Cixi couldn't answer Yi?'s question. As a mother, she certainly hoped that her son would become a powerful monarch like Kangxi and Qianlong, but as a politician, she also had to consider the balance of power in the court.
Cixi knew very well that the Eight Banners system of the Qing Dynasty was inherently constrained by the imperial power. Otherwise, during the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties, there would not have been people who initiated the Eight Kings' discussion.
Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Yongzheng and Emperor Qianlong were all easy to say to the outside world that they were one emperor throughout the ages. In fact, this was just a lie told to the Han people and even people in the vassal state to save face.
When Emperor Kangxi first came to power, he and the Obai Group killed a man with a bayonet and became famous. Then he defeated the San Francisco dynasty and destroyed half of China. This gradually formed the concentration of imperial power in the Qing Dynasty, but it did not last for many years. Then Kangxi's The sons began to follow the ancestral system and divide the power of the court.
Yongzheng did even more ruthlessly. In the 13 years of his reign, he not only killed all the brothers who had been against him before, but also imprisoned and imprisoned him. He even instituted a system of paying grain to both officials and gentry. The power was deprived, so the Yongzheng dynasty had the most unofficial history. Yongzheng really didn't play a good role in those stories.
Cixi knew very well that the stories in the unofficial history were all false, but even if they were false, some people would spread gossip, because you, Yongzheng, had indeed ruined many people's jobs and killed many people, and those people would not stand in the imperial strategy. Looking at the problem from a personal level, they only care about their own interests.
As for the Qianlong period, the national power of the Qing Dynasty reached its peak, and it was like a scene of wealth and prosperity, with flowers and brocade cooking oil, but were there no hidden dangers in this prosperous age?
Of course, when Qianlong was tired of governing in his later years, corruption was rampant and the court was extravagant and wasteful. A large amount of the national power accumulated over decades was consumed on palaces and pavilions. The Old Summer Palace, the Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens, was officially completed during the Qianlong period.
After Jiaqing came to court, if he hadn't made a fortune from Heshen, he would have suffered a huge loss within a few years.
Cixi knew it very well. Even though the nobles of the palace all talked about how good Kang, Yong, and Qian were, their calculations in their hearts were not like this. If there was really another strong monarch, and they would concentrate power, they would be tortured. After a while, these grandsons will cry to death.
In real history, why was Cixi the woman in charge of the Qing Dynasty for so many years? Why did the entire Manchu-Han group listen to her? On the one hand, this woman was capable, and on the other hand, this woman clearly knew the officials of the entire Man-Han group. , they all want something.
Yes, if she knows what these officials want, she will give them what she wants. Only in this way can she get the support of many people and her position will be secure.
Cixi was extravagant and extravagant, so the officials below would imitate the extravagant extravagance. After all, Cixi was a woman, so her road to centralization could not go to the extreme. These courtiers understood that if Cixi wanted to secure her position, she must Share the benefits with them.
Power and money are actually the same. Everyone likes them. Leaders who know how to share equally with their subordinates are naturally lovable. A centralized monarch will definitely eat more and occupy more. When the time comes, everyone's interests will be harmed. Such a monarch wants him to What's the use?
The more Cixi thought about it, the paler her face became. She slumped in her chair and had to admit that her son had chosen a path that the entire Eight Banners Group was afraid of. They were afraid that Zai Chun, who had a powerful army in his hands, would resume the path of centralization. They were afraid that they had been divided. The power gained was taken back.
Today Yi? can be regarded as breaking up. "Queen Mother, if Your Majesty insists on having his own way, then there are many things that I, the King's uncle, cannot control... To put it bluntly, as the King's uncle, even if I have some conflicts with Your Majesty, in the end it will be just I want to teach His Majesty some lessons..."
"But if I am not the one who takes the lead in this situation, and if the future opponents are more ambitious people, the situation will not be optimistic at that time. Even if it is abolished... it is not impossible!"
Yizhen was dumbfounded by this. The seventh son of Emperor Daoguang was not a sharp-edged person. He now felt that hearing these remarks was already a crime.
"Then what should we do? What should we do... His Majesty is the only son of the late emperor. There is no monarch who has succeeded to the throne in the Qing Dynasty as clean and pure as the rule of the dynasty, without any doubt... This is the master of ZTE Ah! This is our hope for the Qing Dynasty to turn around!"
Yi? glared at this younger brother fiercely, "Wrong! It is the hope of our Aixinjueluo family, not the hope of the entire Eight Banners. Those families have become rotten and smelly in the past two hundred years. They will only compete for fame." Li, they only know that free money is the best, and they don’t even want to be controlled even after they get the benefits!”
"Tell me why His Majesty recruits unlucky commoner children from major families to go to Ryukyu for training? Don't you understand yet? If there wasn't some evil idea from Xiao Letian, I would dig out my eyes... His Majesty would probably have done it by now. Being bewitched by Xiao Letian, he understood these truths. With the impulsiveness of a young man, how could he not go head-on?"
"Three years later, when His Majesty really returns here with tens of thousands of troops, he will immediately be caught in a big invisible net! Maybe no one will raise a flag to rebel and use a large army, but it is more terrible to hurt people with hidden arrows. It’s not just eunuchs and maids who died unjustly in the Forbidden City!”
"Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, have there been many suspicious emperors who have died? If I, as an uncle, don't think of a way out for him, then he is in danger!"
As the saying goes, caring leads to chaos, Cixi also softened her hands at this moment: "What do you think we should do?"
"There is no good way. His Majesty is now under the control of Xiao Letian, and Western countries are also paying attention to His Majesty's study tour. It is impossible to take it back by force, so everything can only wait until three years later... "
"Three years later, I will write a letter to persuade Your Majesty to integrate his Imperial Guards into the Xishan Camp. Your Majesty will have to keep a low profile for at least four to five years, learn to handle the government affairs bit by bit, and slowly cultivate your power... You can be in charge of the government personally. If you can just perform a ceremony and exercise imperial power at will, that would be a recipe for disaster!"
Cixi sighed and said, "How is this possible with Zaichun's character?"
"It's impossible but it's possible! His Majesty will only be 16 years old in three years. He will have plenty of time to study. He will keep a low profile for four to five years and cultivate a group of close followers. By then, he will only be in his early 20s. He will still be a young monarch... Age is your Majesty's biggest advantage! "
"My brother has made up his mind! If Your Majesty persists, I will forcibly disband your Majesty's Imperial Guards! When the time comes, I hope the Queen Mother will understand my brother's painstaking efforts..."
