After he ascended the throne, Hou Yi faced the ruling crisis of internal and external troubles. At that time, the Taiping Rebellion broke out in Guangxi. Soon, it marched into Hunan, Hubei and Xianfeng, and in March of the third year (1853), it captured Nanjing as the capital to compete with the Qing government. Western powers are preparing to launch a new war of aggression against China in the name of "amending the treaty". Russia mobilized troops in the northeast of China and seized a large territory north of Heilongjiang in China.
In order to save the ruling crisis, Emperor Xianfeng thought of eliminating disadvantages and seeking treatment. He went to Renxian to exorcise evil spirits in an attempt to revive the Dharma. Zeng Guofan, a Han bureaucrat, was widely used, relying on the armed forces of Han landlords trained and commanded by him to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Nian Army Uprising. Dare to do Su Shun got promoted, Su Shun and others got the support of getting rid of graft. At the same time, he dismissed A, who had been the military affairs minister for more than 20 years in Daoguang dynasty, coveted position and hindered the country's illness, and executed the notorious capitulator official and the predecessor who presided over the lottery in the first Opium War.
In the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856), Britain and France launched the second opium war against China and captured Guangzhou. In the eighth year of Xianfeng (1858), the British and French fleets captured Dagu Fort, which was almost equal to Tianjin. Xianfeng sent Gui Liang and Hua Shanna to Tianjin to make peace, and signed the Sino-British Tianjin Treaty, the Sino-American Tianjin Treaty, the Sino-French Tianjin Treaty and the Sino-Russian Tianjin Treaty with Britain, the United States, France and Russia respectively. Dissatisfied with the rights stipulated in the Tianjin Treaty, the powers deliberately went to war again. Emperor Xianfeng ordered the Qing army to strengthen the defense of Dagukou. In the ninth year of Xianfeng (1859), the British and French invaders were defeated in the Dagukou conflict deliberately provoked by Britain. In the tenth year of Xianfeng (1860), Britain and France jointly invaded China again. British and French forces attacked Beitang. When the Qing army fought fiercely with the British and French allied forces, Emperor Xianfeng actually let the commander-in-chief of the Qing army retreat, and Dagu fell again. The British and French allied forces captured Tianjin and then attacked Beijing. Emperor Xianfeng sent Zai Yuan, Prince Yi and Minister of War Yin Mu as imperial envoys to Tongzhou to make peace with Britain and France. Under the cover of peace talks, the British and French allied forces continued to organize attacks on Beijing. After defeating the Qing army at Baliqiao in Tongzhou, they attacked Beijing, and the Yuanmingyuan and Qingyi Gardens were burned and robbed. Emperor Xianfeng fled from Yuanmingyuan to Jehol (now Chengde City) and ordered Prince Gong to stay in Beijing for peace talks. On behalf of the Qing government, Yixin signed the Sino-British Beijing Treaty, the Sino-French Beijing Treaty and the Sino-Russian Beijing Treaty with Britain, France and Russia, and ratified the Sino-British Tianjin Treaty and the Sino-French Tianjin Treaty. In the Sino-Russian Beijing Treaty, Yi Shan, a general of Heilongjiang Province in the Qing Dynasty, was admitted to be forced by Russia to sign the Love Faint Treaty in the eighth year of Xianfeng (1858).
In the 11th year of Xianfeng (186 1), Emperor Xianfeng died in Jehol. After his death, he helped Tian to serve as emperors Mao Dezhen, Wu Yuan and Gong Duanren. Temple number Wenzong. Buried in Dingling, Zunhua, Hebei Province.