A Kangxi secret will, revealing the special identity of Cao Xueqin's family, is really hidden
Born as an official eunuch, the family is prominent
Everyone knows that Cao Xueqin was born into a family of official eunuchs, and his grandfather was Cao Yin, who was a weaver in Jiangning at that time. This position is not high, but the oil and water are huge, which belongs to a big fat difference.
At the same time, the Cao family also had many relatives who served as envoys and salt officials in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. It can be seen that the Cao family at that time was completely rich and powerful in Jiangnan.
Cao Xueqin was born in such a rich and noble family, and she was used to eating and drinking from an early age. In fact, when Cao Xueqin was a child, it was not how diligent and talented she was as well known, but because Cao Xueqin lived in such a family, she was infected with a bunch of stupid children's vices, which also led to his idleness all day, eating, drinking and having fun, resulting in the great youth being abandoned.
The family fell in the middle of the road, determined to write a book
At this time, Cao Xueqin did not notice that the cao family's power in the sky had begun to slowly decline. After Kangxi's death, Yongzheng succeeded to the throne, and in order to reform the official rule, Yongzheng first removed the positions held by the Cao clan as envoys.
The following year, after Cao Fu, (that is, Cao Xueqin's uncle) succeeded him as Jiangning Weaving, Yongzheng found that the weaving funds were in deficit and embezzled public funds for personal gain. As a result, Cao Fu was dismissed from his post and raided his home, and the Cao clan was completely lonely at this point.
After the Cao clan was raided, Cao Xueqin fell from a rich second generation to a poor person and moved from Jiangnan to Beijing.
At first, it was still very uncomfortable, but the possessions were quickly spent. Even his own wife sold the dowry.
Cao Xueqin began to be hungry and full, and he began to miss his time in Cao Mansion. But there is no going back.
At this time, Cao Xueqin began to concentrate her mind on the spiritual world. After reading a lot of books, I had the idea of writing a book in my heart. So "Dream of the Red Chamber" began to be created, and the original name of "Dream of the Red Chamber" was "Stone Record".
In the book, Cao Xueqin describes the various luxuries she experienced in Cao Mansion in her youth, and this book is actually writing about the rise and fall of the four major families, in fact, Cao Xueqin is writing her own autobiography and writing about the rise and fall of her own family.
The relationship between the Cao clan and the Kangxi
In fact, as early as the Kangxi period, the weaving deficit in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was already quite huge, but as for why there was a deficit, on the one hand, the Cao clan was corrupt, on the other hand, the biggest reason was the Kangxi Southern Tour, four of the six southern tours were received by the Cao family, the cost was huge, and the Cao family embezzled public funds, that is, at this time, about 3 million taels were embezzled.
Who is Kangxi? He knew about this, but he did not make a sound, and at the same time there was a minister, Cao Yin, and Kangxi also suppressed it.
He even took the initiative not only not to pursue the Cao family's embezzlement of public funds, but also to give them 370,000 taels for them.
Under the protection of Kangxi, the Cao clan became more and more unscrupulous, corruption and bribery were already commonplace, and they dared to participate in the party struggle to seize the concubine, bet on the wrong treasure, and self-destruct their future.
In fact, the Yongzheng Emperor found out that the main reason for the deficit of the manufacturing bureau was retaliation against the Cao clan. Those who know the history of the Qing Dynasty know that after the abolition of the crown prince at the end of the Kangxi Dynasty, the "Nine Sons and Concubines" controversy was caused, and the fiercest of the struggle for the throne with Yongzheng was the Eighth Prince.
Because the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions belonged to the territory of the Eight Princes, the Cao clan also gave great help to the Eight Princes.
When Yongzheng ascended the throne, he naturally wanted to get rid of the Cao family. More than twenty large and small crimes were listed, and these crimes were basically true, and Cao Fu was not unjust.
So why did Kangxi have to protect the Cao family everywhere when he was alive?
In fact, this is mainly the relationship between Cao Xueqin's grandfather Cao Yin and Kangxi. The relationship between the Cao family and the royal family has a long history, and the Cao family was the royal coat at that time, which is what we commonly call "the person under the family".
Cao Yin's father, Cao Xi, made great military achievements when the Qing army entered the pass and was a major minister of the Shunzhi Dynasty. Cao Yin entered the palace in his early years to read to Kangxi, and his mother also served as a nanny for Kangxi. Because at this time Kangxi was still constrained by Ao Bai and had limited rights and was bullied by Ao Bai, Cao Yin's comfort to Kangxi at this time also left a deep impression on Kangxi.
When Cao Yin was sixteen years old, he served as Kangxi's bodyguard, and this time he accompanied Kangxi for more than ten years. Kangxi did not treat him lightly, and in the twenty-ninth year of Kangxi, Cao Yin was promoted to Jiangning Weaving.
In fact, from Kangxi's point of view, think about it, this position is for the royal selection of Jiangnan silk cloth, equivalent to the quartermaster in the army.
The person who can be in this position may not have great talent, but he must have an unusual relationship with the emperor. How much trust did this Kangxi have to trust him before he would give him the right to purchase his own household items?
Cao Yin also understood Kangxi's good intentions, and he was still conscientious in the first few years of his tenure, but later Cao Yin was gradually smoked by lust for profit, and he did not do less greedy things.
Kangxi knew something, but he remembered his old feelings and Cao Yin's loyalty, so he always protected him.
Moreover, he was a mere four pins, and the officials in charge of logistics could participate in the party struggle for the reserve, which showed that Cao Yin's position in the imperial court and Kangxi's heart at that time was extraordinary.
If this does not mean that Kangxi and Cao Yin were close, in modern times, people inadvertently discovered a secret letter from Kangxi.
The general meaning of this is that Kangxi learned that Cao Yin was seriously ill and was in danger, and Kangxi was very anxious when he was in a hurry, and Kangxi first cared for Cao Yin in the secret will, let him have a good life and recuperate, and also found the imperial doctor to prescribe relevant medicines.
What is even more surprising is that Kangxi actually did not hesitate to write down the name, efficacy, and dosage of each medicine. He also ordered someone to dispense medicine for Cao Yin and quickly transport it from the capital to Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
To know that as a courtier, you can get such care from the emperor, which shows that Cao Yin and Kangxi are closely related, and Cao Yin's weight in Kangxi's heart is not ordinary.
However, when this secret message and medicine were handed over to the Cao family, they died in advance. Cao Yin couldn't wait for all this after all.
When Kangxi learned of this, he was heartbroken and felt guilty about Cao Yin, so he put his guilt for Cao Yin on Cao Yin's heirs.
He ordered Cao Yin's heirs to continue to take over Cao Yin's official positions during his lifetime, hoping to ensure the prosperity of the Cao clan for a hundred years. However, Cao Yin's descendants were indeed a bit indisputable, and became more arrogant under the protection of Kangxi, which eventually led to his final dismissal and family raiders.
