Qianlong was known for his filial piety, the longest-reigning emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who held the government for 63 years. But such an emperor, at the beginning of his ascension to the throne, killed a person who his father Yongzheng would not let him kill.
This person's name is Zeng Jing, and he is a talent. By chance, he read the article of the famous scholar Lu Liuliang. The article is full of anti-Qing and restoration ideas, and Zeng Jing was also infected, believing that the demise of the Qing Dynasty was the time for China's rise.
So he found Lü Liuliang's disciples and discussed the idea of anti-Qing and restoration. At this time, Yongzheng had just experienced the "Nine Sons and Concubines", and his status was still very unstable, and many princes were against him.
Zeng Jing believed that the Qing court was in civil strife, which was a good time to oppose the Qing dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty. So he found Yue Zhongqi, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, who was Yue Fei's 21st grandson, but was a loyal subject in his bones.
He pretended to agree to Zeng Jing's request, but secretly deceived these people into confessing and writing, and finally denounced Zeng Jing and others together. When Yongzheng learned of the situation, he was really shocked, because Lu Liuliang was involved in this case.
After reading Lu Liuliang's article, he was afraid after thinking about it. If these literati were allowed to scribble, the Qing Dynasty would surely die. So he dragged Lu Liuliang out of the coffin and showed the corpse to the public.
And Lü Liuliang's disciples and relatives, a total of more than 60 people, were all sent to the frontier and could never turn over.
The Lü Liuliang case caused Yongzheng daxing to be imprisoned, and many literati suffered as a result. As long as you have reactionary thoughts, you will be positioned as a thought crime.
Zeng Jing, the main culprit in Lü Liuliang's case, later took the initiative to confess his guilt and wrote a confession to Yongzheng. Saying that he was seduced by Lü Liuliang's thoughts, he made a big mistake for a while, hoping that the saint would be able to spare the life of the villain.
Surprisingly, Yongzheng forgave Zeng Jing and told him: You can rest assured that as long as I reign for one day, no one will dare to move you.
But Yongzheng was a short-lived emperor who died after 13 years on the throne. As soon as Qianlong ascended the throne, he divided Zeng Jing's body into five horses.
So why did Qianlong do this?
I think Qianlong should have understood What Yongzheng meant, and the reason why Yongzheng didn't kill Zeng Jing was because his throne was still very unstable at the beginning of his succession. He could just use a coward like Zeng Jing to show his magnanimity to win people's hearts and minds, and at the same time pave the way for Qianlong.
However, Qianlong killed Zeng Jing in order to consolidate his position and warn those forces who opposed the Qing Dynasty and restored the Ming Dynasty. Later, Qianlong pushed the prison of writing to the peak of the Qing Dynasty, and the speech of readers was greatly restricted, which was a great harm to human culture.
It is said that Qianlong almost destroyed "Dream of the Red Chamber", but fortunately his men were merciful, otherwise at least a million red scholars would not be able to save their jobs now.