The death of Emperor Guangxu was a major turning point in the Qing Dynasty. It is really sad that this monarch, who is deeply loved by the people, died in a hurry. However, the cause of Emperor Guangxu's death is not so simple, and in the clouds of history, there are always some hidden details that are deliberately covered up. Once upon a time, Guangxu was involuntary because of the Empress Dowager Cixi's accession, and now he was killed inexplicably, who dares to say that there is no pair of black hands behind this? Many signs point to Empress Longyu as the biggest suspect, could she be the culprit?
1. Empress Longyu's background is exquisite
Empress Longyu was born in the Qing Dynasty aristocracy, and her family background is eye-catching. She was originally the niece of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and although the two were relatives, their blood was not thicker than water. Longyu was regarded as a pawn by Cixi since she was a child, and her life was destined to suffer from the tricks of fate.
In the fifteenth year of Guangxu, that is, in 1889 AD, Cixi suddenly decreed that Longyu Xu would be married to Emperor Guangxu as a concubine. This move caused shock to the government and the public, because this family affair was completely unfounded and purely the selfishness of Cixi alone. Emperor Guangxu expressed strong dissatisfaction with this marriage, he was originally indignant at the tyranny of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and now he was at the mercy of her to arrange the marriage event, how could he not be angry?
Soon after the marriage, the Guangxu Emperor respected Longyu and stayed away. According to historical records, on the night of the newlywed Yan'er, Guangxu returned to his bedroom and did not share the same room with Longyu. Since then, the two have been strangers, and Guangxu is afraid of Longyu. Although Longyu is called the Empress, she has an embarrassing position in the palace and is neglected. She has a grudge in her heart, but she can't do anything about it, so she can only fight alone.
To add insult to injury, Emperor Guangxu took his dragon and phoenix very seriously. He favored not Empress Longyu, but his favorite concubine Zhenfei. Concubine Zhen is not only as beautiful as a flower, but also smart and clever, and is deeply favored by Guangxu. Once, Concubine Zhen accidentally offended Empress Longyu, and Longyu tried his best to slander Cixi, and finally caused Concubine Zhen to be severely punished. This further intensified the contradiction between Guangxu and Longyu.
2. Cixi's deathbed arrangements
In the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu, that is, in the autumn of 1908 AD, a shocking news suddenly came out of the Forbidden City: the Empress Dowager Cixi was seriously ill and was dying. As the core of power that had been in charge for more than half a century, Cixi made some puzzling arrangements before her death.
First of all, Cixi made it clear that Pu Yi, the young lord of the dynasty, would be appointed as the crown prince in order to inherit the throne in the future. Pu Yi was three years old at the time, still in the age of a baby, so naturally he could not govern himself. Therefore, Cixi made Wang Zaifeng the "regent" and instructed him to supervise the country and control the power of the court. This decision is undoubtedly Cixi's future power layout, but it is puzzling why she made personnel arrangements in such a hurry?
Secondly, the day before Cixi's death, Pu Yi was quickly admitted to the Forbidden City to prepare for the ceremony of the Holy Driver's personal government. On the same day, Zaifeng was also appointed as the regent and issued an edict in the name of Guangxu. All this was naturally handled by Cixi herself, otherwise it would never have been possible to advance so quickly. Judging from the reactions of the government and the opposition, it seems that everyone is surprised and puzzled by all these arrangements.
The most eye-popping thing is that just when a series of major events such as the establishment of the prince for Puyi and the appointment of Zaifeng were in full swing, Emperor Guangxu himself fell into a dying illness. Just one day later, Guangxu died heroically in the Forbidden City. The fact that the two monarchs died only twenty hours apart is so striking that it is no wonder that there are all kinds of suspicions in the outside world.
People of insight believe that Cixi's series of hurried personnel deployments are probably because she had predicted that Guangxu would die, and in order to avoid a power vacuum, she began to support Pu Yi and Zaifeng to hold power. But what is even more suspicious is that Cixi not only foresaw it, but also personally planned Guangxu's death? Otherwise, how could she have made such a decisive personnel adjustment? All signs point in a thrilling direction.
3. A new and astonishing insider in the life of the Inner Palace
Before and after Guangxu was killed, there were undercurrents surging in the inner palace of the palace, and all kinds of details pointed to the existence of a murder conspiracy. Among them, Empress Longyu's actions have aroused widespread doubts and suspicions.
First of all, Empress Longyu's style of conduct is extremely mean and cruel, she insults, kicks and beats the palace maids, which is simply a cool official. There were many palace maids who suffered extremely cruel punishments because they offended Longyu. Longyu's viciousness made her feared in the Forbidden City.
Secondly, Longyu gradually spread her power and influence in the palace, and she did whatever it took to win over villains and traitors to prepare for her future power struggle. Some of Longyu's mother's cronies were placed in important positions by her side and became her eyes and ears in the palace. At one time, it was rumored that Longyu had instructed his henchmen to manipulate Guangxu.
The most questionable thing is that just a few days before Guangxu's death, someone saw Longyu doing something mysteriously. Soon after, Guangxu began to have strange symptoms: although his body improved for a while, his condition suddenly worsened, and even showed signs of poisoning. Could it be that Longyu quietly poisoned Guangxu's medicine?
The imperial physician in the palace even revealed privately that after Guangxu took a certain dose of medicine, his symptoms suddenly worsened, and he eventually died. According to common sense, Guangxu's illness does not constitute a life-threatening illness. This has aroused huge suspicions about Longyu from the outside world: did she take the opportunity to add poison to the drug? After all, only she, the queen who controls the entire palace medical affairs, has this opportunity and power.
Fourth, Guangxu's sudden death caused suspicion
On October 21, the 34th year of Guangxu, a shocking news spread all over the Forbidden City: His Majesty the Guangxu Emperor died! At that time, Guangxu was only thirty-seven years old, just in the prime of life, and suddenly died, making countless subjects cry and fall to the ground.
What's even more puzzling is that just a few days before Guangxu's death, his condition improved for a while, and the treatment of him by the imperial doctors gradually became effective. At that time, many imperial doctors believed that Guangxu's condition was completely controllable and would not take long to recover. However, fate unexpectedly played a big joke again.
The night before Guangxu died, he suddenly had severe vomiting and diarrhea, and then he was weak and began to be in a trance. The royal doctors examined his pulse and found that his pulse was extremely weak, apparently a symptom of poisoning. Although the imperial doctors have tried their best to save them, they are still powerless in the end.
Guangxu died in the early morning of October 21, and before his death, he repeated the word "poisoning" many times, as if he had doubts about the cause of his death. The imperial doctors also agreed afterwards that the cause of Guangxu's death was likely to be plotted by someone, and he was extremely poisoned in his diet and medicine.
Once Guangxu died, a mystery ensued. Who would be so unpossessed that he would commit murder against the king of a country? More importantly, what is the motive of the perpetrators? Judging from the distribution pattern of power around Guangxu alone, the only possible suspect is probably only one - Empress Longyu.
As the queen of Guangxu's main family, Longyu is in charge of the diet and daily life of the entire palace, and has absolute control over Guangxu's medication. Moreover, the interests of Longyu and Cixi are also highly aligned. Once Guangxu pursues the victory, I am afraid that Cixi's power will be greatly threatened, and Longyu will also be in power at that time. Therefore, Guangxu's death just cleared the biggest obstacle for Longyu to regain her power.
5. Summarize, question and reflect
To sum up, all signs point to the fact that Empress Longyu is likely to be the culprit of Guangxu's murder. Not only does she have a clear motive, but she also controls the best time and means to poison her.
Looking back at Longyu's life and experience, it is not difficult to find that she was used and manipulated by Cixi as a puppet all the way. Longyu has a great grudge against this, and she longs for the day when she can gain real power and shake off Cixi's control. And Guangxu is on her way to power, which has become her biggest stumbling block.
More importantly, just a few days before Guangxu became critically ill, Cixi suddenly took a series of mysterious actions, hastily appointed the throne for Pu Yi, and appointed Zaifeng as the regent, apparently intending to hand over the power to others. These stage-like movements all reveal that Cixi has predicted that Guangxu will die. Could it be that all this was carefully planned in advance?
And Longyu, as a close confidant of Cixi, controls Guangxu's diet and daily life, so it is easy to start with Guangxu's medicine. Her vicious and ferocious personality also gives us the expectation that she will not mind using some despicable means when it is profitable.
Of course, all of the above doubts are based on hearsay and suspicion. To this day, we still can't come up with conclusive evidence to prove that Longyu is indeed the real culprit of Guangxu's death. This makes history forever shrouded in a layer of fog, which is infinitely regrettable.
However, from a higher level, Guangxu's death has triggered a deep reflection on the root causes of the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Why did a once-powerful dynasty end up falling apart? Perhaps we can find some possible answers in the chaotic power struggles of the time. History will eventually respond, and only by humbly studying and earnestly verifying can we finally unravel the mystery.