Xianfeng originally valued Yixin, but why did he later develop a rift that led to a rift between the brothers?

When Daoguang was choosing the crown prince, he hesitated between the fourth son of the emperor, Yi Chi, and the sixth son of the emperor, Yi Xin. Yi Xin is talented and intelligent, proficient in Manchu, Mongolian and Chinese languages, and is familiar with hundreds of classics and poems. Not only is Yi Xin excellent in literature, but his martial arts, riding and shooting are also outstanding. He can be said to be a relatively versatile prince.

But compared with him, Yi Chi is worse in all aspects. However, Daoguang's first three sons died young one after another. Yiqin was his eldest son at the time, and he was born to Queen Xiao Quancheng. Daoguang believed that he was "long and virtuous", so he was always wavering.

In order to test his two sons, Emperor Daoguang also put a lot of thought into it. Once he took everyone hunting with the purpose of testing his sons' riding and shooting skills. Naturally, Yi Chi was no match for his younger brother, so under the advice of his teacher Du Shoutian, Yi Chi said to Daoguang without firing an arrow: "It's spring, and birds and beasts are breeding. I can't bear to harm the living beings in order to harm the peace of heaven." ?

Another time Daoguang was seriously ill. He summoned his two sons and asked some questions. This time he wanted to test their literary and political skills. Similarly, Yi Chi did not answer any questions, but just cried bitterly, showing that she was extremely worried about her father's condition.

Daoguang was deeply moved by Yi Chi's "emotional cards" again and again. He believed that the Qing Dynasty needed a "benevolent and filial" emperor, so he finally decided to pass the throne to Yi Chi, the fourth son of the emperor. He was the later Emperor Xianfeng. However, Daoguang still felt a little sorry for Yi Xin, so he specifically specified in the edict that in addition to passing the throne to Yi Chi, he also wanted to make Yi Xin a prince.

Xianfeng and Yixin had a good relationship since childhood. This is because Xianfeng’s biological mother, Empress Xiao Quancheng, died young. He was raised by Concubine Jing, who was Yixin’s biological mother. Concubine Jing regarded him as her own. He and Yixin were similar in age and had grown up together. Therefore, Xianfeng was very grateful to his adoptive mother and valued his younger brother Yixin.

He also gave Yixin the former Qingjun Prince's Mansion as his residence, which was once the residence of Heshen, Qianlong's favorite minister.

After that, Yi Xin served as a minister in charge of the bodyguard, and was ordered to walk in military aircraft, breaking the ancestral system of the Qing Dynasty that princes were not allowed to interfere in government affairs. Then he managed the affairs of the three treasuries, and was awarded the title of Youzongzheng of the Zongren Mansion, promoted to the Zongling of the Zongren Mansion, and was appointed Minister of Military Parade. Xianfeng honored his adopted mother, Concubine Jing, as Concubine Kangci, and also allowed Yixin to wear a red velvet crown and a golden python robe for court uniforms.

Seeing this, it seems that history is repeating itself. In the past, Yongzheng and his thirteenth brother, Prince Yi Yinxiang, seemed to have such a deep relationship. But unfortunately, the brotherhood of Xianfeng and Yixin did not survive. Later, not only did Yixin gradually fall out of favor, but after Xianfeng's death, Yixin even joined forces with Cixi to launch the "Xinyou Coup", taking down all the eight ministers appointed by Xianfeng.

Logically speaking, based on the original relationship between Xianfeng and Yixin, when Xianfeng decided to appoint Minister Gu Ming, he should have written down Yixin’s name first, but it was not included in the final list. he. So why did this pair of good brothers have a quarrel later on, leading to a rift between the brothers?

This is about mentioning a very important figure in the lives of both of them, that is the Imperial Concubine Kang Ci. In the fifth year of Xianfeng's reign, one day Xianfeng went to pay his respects to his adoptive mother. When he walked into the bedroom, the imperial concubine saw the figure and mistakenly thought it was her biological son Yixin, so she said: "Why haven't you left yet? I have everything I should say." Having said that, his personality is difficult to distinguish, so don't have any quarrel with him. When Xianfeng heard this, he realized that my adopted son was not as good as your own son, so he felt very uncomfortable.

Soon, the imperial concubine became seriously ill. Xianfeng was anxious to visit her and happened to meet Yixin on the way. Yi Xin told Xianfeng that her mother was very ill now, and her only wish in this life was to have the title of Empress Dowager. If it could be given to her, I believe it would help her condition.

Because Xianfeng was in a hurry to visit the doctor, he responded vaguely. As a result, Yixin thought he had agreed and started to handle the matter. In this way, the imperial concubine got the title of empress dowager as she wished, and died a few days later.

Xianfeng initially thought of celebrating his adoptive mother, so he didn't blame Yixin for being good at making decisions. But when his adoptive mother passed away, Xianfeng dismissed Yixin from all his posts on the grounds that there were many omissions in the funeral.

At this time, Xianfeng had become increasingly distrustful of Yixin. Later, the British and French forces invaded, and Xianfeng hurriedly fled to Chengde for refuge. He remembered that he still had his younger brother Yixin, so he ordered him to stay in Beijing for negotiations. During this period, Yixin gained a lot of hearts, and even Westerners had a great impression of him.

Yixin's power in Beijing gradually expanded, while Xianfeng's health deteriorated day by day in Chengde. Sushun and others were deeply trusted by Xianfeng. They were afraid that Yixin would monopolize power in the future, so they took the opportunity to drive a wedge between Xianfeng and Yixin. Not only that, they also prevented the two brothers from meeting, resulting in the gap between the two brothers never being resolved.

In this way, Emperor Xianfeng finally died of illness in Chengde. Before his death, he was still suspicious of Yi Xin, so when he appointed Minister Gu Ming, he did not take it into consideration at all. But he didn't know that Yixin would later join forces with Cixi and take back the power himself. The Qing Dynasty also began to develop in a direction completely contrary to Xianfeng's hopes.