There is a saying that history is written by the victors, and many deeds and people in history are left to posterity to comment on. But in fact, how much of the historical data left behind is true? Are their evaluations fair? For example, Qin Shi Huang, some people say that he is an emperor through the ages, and some people say that he is a tyrant. In the very beginning, people only thought that he was a tyrant through and through, and every pot was buckled on him, and the history did not carry Sima Qian's personal feelings? In history, there are three other people who have been the most blackened, and future generations will hardly mention their good side.
The first was the Sui Emperor, who was born in Chang'an City in the fourth year (569) of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. All along, Yang Guang's image has been of poverty and extravagance, absurdity. But in fact, Yang Guang was not without merit, like attacking Tuguhun and conquering the Khitans. The Grand Canal, which was excavated, has been passed down through the ages, and the canal he ordered was actually repaired using the previous dynasty. After the opening of the canal, the cities on both sides of the strait soon became prosperous and strong, and at the same time promoted the development of economic and cultural exchanges between the north and the south.
In addition, he also began the imperial examination system that has been passed down for thousands of years in China, which is an extremely far-reaching event that has affected China's history. However, although it already exists here, and its official appearance is still in the Tang Dynasty, Yang Guang's role obviously cannot be ignored. It is also said that Yang Guang is a good woman, but his intelligent wife has never been snubbed because of any of the spoiled concubines. In general, Yang Guang is meritorious, but people in later generations never mention his merits, and the disgraceful history has been taken out and magnified several times.
The second is Di Xin, which is what we often call the King of Shang. Around 1105 BC, Di Xin was born, and he was made heir as a concubine, although he was not the eldest son. Later generations felt through film and television dramas that Di Xin was just a dimwitted monarch, and he killed Zhongliang and spoiled the demon concubine Daji, making the people resent him. But in fact, Di Xin's record in the history books is also advantageous, he is talented and intelligent, and he is also very eloquent. The receptive ability is very strong, and he can fight the beast with his bare hands.
On the other hand, if he did not reuse the nobility, was it not a way to break the hereditary system of slave-owning aristocrats? He did go around fighting, but most of them won. Although the conquest was won, it also made the Shang Dynasty weak and took more prisoners, so as soon as King Wu of Zhou came to fight and the captives all turned to him. As for not respecting ghosts and gods, it is not necessarily a crime, and not many people dared to disrespect ghosts and gods in ancient times. And to say that he listened to his own words and led to the destruction of the country, he who is benevolent sees the wise.
The last Li Hongzhang, Daoguang III (1823), was born on the fifth day of the first lunar month. When he was young and wise, later generations often said that Li Hongzhang was the wrong person because he had signed an unequal treaty and some inappropriate measures, and compared him with Qin Juniper. But most of his contemporaries, including Japan and Americans, spoke of him mostly well, and even Cixi lamented after his death that there would be no one to share in the future. As a major minister of the late Qing Dynasty, he was the founder and commander of the Huai Army and the Beiyang Marine Division, and participated in many major events in Chinese history throughout his life.
As the main leader of the foreign affairs movement, he has successively founded a series of civil enterprises such as Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, Jinling Machinery Bureau, Tianjin Machinery Bureau, Steamship Merchants Bureau, Hebei Cizhou Coal and Iron Mine, etc., all walks of life are involved. These are the signs of the beginning of China's modernization, and he realized the dangers of Japan long ago. He used all his strength to safeguard China's interests, but the Qing Dynasty was powerless to change the backward situation. In the face of being the scapegoat of the Qing Dynasty, he was willing, and he also argued for unequal treaties.
When the Eight-Power Alliance invaded China, he stepped forward to negotiate alone, so that the incident was put to rest without cutting the land. However, people often just see that Li Hongzhang made a wrong decision, which led to the defeat of the Battle of Jiawu and the excessive killing of people during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The world scolded him for betraying the country, but why would he ever think that he was still running for the country at the age of seventy?
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, History of Yin Benji, Book of Sui, Zizhi Tongjian Sui Ji