As the first "iron-hatted prince" during the "Shou Cheng" period of the Qing Dynasty, Aisin Gioro Yinxiang, the thirteenth son of Emperor Kangxi, held an absolutely extraordinary position in the history of the Qing Dynasty. This prince, who had been ignored by Emperor Kangxi for more than ten years, was given an unparalleled favor by Emperor Yongzheng who succeeded him the day after Emperor Kangxi's death: he was appointed Minister of Prime Minister Affairs and was granted the title of Prince.
In the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign, Prince Yi Yinxiang, who devoted himself to the Yongzheng imperial power and died, passed away. Emperor Yongzheng personally wrote a plaque with the words "loyal, respectful, honest, upright, diligent, prudent and honest" hanging in the mourning hall, evaluating him as "since ancient times" There is no virtuous king who is so loyal to the country." He also gave specific instructions on the inheritance of the title of Prince Yin Xiang:
My brother's son Hongxiao inherited Prince Feng Yi and will inherit it forever. for. Any grace I bestow upon my brother shall not be arbitrarily diminished by future generations.
In addition to the eight "iron hat kings" who were awarded knighthoods for their outstanding achievements at the beginning of the founding of the Qing Dynasty and were given the privilege of "inherited by generations to come and forever replaced", Yinxiang was one of the "Iron Hat Kings" of the Qing Dynasty. He was the first person to receive the gift of the "Iron Hat King" during the Shoucheng period. This record had been maintained for more than 130 years until it was broken by Prince Gong Yixin in the late Qing Dynasty.
Yinxiang, the thirteenth son of the emperor in history, was not an elder brother who was a soldier as deduced in "The Yongzheng Dynasty"; because of the cold treatment of Emperor Kangxi for more than ten years, he did not have any influence in the Kangxi Emperor's power. During the succession process, he provided effective assistance to the fourth prince Yinzhen; not to mention that when the second prince was deposed, Emperor Kangxi ruthlessly banned the clan's residence for ten years. However, in the forty-seventh year of Kangxi's reign when Prince Yinfeng was first deposed, Yinxiang was briefly imprisoned because of his "second elder brother's involvement" and lost Kangxi's favor ever since. Yinxiang's person
Yinxiang was born in the Forbidden City in the 25th year of Kangxi. His biological mother was Zhang Jia, who was posthumously named Concubine Jingmin by Emperor Yongzheng because "his son, Prince Yi, Yunxiang Xian" Shi. Although Zhang Jia was born in Baoyi and was not canonized in the Kangxi Dynasty and had always existed as a concubine, judging from the fact that she gave birth to two daughters and one son for Emperor Kangxi and was posthumously named Concubine Min by Emperor Kangxi, He should be quite favored by Kangxi.
According to the records of "Records of the Qing Dynasty·Records of the Holy Ancestors", in the ten years from the thirty-seventh year of Kangxi to the forty-seventh year of Kangxi, Emperor Kangxi would take Yinxiang with him every time he went on tour. In the 41st year of Kangxi's reign, the 17-year-old Yinxiang was specially arranged by Emperor Kangxi to "sacrifice on Mount Tai". Such a favor was unparalleled by other princes.
According to the records of "Qing Bai Lei Chao", the princes of the Qing Dynasty made arrangements for related matters strictly according to their age since birth. "At the age of six, prepare a small crown, small robe, small boots, and order to stand with the crowd Become an errand in the class and teach them to go to school; when they are twelve years old, they will be proficient in Manchu and teach them Manchu; when they are fourteen years old, they will be taught bow and arrow riding and archery; when they are sixteen or eighteen, they will get married."
In other words, the reason why Yinxiang was so favored by Emperor Kangxi at a young age was largely due to his outstanding performance in studying in the study room. According to relevant historical records, Yinxiang was good at writing and poetry, and was good at calligraphy and painting. He was also "good at riding and shooting, and his shots were sure to hit the target." In "Records of the Qing Dynasty: Records of the Holy Ancestors", it is clearly recorded that Yinxiang's calligraphy couplets attracted the courtiers to "all happily admire them"; and that he once "slayed a tiger with his own hands" during a hunting trip with Emperor Kangxi. A deposed prince was implicated
In the 43rd year of Kangxi, He Zhuo, who "attended the Eighth Prince's Mansion", mentioned in his letters to Yinhu, the eighth son of the Emperor, that Yinxiang "was the emperor" Those you love have a bright future.” Judging from the favor that Yinxiang received from Emperor Kangxi before the forty-seventh year of Kangxi, even if Emperor Kangxi had no high hopes of entrusting him with the throne, he was bound to be given many promotion titles and important responsibilities.
In the forty-seventh year of Kangxi's reign, Emperor Kangxi deposed Yin, who had been the crown prince for 33 years, on the grounds that he "violated the virtues of our ancestors, did not follow my instructions, wreaked havoc on the public, and was violent and promiscuous." At the same time, Yinxiang was imprisoned and imprisoned. At that time, the reasons for Yinxiang's imprisonment and the details before and after were not clearly stated in "Records of the Qing Dynasty: Records of the Holy Ancestor" or even "Notes on Kangxi Daily Life", so that the "Manuscript of Qing History" did not mention it at all because there was no quoted material.
After Emperor Yongzheng succeeded to the throne, he gave a vague explanation of the matter: "Prince Yi was innocently implicated in the incident of his second elder brother, and he offended Huang Kao for a while, but then he apologized." But for Yinxiang's offending Kangxi The emperor's specific reasons have still not been given. What was the reason for his deportation?
Based on a detailed study of relevant historical documents, the author believes that the reason why Yinxiang was imprisoned for no reason by Emperor Kangxi should be directly related to Emperor Yongzheng, or because of Emperor Yongzheng And rise. There are two reasons:
1. Emperor Yongzheng artificially deleted the "Qing Shilu·Shengzu Shilu"
In the records of "Qingshilu·Shengzu Shilu", " The punishment of the princes who were implicated when the prince was deposed for the first time is clearly recorded. The eldest son of the emperor, Yin Cheng, was "seized from his title and imprisoned" due to the incident of "using Lama Bahang Gelong's nightmare technique to dethrone the prince"; "Although he was close to Yun Reng, he did not encourage him to do evil, so he is not guilty." The third son of the emperor, Yinzhi, and even the eighth son of the emperor, Yinhu, were "taken away from Baylor and became an idle clan" when "Prince Yunfeng was deposed and sought to establish his successor"; even the ninth son of the emperor, Yinhuang, and the fourteenth son of the emperor, Yinhuang, have relevant records. ; Why was Yinxiang, the thirteenth son of the emperor who was so favored, imprisoned without any clear explanation?
This shows that the reason for Yinxiang's dismissal was not that Emperor Kangxi did not give an explanation, but that it was deliberately covered up by Emperor Yongzheng for some reason. If Emperor Yongzheng did this deliberately to maintain Yinxiang's positive image, why did he mention this matter several times after he succeeded to the throne? Therefore, the reason why Yinxiang was imprisoned should be directly related to the fourth prince Yinzhen at that time, or it may be that Yinxiang took the blame for Yinzhen, which led to this difficulty.
2. Emperor Yongzheng’s gift to Yinxiang to make amends
In the first year of Yongzheng, after appointing Yinxiang to take charge of the household department, Emperor Yongzheng once gave Yinxiang a huge bonus. Reward, this matter is clearly recorded in "Manuscripts of Qing History·Biography 7·Kings 6":
The emperor was cautious and honest during the examination, and his family's financial resources were empty, which was known to the whole country. Since I came to the throne, I have devoted myself to Yidai and tried my best to fulfill my duties as a minister and younger brother. In the past, when brothers were enfeoffed, each received 230,000 taels of money and grain. I gave him 230,000 taels in support of this case. I made countless memorials and issued four edicts, but he only received 130,000 taels.
Since Emperor Yongzheng has made it clear that the reason for the reward is "respect, honesty, poverty, and the whole country knows it", why does it have to be based on the old rules of the Kangxi Dynasty, and why does it have to be given according to the total number of gifts received by the previous princes? Do you need to explain it clearly?
This is clearly Emperor Yongzheng's attempt to make up for it out of psychological guilt, and it is clearly an attempt to conceal the real reason for Yinxiang's imprisonment. During the more than eight years of the Yongzheng Dynasty, Yinxiang was only "loyal, respectful, honest, diligent, prudent and honest", but he "refuses to accept" the gifts from Emperor Yongzheng. Is this just that Yinxiang is "single-minded in worshiping and defeating others"? "Doing the right thing as a subordinate"? Perhaps self-preservation is the real reason for Yinxiang's words and actions; perhaps, the lesson learned from the Kangxi Dynasty's imprisonment is the real reason for Yinxiang's caution, respect and loyalty.