As the saying goes: "The dragon gives birth to the dragon, the phoenix gives birth to the phoenix, and the son of the mouse will make holes." "Usually everyone will feel that the son inherits the father's business, that is, the son inherits the father, which is also a natural thing." But in the history of the Qing Dynasty, such an interesting thing happened, the father was the first Qing official of the Qing Dynasty, and the son became the first corrupt official of the Qing Dynasty, so what would Kangxi, as an enlightened monarch, deal with them?
This father and son are the famous father and son of Zhao Shenqiao and Zhao Fengzhao in history. First of all, let's talk about the father, Zhao Shenqiao, born in 1644 AD, a native of Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, at the age of 26, he passed the jinshi examination and entered the dprk as an official, which can be regarded as young and promising, and the future is immeasurable. Sure enough, Zhao Shenqiao rose all the way, and soon became a local official, in addition to his ability, Zhao Shenqiao also has one of the biggest advantages is incorruptibility.
This was also deeply liked by the Qianlong Emperor, who called him "the first clean official in the world" and let all officials learn from him. By the fifty-ninth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Zhao Shenqiao was already very old, and with his old age and many illnesses, it was difficult for him to hold an important position, but the Kangxi Emperor "still rewarded Shen Qiao for being honest and honest, and ordered him to be transferred to the government." It was enough to explain the importance that Kangxi attached to Zhao Shenqiao. In addition, when Zhao Shenqiao was a local official, he did not spend all the money until he left office, and also saved 2,000 taels of silver to hand over to the local silver treasury, you said that this is not powerful, not only do not take the state's money, but also earn money to return to the state.
In stark contrast was Zhao Shenqiao's son Zhao Fengzhao. Zhao Fengzhao, as the second son of the "First Qing Official", can be described as full of limelight. Perhaps inheriting his father's excellent genes, Zhao Fengzhao was particularly intelligent from an early age, and at a young age, he was promoted to high school and a soldier, and soon received the appreciation of Kangxi, believing that he was capable and might be able to contribute to the Qing Dynasty like his father. Because he was favored by the emperor, the other ministers also particularly accommodated him, and did not dare to say anything that he was not.
In this way, Zhao Fengzhao's boldness became bigger and bigger, and his desire became deeper and deeper. In 1715, his immediate superior, Ka Li, was found to be a case of corruption, and Shunto found Zhao Fengzhao here, and he did not know whether Zhao Fengzhao was really corrupt or fake, anyway, he was found to have stolen more than 174 million taels of silver, so how would Kangxi, who knew about this, deal with him?
Later, when Qianlong saw Zhao Fengzhao, he severely reprimanded him: "Your father is a clean and honest official, and you should imitate him!" Zhao Fengzhao hurriedly replied: "Accepting bribes from officials is tantamount to a girlfriend losing her temper and being ashamed of her subjects!" Zhao Fengzhao still had a bit of a conscience, and the first time he did not plead for his own exoneration, but immediately said that his father had nothing to do with the case, and all the guilt was borne by one person.
After hearing this, Kangxi smiled and said, "Although what you said is vulgar, your heart is still good." Later, Ka Li was investigated for corruption, implicating Zhao Fengzhao in corruption. After being "ascertained", Zhao Fengzhao cleverly established a tax regulation and extorted 174,600 taels of silver, kangxi was furious, reprimanded Zhao Fengzhao as "the world's first corrupt official", convicted and sentenced, and then considered the face of his father Zhao Shenqiao, and changed it to a prison waiting for beheading!
In February 1714, Zhao Fengzhao was beheaded at noon, and the 77-year-old father Zhao Shenqiao was in pain, and he never expected that the white-haired person would send the black-haired person, and soon, he would also die! The decline of the originally powerful Zhao family is also lamentable. Do you have anything to say about that? Feel free to leave a message in the comments section.