<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, the day of the death of the Guangxu Emperor</h1>
On the afternoon of November 14, 1908, the Forbidden City suddenly came a bad news, the Guangxu Emperor died, the grand master Li Lianying stood on the main hall, announced the news, only 37-year-old Guangxu Emperor, has been very healthy, how suddenly died, this sudden bad news, let everyone caught off guard, which made the original orderly palace, suddenly chaotic.
Bad news of the Great Qing
When Empress Dowager Cixi learned the news, she only sighed, although she and Emperor Guangxu had a deep contradiction, but Guangxu was after all the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and his affairs still had to be arranged in accordance with the laws of the Great Qing, so Empress Dowager Cixi summoned the ministers of the court and began to discuss the aftermath of the Guangxu Emperor and prepare to arrange a beautiful funeral for Guangxu.
All the ministers rushed to the palace, even the generals stationed abroad rushed to the capital, and when everyone arrived at the military plane, Empress Dowager Cixi was already waiting here, and Li Lianying read out the thick burial process of the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty and gave each minister their own division of labor tasks.
Then everyone also discussed the future succession candidate, because the Guangxu Emperor had no children, and suddenly died, and did not leave any will, so it is imperative to select a candidate to inherit the throne as soon as possible, after all, the Qing Dynasty can not go a day without an emperor. After several hours of discussion, there was no result, so Cixi still asked everyone to arrange the aftermath of the Guangxu Emperor first, and then each of them thought of a candidate, and tomorrow they would discuss it separately.
After the meeting at the military plane, it was already late at night, cixi at that time was already seventy-four years old, the elderly body was already tired, the chief of the great interior Li Lianying was Cixi's personal eunuch, he was afraid that empress dowager Cixi was overworked, and he had always advised the empress dowager to rest early, but at this moment Cixi had been frowning and bitterly, some people thought that Cixi was sad because of Guangxu's death, in fact, at this moment, Cixi's heart was most worried about the candidate for the throne.
For Cixi, although she was already seventy-four years old, she still wanted to take charge of the power of the Qing Dynasty, so she had been thinking about the future emperor candidate, and wanted to choose one of her close relatives. That's why this thought has always made her upset and unable to sleep.
After thinking about it for more than an hour, Cixi suddenly ordered Li Lianying to bring Puyi, who was only 3 years old, into the palace overnight.
Puyi was the son of Prince Aixin Jueluo Zaifeng, and since Aixin Jueluo Zaifeng and the Guangxu Emperor were half-brothers, it was only natural that his son Puyi would inherit the throne. And the more important reason is that Aisin Kyora Zaifeng was his own close minister, and his son would inherit the throne, so that he could continue to listen to the government and control the power of the Qing Dynasty.
Puyi, 3 years old
By the time puyi was 3 years old, he was brought into the palace, and it was already three changes in the middle of the night. At this time, Empress Dowager Cixi was satisfied to rest, but even Cixi herself did not expect that she would die the next day.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the day after Guangxu's death</h1>
On November 15, 1908, the day after Guangxu's death, at about 6:00 a.m., Empress Dowager Cixi got up, and compared to last night's confused expression, she now looks very good, and is not affected by the death of the Guangxu Emperor yesterday.
Several palace ladies in turn for the empress dowager to groom, first began to clean the face, the palace maid used a hot towel to cover the empress's face, changed three towels in a row to wash her face, and then a palace maid took a cup of mouthwash, the empress dowager would spit directly into the spittoon after gargling, and then began to apply rouge makeup, and then comb her hair, and finally, the palace maid would bring a bowl of warm water to soak her nails, and then put her nails on a long nail cover. This is the complete dressing process of Empress Dowager Cixi.
At about 7 o'clock, Empress Dowager Cixi will start to eat breakfast, first there will be a royal dining room eunuch to bring a bowl of rock sugar silver ear soup, first let the empress dowager moisten the throat, and then start the formal breakfast, in the history of the Qing Dynasty, Cixi is quite luxurious, breakfast has hundreds of dishes, that morning Cixi's appetite is unusually good, than in the past to eat a lot more. Breakfast lasts until 8 a.m.
After the early meal, Empress Dowager Cixi went to the military aircraft office again, the minister of the DPRK was already waiting here, everyone proposed an heir to the throne, basically the sons of various princes, the most votes were a prince's 16-year-old son, no one proposed Puyi, perhaps everyone felt that 3-year-old Puyi was indeed difficult to serve.
At this time, Empress Dowager Cixi has not spoken, Li Lianying knows Cixi very well, last night Puyi entered the palace, only he and Cixi only know, so Li Lianying directly proposed Puyi as a candidate.
All the ministers were shocked, but no one dared to speak much, after all, Li Lianying, as a red person around Empress Dowager Cixi, what he said could also stand up to half the sky, everyone was waiting for the empress dowager to speak, so that she could act opportunistically, at this time Empress Dowager Cixi slowly moved her body and said: "What do you think Puyi is as the future emperor of the Qing Dynasty?" ”
Since the empress dowager spoke, everyone also understood the meaning, so they all clapped their hands and applauded, "Empress Dowager Yingming, we and other slaves did not think of the 3-year-old Puyi, Prince Zaifeng has always been the regent of the imperial court, he assisted the Guangxu Emperor in governing state affairs for many years, and his son will inherit the throne, that is the most appropriate, empress dowager, we all think that Li Da's proposal is very good, and also ask the empress dowager to propose Puyi as a candidate." ”
Empress Dowager Cixi said, "Since all the Aiqing agree with Puyi, let's do what everyone wants." ”
Some people may ask, didn't Cixi already decide to let Puyi succeed to the throne last night, and why did she have to go through a process to discuss the succession candidates now?
This is the cleverness of Cixi, she knows very well in her heart, although she controls the Qing dynasty and can completely decide who will succeed to the throne, but in order not to let the hundred officials of the DPRK and China discuss, she still has to take the form, so that the people of the world feel that this is the result of the discussion of the hundred officials of the imperial court. The Minister of Culture and Military Affairs also proposed to let Puyi as a candidate according to the meaning of Empress Dowager Cixi, in fact, everyone knows it, but the minister may not know that this decision was already nailed last night, and Puyi had already entered the palace last night.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > third, Empress Dowager Cixi died</h1>
After the meeting at the military plane, it was already close to noon, and when the ministers retreated, Empress Dowager Cixi was still normal, but she did not expect that in less than an hour, bad news came.
After Empress Dowager Cixi returned to the palace, she had planned to have lunch, but before the meal was served, her body became unwell, first dizzy and sick, and then the whole person was paralyzed. This frightened the eunuchs and palace ladies who were close to him, and Li Lianying quickly summoned the doctor to hurry up.
Before the Taiyi arrived, Empress Dowager Cixi fell into a coma, and Li Lianying kept shouting at the Taiyi, after all, Empress Dowager Cixi was his only patron, and if something went wrong with the Empress Dowager, his fate would also change. After waiting for a quarter of an hour, the doctor finally arrived and immediately carried out an emergency rescue for Empress Dowager Cixi, but fortunately, in a few moments, Empress Dowager Cixi woke up.
The first thing Empress Dowager Cixi said when she woke up was to let the ministers of the DPRK and China quickly enter the palace to hold an emergency meeting. Li Lianying originally wanted the empress dowager to cultivate her body first, and then summon the chancellor to the palace for a meeting. But Cixi can't wait, at this moment in Cixi's heart, she knows very well, after all, she is already 74 years old, plus there are many diseases in the body, she knows her physical condition best, maybe she already knows that her life is imminent, so she must quickly arrange the right thing of daqing.
Li Lianying had no choice but to order The Xuan Ministers to enter the palace, and these ministers had just finished a meeting with Cixi at the military plane in the morning, and probably many of them were still on their way home, so they received an urgent order from the Empress Dowager again, so they had to quickly turn around and return to the palace. When they saw the weak Cixi lying on the bed, they were very surprised, the morning was fine, and less than an hour later, Empress Dowager Cixi became like this.
At this time, Cixi was already very weak, and she told the ministers, "Listen, the Wai family is no longer in good health, and may soon die, so you must remember what I say next." ”
The regent Zaifeng was the first to speak, "Empress Dowager, you will definitely turn evil into luck, and all our ministers feel that the Empress Dowager will live forever. ”
Empress Dowager Cixi said: "In the morning we have chosen Puyi to be the future emperor of the Qing Dynasty, wait a while, I will issue an edict to the official to announce the world, and when I am gone, you must assist the 3-year-old Puyi, who is the future of the Great Qing, and in the future, Empress Longyu will listen to the government, and the regent Zaifeng will assist the government, you must obey, and the violators will be punished according to the laws of the Great Qing." ”
All the ministers knelt down and said in unison, "We remember the empress dowager's instructions, and please rest assured." ”
Then Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to say something again, but swallowed the words back into her stomach, and when she thought for a moment, she still said those few words.
Cixi said: Looking back on my life, I sat behind the court and listened to the government for decades, and I was also very heartbroken when the Qing Dynasty reached this point. As a woman, I interfered in the affairs of the dynasty, and although many people submitted to me, I knew that many people in the court were dissatisfied with me. I also know in my heart that women will have many drawbacks in politics, and in the decades that I have been in politics, I have made many mistakes, and I have regretted it. Therefore, I decided that from now on, all women should no longer interfere in the affairs of the dynasty, and this decision should be written into the laws of the Great Qing Dynasty, and in the future, Ai Xinjue Luoshi must strictly abide by this rule, and if any woman wants to interfere in the affairs of the court, no matter who is executed immediately.
Subsequently, Cixi issued an edict declaring Puyi the 12th heir to the throne of the Qing Dynasty, according to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, after the death of the emperor, the harem would be promoted to the first rank, so Cixi was promoted from empress dowager to empress dowager, and Empress Longyu of Guangxu was named empress. Moreover, the decision of Empress Dowager Cixi was also announced.
When Li Lianying read out the empress dowager's edict, Empress Dowager Cixi smiled satisfactorily, and then fell into a coma, Li Lianying immediately ordered everyone to retreat, the tai doctor to rescue the empress, and the ministers all retreated to the door of the empress dowager's palace, waiting for the result of the final treatment of the tai doctor.
After waiting for more than an hour, the doctor walked out of the palace, shook his head at all the ministers, and said that the empress dowager had died.
All the ministers were crying, and everyone fell to their knees. And among them, Li Lianying was the saddest, his patron was gone, maybe his career had ended here, he cried until he was paralyzed on the ground.
At about 5 p.m. on November 15, 1908, Empress Dowager Cixi sat on the throne for only one day, ending her controversial life and bidding farewell to the Qing Dynasty, and at this moment, the Forbidden City had not yet come out of the sad mood of Guangxu's death yesterday, and it was once again shrouded in grief.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the story behind three or two bad news</h1>
Within 2 days, the emperor and empress dowager of the Qing Dynasty died one after another, which was simply a kind of bad news that the sky had fallen for the Qing Empire, and after cixi's death, there were various rumors among the people.
The death of these two people, only one day apart, Cixi was sick for a long time in her later years, and she was already 74 years old, her death may just be a normal life and death of people, but the young Guangxu Emperor, who has been in good health, suddenly died violently, what happened at that time? The cause of the Guangxu Emperor's death has always been a mystery, and there are even rumors in the folk that Cixi poisoned Guangxu.
When Guangxu was a child, empress dowager Cixi had always been under the curtain and monopolized power, and when the Guangxu Emperor came of age, according to the laws of the Great Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi faced the problem of returning to the government, and when she returned to the Guangxu Emperor, he still had no real power in his hands, after all, Cixi had formed his own power in the imperial court, and many ministers had already submitted to Empress Dowager Cixi, which made the young and vigorous Guangxu Emperor very angry.
Therefore, in dealing with the political affairs of the DPRK and China, Guangxu always disagreed with Empress Dowager Cixi, Guangxu always wanted to get rid of the control of Empress Dowager Cixi and take back the rights that belonged to the emperor, over time, the Guangxu Emperor and Cixi often contradicted each other, in 1898, the contradictions had reached the point where water and fire were incompatible, and finally Cixi was angry and imprisoned the Guangxu Emperor in Yingtai.
The Guangxu Emperor imprisoned
However, the emperor who imprisoned the Qing Dynasty, such a thing happened to damage the face of the Qing imperial family, and many ministers did not dare to remind Empress Dowager Cixi that after Guangxu was imprisoned, she liked to beat gongs and drums, ostensibly indulging in Peking Opera, but in fact venting the anger in her heart through beating and beating. After such a long time, Guangxu's thoughts gradually became numb and dull, and every day he read and read, wrote and wrote, took a walk, and chatted with eunuchs and palace women when there was nothing to do, complained a little, and said some words that were held in his heart.
Until the beginning of 1908, this was already ten years of Guangxu's imprisonment, one day, Guangxu and a eunuch next to him chatted, Guangxu Emperor said, "Although I am a puppet emperor, but I am still young, until the day she dies, it is the day when Guangxu emerges, so I will continue to wait." ”
Maybe this eunuch was Cixi's person, maybe this eunuch wanted to get a reward through this matter, he said what Guangxu said, and such words quickly reached Cixi's ears, Cixi was furious, but he could not violate the laws of the Qing Dynasty and directly depose Guangxu's emperor, so Cixi also said a cruel sentence of his own, saying: "He will not wait for that day, I will definitely not die before him." ”
Perhaps it is because of these harsh words of the two people, so after Guangxu suddenly died violently, there were rumors that Guangxu was poisoned by Cixi.
Of course, folklore is not unfounded.
1. According to the description of a descendant of the imperial family in the Qing Dynasty, his great-grandfather had personally seen that a eunuch took a bowl from the Cixi Palace at that time and gave it to the Guangxu Emperor to drink, and then Guangxu began to have stomachache, and soon the news of the death of the Guangxu Emperor came out.
2. 100 years after Guangxu's death, cultural relics experts once examined the Guangxu Mausoleum and found the composition of arsenic in the remaining hair, which further confirmed that the Guangxu Emperor died of arsenic poisoning, and Empress Dowager Cixi became the biggest suspect.
Empress Dowager Cixi's life is destined to be a controversial life, and her sins have been discussed by posterity, but fortunately, Empress Dowager Cixi used her last breath to sum up the mistakes of her life and made instructions to her descendants, which can also be regarded as a kind of repentance for herself!