Throughout the history of the Qing Dynasty, there are really not many emperors like Emperor Kangxi who can give birth to sons. And so many princes were born, all of them are shrewd and capable, and they have the strength to win the heir, and they are the only ones.
This also led to the fact that the succession process of Emperor Kangxi was not smooth, and a total of nine princes appeared before and after to compete for the throne, which is known as "nine sons to seize the throne".
What is even more unexpected is that after some competition, the throne fell to the old fourth Yinzhen, who has always regarded himself as a "lonely minister". Although, his succession is inseparable from the favor of Emperor Kangxi, the undercover agents he planted, and the plans of his advisers. However, we tend to ignore a heavyweight, who played a decisive role on the night of the fourth Yinzhen's succession, and is also the most hidden member of the Four Masters Party.
So, who is this mysterious person?
Yang Jiaofeng talks about the series of articles in the "Yongzheng Dynasty": Lao Si Yinzhen is a lonely minister? Don't be funny, who do you think is the member of the Four Masters Party who hides the deepest?
One
When Emperor Kangxi was alive, he said everything he said, and no one dared to stab him, but as soon as he kicked his legs on his front foot, there was a prince who didn't buy it on his back foot.
In the sixty-first year of Kangxi, according to historical records, he suddenly felt unwell while hunting in Nanyuan, and soon after returning to Changchun Garden, he fell seriously ill and died, and passed the throne to the fourth Yinzhen before his death.
In the TV series "Yongzheng Dynasty", the old man Kangxi was stunned by a dead eagle dropped by Lao Bayinyu during the Qiansu banquet. Later, he was also bedridden, and made many arrangements before his death, and in front of all the princes, he personally said that he would pass the throne to the fourth elder brother Yinzhen:
"Listen, I am in ...... Biography...... Fourth Brother!"
After saying this, Emperor Kangxi, who was full of legends all his life, finally exhausted the last drop of effort and closed his eyes forever. Just when all the princes shouted "Huang Ama" and cried bitterly, the old Bayinyu suddenly woke up and hurriedly crawled over to shake Emperor Kangxi:
"Don't cry yet, Huang Ama, Huang Ama, who did you say just now, we didn't hear it, you say it again, you say it again?"
Seeing that the old eight Yinzhen was pretending to be confused, the fourth Yinzhen also panicked, and hurriedly called out to the old eight Yinzhen:
"Eighth brother, you know that Huang Ama can't speak, why do you have to ask many times? Who here didn't hear clearly, Huang Ama said that the throne was passed on to the fourth elder brother!"
With Lao Bayin's sloppy eyes, Lao Shiyinqi understood at that time, and hurriedly stood up to support Lao Bayinxi, but he also shouted that he didn't hear clearly, and he didn't hear what Huang Ama said at all.
Fortunately, the youngest prince present came out to testify, saying that he heard clearly, and Huang Ama said that the fourth elder brother would be transferred.
Two
A longer elder brother next to him also testified that he was passing the throne to the fourth elder brother, but unfortunately, as soon as their words fell, Lao Jiuyinyu rolled his eyes, calculated his heart, and continued to play sloppy:
"Yes, yes, there is a four-word word, but it is the fourteenth elder brother, not the fourth elder brother!"
Now it's okay, who did Emperor Kangxi pass the throne to, it only took two minutes, and it became an unsolved case. Some say the fourth elder brother, some say the fourteenth elder brother, for this reason, several princes still fought in front of Emperor Kangxi's bed, and no one let anyone.
It can be said that if this kind of struggle continues, the side of the Four Masters will definitely suffer. After all, there are only two youngest princes on his side, and Lao Shi Yinyu can beat the three of them alone, not to mention Lao Ba Yinyu and Lao Jiu Yinyu.
At the critical moment of the power vacuum, a person stood up and stopped the behavior of the elder brothers in time. first asked everyone to stop, then let everyone mourn, and then called out Long Keduo, who was standing aside and watching the excitement:
"Lord Long Keduo, the emperor's edict on the throne has already been placed behind the Zhengda Guangming plaque in the Qianqing Palace, Lord Long, you can take it with people!"
It stands to reason that Emperor Kangxi has died, and the ownership of the throne at this time is still in contention and has become unknown. So, whose fist is bigger, that is who has the final say, why did Kelong Keduo listen to Zhang Tingyu's orders?
On the one hand, Zhang Tingyu is the minister of the upper study, and he is also the only person in Emperor Kangxi's deathbed arrangement who still retains the position of walking in the study, which is more official than Long Keduo. Of course, there is also a Ma Qi who has also been retained by Emperor Kangxi, but he has always seen the wind and steered the rudder, and he will not take the limelight.
Three
In addition, more importantly, Zhang Tingyu at this time, with a killer weapon in his hand, can directly take the head of many masters of Long Ke!
This is what Emperor Kangxi deliberately left him for safekeeping, as long as Long Keduo and Lao Ba Yinyu and Lao Fourteen Yinyu are mixed together, he can take his dog's life edict:
"In the future, if you don't plot against the eighth elder brother and the fourteenth elder brother, even if there is no edict, if you really have different intentions, I will take your life!"
However, we also mentioned just now that Emperor Kangxi has died at this time, if there is really a deterrent, they don't dare to be sloppy, is Zhang Tingyu's fist harder than Long Keduo?
Don't say it, it's true!
You must know that at this time, it is in Changchun Garden, although Long Keduo controls the Nine Gates, but the soldiers are on martial law in the periphery of Beijing City. He came in alone, and the guards at the door were the imperial guards led by Tu Lichen, Delentai and Zhang Wuge. Although most of the princes in the house are princes, they have been removed from their positions by Emperor Kangxi, and they have no power at all.
This is also the reason why Lao Ba Yinyu, Lao Jiu Yinyu and Lao Shi Yinyu can only shout slogans, why don't they let them in, but they dare not and can't go in.
In other words, the group of people in the house, the most powerful is Zhang Tingyu, and the group of guards also listen to Zhang Tingyu's arrangement.
In fact, in the original siege of Rehe Bada Villa, it was also the wolf army mobilized by Zhang Tingyu. And after Emperor Kangxi fell ill, he became the most powerful person at that time, which is why he cried at that time, because the burden was too heavy.
Similarly, this time Emperor Kangxi died, and the reason why he was arranged by his side was also to let him control the field at a critical moment.
Four
Therefore, seeing the princes tearing together, Zhang Tingyu had to stand up and speak:
"Fifth Brother Zhang, you help the fourth prince to the side hall to rest for a while, and wait for the edict to arrive. ”
For this reason, Lao Bayinyu was still not convinced, and directly pushed Zhang Tingyu:
"Zhang Tingyu, what is your intention in giving orders like this?"
Lao Jiuyinyu also jumped out and added:
"As a courtier, how can you overstep your authority and seek government so much?"
Lao Shi Yinqi also woke up:
"You're plotting to disrupt the government!"
It's a pity, as I said earlier, whoever has the big fist at this time is the boss. Even if he is the fourth Yinzhen, as long as Zhang Tingyu doesn't call him the emperor now, then he has no problem. The rest of the princes could only talk about it, and they couldn't get out of this room for half a step, and they couldn't pass any information outside.
In the end, Lao Jiuyinyu was also anxious, and knew that during the period when the throne was vacant, the biggest official in the capital was Zhang Tingyu, so he ran over to warn him:
"Zhang Tingyu, it's too late for you to rein in the precipice now, immediately send someone to Suzhou, please go back to the Fourteenth Master!"
Some people say, no, didn't Long Keduo go out to get the edict of succession, why didn't he contact the people of the Eight Masters Party and attack Changchun Garden?
We have explained this question before, in fact, whoever ascends the throne as the emperor is the same for him, he is a minister who cares about his life. Moreover, his sixth uncle Tong Guowei had already reminded him that whoever Emperor Kangxi chose to be the emperor, you would support whoever became the emperor. Therefore, in the case that Lao Bayinyu is obviously at a disadvantage, Long Keduo will not be stupid to support him now, unless the soldiers from the Fengtai battalion come over.
Five
In fact, the soldiers over there did come, but it was not Fengtai Admiral Cheng Wenyun who led the team, but the old thirteen Yinxiang.
Perhaps at this time, Long Keduo has been hiding in the dark, watching the changes, and seeing that the general trend of the old eight Yinzhen has gone, he slowly took the edict of succession and passed on the fourth elder brother Yinzhen!
Then, the question returns to the topic, you must know that in this gap period, Zhang Tingyu has already grasped the supreme power in the capital. If he doesn't mention the edict of succession, then no one knows, in this case, he says that whoever is the emperor is the emperor. However, why did Zhang Tingyu support the fourth Yinzhen as the emperor at this critical moment?
If we want to explain this matter clearly, we have to look at a detail, at the critical moment, who from Zhang Tingyu sent to help the fourth Yinzhen to the side hall?
That's right, it's Fifth Brother Zhang!
We also analyzed it in the last issue, if the fourth Yinzhen wants to get the throne, the most important point is not to control Long Keduo, but to control the Fengtai camp.
When the fourth Yinzhen left Prince Yong's mansion, Wu Sidao would instruct that if the fourth master did not come back by the time of Shen, then he would forcibly release the old thirteen Yinxiang, go to seize the military power, and give it a go. Similarly, when Lao Bayinyu and them went to Changchun Garden, wouldn't they tell the people in the mansion that if they hadn't come back by the time they arrived in Shen, wouldn't they have called Chengwen to raise troops?
In fact, Cheng Wenyun was already preparing to raise troops, and when he didn't know that the old thirteen Yinxiang had entered the Fengtai camp, he said:
"Later, you just have to obey my orders and destroy the rebellion!"
What does this mean?
This shows that Zhang Tingyu can only hold them back for a while, and when the time comes, the fourth Yinzhen has not broken through yet, and together with him, let's finish playing together!
Six
Therefore, Zhang Tingyu sent Fifth Brother Zhang to help the fourth prince to go to the side hall, which was to deliberately let them carry out the secret plan, after all, where to put the gold medal order arrow, not only Fifth Brother Zhang knew, but Zhang Tingyu also knew very well.
They must also rush within this time difference and use the gold medal arrow on behalf of the emperor to control the Fengtai camp, otherwise, once Cheng Wenyun and they know that Emperor Kangxi has died, then this gold medal arrow will be useless.
After hearing the voice of the old thirteen Yinxiang, Zhang Tingyu sat aside and breathed a deep sigh of relief. Subsequently, after Long Keduo read out the edict of succession, Zhang Tingyu shouted:
"The throne has been decided, worship the new king!"
In this way, Zhang Tingyu established his status as the minister of the humerus through this move, and realized his wish to survive three dynasties without falling and enjoy the Taimiao.
So, we can't help but ask, why did Emperor Kangxi use a Han Zhang Tingyu when he didn't use so many Manchu ministers, and let him hold the greatest power in the capital for a time?
Isn't he afraid that Zhang Tingyu, who has always been known as a "gentleman and not a party", is not a member of the fourth master?
Haha, this is the answer to the question, it is precisely because Emperor Kangxi knows that Zhang Tingyu has already taken refuge in the fourth prince, so he will rest assured that this burden will be handed over to his shoulders.
So, when did Zhang Tingyu become a member of the Four Masters?
If you talk about figuring out the holy will, many people will say that it is Wu Sidao, but in fact, it is very wrong, Wu Sidao has never even seen Emperor Kangxi in the play, and it is definitely not as good as Zhang Tingyu who is with the emperor every day. In other words, what the emperor likes, he Zhang Tingyu likes, and the emperor doesn't like to form a party, so he will show that he is not a party.
Seven
Look, at the beginning, the fourth Yinzhen went to the south for disaster relief, and the three ministers in the study had different evaluations of him.
Tong Guowei faced the impeachment of Lao Si Yinzhen, connived at the disaster victims, and forced officials to donate, commented that he was too tough, and said:
"This errand is handed over to the eighth elder brother to do, and they will not do this!"
Ma Qi also echoed, only Zhang Tingyu stood up and strongly supported the fourth Yinzhen:
"This Qing Dynasty really has people like the fourth master, and it must be rectified!"
Didn't Zhang Tingyu know that Emperor Kangxi was in the house, of course he knew that he was saying this to Emperor Kangxi. Sure enough, he guessed the emperor's meaning correctly, and Emperor Kangxi turned his head and shook his face at the crown prince Yinren, who also said that the fourth elder brother was doing things well.
Subsequently, because of the recovery of the arrears of the household department, Emperor Kangxi was even more disappointed with the crown prince Yinren:
"Is this my future emperor of the Qing Dynasty?"
is the so-called "Spring River Plumbing Duck Prophet", Emperor Kangxi was dissatisfied with the crown prince Yinren to finally abolished him, this whole process, Zhang Tingyu couldn't be clearer.
Others may only see that the emperor is dissatisfied with the crown prince Yinren, but Zhang Tingyu can see the extent of dissatisfaction. Therefore, after the unjust case of the Criminal Department came out, Tong Guowei was extremely excited, thinking that this was an excellent opportunity to bring down the prince Yinren, and persuaded the old eight Yinren:
"The eighth master should know where the emperor is, and if he is not afraid of doing something wrong, he is afraid of not doing things!"
Therefore, after the fourth Yinzhen played a game of ice and fire and fell ill, Emperor Kangxi was anxious, why was he in a hurry?
Because Tong Guowei or Ma Qi, plus the old eight Yinren recommended himself, he named him to investigate the unjust case of the Criminal Department, did this not cost Prince Yinren's life?
Eight
Just when Emperor Kangxi was caught off guard and didn't know what to say for a while, he suddenly thought of Zhang Tingyu, hurriedly walked to his side, and asked:
"Hengchen, what do you think?"
Zhang Tingyu immediately understood, if this thing was to be investigated by the old eight Yinren alone, he might not be able to deduct some crime for the crown prince. So, after a little thought, I gave a reply:
"The minister thinks that the affairs of the criminal department are complicated, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to send the eighth elder brother alone. ”
You see how shrewd Zhang Tingyu is, such an answer not only does not offend the Eight Masters, but also gives Emperor Kangxi a step. Emperor Kangxi also understood, and immediately arranged for a firm supporter of the prince, and the thirteenth Yinxiang followed him on an errand.
It's a pity that they still underestimated the ability of the old eight-year-old Yinxiang, and they actually concealed the old thirteen Yinxiang, put Xiao Guoxing on trial overnight, and handed over the folds to Emperor Kangxi. This old man is embarrassed again, yes, listen to the old Ba Yinren, then the prince Yinren can't keep it, don't listen to it, this piece of music is still pinched in his hands, what should I do?
Fortunately, Zhang Tingyu was working overtime in the study that day, so he said, everyone, if you have nothing to do, you can work more overtime, maybe you will wait for good luck.
It's just that Zhang Tingyu waited for good luck, and if he was not careful, he would become bad luck, but fortunately, he was clever, and he burned it after reading it, and Emperor Kangxi wondered, why did you burn it, Zhang Tingyu directly pretended to be confused:
"The minister didn't know that there was such a twist. ”
It is precisely because of Zhang Tingyu's wonderful performance that when Emperor Kangxi went to Rehe to hunt, he asked him to follow by name, and after the siege of the Eight Villas in Rehe, he laid the foundation for the first auxiliary minister of the study in one fell swoop.
Nine
In the Bada Villa of Rehe, it was also Zhang Tingyu who pointed out that the prince's dispatch of troops was false, and made a plan with the emperor to introduce the new prince to the bait.
It was through this incident that Zhang Tingyu guessed the candidate for the prince in Emperor Kangxi's mind, and quietly bet on the head of the fourth Yinzhen.
It's simple!
At the time of the Rehe Mutiny, Emperor Kangxi appointed four princes in one go, namely the eldest son of the emperor Yinzhen, the third son of the emperor Yinzhi, the fourth son of the emperor Yinzhen and the eighth son of the emperor Yinzhen.
What does this mean?
This shows that after the crown prince Yinren is eliminated, the future prince candidate will be among these four!
It's a pity that after Zhang Tingyu saw through the falsity of the troop transfer instructions, the eldest Yinzhi was scolded by Emperor Kangxi for being a stupid pig, and the third Yinzhi was scolded and read into the dog's stomach. Only the fourth Yinzhen and the eighth Yinzhen were not scolded, which is why when the new prince was later recommended, the old eight Yinzhen had the highest vote rate.
It's very simple, the eldest Yinzhen has been permanently banned, the third Yinzhen has also lost the courage to compete, and the fourth Yinzhen is the king of cold noodles, offending a large number of officials, so only the eighth Yinzhen is left to meet the new prince candidate?
Therefore, not only did Tong Guowei lead hundreds of officials to bet on the old eight Yinxi, but even Ma Qi, who had always lowered his eyebrows and cheeked eyes, dared to stand up to Emperor Kangxi, saying that only the eighth elder brother did meet the requirements of the new prince.
But what about Zhang Tingyu?
Don't look at the final recommendation he recommended the abolished prince Yinren, in fact, he made a decision after figuring out the holy will, you must know that long before the final recommendation, Emperor Kangxi went to the study once.
Tong Guowei and Ma Qi were reporting on the recommendation of the new prince, while Zhang Tingyu was talking about the twists and turns, and it was related to the fourth Yinzhen everywhere.
Ten
You see, Zhang Tingyu mentioned three provinces at that time, namely Henan, Jiangsu and Sichuan!
Henan is a province where the old four Yinzhen and the old thirteen Yinxiang have been relieved of disasters, and they have achieved remarkable results; Jiangsu is because of a great filial son, so that the old thirteen Yinxiang can be released; Sichuan is the province where Nian Qianyao is located, and he exterminated the bandits after serving as a governor for one year.
For this reason, Emperor Kangxi specially emphasized:
"This year, Qianyao is a talent, he was recommended by the eighth elder brother, and he was also trained by the fourth elder brother. ”
It can be said that Zhang Tingyu has not revealed who the new crown prince is for a long time, because he is also waiting. If there were many people who recommended the fourth Yinzhen at that time, there would be no such thing as recommending the reinstatement of the abolished prince. It is precisely because Emperor Kangxi and he both saw the strength of the Eight Masters that they were afraid, worried that it would not be a good thing to bring the fourth Yinzhen up at this time.
Therefore, Zhang Tingyu made a secret fold, and even Ma Qi was surprised:
"What? You have a secret fold alone, how come I don't know?"
Let's guess that Zhang Tingyu's recommendation of the abolished prince was taken out of his left sleeve, so does his right sleeve also contain a fold?
Since then, Tong Guowei has returned to his hometown, Ma Qi has also stepped aside, and Zhang Tingyu has become the first assistant minister of the upper study, and has followed Emperor Kangxi for a long time, and even went to Jiangnan with him.
Including the later design of the rebellion against the prince and the abolition of him, Zhang Tingyu also participated in the whole process, and from that time on, he knew that the future emperor was none other than the fourth elder brother.
In the end, when Emperor Kangxi issued an order to remove everyone's official positions, the fourth Yinzhen and the eighth Yinzhen were still in a trance, and Zhang Tingyu reminded:
"Fourth master, thank you!"
Therefore, I seriously doubt that when the fourth brother Yinzhen discussed with Fifth Brother Zhang, an "undercover agent", how to win the gold medal Lingji, Zhang Tingyu was likely to be involved, after all, there was a period of time that night, and he had the most power.
In fact, on the night of Emperor Yongzheng's succession, in addition to Zhang Tingyu and Fifth Brother Zhang, there was another person who was also crucial, who was he?
We'll talk about that next time!