"Zaifeng, 25-year-old regent of the prison state, three years later the Qing Dynasty collapsed, died in 1951, lived to be 68 years old." These few short words outline the trajectory of the life of an extraordinary person. Zaifeng's life is full of drama and contradictions, he is propelled to the pinnacle of power, but also witnesses the collapse of the Qing Dynasty. He was originally a concubine, but eventually became one of the most powerful princes of the Qing Dynasty. He worked hard to save the Qing Dynasty, but was forced to write an edict of resignation from the regent. He witnessed the change of two dynasties, but at the right time to turn to a new regime. Zaifeng's life is like a big play, full of countless puzzling mysteries: how did he step by step to the center of power? Why did he choose to resign at the most critical time of the Qing Dynasty? And how did he manage to maneuver between the old and new regimes? How can a prince survive the rest of his life in turbulent times? Let's find out.
The rough life of the son of Gaomen
Zaifeng was born in a glorious royal family, and his father Yiyun was one of the iron hat kings, and he was actually a prominent branch of the Qing emperor's family. However, the god of fate played a joke on him, so that he was destined for the ups and downs of life as soon as he was born.
Zaifeng was originally the seventh son of Yiyun, and was born from the womb of the side concubine Liu Jia, and his status was naturally lower than that of the heir. According to the practice of inheriting the title by the children of princes and magnates in the Qing Dynasty, Zaifeng's background is destined to have no chance to inherit the prince. At that time, he probably never dreamed that he would one day inherit his father's title.
But providence is sometimes so capricious. After Zaifeng's eldest brother Zaichun inherited the title of Prince Alcohol of his father Yiyun, he was soon canonized as emperor and was Emperor Guangxu. The rest of the brothers also died early, making Zaifeng, the youngest son of the concubine, the only eldest heir of Prince Alcohol's mansion. When Yi Xun drove the crane to the west, Zaifeng was only seven years old, and he was canonized as the Prince of Alcohol, and quickly jumped from a concubine to a prince and nobleman.
Undoubtedly, this is a great luck and a challenge at the same time. As a seven-year-old child, how could Zaifeng bear the heavy prince? What's more, he came from a humble background and had an unstable foundation, so he would definitely be excluded and suppressed in the Alcohol Palace. Fortunately, Zaifeng's biological mother Liu Jia is not a low-class person, and her sister Wanzhen is the sister of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Cixi treated Zaifeng with unusual affection, which allowed him to gain a foothold in the palace of the alcohol king.
More importantly, during the Guangxu period, Prince Alcohol's Mansion stood in the northwest corner of the Forbidden City, and Zaifeng and his brother Pu Yi studied in the palace and were greatly favored by the emperor. However, the good times did not last long, and Emperor Guangxu died in 1908, and the fear of the family further highlighted Zaifeng's ill-fated fate. Although he is the prince, he is deeply caught in the whirlpool of palace disputes...
The regent appointed by Cixi
After the death of Emperor Guangxu, the royal family set off a raging wave of succession war. Although Cixi was old, she did not give up her determination to control the Qing dynasty. In front of her, all the relatives and nobles are submissive. At Cixi's discretion, Zaifeng's youngest son Pu Yi was soon established as the heir to Emperor Guangxu and canonized as Emperor Xuantong.
When Xuantong ascended the throne, Cixi personally made a major personnel arrangement for Zaifeng. Considering that Pu Yi was too young to govern in person, and someone needed to act as the regent, Cixi resolutely appointed Zaifeng as the regent to take charge of the affairs of the court and the military.
For Zaifeng at that time, this was undoubtedly a major breakthrough and test. As a prince, he was not qualified to participate in court politics, let alone preside over the overall situation. However, Cixi's wise iron fist made Zaifeng the de facto supreme power holder of the Qing Dynasty.
Why did Cixi appoint Zaifeng to take on this important task? From the perspective of blood relationship, Zaifeng is Cixi's nephew, and the two have been very close since childhood. More importantly, Zaifeng's personality is humble and steady, and he is low-key, which is in line with Cixi's uncertain mind. In contrast, other princes and nobles had the habit of greed and power, and Cixi could not trust herself.
In addition, Zaifeng came from a humble background and had a pure foundation, which was more convenient for Cixi to control. If problems arise in the future, Cixi can take the opportunity to squeeze her out of power and replace her with a confidant of the minister. It can be seen that letting Zaifeng become regent is tantamount to Cixi's careful layout for her immortality behind the scenes.
However, even with such a high degree of trust, Cixi was also secretive about the distribution of regency power. In her edict, she specially instructed that when Zaifeng was in power, he should uphold the will of the Empress Dowager Longyu. This Empress Dowager Longyu is Cixi's most confidant niece, and she has a grudge against Emperor Guangxu as a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Cixi's arrangement was actually deliberately creating a balance between the two forces, intended to prevent Zaifeng from monopolizing power in the future.
A long-range melee attack that lures wolves into the room
The power of the regent was derived from the edict of Cixi, but it took a lot of twists and turns to stabilize his position. Faced with the grim situation of the declining Qing Dynasty, Zaifeng tried to change the law and survive, but it triggered a treacherous power struggle.
Determined to emulate the enlightened policies of the Kang and Yong dynasties, Zaifeng formed an imperial cabinet in 1909 in an effort to centralize power and implement reforms. However, this practice immediately annoyed the Empress Dowager Longyu. According to Cixi's edict, Zaifeng should only be the Empress Dowager Longyu, rather than monopolizing power.
So, at the instigation of the Empress Dowager Longyu, Yuan Shikai and other banner ministers expressed their opposition. They did everything possible to obstruct the New Deal, and even publicly slandered Zaifeng as "belittling the royal family". As a result, the two sides were caught in a whirlpool of life-and-death struggle.
It is worth noting that in this power struggle, the Mongolian prince and Lama became a secret supporter of the Yuan group. They instigated the Mongols to launch a "centrifugal movement" with the intention of breaking with the Qing court and gaining independence. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the Zaifeng regime, and it also laid the foundation for future internal and external troubles and the separation of Manchu and Mongolian.
On the other hand, the Japanese authorities have also seized this opportunity with sympathy. They secretly supported Yuan Shikai's conspiracy to establish a puppet regime in Manchuria and lay the groundwork for a future invasion of China. It can be said that this infighting in the Qing Empire opened the prelude to Japan's aggression.
Under these difficulties, the embarrassed Zaifeng is stumbling left and right, and the foundation is gradually lost. The imperial cabinet he formed was only a shield in name only, and it was seriously disintegrated by the Yuan group. Faced with the twin threats of civil strife and Japanese ambitions, the regent's authority was shattered.
A wise choice that is not afraid of danger
In such a difficult situation, Zaifeng did not choose to support himself, but made a bold and wise decision - to resign as regent on his own initiative.
On October 10, 1911, the Wuchang Uprising broke out, which opened the prelude to the Xinhai Revolution. In the face of the crisis of the people's disillusionment and the country's turmoil, Zaifeng was soberly aware that the fate of the Qing Dynasty was difficult to recover. He is powerless to turn the situation around, and insisting on being in power will only make the situation worse.
More crucially, Zaifeng noted that the revolutionaries' demand was not for the overthrow of Manchu rule, but for a change of dynasty and the establishment of a democratic republic. As a wise statesman, he saw this and weighed the future of his country against his own safety.
Finally, at the end of November 1911, Zaifeng personally submitted a resignation edict to Emperor Xuantong, taking the initiative to suspend his position as regent and withdraw from the court stage. This decision is undoubtedly a wise move for long-term considerations.
First, resignation can avoid being caught in the whirlpool of the Xinhai Revolution, thereby preserving the dignity and ruling authority of the imperial family to the greatest extent. On the other hand, Zaifeng was able to protect himself from retaliation by the revolutionaries like other ministers.
It can be said that Zaifeng's choice to resign voluntarily coincides with the ideas of Sun Yat-sen and other revolutionaries. They hoped to overthrow the Manchus without harming the imperial family, and Zaifeng's decision just gave way to the subsequent peace talks between the north and the south. Because of this, after his resignation, he was able to enjoy his old age during the Beiyang government.
This cautious and decisive decision not only enabled Zaifeng to save the day in turbulent times, but also cleared the way for the new regime to change hands after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. It can be seen that Zaifeng, who is not afraid of danger, is indeed a far-sighted politician.
After more than years of aging
Since resigning as regent, Zaifeng's life has entered a new stage. In the torrent of changing times, how does this former power holder deal with himself? How did he spend the last years of his life?
After his resignation, Zaifeng did not stay away from politics. Instead, he prudently chose to support the nascent Beiyang government. This practice not only won him political re-recognition, but also won the appreciation of the Puyi government, and continued to enjoy the generous benefits of the prince.
However, this does not mean that Zaifeng can still influence the dynasty. He is just a prince with a false name and a lot of manners, and the real right to speak has long ceased to exist. The shift of the center of power completely ended all his influence in the political arena.
Despite this, because he took the initiative to resign at a critical moment to avoid suspicion, the Beiyang government still has considerable respect and trust in Zaifeng. In 1925, when Yuan Shikai was in power, Zaifeng was even asked for advice on the republican form of government. This cannot but show that even though he is old and his prestige is gradually lost, the political wisdom in Zaifeng's eyes is still praised by those in power.
However, such a false name is far less than the comfortable life after he retired to the background. From the resigning of the regent to his old age, Zaifeng lived quietly in his palace and lived a leisurely and quiet life. He immersed himself in the joy of life of reading and drinking tea, and occasionally met some relatives and friends to talk about the world.
Family blood is the greatest comfort in Zaifeng's later life. Although his wife died early and his children had no future to speak of, he loved his grandchildren for ten minutes. There are often naughty children laughing and laughing in the palace, which may be the most precious spiritual sustenance in the declining years.
end
In this way, between prosperity and stability and turbulence, a former minister quietly walked through 68 years. Although he once relied on the highest point of state power, he also witnessed the fall of a dynasty; Although he had been in turmoil, he finally retired in the last years of his life. After ups and downs, he wrote the ups and downs of a prince's life.