Emperor Daoguang had nine sons under his knees, each with a different fate. Some ascended to the throne of God, some leaned towards the government and the opposition, and some were unknown. Their life trajectories are complex and gripping. What happened to these nine princes, and what will happen to them? These unsolved mysteries are extremely curious.
Daoguang Emperor Jiuzi 简介
In the Forbidden City in Beijing, on a cold winter night in the twenty-fourth year of Daoguang (1844), there were bursts of painful groans from the palace. This is the sound of Concubine Lin, one of Emperor Daoguang's concubines, giving birth in pain. Soon, a prince came to the world like this. This is the eighth son of Emperor Daoguang, Yixu, who was named the king of Zhongjun.
Yi Xuan was destined to an extraordinary fate as soon as she was born. As a member of the Daoguang Emperor's son, he received an excellent education since he was a child, learning etiquette, poetry and praise, martial arts and other things that a royal child should have. Yi Xuan is gifted and intelligent, especially good at riding archery, and is outstanding among princes of the same age.
However, the good times did not last long, and Yixu's mother Concubine Lin died young, and he lost the warmth of his mother's love. But fortunately, his half-brother Yiyun has been taking care of him, and the relationship between the two brothers is very good. Yi Xun has admired his brother Yi Xun's talent and personality since he was a child, and the relationship between the two is like a brother.
As he grew older, his personality gradually revealed. Unlike his mild-mannered brother, Yi Xu has a more irritable temperament and is more reckless. However, he is an upright person, loves and hates clearly, and is deeply appreciated by Emperor Daoguang. Emperor Daoguang had expectations for this son, hoping that he would be able to make good achievements in the future.
In the third year of Tongzhi (1864), Yi Xuan was in his early twenties, and according to the rules, he should have divided the feudal government. Emperor Tongzhi divided him into the king of Zhongjun, and ordered him to be exempted from the title of the book of bowing and recital, which shows the importance of him. Yi Xu himself is well aware of the heavy burden on his shoulders, and he is determined to do his part for the country's society.
However, the good times did not last long, and in the seventh year of Tongzhi (1868), Yi Xu died young at the age of twenty-five. Before he died, he told his brother Yiyun to serve the emperor well and contribute to the country. Yixu's death made Emperor Daoguang and Emperor Tongzhi deeply regret and posthumously called him "Duan".
Although Yi Xu died young, his hard-working, upright, diligent and studious character left a valuable spiritual wealth to future generations. Although his life was short, he shone with the light of a royal nobleman.
A contest of power centers
During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a fierce wrestling between the power centers of the government and the opposition. This power struggle mainly focused on the two sons of Emperor Daoguang: Prince Gong Yixun and Prince Alcohol Yixun. The two became the most high-profile figures in the government and the opposition for a while.
Yixun and Yixun were originally brothers, but due to their different mothers, their personalities and fates are also very different. Yixun is calm by nature, humble and polite, and is deeply appreciated by Emperor Xianfeng. In the third year of Xianfeng, he was appointed as the foreman of the Minister of Military Aircraft, in charge of military affairs. Yixun has good intentions, and he also has a lot of opinions on the reform of the DPRK and politics, and has made suggestions on many occasions.
However, Yixun's position was soon challenged by his younger brother Yixun. Yi Xun is cunning and resourceful by nature, and extremely ambitious. He relied on the relationship that his mother Wu Yashi was the sister of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and he was soon reused by Cixi. After the death of Emperor Xianfeng, Yiyun and the Empress Dowager Cixi launched the Xinyou coup d'état and seized the power of the court.
Since then, the contradiction between the two brothers, Yixun and Yixun, has intensified. Relying on the authority of the Minister of Military Aircraft, Yixun has confronted Yixun many times in the government and the opposition. The two of you come and go, they don't give in to each other, and the government and the opposition are also divided into two camps. People of insight are worried that if the contradictions between the two brothers cannot be resolved, the government will fall into long-term turmoil.
Fortunately, although Yixun and Yixun are tense in the struggle for power, they are close relatives after all. Both of them know that if the government falls into long-term chaos, it will be the biggest disaster. As a result, in the repeated round-and-forth games, they gradually learned to give in to each other, and the power struggle slowly cooled down.
However, this power struggle has left a deep impression on both the government and the opposition. Some people praise Yi Xun as a "clear stream" and a "righteous gentleman", but some people criticize him for being too rigid in doing things; some people think that Yi Xun is a "cunning villain", but others praise him for being alert and resolute, and he is knowledgeable. In any case, the two brothers left a strong mark in the power struggle in the late Qing Dynasty.
The fuse for the fall of the Qing Dynasty
In the late Qing Dynasty, internal and external troubles followed, and the government and the opposition also fell into unprecedented turmoil. In this process, the fate of the nine sons of Emperor Daoguang was also seriously implicated.
At the beginning of Emperor Xianfeng's ascension to the throne, he once wanted to reform Zhongxing. He appointed a number of Han officials, such as Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, hoping to use their power to reverse the decline of the Qing Dynasty. However, Emperor Xianfeng's reform measures had little effect, and instead caused a series of turmoil in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
In the eleventh year of Xianfeng (1861), Emperor Xianfeng died of illness in Chengde Summer Resort at the age of 31. Before he died, he instructed Prince Gong and Prince Yi Xun to jointly assist the young crown prince Emperor Tongzhi. Unexpectedly, Yixun and Yixun took the opportunity to launch the Xinyou coup d'état and seized the power of the court.
As soon as Emperor Tongzhi ascended the throne, he fell into the dispute between the princes Yixun and Yixun. The two of you come and go, and the power of the government is also in their hands. Although Emperor Tongzhi is called the emperor of the current dynasty, it is actually just an ornament.
In this turbulent situation, the internal and external troubles of the Qing Dynasty became more serious. The invasion of the Western powers intensified, the Sino-French War and the Sino-Japanese War came one after another, and the national strength of the Qing Dynasty collapsed. A series of peasant uprisings also broke out internally, such as the Twist Army Uprising and the Hui Uprising, and the social order fell into chaos for a time.
After the untimely death of Emperor Tongzhi, Emperor Guangxu succeeded to the throne. Emperor Guangxu's biological father was Prince Yixun, so Yixun's position in the Guangxu Dynasty was more stable. However, the Empress Dowager Cixi remained the true core of power, and her relationship with Yixun was sometimes intimate and sometimes distant.
In this context of internal and external troubles, the fall of the Qing Dynasty has become an irreversible trend. The emperors of the Xianfeng, Tongzhi, and Guangxu dynasties were all deeply affected by the dispute between the nine sons of the Daoguang Emperor. This power struggle intensified the internal friction of the Qing Dynasty and became an important fuse for the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
The fate of the ninth son of Emperor Daoguang
In the tide of the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the fate of the nine sons of Emperor Daoguang also had different endings.
Emperor Xianfeng died young and died in Chengde Summer Resort at the age of 31. During his 11-year reign, although he once wanted to reform Zhongxing, he had little success and instead caused a series of turmoil in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Before Emperor Xianfeng died, he instructed Prince Gong Yixun and Prince Alcohol Yixun to jointly assist the young crown prince Emperor Tongzhi, but the two took the opportunity to launch the Xinyou coup d'état and seized the power of the court.
Prince Gong Yixun was loyal to the country all his life, and he made many suggestions, hoping to reverse the decline of the Qing Dynasty. But most of his reform proposals failed to materialize. In the Tongzhi and Guangxu dynasties, Yixun was once removed from the title of Yizheng King, but he was still in the core of power. It was not until the twenty-fourth year of Guangxu (1898) that Yixun passed away at the age of 66.
Unlike Prince Gong, Prince Yi Xun was cunning and resourceful all his life, and was extremely ambitious. He relied on the relationship that his mother was the sister of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and he was soon reused by Cixi. During the Guangxu Dynasty, Yiyun became the actual controller of the government. It was not until the sixteenth year of Guangxu (1890) that Yiyun passed away at the age of 52.
In addition to these three most famous princes, several of the other sons of Emperor Daoguang also had different endings. The eldest son, Wang Yiwei of Yinzhi County, died early, and the second son, Wang Yigang of Shunjun, and Wang Yiji, the third son of Huijun, died at the age of 1. Although the fifth son, Prince Yiqin, lived a long life, he was also unknown in the government and the opposition.
In contrast, the fate of Wang Yixuan of the Eighth Son Zhongjun and Wang Yixuan of the Ninth Son Fu County was better. Although Yi Xu died young, his diligent and studious, honest and selfless character left a valuable spiritual wealth to future generations. And Yiyun lived to be 33 years old, which can be regarded as a not short life journey.
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In general, the fate of the ninth son of Emperor Daoguang can be described as complicated and full of ups and downs. The best of them, such as Emperor Xianfeng, Prince Gong, Prince Alcohol, etc., although they attracted much attention from the government and the opposition, they could not escape the fate of a downfall in the end. Most of the other unknown princes died young and failed to show their talents. However, regardless of fate, they were all witnesses and participants in the turbulent history of the late Qing Dynasty, and their life experiences reflected the epitome of that turbulent era.