Comparison of The Assassination of Emperor Wei Zi

These four assassinations can be said to challenge the guards of the Forbidden City again and again. Although Emperor Jiaqing strengthened the martial law of the palace after each assassination, it did not stop the assassination. The fundamental reason is that the Qing army's ability is not as good as before.

Let me briefly talk about the four assassinations of Emperor Jiaqing. Once, a vulgar slave sneaked into the palace to assassinate, and only eight people stayed to protect Jiaqing Emperor. The second time, a monk sneaked into the palace and wanted to "have a good talk" with Emperor Jiaqing, but he was arrested for getting lost. The third time, a middle-aged man broke into the palace for no reason, and was stopped by a heavy guard, guarding the palace door empty-handed. The fourth time, a thief entered the palace to steal, but he managed to escape.

When the Qing army invaded the Central Plains, it could be said that it was full of fighting capacity, so it could eventually replace the Ming Dynasty. But by the time Emperor Jiaqing ascended the throne, the Qing Dynasty had actually begun to decline slowly, so the combat effectiveness of soldiers also declined. People who enter the palace to assassinate, such as headstrong men and monks, are not very capable masters, but they can drive straight ahead. It can be seen that the ability of the guards is very insufficient.

After the assassination, Emperor Jiaqing also took corresponding rectification measures and severely punished those guards who neglected their duties. But these punishments can't solve the problem fundamentally, because the ability of new guards is still low. It can also be seen that Emperor Jiaqing's qualification is mediocre, far less than that of Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong. Otherwise, he could see that the root cause of repeated assassinations was the lack of ability of the Qing army, not the lax guards in the palace.