In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the Emperor Taiji Harem had a pair of nephews, they were Empress Xiaoduanwen and Empress Xiaozhuangwen, but although Xiaozhuang enjoyed the title of empress, she did not become an empress before her death, she was a mother and a son, and became the empress dowager, and only then did she have the title of empress. The two aunts and nephews I want to talk about today have all been empresses, they are Empress Xiaoherui and Empress Xiaozhenxian, respectively.
Empress Xiaoherui and Empress Xiaozhenxian both came from the Yellow Banner NiuhuLu clan, and their common ancestor was the founding father of the Qing Dynasty, Hongyi Gongeyi, the sixth ancestor of Empress Xiaoherui was The sixth son of Empress Xiaoyi, Dalongxiao, and the seventh ancestor of Empress Xiaozhenxian was the third son of Empress Xiaoyi, Cheerge, so according to the generation, Empress Xiaoherui was the sister of Empress Xiaozhenxian.
In the fifty-fourth year of Qianlong, Xiao He, who was only 14 years old, participated in the draft and was selected by Qianlong and given to the fifteenth brother Yongyan as a side Fujin. Although the Xiaohe family is not a concubine of the Hongyi Gongfu, it is also considered to be an eight-banner magnate, and it is always The Root Zhengmiao Hong, who is far better than the Yongyan Concubine Fu Jin Xi Tara clan. Therefore, Yong Yan was very satisfied with the side Fujin designated by his father Qianlong and was very fond of him.
In the first year of Jiaqing, Xiao he's husband Yongyan became emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and she was initially given the title of noble concubine, second only to Empress Kitara of Gyeongin Palace (Empress Xiaoshurui). Unexpectedly, after only one year, the Hitara clan died of illness in the palace, and then, according to the instructions of the Taishang Emperor Qianlong, Xiao He was first promoted to imperial concubine, and five years later, Xiao He officially became the empress of the Qing Dynasty, but from the second year of Jiaqing, Xiao He already had the dominance over the harem of the Qing Dynasty.
After Daoguang succeeded to the throne, Xiao He was honored as the empress dowager with the insignia Gongci. In the harem of the Daoguang Dynasty, although there were three rulers of Empress Xiaoshen, Empress Xiaoquan and Empress Xiaojing, they were largely restrained by Xiaohe, that is to say, in the harem of the Qing Dynasty at that time, Xiaohe had a lot of say. In this way, Xiao He has been on the throne of the empress dowager for nearly 30 years, plus 24 years of the empress period, Xiao He ruled the harem of the Qing Dynasty for 54 years, which is unique in the history of the Qing Dynasty.
Compared with the clan sister Xiaohe, the experience of Empress Xiaozhen is also very legendary.
In February of the second year of Xianfeng, the 15-year-old Xiaozhen participated in the Eight Flags Draft, and was named a concubine because of her prominent family and outstanding personal qualities, while the other three show girls selected in the same period were only crowned nobles. Moreover, judging from the later development, it is not excluded that Xiao zhen was elected to the palace as a quasi-empress from the beginning, because after only more than a month after her entry into the palace, she was crowned empress and became the lord of the six palaces.
From the second year of Xianfeng to the eleventh year of Xianfeng, although Empress Xiaozhen was unable to bear an imperial heir, her posthumous throne has been very stable, which shows that she is deeply trusted by the Xianfeng Emperor.
After Xianfeng's death, Xiao Zhen was honored as empress dowager as Tongzhi's concubine, with the title of Ci'an. Moreover, at that time, Xiao zhen also joined forces with Tongzhi's biological mother Cixi to launch the Xin You coup d'état, cutting out xianfeng's eight ministers in one fell swoop, thus creating a pattern that the Great Qing Dynasty had never had: bowing to the curtain and listening to the government.
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Qing Shilu, Eight Banners