In the eleventh year of Xianfeng, Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty died of illness at the summer resort at the age of thirty. At that time, Emperor Xianfeng's only surviving son and heir to the throne, Emperor Muzong of Qing, was only five years old! How to arrange the power structure behind him became an important issue that the ill Xianfeng Emperor could not avoid.
Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty (portrait)
In ancient China, the pattern of power under the young lord's accession to the dynasty was nothing more than several models in non-special circumstances (such as before the usurpation of the throne by the courtiers): First, the regency of the clan. 2. Ministers with different surnames assist the government. 3. The Empress Dowager is in charge of the imperial court. These three modes had been used by the Qing Dynasty before the Xianfeng Emperor, but the effect did not seem to be very good...
Zhang Juzheng, an auxiliary regime of the Ming Dynasty (stills)
The first is the regency of the clan, which was already carried out before the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, that is, the regent mentioned in the qing dynasty's so-called "regent of Chengye, regent of defeat". After unsuccessfully competing with Emperor Taiji of the Qing Dynasty and prince Hauge the Prince of Suwu, he chose the strategy of "exchanging the throne for real power", quit the competition for the throne and became the regent of the Qing Dynasty. As a result, this regent directly turned the regency into a natural exercise of imperial power, and simply completely overshadowed the Qing Dynasty Zu Shunzhi Emperor! Even when the Shunzhi Emperor was already able to govern himself, Dorgon had no intention of handing over power! If it weren't for God taking Ingun and letting him fall off his horse and die in his thirties, the history of the Qing Dynasty might have been rewritten...
Prince Regent and Prince Dolgun of Ruizhong (portrait)
For a long time after that, no emperor in the Qing Dynasty dared to test the regency of the Water Sect, including the xianfeng emperor mentioned earlier. It was not until the end of the Qing Dynasty that another regent appeared again in the Qing Dynasty, but this time the regent was completely different from the regent of Dolgun, and the regent Zaifeng was the biological father of the little emperor Puyi! The throne was originally from the Zaifeng family, and there was no need for him to usurp the throne at all.
Prince Regent and Prince Zaifeng (Photo)
The Last Emperor Puyi (Photo)
Because he had been victimized by the regency of the clan, when faced with the situation that his son was about to come to the court, the Shunzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty resolutely abandoned the regency of the clan and instead used the assistant government of the minister with a different surname to solve the problem that the young lord could not pro-government, but the effect was also very unsatisfactory. The first was the infighting among the auxiliary ministers, and soon after the death of the Shunzhi Emperor, the four auxiliary ministers began an endless infighting! In the end, Suksaha lost his life, and Hebilon "paid for his own martial arts" and became a wall grass, and Sony was old and hung up directly... Aobai gradually became a dominant force. Although Ao bai himself had no ambitions, did not want to usurp the throne, and was loyal to the Qing Dynasty, his style of conduct was too overbearing, and it seriously hindered the Qing Emperor Kangxi to take back and exercise imperial power! The end result is well known... The Kangxi Emperor had to use force to solve the problem, directly captured and imprisoned Aobai! After that, until the Xianfeng period, the Qing Dynasty did not have any young lords to come to the dynasty, and later the so-called "auxiliary ministers" of Ortai, Zhang Tingyu and others were not the same thing as Aobai and others.
Qing Dynasty auxiliary minister Ao Bai (portrait)
Because of Aobai's previous experience, the Xianfeng Emperor obviously wanted to engage in ministers with different surnames to assist the government. But there's no way! The empress dowager is in charge of the dynasty, and there are too many things in Chinese history! The Xianfeng Emperor was even more afraid of the appearance of roles such as Empress Lü and Wu Zetian... After thinking about it and weighing the pros and cons, the Xianfeng Emperor finally came up with a very delicate balance of power system! This system is quite interesting, and it can be described as a "serial set".
Wu Zetian (portrait) who claimed the title of emperor and even called the emperor's son in his place (portrait)
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > checks and balances between the empress dowager and the auxiliary chancellor</h1>
Purely formally speaking, Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty actually created a minister with a different surname to assist the government. However, in view of the history of Ao bai and the power, the Xianfeng Emperor put a "tight curse" on the "eight ministers" of the auxiliary government, that is, the empress dowager! The Xianfeng Emperor gave Empress Dowager Ci'an a "Royal Reward" seal and Empress Dowager Cixi a "Tongdaotang" seal, and stipulated that the decrees issued by the eight ministers of the Auxiliary Government must be stamped with these two seals before they could take effect. In other words, if Empress Dowager Ci'an and Empress Dowager Cixi do not stamp it, the decree issued by the "Eight Ministers" of the auxiliary government is a piece of waste paper!
The "Imperial Reward" seal and the "Tongdaotang" seal
On the other hand, the empress dowager of the two palaces only has the "right to make decisions", but does not have the right to directly intervene in government affairs! All government decrees must come from the hands of the "Eight Ministers" of the Auxiliary Government, and the "Decrees" directly issued by the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces bypassing the "Eight Ministers" of the Auxiliary Government are equally invalid! Thus, a delicate balance emerged, and the decrees issued were only valid if the empress dowager of the two palaces and the "eight ministers" of the auxiliary government agreed unanimously. It not only prevented the empress dowager from gaining power, but also prevented the foreign auxiliary ministers from becoming bigger, thus establishing a delicate balance of power.
Empress Xiaoqinxian (Empress Dowager Cixi) of the Yehenara clan (photo)
The advantages of this balance of rights are obvious, but the disadvantages are also very obvious, that is, the inevitable mutual conflict, which leads to administrative inefficiency. But for the Xianfeng Emperor, inefficiency was better than his son being hollowed out in the future, wasn't it? As long as the basic operation of the state apparatus can be maintained, and the tongzhi emperor can be safe and stable until the tongzhi emperor is pro-government, the purpose of the Xianfeng Emperor's move will be achieved. As for everything else, concessions must be made for this purpose!
Emperor Zaichun of the Qing Dynasty (portrait)
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The harm caused by the dominance of the auxiliary chancellor's family was vividly manifested in Aobai, and it also added many uneasiness to the heart of the Xianfeng Emperor. In order to avoid this situation, the Xianfeng Emperor adopted a strategy of "decentralization" and set up eight auxiliary ministers in one go. Among them, there are clans, there are foreign relatives, there are those who are in the flag, there are those who are not in the flag... It is dominated by three distant branch sects. Why set up three clans at the same time to assist the government? It is also because of the lack of reassurance, in order to form a mutual check and balance. At the same time, out of distrust of these three distant branches, the Xianfeng Emperor used foreign relatives such as Gulun Jingshou and foreign ministers to balance the three clans, thus establishing another delicate balance of power.
One of the "Eight Ministers" of the Auxiliary Government - First Class Gong, Gu Lun Er Gong Jing Shou (portrait)
As for why they chose the Distant Branch Sect, the reason is even more difficult to understand, they are small branches of the Sect, and they are very distant from the blood relationship of the Large Sect. In addition to prince Zaiyuan of Yi, who is relatively close, the lineage of Prince Duanhua of Zheng and the brothers of Sushun has been a branch of Xiaozong since the beginning of the Qing Taizu Nurhaci! If the principle of succession to the throne is followed, I am afraid that it will not be the turn of the descendants of Prince Shulhaqi of Zhuang, right? To put it bluntly, in fact, the Xianfeng Emperor was worried that the Jinzhi Clan and the like of Prince Gongzhong, YiXuan, would assist the government, and there would be a second Dolgun! The Far Branch Clan Room is more reassuring to use.
One of the "Eight Ministers" of the Auxiliary Government - Prince Zaiyuan of Yi (portrait)
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For the empress dowager of the two palaces, the Xianfeng Emperor was even more uneasy, especially Empress Dowager Cixi! Therefore, the Xianfeng Emperor decreed that two empresses must be stamped at the same time before the decree could take effect. To put it bluntly, in fact, it is to let the two palaces and empresses check each other. However, compared with Empress Dowager Ci'an, the Xianfeng Emperor was even more uneasy about Empress Dowager Cixi. Therefore, when he rewarded the "Imperial Reward" seal and the "Tongdaotang" seal to the two of them, the "Imperial Reward" seal was directly given to the then empress, that is, Empress Dowager Ci'an, while the "Tongdaotang" seal was given to his son Emperor Tongzhi, and his birth mother, Empress Dowager Cixi, was responsible for preserving it. In other words, if in the future Empress Dowager Cixi turns her face to her son because of her power, Emperor Tongzhi can use his mother-in-law Empress Dowager Ci'an to fight for power with her birth mother, Empress Dowager Cixi! After all, the nominal owner of that "TongdaoTang" seal was the Tongzhi Emperor, wasn't it? Conversely, if Empress Dowager Ci'an seized power, it would be useless to rely solely on the "Imperial Reward" seal in her hand. It is also true that before and after the Tongzhi Emperor's pro-government, it was the mother-in-law Empress Dowager Ci'an and the sixth uncle Gongzhong The Prince Yixuan who relied on the power struggle with his birth mother, Empress Dowager Cixi. Just think, if the Tongzhi Emperor had not died young, in time, I am afraid that he would not have been able to regain the imperial power that should have belonged to him, wouldn't he? Unfortunately, history is useless if...
Empress Xiaozhenxian (Empress Dowager Ci'an)
All in all, the power balance system set up by Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty before his death was one link at a time, which can definitely be called a "serial set". If this balanced system continues to operate normally, although it is not beneficial to the development of the Qing Dynasty, at least it can ensure that the Tongzhi Emperor can smoothly pro-government, reclaim and independently exercise imperial power. But the Xianfeng Emperor ignored the most important point - people are not machines, and they will not go on the same basis according to the predetermined procedures. The more complex and sophisticated things are, the easier it is to go wrong! As long as there is a problem with any of these links, the entire "building" may collapse...
One of the initiators of the "QiXiang Coup" - Prince Gongzhong Yixuan (photo)
Sure enough, as soon as the Xianfeng Emperor went to see Prince Yan on his front foot, the "Eight Ministers" of the auxiliary government could not sit still, eager to break free of the "tight curse" on his head, and wanted to turn the empress dowager of the two palaces into his own "rubber stamp"! And the empress dowager of the two palaces is also not a person who keeps to herself, and when she sees that someone wants to empty herself, she simply acts first and secretly connects the near branch of the clan gongzhong prince Yi Chen, and others, and launched the famous "Qi Xiang Coup" with lightning speed! In just a few months, the "serial set" of power balance that the Xianfeng Emperor had painstakingly built up completely collapsed! The next thing is well known, so I won't go into detail here.
The Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces "Hanging the Curtain to Listen to the Government" (stills)