As the highest point of power in the feudal dynasty, most emperors can be said to have absolute control over their ministers.
Ministers who were at the emperor's side or held important positions who angered the emperor were either demoted or ruined. Especially in the Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty with a high concentration of power, the power of the emperor was concentrated to a new height.
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, even He yan, who had embezzled government revenue for nearly a year, had to be careful when facing Qianlong, and if he made mistakes in doing things or did not act according to Qianlong's wishes, then he probably would not survive Jiajing's ascension to the throne.
However, under the absolute rule of the monarchy, some people dared to disregard Qianlong's face, speak out in front of him and hide it, and even gain Qianlong's approval by virtue of this. This person was the famous Liu Yong in later generations.
Honest and honest, quite recognized by Qianlong
In 1720, Liu Yong was born in a family of eunuchs in Shandong, and according to the Zhucheng County Chronicle, his father and grandfather were important courtiers during the Kangxi and Yongzheng dynasties, and it can be said that he was influenced by academic style at birth.
Unsurprisingly, when he was only more than twenty years old, Liu Yong made a splash in the temple examination with his outstanding talent and talent, becoming the second place in the current imperial examination, leaving a very good impression on Qianlong who was the main examiner.
After becoming an official in the DPRK, Liu Yong successively went to Anhui, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, and other places to handle political affairs, and Liu Yong, who paid attention to honesty and honesty, vigorously acted vigorously during his tenure as an official, vigorously straightening out the collusion between officials and businessmen in various places, such as xiucai, people, and landlords, and was called "contemporary Bao Zheng" by the people in the places where he went.
It was also decades of official experience that made him understand that the problems of the local people were ultimately the problems of the imperial court, so he repeatedly wrote to the emperor to make suggestions.
It was also in this way that Liu Yong was recognized and appreciated by Qianlong in his decades of official career, and at the age of 62, he was finally transferred by Qianlong to serve as a Shangshu of the Ministry of Works within the six departments of the imperial court, and became one of Qianlong's close associates.
However, although it was good to be honest and honest, after truly accompanying the emperor, his bluntness would sometimes offend Qianlong. For example, when I played Go once, because I won a game of Qianlong, I almost angered Qianlong and let my head move.
Playing chess to win Qianlong, clever words to save the emperor's face
As we all know, chess sports in China has a long history, Go is from the Spring and Autumn Warring States period has officially appeared, in the history of thousands of years has evolved hundreds of millions of game games, and in the time of chess, people's spirit is highly concentrated, while staying together for a long time, often can also narrow the psychological distance between the two sides.
This has also led to The game of Go becoming one of the necessary activities for monarchs and friends to get along in ancient society. However, although playing Go is happy, when playing chess with the emperor, in addition to considering the chess game, the minister often has to consider a lot of things other than the game.
After retiring after more than 60 years of busyness, Qianlong suddenly found that his life had become leisurely, and the old man's favorite thing to do was to find his former old friends for entertainment. Among them, his favorite is to find the same elderly Liu Yong to play Go to pass the time.
As the emperor, Qianlong received royal education from an early age, and the level of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting was very high, plus the ministers often did not dare to use their full strength when facing Qianlong, and often deliberately sold a loophole to let Qianlong win the chess, so Qianlong, who was invincible for a long time, has always been extremely confident in his chess skills. And Liu Yong, who is well versed in the way of officialdom, is also thoughtful in playing chess, and has always paid attention to a stable word, only to make Qianlong happy.
However, in a certain chess game, although Liu Yong was still as ready to make the game properly, Qianlong used some newly learned playing method and killed Liu Yong by surprise.
This can arouse Liu Yong's competitive spirit, and if he does not accept defeat, he will change his style of chess, where can he consider saving some face for Qianlong? Immediately, I was immersed in the ending. At this time, Qianlong found that Liu Yong began to play chess seriously, and he felt very happy, thinking that Liu Yong was still deliberately letting himself go, and did not know how to exert all his strength, but soon Qianlong found that he could not laugh.
When Qianlong repeated the old technique, Liu Yong was fully engrossed, and finally discovered the solution of Go, defeating Qianlong's playing. After Qianlong, who was nearly old, found that his situation was unfavorable, his face began to look a little unpleasant.
With the stalemate of the chess game, Qianlong and Liu Yong began to stop chatting, and the atmosphere became serious. Unfortunately, Liu Yong was preoccupied with winning the government, did not notice the change in Qianlong's atmosphere, and won qianlong's victory after a few strokes.
However, Liu Yong had not been happy for a few minutes, and he found that he was not in a good situation. Qianlong, who had lost chess, found that he had used all his strength to fail to win Liu Yong, and then remembered that he and Liu Yong had been able to win a big victory when they played chess before, and suddenly felt that Liu Yong was humiliating himself and waiting to see his jokes.
So when Liu Yong raised his face, he looked at Liu Yong with a smile and did not smile, and the exit frightened him and said, "Just let Liu Yong have no face, and I am not afraid of killing you"?
Liu Yong, who knew Qianlong's heart well, immediately heard it, this time Qianlong was really angry, if he did not answer well, he was afraid that he would have to go to the underground mansion to play chess.
So Liu Yong didn't say a word, and immediately got up and knelt in front of Qianlong, and began to think of reasons to make Qianlong happy. When people encounter danger to their lives, their strength and brain power will increase rapidly, and Liu Yong is no exception, and after a short period of thinking, he immediately thought of a good explanation.
The "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty" records that after Liu Yong knelt on the ground, he explained to Qianlong that he and the emperor's chess skills were very different, and the reason why he was able to get lucky with Qianlong once this time was because he could only see this game of chess in his eyes and heart, but what Qianlong saw in his chess was not chess, but the Qing Dynasty's thousands of miles.
Winning himself is only a victory, but the emperor wins the world, how can he be preoccupied with him in this game?
This remark exaggerated Qianlong to the heavens, and by belittling his own shallow vision, praising Qianlong for having a view of the overall situation, he cared not only about the victory or defeat of a game, but the victory or defeat of the world. While wearing a top hat for Qianlong, he also implied that Qianlong himself had already known his mistakes, and let Lord Qianlong release himself in large numbers.
Qianlong, who was still angry, immediately turned from anger to joy after listening to Liu Yong's explanation, and suddenly waved his big hand to indicate that he no longer cared, and also asked Liu Yong to show his real ability to fight again next time, and could not release water.
brief summary
Of course, Liu Yong knew very well that although Qianlong had abdicated, he was still considered an emperor. If he accidentally wins Qianlong next time, then he will certainly not have the opportunity to defend himself next time, so he will never make such a mistake in the future, but instead use all his strength to deliberately leave a lot of flaws in the chess game for Qianlong to discover and defeat himself.
It was also with his outstanding eloquence and eyesight that Liu Yong was finally able to die, and after his death, he was remembered by Qianlong and asked Jiaqing to be posthumously awarded the title of "Prince Shaobao".
bibliography:
1. Draft History of the Qing Dynasty
2. Zhucheng County Chronicle