An examination of the relationship between Prince Yi and the Cao family

An examination of the relationship between Prince Yi and the Cao family

1. The Cao family’s ability to confiscate their homes

"Yongzheng Dynasty" shows a scene where the Jiangning Weaving Cao Mansion is ransacked, the background of the play It's like this: Emperor Yongzheng was worried about the empty treasury and the inability to repay the military expenses for the northwest rebellion of Gengyao. Talking about the arrears of official silver from officials in various places, a minister reported: Cao Fu, the nephew of Cao Yin, the weaver in Jiangning, and Li Xu, the weaver in Suzhou The two families owed millions of taels of official silver, and Yongzheng immediately ordered the family to be confiscated. Then the camera turned, and the gate of Cao's Mansion was opened. Jiangsu Governor Li Wei led the troops to clear up the troops like wolves and tigers, copying and attacking one after another. A young man was hiding in the arms of an old lady and was so frightened that he was overwhelmed. The subtitles next to it read: Young Cao Xueqin --- .

This is a joke. The real historical situation is not like this. On the first day of the first lunar month of the first year of Yongzheng, an edict was issued to thoroughly investigate the deficit. The purpose was to reverse the problem of official corruption in the late Kangxi years. The Cao and Li families were not in arrears. Guanyin, the time was not when Nian Gengyao was suppressing the rebellion in the northwest. In the past, it was a common perception in Hong Kong academic circles that the Cao family suffered losses due to problems with the succession. During Emperor Kangxi's six visits to the south of the Yangtze River, he stayed at the Zhizao Mansion in Jiangning four times, once to pick up Cao Xi, and three times to pick up Cao Yin. This resulted in a large loss for Jiangning Zhizao Mansion, because the Dream in Red Mansions "is just using the emperor's money to pay for the emperor." Just use it." Emperor Kangxi took great care of the Cao family, especially Cao Yin himself, and three generations of the Cao family were re-elected as Jiangning Weaving Co., Ltd. When Cao Yin was seriously ill, Kangxi ordered a special envoy to send the golden rooster to receive frost. After the death of his own son Cao Yong, Cao Yin had no heirs, so he ordered his adopted son Cao Fu from the same clan to succeed him in weaving. Li Xu, Cao Yin's relative, violated taboos in the memorial, and Kangxi responded with a joking response, which shows the trust and preference of the two families. Therefore, the Cao family was extremely prosperous during the Kangxi Dynasty, and the Zhizao Mansion was an agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and had no official rank. The Cao family has been in deficit for a long time and is of great importance. There has long been a hidden danger of confiscating the family. In the 49th year of Kangxi's reign (1710), Emperor Kangxi wrote a memorial to Cao Yin: "The relationship between the Huaihe River and Huaihe River has many shortcomings and a lot of shortcomings. It is necessary to find ways to make up for it. It is best if nothing happens during the term. Don't neglect it. Be careful, be careful, be careful, Be careful!" In the 50th year (1711), Zhu commented: "The deficit is too large, it is very important, so be very careful. We don't know what will happen next, so don't take it lightly." In July of the 51st year (1712), Cao Yin died of illness.

After the death of Kangxi, in the second year of Yongzheng's reign, the Jiangning Weaving Mansion was raided, and Cao Fu's family was escorted to Beijing and given the shackles. Later, according to the Sui Dynasty's memorial, the Cao family was rewarded with 7 and a half rooms at the garlic market entrance in the capital. The residence of the house was not thoroughly investigated. In the fourth year of Qianlong's reign, the Cao family seemed to be implicated in the Hongxi case and was completely searched. (Cao Xueqin, Kangxi? was born in Jiangning Zhizao Mansion in the south of the Yangtze River. Cao Yin and Cao Yong had passed away at that time. Cao Fu adopted the Cao family and inherited Cao Yin. He gave birth to a son, Cao Xueqin. His brother Cao Xuan still stayed in the family, that is, he did not join the Cao Yin line. Family tree. There is no name Cao Zhan in the two sets of Cao family genealogy, because Cao Fu has passed away, and the family tree line has ended. The name should not be included.) The following is a record of the beginning and end of Emperor Yongzheng's investigation of the deficit:

According to the records of Emperor Shizong of the Qing Dynasty, on the first day of the first lunar month of the first year of Yongzheng's reign, eleven consecutive edicts were issued to govern officials. From the governor to the county magistrate ("Records of Emperor Shizong of the Qing Dynasty, Volume 3"), the deficit was traced and a special agency, the Huikao Office, was established. The person in charge of this work was Prince Yi Yunxiang. Let’s start with the investigation from the Ministry of Household Affairs. The ministry’s treasury was short of more than 2.5 million taels. Emperor Yongzheng ordered successive officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs to compensate a total of 1.5 million taels. The other million taels were ordered to be made up by the Ministry of Household Affairs over the years. . During the investigation, the tenth and fifteenth sons of Emperor Kangxi were suspected of shortfalls, and Yongzheng immediately ordered their properties to be sold or confiscated to compensate ("Records of Emperor Shizong of the Qing Dynasty, Volume 26"). An inventory of local deficits was conducted, and the responsible officials were ordered to be dismissed from their posts and their homes confiscated to make up for the losses. Corrupt officials shall not remain in their original posts to make up for their shortfalls in installments. A corrupt official who commits suicide must be compensated by his family. In the fourth year of Yongzheng's reign, the Imperial Household Office established a supervisory censor to inspect the affairs of the seven departments and three academies under the Household Office.

The key meanings here are: 1. Kangxi knew that after his death, the deficit would be detrimental to the Cao family, and reminded Cao Yin and his in-law Li Xu many times (the reason why the two mansions had similar deficits was because of the southern inspection tour) (driving), Cao Yin himself should have known it well, so he often said "the tree fell down and the hozen dispersed" during his lifetime. 2. When Yongzheng came to the throne, he mobilized the whole country to thoroughly investigate the matter, and it was not just targeting the Cao and Li families. This can be proved by the fact that it took almost two years from the time when the decree was issued to the death of the Cao family. 3. The person in charge of this work was Prince Yi Yunxiang, the thirteenth son of Kangxi. The following quotes the Qing history manuscript "The Benji of Sejong" concerning Prince Yi and the entry of Prince Yi in "The Biography of the Kings" to support whether the relationship between Prince Yi and the Cao family is close and the source of the Jimao version of the Stone Record.

2. Prince Yi Xian Yunxiang’s abilities

(1) The Qing history manuscript "Sejong Benji"

The Qing history manuscript "Sejong Benji" contains Prince Yi’s affairs : ""In December of the 61st year of Kangxi's reign, in Renxu, Yinxiang was granted the title of Prince Yi. On Bingchen in the summer of April of the first year of Yongzheng's reign, Prince Yi Yinxiang was ordered to be Prime Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and his son Hongchang was granted the title of Beizi. In the third month of the third year of Yongzheng's reign (Yichou), Prime Minister Wang and Prince Yinxiang of Yi gave birth to a son, the prince of the county. At the end of May in the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign, Prince Yi Yinxiang passed away. He mourned his death and attended his funeral in person. He was given the posthumous title of Xian and was worthy of enjoying the Imperial Ancestral Temple. On Renwu, Prince Yixian was mourned again. The imperial edict said: 'The names of all my brothers are all given by the emperor. At the beginning of his accession to the throne, Yinzhi supported the example and asked to change the previous word. After reporting to his mother, he reluctantly implemented it. Now that Prince Yi has passed away, his name is still written in its original characters to express my thoughts. 'Xinmao, Prince Cheng Yinzhihui mourned the death of Prince Yixian. He arrived late and left early, with a sad face, and handed it over to the clan for discussion. So, please come to the meeting to reduce the rank and rectify the law. Obeying the decree, he was reduced to nobility and imprisoned. In the eighth month of Xinhai, Prince Hongxiao of Yixian was ordered to attack and confer the title of prince, while Hongzhen was ordered to confer the title of county prince.

"

(2) "Biography of the Kings" in the Qing History Manuscript

The entry of Prince Yi in the "Biography of the Kings" records the life of King Yi and his heir Mianzuo: Prince Yixian Yunxiang, Saint The thirteenth son of the ancestor. In the 37th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, he visited the mausoleum. In the 61st year of Emperor Shizong's reign, he was granted the title of Prince Yi. In November, he ordered the Prime Minister to the Ministry of Household Affairs: "Prince Yi was cautious and honest during the imperial examination, and his family's financial resources were empty, which was known to the whole country. Since I came to the throne, I have been devoted to Yidai and have done my best to serve as a minister. In the past, the brothers were enfeoffed, and each received 230,000 taels of money and grain. I supported this case and gave it to them. I continued to make memorials and issued four edicts, but only received 130,000 yuan. I restored the case of supporting Prince Yu and ordered him to serve as an official for six years. Solid words. It is impossible not to accept the request now. If you accept the request, but sincerely serve as a relative of the country, I will not be able to compare with my brothers. I feel uneasy. "The king and ministers discussed it. After that, the king's request was still accepted, and the king's subordinates were ordered to have one member of the first class, four members of the second class, and twelve members of the third class, two leopard tail spears, and two long pole swords. In the second year, Yunxiang requested to eliminate the disadvantages of Jiase and Jiaping, and to add the chief of the three treasuries and the ambassador of the treasury. In February of the third year, After three years of service, he was prudent and loyal to the affairs of the Prime Minister, and was granted the title of king again. In August, the capital was flooded, and he was ordered to go to survey. The Prime Minister of Gyeonggi Water Conservancy said: “The Zhili River and the Wen River flow eastward. Below Cang and Jing, the Chunhe River, Dianhe River, Ziyahe River and Yongding River all merge into Dazhigu, Tianjin and flow into the sea. The rivers are often shallowly blocked and surge in autumn, inevitably overflowing. Please dredge the old roads of Cangzhou's Zhanhe River and Qingxian's Xingji River, and build dams to release the rising water; and open a straight river where Baitangkou enters the sea, so that the Zhuan River and Xingji River can flow together to Baitang and out to the sea; and dredge the east In the two lakes in the west and west, more rivers are opened to connect the veins and the ditches extend in all directions; the Zhaobei and Yuanjia mouths are still sparse to prevent collisions. The Ziya River flows downstream of the Hutuo and Zhang Rivers, and there are Qinghe River, Jiahe River, and Yuehe River below it all tending to the lake. It is advisable to open a decisive branch to slow down its unrestrained trend. The old course of the Yongding River has been destroyed, and it should be returned to the Liuyi River. It should be dredged year by year so that the turbid water cannot cause trouble. The entrance is led slightly north, around the northeast of Wangqingtuo, into the lake, and to the Sanjia Lake. We also invite field officers to be established in Luan, Ji, Tianjin, and Wen, Ba, Renqiu, Xin, and Xiong counties in the east of Jingdong. Recruit farmers for farming. "In February of the fourth year, Shu said that Zhili was building water conservancy projects and asked the rivers to be divided into four bureaus. The officials and workers discussed it and decided to use the South Canal and Ziya River below Zangjiaqiao and Dianhe River east of Yuanjiakou as one bureau. , order Tianjin Road to lead it; the Dianchi west of Yuanjiakou and the rivers in Jinan are one bureau, and the Daming Road is changed to Qinghe Road to lead it; the Yongding River is one bureau, and the Yongding Branch is changed to lead it; the North Canal is one bureau. , the branch was removed and led by Tongyongdao: it was placed under the jurisdiction of special officials. In March, the Jingdong and Jingxi water conservancy field envoys were established. In May, the Jingdong water conservancy affairs were sorted out. All matters are discussed and carried out by the subordinates.

In July, the emperor was given a letter of "loyalty, respect, honesty, diligence, prudence and integrity", which said: "Prince Yi is loyal to me, and he has nine duties. You forget your own interests and regard the country as your home. I know your virtue well, and I feel that there is no excess in these eight characters. Many ministers in the court are "loyal, diligent, prudent and wise". If they are "respectful, honest, upright and honest", then they cannot be tolerated lightly. I will work hard in the future to help me hope. "In June of the seventh year, I was ordered to handle the two military planes in the northwest. In October, I was ordered to double the number of ceremonial guards. In November, the king became ill. In May of the eighth year, I was seriously ill, and my superior came to see him. When I arrived, I found that the king had died, and I was in mourning and stopped. On the third day of the court, the emperor paid a memorial ceremony in person and said: "Prince Yi has passed away, and his heart is full of sorrow. His food and drink are tasteless, and his sleep and sleep are restless. The king has served me as one day for eight years. Since ancient times, there has never been such a virtuous king who is loyal to the country. It is appropriate for me to treat the king outside of the usual rules. Now I will be in plain clothes for a month, and all my ministers will be in regular clothes. There is no need to attend banquets. "The next day, the imperial edict commended Prince Yi's merits and ordered that the first character in his name should be "Yin", that he should be entitled to enjoy the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and that his posthumous title should be Xian, and that the eight characters "loyal, respectful, honest, diligent, careful, honest and bright" should be added to his posthumous title. Bai Jiameng and others Thirteen villagers asked to build a temple, and agreed to allocate more than thirty hectares of official land for sacrifice, and ordered to change the system of garden sleeping arrangements, and to provide sacrifices in the month before the funeral. After the funeral, sacrifices will be given as a big ceremony; after three years, they will be given special favors. In the reign of Emperor Qianlong, he was appointed to the throne of Prince Hongxiao. In the forty-third year of Qianlong's reign, his posthumous title was "Xi". In the fourth year of Jiaqing, his posthumous title was "Gong". , died. His younger brother, Zaiyuan, served as an imperial minister. In the eighth year of Xianfeng's reign, he was granted the title of Minister of the Imperial Palace. p>

Zaiyuan, King Zheng Duanhua and Duanhua's younger brother Sushun all relied on each other, and their power increased day by day. In the ninth year, he was ordered to go to Tianjin to inspect the coastal defense. In the first month of the tenth year, he was given apricot-colored Duan. In July, the British and French troops arrived in Tianjin, and ordered the minister of war, Mu Yin, to go to Tongzhou to negotiate peace with the British. After signing the contract, the British envoy Erjin invited the troops to return to the capital to hand over the letter of credence. The troops were not allowed to advance, but the peace negotiation was not completed. Not long after the imperial envoy left, he came to Rehe and asked to return to the capital. Undecided. In July of the eleventh year, Wenzong died and Mu Zong ascended the throne. Zaiyuan and others were ordered to assist the government, and together with Duanhua, Jingshou, Sushun and the military ministers Mu Yin, Kuangyuan, Du Han and Jiao Youying, they were called "Zanxiang Zongzong" "The king's minister" was good at government. In September, he returned to the capital for the funeral of Emperor Wenzong, and issued an imperial edict on the charges against him.

The title was reduced to the rank of not entering the Eighth Point to assist the Duke of the country, and he was ordered not to inherit it from his descendants or his biological brothers. In the first year of Tongzhi, Zaitai, the fourth grandson of Prince Yunlu of Zhuang, attacked the auxiliary Duke and received the imperial edict. In July of the third year, the army defeated Jiangning and returned the favor to the king. In September, Duke Zaidun of Zhenguo, the fourth king of Yining County, attacked Prince Yi and returned the imperial edict. In the 16th year of Guangxu's reign, he passed away, received a posthumous title, and won a title. He was exempted from the crime by dying first. My younger brother is called Duan. Zi Pujing, heir. In August of the twenty-sixth year, he passed away. In September, the pyrene fist bandit Qi Zi Yuqi attacked.

Yongzheng was granted important positions when he came to the throne. After his death, he was still given extremely high political treatment, and his original name of Yinxiang was restored to his name. Prince Cheng did not show any grief when he was mourning. Punish immediately. It can be seen that Yongzheng trusted this younger brother very much. A thorough investigation of deficiencies is similar to the current central audit, and must be entrusted to such extremely loyal and capable people to carry out this matter to the end without bending the law for personal gain. There are two proofs from two passages in Qing history manuscripts: First, Yun Xiang did not join the party of the deposed prince and Ba Age in the last years of Kangxi, and he had a good personal relationship with Yinzhen, who was Prince Yong at the time. The second requirement is that your ability to do things should not be weak, and you should be able to deal with others impartially and without favoritism. Without these two reasons, even if he was not retaliated by Yongzheng, he would not be able to receive important tasks many times, and he would not be able to enjoy so many extraordinary treatments after his death.

3. Inference on the relationship between Prince Yi and the Cao family

In the second year of Yongzheng (1724), Cao Cao returned with Zhu Bian: "I am in peace. You are entrusted with Prince Yi to report you." If you don't do anything wrong, the prince will take care of you. If you do something illegal, who can't help you? Don't run around and waste your efforts to bring trouble. Accept. Besides King Yi, you don’t have to ask anyone to drag you down. Why don’t you choose to do things that are easy and beneficial, and do things that are troublesome and harmful? Because you have always been accustomed to it, and you are afraid of being accused of trying to hurt you. If you don’t understand, I’m wrong, so I’m here to tell you. If someone threatens and deceives you, you might as well ask Prince Yi. Prince Kuang is very sympathetic to you, so I will leave you to make up your mind and avoid chaos. A little. If you ruin my reputation, I will punish you severely, and the prince will not be able to save you."

This is the instruction given by Yong Zheng in the memorial to Cao Fu. At that time, Cao Fu had already accepted the punishment. After moving back to Beijing from Nanjing, he and Cao Yin's wife, the old lady Li, lived in a 17-and-a-half-room house at Suanshikou outside Chongwenmen, with three pairs of slaves. It can be seen from Yongzheng's imperial approval: 1. Prince Yi is in charge of the Cao family's disaster and its aftermath. 2. Yongzheng still had no solid evidence that Cao Fu was illegal, otherwise he would not have said the word "ruo". 3. Cao Fu had entrusted other officials to intercede with the emperor, so Yongzheng said not to run around and waste time and energy to get the trouble. 4. Prince Yi seems to have a good personal relationship with Cao Fu and has a place of shelter.

The above four points, especially the fourth point, have always been believed by red scholars to have a very good relationship between Prince Yi and the Cao family, so Emperor Yongzheng did not punish Cao Fu severely, and because the "Xiang" was avoided in the Ji Mao version of the Stone Record The word "xiao" is taboo, and it is concluded that the Ji Mao version comes from the Prince Yi's Mansion. Here you can make detailed predictions about Emperor Yongzheng’s imperial approval.

Judging from the historical data cited above from "Records of Emperor Shizong" and "Manuscripts of Qing History", Emperor Yongzheng issued an edict to thoroughly investigate the deficit as soon as he came to the throne. There are three reasons: First, the struggle for the throne in Kangxi's later years resulted in sibling rivalry. , the situation suddenly changed. As a not-so-popular person, Yinzhen must have accumulated a large number of enemies and political opponents who slandered him. He must find a reason to eliminate dissidents and lay the foundation for his rule. This is why he checked the empty affairs; secondly, the replacement of the throne , The rulers must also arrange for cronies in the new regime. Nian Gengyao, Longkodo, etc. are all in charge of the military and political power of the new dynasty. Who will take care of the economic lifeline? The emperor selected his thirteenth younger brother Yunxiang, and before the change of Yuan Dynasty, he named Yunxiang Prince Yi. In April of the first year of Yongzheng's reign, he appointed Prince Yi Yunxiang to manage the household department and be the general manager to thoroughly investigate the national deficit. When Cao Fu returned to Beijing, more than one person was dismissed due to a deficit. The existing historical data cannot prove that Cao Fu was the only one who received special care from King Yi. If this was the case, why would Sui Hede report the current situation of the Cao family and What about asking for temporary housing and slaves? Furthermore, if King Yi was protecting him, why would Cao Fu need to entrust others to him? The "Biography of the Kings" can prove that throughout King Yi's life, Yongzheng had great love for his younger brother, and the Cao family had no intention of treason. King Yi should Take care of it. Judging from the imperial approval, Cao Fu never begged King Yi or asked but King Yi did not intercede for him. Either way, it can be proved that King Yi and Cao Fu did not have much friendship. Third, "The prince loves you very much" is nothing more than Yongzheng's words of sincerity. It's just that King Yi has a kind heart (otherwise Yongzheng would not treat him kindly throughout his life). It is not just Cao Fu, but there is some inside story. Presumably only King Yi knows, and only King Yi can correctly guide the direction of things. Therefore, the emperor hopes that Cao Fu, including all those who are guilty, can only act according to King Yi's wishes so as not to "bad my reputation", while others will only "intimidate me". Scam you”.

The facts are clear. Yongzheng's imperial review did not point out that Prince Yi had protected Cao Fu. Instead, it proved that the Cao family had no personal relationship with the palace. Cao Fu has nothing to take care of.

4. Inference on the provenance of the Ji Mao edition

"In 1975, Comrade Wang Hongjun of the History Museum collected three and two and a half chapters of the book he had collected for the museum earlier. The manuscript of "The Story of the Stone" was sent to Comrade Wu Enyu for appraisal. After his research, he thought that it might be the lost part of the Ji Mao manuscript. He also found that the taboo word "xiang" was missing in this fragmentary manuscript, so he suspected that it might be the missing part of the Ji Mao manuscript. Prince Yi Hongxiao told me this idea and asked me to go to the Beijing Library to check the original version. During the check, I found many missing characters for "xiang".

Later, I borrowed the original copy of "Yifu Bibliography", which is the collection of books in Prince Yi's Mansion. It has seals such as "Prince Yi's Treasure", "Ne Zhai Treasures" and "Yi Wang Ne Zhai's Calligraphy and Painting Seal". There are also taboos in this manuscript. Later, Comrade Wu Enyu discovered that there were also taboo words for auspicious characters in the three and two and a half chapters of "The Story of the Stone". In this way, we were able to confirm that this three-and-two-and-a-half-chapter fragment of "The Story of the Stone" is indeed a lost part of the Ji Mao version, and further confirmed that this Ji Mao version is a copy of the Palace of Prince Yi, who presided over the collection of this book. The person should be Prince Yi Hongxiao. This is an important discovery in the version history of "Dream of Red Mansions". The pioneer of this discovery is Mr. Wu Enyu. "This is Mr. Feng Qiyong's identification that the Ji Mao version came from the Palace of Prince Yi ("Research on the Stone Notes and Fat Version"). This cannot actually be a conclusive conclusion. First, if the manuscript entered the Palace due to the special relationship between the Cao family and Prince Yi, then The manuscript must not avoid the taboo of two generations of King Yi. Secondly, it is very likely that the descendants of Queen Yi copied the manuscript as the Jimao version and avoided the taboo of two generations of King Yi. Therefore, this manuscript cannot prove the relationship between the Cao family and the Yi Palace. It cannot be proven that the Ji Mao copy came from Prince Yi's Mansion, because the copy was completed early when it was recorded in Prince Yi's Mansion.

5. Conclusion

1. Prince Yi promised to conduct a thorough investigation of the deficit nationwide. The supervisor's behavior was to eliminate political opponents in accordance with Yongzheng's wishes. The imperial approval had no special meaning in asking Cao Fu to ask the prince.

2. When the Cao family was in trouble, Prince Yi had no special protection. In the past, red scholars. The attempt to connect the two is to prove the discovery of Ji Mao's taboo.

3. The Ji Mao's taboo of Prince Yi's palace seems to prove that this edition came from the palace, but whether it was ordered or copied by King Yi. It cannot be verified since the palace, and at best it is a past record of the palace of Yi, because the taboo of avoiding the king of Yi can come from any era after Yunxiang and Hongxiao, and before Zaiyuan in the first year of Tongzhi.