Getting Rich from Legend of Zhen Huan

清圣祖爱新觉罗·玄烨（1654年5月4日—1722年12月20日），清朝第四位皇帝，清定都北京后第二位皇帝（1661年2月4日 [17]—1722年12月20日 [186]在位），自号体元主人 [152]，年号“康熙”。蒙古人称为恩赫阿木古朗汗 [143]；西藏方面尊称为“文殊皇帝” [144] [183]。顺治帝第三子，生母为孝康章皇后佟佳氏。

Xuanye ascended the throne at the age of 8, took power at the age of 14, and reigned for 61 years, the longest reigning emperor in Chinese history. In the early days of his reign, the domestic and international situation was very grim. Faced with the grim situation, he insisted on using large-scale military force to achieve national integrity and unification [1]. When he was a teenager, he defeated the powerful minister Oboi and began to truly rule the country. In the ninth year, he rectified the government, restored the cabinet system, and promulgated the "Sixteen Articles of the Sacred Edict" [2]. After he became an adult, in the 1681th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (140), he put down the rebellion of the Three Feudatories [3]; fought the Penghu naval battle and unified Taiwan [4]; defeated the Russian invasion army and signed the "Treaty of Nerchinsk" to ensure China's sovereignty over the Heilongjiang River Basin []; fought three expeditions against Galdan and won; established the "Duolun League" to replace war and contact the various Mongolian tribes. Politically, he strengthened centralization; advocated benevolent governance, won over Han scholars, and at the same time paid attention to recuperation and economic development. However, in his later years, he became lazy and his administration became corrupt. In addition, the princes' fight for the throne due to the incident of deposing the crown prince had a negative impact on his politics in his later years.

Xuanye was the defender of a unified multi-ethnic country. He laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty and created the great prosperity of the Kangxi and Qianlong eras. Some scholars respect him as "the greatest emperor in history" [5-6] [141], while others respect him as "the greatest emperor in a thousand years" [7] [184]. He died in Changchun Garden on the 1722th day of the 69th lunar month in the st year of the Kangxi reign () at the age of . His temple name was "Shengzu" and his posthumous title was "Emperor Hetian Hongyun Wenwu Ruizhe Gongjian Kuanyu Xiaojing Chengxin Zhonghe Gongde Dachengren". He was buried in Jingling. He passed the throne to his fourth son Yinzhen.

Study hard at an early age

Young Emperor Kangxi Writing [40]

On March 1654, the 5th year of the Shunzhi reign (May 4, 9), Xuanye was born in the Jingren Palace of the Forbidden City in Beijing. His mother, Empress Xiaokangzhang Tong Jia, was a concubine at the time. According to historical records, when Empress Xiaokangzhang went to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, she saw a dragon circling around her when she went out. Only then did Empress Xiaozhuang know that she was pregnant. Empress Xiaozhuang said: "When I was pregnant with Emperor Shunzhi, I saw this kind of scene, and now Tong Jia is also seeing it." []

Xuanye's birth mother, Tong Jia, was just an unfavored concubine in the palace. When Xuanye was born, his father, Emperor Shunzhi, favored Consort Dong E and did not pay much attention to Xuanye. [147] Soon after his birth, Xuanye was attacked by smallpox, and Emperor Shunzhi specially entrusted a wet nurse to take him outside the Forbidden City to be nursed. He had never had smallpox (smallpox) when he was a child. Therefore, he never had a day of care in his parents' arms. Many years later, Emperor Kangxi still regretted it. [10] However, the smallpox he had was not life-threatening, leaving only a few tiny pockmarks on his face. This gave him lifelong immunity to this most terrible disease at the time. And his experience of smallpox actually became a favorable factor for his future succession to the throne.

Xuanye began to learn to read and write at the age of five, and soon showed his talent for hard work and love of learning. According to historical records, Xuanye was handsome and had a strong voice. When he was six years old, he and his brothers came to pay their respects to their father. Emperor Fulin asked the princes what they wanted to do most. The second prince, Fuquan, said that being a wise king was enough. Only Xuanye said that he wanted to emulate his father. So Fulin valued Xuanye very much. [11]

Later, Emperor Kangxi talked about his own learning. At the age of eight, he "learned to interpret the philology of the Yongle, consulted with those around him, and only felt happy after understanding the main idea. He would memorize every word he read every day, and never deceive himself. After he had mastered the Four Masters, he read the Book of History, and through the interpretation of the classics, he understood the ancient emperors' efforts to govern the country." Then, "he read the Book of Changes, observed the phenomena and played with divination, and truly felt that the principles were pleasing to the heart." From then on, he developed a good habit of reading, "never tired of it" [12], "never tired of learning" [13], and often read until late at night without feeling tired. When he was seventeen or eighteen years old, he was so tired from reading that he coughed up blood but still refused to stop. [14] What he said about his learning situation was not self-praise. Official archives record that he "had a thorough understanding of the politics of the emperors, the psychology of the sages, and the main points of the Six Classics", which was not an exaggeration [15].

Young Emperor

See also: Four Ministers

In the first month of the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi reign (1661), the twenty-four-year-old Shunzhi Emperor Fulin suddenly died of illness. Shunzhi did not appoint a crown prince during his lifetime. On his deathbed in the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi reign (1661), he accepted the advice of Johann Adam Schall von Bell and chose Xuanye as his successor because he had had smallpox and was immune. He appointed Xuanye as the crown prince in the form of a will. Shunzhi's will also appointed four ministers, Suoni, Suksaha, Ebilun, and Oboi, to assist in the administration of the country. [16] On the Bingchen day of the first month (February 2 [4]), Xuanye ascended the throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. He was less than seven years old (eight years old in lunar age). He issued an edict of amnesty and changed the reign to the first year of the Kangxi reign. [17] [7] Two years later, his mother, Empress Xiaokangzhang, Tong Jia, became seriously ill. [17] When his mother was seriously ill, Xuanye "served her devoutly day and night, tasted the medicine himself, never closed his eyes, and never took off his clothes." When he lost his mother at the age of ten, Xuanye kept vigil day and night, refused to eat or drink, and cried constantly. Kangxi later recalled that when he was young, "he never had a single day of love in his parents' lap."

Portrait of the young Kangxi in court dress (partial)

The situation of the four ministers jointly assisting in the administration did not last long, as the conflicts and struggles between them became increasingly open and fierce. Among the four, it was Oboi who gradually monopolized the real power. He had shown arrogance and arrogance in his daily life, but when he was first appointed as the "guardian", he was able to act prudently and fulfill his oath. However, within three years, he exposed his arrogance and ambition for power. He was at the bottom of the list, but he was unwilling to lag behind, and he tried to overstep his authority everywhere. First of all, he was incompatible with Suksaha. [19] In June of the sixth year of the Kangxi reign (1667), the chief minister Soni died. On the seventh day of the seventh month, the fourteen-year-old Emperor Kangxi officially took power, received congratulations in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and issued a general amnesty. [20] However, only ten days later, Oboi killed Suksaha, who was also a regent, without authorization, and a few days later he and Ebilun were promoted to the first-class duke. The actual political situation was not directly controlled by Emperor Kangxi. [21]

At that time, Emperor Kangxi often summoned young guards to perform "Buku" in the palace. On May 1669, the eighth year of Kangxi (June 6, 14), he suddenly ordered these guards to arrest Oboi when he came to see him. The ministers discussed Oboi's thirty major crimes and requested that his entire family be executed. Emperor Kangxi pardoned Oboi's death penalty and detained him, but executed many of Oboi's brothers, nephews, and followers. Oboi died in prison soon after. The only remaining regent, Ebilun, was stripped of his titles of Grand Tutor and First-Class Duke because of his long-term collusion with Oboi. [22] Emperor Kangxi thus completely regained power in the court and began the stage of truly ruling the country. After eliminating Oboi, Emperor Kangxi selected officials, exonerated Suksaha and others who were executed by Oboi's false decree, rewarded officials for writing letters to express their opinions, banned malpractices such as enclosure, and actually exercised power over the government.