wealth is also great, production is also great, and later children and grandchildren are also in great trouble. Excuse me, what is this reason? Children and grandchildren are bold and courageous, and they are not afraid of all kinds of major events, so they will not refuse until they die. There was less wealth and less production, and later there were fewer disasters for future generations. If this is the reason, what is it? Children and grandchildren have little money and courage, and some industries know how to protect themselves, and frugality is too much.
In the center of the house in Baohantang, my father's big study, there is a bronze display, which was also specially made by my grandfather by imitating the "funerary wares" of the Zhou Dynasty. There is also my grandfather's inscription on it. I only remember that it is an inscription to guard against arrogance and surplus, which means "a full moon is full of losses and modest benefits". My grandmother often tells us, "Your father asked someone to customize this. Put water in half, and it will keep balance and not overflow. If the water is filled, it will pour over and drain away all the water ... "At that time, I only thought it was fun like an illusionist, so I pestered my grandmother to put the water into the experiment, which was very interesting.
My "first" grandmother, whose surname is Ye Henala, is the sister of Cixi. My grandfather and her feelings are not bad. Although there were three "side Fujin" later, they were finally happy in family relations. Needless to say, my grandparents' marriage was achieved under the political coaxing of Cixi.
Although Cixi married her sister and my grandfather, she was not satisfied with such a wooing relationship. Later, she chose a woman named Yan Zhashi from the "Xiunv" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and gave it to my grandfather. Although he died of illness after two years, my grandfather handled it perfectly between Cixi and his first wife, and between Di and Shu. For example, in my grandfather's collection of poems, there is a poem mourning Yan Za's family, entitled "Honor an imperial decree, Yan Za's family pursues the seal of Fu Jin and respects discipline." In that seven-character poem, there is a conclusion that "I have not been blessed by special grace, and my wife has seen this sorrow and honor", and there is a note that "since I chose to give it, I have been given hairpin, clothes and silver, and I have been ordered to enter the palace for two times, and I have given a beaded embroidered robe. When he died, he gave him a Sanskrit card, hung it on his chest when he died, and gave him Yu Pei and a purse. In the past few days, the envoys have made five offerings. Today, it was sent to Miaofeng, and after that, it was sent to the eunuch. From here, we can fully see the wooing of Cixi and my grandfather's gratitude everywhere.
In addition, such as the plaque of "Enbo Pavilion" hanging on the promenade pavilion in the garden and the couplets of "Fu Lu increases Fu Lu with great efforts, and the generations who are honored by grace" hanging in the glass mansion where I used to live, they all show their own self-discipline and never forget to publicize their loyalty.
Coping with politics
In my grandfather's poetry collection, there are two seven-character poems warning Guangxu, from which we can see my grandfather's painstaking efforts between Cixi and Guangxu. The title is:
"On the 17th day of the first month, I was invited by the Empress Dowager to give a performance. Because the emperor entered school on April 21st, he was kindly instructed to take care of everything. Now it's two chapters of admonishing poems. The banner of the proposed book will be handed over to the imperial court, and the manuscript will be allowed to be left according to an imperial decree. " The poems are as follows:
First, carry on the hard work of the saints, and always remember that the Eastern Dynasties resumed their kindness. The heart seems to weigh integrity, and things like Jing are called clear and muddy. The end of the line depends on grinding for a long time, and the ambition is often reduced by enjoying respect. If you see good, you will never be adorned, and righteousness will be the door for people.
second, respect the people carefully according to the family law, and connect the upper and lower feelings with a little truth. Let the king be present at the beginning of happiness, and there is no one to miss. The brief articles should learn from the ups and downs, and Zhou Zhen is wholly-owned by domestic and foreign ministers. Destiny often cultivates virtue, and Sui, Zhu and Zhao walls always float dust.
When I was 14 or 15 years old and accompanied my brother Puyi to study in Yuqing Palace, I saw this banner exposed on the west wall of my desk. It serves to show that these two poems were in line with Cixi's wishes at that time. Otherwise, in the feudal family rules and laws of the Qing Dynasty, a prince's poem would not be hung in the palace as the "motto" of the emperor.
since Guangxu became the emperor, my grandfather has become more afraid of his title, more timid, and more eager to seize every opportunity to show that he has no political ambition. From a poem written down, it can be fully seen.
"The new room in the West Garden retired from the provincial fast on the day of the forehead, and the poem recorded it:
" Inspirational only respects the appointment, cultivate one's morality and retire. It is well known in physics that one's feelings are beyond one's power. The rank of the Lord is glorious, and the luxury is easy to read. The casting period is too short, so don't be ashamed to send it to private. "
at my grandmother's place, I also saw an ivory paperweight engraved with the inscription written by my grandfather, which read "Leisure can nourish my heart, make up for my thoughts" and the inscription was "Retire from the province to feed my master".
Although my grandfather used every opportunity to express his resignation in politics, it was not calm when Cixi had to make an exception. Among the princes and ministers, there are people who are jealous of him, and Cixi is also suspicious of him and guarding him. For example, in the eighth year of Guangxu, because the French imperialism invaded Vietnam, the Qing government was weak and incompetent. Cixi used the excuse to drive Prince Gong Yixin out of military department and switch to Prince Li Shiduo, and made military department encounter an emergency, which had to be discussed with my grandfather. At this time, Sheng Yu and Xi Zhen, who were illegitimate children, and Zhao Erxun, who were imperial advisers, wrote successively, saying that "Yi Xuan, the prince of alcohol, should not participate in the maintenance". Of course, every time my grandfather met the will of the encounter, he always insisted on his words again and again, and even cried and insisted on his words. So Cixi gave a meaningful instruction: "Since the curtain fell, I have to join the crew in the times. The decree ordering Yi Xuan to discuss the incident with the Minister of Military Affairs specifically refers to the military affairs, not the general order. " At the same time, for my grandfather's resolute dismissal, he also issued a "decree", which clearly stated: "The decree will be issued after the emperor takes charge."
In the 13th year of Guangxu, Cixi ordered my grandfather to visit Haikou with Li Hongzhang, governor of Zhili, and sent his confidant Taijian Li Lianying to accompany him. At this time, there was a suggestion named Zhu Yixin, who played a book because Li Lianying was sent to tour. The general idea is that through the flood in Zhili province, please ask the Queen Mother to repair the province on the grounds of anti-bow, and even mention Li Lianying by making use of the topic. Cixi saw that she was very unhappy, so she made Zhu Yixin play again with a straight face. Zhu cited specific examples, saying that Li Hongzhang sent a boat to meet my grandfather, but my grandfather declined, but Li Lianying took the boat, so the civil and military officials who had rushed out mistakenly thought it was the boat of Prince Chun. Cixi at this time, of course, can't shelter Li Lianying, have to make a pair of "business is business" face, just ask my grandfather whether it. My grandfather completely denied it, and as a result, Zhu Yixin lost his official position under the charge of "falsely playing".
This year, Cixi expressed her intention to hand over power to Guangxu in the first month of the following year. My grandfather signed a joint performance with princes and other ministers, asking Cixi to lecture for a few more years. At the same time, Guangxu also repeatedly asked, so Cixi readily agreed.
immediately after Guangxu ascended the throne, my grandfather handed in a folding performance, which said:
"My ministers and attendants have been emperors for ten years, so I don't want to hang on to heaven, but I am a guest. I looked up at my body the day before yesterday, and my five bodies split. ..... Suddenly, an imperial decree fell, and the emperor was chosen, and he was in a coma in a hurry. It is really a waste to violate the old liver diseases. Only pity ... pity the whole, beg for the bones, and leave a dull and incompetent son for Xuanzong to become the emperor. "
Following the succession of the title of the prince, I tried again and again, but I finally failed to get permission.
in March of the 12th year of Guangxu, my grandfather and grandmother were ordered to take the apricot sedan chair, but they never dared to take it once, which was very praised by Ci Chun.
My grandfather not only shows people the fact that he is cautious in the above-mentioned daily life, especially in the overall perspective of politics, but also has a keen sense of smell. For example, in the year of Guangxu's accession to the throne, he pre-emptively arranged the self-defense battle, secretly handed over a folding play, and stood up for himself in advance. The content is roughly as follows:
"I have seen that those who inherited the king of the Great Unity and respected their parents in the past dynasties prepared history books. Among them, there are those who are suitable; Song Xiaozong didn't change his son's letter to Xiu Wang. How can there be chaos? Song Yingzong's opinion: The ceremony of emperor shizong of Ming dynasty is also. Zhang Cong and Gui Calyx are not satisfied. Loyal as Han Qi, but with Sima Guang, what is the reason? If something extraordinary happens, the arguers will be clamoring for it. Although the heart of the royal family is not without its own people, it is a ladder of glory, forcing its owners to think that there are many critics who have to be regarded as Zhuang. Compliment Huang Qing by the destiny of heaven, listing the saints in the same line, ten dynasties in one vein, to the extreme prosperity, vast and rare. Emperor Mu Zongyi was in full bloom in the Spring and Autumn Period, and abandoned his subjects. The Empress Dowager paid more attention to the ancestral temple state and appointed the emperor to inherit the Great System. Recommend the kindness and minister, and replace the difference with the hereditary loss of the prince. I don't have to worry too much about myself if I'm afraid of fame. Only thinking at this time is to listen to politics, to be virtuous and simple, and to discuss the court is in charge, and the heresy will be hidden. If, in the future, after leading the government, there are some new followers who tend to worship each other for six years and stir up Chen Cong with alarmist stories, unfortunately, the court will be full of troubles. In the palace left by the empress dowager, when the emperor is in charge, it is appropriate to show the reasons for the courtiers to enjoy the world and the fear of the ministers. A thousand years, don't be more. If there is anyone who advances with the theory of peace and jiajing, the purpose of the service is to be evil and evil, and to set up a screen to blame. If you are kind and strict, will the emperor dare to obey? Therefore, it is not only the preservation of my honor, but also the opportunity of the rise and fall of gentlemen and villains. .....
Of course, Cixi sincerely welcomed my grandfather's opinion and thought it was reassuring, so this accordion, like the two poems written by my grandfather Xu Li Guangxu, was kept in the palace for a temporary use. In the 15th year of Guangxu (1889), as my grandfather expected, there was a river governor, Wu Dacheng, who wanted to flatter and speculate, so he wrote a script and asked to respect the Prince of Alcohol. Cixi conveniently used the "weapons" prepared by my grandfather. She didn't have to worry about Guangxu or my grandfather. She used Wu Dacheng as a typical example of punishing one police officer with one hundred warnings. The next message should be:
"The emperor succeeded Wenzong as the emperor, and he inherited the great system. Yi Xuan, the prince of alcohol, was humble and cautious. For more than ten years, he sent a mission to the deep palace, and he was exhausted. Every time I meet a superior and different number, I weep again. I enjoyed the apricot sedan chair before, but I dare not ride it so far. His heart is loyal and red, and he is very fearful. I don't know the deepest in the deep palace, but the people in the world are * * * sorry. Since the eighth day of the first month of Guangxu's first year, the Prince of Alcohol has made a statement in advance ... Please declare the world when you are in charge, so as not to make a difference in the future. It's a pity, since ancient times, the pure minister has a heart, why did he pass this? ..... At the beginning of Danggui's administration, Wu Dacheng had this performance, and made a special statement, and sent the original notes to the Prince of Alcohol, so that Chinese and foreign subjects could know that I was on a long track, surpassing ancient and modern times; That is, the good king's worries can be * * * white from now on. Later, he became a favorite, but he didn't want to covet it! ..... "
This is my grandfather's chess position between Guangxu and Ci. Not only can Cixi be at ease with him, but even those who are jealous of him among the general princes and ministers have no excuse.
Cixi manipulated the family of Prince Alcohol.
At first, Cixi used Prince Gong Yixin and my grandfather to kill Su Shun and other princes and ministers who hindered the Queen Mother from listening to politics. Later, in addition to wooing my grandfather by marriage, she gave Yan Za's thought to further win him over. Using Guangxu young emperor to support the facade has managed to extend the life of "hanging curtains". After Guangxu grew up, although he once returned the political handle, the failure of the so-called "reform and reform" gave Cixi the opportunity to listen to politics again. However, due to internal and external pressure, I had to depose Pu X, the "big brother" who was going to replace Guangxu, and at the same time I had to win over the second generation of Prince of Alcohol-my father Zai Feng. Later, my father and my mother got married, that is, Cixi continued to manipulate and use the second generation of alcohol prince. Next, I will talk about another aspect of Cixi's jealousy towards my grandfather.
When I was young, my grandmother Liu Jia showed me a gold hairpin inlaid with big pearls and told me, "On the eighth day of May in the 22nd year of Guangxu, your wife (my family called her grandmother's wife and mother's grandmother) died, and Empress Dowager Cixi came to the mansion to cry and hang. Because her sister died, and your Amar attacked Wang Jue again, she was so jealous that she found fault with everything and looked for trouble everywhere, which frightened us all. The queen mother angrily ordered that the best jewelry and hairpin rings in the house be put in your wife's coffin, so as not to leave us anything good. This pearl pin was the only thing that was not found by the Queen Mother at that time. When you grow up and marry your daughter-in-law, I will give it to your daughter-in-law as a family heirloom in the palace. "
I also heard from an elder in my family that my grandmother, Liu Jia, was finally suffering from intermittent insanity because of three major stimuli from the Western Empress Dowager.
The first big stimulus was that in the 23rd year of Guangxu, in order to make trouble with my grandmother Liu Jia, my grandmother's favorite 1-year-old son, my seventh uncle Zai Tao, was forced to adopt the fifth son of Jiaqing and the sixth son of Mianyu, the prince of Shuohuiduan, by the order of the Queen Mother. "My grandmother had to bite the bullet because something happened suddenly and she didn't dare to disobey. Unexpectedly, after the adoption, the old couple, Yi Mo Beizi, were very happy because of their adopted son, so they performed a play in the mansion to entertain their relatives and friends to celebrate. After hearing this, Cixi took it out on Yi Mo (because he loved my seventh uncle and touched the jealousy of the Western Empress Dowager), and ordered that my seventh uncle should be adopted as the heir to my grandfather's eighth brother, King Yi Yi of Duoluozhong County, thus causing Yi Mo's old couple to die of depression one after another.
The second big stimulus was in the 27th year of Guangxu. In order to win over politically, Cixi used the Queen Mother's big hat of "referring to marriage" to forcibly give my mother, the daughter of Rong Lu, her confidant and great scholar, to my father. At that time, my father was already engaged to a certain daughter, and it was arranged by my grandmother Liu Jia. This time, however, due to an order from the imperial court, my grandmother had to divorce that family with a guilty conscience, which was the saddest thing for my grandmother.
the third big stimulus was that on October 21st, the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu, Cixi suddenly took my eldest brother into the palace by means of a thunderbolt, and immediately succeeded the heir and ruled together, and became the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Because my eldest brother was brought up by my grandmother at an early age, and suddenly he took away her beloved eldest grandson, and my grandmother knew the result of Guangxu's later years, thinking that Puyi's entry into the palace was not only equal to where will you go with my grandmother, but also made him more afraid. So from then on, she had a mental illness that was getting worse from time to time.
My mother once told me that Cixi hated and envied Chunwangfu because of Guangxu, especially after the death of my first grandmother Yehnara. It is said that the Prince of Alcohol was born in the tomb of the wonderful peak of the Palace of Alcohol (Guangxu) because there are two big white fruit trees-Prince of Alcohol buried under them. If the words "white" and "king" are combined, it is not an "emperor". Hearing this, Cixi ordered someone to saw off the two white fruit trees. Who knows this is even more misleading, saying that when sawing trees, a lot of snakes came out of the tree. More far-fetched