When Yongzheng was preparing to take Nian Qianyao, Nian Qianyao was the general of Fuyuan. In our impression, "General Fuyuan" is very powerful. But why, when Yongzheng overthrew Nian Qianyao, Nian Qianyao had no power to fight back, and was easily taken down by Yongzheng? Is this Fuyuan General powerful or not?
Because this "Fuyuan General" was not a permanent general, in the history of the Qing Dynasty, only Fuquan, Yin Yu, and Nian Qianyao had served as three people. Therefore, in order to judge whether the "Fuyuan General" is strong or not, we must first look at the situation of these three people serving as Fuyuan General.
(Fu Quan stills)
The first person to serve as the general of Fuyuan was Fuquan. Fuquan was the elder brother of the Kangxi Emperor. At that time, the leader of the Mongol Dzungar clan in Xinjiang, Gardan, rebelled, so Kangxi made Fuquan the general of Fuyuan and his other half-brother Chang Ning the general of Anbei and went out on a campaign against Kaldan.
However, during this crusade, Kangxi was extremely dissatisfied with Fuquan's actions and believed that Fuquan had missed the fighter. There was no greater blow to Kaldan. After Fu Quan's class returned, the ministers of the Council discussed and believed that Fu Quan's title should be stripped. In the end, however, Kangxi did not do so, but fined him for three years, removed his three vassals, and abolished his power to discuss government affairs.
Throughout the whole process, Fuquan behaved in a rebellious manner, not only indicating that he had all received punishment, but also saying with tears many times: "I repeat what I say!" ”
Some scholars in later generations believe that the reason why Fuquan wanted to go against the grain and say things like "what I say again" was because Fuquan believed that Kangxi was deliberately trying to rectify him. After all, he was Kangxi's elder brother, and in the order of succession to the throne, he should have been kangxi after he passed. Therefore, after Kangxi succeeded to the throne, he was quite jealous of Fuquan, so he found his stubble, punished and attacked him.
It can be seen from here that the position of "Fuyuan General" did not actually add weight to Fuquan and did not make him more deterrent. Kangxi wanted to rectify Fuquan, so he easily made him obedient, so that he did not even have a rebuttal.
(Yin Yu stills)
Let's look at the second Yin Yu who served as the "Fuyuan General".
At that time, it encountered the rebellion of the Mongols in Xinjiang. At that time, it was already in the late kangxi dynasty. Kangxi needed to solve not only the problem of border stability as soon as possible, but also the problem of heirs. So at this time, we see that Kangxi appointed Yin Yu as the general of Fuyuan and asked him to lead his troops out on a campaign to quell the rebellion of Alabutan.
As for Kangxi sending Yin Yu on the expedition, did he want to temper him so that he could pass the throne to him? Since Kangxi did not leave a single word, this is obviously unknown to us now. What is certain, however, is that Kangxi gave Yin Yu a great deal of power, not only specifically instructing Qinghai and Tibet, including some of the xinjiang chiefs who were subordinate to him, to obey Yin Yu absolutely. And later, when Yin Yu thought it was appropriate to slow down and fight again, Kangxi was also extremely supportive. You know, at that time, Fuquan also proposed to slow down and fight again, but Kangxi gave him a severe punishment. This time Yin Yu made the same suggestion, and Kangxi obeyed him. It can be seen how much power Kangxi gave to Yin Yu as the "Great General of Fuyuan"!
(Kangxi stills)
But even if Kangxi gave Yin Yu a lot of power, after Kangxi died and Yongzheng came to power and succeeded to the throne, he ordered Yin Yu to leave the army there and return with his bare hands, he could only come back, and did not dare to hesitate for half a minute. Moreover, when Yin Yu came back, he must have understood that there would be absolutely no good fruit to eat when he returned. But he still, like Fuquan, chose to go against the grain.
From this, we can also see that although Kangxi gave Yin Yu the position of "Fuyuan General", which seemed very powerful, he still could not do anything in front of the new emperor Yongzheng.
Let's talk about Nian Qianyao, the "Great General of Fuyuan". Nian Qianyao became the general of Fuyuan, and he completely succeeded Yin Yu as a result. At that time, it was also Nian Qianyao, as Yin Yu's logistical support, that was guarded in the Sichuan-Shaanxi area, and Even if Yin Yu wanted to rebel, he did not have that ability. Because as long as he rebelled, Nian Qianyao cut off his logistical support for him, and he basically did nothing.
As long as the logistical support is cut off, Yin Yu will have no choice. It can also be seen from this that this "Fuyuan General" is actually nothing.
(Nian TangYao stills)
When Yongzheng was preparing to sanction Nian Qianyao, the situation was the same. At that time, Yongzheng first removed Nian Qianyao's men from him, and then transferred Nian Qianyao away and made him the general of Hangzhou. Then hint at his subordinates and let them expose Nian Tangyao. Therefore, Yongzheng convicted Nian Qianyao of ninety-two major crimes, and finally forced him to commit suicide in prison. And Nian Qianyao could only obey the arrangement of fate and obediently commit suicide.
It can be seen from here that this "Fuyuan General" of the Qing Dynasty, although it sounds like a very powerful name, is just a name. All the rights of the "Fuyuan General" were given by the emperor, and the emperor wanted to take back the power, which was a breeze.
(Reference: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, etc.)