It is said that the emperor is ruthless, but sometimes they still care about their relatives.
Kangxi and his uncle Tong Guowei joined forces to stage a good drama and defuse a political crisis in Tong Guowei. Tong Guowei and Kangxi had an extremely close "kinship" relationship, and his sister Empress Xiaokangzhang was the birth mother of the Kangxi Emperor. His daughter, who later became empress of Kangxi, was given the title of "Empress Xiaoyiren". Therefore, Tong Guowei and the Kangxi Emperor are really a relationship of pro-superior and pro-kinship.
It was with this layer of relationship that later, although some of the things Tong Guowei did made the Kangxi Emperor very dissatisfied, the Kangxi Emperor did not hold him responsible. Tong Guowei, the uncle of the state, can be said to be stable and stable, and it was not until the 43rd year of Kangxi that he died of old age. Compared with his brother, Tong Guogang, who was killed in the Battle of Kaldan, his ending should be considered satisfactory.
In that year, when crown prince Yun Rong was deposed, Tong Guowei stood up and told Kangxi: "The matter of the crown prince is related to the state society, and another prince should be established as soon as possible." For this matter, Kangxi also listened to it, so he summoned the ministers together and asked them who was suitable for the position of prince? At that time, Tong Guowei, who had retired, recommended the candidate for Ba'a Ge.
It was precisely because Tong Guowei became the patron of the Eight Brothers that he soon emerged among the princes. However, if everyone could "guess" what the emperor was thinking so easily, Brother Baba did not enter the emperor's eyes, so Kangxi was not satisfied with the recommendations of the ministers and began to look for fault. He reprimanded Tong Guowei: "If you retire, you should recuperate at home, and you should not interfere in this matter again." ”
As a result, he not only intervened, but also picked his head to speak for Brother Baba. Therefore, Tong Guowei defended himself and said, "Since I am the uncle of the state, I should share some troubles for the emperor." Kangxi was of course very uncomfortable when he heard it, but he did not punish his uncle much.
Soon, Kangxi made Yun Rong crown prince again, but, remembering the "recommendation" his uncle had made, he once again rebuked Tong Guowei.
Kangxi said, "The reason why you deposed the crown prince was only because of your bad health, but as a result, you ministers secretly made a move, so soon you will appoint someone else as the prince." Of course, Tong Guowei was a wise man, and when he heard Kangxi say this, he immediately pleaded guilty. However, Kangxi still did not blame him for anything, but only gave him a task to soothe the emotions of the other ministers.
At the same time, Kangxi also had to give an explanation to the other ministers, otherwise, how would he establish his authority in front of the courtiers in the future? On the one hand, it is necessary to show that Kangxi "treats all equally"; on the other hand, it is necessary to "protect" the uncle. Therefore, the two uncles and nephews joined forces to star in a good play.
At this time, Roncodo played as a "savior".
Kangxi had made it clear that he was dissatisfied with the eight brothers recommended by his uncle, but the way he told Tong Guowei was very interesting, that is, to invite the uncle to dinner. This old minister who had worked hard in the imperial court for many years could not understand Kangxi's intentions. What's more, the banquet letter also comes with a pair of reading glasses, which is not obvious that his eyes cannot see clearly?
Of course, Tong Guowei could not refuse Kangxi's invitation, and at the same time, he had to tell the emperor that he understood his intentions.
Tong Guowei also knew very well in his heart that this was Kangxi giving himself a chance to get out of the game "decently". Therefore, he must also find a way to get himself down this step. Therefore, in the process of eating, Tong Guowei naturally recommended a candidate to Kangxi, that is, Long Keduo. Moreover, he also found a seemingly inconspicuous but very important position for him- the Nine Gate Admiral.
However, this is only the first step in these plans, because Tong Guowei is the sponsor, if Tong Guowei falls, then Roncodo's position is also unstable. Therefore, we must also think of recruiting to "keep" Ronkodo, otherwise, this trick will not be used in vain, and we must take a minister. Therefore, the two uncles and nephews continued to plan another countermeasure, that is, Long Keduo took the initiative to report Tong Guowei.
The content of the report, of course, is Tong Guowei's recommendation of The Eight Brothers.
During the dynasty, Long Keduo directly complained, saying: "Tong Guowei was confused and actually misanalyzed the situation, which is very serious. Long Keduo's words, however, reached Kangxi's heart, so everything went accordingly. On one side, Tong Guowei got off the stage almost unscathed, and on the other side, Roncodo took his place.
Moreover, Kangxi also had face, because finally a minister said his "voice".
Therefore, without Tong Guowei's behind-the-scenes plot and instruction, would Long ke dare to do so?
Don't say don't dare, there is not even a chance.
So, it's a play. At the same time, through this matter, Long Keduo also gained the trust of Kangxi, and all three parties achieved their goals. It can be said that this is a beautiful plan, a "happy for all" ending. Therefore, Roncodo's report on the uncle is not as simple as it seems, and the "interests" of all parties are "buried" in it. Of course, for Kangxi, if there is no "approval" of him, this play will not be on the stage.
In the fifty-eighth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Tong Guowei died of illness, and compared with his brother who died in Gardan, Tong Guowei should be regarded as a good death. The Kangxi Emperor gave him a sacrifice, and the Yongzheng Emperor posthumously honored him as Taifu (太傅), gave him the title of Duan Chun (端淳), and personally wrote the four words "Ren Xiao Qin Ke" (仁孝 Diligence) and ordered people to be on top of his tomb. However, Roncodo, who reported him, was not so lucky.
In the fifth year of Yongzheng, Longkeduo and Tsarist Russia were about to succeed in negotiating the border issue, but due to the alliance of the party and the smuggling of jade, all kinds of criminal evidence made Yongzheng directly make the decision to send Longkeduo back to Beijing.
After that, Roncodo was convicted of more than 40 major crimes, and the following year, he was imprisoned to death.
In fact, whether it is Long Keduo or Tong Guowei, they all serve the imperial rule; no matter what kind of high power they are, or what kind of merit they have, they cannot escape the palm of the ruler's hand, and they must serve the imperial rule from beginning to end.
And this is their fate as courtiers.
Resources:
[Records of the Ancestors of the Qing Dynasty, Chronicles of the Qing Dynasty, Volume IV, Tong Yangzheng Biography, Drafts of the History of the Qing Dynasty, Volume 295, And Legends 82]