The Qing Dynasty During the Kangxi period, the nine sons fought over the legitimate sons , which was also the most fierce competition for status in the feudal history of China. In the end, Si Age, who was not favored by others, successfully ascended to the status. This is Yongzheng . When chose his successor, Yongzheng learned the lesson of nine sons seizing the throne and hoped for a smoother transition of power.
Emperor Yongzheng reigned for a total of 13 years, from 1722 AD to 1735 AD. Among the sons of Emperor Yongzheng who are eligible to succeed, they are Hongshi, Hongli, Hongzhou... The one who finally succeeded was Hongli, who was the fourth son of Emperor Yongzheng. However, Hongzhou was recognized as the smartest son of Yongzheng. Hongzhou pretended to be ignorant all his life and saved the prosperity of his descendants..
Why choose Hongli to succeed
Qing Dynasty Kangxi , Yongzheng, and Qianlong created the Kangxi and Qianlong dynasties , which was also the only prosperous age in the Qing Dynasty. The heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong is recognized in history as reaching the peak of China's feudal system. However, now it seems that the decline of the feudal system began after the heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong. As the saying goes, the prosperity of the Kangxi and Qianlong dynasties was the reflection of China's feudal dynasty.
The prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong was like the last dazzling explosion of an asteroid in the universe when it was about to die. For more than a century after Kangxi ascended the throne at a young age, handed over to Yongzheng a stable Qing dynasty with a well-filled treasury. After 13 years, Yongzheng handed over a relatively more stable Qing Dynasty to his four sons.
Qianlong is a very famous emperor in history. Many people think that Qianlong has the talent to govern the country. In fact, Qianlong was not the most qualified of all the princes of Yongzheng to succeed to the throne. The prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong lasted from the middle to the middle of Kangxi to the middle of Qianlong. It is no exaggeration to say that Qianlong stepped on the shoulders of his grandfather and father to achieve a short period of peace and prosperity.
However, it was this short period of peace and prosperity that made many people think that Qianlong was the most outstanding of all Yongzheng's sons. However, the fact is that Hongzhou, the fifth son of Yongzheng, is the smartest among all the sons of Yongzheng. And Yongzheng's third son Hongshi was also Qianlong's elder brother, and his ability was higher than Hongli's. So why did Yongzheng choose Hongli to succeed him?
Some people think that it is because Kangxi liked Hongli, his grandson, and Yongzheng often brought Hongli into the palace to please the emperor when he was still a prince. However, Kangxi's liking alone was not enough to influence Yongzheng's final decision to choose his successor.
has a good saying: it all depends on the support of peers. Yongzheng's third son Hongshi made a taboo when he was fighting for the throne. This was also the dark corner of Yongzheng's heart that he was least willing to touch. The tragedy of the nine sons' inheritance was still before their eyes. In order to fight for the throne, Hongshi went to Longkodo for help.
Seeing that the fight between his roommates caused Xiao Qiang to happen again, Yong Zheng was naturally unwilling. No matter how outstanding Yongzheng was, it would be impossible for him to establish Hongshi as crown prince under such circumstances. Although Hongli was deeply favored by Emperor Kangxi at that time, from the late Qianlong period we can see that Hongli paid great attention to pleasure.
Among the candidates for the throne at that time, a favorable competitor was Yongzheng's fifth son, Hong Zhou. If Qianlong indulged himself in enjoying , then Hongzhou has reached the level of absurdity. In the classic TV series " Yongzheng Dynasty ", the image of Hongzhou is indeed very close to reality.
His elder brother usurped the throne and was discovered by his father. His younger brother was a more indulgent person than himself. In addition, he was very popular with the emperor's grandfather. Hongli continued to win all the way, and finally Yongzheng passed the emperor's throne to him. Hongli. However, among all the sons of Yongzheng, Hongzhou is recognized as the smartest, because Hongzhou is not really ridiculous but pretending to be ridiculous.
The Prince Playing Fool
Hongzhou's life is more like the birth of a drama queen. Aixinjueluo Hongzhou relied on himself to pretend to be ignorant all his life to preserve the prosperity of his descendants .Hongshi and Longkodo were studying how to seize the throne from his father every day, Hongli was studying how to please the emperor's grandfather every day, and Hongzhou was studying how to make himself look more like a fool.
When Hong Zhou was the prince, he had clearly realized that if he fought for the throne, he would probably lose his life, but just became a prince and he would be able to live a life of food and clothing, so he asked his father In front of Yongzheng, Hongzhou often praised his brother Hongli for his ability and intelligence.
As for the errands assigned to him by his emperor father, Hong Zhou pushed them as much as he could and hid whenever he could. However, when Hongzhou heard that his father was ill, he immediately went to the palace to take care of his father. In short, Hongzhou was a filial person in front of Yongzheng but had no regard for status.
When he was a prince, Hong Zhou could only eat, drink and have fun. In today's popular words, he was a mess. In fact, it is not bad to be an idle prince. Hong Zhou's intelligence gradually came into play after Qianlong became emperor.
There are many smart people in the royal family. Some smart people were tabooed by the emperor and eventually led to death. However, the truly smart people know how to protect themselves wisely. Seeing his brother become the emperor, Hong Zhou vividly displayed the image of an arrogant and ruthless man who acted recklessly because his brother was the emperor.
Because Hongzhou pretended to be crazy and acted foolishly when he was a prince, his fourth brother finally let down his guard. Hongli believed that his younger brother Hongzhou really had no ambitions for status, and would not pose a threat to him as emperor.
After Qianlong succeeded to the throne, Hong Zhou resolutely continued to be a stupid prince. At that time, a minister had a quarrel with Hong Zhou in the court. It stands to reason that as the prince Hong Zhou should suppress his anger at this time, but Hong Zhou had a fight with the minister in the court.
According to the " Qing Dynasty Laws and Regulations " at that time, Hong Zhou's behavior was contempt of the court and a serious crime. However, Emperor Qianlong passed by carelessly and did not punish Hong Zhou. After Qianlong became emperor, in order to prevent his status from being threatened and his power to fall apart, he took back all the political rights of the imperial clan.
Hongzhou's ending
Hongzhou also has a special hobby of holding banquets. Of course, this is not a banquet for guests, but a funeral. For whom does hold funerals? To Hong Zhou himself! I have to admire this ridiculous prince, he really has a big heart.
The key point is that Hongzhou still has to notify the ministers according to the standard "exercise procedure", and the ministers have to give him gifts every time there is a funeral. Such ridiculous behavior made the ministers miserable, but Qianlong turned a blind eye.
In short, the more absurd Hong Zhou behaved, the more assured Emperor Qianlong was that his younger brother would not covet his position as emperor. In this way, Hongzhou started pretending to be crazy and acting stupid since he was a teenager, and lived as an absurd prince until he was over 50 years old. In the end, because his life was too absurd, Hongzhou got a serious illness at the age of 60 and died suddenly.
summary
Emperor Qianlong even visited his younger brother in person when Hong Zhou was seriously ill. In fact, Hong Zhou was only born one hour later than Emperor Qianlong, and the two were similar in age. This ridiculous younger brother had accompanied him for a decade of his life. At this time, Qianlong was probably feeling sad.
After Hongzhou's death, Qianlong gave his title to Hongzhou's son. Hongzhou pretended to be crazy and stupid all his life in exchange for the glory and wealth of his descendants. As for whether Hong Zhou is a wise man or a fool, only he knows in his heart.
