#History Talk#In the late spring of the sixty-first year of the Kangxi Dynasty, the tired Kangxi came to the Old Summer Palace at the invitation of his fourth son Yinhe, and when he saw the twelve-year-old Hongli for the first time, he unconsciously put down his wine glass. Why is that?
Every emperor worries the crown prince the most, and Kangxi is no exception, having 35 sons in his lifetime, 20 of whom lived to adulthood. In his later years, he lost sleep almost every night, and was anxious and depressed all day.
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When these princes competed for the throne, Kangxi was somewhat relieved that there was one who was completely immersed in his own world, he was not interested in the throne, and he had never joined any gangs, and he also opened a vegetable garden to grow vegetables, read and learn Buddhism every day, like an idle cloud wild crane. Who is this man? He is the old Siyin Xuan.
This was a clear stream at the time, especially prominent. In his later years, Kangxi liked to sit idly in Yinhe's Old Summer Palace, because everything here could make him feel at ease, he could take off all his guards, sometimes admire flowers and read, sometimes taste tea and bamboo, and no one disturbed. According to the "Records of the Holy Ancestor of the Qing Dynasty", Kangxi visited the Yinhe garden as many as 11 times in his later years.
This time, when the hundreds of peonies that Yin Yu had carefully cultivated were in full bloom, he ordered people to invite his father to watch and share the family banquet. Kangxi readily agreed and came to the Old Summer Palace, where father and son tasted wine and enjoyed flowers, and while chatting, Yin Yu casually mentioned:
"Your two grandchildren haven't seen you since they were born, and now they're teenagers, would you like to bring them to meet you?"
Kangxi thought that he was idle anyway, so he replied casually: "Okay, then take them over to see." ”
After listening, Yin Yu immediately waved his hand to the room, and then two teenage boys walked out. Kangxi was stunned when he saw it, and unconsciously put down the cup.
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The two boys are half-brothers, one is Hongli and the other is Hongli. Both were 12 years old. I saw Hongli, slender body, fair skin, and exuded a noble aura that was different from others, which made Kangxi's eyes shine.
Especially when he stepped forward to salute, he was generous, serene and dignified, which hardly looked like the composure that a 12-year-old should have. On the other hand, Hongday, cowering, cramped and uneasy. Intuition told Kangxi that this grandson was not simple, and he decided to try this child's homework again. Then he called Hongli over and kindly asked what book he was reading? Can I recite it? Hongli replied that he was reading the Love Lotus Says, and memorized the full text, explaining it in detail and accurately.
Kangxi was surprised by Hongli's performance, and his love was born. According to the "Record of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty", "seeing is being amazed and in love", he took great care of Hongli.
After returning to the palace, Kangxi ordered people to go to the Old Summer Palace to ask Yin Yu for the eight characters of Hongli's birthday.
A few days later, Kangxi came to the Old Summer Palace again and announced that he had brought Hongli back to the palace to raise him. This means that he will personally teach Hongli and live with this grandson. Before this, among so many grandchildren, only the abandoned prince Honghuang could receive this special honor.
As we all know, Kangxi had a deep affection for the deposed prince in his early years, and Kangxi's favor for the deposed prince can be seen from the two abolitions, and Hongxi has always been regarded as the best candidate for the monarch.
At this time, Hongli can obtain the same honor as Hongli. What did Kangxi calculate for the eight characters of Hongli? Is it so abnormal?
In the Palace Museum, there is such an original document with Qianlong eight characters and criticisms written on it. It can be seen from the criticism that the fate that Kangxi calculated for Hongli at that time was a rare fortune in the world.
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Without this powerful eight characters, Hongli might not have been brought into the palace by Kangxi to raise and teach personally. The fate of Hongli and Yin Yu may be in another direction.
In the last half of Kangxi's life, Hongli was always by his side, and even when receiving officials and reviewing the recitals, Hongli did not shy away. Once, after hunting in the paddock, he said to the concubine next to him: "Hongli's life is too precious, and his blessing is greater than mine." ”
It turned out that Kangxi found that Hongli was not only proficient in literary and martial arts, but also skilled in archery and accurate riding and shooting, which made him feel very gratified. He wanted to exercise Hongli's courage, and once during a paddock hunt, Kangxi thought that the fallen bear had been killed, so he ordered Hongli to replenish another arrow. But unexpectedly, Hongli, who was quick thinking in the past, was confused this time, and he rode on his horse and slowly grinded, and he didn't go over to make up for arrows for a long time. Seeing that the big bear actually stood up, everyone was too scared to speak, but fortunately, Kangxi was resourceful and shot the bear again. Because of this incident, Kangxi was even more convinced that Hongli was a man of precious life. If Hongli had rushed to the big bear earlier, it is estimated that he would have been eaten into the stomach by the big bear.
Shortly after this incident, Kangxi specially went to Yin Yu's Yuan Ming Yuan and called Hongli's biological mother. Hongli's biological mother was originally just a maid from a poor background, and I don't know when Yin Yu Linxing gave birth to Hongli, and she was always a maid at that time.
When she knelt in front of Kangxi and bowed in trepidation, Kangxi ordered her to raise her head, take a closer look, and praise one after another: "Blessed people, blessed people..."
Kangxi repeatedly called Hongli "blessed", and even his biological mother was praised as a "blessed person". Obviously, these factors played a large role in Kangxi's choice of heir.
In the autumn of the same year, Kangxi died a month after returning to Beijing from the summer resort, and Yongzheng became his heir.
Many people have always believed that Yongzheng tampered with the edict and seized the throne. However, in some historical sources, it can be seen that Kangxi's love for Qianlong played a large role in Yongzheng's succession.
"Yin Yu's second son has a heroic atmosphere, and he will be crowned prince", this is specifically pointed out in Kangxi's last words. Some people will ask: Isn't Hongli the fourth brother? What did the second son say? That's because at the time of Kangxi's death, Yin Yu's sons were only Hongshi, Hongli, and Hongday, the front was already dead, and the latter had not yet been born. In order of seniority and youngness, Hongshi is the oldest, and Hongshi is second.
This move of Kangxi, combined with his doting on Hongli in the last half of his life, is very reasonable. Therefore, Yongzheng was able to fight the siege among the courtiers, largely because he had a good son, Qianlong. At that time, Qianlong was able to "meet" Kangxi by chance, which was the result of Yongzheng's careful planning.