As the saying goes, "One emperor will be the same as the minister." When every emperor in the feudal era was in power, he would cultivate a large number of confidants for himself to control the court and consolidate his power. However, when the next emperor ascends the throne, their confidants will overturn the position of the old ministers and become the new nobles in the court.
Of course, in order to show their kindness and tolerance, the emperor who succeeded to the throne generally would not make things difficult for his father's happiness, but would let them return to their hometown, so that both sides would look good.
However, emperor of the Qing Dynasty is an exception. His father Kangxi emperor just passed away, and he executed his confidant who had been with his father for 60 years overnight. This is very strange. What did this confidant know that made him risk being criticized by the world?
The bones were not cold, but they killed their confidant
On November 13, 1722, a miserable cry came from Changchun Garden, the royal cemetery. On that night, Emperor Kangxi, who had been in power for a full 61 years, was almost dead. The ministers and princes were guarding his house, crying endlessly, waiting for his final order.
This emperor who had been in power for the longest time in Chinese history also had no ability to resist the god of death. He closed his eyes with infinite fear and unwillingness. The royal ministers cried endlessly, but this was not the time to cry. The most urgent thing was to determine the candidate for the next emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
Several ministers and the old prince read the will of Emperor Kangxi, and the name of the next emperor was clearly written on it - Aisin Gioro Yinzhen , the fourth son of Emperor Kangxi.
The ministers did not dare to neglect and quickly promoted the fourth prince to inherit the throne. It was for Emperor Yongzheng. However, what no one expected was that the first thing Emperor Yongzheng did after ascending the throne was not to deal with his father's funeral or stabilize the emotions of his brothers, but to order the arrest of the eunuch Zhao Chang.
Who is Zhao Chang? Why did Emperor Yongzheng hurriedly arrest him?
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Zhao Changlai was Emperor Kangxi's biggest confidant. He was his eunuch since Emperor Kangxi was young. The master and servant grew up together, and the relationship was very deep. In addition, Zhao Chang was smart and capable, and was always the first to detect Emperor Kangxi's intentions. Therefore, Emperor Kangxi attached great importance to him. After he grew up, he appointed him as the eunuch general manager and asked him to handle various matters in his life.
For eunuchs in the palace, the eunuchs are a perfect match. After getting this position, Zhao Chang was not only able to be with the emperor at all times, but also to improve his weight in the eyes of the ministers of the royal family. Although the eunuch is not worthy of the status of the eunuch, the eunuchs who are close to the emperor are different. Even the princes have to give him some thin face.
After getting such a fat man, Zhao Chang was so grateful to Emperor Kangxi and became more considerate to him in his life.
Once, a foreigner paid Kangxi a musket to express his feelings. In the Qing Dynasty, which was still using cold weapons, this musket team was simply an irresistible divine thing for a martial young emperor like Emperor Kangxi, so Emperor Kangxi loved it very much and held it in his hands all day long.
But while loving this musket, there is one thing that has been lingering in Kangxi's heart. As the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, this gun was similar to that of ordinary people, and it was not special, and did not conform to his identity as the lord of the Supreme Kingdom of the Celestial Empire.
Watching Kangxi keep rubbing the gun, Zhao Chang, who has always known how to figure out Kangxi's feelings, knew that the master thought that the gun was too simple, so in order to please Kangxi, Zhao Chang dug out a large amount of gold, silver and treasures from his small treasury and asked for a gun with a lot of money.
Not long after, when Zhao Chang held a musket full of various gems, Kangxi looked straight, and since then, he has been increasingly using this tactful eunuch.
For a time, Zhao Chang was in full bloom. Several princes of Emperor Kangxi respected him very much. After all, the , the nine sons of Kangxi's dynasty, was too cruel. No one dared to take the risk to offend Zhao Chang. Otherwise, if Zhao Chang privately spread some of their black information to Emperor Kangxi, their future would be dangerous.
Before ascending the throne, Emperor Yongzheng was also very polite to Zhao Anda by his father. He once gave him calligraphy, painting and jewelry and asked him to say a few good words in front of his father. Therefore, everyone thought that Zhao Chang could at least have a good end in his hands, but unexpectedly, Emperor Yongzheng turned against him as soon as he ascended the throne and insisted on executing him overnight.
This incident caused an uproar among the ministers of the royal family. After all, Zhao Chang was the confidant of Emperor Kangxi. He had no contributions and worked hard for so many years. Now Emperor Kangxi's body is not cold. Emperor Yongzheng, as his successor, should not have taken such a ruthless move.
Let’s talk about it. Emperor Yongzheng had just ascended the throne, and his other brothers were still eyeing him. If he killed Zhao Chang at this time, he would undoubtedly give them a message: the emperor killed the late emperor’s confidant so quickly, but it was a problem with the means of ascension, so he was eager to kill someone to silence him.
However, no matter how these people advised, Emperor Yongzheng did not change his mind. He insisted on executing Zhao Chang immediately.
Three major crimes are unreasonable
Although the emperor killed someone just a matter of one sentence, in order to block Youyou's mouth, he reluctantly gave several reasons for Zhao Chang's death.
One of them is suspected of treason. The evidence is that in the past he gave the deposed prince Yinreng an fire sickle .
The deposed crown prince Yinreng is the legitimate son of Emperor Kangxi and his original empress. He was granted the crown prince at birth and was extremely honorable and favored. In addition, he lost his mother since he was a child, so Emperor Kangxi was particularly fond of him and personally brought him to his side to educate him. This is an honor that all his other sons have never had. Yinreng did not let down his father's love, had outstanding abilities, both civil and military, and could help his father handle political affairs as a teenager. He was a qualified prince.
Unfortunately, as he ages, Emperor Kangxi became more and more afraid of this young and powerful prince. The prince also lost his calmness in his father's suspicion and did a lot of extraordinary things. In order to compete for the position of the prince, other princes also said in front of his father that he was not right. Emperor Kangxi used this to depose him. But soon after, Emperor Kangxi felt sorry for this son and made him the crown prince again. Soon after, he deposed him again.
After the second deposed and two, Yinreng completely lost the hope of turning around and posed no threat to Emperor Kangxi. Emperor Kangxi was once again raising a fatherly feeling, and specially asked Office of the Internal Affairs to ensure the super-standard supply of the deposed crown prince Yinreng's family, and brought his sons to his side for upbringing.
So no matter which prince's eyes are, Yinreng is an absolute enemy, and Emperor Yongzheng is no exception. If Zhao Chang really colluded with the deposed crown prince, other ministers would have nothing to say, but there was no substantial evidence in this case. Zhao Chang just gave Yinreng's son a scythe. What kind of collusion is this?
People who live in modern times probably don’t know what a fire sickle is. In fact, it is just a tool to poke a stove. Its only function is to make fire, and it has no lethality at all. Children often play with it as a weapon. There is no problem with Zhao Chang giving a small toy like the emperor and grandchildren!
Zhao Chang's second crime was to put eyeliners into various prefectures to monitor the prince.
This crime is more reliable than the first one, but if you think about it carefully, it will not stand. The princes of the Kangxi dynasty were not vegetarians. They were both literary and martial, meticulous, and their mansions were even more in charge.
If you want to monitor them, the people who are inserted into the prince’s mansion must be one of the best experts. Zhao Chang is just a slave of the emperor. Where did he get the right to use such talents personally?
It is obvious that these eyeliners are all subordinates of Emperor Kangxi, and Zhao Chang was just acting on orders. In the final analysis, the elderly Emperor Kangxi refused to let go of the sons of R&F this year, so he specially asked Zhao Chang to install eyeliners in the prince's mansion to monitor whether there was anything illegal.
If Emperor Yongzheng really can't stand being surveilled, then he should also expose his temper to Emperor Kangxi. Zhao Chang is just a slave. No matter how glorious he is, his rights come from Emperor Kangxi. If Emperor Kangxi doesn't nod, where can he get the courage to monitor the prince? This matter clearly has nothing to do with him!
Zhao Chang's third crime is embezzlement and bribery and stealing silver from the treasury.
Among these three crimes, this crime is the most reliable. As the most trusted eunuch around Emperor Kangxi, Zhao Chang naturally got a different look from others. In order to leave a good impression on Emperor Kangxi, many ministers would bribe Zhao Chang before meeting the saint, begging him to say a few good words for him.
Zhao Chang has lived in the palace since he was a child, and has seen countless rare treasures with Emperor Kangxi. Naturally, the value of the bribes given to him by the ministers is not. Otherwise, it would not be bribes, but a grudge.
Through this path, Zhao Chang made a fortune, but he was not satisfied, but extended his hand to the treasury again. Emperor Kangxi trusted him extremely, so the treasure trove was also opened to him. He took the opportunity to steal a lot of jewelry and silver from it and made his small treasury very luxurious.
This poked Emperor Yongzheng's lungs. You should know that Kangxi was quite stupid in his later years, and he was poor and weak in the court. In this way, he even slapped the fat man in his face and borrowed a lot of money from his ministers.
Emperor Yongzheng, who was still a prince at the time, was ordered to collect the debt and almost slept directly at the ministers' house. He finally recovered some silver, but he fought hard in front of him. Zhao Chang stole the silver. Isn't this seeking death?
However, during the Kangxi dynasty, eunuchs stole the treasury silver, and Emperor Kangxi turned a blind eye. After all, eunuchs who had the right to get the silver knew that they would not exceed the emperor's bottom line. In addition to Zhao Chang, there were many eunuchs who served Emperor Kangxi who had received the silver. At most, they would spit out silver to guard the tomb for Emperor Kangxi, but Zhao Chang had to go with him immediately. What is the reason?
Therefore, these three reasons are not accepted by the ministers, but Emperor Yongzheng has made up his mind and has given them a crime that can fool the world. What else can they say? In this way, Zhao Chang, the eunuch who was once the most glorious in the Kangxi Dynasty, drank the poisonous wine given by the emperor and went directly to bury Emperor Kangxi who had been serving for many years.
The real reason is confusing
Emperor Yongzheng immediately killed his father's confidant without stopping. Therefore, for many years, there have been many different opinions on the real reason for Zhao Chang's death in later generations.
But there are two main reasons that are more convincing, one is to cover up the secret of the unorthodox throne. There has always been a saying among the people that Yongzheng succeeded to the throne is incorrect. A large number of people believe that the one who wanted to pass the throne in the early days was that he especially favored the fourteenth son who could conquer and fight, but the ambitious fourth prince Yongzheng would not allow such an existence.
So, in order to seize the throne, Yongzheng quietly took advantage of Kangxi's serious illness and changed the content of Kangxi's will.
This statement has been very popular among the people, so people believed more that the reason why Yongzheng was eager to kill people was to let those who knew the truth at that time become dead, because only dead people would not have any worries.
But this statement cannot be believed by everyone, because even if Kangxi could change the "Fourteenth" in Chinese to "Yu Si", he could not change the winding Manchu and Mongolian languages.
So under this explanation that cannot stand scrutiny, this statement does not hold up to the point.
In addition to this, there is another saying that Zhao Chang knew too much. Before becoming emperor, Yongzheng did uncommon things, and all these things were seen by Zhao Chang, so the explanation is that Zhao Chang died because he knew too much.
This reason is much more reliable. During the period when the Nine Sons fought for the throne, these brothers were really trying to get rid of each other and increase their chances of getting to power. They were really showing their magical powers, such as witchcraft, slandering, forming cliques and making private interests... Only what future generations can't think of, there is nothing they can't do.
For an emperor in the feudal era, fame is still very important. If others know that they have done so many dirty things when they are doing too much, wouldn’t it be a joke for thousands of years? So even for the sake of their reputation in the future, Emperor Yongzheng would not let Zhao Chang go like an insider like him.
Let me talk about it again. Zhao Chang knew so much. If he had any disobedient heart and handed over all the evidence of these matters to other princes, then the throne that Emperor Yongzheng finally obtained would probably be threatened. If you want to solve this hidden danger, the best way is naturally to make Zhao Chang shut up forever.
However, this era is too far from the Qing Dynasty. The above are just speculations made by us based on historical records. I am afraid that only Emperor Yongzheng himself knows what the truth is.
The bloody storm of Kangxi's nine sons fighting for the throne left an eternal psychological shadow on Emperor Yongzheng. The process of standing out from the nine brothers to seize the throne was too difficult, so he would not let go of anyone or force that might threaten his position.
Zhao Chang may be innocent. All his actions were just ordered by Emperor Kangxi, but Emperor Yongzheng would not let him go. For the noble emperor, in order to consolidate his position, what is the life of a small slave in the family?
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