Emperor Kangxi, as a generation of Ming monarchs, reigned for more than 60 years, opening a new era of prosperity for the Qing Dynasty. However, on his deathbed, he twice "named" a man to accompany him to the funeral. This man is none other than Emperor Kangxi's confidant and right-hand man of Emperor Yongzheng - Long Keduo. What is puzzling is that Long Keduo is not only in a prominent position, but has always been loyal, why did Kangxi call him by name twice? What is even more incredible is that after Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, not only did he not obey his father's will, but imprisoned Long Keduo until Long Keduo died. Why was Yongzheng so harsh on Long Keduo, and did he not understand his father's clever intentions until the end? Let's find out.
1. Long Keduo before Kangxi's death
During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a prominent minister in the court, and he was Long Keduo. Long Keduo was born in a famous family, and his father Tong Guowei was a first-class public with a high status. Since childhood, Long Keduo has read poetry and books, read a wide range of books, and is talented, and soon showed extraordinary talent.
The young and promising Long Keduo entered the imperial court early, and soon won the appreciation of the Kangxi Emperor with his extraordinary wisdom and ability. Emperor Kangxi promoted Long Keduo to the commander of the infantry army, in charge of the heavy troops in the court, which can be said to be the power of the government and the opposition. Not only that, Long Keduo's sister was appointed by Kangxi as Empress Xiaoyiren, which shows how extraordinary Long Keduo's status in the court is.
As the commander of the infantry army, Long Keduo has repeatedly performed miraculous feats, especially in the pacification of the Junggar Rebellion, and has made great achievements. With his outstanding military talents, Long Keduo soon became one of the most highly regarded ministers of the Kangxi Emperor in the court. Emperor Kangxi appreciated Long Keduo very much, not only promoted him to the minister of Gu Ming, but also regarded him as a close confidant, and would consult with Long Keduo no matter the military affairs.
Long Keduo was also loyal to Emperor Kangxi, which can be described as dead-hearted. Whenever Emperor Kangxi gave an order, Long Keduo would spare no effort to complete it, and he never neglected at all. Even before Kangxi's death, he asked Long Keduo to accompany him to the funeral by name, although Long Keduo was unwilling, he did not complain at all, and he still taught Emperor Kangxi's children.
It can be said that Long Keduo was the most powerful courtier of the Kangxi Emperor and the most powerful minister in the court. Not only did he come from a prominent background, but he also had outstanding talents, coupled with his loyalty, he was a talent that was unparalleled in the world. It is with an assistant like Long Keduo that Emperor Kangxi can maintain long-term stability and create a prosperous era of the Qing Dynasty.
Second, Kangxi twice "named" Long Keduo to accompany the funeral
During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, although the Kangxi Emperor reigned for 61 years, his physical condition deteriorated in his later years. Kangxi, who is over eighty years old, is often sick in bed, and the power of the government has long been handed over to the fourth elder brother Yinzhen.
At this time, Kangxi suddenly made a decree and asked Long Keduo, the commander of the infantry army, to accompany him to the funeral. As soon as this decree came out, everyone in the government and the opposition was shocked. Long Keduo is Kangxi's highly appreciated confidant minister, he is not only prominent, but also loyal, how can he be asked to accompany the funeral?
In the face of Kangxi's will, Long Keduo was naturally reluctant. He immediately found Yinzhen, who had been designated as the prince, to intercede, hoping that Yinzhen could relieve him. As Long Keduo's right-hand man, Yin Zhen naturally didn't want to lose this assistant, so he resolutely went to Kangxi's palace to intercede for Long Keduo.
After Kangxi saw Yinzhen, he didn't seem to be angry, but quickly retracted his life. After Long Keduo was rescued, he was even more grateful to Yinzhen and vowed to obey his orders in the future. However, this is just a trick by Kangxi.
Not long after, Kangxi issued another decree and asked Long Keduo to accompany the funeral. This time, Long Keduo was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, for fear that Kangxi would really let him be buried with him. Seeing this, Yinzhen went to intercede again, and Kangxi gave up.
In fact, the reason why Kangxi "named" Long Keduo twice to accompany the funeral was not sincere. His purpose was to beat Long Kedo's majesty and make him more deferential and obedient to Yinzhen. As a generation of Ming monarchs, Kangxi knows that Long Keduo's family background is prominent and his status is respected, if he is not restrained, he will definitely bring trouble to Yinzhen in the future.
Therefore, Kangxi will use this strategy to make Long Keduo wary of Yinzhen. Sure enough, after Kangxi's death, Long Keduo was indeed obedient to Emperor Yongzheng, and there was no action to make a mistake. Unfortunately, this obedience didn't last long.
3. Yongzheng's attitude towards Long Keduo changed after he succeeded to the throne
After the death of Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Yongzheng soon succeeded to the throne and began his reign. As the Xinke Emperor, Yongzheng naturally hoped that the ministers of the court and the central government could wholeheartedly assist him in governing the world. However, Long Keduo's performance made Yongzheng very angry.
At the beginning, Long Keduo was still deferential to Yongzheng and completely followed Emperor Kangxi's instructions during his lifetime. But gradually, Roncodo began to become more domineering. Relying on his prominent position in the court and Yongzheng's close confidants, he began to do some undisciplined things unscrupulously.
For example, Long Keduo often gave orders in the court without authorization, and even openly violated Yongzheng's will. Once, Yongzheng issued an order to dispose of a minister, but Long Keduo supported the minister in public, resulting in Yongzheng's will being unable to be carried out. What's more, Long Keduo also contradicted Yongzheng in the court many times and openly contradicted the emperor's authority.
In addition to this, Long Kedo also wasted the country's wealth on a large scale and lived a life of luxury. He spent a lot of money on the outskirts of the capital to build a majestic mansion, which contained all kinds of treasures, gold and silver treasures. Moreover, Long Keduo also went on a killing spree, admitted dozens of beautiful concubines into the harem, and lived a life of lustful dogs and horses.
In the face of Long Keduo's domineering behavior, although Emperor Yongzheng was annoyed, he was helpless. After all, Long Keduo is not only his cronies, but also the confidant of Emperor Kangxi, and his status is transcendent. If Yongzheng severely punishes him, I am afraid it will cause shock in the government and the opposition.
As a result, Yongzheng could only secretly observe Long Keduo's every move, looking for the handle of his mistakes. At the same time, Yongzheng is also secretly cultivating his own cronies, hoping to balance the power of Long Keduo in the future.
In this way, the contradiction between Yongzheng and Long Keduo deepened day by day. At the beginning, Yongzheng was still bitter about Long Keduo, hoping that he could reform himself. But what Long Keduo did became more and more excessive, and finally made Yongzheng determined to severely punish this "scourge" in the court.
Fourth, new discoveries made during Roncodo's captivity
Although the Yongzheng Emperor put Long Keduo under house arrest, he did not torture him. After all, Long Keduo was once Emperor Kangxi's confidant minister, and his status was transcendent. Yongzheng didn't dare to be too harsh on him, for fear of causing shock to the government and the opposition.
However, as time passed, Yongzheng's attitude towards Long Keduo also began to change. The reason is that he gradually discovers some of the intrigues of Roncodo in prison.
At first, Yongzheng only suspected that Long Keduo was still not dead in prison, and secretly colluded with foreign aid to rebel. In order to get more evidence, he ordered people to closely monitor Roncodo's every move. Sure enough, soon there was a report from the inside.
It turned out that Long Keduo did not give up in prison, but secretly contacted many important members of the DPRK and China, trying to gather forces in prison and regain his rightful power. He not only promised these courtiers a great reward, but also hinted that as long as he returned to power, he would be able to use it wisely.
When Yongzheng learned of this, he was furious. He immediately ordered Roncodo's henchmen to be wiped out and brought to justice. At the same time, he also stepped up his surveillance of Roncodo, fearing that the conspiracy would brew again.
At this juncture, Yongzheng discovered another thing that shocked him - Long Keduo not only rebelled in prison, but also formed a party for personal gain and wantonly made money. It turned out that Long Keduo, relying on his power in the DPRK, had already secretly monopolized many industries, and had set up rudders all over the country to collect money.
Some of this money was used to bribe the ministers of the DPRK and China, and the other part was to hoard family wealth and live a life of luxury. What's more, Long Keduo still continues to command all this while in prison, constantly collecting people's fat and people's anointment.
In the face of Long Keduo's rampant behavior, Yongzheng completely lost his trust in him. He hated Long Keduo for not only colluding with foreign aid to rebel, but also wantonly accumulating wealth and exploiting the people. So, Yongzheng made up his mind to completely eradicate this scourge.
Fifth, the final fate of Roncodo
After Roncodo was placed under house arrest, the living conditions were not too bad. Because he was once Emperor Kangxi's confidant and minister, and his status was transcendent, Emperor Yongzheng did not dare to be too harsh on him, for fear of causing shock to the government and the opposition. Therefore, although Roncodo was in captivity, his life in prison was decent.
He was held in a spacious cell, which was fully furnished and even had books and four treasures for his amusement. The three meals a day are also high-quality meals and nutritious. The jailers were also polite and respectful to Long Kedo. It seems that the life of a prisoner is better than that of ordinary people.
However, despite this, Long Kedo's heart is still full of resentment and unwillingness. He was originally a prominent minister in the court, in charge of heavy troops, and his power was tilted towards the government and the opposition. Now that he has fallen into such a field, it really makes him sad.
What makes Roncodo even more sad is that his family and henchmen have also been affected. Long Keduo's wife and children were sent to the cold palace and lived in embarrassment, and those henchmen who had followed him were wiped out by Yongzheng and brought to justice. Although his life was in danger, Roncodo also felt deeply isolated.
In this way, Roncodo spent several years in prison. During this period, he tried several times to rescue himself, but was discovered and stopped by Emperor Yongzheng in time. Roncodo's henchmen also gradually distanced themselves from him, for fear of being implicated.
Eventually, Roncodo died of depression in prison. It is said that before he died, he scolded Yongzheng for his mediocrity, but it was only a grumble and did not cause any waves. In this way, this minister, who was once in power and opposition, passed away silently.
After Emperor Yongzheng learned of Long Keduo's death, he only said lightly, "Okay". For this old minister, who was once regarded as his right-hand man, Yongzheng had already seen through his conspiracy and tricks, and he did not regret his death.
The fate of Long Keduo is nothing less than a lesson from the past. He was originally a confidant of Emperor Kangxi and had a prominent position, but he was carried away by power and eventually made a big mistake. Yongzheng's severe punishment of him was also a helpless move to maintain imperial power. Long Kedo's life, as the old saying goes: "If you do too much injustice, you will kill yourself."