Xuan Ye's achievements in the decades before the two Crown Princes were deposed were outstanding, and he had made an important contribution to the development of the Qing Dynasty. However, due to the constraints of social conditions and the limitations of class status, he repeated the mistakes of many great historical figures in his later years. His politics gradually became corrupt and the society was in danger. There were two main political mistakes in his later years. One was the improper establishment of the crown prince, which caused a serious division of the highest ruling group. The other was the indulgence of the officials and the unclear administration of officials.
The ten-year-long struggle for the throne had caused the political situation in the court to be in turmoil and stagnation for a long time. On the one hand, in order to compete for the throne, the sons colluded with the imperial clan ministers, divided them into cliques, and fought with each other. On the one hand, due to Xuanye's capriciousness in the establishment of the crown prince, many ministers were at a loss. Those who cared about the government were powerless and gradually became passive. Those who protect themselves should be cautious and welcome them everywhere. Under such circumstances, the Qing rulers gradually lost their vigor in the early years. The situation at that time was just as Yinzhen had pointed out at the beginning of his reign: Jiuqing sit on duty, there are many differences, until the meeting, each other push, do not say a word, or pretend to sleep idle chat, delay for a few days, meet one or two new subjects, in front of the public, they echo each other, in an attempt to block the responsibility. One day's delay in the nine ministers, the six departments and eight banners at home, and the provinces outside, were all delayed. Therefore, it is quiet for the subordinate officials. As for the matter of recommendation, there were also drawbacks such as bribery…All kinds of bad habits were in the Holy Ancestor's insight and had been tolerated for a long time. What good was it?
The relaxation and slackness of the highest ruling group led to corruption and greed in the entire bureaucracy. At that time, the most popular saying in the officialdom was to accept both fame and reality. Officials in the name of loyalty and virtue, but also clever management, can fill their own pockets. Embezzlement and bribery, as well as the erosion of national funds, had become commonplace. For example, a county magistrate in the village of Henan Province competed to obtain 65,000 taels of silver in the name of collecting fire consumption. A prefect of Fengyang, Anhui Province, lied about the disaster and embezzled 11,800 taels of silver. Song Jiang's governor embezzled more than 34,000 taels of silver by deducting the soldiers 'grain. With such corruption, it was inevitable that the Qing Dynasty would have an economic crisis. By the end of Kangxi's reign, the treasury of the Ministry of Revenue had a deficit of more than 2.5 million taels of silver.
It was against this background that Yinzhen stepped onto the political stage.
During the Kangxi period, although the conflicts between the princes and factions were already very sharp, due to the suppression of the old emperor who had been in power for decades, the conflicts did not intensify. Yinzhen's sudden appearance on the stage reduced the weight of the Emperor in people's minds, and contradictions quickly arose.
Xuan Ye's posthumous edict was passed on to the emperor's fourth son, Yin Zhen, which was beyond the expectations of the kings and ministers. When Yin Zhen was a prince, he was respectful and courteous, which confused Yunti and the courtiers. They were so keen on asking each other questions that no one noticed the subtle change in Xuan Ye's attitude towards Yin Zhen. Yin Zhen had become the master of all vehicles overnight, so they were not mentally prepared at all and could not take any effective countermeasures. When Xuan Ye's will was announced, Yunzhi, Yuntang, and the others who were present showed different degrees of dissatisfaction, but they could only bow their heads. When the 17th son of the emperor, Yunli, who was on duty in the capital, heard the news of Yinzhen's accession to the throne, he was so shocked that he almost went crazy. Later, Lonkedo reported to Yinzhen what he had seen with his own eyes: On the day of Emperor Shengzu's visit to heaven, I returned to the capital first. As expected, the prince was on duty in the palace. When he heard that something big had happened, he met me in Xizhimen Street. Tell the emperor's edict to ascend the throne, really the prince look perverse, almost crazy. When he heard that he had fled back to his mansion, he did not wait on him in the capital.
Yinzhen's ascension to the throne broke the dream of Yunti and others to become emperor. Although Yunzi, Yunzi, Yunzi and others had their differences in the past, at this time, the same interests made them focus on Yinzhen and began to fight with the new king. They colluded with their accomplices in the court, openly showed disrespect and distrust to Yinzhen, and deliberately fought with Yinzhen, which seriously threatened the imperial power that was related to the stability and consolidation of the feudal order. In this troubled time, if Yinzhen wanted to stabilize the situation and sit on the throne, he had to first appease the people and win the trust of the courtiers and his brothers. For this reason, after Xuan Ye's posthumous edict was issued, he decisively handled two major matters that were related to the stability of the political situation.
The first important thing that Yinzhen decided upon after taking the throne was to appoint the Prime Minister. When Fulin and Xuanye first ascended the throne, the Qing Dynasty had set up auxiliary ministers. The most important reason was that the Shun and Kang Emperors had ascended the throne for the young master. At that time, in order to stabilize the situation or maintain the continuity of policies, the various factions in the court either fought with each other or compromised with each other, producing auxiliary ministers such as Dorgon and Oboi. Yinzhen was forty-five years old when he ascended the throne. He was in the prime of his life and did not need to set up an assistant minister, but after repeated analysis and weighing, he appointed four ministers, named the Prime Minister of Japan. On the second day after Xuan Ye's death, Yin Zhen issued an imperial edict: He ordered Baylor Yunzhi, Thirteen Prince Yunxiang, Grand Scholar Ma Qi and Minister Long Ke to preside over the affairs of the court.……The place where I lay my mat is full of dust. All the things that I have to report, except for the affairs of my vassal palace, are handed over to the four ministers. All decrees must be passed down by the four ministers and recorded in the archives. Then everything will be in order and not in disorder.
Yinzhen's decision to set up the Prime Minister was well thought out. At that time, the court was financially tight and lacked capable talents. Many opposition parties were still eyeing the situation from the side, hoping to succeed. As soon as Yinzhen ascended the throne, he was faced with the important tasks of reorganizing the government, curbing the opposition forces, and stabilizing the situation. Although he was full of vigor and energy, he still needed a group of loyal servants under such circumstances. He spent a lot of effort to choose Lonko and the other three to be the Prime Minister. They all had their own backgrounds and uses. At that time, the most important thing was to curb the opposition forces and stabilize the political situation. Thus, he chose Yunchen and Longkeduo. From the 20-year-long struggle for the throne, Yinzhen had long seen that Yunti was the central figure of the opposition. Although there were conflicts between Yunzhi, Yunyuwo, and Yunzhi, they would always obey Yunzhi's opinion at critical moments. Therefore, he thought that as long as he could subdue Yunchen, Yunchen and the others would not dare to be too arrogant. Afterwards, Yinzhen bluntly talked about his thoughts: When I ascended the throne, I thought that Achina was the leader of the bandit party. If Yi was grateful and turned over a new leaf, then there would be no other evil to hide, and the party would naturally disband. Therefore, he was especially courteous, promoted to the rank of king, and appointed wholeheartedly. Therefore, Yunji became the head of the four prime ministers. Longkeduo was a person who played a special role in the transition between the Kang and Yong dynasties. As a relative of the Emperor, he was the Minister of the Fan Court, the Commander of the Infantry Army, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Nine Gates of the capital. He was also the only official to listen to Xuan Ye's last words. The turmoil and stability of the political situation in the capital depended to a certain extent on Longkeduo's attitude towards the new king. If he stood on the opposing side of Yinzhen and helped Yunzhi in terms of fishing vessels and military strength, it would inevitably greatly increase the complexity of the situation after Yinzhen ascended the throne. Therefore, Yinzhen had to hold Longkeduo tightly in his hands. Long was appointed Minister of Prime Minister Affairs, which was the first step for Yinzhen to win over Long Keduo.
The thirteenth son of the Emperor, Yun Xiang, was appointed as the Minister of the Prime Minister, which also had a special role. For Yinzhen, if he wanted to be an emperor safely, he had to control his political enemies and stabilize the situation. He also had to grasp the power of personnel and wealth. He believed that the emperor should be the one to control the selection and reward of officials, while the power of the country's finances should be handed over to a reliable person. He gave this task to the Thirteenth Prince Yunxiang. Yinzhen always claimed that he never formed cliques for personal gain, and there was no private contact between brothers. Among his many brothers, it was difficult for him to find a few helpers who could help him in the same boat. Only the Thirteenth Prince Yunxiang was an exception. Yunxiang was born to Zhang Jia, the imperial concubine of Jingmin, and was eight years younger than Yinzhen. Although Yinzhen repeatedly praised him for his respect for the law and his selflessness, these strengths were never discovered during the reign of Kangxi. Even at the age of thirty-six, he did not even get the title of Bei Zi. However, in the Yongzheng period, he stood out and became a minister of the Prime Minister's Office from an ordinary elder brother. Then, he was granted the title of Prince Yi. The reason may be that Yinzhen praised him for his honesty and honesty. His foolish loyalty to Yinzhen became the reason for his meteoric rise. After he was appointed as the Prime Minister, he first became the Prime Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Then he became the prime minister of the Ministry of Revenue and took charge of the financial power of the Qing Dynasty, becoming Yinzhen's handy head of the household.
Among the four ministers, only Ma Qi, the Grand Secretary of the Hall of Martial Valor, was unclear. Although Ma Qi was an old minister who had made many meritorious deeds in the Kangxi Dynasty, he was punished by Xuan Ye for being stripped of his official position and imprisoned because he had once made a name for Yunzhi in the 47th year of Kangxi. His attitude toward Yunchen was known throughout the court. He speculated that Yinzhen's intention of appointing Ma Qi was either to create a good impression that the new monarch did not blame the past for employing people, to appease the courtiers and stabilize the situation, or to win over Yunzhi's group. In any case, from the development of the situation, it could be seen that the appointment of Ma Qi and the other three did play the role of stabilizing the situation as Yinzhen expected.
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