What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
Since the ancient kings are thin and fortunate, the most ruthless imperial family.
This sentence reveals the cruelty and indifference of the power struggle of the royal disciples of successive dynasties, especially in the later years of the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, the "nine sons and concubines" that broke out among the princes in order to compete for the throne, which showed the sinister nature of the court struggle.
In this struggle for the throne, the emperor's eldest son Yin Fu and the deposed crown prince Yin Rong were sentenced to life imprisonment by Kangxi, and the thirteenth prince Yin Xiang was also imprisoned for about a year when he abolished the throne of Prince Yin.
After The death of Kangxi, Yongzheng, who had won the victory in seizing the throne, did not care about the feelings of flesh and blood, and at the beginning of his ascension to the throne, he launched a crazy revenge against these political enemies of that year. Not only did the two brothers who were imprisoned by Kangxi not be released, but they were also punished by the three brothers, the eight brothers, the nine brothers, the ten brothers, and the fourteen brothers.
In the end, only two people were able to live until Yongzheng's death and regain his freedom.
People can't help but ask why some of these princes have the experience of being imprisoned, but why some people have died in just a few months, and some people can live to see the light of day. What is the difference between the places and conditions in which they are imprisoned?
(Yin Zhen stills)
First, the palace mansion with no worries about food and clothing.
It can be said that among all the imprisoned princes, the eldest brother Yinzhen is the happiest. He was imprisoned by Kangxi in his mansion, and in addition to not being allowed to go out and walk around and lose his freedom, he could actually continue to enjoy the luxurious life of jinyi and food in his own palace. And during the 26 years of captivity from 1708 to 1734, this lustful elder brother and 11 wives and concubines had 29 children. Among them, 15 sons and 14 daughters can also be regarded as enjoying the glory and happiness of heaven and being able to die well.
The second brother Yinrong, who was deposed by the two sides, was imprisoned by Kangxi three times. The first was when Kangxi went out on a tour of the Rehe River and announced that he had deposed the crown prince, he was imprisoned in a makeshift tent; the second time he was imprisoned in a royal horse barn; the third time, after the second deposed crown prince, he was permanently imprisoned in Xian'an Palace until his death in 1734.
Although Yin Rong did not have the superior conditions of Yin Rong's captivity, the places where he was imprisoned were inseparable from Kangxi's line of sight, mostly in the imperial palace, and his accommodation conditions and environment would naturally not be bad. Although he repeatedly provoked the wrath of Kangxi, Kangxi, who hated iron and steel, did not impose severe punishment on him, but retained the minimum of paternal love and kindness.
(Yin Xiang stills)
2. The house of the frozen and hungry clan.
Zongren Mansion was specially prepared during the Ming and Qing dynasties for the abduction of the Eight Banners and relatives of the emperor and the state who had made mistakes. Only those who made a big mistake would be imprisoned by the emperor himself in the Zongren Mansion. These captive princes were usually kept alone in a deserted palace, where meals were delivered every day. But these meals are mostly leftovers, and even moldy food.
The prince who is usually pampered and treated well, once imprisoned in the Zongren Mansion, will face a very harsh living environment. Those palaces tended to fall into disrepair, with rain leaks, no thick quilts in winter, mosquito bites in summer, and cockroaches and rats running all over the ground. Sometimes people who haven't delivered food for several days will fall ill and die if they can't hold it.
The thirteenth brother Yinxiang was imprisoned by Kangxi in the Zongren Mansion. Due to the harsh environment, in just one year, he was seriously ill and fell very seriously ill with a leg disease. Before that, Yin Xiang was recognized as a complete writer and a martial artist. It can be seen that its captivity conditions are much worse than those of the eldest brother and the wasted prince.
Third, the afflicted high wall field.
As the main opponents on the road of Yongzheng's conquest, the Eight Brothers and the Ninth Brothers were severely attacked. Among them, the eight brothers were trapped in an unobstructed high wall, and there was nowhere to hide in the wind and rain. The Ninth Brother was handed over to Li Fu, the governor of Zhili, and imprisoned in the small house of Yamen. Wearing shackles every day, both of them were in a very harsh confinement environment, and as a result, they were tortured to death in just a few months.
The Three Brothers were initially punished by Yongzheng to guard the imperial tomb, but were later reactivated. However, because at the funeral of the thirteenth brother Yinxiang, he was not sad enough to be reported by the sixteenth and seventeenth brothers, so Yongzheng re-imprisoned him in yong'an Pavilion. Because the pavilion can still shelter from wind and rain, its confined environment is much better than that of the Eight Brothers and the Ninth Brothers, and the living time is slightly longer.
(Yongzheng stills)
Fourth, house arrest that can be ended well.
Among the imprisoned brothers of Yongzheng, only the tenth brother and the fourteenth brother lived to the day of regaining their freedom. The reason why Yongzheng did not poison these two princes was, on the one hand, because the Ten Brothers had mediocre abilities and had no intention of taking a wife, and their mothers were of noble birth and had a deep background; on the other hand, the FourteenTh Brothers were brothers born to the same mother, and they were afraid of leaving people tongues.
Since Yongzheng ascended the throne, the tenth brother has been imprisoned in a large house in his own mansion, guarded by soldiers outside the door, although there is no freedom, but in his own courtyard, eating and drinking spicy wind and rain is worry-free, naturally wide-hearted and fat.
The fourteenth brother was first placed under house arrest in the palace, and later imprisoned in the Jingshan Shou Imperial Palace, with special people to serve, eat and wear without worry, and live comfortably.
Judging from the different captivity encounters and environments of these princes in the Qing Dynasty, what money, fame and power position are vulnerable in political struggle, and only freedom is the most real and precious.