History is full of mysteries and doubts, some facts are obscured, and some truths are distorted by power. Emperor Yongzheng was the most outstanding reformer in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, but his exploits were often overshadowed by the aura of the prosperous Kangqian era. What's more, some bizarre legends portray him as a dark and cruel tyrant, and even doubt his status as crown prince and his relationship with his heirs. The mystery of the blood drops, Qianlong is not his biological son? Are these rumors true? What kind of unfair treatment did Emperor Yongzheng suffer? Let's take a look at the true side of this Qing emperor.
1. Emperor Yongzheng's family background and early years
Emperor Yongzheng was born in 1678, and his life was not normal, and he suffered a lot since he was a child. He was originally from Manchuria Zhenghuangqi, and his ancestors were Manchurian nobles of the Eight Great Banners, but his family background plummeted from his ancestors. His great-grandfather, Ertai, was canonized as Baylor for his military exploits, and the family was once extremely prominent. However, in his later years, Ertai took refuge in Su Jia Laowang, who was rejected by Emperor Kangxi, which implicated his family and suffered a severe political blow.
Yongzheng's grandfather, Sony, became a pauper and lived a difficult life for a while. Fortunately, Emperor Kangxi still allowed him to practice martial arts in the cabinet and re-emerged. But fate played tricks, Sony was soon sentenced to a heavy sentence by Kangxi for participating in the party struggle, and the family was in trouble again and almost went bankrupt.
It wasn't until Yongzheng's father Yinzhen that the family had a chance to ease. Yin Zhen came from a humble background, and was trained by his grandparents to be extremely strict since he was a child, and under the education of his father's solid and wise education, his personality gradually became tenacious and mature. Finally, because of his personal efforts and luck, he was appreciated by Emperor Kangxi and named Prince Heshuo, and since then he has been at the peak of his life step by step.
2. Quell the difficult process of the party's struggle for succession and succession to the throne
Yongzheng has had a rough life since he was a child and has had a bad fate, but it has not worn out his sharpness. He was studious and brilliant, and showed extraordinary talent from an early age. Emperor Kangxi looked at it, so at the suggestion of the fourth elder brother, Yongzheng was established as the heir of the crown prince.
However, the crown prince has always been the focus of contention. After Kangxi's death, the Lichu War was about to break out. At that time, several imperial brothers of Yongzheng, such as the fourteenth elder brother Yunxiang, the fifteenth elder brother Xu Yu and others, all tried their best to seize the storage position. In particular, Xu Yu, who leaned towards the government and the opposition in his hands, monopolized the heavy army, and once became the most powerful challenger.
In the face of such a grim situation, Yongzheng used his resourcefulness and determination. First of all, he used his personal politics to win over the support of Minister Nian Qi and others. Then, he secretly sent his henchmen to investigate Xu Yan's army, dug up evidence of rebellion, and then turned the situation around.
Just when the rebels were completely disintegrated, Yongzheng struck again, and ordered the bannerman Dolgon to lead the Praetorian Guards to attack Xuyu Mansion. In just one day, this terrifying infighting of "nine sons seizing the heir" came to an end. Xu Yu was captured alive and soon executed.
3. Implementing a series of enlightened reforms to annoy the elites
After inheriting the unification, the Yongzheng Emperor immediately embarked on a series of unprecedented reforms, aimed at rectifying the rule of officials and reducing the burden on the people. Among them, the most well-known is the item of "fire consumption to the public".
The so-called "fire consumption" originally meant that when officials collected money and grain, they levied an extra part of it as compensation for transportation losses. Over time, however, this policy was abused by local officials and reduced to a tool for extortion. Some officials can even levy more than 10 percent of the "fire consumption" in addition to the regular tax, and their greed can be seen.
Emperor Yongzheng immediately ordered that the proportion of "fire consumption" should be levied uniformly throughout the country, and all "fire consumption" funds should be handed over to the imperial court. The loopholes that officials were able to take for themselves were completely plugged. At the same time, Yongzheng also allocated a part of the silver taels, which was specially used to distribute "clean silver" to encourage officials to be diligent and conscientious.
At the same time, Yongzheng also set up a "Military Aircraft Department", which was directly responsible to the emperor. Its functions and powers were equivalent to those of today's State Council, which was responsible for handling all kinds of military affairs, and greatly strengthened the emperor's control over the government and the opposition. In addition, he also abolished the "lowly status" system, rehabilitated those bereaved families who were sent to the cold palace, and maintained the most basic dignity of the people.
This series of epoch-making changes is undoubtedly the most significant political achievement during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng. However, it was these reforms that annoyed a large number of middle- and lower-level officials and powerful lords, and their interests were damaged, so they held a grudge and turned against Yongzheng from then on.
Fourth, it was besieged by party strife and demonized as a "dark and tyrannical" image
Emperor Yongzheng's reforms caused a strong backlash from both the government and the opposition. Those officials and magnates whose interests had been damaged began to gather forces and secretly carried out planned attacks and slanders against him.
One of the most bizarre is the rumor that "Qianlong is not Yongzheng's biological son". It is said that Qianlong's biological father turned out to be Chen Gelao, a Han minister of Yongzheng. In order to confirm the Manchu ancestry, Qianlong launched an unprecedented "literary prison" after ascending to the throne in an attempt to cover up this "scandal".
Another even more shocking rumor is about Yongzheng's only child. This child was given the miserable nickname of "Blood Drop", because Yongzheng actually dropped a drop of his own blood into the womb of the late concubine Anala in order to give birth to this son, waiting to be conceived.
Rumors also say that after the birth of this strange baby, he looked ugly and terrifying, and even had terrifying symbols on his skin. But he was young and ignorant, and he was still pampered by Yongzheng as his own flesh and blood. However, not long after, by mistake, the child was killed by Qianlong, and Yongzheng's incense was cut off from then on.
These bizarre rumors, which are almost from wild history, all portray Yongzheng as a power-hungry, dark and jealous tyrant. And all of this stems from the deprivation and impact of the interests of the elite group when he was in power. His opponents and enemies, I am afraid, with a desire for revenge, concocted these appalling rumors to slander him.
Fifth, it was finally recognized as the backbone of the reform of the Qing Dynasty, and the rumors and regrets were swept away
Although he suffered all kinds of criticism and slander at the time, with the passage of time, the reform achievements and outstanding contributions of Emperor Yongzheng were finally fairly evaluated by historians.
During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, although it was only 14 years, he made remarkable achievements in this short period of time. In addition to the above-mentioned measures such as "returning fire consumption to the public" and setting up a "military aircraft department," he also promulgated the "Criterion Order" to standardize the administration of officials and make it difficult for officials to engage in favoritism and irregularities.
At the same time, Emperor Yongzheng also carried out fruitful reforms in many fields such as frontier, finance, and culture. He put down the rebellion of Dzungar and consolidated the Northwest Frontier; He abolished many unnecessary leadership institutions and lightened the burden of servitude on the people; He also vigorously supported practical learning, opposed superstition, and promoted the emancipation of the mind.
This series of changes was undoubtedly a timely correction of the Manchu Dynasty's indulgence and arbitrariness since the middle of the Kangxi Dynasty, and played a huge role in consolidating the foundation of the dynasty. If Kangxi is the founder and Qianlong is the harvester, then Yongzheng is undoubtedly the pioneer of this prosperous era.
It is not until today that Emperor Yongzheng has finally been fairly evaluated as an outstanding reformer in Qing history and a master of Zhongxing. Those proverbs such as "sons are not biological" and "blood drops" that were once fabricated by powerful families have also been washed away by the hook of history. The glorious image of this short-lived emperor finally shines in the long river of the times.