The 26-year-old Empress Dowager Tu Xi quelled the rebellion of the Eight Great Gods, the great merit belonged to 1 person

At only 26 years old, Empress Dowager Cixi was able to pacify the country and quell the forces that opposed her. The credit goes to a great minister, without whom, Empress Dowager Cixi would not have been as famous in history as we see.

In 1861, after the death of Emperor Xianfeng, Empress Dowager Cixi (26 years old) staged a spectacular coup, overthrowing the Eight Great Ministers of the Imperial Council. This article will reveal the important role of a person who greatly helped Empress Dowager Cixi in the historical event "Xinyou Coup".

The late 19th century saw the Qing Dynasty go through a period of turmoil and hardship. On August 22, 1861, Emperor Xianfeng died at Rehe Palace at the age of 30. He left behind a country in chaos, a widow, and young children. His son, Zai Chun, was only 6 years old and later became the Tongzhi Emperor. His wives were Empress Ci'an and Noble Consort Na La (later Empress Dowager Cixi).

Before his death, Ham Phong left three wills. First, he established Tai Chun as Crown Prince. Second, he assigned three great ministers of the Imperial Court and five great military ministers, including: Prince Di Zai Yuan, Prince Zheng Duan Hua, Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Su Shun, and five great military ministers: Gu Lun Ech, Assistant to Jing Shou, Minister of War Mu Am, Left Minister of Personnel Khuong Nguyen, Right Minister of Rites Du Han, and Grand Master Shao Qing, courtesy name Xiao You Ying, as the Eight Great Ministers of the Imperial Court, in charge of government affairs. Third, he granted Ci An and Ci Xi the two seals "Imperial Reward" and "Dong Dao Tang". All imperial edicts drafted by the Eight Great Ministers must have these two seals to be valid.

These three wills were considered a thorough arrangement for the succession and governance of the country. While Tongzhi was still too young, the Eight Great Ministers of the Council would act as regents. However, to avoid abuse of power, Xianfeng used the two seals of Ci'an and Cixi to restrain their power. This mechanism created a "separation of three powers" and ensured the stability of the court. However, Xianfeng's thorough calculations were quickly broken by the Empress Dowager Cixi herself.

During the overthrow of the Eight Ministers of State, an important figure helped Ci An and Ci Xi. That was Prince Gong Yi Xin, the sixth son of Emperor Daoguang, whose mother was Empress Dowager Boerjijite (who was then Imperial Concubine Jing). He was the younger brother of Prince Shunhe Yi Gang, Prince Huizhi Yi Ji, and Princess Gulun Shou'en. In other words, Prince Gong Yi Xin was Xianfeng's half-brother and Ci Xi's brother-in-law.

Yi Xin was intelligent and talented. However, Xianfeng was jealous of his younger brother and did not give him any important positions, and did not even allow him to be included in the Eight Ministers of the Imperial Council. It was clear that Xianfeng did not trust Yi Xin. The Eight Ministers themselves also tried to ostracize Yi Xin, not allowing him to follow Xianfeng to Rehe. This led to conflict between Yi Xin and the Eight Ministers. Cixi was aware of all of this.

After Xianfeng passed away, Cixi and Ci'an secretly sent a letter to Yi Xin in Beijing, inviting him to Rehe. There was an interesting twist to this. At first, the two Empress Dowagers had no way to contact Yi Xin. Cixi came up with a plan. She deliberately had her close eunuch An Dehai cause trouble with a palace maid, and then demoted An Dehai to a cleaning job in Beijing. This gave An Dehai the opportunity to return to Beijing and secretly deliver the letter to Yi Xin.

Upon arriving in Rehe, Yi Xin discussed with Cixi and Ci'an. The three quickly reached a consensus. After bidding farewell to the two Empress Dowagers, Yi Xin returned to Beijing, joined forces with Prince Chun Yi Huan and Grand Master Wen Xiang to prepare for the coup.

Afterwards, Cixi, Ci'an, and Tongzhi escorted Xianfeng's coffin from Rehe to Beijing. On the way, the two Empress Dowagers used the excuse that Tongzhi was still young and that she herself was a woman to take a shortcut back to Beijing first, leaving the Eight Great Ministers of State to continue escorting the coffin along the main road.

Upon returning to Beijing, Cixi immediately summoned Prince Gong and the others. Soon after, Cixi and Ci'an issued an edict, announcing the dismissal of the Eight Ministers of State. Su Shun was executed, while Zai Yuan and Duan Hua were forced to commit suicide. The remaining five ministers were either dismissed or exiled to the frontier. Before the Eight Ministers of State could enjoy their power, they were quickly removed from the political stage.

The Queen Mother, with her masterful political tricks, took action at the exact moment when this group of ministers were most lax, thus "taking the first strike is the strongest" to capture a clean net. By the time they discovered this heaven-shaking plot, everything was already settled. All the aforementioned ministers, even though they were once veterans in the political arena, could no longer single-handedly cover the sky and change the world.

It was thought that after the successful Tan Dau coup, both Empress Dowagers could hold great power together without being oppressed by the Eight Great Ministers' faction. However, an Empress Dowager who was not well versed in politics like Tu An could hardly have imagined that she herself would become the next person to disappear from the stage of history.

Historical records show that in 1881, Empress Dowager Ci'an suddenly passed away. Because she died so quickly, there were many suspicions that Ci'xi had time to silence this ally to monopolize power. To this day, the cause of Empress Dowager Ci'an's death is still shrouded in mystery. However, the truth is that after her death, only Ci'xi remained as the only Empress Dowager. This also marked the beginning of the period of monopolizing power from the infamous Western Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty later on.

Empress Dowager Tu Xi just woke up and immediately "destroyed" the eunuch and the courtesan, the reason was extremely terrifying Uyển Đình21:09:25 07/09/2024The fact that Empress Dowager Tu Xi is said to be the most beautiful person in the Qing Dynasty has caused a lot of doubts and controversy because it is not clear whether this is true or exaggerated by others.