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Author: Tracing the history and the present
Editor: Tracing the Present
Introduction:
Among the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, Yongzheng should be the most polarized.
Some people say that he ate and worked hard to govern, and the policies he implemented during his reign saved the Qing dynasty.
Some say that he forced his father to usurp power, was cruel and unkind, and the butcher's knife was stained with the blood of his brothers and ministers.
As the ultimate victor of the "Nine Sons Seizing the Throne" in Kangxi's later years, how Yongzheng succeeded to the throne has always been a hot spot in wild history.
In contrast, few people noticed that on the night of Kangxi's death, Yongzheng immediately ordered the execution of Zhao Chang, an old eunuch who had served Kangxi for 60 years.
So, why did the butcher knife first swing at him after Yongzheng took the throne?
1. Zhao Changqi
In many Qing palace film and television dramas, the emperor has a personal eunuch by his side: Li Dequan next to Kangxi, Su Peisheng next to Yongzheng, Li Yu next to Qianlong...
They often followed the emperor since childhood, and their closeness even exceeded that of the emperor's family members.
Among them, Su Peisheng and Li Yu are indeed people, while Li Dequan of the Kangxi Dynasty is fictional, and its prototype is Zhao Chang.
As early as Kangxi's childhood, Zhao Chang, who was only a personal attendant, has always followed Kangxi.
With Kangxi's accession to power, Zhao Chang also gradually became the chief eunuch.
In his later years, the person Kangxi trusted the most, who had fallen out with his sons, was Zhao Chang, and Zhao Chang also held a lot of power.
It stands to reason that after the new emperor ascended the throne, most of the old ministers of the former dynasty had to be retained, and the worst thing was to be dismissed and returned to his hometown to retire.
Not to mention a crippled person who has no political future.
Leaving the personal eunuchs of the previous emperor will not shake the power of the new emperor, but can do a good job of face engineering and whitewash the new dynasty in the name of leniency.
Killing people in a hurry to kill the previous dynasty will not only be detrimental to the image of the new emperor, but will also put everyone at risk and even affect the rule.
Why did Yongzheng, who has been walking on the tip of a knife all his life, commit this political taboo?
Second, the three deadly sins that sent Zhao Chang to death
Let's take a look at the three charges Yongzheng gave for Zhao Chang's execution:
Taking advantage of his position, he amassed a lot of money, monitored the movements of the princes, and had close contacts with the deposed prince and his son.
Corruption aside, monitoring the prince's interference in imperial politics and colluding with the former crown prince to try to seize power, no matter which one is brought out alone, it is a capital crime, and Zhao Chang has a remnant of death.
However, none of these three sins can withstand scrutiny.
First look at the so-called capital crime of the surveillance prince in Yongzheng's mouth.
Although Zhao Chang finally achieved the position of chief eunuch and chief of the great interior, monitoring the prince is a capital crime for exterminating the clan, and Zhao Chang can definitely not afford it as a castrate.
Even if Zhao Changzhen did this kind of business, it was under the instruction of the Kangxi Emperor to carry the black pot for Kangxi, which Yongzheng absolutely knew.
In addition, the Qing Dynasty's agency specializing in court intelligence was called the "Sticky Pole Office", and its organizational structure and nature of work were similar to the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei.
And the highest person in charge of the sticky rod of the Kangxi Dynasty was the later Yongzheng Emperor Yin Yu.
That is to say, even if there is really something to spy on the prince, it is most likely to be done by the sticky pole of the Yongzheng ruler, and Zhao Chang cannot get involved in it.
Unlike the fact that the prince was probably spied on, Zhao Chang did have a close relationship with the father and son of the deposed prince Yinren, but to say that he intended to seize power was a bit of a bit of a plus vinegar.
Historically, Kangxi has always been very fond of his crown prince Yinren.
Yinren was made crown prince just after he turned one year old, and after being deposed, he was canonized again, and even his son Hongchen was particularly favored by Kangxi.
The young Hongchen was even personally raised by Kangxi in the palace, and there were only two imperial grandchildren with such treatment (the other being the Qianlong Emperor Hongli).
The identity of the crown prince of Yinren, coupled with Kangxi's favored endorsement of Yinren and Hongchen, Zhao Chang, who has been in the palace for many years, naturally knows how to take sides.
However, direct contact with Yin Ren is risky after all, so Zhao Chang targets Hongchen: give him a fire sickle.
The so-called fire sickle is a fire device, similar to a modern lighter.
Similarly, the fire sickle can also be decorated with jewelry such as gemstones, which has also become a symbol of status for princes and nobles.
It can be speculated that what Zhao Chang gave to Hongchen is likely to be this beautifully decorated fire sickle.
However, based on this alone, it was concluded that Zhao Chang's intention to stubbornly fight Yinren was somewhat on the line.
When Yin Ren was crown prince, Zhao Chang also commanded the office.
Rather than deliberately settling favor, Zhao Chang's behavior was closer to taking advantage of his position to send some gadgets to the old emperor's favored imperial grandson, which was countless in the palace.
If everything is characterized as a party, then there will be no clean people in the palace.
Finally, there is corruption.
Corruption has always been a long-standing problem in successive dynasties, and official corruption in Kangxi's later years was even more serious.
Zhao Chang, as the chief eunuch, was verified by Yongzheng that there were "only" five thousand taels of embezzled silver.
It is like a drop in the bucket in front of officials at all levels who have embezzled tens of thousands of taels at every turn.
According to the laws of the Great Qing Dynasty, embezzling 5,000 taels is at most a return of stolen goods and dismissal, and with the special position of Zhao Chang Kangxi's cronies, he will never end up dead.
It can be seen that the three deadly crimes of Yongzheng's final execution of Zhao Chang are difficult to hold when carefully considered.
So, why did Yongzheng have to kill Zhao Chang?
Second, behind Yongzheng's ruthlessness
The first is the traditional Chinese concept of "one son of heaven and one courtier", and the purge of old ministers by a new monarch is something that happens in almost every dynasty and generation.
Due to his closeness to the emperor, the change of leading eunuchs was especially great.
As a close attendant who accompanied Kangxi for 60 years, Zhao Chang did not do anything to spy on the prince;
However, the turbulent political situation in Kangxi's later years doomed Zhao Chang to master many little-known secrets;
Instead of making it possible for these secrets to circulate, it is better to cut the grass and remove the roots forever.
Although Zhao Chang's death seems unjust, the end has long been predetermined.
Before his death, Kangxi not only designated Yin Yu to succeed him, but also specifically mentioned Jin Hongxi as the prince, which also shows the status of Hongxi in Kangxi's heart.
The legitimacy of Yongzheng's succession was already wrapped up in rumors, and if Honghuang used the topic to play and even moved out of the deposed prince Yinren to talk about things, it would only cause unnecessary trouble for Yongzheng.
Therefore, compared with the prince's nephew Honghuang, who is difficult to start, Yongzheng chose to "kill chickens and warn monkeys";
First kill Zhao Chang, who has been in contact with Honghuang and Yinren, and use this to knock their father and son, without any thoughts.
As long as you look at yourself, you can ensure that you have no worries about food and clothing, otherwise Zhao Chang will be the end.
And Zhao Chang's crime of corruption, which did not reach death, hit the muzzle of a monarch like Yongzheng, who was trying to rectify the rule of officials.
When Yongzheng took the throne, he faced the officialdom of corruption and corruption in Kangxi's later years, and Yongzheng had been fighting against it during his short thirteen-year reign.
Although the five thousand taels of silver embezzled by Zhao Chang was not much, his status as the head of the previous dynasty could precisely make his death "appreciate".
Killing a red man around the emperor is far more shocking than killing a middle-level or even six-ministry official, in order to demonstrate the determination of the new emperor to fight corruption to the end.
Therefore, among the three deadly sins, Yongzheng added corruption.
Similarly, after the death of Yongzheng, Qianlong also purged the old ministers of the Yongzheng Dynasty.
In the late Qianlong Dynasty, the style of official corruption was even greater than that of the late Kangxi Dynasty, and it was even synonymous with such a big corrupt official as Hejun.
It is a pity that after the Qianlong Dynasty, there was no "Yongzheng" to turn the tide.
After the Jiaqing Emperor succeeded to the throne, the Qing dynasty began to fall apart until the building finally collapsed.
Reference: Qing History Manuscript
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