Daoguang has 9 princes, YiXuan is not the eldest son, his qualifications are mediocre, and he is lame, why would Daoguang choose him as his heir?
Yi Xuan was the fourth prince of the Daoguang Emperor, who was born in the Yuanmingyuan in the eleventh year of Daoguang, and his biological mother was Empress Xiao Quancheng.
(Statue of The Xianfeng Emperor)
When Yi Xuan was 10 years old, Empress Xiao Quancheng died of illness. Daoguang took pity on him and asked Jing Guifei to take responsibility for his maintenance.
At that time, Jing Guifei also had the sixth son of the Emperor, Yi Bi, who was 1 year younger than Yi Xi. The two read books together every day and practice riding and shooting, so the relationship is particularly harmonious.
Yi Xuan was ordinary in appearance, and his reading and riding and shooting qualifications were mediocre, but he was humble and courteous to others, and treated Daoguang and Jingfei with filial piety, so he was quite virtuous.
Yi Bi was intelligent and clever since childhood, and he had a good performance in reading and riding and shooting, plus he looked like a talented person, and he was the most favored by the princes.
Although Daoguang had 9 princes, the only monks who could be considered were Yi Xi and Yi Bi.
At that time, the Qing Dynasty, after the Opium War, was already weakening. Daoguang had no talent for governing the country, and could only hope that he could choose a good heir to change the fortunes of the country, so he was particularly serious about choosing an heir.
In Daoguang's view, Yi Xi was "long and virtuous" and very benevolent and filial; Yi Bi was "talented", both literary and martial, and in his heart he preferred Yi Bi, but he decided to investigate and make a decision.
(Hunting map)
Once, Daoguang led the princes to hunt in Nanyuan.
Yi Bi and the other princes chased after the prey, but Yi Xi sat quietly on one side.
At the end of the hunt, all the princes had captured, especially Yi Bi, who had captured the most, and was praised by Daoguang.
Dao Guang was very surprised to see Yi Xuan return empty-handed, so he asked him.
Yi Xi then replied, "Shi Fang Chunhe, birds and beasts are pregnant, and they cannot bear to be hurt, so as to dry heaven and peace." And I don't want to compete with my brothers with the skill of bow and horse. ”
After hearing this, Daoguang was very happy and said to the ministers around him, "This is the word of the True Emperor!"
The ministers around him also quickly agreed, so Yi Xuanren was named.
However, Daoguang still felt that Yi Xi was not the right choice for the crown prince, so he kept oscillating between him and Yi Bi.
In the twenty-ninth year of Daoguang, Daoguang's body deteriorated and could no longer be supported.
Daoguang had to decide on Li Chu's affairs, so he summoned Yi Xi and Yi Bi to consult the government.
Yi Bi's answer to Daoguang's question was very good, reasonable and well-founded.
Yi Xi fell to his knees, tears flowing, but he didn't say a word.
(Daoguang Emperor)
Daoguang, who was suffering from illness, was also quite touched to see Yixuan like this, and after the two of them left, he said to the ministers around him: "The fourth son of the emperor, Ren Xiaoxiao, can be a great responsibility." ”
The next day, after Daoguang's death, in the presence of the Minister of Military Aircraft, the Minister of internal affairs, and others, the foreman minister read out the secret edict of succession with YiXuan's name written on it.
Yi Xuan obeyed the edict and succeeded to the throne as the Xianfeng Emperor.
So, did Yi Xuan, who had mediocre qualifications, really rely on his own ability to get the throne?
No, it turned out that there was a tall man behind Yi Xuan, and this tall man was his teacher Du Shoutian.
(Du Shoutian stills)
Du Shoutian was born in a family of scholars and was a well-known Confucian at that time.
Since the eighteenth year of Daoguang, he was designated by Daoguang as Yixuan's teacher, and has been promoted year after year since then, coupled with his full talent and strategy, he is very important to Daoguang.
Du Shutian was a Han Chinese who had been educated in orthodox Confucian thought since childhood, so in the matter of Li Chu, he always had the traditional idea of "having a concubine and a concubine", plus Yi Xu had a virtuous name, so he was determined to help Yi Xuan seize the throne.
As Yi Xi's teacher, he understood very well that Yi Xi wanted to outperform Yi Xi in talent and riding and shooting, and there was no chance of winning, so he often warned Yi Xi not to be self-righteous, and to be sure to get the affirmation of Daoguang in the image of loyalty and filial piety and benevolence.
Yi Xi listened to the teacher's advice, and before the two examinations, he listened to Du Shitian's countermeasures, avoided his weaknesses, and showed himself in front of Daoguang with a benevolent posture.
In this way, Yi Xi, who had mediocre qualifications, won the recognition of Daoguang by showing off, and defeated the talented Yi Bi.
(Reference historical facts: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty)