"Lying on high" and "carelessly losing Jingzhou" were fatal mistakes made by the eight ministers such as Sushun and Zaiyuan after the death of the Xianfeng Emperor, and eventually led to the coup d'état of Xin You. Why did Su Shun and others, who originally held great military and political power, be so dizzy and make such a big mistake?
On September 4, 111, empress dowager Lianggong issued an edict stating:
"On this day, Zaiyuan, Duanhua, and Sushun are playing, because the errands are more complicated, please change the management of the premises, and please change the language of the place of administration, and please be careful to change the language, etc., and describe the actual situation. As requested, Zaiyuan was responsible for the affairs of the Kailuan Yiwei and Shangyu Reserve Office; Duanhua was in charge of the opening of the infantry army; and Su Shun was in charge of the affairs of the Imperial Household and the Guidance Office. ”
If a reader familiar with the official system of the Qing Dynasty looks at this edict, he will be able to find the problem. This involved several important duties: Luan Yiwei, Shangyu Reserve Office, Infantry Commander, and Guide Office. Why are these positions important?
Luan Yiwei set up a minister in charge of the guards, for example, the prince and the Manchu and Mongolian ministers were specially appointed to be responsible for the affairs of the emperor, the empress, and so on; the Shangyu reserve office was mainly to accompany the emperor in fishing and hunting, and its management ministers were the princes of the clan, the princes of Manchuria and The manchu ministers; the guidance office set up a presidential minister, mainly to prepare for the emperor's tour.
Although these institutions were not important administrative departments of the Qing court, they were particularly important confidential departments because of their proximity to the emperor, and they also had the responsibility of assisting the guards to protect the emperor. The most important of these is the post of commander of the infantry. The commander of the infantry, also known as the Admiral of the Nine Gates, was mainly responsible for the garrison defense of Beijing City, ground bomb suppression, and the arrest of thieves, and had the right to try cases, which was roughly equivalent to the current commander of the capital garrison.
It should be pointed out that the time when this edict was issued was when the empress dowager and the little emperor of the two palaces were about to return to Luang. It can also be understood as a critical moment when the power struggle is becoming increasingly fierce. Political power is the lifeblood, and military power is the lifeblood of political power, which is a truth that everyone with a little political mind or historical common sense knows.
At this time, Zaiyuan, Duanhua, Sushun, and others not only did not fully control the military power, but demanded that some powers be automatically lifted. Perhaps they did not have the intention of asking for merit and reward in this move, but they had the intention of showing merit to the empress dowager of the two palaces, and at the same time to the courtiers, showing off their heavy duties, both merit and hard work, without their coolie support, the Qing regime could not operate normally, thereby improving their status and influence in the Qing court.
However, they still despised the political ability and strategy of the empress dowager too much. In fact, at this time, the empress dowager of the two palaces was trying to find ways to relieve at least the reduction of the military power of the eight ministers, and their move was undoubtedly in the middle.
No matter what the considerations of Zaiyuan and others, this trick is really too smelly, and the consequences are not just self-defeating, drawing tigers is not anti-dog, but no soldiers and no power, empty hands, and the only thing waiting for them is to lead the neck to be killed. Naturally, the empress dowager of the two palaces would not let go of such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, immediately pushed the boat down the water, got off the donkey, issued an edict, did not show the mountain, did not show the water, and without a trace, relieved Su Shun and others of some of their military powers, especially the emperor's right to protect themselves closely.
It should be known that some of the guards are in the hands of their own cronies and are reliable guards, but if they are in the hands of people with other intentions and ulterior motives, it is extremely dangerous. Thereafter, the Shangyu Reserve was managed by Demuqi zab, the Guide Office was managed by Boyan Nomuhu, and the crucial post of infantry commander was held by Rui Chang.
These three people were all closely related to Prince Gong Yi bi. In the subsequent palace coup, the infantry commander Rui Chang played an important role. At the time of arresting SuShun, the Shangyu Backup Office and the Guide Office also played an important role in coordination.
In order not to arouse the suspicion and vigilance of SuShun and others, the empress dowager of the two palaces also used some blindfold methods, the intention of which was to show that the opening of some part-time jobs of Sushun, Duanhua and others, and the transfer of posts with others were normal personnel adjustments, and there was no other political intention. The little emperor was about to leave Rehe soon, but Sushun and the others failed to understand the mystery.
Before leaving, Cixi used the means of Enwei and Shi to successfully disintegrate Jingshou, one of the eight ministers. Jing Shou was the pre-eunuch of the Daoguang Emperor, loyal and clumsy, and although he was under the same command as Sushun and others, he was not Sushun's pro-party, let alone his nemesis.
It is said that Cixi once quietly asked him, who was the assistant government when He was Kangxi? Jingshou replied truthfully that it was Sony, Aobai and others. Cixi still asked quietly, but what about later? Jing Shou did not react and replied that it was Later that Kangxi Grandpa was pro-government. Cixi asked, what am I talking about later? Jing Shou's head buzzed, almost exploding, and he quickly knelt down in fright, and said in a hurry, and later Ao Bai was imprisoned and died.
When the Xianfeng Emperor died, Cixi was only 27 years old and Ci'an was 26 years old, while Zaiyuan, Duanhua, Sushun and others were eunuchs and assisted Xianfeng for many years. Judging from the handling of this matter, it is obvious that they overturned the ship in the gutter, underestimated the empress dowager of the two palaces and Prince Gong Yishi, and finally lost their lives.