How did Yongzheng die?

The Mystery of Sudden Death About the death of Yongzheng, it is recorded in the "Ju Zhu" of Yongzheng Dynasty in the archives of Qing Palace that in August of the 13th year of Yongzheng (A.D. 1735), Yong Zhengdi lived in Yuanmingyuan, and on August 18th, he negotiated with the minister to deal with minority affairs. On August 20, he summoned several local officials in Ningguta, and he still worked normally the next day, which shows that he is still in good health. But on August 22nd, he suddenly fell ill. That evening, Yongzheng, who was dying, announced that he would be handed over to his son Gan Long. The next day, 58-year-old Yongzheng swallowed his last breath in Yuanmingyuan. Yong Zhengdi's sudden death was recorded so simply by the Qing government without explanation. This is easy to arouse people's speculation. As a result, various statements about the cause of death of Yongzheng came into being. The most popular folk story is that there was a chivalrous woman named Lv Siniang whose father and grandfather were both killed by Yongzheng because of the literary inquisition. In retaliation, Lv Siniang cut off Yongzheng's head. Therefore, when Yongzheng was buried, he had to cast a golden head. Another statement is even more surprising. It is said that Cao Xueqin, the author of A Dream of Red Mansions, has a lover named Joo Sang wook, who is the embodiment of Lin Daiyu. Joo Sang wook was later occupied by Yongzheng and became a queen. Cao Xueqin missed his lover, mixed into the palace, and conspired with Joo Sang wook to poison Yongzheng with Dan medicine. There are also rumors in unofficial history that maids colluded with eunuchs and strangled Yongzheng with ropes. These legends show that when Yongzheng was alive, many people were very disgusted with his strict governance. But folklore is not a historical fact, and these statements are not credible. In addition, some historians infer that Yongzheng died of a sudden stroke, but have not yet produced particularly convincing evidence. How did Yongzheng, who advocated Dan medicine, die? Historians have done a lot of research on the archives of the Qing Dynasty in recent years, and more and more historians believe that Yongzheng was most likely poisoned by taking Dan medicine. Alchemy is a practice method of Taoism, in order to live forever. The elixir, that is, elixir, is made of natural minerals such as lead sand, sulfur and mercury by Taoist priests and fired with a furnace tripod. According to legend, you can live forever after taking this Dan medicine. Yongzheng became interested in Dan medicine before he became emperor. He once wrote a poem "Burning Dan": "Draw sand as medicine, pine and cypress around the cloud altar. The furnace contains yin and yang fire, both inside and outside. " It can be seen that Yongzheng had considerable research and interest in alchemy in his early years. After Yongzheng proclaimed himself emperor, he admired Zhang Boduan, the founder of Nanzong, and named him "Ziyang Real Person". Yongzheng especially praised Zhang Boduan for inventing the essentials at that time. At least from the fourth year of Yongzheng (A.D. 1726), Yongzheng often ate a kind of Dan medicine called "Ji Ji Dan" refined by Taoist priests. From his comments on Tian Wenjing's memorial, we can know that he felt it was effective after taking it, and he also gave Dan medicine as a gift to E Ertai, Tian Wenjing and other ministers. In the spring of eight years (AD 1730), Yongzheng was seriously ill. In order to cure the disease, he ordered hundreds of officials to visit famous doctors and magicians on a large scale. The imperial edict was not written by the minister in charge of copying, but by the emperor himself, which shows that he attaches great importance to this matter. Soon, the governor of Sichuan, Xiande, wrote a passbook, saying that there was a local man named Gong Lun who had the skill of immortality and gave birth to a son at the age of 86. Yongzheng immediately ordered people to enter the palace, but Gong Lun died at this time. To this end, Yongzheng was very sorry. Li Jue, the governor of Zhejiang Province, secretly said that Jia Shifang, a Taoist priest in Henan Province, was rumored to be a fairy and recommended him to go to Beijing to treat the emperor. Jia Shifang was originally a Taoist in Beijing Baiyun Temple, and later he wandered in Henan. At the beginning of Jia Shifang's entry into the palace, Yongzheng thought the treatment was quite effective, but later he gradually discovered that Jia Shifang used massage, magic and other methods to control his health. How can the son of heaven be pushed around? Yongzheng then ordered Jia Daoshi to be beheaded. Although Yongzheng killed Jia Shifang, he did not lose his trust in Taoist priests. According to the records of the Qing Palace, Yongzheng frequently participated in Taoist activities for about five years from illness to death. In addition, he also placed Taoist memorial tablets in the main hall, and even built several houses in the imperial garden for Taoist Lou Jinyuan and others to live in. Yongzheng also ordered 60 vestments for Taoist priests in Suzhou. There is also a portrait of Yongzheng wearing Taoist costumes in the Forbidden City in Beijing. All these show that Yongzheng really believed in Taoism. Yongzheng admired Taoism to the utmost, and in his own words, he wanted to "cure diseases and exorcise evil spirits". Secret alchemy started secret fire alchemy in Yuanmingyuan while Yongzheng was engaged in Taoist activities. The work file of the Qing Palace is the account book of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which records the daily necessities of the palace and discloses some information about Yongzheng alchemy. The earliest record is the eighth year of Yongzheng (A.D. 1730). The main contents are as follows: 1 1 month 17. On the day, Liu, the general manager of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the ambassador of the Imperial Palace, ordered that 750 Jin of Sang Mu and 200 Jin of white charcoal be sent to Yuanmingyuan Village. On the seventh day of December, Liu Chuanling sent the iron brazier cover with a diameter of one foot eight inches and a height of one foot five inches, red furnace charcoal 100 kg, to Yuanmingyuan Village. 1February 15, Liu and Shi Lizhong, the four deacons, issued an order together: send silver from 12 mines, 50 kilograms of black charcoal and 65,438 +000 kilograms of good coal to Yuanmingyuan Village. 1February 22nd, Wang Hai and Li Jinzhong sent a message together: Xiu Qing Village of Yuanmingyuan is smelting silver, and it needs 500 kilograms of white charcoal and 500 kilograms of cinder coal. Xiu Qing Village mentioned in the archives is located in the southeast corner of Yuanmingyuan, close to mountains and waters. This is a good place for secret activities. According to the archives, more than 2,000 kilograms of firewood and coal were sent to Xiu Qing Village in more than a month. The fuel used for heating and cooking in the palace of the Qing Dynasty was rationed, and there was a special account book, which was never recorded in the life record. At the same time, it is Yongzheng's confidant who handles this matter, and Liu is the general manager of Yongzheng Medical. The "mining silver" and "melting silver" in the archives are the necessities of an alchemist. It can be concluded that from the end of the eighth year of Yongzheng, Yongzheng began to make an alchemy in Xiu Qing Village of Yuanmingyuan. Experts found from the work files that during the five years from the eighth year of Yongzheng to the thirteenth year of Yongzheng, Yongzheng issued a 157 bill to transport the items needed for alchemy to Yuanmingyuan, of which 234 tons of coal was used for alchemy alone, and there were a large number of mineral products such as silver, copper, black lead and sulfur, so it is conceivable that Xiu Qing Village was an alchemist a few years later. At that time, there were several Taoist priests who took Dan medicine for Yongzheng alchemy in Yuanmingyuan. The most important ones were Zhang Taixu and Wang Dinggan. They did not live up to Yongzheng's expectations and really made furnace after furnace of so-called elixir. Yongzheng ate the Dan medicine refined by the Taoist priest and felt good about himself. He not only ate the Dan medicine himself, but also gave some of it to officials he trusted. In March and April of the 12th year of Yongzheng, Yongzheng presented Dan medicine twice. It is recorded in the work file: The first time was on March 2 1, and Minister Hai Wang handed in four boxes of Dan medicine, which were presented to acting general Chalang 'a, assistant general Zhang Guangsi, counselor Mu Deng and magistrate respectively according to Yongzheng's will. The second time was on the first day of April, Hai Wang, Minister of Interior Affairs, handed over a box of Dan medicine, which was packed in a box and given to the ministers of Ouchi rank according to the will of Yongzheng. These two gifts were sent from Yuanmingyuan and handed over by Hai Wang, the director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It can be seen that these royal "pills" were extracted from the imperial blast furnace in Yuanmingyuan. In fact, lead, mercury, sulfur, arsenic and other minerals used in alchemy are toxic, which is very harmful to the brain and five internal organs. Before Yongzheng's death 12 days, it was recorded in the work file: "Chen Jiuqing, the eunuch in charge, and Wang Shougui, the eunuch in charge, jointly sent a message: 200 Jin of cow tongue black lead will be used in Yuanmingyuan." Black lead is a toxic metal, which can cause death if taken in excess. 100 kg of black lead was transported to Yuanmingyuan, where Yongzheng died suddenly soon. Historians believe that this is not an accidental coincidence, but directly proves that Yongzheng's death may be caused by Dan medicine poisoning. With the excavation and research of Yongzheng's archives, the statement that Yongzheng died in Dan has been paid more and more attention and recognition by some historians. Because according to the archives of Qing Palace, Yongzheng did take Dan medicine for a long time. Then the toxic components of Dan medicine accumulated in his body for a long time and finally broke out, which led to his sudden death. This is very possible, and many experts have made detailed inferences about it through their works. Scholars have generally noticed that Qianlong, the son of Yongzheng, exposed many flaws in dealing with alchemists. On the second day after Yongzheng's death, Qianlong, who had just acceded to the throne, ordered the expulsion of alchemists Zhang Taixu and Wang Dinggan. If they didn't cause catastrophic disasters, why did Gan Long lose his temper at such an extraordinary moment and issue an imperial edict specifically for two little monks? In the imperial edict, Qianlong also emphasized that Yongzheng liked "fire training", but it was just a game, and he didn't take Dan medicine. If you really didn't take Dan medicine, why explain it? On the same day that the Taoist priest was expelled, Qianlong also warned the eunuchs and ladies-in-waiting in the palace not to spread "gossip" indiscriminately, so as not to make the Empress Dowager unhappy. Yongzheng has just died. What's the "scandal"? Why did Empress Dowager Cixi listen to Upset? All this makes people speculate that Yongzheng died of taking poisonous Dan medicine and at the hands of an alchemist. Historical coincidence, people may ask, since Yongzheng was killed by taking Dan medicine, Taoist alchemists should be beheaded, but why did Qianlong just drive them away? In the past, most researchers explained that Gan Long did this mainly because it was not suitable for killing people during mourning. Interestingly, Tang Gaozong and Emperor Qianlong in history treated Taoist priests in a very similar way, which gave us some enlightenment. According to the Book of Old Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, died suddenly after taking the pills of the ancient Indian alchemist. At that time, the minister of the DPRK insisted on killing the conference semifinals, but Tang Gaozong, who had just ascended the throne, was worried that it was not a good thing for the emperor of the Tang Dynasty to die after taking Dan medicine. It will make everyone laugh. If he really kills the conference semifinals, it will definitely turn things upside down, so he finally rushed back to the Indian alchemist. Is it a coincidence that Qianlong "expelled" the alchemist just like Tang Gaozong? As the saying goes, people have the same heart and the same reason. In this regard, Gan Long and Tang Gaozong use exactly the same method. It is worthy of recognition that Yong Zhengdi is realistic and pragmatic in governing state affairs and governing the world. However, his tragedy lies in his ignorance of the natural laws of life and death, his obsession with alchemy and eating elixir, and his desire to live forever. Finally, at the age of 58, he suddenly abandoned the Golden Temple and lay in the Tailing Underground Palace forever.