The Daoguang Emperor had a total of 9 sons, of which the eldest, the second and third all died early, and the fourth became the later Xianfeng Emperor. The Xianfeng Emperor had 5 younger brothers, and the fifth brother Yiyi was not liked by his father, so he passed on to the Prince of Huan, and his status was greatly reduced. The sixth brother, Prince Gong Yixuan ,奕訢), was an important minister of the Western faction, and had helped Cixi and Ci'an to kill the eight ministers of Gu Ming, but because of his high power, in the later Jiashen Yishu, he was deposed by Cixi, and was obviously not a person cixi trusted.
The seventh brother Yizhen was reused by Cixi after Jiashen Yishu, which to some extent replaced his brother's position. The eighth brother Yixuan died early, and his son was stripped of his title because of his improper handling. The ninth brother Yizhen was the youngest, died at the age of 33, and died childless.
After this, we will know why Cixi chose Zai Xiang, the son of the Seventh Master Yizhen, to become emperor. Zai Xiang was the second eldest in his family, his eldest brother died early, and when Tongzhi died, he was only four years old, and Tongzhi had no children. The position of emperor can only be chosen from Tongzhi's peers, and Cixi can't let her little uncle become emperor! As a result, Zai Xiang became the Guangxu Emperor.
The Days of the Guangxu Emperor and Cixi were not happy, and in the end they were imprisoned by Cixi, and the day after Guangxu died, Cixi died. As the last head of the Qing Dynasty, Cixi had to choose a new emperor during his lifetime, and since Guangxu had no heirs, the emperor could only choose from his brother's disciples.
Guangxu is the second eldest, the eldest brother and the third and fourth brothers all died early, and the fifth brother is Zaifeng. Cixi did not want Zaifeng to be emperor, preferring to make him regent, so she chose Zaifeng's eldest son Puyi as emperor. At that time, Puyi was only 3 years old, and Zaifeng was hastily appointed as the regent two days before the death of his brother Guangxu, and brought Yi Zhi to the Prince of Alcohol Palace: Our family is going to be emperor again!
Puyi later wrote in his memoirs that he was reported to the palace in tears and struggles and met Cixi. What memories can a three-year-old have? But Puyi remembered it, because "it was an impression created by a strong stimulus." From a psychological point of view, Puyi may have carried out a series of processing of this vague memory in the future, in short, in "The First Half of My Life", Puyi wrote about his impressions when he first met Cixi:
In a gloomy drapery, a thin old woman's face was revealed, which was extremely ugly. It is said that as soon as I saw Cixi's sick countenance, I immediately cried and cried, and my whole body was full of shivers...
When Cixi saw that the little emperor was crying, she ordered the eunuch palace maid to give him a sugar gourd, but Puyi threw the sugar gourd on the ground and shouted in her mouth: Want Mama! Cixi was very displeased: This child is really awkward, take him somewhere else to play!
This first meeting was also their last meeting, because Guangxu died two days later, and Cixi died three days later.