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Chapter 342 Sea Ban

"In the fourth year of Yongzheng's reign, the ninth elder brother Yunzhen was escorted back from the Qinghai exile. After being tortured in Baoding Prison, he died of diarrhea."

"A month later, the eighth prince Yinhu was tortured in prison and died of vomiting."

"This is where Yongzheng's reputation for seeking his father, usurping the throne, forcing his mother, and killing his younger brother came from."

"The infamy goes beyond these four, but the main ones are these four."

"Of these four infamy, how many of them are fabricated rumors? How many of them are made up of nothing, forced on him by political enemies or people with hatred?"

"Infamy has become inevitable, and it is not something done by all political opponents to create momentum. It is more difficult for a gentleman to do it because of his own actions."

"Although Fourth Brother's dream of becoming an emperor has come true, he wants more than just this position. He still wants to be an emperor and make a difference after taking the stage."

"Yongzheng ascended the throne in the 61st year of Kangxi. On the 29th of that month, he proposed in an edict to the great scholars, six ministers, and ministers: "In political affairs, there are those who should take actions and changes that can benefit the national economy and the people's livelihood. Knowing the pros and cons, he also wrote secret notes for each line. "

"In October of the second year of Yongzheng's reign, he summoned the civil and military ministers of the Manchu and Han Dynasties to the Palace of Qianqing to tell them: "I hope you and others will help me become the king of Yao and Shun. "

In fact, after the fourth elder brother Yinzhen's dream came true, a strong "holy master complex" surged up and down in Yongzheng's heart to describe it. "

"Based on Yongzheng's IQ and courage, he could have been like Li Shimin. Although he did not receive the support of the majority of people, he could still accomplish a great cause."

"But after Fourth Prince ascended to the throne, his "Holy Lord Complex" gradually declined and faded, and he finally devoted his energy to alchemy."

"It's quite ironic and ridiculous. Another emperor who was mediocre for the rest of his life because of his immortality."

"Yongzheng also had meritorious deeds, otherwise he would not be called a wise king."

"When Emperor Yongzheng was still a prince, he asked Emperor Kangxi to check the household transfer department. In the process of checking the household department, he deeply realized the weakness of the national treasury and the dimness of the official administration. So the first major thing he did after he ascended the throne was to rectify the official administration. .”

"He set up an inspection team with Prince Yi Yinxiang as Prime Minister, Emperor's uncle Longkodo, Bachelor Bai Huang, and Shangshu Zhu Shi to jointly investigate the household deficit, which not only replenished the national treasury, but also greatly cracked down on corruption. Official."

"The chieftain system originated from the Tang Dynasty. It used the method of "ruling local people with local officials" to govern local areas. It alleviated the contradiction between the central and local governments to a certain extent and consolidated the rule of the central government."

"But as time goes by, the power of the local chieftains becomes more and more powerful, and they have become the local emperors. It is urgent to reform the chieftain system."

“Emperor Yongzheng adopted the floating official system to replace the native official system. Officials were no longer selected from local clans, but were directly appointed by the central government. This not only alleviated the oppression of local clans on people in minority areas, but also helped consolidate national rule and realize Unification is of great significance."

"Emperor Yongzheng also adapted to many policies, but some were good and some were bad."

"Like the Literary Prison, the Literary Prison began during the Shunzhi period and was a cultural movement that arose to maintain the political rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty."

"During the Yongzheng period, not only was the literary prison not abolished, but it became more serious. There were countless major and wrong cases caused by the literary prison. The more famous ones include: Nian Gengyao case, Lu Liuliang case, "Qingfeng illiteracy case", "Weimin case" Cases stopped” and so on.”

“The large number of people implicated in the Literary Prison and the strictness of the criminal law have made intellectuals cautious, creating a dull atmosphere in which they dare not look at reality with their eyes closed and dare not talk about politics.”

"Emperor Yongzheng was also a very good shirker."

"We engaged in "reforming from the original soil and returning to local status", but put the blame on Ertai."

"He engaged in social examinations and imposed restrictions to collect arrears, but in the end he still had to postpone the restrictions again and again. He engaged in the "Western Army", which cost more than 50 million taels of silver, but ultimately ended in failure." He published another book, "Dayi Jue Mi Lu", which is known to everyone as an official, a scholar, and even women in remote villages, but the result was counterproductive."

"He originally thought that as long as he worked diligently and worked hard for a few years, he could become the "King of Yao and Shun." Unexpectedly, "It's hard for me to be a king, but it's especially hard for me."

"In his later years, he was also one who admitted his mistakes."

"In the seventh year of Yongzheng's reign, he finally had to publicly declare to the world: "I dare not compare myself to the ancient sages and empresses. "

"This public confession in the seventh year of Yongzheng's reign is actually a summary of the failure of his ambition in the second year of Yongzheng's reign, "I hope you and others will help me to be the king of Yao and Shun". It is actually the revelation of his success, elation, disappointment and loss."

"It seems that it is difficult for an emperor to remain pure and clear all the time."

"In the early years of Yongzheng's reign, he was somewhat proud of being on the dragon throne, but it turned into disappointment year by year."

"After the political opponents were eliminated, he suffered from insomnia. He worked so hard and diligently in the first eight years, but he never got sick."

"In the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign, Yongzheng fell seriously ill and almost died."

"Actually, Emperor Yongzheng also accomplished something after his dream came true."

"He has so high political expectations for himself, but most of the officials in the court are not on his side, and most of them are still trying to support and sympathize with the eighth prince."

"In Yongzheng's eyes, not many people were looking forward to him."

"As a result, he, who was obsessed with ambition, gradually declined and faded."

"Later, due to a serious illness, he almost died, and his obsession with alchemy became even more intense, which pushed his heart to an unspeakable loss, which actually pushed him to an unprecedented new peak."

"Of course it must be a little bit afraid of death."

"From the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign, he became more obsessed with alchemy, which marked his transformation from being complacent and eager to try, to sighing that "it's difficult to be a king", to publicly declaring that he "dare not compare himself (to comparing himself) to the ancient sages and wise empresses". It’s a shame to feel proud and disappointed.”

"Emperor Yongzheng only reigned for thirteen years, but he promulgated many political measures. Although these policies have good and bad qualities, we cannot cover up our mistakes because of our achievements, nor can we cover up our achievements because of our mistakes."

"No gold is pure, and no one is perfect. We must look at every event from a dialectical perspective. They are nobler than us and they are human beings, not gods. We must treat them well ourselves, so that we can draw the most correct conclusion."

"But I want to talk about the biggest mistake of sea ban!"

"The Qing Dynasty's problems from beginning to end were inseparable from one issue - seclusion."

"In fact, during the Yongzheng period, this matter was not completely closed, but there were certain restrictions."

"The world during the Yongzheng period was in a period of rapid development. During this period, various parts of the world successively carried out the process of modernization, and the economy, culture, and politics developed rapidly."

"But at this time, Emperor Yongzheng issued a decree to implement a maritime ban policy out of political security considerations, strictly restricting overseas trade and foreign exchanges."

(End of this chapter)