Chapter 3 In the second quarter, unprepared succession

I don't know if it was because of the inheritance of special physique, most of the emperors in the Qing Dynasty died quickly and neatly, and there were very few people who were procrastinated and lingering on the sick bed.The four emperors of Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Jiaqing died without any signs.From "accidentally suffering from a slight illness" to passing away, the shortest period is three days, and the longest period is no more than one week.Therefore, the emperor's imperial edict often contains the words "suddenly encountered a great cause" and "stunned by hearing about it".

However, Yongzheng's death was more sudden than others. In the thirteenth year of Yongzheng (1735), at about ten o'clock in the evening on August 22, Zhang Tingyu, a bachelor, had just gone to bed when he was suddenly awakened by a sharp knock on the door. The eunuch from Yuanmingyuan came to pass the decree, summoning him to enter the palace as soon as possible. While Zhang Tingyu "rushed" towards the Old Summer Palace, he felt anxious.I just met the emperor during the day, why did I call again so late? Entering the Old Summer Palace from the southwest gate to the bedroom, he was surprised to see that Emperor Yongzheng was lying on the big bed, his eyes were closed, his breathing was weak, and he didn't recognize anyone.

Zhang Tingyu said in his memoirs that his reaction at the time was "horrified".Yongzheng is only 58 years old this year, so he is not considered old.Two days ago, that is, on August 20th, the emperor was indeed a little uncomfortable, but he still went about his business as usual.Although his condition worsened on the 22nd, he was still able to receive ministers and handle government affairs. Why did he fall into a dying state so soon? The imperial doctor's medicine was ineffective, and when it was delayed until the 23rd day, Yongzheng passed away amidst everyone's panic. ("Chronology of Zhang Tingyu·Yongzheng Thirteen Years")

Regarding the death of Yongzheng, later generations have produced various speculations, the most absurd one of which is of course that Lv Siniang took the head with a flying sword.However, the consistent conclusion of contemporary historians is that Yongzheng's violent death was caused by taking elixir. As one of the most individualistic emperors in the Qing Dynasty, Yongzheng's behavior was often deviant.He studied Buddhism intensively and was superstitious about alchemy. He was very interested in Taoist elixir theory. He usually liked to take elixir "Jiji Dan", and often gave it to his trusted ministers.He raised several Taoist priests in the harem, and their task was to refine the "elixir" for Yongzheng that could strengthen his energy and prolong his life. ("Yongzheng Biography") Although the official history did not dare to record, but after studying many historical materials and files, he did not have a fatal illness. Passed away early.The most convincing evidence is that on the third day after Yongzheng's death, Emperor Si kicked out all the Taoist priests who practiced alchemy in the palace. ("Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty")

Yongzheng died so hastily that he didn't have time to leave any will.Everyone knows that in this case, the most important thing is to determine the new king.Hongli and Hongzhou were busy crying loudly at this time, announcing who is the new king must be done by the ministers. In order to avoid the tragedy of Kangxi's later years, Yongzheng invented the system of "secret storage".As early as August 17th, the first year of Yongzheng (1723), he personally wrote the decree and hid it behind the plaque of "Uprightness and Brightness".When the dragons had no leader, it was the respected Zhang Tingyu who calmed down first.As a confidant of Emperor Yongzheng, he knew the whole process of Yongzheng's secret reserve.In the chronicle, he recalled: "Ertai and I said to the princes and ministers gathered in the palace: 'Emperor Daxing wrote a secret edict to pass on the throne before he was alive, and we both read it. The most urgent thing now is to Find the secret edict.’ Everyone said yes. So I ordered the chief eunuch to look for it. The chief eunuch said: “The emperor has not told us about this matter, so I don’t know where the secret edict is hidden.” I said: “The document sealed by Emperor Daxing that day, There shouldn’t be many. Just look for a small box sealed with yellow paper on the outside, with the word “seal” written on the back, it should be it.’” ("Zhang Tingyu Chronicles · Thirteen Years of Yongzheng")

After a while, the eunuch found the secret edict.The princes and ministers jointly held it under the lamp and read it out. The original text of Yongzheng's edict is as follows: Hongli, the fourth son of Prince Bao, is kind-hearted and filial to his friends. Among all his grandchildren, the holy ancestor is the most beloved.In August of the first year of Yongzheng, I summoned all the kings, Manchu and Han ministers to meet at the Qianqing Palace, and gave a personal order to establish the crown prince. I personally wrote the decree, sealed it, and stored it in the highest place of the Qianqing Palace. .Afterwards, he was still granted the title of prince, and Gai Ling prepared a vassal title, familiar with political affairs, so as to broaden his knowledge. ("Records of Emperor Shizong of Qing Dynasty")

Zhang Tingyu recalled in "Chronicles": "When the new emperor Qianlong heard that he had inherited the throne, he immediately fell to the ground and cried for a long time. The princes and ministers tried to persuade him again and again, but the new emperor still couldn't get up." Hongli's bitter cry was sincere and heartfelt.Although he had already guessed that he would be the heir to the Qing Empire, he was really unprepared for his father's death.He is already mentally prepared to take the throne at 40 or even 50 years old, because it seems that his career as crown prince will be an extremely long endurance race.Unexpectedly, his father's life span was 11 years shorter than that of his grandfather, and he was only 58 years old when he died, which enabled him to become a great treasure at the age of 25.

Hongli couldn't but rejoice for his luck.Looking back at the entire history of China, at the moment when the throne was handed over, there have been many treacherous and cunning, open and dark arrows.Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, the five emperors came to the throne, and they all went through fierce struggles. Almost every generation was at war, even bloody.Only his own succession process was upright, a matter of course, without any disturbance.Fate has been too generous to itself. However, as a person with extremely high emotional intelligence, Hongli will never reveal any excitement in his heart.He quickly mobilized all his energy and devoted himself to the role of "filial son".

The funeral of Emperor Daxing proceeded quickly and thoughtfully. "Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty" records that Xinjun performed all the prescribed actions of a filial son at the funeral very hard, very well, and very touching: when he was buried, he "wept bitterly and danced countless times", that is to say, countless times Struggling and jumping, preventing people from covering the coffin. "From the middle of the night of the first day to the evening of the second day, the emperor mourned deeply and kept crying. He couldn't get water all day long. All the officials knelt down and begged the emperor to mourn. look up".

According to the requirements of etiquette, when the Daxing Emperor (the emperor who just died) returned to the Forbidden City, the Heir Emperor should greet him in the Qianqing Gate.However, Hongli did not agree to do so. He insisted on personally escorting the emperor back to the palace.Of course, the ministers could not agree to this practice, which violated the norms. For this reason, Hongli declared to the ministers: "If you greet them in the Qianqing Gate, you really can't bear it. Minister Wang and others don't have to insist on asking, so you can show your heart." ("Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty")

The "Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty" records that Hongli "cryed non-stop" on the way to escort the Daxing emperor's emperor back to the palace.At the moment before entering the Qianqing Gate, he ordered that instead of entering directly through the Qianqing Gate as the new emperor, he should enter through the inner right gate to show respect for the old emperor who had just died.It is impossible for any other filial son to make these details more in place.