During the Yongzheng Dynasty, a fierce battle broke out between Tian Wenjing, who was then the governor of Henan, and Li Fu, the governor of Zhili.
The origin of the whole incident was in the third year of Yongzheng (1725), when Li Fu, the governor of Guangxi, was promoted to the governor of Zhili, and when passing through Henan, he found that Tian Wenjing, who was born as a prisoner, treated the readers of Henan in an extremely harsh way. On the one hand, Tian Wenjing used heavy codes to enforce the policy of "one gentry as one", and often harshly reprimanded and impeached officials who were born in keju; on the other hand, Tian Wenjing reused officials who were not from the imperial examination like him, and not only ignored the abuse and humiliation of the readers by his subordinates, but also connived at them.
As a result, the entire Henan Province's readers and scholars were extremely dissatisfied with Tian Wenjing and complained bitterly. Seeing this scene, Li Fu, who was born into a soldier, was also very disgusted with Tian Wenjing's approach.
"As a feudalist, I deliberately trample on the readers."
After that, Li Fu used this to impeach Tian Wenjing to Yongzhengshang, and the relationship between the two was about to reach a freezing point.
For the fight between his two favorite subjects, Yongzheng naturally hoped that both sides could take a step back and calm things down, but Li Fu and Tian Wenjing had already put up a posture of "stumbling to the end" and did not give in to each other.
At the same time, Li Fu's impeachment of Tian Wenjing was also supported by many officials from the imperial examination, and a number of officials, including Zhejiang Province's inspector Yushi Xie Jishi, went to the court to impeach Tian Wenjing.
However, the actions of Xie Jishi and others were undoubtedly "drawing tigers and not becoming anti-dogs", which instantly made Yongzheng feel that this was a "friendship party", which in turn aroused Yongzheng's vigilance.
In the end, Li Fu, Xie Jishi and others were deposed, while Tian Wenjing was not affected in any way, and even was appeased by Yongzheng.
"I have already understood the reason for this matter, and you don't have to worry about it." As long as you can trust yourself, you can tell the gods of heaven and earth, and why bother with the gossip of villains? You don't have to be small. ”
There is no doubt that Tian Wenjing has become the ultimate winner of this "Tian-Li battle".
And this historical event was also interpreted in the TV series "Yongzheng Dynasty", of course, the reason for Li Fu's feud with Tian Wenjing was also because of Tian Wenjing's "insulting Swen", which was also unacceptable to Li Fu, as a representative of Qingliu and the leader of the readers, so the "Yongzheng Dynasty" version of the "Tian Li Struggle" was staged. The final outcome of the second is still Tian Wenjing's victory.
What is quite intriguing is that during the whole process of Tian Wenjing's struggle with Li Fu, Zhang Tingyu, as the first assistant of the cabinet and the minister of military aircraft, never expressed his opinion.
Some people may say that this is Zhang Tingyu's wise strategy to protect himself, afraid of putting himself in an unfavorable public opinion environment. But if you really think like this, it is too small to look at Zhang Tingyu in "Yongzheng Dynasty".
The reason why Zhang Tingyu in the play has always been admired by people is that in addition to his ability, courage and responsibility, as well as his superb work style and philosophy of doing things, this is fully expressed through his silence in the "Tian Li Struggle".
Zhang Tingyu's silence is not the best protection for the two.
At this time, Tian Wenjing and Li Fu, the two people can be said to have a mixed reputation, both meritorious and also have faults.
For Tian Wenjing, he conscientiously followed Yongzheng's instructions and arrangements, and unswervingly implemented the pilot system of "gentry as one as a poor man and one grain" in Henan Province, alleviating the financial pressure of the imperial court and increasing the money and grain income of the imperial court. In particular, his loyalty to Yongzheng and his dedication to doing things are even more commendable.
However, in the process of implementing the policy, Tian Wenjing was too eager to make quick gains, and did not pay attention to ways and methods, especially in the attitude towards readers, his vitriol and meanness can be said to have attracted public anger, which led to the boycott of candidates in Henan Province, and for the serious consequences caused by this, Tian Wenjing can be said to be to blame.
What is even more unsatisfactory is that Tian Wenjing's behavior has a feeling of pampering and arrogance, and it is completely dependent on the Yongzheng Emperor's favor for him and is even more unscrupulous, so that not only does he himself suffer from huge opposition, but even Yongzheng is in a very unfavorable public opinion situation because he is trapped, and this is also Tian Wenjing's biggest fault.
For Li Fu, his starting point and intention are good, after all, the elite class of scholars is the foundation of the operation and governance of the entire country, and it is related to the basis of the rule of the whole country, so he chooses to speak for the readers, ensure the rights and interests of the readers, and safeguard the glory and face of the elite class of scholars. More importantly, respecting the class of readers is a cultural tradition that has always been related to the dignity of the imperial court and the dignity of the country.
However, Li Fu's approach was also too radical, and while expressing his dissatisfaction with Tian Wenjing, he was also directly attacking the New Deal implemented by Yongzheng, which was bound to be intolerable to Yongzheng. Moreover, more importantly, Li Fu was not "fighting alone", including a large number of Qingliu scholars such as Lu Shengnan and Xie Jishi, who also chose to follow Li Fu to impeach Tian Wenjing, and this must have been crowned by Yongzheng as a "friendship party".
At this time, Zhang Tingyu, as Zaifu, had quite a powerful and position in the DPRK, and his statement had a strong influence and appeal, and even without exaggeration, it could influence the public opinion movements in the court to a certain extent.
If Zhang Tingyu hastily supported one of Tian Wenjing and Li Fu, the other side would inevitably fall into the abyss, but even if the two had Zhang Tingyu's support, they would also face very serious consequences.
If Zhang Tingyu supports Tian Wenjing, according to Tian Wenjing's personality, with the support of the emperor and the support of the first assistant of the cabinet, the opposition of the DPRK and China will inevitably be suppressed, and under such circumstances, Tian Wenjing will lose more and more external constraints, and his behavior will inevitably become more and more stubborn and radical. In this way, not only will the local contradictions in Henan become more and more intense, but even have a very negative impact on the implementation of the New Deal in other places, and Yongzheng will also bear even greater pressure. And this is not only a pit for the people and readers in Henan, but in the end Tian Wenjing must also be a rare good ending.
If Zhang Tingyu supports Li Fu, then the opposition to Tian Wenjing in the court will be more one-sided. However, this is not a support for Li Fu, because at this time, Li Fu and others have already labeled Yongzheng as a friend, so that not only will they fall into it and it will be difficult to justify themselves, but more importantly, many officials will be suppressed in the trend because of their poor thoughts, and Li Fu will also be more hated by the Yongzheng Emperor, and the final result is also imaginable.
Therefore, under such circumstances, from the perspective of being responsible for Tian Wenjing and Li Fu, and even more responsible for the situation, Zhang Tingyu could only remain silent, and Zhang Tingyu's two disjointed help was the greatest help and protection for Tian and Li.
Zhang Tingyu's silence was exactly what Yongzheng really wanted to see.
Yongzheng has clearly shown his support for Tian Wenjing, if Zhang Tingyu supports Yongzheng, then he will put himself in opposition to many Qingliu scholars, and he himself will also bear words such as "selling fame and fishing for reputation" and "lust for profit", which is undoubtedly a great blow to his reputation.
And if Zhang Tingyu supports Li Fu, although it is reasonable to understand, such a move will make Yongzheng more and more into an unfavorable situation, which Zhang Tingyu will definitely not do. Moreover, even if Yongzheng did not punish Zhang Tingyu, there was no estrangement between the two, but after all, it was contrary to the monarch's opinion, which would also have an adverse impact on Zhang Tingyu's future position in the court.
Under such circumstances, Zhang Tingyu was indeed faced with a very complicated option, and Yongzheng must have known about it.
In fact, not only for Zhang Tingyu, but also for Ma Qi, who was also the chancellor of the upper study, as well as his son Hongli and his most trusted thirteen brothers Yinxiang, Yongzheng did not want them to be involved prematurely.
What Yongzheng needs is for these people to continue to maintain a positive image in the court, that is, to gain the so-called "people's hearts".
As Yongzheng said to Hongli: "No one can offend the readers of the world." However, many of the new policies he implemented, including the establishment of the land into acres, the gentry as a whole, etc., directly touched the interests of the scholarly and doctor class, but in the current situation of the empty treasury and the people's livelihood at that time, Yongzheng also had a feeling of having to do it. So he chose to carry all the insults off his shoulders and not let anyone else be implicated.
Hongli is the successor in Yongzheng's heart, Yongzheng needs to preserve the reputation of Hongli, and Zhang Tingyu, as Yongzheng's minister, and will still assume an important role after this, Yongzheng at this time will definitely not lose big because of small, and for the sake of a little interest in the immediate future, Zhang Tingyu's reputation will be damaged, which will affect the future play of Zhang Tingyu's role.
Therefore, Yongzheng did not want Zhang Tingyu to support himself, nor did he want him to support either side of Tian Wenjing and Li Fu, and Zhang Tingyu also maintained a high degree of tacit understanding with Yongzheng.
From here, it is not difficult to see Yongzheng's good intentions and Zhang Tingyu's overall view.
Of course, in the end of the matter, Yongzheng still gave Zhang Tingyu and others an important step in a very clever and decent way.
Yongzheng announced to several powerful ministers that he would execute Li Fu, Lu Shengnan, and Xie Jishi, and that he would be relieved of his duties as a threat, forcing Zhang Tingyu and others to support him. In this way, Yongzheng made his attitude clear in a very harsh tone, which made it clear that the execution of the above-mentioned people was his own decision, and several military ministers only acted according to orders, and could even be said to be forced to act. Even if the courtiers complained, they would simply target Yongzheng, and there would be no dissatisfaction with Zhang Tingyu and others, on the contrary, there might be more reverence and respect.
Therefore, yongzheng continued to preserve the reputation of Zhang Tingyu and others in this way, and it can be regarded as achieving its expected purpose.
Zhang Tingyu in the Yongzheng Dynasty and Zhang Tingyu in history are still different in the time of rise and peak.
Throughout the Kangxi Dynasty period, Zhang Tingyu's highest official position was only that of an official, and compared with his examination in the same year of the Thirty-ninth Year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1700), nian Tangyao, who had already served as the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, still had a certain gap. Even in the early years of the Yongzheng Dynasty, although Zhang Tingyu's status was improved, it still did not have the same height as the Yongzheng Dynasty.
Zhang Tingyu was really valued by Yongzheng in the middle and late period of the Yongzheng Dynasty. At this time, Yongzheng successively dealt with Nian Qianyao, Long Keduo, and The Eight Brothers Yinyu and others, while Zhang Tingyu won Yongzheng's trust and respect by virtue of his outstanding performance in the process of revising the History of Ming and the Records of Emperor Shengzuren, and gradually moved to the peak of his position of power.
"Ru Shi was favored by the state, and he was also an old minister of the Emperor's examination for many years, and he had all personally known the divine merits of the holy virtues and divine deeds in those years, and now he should revise the "Records of Reality", and the records are detailed and accurate, but Ru is Lai."
In fact, the biggest advantage and characteristic of Zhang Tingyu in history is quite similar to Zhang Tingyu in the Yongzheng Dynasty, that is, he can quickly understand and comprehend the emperor's thoughts and make use of them. Especially in drafting the will, Zhang Tingyu has the ability that no one can surpass, and in just a few words, Zhang Tingyu can know what he thinks and quickly complete the drafting of the holy will. This is the best embodiment of his ability to comprehend the Imperial Heart Technique, and he can also establish a tacit understanding with Yongzheng with this, and then achieve his own meritorious name.
It is precisely because Zhang Tingyu is so quick-witted, good at speculating and able to be an official, as well as a clean and prudent, benevolent and charitable official character, coupled with the Yongzheng Emperor, who has great trust and appreciation for him, making him the only Han minister in the history of the Qing Dynasty to receive the honor of Taimiao.