In A.D. 1709 (forty-eight years of Kangxi), Nian Gengyao joined the cabinet with a bachelor's degree, and soon became the governor of Sichuan and became a government official. According to the records of Yong Xian Zhi written by Xiao in Qing Dynasty, Nian Gengyao was less than 30 years old at this time. Nian Gengyao expressed deep gratitude for Kangxi's extraordinary appreciation and exceptional promotion. In the memorial, he said that he was "grateful for three generations of fools" and must "try his best to repay the kindness". After Nian Gengyao took office, he became familiar with the general situation of Sichuan Province and put forward many measures to promote the advantages and eliminate the disadvantages. And he himself took the lead in setting an example and refused to accept the festival ceremony, "willing to be indifferent and impartial." Kangxi highly appreciated his work in Sichuan and placed high hopes on him, hoping that he would "stick to it and be a good official". Nian Gengyao didn't live up to the high hopes of Emperor Kangxi. In the war of defeating Alabotan, the leader of Junggar who invaded Tibet, he once again showed his outstanding talent in ensuring the logistics supply of the Qing army.
17 18 (57th year of Kangxi), Nian Gengyao was appointed as the governor of Sichuan, in charge of governor affairs and leading the military, political and civil affairs. In A.D. 172 1 year (60th year of Kangxi), Nian Gengyao made a pilgrimage to Beijing, and Kangxi gave him a bow and arrow. He was promoted to the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi and became an important official in West Shu. In September this year, there was a local rebellion in Golog Prefecture, Qinghai Province. While attacking directly, Nian Gengyao used the contradiction between local tribal chiefs, supplemented by the strategy of "attacking fans with fans", and quickly put down the rebellion. In November 1722 (the sixty-first year of Kangxi), General Fu Yuan and Bei Ziyin were recalled to Beijing, and Nian Gengyao was appointed to be in charge of military affairs together with Yan Xin, who was in charge of General Fu Yuan's printing.
After Yongzheng acceded to the throne, Nian Gengyao was highly regarded, and Longkeduo called him Yongzheng's right-hand man. Roncodo is Yin Zhen's cousin. He worked for Yin Zhen for many years before he succeeded to the throne. Their relationship is very close. In May of A.D. 1723 (the first year of Yongzheng), Yongzheng issued an imperial decree: "If there is a place to dispatch troops and take meals, the frontier defense minister, the governor of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Yunnan shall handle it according to Nian Gengyao." In this way, Nian Gengyao was in charge of all the affairs in Xixiang, and actually became a confidant of Yongzheng at the front line of Xixiang, and his power position was actually above the governors such as General Yan Xin of Fuyuan. Yongzheng also warned local officials in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan to obey Nian Gengyao's orders. In the same year 10, Tenzin Rebellion occurred in Qinghai. The situation in Qinghai suddenly became chaotic, and Xiqiao war resumed. Yongzheng ordered Nian Gengyao to take over as General Fuyuan, and commanded the counter-insurgency in Xining.
/kloc-at the beginning of 0/724 (the second year of Yongzheng), the final stage of the war came, and Nian Gengyao ordered the generals to "go their separate ways and destroy their nests". Military forces from all walks of life braved the snow and marched day and night, quickly mopping up the remnants of the enemy and winning a great victory. Nian Gengyao's reputation as "General 2000" has since deterred Xiqiao, enjoying a high reputation in the ruling and opposition circles.
Yongzheng was overjoyed at the success of the war to pacify Qinghai, so he gave Nian Gengyao a special reward: before that, Nian Gengyao had won the third class merit and the second class merit successively for his military achievements in pacifying Tibet and pacifying the Guoluoke rebellion. This time, he was promoted to a first-class public by careful planning and surprise. In addition, a viscount was awarded, which was inherited by his son Nian Bin. His father was made a first-class public when he was young, plus the title of a teacher. At this time, Wei Town, Nian Gengyao, northwest, can participate in Yunnan government affairs and become the main confidant minister of Yongzheng in other provinces. Nian Gengyao not only monopolized all affairs concerning the Western Regions, but was also ordered to directly participate in state affairs. He has the right to report directly to Yongzheng, telling the pros and cons of internal and external officials, the pros and cons of governing the country and people's livelihood and so on at any time. He also often participates in consultations and decision-making on major issues between the DPRK and China.
Yongzheng frequently exchanged views with Nian Gengyao on the appointment and removal of important officials and personnel arrangements, and gave him great power. In the area under Nian Gengyao's jurisdiction, all civil and military officials, big or small, were appointed according to the recommendation of 1998. In April of the first year, Yongzheng ordered Fan Shijie to act as the agent of Shaanxi governor, and soon he wanted to change the original governor to assistant minister of the Ministry of War. Yongzheng specially discussed this appointment with nian. On another occasion, Yongzheng was "indecisive" when arranging Wu Zhi officials, so he asked Nian Gengyao if Shaanxi officials would be transferred to other provinces and promoted to "you are willing to give up" and asked him to "play according to the facts, I will follow suit". Yongzheng also often solicited opinions from officials outside Sichuan and Shaanxi.
After the pacification of Qinghai, Yongzheng wrote in Zhu Pi presented to Nian Gengyao: "I appreciate your true feelings and miss you very much. I want to discuss some questions with you." During Nian Gengyao's visit to Beijing, he handled military affairs together with Prime Ministers Ma Qi and Roncodo. Yongzheng also asked him to "convey the will and write the imperial edict" because he "can convey my words". Nian Gengyao has become the Minister of Prime Minister Affairs.
Yongzheng had a good personal relationship with Nian Gengyao and gave him special honor. Yongzheng considered himself lucky to have a government official like Nian Gengyao. If there were more than a dozen people like him, the country would not worry about bad governance. After pacifying the rebellion in Qinghai, Yongzheng was extremely excited and regarded Nian as a "benefactor". He also knew it was disgraceful to say this, but he couldn't help saying it. In order to pass on Nian Gengyao's evaluation for a long time, Yongzheng also asked generations to remember Nian Gengyao's great achievements, otherwise he would not be his descendants and subjects: not only will I reward him with my heart as soon as possible, but my descendants and all the subjects in the world will be * * *. If you are a little ungrateful, you are not my descendant; A little disloyalty is not our subject.
At this point, Yongzheng's loyalty to Nian Gengyao is hard to see, and Nian Gengyao's kindness is unparalleled in ancient times. 1724 (the second year of Yongzheng) In October, Nian Gengyao went to Beijing and was given something extraordinary, such as peacock feathers with two eyes, four dragon suits, a yellow belt, a purple comb and gold coins. Nian Gengyao himself, his father and son Nianbin were knighted. 1 1 month, was awarded the first-class public office for quelling the rebellion in Zhuozi Mountain, and was succeeded by Nian Gengyao's second son Nianfu.
In life, Yongzheng took good care of Nian Gengyao and his family. Nian Gengyao's wrist and arm are sick, and so is his wife. Yongzheng repeatedly asked and prescribed medicine for him. Yongzheng often told his father his age in Beijing, Nian Gengyao's sister Nian Guifei and his son Fu Hui's physical condition hand in hand. As for delicacies, they sometimes pay off. Litchi is given to Nian Gengyao once. In order to ensure the delicious taste, Yongzheng ordered the post office to send it from the capital to Xi 'an within 6 days. Such a reward can be compared with what Tang gave to Yang Guifei.
Nian Gengyao is cherished, and I hope they can set an eternal example for each other. He said to nian: I am not an excellent emperor, and I can't repay your kindness to me; I am not a superior minister, so I can't see him. ..... I'm trying to be an example for generations to come.
At this time, Nian Gengyao was ambitious, and then he did a lot of things beyond the scope of his duties, which eventually caused Yongzheng's vigilance and jealousy, leading to the destruction of his family. Nian Gengyao's fall from grace and subsequent rectification were triggered by 1724's second visit to Beijing in October (the second year of Yongzheng). On the way to Beijing, he asked Commander-in-Chief Fan Shijie and Zhili Governor Li to kneel down to see him off. When I arrived in Beijing, I was greeted by officials below princes in the suburbs. Nian Gengyao passed by safely on horseback without looking. The princes dismounted to meet him, and he just nodded. What's more, in front of Yongzheng, the attitude is very arrogant. "No one is polite." Yongzheng was awarded military service shortly after he entered Beijing in 1920. It is widely rumored that Beijing has accepted Nian Gengyao's request. It is also said that A Ling (a member of the Huangbazi Ginza Group) and others have also listened to the words of Nian. These words greatly hurt Yongzheng's self-esteem.
1 1 month, after Nian Gengyao returned to the government, he received an imperial edict from Yongzheng. In the imperial edict, there was a paragraph about the hero's honor preservation: "It is easy for mortals to achieve something, but it is difficult to achieve something; It is easy to succeed, but it is difficult to keep working; It is easy to keep one's job, but it is difficult to achieve it in the end. ..... If you rely on your strengths, you will turn your back on your kindness and become an enemy. This has always been the case. " In this song "Zhu Yu", Yongzheng changed the tone of praise in the past and warned Nian to be cautious and self-sustaining. Since then, Nian Gengyao's situation has plummeted.
Analysis of the reasons why Nian Gengyao fell out of favor and was convicted can be summarized as follows:
First, arrogance. Nian Gengyao's arrogance is getting worse and worse. He was arrogant and majestic in official contacts: he presented objects to subordinate officials, "making the North kowtow and thank you"; The official documents sent to governors and generals are parallel official documents, but they are called "orders" and treat the same officials as subordinates; Even Fu Bao, King of Zasak County in Mongolia, would bow down when he saw him. The imperial guards sent by the imperial court should have been given preferential treatment, but they were locked up as slaves around 2000 to "lead the way back and forth with whips and throw stirrups." According to the system of the Qing Dynasty, when the imperial edict reached the place, the local officials should receive the imperial edict, kneel down and knock on the gift, and beg for holy peace. But the imperial edict of Yongzheng went to Xining twice, but Nian Gengyao "didn't understand the imperial edict". What's more, he once presented Yongzheng with the engraved "Liu Memorial" at his own expense. Yongzheng intends to write his own preface, but he hasn't written it yet. Nian Gengyao drafted an article by himself, asking for Yong Zhengdi's consent. In front of Yongzheng, Nian Gengyao also lost his temper and said, "There is no formal ceremony." Yongzheng is very unhappy.
Second, form parties for personal gain. At that time, when selecting civil and military officials, priority was given to officials and soldiers recommended by Nian Gengyao, the so-called "annual election". He also rejected dissidents and appointed private individuals to form a clique headed by him, with officials from Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan as the backbone, including officials from other regions. Seeing Nian Gengyao's momentum rising and his power expanding, many people who hung out in officialdom rushed to the door. And Nian Gengyao is also a person who pays attention to cultivating folk forces. Whenever there is a profitable job, he must put his personal cronies. "Dissidents are screened out, and those who are eager to go are recommended to quit." For example, he impeached the governor of Zhili, saying that he was a "poor boy" and "had never been a governor" and recommended his personal Li. Zhao Zhiyuan lost his official position, so he turned to Nian Gengyao and gave him jewelry worth 202,000 yuan. Nian Gengyao took advantage of the opportunity of entering Beijing in the second year of Yongzheng to bring Zhao to Beijing, "pleading to introduce Si Geng" to ensure its availability. Ge, the Jiangsu provincial judge who was demoted by the annual review, also sent all kinds of precious antiques twice, so Nian Gengyao promised to "take care of" him later. In addition, Nian Gengyao also took the opportunity of joining the army to make his unmarried domestic slaves, Sang Dingcheng and Wei Zhiyao, become the official positions of Zhili Taoist priest and acting lieutenant respectively.
Third, greedy for money. Nian Gengyao took bribes and embezzled money and grain, amounting to millions of yuan. In the early years of Yongzheng, it was an important reform measure to rectify bureaucracy and punish corruption and perverting the law. Yongzheng won't let this go easily. In the first month of A.D. 1725 (the third year of Yongzheng), Yongzheng's dissatisfaction with Nian Gengyao became public. Nian Gengyao instructed Shaanxi Governor Hu to participate in Jin Nanying's performance "Shaanxi Post Road", and Yongzheng said that this was the practice of appointing private people and disorderly forming cronies in 2000, and it was not allowed to perform.
Nian Gengyao once participated in the killing of Jiang Xingren, the governor of Sichuan who threatened the magistrate, and Cai was dismissed from office. After the trial, he was given a suspended sentence. Nian Gengyao's private Wang Jinghao was appointed Governor of Sichuan. By this time, Yongzheng had made up his mind to attack Nian Gengyao. After Cai Wei was escorted back to Beijing, Yongzheng did not agree to imprison him with the punishments, but specially summoned him. Cai Wei stated that he was framed for his struggle with Nian Gengyao when he was in office, and also played various situations of "greed and violence" in Nian Gengyao. Yongzheng then issued an imperial edict, which read: "Nian Gengyao plays Cai Wei. If he is brought to justice, people will think that I listened to Nian Gengyao before killing him. In this way, Nian Gengyao was in charge of the Fu Wei of the imperial court. " Therefore, Yongzheng not only failed to convict Cai Wei, but promoted him to Zuodu suggestion and became an effective tool to deal with Nian Gengyao.
In March, the so-called "auspiciousness" of "the combination of the sun and the moon and the five-star joint beads" appeared, and the ministers congratulated them one after another. Nian Gengyao also congratulated Yongzheng for staying up all night and making great efforts. However, the handwriting in the table was scrawled, and for an instant, I mistakenly wrote "morning and evening" as "evening morning". Yongzheng seized on this and said that Nian Gengyao was not a careless person. This time, he deliberately ignored the words "admonition in the morning and evening" in my ear. And think that this is his "self-reliance, showing disrespect", so his meritorious military service in Qinghai "is also between my permission and disapproval." Then Yongzheng replaced officials in Sichuan and Shaanxi. First of all, Nian Gengyao's confidant Hu Jiheng was removed from his post, and Tanner, the agent of Sichuan magistrate, was transferred back to Beijing, so that he could not have an accident during his term of office. In April, Nian Gengyao was dismissed from the post of Governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and was ordered to hand over the seal of General Fuyuan and transfer to General Hangzhou.
After Nian Gengyao was transferred, officials at home and abroad knew more about the situation and exposed his crimes. In the name of treating courtiers condescendingly, Yongzheng deprived Nian Gengyao of his official position, and in September of that year, he ordered Nian Gengyao to be arrested and sent to Beijing for joint trial. 1February, the court minister presented the trial results to Yongzheng, listed 92 major crimes for Nian Gengyao, and requested the establishment of standardized punishment. The charges are as follows: 5 crimes of disobedience, 9 crimes of bullying, 16 crimes of trespassing, 13 crimes of arrogance, 6 crimes of monopoly, 6 crimes of avoiding engraving, 4 crimes of maltreatment, 18 crimes of greed and 15 crimes of erosion.
Yongzheng said that more than 30 of these 92 paragraphs are to be executed and beheaded, but considering Nian Gengyao's achievements and fame, the reputation of "General Nian" is well known throughout the country. If he is punished, I'm afraid people all over the world will not accept it. He will inevitably bear the notoriety of being ruthless and killing heroes, so he expressed pity and gave him a prison sentence to commit suicide. All the officials in Nian Gengyao's fathers and brothers were dismissed, and the first-in-law descendants sent troops into exile, and their property was copied into the officials. A.D. 1726 (the fourth year of Yongzheng), the all-powerful general of that year ended up in ruin.