Emperor Xianfeng

Name: Emperor Xianfeng
Author: Good Fortune and Happiness Beijing

咸丰皇帝

by Good Fortune and Happiness Beijing (吉祥如意北京)

Status: Completed
Length: 404k Words
Genre: Historical
Subgenre: Historical & Ancient
Updated: 10mo ago
Source: Fanqie

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Synopsis

In the Forbidden City during the Daoguang era, a “family business succession contest” quietly came to an end. Yizhu, plagued by a leg ailment and only moderately gifted, used his image as a “benevolent and filial” son to overtake his brilliant younger brother Yixin and claim the throne of the Qing Empire, taking the reign title Xianfeng.

He had hoped to be a wise ruler who could preserve what he inherited, but instead he found himself facing one of the most absurd uphill battles in Chinese history. He had barely cleaned up the mess Daoguang left behind when the Taiping Rebellion erupted in the south. Hong Xiuquan and his God Worshippers swept north, throwing half the empire into chaos. The Green Standard Army was hopelessly ineffective, the court was packed with crafty old hands, and the officials sent to put down the rebellion either fought among themselves or resorted to the ludicrous tactic of having “HR supervise sales.” Worse still, the Western powers were eyeing China hungrily, the treasury was empty, and even military pay had to be raised locally.

This was the beginning of a “transformation unseen in three thousand years.” Zeng Guofan’s Xiang Army rose out of nowhere, changing the Qing military system and balance of power. The lijin tax system appeared, quietly shifting fiscal power to the provinces. And Xianfeng, the “ill-fated emperor” thrust onto history’s stormy stage, struggled again and again between wanting to get things done and being unable to do so. He dismissed corrupt officials and appointed the loyal, but could not stop the Qing armies from suffering defeat after defeat. He longed to revive the empire, yet could only watch helplessly as it fell apart.

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145Chapters

88Reads

7.3Score

57Listens

77.4kReads · all time

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