Kangxi Emperor Aixin Jueluo Xuanye (May 4, 1654 - December 20, 1722), the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the second emperor after the capital of Beijing (reigned from February 4, 1661 to December 20, 1722), alias Tiyuan Master, used the first year name "Kangxi". The Mongols call him Enkh Amgulang Khan, and the Tibetan people revere him as the "Manjushri Emperor". He was the third son of Emperor Shunzhi, and his mother was Empress Tong Jiashi of Xiaokangzhang.
Xuan Ye ascended the throne at the age of 8 and began to take power at the age of 14, reigning for a total of 61 years, the longest reign of any Chinese emperor. When he first came to power, the situation was quite grim at home and abroad. In order to solve this problem, he resolutely waved his troops to fight in the south and the north, so as to achieve the complete reunification of the country. At an early age, he overthrew the high-flying and domineering ministers and worshipped, thus truly grasping the political power. In the nine years following his accession to the throne, he reinstated the cabinet system and issued the Sixteen Sacred Decrees. In his adulthood, in the twentieth year of Kangxi (1681), he put down the rebellion of the three feudatories, recovered Taiwan in the Battle of Penghu, defeated the invading army of Tsarist Russia, signed the Treaty of Nebuchu, and safeguarded China's sovereignty over the Heilongjiang Valley, conquered Galdan three times and won the victory, and established the "Duolun Alliance" to replace the war and liaise with the Mongolian ministries. Politically, it is necessary to strengthen the centralization of power, praise benevolent government, and win over Han people, while at the same time paying attention to recuperation and recuperation, and promoting economic development. However, in his later years, the spirit of diligence was slackened and corruption was on the rise. In addition, the seizure of the crown prince by the deposed prince incident had a negative impact on politics in his later years.
As the defender of a unified multi-ethnic state, Kangxi laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty and created a great situation of the prosperous Kangqian era. On November 13, the 61st year of Kangxi (1722), he died in Changchun Garden at the age of 69. The temple name is "Holy Ancestor", and the nickname is "Hetian Hongyun, Wenwu, Ruizhe, Gong Frugal, Generous, Filial Piety, Integrity, Neutralization, Merit, and Great Chengren Emperor", and was buried in Jingling. He passed the throne to his fourth son, Yinzhen.
Early and diligent study
On March 18, the 11th year of Shunzhi (May 4, 1654), Kangxi was born in Jingren Palace, the Forbidden City, Beijing, and his mother Tong Jiashi was a concubine at that time. According to legend, when Empress Xiaokangzhang asked the Queen Mother for peace, she went out to see the dragon around, and the Queen Mother knew that Empress Xiaokangzhang was pregnant. The Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang said in surprise: "I also had this image when I first conceived Emperor Shunzhi, and today Tong Jia's family is the same."
Xuan Ye's biological mother Tong Jia was just a few concubines in the first palace, and when she gave birth to Xuan Ye, Emperor Shunzhi was attached to his favorite concubine Dong E, and he was not keen on Xuan Ye. When Xuan Ye was young, smallpox was raging, and Emperor Shunzhi entrusted his nurse to take him out of the palace to feed. Because he was not vaccinated against smallpox, Xuan Ye was unable to receive the care of his parents since he was a child. Years later, Kangxi still deeply regrets this. However, his smallpox condition was not severe, leaving only a few tiny pockmarks on his face, making him immune to smallpox from then on. This gives him an advantage in the highly competitive race for crown prince.
Xuan Ye began to read and write at the age of five and showed outstanding talent. According to historical records, Kangxi has excellent qualifications and a loud and powerful voice. When he was six years old, he and his brothers greeted their father. When Shunzhi asked the princes about their aspirations, the second prince Fu was willing to be a virtuous king, and only Xuan Ye expressed his desire to emulate his father. Therefore, Shunzhi attaches great importance to Xuanye.
Kangxi later talked about his learning process: "At the age of eight, I began to study books such as "University" and "The Mean", and repeatedly explored them until I understood their context and then enjoyed it. The books that are read daily will make every word recited, and they will never deceive themselves. The four books have been exhausted, read the "Book of Shang" again, and experience the way of the ancient emperors in the name of the classics. After that, I studied "Zhou Yi" and felt the mystery of it. Since then, he has developed the habit of insisting on reading, "taking books as pleasure" and "tirelessly", often reading late at night and tirelessly. When he was 17 or 8 years old, he was overworked from studying, which caused hemoptysis to continue. His learning process is not boastful, and official records show that he was proficient in "imperial politics, the study of the mind of the sages, and the gist of the Six Classics", which is not an exaggeration.
Boy Tenko
In the spring of the eighteenth year of Shunzhi, the young Shunzhi Emperor Fu died. Before his death, Shunzhi adopted John Tang's suggestion and chose Xuan Ye, who did not have smallpox vaccine, to succeed him to the throne. At the same time, the edict designated the four ministers, Sonny, Sukh Saha, Suppilong, and Aobai, as auxiliary ministers. On the day of Bingchen in the first month (February 4), Xuan Ye, who was only seven years old, ascended the Taihe Palace, issued an amnesty, and changed the Yuan Kangxi.
Two years later, his mother, Empress Tong Jia, was seriously ill, and Xuan Ye dutifully accompanied him and boiled the medicine himself. Losing his mother at the age of ten, Xuan Ye kept vigil day and night, clean and clean, and tears flowed endlessly. Kangxi recalled that he never got a moment of joy under his parents' knees.
The situation of the four ministers joining forces and auxiliary ministers did not last long, and the struggle intensified. Ao Bai gradually monopolized the power, he was proud of his achievements, domineering, and was deeply affected by the beginning of "caring for his life", and he was still able to engage in it cautiously. However, just three years later, his arrogance and authoritarian heart were clearly revealed. He is in a humble position, he grabs power everywhere, and he is at odds with Sukh Saha everywhere.
In June of the sixth year of Kangxi (1667), Shoufu Sony died of illness. On the seventh day of the seventh month of July, Emperor Kangxi, who was only 14 years old, officially took charge of the government and granted amnesty to the world. However, only ten days later, Ao Bai executed Suke Saha without authorization, and a few days later he was promoted to the first rank of the Duke with Kubilong, and the real power was still not in Kangxi's hands.
At that time, the young Kangxi often summoned the young guards to play the game of "Buku" in the palace. On the 16th day of May in the eighth year of Kangxi (June 14, 1669), he ordered Aobai to be arrested. The ministers agreed on the 30 major sins of Aobai, and asked him to be punished by nine clans, Kangxi remembered that Aobai had meritorious service, exempted him from the death penalty, only imprisoned him, and executed many of his relatives and henchmen, and soon Aobai died in prison. Another auxiliary minister, Kupilon, was stripped of his title of prince and first-class duke because of long-term collusion. At this point, Kangxi really grasped the power of the imperial court and began his pro-government journey.
After Kangxi cleared Aobai, he purged the officials, rehabilitated Suke Saha and others who were unjustly killed by Aobai, encouraged hundreds of officials to speak out, and prohibited land enclosure and other malpractices, which had great power.
The Three Clans
In March of the twelfth year of Kangxi (1673), Shang Kexi, the king of Pingnan, asked to retire and return to Liao, but asked his eldest son Shang Zhixin to continue to guard Guangdong, which triggered a heated debate on whether to withdraw the feudal domain. Emperor Kangxi believed that "the vassal king has been holding troops for a long time, and the tail is too big to fall, which is not conducive to the country", and decided to withdraw the vassal domain. In July, Wu Sangui pretended to ask for the withdrawal of the domain, and Emperor Kangxi agreed. In November of the same year, Wu Sangui raised troops in Yunnan to oppose the Qing Dynasty and killed Zhu Guozhi, the governor of Yunnan. The following year, he sent generals to attack Hunan and occupy Changde, Changsha, Yuezhou, Lizhou, Hengzhou and other places. He also published a wide range of articles, and the Guangxi general Sun Yanling and the Sichuan governor Luo Sen heard about the anti-Qing Dynasty. Subsequently, Fujian Geng Jingzhong also rebelled. Within a few months, the six provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Guangxi, Fujian, and Sichuan were lost, and the situation was urgent. Later, Wang Fuchen, the governor of Shaanxi, Shang Zhixin of Guangdong, and others also rebelled, and Guangdong, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Gansu and other provinces fell one after another.
Emperor Kangxi resolutely attacked Wu Sangui, and most of the other betrayers accepted Zhao'an, so as to divide the enemy, weaken Wu Sangui's power, and isolate him. Accordingly, Emperor Kangxi regarded Hunan as the center of his military attack, and ordered Leerjin and others to lead a large army to Jingzhou and Wuchang to resist Wu Sangui head-on and attack Hunan. In addition, Emperor Kangxi vigorously used Han generals and Han soldiers to fight. In the fifteenth year of Kangxi (1676), King Fuchen of Liang and Geng Jingzhong of Fujian surrendered under the attack of the Qing army. Guangdong Shang Zhixin also surrendered in the sixteenth year of Kangxi (1677). Shaanxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi were pacified one after another. Wu Sangui was trapped in a corner of Hunan, and foreign aid was decreasing. The Qing army has besieged Changsha from Jiangxi, and the defeat is fully revealed.
In March of the seventeenth year of Kangxi (1678), Wu Sangui established himself as the emperor in Hengzhou, with the national name Zhou, and rewarded the generals in a big way. Soon after, he became ill and died in August. After Wu Sangui's death, his subordinates supported his grandson Wu Shifan to succeed him and retired to Yungui. After that, the Qing army recovered Hunan, Guangxi and Sichuan. In the winter of the twentieth year of Kangxi (1681), the Qing army conquered Kunming, Wu Shifan committed suicide, and the whole territory of the three feudatories was pacified.
Reunification of Taiwan
After the pacification of the rebellion of the three feudatories, Taiwan's inclusion in the territory was once again put on the agenda. When Wu Sangui rebelled, Zheng Jing sent people to contact Geng Jingzhong, and landed troops on the coast of Fujian to seize land. However, Geng Ching-chung quickly defected, and Zheng Jing had to retreat to Taiwan. With the recovery of Kinmen and Xiamen by the Qing army in the 19th year of Kangxi (1680), the Zheng regime had no room for counterattack. After Zheng Jing returned to Taiwan, he ignored government affairs and indulged in pleasure, and the actual power fell into the hands of his father-in-law, Feng Xifan. This marked the beginning of the decline of the Zheng regime. The following year, that is, in the twentieth year of Kangxi (1681), Zheng Jing died, a coup d'état broke out in Taiwan, and Zheng Kexuan, who was only 12 years old, inherited the throne of Yanping, and the real power was actually controlled by Feng Xifan and Liu Guoxuan. Zheng officials began to waver, and even Fu Weilin, who was in charge of negotiations with the Qing Dynasty, was willing to do the internal response. Yao Qisheng, the governor of Fujian, thought it was a good time to attack Taiwan and recommended Shi Lang to Emperor Kangxi.
However, the imperial court did not agree on the conquest of Taiwan and the destruction of Zheng, and the ministers did not agree. Some of them opposed the use of the army to conquer Taiwan, believing that the Wu Sangui Rebellion had just been quelled, and that the world had just decided that it would be inappropriate to start another military uprising; some of the great officials in Fujian were particularly opposed to the reunification of Taiwan by force, and they opposed You Li with the commander of the navy, Wan Zhengse. Some even doubted Shi Lang's loyalty, and concluded that his conquest of Taiwan would undoubtedly "betray." Li Guangdi, a member of the Cabinet University, Yao Qisheng, governor of Fujian, and Wu Xingzuo, governor of Fujian, were the main battle representatives, and they strongly advocated taking the opportunity to seize Taiwan and never suffer in the future. They tried their best to ensure that Shi Lang could take on the great task, because he had a feud with the Zheng family, and his heart could be protected; he was familiar with the sea situation and had a strategy to shock the sea. Emperor Kangxi listened to the opinions of all sides, and finally decided to issue an order to march into Taiwan, formally appointing and appointing Shi Lang as the admiral of the Fujian Navy Division, entrusting him with full powers to lead the army to take Taiwan.
In the twenty-second year of Kangxi (1683), Emperor Kangxi took Shi Lang as the admiral of the Fujian Navy Division, sent troops to attack Taiwan, and defeated the Zheng navy led by Liu Guoxuan in Penghu, and then surrendered to Zheng Natu in the Ming Dynasty. In the twenty-third year of the Kangxi reign (1684), the Qing government set up a government (Taiwan Prefecture) and three counties in Taiwan, namely Taiwan County (now Tainan), Fengshan County (now Kaohsiung), and Zhuluo County (now Chiayi), which was subordinate to Fujian Province, and set up a patrol officer in Taiwan, a general officer, two deputy generals, and 8,000 soldiers. In Penghu, there is a deputy general and 2,000 soldiers. As a result, the central government's jurisdiction over Taiwan has been strengthened and Taiwan's economic and cultural development has been promoted.
Expulsion of Tsarist Russia
After the Qing army entered the customs, the Tsarist Russian expeditionary force repeatedly invaded the Heilongjiang River valley in China, ran rampant, and did everything possible to expand the territory it occupied. In September of the 22nd year of Kangxi (1683), the Qing court ordered the expulsion of the Russian invading army stationed in Yaksa and other places, but the other party turned a deaf ear and instead invaded Aihui (now Aihui County, Heilongjiang). Unexpectedly, the Tsarist Russian army resisted stubbornly. On the twenty-third day of the first month of the twenty-fourth year of Kangxi (1685), Emperor Kangxi ordered the capital Peng Chun to attack the city of Yaksa, and in September, he broke the Russian army, stayed in Aihui, increased troops in Tuntian, and strengthened the defense of Northeast China.
In the autumn of the twenty-fourth year of the Kangxi reign (1685), the Tsarist army reoccupied the city of Yaksa, and its treacherous behavior angered the Qing government. At the beginning of the following year, Emperor Kangxi received a report and immediately ordered a counterattack. On July 24, the 25th year of Kangxi (1686), more than 2,000 Qing troops arrived at the city of Yaksa, besieged the city, and forced the Russian army to surrender. Russian General Alexei Tolbuzin stubbornly resisted. In August, the Qing army fiercely attacked the city, Tolbuzin was killed in battle, and the Russian army was changed to the command of Cupun and continued to resist stubbornly. On August 25, the Qing army adopted a strategy to besiege the city of Yaksa and prevent reinforcements, considering that the winter was frozen and the movement was restricted, only digging trenches in the southwest, north and east of the city, blockading the city, and setting up warship patrols on the river west of the city to cut off the foreign aid of the defending enemy. The Russian army, which had only 826 people, ended up with only 66 people. The Russian army was trapped and suffered heavy casualties. When the city of Yaksa was about to fall, the Russian regent Sophia asked the Qing court to withdraw the siege and negotiate a border. Emperor Kangxi granted the request, and the remnants of the Russian army withdrew to Nebuchu (present-day Nerchensk, Russia).
After the Battle of Yaksa, the two sides signed the Treaty of Nebuchu on July 24, 1689, the 28th year of the Kangxi reign (1689), stipulating that the Erguna River-Gelbiqi River-Trans-Khing'an Mountains were the eastern boundary between China and Russia, and the areas north of the Heilongjiang River, south of the Outer Khing'an Mountains and east of the Ussuri River belonged to China.
Northern expedition outside the Saiwai
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the Mongolian region was divided into three parts: Monan Mongolia, Mobei Khalkha Mongolia, and Moxi Erut Mongolia. The Khalkha was subdivided into three divisions: Zasaktu, Tushetu, and Chechnya, while Erut included four divisions: Dzungaria, Hoshute, Dulbert, and Turghut. Before the Qing army entered the customs, Monan Mongolia had submitted to the Qing Dynasty, and the Khalkha and Erut Mongols maintained close relations with the Qing Dynasty.
During the Kangxi period, Dzungaria was powerful under the leadership of its leader Galdan. At the end of 1687, Golovin, the plenipotentiary of Tsarist Russia, met with the representatives of Galdan in Irkutsk and incited them to attack the Khalkha Mongols. Galdan, who hated the Tushetu Khan tribe, provoked a war against the Khalkha Mongols.
In 1688, Galdan led 30,000 cavalry from Ili to the east, crossed the Hangai Mountains, attacked the Khalkha Mongols, and quickly occupied the entire Khalkha region. Tushetu Khan Chahun Dorji and Jebtsundamba I decided to defect to the Qing Dynasty, so hundreds of thousands of people from the three Khalkha tribes fled to Uzhumuqin (present-day Xilin Gol League, Inner Mongolia) and sought help from the Qing court. While Kangxi placed them in Horqin for grazing, he asked Galdan to return with his troops. However, Galdan was still arrogant and led his troops to advance towards Uzhumuqin. In response, Kangxi took a series of countermeasures, including defeats at Ulan Butong and Zhaomoduo in Dzungaria.
In February 1698, in view of Galdan's refusal to surrender, Kangxi once again issued a pro-conquest order. Galdan died in isolation and helplessness. At this point, the war against Galdan in the Kangxi period ended, and the Khalkha region of Mobei officially became the territory of the Qing Dynasty.
After Galdan's death, Arabutan ascended to the position of head of the Dzungar tribe. While consolidating his dominance, his ambitions swelled and he tried to expand eastward, and was supported by Tsarist Russia. He frequently attacked the Qing army's garrison of Kobdo, Balikun, Hami and other important towns, and also sent troops to invade Tibet. Kangxi promptly sent troops into Tibet to assist the local Tibetan army, and successfully expelled the Dzungar forces.
朝中倾轧
As early as the fourteenth year of Kangxi (1675), Emperor Kangxi appointed the second elder brother Yinren, who was only two years old at the time, as the crown prince. His mother was the empress Hesheri, and Suo Etu, as a relative, had a strong desire for power and engaged in corrupt behavior, which led to the murder of Kangxi in the 42nd year of Kangxi (1703), and the relationship between father and son was tense. In the forty-seventh year of Kangxi (1708), in the Bur Hasu Palace in the Mulan Enclosure, the eighteenth prince was seriously ill, and on the fourth day of the ninth month, the Kangxi Emperor announced the deposition of the crown prince on the charge of "moral corruption, no teaching, obvious evil deeds, and obscenity". Since then, all the princes have been eyeing the throne in vain.
The emperor's eldest son, Yinren, as a concubine, was not treated by Kangxi, and knew that he had no chance, so he recommended the eighth elder brother Yinxi to Kangxi, claiming that a warlock named Zhang Mingde had said that Yinren would definitely soar, and also expressed his willingness to eradicate Yinren for his father, which made Kangxi feel very sad, and ordered people to severely reprimand and prevent Yinren. At this time, the third elder brother Yinzhi exposed the evil deeds of the eldest brother who used witchcraft to harm Yinren, and Kangxi ordered him to be imprisoned. Disgusted with Yinxi's collusion with Yinyu, Kangxi also imprisoned him and later released him.
In March of the forty-eighth year of Kangxi (1709), Emperor Kangxi re-granted Prince Yinren the power of power. At the end of the 50th year of Kangxi (1711), he was accused of befriending Qi Shiwu, the secretary of the criminal department, Tuo Heqi, the commander of the infantry army, and Geng E, the secretary of the military department, and plotting against him, which led to the abolition of the prince again in September of the 51st year of Kangxi (1712). At this point, the crown prince was permanently placed under house arrest until death. Seeing this chaos, the third elder brother Yinzhi chose to take the initiative to withdraw. After the crown prince was deposed, the eighth elder brother Yinzhen turned to support the fourteenth elder brother Yinzhen (the fourth elder brother has the same maternal brother, and later changed his name to Yunyu), and the ninth elder brother Yinzhen and the tenth elder brother Yinzhen also followed in his footsteps. The thirteenth elder brother Yinxiang chose to support the fourth elder brother Yinzhen. After the crown prince was deposed for the first time, Yinzhen dared to defend Yinren, so he was regarded as a member of the princelings. After the crown prince was deposed for the second time, Yinzhen realized that Yinren could never regain the position of prince, so he began to form a private party in a vain attempt to ascend the throne and become emperor. As a result, two forces, the Four Elder Brother Party headed by Yinzhen and the Eighth Elder Brother Party headed by Yinzhen, were formed.
In the fifty-second year of Kangxi (1713), Zhao Shenqiao, the secretary of the household department, asked for another crown prince, but was rejected by Emperor Kangxi. In the fifty-fourth year of the Kangxi reign (1715), the forbidden Yinren took the opportunity to send a secret letter to the sect Puqi with alum water, seeking help as a general, and arranging his cronies to be a general, and setting up a imperial doctor to transmit information. The conspiracy was revealed, and Pucci was convicted; In the fifty-sixth year of Kangxi (1717), the Han bureaucrat Wang Luo and the imperial historian Chen Jiayou repeatedly pleaded for the restoration of Yinren, and the Kangxi Emperor was furious and denounced it as "planting the party for personal gain", and dismissed him from his post and confiscated the army in the northwest.
In the fifty-seventh year of Kangxi (1718), the scholar Zhu Tianbao (Manchu) said, "How can the prince's major affairs be changed at will", strongly supported Yinren Renxiao, and asked to be reinstated as the prince, Emperor Kangxi was furious and sentenced Zhu Tianbao to be beheaded. The eighth prince Yinyu took the throne to cover his dreams. After Yinren was deposed, Yinren had the idea of succession and notified Emperor Kangxi, which made the emperor angry.
In November of the 53rd year of Kangxi (1714), Emperor Kangxi went out to patrol the fortress, Yinxi went to worship his dead mother, and sent eunuchs into the palace to greet Emperor Kangxi, and was punished for contempt. Emperor Kangxi sent an edict to the princes, accusing Yinren of wanting to murder Yinren, and said, "Yinren wants to meet his original intention, and forms a party with rebellious ministers and thieves, plotting against him, thinking that I am about to die, he has been embraced, who dares to fight, so he is confident and worry-free." "I fear that in the future, someone will follow the example of the prince of Goubi, and rely on his kindness to raise an army and force me to give way to him. Emperor Kangxi was worried about the coup d'état of the prince, and regarded Yinxi as a "great traitor" and closely monitored him. The fourteenth prince Yinyu served as the general of Fuyuan, and conquered the Junggar department, before leaving the division, Emperor Kangxi personally gave the seal, and ordered the use of the yellow flag, so the government and the opposition rumored that Yinyu has been "worthy of the name of the prince candidate". The succession to the throne was undecided, and the ministers were discussing.
Emperor Kangxi set up the crown prince twice and deposed twice, revealing the various shortcomings of the inheritance system of the eldest son, involving a wide range of people, involving many people, and having a deep influence, which is unprecedented in the past.
He died in his later years
In his later years, Kangxi gradually became tired, believing that "it is better to meddle less", "government affairs tend to be relaxed", "many things should not be investigated in depth", and that serious waste and corruption cannot be punished, and local officials are tolerant of negligence in official duties. Although he preached benevolence and treated officials leniently and moderately, it caused slackness in officialdom, rampant corruption, a deficit in the treasury, false reports and deception, and a trend of flashiness "big and small officials, neglect and bend the law for personal gain", and the successor Yongzheng Emperor had deep worries about this. There have been riots and harassment in some areas, and the ruling order has been affected. The signs of prosperity were fading, leaving the Yongzheng Emperor with many problems. Some people even pointed out that the problems of the Qing Dynasty began with Kangxi.
In the forty-ninth year of Kangxi (1710), the imperial historian reported that the household official Xifuna and others embezzled more than 640,000 taels of silver from the inner warehouse, involving 112 officials. Kangxi said, "I thought about it repeatedly, I couldn't sleep all night, if they were judged, there would be many people punished." In the end, only Sifona was dismissed, and the other officials demanded compensation within a time limit. In Kangxi's later years, social contradictions intensified, and Liu San, a native of Yixing County, Jiangsu, gathered hundreds of people to resist because of the brutal oppression of the county commander Li Mu, and was finally arrested.
On November 13, the 61st year of Kangxi (December 20, 1722), Emperor Xuanye of Kangxi died at the Qingxi Book House in Changchun Garden, Beijing, at the age of 69, reigning for 61 years and October. At that time, his son Yinzhen, the fourteenth elder brother, was in the northwest, and the ninth son Yinzhen stayed in the capital. Kangxi's close ministers and infantry commander Long Keduo announced Kangxi's edict, ordering Yinzhen to inherit the throne, that is, Emperor Yongzheng, and for Emperor Kangxi's temple number Holy Ancestor, nicknamed Hetian Hongyun Wenwu Ruizhe Gong Frugal and generous, filial piety, honesty and merit, Emperor Dachengren, buried in Jingling.