Chapter 84 Section 84 Emperor Daoguang's will

Emperor Daoguang moved to Shende Hall in Yuanmingyuan a year ago to recuperate, but tonight he moved to Qianqing Palace.When Zeng Guofan arrived, the patriarchal order Zaiquan, former imperial minister Prince Yi Zaiyuan, Prince Zheng Duanhua, Mongolian Horqin king Seng Gelinqin, ministers of military aircraft Mu Zhanga, Sai Shanga, He Rulin, Chen Fuen, Ji Zhichang and ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Wen Qing and others are already kneeling in front of the dragon couch. Emperor Daoguang lay on the dragon couch with half-closed eyes. When Zeng Guofan knelt down, Emperor Daoguang's eyes moved visibly.

Eunuch Cao leaned into Emperor Daoguang's ear and whispered, "Your Majesty, all the ministers have arrived. Brothers are all waiting in the warm pavilion. Let them in too?" Emperor Daoguang nodded.Eunuch Cao hurried to the Nuan Pavilion, led the fourth elder brother, sixth elder brother Yixin, and seventh elder brother Yixuan in one by one, and knelt behind the ministers. Emperor Daoguang had nine males and ten females. The eldest son, Yijiao, died of illness at the age of twenty-four. The second son, Yigang, and the third son, Yiji, both died in infancy.The fifth son, Yichen, was adopted by the emperor's younger brother Mian Kai from birth.

Only five of Emperor Daoguang's ten daughters grew up, but only one lived to the age of thirty-four, and the other four died one after another in their twenties. Emperor Daoguang moved his hand.Eunuch Cao hurriedly leaned down, put his ear close to Emperor Daoguang's mouth, raised his head after a long time, looked at the ministers, and walked out quickly.Soon, two eunuchs followed Eunuch Cao in with bamboo ladders. The bamboo ladder is built to the plaque of "Fair and Bright".Cao Jinxi walked to Wen Qing's side and whispered something in his ear, and Wen Qing climbed up under the signal of Eunuch Cao, holding out a small delicate brocade box with both hands.

All the ministers and all the princes held their breath and looked at the brocade box together. With the receiving box in his hand, Eunuch Cao leaned down and asked Emperor Guang, "Does the Emperor want to open it?" Emperor Daoguang fixed his eyes on his right hand.Eunuch Cao looked over carefully, and saw a shiny golden key in that wrinkled palm. Eunuch Cao promised to "obey the order", took the key, opened the brocade box carefully, and took out a roll of yellow satin from inside. Eunuch Cao slowly unfolded the yellow satin, and read aloud: "I ordered that the fourth son of the emperor, Yili, be the crown prince, and the sixth son, Yixin, be canonized as the prince."

After reading, he handed the yellow satin to Zaiquan.Zai Quan read it over and it was correct, then handed it to Zai Yuan who was kneeling beside him.The oracle passed through the hands of the princes and ministers, and finally passed it to Zeng Guofan. Eunuch Cao put the sacred edict back into the brocade box, held it in both hands, and looked at the princes and ministers and all the brothers.All the princes, ministers and elder brothers agreed, and said in a loud voice: "I will abide by the sacred edict." Only then did Emperor Daoguang close his slightly opened eyes, and gently raised his right hand.

Eunuch Cao then announced: "All the princes and ministers kneel down! All the elder brothers escort Wan Ye Sui back to Shende Hall for bed!" All the princes and ministers filed out. When Zeng Guofan was about to leave, he quietly glanced at the princes who were kneeling to send him off, this glance actually shocked Zeng Guofan's whole body!If it wasn't for the fourth son Yi who raised the corners of his eyes at this moment, he would have almost lost his composure. Zeng Guofan stumbled back to the mansion, had a quick bite of food, and hurriedly asked Li Bao to boil a bucket of hot water under the kitchen, put salt and carried it into the bedroom.

The whole body was soaked in the basin, and the images of various princes began to appear in his mind. Although the nineteen-year-old Yi is the fourth son of the emperor, he is actually the eldest son of the emperor.According to the ancient principle of establishing the elders but not the young, there is no doubt that he should be established as the crown prince, but Yi has a pair of eagle eyes.According to "Tingjing", Hawkeye is suspicious.This point has been confirmed by him from the Anger case.What made Zeng Guofan even more disturbed was that there was a horizontal line hidden on Yi's face.He was standing, Yi was kneeling, he could see clearly, but the other two princes could not.Hidden horizontal lines on the face, the appearance of turmoil, and the appearance of poor fortune.The ancients said: The emperor has no blessings and the people suffer.Eagle eyes, lame legs, and horizontal stripes on the face are concentrated on one person, and this person will soon be the supreme ruler of the Qing Dynasty!

Thinking of this, Zeng Guofan was shaking all over, his head was buzzing, and cold sweat broke out. What frightened Zeng Guofan the most was that Yi Yi was a person with mediocre talents and knowledge, and was always resourceful.And the sixth son of the emperor, Yixin, is not only outstanding in appearance, but also very knowledgeable, especially those pair of clear and bright eyes, which make people feel that he is a daring person at first sight. Thinking of this, Chief Zeng Guofan sighed: Emperor Daoguang was smart all his life, but he was confused for a while, and the foundation created by his ancestor Fei may have been ruined because of his moment of confusion!

Suddenly, Zeng Guofan's mind flashed the glimpse of Yi that no one else noticed when he was about to leave the palace.From Yi's glance, Zeng Guofan saw luck and surprise.Probably Yi himself knows that he is inferior to his younger brothers in terms of appearance, character, and talent, but now he has won! Zeng Guofan didn't dare to think about it anymore, he had already faintly felt that his official career had come to an end.As long as Emperor Daoguang passed away, it would be difficult for him to make a difference, and he might lose his head! He closed his eyes, letting the tears roll down his cheeks.He was wronged on behalf of the sixth son of the emperor Yi, he was wronged on behalf of the people of the world, and he felt sorry for the Qing Dynasty!He really wanted to put on his clothes right away and go to Shende Hall to have a good talk with the emperor; but he soon came to his senses.He knew that Emperor Daoguang would never summon him again, and Emperor Daoguang had reached the end of his life.Emperor Daoguang had to work hard to do such trivial things as raising his hand and throwing his feet. How much time does he have to endure?He will soon meet his ancestors!

Zeng Guofan washed his face and felt more comfortable all over, so he changed his clothes.He asked Li Bao to carry the bucket out, and asked Li Bao to tell the servants to rest, then he closed the bedroom door, lit a requiem incense, and sat cross-legged on the kang.Whenever he was troubled, he always had to sit like this for two hours.He learned this kind of sitting exercise from Tang Jian, a great scholar. After a few years, he became addicted. In the middle of the night, Baoding Mansion in Zhili experienced an earthquake, and many houses collapsed; in the Yamen of Fengtian Mansion, an unknown fire suddenly rose, and five officials on duty were burned to death.

Emperor Daoguang, who was lying quietly on the dragon couch in the Shende Hall of Yuanmingyuan, suddenly opened his dragon eyes and pointed out the window, terrified.Crown Prince Yi, Prince Yixin and others who were guarding by their side looked along Emperor Daoguang's finger, and saw a huge, bright, round object slowly falling from the sky; Time but disappeared. Everyone felt strange, and when they looked at Emperor Daoguang again, he had passed away and was among the immortals. The time is midnight on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month in the thirtieth year of Emperor Daoguang, at the age of sixty-nine. Shen Detang burst into mourning in an instant.Duanhua, Mu Zhang'a, Zeng Guofan and other princes and ministers were called into the palace overnight to guard the spirit of Emperor Daoguang. The Zi Palace of Emperor Daoguang was moved into the Zhengda Guangming Hall in Yuanmingyuan, and the will of Emperor Daoguang was announced at the same time.The first testament said: "The fourth son of the emperor Yizhu is the crown prince. How can you wait for me to say that the princes and ministers will support me with one heart and one heart, and the national economy and the people's livelihood are the most important, and there is nothing else." Zeng Guofan saw that the handwriting of this will was scribbled, and it was obvious that Emperor Daoguang was struggling to write it when he was dying. At the same time, he could also see the painstaking efforts of Emperor Daoguang in establishing the reserve. The second testament said: "The sixth son of the emperor Yi is about to be canonized as the prince. You should know my painstaking efforts, and you should wholeheartedly praise and assist me, focusing on the foundation of the ancestors." All the princes and ministers knew that this will was written to Yixin, and it was also written to the Crown Prince Yi. It showed that since Yixin was canonized as a prince, he had the responsibility of assisting the government. Zeng Guofan silently said "lucky".With this will to follow, the Qing Dynasty can really continue.Yi, who is afraid of being small-bellied, is incompatible with his half-brother, and staged a farce of "beans weeping in the cauldron". The third testament said: "I have been on the throne for 30 years, and I deeply feel the inappropriateness of the ancestors' emphasizing the Manchus and despising the Han. I deliberately reversed it. I hope you will persist. This is the foundation of the country's stability." This is written to the new emperor Yi, telling Yi the direction of administration.With deliberation and good intentions, it can also be seen that Emperor Daoguang is worried about his son. The fourth testament reads: "There are steles of holiness and deeds in the south of the five-hole bridge in each mausoleum of the holy ancestors. The two links of the Qing and Han Dynasties are covered with steles. The system is magnificent and the scale is magnificent. In the merits of our ancestors, we should respect Zhaozi No. Why would I dare to draw up grand rules and pretend to be famous, but there is nothing to say about it, which will only increase the ridicule of future generations, and I will not take it. Ten thousand years later, it will be engraved on the Minglou stele. The name of the mausoleum can be engraved on the inscription of a certain emperor in the Qing and Han Dynasties. If the emperor wants to compose an inscription, he can engrave it on the stele outside the palace gate with Shen Zhui. It must not be built in the south of Wukong Bridge. The four roots are also not allowed to be erected, and the inscriptions cannot be added with the words of holy gods and virtues. Thrift is the foundation of the country and the origin of prosperity. My mausoleum is useless for suburbs, not for temples, just as before." Seeing this, many princes and ministers shed tears. During the 30 years of Emperor Daoguang's reign, frugality was the most important thing every day. The expenses for 30 years were not worth the expenses of Lord Qianlong for one year.Emperor Daoguang not only reduced the cost of food and clothing, but also made travel ceremonies extremely simple; for grand ceremonies such as the queen's birthday, Emperor Daoguang only ordered "to prepare more noodles and stew, so that the inner court staff will be full".It is such a frugal emperor, even the suburbs and temples have to be reduced, how can the princes and ministers not be unsympathetic? Advocating frugality and suppressing extravagance was the core of the Daoguang Dynasty.There is one more thing that makes the people of the world eternally grateful, that is, the Mulan Autumn Festival of "Xuwu Suifan" set by the holy ancestor of the Qing Dynasty. Because of the huge cost, Emperor Daoguang never held it. This is actually equivalent to changing the ancestral system. The more Zeng Guofan thought about it, the more he felt that Emperor Daoguang's mausoleum should be equipped with suburbs and temples.No matter what Crown Prince Yi thinks, he will fight for Emperor Daoguang on the basis of his status as Minister of Rites.