Kangxi's second queen, Niu Colu, was beautiful and virtuous, and diligent in managing the six palaces, which can be said to have all the conditions required for a queen at that time. However, she has not been pampered all her life, and the reason behind this is heartbreaking. Niu Colu was born in Manchuria with a yellow flag, has a prominent family background, and is even the goddaughter of Aobai. When he entered the palace, he was only 13 years old, and he was elected as the concubine of Emperor Kangxi, and later succeeded as the empress. It's a pity that Kangxi has no love for her, she has been alone all her life and has no heirs. Why is that? Niu Colu and Kangxi's favorite first queen, Hesheri, have the same illustrious family background and talent and appearance, why is the final fate so different? What is the reason why she is destined not to be favored by Kangxi?
The marriage policy of dynasties with different surnames
Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, it has pursued a unique policy of political marriage. After putting down the Korean rebellion, Nurhachi was the first to intermarry between Manchu and Mongolia in order to consolidate relations with the Mongol tribes, which was later regarded as the beginning of the "Manchu and Mongolian marriage". Subsequent generations of emperors adhered to this policy and continuously expanded the scope of interracial marriage, until the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong dynasties, this system can be said to be all over the world, and the scale has reached an unprecedented grand occasion.
At the beginning of the Manchu and Mongolian marriages, the main purpose was to unite the poor and the poor, in order to gain more allegiance and consolidate the political power. However, as the territory continued to expand, the purpose of marriage gradually evolved to win over foreign nobles to prevent them from rebelling, and to eliminate the estrangement and contradictions between different races. In the Kangxi period, as a great empire that had reached its peak, the Qing court used it as an effective means to maintain its rule at home and abroad.
It can be said that the marriage policy ran through the entire Qing Dynasty for nearly 300 years. According to history, the Qing Dynasty elected more than 4,000 women of different races in the harem, of which more than 100 were canonized as queens, concubines, concubines and other different ranks. Most of these women are ill-fated, and although they have noble names, they can only be regarded as helpless political victims. Their lives are almost entirely dominated by interracial power plays, and they are doomed to a fate that will not lead to happiness.
The Niu Co Lu clan is a typical representative of the most unfortunate under this policy. Although she came from a prominent family and was born in a Manchurian aristocratic family, she never won the favor of Emperor Kangxi throughout her life, but suffered endless neglect and suffering. Her tragic experience is a microcosm of the gloomy fate suffered by countless women under the marriage policy of the Qing Dynasty.
The family background of the Niu Co Lu clan
Niu Colu was born in 1653 and was a member of the Yellow Flag of Manchuria. Her family background is illustrious, and her family name is important, and she can be described as a leader among the upper class of Manchurian aristocracy.
Niu Colu's grandfather, Eyidu, was an important founding hero in the early Qing Dynasty. At the beginning of the establishment of the Yellow Flag and the Yellow Flag, Nurhachi served here, and later followed Dolgon and Huang Taiji to conquer the Central Plains, and made great achievements, and was named the Prince of Dolgon. Later, his descendants guarded the yellow flag for generations and became the most prominent of the banner people.
Niu Colu's father, Ji Bilong, was one of the four auxiliary ministers in the early Qing Dynasty, and played an extremely important role in the prince's autocratic period. He was recruited into the imperial family since he was a child, received aristocratic education, and later rose step by step with his extraordinary talent, and was finally hired as one of the four auxiliary ministers before Kangxi's pro-government. At that time, in the government affairs that were related to the power of the country, Suppilon was at the core and had great influence.
What's even more unexpected is that there are historical records that Niu Colu is still the goddaughter of the famous Aobai. As the most powerful prince of our time, Ao Bai once overrode the four auxiliary ministers, which shows the respect of his status. In this way, the background of the Niu Co Lu clan is indeed from the inner circle of the upper class of the Manchurian aristocracy, and the status of the gate valve is transcendent.
It can be said that in the Qing Dynasty royal family at that time, Niu Colu's family background was enough to make him one of the most favored candidates for empress. Her ancestors not only had a meritorious role in founding the country, but her father was also an important member of the court, and she herself was born in a famous family and had an inextricable relationship with the highest power in the dynasty. It stands to reason that such conditions could not be safer as a condition for a queen's candidacy.
However, in the end, Niu Colu's family was destined to not be able to win the favor of Emperor Kangxi, but suffered endless neglect and suffering, resulting in her being noble but only alone, the reason behind this is really thought-provoking. Is it just because some figures in her family have had contradictions and confrontations with the Kangxi court that she is doomed to the fate of not being favored in the future? Or is there a deeper reason why Kangxi doesn't have a good impression of this illustrious Niu Colu clan?
Entering the palace became the inside story of the concubine
In 1665, the 13-year-old Niu Colu was elected to the palace and became the concubine of Emperor Kangxi, but behind this there was a thrilling power struggle.
Back then, when the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang chose the queen for Kangxi, three candidates were finally selected: Aobai's daughter, Sony's granddaughter Hesheri, and Niu's daughter. However, in the end, only Sony's granddaughter Heschelis was designated as the queen of the house, and Niu Colu became the concubine.
The reason behind this is actually a strategic choice made by the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang after weighing the pros and cons. At that time, the core of the Qing dynasty was controlled by four auxiliary ministers, including Aobai, Sony, Suke Saha, and Kupilon. Among them, Aobai's autocratic power has seriously threatened the rule of the royal family, so Xiaozhuang must first guard against and balance his power.
As an old minister, Sony has always been loyal to the royal family, and Xiaozhuang naturally hopes to win over his strength. Suppilon, on the other hand, is a centrist who can neither be completely trusted nor completely rejected, but can only be used. Therefore, Xiaozhuang made an arrangement to let Sonny's granddaughter be the queen and the daughter of Suppilon be the concubine.
However, Suppilon was not satisfied. He had hoped that his daughter would be canonized as queen to glorify the lintel. After knowing the result, he was very annoyed in his heart, but he had to superficially agree with Xiaozhuang's decision. At the same time, Ao Bai and Sukh Saha openly expressed their opposition, believing that "the daughter of a Manchurian descendant has no reason to be an empress."
In this power struggle, Niu Colu became an important pawn. The Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang used her to win over the centrist faction of Kubilong, and to prevent Ao Bai and Suke Saha from making further moves. It can be said that the fate of the Niu Co Lu clan was completely passively tied to the power struggle between the upper echelons of the government and the opposition at that time.
Soon after entering the palace, Kangxi fell in love with the Hesheri clan at first sight, and the two were born a loving couple. On the other hand, Niu Colu's Kangxi lacked a good impression of her from the beginning. This is not only because the Niu Colu clan is just an expedient measure, but more importantly, Kangxi has a problem with both Curb Pilon and Ao Bai in his family.
Although he did not openly confront him like Aobai, the dark side of the concubine selection made Kangxi have a very bad impression of him. And Ao Bai is simply the biggest opposition in the dynasty, and it is reasonable that his daughter will be turned away. As a descendant of the two families, Niu Colu is destined to bear this price.
From this point of view, the Nycobal clan is indeed a pathetic victim, paying a high personal price just to maintain the delicate balance of power among those in power. She was virtuous and beautiful, with a prominent family background, and should have been admired by thousands of people, but she was never favored by Kangxi throughout her life, but suffered endless neglect and torture.
Encounter a reversal of the family's fate
After entering the palace for many years, Niu Colu's family suffered a major accident, which also directly affected her status in the harem.
In 1669, Kangxi began to pro-government, and the power of the four auxiliary ministers was also deprived. As one of them, he was not only dismissed from his post, but also accused of serious crimes such as corruption and bribery, obstruction of important military affairs, and was finally ordered to be imprisoned by Kangxi, and since then he has suffered the doom of the family's destruction.
A series of charges stemming from the fact that he had concealed, resisted and even threatened the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and Kangxi in the power struggle. Kangxi is obsessed with this and has always been pregnant. After becoming pro-government, he took the opportunity to kill the killer and completely eliminated this potential power opponent.
Not only is Suppilon in prison, but even the rest of his family is doomed. As the only daughter of Kupilon, although Niu Colu was not favored in the harem, his status was still quite high, and he was once given the honorific title of "noble concubine". But after the family suffered such a heavy blow, her status was inevitably greatly affected.
Kangxi was wary and lacked trust in the entire Suppilon family. Therefore, the power and status of the Niu Colu clan in the harem were constantly suppressed, and life was quite miserable. According to historical records, she was retaliated against by other concubines many times and was physically and mentally exhausted.
However, what is unexpected is that just when Niu Colu's status in the harem plummeted, Kangxi suddenly decreed that she should be canonized as the queen. This is clearly motivated by political machinations.
At that time, Kangxi had successively canonized Sony's granddaughters Hesheri and Azig as queens, with a total of three queens. However, both the Hesheri clan and the Azig clan died early, and Kangxi was worried that there would be no heir to inherit the emperor, so he decided to appoint another queen just in case.
And Niu Colu, as the only daughter of Suppilon, just meets the criteria for royal marriage, and more importantly, giving her the title of queen can play a role in further weakening her family's power. So, Kangxi made this seemingly favored but conspiratorial decision.
Sure enough, once the Niu Colu clan became the queen, she and her family were no longer powerless to fight against the imperial power. What's even more ironic is that her name as queen is a completely empty title, just to maintain the imperial system, Kangxi has never favored her as a formal queen.
This is nothing less than a kind of merciless sarcasm and torture. Fate tricked Niu Colu to put on the coat of the highest queen, but her identity and status were always suppressed. It's not so much a favor as a bigger unfavor.
A queen who was not favored all her life
After being canonized as the queen, the situation of Niu Colu was even more bleak. Although she has a noble name, she has suffered endless neglect and suffering, and has never received the favor of Emperor Kangxi in her life.
As the queen of the third room, Niu Colu should live in the main palace and the heart palace. However, because Kangxi never treated her like a queen, she could only be placed in the remote Tingyu Palace, far away from the core area of the main palace. Even if she later wrote to ask for relocation, Kangxi never agreed.
In addition to the marginalization of the residence, the position of the Niu Co Lu clan in the harem is increasingly completely elevated. She has never been favored by Kangxi, and she has been sneered at by other concubines. Once, when Kangxi inspected the harem, other concubines even publicly ridiculed her, "It's just that the queen didn't give her a marriage." It can be seen how lonely and helpless she is in the harem.
In addition to mental torture, Niu Colu often suffered from poverty and deprivation in life. Kangxi has never rewarded her with any possessions like other concubines, and even her living expenses are often deducted and shortaged. It is reported that one year, in order to pay for Gong E's annual salary, Niu Colu had to sell his dowry jewelry to maintain expenses.
The most distressing thing is that Kangxi not only never spoiled Niu Colu, but also had no intimacy with her at all. This is not only due to the reason why the two were arranged to have a political marriage, but more importantly, Kangxi has a grudge against her family.
Although Niu Colu tried to show loyalty to Kangxi and was virtuous and thrifty by nature, Kangxi still guarded against her. Once, in order to ask for a son, Niu Colu asked the god stick to recite a spell in the palace privately, but Kangxi was furious when he found out and punished him heavily. It can be seen how much Kangxi doesn't trust her.
The most embarrassing thing is that although Niu Colu's family was filial to Kangxi all his life, he couldn't even leave an heir. Her children suffered and she had no heirs for the rest of her life. This was undoubtedly a huge shame for the royal family back then, and it also doomed her to the fate of not being favored.
Niu Colu suffered from neglect all his life, and finally died in loneliness. Until after her death, her funeral ceremony was deliberately treated indifferently by Kangxi and did not give her too much courtesy. In just her life, she has always been treated as a sacrifice, and she has no blessings to suffer, and she has the false name of the queen. Her tragic fate is a microcosm of what countless women suffered under the marriage policy of the Kangxi Dynasty.