Under the influence of Confucianism, countless readers in feudal society hoped to dedicate their enthusiasm to the country. Some of them did not betray the old lord in a critical moment, and some of them were outspoken knowing that they would face being killed if they spoke out. In their values, it is the most worthwhile thing to be affirmed by future generations.
Compared with this, what kills the head and what kills the door is less important. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was a very high honor for the merits of Heng Ding, that is, to enjoy the gift of the Taimiao Temple. At that time, there were countless courtiers who gave their lives for this honor, but very few whose wishes were fulfilled. Especially out of special ethnic relations and the perspective of the royal family, the Han courtiers of the Qing Dynasty enjoyed this honor only Zhang Tingyu, and today, we will talk about this old minister who has experienced the most brilliant three dynasties of the Qing Dynasty.
As we know, the examination system is a very important way to select talents, and it realizes the exchange of talents between the upper and lower levels. This system seems to be fair, but it can only be said to be relatively fair, because although in the end everyone takes the exam together in the examination room, as a different origin, the educational resources enjoyed are completely different.
Therefore, people who come out of the cold door, if they want to become famous in one fell swoop when the information is not developed, it is not as common as we see on TV. Fortunately, Zhang Tingyu did not have to face such an embarrassing situation, his ancestors had been an official for many years, and he himself was immersed in the mainstream culture at that time, which was an advantage.
In 1700, Zhang Tingyu was admitted to the Jinshi without suspense. At that time, it was the thirty-ninth year of Kangxi, although it was not long before he officially entered the army, but at that time he was a civilian official who did not have any real power, and was not reused, Kangxi was interested in his literary style, and did not have much participation in governing the country.
Later he did more secretarial work, but as we all know his motto, he did do what he shouldn't have said and never participated. At that time, there were many princes, and when they were vying for the throne, the ministers were also very busy -- they were busy taking sides and looking for new masters. However, Zhang Tingyu was very calm, he did not support the highest-voiced prince, nor did he snub the prince who had almost no hope, and every time Kangxi asked him for his opinion, he could answer with a neutral attitude, and the reason was very good. It was precisely because of this that he gradually gained the further trust of Kangxi and stayed away from partisanship.
We know that the Yongzheng Emperor was a more suspicious emperor, which should be understood from his own experience. At that time, he and his brothers turned against each other in order to compete for the big position, and even did not hesitate to kill the killer, so after getting the long-awaited big position, he naturally looked at no one and was not at ease. Fortunately, Zhang Tingyu was not reused in the former dynasty at that time, so he was able to evade the initial screening and safely accompany Yongzheng.
He did not choose which prince to support, like some old ministers in the previous dynasty, and later chose the wrong one and was dealt with by the new emperor. After receiving Yongzheng's attention, he was still very careful and never spoke much, and later when the emperor was unwell, he always ordered him to take care of political affairs. Even so, he did not value his own merits as much as someone like Nian Qianyao, and asked the emperor to look up to himself everywhere, he knew the emperor too well, and he knew too much about what he should do in the eunuch sea.
How cautious is Zhang Tingyu? Although he had been an official for many years, many protégés were also in the same dynasty, and in order not to make the emperor suspicious, in the year of his son Kao keju, he also took the initiative to request that his son's rank be lowered. At that time, his son explored flowers in high school, which was the third in the country, a great honor. However, in order to eliminate the emperor's single-mindedness, he took the initiative to apply, saying that his son was just lucky, and did not have such a high level of talent, and demoted his son to the second place.
However, such a cautious old man could not avoid being involved in disputes in the Qianlong Dynasty. Like many emperors, when Qianlong first ascended the throne, he also shuffled some old ministers of the former dynasty, and he did not want to be pinched by those diehards. At this time, Zhang Tingyu was confused. At that time, he was already over seventy years old, and it was a very normal thing to apply for retirement, but Qianlong did not approve it, on the grounds that he was ready to let you enjoy the Taimiao Temple, and now that you are retired, is it a pity?
In fact, this is obviously a pretext, because these two things are not in conflict, but how dare the courtiers say more to the emperor? Zhang Tingyu had no choice but to continue to be an official. After a few more years, he went to apply for retirement again, and this time the emperor approved, but Zhang Tingyu played it and asked the emperor to give him a guarantee. This has made the emperor unhappy, they have promised you, you still come to ask for a stamped written material, are you afraid that my words do not count? However, Qianlong still gave him a guarantee.
The key point came, after receiving this guarantee, he did not personally thank him, but let his son come for him. This incident made Qianlong very angry, and what was even more angry was that at that time, he had a student who was working as a close attendant around Qianlong, and when he saw that the emperor was unhappy, he secretly ran to tell Zhang Tingyu. The old minister was so frightened that he rushed to Xie En, and as soon as he came and went, the emperor knew, obviously someone around him reported his emotions to him, which was enough!
Therefore, Qianlong no longer cared about the identity of the old minister of the Three Dynasties, and sent someone to Zhang Mansion to check his correspondence, weekday handwriting, and other items, that is, to raid the house. Although nothing of practical significance was found later, the cautious three-dynasty old minister finally ended up in this fate, which was also chilling.