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

Chapter 788: Xinyou Coup d'état - The Two Empress Dowagers
Tang Dynasty and Emperor Gaozu's period
Li Shimin was well aware of the conflict between the emperor and his subjects.

If Xianfeng were still alive, Sushun would certainly be able to defeat the world.

But after Emperor Xianfeng passed away, Sushun theoretically had to obey the new emperor.

A young child.

And the boy snuggled tightly in the arms of his biological mother, Nara.

Nara, who held the only prince in her arms, and Sushun, who held great power in the court, were natural enemies.

After all, Nara was not the real queen.

"The Eight Ministers didn't seize the military power immediately..."

Li Shimin found this indeed unbelievable.

"Sushun and his people are still too proud of such waste paper as the late emperor's will."

"Obsessing over power by bickering with two widows."

"Any coup d'état aims to capture the army, public opinion, officials and the status quo, and only then will it be a threat to orphans and widows."

"Sushun and his colleagues' experience in political struggles is really just that of a minister."

Li Jiancheng sighed:

"You can't blame them. The Qing Dynasty lasted for 200 years until Emperor Xianfeng's death, and no one had ever succeeded in a military coup."

"I don't know that military power is the guarantee of royal power."

Li Yuan looked at the memorial behind him, and then at his two sons who were exchanging their thoughts on the "coup".

A "future" successful coup.

A "future" that is elusive.

These two people sat together and discussed this thing...

too dark.

……

[After Yi Xin received the imperial edict in Beijing not allowing him to go to Rehe, he received a secret envoy sent by the two Empress Dowagers, who asked him to go to Rehe to discuss major plans. He immediately submitted a memorial requesting to go to the funeral.]

[On July 8 (August 30), he received the imperial edict of approval. He knew that the two Empress Dowagers had begun to exert their power.]

[On the first day of August in the eleventh year of Emperor Xianfeng’s reign (September 1861, 9), Yi Xin arrived at the palace. He threw himself on Emperor Xianfeng’s coffin and burst into tears.]

[Just after the sacrifice ceremony ended, an imperial decree came, and the two Empress Dowagers summoned Prince Gong Yixin. ]

【Sushun was wary of Yixin's arrival at first. He wanted to stop the two palaces from summoning him, but after Yixin arrived in Rehe, he was extremely respectful to the ministers who "assisted in government affairs", which was beyond his expectations.】

[He originally thought that Yi Xin would make a scene because he was not listed as a "supporter", and even prepared words to deal with him. But when he saw Yi Xin generously invited him to accompany him to the audience, he felt embarrassed. He smiled at Yi Xin and said, "Sixth Brother, you and the two palaces are uncle and sister-in-law, why do you need me to accompany you?"]

【Then Yi Xin was allowed to meet alone. 】

……

Cao Wei (Sima Family Timeline)
Sima Zhao had deep doubts about the thinking of this minister in heaven.

"What is he thinking?"

Sima Yi closed his eyes and said calmly:
"You see it."

“Pride brings harm, while humility brings benefit.”

“Those who achieve great things do not stick to trivial matters.”

"A true man can bend and stretch."

Sima Zhao pinched his ears, blew a breath, and continued:
"I just want to know."

"Among these ministers of state, is there no one who wants to fight for military power?"

"Do they treat the officials who remain in the capital as dead?"

"A prince stayed with a group of officials."

"It's obvious that these guys will hook up with each other."

Sima Yi still closed his eyes and said:
"The Ming and Qing dynasties are still different from the Han and Tang dynasties."

Sima Zhao waited for a long time before he heard a snoring sound.

Sima Zhao: ...

"I just have extra expectations."

……

[Yixin's meeting with the two Empress Dowagers lasted for more than two hours. The contents of the discussion, which were extremely confidential at the time, have now been made public.]

[The most important point is that Yi Xin asked the two Empress Dowagers to bring the young emperor back to Beijing as soon as possible, and then eliminate the "purge party". ]

……

On the canopy.

Yi Xin and several ministers came to the Qianqing Gate where the Grand Council was located and raised an imperial edict in his hand.

"Where are the guards at Qianqing Gate?"

As soon as the shout was heard, a group of guards came in from Longzong Gate, greeted Prince Gong together, and stood solemnly with their hands hanging down.

"Listen carefully, I have ordered that Zaiyuan, Duanhua, and Sushun be stripped of their titles and positions and handed over to the Imperial Clan Court."

The guards turned around and entered the Military Affairs Office.

Several officials were dragged out.

One of the ministers shouted:
"We didn't receive the order from the emperor, so where did the order come from?!"

"Humph!"

Yi Xin sneered:
"I just want to ask you whether you will obey my order or not!"

The minister dared not say anything, and another minister shouted:

"This is a messed up fate..."

Before they could finish their sentence, the guards covered their mouths.

At the same time, they took their warm hats off their heads.

Looking at the struggling ministers.

Yi Xin turned back and said:

"Su Shun, following the coffin, has passed the Qingshi Bridge and is about to reach Miyun."

"Send Prince Rui Renshou and Prince Chun Yixin to arrest Sushun and bring him to Beijing."

……

【On September 1861, the 10th year of Emperor Xianfeng’s reign (October 26, ), Emperor Xianfeng’s coffin was moved from Rehe back to Beijing.】

[After the two Empress Dowagers and the young emperor saw the late emperor off, they got on the carriage, accompanied by Zaiyuan and Duanhua, and went back to Beijing separately.]

【Sushun personally escorted the coffin to the back. 】

【On September 11 (November 1), the two Empress Dowagers and Emperor Zaichun arrived in Beijing. Yi Xin led all the civil and military officials out of the city to kneel and welcome them. During the welcoming ceremony, Yi Xin secretly informed them that all preparations for the coup were ready.】

……

Tang Dynasty and Gaozong period
Li Zhi couldn't understand Xianfeng's design.

Although he understood that Xianfeng was trying to maintain the balance of the court.

But still can't understand.

"Xianfeng's final plan was to exclude all close relatives of the royal family, central ministers, and military commanders from the core of power."

"This will inevitably lead to a collective counterattack by these three groups..."

There is no minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor to lead the troops, so the power structure is not stable at all.

But then again, there are so many examples of "powerful ministers" before us.

No emperor would arbitrarily give those in the core power circle the right to use military power at will.

After all, if he can draft imperial edicts and command the army, then usurping the throne would just depend on his mood, right?

In comparison, the two Empress Dowagers posed much less threat to the imperial power than the regents.

"but……"

When Changsun Wuji heard these two words, his eyelids twitched.

The emperor certainly had no good intentions.

……

Wu Zhou. "I bet!"

Princess Taiping excitedly pulled Li Dan, her eyes shining.

"One of the two Queen Mothers will definitely fight!"

"In the early days of co-existence, their interests were aligned, but the Eight Ministers of State are gone!"

"Their interests will definitely conflict!"

"One biological mother, one legal mother!"

"Wow! So exciting!"

Li Dan was grabbed by the sleeve by Princess Taiping and was shaking like a tumbler. He held Taiping's hand.

He said with a pale face:

"I know, I know, sister, please let me go first... I... I'm going to vomit!"

Taiping immediately let go and retreated.

"Don't spit on me! Where are my new clothes?"

Li Dan patted his chest, took a breath and said:
"It's hard to say whether the two Queen Mothers fought or not."

"Prince Gong will not survive."

Princess Taiping's face changed and she slapped Li Dan on the mouth.

He nervously looked back, loosened his hand, and said quickly and quietly:
"Don't want to die!"

"The Queen Mother is still in the room!"

……

[On September 11 (November 2), after all the civil and military officials paid homage to the young emperor, Yi suddenly stood up, ordered the guards to arrest Zaiyuan, Duanhua and others, and read out the edict that had been prepared long ago.]

[The incident happened too suddenly. Before the ministers could react, they were taken down by the guards. The eight ministers were dismissed and handed over to the Imperial Clan Court for trial.]

[At this time, Sushun was still on his way back to Beijing and had just reached Miyun. He had no idea what was happening in the capital.]

[That night, Prince Rui Renshou and Prince Chun Yihuan led their troops to Miyun, a hundred miles away, and grabbed Sushun out of his bed.]

【On the first day of October (November 11), the two Empress Dowagers issued an edict in the name of the Emperor: Yi Xin was appointed as the Prince of Councillors; Yi Xin, Gui Liang, Shen Zhaolin, Wen Xiang, Bao Jun, and Cao Yuying formed a new Grand Council. 】

[A new system was established with two empresses behind the scenes and Prince Gong assisting in government.]

[Of the eight ministers entrusted by Emperor Xianfeng before his death, five were dismissed and three were beheaded.]

[On the fifth day of the tenth month (November 11), the new emperor Zaichun held a ceremony to ascend the throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, abolished the reign title of "Qixiang" and replaced it with the reign title of "Tongzhi"]

[At the same time, the two empress dowagers were given titles: Empress Dowager Ci'an of the Eastern Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Cixi of the Western Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Cixi of the Southern Dynasty.]

[The two Empress Dowagers officially began to rule the country from behind the scenes. ]

[Because it was the Qixiang era, this coup was called the "Qixiang Coup"]

[Because this year is the Xinyou Year, it is also called the "Xinyou Coup"]

……

{The political stability of the Qing Dynasty was unprecedentedly strong. Only three people died in such a coup.}
{I have read in Lecture Room 100 that Sushun is a man with a sense of national identity rather than a sense of royal family, and advocates vigorously promoting Han officials.}
{It means being too arbitrary and offending too many people.}
{From the results, the one with the best ending among the Eight Ministers was Jing Tao. After the Xinyou Coup, he was only demoted to a lowly position, but retained the rank of Duke and imperial concubine. He was reappointed the following year, lived to be over sixty years old, and had twelve sons.}
{He was the one Xianfeng left for Cixi to get rid of the ministers in the future. He was very smart and understood Xianfeng's plan.}
{Xianfeng wanted Sushun to suppress Prince Gong, and to give bonuses to distant relatives of the royal family to prevent them from leaning towards Prince Gong. At the same time, he wanted the two Empress Dowagers to protect themselves by stamping their seals, and to let Sushun and the two Empress Dowagers cooperate, and to use Ci'an to check and balance Cixi.}
{However, Ci'an had no children and only wanted to die peacefully, without much political ambition. Prince Gong was unwilling to sit and wait for death. Cixi saw Sushun's ambition and decided to either kill Cixi and join forces with the Eastern Empress Dowager to monopolize power. Or she could establish a new emperor with the Eastern Empress Dowager.}
{No matter which one Sushun chooses, as long as Sushun survives, Cixi and the young emperor will die sooner or later.}
{All powerful officials in the world seem to be in danger of losing their lives because they themselves have no power and rely on the power of the monarch to gain power.}
{As soon as the monarch changes, they will be in great danger.}
……

Cao Wei.

"I am not among them."

Cao Cao took a sip of wine nonchalantly.

Because he is the powerful "king"

"If there were no me in the country, I don't know how many people would be emperors and how many would be kings."

"My power was not given by the emperor."

"Instead, the emperor has to rely on my power."

He just wanted to borrow the emperor's legitimacy.

"Rui'er, you have to remember this."

Cao Cao ignored Cao Pi, who was like a puppet, and said to little Cao Rui:

“Birds can stand on branches and sleep with their eyes closed.”

"It's not because the bird trusts the branch's firmness."

"It is trusting its own wings."

……

Ji Han.

"The Eight Ministers actually did nothing wrong. They were indeed strictly following the will of Emperor Xianfeng. On the contrary, the two Empress Dowagers seriously exceeded their authority."

Everyone in the hall was talking about it.

Xun Yu, Fa Zheng and others also gathered together to discuss:

"This plan by Emperor Xianfeng before his death was never going to last."

"The imperial family and the officials who stayed in the capital would never accept being excluded from the center of power."

Yu Jin and Zhang Liao, flanking Guan Yu on the left and right, drank until their faces were red and their necks were thick, and shouted:

"Xianfeng is an unkind man! He couldn't handle the foreign invaders himself, so he sent his brother to take over!"

"In the end, after using them, they were left alone!"

"How could such a capable person just sit there and wait to die?"

Guan Yu stroked his long beard silently.

Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan and took in the entire situation.

A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

All the heroes in the world went to Hanzhong.

The Han Dynasty should rise!

Liu Bei sighed:

"It is really stupid to exclude officials who stay in Beijing from their rights."

Zhuge Liang glanced at Liu Bei.

In fact, sometimes Liu Chan really looks like his lord.

……

Liu Song.

Liu Yu looked at the scene where the dust settled in the sky and thought of Xianfeng again.

"The unlucky guy who can't be open about anything in his life."

"The arrangements made before his death were overturned before his body was sent to the capital."

What a tragic life.

……

【Sushun was quite active in rectifying official corruption.】

[In the eighth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign (1858), he investigated the "Wuwu Imperial Examination Bribery Case" and executed five central government officials, including Grand Secretary Bai Chen. Dozens of high-ranking officials and newly-qualified candidates were dismissed or exiled.]

In the 1861th year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign (), the Ministry of Revenue set fire to its archives in order to evade Sushun's investigation into the "Yuzi No. Case". The fire lasted for twelve hours, and all the relevant documents were burned.

[The Ministry of Revenue was forced to this extent, which shows that Sushun was serious about fighting corruption.]

[After the fire, dozens of high-ranking officials involved in the case were still dismissed from their posts and their homes were confiscated.]

[In addition, on the eve of his fall, Sushun also "requested a reduction in the salaries of the Eight Banners" on the grounds that "the Manchus are confused and ignorant, unable to contribute to the country, and only want money." He believed that the Manchus were not enough to serve as the basis for the Qing court's rule, but would consume a lot of the Qing court's fiscal revenue. ]

【All of these are infringements on the bureaucracy. 】

[So, after the news of Su Shun’s execution spread, the bureaucrats in the capital were jubilant. Wherever the prison van passed, “his enemies drove cars loaded with wine” to watch. Some even instructed children to throw dirt and tiles at the prison van, cursing, “Su Shun has also come to this day!”]

[After Sushun's death, the high pressure of the imperial power on the bureaucracy also disappeared, and Yixin, Ci'an and Cixi formed the new ruling center. ]

[Although Sushun died and the high pressure disappeared, the imperial power and the bureaucratic group did not reconcile.]

【So, in 1862, the first year of the Tongzhi reign, the Qing government officially launched reforms in domestic and foreign affairs. 】

【From this year on, the Qing Dynasty officially entered the era of a dual-headed system with Prince Gong Yixin and the two Empress Dowagers ruling together. 】

……

(End of this chapter)