Emperor Qianlong was the second longest reigning emperor of the Qing Dynasty. From his accession to the throne until his death, he actually controlled the Qing Dynasty for 63 years. In 1795 AD, Qianlong announced his abdication, and his throne was given to the emperor's fifteenth

Emperor Qianlong was the second longest-reigning emperor in the Qing Dynasty . From his accession to the throne until his death, he actually controlled the Qing Dynasty for 63 years. In 1795 AD, Qianlong announced his abdication, and his throne was given to the emperor's fifteenth son Yongyan, who later became Emperor Jiaqing.

Emperor Qianlong

Qianlong had 17 sons and 10 daughters in his life. It stands to reason that with so many sons, a prince with excellent qualifications can be carefully selected to continue the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong. However, although the Emperor Jiaqing in history was very diligent, he was indeed quite law-abiding. In his hands, the Qing Dynasty also turned from prosperity to decline, and its former glory was no longer there. So why did Emperor Jiaqing become the biggest winner in life despite his mediocre qualifications? This has to mention Qianlong's difficult journey to establish a prince. To put it simply, whoever establishes him will die.

In July of the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign, Qianlong, who was still the fourth elder brother at the time, married Li Rongbao, the daughter of the Fucha family, the chief steward of Chahar, who was born in a famous Manchu family. This became the famous Xiaoxian and Pure Queen in history. Hongli had a deep love with the Fucha family. In the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign, the eldest son of Emperor Qianlong and Queen Xiaoxian was born. At this time, Qianlong had already been secretly established as the prince by Yongzheng, and the secret decree was placed behind the upright and bright plaque. Yongzheng was very happy when this legitimate son was born and named him Yonglian himself. The meaning of Lian is the vessel used to hold millet in ancient ancestral temples, implying the meaning of inheriting the throne. In the TV series "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace", Emperor Qianlong has an almost fanatical pursuit of his legitimate son to inherit the throne. Although it is a bit exaggerated, the historical Qianlong did follow the Han system and hoped that his legitimate son would inherit his throne.

Queen Xiaoxian

So in the first year of Qianlong, she secretly established her eldest son Yonglian as the crown prince. Yonglian was talented, intelligent, hard-working and the most suitable candidate for the crown prince, and was deeply liked by Qianlong. But God did not follow people's wishes, and Yonglian died of illness in the third year of Qianlong's reign. He was less than 10 years old at the time. Qianlong was very sad after losing an excellent heir. He did not go to the morning court for five days in a row, and made the secret imperial edict to establish the crown prince public. He said: " Yonglian is born to the queen. My legitimate son is smart. Noble and extraordinary. The name given by the imperial examination implies the meaning of the ancestral vessel. I, the empress of the emperor, abide by the formal style, write a secret edict personally, and call the ministers to hide it behind the " upright and bright " list of Qianqing Palace " Upright and Bright " Before he was registered, he was appointed as the crown prince. Now that he has passed away, all ceremonies will be carried out with the ceremony of the crown prince." Qianlong gave his beloved son the posthumous title of "Prince Duanhui" and built the prince's mausoleum. At this point, Qianlong failed to establish a prince for the first time.

In the eleventh year of Qianlong's reign, the 35-year-old Queen Xiaoxian gave birth to the seventh son of the emperor. After many years, Qianlong got another legitimate son and intended to make this second legitimate son the crown prince. Qianlong named his seventh elder brother Yong Cong. The Cong was often used as a ritual vessel for offering sacrifices to the land. This shows that Qianlong had high hopes for his legitimate son. Qianlong once commented on Yong Cong, saying, "Yong Cong, the seventh son of the emperor, and Yu Cui in the palace, have become wise. Just two weeks later, Qi Ni behaved differently. The Queen Mother, the Queen Mother, because she was from the direct line, was extremely intelligent, and loved the most sincerely. . I also deeply hope that the education will be established and he will be the successor." In the twelfth year of Qianlong's reign, misfortune befell Qianlong again, his only legitimate son. The seventh elder brother was infected with smallpox and unfortunately died young. Together with Queen Xiaoxian, she also lost her beloved son one after another, and she passed away only a year later.

Qianlong was heartbroken by the establishment of a crown prince. He ordered his ministers not to mention the establishment of a crown prince.

Qianlong lost two legitimate sons one after another, but one of his concubines was also very outstanding and gave Qianlong great comfort, that is the fifth elder brother Yongqi. Yongqi was born in the sixth year of Qianlong's reign, and his biological mother was Qianlong's Yufei Keliete . Yongqi is not only smart and talented, but also very filial. In the twenty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign, there was a fire in the Old Summer Palace. Yongqi carried his father to escape and saved his father loyally, which moved Qianlong very much. In the 30th year of Qianlong's reign, Yongqi was named Prince Rong. It is worth noting that Yongzheng was Prince Yong before becoming emperor, and Qianlong was named Prince Bao. This undoubtedly sent a signal to the outside world that Yongqi would be the next emperor.Not long after, in the 31st year of Qianlong's reign, Yongqi died of illness at the age of twenty-five. Emperor Qianlong told foreign envoys in the fifty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign, "At that time, I regarded the emperor's five sons as more valuable among all the disciples, and the Chinese, Manchu , Mongolian, Mabu , Sheji Algorithms and other things are all practiced skillfully, and they are quite dedicated to him.

It really fits the saying, whoever is closer to the position of prince will be closer to death. At this point, Qianlong's outstanding sons left one after another, leaving only a few princes with mediocre qualifications. Qianlong had no choice but to choose the relatively outstanding Jiaqing as emperor!