The six-dimensional pictures of emperors of all dynasties were exposed, and the ancestors panicked

Chapter 745 "Confucian Sage King"

Ming Dynasty - Wuzong Period
Zhu Houzhao threw away the branch in his hand, looked at Jiaqing in the sky, and sat cross-legged on the ground.

"Just learn from the way Yongzheng and Qianlong did. Why do anything stupid?"

Zhu Houcong waved his hand and asked someone to take away the pottery jar on the ground.

As the chirping of crickets faded away, he spoke:

“It stands to reason that the policies that have been in place should not be difficult to learn.”

"But according to the thinking of Confucian scholars, things like money are secondary."

"A monarch cannot be greedy for money. If he levies commercial and mining taxes like Wanli did, he will be despised."

"Between the ruler and his subjects, benevolence, righteousness and morality are the most important things."

"The monarch must be kind and generous, so that his subjects will learn from him and be kind and generous to the people, and this will bring peace to the world."

"This is the essence of secret implementation and gradual management."

"That's why he had to deal with Hong Liangji seriously."

"Because he wants to be a holy king."

Zhu Houzhao changed his posture at some point and started to cross his legs while holding a grass root in his mouth.

"Oh, another fool."

"Same condition as my father."

Zhu Houcong:...

……

[In March of the fourth year of Jiaqing (1799), the governor of Shandong petitioned the emperor to order the filling of the deficit.]

Jiaqing first said that this was a good proposal and that the deficit should be filled, and then said:

"Take it step by step, and you will see results. If the people are satisfied, how can the ruler be dissatisfied? Cultivating vitality is ten thousand times better than storing it in the warehouse!
As for the senior officials who are clean and honest and lead their subordinates, and all the officials who have done their best to get rid of outdated rules and regulations and implement good policies, this is enough to make up for it. I will not do things like donating money to improve the quality of life and imposing fines. "】

……

Ming dynasty.

"it is good!"

Zhu Yuanzhang clapped his hands loudly!
"It's better to take it slow!"

"As long as the people are prosperous, there is no need to worry about deficits!"

"A senior official should take the lead in maintaining integrity, and we should all work together to eliminate various bad practices!"

"Keep it up!"

"Hold on!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said from the bottom of his heart:

"It's time for you to be upset!"

……

Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period
Kangxi's face turned pale as he stared at the sky.

"We can see from the past events of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming..."

"How did Hongli teach his son?"

……

[In April of the same year, Hu Jintang, the governor of Zhili, requested a strict investigation of the relevant persons responsible for the local deficit, and advocated that these people be arrested and brought to the provincial capital to be ordered to repay the money to make up for the deficit.]

[When Jiaqing saw this, he was shocked and quickly issued an instruction: "Frontier officials should focus on governing the people's livelihood, and fiscal revenue is second. How could Hu Jintang not know this?"]

[Then he added: "It's time to sort it out, why rush it?"]

……

Song Dynasty: Zhezong Period
Zhao Xu looked at Sima Guang in confusion.

"What did he say?"

Sima Guang stroked his beard continuously, and after a moment, he replied hesitantly:

"It seems that they are investigating the deficit but not holding those responsible accountable..."

Zhao Xu leaned back slightly.

Why don’t I understand this?
Should we check or not?
How to check this?
……

[In May, the Ministry of Revenue reported a deficit of 20 million taels of silver. Jiaqing asked all provinces to save money and study how to make up for the deficit.]

[Hubei Provincial Governor Sun Yuting saw the imperial edict and suggested that local officials who had lost more than 10,000 taels of silver should be arrested and held to make compensation.]

【Jiaqing immediately rejected it and warned him to "not act recklessly."】

……

Qing Dynasty Yongzheng Period
“That’s what we should do!”

Yongzheng angrily waved his hand and pointed at the sky:
"The so-called deficit is nothing more than two reasons!"

“First, the money was collected, but was wasted by corrupt officials!”

"Second, the money that should have been collected was not collected!"

“And those who dare to resist the state’s money and food must have officials backing them up.”

"No matter how you look at it, it's always right to arrest the officials responsible and demand compensation!"

"And what are you going to do?!"

"What do you want to do!"

Just when Yongzheng was extremely furious, a sentence from the sky curtain made him feel as if his brain was hit by a red cannon.

……

[No one knows what Jiaqing is trying to do.]

[In the end, it was the governor of Guangdong who first figured out the emperor's intentions and reported that the previous deficits were very complicated and could not be fully investigated, so there was no need to pursue responsibility.]

[The deficit should be listed, and part of it should be made up every year, and completed year by year.]

【Then let the officials be honest and dedicated to their work, and reduce wasteful spending, which can both cultivate the vitality of the people and ensure that the country's finances are sufficient. 】

【Jiaqing was very happy after reading this, and repeatedly commented: Well said! If we follow this method, we will see some results in three years, which is not too slow. In this way, "the funds will be returned slowly, and the upper level will follow the example of the lower level, so there is no reason why it cannot be completed." 】

……

Great Qin.

"I understand."

Ying Zheng slowly said:

"In short, he believes that the problem can be solved if officials are self-aware."

Everyone was speechless for a while.

Speechless!
If problems can be solved through self-awareness, then there is no point in having laws.

Before everyone had digested it, another big one came.

……

[Some officials were not very sensible and reported the list of responsible persons to the emperor.]

【After reading this, Jiaqing was very unhappy and wrote in his instructions: "If all are investigated, then those who handled the deficits and took over the false reports should be punished according to the law. There are too many of them, and there may be some virtuous people. It is a pity, so let them be lenient with their past mistakes and give them time to make up for it."】

……

{What does that mean? (Pointing) What does he mean?!}
{What I mean is, if you show me these lists, what should I do? There are so many people on the list, and they must be punished according to the law!}

{If I handle all of them and someone is wrongly accused, wouldn’t I become a tyrant? If I don’t handle them, wouldn’t I become a tyrant again?}
{So in order to prevent some virtuous officials from being wronged, I can only show tolerance and give you time to make up for the deficit.}
{…Hahahahahaha! I’m dying of laughter!}
{Don't tell me, I really don't tell you, he is really a good person.}
{What a nice guy!}

……

[Officials realized that they couldn’t report the names of the responsible persons, so they thought they could report the deficit, right? ]

[If the emperor wants to investigate the deficit, then he should first investigate the deficit and report it to the Ministry of Revenue.]

【However, Jiaqing did not even want to read this, and wrote in his instruction: "The word 'make up' cannot be directly reported to me, so how can it be publicly reported to the Ministry for handling?"】

[You are not allowed to tell me, and you are not allowed to report it to the Ministry of Revenue.]

[“There are so many people asking the Ministry for advice, they must ask me to enforce the law!”]

……

Great Sui.

Yang Jian stroked his beard, looking very interested:

"By reporting these things, do you mean to force him to enforce the law publicly and severely and deal with those responsible?"

Dugu Jialuo sneered:
"What it actually means is that the ministers want to shift the blame to him and put him in an unjust position."

"He doesn't want to get his hands dirty at all."

"It fits the word mediocre."

……

[After several attempts, officials finally figured out what was the right thing to do.]

【So they began to express their opinions one after another. 】

……

On the sky curtain, a group of cartoon officials are holding memorials and reporting to the cartoon Jiaqing.

A text bubble popped up.

"Your Majesty! We have found out the deficit!"

Then there is a thought bubble above the text bubble.

(Numbers not mentioned)
"The root cause of the deficit has been clarified!"

(I don’t know who is responsible)
"We have formulated a comprehensive plan to make up for the deficit, and it is expected that the deficit will be greatly improved within six or seven years!"

(Completion is not guaranteed)

"In the next six or seven years, we will be honest and incorruptible, work diligently and love the people, and set an example for our subordinates!"

"I believe that all officials will work hard to serve the people under the inspiration of the emperor and the leadership of their superiors!" "Successfully complete the task of filling the deficit ordered by the emperor!"

(Wait a minute)

The cartoon version of Jiaqing was deeply pleased.

……

[Jiaqing was very satisfied with this statement, thinking that the officials finally understood his painstaking efforts, and issued instructions to encourage everyone to work hard and strive to complete the deficit compensation plan.]

[Six or seven years passed in the blink of an eye, and most officials had been transferred and replaced. Jiaqing found that not only had the original deficit not been filled, but new deficits had appeared, so he ordered to study and solve it quickly. ]

[Officials from various places quickly responded that many unexpected situations had occurred in recent years, such as floods, droughts, locust plagues, fires, earthquakes, mudslides, rebellions, etc., but we have developed a more scientific way to fill the gaps than before, and it is expected that the situation will be greatly improved in another six or seven years.]

[This went on for six or seven years, and the deficit only increased, not decreased.]

[Emperor Jiaqing also had a very good temper, but he just didn't punish people. ]

……

At this time, a picture turned on the sky curtain.

Jiaqing, dressed in court robes, sat on a large golden chair.

The ministers below bowed their heads.

And above Jiaqing's head, several large golden characters shone brightly.

"Because I'm good!"

……

The period of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty
Liu Ying looked at the word "Good" and rubbed his eyes.

"It's really blinding no matter how I look at it."

Why does it feel like it has a hint of meaning?

"I suspect this guy is just like Liu Shi and Zhu Youtang... he is yearning for a Confucian sage king again."

Lu Zhi, who was standing by, squinted her eyes and looked at the sky, whispering:

"If we really want to admire a Confucian sage king... wasn't it Qianlong who started it?"

Liu Ying didn't understand what it meant for a moment.

Lü Zhi turned to look at the confused Liu Ying and said helplessly:

"Qianlong was obsessed with being the best and most perfect emperor in history, and he couldn't extricate himself. He wanted to compare everything with the famous emperors and saints of all dynasties."

"He seems to be extremely powerful, but in fact he has fallen into the trap set for him by the Confucian scholars."

"Because history is written by Confucian scholars, if we want to compare ourselves with the saintly rulers in history, we must be led by Confucianism."

"Demote the emperor, dismiss the princes, and punish the officials."

“This is their original business.”

……

Datang.

"Gentlemen, what do you think is the reason for the failure of this anti-corruption campaign?"

Li Shimin squinted his eyes and twirled his beard.

Although the meaning of the sky curtain was to blame the emperor, it was not that simple when he sat in this position and thought about it.

"Since ancient times, the strongest anti-corruption fighters were Zhu Yuanzhang, followed by Yongzheng."

"But it is still impossible to eradicate corruption in the officialdom."

"It may be possible to say that severe punishments can have some deterrent effect, but corruption is like a maggot in the tarsal bone, which has penetrated deep into the bone marrow. It can only treat the symptoms but not the root cause."

"What Jiaqing inherited from Qianlong was a empire that was still in good shape on the outside, but had already risen to its full potential on the inside."

"Let's investigate its essence and find out the reason."

Everyone looked at Fang Xuanling.

Fang Xuanling: ...

What are you looking at me for?

Everyone's eyes showed the same meaning.

Are you making a decision? Don’t you look at who it is?

Fang Xuanling organized his words and bowed:

"The Qing dynasty inherited the Ming system. The root of the problem can still be found in the official institutions designed by Zhu Yuanzhang."

Everyone was brought back to their memories by Fang Xuanling's words.

In fact, there have been corrupt officials in every dynasty. However, starting from the Ming Dynasty, the number of corrupt officials has increased exponentially.

The reason behind this was explained by Zhu Yuanzhang at that time.

The deep-seated reason is that the Hongwu-style government structure has huge loopholes both in administrative efficiency and in finance.

"After the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Qing dynasty absorbed the Ming dynasty's official system."

Fang Xuanling continued:

"The Qing government granted a series of preferential policies to the descendants of the Eight Banners, and the status of the bannermen was higher than that of the Han people."

"By extension, it can be applied to both the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty."

“From the beginning, it was a system where the privileged class oppressed the lower classes.”

“Although officials are members of the system and have a higher rank than ordinary people, they are still the oppressed level within the system, and bureaucrats have no motivation to be honest and serve the public.”

"After all, the money I saved was given by the emperor to the royal family or the Eight Banners descendants."

"Since you can be parasites openly, why can't I make some money?"

Fang Xuanling looked at the people who were deep in thought, and finally said:

"Since the officials are mentally unbalanced, the clerks are more honest."

"We don't even have a salary. If we don't make money, are we going to starve to death?"

……

In the 1819th year of Jiaqing (), the governor of Henan Province made another report saying: "I'm sorry, the deficit has increased again, but Your Majesty, don't worry. Henan has had a bumper harvest in the past two years, and the people are rich. Even if they pay more money and grain, it will not affect their lives."

[Last time we proposed to solve the deficit in five years. Now the five years are about to pass. Please give us another three years to ensure that we can make up for the deficit.]

【Jiaqing's instruction: Do as requested.】

[And submit the memorial from the Henan governor to the Military Affairs Office for record, and check whether it has been completed after three years.]

【However, this time Jiaqing can’t wait for three years. 】

[In the 1820th year of Jiaqing's reign (), Jiaqing set out from Yuanmingyuan to the Mountain Resort. ]

[On July 18, the imperial carriage started and arrived at the Mountain Resort on the 24th.]

[On the 25th, Jiaqing suddenly felt a surge of phlegm and difficulty speaking, and the imperial doctors could not find any problem.]

[At that time, Jiaqing was still clear-headed, but in the afternoon, his condition suddenly worsened, and he died suddenly at the end of the 12th month of the lunar calendar.]

……

Qing Dynasty, Jiaqing Period
Jiaqing was sitting in a chair and watching calmly.

Unexpectedly, the situation took a turn for the worse!

"I died so suddenly?"

……

【Emperor Jiaqing's life was a life of hard work and love for the people.】

[He is in good health and regularly practices horse riding and archery to show that he has not forgotten his Manchurian traditions.]

[But he spent most of his time concentrating on government affairs. He would get up before dawn to bathe and change his clothes, and start reading Confucian classics, such as "Zizhi Tongjian" and "Shilu" of the dynasty, constantly motivating himself to emulate the ancient sages and ancestors and set a good example for future generations.]

[After reading it, he began to attend court and discuss state affairs with his ministers, encouraging everyone to speak freely and accepting advice. ]

[After leaving court, he carefully reviewed memorials and worked until late at night.]

[He was always meticulous in attending various sacrificial ceremonies and never came late or left early.]

[He was concerned about agricultural production, fiscal deficit, military construction, clean government, etc. He was not greedy for money, was not lustful, did not go to the south of the Yangtze River, did not build gardens, and did not engage in literary inquisition.]

【Strive to make every word and action a role model for the people of the world.】

[He firmly believed that as long as he did this, the country and the world would be well governed! ]

【Because that is what the Confucian classics say. 】

[After his death, the ministers were extremely satisfied with his performance and gave him the most glorious word in Confucianism as his temple name: Ren.]

【Qing Renzong Jiaqing became a "Confucian saint monarch" who could be ranked alongside Song Renzong and Ming Xiaozong. 】

……

Qing Dynasty and Qianlong period
Qianlong covered his face and didn't want to say a word.

Isn't this wrong?

Although Yongyan was not very smart in his impression, he was not that stupid, right?
Where is the mistake?
I am following the method of the Holy Ancestor...

and many more!

Qianlong suddenly came to his senses.

Yongyan respected his teachers, was filial to his elders, and behaved in a dignified manner, which are all good things.

But the problem is, no matter how you look at it, he is a good candidate to become a Confucian sage king!

But the Emperor Shengzu repeatedly humiliated and even beat up the Confucian teacher in front of all the princes!
The Emperor Kangxi has always tried to prevent his sons from forgetting the essence of imperial power.

That's why there are two inheritances from education.

Ama and myself!
They are very smart in this regard and are absolutely clear about it.

And myself...

A successor who firmly believed in Confucian theory was chosen.

(End of this chapter)