Xianfeng died, died in Chengde Summer Resort.

He was a hard-working emperor, and his ascension to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom from the beginning was like a nightmare. As the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom continued to win and grow, his life became more and more difficult. The Qincha he appointed to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were all henchmen whom he admired and trusted, but they all seemed to have ended tragically. Not only can he not share Xianfeng's worries, but the errand is getting worse and worse.

Finally exterminated the Northern Expeditionary Army, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom suddenly took over the vast area of the Yangtze River Valley; Finally, I saw the internal strife in heaven, and the camp in Jiangbei and Jiangnan was taken away again, and the extremely wealthy southern Jiangsu region was lost. Xianfeng's life is full of ups and downs, repeated tosses, and there is no stable day.

In the later period of his reign, Xianfeng probably knew that his body was not good, so he indulged in wine, lived a life of purple drunkenness and gold, and anesthetized himself.

But this time, the entry of British and French troops into Beijing was another major blow to Xianfeng. He Zeng, the emperor of the Great Qing Kingdom, was so embarrassed that he almost became a prisoner of Britain and France, which really disgraced the face of the eight generations of his ancestors.

The eleven years of internal and external difficulties have completely collapsed Xianfeng, he didn't expect that he would be so unbearable, and he couldn't even keep the foundation of his ancestors. Xianfeng is a face-saving person, but now that it's like this, what will the minister think of him? What will the people think of him? What will the spirits of the ancestors and fathers in heaven think of him?

Xianfeng died shamelessly in a feeling of great shame.

Objectively speaking, Xianfeng is still a diligent emperor, at least when he first ascended the throne, he really wanted to do something.

But this era has reached a time when it is difficult to return, and he is not the only one who can bear this burden. The internal contradictions of the Great Qing Dynasty were already so serious that they were irreconcilable, and it was the time for them to erupt. Foreign powers were also actively expanding during this period, vigorously looking for markets overseas, and Xianfeng was crushed, which was inevitable in this era.

Xianfeng was not a fool, and before he died, he made arrangements that he thought were foolproof.

His heir, the future Tongzhi, was still young, only six years old. At this age, he can't take care of state affairs, and before that he can find a suitable guardian for his son.

Su Shun is the person he trusts the most, loyal and capable to himself. Xianfeng first put Su Shun on the list of ministers who took care of their lives. But there are many examples of powerful ministers bullying the lord in history, not to mention far away, the Ao Bai of the Kangxi Dynasty is a living example.

Xianfeng was also afraid that Su Shun would have ambitions, so that Tongzhi could not succeed smoothly. So he decided to set up a few more ministers to take care of his life, and arranged Prince Yi Zaiyuan, Prince Zheng Duanhua, Ma Jingshou, Minister of Military Aircraft Mu Yin, Kuang Yuan, Du Han, Jiao Youying and other seven people and Su Shun to be listed as the eight ministers of Gu Ming. In his opinion, these people are also his cronies, and he will definitely be optimistic about his son.

It is said that such an arrangement is already very stable, but Xianfeng is not at ease, so he arranges his wife to come in again.

He engraved two imperial seals and handed them to the empress and Yi Guifei (that is, Ci'an and Cixi in the future), and issued an edict saying that all edicts of the imperial court in the future must be printed with these two imperial seals to take effect.

Xianfeng took great pains to ensure that his son could succeed to the throne smoothly, on the one hand, he ordered the eight ministers to be in charge of the jade seal, and on the other hand, his two wives were in charge of his private seal. In the future, the official seal and private seal can be covered together before it can be carried out, this set of mutual containment and mutual restraint system, Xianfeng believes that it can curb the emergence of a single strongman, and finally his son will be safe and sound after a few years, and he will take over the government smoothly.

Xianfeng thought very thoughtfully, it stands to reason that such an arrangement should be very stable, but he missed two points: one is that there is a contradiction between Su Shun and Yi Guifei among the ministers of Gu Ming, Su Shun has always had a lot of opinions on Xianfeng's later period to let Yi Guifei ghostwrite and approve the chapter, thinking that it violates the ancestral system of the harem that cannot interfere in politics, before Xianfeng died, he also suggested that Xianfeng follow the practice of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to give the death of the prince's biological mother, Mrs. Gouyi, and get rid of Yi Guifei as soon as possible to avoid future troubles. And Concubine Yi tasted the sweetness of power when she reviewed the folds, she was originally an ambitious person who was not at ease to be an ordinary woman, and she had long hated Su Shun, and it was impossible for the two sides to cooperate to assist the little emperor together.

The second is that Xianfeng abandoned Prince Gong, in the final analysis, he is still wary of this smart and capable younger brother, his own throne has been threatened by Prince Gong, he is afraid that his son will not be able to fight Prince Gong in the future, after all, several other princes are still side branches, this Prince Gong is too close in blood, and the threat to the throne is the greatest. And Xianfeng is not a ruthless person, Prince Gong and he grew up together since childhood, Prince Gong's mother, Concubine Jing, has nurturing grace for herself, so Xianfeng has never poisoned Prince Gong, but just pressed him without him. But if you don't list him as a minister, will Prince Gong still maintain the system you left behind according to your wishes?

So when Prince Gong learned that he was not among the eight ministers, he was anxious.

"It's broken, it's broken, Chang Guogong, it's not good." Prince Gong broke out in a cold sweat, grabbed Yang Xiaoshan's arm, and shouted that it was not good.

"Is the prince afraid of that Sushun?" Yang Xiaoshan was very smart, and he guessed what Prince Gong was worried about at once.

"Su Shun and I have always been at odds with each other, and when our political views are rarely unified, this time he has gained power. Once a son of heaven and a courtier, when they return to Beijing, I am afraid that there will be no way for me to live. "Prince Gong is in the imperial family, and he has a very good understanding of the cruelty of politics.

In the era of imperial autocracy, even if you have no ambition to rebel against usurpation, as long as you have the strength to rebel against usurpation, those in power will generally not tolerate such people, and they will be punished as rebellion to prevent future troubles.

Xianfeng didn't do anything to himself because of the love of the little brother, Su Shunke was not so easy to speak, he had already seen that he was not pleasing to the eye, and he would kill himself as soon as he came back, which was what Prince Gong was most worried about.

Yang Xiaoshan is also very worried that he and Prince Gong are now grasshoppers on the same rope, the monk has fallen, and if Prince Gong falls again, he will be meat on the chopping board, and he will be slaughtered. Party disputes have always been life-and-death, and the other party will definitely cut down the grass and eradicate the roots, and his own life is also worried.

"Lord Wang, according to the official's opinion, at this time, we have to talk to the Queen Mother and probe their tone." Yang Xiaoshan, as a traverser, of course knew that Cixi was in power in the end, and uniting with Cixi was the only way out for Prince Gong.

"What do you mean?" Prince Gong hesitated.

"Su Shun is domineering, the queen mother may not be willing to look at his face and behave, Prince Gong, you are very prestigious in the court, and you are the younger brother of the first emperor, the queen mother does not want to see Su Shun's face, and she will definitely look for you."