Life
He was originally from Huaiyuan, Anhui Province in 1989. His father was promoted to governor of Huguang in his old age (renamed governor of Hubei in the first year of Yongzheng reign). In the 39th year of Kangxi (1700), he became a Jinshi and served as a reviewer of the Hanlin Academy. In the forty-eighth year of Kangxi (1709), the prince Yinzhen was granted the title of Prince Yong and served as the leader of the Xianghuang Banner. Nian Gengyao's sister Nian was selected as Prince Yong's side of Fujin, and therefore became a close confidant of Yinzhen. In the same year, Nian was carried into the Han army under a yellow flag and appointed governor of Sichuan. When he was the governor of Sichuan, Nian Gengyao wrote a letter saying: "If you live up to the emperor (Kangxi) today, you will live up to the prince (Yongzheng) tomorrow."
The fifty-seventh year of Kangxi (1718) , Junggar Tsewang Alabutan occupied Tibet. In the same year, Shu asked for the establishment of an additional post station from Dajianlu to Litang to ensure smooth logistics for the Qing army. Therefore, he was appreciated by Emperor Kangxi and was appointed governor of Sichuan and in charge of the governor's affairs, handling Songpan military affairs. . After that, Nian made many military exploits on the border and became an important figure supporting Yongzheng. The "Jixian Tang" written in "The Heroes of Sons and Daughters" actually refers to Nian Gengyao, saying that he was a general who oversaw seven provinces. "He had hundreds of thousands of soldiers, thousands of soldiers, fierce generals like clouds, and advisors like rain." [1]
After Yongzheng ascended the throne, he was granted the title of "Fuyuan General" and led Yue Zhongqi and others to suppress the rebellion of Luobu Zangdanjin in Qinghai. Luobu Zangdanjin escaped into the Zhunbu with more than 200 remnants of his army. . When the commander returned to the court, Yongzheng personally greeted him, promoted him to General Fuyuan, and granted him the title of Taibao and First-Class Duke.
In February of the third year of Yongzheng's reign (1725), the auspicious sign of "the sun and the moon uniting, and the five stars connecting the pearls" appeared. Officials all wrote to express their congratulations to Yongzheng. In March, Nian Gengyao wrote " "Morning work and evening work" were written as "Evening work and evening work", and the handwriting was illegible. Yongzheng took this as the title and said, "Nian Gengyao relied on his own merits, showing his disrespect, and his fallacies were definitely not unintentional." He was dismissed by Gechuan The governor of Shaanxi was transferred to the general of Hangzhou. Hu Qiheng, the governor of Gansu, was removed from his post and was replaced by Yue Zhongqi.
Yongzheng commented: "I have heard rumors for a long time: "When the emperor leaves the mouth of Sanjiang, Jiahu is the battlefield" (Sanjiang refers to Qiantang River, Fuchun River, Huangpu River, Jiahu refers to Jiaxing, Huzhou)...Looking at this situation, you don’t know how to regret it. God is above, if I betray you, heaven and earth will destroy you; if you betray me, I don’t know how God will punish you! No matter how I behave as a monarch, I always ridicule my articles, speak my mind but not my words, and give me the reputation of listening to slander and blaming meritorious officials. I can only care about my monarchy, and I can't care about your ministers' integrity. ”
Nian Gengyao still harbored illusions and stayed in Yizheng, Jiangsu, waiting and watching. He ordered Zhu Jiong, the magistrate of Xianning County in Xi’an Prefecture, to request that he retain the position of governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi. He also wrote in a memorial: "I dare not stay in Shaanxi for a long time, nor do I dare to rush to Zhejiang. Now I am waiting for orders at Yizheng, a land and water transportation place."
Yongzheng angrily scolded Nian Gengyao for "procrastinating and waiting, I don't know what his intentions are." At that time, all the officials handed over the impeachment report, and Li Weijun, the governor-general of Zhili, wrote three poems in a row, denounced Nian Gengyao for "taking advantage of his power to gain power, recruiting power and taking bribes, rejecting party members, squandering military merit, embezzling national funds, killing innocent people, and brutalizing others." "Good people." He was arrested in the capital and questioned. In December of the third year of Yongzheng's reign (January 1726), he was sentenced to death for ninety-two major crimes. Nian Gengyao begged, "Keep this dog and horse and slowly serve the master." Yongzheng Zhun. He committed suicide in prison, one of his sons was beheaded, and the rest of his sons who were over fifteen years old were sent to Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou for confinement. Nian's father was pardoned due to his old age, and Nian's wife was returned to her parents' family. Before his death, Nian Gengyao thought that the emperor would issue a decree to pardon him, but there was no news. Under the urging of Cai Jue, the censor and prison officer of Zuodu, Nian Gengyao finally had no choice but to hang himself.
Seven days after Nian Gengyao's death, Wang Jingqi was beheaded, which is known as the "Wang Jingqi Western Expedition Essay Case" in history.
[edit] Controversy
Historians have different opinions as to why Nian Gengyao fell out of favor and was sentenced to death. According to the official statement, Nian Gengyao died because he was good at imposing authority, forming cliques for personal gains, and being corrupt and perverting the law. After he was convicted, Emperor Yongzheng wrote: "Everyone's talents should not be relied upon. Nian Gengyao was an example, but he was eventually killed." Not being able to enforce the law oneself, thinking that one's subordinates are unfaithful and disregarding the superior's command." Both "Manuscripts of Qing History" and "Biographies of Seven Hundred Famous People of the Qing Dynasty" believe that Nian Gengyao was killed because of his pride in his merits.
Gao Yang said in "The Emperor of the Qing Dynasty": "After careful examination, this person (Nian Gengyao) does not have any extraordinary talents; otherwise, he would not be as disgusting as those of Shizong (Yongzheng). He couldn't tell the difference, he was drunk as if drunk, and he died quickly. Therefore, during the Kangxi period, the praise he received from heaven was nothing more than the result of Prince Yong deliberately saying good things for him. "But there are also people. It is believed that Nian's death was due to his great achievements, and some unofficial historians even claimed that he had mastered the secret of Yongzheng's usurpation of the throne. It is also said that Emperor Shizong of the Qing Dynasty had no intention of killing Nian Gengyao. Instead, officials of the Qing Dynasty repeatedly submitted bombs and nuclear requests to grant Nian Gengyao death. Emperor Shizong of the Qing Dynasty had no choice but to agree due to public opinion.