He was a veteran of the Three Dynasties, and assisted Emperor Kangxi and Yongzheng to complete the great cause, and was deeply respected by him.
When Kangxi was seriously ill in his later years, he was demoted one after another. When everyone thought that he was about to "fall out of favor", he did not complain, but faced it with great optimism.
When he returned home, his son asked him about his career because he was worried about his career, but he ended the conversation with only eight words.
These eight words were later fulfilled.
What is Kangxi's purpose in doing this? What happened to this minister?
The rank of official has been reduced by three levels
His name is Zhang Tingyu, a veteran of the Three Dynasties, who assisted the three emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong.
In the sixty-first year of Kangxi, the emperor was close to his old age. Old age and the torture of illness made Emperor Kangxi slump and lie on the dragon chair for a long time and couldn't get up.
Before his death, Emperor Kangxi made a holy decree with all his strength. This holy decree was specially given to Zhang Tingyu.
This edict said that it was not a big deal, but it made Zhang Tingyu's official rank downgrade three levels in a row, and finally he only became a petty official with no status at all.
Overnight, the important ministers of the DPRK and the central government turned into sesame-sized officials, which caused quite a stir at the time.
At this time, the ugly faces of some traitorous officials in the DPRK and China were exposed, and while sneering at Zhang Tingyu, they secretly mobilized their own forces in an attempt to fight for power and usurp the throne.
It was as if they had seen their victory, and the joy on their faces was undisguised.
Some people rejoice and some people worry.
Some ministers in the court who have always been good friends with Zhang Tingyu began to fight for Zhang Tingyu, and bluntly advised Emperor Kangxi: "Zhang Tingyu is an important minister of the country, and he does his best to assist His Majesty, I don't know what he has done, Your Majesty actually demoted him by three levels?" ”
There are also other ministers who postscripted: "I hope that Your Majesty can give a reasonable explanation to the ministers, if Your Majesty insists on doing so, I am afraid that he will not be able to convince the people." It will also make Your Majesty fall into the name of a loyal and good general among the people, and I hope Your Majesty will think twice. ”
After reading these excerpts, Kangxi sighed and asked his subordinates to pass the word: "Zhang Tingyu disobeyed my will and was disrespectful to me, and I demoted him to a great gift to him." ”
"I have made up my mind, so don't persuade me."
Zhang Tingyu thought to himself, "When did I disobey Your Majesty's will?" Your Majesty values me and has always consulted with me in advance, so what is the purpose of these words? ”
Just when Zhang Tingyu was puzzled, news came from the palace that Emperor Kangxi had passed away.
This made Zhang Tingyu even more puzzled: "The emperor's limit is approaching, why did you just demote me?" ”
In order to prove this conjecture, Zhang Tingyu proposed: "Now that His Majesty has passed away, I am very saddened, but the people cannot be without a king for a day, and the country cannot be without an owner for a day. ”
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the court, and voices of opposition and support rose one after another.
Obviously, the ministers wanted the new emperor they admired to succeed to the throne, and there was a big dispute in the court for this.
In fact, these ministers dared to express their opinions, and they all had the support of the prince behind them.
Kangxi's nine princes all eyed the throne, and the most powerful contenders included the crown prince Yinren, the eighth son of the emperor Yinzhen, the fourteenth son of the emperor Yinzhen, and the fourth son of the emperor Yinzhen.
In Kangxi's later years, the crown prince was deposed due to immorality, and the battle for the throne became more intense.
Yinzhen, the fourth son of the emperor, has always been low-key and diligent, with long-term goals.
Although he was not the best candidate for the succession to the throne at first, he gradually gained Kangxi's trust with his talent and wisdom. After Kangxi's death, he left only a testament.
There was chaos in the court, and the eunuch who had been following Kangxi for many years took out the edict and read it in court.
In the edict, Kangxi decided to let Yongzheng inherit the throne and instructed the ministers to assist the new emperor well.
But those rebellious ministers and thieves didn't believe that this was an edict left by the previous emperor, and they all argued about who should inherit the throne.
At this time, Zhang Tingyu stood up, pointed at the eunuch and said: "This father-in-law is a close confidant of the former emperor, who has followed the former emperor for many years, and has always been loyal to His Majesty, which must be obvious to everyone. If we don't believe his words, who else can we believe? ”
The voice of the court came to an abrupt end, and those with bad intentions, although they had their own ideas, were helpless in the face of the current situation, and could only let the new emperor succeed to the throne.
Zhang Tingyu immediately stepped forward to lead a group of ministers to welcome the new emperor to the throne, and the rest of the traitorous ministers had no choice but to bow down to the new emperor.
Afterwards, Zhang Tingyu breathed a sigh of relief and went home happily.
"A Father Must Wait for the Grace of a New King"
After returning home, the family learned that Zhang Tingyu had been demoted three levels in a row, and they were worried about him.
But Zhang Tingyu not only did not feel sad, but looked happy.
His son was worried that Zhang Tingyu was stimulated by this incident, so he stepped forward to comfort him and said: "Father, I know your unwillingness and grief in your heart, you can release it, and with me at home in the future, I will definitely restore my former glory." ”
But who knows, Zhang Tingyu said excitedly: "For my father, I must wait for the grace of the new king." In just eight big words, everyone present was shocked.
They didn't understand what this meant, and Zhang Tingyu said, "You will understand in the future." ”
It turned out that Emperor Kangxi took great pains to keep his loyal ministers.
In Kangxi's later years, the issue of succession to the throne became very sensitive and complicated, and there was fierce competition among the nine princes, and everything was done for the succession to the throne, which was the "nine sons seizing the heir" incident in history.
And Zhang Tingyu's accession to the throne through the new emperor also verified his conjecture.
was demoted by the former emperor by three levels not because he made a serious mistake, but because of a political strategy of Emperor Kangxi.
Kangxi considered that the new emperor might have doubts and even threats to the old courtiers in the future, after all, "once a son of heaven and a courtier".
If Zhang Tingyu's position is too high, and the new emperor takes office, the foundation is unstable, and he is afraid that he will pose a threat to himself, and he will generally not reuse these ministers.
On the other hand, ministers who are too high-ranking must have been in office for a long time, and it is inevitable that the court will have their own political group, which is a great threat to the new emperor.
Therefore, Kangxi will demote Zhang Tingyu three times in a row.
Kangxi hopes that in this way, Zhang Tingyu can be more reused and trusted after Emperor Yongzheng succeeds to the throne, avoid being suspicious and attacked by the new emperor in the future, and at the same time let him have room to be promoted in the future.
In addition, Zhang Tingyu also found that Emperor Kangxi had secretly demoted many ministers.
In order to make them grateful to the new emperor, so as to assist them wholeheartedly.
In this way, not only let Emperor Yongzheng establish a good image of clear rewards and punishments, but also win people's hearts and help Emperor Yongzheng deal with the court's deceit.
As a veteran of the Three Dynasties, Zhang Tingyu has followed the emperor for many years, and he understands the truth.
Therefore, even if he is demoted to the third rank, he can still face it optimistically.
Eight big characters, one by one
After Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, he valued Zhang Tingyu very much in view of his excellent talent and noble character.
Zhang Tingyu was an outstanding political historian of the Qing Dynasty and the son of Zhang Ying, a famous scholar of the Qing Dynasty. Zhang Ying once went to high school in one fell swoop, entered the imperial court as an official, and devoted himself to His Majesty, caring for the people of the world.
Zhang Tingyu was born in a scholarly family, and under the teaching of Zhang Ying since he was a child, he read poetry and books, received a good education, and showed extraordinary talent and knowledge.
In the 39th year of Kangxi, Zhang Tingyu was admitted to the Jinshi, and entered the court early to serve the country.
In addition, Zhang Tingyu's cultural talent has been praised by the world, and his poetry and literary works are fresh and refined, with far-reaching artistic conception, and have a deep appeal and imagination.
Zhang Tingyu is even more good at writing, and a few words written casually can be regarded as ink treasures.
After Yongzheng succeeded to the throne, he attached great importance to Zhang Tingyu's knowledge, and he commented that Zhang Tingyu was "dignified and clear", able to clearly express the emperor's intentions, and was a right-hand man.
And Zhang Tingyu's father, Zhang Ying, was also the mentor of Emperor Yongzheng. Because of this, he took more care of Zhang Tingyu.
In addition, Zhang Tingyu is talented and loyal, so he naturally became his first choice.
In the first year of Yongzheng, Zhang Tingyu was appointed as the chief examiner of the Shuntianfu Township Examination, and concurrently served as the crown prince.
In September of the same year, he was appointed as the head of the household department, and in October he became the president of the history of the four dynasties. Zhang Tingyu's status in the Yongzheng Dynasty is getting higher and higher.
In the following year, Yongzheng sent Zhang Tingyu to participate in Zhang Tingyu's participation in the establishment of the Military Aircraft Department, and Zhang Tingyu, as a key figure in the Military Aircraft Department, was responsible for formulating the rules and regulations of the Military Aircraft Department.
In Yongzheng's later years, Zhang Tingyu was appointed as an auxiliary minister, which is enough to prove Yongzheng's trust in Zhang Tingyu, and it is not in vain that Kangxi worked hard to plan before his death.
Zhang Tingyu's eight big words "for the father, you must wait for the new monarch's grace" have also been realized.
After Yongzheng's death, Qianlong succeeded to the throne, and Zhang Tingyu continued to be reused.
However, in his later years, due to differences in the handling of some affairs, the Qianlong Emperor became suspicious of Zhang Tingyu.
In addition, Zhang Tingyu's performance during the Qianlong period was not very good, and he fell into a dispute between friends, and Emperor Qianlong became more and more dissatisfied with him.
In the fourteenth year of Qianlong, Emperor Qianlong deprived him of the honor of enjoying the Taimiao and deprived him of the title of earl. You must know that Zhang Tingyu was the only person in the Qing Dynasty who was praised by the emperor as worthy of enjoying the Taimiao.
Zhang Tingyu, who lost his title, decided to resign and return to his hometown to spend his old age in peace, but Qianlong did not agree.
Later, due to the death of Qianlong's eldest son Yonghuang, Zhang Tingyu's departure was postponed. But Zhang Tingyu didn't want to stay in the capital at this moment and insisted on leaving.
Emperor Qianlong's dissatisfaction with Zhang Tingyu reached its peak at this time, and he finally confiscated Zhang Tingyu's house on charges of corruption and bribery.
However, no evidence of corruption or bribery was found. Despite this, this raid dealt a great blow to Zhang Tingyu's reputation and status.
Eventually, Emperor Qianlong softened his attitude towards Zhang Tingyu, taking into account his past contributions to the Qing Dynasty.
In 1755, Zhang Tingyu died at the age of 84. Emperor Qianlong restored his honor after his death and allowed him to deserve the Taimiao.