We read all the lead to present a different history.
According to the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty" and the records in the textbooks, the Qing Dynasty lasted for more than two hundred years, and there were a total of twelve emperors, which is what everyone calls the "Twelve Emperors of the Qing Dynasty". In fact, the Qing Dynasty also had an emperor who had both royal blood and an era name, and Puyi was still a brother of the clan, and he was the Baoqing Emperor Pu Juan, who was rarely recorded in the history books.
▲ Ai XinJue Luo Pu Yan old photo
Speaking of which, the ascension of Aisin Kyora Puyan is directly related to the "Pengshu Transformation Method". Because the rulers of the Qing Dynasty had long been stuck in their own ways and immersed in the dreams of the Heavenly Dynasty, this led the Qing Dynasty to go farther and farther downhill, which eventually led to endless humiliation in modern times. In response to the western powers' step-by-step pressing, the Qing court launched a "foreign affairs movement" to try to save itself, but at this time it was still full of self-confidence, and the slogan shouted was "Shi Yi long skill to control Yi". Who knew that in the twentieth year of Guangxu (1894 AD), the Beiyang Marine Division was completely destroyed, and the Qing Dynasty was defeated by the former Japanese vassal. This strong psychological gap made the qing dynasty unacceptable.
▲ "Book on the Bus" theme oil painting
After the huge "book on the bus", Kang Youwei and others were supported by Guangxu and opened the first active change in modern China, known in history as the "Pengshu Reform Law". At the beginning, the change of law went very smoothly, and Empress Dowager Cixi also expressed her support for it, after all, she also realized that the current situation was a major change that had not occurred in a thousand years, and it would not be possible without reform. However, as the change of law continued, the motives of Kang Youwei and others began to become impure, and even prepared to seize power, and the conservatives quickly turned to resist the change. After the news that the reformists planned to seek the support of the forbidden army in order to capture Empress Dowager Cixi was leaked, the contradictions between the two sides broke out completely, and Empress Dowager Cixi categorically ordered the prohibition of the Guangxu Emperor and beheaded the "Six Gentlemen of Pengshu" at the mouth of the vegetable market, and the vigorous change of law came to an abrupt end.
▲Stills of the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi
For several sleepless nights that followed, Empress Dowager Cixi was incredulous about the Guangxu Emperor's cruelty. I think that at the beginning, Zai Xiang was only 4 years old, and it was he who raised him and pushed him to the throne. Although not biological, her biological mother, Yehenara Wanzhen, was her own sister, and she was her aunt, which was also considered a blood relative, but now the emperor actually wanted to capture herself, which really made her chill. Thinking about it, Empress Dowager Cixi decided to re-establish a descendant of the clan to ascend the throne, and she chose the second son of Duanjun Wang Zaiyi, the 15-year-old Ai xinjueluo Puyan. Speaking of which, Pu Juan was also related by blood to Empress Dowager Cixi, and the former's maternal grandfather was Empress Dowager Cixi's younger brother Yehenara Guixiang.
▲ Duanjun Wang Zaiyi old photo (middle seater)
On December 24, the 25th year of Guangxu (1899 AD), Empress Dowager Cixi promulgated the Yi Decree to reward Pu With the title of "Great Brother" and pass it on to Emperor Muzong of Qing as his heir. Subsequently, the eldest brother Pu Juan studied at the Hongde Hall, and the master was Chongqi, the father-in-law of the Tongzhi Emperor, and Xu Tong, a scholar of Tirenge University. Immediately afterward, Empress Dowager Cixi summoned hundreds of officials and announced that the Following Year the Guangxu Emperor's Zen Ceremony would be held, and changed the era name to "Baoqing" and elected the eldest brother Pu Juan to ascend the throne as emperor. On the first day of the first lunar month of the following year, the eldest brother Pu Yan replaced the Guangxu Emperor and went to the Great High Hall and the Fengxian Hall to perform rituals.
▲Bongxian Hall
Apparently, this series of moves showed that Empress Dowager Cixi had made up her mind to replace the Guangxu Emperor with Pu Juan. To her surprise, however, this act provoked strong resentment and solemn protests from many people, with ambassadors bearing the brunt. Because they were more willing to deal with the enlightened Guangxu Emperor, the envoys in China made representations to the prime minister of state affairs. In desperation, Empress Dowager Cixi's confidant Rong Lu and Prince Qing Yili jointly played the song, on the grounds that the ambassadors of various countries had a deep dissent, and implored Empress Dowager Cixi to retract her life, and Empress Dowager Cixi approved it. Soon after, the Boxer Rebellion swept through the country, and the Eight-Nation Alliance army also approached the city, and Empress Dowager Cixi had to flee west in a hurry, at this time, she could not depose the Guangxu Emperor and save her own life first.
▲ Yingtai bird's eye view of the old photo
In the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (1901 AD), after the two palaces returned to Luang, Empress Dowager Cixi ordered Zaiyi to be removed from his post on the charge of condoning the Boxer Rebellion and desecrating his ancestors, so Pu Yan lost the possibility of taking the throne, was demoted to the title of Auxiliary Duke, and re-adopted Zaiyi as a son. Although Pu Yan had only been emperor for three days, he was undoubtedly much luckier than the Guangxu Emperor who died in Yingtai and Puyi, who had drifted half his life, and at least he could live peacefully until 1942. This may be the luck of misfortune.
bibliography:
Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, The Eighth Chronicle