"Overture to the Forbidden City" Why did Xianfeng and Emperor Xianfeng of Cixi die for Cixi?

[/s2/] Xianfeng and Cixi: 186 1 year165438+1October 8th, beginning of winter. The northwest wind blew the day before, and the cold suddenly came, the dust flew and the leaves fell. After midnight, the weather inside and outside Beijing is very cold. Early in the morning, the night did not decrease, and Xuanwai Street from Xuanwu Gate to Caishikou was crowded with all kinds of people. Even the restaurants and tea cities on both sides are crowded with people, and everyone stands on the tables and chairs and looks forward. On this day, Su Shun, an important national leader and minister appointed by the last leading core, will be tied up and executed at Caishikou. Nobody wants to miss this historic moment!

The famous Li Ciming is very ill and lies in a high bed. He heard that Su Shun's prison van passed by his house, so he reluctantly got up and went out to watch. He saw "Su Shun" dressed in white, tied up in a hurry and carrying a car without curtains. No relatives have given birth to children. "More importantly, pedestrians on both sides of the street always" make friends "."Their resentful families drove cars and took wine to visit western cities. "Before the execution, Su Shun, who had been silent, suddenly began to curse. It is said that "the detainees can't stand the voice of disobedience. "He always refused to kneel down. In desperation, the official who sent the red hair had to hit Sue's knee with an iron handle until her calf was broken. The executioner took advantage of this opportunity to raise his sword.

The execution of Su Shun soon touched the hearts of the princes. Emperor Weng Xincun wrote, "The so-called evil is not enough to destroy the body, but it can be forgiven." Son Weng Tong _ also thinks that Sue's overbearing behavior is really outrageous. 186 1 In early winter, how did you find the big tiger Su Shun? To be fair, Su Shun was a rare hawk in the late Qing Dynasty. This fierce vulture has two faces.

First of all, Su Shun is an out-and-out power minister. The rise and development of the Soviet Union smacked of karma. As a descendant of the imperial clan, Su naturally enjoys many privileges. Once she started her career, she worked in a security office. However, in his early years, he was stubborn. "Swimming is good and narrow, and eating and drinking eagles and dogs is good." "In the severe winter, [the Soviet Union] wore pigtails and sheepskin and led the dog to the streets." He idles around all day and is a "man in the wind". It is precisely because of this seemingly unbearable market experience that he can "know the pros and cons of the five capitals." In addition, he can "know people and learn their appearance all his life;" You can give a few years to solve a case, so you have repeatedly solved major cases and got promoted quickly. By the time Xianfeng acceded to the throne, Su had achieved such a deputy ministerial level and became an assistant minister. Only in the capital of officialdom, talents only account for one of them, and background, background and wealth are also hard currency. Su Shun has only an ordinary imperial clan, neither a prince nor a county king. It's really hard to move up and down. According to the usual practice, if you stay up late for 20 years, you will retire at the ministerial level at most.

However, God has opened the door to the peak of power. After Xianfeng ascended the throne, he was bent on seeking medical treatment, so he underwent major surgery under the leadership of the army. He first deposed Zhang Mu, a minister who made mistakes in the country, and then appointed Cezanne and Qi Junzao as foreman ministers. But they are all self-disciplined, and it is difficult to cope with internal and external troubles. As a last resort, Xianfeng broke the ancestral system and ordered his sixth brother Prince Gong to join the military plane. Prince Gong did make an extraordinary move and quickly changed the situation. But when Liu Gan did a good job, Xianfeng became suspicious. He is afraid of taking big risks. A year and a half later, Xianfeng found a reason to remove Liu from all his posts and let him go back to his study for further study. After that, although Wen Qing experienced it, he died soon. Since then, the foreman ministers, whether Peng or Peng, have been very cautious. "Flattery is stingy, and not studying is stingy." Along the way, I went blind when I had an accident. "。

Seeing that the troops were weak, Xianfeng had to change course and take refuge in Zai Yuan, the prince of imperial clan Huacheng. Unfortunately, Xianfeng looked away again. These two people are by no means the only ones who can help the world and build peace. Duan Hua happens to be Su Shun's half-brother, and Zai Yuan and Su Shun are also close friends. The two princes know that the level of Chinese characters is limited and their ruling ability is not enough. However, "Su Shun studied Chinese characters, and he has a better understanding of historical customs and diseases, so he can make good use of it", so he jointly suggested that Su Shun go to the palace to worship, especially for the purpose of satisfaction. The prince who got two "iron hats" for "talking about what's going on in the world" came back and soared. When they talk about politics, they usually say "Su Shun did everything in Duan Hua, Duan Hua did everything in Zai Yuan", and finally "Su Shun is the mastermind". For this "ultimate counselor", Xianfeng gradually "trusted for a long time and became more and more professional", forming a special situation in which only one person and two people "obeyed" Su Shun.

In addition to winning the trust of the emperor, Su Shun also actively wooed senior officials, recruited talents and developed his own power. For example, Chen Furen was recommended as the minister of war, Du Han was fostered as a protege, and Kuang Yuan and Jiao Youying were arranged to join the army as an exception, all of which were closely related to Yin Mo. At the same time, it also absorbed Korean staff in many aspects. He often said, "We have many vassals and illegitimate children. What do we know? Han people can't be offended. His pen is terrible. Therefore, he has great respect for the Han people, but he is "vengeful and tyrannical" to the banners, and even accepts bribes. He only accepted the flag bearer and not the Han people, which made the whole flag complain. Adhering to this principle, Su Shun chose celebrities such as Wang Yun, Gao Xinkui and Guo Songtao as temporary candidates for Luo Zhi.

In the ninth year of Xianfeng, with Su Shun as the core, political groups including Duan Hua, Zai Yuan, Yin Mu, Du Han, Chen Fuen and Gaoxinqui were basically formed. They are either bosom friends or wings, intertwined and spread all over the world.

Secondly, Su Shun is a ruthless official. When Su Shun met the sage for the first time, he put forward the nine-character policy of "strictly forbidding, emphasizing law and discipline, and putting an end to rape", which was endorsed by Xianfeng in troubled times. After Su Shun came to power, he launched a large-scale "Tiger Beating" campaign, and made no secret of his true intention to crack down on political enemies and exclude dissidents.

At that time, there were still a group of relatively conservative and energetic forces in the central government of the Qing court. They opposed heavy punishment to revitalize the political platform and resolutely resisted the large-scale reuse of Han ministers. Representative figures include Qi Junzao, Peng, Weng Xincun and Zhou Zupei. According to Su Shun's bad temper, he naturally didn't want to deal with this generation, so he borrowed two tigers to cut off his opponents one by one.

The "first shot" put forward by Su Shun is the "martial arts science field case". Xianfeng eight years on October 7th, less than a month after having obtained. Meng Chuanjin, the examiner, wrote that there was serious fraud in rural examinations. For example, the standard-bearer is the same age and can do nothing but sing two good skins and yellow. He ranks seventh in high school. There is a problem. Please record it for review. Xianfeng felt a little strange, so he ordered Zai Yuan and Duan Hua to attend the trial. With the deepening of the investigation, the investigators found that "there are as many as 50 papers that need to consult the information desk", and even a paper with more than 300 typos can be listed. Xianfeng was furious and dismissed all examiners.

At the same time, another clue surfaced. It turns out that the examiner Pu An and the new examiner Luo Hong have a private "traffic joint". Therefore, Su Shun suggested that the two kings should follow suit and summoned Luo Gongyi. Scholars are often cowards. At one trial, Luo broke the news: In order to be admitted, he had already divorced from the assistant minister of the Ministry of War. Li asked the examiner Pu An for help, and Pu An greeted Ding Jinxiang at the door. After the work, Pu An gave Bai Jia 16 two pieces of silver and asked Rosso for 522 pieces of silver, of which 322 pieces were given to Pu An. This is obviously a corruption case.

A big tiger took part in the fly-killing operation, and this coke ruined Su Shun. Tian Lei was an important minister in the two dynasties. The Qing Dynasty called him "honest and clean" and "diligent without blaming", but he always held a grudge against the policies of Su Shun and others and often took the lead in resisting them. Since Tian Lei was arrested, Su Shun naturally made a fuss and urged him to "buy a joint bribery case and make a decision according to the handover committee". This really embarrassed Xianfeng. When discussing the case, he asked the ministers whether the White House was restrained and whether it could be given a lighter punishment. At this time, Su Shun boasted in the temple, emphasizing that the imperial examination was a ceremony of "selection, promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion, promotion". In the Tang Dynasty, ministers were impressed by the momentum of the Soviet Union, but "said nothing". As this was inevitable, Xianfeng had to be sentenced to death. Bai Hao also became the only central leader in the Qing Dynasty who was executed for cheating in exams. Judging from the "Wuwu Science and Technology Field Case" that lasted for ten months, 9 1 officials at all levels were investigated and punished, which not only executed deputy state-level cadres like Bai Qi, but also affected various ministries and even many princes and nobles. It has indeed achieved the effect of "taking work as relief and eliminating disadvantages for decades". However, the specific law enforcement in Su Shun is obviously unfair. For example, he defended Chen Fuen in this case. What makes people look down upon is that two years later, when Su Shun was monitoring Gengshen Cohen, he even leaked the pre-test questions at all costs, making employees feel noble and China-like. It can be said that Su Shun killed a tiger, but raised other tigers.

Subsequently, Su Shun punched again and thoroughly investigated the "outflanking case". In the early years of Xianfeng, due to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom uprising, the treasury of the household department was insufficient, and the Qing court decided to set up a banknote bureau of the household department, and the National Monetary Bureau issued a large number of banknotes. The excessive issuance of official paper money has not eased the financial pressure, but has led to inflation and soaring prices. However, officials and businessmen took the opportunity to collude, "embezzle and misappropriate" and "refuse to buy" to obtain huge profits, and passed on the consequences of the failure of the currency reform to the people. At that time, "there were more than one million soldiers and civilians inside and outside the five cities, and the grain depot raised prices. The daily income of ordinary people in Qian Wen is insufficient. " At the end of the eighth year of Xianfeng, Su Shun became the Chancellor of the Exchequer, determined to rectify the financial malpractice. Fortunately, Su Shun's predecessors were political opponents Qi Junzao, Bai Tian and Weng Xincun, which provided him with ready-made ammunition.

Su Shun began to investigate Wu Yu Guan Hao's account and followed it to the end. Hundreds of people took part and copied dozens of families, businessmen and Manchu clans. With the clarification of the case, in November of the ninth year of Xianfeng, the manuscript library of the Housing Department suddenly caught fire. "Three days later, the case was destroyed", "Yutuo was burned" and "according to statistics, more than 200 houses were burned", which led to the backlog of housing management departments that could not be verified. A fire broke out at this juncture, which convinced Xianfeng that there must be a bigger conspiracy, and ordered Su Shun to conduct a detailed investigation. With the support of the emperor, Su Shun's handling of cases is getting stronger and stronger, so it is necessary to find out the "big tiger" behind the scenes. After many textual researches, it took Asu a year to find the notes of Hubu, Chonggui and Wang Xizhi. They have all been changed into long bills, and the amount is huge. After repeated confessions by Lin Zhong and others, he admitted that Weng Xin, then Minister of the Interior, saw it, but Weng Xin was careless and didn't notice it. After getting the evidence, Su Shun immediately impeached Weng Xincun, and finally let the court dismiss Weng Xincun's lawsuit. However, Qi Junzao, who was still a college student at that time, had to resign, because he disagreed with Su Shun's handling, and the two men clashed many times. Su Shun's discussion was so full of wind that it was difficult for him to leave. .

The vigorous "outflanking case" lasted for more than two years. "Hundreds of people were involved and they were detained for two or three years. The two prisons in the north and south are overcrowded. " This has indeed temporarily curbed official bribery. Taking this opportunity, Su Shun ruled out Qi Junzao and Weng Xincun by investigating cases, which expanded his personal power. However, this unscrupulous anti-corruption action not only makes officials feel risky, but also forces them to keep in touch with close-knit groups in private to protect themselves. No wonder Li Ciming felt that "it is not the blessing of the country to be imprisoned for collecting books in the library many times." Su Shun gained cold strength, but lost a warm heart.

After all, this wave of "tiger hunting" has deteriorated. Different from the public attitude, Yi's situation can only be described as embarrassment.

In fact, Yi has been in an awkward position since he was rushed back to his study by Xianfeng. After Su Shun came to power, his situation became more and more delicate. In the eighth year of Xianfeng, the minister who went to Tianjin to make peace with Britain and France returned to Beijing without authorization, which aroused the emperor's anger. Around how to treat the elderly, the court formed two different opinions: First, according to the Qing law, it was indeed presumptuous and chaotic to decide that the elderly would not return to Beijing as ordered, but this was not the general commander and did not hinder the overall situation. In addition, the law has no special provisions on how to punish, and it is recommended to punish' probation' lightly; Su Shun believes that we must kill excessively and uphold the law immediately. Xianfeng compromised their suggestion and committed suicide for the old man. In fact, he adopted Su Shun's idea in a disguised form. My brother prefers his subordinates' words to his own, which inevitably makes Yi feel sad.

When Gang Po is flat, it will rise again and again. In the second year, Meng Laixi, general manager of Gong Wei eunuch, was found to be involved in the case. If I were someone else, I might give Yi leniency. Unexpectedly, heartless, raid and raid, the palace chaos. So the contradiction between them deteriorated from political differences to personal hostility. Just because he was forced to lose power in politics, Yi could only endure it for a while and pretend to be a "dove monarch".

This change occurred at 1860. Allied Enemy at the Gates, Xianfeng fled to Jehol. Before leaving, they entrusted Yi to negotiate peace and safeguard the capital. Prince Gong completed his mission and achieved peace. Easy to take pride in national reconstruction, usually treat people with courtesy. He soon confused Bao Yan, Zhou Zupei, Weng Xincun, Peng and other ministers who stayed in Beijing, and an "anti-"force gradually formed.

Of course, it takes two hands to make a sound. If Xianfeng dies, the harem will be similar, and it is estimated that the unlucky people will be relaxed. However, the script arranged by fate is Xianfeng's funeral in Jehol, and there are many contradictions between Cixi and Su Shun. According to the book of Empress Dowager Cixi, 16-year-old Cixi "recited five classics, learned Manchu and read twenty-four histories". She was so clever that she naturally won the favor of Xianfeng and even asked her to help organize the memorial service. However, when the two extremes met, Cixi became more and more enthusiastic about politics. She is not only ahead of the times, but also has the intention to participate in decision-making. This made Xianfeng very disgusted and gradually alienated him.

Realizing the change of the emperor's attitude and the danger of falling out of favor, Cixi decided to show her kindness to the government of Su Hong Manshun, saying, "You can hide your heart to help yourself." . Who knows, the hot face got stuck in the cold ass, and Su Shun was dissatisfied with my intention and refused arrogantly and contemptuously. Soon, Su Shun asked the story of "fishing" in front of Xianfeng, and gave Cixi to her. Xianfeng was drunk, lost his temper and let the cat out of the bag. When you smell it in the west, you will be remembered. . The problem between two people is considered as marriage.

In charge of the palace during a trip to Jehol in northern Su Shun. Due to the rush of escape, the cars that the concubines took were temporarily requisitioned from the street, so they were worn, rugged and bumpy. Cixi lived in the deep palace for a long time and couldn't stand such a crime. So she repeatedly asked Su Shun to change a good car, only to get a reprimand from Su Shun. "The crisis is better than usual." Where can I buy a new car here? Old cars are lucky. Uh, who is it? Naxi driving palace? '

When I arrived in Jehol, Xianfeng built a palace, so Su's "everyone is crowned, no entry and exit, bedroom registration, wives and concubines are imperial, I avoid it" can be said to be a flagrant violation of the rules of the harem. Su Shun's heart is only Xianfeng. How can he put Cixi and others in his eyes? Only then did I find out that this attractive Yehera family is also a tough guy. Later, Huang Meng, a famous scholar in the Republic of China, said with emotion: "The disaster of killing the door begins with a little grain, which can be a sigh."

Counting etiquette, imperial clan, harem, officials, eunuchs, intellectuals, banners and businessmen, Su Shun offended almost everyone. Unfortunately, its end is not far away!

In the imperial era, the good days of powerful ministers often could not span two dynasties. With the replacement of the old and new emperors, the power structure will be reshuffled. As the saying goes, "once every emperor has a courtier", we should abandon the old and welcome the new. During the Xianfeng period, Su Su lost his "big boss" and the political situation became complicated. Before he died, Xianfeng deliberately left his hand. On the one hand, he appointed eight ministers, including eight, to assist the young emperor; On the other hand, he gave two private seals to Ci 'an and Emperor Tongzhi, and they could veto the decision with their own seals. Therefore, the operation form of the government at that time was neither the "eight-person gang" ruling the whole family nor the dictatorship of the two palaces, but a balanced situation of "supporting politics with the curtain and covering politics with the curtain". In short, Rehe Group, Hougong Group and Beijing Yi Group are in a state of "tripartite confrontation".

However, due to our consistent tough stance, the debate between "whether to hide" and "whether to support" has intensified. The harem group was weak and had to join hands with the Yi group, and the "Three Kingdoms Kill" became a "two-person turn". After winning the acquiescence of the great powers, the loyalty of the army and the support of courtiers from all walks of life, uncles and nephews joined hands to wipe out eight "tigers" headed by Su Shun in a flash of lightning.

When the fiercest "big tiger" in the late Qing Dynasty was wiped out, Cixi and Yi naturally wanted to expose their crimes and bask in the "tiger skin". The accusation against Su Shun by the Qing court is really intriguing: he acted arbitrarily, took the job of entering the palace as his own responsibility, came and went freely, had no discipline, made good use of imperial things in the palace, controlled all affairs, and introduced practical things into the palace. Su Shun resisted illegal activities, dared to claim that he could not respect the purpose, and so on.

Although the above items can be called serious violations of discipline and law, they all belong to the category of individual violations of discipline and law and accountability of officials. Their rebellion and uprising are hidden. Sister-in-law probably knows that if Su Shun is classified as a political prisoner, it will inevitably involve the inside story of the power struggle of the imperial court, and its political legitimacy will also be questioned, so she chose to avoid the important and keep it secret.

Guo Song, who was the guest of honor in Su Shun, predicted before the defeat: "It is enough to protect peace as the foundation of the people's hearts, but strictness can't do harm." As we said, when dealing with political affairs, we should not only use thunderbolt, but also show the bodhisattva's heart. Only by combining hard and soft and uniting most people can we be in an invincible position. Su Shun had to go against his will. When he climbed to the peak of power, he also fell into the abyss of disaster. After all, this former "tiger hero" can't escape the fate of being labeled as "big tiger". This is Su Shun's paradox; This is a powerful ending.