The six-dimensional pictures of emperors of all dynasties were exposed, and the ancestors panicked

Chapter 694: Two dethronements and two reinstatements, four sons succeed to the throne
[When Kangxi went on his third expedition, the crown prince stayed in the capital to handle daily government affairs and became a trusted assistant of his father.]

[However, the prince grew up in the deep palace, and for decades, he was second only to the emperor and above everyone else. He gradually revealed his arrogant, domineering, and self-centered personality.]

[In the 29th year of Kangxi's reign, Kangxi was seriously ill during his expedition against Galdan. The crown prince went to the palace to visit him and saw that his father looked haggard, but he did not show any worry at all.]

[Emperor Kangxi, who always attached great importance to filial piety and practiced it throughout his life, was very unhappy when he saw this and immediately sent him back to Beijing. This was the beginning of the rift between the father and son.]

……

{This is really hard to explain...}
{Kangxi really attached great importance to filial piety.}
{It goes without saying that when Empress Xiaozhuang was critically ill, Emperor Kangxi stayed by her side day and night and personally served her medicine.}
{In order to pray for his grandmother, despite the freezing cold weather in December, he led the princes and ministers to walk from the Forbidden City to the Temple of Heaven to pray to the gods.}
{He burst into tears while reading the prayer, saying that he "lost his parents at an early age, and lived under the care of his grandmother for more than 30 years, who raised and taught him, leading him to success. Without his grandmother, the Empress Dowager, he would never have achieved what he has today. His endless kindness is something he will never be able to repay in his lifetime."}
{The funeral of Empress Xiaozhuang also broke many ancestral rules and conventions, including cutting her hair and braids.}
{She even prayed for rain for the whole country fifty times, and it was very effective. However, after Empress Xiaozhuang passed away, she no longer went to the Temple of Heaven to pray for rain, and instead prayed for rain in the palace.}
{Because he prayed for his grandmother's longevity at the Temple of Heaven, it was ineffective. God ignored him and Xiaozhuang died anyway.}
{Unfortunately, Kangxi was unable to take action against the prince, and he fell into doting on him again and again.}
{After all, the fact that Kangxi could improve the prince's "talent" by suppressing his teacher shows how much he doted on the prince. Yinreng's arrogance was cultivated day by day.}
……

Great Sui.

"To spoil a child is like to kill him."

Yang Jian thought of that evil creature again!

"It is because I could not foresee the evil of that birth that the Sui Dynasty did not end well!"

"He saw his sick father but showed no sign of worry."

"This kind of person will definitely do something disloyal and unfilial!"

Dugu Jialuo rolled her eyes silently.

This person becomes a gossip whenever he encounters matters concerning his children.

"Instead of nagging me, you might as well go wash the diapers."

Yang Jian was stunned, pointing at his nose and said in disbelief:
"I?"

Dugu Jialuo looked at him expressionlessly.

Yang Jian gritted his teeth.

"Just wash it!"

……

Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period
Chilled, not a big fuss...

Kangxi looked at the word "crack" in disbelief.

He thought it was over.

When he personally led the expedition against Galdan, he missed Yinreng so much that he asked him to send him his old clothes so that he could wear them when he missed him.

I was angry at that time, but later I realized that this child had character defects because he lost his mother at a young age and lacked maternal love.

There is a reason why he treats me so coldly.

but……

"You have resentment in your heart."

Kangxi understood.

"Are you blaming me?"

He didn't understand why.

He gave Baocheng all the best!

Why would he blame himself?
Yinreng lowered his head, remained silent for a moment, raised his head and looked directly at Kangxi, and said quietly:
"Ama really doesn't know?"

Kangxi covered his chest, sat on the dragon chair, and said with trembling lips:

"What do I want to know? What should I know?"

Yinreng looked at Kangxi's pale face and whispered:

"Father, you want each of your sons to be a dragon among men, but there can only be one true dragon."

"You have never experienced the plight of a prince. At most, you have been suppressed by powerful officials for a few years."

"You have a very good relationship with your brothers, and you all work together."

“But they are not us.”

Yinreng lowered his head, closed his eyes, and clenched his fists.

"The king and father oppressed me, my brothers were jealous of me, and the ministers instigated me."

"Has Ama ever experienced this?"

Kangxi looked at his most beloved son.

For the first time, I realized that I seemed to have never understood him.

……

[In addition, the prince often insulted and beat the princes and ministers, extorted local officials, and almost executed the prefect Chen Pengnian for poor hospitality during his southern tour to Jiangning. These were intolerable behaviors in the eyes of Emperor Kangxi, who was always lenient to his subjects.]

[The reason why the prince behaved like this was also because he was spoiled by Emperor Kangxi himself.]

[The prince's mother died of dystocia, which aroused the love of Emperor Kangxi, who had a deep relationship with his wife and lost both his parents at a young age. He gave him almost the same etiquette and treatment as himself, and the prince's daily living expenses were even more luxurious than his own.]

[In order to make it easier for the prince to spend money, he even appointed his wet nurse's husband Ling Pu as the head of the Internal Affairs Department.]

[A powerful group gradually formed around the prince, headed by Suo Etu, an important official in the early Kangxi period and the prince's uncle, the Prince's Party.]

[They engaged in a fierce struggle with the party of the eldest prince (Yinzhi) led by another important minister, Grand Secretary Mingzhu, and the struggle ended with Mingzhu being dismissed from office.]

【However, the princelings became more arrogant and directed their struggle directly at the emperor himself.】

……

Great Qin.

Ying Zheng thought of what Fusu looked like when he was young.

He is my first son.

I have high hopes for him...

Ying Zheng looked at the sky, his face showing no emotion but he was unhappy in his heart.

Fusu was kind and benevolent, and was loved by his subjects.

But he has been obsessed with the fantasy of seeking immortality and cannot extricate himself.

"I only trust myself."

But he never thought about who would take over and rule the empire if his plan to obtain the elixir of immortality failed.

"Father and son, ruler and subject..."

The others felt horrified as they looked at the emperor who was talking to himself in a daze.

They don't want to be involved in these messes!
Liu Bang, please come back soon! Please...wait!
Several old ministers looked at each other.

Could it be that... is this also within your calculation? Liu Bang? !

Xiao He's face was expressionless.

No, he just ran away by himself.

……

The period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
Liu Che put himself in Kangxi's shoes and immediately understood Kangxi's dilemma.

It is undeniable that the emperor wanted the prince to have a stable position at the beginning.

If one wants to secure the throne of the crown prince, he must have a certain amount of external relatives holding important positions in the palace to support him.

Just as Zixu and Wei Qing could support Juer, no one could threaten Juer's position as crown prince.

Except for one person.

"The emperor is old, and the prince is in his prime."

"Today I finally understand how courageous it is for Marquis Liu to retire after achieving success."

Wei Zifu, who was standing aside, silently recited the four words "retire after success".

My heart was calm.

So there is only one Liu Hou.

……

In the 42nd year of Kangxi's reign, Kangxi arrested the leader of the prince's party, Suo Etu, believing that he was harboring resentment behind the scenes, making irresponsible comments on state affairs, forming a clique for personal gain, and plotting against the law. He was detained in the clan house.

In September of the 1708th year of the Kangxi reign (), Kangxi and many other princes and ministers were on their way back to Beijing after a tour outside the Great Wall. He suddenly summoned all the princes and ministers to the temporary palace, ordered Crown Prince Yinreng to kneel before him, and announced with tears that he would abolish the crown prince.

[The charge was "disobeying the virtues of the ancestors, disobeying my instructions, committing evil and abusing the people, being violent and promiscuous", arbitrarily abusing the kings and ministers, harassing the people, "acting arbitrarily and perversely, doing whatever he wanted". ]

[When his younger brother, the Eighteenth Prince, was seriously ill, he showed "no sign of friendship"; when Kangxi rebuked him, he became "angry and furious."]

[It is also said that the prince "approached the city every night and peeked through the cracks", which made Emperor Kangxi extremely panicked. "He didn't know whether he would be poisoned today or killed tomorrow, so he was on high alert day and night." ]

[The prince lives an extravagant life, "wantonly taking state funds and interfering in government affairs", "will definitely ruin our country and kill our people. If this unfilial and unkind person is made king, what will happen to our ancestral legacy?"]

[After Emperor Kangxi finished speaking, he cried and fell to the ground in public, and the prince was immediately detained.]...

{In fact, those who say he has a bad temper are mostly referring to his later years. In the early years, he was a gentle and perfect crown prince recognized by all the civil and military officials in the court and envoys from various countries.}
{The rest is just about maintaining his own prestige under the suppression of Kangxi... How awkward.}
{Single people like me just can’t understand Kangxi’s views on parenting.}
{He cultivated his child's abilities to the best of his ability, appointed him as the crown prince, and then he insisted on occupying the position. Although it is reasonable for anyone to not want to step down, if he does not do so, he will be in trouble...}
{So the result of Kangxi's parenting is that he tested some weaknesses of human nature, and then blamed his own children for their bad nature... Looking at the test paper with the answers, I always feel that every question is a small case.}
{If he really loved his son, he would be like Zhu Yuanzhang to Zhu Biao.}
{If parents think long-term, they don’t necessarily want their children to be successful, they just want their children to be safe and happy.}
{It can only be said that Kangxi himself could not give up power, but hoped that things would develop in the direction under his control.}
{According to today’s values, the emperor at that time certainly could not have been a good father, because parents should regard their children as independent and equal individuals. This understanding is not widely popularized now, and it was impossible at that time.}
{The royal family relationship was not pure to begin with. Kangxi used his sons to his advantage and was wary of them. Once they threatened his position, they were no longer sons, but political opponents... He could only be thoroughly absorbed by the emperor's mindset and could no longer be a normal person.}
……

Ming dynasty.

With his head held high, Lao Zhu snorted loudly through his nose to express his disdain.

Empress Ma tapped her sore shoulders with a wooden ruyi and sighed:

"How about the Royal Family?"

"Don't ordinary families have this situation?"

"The old man has many children and is about to divide up his property, but he is afraid that his children will not be filial to him in the end, so he has not dared to make a will."

"This seemingly test-like family relationship ended up causing conflicts between the children and creating a gap between them and the elderly."

"Ordinary families would fight over a little property, not to mention the fight for imperial power."

Zhu Yuanzhang still looked up and said arrogantly:
"Humph, we have never experienced this!"

"So in my opinion, Kangxi is far inferior to us in educating children!"

……

[Kangxi had been cultivating the crown prince for more than 30 years, but now all was in vain. He was old and the successor was the top priority. He could not sleep for six days and cried bitterly.]

[After Yinreng was deposed, the other princes began to covet the position of crown prince. ]

[The eldest prince Yinzhi suggested to execute the deposed crown prince, but was severely rebuked by Kangxi and was later imprisoned for attempting to murder the deposed crown prince.]

【Then the power of the eighth prince Yinsi began to rise. 】

[He was a humble person who treated people with respect and courtesy, and won the support of many ministers, including the Manchu nobles headed by Tong Guowei, Kangxi's father-in-law and uncle and an important official of the court.]

[Kangxi had long ago announced that "any prince who plots to become the crown prince is a traitor to the state and will never be tolerated by the law"]

[Then he said that Yinsi was "evil by nature, and had great ambitions", "wantonly sought fame", and won people's hearts. His mother was of low birth, so he could not make him the crown prince.]

【Because Yinsi was recommended by the ministers as the candidate for the crown prince, Kangxi believed that this was because Yinsi was "incompetent and ignorant" and that the ministers supported a weak ruler out of selfish motives in order to manipulate him in the future.】

【Later, based on the fact that he had dreamt about his grandmother and Empress Hesheli, he believed that Yinreng had lost his nature because of a "nightmare", so he reinstated Yinreng as the crown prince six months after he was deposed.】

【But the father and son have lost basic mutual trust. 】

……

{Generally speaking, within a dynasty of a certain surname, the highest power is passed down based on private nature, usually from father to son. Of course, there are exceptions, such as passing it down from brother to brother or from uncle to nephew.}
……

Song Taizong period
"Talking about succession again!"

Zhao Kuangyi said if you want to talk about the Qing Dynasty, just speak nicely!

Besides, I'm not a special case!
I am imitating the ancients.

"Didn't you know that there was a tradition in the Shang Dynasty that the younger brother would inherit the throne after the elder brother's death?"

"The Yuze Song State of the Shang Dynasty also had the tradition of the younger brother inheriting the throne after the elder brother's death."

"Our Song Dynasty is just imitating the ancient countries!"

Zhao Heng looked at his father and understood why he was able to rise to the position.

"Dad, you are this!"

Zhao Kuangyi glanced coldly.

"If you don't take it back, I'll break your fingers."

Zhao Heng withdrew his thumbs up in dissatisfaction.

……

{Therefore, the unique Chinese tradition of respecting ancestors and recognizing their lineage has, from its source, the nature of the inheritance of the legitimacy of power.}
{This power relationship, which is marked and mediated by blood ties, is often given a sense of gratitude, because it is obvious that without the inheritance given by the fathers, there would be no future kings to enjoy the world.}
{However, this seemingly most natural sequence of entering into a relationship actually contains subtle and thrilling elements that are not easily perceived. It is not always as peaceful, natural, solemn, or grateful as it appears on the surface.}
{At the same time, there will be all kinds of darkness and opposition, anxiety and competition, and even a tense life-and-death duel.}
{Chinese history is probably the stage on earth where such dramas are performed most frequently.}
{There are too many examples to list here. If we were to give some examples, the "Witchcraft Disaster" between Emperor Wu of Han and the Crown Prince, the dethronement and killing of the Crown Prince by Li Shimin and Wu Zetian, and the story of Kangxi and the Crown Prince are the most famous.}
{Li Shimin was the most typical example of forcing his father to abdicate and abolishing the crown prince.}
……

Datang.

Awkward……

Li Shimin's face darkened but he was unable to refute.

The reason is not worth telling to outsiders, but it is indeed the fact.

"Why bother……"

He murmured helplessly.

Such things, whether unknown or witnessed, are found in all kinds of historical books.

Those with a history fascination immerse themselves in history books to conduct field research.

You can’t complete the investigation in your lifetime.

Stop holding me back.

……

[The prince was already in his forties at this time, and perhaps out of fear of the uncertainty of the future, he said, "In the world of ancient and modern times, has there ever been a prince who has lived for forty years?" This was extremely treasonous during the imperial era.]

[At this time, Emperor Kangxi was nearly sixty years old, and his ministers began to rely on the future emperor, which made him very uneasy. He was worried that the crown prince would form a clique to usurp power and he would not have a good end.]

[In the 51st year of Kangxi's reign, on the day Kangxi returned to the capital from his inspection tour outside the Great Wall, he ordered the abolition of the crown prince again.]

[The reason was that the prince had been suffering from madness for several years and had not yet recovered. He could not distinguish right from wrong and had lost the support of the people.]

[“He has a cruel nature and forms a clique with bad people” and “he will never change.”]

They are even more worried that the princelings will take risks and seek power and usurp the throne.

[And warn that anyone who dares to plead for the crown prince again will be killed immediately. ]

【Since the first time he deposed the crown prince, Emperor Kangxi's health had deteriorated significantly, and the ministers were very anxious about this, fearing that he would die suddenly, so they kept urging him to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible.】

[However, after two setbacks in deposing the crown prince, Kangxi, who had always been autocratic, was unwilling to restore the Manchu tradition of leaving the matter of appointing a crown prince to the princes and nobles, nor could he imitate the Han system to appoint a crown prince again. Therefore, he chose to choose a secret succession.]

[That is, the successor will be announced before his death. ]

……

Big man.

"He's scared."

Liu Bang lay lazily on the couch, patting his belly with one hand and touching his thigh with the other.

“The power of the empire was not only concentrated in the central court, but also further concentrated in the emperor alone.”

"With greater power comes greater insecurity, which makes it increasingly difficult for him to share power with others, thus creating a growing gap between him and the people around him."

Lu Zhi expressionlessly slapped away the thief's hand that was scurrying around on her leg and said coldly:

"So as an emperor, you must be getting more and more lonely."

Liu Bang continued to touch it without caring, and sighed:

"The transfer of power, the highest power, is to give people a handle."

"Authority, with a blade on the end of the handle."

"This is Tai A holding upside down."

Lu Zhi let Liu Bang do whatever he wanted, but she was thinking about the Han emperors who came after Liu Bang.

When power is passed on, it is often like being on the edge of a cliff or on the edge of a blade.

If the old does not go, the new will not come. First of all, the old forces must be eliminated and cleaned up before the new power factors can be implanted.

In this way, those figures who were originally huge in size, occupied key positions, and had wide-ranging influence became obstacles that needed to be crossed and overcome first, unless they could also smoothly enter the new system, integrate into the new power spectrum, and become an organic and harmonious part of it.

However, the judgment and decision on this point depends entirely on the new monarch who has just ascended the throne.

If he already has enough power.

If the new king's judgment is negative, then all he has to do is bury the remains of the previous king and make that annoying guy disappear completely.

"There's an endless supply of similar plays."

……

In October of the sixty-first year of the Kangxi reign (1722), Emperor Kangxi, who had just returned to the capital from the Great Wall, went hunting in Nanyuan. After more than ten days, he felt unwell and returned to Changchun Garden on the seventh day of the eleventh month. He asked the fourth prince Yinzhen to perform the winter solstice sacrifice in the southern suburbs on his behalf.

[On November 13, Kangxi's condition worsened, and in the early morning he summoned his third son, Prince Cheng Yinzhi, his seventh son, Prince Chun Yinyou, his eighth son, Prince Beile Yinsi, his ninth son, Prince Beizi Yinlu, his tenth son, Prince Dun Yin, his twelfth son, Prince Beizi Yinlu, his thirteenth son, Yinxiang, and the Minister of the Lifanyuan, Longkodo, to the imperial bedside.]

[Announcement: "The fourth prince, Yinzhen, is a man of noble character, very much like me, and will surely be able to inherit the throne. He shall succeed me as the emperor." ]

[He died that evening at the age of 68.]

(End of this chapter)