The establishment of the country, the prosperity, the decline, the rise, the fall, this is the strange circle that the feudal dynasty cannot get rid of, and it is the fate of the dynasty. As the last feudal dynasty, the decline of the Qing Dynasty was obvious to all, and it became synonymous with "decline", even the emperor himself admitted. The Records of Emperor Xuanzong of the Qing Dynasty says: "In today's situation, the charter is there, the laws are in place, and if we can make great laws and small incorruptibility, and practice the truth and not the text, why should we ignore political affairs and the people are uneasy?" In the face of the world, the people's hearts are pouring out, the officials are unwilling to be humble and the officials, the officials are unwilling to be sincere and sympathetic to the people, they think of their wealth when things happen, and the practice of the law does not take into account the long-term, and those who are afraid of the fallen are here, and the haters are also here. "So, how much did the Qing Dynasty fall? We may wish to take a look at the book of the famous Minister Hu Linyi OfSin. Hu Linyi, the head of the famous ministers of the Qing Dynasty, was proficient in politics, economy, military, financial management, diplomacy, and elections. Wang Minyun's "XiangJun Zhi" said: "The cause of Zhongxing is based on Hu". Qian Mu's "Outline of the History of the State" said: "Because Hu died early, Zeng and Zuo all drove the army to serve the battlefield, and they did not have to be the central officials, and Yu Washione could be replaced by the government, so although the military was enough to quell the chaos, the officials were still corrupt." It can be seen that Hu Linyi is extraordinary, and from his family letters, he sees the decline of the Qing Dynasty, which has a certain basis.
01. Imperial talent selection mechanism - the fraud in the field is serious, and there is little fairness and justice
Since the Sui Dynasty Emperor created the imperial examination system, the imperial examination has continued with strong vitality until the end of the Qing Dynasty, lasting 1300 years. The reason for this is that the imperial examination is relatively fair, relying on the results of the examination to become an official; opening up to the children of the cold door is conducive to expanding the foundation of imperial rule and selecting the best talents. In the late Qing Dynasty, there was corruption in the field, the practice of fraud was serious, examiners accepted bribes, the examination papers were sloppy, the judgments were not in accordance with the regulations, the children of officials cheated, and the examiners exchanged prayers and gifts with each other after the scene.
The Complete Works of Hu Linyi reads: "The length of the only day is short, the height of ten thousand people, the pearls of the sea, and the security can be spared from the arms of the soldiers and not for sale!" His cunning, who is not willing to be silent, is even more strange, in order to fulfill his desire for wealth and fame, and the world is not questionable. ”
The Complete Works of Hu Linyi says: "The Eight Strands of the Duming Ancestor, the good name of the Outer Todai Shengliyan, the Yin is to eliminate the poisonous schemes of the Tyrant, and the thief is talented. The reform of this system must not be delayed. ”
The content of the above-mentioned "Complete Works of Hu Linyi" is a letter written by Hu Linyi to his uncle and brother during the Daoguang years, in which he is blunt about the shortcomings of the late Qing Dynasty. It can be seen from Hu Linyi's family letter that there was not only a serious trend of fraud in the Qing Dynasty's imperial examinations, from officials to scholars, from examinations to examination papers, there was no place for cheating. In addition, the flood of eight strands of literature was worse than that of the Ming Dynasty, which seriously imprisoned the minds of readers and was not conducive to social change. During the Xianfeng period, the sensational "Pengwu Branch Field Case", involving hundreds of officials and students, caused a shock in Shilin, and the chief examiner Bo Yao was beheaded, and the rest were dismissed.
02. The collapse of the empire's blood - corruption, corruption, and political inaction
In the era of authoritarian centralization, it was the rule of officials that was directly related to the rise and fall of the empire. When the peasant revolt broke out in the past, it was precisely when the corruption of the officials was extreme, and the so-called officials forced the people to rebel. The peasants rose up against the emperor, not against the emperor, but against the officials who directly ruled over them. In other words, the ruler is the blood of the empire. The rule of the Qing Dynasty can ease class contradictions, stabilize social order, and bring prosperity and prosperity to the empire, that is, the so-called prosperous world. When the bureaucracy is corrupted, the class contradictions are sharpened, the society is turbulent, and step by step the empire is brought into the abyss of destruction and the dynastic rule is buried. In the late Qing Dynasty, officials not only arbitrarily oppressed the people in their jurisdictions, but also became corrupt and political inaction, which was a sign of the end of the dynasty.
The Complete Works of Hu Linyi says: "The nephew came to look at the book, and the wind of greed and abuse was really unstoppable, relying on the momentum, the fish and meat were foolish, and there was a little bit of people's hearts, and they were pointed out for it." And the eunuch and the gentry, Fang and rely on the heart, use it as a claw, choose fat and eat, only profit is the map, the world is gushing, Xi fei is, the wind valley is decadent to this point, and there is a fear of causing chaos. ”
The Complete Works of Hu Linyi says: "The servitude of the People's Liberation Army was deceived from it, and although the prefectures and counties reaped the benefits of the state and the income, half of them were spent in the excess of the upper and lower fees, and the state's supply of maintenance and rectification was often insufficient, and the cao government benefited and deteriorated because of it, and there was almost an irreparable trend." ”
The Complete Works of Hu Linyi says: "The chaos under Fang today is not in the strong enemy but in the hearts of the people. Do not suffer from the incurable treatment of the foolish people, but in the good interests of the scholars, they will not be punished. ”
The content of the above-mentioned "Complete Works of Hu Linyi" is that Hu Linyi wrote to his uncle and brother's family during the Years of Daoguang and Xianfeng, respectively, at this time he was already engaged in politics, and later served as the governor of Hubei, and was a state feudal official. It can be seen from Hu Linyi's family letter that the corruption of the late Qing dynasty officials was beyond imagination, and their corrupt hands reached every corner, even the grain related to the fate of the empire. In addition to corruption, there is still no action, mediocrity and chaos, and there is no way to solve social problems, and contradictions have also intensified. From this, it is not difficult to understand why the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and the "Twist Army" uprising broke out during the years of Daoguang, Xianfeng, and Tongzhi, and the corruption of officials was the root cause.
03. The violent tools of imperial rule - military corruption, low combat effectiveness, insufficient killing of the enemy and more than enough to disturb the people
The importance of armed forces, which is the absolute instrument of violence of the feudal dynasty and the capital on which it depends for its survival, is self-evident. Qin Han, Sui and Tang Dynasties, and Yuan Ming, why they can stand out from the surrounding masses lies in having a strong armed force. After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, the Eight Banners and the Green Camp were the regular armed forces of the state, and the two armies were scattered and stationed in various key passes, deterring the anti-resistance forces in various places and maintaining social stability. In the late Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners and the Green Camp were in decay, lacking the necessary training and renewing their armaments, and while their combat effectiveness was low, there were also serious problems of disturbing the people. At this time, the Qing army could not maintain social stability, but also intensified the class contradictions that already existed, becoming a catalyst for the demise of the empire.
The "Complete Works of Hu Linyi" says: "Hubei's military affairs have not been spared for a long time, no matter how many thieves are strong or weak, the police are shocked first, and when they receive the battle, they will collapse, and they will be confused from top to bottom, and they will not be ashamed." To be mistaken in making greedy and deceitful is actually caused by greed. Sichuan, Chu, and Henan bravely recruited rogues to join in, and repaid him with one for ten, pretending to receive rations, and when they were appeased, they were defeated, and they hired him. The hardships of the items are full of rogue desires. In recent years, the green battalion has been cowardly, the front is vain, and the military and government camp system has disappeared, which is an urgent need for military affairs to be rectified. ”
The Complete Works of Hu Linyi says: "Aiming to get rich and not to kill thieves, Hubei soldiers are brave and cannot be reused." ”
The above-mentioned "Complete Works of Hu Linyi" is a family letter written by Hu Linyi to his younger brother during his tenure as the governor of Hubei, focusing on the military problems of the Qing Dynasty. At this time, Hu Linyi was already a feudal official, directly in charge of the military, financial, and civil affairs powers of a province, and his understanding of military corruption in the late Qing Dynasty was quite profound. It can be seen from the family letter that the Qing Dynasty's military was very bad, the upper and lower levels were concealed, the salaries were falsely paid, the soldiers were cowardly, the combat effectiveness was low, and there was still a very serious problem of disturbing the people. During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, 7 soldiers dared to chase after 1,000 green battalion soldiers, which just confirmed Hu Linyi's words. When Hu Linyi was in charge of Hubei, the Green Battalion soldiers were repeatedly defeated and abandoned the main general. To this end, he had to abandon the Green Camp and let Bao Chao go to Hunan to recruit soldiers and braves, for the "Thunder Army". It can be seen that Hu Linyi has little confidence in the military of the Qing Dynasty, and it is difficult to revitalize the national fortunes by relying on the Eight Banners and the Green Camp.
04. The cornerstone of the empire's efforts to win the hearts and minds of the people - judicial corruption, power and money transactions, relative fairness can not be talked about
As the saying goes: "He who wins the hearts and minds of the people wins the world." What is the will of the people, the heart of the masses at the bottom. How to win the hearts and minds of the people, food, clothing, shelter and transportation is one of them, and judicial fairness and the people's grievances are the fundamental. Just think, if the dynastic judiciary is corrupt and power and money transactions are prevalent, where will the relative fairness of society begin? Where can the grievances in the hearts of the people be said? When the dynasty could not guarantee the relative fairness of society and openly favored the bureaucrats, gentry and other privileged classes, the people could only take risks and go to the road of armed uprising. The Qing Dynasty, which was at the end of feudal society, was more corrupt in its judiciary than in any other era, resulting in the gradual erosion of the foundation of the country, social unrest, and the Empire State Building in a state of flux.
The Complete Works of Hu Linyi says: "Although the people here are very simple and willing, but they are good at litigation, they have little contention, and they would rather squander their hard-earned money in order to win the last victory." Because of the advantages and conveniences, the messengers are difficult in many ways, and if they are not satisfied with their desires, the case cannot be closed. ”
The Complete Works of Hu Linyi says: "Officials do not do anything, and those who do not behave with Xu officials choose to eat fat, then one person surrenders, ten bankruptcies, and if you want to avoid litigation, you must not be a bad person." ”
The Complete Works of Hu Linyi says: "The villager Huang Sixin came and was asked for because of the matter, and he will plead with the court to plead a word." The brother was very surprised to read it, and asked himself about his life, and the most hated person said that Huang Si dared to have anything to do with it, so he deeply rebuked it. ”
The above-mentioned "Complete Works of Hu Linyi" is a letter written by Hu Linyi to his brother's family during the Daoguang years, mainly talking about the serious corruption problems in the Qing Dynasty in the judiciary. At this time, Hu Linyi was serving as the prefect of Anshun in Guizhou, managing local civil affairs, justice, and public security, which was considered to be experienced at the grassroots level. From Hu Linyi's family book, it can be seen that there are many lawsuits in the Anshun area of Guizhou, and Xu officials take the opportunity to look for opportunities for corruption. Civil lawsuits must bribe xu officials, otherwise they will not only be unable to win the lawsuit, but will also destroy their families and ruin their families. Huang Si, a fellow villager in Yiyang, Hubei Province, openly asked people to find a relationship. Such a crooked trend and evil atmosphere of relying on people to find relations filled all corners of the Qing Dynasty, and where should the grievances of the people go? They had no other way out but to revolt.
From the above-mentioned contents of Hu Linyi's family letter, we can see that there were serious problems of corruption in the Qing Dynasty's imperial examinations, military, official administration, and justice. Unfair examinations, unfair administration of justice, unclear administration of officials, and loose military discipline are signs of the decline and decline of the dynasty. In this regard, the Qing Dynasty could not come up with a strong solution, and after a short period of "Tongguang Zhongxing", the Qing Dynasty was submerged in the wave of revolution, ending the empire and ending the feudal era.
References: The Complete Works of Hu Linyi, Records of Emperor Xuanzong of the Qing Dynasty, Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Outline of National History, Chronicle of the Xiang Army