On December 20, 1722, the 69-year-old Kangxi Emperor came to the end of his life in The Li Family in Changchun Garden, on the western outskirts of the capital. The Kangxi Emperor was succeeded by the emperor's fourth son, Yin Chan, the Yongzheng Emperor, who was 45 years old. From the day the Yongzheng Emperor ascended the throne, the legitimacy of his throne was questioned. Not only were there suspicions among the people, but there were different views among the royal family, the court ministers, and even foreign emissaries and Western missionaries.
Because in the eyes of these people, the kangxi emperor's favorite heir before his death was not the fourth son of the emperor, but someone else! This person was the fourteenth son of the Kangxi Emperor and the half-brother of the Yongzheng Emperor! Yin Yu, whose original name was Yin Zhen, was born in the twenty-seventh year of the Kangxi Dynasty, ten years younger than the Yongzheng Emperor. The Kangxi Emperor had many heirs, and he attached great importance to the education of his children, so his sons were very talented and had almost no children.
The sons were very good, but they became the troubles of the Kangxi Emperor in his later years, and many princes were involved in the competition for the throne. Although Yin Yu was born to the same mother as the Yongzheng Emperor, he chose to support the eighth son of the Emperor, Yin Yu. In the fifty-first year of the Kangxi Dynasty, the crown prince Yinrong was deposed again, and the Kangxi Emperor never created a new crown prince. Although the Kangxi Emperor did not say anything on his lips, he had already proved with his actions that Yin Yu was his favorite candidate.
In the fifty-seventh year of the Kangxi Dynasty, the Dzungars invaded the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the news reached Beijing, and the Kangxi Emperor appointed Yin Yu as the general of Fuyuan and led more than 100,000 troops to Qinghai to fight. The military ceremony was of a very high standard, comparable to the Tianzi's personal conquest, and the Kangxi Emperor ordered that "the yellow flag be used to follow the style of Wang Ling", and all the kings in Beijing, as well as officials above the second grade, were sent to send them off.
At the same time, the Kangxi Emperor sent a decree to the princes of the Qinghai provinces, "The Great General Wang is my crown prince, and he is indeed a good general, leading a large army, and he knows that he has the ability to lead the troops, so he orders the commander to kill the heavy responsibility." Er, etc., or military affairs, or matters of great importance, shall be in accordance with the instructions of the Great General King, and if they can work hard in good faith, it is no different from my face-to-face instructions." Yin Yu performed very well on the Qinghai front, and the Kangxi Emperor was very happy, and in these two years, he rewarded him as many as 16 times.
The provinces paid tribute to the emperor, and the Kangxi Emperor did not miss a single item, and all of them were given to Yin Yu. In addition, the Kangxi Emperor was also very concerned about Yin Yu's family, and brought yin Yu's sons to his side to "cultivate benevolence and love". Later, Yin Yu's sons and daughters were married, and the Kangxi Emperor personally took care of them, and the rewards were very rich. Even the Emissaries of the DPRK saw the hint and returned to China to report: "The Fourteen Kings are outside the army, they have made great achievements many times, and the hearts of the people are obvious."
In his later years, the Kangxi Emperor once said to his subjects, "After ten thousand years, we must choose a strong and trustworthy person, and we will be the lord of Er and others, and we will make Er and others obedient, and we will not tire The ministers of Er will not be tired." "Since the minister is to be convinced, then this heir must make a great contribution, and only in this way can he win the trust of others." After this, he appointed Yin Yu as the general of Fuyuan, the purpose of which was self-evident.
However, after the Yongzheng Emperor ascended the throne, he opened his mouth and said that the Kangxi Emperor sent Yin Yu on a campaign because Yin Yu was "useless in Beijing, stupid in nature, and not quiet, and actually used this to expel him." This is also very understandable, because the Yongzheng Emperor's ascension to the throne has aroused the doubts of the government and the public, and he is not at all a person who is "obedient to Bilinger and others".
The Kangxi Emperor did not expect that he would die suddenly, and Yin Yu was thousands of miles away and eventually lost the throne. As soon as the Yongzheng Emperor came to power, he relieved Yin Yu of his military powers and summoned him back to Beijing. Yin Yu questioned the Yongzheng Emperor and was almost killed, but thanks to his mother's intercession, he was spared death. After that, Yin Yu was imprisoned, first in Tanglin and then in Jingshan. It was not until Qianlong ascended the throne that he was released.
Resources:
1. "Manchu Zhu Batch Fold"; 2. "Yan Xinglu"; 3. "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty"; 4. "Historical Doubts about The Succession of Yongzheng"