In history, Yongzheng made two secret decrees before his death, and even let Qianlong sit firmly in Jiangshan for 63 years!
The historical Qianlong Emperor can be said to be one of the most "lucky" emperors in the history of China's feudal dynasties for more than two thousand years, and all this is inseparable from the reforms and diligence of his father, the Yongzheng Emperor, in the previous thirteen years. In terms of the legitimacy of the succession, the Qianlong Emperor was established by Yongzheng as his successor through the "secret reserve system" very early on, and helped him remove almost all obstacles, making the Qianlong Emperor's ascension to the throne without any "suspense", and the throne was extremely stable from the beginning.
In the thirteenth year of Yongzheng's reign, he suddenly failed in the Yuanmingyuan, but when he died, Yongzheng issued two secret decrees in succession, and instructed the four ministers who were guarding the bed at that time, that is, four people, including Zhang Tingyu, Ortai, and the two princes. Yongzheng instructed that after his death, the four people would open the first secret message together. In this way, when Yongzheng died, the four of them opened the first secret will, greeted the four brothers to become emperors, and then handed over the second secret will to the new emperor together.
The content of the second secret decree was to arrange auxiliary ministers for the Qianlong Emperor to serve Qianlong and the Qing Dynasty wholeheartedly. After Qianlong ascended the throne, he personally read out this secret message. However, Yongzheng deliberately placed the Hanchen Zhang Tingyu in front of Ortai in the secret decree in order to improve Zhang Tingyu's status. The purpose was simple, that is, to fear that the Manchu Ortai would be dominant, which would not be conducive to the control of the new emperor, and that doing so would help the Manchu and Han ministers to check and balance each other.
This first secret decree ensured that Qianlong ascended the throne smoothly and would not lead to a situation in which nine sons seized the throne. It consolidated the foundation of the Qing Dynasty's rule, and at the same time greatly preserved the national strength, so that the national treasury was full. The second secret decree is equivalent to fueling the waves, allowing the Qing Dynasty to go further and making the Qianlong Emperor a real emperor. From this point of view, it is not too much for these two secret decrees to allow the Qianlong Emperor to sit firmly in the Country for 63 years.