In "Yongzheng Dynasty", if you ask which character's death shocked the audience the most, I guess that Nian Qianyao's death must be at the top.
Although Emperor Yongzheng is ruthless and ruthless, he has always killed people without blinking. This is true not only for the enemy, but also for those in their own camp, otherwise, they will not return to the mansion on the night of the succession, and the people who do secret things in the mansion will not die in the future.
However, in terms of treating his henchmen, he is still more protective of his calves. For example, Li Wei, such as Tian Wenjing, such as the old thirteen Yinxiang, even for their sake, did not hesitate to be enemies of hundreds of officials.
However, among these henchmen, there is one person who makes Emperor Yongzheng feel like a fish in his throat, he is not swallowing, nor is he spitting, this person is Nian Qianyao. So, what did Nian Qianyao do, and in the end he was not allowed by Emperor Yongzheng, so he could only commit suicide?
Yang Jiaofeng talks about the series of articles on "Yongzheng Dynasty": What did Nian Qianyao do wrong, why did Emperor Yongzheng refuse to forgive him?
One
The drama "Yongzheng Dynasty" is actually a tragedy, because from the beginning of the plot, there are non-stop dead people.
At the beginning, the Yellow River burst its banks, and I don't know how many people were displaced and lost their lives. Even Li Wei, Cui'er, and Qiao Yindi, who had a better ending later, were refugees, Cui'er was almost sold, and Qiao Yindi almost starved to death.
There are several times in the play like this kind of large-scale death, such as the bloody washing of Jiangxia Town, the fall of the Funingan army, and the suppression of the prince's rebellion. Although some belong to natural disasters, some belong to unwarranted disasters, and some belong to self-inflicted blame, Emperor Kangxi also said in the court:
"Disasters are like this, because people don't repair, people don't repair, and God only sends disasters. ”
Therefore, the Yellow River burst its embankment because some people were greedy for money for repairing the river, and some people borrowed the treasury to empty it; Jiangxia Town was slaughtered, which was to repay the debts owed by Ren Bo'an and Liu Ba Nu, who let the fourth old Yinzhen get off the horse; as for the death of Fu Ning'an, the rebellion of the prince, etc., it was also the result of multiple reasons intertwined.
Of course, there are many places where there are dead people in the play, the death of Wei Dongting, the death of Zheng Chunhua, the death of Wang Luo, the death of Kan'er, the death of Emperor Kangxi, the death of Sun Jiacheng, the death of Nian Qiuyue, the death of the old thirteen Yinxiang, and the death of Emperor Yongzheng...... And so on and so forth.
Moreover, every time an important person dies, it will be accompanied by bleak music, especially the song "Shepherd Boy", which tells the fate of these people like cows, especially Nian Qianyao:
"The cows and cows are on the slope, the countryside is green and the leaves are beautiful; one side of the loess and one side of the field, the mountains are high and the water is long. Cow Niu'er is busy for whom, busy with spring ploughing and autumn grain; it is not afraid of wind, frost, rain and snow, and walks in all directions with bells. ”
Two
Today, we are going to talk about the death of Nian Qianyao, what did he do, and why did he end up committing suicide at the city gate from a general who was once in the limelight?
Let's not talk much about the Nian Qianyao in history, he is a serious child who participated in the imperial examination and became an official after winning the Jinshi. You must know that he was only 21 years old that year, and he was in the same class as Zhang Tingyu, who was seven or eight years older than him, and the two were classmates in Hanlin Academy.
Moreover, Nian Qianyao's fortune did not rely on the fourth Yinzhen, but all relied on Emperor Kangxi's appreciation and respect, and he worked all the way to the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Because he thought he was a member of the court, he refused to be called a slave in front of the fourth prince Yinzhen, and was scolded once by the fourth Yinzhen. Perhaps he had a poor relationship with the fourth Yinzhen, which also led to the fact that after Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, Nian Qianyao only served as a courtier for three years and two months, and then went to see the king of Hades.
In the first two years of Emperor Yongzheng's accession to the throne, Nian Qianyao had been fighting outside, and he was killed only a year after winning the battle. During this period, he exchanged major letters with Emperor Yongzheng, and he never even met a few times.
Say he's high-flying, right?
People were born in the imperial examination, and the literati debuted, and they learned the same style as Confucius and Mencius, and it is impossible to make that kind of low-level, brainless, reckless, and domineering mistakes. But after all, he is a literati, and there is a kind of arrogance and style in it, and he is unwilling to lower his posture to cater to the nouveau riche.
Say he's a great achievement, right?
It's reasonable, after all, they are all sealed as first-class dukes, and if they are sealed again, they will have to be given a king with a different surname. However, after winning the battle, Nian Qianyao also understood this truth, and when he was stationed in Xi'an, he kept writing that he was not energetic and asked to go home to retire, but unfortunately Emperor Yongzheng did not allow it.
Three
To put it bluntly, the reason why Nian Qianyao was killed by Emperor Yongzheng is mainly because the emperor succeeded to the throne and liquidated the old ministers.
However, in "Yongzheng Dynasty", Nian Qianyao became the mansion slave of Prince Yong's mansion, and his promotion all the way depended on the fourth Yinzhen. It's a pity that when she became a general and queen, she didn't recognize the lord in a domineering manner, was pampered and coquettish, and no one took it seriously, and finally ended up committing suicide.
So, the truth of the matter, is that really the case?
Nian Qianyao, who is portrayed in the play, belongs to the kind of person who is very capable and ambitious. If you have strong ability, you will be able to realize your own value and become the object of competition among many forces. If you are ambitious, you will be self-driven to run forward, do your best, or do whatever it takes, in short, try to achieve your goals.
And the relationship between Nian Qianyao and Lao Si Yinzhen was a bit out of place from the beginning, but there was a sense of mutual use and mutual calculation.
For example, at the beginning of the chapter, the fourth Yinzhen went to Yangzhou to raise funds for disaster relief, and Nian Qianyao, as a partial general in Hangzhou, was good at figuring out the master's thoughts, and waited at the dock early. not only did the errand arranged by the fourth Yinzhen in advance beautifully, rescued Wu Sidao, but also specially sent his sister Nian Qiuyue to take care of him.
Even the greetings that a few people said after meeting him, asking him how he was doing here, they replied very beautifully:
"It's better to be by the master's side than anywhere......"
The fourth Yinzhen didn't hear his voice, but the thirteenth Yinxiang heard it, and added:
"Okay, you slave, you're like a monkey, you can really climb along the pole, you want to go back to Beijing, right?"
Yes, why is Nian Qianyao in a hurry to express his position, hoping to return to Beijing to take up his post?
Four
People always have to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and the reason why Nian Qianyao wants to return to Beijing is mainly based on these two considerations:
First, the fourth Yinzhen is becoming more and more powerful in the court, and Nian Qianyao has already expected that Emperor Kangxi will definitely be able to send him to the south for disaster relief. After returning to Beijing, he will also receive bigger and more errands, and he will be able to get closer to the center of power by returning to Beijing by himself.
The second is that the fourth Yinzhen came to Yangzhou for disaster relief, everyone knows that this is an errand that offends people, and the prince Yinren lost his temper because of this. Whether it is Hangzhou or Yangzhou, they all belong to the territory of the Eight Masters Party. When he was serving here, he was squeezed out, and when the fourth Yinzhen left, he couldn't stay anymore.
Therefore, Nian Qianyao took advantage of this opportunity to quickly arrange an errand for his sister Nian Qiuyue. As long as Nian Qiuyue waits for Wu Sidao all the way into the palace, then he and his master will be linked here, and it will be okay to soar in the future.
It's a pity that Nian Qianyao's little abacus is only half right!
Why?
Because the fourth Yinzhen had just finished the disaster relief in the south, after offending a large number of people, he took over the errand of collecting the arrears of the household department non-stop, which made Nian Qianyao uncomfortable.
In the end, because of the unfavorable recovery and improper methods, the fourth Yinzhen not only insulted the old champion in court, but also forced the old minister Wei Dongting to death. even caused the brothers to go to the street to sell their jobs, lose the face of the royal family, was reprimanded by Emperor Kangxi, and was almost stripped of the title of county king.
In addition, Tian Wenjing, who was the most obedient and energetic in his work, was beaten by Lao Shiyin and demoted. Nian Qianyao continued to follow the fourth Yinzhen, in his opinion, the future is dark.
Five
There is an old Chinese saying that if you have milk, you are a mother, and whoever pulls Nian Qianyao at this time will be his benefactor, and he will repay him in the future.
Sure enough, the old eight Yinxi also saw the way in this, and recommended him to be the governor of Sichuan in the court. And Nian Qianyao was very excited, and he didn't take into account the face of the fourth Yinzhen Tieqing, and responded in one bite.
It can be said that since then, Nian Qianyao has had a bargaining chip to negotiate with his master, and the two began to pull each other with turnips and sticks, which has been going on for many years.
Nian Qianyao got better and better in Sichuan, and his achievements in suppressing bandits were outstanding, so the fourth Yinzhen found the right time to raise the flag for the Nian family; Nian Qianyao washed Jiangxia Town in blood, and the fourth Yinzhen not only acquiesced in his appropriation of money, but also gave him his own Buddhist beads; when the war in the northwest broke out again, Emperor Kangxi wanted to send a prince to be the general king, and the fourth Yinzhen recommended Nian Qianyao to be the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and also accepted Nian Qiuyue and other side blessings......
Of course, Lao Si Yinzhen did not forget to beat Nian Qianyao, if you washed Jiangxia Town in blood, then you will be imprisoned in Berlin Temple for reflection; if you are promoted to Sichuan again, then you will design to send Li Wei to your side to monitor your whereabouts at all times; if you return to Beijing and do not come to see me, but go to see your rival Lao Bayinzhen, then you will be punished to kneel for a day, and you will have to wash my feet......
It's just that this kind of beating of the fourth Yinzhen can't fundamentally solve Nian Qianyao's problem.
Does Nian Qianyao do anything?
do, and do it very carefully, it is difficult to succeed without his fourth Yinzhen. However, Nian Qianyao has a premise for doing things, and he is not so obedient if there is no benefit.
This also leads to the fact that if he gives a root radish, he will move, and if he doesn't give a radish, he will pretend to be stupid, but the radish will be finished one day.
Six
This situation did not change in essence until Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, and the game between the two of them still did not change essentially.
Nian Qianyao stuck the neck of the old fourteen Yinyu, so that his hundreds of thousands of troops could not move, Emperor Bao Yongzheng ascended the throne, then you have to make me a general; I Nian Qianyao guarded Qinghai, to protect the Qing Dynasty, you Yongzheng Emperor tightened his belt and had to provide me with food and grass, even if I went to raid the minister's house; I won the battle and became the benefactor of the Qing Dynasty, so I had to appoint officials according to the list I provided......
Emperor Yongzheng also said that Nian Qianyao did help him win the throne, and he couldn't treat him badly. However, when he is not satisfied with being a first-class duke, and he throws his face in court, what else can he do?
Isn't there a saying that when there is no reward, you can only give death?
However, Emperor Yongzheng can't do this!
You must know that he did several things just after he ascended the throne, one is to mint new coins, the second is to recover arrears, the third is to open a branch to obtain scholars, and the fourth is the Qinghai War.
He knew that the old man was playing tricks, but he could not do anything; he was able to do anything about the debt of the government treasury, but the Shanxi Nuomin case occurred, and he also gave him the plaque of the world's first governor, which made the world laugh and lose his big teeth......
If Nian Qianyao makes any mistakes here, then whether he can sit firmly on the throne or not, at least the impression that he is not suitable to be the emperor will spread in the world, where will he put his face?
Therefore, there is no doubt that Nian Qianyao is a hero, and there is no reason for him to take him out.
Seven
Even if Nian Qianyao returned to Beijing this time, all kinds of performances in the capital made Emperor Yongzheng as uncomfortable as eating a fly.
In fact, what is the "annual selection", what is not satisfied with the reward, or the flying and domineering at the city gate, it is not important, Emperor Yongzheng does not care.
What he really cares about is that Nian Qianyao actually turned the army of the imperial court into a person, and he didn't know how to restrain it. Emperor Yongzheng spoke above the court, asking the soldiers to remove their armor, and the soldiers did not dare to be excusable, but you Nian Qianyao was obviously by your side, why didn't you immediately follow Emperor Yongzheng's words and ask the soldiers, didn't you hear the emperor's words?
Instead, he shook the pu fan and pretended to be stupid there with his eyes closed, and in the end, even the old thirteen Yinxiang couldn't stand it.
It was precisely because of this performance of death that after Emperor Yongzheng returned to the palace, he was angry at the autumn moon of the year, and shouted at her to remove her armor. Therefore, I really don't understand what Nian Qianyao did in this paragraph, is it to show that he is strict in leading troops, or is he deliberately giving the emperor a prestige, showing his dissatisfaction with being a first-class duke and not being crowned a king?
"They only know the military order, not the emperor!"
But just like the previous analysis, Nian Qianyao is already the last face of Emperor Yongzheng, if he attacks him at this time, it will inevitably leave the impression that the rabbit is dead and the dog is cooking, and the bird is hidden, and Emperor Yongzheng can only break his teeth and swallow it in his stomach. Even if Sun Jiacheng jumped to his feet to impeach Nian Qianyao, Emperor Yongzheng could only do his best to protect it, even if Sun Jiacheng later begged for rain and slapped himself in the face.
However, he still has to knock on Nian Qianyao, and he has to make him understand his current situation.
Eight
So, Emperor Yongzheng deliberately set up a table of banquets, that is, hot pots, invited Nian Qianyao to dinner, and made three requests during the banquet.
At this time, Emperor Yongzheng didn't hide it anymore, and directly before the meal, he made the first request around Nian Qianyao's return to the northwest:
"Lianggong, do you still need 100,000 soldiers in the northwest, can you reduce some more?"
From the perspective of Emperor Yongzheng, the war in Qinghai has stopped, the rebels have been defeated, and there is no reason to raise so many soldiers. Moreover, Nian Qianyao's extravagance and huge expenses in the northwest camp are also famous. If the grain and grass are still supplied as before, the imperial court will not be able to bear it at all, and there are not so many Cao Yin's families to raid.
Unfortunately, Nian Qianyao refused, on the grounds that Lobuzang Tenzin and Alabutan had not completely failed. Although the battle of Qinghai wiped out their main force, the leader was not caught and let them escape. At this time, they must be secretly accumulating strength and waiting for the opportunity to rise again, and it is already very difficult for these 100,000 soldiers to prevent on such a long front.
Immediately afterwards, Emperor Yongzheng made a second request:
"Then can the monthly military expenditure of 1.5 million taels be reduced a little more?"
This request is an extension of the first request, to put it bluntly, let you reduce the army, on the one hand, it is to weaken your armed forces, after all, the "armor removal turmoil" has become a numb tendon in Emperor Yongzheng's heart. On the other hand, it is also to reduce the burden of the imperial court, and at the same time, it is also a beating of Nian Qianyao, is your expense too much?
It's a pity that this request was also rejected by Nian Qianyao, for the simple reason that this is already the minimum monthly expense of the 100,000 army.
Nine
After receiving Nian Qianyao's refusal reply, Emperor Yongzheng made one last request, which is also a continuation of the first two requests, that is:
"So can this 1.5 million taels be solved in the four northwestern provinces, and don't the imperial court raise funds separately?"
Of course, there is no doubt that this request was also rejected by Nian Qianyao, and he still asked the imperial court to supply grain and grass.
So, is Nian Qianyao's refusal justified?
Reasonable!
Indeed, the rebels have not yet been cut to the roots, and at this time, the number of troops is reduced, and the rebels are very likely to make a comeback, and then it will be really a big problem. Just like Emperor Chongzhen didn't cut the grass and root out Li Zicheng back then, he let him run away with seven cavalrymen, but he didn't expect that in just a few years, it would grow into a towering tree:
"Since he became a wife and daughter, he has lost his daughter, and he has escaped from the seven horses. ”
The same is true for the issue of military spending, one of the main reasons why the Ming Dynasty lost Liaodong is the arrears of military spending. Before the Great War, when Nian Qianyao besieged Falun Temple, he said that the daily military expenditure was 200,000 taels, and a month was 6 million. At this time, the cost has been reduced to a quarter, only 1.5 million taels, which is indeed very low.
As for the last request, it is even more difficult for a strong man to solve the military spending problem in the four northwestern provinces. We all know that the war in the northwest has just ended, and the people urgently need to recuperate, but at this time, you increase their tax burden, and don't you push them even more to the side of the rebels.
You must know that when Li Wei raised grain and grass in Jiangsu to supply the northwest, he was criticized by the local people, saying that why did he take our money to fight the war in the northwest, and what does the northwest have to do with us?
Now you let the people of the northwest take their own money for the army to fight on their own territory, unless they are crazy, who else will surrender to them?
Ten
It's just that the problem that Emperor Yongzheng wants to solve is the problem of Nian Qianyao's corruption, because no matter how you calculate it, the military expenditure is not quite right.
In fact, when the Eight Kings discussed politics and forced the palace, Prince Cheng raised it:
"A small Luo Buzang Tenzin cost the court tens of millions of taels of silver, mobilized 230,000 soldiers and horses, and ran away from the culprit. ”
Lao Bayinxi also deliberately added a sentence, saying that most of the money was corrupted and squandered by Nian Qianyao, this sentence is not false, after all, Lao Bayinyu was in the household department at that time, and at that time, all officials had to resign when they urged military spending.
Later, when sorting out the evidence of Nian Qianyao's crime, Zhang Tingyu said that the corruption alone would cost Nian Qianyao as much as 4.6 million taels. It is no wonder that Fan Shijie, the governor of Gansu, would go to Nian Qianyao to ask for military supplies, saying that dozens of soldiers were crammed into a tent, which was not possible at all.
It was precisely because Nian Qianyao did not cooperate and wanted to send his cronies to the northwest that Emperor Yongzheng saw the opportunity to send Sun Jiacheng over:
"This Sun Jiacheng used to be the number one financial expert in the household department, and I sent him to the northwest this time to help you manage military finance. ”
Nian Qianyao's face changed at that time, and warned Sun Jiacheng to change his temper, otherwise the military order would be merciless, but he didn't expect Sun Jiacheng to say:
"Military orders, Sun will not commit, and his temper can't be changed. ”
So, why was Sun Jiacheng killed?
It's because I checked Nian Qianyao's accounts, which is a big taboo for Nian Qianyao, who has no reward and wants to be the emperor of the soil in the northwest, so he naturally shows no mercy.
Of course, whether Sun Jiacheng kills or not is not the reason for Emperor Yongzheng to kill Nian Qianyao. The key is that he is still willing to do things for Emperor Yongzheng, after Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, he regarded the implementation of the new policy as more important than his life, and Nian Qianyao would probably not die if he showed a trace of willingness to fully implement the new policy.
It's a pity that he rejected Emperor Yongzheng, who sent Sun Jiacheng to the northwest to implement the new policy, and was slaughtered by him, which eventually killed him.
Of course, there is another hidden reason for Nian Qianyao's death, which cannot be explained by the death of Sun Jiacheng. In fact, there is also Wu Sidao and Li Wei behind it, so why didn't the two of them save him, but pushed him into the abyss?
Because of space, let's talk about it next time!