In The history of China, the emperors of successive dynasties have had a suspicious problem, but the emperor faces many ministers all day long, so naturally he has to pay more attention. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that "accompanying the king is like accompanying the tiger", which is more dangerous around the emperor. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao killed the famous doctor Hua Tuo because of his paranoia. There have been many ministers who have been wrongfully killed in all dynasties.
It is said that the Qianlong Emperor once made a private visit to the folk micro-service and led the guards to walk the streets and alleys to observe the people's feelings. One afternoon, the Qianlong Emperor passed by a melon garden and saw that everyone had been gone for a long time, so he wanted to buy a watermelon to quench his thirst. The guards saw that the melon farmer was taking a nap, but the Qianlong Emperor had an order not to disturb the melon farmer. Because Qianlong has always had a good image of being close to the people, he did not want to disturb the people.
Therefore, Qianlong and the guards stayed by the side of the melon farmer, watching the melon farmer sleep soundly and did not bother him. Qianlong looked at the melons in the melon garden, one bigger than the other, and couldn't help but appreciate it. This melon farmer can really sleep, and one sleep is two hours. Qianlong waited there for two hours, and it was still quite hot. When the melon farmer woke up and saw so many people, he did not panic.
Qianlong hurriedly asked: Old man, how is this melon sold?
"This melon is not for sale," replied the melon farmer.
The melon farmer replied in this way, even ordinary people would be angry when they heard it, and they waited hard for two hours here, but they waited for this result on a hot day. But the melon farmer went on to say that this melon can be given to you.
Therefore, Qianlong and his bodyguards could not wait to eat watermelon, and in the process of eating, the melon farmer saw Qianlong eating watermelon from the middle to the surroundings, so he said: It is impossible to eat sweet in this way.
The Qianlong Emperor was a little dissatisfied when he heard this, and thought that this habit still had to be taught. But the melon farmer went on to say: the sweetest place of watermelon is in the middle, and it should be eaten from all sides to the middle, so that the more you eat, the sweeter it is.
Qianlong did as the melon farmer said, and couldn't help but say: If this is the case, the more you eat, the sweeter it becomes.
Then, the melon farmer said, this is like people's lives, bitter and sweet, only when you eat bitter, you will feel sweet. Hearing the words of the melon farmers, the Qianlong Emperor felt that the melon farmers knew a lot, and they must have read a lot of books. So he and the melon farmer talked all afternoon and learned a lot from the melon farmer.
During the conversation, Qianlong asked the melon farmer whether he would like to enter the palace to become an official, and the melon farmer said that he did not want to be an official. He felt that the officialdom was sinister, and it was better to plant watermelons and live a more free life as an ordinary person. Qianlong did not force him, and when he left, Qianlong also praised his watermelon for growing well.
However, when Qianlong had just turned the corner and did not go far, he ordered the melon farmers to be executed. The guards immediately returned to look for the melon farmer, but when the guard arrived at the melon garden, he found that the melon farmer was gone, and the guard returned to report to Qianlong. Qianlong smiled and said nothing.
In fact, during the conversation, Qianlong already felt that the melon farmer recognized him, and the melon farmer did not want to enter the palace as an official, and after leaving, he was afraid of being framed by the melon farmer, so he ordered him to be killed. The melon farmer has not read many books, and he certainly does not know much about Qianlong, he has only been planting melons in the countryside melon orchards for many years and is familiar with the life skills of the people at the bottom.
The Qianlong Emperor had been staying in the palace, and he still didn't know much about folk life, and most of what he knew was what others told him or saw in the series of books.