The Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty had ten sons, and many people may think that his favorite prince should be the fourth son of the emperor, Hongli. This is because before the Yongzheng Emperor died, he issued an edict passing the throne to the fourth son of the emperor, the Qianlong Emperor. However, through a careful analysis of the various actions and words and deeds of the Yongzheng Emperor before his death, we find that the Yongzheng Emperor's love for a prince actually exceeded that of the Qianlong Emperor, and if he did not die prematurely, he may even inherit the throne, so who is he?
This person was fuhui, the ninth son of the Yongzheng Emperor! Although FuHui ranked ninth, because the second son of the Yongzheng Emperor, Hongxuan, was not in the order of teeth, Fuhui was known as the Eight Brothers when he was alive. Fu Hui was born in October of the 60th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, his original name was Hongsheng, and more than a month later, his father, the Yongzheng Emperor, succeeded to the throne. In the fourth year of Yongzheng, the Yongzheng Emperor decreed that the eight brothers Hongsheng be renamed Fuhui.
Compared with the Four Brothers Hongli calendar, the status of the eight brothers' birth mothers is also very high. Hongli's birth mother was Concubine Xi of the Niu Cobalt Lu clan, and in the more than ten years after marrying the Yongzheng Emperor, her status was only Gege, and after the Yongzheng Emperor ascended the throne, she was successively given the titles of Concubine Xi and Concubine. Brother Ba's birth mother was the Imperial Concubine Nian Clan, who was lateral to Fujin when she married into prince Yong's palace, and after the Yongzheng Emperor ascended the throne, she was even given the title of noble concubine, second only to Empress Uranara.
The Yongzheng Emperor was very fond of Fuhui, and even broke the rules in the palace and let Concubine Nian raise him personally. When Concubine Nian was seriously ill, the Yongzheng Emperor issued another edict and crowned Concubine Nian as an imperial concubine. After Nian's death, the Yongzheng Emperor broke with the convention again and buried him in his own underground palace. When Concubine Nian died, Fu Hui was only 4 years old, after which the Yongzheng Emperor put his son by his side and personally raised him.
Among the sons of the Yongzheng Emperor at that time, Fuhui was the youngest, but received the highest degree of attention. According to the letters of foreign missionaries, wherever the Yongzheng Emperor went, he kept the blessings by his side. Archival information also shows that the Yongzheng Emperor favored Fuhui more. In the sixth year of Yongzheng, the Yongzheng Emperor rewarded the "Integration of Ancient and Modern Books", and only Fuhui among the princes received precious cotton paper books, and the other princes, including Hongli, were ordinary bamboo paper books.
The Yongzheng Emperor's most trusted minister was Yunxiang the Prince of Yi, who had entrusted Fuhui to Yunxiang to participate in the Mulan Autumn Fox and cultivate the relationship between his uncle and nephew. After Yunxiang's death, the Yongzheng Emperor once issued a decree and said such an intriguing passage, "When Wang Zhi was eight years old, he not only relied on Wang Xiangxiang to bow down, but also hoped that Wang Fu would be in the future, as the pillar of Optimus Prime, and the cause of establishing the Zhou Gong, so that our country would be blessed without boundaries, and this was the original intention of this realization." ”
At the same time, the Yongzheng Emperor also wrote an edict to his close confidant Ortai, which included the following sentence, "The princes are all moderate assets, and the younger brothers and nephews lack outstanding talents." At this time, Fuhui was dead, and only hongli, hongzhi, and hongyao were left, but in the eyes of the Yongzheng Emperor, these princes were all "moderate assets". The Yongzheng Emperor, who pursued perfection, was not satisfied with these people.
The Yongzheng Emperor had high hopes for Yunxiang and let Fuhui be close to him, probably wanting to let his uncle and nephew have more contact, cultivate feelings, and in the future, Fuhui, who was not very old, would take the throne, and then let Yunxiang play the role of "Duke of Zhou". Of course, this can only be a guess, because with the death of Fu Hui and Yoon Xiang, this idea has been wiped out. After Fuhui's death, the Yongzheng Emperor was deeply saddened and broke the convention again, "The emperor quit the dynasty, ouchi su served three days each, did not sacrifice the gods, and ordered the prince to be buried."
References: 1. Draft History of the Qing Dynasty; 2. Records of Emperor Shizong of the Qing Dynasty; 3. Records of the Yongzheng Dynasty; 4. Notes on the Living of the Yongzheng Dynasty