Gan Long was the father of the emperor for three years. What have you been doing all this time?

Emperor Qianlong himself said that when he first ascended the throne, he used to burn incense and pray to heaven:

My grandfather has been in office for sixty-one years, and I dare not compare with him. If I can rule for 60 years, I will inherit the throne at the age of 80 and retire myself.

If Emperor Qianlong can rule for 60 years, he will be transferred to the crown prince at the age of 85 and then announce his retirement.

At that time, the promise made by Emperor Qianlong when he ascended the throne was just a joke. However, he did not expect that he could rule for sixty years. Therefore, Emperor Qianlong was in power for 60 years before he announced his abdication.

On the first day of the first month in A.D. 1796, Emperor Qianlong abdicated to his fifteenth son, Yan Yong, claiming to be the emperor's father, and handed over the imperial seal. In this way, Emperor Qianlong, who had been in power for 60 years, officially became the emperor's father, and Yan Yong became the new emperor of the Qing Dynasty, namely Emperor Jiaqing. This year was also changed to the first year of Jiaqing (1796). At that time, Qianlong was eighty-five years old and Jiaqing was thirty-six.

Emperor Qianlong abdicated, not to rest, but to fulfill the promise of that year. When the emperor is 60 years old, he will abdicate.

Later, after Emperor Qianlong abdicated, he became the emperor's father for three years. What has he done in these three years?

After retirement, Emperor Qianlong did not give up power. Although he is the emperor's father, he has great power in his hands. The minor affairs of the imperial court were in the charge of Emperor Jiaqing. Military affairs were decided by Emperor Qianlong himself. Jiaqing could have done nothing if the emperor Qianlong had not personally promulgated the imperial edict.

It can be seen that during the three years when Qianlong was the emperor's father, Emperor Jiaqing was like a puppet. The records of the emperor in the history books are very obscure, but it is naked to point out that Jiaqing really took power after Qianlong's death. An implicit and obscure history book is directly expressed, which shows that Emperor Qianlong's behavior is a bit excessive and he doesn't want to help the emperor's father cover it up.

There is nothing wrong with Emperor Qianlong intervening in politics. The most criticized thing is that he is old and dizzy, and the intervention effect is very poor. Instead of helping Jiaqing solve the problem, he made the situation worse. If emperor Qianlong becomes the emperor's father, the first thing will be held in the imperial palace of Ningshou Palace? A thousand feasts? There were 3056 participants and 5000 invitees in this banquet.

At the beginning of the banquet, Qianlong sat on the throne of the imperial palace under the service of Emperor Jiaqing. Later, Emperor Jiaqing personally led 3056 old people with silver beard and white hair to shout "Long live" in front of Emperor Qianlong to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Tai Shang. Seeing this, Emperor Qianlong was very satisfied. At this time, the glory of his life reached its peak on his birthday!

However, shortly thereafter, Anbaili Uprising, the biggest peasant war in the middle of Qing Dynasty, began. The An Baili Rebellion could have been solved quickly, but it got worse and worse because of the decision-making mistakes made by Qianlong, and it was not dealt with until it caused bad consequences.

So it seems that Qianlong has been in power for 60 years, but he has been in power since he ascended the throne. His abdication was only to relieve the pressure of public opinion.

Jiaqing of course complained to Gan Long, but he couldn't vent. Many people speculate that Jiaqing killed Xiao Shenyang shortly after Qianlong's death to vent his anger at Emperor Taizong's Qianlong.