "You are just a Baylor, and you still came here to talk to me about these useless words?" Did you come here to test the fallen? As Baylor, you have such a non-divided thought, and you have come to test the tone of the decay, and your behavior is really rebellious. ”
Kangxi's words gave Brother Eight a blow to the head. He was bored with himself, and knowing that he had made a mistake, he quickly ran away.
There was another reason why Kangxi was so angry, that is, he himself understood that yin yu was now the time when the spring breeze was triumphant. Because, Brother Baba has indeed been appreciated by many ministers, and many ministers have tried to sponsor themselves before. At this time, Kangxi was not old enough, so in the eyes of Brother Ba, he was admired by his subjects, and no one could compete with him for the position of prince, so he was so proud.
Now, the crown prince was deposed, and the eight brothers had been recommended by the ministers three years ago, so if Kangxi died, Yin Yu would be easily elected to the throne by the ministers. At this time, Yin Yu, in the face of Kangxi's blunt reprimand, was sprayed with a nose of ash, and his heart was also very hot.
So, what kind of a person is Brother Baba? Why was Kangxi so unkind to this son, with so many mustards and doubts? This is a question worth exploring and studying.
Yin Yu, talented, capable, intelligent, his intelligence and talent are undeniable. Even the old fourth Yongzheng said: The talent and integrity of the Eight Brothers are unmatched among the courtiers. He even said that his own talent was on a par with that of the Eight Brothers. And many people, for Yin Yu's evaluation, are: simple, righteous, popular, treat people with grace, and among many brothers, he is also an outstanding existence.
In fact, there were indeed many Manchu ministers and royal relatives who were willing to make friends with them. Wide network of contacts and good evaluations are not something that can be achieved by simply drawing together relations and forming parties for personal gain. However, these are advantages and strengths in the eyes of outsiders, but in the eyes of Kangxi, they are a fatal shortcoming. Because, in Kangxi's view, Yin Yu's temperament was too soft and cowardly, and he was too good at pandering to others, attracting people's hearts, and even, a little deliberately, pretending to be benevolent and falsely righteous.
For example, in 1711, the death of The Eight Brothers' biological mother, Liangfei Weishi, made him feel very sad. Therefore, the memorial service organized by Brother Baba for his mother was very solemn, and even after three months, Yin Yu still needed someone to help him walk, which showed that he was extremely sad. Moreover, the grooming portrait of his mother has always been enshrined in his home.
In the face of such filial piety, Kangxi said that he was selling his reputation and fishing for fame, because someone secretly reported that he had secretly drunk alcohol in private. In addition, saying that the funeral has passed for a hundred days, and it still needs others to help walk, is also a pretense, and this is actually the idea of the Ninth Brother.
As we all know, Kangxi has always been very respectful of filial piety and used the measures of external Confucianism and internal law to govern the country, but he actually did not like the prince who was blindly benevolent and righteous, but more appreciated the prince who was decisive, resolute, and courageous. Moreover, there have long been rumors about yin yu's fear of internal affairs, and it is a man who is even afraid of his wife, who is too soft and benevolent in his work, has grace and no authority, and is definitely not a suitable candidate who can govern the country and run the country.
Just as Kangxi reprimanded these people when his courtiers recommended Yin Yu to be crown prince: "Do you choose Brother Baba to be crown prince because you want him to be at your mercy after he comes to power?" Therefore, the more the courtiers admired Brother Baba, the more Kangxi wanted to suppress him. Of course, this act also has the element that Kangxi deliberately did in order to consolidate the imperial power and not be provoked and manipulated by others.
Kangxi felt in his heart that if he encountered an accident and Yin Yu successfully ascended to the throne, it would be difficult to become a qualified monarch, and it would be difficult to become a puppet like some emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and be held back by his courtiers. Judging from the fact that the crown prince was deposed twice, and yin Yu was not punished for offending Kangxi, but was rewarded and canonized, Kangxi really preferred those brothers who had courage and strategy and dared to act boldly from the heart.
In addition, Kangxi's attitude and accusations toward Lao Ba, sometimes out of nothing, belong to blind accusations, and even, are a bit unreasonable. It can be seen from this that in addition to Kangxi's dislike of the character of The Eight Brothers, in fact, his personal prestige is too high, and the formation of private parties may threaten the imperial power.
It can be said that Kangxi has been an iron horse and a tirade all his life, how can he tolerate the prestige of others surpassing himself? Moreover, in Kangxi's view, the candidates for the successors elected by the ministers to themselves were not to relieve their worries, but to demonstrate, and even, can be understood as forcing the palace, with elements of coercion. Therefore, in the authoritarian and dictatorial ruling society at that time, those who won the hearts of the people did not necessarily win the hearts of the monarchs.
On the contrary, the more popular the person, the farther away from the king's heart, the more vulnerable to the king's jealousy, becoming unfavored and unlucky. Because, after all, Kangxi is still in power, still the king of a country, and the world is still his, he will only leave jiangshan to the ideal candidate in his heart, not the ideal candidate in the mouth of the minister.
In Kangxi's heart, the world is his own, not other people's, and no one can get this great country and mountains from his own hands, the prince can't do it, and the old eight can't do it.
Resources:
[Records of the Ancestors of the Qing Dynasty, Manuscripts of the History of the Qing Dynasty, Liechuan VII, Kings VI, DonghuaLu]